Random Hack/Mini Project Thread

Introducing.......the Super Special Spindash in Sonic 1:




So, for years people have asked me to port the spindash into Sonic 1. Before, I didn't think that the Spindash was a necessity in Classic Sonic gameplay, but now, I have finally seen the light. Instead of just porting the same old move, however, I decided to go even further beyond, and made a few enhancements to the seminal technique. This new and improved spindash not only grants Sonic the power to dash forward with a burst of speed, but also grants him the ability to move through space and time, and even across different dimensions. However, with great power, comes great responsibility, so be careful! It is a bit more difficult to control than your ordinary, standard spindash, so use wisely!

Special Thanks to ProjectFM, vladikcomper, and all of those involved in making the spindash guide(s) on Retro.

Welcome to the next step in Classic Sonic Gameplay Evolution. Welcome to the Next Level.

Download

 

Recreated Sonic Mania's Title Screen as an April Fools joke.
Download it here

 

We were talking about Fiz's Red Ring of Death hack in the discord.
So I made a quick demo of it in Sonic 2. It's just a quick 5 min hack.

Just made quick update that makes the Ring Monitor hurt you to for more consistancy.

Anyway it was just a quick change from:

Code (Text):

1. CollectRing_1P:
2.  
3.     if gameRevision=0
4.     cmpi.w    #999,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have 999 or more rings?
5.     bhs.s    +            ; if yes, skip the increment
6.     addq.w    #1,(Ring_count).w    ; add 1 to the ring count
7. +
8.     ori.b    #1,(Update_HUD_rings).w    ; set flag to update the ring counter in the HUD
9.     move.w    #SndID_Ring,d0        ; prepare to play the ring sound
10.     else
11.     move.w    #SndID_Ring,d0        ; prepare to play the ring sound
12.     cmpi.w    #999,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have 999 or more rings?
13.     bhs.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if yes, play the ring sound
14.     addq.w    #1,(Ring_count).w    ; add 1 to the ring count
15.     ori.b    #1,(Update_HUD_rings).w    ; set flag to update the ring counter in the HUD
16.     endif
17.  
18.     cmpi.w    #100,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have less than 100 rings?
19.     blo.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if yes, play the ring sound
20.     bset    #1,(Extra_life_flags).w    ; test and set the flag for the first extra life
21.     beq.s    +            ; if it was clear before, branch
22.     cmpi.w    #200,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have less than 200 rings?
23.     blo.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if yes, play the ring sound
24.     bset    #2,(Extra_life_flags).w    ; test and set the flag for the second extra life
25.     bne.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if it was set before, play the ring sound
26. +
27.     addq.b    #1,(Life_count).w    ; add 1 to the life count
28.     addq.b    #1,(Update_HUD_lives).w    ; add 1 to the displayed life count
29.     move.w    #MusID_ExtraLife,d0    ; prepare to play the extra life jingle
30.  

To:

Code (Text):

1. CollectRing_1P:
2.     if gameRevision=0
3.     cmpi.w    #999,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have 999 or more rings?
4.     bhs.s    +            ; if yes, skip the increment
5.     addq.w    #1,(Ring_count).w    ; add 1 to the ring count
6. +
7.     ori.b    #1,(Update_HUD_rings).w    ; set flag to update the ring counter in the HUD
8.     move.w    #SndID_Ring,d0        ; prepare to play the ring sound
9.     else
10.     jsr    (HurtCharacter).l
11.     endif
12.  
13.     cmpi.w    #100,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have less than 100 rings?
14.     blo.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if yes, play the ring sound
15.     bset    #1,(Extra_life_flags).w    ; test and set the flag for the first extra life
16.     beq.s    +            ; if it was clear before, branch
17.     cmpi.w    #200,(Ring_count).w    ; does the player 1 have less than 200 rings?
18.     blo.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if yes, play the ring sound
19.     bset    #2,(Extra_life_flags).w    ; test and set the flag for the second extra life
20.     bne.s    JmpTo_PlaySoundStereo    ; if it was set before, play the ring sound
21. +
22.     addq.b    #1,(Life_count).w    ; add 1 to the life count
23.     addq.b    #1,(Update_HUD_lives).w    ; add 1 to the displayed life count
24.     move.w    #MusID_ExtraLife,d0    ; prepare to play the extra life jingle
25.  

 

I didn't originally plan to release it as its own thing, but since some people (hardware enthusiasts in particular) were asking me to do it, so here we come...

Some time after the release of my most recent hack to date, Sonic 1 Blastless, people have finally discovered and appreciated one of its hidden gems: it's capable of running in full 320x240 resolution! This is unlike the absolute majority of Mega-Drive games (Sonic series included), which only used 320x224 resolution at best.
However, due to hardware and analogue TV-signal limitations, the full 240 pixels vertical resolution is only possible on the PAL systems, while the NTSC ones have a shorter 224-pixel screen. This is why almost no official Mega-Drive games took advantage of it, as all the regions except for the Europe (PAL) couldn't use it. It essentially required extra time and effort to properly design and test games to support different screen resolutions.

In the end, no official Mega-Drive Sonic game or hack used the hardware to the full potential in that regard. I wanted to change that, so Sonic 1 Blastless also became the first hack to support this resolution.
It became possible thanks to its heavily-modified engine, that was designed to work in arbitrary screen resolutions.

Some people really appreciated the effort, but also wanted to play the original game in the extended resolution. So, allow me to present to you...

Sonic 1: 240p Edition

This is the edition of Sonic 1, that is running in proper 320x240 resolution, in which you can see even more of the screen! This is actually more faithful to Taxman's ports that also use this resolution instead of the standard 320x224.

Please watch to comparison video for side-to-side difference with the original game:



This is of course built on top of Sonic 1 Blastless, because modifying the original engine would take too much effort at this point (it's a lot harder to pull off than you may think).
As a side effect, this hack includes Spin Dash and dozens of bugfixes and optimizations to the original game, that were featured in Blastless. As you can also notice in the comparison video, the engine has been so extensively optimized, that everything loads times faster than the original game.

Due to heavily modified engine, however, it also has a few quirks and issues you should probably be aware of:

• Most of the demos are out of sync due to slightly fixed and improved Sonic physics (removed the speed cap, disabled controls lock when jumping after rolling etc);
• There's a certain block in SYZ3 that blocks your way (many people have noticed it out when playing Blastless; and I'm afraid it hasn't been fixed yet);
• Sonic's palette is deeper blue (just saying, because some people seemed to have problems with that).

Download

As mentioned above, the extended resolution only works in PAL mode! Make sure to switch to it before booting the ROM. You'll see a warning message.

 

Earlier this year, I've been helping AURORA☆FIELDS with documenting a disassembly for the Sonic 1 prototype and during that, I decided to make my own ROM hack of the prototype and see how it turns out. The result was... meh. Not a lot of features were added and I intend to scrap it since I'm working on a few hacks, although I'll list you the changes that will be within the ROM:
Different music from a few other games
Sonic 2 sprites
Sonic CD SFX
Speed cap has been removed alongside the spike bug (partially removed)
The spindash is here, although without the dust, so the camera bug seen in GHZ Act 1 is fixed
Some other bug fixes and minor improvements

The rest of the prototype bugs are there and some new ones I made. There is also a bug in Gens where the game freezes for a bit in the act clear screen but other than that, it plays normally. The monitor art is broken when hitting it and the GHZ boss's ball is buggy.

I don't think I'll come back to it since we haven't updated the disassembly in a while and if it does, I don't consider finishing it off unless I change my mind throughout the year. In any case, I hope you enjoy the hack.



Credits:
Everyone (including me) who worked on the Sonic 1 prototype disassembly
MarkeyJester for showing me a custom S3K music modifier for me to give a go at (test song in $8D)
KCEXE for his Chaotix spindash SFX

 

Oh god no please. This is waaay too cursed. Aside from the CD jump. Make it stop! NOOOOOOOO!

 

I love this, it's amazing seeing the MD's PAL screen size filled and (It might be just my emulator) you also optimized the game speed for PAL framerate! I've been waiting years for something like this, thank you for such a great job.

 

Hey there, this ROM hack of Moonwalker contains Thriller from the prototype, which was intentionally planned to be in the retail release but replaced with Another Part of Me due to licensing issues since Michael Jackson didn't own the song. What's noteworthy is that since this is the REV00 build, it contains the Thriller dance songs. Since this has been done via hex and that I haven't played Moonwalker myself, please let me know if I hit any bugs along the way. There have been minor changes to say Thriller in the sound test screen, and the copyright screen had a few minor changes. Credit goes to SEGA for the original game and brian the hedgehog and Landon White for discovering and dumping the prototype online. If you do ask if I will make a Moonwalker hack or not, chances are unlikely as hex causes me stress (I'm a poet, and I didn't know it =P)

 

Decided to actually mess around with Sonic 2 today a bit.

Introducing the Enhanced Super Spindash, an upgraded version of the iconic move, created to make for a smoother Sonic 2 experience:



Download
(Widescreen Version)

 

A hack that I mistakenly posted on another thread:



Hack that makes Sonic 1 a little better =) (Version 0,5)

He has:

• Spin Dash;
• Peel Out;
• Sonic 2 style level select (Work in progress);
• Few bugs is fixed;
• Extra music.

Level select codes:
All emeralds- 4321
Debug mode- 21102005

Thanks for attention!

 

Is there any hack that recreates Sonic 4 into Sonic Mania?

 

Not that I know of, no.

 

Decided to cook up a little graphical hack of Sonic 1, to learn the toolchain a bit and to sate my curiousity about an old sprite sheet someone made long ago. Basically, back in 2015 the late Shinbaloonba made this fantastic sprite sheet, and I noticed it had every animation required to work in Sonic 1. So... I implemented it. Along with some other sprites that were either of my own creation or from my friend Deebs.

Download current state of this experiment

I'd love to also replace Eggman with a more modern-esque sprite, but hooooo boy I'm struggling to find anything that will work...

 

So I saw this tweet: https://xcancel.com/thetrueyoshifan/status/1399380590974189571 to play Sonic 3 and Knuckles like it's VVVVVV and it made me want to make the hack...
so here it is:
Would share a screenshot but it'll just show up as regular Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

(If you want to know what VVVVVV is, you flip gravity to progress instead of jumping)

- I fixed the collision in the levels to not use LRB solid and to instead use all solids (thanks devon for making the tool to batch do these)
- You can still fly as tails and glide as knuckles
- If you go off the top of the screen you'll just flip back like invert in Bloodstained

- Levels haven't been tested, wanted to leave layouts as is for extra challenge so if something sucks, welp sorry.

(Also sorry if this has been done before)

 

Description
So from last year to my surprise, a good number people actually played this hack and it received some attention from last year, which in turn, gave a me a semi-motive to continue to update this small side-project one last time. Aside from the updating the physics and the partner AI slightly, I also created from scratch a holding mechanic to carry your partner, like from Knuckles Chaotix, which hopefully should slightly improve the chaotic experience. Now this is the finale update to this project, and the last time I ever do anything like this ever again. From now on, I seek to develop something and place more effort into something original, since that's what people are generally more interested in.

Note: Just to clarify, I created the physics and holding mechanic from scratch, they were not ported over. I feel like I need to address this, because I always see people make assumptions about my projects that features were "just ported over", but this is not that case.

Tools Used
- SonMapED
- JMan's Sonic 1 Sound Compressor
- Sonic 2 2007 disassembly

Credits and Special Thanks
- Xenowhirl for SonMapEd and Sonic 2 2007 disassembly
- Jman for his Sonic 1 Sound Compressor
- ValleyBell for the SFX and Music Rips from Sonic CD and Knuckles Chaotix
- Techokami and Doc Melonhead for the Sonic 3 and Knuckles custom monitor expansion sprite sheet from Spriter's Resource

Assets from other games
- Sonic's main sprites from Sonic 1 and Sonic CD
- Drums from Chaotix
- Hud art and Jump sfx from Sonic CD
- Pause Icon art from Sonic Crackers

Download

 

You ever played Sonic 1 and thought, well, this is good, but I want more! Well, today, I finally make that dream happen.

Introducing, Sonic the Hedgehog DX: Director's Cut: Ultimate: Episode I, the first episode in this remake series which features...

• Improved palettes!
• Unlimited lives!
• Remixed music!

There's truly something for everyone in this!

 

Not sure if this needs it's own thread or should go under the random hack thread, but if it should go there, a moderator can kindly merge it I guess.

So some of you may remember I was working on an old Sonic 1 hack over 2 years ago. I accidently corrupted all my progress and moved on to different things, but now that another massive community project I started has reached a development milestone, I'm taking a sabbatical in order to get all of my other shit back in order, including this old friend from back in the day. I managed to decorrupt what I had, and picked up exactly where I left off. However, issues with SonLVL has forced me to put out this "demo" before I was ready. Fortunately though, that basically only means GHZ3 is a little barren at the moment, but nonetheless beatable.

Introducing Sonic Like Legos! With no video to link to cause I'm posting this at 5am and have nothing prepared, I'm just going to drop the rom and hope I don't get in trouble for some reason. The name "Sonic Like Legos" was chosen due to the new direction of this hack: I've challenged myself to come up with the most fun, creative, and (hopefully) fair stage design I can using only assets provided by vanilla Sonic 1. No custom objects, no new art, no new chunks, no new moves- just good old Sonic 1 verbatim, but with the best new stages I can muster (does include unused prerelease assets though). Like how when you get a new Lego set, you could always just follow the instructions, or instead, you can take the pieces provided and build whatever you want!

Currently changed stages include all of Green Hill Zone, Final Zone, and Special Stages 1 and 2. As I mentioned though, GHZ3 is unfortunately a tad barren- but the stage layout is done and beatable. I had a lot of fun with Green Hill while working on it, since the breakable walls, crumbling cliffs, and solid wall objects allowed me to create so many new shapes and stage designs I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I imagine the other zones will be harder to work with, but I'm honestly so excited to get started as soon as SonLVL is fixed.

One last thing- there's a hidden goggles monitor in all 4 edited acts (final version will have 20 total). Does nothing, just an extra bonus like the Metal Sonic projectors from Sonic CD. However, they're hard to reach- some will require trick shots, others blind leaps of faith, and others will have you walking through walls!! Happy hunting!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_PJrsOGKKhGSRMUIUKbUP2h3kbNnAOFg/view?usp=sharing

 

Sounds like an interesting hack! I'd include a few screenshots of the game in action, and maybe a video, so people aren't downloading blind.

 

I plan to, but that'll happen once I get GHZ3 fixed, which uh... doesn't seem like it's gonna be soon :/. MainMemory has no idea why so many PCs hate SonLVL, but until it's working again, which from my understanding, is incredibly low priority rn, I can't work on this anymore.

 

Well never expected to see Crash 2 modded into a Sonic Game but here we are. And they also somehow recreated the Wacky Workbench boss fight almost perfectly.

What a beautiful fever dream. 8 year old me just shat themselves.