[redhotsonic]

Deef, on 28 November 2012 - 01:09 PM, said:

On my HTC Desire HD, using MD.emu 1.4.26, I get the lock up as soon as a level loads, no matter what. First time I loaded the ROM, every time I load the ROM.

Ditto, on my Xperia S. I believe it's an SRAM problem because when I take the cheat system out and the SRAM protector, it then works =P


All I know is that it works perfectly on Kega and seems good with Gens too (on the PC obviously)


EDIT: New page, so thought I'd add downloads here in case anyone misses it. Original post and full details here.

DOWNLOAD

The game was last updated on 25th November 2012.


Anyway, here is the ROM (compressed to ZIP or RAR, your choice).

For ZIP file, click here
For RAR file, click here
For BIN file, click here


Fixed bugs in recent download:

25th November 2012

• You could still do replays if you committed the 10-second penalty with Tails. It will now never record the replay if you commit the penalty.
  
• Super Sonic art glitch fixed
  
• When check-point mode was on, if you entered CNZ1/2, it would turn Check-point mode off, due to the CNZ slots. This has now been fixed.

This post has been edited by redhotsonic: 28 November 2012 - 03:22 PM

[TimpZ]

I think I broke your game...

You can see all my gameplay here:
http://www.twitch.tv...t91/b/343990019

Basically I got a crush death while I had invincibility and then the game just crashed itself any time I entered a level. It occurred about an hour in into the video. Also Gens11 totally bypasses most if not all the fixes you tried to implement like savestating and (perhaps) TASing.

General thoughts:
It's a really cool idea but I have some issues with it. First of all you seem to have randomly fixed some glitches and not others. I could still do Chemical Plant and Hill Top normally for example but not screenwrap in Metro. Funnily enough there's still a couple glitches I could do in metro and I'm not sure if you missed them or couldn't fix them but the thing you did to prevent level wraps was pretty cheap ;p. I don't agree with you that glitches are cheats because I consider them fair game, it's not a gameshark - anyone with a copy can do it, but I also think there's a very fine thread you're stepping on for what should be considered a glitch and what shouldn't. E.g. CN2 boss where you reduced his stun period and make you bounce on him on the first hit - I'm pretty sure that's intentional to make it harder to bounce on him (though I haven't looked at the code so I guess I can't say that surely).

The beeping sound if you're close to your record has to be at least optional. Whenever I play Emerald Hill 1 or Chemical plant 1 I get the beeping sound for half the level and it's really disturbing.

I think it's cool that you added a centisecond timer but I don't like the way you implemented it. Adding 1 centisecond for 3 frames or something then add like 5 centiseconds kind of defeats the purpouse even though I know it's an approximation.

It's way too easy to permanently break your game just because you're trying something out. It shouldn't happen at all imo, soft locking it should be enough.

You moved a badnik in EH2 for some reason... It feels so weird. It doesn't really affect the gameplay but still.

Also I didn't try out the soft locks on OO Boss or Silver Sonic glitch but did you fix them?

The platforms in WF are still timed by power-on. Please fix that .

There should definitely at least exist Sonic alone and super sonic modes, but a seperate category? There was a discussion about this on TSC and the consensus was that there's not really a point since it only really matters in like 1 or 2 stages or on some of the bossfights and then only by a few seconds. The problem is obviously collecting the rings so I question the wisdom in creating a separate board where 90% of the times would be identical if optimised.

(If I'm wrong, which is very possible since the game permanently soft locked on me twice in an hour and I didn't really feel like downloading a 3rd copy to try super sonic out, then the super category would only save as super if you go super in the stage at least once and then those 90% would consist of collecting 50 rings as well as beating the level. Might not be too bad but then you could just add a "collect 100 rings" category instead or something).


I had more comments but all of those are in the video. I think you should watch it.




Btw you wanted us to post our times here? Here's what I got after that hour of gameplay before I broke it.

http://imgur.com/c98qu

This post has been edited by TimpZ: 29 November 2012 - 06:46 PM

[saxman]

Nicely done! It's clean and looks very professional. This is a well-done modification =)

[redhotsonic]

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

I think I broke your game...

You can see all my gameplay here:
http://www.twitch.tv...t91/b/343990019

Basically I got a crush death while I had invincibility and then the game just crashed itself any time I entered a level. It occurred about an hour in into the video.

I quickly watched the video where you got crushed in EHZ2 (will watch the whole video after work, on lunch-break at moment). That's weird. But why soft-reset? Why not Hard-reset (press the TAB button on Kega to Hard-Reset)?

When you soft reset, the RAMS do not reset themselves. All the "CheatRAMS" are still ticked, therefore, as soon as a level starts, game locks up. If you "Hard-reset", all the RAMs clear themselves. So when you next start a level, game should be fine (because the CheatRAMS are now clear).


Load your original game with your original SRAM (the one with all your times) and it should be fine.


I tried getting crushed here several times in both Kega and Regen and no lock-up. Maybe it was a one-off. If you managed to make it freeze again, can you take a screenshot and fill in this form?

RAM address $FFFFFEDC ($XXXX word-length) =
Check-point mode (on/off) =
Level and Act number (XXZ1/XXZ2) = 

This will be very useful for me debugging the issue.

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Also Gens11 totally bypasses most if not all the fixes you tried to implement like savestating and (perhaps) TASing.

I know why it bypasses the savestate denial system on GENS, unfortunately, there is NO fix for it, due to how that emulator works. I don't want to explain why either, otherwise people would get the jist on how the savestate denial system works and bypass it on other emulators.

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

General thoughts:
It's a really cool idea but I have some issues with it. First of all you seem to have randomly fixed some glitches and not others. I could still do Chemical Plant and Hill Top normally for example but not screenwrap in Metro. Funnily enough there's still a couple glitches I could do in metro and I'm not sure if you missed them or couldn't fix them but the thing you did to prevent level wraps was pretty cheap ;p.

I know the platform-through-lava glitch still there and am unsure how to fix at this moment in time (especially as I was in a rush to release for Sonic 2's birthday). I also may of fixed some glitches but not others due to me not knowing the glitches? Any you spot and mention would be greatly appreciated.

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

I don't agree with you that glitches are cheats because I consider them fair game, it's not a gameshark - anyone with a copy can do it, but I also think there's a very fine thread you're stepping on for what should be considered a glitch and what shouldn't. E.g. CN2 boss where you reduced his stun period and make you bounce on him on the first hit - I'm pretty sure that's intentional to make it harder to bounce on him (though I haven't looked at the code so I guess I can't say that surely).

I can assure you I haven't touched CNZ boss's stunner in any way. He's the exact same in the original Sonic 2 with the exception of this bug.

Plus, I wanted to remove these cheating glitches because not everyone is aware of them. If everyone knew for example the MTZ platform-lava glitch, I wouldn't bother fixing it. But if only half of you knew and the other half didn't, it's a bit unfair that the people who know can take a big chunk out of their time, whereas others who aren't aware, can't. Seeming as you're not technically meant to do that, it is a glitch. Can you see where I am coming from?

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

The beeping sound if you're close to your record has to be at least optional. Whenever I play Emerald Hill 1 or Chemical plant 1 I get the beeping sound for half the level and it's really disturbing.

Fair comment. How about I take the bleeping out for when you have the “Kill me” option off? As it doesn't matter too much if you fail to beat your time in that option. But I will leave it on when “Kill me” is set on as it is meant to make you rush to the end and get your heart going (in a Sonic game, I know lol).

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

I think it's cool that you added a centisecond timer but I don't like the way you implemented it. Adding 1 centisecond for 3 frames or something then add like 5 centiseconds kind of defeats the purpouse even though I know it's an approximation.

The way it's implemented it's so it can hit every digit. And it doesn't always add 5 centiseconds (5 is the max, sometimes 4 and occasionally 3, mostly 1, never 2), but it's the best I could get it to make it look good when in normal speed. Most people who have centiseconds in their game will have their last digit go something like; 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9… so it will never ever go on 1, 4, 7, 8. I've made it so mine doesn't do that and that when people share their times, it will look better.

But rest assured, the code or numbers are not random. So there's no such thing as un-fair times. Like for example, if you make a replay that shows 0'25”33 then share it with someone else, it will always be 0'25”33, no matter how many times you play it. So do not worry, the centiseconds works perfectly well and is totally fair.

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

It's way too easy to permanently break your game just because you're trying something out. It shouldn't happen at all imo, soft locking it should be enough.

Only editing the SRAM will delete your times. Cheating through a level will lock the game. When the game locks up, please “Hard-Reset”. YOUR TIMES WILL REMAIN UNAFFECTED! The game doesn't permanently break. Soft-resetting means all cheat rams are still ticked and the game won't work until you've hard-resetted (or turned the game off and on).

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

You moved a badnik in EH2 for some reason... It feels so weird. It doesn't really affect the gameplay but still.

? I haven't touched the level layout in any level except for WFZ's ending a tiny bit. Which badnik?

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Also I didn't try out the soft locks on OO Boss or Silver Sonic glitch but did you fix them?

I'm sorry, I do not understand about the OOZ boss. Silver Sonic, do you mean the glitch where on the last hit, he suddenly vanishes and you can't move on? If so, no, I haven't found a fix yet. A similar bug happens in the ARZ boss too (not fixed).

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

The platforms in WF are still timed by power-on. Please fix that .

I'm sorry, I do not understand.

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

There should definitely at least exist Sonic alone and super sonic modes, but a seperate category? There was a discussion about this on TSC and the consensus was that there's not really a point since it only really matters in like 1 or 2 stages or on some of the bossfights and then only by a few seconds. The problem is obviously collecting the rings so I question the wisdom in creating a separate board where 90% of the times would be identical if optimised.

(If I'm wrong, which is very possible since the game permanently soft locked on me twice in an hour and I didn't really feel like downloading a 3rd copy to try super sonic out, then the super category would only save as super if you go super in the stage at least once and then those 90% would consist of collecting 50 rings as well as beating the level. Might not be too bad but then you could just add a "collect 100 rings" category instead or something).

This I have thought about but in the end, it was best decided the way it is already. Making it auto-Supermode when you turn Super Sonic would be good, but then you might not want to turn super then when you have 50 rings, you've got to try not to jump (or vice-versa). It doesn't matter too much because anyone who's good at Sonic could collect 50 rings pretty quick without trying. Or have I missed your point entirely?

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

I had more comments but all of those are in the video. I think you should watch it.

Will watch all of it later tonight

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

Btw you wanted us to post our times here? Here's what I got after that hour of gameplay before I broke it.

http://imgur.com/c98qu

Nice.




Anyway, thank you very much for this, it's nice to get some feedback. There's bound to be bugs and glitches on first play, but when people start playing it, they find the bugs, you tell me, I fix, and then it will become perfect.



Cheers,
redhotsonic

This post has been edited by redhotsonic: 30 November 2012 - 10:57 AM

[redhotsonic]

UPDATE!

TimpZ, you'll like many of these =P



DOWNLOAD

The game was last updated on 30th November 2012.


Anyway, here is the ROM (compressed to ZIP or RAR, your choice).

For ZIP file, click here
For RAR file, click here
For BIN file, click here


Fixed bugs in recent download:

30th November 2012

• There was a bug. With checkpoint mode on, if you hit a checkpoint then die, the game would lock up. Fixed. (TimpZ, this is what caused the crushed bug in EHZ2).
  
• It is now possible to soft-reset the game, so that way, you won't think you've "broken" the ROM. A Hard-reset is still preferable.
  
• The door in CPZ2 is now fixed. It will no longer open for Tails (unless you have control of him). This means you can't cheat at the beginning of CPZ2.
  
• The platform-through-lava glitch in MTZ and HTZ has now been fixed.
  
• You can now collect your fallen rings when in the lava in MTZ and HTZ.
  
• A change to recording replays with Check-point mode. If you die in checkpoint mode after hitting a check-point, replays will not record. If you don't die with checkpoint mode, it will. You must still finish the level though.
  
• Savestate denial system slightly edited.
  
• A few code changes here and there

AFTER DOWNLOADING THIS, YOUR SAVED TIMES SHOULD REMAIN UNAFFECTED. PLEASE TELL ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU LOSE THEM


TimpZ, the MCZ1 gap that was in your video, I won't bother fixing. And those stompers in MTZ, I'm not sure where to start on fixing that. Good spotting though.



Anyway people, I will post some of my times later on! Come on! Share your times by pictures now! And get them replays in! That's an order!

This post has been edited by redhotsonic: 30 November 2012 - 05:01 PM

[TimpZ]

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

I quickly watched the video where you got crushed in EHZ2 (will watch the whole video after work, on lunch-break at moment). That's weird. But why soft-reset? Why not Hard-reset (press the TAB button on Kega to Hard-Reset)?

When you soft reset, the RAMS do not reset themselves. All the "CheatRAMS" are still ticked, therefore, as soon as a level starts, game locks up. If you "Hard-reset", all the RAMs clear themselves. So when you next start a level, game should be fine (because the CheatRAMS are now clear).


Load your original game with your original SRAM (the one with all your times) and it should be fine.


I tried getting crushed here several times in both Kega and Regen and no lock-up. Maybe it was a one-off. If you managed to make it freeze again, can you take a screenshot and fill in this form?

You're right, hard resetting fixed it and I didn't replicate the glitch by doing the same thing so I don't really know what to how it happened...

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

I know the platform-through-lava glitch still there and am unsure how to fix at this moment in time (especially as I was in a rush to release for Sonic 2's birthday). I also may of fixed some glitches but not others due to me not knowing the glitches? Any you spot and mention would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.twitch.tv...mat91/c/1706706

In this video I cover most of the speedrunning glitches in S2 so you might want to check it out. Otherwise just watch the 1 hour long vid I posted earlier.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

I can assure you I haven't touched CNZ boss's stunner in any way. He's the exact same in the original Sonic 2 with the exception of this bug.

Plus, I wanted to remove these cheating glitches because not everyone is aware of them. If everyone knew for example the MTZ platform-lava glitch, I wouldn't bother fixing it. But if only half of you knew and the other half didn't, it's a bit unfair that the people who know can take a big chunk out of their time, whereas others who aren't aware, can't. Seeming as you're not technically meant to do that, it is a glitch. Can you see where I am coming from?

It's not a glitch if it's intended. HDL elaborates further on this in his glitchless definition for sonic 3 which you can read here

Like I said, I don't think that which you posted really is a bug, it's an intended solution for preventing you from just bouncing on the boss in a really easy manner. After reading the tutorial you posted I'm even more convinced. I know arguing "intended" solution when discussing glitches is pretty redundant but it's unavoidable since it defines what a glitch really is. I'm just arguing that just because the boss doesn't work the way you might want it to that doesn't mean that it shouldn't if you want to have a hack that doesn't alter actual gameplay as much as possible.

"Remove these cheating glitches"... Like I said, cheats aren't glitches, it's not gameshark codes. It's abusing the games code in way that the developers might not've intended. You argue that it's unfair that some players might not know a certain glitch while you at the same time want to incorporate sharing of strats through internet and the possibility of watching others PB's. The only glitches you need to know are the ones I posted in the last video and they took me an hour or two to learn consistently and there's probably hundreds of videos showing them if you type "sonic 2 speedrun" into google. It's just like knowing what route to take - you might not know which route is the fastest but that doesn't mean that it isn't legal to use it (if you understand where I'm coming from).

That said, If you want to have a hack that doesn't allow glitching then that's fine and it'd be interesting to see the strats that some might come up for the fastest routes. But not for the reasons you mention imo.

Regarding the CN boss, I was wrong about you bouncing on him immediately so disregard that.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

Fair comment. How about I take the bleeping out for when you have the “Kill me” option off? As it doesn't matter too much if you fail to beat your time in that option. But I will leave it on when “Kill me” is set on as it is meant to make you rush to the end and get your heart going (in a Sonic game, I know lol).

That'd be fine I guess, but more options and customisation is always nice.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

The way it's implemented it's so it can hit every digit. And it doesn't always add 5 centiseconds (5 is the max, sometimes 4 and occasionally 3, mostly 1, never 2), but it's the best I could get it to make it look good when in normal speed. Most people who have centiseconds in their game will have their last digit go something like; 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 0, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9… so it will never ever go on 1, 4, 7, 8. I've made it so mine doesn't do that and that when people share their times, it will look better.

But rest assured, the code or numbers are not random. So there's no such thing as un-fair times. Like for example, if you make a replay that shows 0'25”33 then share it with someone else, it will always be 0'25”33, no matter how many times you play it. So do not worry, the centiseconds works perfectly well and is totally fair.

Fair, perhaps, but I question the accuracy. One frame in a 60 FPS game is about 16.67ms and that would give the following time sequences for the centiseconds:

(approximates)
00
02
03
05
07
08
...

or (rounded down like sonic 1, 2, 3 &K):
00
01
03
05
06
08
...


However your hack gave me these times:

00
02
03
04
05
06
11
12
...

Also one replay I watched got 0.1 seconds slower that my PB which would correspond to idk maybe 7 frames?

You might not think it's all that of a big issue but I'm pretty convinced there's a calculation error somewhere that increases the time you get. E.g. I can usually get a 20s flat on EH1 every 2-3 tries on console but in your hack I can't sub 21:50 for the life of me. I realise it's harder on emu for me but looking at the data I took above I think I'm on to something. Going from 0:00.00 and adding 60 frames I should get exactly 1 second but instead I got 0:01.03

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

Only editing the SRAM will delete your times. Cheating through a level will lock the game. When the game locks up, please “Hard-Reset”. YOUR TIMES WILL REMAIN UNAFFECTED! The game doesn't permanently break. Soft-resetting means all cheat rams are still ticked and the game won't work until you've hard-resetted (or turned the game off and on).

You're right, hard resetting worked.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

? I haven't touched the level layout in any level except for WFZ's ending a tiny bit. Which badnik?

I double checked and it seems like it was just because I played on an emulator that it felt different because of the different screen size and spindash speed from me being bad at using a 360 controller so don't mind that lol.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

I'm sorry, I do not understand about the OOZ boss. Silver Sonic, do you mean the glitch where on the last hit, he suddenly vanishes and you can't move on? If so, no, I haven't found a fix yet. A similar bug happens in the ARZ boss too (not fixed).

Regarding OO boss, there's a glitch that will softlock the game if you kill him on the last frame before his hitbox goes offscreen. The game completely freeze but the music keeps playing.

Yes that's what I mean with the Silver Sonic glitch. I didn't know you could soflock it the same way in AR though. I have gotten the glitch where the explosions turn into animals on both of them though if you fixed those.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

TimpZ, on 29 November 2012 - 06:12 PM, said:

The platforms in WF are still timed by power-on. Please fix that .

I'm sorry, I do not understand.

The cycle of the platforms right here are timed by the time you power on the console which means that which time they're out or not is essentially random. If you could change them to be stage-timed then that'd be awesome.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

This I have thought about but in the end, it was best decided the way it is already. Making it auto-Supermode when you turn Super Sonic would be good, but then you might not want to turn super then when you have 50 rings, you've got to try not to jump (or vice-versa). It doesn't matter too much because anyone who's good at Sonic could collect 50 rings pretty quick without trying. Or have I missed your point entirely?

Yes you did. If I did a time attack on EH1 as normal sonic perfectly I might get lets say 0:19.40 . If I did the same stage for the super sonic board equally perfect then I'd get 0:19.40 because there's not enough rings in the way for me to collect 50 nor would it be worth it anywhere timewise to transform. This situation is the same for almost all the levels in the game. You can read a thread about this issue here and although it's mainly about S3&K there's still some S2 and general discussion about it.
¨

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

thank you very much for this, it's nice to get some feedback. There's bound to be bugs and glitches on first play, but when people start playing it, they find the bugs, you tell me, I fix, and then it will become perfect.

You're welcome

This post has been edited by TimpZ: 30 November 2012 - 05:49 PM

[redhotsonic]

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

I know the platform-through-lava glitch still there and am unsure how to fix at this moment in time (especially as I was in a rush to release for Sonic 2's birthday). I also may of fixed some glitches but not others due to me not knowing the glitches? Any you spot and mention would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.twitch.tv...mat91/c/1706706

In this video I cover most of the speedrunning glitches in S2 so you might want to check it out. Otherwise just watch the 1 hour long vid I posted earlier.

Watched your over-hour video! The latest update fixes many of these. Thanks for the video as it was very useful. The Sonic 2 video I will check out tomorrow as it's late and I'm knackered =P

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

"Remove these cheating glitches"... Like I said, cheats aren't glitches, it's not gameshark codes. It's abusing the games code in way that the developers might not've intended. You argue that it's unfair that some players might not know a certain glitch while you at the same time want to incorporate sharing of strats through internet and the possibility of watching others PB's. The only glitches you need to know are the ones I posted in the last video and they took me an hour or two to learn consistently and there's probably hundreds of videos showing them if you type "sonic 2 speedrun" into google. It's just like knowing what route to take - you might not know which route is the fastest but that doesn't mean that it isn't legal to use it (if you understand where I'm coming from).

I'm sorry, but I just do not agree. I want the game to be played as intended so everything is fair and square. I will read that document tomorrow though as it does look like a good read. I also think you mis-understand the "Cheat-system" (see later in this post for explanation).

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

Fair, perhaps, but I question the accuracy. One frame in a 60 FPS game is about 16.67ms and that would give the following time sequences for the centiseconds:

*a bunch of numbers*


Also one replay I watched got 0.1 seconds slower that my PB which would correspond to idk maybe 7 frames?

If you read my first post, replays are not in sync. If you move immediately after a level starting, then at best, the replay will be 1 frame behind; which explains why your replay was .01 behind. The replays are a WIP and I am trying my hardest to find a fix for it. The centiseconds itself, I can promise you, is fine. I can prove it. Load up MTZ3, and hold right when the level is loading. Once loaded, Sonic will start running right and straight into a badnik. When Sonic dies, the timer will be 0'02"14. It will always be this time. Try it as many times as you want.

If there are more complaints from anyone else about the centiseconds, then I will look into improving it.

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

Regarding OO boss, there's a glitch that will softlock the game if you kill him on the last frame before his hitbox goes offscreen. The game completely freeze but the music keeps playing.

I wasn't aware of this. Thanks for the tip.

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

The cycle of the platforms right here are timed by the time you power on the console which means that which time they're out or not is essentially random. If you could change them to be stage-timed then that'd be awesome.

I wasn't aware of this either. Never spotted it. Not sure if it's a huge thing though. Will consider it. Thanks for the tip.

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

Yes you did. If I did a time attack on EH1 as normal sonic perfectly I might get lets say 0:19.40 . If I did the same stage for the super sonic board equally perfect then I'd get 0:19.40 because there's not enough rings in the way for me to collect 50 nor would it be worth it anywhere timewise to transform. This situation is the same for almost all the levels in the game. You can read a thread about this issue here and although it's mainly about S3&K there's still some S2 and general discussion about it.

I can see your point, and I understand. But, *shrugs* I don't know. I will sleep on it as I can't think straight at the moment (tired and had a few).




I also think you've do not understand what I mean by this cheat system. The cheat system is mainly for the emulators sake. I don't want to give too much away in case someone tries to be a bastard and gets around it. But here is an example. Sonic_top_speed RAM value changes when you get speedboots. It obviously gets higher, then goes back to normal once worn off. If someone thinks "you know what? I'll change that RAM value to $1000 and Sonic will go awesomely fast!", then once he changes that value, the game will instantly lock-up. Because he tried to cheat. A Hard-reset will then make the game play-able again.




My times so far, more to come tomorrow.




And here are two new replay files! Make sure you're on level select. Load the RAM data into $FFFFF100. Then go to EHZ1, hold A, B and C, and watch my Normal replay!

Normal Sonic Replay on Emerald Hill Zone act 1 at 0'22"76


Then afterwards, go to options and select Super Sonic mode. Load the next RAM data into $FFFFF100. Then go to EHZ1, hold A, B and C, and watch my Super replay!

Super Sonic Replay on Emerald Hill Zone act 1 at 0'22"59



Now, can you show you're better with a replay?

[RGamer2009]

I try to use this hack, and it never saves my times. Using Kega Fusion 3.64.

After I shutdown the emulator, the times are lost and I have to do them over again.

You say I can't use save states on this hack, so how do I keep the times? Am I doing something wrong?

[TimpZ]

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

If you read my first post, replays are not in sync. If you move immediately after a level starting, then at best, the replay will be 1 frame behind; which explains why your replay was .01 behind. The replays are a WIP and I am trying my hardest to find a fix for it. The centiseconds itself, I can promise you, is fine. I can prove it. Load up MTZ3, and hold right when the level is loading. Once loaded, Sonic will start running right and straight into a badnik. When Sonic dies, the timer will be 0'02"14. It will always be this time. Try it as many times as you want.

If there are more complaints from anyone else about the centiseconds, then I will look into improving it.

no, my replay was at 0:21.60 when my PB was 0:21.50 so it was 10 centiseconds behind, 0.1 seconds, which is a whole bunch of frames. I did a couple tests with your timer and I got this:

I start EH1 at frame 727 and I finish it at 4073. Looking at the amount of frames I should get a time of 0:55.77 but the level timer says 0:55.73

So I guess it actually is pretty accurate after all. But the big jumps that occurrs sometimes between frames will jumble the numbers and give you a weird time. Like you said it's fair because anyone getting the same frame count will have the same time, but the accuracy is only reliable down to the decisecond and not centisecond. That's my complaint and nothing else.

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

TimpZ, on 30 November 2012 - 05:35 PM, said:

The cycle of the platforms right here are timed by the time you power on the console which means that which time they're out or not is essentially random. If you could change them to be stage-timed then that'd be awesome.

I wasn't aware of this either. Never spotted it. Not sure if it's a huge thing though. Will consider it. Thanks for the tip.

It is a big deal. It introduces a randomness factor to the stage so that you'd have to reset 8/10 times or something because the platforms are in the wrong position if you want a good time. It's like having a door just in front of the goal that opens and closes at random times - it has no place in a TA game.






There's also a bit of a problem with what youur new update - you can import the times from previous versions with it. So if I used a glitch that you later fixed then I can import the time from an earlier version and thus bypass it. I guess you could fix that by not allowing importing times in the later online versions but just so you don't forget about it .

[redhotsonic]

RGamer2009, on 30 November 2012 - 10:33 PM, said:

I try to use this hack, and it never saves my times. Using Kega Fusion 3.64.

After I shutdown the emulator, the times are lost and I have to do them over again.

You say I can't use save states on this hack, so how do I keep the times? Am I doing something wrong?

Make sure you have SRAM enabled in Kega. Go to options > Set Config... > Genesis (tab)



Make sure "Disable SRAM" is NOT checked, and pick a certain path where you want Kega to save/load all your SRAM files to in the "SRM Files" text box. The times should then save.

TimpZ, on 01 December 2012 - 05:07 AM, said:

redhotsonic, on 30 November 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

If you read my first post, replays are not in sync. If you move immediately after a level starting, then at best, the replay will be 1 frame behind; which explains why your replay was .01 behind. The replays are a WIP and I am trying my hardest to find a fix for it. The centiseconds itself, I can promise you, is fine. I can prove it. Load up MTZ3, and hold right when the level is loading. Once loaded, Sonic will start running right and straight into a badnik. When Sonic dies, the timer will be 0'02"14. It will always be this time. Try it as many times as you want.

If there are more complaints from anyone else about the centiseconds, then I will look into improving it.

no, my replay was at 0:21.60 when my PB was 0:21.50 so it was 10 centiseconds behind, 0.1 seconds, which is a whole bunch of frames. I did a couple tests with your timer and I got this:

I start EH1 at frame 727 and I finish it at 4073. Looking at the amount of frames I should get a time of 0:55.77 but the level timer says 0:55.73

That's the replay being laame. If you move immediately at the start of the recording, the replay is 1 frame behind. If you do not move immediately (even a half a second delay would cause this), then the replay could be either several frames behind, or even several frames in front). Until I get that replay fixed, this will always happen.

Want a laugh? Set a replay (with moving straight away) so the replay is 1 frame behind. Make sure "Kill me" in on.



Oh dear =P

TimpZ, on 01 December 2012 - 05:07 AM, said:

It introduces a randomness factor to the stage so that you'd have to reset 8/10 times or something because the platforms are in the wrong position if you want a good time. It's like having a door just in front of the goal that opens and closes at random times - it has no place in a TA game.

Looked into the code, you are right. I'll sort it for the next update.

TimpZ, on 01 December 2012 - 05:07 AM, said:

There's also a bit of a problem with what youur new update - you can import the times from previous versions with it. So if I used a glitch that you later fixed then I can import the time from an earlier version and thus bypass it. I guess you could fix that by not allowing importing times in the later online versions but just so you don't forget about it .

It was either let everyone port their times over so everyone is happy, or make everyone start again and piss most of them off =P

When the online mode is ready, you will be forced to start again.

[KingofHarts]

I've started a wiki page for this hack. Its EXTREMELY EARLY but at least something is there for now... I'll continue it later on.
Here is the link for what I've got together thus far. S2TA hack page.

[redhotsonic]

Nice, it's looking good! It's good to have this on the SCHG as the hack will be more noticeable and may encourage more people to play it.

[MainMemory]

The SCHG is the part of the wiki that deals with hacking guides, not the part that deals with hacks.

[redhotsonic]

Habit, I call it all SCHG. I meant retro-wiki. I should stop that =P

[KingofHarts]

Well, in either case... I have finished the wiki page and it should be up to par now (though I may include a screenshot or two later).
So, yea... check out the new page, same URL as before: here!