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Sonic Hacking Contest 2020

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Spanner, Mar 5, 2020.

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  1. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    One of my favourite episodes and they're run it into the ground. BAH.
     
  2. D.A. Garden

    D.A. Garden

    Sonic CD's Sound Test Member
    Oh, a thousand times this. On a similar note, I wrote notes for the media time to use, which included access to the level select, and I recommended showing off levels other than Emerald Hill Zone... and every streamer so far has ignored that and jumped right in to play Emerald Hill Zone from the start. Like, why am I bothering at this point, if this isn't being used or is even useful? Yes, I'll include this in my evaluation, but it's just frustrating.
     
  3. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    I have to say though while MegaGWolf didn't show everything either, his Pink Edition commentary was freaking hilarious (that impersonation is uncanny, man) and he at least managed to show the key new feature properly. That's fine for me, no problem with streamers having fun and doing a quick play through, so long as they try to actually test out the game (and yeah, at least look at the notes). I felt sorry for some submissions this year because it looked like some of the streamers just yapped about random crap for ten minutes while lazily pressing right before turning them off.
     
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2020
  4. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    Unfortunately, once again, Twitter is having issues with the sonichacking.org domain which we had fixed recently but has now been flagged once more!

    As Twitter is having issues once again (and especially during the Contest Week) we have quickly moved to doing something we were looking at doing next year.

    Provided that the DNS has refreshed where you are, you can now access the site using shc.zone - if you are linking to any entries on Twitter please use that domain!

    Both domains will work and we intend on retaining sonichacking.org to avoid people coming across old links to a broken domain or something else entirely.

    We are half-way through the Contest Week, please continue to play the entries, vote for the Community Trophies, and give us your feedback!
     
  5. Donnie Paradox

    Donnie Paradox

    Some Gai Member
    I understand the frustration. It's not that he doesn't want to. Johnny does try to demonstrate features when he can, and he has absolutely no problem doing so. I try to relay things to him when he can, but I do want people to understand the amount of chaos that goes on, and it makes communication and sharing information difficult. It's very difficult to see chat messages for one like his, and there's so many people that join him that getting a word in is difficult, even if I'm trying to read an entry page's info.

    Unfortunately, that's not where the complications end. Things can happen that you don't see coming. Like, a mod is suddenly not working, even though you got it working just last night. Or, in my case in my stream just today, I lost a lot of lives playing Forces mods and that meant I lost time. I ended up behind on schedule and had to skip a level in one Forces mod I wanted to play, but couldn't because there's other entries I need to show off. There's also things that can be out of your control. I may not be able to do a stream on Friday due to the possibility of Hurricane Zeta's remains knocking out my power tomorrow, and that could mean that 15 entries may not get streamed by me at all.

    In the case of judging, I do read the entry pages and play as much as I can. I don't get that long and detailed in my evaluations though, so I can understand why people would feel otherwise.

    In terms of streaming, it comes down to another complicated factor that streamers like Johnny and I have to deal with. There's...a lot of entries. And a bunch of them involve 3D/Mania mods that you have to go through an enabling process before you can play them. As much as I want to show off everything an entry has, it's not possible. It can eat up 30-40 minutes of a stream, which is way too much and not fair to other people that have submitted entries. I want everyone to have an opportunity to see their entries streamed.

    I've read the entry page multiple times. In fact, when I couldn't find the hidden character in my stream, I went to the entry page on-stream to see. There's nothing there that says the bonus character can be found in the options menu. In fact, your entry page says it's "hidden in each level (besides Death Egg Zone)", nothing to do with the options menu, and that the character "can enter a secret path somewhere in Mystic Cave Zone". So, because the entry page says they're found in levels, Johnny and I ended up looking around in levels to find the character, only to fail.
     
  6. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    Ah well maybe that's where the complication occurred. You see the hidden character and the "elusive creature" aren't the same things, the creature is linked to the mission mode which is stated that only the hidden character can play, not the mission mode being to find the hidden character itself (when you find out who it is it will all make sense :P). Maybe that wasn't spelled out clearly in hindsight, but still there was a screenshot specifically showing the character available in the options menu along with cheats and features connected to said menu in the media notes, and since most streamers go to the options to look for new features first anyway (largely to avoid said repetition of the same first zones they get tired of), I expected that to be something that would be eventually found, but only the default mode was tried.

    I admit that was maybe harsh of me to condemn you and Johnny like that, I was just annoyed at the time because, like I said, it meant only the same stuff from seven years ago was showcased and it looked like I hadn't tried at all, it's just with only audio to go by, I thought you had just skimmed through half a line of the article and garbled up the context. I'm sorry for the hastiness.

    I didn't realise things were that frantic which also puts the others into light. I also wish you luck concerning the potential hurricane.

    But still though guys, the Smithers grunting, don't drain a classic joke till it's no longer funny. :P
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  7. JaxTH

    JaxTH

    Pudding Deity Oldbie
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    Jack shit.
    Are anyone else's voted not showing up on other hacks pages?

    For instance, I voted on my entry for WTF, but when I go to another page, like InvisibleSun's hack my WTF pick is null. And after voting for another entry and going back to my WTF entry's page, my vote for it shows up but not the other entries I've voted for.
     
  8. Cinossu

    Cinossu

    Administrator
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    Sonic the Hedgehog Extended Edition
    Are you sure it's for the same category? There is an individual WTF trophy for Retro, 3D, and 2D PC categories this year. It's the same for all trophies this year, actually.
     
  9. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    I also want to point out regarding streamers:
    • Not everyone can show off everything, but we have multiple streamers.
    • Every streamer will want to try an entry themselves, even if they've been played by others.
    • Some streamers can't read messages from their live chat because how busy it can be.
    • If you don't provide clear instructions on accessing things, they may get missed.
    We are fortunate enough to be able to have a good amount of streamers for this event. And the vast majority of streams have gone on without much trouble. This whole week in general has been relatively stable.

    Something we may look at next year (and this has been hinted in the feedback form) is to have the oppertunity for the entry developers themselves to have some stream time to specifically play their own entries and to talk about how they developed it, anything particular they want to show off, and much more.

    Given the time constraints they would very well end up overlapping the standard media panel streams, but for those who are interested in watching them, the option may be there for them. Of course we need to work on the logistics of it all, some may want to do this, others not so much. We did used to offer time for "workshops" pertaining to hacking and modding itself, but eventually it wasn't being taken up.

    Do remember that for the very most part, the Contest Week is the only time most eyes will be on hacks and mods. It's the best time and place to showcase your stuff.

    We have added a question in the Feedback form pertaining to the Media Panel streams, so if people have any further views on what they've seen this week, please add it to this form.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2020
  10. AURORA☆FIELDS

    AURORA☆FIELDS

    The cute one here Tech Member
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    AMPS
  11. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    We are closing community trophy voting at 6:30pm GMT / 1:30pm EST. This means you just have less than two hours to get your votes in if you haven't already!
     
  12. AURORA☆FIELDS

    AURORA☆FIELDS

    The cute one here Tech Member
    216
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    AMPS
    The results show is delayed by 1 hour! The result show will be streamed on both MegaGWolf and Tails' Channel! The streams are starting at 9pm GMT / 4pm EST / 1pm PST! See you there~
     
  13. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    The Results Show has now started! The Results will be posted in a separate thread, as always.
     
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