SONIC MANIA - Special Stages, Bonus, and Time Attack

[Maxtiis]

37 minutes ago, Azure P said:

Can't be disappointed when one isn't over hyped for the game. Copying elements from past classic Sonic games like Sonic 3 & K doesn't make it better than them. Sure it looks like it'll be a solid game. But I'll still be the voice of reason in the sea of craziness.

You say copying, I say refining.

[Celestia]

I think acting like people are being crazy for thinking the game looks amazing and that by dissenting you're being the "voice of reason" is a bit much. People are just going off of what they've seen, that goes for positive or negative reactions. Sure people can go too far sometimes but usually it's emotional reactions right after a reveal or whatever. I'd say wait for after the game's out for more nuanced opinions.

Speaking of which, I can agree with wanting to avoid the whole hype culture thing, though. That's my attitude towards these things too.

[mikeblastdude]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but GameSpot has a video showing a bit of extra footage, including ramps in the Special Stages.

 

[StaticMania]

Well, those ramps certainly look nice. Hopefully there could be more than flat terrain, like a half-pipe with platforms.

[TheOcelot]

You might like this comparison video of Mania & Sonic CD special stages, then Mania & Sonic 3's blue sphere stages:

 

3 hours ago, StaticMania said:

Well, those ramps certainly look nice. Hopefully there could be more than flat terrain, like a half-pipe with platforms.

 

Speaking of half-pipe; I'm happy Mania's special stages have ignored Sonic 2's half-pipe formula. I do wonder if blue sphere is the only bonus stage for Mania. If there is another I'd prefer something new, but what if they added the 3d-blast special stage as a bonus stage for Mania? Would love to hear a Tee lopes remix of the 3d-blast special stage music.

 

[Chris Knopps]

I do wonder something...

Is it just random things like extra lives and items you get in the Blue Spheres stages, or are those stages meant for you to visit and collect this "other" new item you're supposed to be hunting for in the game?

[Salamander]

You get a Silver Medallion for getting all the blue spheres, and a Gold Medallion for getting all blue spheres and all rings.  There is no word on what the Medallions do, but I would be surprised if they had an in-level purpose (as opposed to a more general in-game purpose, i.e. unlocking things from a menu or gallery) as they sound very much like symbolic rewards, the equivalent of giving you an A- or an S-Rank.  I could be wrong, of course.

[Jango]

Hopefully they unlock more than a mere trophy. I doubt the Mania Team would pull a crap reward like this, tho'. 

I'm gonna miss the gumball and pinball machines and that other... thingy from Sonic 3. Always a nice way to nab some shields and extra lifes.

[Zippo]

Are trophy/achievement leaks common for downloadable games? Just curious.

[Clewis]

17 minutes ago, Zippo said:

Are trophy/achievement leaks common for downloadable games? Just curious.

I'd say it's just as common as any other type of game (which, imo, is very common).

I remember both Sonic 4 Episode 1 and Sonic Generations having their achievement lists leaked early, so I'd be surprised if Mania's list doesn't pop up somewhere during the duration of next week.

[Zippo]

Oh it's absolutely happening, and it's happening very, very soon. This week was merely the calm before the storm. Details of the final game could leak literally any moment. 

This place is getting ready to turn into a mad house.

[Sonicfan287]

2 hours ago, Zippo said:

Oh it's absolutely happening, and it's happening very, very soon. This week was merely the calm before the storm. Details of the final game could leak literally any moment. 

This place is getting ready to turn into a mad house.

lol great... now I'm not going to sleep tonight... thanks a lot... 

[Indigo Rush]

Yea

SSMB I love ya

But I'm out

Seeya in 9 days

[Zippo]

Has there been any word of review copies going out yet?

Peace, Indigo!

Sorry Sonicfan287 lol.

 

[TheOcelot]

Bit of info about the special stages.

From Steath:

Quote

Seeing a bunch of stuff about "where we pulled the models from". The 3D models in Mania were all made by @Gatestormer

 

Then from Taxman:

Quote

The "true to Saturn" remark in particular applies to how the 3D course is done by manipulating 1 or more roto-zoom tile layers, adjusting the settings on each scanline to create a perspective view in a similar manner to Mode 7 or VDP2. The sprites and polygons are then rendered seprately using a matching 3D matrix so they all line up together in the resulting image. The rounded blimp background in Flying Battery Zone also uses a similar scan line trick.

The majority of the graphics are done with the Retro Engine's software renderer - the GPU is only really used to render the pixel output and employ optional filters. 

The 3D software renderer supports tris and quads, but it doesn't use the same distorted sprite method since scanline based rendering is faster. All math is in fixed point, and there's no Z buffer to speak of. All in all, it makes you appreciate how trivial all that stuff is now with GPU rendering haha. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Indigo Rush said:

Yea. SSMB I love ya.  But I'm out.

Seeya in 9 days

Have fun playing Mania when it releases, Indi!

 

I'm gonna stick around on SSMB until a day or two before release.

Getting closer...

[TheOcelot]

GamesRadar article from a few days ago.

Nothing of interest (and they shit on the blue sphere stages). Although they do confirm you need to hold Y/Triangle to restart a time-trial.

[molul]

That's some serious blue spheres hate. I'm amazed by how one of my favorite parts of the classics is seen so bad by other people. I played dozens of Sonic 1+Sonic & Knuckles special stages back in the day and I hardly got tired.

[Mark1]

Since it's only a week away. The big fear many will have is the eventual leaks following the review copies going around.

Please keep everything spoilered guys. It's seriously the one game I don't want to be spoilt, given how much of a treat it's looking already. ?