Sonic Mania (August 15th 2017, Christian Whitehead, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch) - The New Classic

[Zippo]

So I'm guessing Flying Battery, Stardust Speedway, and this brand new level will be playable at E3 in two weeks. Fucking hyped. 

[Salamander]

11 minutes ago, G-Force said:

The fact that they showed Stardust Speedway Past specifically makes me think that there will be some kind of time travel aspect to the level, though I kind of doubt that they would want to do the full blown Sonic CD time travel gimmick for just one or two levels.

Maybe...Stardust Speedway could be a three Act Zone?  First two Acts are the Past and Present (in either order), and Act 3 is either the Good or Bad Future depending on whether you did certain things in the first two Acts?

So, I thought way too hard about this the other day, and came up with something like this:

Start Act 1 in Bad Future.  Halfway through Act 1, scripted transition to Present.  Immediately prior to miniboss, transition to Past.  Halfway through Act 2, transition back to Present.  Immediately prior to boss, transition to Good Future.

I imagine the transition would be something like one of the Past/Future posts with a barrier on the opposite side, so you have to go past it, and when you do so you get a lightshow while the level swaps graphics.

With that said, I think if that was what we were getting, we wouldn't be seeing all this Past stuff right now.  Something like Act 1 Past, Act 2 Present, boss Good Future might be more likely.

[Detective Kaito]

The trailer was fucking amazing. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling. I'll be pre-ordering the PS4 version tomorrow and it'll be the first game I've ever pre-ordered.

Hey, someone had to do it.

[YuTwo]

I can't believe my previous posts speculating that Tyson Hesse had involvement with the leaked animation turned out to be true.

I never predicted this kind of thing to occur.

The first post is where I discovered that there was a charity stream with many people involved in animation and comic books. Within that list Tyson Hesse was shown to have taken part in this. I realized a connection at that point as both designs were practically identical. 

On 4/18/2017 at 0:18 AM, YuTwo said:

Also in the twitch channel containing the charity stream named SonicAndChuckles it provides a list with the people participating in the stream.

Here's the list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZnjiPZQ5MRBBsURjPnVWt_WKB3etHGmye47kPGolNhU/edit

I also found it interesting that within the list Tyson Hesse, who did the artwork on the Mega Drive comics, also participated in this stream because the animation that Collins had done really reminded me of Tyson's design for Sonic. They both even have a small fourth spine on their heads.

Again this is all just speculation so take it however you want.

After seeing this similarity in designs and then rereading the Retro article about the stream and seeing it crediting Tyson as an animator I wanted to check to see if any of his accounts had any additional information I could discover. 

The post below had a tweet that I had found of a Sonic animation that Tyson had done which was definitely the smoking gun at that point

On 4/18/2017 at 1:12 PM, YuTwo said:

So I was rereading the Sonic Retro article about the charity stream and I just now realized that they credited Tyson Hesse as not only a cartoonist but as an animator as well.

I wasn't even aware that Tyson had done animations as I only knew about him from the Mega Drive comics. 

Look what I found in his tweets:

I'm going to enter speculation mode again and say that maybe either Tyson is helping in providing his design to the animation studio and that's why there so similar in comparison or the animation studio was just inspired and based there design on his.

After all Tyson's Sonic is the most recent design that is based off of the CD/OVA one.

 

Later in a third post I stated that perhaps if the animations aren't going to be in the game they could just end up being used for trailers or promo videos.

On 4/24/2017 at 10:43 PM, YuTwo said:

I'm starting to think that maybe the animation could just be used in a trailer or promo video and could possibly be uploaded on the official Sonic channel.

I'm hopefully going to be proven wrong and there will be in game animated cutscenes as I really want to see more of this. 

Now after seeing that amazing animated trailer with Tyson confirmed to have done it I'm excited to see yet another person who is a huge Sonic fan be a part of this game. This is becoming an amalgamation of many talented and passionate Sonic fans that this game will definitely blow it out of the water and probably receive the most positive reception with people even outside of the fanbase as I think Mania will reach many new people to the series.

It also seems like it was Aaron Webber's idea to add in animations as Tyson states this:

 

[Sonikko]

The reception is so positive. There's so much good buzz surrounding this game, and I love it. I feel so hyped for it and it's the first time in a very LONG time...

I'm so happy, I want the Mania serie to go on forever.

[Kuzu]

This game has taught me how to feel love for this series again. It's...beautiful.

[jacoblebeaureal]

Hello. I am new here. But anyways, now that the game is almost released, it's time to ask the most important question to me.

 Will there be dlc, and if so, what will it be? 

[Blue Blood]

1 minute ago, jacoblebeaureal said:

Hello. I am new here. But anyways, now that the game is almost released, it's time to ask the most important question to me.

 Will there be dlc, and if so, what will it be? 

We don't know.

Aaron answered this question a little while ago during a stream or an interview. He specifically said that that that's undecided at the moment and all they're focusing on is getting the game finished for release. DLC is, quite rightly, not being planned before the game is even out.

[jacoblebeaureal]

Just now, Blue Blood said:

We don't know.

Aaron answered this question a little while ago during a stream or an interview. He specifically said that that that's undecided at the moment and all they're focusing on is getting the game finished for release. DLC is, quite rightly, not being planned before the game is even out.

I know, but I just like to think about all the dlc possibilities, especially in the modern gaming industry, with all the season passes, locked away content, special editions and other stupid stuff.

[Detective Kaito]

I think the inclusion of DLC will up be to Sega to decide, and if they say yes, then they will probably start working on it once Sonic Mania goes gold.

[Pawn]

33 minutes ago, FFWF said:

So, I thought way too hard about this the other day, and came up with something like this:

Start Act 1 in Bad Future.  Halfway through Act 1, scripted transition to Present.  Immediately prior to miniboss, transition to Past.  Halfway through Act 2, transition back to Present.  Immediately prior to boss, transition to Good Future.

I imagine the transition would be something like one of the Past/Future posts with a barrier on the opposite side, so you have to go past it, and when you do so you get a lightshow while the level swaps graphics.

With that said, I think if that was what we were getting, we wouldn't be seeing all this Past stuff right now.  Something like Act 1 Past, Act 2 Present, boss Good Future might be more likely.

They might just go with the Past version for both acts, given the rest of it occupies a similar trope to Studiopolis. Still, it's entirely possible that it doesn't matter and for Act 2 to take place in a Good Future or one of the others, like you said. I'd be down with either.

[Kintor]

Beautiful animation; makes me said that Archie might never publish the last part of the Sonic Mega Drive comic.

Anyway, I wonder if this animation will be included in the game as Sonic Mania's actually intro sequence? If that's the case I kind of hope that more of it will be coloured upon release. The beginning as a sketch was a cool touch but seeing Sonic run like that in black and white still feels kind of incomplete to me.

[Blue Blood]

5 minutes ago, jacoblebeaureal said:

I know, but I just like to think about all the dlc possibilities, especially in the modern gaming industry, with all the season passes, locked away content, special editions and other stupid stuff.

Well, as yet the answer is "no". No DLC has been announced. I'd be totally down for some DLC that's planned out and announced after release, whatever form it takes. But I would be a little bit miffed if they'd already announced some. 

[expansivelovestories]

On 5/23/2017 at 10:20 PM, Jango said:

Oh shit dawg, I don't want spoilers, but this looks so cool.... ?? I'm digging the colors, it's definitely a new zone, and the screenshot was taken right at the beginning of the level, as Sonic is far on the left. It looks like the inside of a cathedral... It reminds of the one in Stardust Speedway's background (in the past)! Oh shit, what if?!

Perhaps it is either an intentional or unintentional fun puzzle that the unknown zone screenshot was placed in the promotional artwork, around the same time as the current trailer would be published?  Is it one of the new zones, some new part of Hydrocity, or part of Stardust Speedway??  

That has been something i didn't notice about Sonic background art for years and years, until replaying S3K enough times, that it is implied that, although the movement on screen is horizontal, that they are winding their way into the background nonetheless. 

[Kintor]

2 minutes ago, expansivelovestories said:

Perhaps it wasn't unintentional/as a fun puzzle that the unknown zone screenshot was placed in the promotional artwork, around the same time as the current trailer being published.  Is it one of the new zones, some new part of Hydrocity, or part of Stardust Speedway??  

That has been something i didn't notice about Sonic background art for years and years, until replaying S3K enough times, that it is implied that, although the movement on screen is horizontal, that they are winding their way into the background nonetheless. 

This being 'Sonic CD' where talking about its entirely possible that the cathedral is a new alternative future for Stardust Speedway. Personally though I'm still inclined to believe it's a whole new zone, its style is unique compared to any other 2D zone that's ever appeared in a Sonic game before.

[MegasonicZX]

I don't think words can describe just how blown away by that trailer I was, its probably my favorite trailer for anything, PERIOD, its that good. I really hope we get a tv show using this animation man, its just too beautiful not to use.

[JezMM]

Trailer was amazing, not much to be said that hasn't been said already but yeah I SURE hope that colouring at the end is a tease that these might be pencils for what is a fully animated intro in the final... but expectations low just in case.

But hey Stardust Speedway!  We got the overgrown retro level y'all had a boner for.

[Meta77]

If anything eggman is just using the emeralds to warp some zones together or rewrite things. Seeing his leaked character artwork, and looking at posters you see in some stages of his head outlined by the emeralds pretty much makes me think thats whats going on. I am excited for this. Atm my levels of excitement for ite are pretty on par with forces atm.

[Sonicfan7]

Going to cancel the collectors edition and pre-order this now. 

This may be the best Sonic game of all-time. 

[G-Force]

22 minutes ago, Kintor said:

This being 'Sonic CD' where talking about its entirely possible that the cathedral is a new alternative future for Stardust Speedway. Personally though I'm still inclined to believe it's a whole new zone, its style is unique compared to any other 2D zone that's ever appeared in a Sonic game before.

It's not an alternative future for Stardust Speedway.  Given what we've seen from Green Hill, Flying Battery, and now Stardust Speedway, we can safely say that while they're willing to modify and add elements to the old levels, they're not interested in retooling levels into things they never were to begin with.  If Stardust Speedway Future is in the game at all, it'll resemble what it was before.

5 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

If anything eggman is just using the emeralds to warp some zones together or rewrite things. Seeing his leaked character artwork, and looking at posters you see in some stages of his head outlined by the emeralds pretty much makes me think thats whats going on. I am excited for this. Atm my levels of excitement for ite are pretty on par with forces atm.

The artwork is based on Eggman juggling the Chaos Emeralds you didn't get in the old Try Again screen for Sonic 1.  By itself, it doesn't mean anything other than the fact that the Chaos Emeralds are involved in the game, which is something most of us probably expected anyway.  We can't say that Eggman used the Emeralds for anything in the story yet.

[Kintor]

1 minute ago, G-Force said:

It's not an alternative future for Stardust Speedway.  Given what we've seen from Green Hill, Flying Battery, and now Stardust Speedway, we can safely say that while they're willing to modify and add elements to the old levels, they're not interested in retooling levels into things they never were to begin with.  If Stardust Speedway Future is in the game at all, it'll resemble what it was before.

I agree with your resoning here. The leaked image is far too different from anything else to merely be a retooled level. That cathedral is probably something new.

[Meta77]

34 minutes ago, G-Force said:

 

The artwork is based on Eggman juggling the Chaos Emeralds you didn't get in the old Try Again screen for Sonic 1.  By itself, it doesn't mean anything other than the fact that the Chaos Emeralds are involved in the game, which is something most of us probably expected anyway.  We can't say that Eggman used the Emeralds for anything in the story yet.

artwork in studiopolis shows eggtv with eggmans head and the 7 emeralds surrounding his head

[Sonicfan7]

The release date on PS says December 31 and it's driving me nuts. It's making the countdown seem unbearable even though I know it's the wrong date. 

 

[Gatestormer]

53 minutes ago, Sonicfan7 said:

Going to cancel the collectors edition and pre-order this now. 

This may be the best Sonic game of all-time. 

...Cancel? Why?! The collectors edition is the game.

[expansivelovestories]

1 hour ago, Kintor said:

This being 'Sonic CD' where talking about its entirely possible that the cathedral is a new alternative future for Stardust Speedway. Personally though I'm still inclined to believe it's a whole new zone, its style is unique compared to any other 2D zone that's ever appeared in a Sonic game before.

  That is true, i hadn't remembered what was in that location in the Good Future, but i found a screenshot: