Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board: GeneralAdmiralChipotle - Viewing Profile - Sonic and Sega Retro Message Board

Sonic 1 SMS looked like a significant drop in quality from the original Genesis game. Most would agree it looks like crap by comparison with its baby blue single shade sky line, low color-depth sprites, and lack of detail. After giving Sonic Edusoft a spin (no pun intended), I couldn't help but notice how close it looks in terms of visual quality to Sonic 1 16-bit, and even to an extent, Sonic 3D Blast in its isometric overworld. It even looks as good as the the prototype isometric game in the early stages of Sonic Xtreme's development (might I add, a game late in the life cycle of the Genesis/MD). Sonic looks completely faithful in the game as well. The sprite is just like the 16-bit sprite (albeit with a subtle loss of "depth" owing to the 32 color palette of the SMS), it also has smooth animations compared to Sonic 1, but most importantly, IT HAS GOOD COLOR DEPTH. Even the pig animal and Motobug look just as good on the 8-bit hardware. The game also had just as many on-screen objects at once as Sonic 8-bit (maybe about 2-4 fewer when you start talking about stages filled with rings). Keep in mind- this game is a relatively low-budget spinoff. To have the visual quality it had presumably with fewer dollars thrown at it speaks volumes for the capability of the SMS.

*It really begs the question, "Could Sonic have been done faithfully on 8-bit hardware?" and if so, "Why couldn't Sega get the sprite work right after 5 tries?"

EDIT: Dear Mods/Admins- This isn't a speculation topic. The idea isn't to speculate on the questions, but rather focus on the game itself in relation to aesthetically unappealing SMS games that actually were released. I just brought up those questions as an aside, so please consider that before trashing this topic amid possible speculation that I may be speculating.

EDIT 2: Here are some pictures for the sake of comparison. The primary difference is in the palette...

Sonic 1 8-bit


Sonic Edusoft

*Special note: the previous topic I began was shot down by Cinossu. I started off with a general discussion topic asking members which elements of the Sonic universe they would like to see in the next Super Smash Bros. release. He didn't like the subject, so he sent it to trash. I didn't know any better, and I humbly apologize. As such, I'm going to skip the small talk and jump straight to why I came to Sonic Retro in the first place. I'm very sorry, Cinossu; let this be my mulligan. You gave me a chance at membership, and I won't screw up again!

I'm beginning work on a Sonic fan game. I've laid out some conceptual groundwork, written vector-handling/transformation code based off of work from Comp Sci courses (vectors in R^2, NOT Vector from Knuckles Chaotix), and I've gathered some (but most certainly not all or even half) essential sprites and art. The game will be written in C++ using the Direct2D library. I'm looking for other interested people of all levels of experience who would like to collaborate on the project. THIS PROJECT WILL TAKE OVER 1000 PRODUCTIVE MAN-HOURS TO COMPLETE. This is where I need the help of my fellow Sonic loyalists. Cinossu- I'm extending the first personal invitation to you to be a project leader. Your experience manipulating level art makes you a go-to guy for insight, and you have been the leader of major projects, such as Sonic Megamix and your own STH: Extended Edition. If you don't want to, I fully understand and only ask that you point anyone you think might be interested in the right direction.

The first idea and only one I will not budge on is to replace "Game Over" with a Burning Hell Zone. What this means is that when you lose all your lives, you will have to progress through Burning Hell Zone to get back to the first act of the zone in which you left off. Burning Hell Zone is a difficult level that contains no rings and no enemies; just spikes and fire hazards. In Burning Hell Zone, you have unlimited lives, but you start from the beginning every time you die. Once you reach the end, you will find 3 1-up monitors and a special ring. The ring will teleport you back into the game; just be sure to snag the 3 1-ups for your second chance at life. I chose to implement such a zone to combat the problem of 'Game Over' being either too punishing (starting from the beginning is unfair) or way too lenient (starting from the start of the level where one left off).

The Story...
Sonic was out with Tails and Knuckles on a vacation in an attempt to get Knuckles to unwind, have fun, and relax. Knuckles was stubborn at first, refusing to engineer build a sandcastle with Tails or wind surf with Sonic. Eventually, Sonic and Tails managed to convince Knuckles to take a break from his reclusive ways and have fun for a change. Knuckles enjoyed the company of his best buddies for all of one hour when suddenly the troublesome ne'er-do-well, Dr. Robotnik flew into the scene. The insane doctor proclaimed the end of Knuckles and the gang at the hands of his robot army 100,000 strong led by his ultimate creation, Metal Knuckles Mk II and stationed in his new and improved and nearly complete Death Egg. Robotnik then flew off maniacally ecstatic, leaving behind a Tails doll strapped with dynamite. Knuckles and co. resolved to make Robotnik pay for ruining their vacation on North Island and set forth on another spectacular adventure.

Knuckles' Vacation

Each Zone will have 2 acts designed to be completed in 2 minutes by an experienced player.

-Sunkist Islet Zone
-Glimmering Caverns Zone
-Pinball Palace Zone *featuring a gumball machine-style boss battle
-Glacial Mountain Zone
-Sherwood Forest Zone *featuring Wood Zone art combined with original tiling
-Running River Zone *a 1-act transitional zone; it's a fun wakeboarding mini-game zone for collecting a lot of lives needed for later
-Temple Lake Zone
-Emerald Shrine Zone
-Speed Highway Zone *fan service level
-Funky Hill Zone (ft. music by Tee Lopes pending permission)
-Desert Rush Zone
-Construction Mayhem Zone
-Sky Chase Zone*an easy 1-act zone before the last huzzah
-Death Egg Zone
-Raging Reactor Zone *a 1 act battle with 4 brutal bosses in the core of the Death Egg's reactor, the Four Eggbosses of the Robocalypse
-Final Fight *a secret true final battle for those who collect all 7 emeralds

Characters...
-Sonic
-Tails *will have exclusive routes
-Knuckles *will have exclusive routes
-Mighty *unlockable by completing the game once
-Chaos *unlockable by completing the game without ever setting foot in Hell Zone and obtaining all 7 Chaos Emeralds
-Metal Sonic *unlockable by completing the game without ever setting foot in Hell Zone and clearing the game in less than 90:00; wasted lives count toward time

Modes...
-Main Game
-Time Trial
-Boss Attack
-Special Stage Attack *scores based on total rings collected, unlockable by collecting all 7 emeralds
-2-4p race *Mighty is available in this mode no matter what
-Badnik Bash *hi-score mode set on the final ledge of Wing Fortress Zone where the goal is to bounce off of the largest chain of badniks possible before falling to distant ground

BEHOLD! I have all my tiles for the first three zones; this is a mock-up of my brain child!
Pinball Palace Zone


I must stress how open to suggestion I am. If there is something you as a member of the team would like to scrap in favor of an original idea, it is fine by me! I'll save the implementation of special stages until a much later time in development when we have established a good working game. If you want to join the team, I will email the source code to you. I'm looking for serious project partners, so be prepared to invest serious time into the game if you join the team, and let me know what your needs are.

Again, if you want source code, send me a message requesting it, and give me an email address to send it to.