Sonic 2 But With More Level Design v1.00

Criticism is what helps people improve upon their work and, to be rather blunt, make sure it's not complete shit. It's how you take it that separates the good from the bad. You, sir, have actually taken criticism rather well in comparison to most other newcomers here (at least, from what I can tell).
That said, I do wanna address something:

I can actually see where you're coming from with this; the project files thing can be pretty stupid to work with and quite frankly SonLVL might be easier to get used to than SonED2.

Neither edits the ROM directly, as the stability of such a method is highly debatable and could cause some pretty major bugs, perhaps even game-breaking...or at least, I'm relatively sure. All I really know is that it involves editing the exact locations in ROM where the layouts lie (or something along those lines). Kinda hard when ~96.19% of the stuff done with hacking shifts around data locations.

 

Unlimited Trees, your start and ending to the post is terrible. You don't have to be funny you know.

Although, I'm glad you've decided to take on board people's advice, so it's good to know you're listening.

To answer your question, SonED2 edits Project files because it's only editing a certain part of the game (ROM). When you have finished, you build (assemble) all the project files, and other files together which builds your ROM. This means you can edit more aspects of the game without the fear of ocer-writing anything. That's the gist of it anyway.

EDIT: Ninja'd by ThomasSpeedrunner

 

The quotes will turn this into a massive post. I've split it up to make it more readable.

You are either suffering from schizophrenia or are riding on 1200mics of the finest LSD, my friend.

Good. I liked the tubes. Always have.

I can actually answer this as it requires a knowledge of what we used to do in this scene and also what you are describing which is binary / machine code hacking. With the parts of the levels separated as they are, it allows their individual parts to be modified and saved, first of all, in the compressed format they were originally in. Second of all, it allows these levels to be assembled back into the binary when the ROM is built in such a manner as it all fits neatly into the internal of the ROM.

While it's true that you can edit level layouts inside the ROM without this (and other things), you are far more limited -- especially when it comes to the meat and potatoes of the game. It's been years since I've dealt with this, so I can't tell you the specifics anymore. I'm a bit old hat and it's been awhile. If you insert more data than was there originally, you need the ROM in a separated format or you're going to have to do one of two things -- change a specific pointer to point to the end of the ROM and dump your data there or go through and modify every altered pointer in the ROM that was changed by the addition or subtraction of data (ie, a pain in the fucking ass).

That's also assuming the hardware can even handle everything you may have added, but that's a different story and will crash what you're working on either way (and SonED won't allow it in theory, but can become an issue when adding in new content rather than replacing it).

I would recommend replacing either Wood Zone or HPZ's slot personally if you're going to do this.

I thought of that when I wrote the original response. The only reason I did wind up writing it, however, is that the "layouts" of the old ROM don't look anything like the original level in the least. They look like a fucking disaster. No need to go on about it, though.

You could always change the boss' sprite to be hovering instead (rocket boosters or something). Just a thought, though.

You certainly are taking the right attitude. We're here to beat you down, but we also want to build you up and help you master what you're trying to achieve. Hacking can very easily lead into a career, but it takes dedication and a certain amount of intelligence. It also means avoiding the LSD for the most part. I can vouch for this personally. If I've been too vague on this or missed something, everyone is more than welcome to expand upon or correct what I've said.

Good luck!

 

I am currently working on the new build right now. I already edited a few things, such as the Title Screen, which now has Down Syndrome Sonic.


P.S. using the path swappers in SonED2 is even a more of a pain in the ass. In SonED 1, it was basically just "L:0 R:0" on the lower left corner. Now it's stuffed in at the top right corner with all the other stuff. This is going to take awhile to master.

 

Okay, stop me if I'm missing something here, you're a newbie right? How can you have so much experience with SonEd 1 that you can't adapt to something newer? SonLVL is so easy to get working with a disassembly it's almost laughable...

 

I started using SonED1 sometime around 2015. I barely started SonED2 yesterday. It is basically the same thing as SonED1, but with more options and the ability to hack Sonic 1,3,and CD's level design. I am already doing great with it, but the fucking path swappers are a bitch to understand.

 

Load up Emerald Hill, and go to a loop. Grab a piece of paper.

On that paper, draw a biggish loop. Then, write the numbers down for each tag on the paper. Then you have a reference for the future, For example:



Just replace them XX's with whatever Sonic 2 used in the first place. Please excuse my terrible drawing =P

 

I found this and thought it was interesting so I download it and load it in Fusion. I did see a flaw, outside your hack. You don't do a .zip file then a folder THEN the .bin file. Just make the download a .bin, please. I loaded it up, nothing new, until Emerald Hill started. I decided to do the path in front of me and find a path going downways. Rings, yay. I go right and fall in a pit. Great. That doesn't have to be there. Some of it looked like a mess, but not too bad. I then go into a loop but...glitch. I can't get out. Either it's a trap or a glitch, I had to reset. What do I do next? End emulation. Work on it more, and you can have a pretty solid hack. The concept is great, it just needs more work.

Later...I play it again, and realize it would go to another path. The loop, goes DOWNWARDS into a new path. Great, logic is broken. It had a 1-up and all but I couldn't go forwards. That's it, close the emulator. Final score? 6/10.

EDIT: I've been doing some thinking and guess what, I was phasing the truth. No, this hack is NOT GOOD. It sounds stupid, everybody who pointed out your flaws were CORRECT, glitches can't be contained. Re-vised score, 3/10.

 

This sounds like an interesting idea to skirt the system. Editing your post should be used to add information that you forgot or to fix glaring errors. It is not to be used to substitute making posts. I cannot condone you simply replying to other people's posts in this single post for this topic. What I would recommend that you do is make sure that all of your posts that you make have something to contribute and demonstrate your intelligence and your eagerness to learn.

EDIT: I just edited this because I read the rest of your post. I decided against what I originally was going to say. That is what edits are used for. Not for extending the number of posts you can make. This is your first and only warning. Your next post should be a real post. If you can't make quality posts without editing in new posts, then please leave now.

 

I've been trying to ignore this hack, as it just utterly annoys me. The layouts are beyond a shitty mess. There is no flow, and honestly there is no logic. You can't just plop chunks willy nilly and call it a hack. I know it has been said a thousand times, but you need to actually test your levels for more than a few minutes. Do you even plan your levels out on paper? Try to actually design anything, or do you say "Fuck it" and just plop shit anywhere? If that was your approach, I don't see you improving in skill.

No. This thing is a total piece of shit from start to finish. The concept in of itself is idiotic. "Sonic 2 with more Level Design." Why not call it "Sonic 2: The Edited Levels" or something else. You can't edit the levels and just call it "More level design." By that itself, you've changed the layout, and this case, he didn't just add on after the end of the acts, but instead changed the original parts. The concept is thus gone. Numeric Scores are dumb, I don't understand why all you plebs give one. Numeric scores are subjective and don't give much of anything of telling anybody jack. Quit that shit now.

Shh, you don't want him to get all butthurt and make another "SSRG is bad" rant video do you? Last time he did and I showed you, you couldn't stop laughing for a straight ten minutes. I refuse to let senpai relive that again =V

 

Well, I already apologised. I'm guessing sometimes people misunderstand things, but I didn't say it to accuse anybody. Just clarifying. So, I guess we should just forget this. It's not like I wanted to start an argument out of nowhere. You know, everyone makes mistakes, like I did.