Sonic 1 Color Contrast

Discussion in 'Showroom Archive' started by TheInvisibleSun, Jul 4, 2013.

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  1. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Sonic 1 Color Contrast



    Current Version: Beta 5.95
    Dropbox Direct Link Mirror

    Previous Version: Beta 4.3

    Includes GHZ, MZ, SYZ and FZ.

    Dr. Eggman has somehow stolen almost all of the colors (and music) from South Island, and Sonic himself! It is now up to Sonic to return them to where they belong, and restore the island to its colorful musical self.

    Sonic's mission is to find the various Color Monitors hidden in each stage. Upon finding them, the various colors and music of the area will begin to be restored to the zone, and he can then proceed to the next act. Collecting every Color Monitor in an act will also allow for Sonic to access the Special Stages to collect the 6 Chaos Emeralds. It is rumored that the Chaos Emeralds grant the power to restore all the colors of an act at once; collect them all to find out! Each zone (except Scrap Brain Zone) includes a hub stage, in which Sonic must pass Acts 1 and 3 to continue to the next zone. Finding any one of the Color Monitors is required to get through the current act, but you can explore the stages to find them all!

    The aforementioned Color Monitors include:

    *C' (3x): Returns the normal colors to the stage. Each stage includes three of these to track down.

    *'Sonic': Reverts Sonic's colors back to normal, and grants 1 extra life.

    *'Goggles': Returns all underwater colors to normal, including Sonic's. Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain Act 3 only.

    *'Music': Changes the background music back to normal.

    *'Cycle': Returns all of the cycling palettes (like Green Hill's waterfalls) to normal. There are none of these in Marble Zone.

    Note: Only finding one of these is required to complete the Act.

    Other helpful Monitors include:

    *'Super Ring': Gives you 10 rings.

    *'Speed Shoes': Increases Sonic's speed.

    *'High-Jump Shield': Increases Sonic's jump height, as well as protects him from one single hit.

    *'Restart': Returns Sonic back to the start of the stage.

    *'Invincibility': Makes Sonic invincible for a short time.

    If you want to leave an act early, Hold A, then press Start when paused to return to the Hub Stage from any act. However, using this will cost a life if you have more than 3, and the Color Monitors you have collected won't be saved, so use wisely!

    Explore the zones to find all of the Color Monitors and unlock hidden secrets and extras!

    Current Features

    • -Every one of the designated 'Color' Monitors function properly in each relevant stage-There is therefore a 'new' palette for each stage and Sonic

      -New low-def tracks for each zone
    Planned Features (To-Do-List)
    • New Special Stage Layouts
    Screenshots:

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    [​IMG][​IMG]

    [​IMG][​IMG]


    Video of the new color monitors


    Restart and Music Monitor Video:


    Video (Labyrinth and SBZ 3):


    Original Palette Change Monitor Video:


    Beta 4 Download:

    Beta 4.2

    Beta 3 Download:

    GHZ Demo

    Beta 2 Download:

    Beta 2

    Beta 2.1 Bugfix Build

    Beta02.3 Music

    Test/Beta Release 1 Download:

    Download

    LZ/SBZ Fix-Fixes Lamppost glitch, and LZ Underwater palette is changed.

    Credits:

    KingofHarts - SYZ1 Layout, and Miscellaneous help/fixes. Also created Sonic Triad, an excellent and very useful palette editor (and so much more!).

    Vladikcomper - Several boss DLE fixes and miscellaneous help.

    GenesisFan64 - For the PalLoad_Loop quick loading subroutine.

    Special Thanks go to:

    MarkeyJester (Various guides and fixes, and miscellaneous bug fixes/help)

    redhotsonic (For his various guides, miscellaneous help and feedback)

    Selbi (For his Basic Error Fixing Guide, and the Sonic 1 TCG)

    PsychoSk8tr

    HighFrictionZone

    Mercury (Helped with signpost bug fixes and created ReadySonic, the source of more than a few fixes)

    MainMemory (For SonLVL, and all other associated tools)

    FuzzBuzz (For the SonicOneMusicEditor)

    Xenowhirl (For SonMapEd)

    Cinossu (For some initial coding help)

    XtremerSadiq

    VadaPega

    God (For allowing me the ability to do something like this)

    .........all of the Sonic Retro Wiki in general, and all of you who have supported this project so far!
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2016
  2. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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    I quite like the look of this hack, and it's a unique and interesting idea. But I think you've made it way too hard. I couldn't do act 1. Took me ages to find the monitors, and I actually got 2 "C" monitors, and I did eventually find the 3rd one, but had no idea how to get to it. Experimenting how to get underneath the spikes, I eventually died, and when I did, all the colour was gone again. Because of this, I turned it off.

    I think you need to make it remember what monitors you've hit and collected when you die. If the 2 colour sets will still in place after I died, I might of given it another shot. I also think you need to make the first level (or the first act anyway) a bit easier. Took me 8 minutes when I eventually died.

    Except for that, I like the way this is heading, and I hope you're entering this in the contest this year?
     
  3. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Thank's a lot for the feedback RHS, I appreciate it! Just a few things to note:
     

    Well, I made them a bit hard to find, because completing the stage only requires that you find one of the Color Monitors, and because of the hub system, you can always go back later and try again to find more. This did help me think of a new idea though; about one or two hours ago, I added a function that allows the player to return to the Hub stage (A+B+C when paused). If used, however, you lose one life if you have more than 3 (this is to make life padding more difficult; at first I had it always reset your lives back to 3 regardless of how many you had, but I felt it was too aggressive). However, I agree that I may have gone too far with the difficulty, and I will definitely making some of them much easier to find. Thank you for pointing this out.

    One thing I am confused about though, is where this 3rd monitor is. The only one I can think of (in the most recently posted version, Beta 3), is the one on top of the loop, underneath the waterfall/bridge near the end, which is accessed by simply lightly jumping over the spikes near it onto the top of the loop. Can you please post a screenshot of this?
     

    The color state, and the music state is stored by the Lamposts, and return just like the time and other data; you must have hit one before you found the monitors you found.  Though I think I will have to move the Lamposts from where they are to prevent players from accidentally passing one beyond their control, before they find one of the monitors. Though that brings me to another point; for some reason when you pass the second Lampost, all of them become red, instead of only that one. Vanilla Sonic 1 does this too, but that is a question for the Basic Q&A, so I'll probably ask it there at some point, if I don't figure it out myself in the meantime.

    Yeah, I'm definitely entering, I'm just really pushing to have every layout finished by the deadline, as they are incredibly time-consuming (Especially stages like the Scrap Brain acts, which have a lot of strange objects that I don't have SonLVL definitions for).

    So, has anyone else tried out the demo? I'd like as much feedback as possible, so that I can address as many potential issues as I can. What do you guys think?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 6, 2013
  4. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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    [​IMG]

    And I didn't know you had to only get one to pass a level, thought you had to get all 3, lol

    Some bugs here:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 6, 2013
  5. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    [​IMG]

    That one's easy! Just think about what that platform does when you stand on it...(Maybe I should place rings vertically, leading downward to the below platform as a clue of some sort?)

    In Green Hill Zone, there are a total of 6 monitors to find (3 Regular Color Monitors, 1 Cycle Monitor, 1 Sonic Monitor, and 1 Music Monitor) and finding at least any single one of them will allow you to pass the stage. But finding all of them will activate the Giant Ring at the end, and will contribute toward full zone completion (there are rewards set up for this). I think I may have to clarify the description a bit...

    Regarding the Lamposts, I've decided to move them to all be next to or near a Color Monitor, or near the end of the stage, so that the player can more easily track their progress. 

    I'm not sure what's causing this one right now; I've known about it for a long time, it just hasn't been high on the priority list, since it is only cosmetic (well, as far as I know right now).

    I fixed this very recently, with help from vladikcomper. The stage's background scrolling reset to where it was at the lampost (since the called routines for the restart monitor load information from the last lampost), rather than back at the beginning.

    Thanks again RHS for the feedback.

    I think I may post an update demo soon, or at least more footage of the recent updates.
     
  6. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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    I never thought about that platform; maybe I was thinking too hard =P

    That bug is because the whole screen doesn't refresh properly due to Sonic still falling vertically. A suggestion is when you get the monitor to send you back, fade the whole palette to white so you have a plain white screen. Then move Sonic at the beginning and etc, but move 1 to "dirty_flag" (or whatever it is in Sonic 1) to make the whole screen refresh itself (solving that bug), then fade the palette back to normal. Not only will this fix the bug, but it will make the transition a little nicer too. You could also make Sonic go into his starting position rather than just moving him back and let him fall to the ground.
     
  7. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Added a black fade transition to the Restart Monitor, but I couldn't yet find the Sonic 1 equivalent to Sonic 2's "dirty_flag", so the weird tile error still a minor issue for now, unfortunately (it's only cosmetic, but still).

    EDIT: Also, I feel that it gives a better continuity if the player is brought back to the starting position in motion, so I left that aspect as-is for now.


    Anyway, update video:



    Shows the new "flash-effect" you see when getting every Color Monitor in a stage (Which uses both the old 'colorful' fade to white routine, and KingofHarts' new "fixed" white fades), the "return to Hub" function, and the Restart Monitor fade (Which uses Markey Jester's new "fixed" fade in/out routines).
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2013
  8. nineko

    nineko I am the Holy Cat Member

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    I just tried this for the first time (yeah, I'm having problems with my main computer), and I love it! It took me some time to find all the monitors in GHZ1, but it was a lot of fun to look for them.


    I can't give it a complete playthrough now, still because of my computer problems, but I quickly found a few things to point out.

    [​IMG]


    It is possible to hit this monitor in a way to make it fall *inside* the rock, making it unbreakable. You have to go away and have it reload.

    [​IMG]


    Yes, you can jump out of there, but it doesn't look professional to get stuck between spikes and layout.

    [​IMG]


    With the high jump monitor it's possible to jump inside the wall from above, which results into unpleasant things.


    Still, awesome stuff.


    Also, Showroom'd.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 24, 2013
  9. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Thanks for the move! I just addressed these issues now, I appreciate the feedback.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 25, 2013
  10. Crash

    Crash Well-Known Member Member

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    This is actually part of the original GHZ act 1 layout and the exact same thing happens there :p
     
  11. nineko

    nineko I am the Holy Cat Member

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    I guess I never noticed it in the original game because I only run to the right instead of exploring the level :p
     
  12. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Updated the Sonic Retro Wiki page, which includes a mirror of the Hacking Contest demo entry (since the site is currently down):

    Link here

    Other than the inclusion of MZ and SYZ (and FZ), there's a lot more little new features and things under the hood, as well as a few more secrets and unlockables than before, so completing everything won't be in vain! 

    Enjoy!

    redhotsonic edit: Link didn't work due to two of /. Fixed.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 13, 2013
  13. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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    Just in case anyone has tried but failed, the link is now fixed.
     
  14. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Thanks for that.


    Also, does anyone know if Megagwolf is going to repost the stream on youtube? Due to my job, I can't watch the stream. From Johnny's stream, I heard that he reviewed my project yesterday; how did that go?
     
  15. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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  16. nineko

    nineko I am the Holy Cat Member

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    [​IMG]


    I'm quite sure this isn't supposed to happen.

    [​IMG]


    It is actually possible to walk on that thing at the top.
     
  17. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    I've been trying to fix that one for a long while now. I'm tempted to just change around the chunks to prevent it, but I'm sure there's a better way to do it. RHS mentioned Sonic 2's 'Dirty Flag' but I couldn't seem to find the right equivalent in Sonic 1. Clear Screen doesn't quite work the same way. Eventually I decided to table the issue to tackle other things.

    I know about this too, I just kept forgetting to add invisible walls on those.

    Thank you for reporting those though!

    Regarding the playthroughs (I managed to find and watch MegaGWolf's old one) I learned a lot from both, and noticed many issues and bugs I wasn't even remotely aware of! After the contest, I'll release a new build fixing many of these.

    One major change (that I have been really indecisive about) is Time Overs--I've decided to remove it. I'm getting the feeling that people would rather complete the entire level all at once their first time. Heck, I don't even think most people know that you don't need to %100 the level to progress! I thought I clarified the description enough to prevent this...

    If any of you have unlocked a certain extra, you may have noticed that it doesn't work in any of the Secret Acts. This is due to a branching mistake on my part, that I didn't notice until earlier today.

    *Edit* Also, I forgot to post the link to the contest entry page, even though it's a bit pointless to do so now:

    http://shc.sonicresearch.org/entry/2
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 15, 2013
  18. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    UPDATE:

    Beta 4.1

    Changes/Fixes:

    -Disabled TimeOver; the timer stays at 9:59, but you can take as long as you want to complete the stage.

    -Several Layout Edits, and Object Placement issues (especially in Green Hill).

    -Fixed some almost unnoticeable, but dangerous Variable placement issues.

    -The secret 'Pseudo' Hyper Sonic Transformation now works in the secret unlockable Acts (which are accessed via Giant Rings that only appear once you've completely restored the corresponding zone, including the Hub), as it didn't before.

    -The requirement for said Transformation is now lightened; after getting the emeralds, the power-up works in zones where the hub is fully restored, and you have 'Gotten Through' both Acts. (The contest version required that a zone was %100 completed before using it in the zone)

    However, I have recently discovered a terrible bug regarding this Transformation. After transforming at any point, the game will crash upon changing gamemodes (This affects the game upon getting a GameOver, and getting to the Ending, unfortunately). Soft Resetting seems to cure this (until you transform again) I really don't know what is causing this. So, if this occurs, simply Soft Reset; all progress will be saved (beaten/complete levels, your emeralds etc.), but you will have to travel back to the stage you were on.
     
  19. JoenickROS

    JoenickROS ROS (bug fixing in progress) Member

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    Awesome, TheInvisibleSun, this was my favorite hack in the hacking contest. I had fun looking for the monitors in each act, really made me have to be aware of Sonic's surroundings, and took some thought to complete all of them, although it frozen, (was using Kega) once I went into The Final Zone after restoring all the levels, and HUB worlds. I had to start all over, but other than that, great hack and a fresh idea! Going to play the new version right now, keep up the good work.

    Edit: No problem with the time limit, made it more challenging, I thought.

    Edit2: Found a delete object bug in MZ with the spike crusher, happened when I walked away from it and went back, which is why I believe its a deleteobject bug.

    [​IMG]

    Edit3: This is from the update.

    Edit4: Inbox me, I found some more but I'm too lazy to add them to the post and they need to be explained, I mean if you want too.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 21, 2013
  20. TheInvisibleSun

    TheInvisibleSun Visible Member

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    Thanks again for reporting those Joenick! I haven't been able to get to all of them now, but they have certainly been noted.

    UPDATE:

    Beta 4.2 Build

    -Fixes Restart Monitor/Boss Glitch, that JoenickSRB found.

    So yeah, this'll be the last update until around Mid-December/Christmas, because classes are starting Monday (and this semester will be intense).

    Enjoy!

    *edit* Also fixed the credits on the Wiki Page, and updated the "Current Version" link on the first post.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 23, 2013
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