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Spinball needs more recognition

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by AppleSauce, Nov 4, 2020.

  1. AppleSauce

    AppleSauce

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    The other day I plugged in my SEGA Mega Drive, and had a look through some games to play. I chose Sonic Spinball, and played up to The Machine. It was then that I realised, why not make some hacks of Spinball? To my surprise, a split disassembly of Sonic Spinball is not available. There is, however, an IDA disasm. IDA is, in my opinion, the WORST hacking utility ever. It's shocking that nobody has even attempted a split disasm of the game. Now, I'm asking for one, and hopefully one of y'all delivers.

    I'm not begging though, and if you do make one, take your time. I can wait.

    EDIT: Okay, maybe I was begging. Therefore, I'll do it myself, and after reading a few comments on this thread, I am considering making a Spinball themed hack of Sonic 2.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2020
  2. JuiceCake

    JuiceCake

    Nickname: Kolix Member
    Sonic Spinball is one of those games that kinda gets repetitive, so playing the same gameplay formula that can get boring after 40 min. So i guess... if you want to play more of p̶i̶n̶b̶a̶l̶l̶ spinball then great, but most people don't
     
  3. Travelsonic

    Travelsonic

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    I view IDA as more of a utility for reverse engineering things - and figuring out, as well, things to tweak (and how to go about it) - for example, the graph view and proximity browser helps a fuckton for tracing the loading and manipulation of data (especially when armed with an emulator with debugging tools).
     
  4. AppleSauce

    AppleSauce

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    That's... An excellent point.

    Spinball remains my favourite Sonic game, though.
     
  5. AppleSauce

    AppleSauce

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    True. I just wish someone made a split disasm.
     
  6. Liliam

    Liliam

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    Yeah you are.

    Also, IDA is an extremely powerful technical piece of software, not a "hacking utility," and it's telling that you didn't realize how ridiculous you'd sound by calling it one.
     
  7. AppleSauce

    AppleSauce

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    I stand corrected.
     
  8. Be the change you want to see in the world. If you want a split disassembly of the game then the tools exist to make it happen, go make it happen instead of asking others to do work for you.
     
  9. Ravenfreak

    Ravenfreak

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    No one is going to make a split disassembly for you. That said if you can get the tools to open up the disassembly at least it exists for a starting point. Spinball is okay, certainly isn't the best Sonic game. Also on that note, Spinball was the only genesis Sonic game that was written in C iirc, so it doesn't even use the same language as the other 16 bit titles and thus is most likely the reason such a disassembly doesn't exist yet. (Or it could just be from lack of popularity...)
     
  10. Rosiero

    Rosiero

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    I can play pinball for hours. Spinball just controls like ass and is designed to troll you.
     
  11. almeda

    almeda

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    I don't want to be rude but....don't nobody like that game enough to do all that, and definitely not enough to do it simply because you came here and asked them to. That's what seems a bit rude here. You also seem to have good intentions though, however this is the sort of thing you have to learn for yourself, and not rely on others for it. Sorry.

    Maybe you came here asking for others to do the work for you because the task at hand seems like it's way too hard for you, but it's that sort of mentality that holds you back from doing anything in the first place. Try doing some research. Learn some more. A lot of things like this may take a lot of time, years of work even, but this is how a lot of important and great things come to life in this world, and if you're really dedicated to something like this, you will see it's worth, and reap the benefits. Sometimes all you have to do is truly believe that you can do it, and take action.
     
  12. Dee Liteyears

    Dee Liteyears

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    To this day I still wonder how a Spinball themed hack or fangame would fare using the standard Sonic physics
     
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  13. AppleSauce

    AppleSauce

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    Well, I'm not the brightest, but I'll try.

    Same. It could be interesting.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 5, 2020
  14. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    I’ve dreamed about this too, a whole game of Casino Night Zones. Might be interesting. More fun than Spinball, anyway.
     
  15. The Joebro64

    The Joebro64

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    I recall reading somewhere that the classics' physics were heavily inspired by pinball, so the possibility of a game entirely comprising Casino Night-like zones is realistic.

    Then again, that's what STI was trying to do with Spinball...
     
  16. I agree, Spinball is a decent game with some flaws but regardless likely needs a rerelease or even a remake. And yeah, Spinball does need more recognition, not a lot of people know about this game.
     
  17. JuiceCake

    JuiceCake

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    I get pinball, its fast and really mesemorizing. But SPINBALL on the other hand is a game with kinda weird like maze design with some questionble collision, but somehow its really fun for the first hour. Matter of fact, you can beat spinball under an hour if your skilld or know the design of the acts. But everyone is right, its desgin is awful for the players.
     
  18. Sid Starkiller

    Sid Starkiller

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    I like the first 3 levels of Spinball, but the last one I feel is too much of a difficulty spike. But it's definitely not a game I'd come back to regularly. Once or twice a decade at best.
     
  19. Black Squirrel

    Black Squirrel

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    Spinball has better pinball physics than Sonic 2 and CD. Or at least better flippers. It's the platforming part that lets it down... and everything past Lava Powerhouse. But the bonus stages aren't terrible.

    I don't know how realistic it is to make the movement and collision more in-line with either the mainstream Sonics or mainstream pinball - it would be nice to see it happen, but I think the better course of action is to integrate more pinball ideas into a classic Sonic title.
     
  20. Lostgame

    Lostgame

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    I remember doing some work on the art compression format for Spinball back in the day. I very much enjoy its art style.

    It controls like ass, though. I mostly wanted to work on the art's compression format because it was undiscovered at the time (~17 years ago) and I wanted to see if there was any unused art. :)