My god, this is so amazing! Can this run on a real stock Genesis? Did you make sprite rotation by software, or you just have plenty of sprites at different angles? It is so fluid that I can't believe that it's real. Also, the music... it just can't sound THAT perfect. I mean, is this some sort of magic or what? I do recognize the spring swap sound from World of Illusion, but all the other things... not a clue.
Oh man this was really great! Good work from you and the team, the level design was great and while I can't guess the origins the music was good too. That boss was really something, died the first time but managed it the second try, and the ending was quite funny. Great hack, the team should be proud.
Shield graphics get glitched out if you take a shield into the boss fight. Aside from that, bravo to all involved with this project!
That was flippin amazing. Major kudos to Markey, Gallium, the beta testers and bugfinders on this, for real. That was probably one of the best fan game / hack efforts I'd seen out of the entire community. If there was tangible backup evidence that this came from a lost proto to some cancelled 32X/Saturn Sonic title, I dunno if I would've argued it, minus the opening. Spoiler And the boss's ending, of course lol. Seriously, great work. Everything was ace. Dunno any of the tracks though, even if I wish I did.
+ - MarkeyJester doesn't know how to end hacks :v: On a serious note, this was the better of the two hacks released before Contest Week so far that I've played, and it's amazing what you can make a Genesis do.
Music soo far: Titlescreen: Our Day Will Come - Norman Luboff - The Melachrino Strings" Alternative: Space - "20 Million Miles From Earth" Act 1: Wez Clarke & Maxine Hardcastle - It's Gonna Happen Act 2: Great Nalder - Sunshine Act 3 Boss: 4:47? (no title) EDIT: loltypos
Well, that boss was... trippy. I don't know, Markey. It was expected from you to give us another decent hack. I especially liked the new gimmicks which work well and are most importantly, fun to control and watch. The boss itself was something I didn't expect. When I saw your sprite somewhere I thought it was going to be a regular kind of boss, but this was... nuts. Though, perhaps the level is slightly overdetailed, but that's a problem I also have. We both are ambitious in terms of details when it comes to level art, and that's not necessarily bad. I also congratulate GalliumGrant for his neat work in act 3's layout - I didn't find anything I couldn't react to, and everything seemed visible enough for the player to carry on appropiately. Keep it up! EDIT: Were you inspired in Mobius Evolution with that gravity thing? I recall having done something similar. Looks like you made the idea more elaborate though - that's nice.
Just a few oddities I noticed: The second frame of Sonic's balancing animation shows some random pixels near Sonic's lower hand. In Act 1, doing a peelout into the block (on the side opposite the spring) with the anti-gravity switch on top and the spring on the right will sometimes cause Sonic to die. On my first playthrough of Act 3, I immediately went to the left, and going through the air-tube below made Sonic blast through a good portion of the level. I thought this was intentional at first, but I haven't been able to replicate it in my subsequent playthroughs. In case it's relevant, playing on Genesis Plus GX. Anyway, I don't have much to really add - love everything about this hack, it feels very authentic. I thought the way the Spin Attack functioned in the boss was a nice touch also.
Really nicely done, though + - I'll confess to having to use savestates to get through that boss. Sheer number of hits meant I wasn't sure if I was even damaging it. =P Who's the VA on the ending? I know it's not you =P
Spoiler It's a reference to Adrian Grauna's rants about 80% of Sonic Hacks not working on real hardware, there's also a Part 2.
+ - He's ranted about it for 2 HOURS. WOW. The ending of Next Level just became even more funny =P Thanks for the source!
Wow! I am so damn surprised, you're pretty damn good on the ball... Title Screen -> The "Alternative" was actually used, though I did try to find the original actually (thanks for finding it for me actually, I'll donate $20 for this one, seeing as you found not only the one I used, but the original-original one). Act 1 -> Well done, that's exactly the one. Act 2 -> I'll "accept" this one, though it actually came from the original tune Alex Lee - Take it (1992). Act 3 Boss -> I'm afraid I won't accept this one. It is mixed in there though, but it's very mild into some sort of hybrid (though a nice mix at that).
Thank you; this has been driving me crazy! I knew I had heard it before. I must've heard this on the radio a few times years ago.
I've shared my impressions of this hack with MarkeyJester during development, but I know how nice it is to receive impressions about your work so I feel compelled to share some more thoughts on the forum about the release version. This is the best Sonic hack I've ever seen. It is a very well executed marriage of technical accomplishment, immaculate presentation and polished gameplay. Crucially, despite being so accomplished in all these key areas, all of the technical wizardry, sumptuous visuals, excellent music and fun level layouts - while impressive in their own right - exist to serve the gameplay first and foremost. On top of that, rather than stretching yourself thin and finding yourself in development hell with a grandiose, ambitious concept, you've aimed to do something very achievable - a single level, and then put everything into executing that single level to an official, production quality that one could reasonably have expected to see released on the console. Each of its parts is a triumph of that particular area - the pixel art is beautiful, the music sounds great, both use some innovative tech tricks to make them even more special. The fact that you're able to do nearly all of this yourself is almost disheartening. It would have been so understandable (and forgivable) if you'd have executed most of these things well but fallen down in one area, but you haven't. You have a natural flair for game making, and your instincts and intuition for every aspect of this game's construction is absolutely on point. I'm floored, both as a hacker and as a player. Behind the scenes, there's also a lot to be admired about the way you gather feedback and criticism, your attitude towards that feedback and your eagerness to accommodate those viewpoints without being defensive about your work. I can hardly believe that you've put together the best hack this community has seen in 3 months. It is so lovingly crafted and just oozes quality, meticulous attention to detail and some real flourishes, such as that intro and of course that mental boss fight. In my opinion, fully custom levels, with new art, layouts and populated with original custom objects, is Sonic hacking at its pinnacle and this is such a singular and perfect expression of that - I really cannot understate how impressive this is. To do it solo... you should feel really, really proud of such an amazing piece of work. You have once again raised the bar, and set a new high water mark for all other hacks to be judged against. Thank you to you, and to all the other contributors involved, for bringing this wonderful game to fruition. I have only one question: does that monstrous boss have a name?
I think this is massively impressive from a technical standpoint, the the level design is really confusing and downright not fun for the first and third acts. Still, CRAZY impressive.
I am sorry to hear that, I do understand where you're coming from. I must admit, I did get confused myself on my own layout, as well as Gallium's at times. ...having said that, I was worried that the levels would be too short. That is the most wonderful thing I have ever heard anyone say about any of my work. I would like to remind you of course, that you and the several others as beta testers, were the real directors of the project. You proceeded to push and mould what you thought was bad, into something good, with honest thoughts and attention to the little flaws. If you guys were not there making those remarks, you would probably not be saying those wonderful words. I'm not trying to be modest though, I am just ensuring that you understand how important your help has been. It does not, though it is basically a giant version of the "Climber Bug" enemy you see in the level, that climbs and shoots across the walls. If you would like to give it a name, I would gladly accept!