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Sonic Frontiers Thread - PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by MykonosFan, May 27, 2021.

  1. Put simply they aren't very interesting. I will ignore that I can't come up with any (new) way they could be used that would require thought, no situation where a player would need to think first about how to deal with that with situation and then come to this conclusion to use a quickstep or slide in a clever way, because in all situations I come up with the conclusion is already obvious.

    Instead, I will talk about the technical part of it, in which it also is not very interesting. There's nothing particularly precise about the manner in which these are used. You often wouldn't need to precisely time activation of a slide in the same way you'd time, for example, the insta shield to phase through an object. Or even the somersault attack to slide under barriers in SA2. You don't really need to release or deactivate the mechanic in any precise timing window either. There is little precision involved.

    In more cases then not, the quickstep is the same. Even in cases where it does need to be timed, the window is usually quite generous.

    No, the only "challenge" these mechanics bring is that of a reaction based one. WHich is fine, at least on an intial run, but when a level is memorized (and you do memorize levels after running through them enough times) the need for even this skill dissipates.

    Maybe if quickstep sections were randomized, rng every time you ran through a level. Hmm...

    In any case, I don't find them interesting. And rather than quickstep, I'd prefer a move that feels more similar to the how pressing left and right in the "Going down" section of the original Speed Highway in Sonic Adventure. That would allow for more precision. Instead of lanes to switch to, you have a wide radius along the x axis, and have to navigate to a specific point on that axis in time to pass through whatever obstacles are on the path. You could even put this strafing movement on L1/R1 as the quickstep currently is...

    ...that is, if the linear, straight away sections the quickstep usually comes up in absolutely HAVE to be included. I'd much rather just have a dodge/roll mechanic to be used in fights taking place in an area rather than a track.

    Also no. I don't agree that the wall running sections in those games are particularly great.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022
  2. I mean, even the story isn't doing much to hook anyone at this point. We assume it will be decent because of Ian Flynn's involvement, but the basic premise as presented -- Sonic on a mysterious island with some connection to a cyberspace dimension -- isn't one that leaps out as being very interesting either.

    A story + full gameplay trailer would've been received far better than this, I think.
     
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  3. Dek Rollins

    Dek Rollins

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    And I also don't know what you mean by "Ring-Around-the-Rosey about it." I don't really see anybody here being a drama queen. In fact, the only over-dramatic posts I can recall in this thread are the post I quoted and the post it was responding to bitching about supposed toxicity.

    I remember similar posts appearing in the Origins thread a little while ago, complaining about toxic behavior without specifying who was being toxic or if it was even happening on this website. If somebody says something in one of these discussions that irks you the wrong way, why not quote those posts and actually respond to them? Throwing vague accusations of toxicity into the air does not add anything useful to a discussion in my opinion.

    The negative opinions I see in this thread are valid criticisms and understandable disappointment. Certainly nothing deserving of the rants I quoted above. "If you don't like it, don't fucking buy it-" has to be the most toxic thing I've seen in this whole thread since the gameplay reveal.
     
  4. The fact tha5y Flynn is writing it already is a plus over what we've been getting.
     
  5. Blue Spikeball

    Blue Spikeball

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    Says you. The wall running quickstep sections in Gens' Speed Highway and Unleashed HD's Arid Sands still give me trouble to this day :V
    The chase sections in Unleashed HD also tended to be particularly challenging, especially those that forced you to jump on occasion to dodge attacks or obstacles.

    I don't think replacing quickstep with a strafing that worked like Goin' Down would be an improvement at all, because the slower side movement would force the devs to give the player a more forgiving window, and it would be too easy to overshoot, making the whole thing feel less tight.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022
  6. Is it an unpopular opinion that this doesn't instill any hope in me at all. i kind of liked his work on Archie, but IDW bores me immensely to where I have dropped it several times.

    And yeah, I have read the Metal Virus arc.
     
  7. charcoal

    charcoal

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    The quickstep is a perfect mechanic for any 3d sonic game and in my opinion, even if it doesn't have dedicated sections to it, it's still better to have than not, just as a little on the fly dodge move.
    Most 3D sonic games without it barely even used the bumpers anyway so it's not like we're losing valuable button real estate:V
     
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  8. Being able to overshoot if you are not precise enough with your inputs is exactly the point.

    And uh,
    The possibility of overshooting due to not being precise enough with your inputs is exactly the point. Also, the speed can be increased.

    Further, these things are playtested. It could be made more forgiving, but only just enough to be possible and not frustrating for most. Also, the ring system exist.
     
  9. If it is just being used as a dodge mechanic, why not just use it for one button in conjunction with the analogue stick. Then you can do it in any direction rather than just left and right and get another free button…

    …not that all buttons on a controller need to be used.

    If you are talking about the context of a boost game, dodging obstacles while running down a linear path, that can just be done with the analogue stick. I mean, besides drifting, there is nothing else you use the analogue stick when going down a path. And if it’s a game with Adventure styled controls, there’s no need for a quick step at all…


    Huh. I just realized that’s another thing I could have compared it to. The first snowboarding section in City Escape. Except imagine more obstacles to serve around.
     
  10. charcoal

    charcoal

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    Have you played colors before? There's a good reason the quickstep needs to be on the shoulder buttons, it breaks flow otherwise.
     
  11. RikohZX

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    Just because Sega and Game Informer say Ian Flynn is writing, doesn't mean Ian Flynn is writing if you know what I mean. Unless there's a full staff credits list out there that I don't know about, even when Ken Pontac and Warren Graff were "writing", they were basically just doing the dialog and jokes (and as far as I know, judging by how radically different Japanese texts translated by Windii could be, only the English dialog at that) while someone in Sonic Team wrote the core story and scenario stuff out.

    It could very well end up that just like how Sonic Team basically hasn't learned their lessons at all with the past decade, there's a high likelihood that Flynn is only the voice of the cast in whatever story we get, which could even be minimalist for all we know and only popping up in between zones, which would kind of undermine the advertising power for the fanbase that attaching his name implies.
     
  12. oats4brains

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    It looks like they took the Forces engine and assets (rails, springs, pulleys, etc) and scattered them around a generic BOTW-inspired open-world without any cohesion whatsoever.

    Would love more than anything to be excited for this, but it’s very underwhelming to say the least.
     
  13. Vanishing Vision

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    DNVSxksX4AE1M9c.jpg
     
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  14. Turbohog

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    Wasn't this basically a lie? I think Frontiers Forces at least didn't share any level designers with Generations.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022

  15. No actually. Only boost game I haven’t. The quick step on the analogue stick isn’t what I had in mind however.
     
  16. (I want to stress, again, that by no means am I suggesting this game is doomed to fail or bad looking. I'm quite positive it will at least be a step up from Forces, if for no other reason than it looks more interesting.)


    There is just one thing however that has left me with a sinking feeling all day: how did Sonic Team actually just port the boost style gameplay over with minor edits to an open world context? My mind cannot comprehend what has happened. HOW?

    A year ago I chatted with a few people about this project and we all assumed, even if the game gets every single other thing completely wrong somehow, there basically is no way that ST could just slap the boost mechanics into an open world. Putting aside each of our personal desires, they would have to modify Sonics mechanics to make them synergistic with open world. No classic fanboy dreams, no adventure fanboy whining....it just made no logical sense.


    I'm not joking one iota when I say this: I'm willing to pay the full price of this game just to hear an explanation by someone involved with the development of this game. I'm not a social media guy and I don't know what it would take but I feel pretty desperate for an explanation here. I would even pay one of you who are more socially connected than I am, to reach out to someone and get an answer.

    I couldn't care less about the anything else related to the game at this time. I seriously just need to know, WHY. Like.....WHY. I've never been this confused as a Sonic fan and I've been a fan for 30 years.

    This has nothing to do with me venting about what I want. I don't care about Sonics design, the story, extra playable characters, the classic art style, not a thing diehard fans complain about right now. I just have to know this one thing.


    Again, the game may look better in the coming days, I'm not shitting on it. I need an answer though.
     
  17. RikohZX

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    Basically. Besides a handful of staff hang-on, Lost World was mostly new interns, and then Forces was new interns on top of that with a few returning. Like the head level designer being one of the new guys from Lost World. Sega straight up lied five years ago to hype people in publicity for their next major game, and I can expect them to do this with any mainline game now that they've set a precedent for repeating mistakes.

    Never blindly trust Iizuka or a statement from Sega about Sonic, always find out context and info surrounding it. The fact that this even has to be said is the real tragedy.
     
  18. MontiP

    MontiP

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    Well, there are interviews coming for the month, so stay tuned to find out! :ruby:
    Derailing the topic for a quick response:
    Yeah, I actually agree that most critisisms here are perfectly valid and reasonable, and the "If you don't like it, don't fucking buy it-" argument doesn't really help.

    But...

    "I don't really see anybody here being a drama queen" Either you skipped a couple of posts or need glasses, 'cuz for every 15 responses 2-3 of them were... a bit out there, to say the least.



    or maybe you actually saw those posts and secretelly agreed with them but shhhhhhhhh nobody must know :ssh:

    Now back to Sonic Front-fucking-tiers(TM)!

    Honestly, add me to that weird camp where the more I rewatch the gameplay footage... the more I become invested in it.

    Buuuuuuuuuut also add me to the camp of "there's-no-way-this-isn't-alpha-footage-shown-to-the-public-on-purpose-because-haha"
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022
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  19. Boxer Hockey

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    It's his targeting reticle activating. Looks like it just got turned off for this video with all the other hud elements.
     
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  20. RikohZX

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    The sad thing is I enjoyed Forces.. on being able to replay the stages as I pleased, however I pleased, and mostly trying to test myself for Red Rings or the extra challenges. Because that core story playthrough is the absolute pits to struggle with in interest, especially if you have to replay the game because it doesn't keep your damn save when you uninstall it from Steam I guess (or I deleted it).

    I'm sure that technically speaking there might be something enjoyable about Frontiers on a base level, but there's going to be way more games I prioritize first. I'm an idiot that pre-ordered Origins Deluxe Edition, but I'm not a blind idiot.