Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition

UPDATE

Version 1.01 is now available at the same link as before.

You can see the change log here: http://sonicresearch.org/forums/index.php?/topic/4618-sonic-3-da-garden-edition/&do=findComment&comment=60274

History

Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition is a project that has been in development since July 2009. My initial idea was to create a ROM hack of Sonic 3 & Knuckles that would provide the player with brand new level layouts from start to finish. In total, 13 Zones of new layouts providing 23 unique acts of game play for 3 characters, and 14 new special stages for you to conquer.

The project has finally reached a point where I feel an initial release can happen, so here we are. I hope you all enjoy it; it has been one hell of an experience but I feel that it was worth it.

Screenshots



Release Video



Download

http://mrjester.hapisan.com/07_DAGarden/S3DAGE_InitialRelease.bin

Sonic Hacking Contest 2015 Entry

http://shc.sonicresearch.org/sonic/entry/1

Credits

MarkeyJester - S3K Layout Padder, SSRG Splash Screen, Invincibility Music Port and Bug Fixes

UtopiaUK - Testing and Bug Fixes

MainMemory - Testing and Bug Fixes

djohe - Testing and Bug Fixes

Flamewing - Bug Fixes

Varion Icaria - Bug Fixes

My apologies if I have not credited you, and you have contributed in some way to the initial release of ‘Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition'. It is difficult to keep track of this stuff, but please do note that your contribution to the project is gratefully received.

Notes

I have tested my hack on both the Kega Fusion and Regen emulators and can confirm it works on these correctly. I cannot guarantee it will work correctly on other emulators, or on real hardware.

If you find any bugs or issues, please let me know and I will do my best to fix them. However, I will not take requests of any kind for additional features and/or content.

 

At a first glance new layouts are very good. I'll post more detailed feedback after playing it on my SEGA Mega Drive.

 

I just finished playing this. The 6 years that you spent developing this hack really paid off, I really enjoyed the level design, most of the levels were more enjoyable than the original S3&K levels. I was also surprised by the small edits you made such as changing the invincibility music to Sonic 1/2's, the night time sky pallete in Ice Cap Zone that didn't change to day time after act 1 was completed and the new sunset sky pallete in Sandopolis Act 1. While every level was put together very well there is one spot in Carnival Night Act 1 that has a checkpoint before the boss which someone could potentially miss if they take the bottom pathway. I've provided some screenshots so that you know where this area is.



Here is where I end up after taking the bottom route so without wasting any time I spin dash to the boss                         



After dying to the boss and going through the bottom path again this time I turned left and found the checkpoint



In this screenshot I've marked the area where the checkpoint could be placed so that way no one can miss it if they take the bottom route

There were rings behind Sonic (as seen in Screenshot 1) which could clue players into finding the checkpoint but not every player goes after every ring they see. Apart from that this was a fun experience. Great Job D.A Garden, you have created yet another simple but effective masterpiece. this is officially my favourite Sonic 3 and Knuckles hack outside of S3 Complete.

 

Thanks,TheFieldWarrior, much appreciated.

I would incorporate your feedback regarding that starpost, but putting it where you suggested would cause 1 minor issue, and another potentially major issue:

1) The stars for a bonus stage would be in the roof, which I don't like doing at all. It also looks unsightly right against a ceiling like that.

2) I fear it may also be too close to the boss, which may cause issues when coming back to it that close to the boss area. I've not tried it but I expect something strange to happen.

Thanks for the feedback, though.

 

oh yeah I forgot about the star bonuses, I've been playing so many Sonic 1 hacks that I often forget about them. In regards to issue 2 I don't think that anything weird would happen since this area isn't too close the boss, but I know somewhere else the checkpoint could be placed:

 

To have formed what really feels like an entirely new 16bit Sonic experience from the palette of the most elaborate and complicated S3K is truly incredible!  The zone and special stage designs do feel like something that i haven't experienced before; and, as always Sonic is probably the most interesting gameplay mechanic to do this with as far as it is so connected to reflexes and physics in ways that haven't been matched since.  All of the gyroscopic and motion sensing peripherals in the world can't compare to just a simple pairing of hands & eyes with a uniquely responsive avatar/player and richly detailed environment! 

* About the special stage 3 freeze, if it is not already resolved to this detail via retro, i experience it when, half way through there are the three rows of blue spheres... i would pass through the middle one first and then turn to go back through what, when approaching was the lefthand row of spheres, and the freeze happens when contacting the first sphere there (the last one in the row).  Thankfully it is possible to go through that row from the front without this. 

I love that some of the feel was inspired by Sonic 1 and as a result it is a bit like a parallel world version of S3K where there was no pressure to live up to the level design of Sonic 2.  You have demonstrated that there are so many other possibilities present in the zones that with patience and creativity can be brought to full potential!  ^__^ ^____^ 

 

I've been looking into the cause of a game freeze in Special Stage 3, that a few people have informed me of. While I don't quite know the cause yet, I do know that, for some unknown reason, the blue sphere-to-ring algorithm is being triggered when it shouldn't. This only affects one blue sphere in the stage, and touching said sphere from one particular direction. While I'm trying to figure out how to fix this particular issue, I would ask that anyone playing Special Stage 3 take the following measures to ensure they are unaffected by it.

When you approach 3 lines of rings in front of you separated by bumpers, you can do one of 2 things:

1) Take the left line first when presented with the three lines like so:


This is the easiest solution ​and will ensure that the special stage will not freeze.

2) Take the middle or right line. When you get to the end and have to come back, do not take the initial left line back; take the middle or right line instead.


If you are in a situati​on like this after your first line of blue spheres is cleared (in the screenshot's instance, the middle line), touching the blue sphere in front of you will freeze the stage. (Only this one, and from this direction.)

Sorry that I can't be of more help, but this is the best I can do for now. 

 

Played the Sonic 3's part today. Those layouts are great! I felt like playing Sonic 3 for the first time.

P.S.: There is one small bug in MGZ1 (Sory for a bad screenshot, I was playing the hack on my Mega Drive)

 

For my final Let's Try video:



Link

 

I have updated the ROM file to version 1.01. 
It's at the same link as before: http://mrjester.hapisan.com/07_DAGarden/S3DAGE_InitialRelease.bin

This version fixes many issues; not limited to the following:

• Edited badnik placement in Hydrocity Zone Act 1 and 2. This should help with unfair placement that some people have mentioned.
• Marble Garden Zone Act 2 adjustment for Sonic/Tails. This should remove the Special Stage tally randomly showing up (Stupid scripted scenes).
• Special Stage 3 edited. This removes the issue of freezing when a particular blue sphere is touched.
• Hydrocity Zone Act 1 adjustment for Knuckles. This stops Knuckles getting stuck in a wall at the start.
• IceCap Zone Act 2 adjustment for Knuckles. This should stop getting stuck on the wrong path before the 2 loops.
• Launch Base Zone Act 2 adjustment. This is to stop Knuckles accessing Sonic/Tails path.
• Sky Sanctuary Zone adjustment. This should remove the garbled Egg Robo badnik sprites.
• Marble Garden Zone Act 1 adjustment. Removed a breakable wall that could cause a soft-lock.
• Lava Reef Zone Act 2 adjustment. Moved the position of a big ring that caused a monitor to load garbled graphics.
• Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 adjustment. Changed path swapper which caused issues with a loop.
• Hydrocity Zone Act 2 adjustment. Stopped Knuckles accessing Sonic's path and changed path-separating area.

There may also be some other issues that I have fixed, but I can't remember them off of the top of my head.

Anyhow, I have now chosen to cease working on the project. If there are any more issues, then I apologise, but they will not be fixed.
Thanks again to everybody that helped with the project and, again, I hope you have fun with it.

 

I love Sonic 3 & Knuckles and anything that does justice to it is a win as far as I'm concerned. The level design is well thought out and fluid, and coming from myself, who doesn't have any experience with tinkering with level layouts, is incredible. 

 

I know I said I was done, and that no more releases were coming, but I left in quite a few issues by mistake that could have easily been rectified.

For that reason, I have updated Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition to Version 1.02.

Here is the new link: http://mrjester.hapisan.com/07_DAGarden/S3DAGE_102.bin

Please find a list of changes below:

• Added additional bridge poles to Angel Island Zone Act 2 boss areas.
• Replaced incorrectly placed vacuum tube with diagonal spring in Carnival Night Zone Act 1.
• Launch Base Zone Act 1 Starpost ID changed for Knuckles so it isn't already flashing.
• Object added to a Big Ring room in Lava Reef Zone Act 2 to stop getting stuck in the floor.
• Adjusted floor-based switches in Lava Reef Zone Act 2 so that they aren't in the floor.
• Changed positions of a switch and invincibility monitor, and added 2 ring monitors in Lava Reef Zone Act 2.
• Switched the invincibility track (and subsequently, Super/Hyper forms) back to the default Sonic 3 & Knuckles track.

(The replacement was more a test of patience than the original. My apologies.)

I wasn't planning on another updated release, but as there were quite a few things I missed after Version 1.01, I felt it best to go back and fix them. Thanks again for everyone's continued support with this project.

EDIT: Updated the ROM (same link as before) to fix an issue with the credits becoming garbled. This was my mistake, as I was messing with the credits between Version 1.01 and 1.02, and forgot to revert this before making the ROM publicly available.

 

Nice hack D.A. Garden! It was a good choice to look forward to it

 

Did a video playing this and I really like this hack.