What HASN'T been done yet?

Well, as some of you already know, I'm very new to hacking and programming, being only an avid Sonic player so far. Since I joined the community, I've been (quietly, as you may notice from may lack of posting) reading the board regularly, and playing most of the hacks. I'm also fooling around with SonED and E.S.E., trying to learn the basics.

In the process, I asked myself if there was a point in putting out a level layout-only hack. Should I spend my time with it , or should I research some more before actually working on a project?

Well, while searching the board for something about it, I stumbled upon this topic earlier today, and a doubt came to my mind: what HASN'T been done yet?

You see, cool hacks like Sonic Megamix and Sonic Extended Edition already have a lot of cool features, like the Super Peel Out and all sorts of spindashes; there are lots of carachter and music sports; the palletes have been twisted in all sorts of ways, and so have the game physics. In this scenario, I'ts not unusual to see people accusing each other of copying ideas - only to find out later it was a coincidence, or something like that.

So I ask: what's left do be done now? Do the games still offer real possibilities for implements... or building new Sonic games from scratch (like Zonic Spike's Sonic XG) is the way?

I'd like to know your opinion about this. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

 

Well, creating whole new levels (new tiles, backgrounds and level layouts, right?) isn't exactly new, but I guess it's really the path to follow. I think Qjimbo summed it up perfectly: "games that actually feel like new sonic games".

Thanks a lot for the answers, guys; keep them coming! I'm pretty sure I won't be putting out anything in quite a long time (which doesn't mean I won't make my own palette/layout hacks for learning purposes ), but I'll participate as I can.

 

I like the idea of writing totally new songs - mainly because it's something I can actually do (although I don't have the slightest idea of how to port them to the Genesis format :D).

A nice Sonic Crackers hack is also somthing I'd really love to see! I imagine a game where you can alternate gameplay style: you play with linked carachters (like in Crackers) on some stages, and one single carachter on others (like in the original games). I don't know if it's possible, though.

As for porting stages form other Sonic games (or other series as well), I guess it's cooler to create new ones, thus creating the "new sonic game" feeling mentioned by Qjimbo.

 

Geez, seems like most of this thread's gone (due to the recent events, I presume)!

There were a lot of good ideas in here, so it would be cool if anyone feels like posting them again. The 8-bit sonic games porting discussion was particularly interesting...