Ohhh, so that's what it was! Lol I feel kind of stupid now for not being able to figure it out. It was just a pixelated mess when they first showed it off. I didn't know what I was looking at. Thanks for solving that mystery for me!
If we want to be specific, the leaked image is cropped from the first cog you see at the beginning of Act 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QARWXhjZDwA
Yeah, it's definitely the first cog in act2: Now how about the other image of Press Garden which was teased/leaked in that press material: It's from act1 of PG, but I can't find the exact location. This piece of level-layout may be completely different in the final version of PG.
Man, Press Garden look way cooler in this picture. Did they had to remove a industrial zone and tried to put it in PG ? Because it seem the whole "factory" thing wasn't present at all before.
One thing I recently thought of that might be important, back in the regular Sonic live stream in late December Aaron stated that there were "no Sonic Mania announcements" to make at that point in time, which says to me that Sonic Mania announcements such as potentially Project Plus will be coming in the near future. If you think about it, why would he even need to address it at all? Sonic Mania has been out for months, there should theoretically be no announcements for the game until the end of time, so the notion that he even addressed "potential announcements" is telling. I could be reaching here, but I think this means something. Project Plus is being ardently worked on behind the scenes, they're keeping quiet about it and an announcement is planned in the hopefully near future. Hope the curtain is lifted on all this Project Plus speculation soon. I'm sticking with my earlier prediction that it's a re-release, with more content, Mega Collection style. Guess we'll see and hopefully soon.
There's a press machine related object right next to Sonic. I think it's more likely that the other press related elements were just not visible in this area
Excuse me all but that pixel recreation looks EXTREMELY GORGEOUS. The bridge is using the final colors, but anyway, that pic is stunning.
Cool. Make sure you let this guy know you appreciate it. https://alex13art.deviantart.com/art/Pixely-Palace-699393095
Thank you!! I never would have imagined it was something blown up, but then again, why go through the effort of pixelating a regular image. The huge cogs I had in mind were never huge in the first place. Plus the wall and snow were hilariously mistaken for the sky and clouds.
The original zone name for this was originally called Pulp Solstice. What if this picture is either the original cathedral-esque style that may have been what PS was or the last remnant of it? Also, the Press Garden Act 1 music has that strange organ playing throughout which reminds me of a certain section in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It almost sounds like a church organ. Plus we've already discussed about different mixes or versions of Tee Lopes’ music. He could have easily added that bizarre sound that sounds like a power tool, like a machine working, or even a press!
Press Garden is easily my favorite new zone in Mania. I do feel like zones such as PG and Mirage Saloon could have benefited from more development time, especially MS. But, I am happy to have anything new. I encourage people to keep making a lot of noise for a sequel. With longer development and a bigger budget, its hypothetical sequel could be mind-blowing. But, I'm stating the obvious I think..
This has been on my mind for the longest. The beginning of the Hard Boiled Heavies theme goes SO well with leading into Danger on the Dance floor. I threw this together: https://soundcloud.com/cubedtothex/hard-boiled-heavies-mischief-danger-on-the-dance-floor-mini-boss-theme
Sonic 4: Episode 1 did well enough to ensure a sequel with a much bigger and more expanded budget. The same will probably happen to Sonic Mania and a potential Sonic Mania 2. Sega were probably caught off-guard with the insane sales amounting to multiple millions in a matter of months (according to that Sega Sammy financial report) that have vastly eclipsed Forces so I can see Sega scrambling to capitalise on that by green lighting a re-release of the game with more content, which is probably what Project Plus is, and a potential greater in scope Sonic Mania 2 which seems inevitable at this point. I see no universe in which Sega doesn't push for more Mania, given the insanely strong critical reception and sales. It's extremely likely we're getting a sequel. EDIT: Making noise about it is a very good idea. We should push for the original team to be involved again and more original all-new zones, if anything. Sega are receptive to the will and desire of the fans and do listen, as that's how Sonic Mania came to be in the first place. All I hope is that Taxman/Stealth are both willing to work on a sequel, as we'd need them involved for the game to be as awesome as Mania 1. EDIT 2: Just one more thing I was thinking about last night. Surely if Project Plus was nothing Taxman/Stealth would have shot it down on here by now? They'd theoretically have the freedom to comment on a project that doesn't exist, but would have to remain contractually silent on one that does. So that's more fuel to the Project Plus fire. Just a thought.
http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-reveals-the-most-played-games-on-switch-since-launch-in-north-america/ Sonic Mania is the 15th most played Switch game in North America. Impressive for a relatively short game with no online competitive play!
Huh, dunno how I didn't hear about "Project Plus" until now. I somehow doubt it'll be anything too significant, if anything at all. The most I'd expect is quality of life changes like more proper level transitions and such. God I would love to be wrong though, the idea of anything more from this team already has my wallet opened wide and vunreable.
Thanks dude. We're left in limbo until we get hard confirmation and we can only speculate endlessly until then, but if the project does exist and Taxman/Stealth are on-board, "Plus" is likely a reference to Mega Collection Plus i.e. the last time they did a re-release under the same name with more content, so I would have thought it's an expanded version of the game so probably level transitions added and perhaps a couple more stages? Don't want to get too hyped since all we're going on is a vague leak on the Steam database, but like you, I'd kill for another version of the game. I mean, Christ imagine if Mania's re-release includes Ice Cap Zone as a new remixed stage or another original all-new stage injected in to the level order to balance out the game a little better in terms of remixed content versus new stages? Guess all we can do is dream at this point, but I'd love an excuse to buy Mania again. Sega can't be blind to Mania's insanely strong sales and critical impact. Taxman said he was having post-Mania discussions with Sega around September (in that Rolling Stone interview) so wouldn't be surprised if Sega said "expand the game so we can release it again" because they know it'd be destined to sell another couple of million units. Modern Sega is all about the money, which is both positive and negative, and they know they have a massive hit on their hands. Hope we get news soon, before the month is out.
We now return to our regularly scheduled collection of short observational videos with lower-case titles: What happens if you get hit by a firefly while on the spiral pillars. A weird bit of path that doesn't behave properly. A place where Knuckles' glide can get you killed in Studiopolis 2. A tiny gap that you can for some reason bubble bounce through. A way you can jump with about twenty times the normal jump strength. Sonic trying and failing to dance in time with the music. Even more Stardust Speedway being weird.