General Project Screenshot/Video Thread

oh, I forgot about this!! D=
yeah, if I'm aiming to recreate Chaos I'll have to implement this. =I

speaking of my project..

 

The hardest part was getting VRAM space set aside for them in the standard levels.

 

apparently Sonic Chaos doesn't use the stars, at least not the Master System version. there, Sonic just flashes twice.

 

If you hold the strike dash charge for 30 seconds, stars do appear around Sonic. So it's a little longer than a few seconds like I mentioned above oops.

 

Not quite perfect with the cursor positioning, but it's coming along.

 

oh sorry, I'll have to test that! thanks!


title screen: I've added a second bounce that goes half as high as the first one. the emblem also makes a sound effect taken from Sonic 3 each time it lands.
main game: I'm planning to have the level art redrawn by someone better, especially for Mega Drive. I don't plan on using the Master System graphics in the final. I've not completed the strike dash yet, and the Tails monitor is a placeholder until I get Rocket Shoes implemented.

later...

it is coming along really well, I think! just need to fix up some of the art, add the "MD" part, add the regional name (Japan got Sonic Chaos under the name "Sonic & Tails", which I would like to address in this), and add the "PRESS START BUTTON" prompt. oh, and adding the actual title song from Sonic Chaos would be nice too, but I have to make it first. =P


woah, I've made three updates in one day!!
so the western regions' title screen is complete. I've added the "MEGA DRIVE" subtitle, and the "PRESS START BUTTON" prompt seems to work flawlessly too. now all I need to do is add the Japanese region's title (Sonic & Tails)!

4 updates in one day!!!
I've now implemented the regional titles. Japanese Mega Drive systems play "Sonic & Tails Mega Drive", while American Genesis and PAL Mega Drive systems play "Sonic Chaos Mega Drive".
and the Japanese region's extra ampersand also floats in from the top of the screen! isn't that neat? the side effect is that it takes a little longer for the intro to finish I think, although I haven't compared it.


20. September


now featuring amazing new sprites by Saetta06!
the idea to use the background inspired by the JP boxart also was their idea. but, the flashing was mine haha

 

Seek Engine | Very hyperactive Sonic
Implementing the animation system in the engine, even without respecting the durations of each frame... the result... hyperactive Sonic!

 

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to have some fun... with Sonic CD's time warp!

 

I made a Main Menu!
Continue and Credits don't work yet, New Game just spits you out to the main game yet, and Options just spits you out into the S2 options menu.

(edit: this post also serves as a feeble attempt at getting a level art designer, since I don't have one yet and I really need one as I don't want to continue using the assets from the Master System build. hopefully it won't go unnoticed!)

 

I dunno how I missed your last post on the project, but last I recall it was just a broken EHZ1 so seeing this is pretty damn cool.

 

well "broken", pretty much that except for the beginning area. I haven't changed anything on the level design front yet, since I'm wanting to get a level art designer first. =P
I can't do it myself, since last time I attempted level art, you got the masterpiece entitled Sonic Discovery. it's not good at all, so I'm wanting to move from that.

 

Practice makes perfect, and it requires a bit of patience, I think you could learn to make some excellent level graphics and routes in due time

 

sure, and I guess it's easier to modify existing level graphics, but I'm not really sure what to do with those assets aside from "modify them so they look good on a MD and compensate for Sonic's increased size".

 

I mean that's really all it has to be, if you hand me a game labelled Sonic Chaos 16-bit then I'd expect just Sonic Chaos with improved and upscaled visuals.

 

I meant I don't really know how to "modify them so they look good on a MD". =P

 

You can work out how much to upscale just by taking two screenshots and stretching one:


Here I've made the two Sonic sprites line up. It was quick and inelegant - you could probably use maths.


256x192 -> 388x240... ish. It means blocks that were once 32x32 are now 48x40.



with a bit of touching up by hand, you've got a decent base. But of course on the Mega Drive you've got more colours and tiles to work with.

It's inevitable that you'll have to redraw 95% of the art.

 

oh, thank you very much for this!
as for the "you've got more colours" part... if I recall correctly, I don't actually have more colours, I think the whole palette line is filled with used colours, and if not, there's only ~2 colours that I could use that were left over from Sonic 2.

 

Just by playing with Sonic 1 rules, you get another blue:



It's an interesting exercise - upscale without losing the "Sonic Chaos look". I don't envy the person who does this for every sprite in the game.

 

I've worked on this for like ~10 hours today.
works fine, although it is a bit buggy, handicapped (it only supports 1 option) and doesn't support SRAM yet (not that the game uses SRAM yet), but it works.
any refinements will come later. I'm done for this week =P
as for why the text "Options" at the bottom has a hole in it, ...I have no clue. SonLVL doesn't show that the hole is there in the raw tilemap. I will have to investigate.

 

Having done all those object maps for Chaos not so long ago, I'm very familiar with the original game and all of its little quirks. So happy to be a tester/answer any questions about it as needed. Good luck with your project!