Sonic Forces | PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC "The Next Generations"

[Baconjack]

On 3/18/2017 at 1:16 AM, Drunk Michael Myers said:

I know the game's not finnished, but Sonic looks soooo weird when running without the boost. Can't put a finger on why. Stiff as hell. Almost awfull.

Yeah, the running animation screams Sonic X. Doesn't look all that good. I'm hoping Sonic Team fixes this for the final game.

[JaidynReiman]

2 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

Maybe the idea is waiting long enough until they can completely erase all of the existing cast without any care/backlash save the main group, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Eggman and start with an entirely new round of ever growing rosters for a new generation.

If they were going to do that, you'd think they'd, oh I don't know... actually cut out those characters instead of bringing them back over and over.

 

Personally, I hate this idea anyway. Utilize the cast you have. They barely show up as is, but they still show up enough to show that they still exist. And its not like they bring back all the massive amounts of characters they'd introduced over the years. The characters they bring back tend to just be Eggman and the Heroes teams, and even then Big and Omega are absent more often than not.

 

They all appeared even in Colors DS. Then in Generations, and now in Forces. And its not like they've been absent from "side" games, either. They've been in all the Olympics titles and most spinoffs, barring the Sonic Boom side series that started recently.

 

If they were really trying to get rid of them, they wouldn't have been in Colors DS, or Generations, or the Olympics, and especially not in Forces.

[TheLaw34]

23 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Don't you think this is something they should show you and not simply telling. 

Like you said, going down into the nitty gritty would be boring ,so SHOW us this big graphical upgrade. It's like, saying there's this big fancy new engine without showing it off doesn't exactly ring for a whole lot of excitement.

What are you talking about? Did you not watch the trailer? They showed off the new features in the trailer. I mean it pretty much opens by showcasing some realtime reflections.

[Shadowlax]

5 hours ago, Celestia said:

Sonic's the only one who can use Wisps powers anyway, so...

 

 

Ehhh

I would like to take a moment to mention this: Yes I know the comics aren't canon, but sega gives their approval on what happens, and sega approved this and its post reboot. 

There is a character, who is not sonic, who is a black arms and has wips. So not only can other characters use wisps, hypothetically, there are different species of them entirely 

[Mark1]

Based on that tweet and Sega's new importance on quality (as evidenced by Sonic Mania's delay - which has given less of a doubt to believe it won't be anything less than incredible now btw) I do think this game is going to surprise us later this year.

I'm hoping the radio communication gives me vibes similar to the Star Fox games, after seeing the Eggman examples I really hope this happens. Imagine the following dialogue with Andross but with Sonic and Eggman instead:

 

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Regarding the Wisps... Yeezus I have some doubts...

I find it strange that they show up in an apocalyptic situation. That aside, I wonder if it's just the white wisps or are the others coming as well? Could the Wisps be used in Modern Sonic's gameplay or will it be used by Classic also?

I find the Wisps to be fun to use, (since I played the DS version of Colors). Using the White Wisps for the boost meter sounds fine here, but if this game is going to use the other ones, I really wonder how it'll work with the gameplay. 

Also does Runners technically count since you play as several characters and they use the Wisps for power ups.

 

 

[Marcello]

I don't care why the Wisps are around story-wise, but I do wish they'd just go way. They simply aren't fun to use.

As for them replacing characters' abilities, I'd be annoyed if Knuckles' gameplay was burdened with the shitty Drill.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Also, I hope we get a trailer in E3/Tokyo game show. That's happening in the summer right?

[JezMM]

6 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

I didn't think boost was overkill until Sonic beat Perfect Chaos without the need of his Super Form, that was cool in the moment, but reflecting on it, yeah, dude's kind of too invincible.

I think that was just a gameplay thing in terms of them deciding not to put a Super Sonic fight halfway through the game.  Like, just one of those "It's a game" moments you have to accept.

You don't even need the boost to hurt him anyway, literally just touching him at any speed initiates a scripted cut-scene where he spins his way up.  You only need your boost to keep your momentum on the water's surface.  The "boss" is pretty much just a level with boss-like aesthetics (which I'm actually a-ok with, especially for final bosses, the three Mario games that did this had the most fun final bosses in the series for just doing that).

But the downgrade for Perfect Chaos in Generations is a shame because - to make this belated response thread-wise relevant to Sonic Forces - Perfect Chaos, while a clunky and ugly looking final boss I feel, with the Phase 2 music being less dramatic than the Phase 1 music (at least until Richard Jacques sprinkled his magic upon it), always has my respect as the only 3D final boss to be based around building up and maintaining your speed.  Which is a pretty friggin' novel concept for a Sonic the Hedgehog boss no?  I'd like stuff based around that idea more often, i.e. in this next Sonic game.  A small but unlikely hope.

[Mark1]

I think we'll get a trailer before E3, which is in June this year. TGS is always about September (or used to be) so cannot see Sega wait that long to show more.

[Jango]

Sonic's the only one who can use Wisps powers anyway, so...

Maybe you could give 'em passive abilities that you get from just having one, like uh...Laser can specifically protect you from enemy lasers, or something. And these passive abilities would apply to everyone, while only Sonic can actually fuse with 'em. So basically the same thing as the elemental shields, but more varied. Sure, it's something that only Sonic can take advantage of, but it'd still be a lot more limited than Tails, Knuckles, and so on's abilities, so it wouldn't be unbalanced (imo, anyway).

Edit: This topic is moving faster than I thought :V

 

 

It has more pages than the Mania thread now :V

 

As for the Wisps, I read people saying hover and drill could be replaced by Tails and Knuckles respectively and even on the go (during the level). Isn't Boom like this? D:

[Kuzu]

3 hours ago, TheLaw34 said:

What are you talking about? Did you not watch the trailer? They showed off the new features in the trailer. I mean it pretty much opens by showcasing some realtime reflections.

I meant emphasizing it. I would have never known about anything you're talking about if someone else didn't point it out. You know how video game trailers usually frame their videos.

[RictalRose0]

I don't know about Wisps but I do think actually using the existing characters is a better idea. You don't even have to make different gameplay stuff for them. Do it like Shadow the Hedgehog, where you encounter the characters in a certain stage. And if you do some task or whatever, they'll "teach" you their ability. Also Sonic Advance 3, where depending on the teamup your moveset changed to suit your parther. And of course, so no one can complain about "Forcing tedious non-fast gameplay on the player" like when people complain about Adventure or Unleashed, make it mostly optional.

[Cyrus]

If I recall correctly we're getting a stream with the usual duo, Iizuka, Jun Senoue, and a surprise guestjohnny today, right?

[RictalRose0]

Really? Where do they usually stream it?

[Jango]

Funny you mention Sonic Advance 3, because I actually had a thought about teaming up other characters with Sonic in the game. Not a trio, like Heroes, but at least a duo. Imagine a 3D level with dozens of ways to finish it (and score bonuses) depending on the characters' skill you're teaming up with... Much cooler than Wisps if you ask me and it even makes more sense to the story.

 

Then again, that would require actual work, better just add some fancy water reflection and call it a day :V

 

And I feel like all these Wisp talk isn't going anywhere, I see people who are outright irritated by their return (which I agree) and some that think they could at least be improved (I also agree!). But like it or not, they are here to stay, and we knew that waaaaay before, I think Iizuka confirmed this 2 years ago. Funny how he's really committed to keep something nobody asked, but throw away genuinely good ideas that people WANT to see improved and more times. Go figure.

[HyperShadic]

1 hour ago, Cyrus said:

If I recall correctly we're getting a stream with the usual duo, Iizuka, Jun Senoue, and a surprise guestjohnny today, right?

Can you clarify when / where this is going to be streamed?

Also I can't be the only one getting real Chronicles vibes from the overall environment design right? ESPECIALLY the green hill zone esque area.

[Cyrus]

3 hours ago, HyperShadic said:

Can you clarify when / where this is going to be streamed?

Also I can't be the only one getting real Chronicles vibes from the overall environment design right? ESPECIALLY the green hill zone esque area.

We don't have a time, but it's 99.9% likely be streamed right here, follow them to get notified. Also, I agree, it'll be odd as hell but awesome if this game's a continuation of Chronicles and follows the best characterization choices for Sonic in that game.

[Shiny Gems]

34 minutes ago, Cyrus said:

We don't have a time, but it's 99.9% likely be streamed right here, follow them to get notified. Also, I agree, it'll be odd as hell but awesome if this game's a continuation of Chronicles and follows the best characterization choices for Sonic in that game.

According to Gene Fujimori on his Twitter, the stream should be at 5PM Pacific time, which is rather late.

[Meta77]

What is this stream for?

[TheLaw34]

6 hours ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

I meant emphasizing it. I would have never known about anything you're talking about if someone else didn't point it out. You know how video game trailers usually frame their videos.

Do you want them to put "real time reflections" up on the screen and them zoom in on the puddle? What game trailers are you thinking of that put more emphasis on the engine than this one does?

[blazefan519]

Does anyone know what the event will be over tonight?

[Nuggets]

5 hours ago, Jango said:

Funny you mention Sonic Advance 3, because I actually had a thought about teaming up other characters with Sonic in the game. Not a trio, like Heroes, but at least a duo. Imagine a 3D level with dozens of ways to finish it (and score bonuses) depending on the characters' skill you're teaming up with... Much cooler than Wisps if you ask me and it even makes more sense to the story.

This reminds me of some of the character missions in Generations, and while those were more minigames than actual gameplay styles, it's still the closest these characters have come to being semi-playable in a mainline game in over 10 years, even if they were kinda teases. While an entire gameplay style based on those missions wouldn't be satisfying, I think with some tweaks to be, like you said, more like Advance 3 or a nerfed Heroes that it could work.

But considering the way most of those missions used the cast as power-ups, I think I might've actually preferred the cast returning in that capacity instead of the wisps coming back, if they are all indeed coming back. 

i just want to fuckin play as knuckles again sega why won't you let me have this

[Wraith]

I..don't think you guys want that. Like, it sounds preferable to the wisps on paper, but overall it's asking for a completely different thing and you might as well just let people play as them if you're gonna go that route. 

For me, I'd rather it be all or nothing. 

[MegasonicZX]

The character specific missions in generations were pretty underrated if I'm being honest, I really like what they did with the cast in those and have been hoping they'd explore more into that again at some point since its the next best thing to having the characters playable themselves while still keeping with the solo sonic thing.