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

According to this site, Sega is starting their own 3D Classics line on 3DS with Space Harrier. No release date so far, only info is that Space Harrier will support 16:9 and 3d effects.

Sega: Sonic Quality to Be 'Fixed Over Time' (industrygamers)

It is known Sonic passed a bad period, and that Unleashed (even if I enjoyed it a lot) was not the game of redemption. However, this time I would like to point your attention on that article above.

I found it by complete chance. There are a few lines which caugh my interest. Of course they could mean anything, or they are not what everyone thinks at SEGA, but I would like to discuss them:

Hmm...
Reading it as a whole, it may sound like something like: "Sonic games sucks but kids like them". It is not surprising SEGA is trying to please kids, but this also means most of the new gimmicks in recent Sonic games were made only to please kids. I'm betting the sword too falls in this category. However, what worries me most is the last sentense. If this is what the actual developers think. then they really need to play the classic games more.
Many fans would like Sonic to return to its origins. It could be with a new game following the style of Mega Man 9, or a full 2D HD game. The problem is, there is a very slim chance this game may like the classic. Actually, there is a very slim chance any game may ever return to the Sonic roots because, maybe, SEGA thinks Sonic roots are like the daytime stages of SU.

It seems clear SEGA doesn't have a clear idea of what Sonic should be today, and releasing a new games every year won't help.
Because yes, we can expect a new Sonic game to be released in the next year, even if we don't know anything so far:

SEGA hasn't lost the habit of developing new Sonic games one after another, however, if we want to trust what he said, then SEGA is still trying to make a great Sonic games. But it doesn't matter how much they try, a game needs time to become great. How many Sonic games could had been better if they only had a few more months of time? Actually, every game can benefit for some additional months of development, so why SEGA is still pushing every release? Wouldn't it be better to wait a bit more?


Hold your horses. When he speaks of iPhone and XBLA he is referring to ports. However, the two sentences "we can give those core fans experiences in different ways now" and "rather than spend a huge amount of money trying to re-imagine that IP" could actually means the possibility of a brand new XBLA (and similar things) Sonic game may not be outside of the realm of the reality.
However, the sad truth is obvious: old fans can enjoy their loved games with these ports, while SEGA will try to get kids into Sonic by adding some additional and/or unneded gimmick. However, the need to please the old fans may still mean they still don't plan to ditch them completely.

So? Did SEGA learned the lesson or not?

Let's wait 12 months and then see.

IGN Presents the History of SEGA
The secrets of SEGA's past are revealed.

Long read, but it is interesting. Many tibits I didn't know, although probably this won't be anything new to most of you.

It's a bit sad to see how badly SEGA failed with the Saturn and Dreamcast.

EDIT: I'm back.


Even he can't believe this.


Hello to everyone. I'm STHX and I'll use this topic for posting various informations, images and music taken from my hack, and, when complete of course, the hack itself.

The above image and the one you will see below are taken from the hack I'm working on in this period. This is my very first hack, and after a pair of months of various of tests on the first Sonic, I decided it was time to start a complete hack of Sonic The Hedgehog. But I didn' want to make a palette change-only hack, however I didn't known if I could have handled a more advanced hack, so I never officially released anything. I, however, tried my best, and I started to understand the ASM code of Sonic 1 (Or, as I like to call it, the Sonic engine) by myself, and with the help of the variuous How To Guides in the wiki I improved my knowledge (Not a difficult task, I had 0 programming knowledge, so it wasn't hard to improve. Anything could have been useful at that time), I learned to use various utilities, and finally I decided to give it a try.
But I still didn't know what kind of hack I could have done, or it was like this until I noticed something. No one ever did a full and complete hack that tried to merge the world of Sonic and the one of its bigger rival, Mario. And so, what started as a joke will become my first hack, and I promise I will give my best in the effort of making a good and, most important, a fun hack.
Enough of this introduction, let's talk a little of this hack.


Sonic The Hedgehog In Mushroom Kingdom (or simply Sonic in Mushroom Kingdom) is a complete hack of the first Sonic made using Hivebrain 2005 Disassembly that will feature various things taken from the Mario Universe readapted to fit the Sonic Universe. At this day the hack goals are the follows:
- Complete level art redrawn, all done by me, using mostly readapted Super Mario Bros. (All-Stars version) art, as well as some original work.
- New Level Layouts, made of multiple routes, which goes from the classical platforming style (In Mario style) to a full speed type (What kind of Sonic game would have it be without this?)
- New music, one per act, ported from various XM, some of which rearranged by me, using Xm3smps (Many thanks to Nineko for this amazing tool)
- Various ASM edits,mostly taken from the various guides on the wiki, and others made by me (Well, nothing special, but at least I did something)
- New enemies. The most classic of the Mario enemies will appear in the hack, with a new art to better fill in a Sonic game. And some of them will not be only a simple art change.
- A lot of nostlalgia. Well, maybe this didn't need its own line.

As of today, the hack features:
ASM: Spike Bug fixed (Courtesy of FraGag), Speed Cap removed (Courtesy of Tweaker and Puto), S2 Spindash (Courtesy of Lightning and Puto), SEGA Sound fixed (Courtesy of Puto), Alternate Title Screen (Courtesy of JcFerggy), Different music in different act (Courtesy of Nineko), more frames for Sonic, different Level Order, Level Select Menu adapted to the new level order (Tecnically these are Hex edits, not ASM, but it doesn't matter), some little things that are not wrth mentioning.
Stages: World 1 art 70% complete, level layout 40%. World 2 art 50% complete.
Music: 20% complete.
Enemies: Goomba 100% complete, Bullet Bill 100% complete and functional.


And as for the first update, here are some images taken from the first world, Mushroom Kingdom.
World 1: Mushroom Kingdom



Also thanks to Chimpo for the guide to use SonMapED, Xenowhirl for SonMapEd, and Stealth for SonEd2.
EDIT: Man, how could I forget to mention Qjimbo. Thanks for his Split Dissassembly guides.

Before starting, probably some people will say this topic is useless or not needed (also most mayor hacks do not have the old level select menu), however, others, like me, may find this useful for their hack, so I'm doing this for them, and also to check if I understood this process completely (If I'm wrong, please someone correct me. Where I live nobody is a programmer/RomHacker, so I can't ask anybody). The first part is based on the SCHG:Sonic The Hedgehog Text Editing, the second part has some original research. Also, this topic is useless if you use ESE, but it helps if you use a disassembly.
NOTE: Hivebrain 2005 Disassembly used. Sorry if it has differences from other disassemblies.
Anyway, Let's Start:

Introduction:
If you have been on this board for a long time, chance is you have played Sonic The Hedgehog, and if you played it, you know it has a Level Select code (UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT to activate it, A+START to enter the level select menu). However, the Zone order in the menu is not the actual in-game order, but the original planned order.



This topic will show you how to change it and still mantain its functions.
You will need an Hex Editor for this.

Step 1: The Text

From the Hivebrain 2005 Disassembly open with an hex editor the file menutext.bin in the misc folder. You should have something like this:

17 22 15 15 1E FF 18 19 1C 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 1C 11 12 0F 22 19 1E 24 18 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 1D 11 22 12 1C 15 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 23 24 11 22 FF 1C 19 17 18 24 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 23 20 22 19 1E 17 FF 0F 11 22 14 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 23 13 22 11 20 FF 12 22 11 19 1E FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 16 19 1E 11 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 20 15 13 19 11 1C FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 1F 25 1E 14 FF 23 15 1C 15 13 24 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF

Now, if you have read the article SCHG:Sonic The Hedgehog Text Editing on the wiki, you know that all of this bytes can be translated to a character. In particular:

00 = 0 01 = 1 02 = 2 03 = 3 04 = 4
05 = 5 06 = 6 07 = 7 08 = 8 09 = 9
0A = $ 0B = - 0C = = 0D = <- 0E = <-
0F = Y 10 = Z 11 = A 12 = B 13 = C
14 = D 15 = E 16 = F 17 = G 18 = H
19 = I 1A = J 1B = K 1C = L 1D = M
1E = N 1F = O 20 = P 21 = Q 22 = R
23 = S 24 = T 25 = U 26 = V 27 = W
28 = X FF = (space)

These are the corrisponding values, that, when rearranged will look like this:

17 22 15 15 1E FF 18 19 1C 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (GREEN HILL ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
1C 11 12 0F 22 19 1E 24 18 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (LABYRINTH ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
1D 11 22 12 1C 15 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (MARBLE ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 24 11 22 FF 1C 19 17 18 24 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (STAR LIGHT ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 20 22 19 1E 17 FF 0F 11 22 14 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (SPRING YARD ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 13 22 11 20 FF 12 22 11 19 1E FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (SCRAP BRAIN ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
16 19 1E 11 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (FINAL ZONE)
23 20 15 13 19 11 1C FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (SPECIAL STAGE)
23 1F 25 1E 14 FF 23 15 1C 15 13 24 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (SOUND SELECT)

Now you can change the code to make it reflect the true in-game Zone order (GHZ MZ SYZ LZ SLZ SBZ FZ). In the end, you should have somethign like this:

17 22 15 15 1E FF 18 19 1C 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (GREEN HILL ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
1D 11 22 12 1C 15 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (MARBLE ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 20 22 19 1E 17 FF 0F 11 22 14 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (SPRING YARD ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
1C 11 12 0F 22 19 1E 24 18 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (LABYRINTH ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 24 11 22 FF 1C 19 17 18 24 FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (STAR LIGHT ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
23 13 22 11 20 FF 12 22 11 19 1E FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 01 (SCRAP BRAIN ZONE STAGE 1)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 02 (STAGE 2)
FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF 03 (STAGE 3)
16 19 1E 11 1C FF 10 1F 1E 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (FINAL ZONE)
23 20 15 13 19 11 1C FF 23 24 11 17 15 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (SPECIAL STAGE)
23 1F 25 1E 14 FF 23 15 1C 15 13 24 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF (SOUND SELECT)

Save, test, build, and you should have done it. However, now that the text is changed, there seems to a bigger problem,



Because if you select Marble Zone 1



You will go to Labyrinth!
So, does this mean we screwed up? Yes, but only because the level pointers were not altered, and now we will change them.

Step 2: The Level Pointers

From the Hivebrain 2005 Disassembly open with an hex editor the file ls-point.bin in the misc folder. You should have something like this:

00 00 00 01 00 02 01 00 01 01 01 02 02 00 02 01 02 02 03 00 03 01 03 02 04 00 04 01 04 02 05 00 05 01 01 03 05 02 07 00 80 00

This file tell the game in what Zone the various selection of the Level Select Menu will take Sonic (The Level Pointers)
But... What does it mean? Before going on, let me explain something on the Zones.
The game give a hex value to all Zones and to all Acts, and the order follows (Again) the original planned order of the levels. Each level is identified with a pair of bytes, the first indicate the zone number (remember, they are in Hex, and they start at 00):

00 = GHZ
01 = LZ
02 = MZ
03 = SLZ
04 = SYZ
05 = SBZ
07 = Special Stage

While the second indicate the zone act:

00 = Act 1
01 = Act 2
02 = Act 3
03 = Act 4 [No, it's not a mistake. Sonic The Hedgehog has a fourth Act, I'll explain this after]

Still unclear? Then let's arrange the code:

(GREEN HILL ZONE STAGE 1) 00 00
(STAGE 2) 00 01
(STAGE 3) 00 02
(LABYRINTH ZONE STAGE 1 01 00
(STAGE 2) 01 01
(STAGE 3) 01 02
(MARBLE ZONE STAGE 1) 02 00
(STAGE 2) 02 01
(STAGE 3) 02 02
(STAR LIGHT ZONE STAGE 1) 03 00
(STAGE 2) 03 01
(STAGE 3) 03 02
(SPRING YARD ZONE STAGE 1) 04 00
(STAGE 2) 04 01
(STAGE 3) 04 02
(SCRAP BRAIN ZONE STAGE 1) 05 00
(STAGE 2) 05 01
(STAGE 3) 01 03 [Remember the fourth act thing? Then do not forget that SBZ Act 3 is in truth LZ act 4. This is important! FZ is the true SBZ Act 3]
(FINAL ZONE) 05 02
(SPECIAL STAGE) 07 00
(SOUND SELECT) 80 00 [This do not point to any level. I suppose it just tell the game to set the Sound Select number to 80]

Now it's a lot easier to understand that bunch of Hex values. Now change them so they reflect the new Text in the menu (You should have something like this: 00 00 00 01 00 02 02 00 02 01 02 02 04 00 04 01 04 02 01 00 01 01 01 02 03 00 03 01 03 02 05 00 05 01 01 03 05 02 07 00 80 00):

(GREEN HILL ZONE STAGE 1) 00 00
(STAGE 2) 00 01
(STAGE 3) 00 02
(MARBLE ZONE STAGE 1) 02 00
(STAGE 2) 02 01
(STAGE 3) 02 02
(SPRING YARD ZONE STAGE 1) 04 00
(STAGE 2) 04 01
(STAGE 3) 04 02
(LABYRINTH ZONE STAGE 1 01 00
(STAGE 2) 01 01
(STAGE 3) 01 02
(STAR LIGHT ZONE STAGE 1) 03 00
(STAGE 2) 03 01
(STAGE 3) 03 02
(SCRAP BRAIN ZONE STAGE 1) 05 00
(STAGE 2) 05 01
(STAGE 3) 01 03
(FINAL ZONE) 05 02
(SPECIAL STAGE) 07 00
(SOUND SELECT) 80 00

Save, build, and try again to select Marble Zone Stage 1



Success!!! The level select menu now not only have the the Zones in the right order, but you will actually go there when you select them.

Final note: This can help you if you plan to change the Zone names (Or the order) in your hack, and still have a perfect Level Select Menu.
Have fun :lol: .


EDIT: Stupid me accented all the Us in the word menu, but now it is fixed... Wait, no. The one in the title need to be fixed too.