Aha, firstly the design, I must admit at first I too thought it was a fake, I think that due to it being more filled up than the average sonic game, gave some of us that feeling "Too much going on to be possible", but of course, after seeing the YouTube clip and some production shots, I can now relax and tell you that you have some decent HD art there, and I'm not disappointed in it being filled up with lots going on, it makes it seem less empty in my opinion. As for the whole Sonic 4 thing that's been mentioned, Although I do think it's better than what's seen in Sonic 4 in terms of level design (Just looking at the grassy leaves on the ground, those are awesome), I don't wanna think that this is a Sonic 4 let alone the real one by SEGA, having said that, does this fangame have a name? If not, would you like a few suggestions?
This really looks like it has potential! Although I will give my two cents for the sake of clarity: I think things would read more clearly in the foreground if you lessened the amount of clouds and perhaps made the blue sky a little more neutral. This way the foreground would pop more against the neutral sky and you could see what's happening in front of you much better. In reality, objects that are in the distance become less detailed to the human eye and it's only when you approach them up close that you notice their small traits. You can see what I'm talking about in the application of the background elements of Sonic 2's EHZ. (ie. solid colored green mountains with a little light value, defined by three shades and no less, that still defines what the objects in the BG are. The other BG elements have this theory applied too.)
It's definitely a promising project. I'd like to see it as more than a collection of old stages with one or two new ones thrown in for good measure, though. Seeing something like that as its own full-size standalone set of original acts would be awesome, but then, that's maybe a little too ambitious for an independent fan project. By the way, didn't you post this on the Sega forums at one point?
This is the prettiest Sonic fangame I've seen yet. So pretty I doubt my PC will be able to run this. Great job.
This is really impressive. Repulsive beyond measure, and it doesn't look any better in motion, but still impressive! This project is a first for the community in a number of ways, and I'm eager to see where it winds up. I only hope that you start working on a more industrial stage as soon as possible- anything that'll force you to reign in the atrocious level of visual clutter. I might actually want to play this if you get that right.
I'm going to have to agree with Ritz here. The graphics definitely show effort, but they just end up looking like a mess to me. But if you can get the gameplay down right, then that'll more than make up for it. Though we haven't actually seen any real gameplay, so yeah.
Visuals do need toning down in that particular stage. Apart from it being a little too busy, it might help less crazy-awesome hardware play it right if there weren't as much going on in the level. There's such a thing as too much of a good thing, but there's definitely some nice things about that look: the grass, for starters, so much better than the plastic flatlands of Splash Hill Zone.
I hope he changes nothing about the graphics. They're lovely. Good luck man, you seem to have the graphics down, but don't forget the all important Sonic physics here.
you're awesome :D 'nuff said. I look really forward for the game and I love all the beautiful colours! go for it!
Wow. Just, holy shit. After seeing the video, that removed any doubts. Hope this gets finished, cos it'll be a simple case of 'Sonic 4gotten'.
Actually it's Emerald Hill Well, the visuals certainly look impressive, the Sonic model really looks spot on and the little details like the flowers bouncing around make the level really seem alive. However, I do have to agree with everyone that it looks far too busy, and this is mainly due to the high contrast present in the foreground art -- it really looks like you got carried away with bump mapping. Simply softening up the tones does wonders: It would also help to get rid of some of the extraneous detail (too many leaves on the floor grass, the vines and bushes randomly placed about, etc).
I agree with softening up the tones, but I do not agree with getting rid of the "extraneous" detail. I think it's just perfect, it adds to the lush appearance of the rest of the level. This doesn't have to look like an HD remake of a certain game, it has it's own unique style to it. If it looks like this already, I don't think we should be telling him what to change unless it flat out doesn't work in a Sonic game. Although, like I said, considering how amazing this looks, that probably won't be an issue anyway. This, as well.
I'm not getting this love of the lighter shade. It looks perfect as it is to me, I LIKE the darker contrasting shades really. To me, lightening it up just washes everything out, the dark looks excellent. I say leave it alone, it's fine as it is and gorgeous.
