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Sonic Forces Thread

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Blue Blood, Jul 23, 2016.

  1. Dude

    Dude

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    That's the gameplay footage they're using as promotional material? That's putting their best foot forward?

    If this is what they think is worth showing off, I hate to imagine what the rest of the game looks like. It's like they thought "Hey they liked Generations. Let's do more of that!" "OK but Generations cost us a ton of money so don't spend any time on it". Then the textures got ruined and the entire level got flattened into a single horizontal line that plays itself. Was this game built by a single intern or an AI program or something? Does anyone on the team play the game or does all of that get farmed out to some QA team in another country that they never have to speak with directly?

    I'm really thankful that Mania is a thing because otherwise I think Generations might have been the last Sonic game I ever get.
     
  2. Aquova

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    Everything we've seen has given me that half-assed vibe. It's been four years since Sonic Team's last release, but they don't have much to show for it. They've gone back to the boost style, brought back Classic Sonic, brought back wisps, hell they've even brought back Green Hill Zone. Everything really lies now on what the 3rd character has to offer.

    I understand it's easy to bank on nostalgia, but when we have Sonic 4, Generations, Mania, and now this all trying to invoke some level of nostalgia, it's really stretching thin.
     
  3. Lozicle

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    The reuse of Green Hill Zone is a bit of a let-down, but since they seem to be going the subversive route, it might be more interesting. Not that I'm the biggest fan of desert levels. The dash-panel is more of a concern to me, but since apparently some journalists had trouble getting through loops in Sonic Mania (???), I guess running through loops is a skill that needs to be taught now.
     
  4. ICEknight

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    The third character is an unexpected one?

    It must be either Flicky or Alex Kidd. :colbert:
     
  5. Ritz

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    Recall that bits of Green Hill were visible in the far background of Syria Zone. My guess is that the town and GHZ are both part of the same map, and that "look at how massive this world is" was one of the bullet points of their new engine- take into account that they're trying to cram all that geometry into memory, along with the suggestion that the footage shown is from the Switch version, and you've got a halfway decent explanation as to why this is such a blatant and substantial downgrade from Generations' GHZ. And since they've got a long history of handing their downgrade ports off to B-teams who then come up with totally divergent level designs, maybe there's also an excuse for the lapse of judgment that determined the Mario Maker-tier Chopper chain passed as good level design. That's all the devil's advocate I'm going to play for this game.

    The OC generator is real. Enjoy, guys!
     
  6. Kyuu

    Kyuu

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    A 30-second Google search brings up articles about side characters (Amy, the Chaotix, etc.) being in the game as NPCs - I wonder if that's what gave us the "Sonic only" impression?

    While I was faintly hoping for Adventure Sonic, I'm not too concerned about who the mystery character (or OC generator, if that's the case) is. I'm more concerned about how that third gameplay style is going to work
    ...Actually, come to think of it, has it been explicitly confirmed that our new friend is the third playable character? Grasping for straws to stay hopeful, I know, but still.
     
  7. CorralSummer

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    I don't know why you guys are acting all surprised. I was expecting this from the beginning.
    I hope Mania outsells Forces. It'd be funny.
     
  8. AutiMatic

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    Well...Sonic Team has the potential to make a really good Classic Sonic stand alone game, if they'll invite HeadCannon and the Mania team to the round table for the emulation of physics and level design. Can you imagine Mania, but overhauled to next gen graphics and larger playgrounds for Sonic & friends? I get this feeling Mania may outperform Forces, which I hope sends a message to devs, and shareholders alike. We didn't need a 3rd character or play style, when the 2 familiar styles need Jesus...very badly.

    I mean, boost is in the game, but it's dependent on wisp placement, so there's really no way to determine to what extent levels will be based off of that mechanic. "Use this wisp here, or fail!" is a terrible way to instill a good player interaction with the world. May be if they just got Classic Sonic right, they could translate that to 3D plane, without relying on boost as a core feature to design levels around...or pick up on Utopia...

    Dash pads directly in front of loops is so bad (I can't shake that feeling). I mean, where's the natural slopes and terrain to give the player the momentum needed to organically clear them aside from spin dashing? Putting a dash pad in front of a loop destroys the purpose of the loop! And that's not to undermine the use of them in Sonic 2 Chemical Plant.
     
  9. big smile

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    This is a joke right? The classic Sonic in GHZ looks indistinguishable from Generations 1, other than the sand which is barely noticeable. I don't mind them doing GHZ again, but they could at least make it different.
    This feels like they cut and paste GHZ from G1 with that sand stage from Lost World, much like the city stage feels like a cut and paste from Unleashed and Lost World. How has this been in development since 2013?

    The problem with Forces is that the focus feels so muddled. On the one hand it's trying to be Generations. But it's also trying not to be Generations by having the 3rd character and the "dark" setting.

    After Lost World and Boom, I can understand that Sega want to play it safe. But I wish they had just done a proper Generations 2. I'm sure most complaints about the repetition would have gone when people saw classic stages like Mystic Cave and Wacky Work Bench come back. They could have released Generations 2 in 2016 and then done a brand new nostalgic-free game in 2018/2019.
     
  10. plushifoxed

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    Absolutely incredible. If I wasn't laughing I'd be crying.
    Well, at least it can't be as bad as Lost World 3DS was. I hope. [​IMG]
     
  11. Felik

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    That classic Sonic footage was painful to watch. Reminded me a lot of Generations 3DS classic stages past Mushroom Hill (aka not carbon copies of classic stages). Lots of empty space and simple automated level design.

    Still wondering if the third character is in fact an OC character, that would actually be kinda fun and fresh. I have no idea what his playstyle would be though.
     
  12. GeneHF

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    Just to clear the air, mainly because it's been a buzzing topic since Generations with how SA1, SA2, and Heroes were considered an "arc", there's no such thing as Dreamcast Sonic. Modern Sonic covers 1998-Present. If we considered every Sonic with a different gameplay style its own Sonic, I assure you there would be FAR more than just three Sonics.

    3D Blast Sonic will surely come back, anyway. Everyone loves Isometric precise platforming. :v:
     
  13. big smile

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    It just makes no sense, as Generations Xbox 360/PS3 had excellent level design. And unlike Forces, it didn't have the luxury of 4 years development. In fact, Iizuka has said that Generations' dev time was shorter than usual, as the game was something of a late decision.


    Given how cut-and-paste Forces look, I can only assume that Sonic Team were working on another game which got canned. They then started working on this late last year.
     
  14. RikohZX

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    Not sure how you all can gleam exactly that levels are linear, automated things from literally 5 seconds of footage, not to mention the fact that Generations did stuff like boostpads right before loops too.
     
  15. Kyuu

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    It would be a pretty arbitrary decision (EDIT: To split modern into two "eras," I mean), yeah, but... Didn't Ryan Drummond state during an interview that Sega approached him to voice a third Sonic (presumably Adventure/Dreamcast Sonic) for Generations? I could've sworn I've heard that before, more than once.
     
  16. Retro_Stew

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    God please, the third character has to be Bubsy.
     
  17. Lobotomy

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    If Accolade wasn't owned by some horrible, horrible, shovelware factory, with probably no real people operating it, then I would say SEGA could probably pull it off, and people would love it.
    Can't be Bubsy, though. No T-Shirt. That shirt honestly made the character more than the cartoon bobcat part did.

    I super hope that it isn't some Fanhog the Hedgecharacter do not steal creator as the third playstyle. If that ends up happening I'll swan dive into a volcano. At that point, life will just become an extreme burden.

    Also:
     
  18. Blue Blood

    Blue Blood

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    You probably have heard that before, but it's total bull that keeps getting spread around. Drummond said that SEGA approached him back in 2009/10 and they came close to a deal which would see him reprise his role when everyone was recast. It fell through though, and we ended up with Smith instead. He wasn't asked back to do a third Sonic. And for arguments sake, if a third Sonic was to be included at any time on Generations, approaching the voice-over would have come along later on than the early planning stages.
     
  19. ugh Green Hill again. facepalm

    Want to rant, but won't.
     
  20. synchronizer

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    I'm embarrassed by how terrible that GHZ looks. I wonder whether it's the way all versions will be or if it's really just the Switch being cast aside.