Ok so... At the risk of this starting a trend that everybody will eventually hate (although I think it would be really good to have this for anything pre 2010). What's the best way to Play SA2 on PC? Yes we're doing an Adventure 2 version of this topic The general consensus in the SA1 thread was that if you wanted to play on PC, literally just get the steam version, then the mod installer and pick their recommended options, then experiment as you like. So you would think that SA2 has a similar mod support right? Well... it's complicated. I asked a few well know SA1/2 modders for their recommendations and if there was an equivalent to the SA1 mod loader and their response was "There is... But..." it seems that mods for SA2 are not as unified as the mods for SA1 are and some of the SA2 versions of must have mods to make the game look and play nicer tend to get abandoned before they get finished. So at the moment whilst I have the standard SA2 (steam) on my PC running, I've found the SA2 version of mod loader/manager and will likely take a look at the defaults in there. Is there a 'better' way to experience the game via PC? Or, just play the Steam version with some utterly must have mods that make it not only true to the original DC version, but also provide some modern QOL perks? Why I'm asking is for two reasons. 1: I'd like to play SA2 again to something that looks really nice and true to the original DC release. 2: I've been working on some game analysis projects and would really like to get the game looking good for future youtube vids, so the best possible experience visually is quite important for that, but obviously fixes are also a huge bonus. I know that you can at least get the PC version to look 'partially' like the DC original So what I guess I'm asking here, if I wanted to not only play the PC version and have a grand old time, but also wanted to capture footage from it for a future video project, what are must have mods? Have I missed the obvious and there is a full DC conversion? Or is it like the SA1 situation and just use the mod loader defaults? Edit: Should also say, at least for me, even if it's a case of "You're just doing to have to deal with the GC port as there's no proper DC conversion out there that looks nice", even just getting a decent or somewhat working GC experience & look at would be quite nice. Edit 2: Ok so... I'm going to use the OP as a bit of a dump for my efforts to get things running which should in theory end up being a somewhat "Idiot proof guide" to get everything up and running.
-Misc. Dreamcast Restorations -Restore SOAP ads -Restored GUN Logos -Ripple Fix -Dreamcast Lighting -Dynamic Jungle Light and Fog -No Battle Mod -Action Remap -HD GUI for SA2 -High Quality Textures -Amy Eyeliner Fix -Stache Fix -Menu Overhaul -Cutscene Revamp -Sonic Adventure 2 Retranslated Are good mods to start. You might want to check if your PC can play it though. The game is really unstable on modern operating systems so it crashes a lot. Some mods help with that but it usually falls on changing some PC settings to get it running right in the first place.
They made the port wrong, so there's a chance that the game will just hang/crash when loading the intro cutscene, due to a race condition with their multithreaded data loading.
That explains why that happens so frequently. It's annoying as hell when I have to restart the game 10 times and watch those copyright screens every time until it finally works. I'd always run searches but could never find any info. I'm guessing there's no fix?
There are things which make the bug less likely to occur, but as of yet we have not found a way to completely eliminate it. It almost never happens on my PC, but every once in a while...
In addition to what @Linkabel said above, I'd recommend playing the game with a mod that restores Knuckles' emerald tracker to the way it was in SA1 and a mod that combines the hero and dark stories into a single campaign. I really don't like vanilla SA2, but I think those mods patch up some (though not all) of the game's bigger problems.
There are some great character move mods out there for SA2. There's a better miles mod that allows you to play as Tails in a similar fashion to SA1, a Sonic New Tricks mod that let's you roll under gates with the spin dash among other things, a Knuckles New Tricks mod that mostly just enables Knuckles and Rouge to use objects common in Sonic levels like grind rails and those vines in the jungle stages. There's a Super Sonic mod to that makes Super play like you'd expect (50 rings and jump in a level, proper invincibility, able to move on the ground normally and use all of Sonic's normal moves while also being able to fly), although for some reason said mod only works with Sonic, they didn't get around to Shadow. There's also the randomizer which injects a lot of new life into both this and SA1, and someone's working on a mod that restores the Dreamcast lighting, I think they just released a demo today EDIT: here's the lighting mod I referred to. It's still in demo form so it's only compatible with a few stages https://gamebanana.com/wips/62450
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, it'll take me a bit to test out some stuff, I can't just drop everything at the moment lol. But I will eventually get around to trying out things. Would anyone find it useful if I edited the OP with a few 'lists' of suggested configurations for various things? Such as "I just want a less buggy experience", "Dreamcast experience", "I want new things to do" etc.
Hey so just going through the list and there's a couple that I can't find or I'm unsure as to if it's the right one or not.... -Misc. Dreamcast Restorations <---- Is this an actual mod or just a header/list title? -Dreamcast Lighting ---- Is that this one? It's the only lighting mod I can find and it's only 20% completed? -Action Remap ---- This it?
Ah, forgot to put them in detail but someone compiled and made a guide to get you as close to the original Dreamcast experience. And yes, that's the right action remap.
Whoa, I didn't know mods for SA2 existed. I mean, I remember the trainer which could be used to place Tails without mech in some levels - but that's it.
The modding scene just keeps getting better. Now we have a full Super Sonic mod with an optional flight mode, which was awesome to see since around that's how we are handling that for my SRB2 Adventure Sonic. As a concept, it just feels right. I haven't had the time to check it out yet though, but it looks awesome.
