[360]

Retroman, on 16 May 2015 - 09:33 PM, said:

Sonic: eXtremely Good!

The amount of uplifting nostalgia I got out of it the first time playing it can be described as heart warming.

Especially love the Eggman Level, which I played in Sonic Nexus, again is extremely nostalgic and can't wait to play it.

Excited for the game too! Do you mean Egg Garden Zone? The one with the lovely music and statues of Eggman in a green-purple environment? As far as I remember that was the level featured in the Retro Sonic demo back in day developed by Taxman back when he was still producing fangames. Taxman noted a few pages back he sent some graphical assets to Nitemare so presumably (in the chaos of all these game mergers over the years) Egg Garden is a remnant of both Retro Sonic and Retro Sonic XG so is back in the game but this time running on the MMF engine instead of Taxman's Retro one. Man this is all so confusing! Confusing in a good way because Sonic XG essentially represents the synthesis of the best Sonic fangames released over the years in to one super fantastic game.

I'm going to support this game however best I can. I was thinking of maybe asking Nitemare for some screenshots and posting a thread on NeoGAF to give him some attention. Not doing that without his approval though (and I'm kind of hesitant to do that in a way; Sega is usually pretty flexible when it comes to Sonic fangames never having actually ever shut one down; but then you look at the Streets of Rage remake getting the legal hammer meaning anything could happen). A thought just occurred to me. The Streets of Rage remake was specifically shut down by Sega because they added a Paypal donation button to their page. Effectively they asked for money and that forced Sega's hand. On that note Nitemare might want to be careful here. The game could get the brunt of Sega's legal department because of the GoFundMe page.

Might forget the thread on NeoGAF actually. It might be better to keep this off Sega's radar. Just a little worried because of what happened to the Streets of Rage remake.

[Retroman]

360, on 16 May 2015 - 10:20 PM, said:

Retroman, on 16 May 2015 - 09:33 PM, said:

Sonic: eXtremely Good!

The amount of uplifting nostalgia I got out of it the first time playing it can be described as heart warming.

Especially love the Eggman Level, which I played in Sonic Nexus, again is extremely nostalgic and can't wait to play it.

Excited for the game too! Do you mean Egg Garden Zone? The one with the lovely music and statues of Eggman in a green-purple environment? As far as I remember that was the level featured in the Retro Sonic demo back in day developed by Taxman back when he was still producing fangames. Taxman noted a few pages back he sent some graphical assets to Nitemare so presumably (in the chaos of all these game mergers over the years) Egg Garden is a remnant of both Retro Sonic and Retro Sonic XG so is back in the game but this time running on the MMF engine instead of Taxman's Retro one. Man this is all so confusing! Confusing in a good way because Sonic XG essentially represents the synthesis of the best Sonic fangames released over the years in to one super fantastic game.

I'm going to support this game however best I can. I was thinking of maybe asking Nitemare for some screenshots and posting a thread on NeoGAF to give him some attention. Not doing that without his approval though (and I'm kind of hesitant to do that in a way; Sega is usually pretty flexible when it comes to Sonic fangames never having actually ever shut one down; but then you look at the Streets of Rage remake getting the legal hammer meaning anything could happen). A thought just occurred to me. The Streets of Rage remake was specifically shut down by Sega because they added a Paypal donation button to their page. Effectively they asked for money and that forced Sega's hand. On that note Nitemare might want to be careful here. The game could get the brunt of Sega's legal department because of the GoFundMe page.

Might forget the thread on NeoGAF actually. It might be better to keep this off Sega's radar. Just a little worried because of what happened to the Streets of Rage remake.

Yeah, that's the one. It was the Retro Sonic demo by Taxman, and man it was awesome />/>/>/>/>/> First time playing it, blew my mind.

Shame what happened to Streets of Rage remake though.

About him funding. Looking to the funding page, It's actually to get Multimedia Fusion 2.5, iOS exporter and Android exporter and not for money in his pocket/money for the Sonic games.
And if Sega complains, he could show the receipt that all money had gone into getting these tools for fan-gaming purposes, though I hope SEGA doesn't misinterpret this and assume he's stealing the trademark.

Speaking of recreated Sonic 2 Beta levels, that'll be awesome if there's a rock zone. Prehistoric, some foliage as art, some caves you can enter with indoor areas that are dark with light. That'll be a great place for the dinosaur robots originally found in Hidden Palace Zone , and maybe monkey bots that throw clubs, Armadillo bots, Beetle-type bot that gathers dirt and throws it - much like the beetles from Bugs Life, the pink dino from Hill Top Zone in lava and as a miniboss (More weaponized version that flies and shoots missiles and lazer beams out of it's eyes), Bat bots from Mystic Cave Zone - for underground passage, bird bots and that's pretty much it. The boss can be Eggman riding an Onyx-type robot that can curl up and spin mid-air, which summons rocks and he can be stunned with water, since there's a puddle of water in the boss area.


Something like this, but grey stone color and background having jungle, volcanoes, and hill mountains with a waterfall. This picture is from Sonic Lost Worlds hack:


I'd love to help him with this, even though it's been too long since I picked up Multimedia Fusion 2.

This post has been edited by Retroman: 17 May 2015 - 12:33 AM

[Icewarrior]

Retroman, on 16 May 2015 - 09:33 PM, said:

Sonic: eXtremely Good!

The amount of uplifting nostalgia I got out of it the first time playing it can be described as heart warming.

Especially love the Eggman Level, which I played in Sonic Nexus, again is extremely nostalgic and can't wait to play it.

Hmm, wasn't the Eggman level in Retro Sonic by Taxman?
Sonic Nexus only had Sunset Shores, Cosmic Chaos and Pristine Palisade.

[Dark Sonic]

Icewarrior, on 17 May 2015 - 09:05 AM, said:

Retroman, on 16 May 2015 - 09:33 PM, said:

Sonic: eXtremely Good!

The amount of uplifting nostalgia I got out of it the first time playing it can be described as heart warming.

Especially love the Eggman Level, which I played in Sonic Nexus, again is extremely nostalgic and can't wait to play it.

Hmm, wasn't the Eggman level in Retro Sonic by Taxman?
Sonic Nexus only had Sunset Shores, Cosmic Chaos and Pristine Palisade.

Ya Egg Garden was in Retro Sonic.

Although both Nexus and Retro I believed folded into XG at some point. I'm glad they were all combined into a finished product though, it would have been a shame to lose some of the older gems.

[W.A.C.]

I'll be honest, I think his GoFund me account is a really bad idea. Sure, it's for buying stuff for future projects, but he slapped on a bunch of Sonic XG stuff all over the page. If someone at Sega found this, it could be a disaster. I would not share this anywhere.

This post has been edited by W.A.C.: 17 May 2015 - 11:21 AM

[Icewarrior]

360, on 16 May 2015 - 10:20 PM, said:

A thought just occurred to me. The Streets of Rage remake was specifically shut down by Sega because they added a Paypal donation button to their page. Effectively they asked for money and that forced Sega's hand. On that note Nitemare might want to be careful here. The game could get the brunt of Sega's legal department because of the GoFundMe page.

Might forget the thread on NeoGAF actually. It might be better to keep this off Sega's radar. Just a little worried because of what happened to the Streets of Rage remake.

Yes, the paypal button on the download page of Streets of Rage Remake was specifically for the site hosting cost. However it's only a mere assumption that that's what drove SEGA to shut down the fangame, there could another factor or many ones.

However yes, why it's cool to have updates on Sonix XG, putting them on a GoFundMe page might not be a good idea still.

[W.A.C.]

He should be putting those updates somewhere else and try to minimize talk about the fangame on GoFundMe as much as he can without wrecking his message. Last thing the Sonic fangaming scene needs is a developer getting a C&D because of a GoFundMe page.

This post has been edited by W.A.C.: 17 May 2015 - 09:02 PM

[360]

Icewarrior, on 17 May 2015 - 02:04 PM, said:

Yes, the paypal button on the download page of Streets of Rage Remake was specifically for the site hosting cost. However it's only a mere assumption that that's what drove SEGA to shut down the fangame, there could another factor or many ones.

However yes, why it's cool to have updates on Sonix XG, putting them on a GoFundMe page might not be a good idea still.

There was a thread on NeoGAF about it. One of the users contacted Bombergames' lead developer and was told that the C&D was specifically because they asked for donations. Site hosting costs or not they asked for money in return for developing the game which crosses legal ground that Sega couldn't legally ignore. Hence the C&D. NeoGAF could be incorrect of course but I'd say that's highly unlikely. The guy on there sounded honest and legit. It also makes complete sense as Sega usually leaves fangames alone.

You wrote a good post but from what I've read it's not an assumption. Asking for donations caused the C&D.

W.A.C., on 17 May 2015 - 06:14 PM, said:

He should be putting those updates somewhere else and try to minimize talk about the fangame on GoFundMe as much as he can without wrecking his message. Last thing the fangaming needs is a developer getting a C&D because of a GoFundMe page.

W.A.C's sentiment is right on the mark. Nitemare could have evaded potentially breaking the law had he just hosted the updates on Sonic XG elsewhere and made the GoFundMe page about his original game ambitions or whatever. Had he kept those two things separate he'd be completely immune from any potential legal action from Sega. Even if the GoFundMe page is sincere and honest (about funding a software purchase) the problem is Sonic XG and thus Sega's IP is plastered all over the page and the page heavily indicates his funding efforts revolve around Sonic XG and Sonic XG alone. This is where he's potentially shadowing the Streets of Rage remake precedent.

Sega is famous for leaving Sonic fangames alone. However every other Sonic fangame were quite clear, direct and honest (some even providing disclaimers at the start of the game) that the games were not for profit and money would never be involved. And this is ultimately why Sega left them alone.

I'm hoping for the best but he is wading in to potential legal territory here. Hopefully this remains under the radar and Sega either never hears of it or lets it slide.

This post has been edited by 360: 17 May 2015 - 06:29 PM

[W.A.C.]

This could become the first Sonic fangame in the history of the franchise to get a C&D all because of the GoFundMe page...for a game that has been in development for an insanely long time. I'm thinking about sending him a message later today about my concerns. If others do as well, perhaps it'll convince him how he's currently going about the page is a bad idea.

[360]

W.A.C., on 17 May 2015 - 06:38 PM, said:

This could become the first Sonic fangame in the history of the franchise to get a C&D all because of the GoFundMe page...for a game that has been in development for an insanely long time. I'm thinking about sending him a message later today about my concerns. If others do as well, perhaps it'll convince him how he's currently going about the page is a bad idea.

Excellent idea. I would strongly support your intention to contact him. Sonic XG is arguably the most promising Sonic fangame ever created; an amalgamation of the work of the best Sonic fangame developers all concentrated in to one immensely promsing and precious project. The current incarnation represents over a decade of work from not just Nitemare but the likes of Euan and Taxman also. It represents a dream project to a certain extent and it would be a profound shame if the project was legally torpedoed because of an honest mistake. Indicate to Nitemare in the message that our intentions are to help him and protect his game.

He seems like a super nice guy so he'd probably welcome your message. Please do update us here when you hear back from him.

This post has been edited by 360: 17 May 2015 - 07:01 PM

[TheKazeblade]

With Sega in the current state of flux it is in with SoA moving and major shuffles in management, I really really hope he removes the XG stuff from GoFundMe, because I'm worried that if XG gets a C&D it may put even the non-profit fan-games under unnecessary heat. I want that to stop before it gets to that point.

[W.A.C.]

This is the message I sent.

Quote

Myself and many others who are part of Sonic Retro have been looking forward to your fangame for years. However, we're worried about your GoFundMe page. While we acknowledge that the funds go to your future projects, the fact it has a lot of Sonic XG imagery and content makes the page look like a fundraiser for your fangame. This concerns us as the main reason why the Streets of Rage remake got C&D was because the creators asked for donations. Sonic fangames, as far as I know, have never received a C&D because money was never involved. With this in mind, some of us at Sonic Retro feel it would be best if you removed all of the Sonic XG imagery from the page and try to minimize talk about the fangame on your GoFundMe as much as you can without damaging your message. We would hate to see Sega give this game a C&D, as we look forward to playing it and don't want anything bad to happen to the Sonic fangaming scene in general. For your past fangame updates and future updates, we recommend posting them on a different site such as a blog. Good luck to your fundraiser.

-W.A.C.

http://forums.sonicr...ndpost&p=826023

[360]

Well done W.A.C. Good message. Reading that it sounds pretty much perfect. Concise, well communicated and to the point. He should theoretically interpret that message as holding good intentions. I only hope he listens to the good advice and adjusts accordingly. Please do post here if and when he responds.

This post has been edited by 360: 17 May 2015 - 09:35 PM

[BlazeHedgehog]

360, on 17 May 2015 - 06:28 PM, said:

Icewarrior, on 17 May 2015 - 02:04 PM, said:

Yes, the paypal button on the download page of Streets of Rage Remake was specifically for the site hosting cost. However it's only a mere assumption that that's what drove SEGA to shut down the fangame, there could another factor or many ones.

However yes, why it's cool to have updates on Sonix XG, putting them on a GoFundMe page might not be a good idea still.

There was a thread on NeoGAF about it. One of the users contacted Bombergames' lead developer and was told that the C&D was specifically because they asked for donations. Site hosting costs or not they asked for money in return for developing the game which crosses legal ground that Sega couldn't legally ignore. Hence the C&D. NeoGAF could be incorrect of course but I'd say that's highly unlikely. The guy on there sounded honest and legit. It also makes complete sense as Sega usually leaves fangames alone.

You wrote a good post but from what I've read it's not an assumption. Asking for donations caused the C&D.

What you say about Streets of Rage Remake is interesting to me. On TSSZ years ago, we got a pretty significant dump of rumored information from a "trusted source" (I wasn't privy to who).

Every single thing this guy told us ended up coming true. Virtua Fighter 5 on XBLA, all of that stuff. But part of this batch of rumors concerned Streets of Rage Remake -- according to this source, the reason the game was taken down is because Sega was actually pursuing making SORR an official paid product. They apparently wanted to port the game to XBLA, PSN, etc. This was right around the time that Taxman's Sonic CD was announced (if I'm remembering properly), so this information seemed to hold some water.

I was assigned tracking down and interviewing Bomberlink about the veracity of this claim, but he had closed himself off from all outside contact. No email addresses, no way to talk to him on the forums (I registered but was never approved), nothing. The trail went dead.

I'm inclined to believe it was true, given everything else that source told us ended up coming to pass, but obviously we never ran with the story because I could never get any more substantial information.

This post has been edited by BlazeHedgehog: 17 May 2015 - 11:14 PM

[winterhell]

Its wrong to ask for money and put Sonic on the same page.
If that didnt have the remote possibility for C&D, I'd have done the same thing ages ago except not funding for a game engine but for food. You know, to make games.

And like others mentioned, if one Sonic fan game gets the axe it unleashes the highway to hell for all fan Sonic games. They would have already done the paperwork and the C&D letter and put someone on the Send to All button.

This post has been edited by winterhell: 18 May 2015 - 12:07 AM