Maybe, just MAYBE, Sega have released a private version on Steam to a large amount of people to test it and report bugs which they can quickly fix before releasing it for everyone? Or is that hoping to much?
Jeez, it makes you wonder how major the changes will be. Only thing that seems certain though is it'll likely have the newer model (which is really just the same model anyway but without that ugly cell shading).
There is no new model; the iPad version just lacks the cel-shading altogether, probably because they couldn't get the shader working on the original iPad and maintain a steady framerate (it's locked to 30fps as it is).
When I say the iPad version lacks cel-shading altogether, I meant as in every model in the game is missing cel-shading, not just Sonic. It's not a conscious design change, it's just to accommodate the older hardware.
I feel like the put too much effort into it for it to just be "DUR TOO HARD TO RENDER A SINGLE TEXTURE" seeing as they redid every texture in the game to make Sonic and the enemy's match the environment art. X360/PS3 Ipad
By looking at that you would think that the 360/PS3 textures were incomplete compared to the Ipad version.
It could also be that the consoles had enough computing power for realtime effects/shading/processing that had to be pre-baked to some degree on the iPad version. Then during the pre-baking process, someone just said 'ah, heck with it, let's actually texture these'. (it's not exactly new in the games industry for solid colors and processing, although using an actual texture with actual flat colors for that is a really odd way to go about it)
The Sonic 4 Ep1 Steam registry entry keeps getting updated. Earlier this week it was updated to version ID 7, but since nothing else changed, I thought it wasn't a big enough change to post about it here (especially since I have a limited number of posts as a trial member). :> Today the registry entry got a more significant update, the version ID in the content entry (app 202531) has been updated again, this time to version 8. The launcher entry (app 202530) has been updated with a "Configure" launch option, this means Sonic 4 Ep1 will use an external configuration tool like Sonic Generations.
I can only assume they're going to release it as a promotional "Sonic 4: Episode 2 WILL be coming to Steam! Buy the first entry in the saga today, surprise!" sort of deal (I don't believe Episode II has had an announcement for Steam yet, I believe this will be comparable to the "Sonic 4 Episode 1 is coming to iOS devices!" debacle.) Just my theory if it doesn't drop in the next couple of weeks.
I really do feel sorry for Sega's PR monkeys because most of their surprises keep getting outed like this. Yet, at the same time, I can't help but think they not only expect it but at least plan for it. But then they'd be masters of viral marketing, far more so than the likes of say... Valve.
And it's been updated again, the content entry (app 202531) has been updated to version ID 9, and the command line for the default launch option in the launcher entry (app 202530) was modified from "SonicLauncher.exe" to "SonicLauncher.exe -QuickBoot". My guess is that opening the game through the "Configure" launch option will open the launcher, where the settings can be changed, while opening the game through the default launch option will just launch the game (quick boot).
A thought occurs: Watch 'em tack this onto the PC release of Sonic CD, as a free bonus or something. :v: Hey, never know. Would certainly be a more concrete, no doubt unintended, way to tie in that "prequel" marketing malarkey. :P
Knowing previous deals, I can actually see "Sonic 4: Episode 1 $x.xx, Get 25% off if you already own Sonic CD!"
Just noticed something in the Steam registry about Sonic 4 Ep1, they added the Sonic 4 homepage there and added SEGA as the developer. Probably these were added when the registry entry was updated to version 9.
