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Old Sonic fangames

Discussion in 'Fangaming Discussion' started by Sik, Feb 20, 2009.

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  1. Shibunoa

    Shibunoa

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    This is the directory on my webspace which contains Xhedgehog stuff.
    It has the original 0.2.2a sources (which I once lost forever and then turned up on a German ftp), and updated sources which can be compiled with newer compilers and updated binaries (from 2006).
    I made the "updated" version from the 0.2.2a sources I got from the Jeff Read's resurrected site.
    Then I backed the site up on a CD, and deleted it off my hard drive.
    For some strange reason, I've never been able to get ahold of the CD again.

    Xhedgehog is notable for being the first (and the only?) fangame for which Linux was considered the primary platform.
    Even now, only an handful of fangames will run on a platform which is not Windows. Even less are open source.
    This is natural because the fangaming community doesn't know much about computers in general, and even less
    about programming (and no, MMF and Game Maker do not count as programming).

    If you want to run Xhedgehog on Windows, I think one has to fire up Cygwin and compile it.
    And then start his preferred X server and start the game.

    P.S.: I didn't mention it because I was almost sleeping and it didn't come up to my mind.

    EDIT: The shared library system on Windows is so crappy that compiling Xhedgehog is hard (or even impossible?).
    I do not seem able to reference the symbols of xhedgehog.exe from test-bay.zone.dll. I found no useful help on the internet,
    but it seems you can't reference an application symbol from a DLL. While on Unix it's perfectly possible.
    I've never bothered much with creating DLL on Windows because I've always found the DLL system horrible, so I hope I'm wrong.
     
  2. unAWARE

    unAWARE

    Mmm...morphball! Member
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    It was Bladerunners he was hyping. Yeah, it wasn't that great compared to the hype he was giving it. It was great compared to his other stuff, yes, but not as good as the hype.
     
  3. Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
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    Fuck, I had completely forgotten about Cygwin, I have it installed *adds to to-do list*

    XD
     
  4. Wetflame

    Wetflame

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    You know what else killed the fandom? Those horrible SAdv2 sprites. Nearly all the 360 engines used them. I think the push for this look put a lot of people off fangames in general.

    It was kind of funny, I remember Damizean making a 360' OLDSCHOOL engine when the old difference was that he was using the older sprites(presumably it's just to get the right size/spacing for the sensors).
     
  5. BlazeHedgehog

    BlazeHedgehog

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    ...Why would, of all things, a sprite kill things? That doesn't even make any sense.
     
  6. OSM

    OSM

    retro is for losers! Member
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    I think it was really because people just got generally lazier and started growing up.

    But that's just me, I was never a big part of SFGHQ. Fan gaming about Sonic in general is very much still alive though, so I don't know where you got the idea it was ever considered dead. :colbert:
     
  7. Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
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    Wetflame is just putting excuses to justify that people don't have so much interest in fangames anymore =P
     
  8. Tweaker

    Tweaker

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    I think it does, to a large degree. A lot of fangames opt to use the newer Sonic Advance-style sprites and mesh them with all kinds of environments, ranging from poorly-drawn MSPAINT level art to rips of old Genesis levels. The art styles clash together pretty strongly, and the intended player size from the Genesis sprites aren't carried over either.

    Personally, I just don't like the art style of the Advance sprites anywhere near as much as I liked the Genesis ones. They're fluid, certainly, but they're not a very fitting style for Sonic to use in a game. Even Sonic Adventure—the game that pioneered that art style—did not depict Sonic with those whacked-out looking proportions. It's just... weird.

    That said, the whole issue is a matter of opinion, and you should take it as such. If a sprite style ruined the appeal of fan games for one person, then they're totally entitled to that. It only doesn't "make sense" because you don't share that viewpoint, I think.
     
  9. OSM

    OSM

    retro is for losers! Member
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    I would think something like that would do more then make an individual quit all together. That would probably inspire me to do a better job then the other, but hey, I'm not the central brains of the community, so I'm just speaking from my own personal opinion.
     
  10. BlazeHedgehog

    BlazeHedgehog

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    No, because it still doesn't make any sense. Meshing graphics does not kill fangaming. If anything, having more graphics to choose from only helps things, and only the people who take their time to make quality games only care about clashing art styles.

    Using graphics from other games in different art styles has been happening in SFGs long before Sonic Advance came out. There's been a long history of fangames borrowing artwork from Megaman games, for example.

    Having more graphics options does not kill or help kill anything. The only thing that happened to fangames is the amount of time and work you had to invest to make anything halfway decent spiked so dramatically that most people get a couple levels done and then give up.

    So, no. It doesn't make sense.
     
  11. OSM

    OSM

    retro is for losers! Member
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    I think what Tweaker was trying to put across was that anything could have lessened the appeal in fan games in general. It all comes down to one's own personal tastes and what exactly turned them off about it. I think it was just getting bored of the entire ordeal and the fact SEGA hasn't made a really inspiring Sonic title in a long time.

    Would you want to be doing something related to something else you know that hasn't gone anywhere for the last couple of years? I wouldn't.
     
  12. Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
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    I repeat: what happens is that back in its day there were little fangames, so almost everything would become known easily. Now there are hundreds (if not thousands) of fangames, and hence no fangames become known easily, but just "another one in the bunch". The fact that there are less well-known fangames makes it look that there are less fangames in general.

    Get my point?
     
  13. Wetflame

    Wetflame

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    But there ARE less fangames. There are less actually being released, only a small handful a year and they're at the same standard as those being released around 2001, but with a lot less personality.

    If you're from the Oscar Wilde school of thought it makes sense. The general poor look of fangames, despite the fact that they should technically have come a long way, is demotivating. Being part of something that can't create something "Beautiful" and being exposed to so much monotony is what drives people away.

    Overuse of the Advance sprite turned me off downloading some fangames.
     
  14. Yuzu

    Yuzu

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    I agree with what Wetflame said, the Advance sprites are being overused in most fangames, and a lot of the time they are used with other sprites that are completely different in style and scale. I preferred the S3K sprites, but they're not really used much any more.
     
  15. saxman

    saxman

    Oldbie Tech Member
    I also liked Sonic PC -- very nifty, could have become something more nifty.
     
  16. Sik

    Sik

    Sik is pronounced as "seek", not as "sick". Tech Member
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    I just remembered another fangame: Sonic Jr. Yes, as it sounds =P But it isn't as crappy as you may think, I mean, it isn't a love fanfic, just "Sonic's son has to go to fight Robotnik" =P As usual, it has the "getting stuck in the ceiling" bug, though in a somewhat stable way, to the point that the author decided to make it a feature rather than a bug (if you play the tutorial you'll understand what I mean =P).
     
  17. DimensionWarped

    DimensionWarped

    Erinaceous! Oldbie
    As much as I just plain dislike the Advance sprites, I've seen a couple who make them work. Graphically that is. I'm still on the fence about whether a normal Sonic game could ever really be made with them.
     
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