SONIC MANIA: THE MISFITS PACK is a total-conversion mod for Sonic Mania that adds freshly-remastered classic Zones to play through. But these aren't just any Zones. These levels are widely considered to be boring, unremarkable, or just plain terrible. This mod changes them! Loops in Labyrinth Zone, momentum-based ziplines in Hill Top Zone, anti-gravity in Wacky Workbench Zone - these are just a few of the things this mod does to squeeze the untapped potential out of these long-maligned levels! To sweeten the deal, the mod comes with a custom-made soundtrack full of remixes! This mod is not finished yet, but I started this thread so I could have another place to post smaller bits of progress that aren't appropriate for Twitter or Discord. Once the mod is finished, the thread will be updated to reflect that. Feedback is greatly appreciated! Links: Twitter Discord Carrd - this includes a download link to the latest available version, the SAGE 2020 demo. List of levels: HILL TOP ZONE AQUATIC RUIN ZONE METROPOLIS ZONE LABYRINTH ZONE WACKY WORKBENCH ZONE MARBLE ZONE SCRAP BRAIN ZONE Screenshots: Spoiler: Warning, large screenshots Here's a music video of Labyrinth Zone Act 1 to kick off the thread.
That labyrinth-screenshot looks very promising. Music sounds so as well. I'm curious how this is going to turn out!
First impressions... this mod is incredibly fun, at its high points I think it's some of the best stage design I've ever played in a classic fangame/mod. I'm just gonna gush about the coolest stage for me, which was definitely Aquatic Ruin. It's got a healthy and fairly minimal dose of speed sections that all felt very tasteful and did more than just throw you into an S-tube or a bunch of loops and call it a day. They were brief, yet fun and exhilarating to watch. For the vast majority of the stage, you are in total control, making these brief detours feel very satisfying. The water segments surprisingly didn't feel too punishing; I never felt like I was stuck underwater for long, and when I did I felt like it was my fault for falling to the bottom path. Even then, I felt like I was rewarded for looking for ways to get back up, like one section in Act 2 where I came across a handlebar swing thing that I could use to fling myself up and escape the water via a much faster path . The level design felt largely very organic, with minimal blockiness, much like the original, and I felt like there were plenty of areas that took advantage of the drop dash and allowed me to roll along blissfully from platform to platform. I felt the gimmicks borrowed from other stages were used pretty tastefully as well, and there were very few times where I felt like I was being "funneled" into a specific route just to do a gimmick. Nearly every time I looked above or below me, there was another path to take, but I was never really lost. It felt very straightforward, but as a player I felt like I had a lot of choice and that was extremely refreshing. The music kicked absolute ass and my god that background art is incredible, as well as the little details y'all put in like those unique corkscrew sprites. And if that wasn't good enough, Spoiler: big spoiler the stage even ends by explaining to you - step by step - how sex works. Is there ANYTHING you haven't thought of? In terms of feedback, keep in mind this is meant to be constructive and the game looks amazing regardless! But to me the other stages, especially Labyrinth and Wacky Workbench, felt so drastically different from Aquatic Ruin in terms of level design, that I found myself missing the latter. I'll just use Labyrinth as the example. I felt like it took a little bit before it started to tackle the things that made the original so "unremarkable", as you put it, in Sonic 1; conversely Aquatic Ruin seemed to tackle those things right from the get-go. Labyrinth Act 1 seemed to retain a lot of the blocky and sometimes very tedious platforming from the original (perhaps by design, I noticed the Act 1s seemed to be a little more reserved before shaking things up completely for Act 2). It was like it was all building up to the fun new concepts that Act 2 introduced, and as soon as I climbed up above the skyline and experienced a whole new Labyrinth Zone in the style of 3K or Mania, I found myself wishing for a lot more of that. But I felt it took a little long to get there, and the more blocky, wait-y platforming sections in the style of the original seemed to drag on for a bit. When the stage is good, it's so good, and the reimagined environment and atmosphere (along with the awesome soundtrack) really helped cement the idea that this is Labyrinth Zone in a whole new form. But I couldn't help but find myself wishing it would go full Aquatic Ruin mode and leave some of the slower, more traditional sections behind. I also think people tend to be quite split on whether or not they like Labyrinth Zone's platforming, so I'm sure there's someone for whom this is right up their alley. Either way, I am very much looking forward to seeing the rest of this project. Outstanding work!!
I'm eagerly waiting for this mod's next demo. I like the concept to replace some Mania zones with classic ones.
Introducing: Misfits Missions! Get the most out of the mod with these specialized challenges that are guaranteed to test your mettle! On a serious note: buy Sonic Origins! Show SEGA where the money's at!
As much as I know this is a joke thanks to Twitter, I honestly really do like the mission concept. Perhaps you could actually implement some form of mission side-mode?
Music for Labyrinth Zone Act 2 after many people asked: And a new addition to Aquatic Ruin Zone, a Knuckles-exclusive intro sequence:
