New Sonic Hack

Discussion in 'Showroom Archive' started by Sonicfan1991, Jan 31, 2017.

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  1. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    Hello! This is my first hack I released online (not counting my YouTube page). It's called "Sonic 1: Redux." The story is the same as Sonic 1, as I really can't think of a new story. The sprites are a mix of Sonic 1 sprites and Sonic 3 sprites and are made by Singis123 on diviantart. All of the zones have different palettes and music. Only the first zone has different layout, but I may change that in a later update. Hope you love it!

    https://www.mediafire.com/?41fksqyts77ookr

    Edit: I forgot screenshots, so here (Note, these screenshots are from the updated version later in the thread) :

    Title Screen:
    [​IMG]
    In Game:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2017
  2. Unlimited Trees

    Unlimited Trees Banned for being a fucking cockwomble Exiled

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    Alright, time for me to do a little mini review. It's late and I should be going to sleep, but fuck it. Anyways, I'm gonna try to be a bit nice to you, considering this is your first hack, so let's go.

    So first off, music: the Leaf Forest port is broken and the invincibility has no DAC. Glad we got that out of the way.

    As for art, the palette for GFZ is alright for a noob, though I'd rather just see some new art instead of just a palette edit. Also, insert rant about Sonic 3 sprites and why they suck here. I know you did some edits to them, but I'd rather see some new sprites. Not the same generic Sonic 2/3/Advance sprite ports. Besides that there is no art changes.

    Anyways, now time for the biggest part of this hack: the level layouts. They're bad. They're basically really basic edits of the Stock GHZ layouts (act 3 isn't even touched(for the most part, I'll go into that in a sec), and Act 2 only has the beginning before going straight to stock GHZ2). The level is really linear, and there is no flow. It's pretty boring, and there is almost no use of object 44 (the wall object for GHZ which you should look into). However, the chunks are actually placed correctly(for the most part. Half S pipes? Really?) and there are no dick moves..... Until act 3 when you see....
    [​IMG]
    This. I died here. And got a game over. I don't think the boss is even possible because of the ceiling. You don't put bottomless pits in boss fights. ESPECIALLY the first one. I gave up here.

    Anyways, this is just a really short, boring, generic first hack. It isn't too bad for your first, but it still could be better. Also there is barely anything here. Would at least like the zone to be actually complete. This is literally Sonic 1 but slightly edited. I give you a half eaten burrito out of a random Megamix clone. At least it ain't Sonic 2 But With More Level Design, but it still really bad, and really short as well.

    Edit: so it turns out the boss is possible. So when I went to Not Starlight Zone... I noticed two things: the palette is bad and the music is bad. I only played for a few seconds before quiting. It wasn't worth trying the GHZ boss and dying to it multiple times for this.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 31, 2017
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  3. M.N.K.

    M.N.K. In the River of Darkness... Member

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    Not to sound rude but you could've just posted it here y'know

    http://sonicresearch.org/community/index.php?forums/showroom.65/

    As for the hack, I tried it. if anything at all, it's basic. with this being your first hack and if you plan on continuing on this, my advice would be to learn how to properly make level layouts as I can see where you're going with the first two on GHZ, but some parts are out of place. Another big thing that made me stop was the first boss as the way the layout for that part was designed is just unfair and difficult, especially with having to worry about the bottomless pit under you. it's little things like these you have to be careful and mindful in when making a hack as certain edits can either encourage or deter others from wanting to try your hack. from experience I know this too well so think of this as a Tip. For the most part, it's not the greatest but it's a start.
     
  4. Clownacy

    Clownacy Retired Staff lolololo Member

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    Blazer's right - this thread's in the wrong place. Fixed.

    Speaking of the Showroom, you should give this a read. Hack threads need more content than a summary and a download link.
     
  5. Giovanni

    Giovanni It's Joe-vanni, not Geo-vanni. Member

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    Played the hack. I'll give you my review.
    Just looking at the title screen and listening to its music made me think it was a bad hack. And my thoughts became reality as soon as I started the game.
    I've been taken to "Green Island Zone". The name feels unoriginal. Then I look at Sonic. The Sonic 3-ish sprites are garbage. I prefer the original Sonic 3 sprites. Now, let's go back to the zone.
    Music used there isn't really good, but it's not the worst.
    4 seconds of gameplay and I get taken to this:
    Screenshot 1.PNG

    No. Just no. Not only the S-tube is hard to reach, but there's this Buzz Bomber ready to hurt me! And that's two birds with one stone.
    After miraculously passing the S-tube, I get stopped by a tiny wall. After getting through the badly designed part of the level, I get taken in the GHZ 1 part of the level. After GIZ 3's boss (really, you should change that boss arena), I get taken to "Renamed Star Light Zone", which is Star Light Zone with bad music.
    After that, I've reset the game, and looked at the palettes of the other levels. Most of the palettes are garbage. Then I've listened the Sound Test. Most of the music is bad. Especially the ports from other Sonic games.
    I give this hack a 3/10. It's a bad and generic Sonic hack. I didn't like it at all. You really need to improve it.
     
  6. Ravenfreak

    Ravenfreak Still hacking the 8-bit titles Member

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    To me this feels more like a mini hack than a full on hack. The music is broken, like mentioned above and GHZ Act 1 is the only level that has a completely new level layout. The palettes are alright, but adding new art to zones would be more creative. I don't mind the sprites at all myself, I love the Sonic 3 sprites the most and the edits while subtle work well. When creating a new level layout its best to completely scrap the original layout and experiment with your own layouts rather than partly changing them. Finally adding a death pit to the boss area isn't a good idea, especially with a ceiling above. While the hack needs lots of improvements, it's decent for a beginner's hack.
     
  7. Soldaten

    Soldaten The Coilgun Root Admin

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    For the umpteenth time that this has been brought up, bottomless pits are not a sign of difficulty. It's just a needless dick move, especially for them to be located in the first boss, which area is designed in such a manner that you could easily just fall down the pit if you aren't paying attention. The fact that the there is such a low ceiling makes the pits even more of a pain in the ass as you've got little room to maneuver if you fuck up. It's possible to make this boss challenging. Editing the layout of the area is a start but this is not the manner to go.
     
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  8. DanielHall

    DanielHall Well-Known Member Member

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    Given it a play, and it seems really unfinished. Definitely some interesting elements while playing, like the set of monitors you can find underneath the loop, but towards the end, it just cuts back to regular GHZ1. Same thing with act 2, which cuts to regular GHZ2 even earlier, which made me lose interest in checking act 3. Can't say the music appeals to me either, be it the instrumentation choice or the clashing volumes. A few things to note are that it's generally never a good idea to put bottomless pits in the first level, especially when it looks safe to drop down to. I'd also suggest that you get rid of the buzz bomber near the first spring, as it's really easy to hit it bouncing up.
     
  9. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    1. I'm sorry I didn't put this in the right spot. Thanks for fixing this!
    2. I see where everyone is coming from. I changed those Sonic 3 sprites back to Sonic 1 sprites, edited the layout, and got rid of the boss ceiling. I'm also changing music, palette, and maybe art. I'm gonna change the layout to other zones, but not until i'm done with the others first. Thank you for the feedback (even though some of it was insulting)!
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2017
  10. Trinitronity

    Trinitronity Well-Known Member Member

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    While you will rant about Sonic 3 sprites again, I'll just link this:
    Especially since it does addresses the Sonic 3 sprites debacle and why the sprites are not as bad as you would like to see them.
     
  11. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    NEW UPDATE-
    Changes:
    1. New Mod.Gen sprites
    2. Emerald Isle music is not ear piercing
    3. Sega screen doesn't look painful anymore
    4. "Green Island" name changed to "Emerald Isle"
    5. All layout in Emerald Isle is different
    6. Emerald Isle background is different
    Though I did forget about changing the title screen and it's music
    Don't know how to make it original
    THIS IS STILL A WIP
    Download: https://www.mediafire.com/?lnqj6forretsljk
     
  12. LazloPsylus

    LazloPsylus The Railgun Member

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  13. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    Corrected it. I only needed screenshots, since it has the title, description, and ROM.
     
  14. Unlimited Trees

    Unlimited Trees Banned for being a fucking cockwomble Exiled

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    Alright, so I played this new version. And I have ask: why did you have to release a new version this quick? Nobody's rushing you to make this new version, so why didn't you just wait until the zone was 100% complete or something so that your thing can look less rushed.

    Anyways, let's start with art: palettes and stuff are still alright. But then I actually got into the game when I realized a few things...

    [​IMG]
    First: Mod.gen sprites. I hate the Sonic 3 sprites, mostly because they're sorta ugly and overused, but I hate the mod.gen sprites even more. Not only are they overused, but they are REALLY bad looking (mostly because they tried too hard being "model accurate") and they look way too shiny (cough cough Sonic 4). I'd rather just have Sonic 1 sprites. Another thing I noticed is that for the background you used the foreground art. It makes things confusing because the background and foreground clash since they use the same art now.

    Oh and also something I noticed:
    [​IMG]
    Why couldn't you make rotated sprites for Sonic? This just seems lazy when all you had to do was use rotsprite to rotate the sprites and plop them in using Flex/SonMapEd/whatever tool you kids use these days

    Anyways, as for levels, they're getting a little bit better. Act 1 is less like stock Sonic 1 and there are a few improvements. But it is still linear as hell and needs more flow in the levels. I recommend go looking up Sonic Level Design so you can understand more about it and how it works, because I do see some potential here. You just need to fix your levels up. Anyways, as for Act 2, the start is still bleh, and more is changed. Act 3 only has slight changes and you brought back the old boss area.

    Oh, and music: it's a port of Mushroom Hill Act 2 but with less DAC sounds. That's it.

    Anyways, I see some potential in this. It's just the art and levels you need to fix. Oh and also, please don't try rushing this out. Spend your time working on this until you feel it's ready enough. Otherwise if you rush it you'll end up with stuff like Sonic 2 But With More Level Design (an old hack of mine which was rushed out when I first came here. Spoiler: it sucked)

    Oh and also
    [​IMG]
    (Meme shamelessly stolen from LooneyDude)
     

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  15. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    1. I like the Mod.Gen sprites, I'm not changing them
    2. You're right, I should've waited a little bit longer so I can actually make slope sprites
    3. It's Marble Garden Zone Act 1, not Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2.
    4. Yeah, still working on EIZ, like adding enemies and removing the unnecessary spring at the beginning of Act 3 and other chunk things
    5. Thanks for replying! I'll definitely improve and make it a better (but small) hack!
    btw i love Pepsi in Sonic 1
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2017
  16. M.N.K.

    M.N.K. In the River of Darkness... Member

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    I think he meant it more in a sense that they are overused [or for other reasons I may not know about] not just in your hack but plenty of others and I agree with him. Kinda takes away from creating something more original. Also saying that you like it in that sense will only take away any interest that anyone else would have for this hack. You also have to be able to appeal to everyone else in what they think of it, not just you. that's just selfish.



    I'd say a lot more longer to fix more than just the slope sprites. If I were you, I would just wait it out and take my time to change and edit as many parts as I could [Levels,Sprites,Music,etc.]. It seems like you're trying to rush things through. sure you fixed parts of the first level but you still have much more to work on which I think is something you should have done instead on putting out another release so early. if you know you have the time for it, then whats the rush?
     
  17. LuigiXHero

    LuigiXHero Well-Known Member Member

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    It's SonicFan's hack not you guy's. I personally really like the mod.gen sprites (at least SonicFan isn't using the god awful S3K sprites.)

    Also who cares if Mod.gen gets used in other stuff? S3K sprites were put in a lot more stuff then mod.gen was ever. Also if it looks good why not use it? I don't see anyone complaining about the over usage of S1 sonic either.

    Also it's a hobby done for fun, I believe the number one rule is make a hack you want to play and don't make it for other people, sure taking in C&C is a good idea, but have some boundaries.

    Also he doesn't owe anyone anything. If you don't like something then just don't play it, simple.
     
  18. redhotsonic

    redhotsonic Also known as RHS Member

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    Probably to annoy Razor & Zenon and Amy Rose on YouTube seeming as they were both so quick to release a video on this hack; now their video is already outdated lol.

    As for the Sonic sprites, I do like them, but it does need to be completed before the next release. The palette for GHZ is very easy on the eyes, but for me, there's not too much going on right now. I'll wait for a future update, but that doesn't mean to release it tomorrow; release it when it's got a lot more to see than the previous version :)
     
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  19. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester ♡ ! Member

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    I actually preferred some things from your previous version, in fact, I preferred your Sonic Advance 2 music port over the Marble Garden Zone music port, because it felt as though you put more effort into it by comparison. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was irritating to the ears a bit, but it was a good start at least (the PSG sounded quite accurate actually), you should give it another shot!

    As for the sprites, I'm not getting into the whole "mod-gen" thing, I think that's irrelevant. What is relevant is that, again, I preferred the sprites from your previous version over these.

    I liked the background change, it's certainly different and makes a change from the old Green Hill Zone background, additionally, I appreciate the little chunk additions you've put in, such as this chunk:

    upload_2017-2-3_10-33-56.png

    While it isn't perfect, I appreciate that you created a chunk specifically to fit there, and hide the above chunk's cut off, props to you for that one! Most people forget these things.

    As far as gameplay goes, there's not a lot to say, nothing really stands out, it feels like nothing more than another hack.
     
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  20. Sonicfan1991

    Sonicfan1991 Newcomer In Limbo

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    Oops i forgot they made videos on this, and also i'm gonna work on it more and not release slightly edited versions like hours after the other. I want it to be better in quality, and DEFINITELY improve the ending cutscene. I don't even know what i was thinking making it.
    That's what i'm doing, that was just an example
    Also over the Mod.Gen, I like them. At least they're not the original placeholder S3K and Sonic 1 amalgamation. Also they're not overused, as i never see any hacks / fan games using them. I always see S3K sprites in hacks, and I want the sprites to be original and good-looking. So i picked these. I'm not using Sonic 1 sprites because I don't like them. Also, over time, I've created slope sprites, and they're fully complete.
    [​IMG]
    Thank you, Otterboi! Don't worry, i'm gonna make more of those (especially in Desert Dune Zone)
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2017
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