Sonic 06 demo gone from XBL

I don't think so, because I specifically remember this being a problem with a number of near-launch titles. The original Xbox had the same RAM upgrade, too, if I recall correctly. And even if the devkit RAM upgrade didn't come out until later, that could still be a cause, seeing as the Xbox 360 was launched in 2005.

There are other things, too. The graphics themselves look sharper - sharper contrast, with more saturated colors. The final game looks very washed out and kind of dull, but the TGS trailer pops really well. It's possible that an entire shader pass had to be removed.

From the TGS trailer:


How it ended up looking:


Darker, muddier, less complex lighting on Sonic.


There's no lightning present in the flame tornado that chases Sonic at the end of Crisis City in the final.


There's much, much, much less debris in the final. To the point where you almost don't even notice it's there (one or two pieces of trash every now and then).


I can't tell if this is my capture setup or if it's some sort of weird shader effect, but the sky of Soleanna has this weird ghosting effect that isn't present in the final. Regardless of that anomaly (it's probably my capture), there's also a lot more people in the streets and a much further draw distance for them.

(For the record, some of Sonic's old "flip" animations are still in the game, but I think you have to use the white gem's weird hovering homing attack to see them).

 

That animation is in the final, it just doesn't play every time, likely due to a glitch, though I upon reflection, I'm not so sure they were quite so dramatic in the final. The post HA flip animation appears to be the same one every time, just from a different angle (referring to the bit in Kingdom Valley).

Kingdom Valley in the final is overcast, whereas the TGS version was a clear day. That change greatly reduces the amount of diffuse lighting and lowers the contrast seen in shadows. More interesting though is that motion blur effect - Was that in game or the result of post processing? Also of note: putting noise on a video fools your brain into thinking the image has more detail.

It's possible I have some of my info about the RAM incorrect, though.

 

I remember enjoying this game so much initially as it was my first ever Xbox 360 game... A part of me still wishes for a fully playable non-glitchy Kingdom Valley with Unleashed quality graphics. Sadly if I try and play it now I get bored and frustrated after 5 minutes...

Regarding the demo, it's still listed on the AU page: http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/s/sonicthehedgehog/




Also, take a look at the comments on this video published in 2006. Very interesting...
http://au.gamespot.com/users/SimonM7/video...X0wlGT75bsFvDfd

 

No, he definitely has a few different variations of the post-homing flip—like he does during homing combos in Unleashed. I find it odd that he only has exactly one, the bland backflip, in the final version.

As for Kingdom Valley's speed section, he definitely never bothers to do any of those fancy animations during the high-speed sections. He has a rolling animation for jumping between jump-point in non-high-speed levels, but in the high speed section he has this kind of non-animation that happens every time you do it—laziest thing I've ever seen in a game from this generation, it looks so bad.

 

360 dev units did indeed get a ram boost a few years back, it was raised so devs could use a lot more ram for debugging, I think it went up from 756mb to 1gig or more. And just incase you do not know the retail 360 has 512mb ram, about 50mb held for the OS and background work.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't know how I ever missed this, but:

Are you fucking serious? Hahahahahahaha...

 

What are upgrade chips? haven't touched the game in a while. The PS3 also didn't get all the DLC that the 360 version got. the PS3 only got Hard Mode DLC.

 

The upgrade chips would be the items you get from the shops, like Sonic's bounce attack and those colored gems, Shadow's Chaos Lance, or Silver's weird teleport hover thing. If they aren't in the PS3 version, does that mean you just start off with all the techniques?

Also (you can tell I'm just playing around in the Wiki now), reading about those gems again piqued my curiosity. The red one gives you a "Homing Smash Attack" during which you can stop in mid-air and aim your attack. Is this "Homing Smash Attack" different from your regular Homing Attack (aside from the mid-air pause), or was that just some bullshit written up to make it sound useful? Then again, hardly any of those stupid gems were, the lightning shield is the only one that really helps you, the others seem to be there for the sole purpose of dicking around.

Uh oh, I've got an urge to go play it now. Maybe after my roommate leaves for work. Good thing I stocked up on beer the other night!

 

Shadow's upgrades that you buy the the shop. The light chip (light dash) need is needed to into the forest, and the red memory chip isd needed to get into Kingdom Valley. Surely they cant be gone?

EDIT: Didn't realise I was beaten. But about the homing smash, it does have one advantage. When used without anything to lock on to, Sonic's jumpdash is arched (as in every other game) which makes means he can get a little further and he's easier to control. Oddly enough, his regular homing attack did arch in pre-release versions and Shadows still does in the final.

 

What's sad is that the PS3 version came out months after the 360 one and the PS3 one is even worse.

 

No, the PS3 version does have the items in the shops. So if that's in the wiki, that should be changed. Don't know how that got messed up. (Nevermind, I edited it, hope that's alright.)

I don't know if this is just me, but I had a lot less problems playing the PS3 version of the game than the 360 one.

 

And to quote myself, should I feel dirty for having a good time? I installed the game to the console so the Loading times are ever-so-slightly shorter, and considering I've played this game a fair amount in the past, I generally know what to expect as far as glitches and control issues. Outside of getting a bit over-zealous with the Light Dash in Wave Ocean's HI-SPEED-GO-GO-GO segment, and being literally unable to finish Crisis City with all my rings because of that goddamn tornado that's carrying a car(!), it's not so bad.

Then again, I've already got a couple beers in me, having just finish Flame Core and Iblis (phase 2).

Time to go face an untimely death (or three) in Radical Train's high speed segment. If you're not taking this Sonic adventure seriously from the get-go, and why would you after how ridiculous the start of the game is (Eggman kidnaps Elise and Sonic pretty much decides to wait until morning to even think about giving chase), it's just another 3D Sonic game with a bad camera and iffy controls.

Implied hedgehog-human romance aside (which critics outside the fanbase blew way out of proportion to begin with; look at how aloof Sonic is trying to be when Elise is fixing his invisible elbow injury), the story at least makes more sense than that of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

 

Footage of some of Nextgen's alpha version. Very laggy, but even then Sonic still seems to be faster than in the final. Also there must have been some incredible amounts of RAM they were putting in because it's obvious that the game looks much better here visually. Dare I say it; this version of the engine looked.... fun.

 

It looks a bit livelier, anyway, but I'm not sure about "fun."

Alas for what could have been, though.

 

To be fair, the video was only running at 90% speed, at least compared to the sound. It's almost comparable to the difference between PAL and NTSC Sonic 1.

 

I'm surprised that there isn't a group of fans somewhere making a good version of this game. (I don't care what anyone says, while the game sucked overall, it did have some neat concepts).

 

I've wondered that as well, though it's probably not likely to happen without there being a PC version of the game. It's a damn shame. I'd get in on that, though I'd be more likely to rework the script or something since I have zero programming prowess, or the means to edit textures, etc.

I love Omega's idle animations by the way. In fact, I gotta say he's the coolest character in the entire game. I've always kinda had a suppressed soft spot for the ol' bot though. He was also my favorite character in Chronicles (not just for his antics during the credits), and my favorite partner character in Shadow The Hedgehog.

 

I'd start with a Nextgen remake if it wasn't for the fact I'm busy with another game :v:

Seriously. Nextgen was the biggest waste of potential the Sonic series has ever seen. Well, probably besides Sonic X-Treme (which might have sucked anyways).

 

We should strap a bomb to Ruby Eclipse and tell SEGA we won't deactivate it until they release a director's cut of Sonic 06