Hey, this is pretty damn good. I've only just got up to CPZ because the game's difficulty is pretty high. At first I was a bit confused cause I got a few Emerald Monitors and realised that you had to get ALL of them to get an Emerald (sorta like Silver Stars). The Emerald on the monitor screen is a bit misleading - perhaps you should change it into an Emerald Shard? Otherwise, very good. I can't give a very full review because yeah, CPZ.
My god, I am thick. This is what I had as the first few lines executed if CONTINUE is selected at the title screen. Code (ASM): TitleScreen_ResumeGame: move.b #1,(Resume).w ; resume game (chose top option from title menu) jsr LookAtSRAM cmpi.b #$FF,($200021).l ; blank save for some emulators? bne.s TitleScreen_Force1P tst.b ($200021).l ; blank save for some emulators (or a file with no progress)? bne.s TitleScreen_Force1P clr.b (Resume).w ; there's nothing to resume: initialize new save TitleScreen_Force1P: jsr LookAtROM For those of you that prefer English: * Assume a resumed game by setting the Resume flag. * Prepare to read/write SRAM. * Is the emerald count flag, $200021, set to 255 for unaltered SRAM in some emulators? If not, branch to TitleScreen_Force1P. * Is the emerald count flag, $200021, set to 0 for unaltered SRAM in some emulators or just a save with no progress? If not, branch to TitleScreen_Force1P. * Stop assuming a resumed game -- even if there is one, it had no progress made. * TitleScreen_Force1P: Stop reading/writing SRAM. That is by far the dumbest logical error I've made since I started coding this hack. I've just changed that to this and done a quick test. Code (ASM): TitleScreen_ResumeGame: move.b #1,(Resume).w ; resume game (chose top option from title menu) jsr LookAtSRAM cmpi.b #$FF,($200021).l ; blank save for some emulators? beq.s + tst.b ($200021).l ; blank save for some emulators (or a file with no progress)? bne.s TitleScreen_Force1P + clr.b (Resume).w ; there's nothing to resume: initialize new save TitleScreen_Force1P: jsr LookAtROM The game should now correctly assume that uninitialized SRAM does not merit a resumed game, so when I release a bug-fixed version of the hack in a couple of days, I can stop watching YouTube videos fail to select NEW GAME and be unable to finish missions. Also, everybody keeps talking about emerald shards, but I'm not sure how clearly I can draw a static image of one in a 16x16 square. It is kind of written on the screen you see entering every single level, so I thought I'd done enough.
I'm sure someone said this . . . Yeah Thorn, it's quite clear, but I suppose it's more an aesthetic thing than anything else. As for the icon itself, quite a few folk here are good with pixels. Yeah, my opinion of this hack will probably take a 180 once I try that! :v:
The monitors would probably look silly with pixel emerald shards in them. And then there's the possibility of people not knowing what the hell was that monitor they just jumped on. All ya need is an emerald count somewhere on the screen like somewhere around the score/time/rings area. When they see the counter go up, it should then click in their heads what they had just got.
Aye. I tried to keep the design simple so it would be recognizable, but I dunno, man. First went for a Sonic 2 style, then tried Sonic 1, since those are the ones actually used right now. Even if you don't like any of the "shard" ones, I've kept a full one that probably looks better than that lazy thing you have right now.
I gave giving the emerald shard a shot, basing it roughly on the SA/2 Master Emerald shards. There's something that bugs me about how it turned out but when I tried changing it, I just made it worse, though this is most likely more "I suck at sprites" rather that an indicator of quality.
<div align='center'></div> This is what you get come SAGE. Classic Mode has no missions, no saving, and no overworlds. It also cuts out all of the hidden mini-acts from the Adventure Mode. That is the most I can give those that don't care for the current missions. Oh, and here's a counter using Neo's emerald picture. I didn't so much learn to use screen-space objects as I did copy over the code for the GAME OVER text and edit out the control reading, fly-in from off-screen, and reset to the title screen. <div align='center'></div>
Noticed a color glitch in Chemical Plant Act 2, which occurred when I landed on the spikes in the first water switch area (changes back to normal after you leave the level). Not really a big problem, and didn't know if you knew about it, so I decided to post it: Picture This hack is nothing short of amazing! I completed the previous version, and I love the changes you made to the 2010 version so far. I'm just wondering though, are you going to add Super Sonic gameplay somehow? And are you still planning to have the special A button moves as earnable uprgrades in the final version?
I think the black background of the new emerald monitor might look better if it was white like your last one.
Classic mode is going to be a deal-maker for me. Every year I try to play this, and every year I get stuck emerald hunting in cascade valley and can't find anything. The mission hints aren't exactly cryptic but they don't help you locate anything. Especially when its so easy to just get sucked into the classic sonic gameplay of just getting to the end of the level. I've been playing for half an hour already and I still only have one emerald. After going through cascade valley act 2 for the third time trying to get the underwater launch emerald and forgetting where the launch sequence begins causing me to just barely miss the emerald, all of the fun value just got sucked right out of this hack. Although I will concede that the wall jumping is wicked awesome. This is a very technically impressive, and well-made hack, but the mission mode stuff definitely needs to be optional. I'll be playing the SAGE build when Classic mode is public.
A counter will be great, though I'm not sure about the position. How about having it in the main HUD? And I still prefer the shard idea. Still, Neo's shard icons are promising (and the full one is nice, despite my preference against it)--and it's good to see a proper frame etc. on the monitor.
Looking good. Yeah, the full-sized emerald sitting in the box looked just a little odd, now it looks like a proper item box.
While I like the idea of it snapping in and out like Donkey Kong Country, I think you should do what that game does with the positioning as well, and keep it up the top of the screen. Also, another small suggestion for the HUD.. getting rid of the "x" next to the emerald and the huge gap for the numbers. It looks.. very much like an edited life icon (which it is, I know :P), but to the point it looks out of place. Everything looks and feels amazing. This is truly one of the best ROM hacks, if not THE best one of right now.
Does Classic mode have the Sonic 4 mode without the boosters and homing attack, or is that another option to come in the future?
Classic Mode is cool. But best believe I will be doing the missions all over again. I only got like, 13 Emeralds or something, but each of them were very well deserved.
I'll echo this sentiment. I just end up exploring the level and eventually run across them. Most of the times I've forgotten the clues, anyway.
I still think that the only reason I recognize Neo's other pics as shards is because I knew what he was trying to create. That's not to say they're not drawn properly... I just don't think it's clear in that small window unless you know what it's supposed to be beforehand. The only thing that tells you in-game is the mission screen, but the fact that the full emeralds weren't recognizable tells me that this one instance of being told in-game isn't enough. The issue here is that while it appears on-screen only if collected just like DKC, it doesn't disappear. The entire reason for the counter is that people kept forgetting how many monitors they'd opened, so having it vanish a few seconds after opening one doesn't really mitigate the problem. It's in the lower-right because Chaotix kept its monitor statuses along the bottom and they weren't intrusive... I feel like having the counter elsewhere could block your view. I also want to have timers for all items in the future (e.g. showing how much longer your invincibility or speed sneaker lasts), and a whole line of these would look better along the bottom instead of the top in my opinion. No, that's on hold or dropped, because I've realized that I can't find the line between legitimate Sonic 4 concerns and pointless bitching. If you want to play without homing attack, I promise you that the game is 100% completable. Then again, since you loved boosters and homing attack so much to build Sonic 2 around them, I'm sure you're fine with it either way. + - You're not barely missing it because you're "forgetting" it, you're barely missing it because it's physically impossible to reach just by rolling through the tunnel, whether you simply walk into the tunnel and hold right or you spin dash on the way in. You need to use that "wicked awesome" move at the apex of your launch to reach it. With regards to the mission titles, I'm torn between naming the first mission "SPRING PUZZLE" or "HEAD ALONG THE LOWER ROUTE AND FIND A WAY TO USE THE UPWARDS SPRING TO LAUNCH THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE CEILING WHERE THE ARROW POINTS". All I can do is use arrow signs and lines of rings to hint at areas, then hope you think "hey, there was a mission name that kind of fits what this area looks like".
I was thinking about this actually, and I came to a conclusion: if you did it mario 64 style where you can tell the game what mission you want to accomplish, certain modifications in the item layout will help facilitate reaching that goal, for example you could block off paths that don't take you to the mission selected. Also, I was ignoring the arrows because I never knew which mission they applied to. If you did the thing I mentioned before, you could make only the selected mission's arrows visible. Implementing that would be a monumental pain in the ass, and with classic mode on the way I really wouldn't blame you for not wanting to do it that way.
Yeah, there's your answer. Trust me, I've thought of a lot of the things being mentioned; I just haven't been hit with so many concerns at once until now. I was kind of hoping to complete another layout for SAGE, but ended up making new and prettier displays and an easy mode instead. ...at the very least, I'm anticipating getting reviewed better than Gijinka, given the community's reaction. I think Retro Channel'll have it in the bag... the cosmetic, non-mandatory rewards in played-it-to-death layouts and expanded HUD actually nullify almost every complaint in this topic.
I seriously have no complaints about the emerald missions, and in fact I think you should raise the emerald requirements for the later zones. But apparently my opinion differs to everyone else's. I don't think the mission names are too cryptic, and I don't know what other people are doing, but I usually stumbled across one or two emeralds each act accidentally. Still, it's good that you're adding a Classic Mode to appease those that want it. grumble grumble casuals grumble grumble
