Sonic Hacking Contest 2014

At least we all safely know that "sonic hard mode by sonichacker/crawford233 on twitch" is the clear winner, right guys?

Right?

 

LOL. I think Toxic Caves Trophy goes to Crazy Sonic.

EDIT: Let's PM each other fake nominees because I'm bored. Or don't.

 

Sweet now that I'm off work, time to download some hacks and play them on my Genesis. :3 Well the ones that can actually work on hardware. And the site went down again? :V Still it's wonderful to see that the hacking contest is still going strong after all these years!

 

Well, the rules said the entry had to be based upon an existing Sonic game...but how MUCH of the game it had to be based on wasn't an enforced number =P

 

First of all, an important thing to mention concerning the Community Trophies. We had the same issue with this last year and we had to address it just to remind people, so we'll need to do it again as people are still doing it. Read the About page and the section concerning Trophies. You'll see a short explanation for each trophy. Now that you'll see that, you can understand that not everything can go in each trophy, or you are being confused about stuff.

 

For example, the Big Community Trophy is for the worst hack. It's not about a hack that features Big the Cat, unless you think that Big's Fishing Derby is the worst hack out of everything there. We have a trophy for a hack with Big in it - the Froggy Trophy, and obviously we can easily say it has won that trophy uncontested. Likewise, the D.A. Garden Trophy concerns the best music in an entry. STH2006 Project Demo 3 would not exactly fit this trophy as it's essentially untouched music from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 implemented into Sonic Generations as a Sonic 06 in Generations mod.

 

Anyway, here is the schedule for Tuesday.

● 11am EDT / 4pm BST until 2pm EDT / 7pm BST - SomecallmeJohnny Stream

● 2pm EDT / 7pm BST until 4pm EDT / 9pm BST - Donnie Stream

● 4pm EDT / 9pm BST until 7pm EDT / 12am BST - MegaGWolf Stream

● 7pm EDT / 12am BST to 10pm EDT / 3am BST - Sega Channel Retro Stream

 

Ok folks. That just about raps up the first day of the Sonic Hacking Contest. I have to say that was probably even better than last year's. We had three streams AND RadioRev, all the while having our site crash again, second time in a row, I swear, you people either love Sonic Hacks, or our Media Panel stabbing themselves in the eyes after playing GHZ so many times, which leads into what I'm really here to talk about.....

THE MINI HACKING CONTESTS!!!!!

That's right folks, we are bringing back the Mini-Hacking Contests, and everyone is invited!!
This year during the 2014 SHC, we have been working hard to get everything prepared for the general masses. Just as last year, Mini Hacking Contests are going to be conducted. From Tuesday through Friday, we will be holding various contests in order to see what everybody can come up with. Each contest starts at 12 AM PST, and ends at 11pm PST. Here is a link that provides everybody’s times in their respective time zones, just in case there are folks, like me, who are too lazy to figure out what time that is in their time zone.

This year’s contests will be much more organized. For these Mini-Contests, everybody will be working from a general Sonic 1 Disassembly, you may download any version from the link here. As stated, we want this event to go smoothly, so we are going to try to streamline everything in order to ensure the best experience can be had for all. Another reason for this is because of the surprise I had mentioned eons back.

This year, we plan on making one giant Contest hack. A hack created by you guys.

How?

Simple, the winners of each mini-contest gets there content dumped into a general disassembly on Saturday, and will be presented and released on Sunday, that way everybody can see and play a full hack of what everybody has made. And to answer your next question, a team has already been created and an entry already reserved. So, instead of us judges playing you guy's hard work, everybody can see how hard the participants worked.

So how does one submit their entry?

Simple. Just email us a zip of the disassembly and final build of your hack at shc@sonicresearch.org. In the Subject, title it whatever the name of the Daily Contest Name is, and then we will look at it. In the body of the letter, please write out your name from the forums, and which forums which you hail from. Makes our jobs easier when adding you, the potential winners, into the group.

Why do you need my disassembly?

Because you silly goose, I don't exactly feel all that up to disassembling hacks manually to obtain your data. =P

General Rules:

The contests must be shown to be fair and equal for all ages and skill levels. As such, each Daily Mini-Contest will have different rules and guidelines. Though that is the case, there are still general guidelines for the contest as a whole.
- There is no restriction on who can enter. These mini-contests are open to everyone.
- Each Contest will have be using a version of a stock Sonic 1 driver from here. If it is found somebody is using something other than the provided disassemblies to help further their possible outcome in the contest, their entry will automatically be disqualified and they will be barred from any other contests for the duration of the SHC.
- Unlike the main contest, there isn't teams. Each entry is to be made of individual effort. Though, letting others test it prior to the hack's submission is fine.
- Don't be a sore loser. If you didn't win, that's fine. There's always next year.
- Have fun and be creative.
And since it is almost time anyways, I'll go ahead and do this....


TUESDAY'S MINI-CONTEST: Marble Zone Reimagined

- This Contest is a level layout contest. The goal here is to see who can create the best Marble Zone layout.
- The rules are simple. Whoever can make the best Marble Zone layout wins the contest. But there is a catch. We will be picking the best three. Why? Because each one of the winners will have an act dedicated to their Act 1 level layouts. As a side note, Act 3 will be fixed and discussed on Saturday, so don't worry about that.
- As a side note, while you may change your Zone Art or modify chunks, ect, bear in mind those won't get you extra points. This Contest's winner(s) will be determined strictly by layouts only.

Well folks, that is all she wrote. Get crackin people, I expect to see some great stuff by tomorrow morning =P

- SuperEgg out

edit: Fixed those pesky hyperlinks. Seems straight copy and pasting from Retro at 2 AM is never a good idea.

 

Hey all, just to let you know, entries are now made on the site itself rather than by email! (I coded it up on the train this morning :U)

Click here for more information

 

You're kidding right?

 

Well, considering we want to shove the whole lot into a large disassembly on Saturday, we do kinda need access to it. It might be better to just accept ROMs for now, and then contact the winners separately for the bits and pieces, but we'll see how it goes at the moment.

 

You're kidding right?




Well no. considering I said....

I mean, I could potentially just put your entry through split.bat and retrieve the data that way, but I am lazy, and it seems that probably sounds a bit shady. Well that and also, some of the later contests would make that impossible as they change up other things outside of level layouts... 

Bear in mind, it's not like I'm going to sit here and steal anything from it, because well that's just dishonest. But if it ruffles your jimmies, I am willing to make a concession then.

Ok folks, whenever anybody wins, they will be contacted and I will ask only for the data that was changed and nothing else. For example, if somebody wins today's Contest, I will shoot them a PM asking for al their Marble Zone data.

Well, get back to work you drones!!! I want to see some amazing Marble Zone layouts!!!

 

I need to edit all 3 acts or just act 1?

 

No no, just Act 1. We are going to take the top 3 winners and have each of their Act 1's become a different Act.

An example:

First Place = Act 1

Second Place = Act 2

Third Place = Act 3

Of course, that is subject to change which place gets which act. If we feel the First Place winner's Act 1 feels better as an Act 3, we could make it an Act 3.

Just don't worry about it too much. Just do an Act 1 layout edit.

 

In participation with the Hacking Contest this year, I will once again be hosting an SMPS music workshop. It'll be live on Saturday from 11am - 1pm EST / 4pm - 6pm BST. I'd be on later but I have plans on Saturday night, so I hope this is fine with you all! I'll be covering the same sort of thing as I did last year - you can check last year's recording for a general idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqUrq78Xyec

 

Mini-Contests have changed again guys; now you upload the final build of your entry, but be sure to hold on to your disassemblies as we'll be asking the winners to get the source!

 

Ah, I have another question: Can I do minor edits like changing level order (after Marble 1 - to Sega), start game at Marble, fix Sega sound, etc.?

 

I'm pretty sure it's allowed, but for the first thing, couldn't one just use the level select cheat? =V

 

I want to make things simpler :> Without unneeded levels, just Marble.

 

Considering that doesn't improve your chances at winning in the slightest, it'd be a redundant effort to waste time which you could much better put into creating the stage.

 

Despite some issues this week things are going well. The mini contest for Wednesday will be posted by SuperEgg later on.

 

● 11am EDT / 4pm BST until 2pm EDT / 7pm BST - SomecallmeJohnny Stream

● 2pm EDT / 7pm BST until 4pm EDT / 9pm BST - Spanner Stream

● 4pm EDT / 9pm BST until 7pm EDT / 12am BST - MegaGWolf Stream

● 8pm EDT / 1am BST to 10pm EDT / 3am BST - TailsChannel Stream

 

And this post neatly wraps up the Second day of the SHC. Seems today still started with a rocky start, but with a contest of this magnitude, it is bound to happen. I will say today has been just as exciting as yesterday and I hope tomorrow brings just as much fun.

On that note, as of 11:30 PST, we have exactly 6 entries for the mini-contest. I know that doesn't sound like much, but that is definitely a jump from last year's, which I can't seem to remember how that went down because of how messy that was. On that note....

Wednesday: GHZ on Fire

This year’s contest is full of Sonic 1 hacks. As such, we the judges are done looking at Green Hill Zone, like I don't think you guys understand. We've had to play Green Hill Zone....19 times. So, for this contest, it is your job to create a GHZ art edit….that is on fire. Think like Sonic 3’s Angel Island Zone Act 2. We want to see that lovable Green Bump on the countryside on fire and in pain. Here are some quick rules and guidelines.

  - For this contest, we the judges would like to specifically request that you guys use the normal 256x256 chunk disasms. It makes it easier for porting. Sorry if that causes any inconveniences, but if you have started on the Sonic 128 disasms, contact me, and I'll see what we can do. Otherwise, everybody better get back to using their favorite inflexible system of layer change!

  - On that note, bear in mind, adding chunks, tiles, and blocks does count towards the results. Though, you won't be penalized for not adding more than what is already there. Being that though, any level layout changes you make will not go towards the final outcome.

  - Like last time, have fun and be creative. As much as we want to see GHZ set ablaze in a wildfire akin to the ones you see on the news, we don't necessarily want to see GHZ with a slightly red and brown tint. Wow us. Make the palettes cool, make chunks not complete because of the fire, make the bridges not be complete and be slightly burning. The only real limit is your imagination.

  - Unlike the contest from yesterday, only one winner will be selected. Sorry, but there can only be one head honcho for this contest.

A few little notes:

After talking to Dandaman955 earlier, I realized my time zone table that I had hyperlinked in my initial post was more or less fucked in a few places, namely as I had gotten every time from GST and beyond off by two hours. So, I take full responsibility, and thus why the deadline is now exactly 12 hours for this Mini-Contest only, as opposed to 11 hours.

Also, special thanks to a certain Cinossu for making all the Mini-Contest stuff on the SHC website. Definitely makes things easier for submitting things.

Anyways, night y'all. I've gotta get some shut eye for tomorrow, as I am gonna be looking at those Mini-Contest hacks in the morning.

New Link to Corrected Time Tables

- NotKevinCole out