We figured out what most of them were, thanks to the object list and darkspine's model ripping - but programming replacements for them (the animated ones and interactive ones) that would be 100% replicas would have taken till 2020. If you want to try this I did release the source code to the mod. All of the static object models (ones that don't have animations and don't interact with the player) were converted successfully.
This looks amazing, the path seems a lot less convoluted with all the objects in place (the second Act looked like a maze initially). Is one of those areas what was speculated to be a beta chao garden? Out of curiosity, does data for the other characters exist for it too (eg. Big's fishing as shown in the beta vid)? I'm guessing Tails' Sonic AI was part of the original programming, he doesn't look any more incompetent than in the final game at least.
To everyone who was involved in the Windy Valley Beta Restoration project - This is some really amazing stuff you've got here. You should all be proud of yourselves. Well done evilhamwizard - I of course can't thank you enough for the all the hard work you've put into researching into this Sonic Adventure AutoDemo as well as any contributions you've put towards side projects. And let's not forget everyone else who made it possible. Thank you all for you're hard work in researching this Sonic Adventure AutoDemo. You'd think by now there's not much left to do. It's still far from over. There's loads of other little things the AutoDemo has that could be looked into so keep up the great work
I think we may have an explanation to Windy Valley's reinnovation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCLzNSg8CSw
Are you saying we can't do that in final Windy Valley? :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0dvqK9_1Gg It's not as obvious, but still...
I really like that this has seen the light of day. It's really amazing what this community can do /> . I was just playing beta Windy Valley the other day. On Tails though, we don't know if they planned to pose restrictions on the level, say invisible walls? We also don't know if Tails was ever intended to be in this beta level. Sure, he's in the early video footage, but a lot of that could just be mockup.
It's fascinating that you've managed to put it together... but there's no doubt in my mind why it was inevitably replaced - "beta Windy Valley" kinda sucks. I always assumed it was a glorified test level so I'm surprised to see it function as a regular stage, but it has a rather basic and boring atmosphere that reminds me more of something you'd see in Mario 64* than a Dreamcast release. It's just chunks of green and brown and blue with the occasional arch thrown in - empty fields and repetition. Far less pretty than everything else that game has to offer. *it would be impressive on the Sega Saturn though (!!)
In an unrelated note, are the alternate mixed tracks and what-not available anywhere? The Cutting Room Floor site lists that there's some but they're not on the site.
I could argue the same about the existing Windy Valley, except with even less colors. At least this one has something to look at, whereas the final version was either significantly reduced in detail and length, or replaced with straight lines over a bottomless pit that you can in no way deviate from.
I'm mixed whether ditching the beta's structure completely was a bad idea, but I do think Windy Valley's final structure worked in it's own way, the fast paced speedways were the first real sense of adrenaline in the game. It's just a shame so many later games tried to replicate that sense in almost every level rather than trying to keep the variety SA1 was originally planned with. The beta version might have worked better as an item searching level like for Knuckles. Some of the early screenies left me wondering whether it was something of expanded Chao Garden, with actual level play to earn more rings and items for quick raising. The wide open areas and seeming capability to back track makes it almost like a dynamic hub world.
NiGHTS also kept its A-LIFE creatures within the stages themselves, so it may have been furthering that idea before splitting them off into their own areas.
Beta Windy Valley doesn't really work with an A to B goal system. Yes Tails can abuse the final version severely, but the Beta version could be abused by just about anyone; Sonic could easily just spin-dash through the arches to the lower area instead of following the path. This makes me believe that possibly the original vision for Sonic Adventure may have been more objective-based in nature instead of having a goal at a designated end-point, ala Mario 64. Sonic World for Saturn seems to model itself after M64, and since that is the earliest iteration of SA that we have, that may be telling of the original intentions of the level design.
The more I think about it, the more I wish they used a sort of 'Sonic's World' idea with the Chao Garden, since it seems a pretty back trackable level and most of the characters seem like they'd be able to maneuver around it. Even in terms of deaths, the area seems surrounded by hovering wind to prevent you falling to your death constantly (even if it still happens due to it's glitchyness). It would have been a cool way of recycling a perfectly good level. Let's face it, raising Chao is fun in the final but walking around in those tiny gardens was kinda boring.
I know a lot of effort went in to it, but man, the camera work in act 3 is kind of disorienting. I feel like I can't see a lot of the time, like the camera's a little too close to Sonic, and pointing a little too much towards the floor. This is further exacerbated by some areas where it will swing what feels like almost 180 degrees VERY rapidly. It seems to twitch a lot, too, like it starts to shift in one direction and then goes in a different one. But it's nice to finally be able to play something like this, and in general, I think a lot of good work went in to making it functional.
No, but I could probably make one. I played through the level two or three times and it happened every time. I'll see what I can do tomorrow once I've had some sleep
