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

[Indigo Rush]

1 hour ago, Gabz Girl said:

Actually, I remember back in 2014/2015 a guy on Sonic Retro who knew about the project (somehow) said the game didn't have SLW's parkour nor Boost gameplay. Was he lying too? Maybe it was a different game but they said screw it, scrapped it and started over. 

Sonic Mania?

[Celestia]

1 minute ago, Indigo Rush said:

Sonic Mania?

Might be possible depending on when this was. Apparently Mania started development in 2015 according to Famitsu, so...

[Dejimon11]

5 minutes ago, Indigo Rush said:

Sonic Mania?

Can't be. Mania didn't start development till 2015 that guy made the comment back in 2014. 

[pppp]

The lack of creativity in Forces makes me think Ben Andac's statements back in 2007 still hold true:

"As it turned out, according to Mr. Andac, after Sega had restructured itself to re-integrate external development houses like Smilebit and AM2 back in to the main Sega offices, Sonic Team was kept external strictly as a sweatshop to milk the Sonic cashcow, assembly-line style. Sega of Japan had intended NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams as a brief rest from the never-ending onslaught of Sonic game after Sonic game. In Ben’s own words: “There’s no doubt that Sonic Team have lost their quality touch. They are worse than talentless: they are without passion. Bored, weary, closed-minded and out of touch with any sense of what makes games good anymore.” Quite simply put, after making so many of them, Sonic Team is tired of Sonic games – something Ben cites as a reason for Yuji Naka’s resignation in 2006."

Fot those not aware of this former SEGA Europe employee's story you can read the whole story here:

http://www.tssznews.com/2009/01/05/the-blog-sega-doesnt-want-you-to-read/

I can't help but feel that Forces is a reflection of his words. The lack of enthusiasm for the other characters, the reuse of Green Hill, the way Green Hill looks, it all makes believe that Sonic Team doesn't care and would rather work on something else.

I get that they can only be as creative as SEGA executives allow them to be, but that cannot be an excuse for everything.

[DarkXZA]

All it took is seconds of footage for you guys to go ape shit, if Classic's gameplay is as good as his Generations's then that not something to complain about. What that? too early to tell? ...EXACTLY

[Kintor]

1 minute ago, pppp said:

Fot those not aware of this former SEGA Europe employee's story you can read the whole story here:

http://www.tssznews.com/2009/01/05/the-blog-sega-doesnt-want-you-to-read/

Wow, that's a blast from the past, that guy caused a bit of drama during his 15 minutes of fame. Nothing like seeing a disgruntled ex-employee saying bad things about their former company and co-workers. Not that what he said was ever particular accurate to begin with. Sonic Team makes other games besides Sonic, like Phantasy Star Online 2; they just don't put their name on anything else anymore. The same is true of Sega's other Japanese development teams, they all operate anonymously. The fact that the Sonic Team name is still being used at all is just a quirk of branding.

[DarkXZA]

Although I really didn't want to see Green Hill again.

[pppp]

1 minute ago, Kintor said:

Wow, that's a blast from the past, that guy caused a bit of drama during his 15 minutes of fame. Nothing like seeing a disgruntled ex-employee saying bad things about their former company and co-workers. Not that what he said was ever particular accurate to begin with. Sonic Team makes other games besides Sonic, like Phantasy Star Online 2; they just don't put their name on anything else anymore. The same is true of Sega's other Japanese development teams, they all operate anonymously. The fact that the Sonic Team name is still being used at all is just a quirk of branding.

But even if they do work on other things, their lack of interest in making Sonic Games is still a problem. Granted I'm only concluding this from what I'm seeing in the footage but that's the best explanation I can come up with for how uninspired the game is looking right now.

[Blue Blood]

7 minutes ago, DarkXZA said:

All it took is seconds of footage for you guys to go ape shit, if Classic's gameplay is as good as his Generations's then that not something to complain about. What that? too early to tell? ...EXACTLY

We're professionals at this.

 

[Osmium]

9 minutes ago, DarkXZA said:

All it took is seconds of footage for you guys to go ape shit, if Classic's gameplay is as good as his Generations's then that not something to complain about. What that? too early to tell? ...EXACTLY

We've already seen certain things that give us the the impression that this isn't going to turn out well in that few seconds. 

But really, how much are we supposed to see before we're allowed to say we don't think this'll turn out good? I'm waiting Mr. Expert. 

[Kintor]

2 minutes ago, pppp said:

But even if they do work on other things, their lack of interest in making Sonic Games is still a problem. Granted I'm only concluding this from what I'm seeing in the footage but that's the best explanation I can come up with for how uninspired the game is looking right now.

You can't really assume a lack of interest. Japanese development teams are notorious private, they have good reason to be wary of the press, one wrong comment can easily be taken out of context and damage the reputation of their company. It's probably a lesson many western developers would do well to remember. Regardless, I'm quite pleased with how Sonic Forces is developing. I'm glad to see the return of both classic and modern gameplay because I love how Sonic Generations player. Plus, the possibility of an actually character creator intrigues me; it's an ambitious idea that could really make Sonic Forces stand out.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

17 minutes ago, DarkXZA said:

All it took is seconds of footage for you guys to go ape shit, if Classic's gameplay is as good as his Generations's then that not something to complain about. What that? too early to tell? ...EXACTLY

5 minutes ago, ShroomZed said:

We've already seen certain things that give us the the impression that this isn't going to turn out well in that few seconds. 

But really, how much are we supposed to see before we're allowed to say we don't think this'll turn out good? I'm waiting Mr. Expert. 

Shroom's got a point in regards to impressions having influence over how the game will garner present reactions.

If you want to debate the views, by all means debate 'em but you can't really fault people for having the initial impressions off of what's known at the moment. Besides, if the game gets more footage released that eventually turns the tide, that'll just make the turnabout all the more satisfying anyway!

[Celestia]

Admittedly, I can't put much stock in a quote from a decade ago, but I can see why someone would bring it up in response to the current direction of the series. I don't really get the vibe they straight up don't want to be making Sonic games, but I do definitely think there's some issues going on behind the scenes.

But then again I have no 100% concrete basis for that because I'm not secretly a member of Sonic Team.

[pppp]

9 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

We're professionals at this.

 

Geez, why is the official SEGA upload of that trailer in 240p? It looks terribly encoded as well.

[Indigo Rush]

Remember when critics praised Sonic 4 Episode 1 as a true return to form, then somehow, despite being technically more accurate, they disliked Episode 2?

Yeah. Forces is Generations' Episode 2, except it doesn't look better. Don't expect people to warm up to Classic so easily this time. It's mechanical flaws are only going to become more apparent.

 

[Kintor]

9 minutes ago, Celestia said:

Admittedly, I can't put much stock in a quote from a decade ago, but I can see why someone would bring it up in response to the current direction of the series. I don't really get the vibe they straight up don't want to be making Sonic games, but I do definitely think there's some issues going on behind the scenes.

But then again I have no 100% concrete basis for that because I'm not secretly a member of Sonic Team.

It's always so hard to a grasp of what developers experience behind the scenes. Very few games have what you'd call a 'director's commentary' audio track. I mean, the way that Deus Ex: Human Revolution did it was cool but I can't see something similar working in a Sonic game. Closely guarded interviews are probably the only glimpse we'll ever get into Sonic Team itself.

[PSI Wind]

I'm not going to judge the game at the moment. We don't even have a full 30 seconds of full unedited footage yet from a single stage. When E3 comes along, that's when I'll judge the levels more better.

[Celestia]

30 minutes ago, Indigo Rush said:

Remember when critics praised Sonic 4 Episode 1 as a true return to form, then somehow, despite being technically more accurate, they disliked Episode 2?

Yeah. Forces is Generations' Episode 2, except it doesn't look better. Don't expect people to warm up to Classic so easily this time. It's mechanical flaws are only going to become more apparent.

You might be right, though I feel like Sonic 4 was a unique case in that it got a lot of backlash from fans and I think critics (belatedly) caught onto that. People weren't a fan of Classic in Generations either, but I don't think fans were quite as loud about it.

On the other hand, Mania's coming out, so accurately recreated 2D Sonic is gonna be fresh in everyone's minds. Welp.

[Darinian]

5 minutes ago, PSI Wind said:

I'm not going to judge the game at the moment. We don't even have a full 30 seconds of full unedited footage yet from a single stage. When E3 comes along, that's when I'll judge the levels more better.

At E3

Hello SEGA here wuth some amazing gameplay!!!

*Shows Unnamed FireCity Zone* Ten more seconds added to the first gameplay vid we showed you!

At SEGA of America

We definitely satisfied them. No doubt.

[PSI Wind]

Just now, Zoroark & Flare said:

At E3

Hello SEGA here wuth some amazing gameplay!!!

*Shows Unnamed FireCity Zone* Ten more seconds added to the first gameplay vid we showed you!

At SEGA of America

We definitely satisfied them. No doubt.

There's gonna be a full demo for the game at E3. It'd only be about 4-5 months left until release. 

[Shaddy Zaphod]

They're showing off Newface the Nurple and his gameplay at E3 too, so it'll be more than that. 

Anyway, I hope the fact that we haven't seen Modern in 2D means they've got a clue and separated him from classic a bit more.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

So... About that site and something happening tomorrow...

They could just add the videos we've already seen and info we already know...

But what if they add new character profiles in the site? That could be interesting, unless they add the same models again.

[TheOcelot]

29 minutes ago, Celestia said:

 People weren't a fan of Classic in Generations either, but I don't think fans were quite as loud about it.

Feels like Gens got a free-pass because critics and fans overlooked the poor classic gameplay due to the 20th year anniversary nostalgia angle. Forces won't be able to rely on nostalgia this time and based on the brief classic Green Hill gameplay we've seen (yes I'm late to the party, I know) which looked like utter crap to be perfectly honest. Feels like Forces could end up being a real mess, definitely divisive. Could undo all the good being generated by Mania.

[Badnik Mechanic]

1 hour ago, Jango said:

@Mayor D I see you like to put words in peoples' mouths :V I said it was one of the WORST alpha? Think you might need some glasses there, mate. Or to grow up.

I swear I need a solicitor on here to try and figure out what people are actually trying to say sometimes.

[BubbleButt TV]

1 hour ago, Blue Blood said:

We're professionals at this.

 

What a blast from the past. 

I can't help but wonder what these people think of the game now... ???