I don't feel like reading 50+ pages so I'll just have to ask. Is the pc version going to require Steam? Because, I'd really like to get this game, but you all know how much I hate Steam, so I hope there will be a way to purchase it in some other way. When I bought a physical copy of Generations I was so disappointed to see I still needed a Steam account to install it even if I had the original DVD in my hand. Dear Sega, if you're reading this, please remember that Steam isn't liked by everyone.
Oh my god. They finally did it, it's finally happened. Congratulations to ALL parties involved! The mid to late 1990s gap has finally been filled! I'm actually very excited for the music as well!!!
If you look a the title screen animation it looks very similar to the animation style used in S2HD. Idk how much of the artwork they're doing, but they definitely did the title screen. Also Pagoda West has 3 S2HD members. Tom Fry (scanline99) Jared Kasl (Cerulean Nights) and Tee Lopes
Well duh, goes without saying that in actual factuality it's not a fangame. I don't think pointing out ways in which its similar to some of the best fangames we've produced is an attempt to discredit it as an official game. Actually I can only speak for myself. I'm sure that some people really are just...you know. Salty af. So anyway, when can we expect to see more from Sonic Mania? I need to see more than Studiopolis and reimagined GHZ to get hype.
I was just thinking that this may pose a problem for people with setups that have some input lag, specifically when trying to chain consecutive jumps. Chaging it to "Down+Jump while airborne" would avoid this problem entirely, just sayin'... :v:
Literally only posting in this topic to give a huge, heartfelt thanks for Taxman and Stealth. Taxman, I never really knew you/followed your projects, but as soon as I played that Sonic CD port, I was grateful for you. Stealth, I've been following you for more than a decade. I played through, and fucked around with, literally every variation of your Project: Mettrix engine, probably blasted you a decade ago with a shitton of stupid questions. Only a day or two ago, before I found out about this, I felt a need to go check out to see if that stuff was still online, and was super-glad to see not only was it online, but all of the user-generated levels and even the concepts were still there. You guys are heroes. <3
This discussion about Sonic 1/CD level design had me really reflect on what makes TaxStealth levels a bit different despite feeling similar, and I think a lot of it has to do not with structure but with the gimmicks and features of each level. I guess the best way to sum it up is that I thought Palmtree Panic and Stardust Speedway were phenomenal zones in Sonic CD that had CD/1 esque level design yet were still incredibly fun, and I think a lot of it really does have to do with not just with the structure but the unique gimmicks the levels provided. A lot of the world-by-world stuff in CD was inoffensive to blatantly annoying. Collision Chaos wasn't that bad, Tidal Tempest was a not terribly annoying but not perfect water world, Quartz Quadrant was only ok, Wacky Workbench was pretty terrible, Stardust Speedway was incredible and Metallic Madness felt like a much more polished Scrap Brain. When I played Megamix, I felt like it took the CD archetype and applied the "ideal" refinements to it, just better level gimmicks and general layout + presentation. I think that's the core difference between SCD levels and TaxStealth levels. They're woven from the same cloth but TaxStealth makes sure to weave with the ideal materials and not the stuff that dampens the experience. All of the gimmicks in Studiopolis that I've seen look incredibly fun to tinker with and give me that vibe of good flow. I hope and honestly do believe that most of Mania will follow suit in this way, and I'm deadly excited for it. I guess the other big thing about CD was how annoying Time Travel was in some areas, so with that being a non-issue I can see it being better by proxy of that as well. I do think the larger level layouts brought by CD allow for more stuff to be done when it comes to character specific things too.
Yea, this sums up the majority of my feelings. This is why I need to see more before I can get really excited.
The problem is it doesn't go without saying. I've already seen some ill informed comments on the internet (not here I hasten to add) that decry it as a mere fan game... Who better than the fans to make the next in series truly classic Sonic title though, given those who made the originals are not around in the same capacities and don't have the interest the fans do? Absolutely. Hence my original post. We all agree, it should go without saying. But it doesn't, sadly. On a side note, I do agree with you that I'd like to see more beyond GHZ and SZ. Just for a flavour of the game. We haven't seen Eggman/Robotnik as yet as it happens either, I've noticed, though his themes and allusions to him are everywhere in Studiopolis. Overall I'm enjoying the anticipation. It does mean buying a whole new console to play it, potentially! One hopes a decent phone port might be possible one day in addition to the main console games.
Yeah I fully agree with both of these. Some of those comments on other sites are pretty disheartening, but what can you do? It's important to funnel them out, given that the intent behind them is certainly not positive. I imagine this announcement was a pleasant surprise for someone like you though, your response to Sonic 4 dating back all that time. Must be crazy being an oracle of the future like that, eh? While I'm not sure of a phone port, I do believe if you have a pretty decent PC it should be runnable. Sonic CD's requirements aren't that high and it's sprite based too, while the fidelity of the sprites and such don't quite stack up to Mania's it should be more than doable regardless. That being said if this game sells gangbusters (I have a plausible theory that it will) I can imagine they'll more than consider a phone port. As an addendum to my prior post about level design, I did forget to say that Mania is very crucially pulling from S3&K with the Bonus Rings. I think this gives them a lot more freedom of design and just helps them do more stuff with the levels, mostly because: - They don't have to worry about 50 ring agendas, I.e. the requirement for entering bonus stages at checkpoints or goalposts. While it wasn't that big of a deal in Sonic 2 or CD, not worrying about this does allow them to have much more control over how many rings a stage has distributed which can add and subtract challenge (hopefully reasonably). I should note the 50 ring requirement is mostly absurd in Sonic 1 where once you get past about Spring Yard Zone attaining all the emeralds if you haven't at that point becomes considerably more difficult, almost unbearably so. - Secret rings also promote exploration to a wide extent because of how they can be hidden, and are also super rudimentary to differentiating character routes/playthroughs. Knuckles is super different in S3&K not just for his layouts and for his general playstyle but also because he gets a good deal less special rings in the Sonic 3 zones IIRC, Tails gets more if I remember right, etc. etc.
While I prefer the artstyle of MM over SB especially present MM, level gimmicks wise SB pisses all over MM. The only thing that lets SB down is act 3 being an alternative version of Labyrinth Zone.
I think Pagodawest needs more love. May I ask who specifically runs this, and what is there relation to Reteo and S2HD. As I've said earlier, Sonic Mania is, as of now, perfect in my eyes. Here is an Kotaku article, from 2012, which references Pagodawest new game, Major Magnet, and it's relation to Sonic. http://kotaku.com/5970340/theres-more-than-a-little-sonic-the-hedgehog-in-major-magnet At the time I thought they could make a stunning Sonic game, and now they are... So, ya... Sonic Mania is a start to finish dream come true for me. Everything I've wanted to happen over the years just seems to have finally fallen together. Either the world is incredibly small, or I (we) have been stomping around in the primordial placentia of this game for half a decade. Everything finally game together. Therefore, Sonic Mania is a super-fetus. The chosen one. The "Wonder Child"!
Basically they've amassed a dream team who's skills are beyond reproach. There's absolutely nothing to worry about here, which is such a refreshing thing for this franchise.
Taxman is just great. I'm honestly just super stoked that he's leading the project. On the topic of Sonic Mania, what levels do you think will PROBABLY return. Not what you would want to return, but what probably will. I'd bet Chemical Plant, Ice Cap and Death Egg are pretty sure fire bets in one way or another.
The art in Major Magnet is gorgeous. Unlike some others, I wasn't disappointed that Mania was pixels and not HD, but after looking at this I'm feeling some twinges... If Sega decides to follow this up with a true HD Sonic along the lines of latest Rayman games, there'd be no better team for the job than this. I'm very impressed that they can nail both styles so well.
Everything I've seen and heard out of Studiopolis has me grinning from ear to ear, and that's just a single act of an original zone. I can't wait to see what else they've let loose on. It's a shame that Sega thought it necessary for past stages to intermix with new ones but I'm confident there's going to be enough to spice things up going by how divergent Green Hill gets, and according to Taxman GHZ is the most tame in comparison. To everyone involved with this miracle who are undoubtedly reading this shit; Thank you and keep up the good work. I'm actually excited for something Sonic for the first time in years. I'm extremely curious for what they've gone with for bonus stages.
It is unless you play on easy mode or don't go after the chaos emeralds or something. Maybe it's my familiarity with S3&K because I have been playing that game since I was like 5.
