SNOLF (Sonic Golf)

Discussion in 'Showroom' started by drmelon, Dec 19, 2019.

  1. drmelon

    drmelon Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Messages:
    11
    SNOLF
    The Sonic Golf Experience!
    UPDATED: v0.5 - Options, Options, Options!


    Description

    Have you ever wanted to play through Sonic 2 without being able to run and jump? Do you want to watch helplessly as our hedgehog friend rolls backwards down the same slope for the fifth time in a row? Do you want to experience the fear and frustration of Chemical Plant Zone Act 2's rising water section as though you were playing it for the very first time?
    Well, my friend, look no further than SNOLF: The Sonic Golf Experience!

    This romhack replaces Sonic's ability to move with a golf-game mechanic, similar to the kind of thing found in games like Kirby's Dream Course. Sonic remains rolled up into a ball under most conditions, and can only be launched when he has come to a stop. The Rings counter instead counts how many shots you have taken, allowing players to compete to get the lowest score! (In future, the Zones will have Par values, and will award the player points based on their over/under).


    Aside from a couple of minor art tweaks, the game is otherwise unchanged. The score display is in debug mode, as this is still an early version of what I aim to accomplish with the hack.

    This is my first romhack; after many years of watching from the sidelines, I've decided to get my hands dirty and make something myself. It's been strangely soothing to write assembly!

    Screenshots
    (in spoiler tag)
    Title screen:
    [​IMG]
    Example gameplay:
    [​IMG]
    True horror:
    [​IMG]
    Options for a customised experience;
    [​IMG]

    Controls
    A, B, C: When Sonic is at rest, press to begin your golf swing. A ring sprite will move left to right; how far left and right the sprite is determines the force that Sonic will be hit with, and the direction that he will move in. Press the button again to lock-in the horizontal force. You will then be presented with a similar display that controls how much vertical force Sonic will be hit with. Pressing the button in this state will lock-in the vertical force, and launch Sonic! Good luck!

    In order to prevent the player from getting stuck, the player can still influence Sonic's rolling speed by braking with the directional buttons, and can control his air velocity if he is launched by a vertical spring.
    If you're completely stuck, press and hold A, B, or C to reset to your last position!

    The game is fully completable, as of v0.4!

    Credits
    I owe everything in this hack to the fine people who have been modifying this game over the years; in particular, the maintainers of the Sonic 2 disassembly on GitHub, MarkeyJester for the tutorials on the M68k processor, and Xenowhirl for SonMapEd.

    ROM Downloads

    Github: snolf_drmelon_v01.bin
    Github: snolf_drmelon_v02.bin
    Github: snolf_drmelon_v03.bin
    Github: snolf_drmelon_v04.bin
    Github: snolf_drmelon_v05.bin <--- latest version!

    Release Page

    In keeping with the open-source spirit of the Sonic 2 disassembly, the hack's entire source code is available on my github here, in the sonic_golf branch: https://github.com/DrMelon/s2disasm/tree/sonic_golf
    You should be able to clone it with git and build it in the same way the disassembly itself is built.

    Patch Notes

    v0.5 (in spoiler)

    • Infinite Lives added
    • Options Screen now lets you choose to have Bounce + Infinite Lives, Bounce Only, Infinite Lives Only, or No extra options!
      Bounce & Lives are on by default.

    v0.4 (in spoiler)

    • Sonic will now behave correctly in zone-end sequences! This includes the end of Sky Chase Zone, and the jump-onto-rocket-ship cutscene of Wing Fortress Zone.

    v0.3 (in spoiler)

    • Sonic is a little bit bouncy now when he collides with walls in the air. This should help you make ricochet shots (e.g, Casino Night's Boss becomes much more playable with this).
    • Moved the golfing subroutine to a better, more reliably-executed block.


    v0.2 (in spoiler)

    • Stopped using global timer for shot-strength meters; they now reset upon each shot.
    • Added the ability to choose the initial shot meter direction - press left or right to face left or right before entering shot mode.
    • Added a new reset ability that teleports you back to your first position.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2019
  2. Giovanni

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

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2015
    Messages:
    311
    Location:
    Italy
    This is incredibly fun to play through! Thank you for making this!

    Also, you've made the best Title Screen right there. 10/10 would press Start again.
     
    drmelon likes this.
  3. drmelon

    drmelon Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Messages:
    11
    Thank you very much! It's been a lot of fun to work on. I've just uploaded a new version too, that makes the logic a lot more stable!
     
    Crimson Neo likes this.
  4. Razor

    Razor Active Member Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2014
    Messages:
    49
    Location:
    Moscow
    Pretty cool hack!
     
    drmelon likes this.
  5. drmelon

    drmelon Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Messages:
    11
    Thank you! And as a Merry Snolfmas gift to you all, I've updated it to fix the SCZ and WFZ cutscenes, so the game is fully completeable from start to finish!
     
  6. Lobotomy

    Lobotomy Very pleased to exciting new Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2008
    Messages:
    49
    Location:
    Northwest Michigan
    This is hilarious and I love it! Is there any chance you could use the unused squash sprites for Sonic in a ball when he ricochets off a wall? Could make for a nice effect.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. drmelon

    drmelon Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    Messages:
    11
    That's an excellent idea! I might give that a try sometime!
     
  8. NadavGames

    NadavGames Newcomer Trialist

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2020
    Messages:
    3
    Location:
    Russia
    Great hack! I like the concept, it's pretty challenging, I can't even find some issues. Maybe it's pretty simple, but, for others, some fun and broken PCs are guaranteed))
    drmelon, keep it up! :3
     
    drmelon likes this.