Sonic 2 LD

It's one of the few zones that abuse crossing paths, actually. Aquatic Ruin has a path intersecting a loop... and that's it. And none of the other zones have crossing paths.

 

Mega-Muck.

 

Mega Mack.

 

Hence the "whatever". I can't be bothered to get that right, sounds stupid anyway.

 

I think Mega Muck was the term used in SatAm and Archie (and it was actual 'muck' that held Sonic onto the ground, not the purple goo).

A screenie of near the end of Act Two with the narrow path of vertical blocks and the ascending 'mack' might work.

 

I tend to disregard anything that isn't in the games themselves. I don't even look at the manuals, because that's all just a bunch of excuses (usually made by people who didn't even have anything to do with the designing of the games) for the fans who need a reason for everything.

That section is indeed very iconic, at least for me.

 

I was going to suggest a shot of Sonic while he's in one of the transport tubes.

 

Yeah, the water management in this game looks really poor. Since the water is drawn with background tiles instead of dynamic palette changes (which sucks, because even Sonic 1 had the latter), I agree with you that the water effects are most likely out. You'll probably have to do something like in Sonic Pocket Adventure, and have just a bit of water at the very bottom of the level.

 

I think the first one's better, too. After all, in the original S2GG, Green Hills' picture is just a loop, so they don't have to be gimmicks, they can be terrain.

I think the crossing paths are very indicative of Chemical Plant, and when I first saw that you chose that for the picture I thought it was spot on perfect.

Mega "Mack" is a mistranslation. Go to a Japanese MP3 site and Google translate it. Everywhere there's the word "Track" it'll say "Track/Truck" because the Japanese short "a" can mean both. Hence why Pacman (named after the Japanese "pakupaku" for flapping mouth) was originally going to be "Puckman".

I'll leave you alone forever now. + - [/scott pilgrim]  

 

There was rising water in Aqua Lake Act 2; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pstvqSGG9BA#t=2m3s

This is with the Game Gear version though, not sure if it'd work on the Master System.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11RlFHpK1x8#t=1m15s
Not sure what's going on in the MS version; it's either rising water that can't be seen or normal water tiles that can't be seen.

edit: fixed time

 

I honestly didn't know this either, and I've completed both versions more than once.
Anyone want to explain how this was done with only two layers, are the top parts (the waves) sprites with everything under it "scan line" palette switched? Or is it all animated background tiles that look like they rise?

 

Looks like the usual change-the-palette-in-the-middle-of-the-frame technique that is used in the other games (Genesis/MD and SMS/GG) to me. There's even a glitch when Sonic goes through the floor and the water is supposed to be all the way up but the screen shows everything green again for an instant.

I never knew the GG version had this. I wonder why they used the crappy effect with high priority dithered tiles if they could use what the Genesis/MD games use. On the other hand, Sonic 1 SMS also combined both types of water... GHZ has the dithered tiles and LZ had the palette change. They probably wanted to have water pools at different heights. But it's still a mystery why Sonic 2 on the GG has the rising water while the SMS version doesn't.

 

Not to deviate even further, but may I ask, a mistranslation of what? Tell me where we have seen any mention of Mega Whatever™ other than the western manuals? What does the purple water in this level have that's different from the purple water in Scrap Brain Zone? Until I get real evidence that "Mega Mack" wasn't just something the manual writer decided to throw in for whatever reason, then to me the whole thing is just Mega Bullshit. + - am I clever yet  

 

It's a long shot, but maybe since the Game Gear version's screen is smaller, there's less stuff on it at a time and therefore more visual ram space to work with and not experience slowdown. Also, the GG version is pointlessly missing the speed shoes, maybe they took them out to make even more room for the rising water effect?

 

I just tried playing the stage in Kega Fusion's "FullSMS" mode, which lets you see the whole virtual screen, beyond the Game Gear's standard borders, and there's no graphical glitching whatsoever, so that might not be the reason. I did notice something, though: while the water is rising, the rotating palette effect used for the water fountains doesn't work properly, which I guess could be a reason for removing it?

I think you're onto something with the speed shoe item, though. Isn't that the one single time it appears in the game? It's pointless, and removing it would make room in VRAM for the water surface sprites.

 

I assumed the notes on Chemical Plant in the Japanese manual, but when I checked it doesn't mention ????? anywhere. (When you Google it, all you get is hamburgers!)

SatAM mentions Mega Muck at least once (and I'm pretty sure more than once), so I've always thought of it as "more correct". The fact that it's in the cartoon and in the manual (misspelt in such a way as to suggest Japanese translation) leads me to believe it must come from somewhere and isn't completely random, but I admit the evidence is scant.

No one has any Japanese Sonic 2 players guides, do they? :v:

 

That's awesome. Go with that title card. The zig zagging path there plays a big part in the level.