[Sploit]

Overlord, on 05 August 2013 - 01:33 PM, said:

Sploit, on 05 August 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Do you just want different people's opinions or first impressions of it? Like a few comments about it? I only played the 3DS version of it, but can send you a few comments if it would be of any help.

Sure, I'm happy to take a few comments about it - just what you thought of the game from what you played, really.

I sent you a bit of text, sorry if it feels a bit ramble-y, I am pretty tired, but I tried to get across mainly a few small critiques, I went on a bit, but yeah.

Also sorry for any grammar/spelling issues, as I am typing on my iPad mini lol.

Hope it's helpful anyway.

[Sir_mihael]

Well. It's been three-odd days, and I still can't think of anything sensible to write that hasn't been mentioned already.

First of all. (I'll get the soppy stuff out the way). Although I only saw you guys on-and-off for a few minutes at a time, it was still awesome seeing you all. More than anything, it's just nice to see actual human beings in an otherwise obsessive event. I definitely regret not going with you all for food/pints afterwards. I was going to attempt hopping between groups of friends in post-SoS celebrations, but then I remembered LONDON IS BIG. So that didn't happen. Either way, it was still a pleasure.

But I somehow did manage to end up in a sleazy 24 hour hotel bar with Svend, some chap from Glasgow who was head of SoS security, and someone running a late-night podcast, of which we were all drunkenly rambling about the entire event. Not where I was seeing myself that evening, but it was certainly an experience...

ANYWAY. SUMMER OF SONIC. IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

• First of all Nova's tweets were actually amazing. Made waiting in the Jun signing que an absolute joy. No joke.
  
• I too, got cut-off from the Jun singing que. Sadly didn't see said man on the floor crying, but that sounds amazing. Instead me and my friend waited about five seconds after he left the signing table, and just walked up to him with one of the permanent markers. NO QUEUING NECESSARY.
  
• 'Jam with Jun' was pretty standard. I appreciated the SA1 medley (especially the Eggman theme, which I always felt was a tad underrated). Escape from the City was there. Not much else to say apart from that he resisted the temptation of Live and Learn this time round, which could've been another easy five minute filler.
  
• Robotnik's Tea Party. That happened, didn't it?
  
• Nigel Kitching didn't enjoy the fact that I commented on our shirts being totally identical (they totally were).
  
• A bit of a shame that Senoue's singing was the same time as Hoshino's Q & A, but whatever. Not the end of the world.
  
• Lost Worlds 3DS actually looks decent. Feels like a step-up in quality compared to 3DS Generations, but that's just my first impressions.

(Random musing. Was it just me, or did the small kid in the full Sonic costume actually look better than the 'official' Sonic suit they brought onto stage this year?)

[Nova]

Sir_mihael, on 06 August 2013 - 06:27 AM, said:

• First of all Nova's tweets were actually amazing. Made waiting in the Jun signing que an absolute joy. No joke.

Thank you, thank you.

Sir_mihael, on 06 August 2013 - 06:27 AM, said:

• A bit of a shame that Senoue's singing was the same time as Hoshino's Q & A, but whatever. Not the end of the world.

Not sure if you were aware but it's not a huge deal - next time, just stop Jun in a hallway or outside or wherever. He's more than happy to sign anything whenever.

This post has been edited by Nova: 06 August 2013 - 07:19 AM

[Jen]

It was an amazing weekend, Orenge and I had a fantastic time :D

We arrived in London on Friday evening and had time for a couple of hours in the pub with a few of our friends from here on Retro, before we headed back to our hotel.

Then on Saturday, Summer of Sonic was loads of fun. It was nice to see everyone again - not just from Retro, but people we know from other parts of the internet stopped to say hello to us as well. I even met someone who claimed to be a fan of my deviantArt page, which is a first! As with the Friday evening, we spent the day hanging around with the usual Retro UK people.

I was amazed when we received this year's goody bags - the printed Sonic the Comic. That was an awesome moment.

Upon arrival into the venue we all headed straight over to Sonic Lost World - I've sent my brief review to Overlord, so anyone who's interested will be able to read it soon. I really enjoyed the game, in a nutshell. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to play the 3DS version though, as the area was being shut off at the first opportunity I had to go and play it later in the day.

Once we'd all played it we headed over to the merchandise stand. I managed to snag some nice stuff - the twin-pack of Sonic and Blaze figures that comes with a Sonic Universe comic, a set of four coasters (featuring classic Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Robotnik) and a set of four classic Sonic badges. I also bought some charity raffle tickets. I didn't win, but I was happy in the knowledge that my money went to a really good cause

The signing sessions happened at different intervals during the day. I've gotten a shitload of stuff signed by Jun in previous years, so I just went to Iizuka and Hoshino's signing sessions this time around. Unfortunately this means that I missed THAT moment with the screaming guy =P I got Iizuka to sign my Sonic Adventure which Jun signed at a previous SoS. For Hoshino, I had my original copy of Sonic CD that I've had since I was a kid - for that reason, it meant an awful lot to me to get it signed. I also managed to get a photo with both of them; the SoS website had originally said photos weren't allowed, but a SEGA rep was offering to take pictures for people, so we could only assume that this rule was reversed at the last minute. This did however slow down the signing sessions slightly - and this wasn't helped by the fact that the queue wasn't regulated as well as it was last year.

The Q&A sessions yielded some interesting answers too, and I was glad that a couple of my questions were asked yet again (I seem to be making this a habit now); I was a bit distracted by the hilarious brony trolling that was going on in the steam during the first Q&A though... =P

I enjoyed Jun's performance at the end of the day. It was nice to hear so much Sonic Adventure music, in particular some tunes which I've never heard live before. It's a shame about the group of total morons who decided to sing the unfunny "Seaside Denied" song during Seaside Hill though. Mind you, it wouldn't be Summer of Sonic without at least a handful of fans being embarrassing ;P

After the event we all went to the pub for the evening. The Sunday was then one of our usual barcade runs, which was so much fun, as it always is. I was really upset when we had to leave for the train in the evening - the weekend flew by, way too quickly.

This post has been edited by Jen: 06 August 2013 - 02:30 PM

[Overlord]

That it did, alright.

And here's what we all thought of Sonic Lost World: http://www.sonicretr...ld-impressions/

[Sploit]

Jen, on 06 August 2013 - 02:20 PM, said:

The signing sessions happened at different intervals during the day. I've gotten a shitload of stuff signed by Jun in previous years, so I just went to Iizuka and Hoshino's signing sessions this time around. Unfortunately this means that I missed THAT moment with the screaming guy =P I got Iizuka to sign my Sonic Adventure which Jun signed at a previous SoS. For Hoshino, I had my original copy of Sonic CD that I've had since I was a kid - for that reason, it meant an awful lot to me to get it signed. I also managed to get a photo with both of them; the SoS website had originally said photos weren't allowed, but a SEGA rep was offering to take pictures for people, so we could only assume that this rule was reversed at the last minute. This did however slow down the signing sessions slightly - and this wasn't helped by the fact that the queue wasn't regulated as well as it was last year.

Yeah people in front of me got pics taken during the Hoshino signing, so I asked the same woman to take a pic for me too...it turned out great I was so happy with it.

To be honest though, I don't think it is photos that are the issue, the issue is simply that an hour is not enough for a signing session for people who are so prolific/important and are heroes to such a big fan base. Everyone is going to want to meet them.

I didn't go to Jun's signing this time either, I already have his signature and had met him twice before, so I decided not to go to it, as I wanted to see some of the Hoshino Q&A before leaving it early to ensure I got a good spot for his signing session.

[Orengefox]

Jen, on 06 August 2013 - 02:20 PM, said:

It was an amazing weekend, Orenge and I had a fantastic time :D [...]

Jen pretty much summed up my reactions to this years Pre-Summer of Sonic/Summer of Sonic/Sonic Retro UK Barcade Run (Summer)

I'll be posting the usual pictures of those events sometime tomorrow. In the meantime...

Jen, on 04 August 2013 - 06:50 PM, said:

Overlord, on 04 August 2013 - 05:56 PM, said:

My understanding is there's recordings of the Iizuka & Hoshino sessions (I know for a fact I was next to someone shooting them, if they want to reveal themselves =P), so we can get transcriptions of those if need be.

Hello Orenge is going to upload the videos to his youtube at some point soon.

And here they are! Enjoy!



Summer of Sonic '13 - Kazuyuki Hoshino Q&A Part 2

Summer of Sonic '13 - Kazuyuki Hoshino Q&A Part 3



Summer of Sonic '13 - Takashi Iizuka Q&A Part 2

Summer of Sonic '13 - Takashi Iizuka Q&A Part 3

Note: I apologize if the camera was moving around at times. The recording at one point during the Kazuyuki Hoshino Q&A session gets cut off which I also apologize for. I didn't realize my camera stopped recording at one point (and it was during one of the really good questions at that). At least it wasn't cut off to point that you couldn't understand Hoshino-san's answer. All vital parts of that answer was still intact. Hopefully the Summer of Sonic staff or whoever else will upload a better recording of both Q&A sessions at some point.

This post has been edited by Orengefox: 06 August 2013 - 06:01 PM

[Blanche Hodapp]

Sir_mihael, on 06 August 2013 - 06:27 AM, said:

First of all. (I'll get the soppy stuff out the way). Although I only saw you guys on-and-off for a few minutes at a time, it was still awesome seeing you all. More than anything, it's just nice to see actual human beings in an otherwise obsessive event. I definitely regret not going with you all for food/pints afterwards. I was going to attempt hopping between groups of friends in post-SoS celebrations, but then I remembered LONDON IS BIG. So that didn't happen. Either way, it was still a pleasure.

Not to sound rude or anything but I genuinely don't remember meeting you.

Anyway, handful of photos coming when I actually get some decent laptop time

[Sir_mihael]

Nova, on 06 August 2013 - 07:19 AM, said:

Not sure if you were aware but it's not a huge deal - next time, just stop Jun in a hallway or outside or wherever. He's more than happy to sign anything whenever. />

Funnily enough, that's pretty much what happened in the end. He seems like the kinda guy who's just happy to be there chilling with his fans, more than anything. It's pretty heart-warming when I think about it. Thankfully I think I'm pretty full up on Senoue sigs now. (Unless I really get the urge to get Black Knight autographed...)

Blanche Hodapp, on 07 August 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

Sir_mihael, on 06 August 2013 - 06:27 AM, said:

First of all. (I'll get the soppy stuff out the way). Although I only saw you guys on-and-off for a few minutes at a time, it was still awesome seeing you all. More than anything, it's just nice to see actual human beings in an otherwise obsessive event. I definitely regret not going with you all for food/pints afterwards. I was going to attempt hopping between groups of friends in post-SoS celebrations, but then I remembered LONDON IS BIG. So that didn't happen. Either way, it was still a pleasure.

Not to sound rude or anything but I genuinely don't remember meeting you.

Ha ha, well I wouldn't worry too much. To be fair, I was very much in the background/running off at every opportunity. It was mostly in the opening line, the Iizuka signing que, and at the very end of the evening that I managed to chime in with anyone. (partially) embarrassingly, I've spent more time currently speaking to Retro members IRL at Summer of Sonic than actually on the forum, so my ability to link faces with forum names is wonderfully crap at the moment. Here's hoping that'll improve. Maybe. Someday.

[Orengefox]

Look forward to seeing what you have to say Blanche =P

As for me. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my photos and captions...


Welcome to Summer of Sonic 2013. The games, the merchandise, the entertainment, the developers, the musicians, the artists, the sponsors and the fans. Oh and let's not forget that gut feeling you get you when go to a Sonic convention - things going tits-up. To save ourselves from insanity, we made a little hideout in the cafe [Here].



Things like this were quite prominent throughout the day but fucking hilarious no less. Shout outs to Nova & Skyler.



The official Sonic merchandise booth with a decapitated head of scary Sonic from last years SoS looming in the background. Before you start panicking kids, the real Sonic was perfectly fine [Here].



The man obsessed with aliens, Takashi Iizuka. Here's a photo of someone cosplaying as Segata Sanshiro getting his Sega Saturn signed [Here]. Here's a photo of my wife (Jen) getting her Sonic Adventure signed [Here].

As for me, I got Iizuka-san to sign the cover sheet to my Sonic Adventure AutoDemo of all things [Here]. Iizuka-san asked "is that the Japanese one?". I replied "it is". Then he asked "where did you get it from?". I replied "I got it from a fellow in Japan". Iizuka-san then nodded with a smile and signed it. We suspect he didn't know what it really was. It's like that scene in "Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade" where Indy is confronted by Adolf Hitler who then signs his father diary, not realizing the importance of that book [Link].



The Q&A session for Kazuyuki Hoshino was going all too well up until the question was asked if Hoshino-san knew the fan drivel behind the Tails Doll.



The Q&A session for Takashi Iizuka didn't follow the same embarrassing path as the one for Kazuyuki Hoshino. The questions regarding Sonic's shitty friends and Sonic Lost World being inspired by Sonic Xtreme were asked but in a very sly manner =P



The legendary man himself, Kazuyuki Hoshino. Jen and I decided to go only to the signing sessions for Takashi Iizuka & Kazuyuki Hoshino. We regret not going to the signing session for Jun Senoue in the end; if only to see who the basement dweller was that was throwing a fit. Here's a photo of my wife (Jen) getting her Sonic CD signed [Here]. Here's a photo of myself getting my Sonic CD signed [Here].



The "rare" Sonic Merchandise cabinet. We were pretty limited this time around on what we could take pictures of because some of the stuff (mainly the upcoming games and merchandise) was still in development. SEGA isn't taking any chances now when it comes to copyrights. It's bad enough that someone decided to steal something that was already developed and made it their own original-creation-do-not-steal *cough*Ken*cough*.



After a nice moment with Dreadknux, the SoS staff and SEGA developers ([Picture 1] & [Picture 2]), everyone moved on to the final event, jamming with Jun Senoue. Right, I'm not even going flower this up. The people that were singing "Seaside Denied" while Jun was playing Seaside Hill was fucking disrespectful to his work and offensive to my ears. The girl who sang with Jun by the way was alright. Can't say the same for the chap who also sang with Jun. I think Yoko Ono had a better chance. So that was SoS in a nutshell.



Moving onto the Sonic Retro UK Barcade Run (Sunday). We went to the usual places. Once again, not much changed in the ol' London Trocadero. Everyone had a go at some games. Nova was determined to play every single Guitar Hero that was there as you can see [Here].



Right, we thought Blanche had finally thrown the towel the last time he played "Key Master"; sworn to never to play it again. The fire in his eyes told otherwise. Still determined as ever to win that prize as you see in [Picture 1] & [Picture 2].



The Doctor has his TARDIS, I have my HATSD (Highly Advance Touchscreen Soda Dispenser) though that doesn't seem to roll off the tongue as nice as the word "TARDIS".



Last but not least, a group photo of our ugly mugs. Congrats to everyone who survived yet another Summer of Sonic. Until next time.

As always, here's a link to the entire Summer of Sonic '13/Sonic Retro UK Barcade Run (Summer '13) picture gallery: http://s54.photobuck...library/SoS2013

Enjoy!

This post has been edited by Orengefox: 08 August 2013 - 04:03 PM

[Blanche Hodapp]

Sir_mihael, on 07 August 2013 - 08:29 PM, said:

Blanche Hodapp, on 07 August 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

Sir_mihael, on 06 August 2013 - 06:27 AM, said:

First of all. (I'll get the soppy stuff out the way). Although I only saw you guys on-and-off for a few minutes at a time, it was still awesome seeing you all. More than anything, it's just nice to see actual human beings in an otherwise obsessive event. I definitely regret not going with you all for food/pints afterwards. I was going to attempt hopping between groups of friends in post-SoS celebrations, but then I remembered LONDON IS BIG. So that didn't happen. Either way, it was still a pleasure.

Not to sound rude or anything but I genuinely don't remember meeting you.

Ha ha, well I wouldn't worry too much. To be fair, I was very much in the background/running off at every opportunity. It was mostly in the opening line, the Iizuka signing que, and at the very end of the evening that I managed to chime in with anyone. (partially) embarrassingly, I've spent more time currently speaking to Retro members IRL at Summer of Sonic than actually on the forum, so my ability to link faces with forum names is wonderfully crap at the moment. Here's hoping that'll improve. Maybe. Someday.

Oh, I remember now! Well, more to the point I remember thinking "who the hell is this guy?"

Anyway, pictures will be coming when I can be bothered (not that there are many), but suffice to say these few sum up my weekend pretty well

Spoiler

What am I doing with my life?!

This post has been edited by Blanche Hodapp: 10 August 2013 - 03:24 PM

[Scarred Sun]

Blanche, that photo of you in the bus while Nik looks on is kind of the best photo ever and I miss you guys <3

[Sir_mihael]

These photos are all amazing. Really good to see you all had a smashingly great time, as did I.

SAME AGAIN NEXT YEAR THEN?

[Aerosol]

I feel like I've been to that arcade before...where's it at?

[Metal Man88]

These photos make me wish I could afford to fly to London.