Sonic Generations Hacking (and More!)

As much as I'd LOVE (and indeed PREFER) that to be the case, the resolution of the screenshot probably means it's Green Hill in Unleashed. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

^ I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm simply not sure. Like it could be either one, only reason I'm saying Generations is because I've never seen an Unleashed hack go beyond throwing a Professor Pickle model over Sonic. I got to say though, the shading looks much nicer in that shot then it does in game.

 

Yeah that is pretty awesome that it is in there working, too bad for the GIA not showing up well though.

 

Judging from the picture quality, it seems to me that it's definitely a screenshot from a capture card (plus lol720p). Looks like Unleashed to me.

First off how slow is your computer if you get the stage loading too slowly?

As for custom stages, it's because they're almost never set up in segments for dynamic loading, thus the entire stage is loaded at once.

 

To expand on this, this is because the official levels only load one section of the level at a time. There's triggers scattered throughout each level that load the next section of terrain. Failing to load generally doesn't happen as a result of going too fast though. When you see that in a speedrun usually it's because a glitch was used to skip part of the level, therefore skipping a load trigger. If you're seeing this happen while playing normally, then you probably have a hardware issue causing slow loads. This doesn't happen in custom stages because they generally are not set up this way and usually always have the entire level loaded.

I'm not sure if custom levels even can use that method of loading at the moment. It has at least one notable advantage: it lets you be more flexible with the background/level layout, because you can design a stage without having to worry about some distant later section of the level being visible way in the distance, or an earlier section visible in the sky. Another thing a couple official levels do (like Rooftop Run) is have background stuff in the same place as the actual level; they can do that because they're part of different terrain groups, so you wouldn't have both of them loaded at the same time.

 

Thanks. You guys have seriously done the world a favor by putting up an easily accessible (in terms of context, not in terms of media) case study as to why 30fps just isn't adequate for certain genres of games to hit their full stride.

edit: Yes obviously I know the same distinction exists in console <--> PC Generations. -That- didn't have years to sink in, though, nor did the PS3 version (technically 'capped' at 60fps) have anywhere close to a consistent framerate.

 

Yep, it's Unleashed. Take a look at those awesome godrays. :3

That's really impressive.

 

But can't godrays be done in Generations too? or is that renderer that was found still unusable?

Alright Dario, we give up. why don't you go and give us a full explanation behind that pic of yours.

 

Well, they can. But as we'd seen before with Dario's videos and some screenshots in this same thread, if it was Generations with the Unleashed render, Sonic would probably have a pitch-black shadow under his foot and since he is under a shadow he would be much darker than he is right now (take that Savannah Citadel video showing off the Unleashed Render, when Sonic goes under the barracks and he's in a very dark brown color since there is no direct light hiting him).

 

Sonic Generations Path Recorder

This is a neat little tool that will let you record your playthrough of a level in binary format. Right now there aren't any tools that can import the files this outputs but the export format is incredibly simple, and I'm reasonably certain Dario is going to add support in sonicGlvl for them. I might adapt one of my maxscripts to allow import also. With this, you will be able to see how players react to your level design and the things in it.

YOU HAVE TO RUN GENERATIONS IN WINDOWED MODE. Auto-detection and hotkeys haven't been implemented yet, they'll be coming in the next version. That way you can load generations in full screen and just hit some keys to start / stop recording.

 

Oh, I was using speedrun videos as comparison. My PC plays the game ungodly slow, but I've never had that problem.

Well, I knew about the original levels using dynamic loading, but I wasn't sure about if custom levels worked any differently. So, is there any way or benefit for a custom-made level to use dynamic loading? I mean, would it make the level load faster or something?

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRUGBSqufPc[/youtube]

All of that stuff can be in Unleashed too through what seems to be a simple file copy.

 

A good/easy way to make rounded edges in SketchUp, is to just create a rectilinear shape, draw a circle on the side face of the shape (to the desired corner), and then push pull the corner out:





As for textures, it is probably best to export the blank model to a program like 3DSMax when you want to apply them, for better results.

 

Also remember to configure the units properly in 3D Studio Max when you want to export.

 

So out of curiosity Kharen, I tried to create a loop in SketchUp, and it took me about an hour and a half to make this one (it is admittedly a very crude/sloppy one at best).







This was a somewhat arduous process, and I can imagine making a cleaner one would be much more difficult/frustrating to do.

 

So, would this process be any easier in 3DS Max? I tried making one of my own after seeing your pictures, and gave up after probably an hour's worth of attempts. Making a simple shape like this shouldn't be so damned difficult. SketchUp actually crashed on me when I tried using the Instructor program to tell me how to stretch a square, because my attempts to pull an edge over and cut into part of the circle to make a shape I could delete just ended up tilting the square instead, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. The program is nearly impossible to get it to understand what direction I'm wanting to move something. If I want to move it up/down or left/right, it assumes I'm trying to go forward/back. If I try moving something forward/back, it assumes I'm trying to go up/down and left/right.

There simply has to be a better program to use than this. I understand I'm new at this and shouldn't expect to get something on my first try, but you would think that making a very simple shape would be something I'd be able to figure out after a couple hours at most. I've been at this for three or four days already, and I can't even make a freaking slope! All I can manage are rectangle and cylinders, and that's by using the square/circle tool and pulling at it!

Could somebody here who uses 3DS Max please let me know if it's any easier to use than this piece of crap program? The program I'm using is supposed to be made for a casual user even though it's giving me so many problems, and I'm worried that a professional-level program will be even more complex and difficult to use.

 

3ds max is very powerful, much more powerful than sketchup. You would probably need sonic-specific tutorials though, otherwise you'd get lost in the program quickly.

 

You could make a loop much easier in Max by making a plane and using the bend modifier and adjust it from there and model and extrude out and add to whatever you need if you need something quick.

 

It's even easier to loft or sweep a spline.

 

Anybody know where I could find said Sonic-related tutorials? If I can find one that breaks it down into easy-to-understand concepts, then I shouldn't have any problems and can get started right away.