August 26-27 in Hartford, CT Sonic Stuff Research Group Reunion @ RWX 2023! Me, Andy Wolan, Rlan, and SSNTails are reuniting in Hartford, CT for an SSRG reunion! There will be two SSRG panels, one for a general talk and historical reflection on SSRG and it's impact, and another focusing on the technical challenges we faced as we attempted to tear into the classic games for the first time ever to figure out how they worked. Although it has switched hands a couple different times, the original SSRG (1996-2003) is where it all began. We had to figure out what made Sonic games work without a wiki or pre-existing guides to help us. So if you're interested in the origins of Sonic game research that still persists after a 25+ year run, you can hear us talk all about it at Retro World Expo. Go to their website for tickets. Tell your friends. Most of us haven't met in person, let alone spoken to one another in a long time. So this should be interesting for everyone! About us: Andy Wolan Best known for: Creating Emulation Zone and co-creating Sonic Stuff Research Group Rlan Best known for: Creating SFGHQ and SoST SSNTails Best known for: Co-creating SRB2 Saxman Best known for: S1, S2, S3K Hacking Guides ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ORIGINAL POST: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a successful talk back in 2021, Andy Wolan returned to RWX in Hartfort, CT in 2022 to give another talk on the original Sonic Stuff Research Group. As the founder, he oversaw one of the largest information collection efforts the Sonic online fandom has ever experienced. In his talk, he dives into the various origins of what became the community you all know today. He deserves a lot of credit for organizing around the diverse array of efforts engaged in by faithful fans of the series. He recently uploaded the fully edited video of his 2022 talk, and I am posting here... And if you want to hear a newer 2022 version demo of the song talked about in the video (which is MUCH better), you can hear that here: https://soundcloud.com/grove-damian...d&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Also, stay tuned for some interesting 2023 info I have to share... (!)
Interesting history lesson for sure. I appreciate that he included follow-up information in post production. I'm sure you must've gotten a well deserved kick out of the man in the audience remembering your My Car song.
I remember the original SSRG. It was a huge deal having loads of sonic info in one place. Sonic CuLT took it to the next level eventually. I remember that my favourite thing about SSRG after a while was typing it in the URL bar to access SFGHQ.
For all the stuff about corrections being made I'm still not sure why SHC is being referred to as a Sonic Retro-run thing when it is completely separate from any site control. If you want full details, feel free to reach me directly considering I run the thing and have for a number of years, and also was staff on the current iteration of SSRG until quitting a few years ago.
Nobody's perfect? I don't really know what to say. But I'm certainly more than happy to relay this to Andy so he can update the slides. Just an oversight or misunderstanding. EDIT: I've noted it in our group notes. I'll see to it that it is changed.
This is honestly the first time I am hearing about this. Indeed, no one is perfect. PM sent for further clarification.
As someone who was not around during this era of the online fandom, I’m looking forward to these panels. Unfortunately I live far from CT so hopefully this will be videotaped like the 2021 panel (which I still need to watch)
Both recordings (RWX 2021 and RWX 2022) are more or less the same. The 2021 version is slower paced but may be easier to follow. The 2022 version has better overall audio and video quality, and has an interesting "bonus" segment at the end, but is faster paced. The 2022 version also has some corrections to the content from 2021 panel, and has auto-generated Closed Captioning (CC) that was proof-read. RWX 2021 SSRG Panel (Link) RWX 2022 SSRG Panel (Link)
Added the following correction to the video description: Sonic Hacking Competition (SHC) was incorrectly stated as being run by Sonic Retro. It is run independently of Sonic Retro, though it receives promotional support from the folks at Sonic Retro and the current SSRG. (Hence my confusion.) The SHC was first held back in 2002, and was created by Nayr T'nargh, a SSRG staff member. (Whether or not the event was hosted on SSRG or elsewhere is unclear.) As of 2010, the competition is managed by Spanner while the SHC website (https://shc.zone/) is run by Cinossu.
Understandable. As for anyone that is within a reasonable driving distance of Hartford, I totally recommend that you check it out. And if you need help finding a place to lodge, I can recommend a few places near the Harford Convention Center that is reasonably priced.
So, this may come off as a cheap "find an excuse to bump the topic" post. And it IS convenient, isn't it?! *wink* But actually, I've been trying to get something posted over at Sonic Stadium. It seems they're difficult to reach. I sent an e-mail, but I haven't heard a word. So I signed up to the forums (I didn't already have an existing account after all these years??). Turns out when you're a newbie, you can't do much at all. I can reply to threads, but I can't make new threads, submit news, or even send direct messages. I'm not quite sure why they have things locked down so tightly, but it makes it extremely difficult to simply make a thread promoting the SSRG reunion. I don't want to be a hit-and-run guy, I just want to make sure people know. I know there is at least a minimum amount of cross-over between this site and Sonic Stadium. I feel kind of silly asking this, but would anyone here who happens to have an account be so kind as to help me out? Maybe if someone makes a thread that says "HEY, this SSRG thing is going on, and I stumbled upon it, and I was totally not asked by Saxman to make this thread". And since I can reply to threads, I'll say "oh, what a surprise, I totally didn't expect THIS to be here". Actually, I don't care if they know you're posting on my behalf or not. Doesn't matter. But is anyone interested in doing that? Preferably in the Sonic News section?
News posting about the reunion has just been shared on both Sonic Retro and Sonic Stadium. For those on the fence about going, we are doing our best to make a memorable event. You don't want to wake up Monday, August 28 and find out all the cool stuff you missed, so consider attending if you can.
I'll try my best to attend if I can, but no promises. I still rely on family and their schedules are packed at the moment.
Thanks for reminding me Spanner! I'm creating a list of former/current post-emuzone staff to be included in the presentation. I'm not sure who the current staff is. Last I talked to was StephenUK and Ordos. If any former staff would like to be included, please reach out to me.
Update: at the moment at least 6 SSRG alumni staff members are planning to attend. We will also have a few surprises at our booth. Some updates: - "SSRG Reunion" panel scheduled for Sat. - "SSRG Reverse Engineering" panel scheduled for Sun. The "Guests" listing on RWX website has been updated.. https://retroworldexpo.com/guests-2/
By merging your posts, this got bumped *down*, despite you having newsworthy information to add with several days between posts. I assume that wasn't the intent. But as a friendly reminder, you still have a chance to get tickets. We're 2.5 weeks away. Panel details are being finalized with the team. But it's really coming together. I'll tell you, I personally am very excited about the Reverse Engineering panel. This is where you'll learn how a small number of us figured out how these games worked and where their data/code was without the help of pre-existing guides, tutorials, or even general knowledge on the subject like you have at your luxury today (we had to do things the hard way!) Modifying old video games wasn't nearly as prevalent 25 years ago as it is today. So I think it's a fascinating story to tell on many fronts. And in conjunction with that, you might pick up some how-to tricks along the way. And then the other panel is where every one of us (how many now? Six?) will be able to share the stage together and reminisce about "the good ol' days". I've been excited about the idea of meeting these folks face-to-face for the first time ever. (Although I have met one already, and maybe there will be a chance to share on that later). Finally, it'll be fun being able to meet those of you who have committed to going (thank you!).
I am extremely interested in this panel in particular, but for a number of reasons I am unable to travel. Will any of this be recorded or otherwise preserved for the future, or is this all a "you gotta be there" kind of thing? Either way, I wish you all a fantastic time, presenters and audience alike.
Thanks. We're planning to record all panels. When they will be posted is anyone's guess due to the work required in editing that much video. I understand if you can't make it due to travel distance etc. But for anyone on the fence, if you live 2-3 hour drive away from Hartford or live close to a station on Amtrak's Northeast Regional line, do consider going. Besides the panels and booths, this will be an opportunity to meet at least 6 SSRG alumni staff members from the early day of the community in one location, most of whom are traveling in from various parts of the US to be at this expo.
