Sonic Forces - Early 2016 Script Leaked

[SaturnWolf]

An early version of the script from Sonic Forces was recently released online, and it has a few interesting key differences:

 

(You can find the script here, translated by @nothisiswindii on Twitter.)

The standout difference to me is how Mephiles was mentioned and shows up as an illusion. Yes, you read that right and that's not a typo on my part: Mephiles shows up. It all makes me wonder what kind of game of telephone Forces went through to lead to what we see today. 

 

[Blue Wisp]

It's obvious Sonic Forces was an unfinished mess but I doubt this script is legit unless there's some solid proof that it is real.

[Mad Convoy]

In general, the former script, if it is indeed real, seems a lot more fleshed out and I generally prefer it to the final product.

It makes me wish that Episode Infinite had come out, because it may have had enough commonalities to confirm the leak and included the better elements of the early script.

[Sean]

I'm currently doubting the legitimacy of this leak, especially since the source sounds very much "my uncle works at Sega"-tier stuff, so I'm closing this topic. If more info pops up that indicates this is more likely from a reputable source, then we'll re-open it, but at the moment this could very well just be something someone wrote up in a Pastebin for lulz.

[Sean]

Reopening the topic. It's been brought up to us that Windii and SPEEPS have made notable contributions in the past which makes this leak's likeliness higher than what you'd find on some random 4chan and Reddit threads, so we'll let it fly even though we've shut down rumor topics similar to this in the past.

Personally I still harbor some skepticism, but I think it's only fair to let members make that call for themselves.

[Plasme]

Thanks for reopening the thread Sean! Windii's said that the excel file of the leak was a protected file, and the reason she couldn't upload the file itself is because the revision notes contains the names of one of the people responsible for the leak.

Obviously this isn't hard proof, but both members are very reliable. SPEEPSHighway in particular has revealed loads about the Sonic Adventure games. I'd highly recommend her Youtube channel actually, there are loads of stuff she has recently put on there that you probably don't know about, even if you might know a lot about Sonic Adventure.

And while I know a lot of people might facepalm at the 'my girlfriend found and translated', SPEEP's girlfriend is Windii, who helped translate both Adventure games from Japanese into English. So it's not as stupid as it sounds .

One of the things I find funny about the leak is how inconsequential Classic Sonic's role is, even at this early stage.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'm on team fake at the moment.

Gaming script documentation doesn't usually look anything like this. There's usually a lot more technical detail in the Script, not just dialogue.

It's either been heavily modified for easier reading, or it was written to how someone thinks a game script is.

[Plasme]

3 hours ago, Mayor D said:

I'm on team fake at the moment.

Gaming script documentation doesn't usually look anything like this. There's usually a lot more technical detail in the Script, not just dialogue.

It's either been heavily modified for easier reading, or it was written to how someone thinks a game script is.

It's been heavily edited. You can read more at Retro:

https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=35712&st=6270

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Personally, I'm sketchy. Some details fit with things we know about (Shadow has cut dialogue still in game-files that indicate Virtual Reality was meant to have more of an effect around the world itself).

But stuff like Mephiles getting a random reappearance when he's more or less effectively been made non-canon, connections to the VR Sonic stuff that leaked seems dubious at best to me, and I don't see a reason why they'd completely remake and alter Infinite's backstory from being a test subject for the ruby that Eggman created. If it was Episode Shadow - they could've easily had a still in testing Infinite attacking Shadow without full control of his power and getting his ass kicked, or if it was Mania, there's no real reason why Eggman wouldn't create a test subject to see if he could make the Phantom Ruby's power usable by a specialized person.

Some of them fit, some of them don't, so I'm pretty skeptical as Sean is. If it is true though, it gives a few new insights to Forces' story.

[Ratcicle King]

4 minutes ago, Ryannumber1gamer said:

Personally, I'm sketchy. Some details fit with things we know about (Shadow has cut dialogue still in game-files that indicate Virtual Reality was meant to have more of an effect around the world itself).

But stuff like Mephiles getting a random reappearance when he's more or less effectively been made non-canon, connections to the VR Sonic stuff that leaked seems dubious at best to me, and I don't see a reason why they'd completely remake and alter Infinite's backstory from being a test subject for the ruby that Eggman created. If it was Episode Shadow - they could've easily had a still in testing Infinite attacking Shadow without full control of his power and getting his ass kicked, or if it was Mania, there's no real reason why Eggman wouldn't create a test subject to see if he could make the Phantom Ruby's power usable by a specialized person.

Some of them fit, some of them don't, so I'm pretty skeptical as Sean is. If it is true though, it gives a few new insights to Forces' story.

Thing is, there is actual proof in the game itself that implies Infinite's backstory was rewritten late into development

First, the fact it's never mentioned on the main plot itself, they just had a random cutscene in a DLC trying to tie everything together.

Secondly, everything in Final Judgement, Tails' line of the lab being were Infinite was created with other characters guessing that Infinite was the way he was because of how he was brought into this world. It contradicts his Episode Shadow origin in this weird way in that we can suppose the characters simply don't know the truth, but nothing in the main game implies such, and the way the dialogue was written on that portion seemed like it was supposed to be an actual reflection of Infinite's character as a whole, which wouldn't work if they just went ''Oh wait no they're all wrong btw, Infinite was a mercenary and was always a jerk'', especially since, again, there's a big disconnect between the main story and the DLC.

And finally, tying the ''Infinite was a test subject created just for the Phantom Ruby'' narrative the characters deduced in the finale to the very level where they deduce he was created, we have this

Notice the capsules under the rails, it's never addressed in the actual game, but it's clear here Eggman had other subjects when trying to create Infinite, and again, ties to the backstory that Infinite was just the successful attempt, nothing else. And again, this kinda makes no sense with the DLC, because it's never implied or even suggested there were more subjects outside of Infinite.

[Marco9966]

I hope the next game is better written.

The least they could do is keep  consistent facts in a same game !!!

Is Infinite a mercenary jerk or a phantom ruby lifeforms? Doesn't matter, what just matters is his edgy design and his edgy song !!!

[DabigRG]

5 hours ago, Plasme said:

It's been heavily edited. You can read more at Retro:

https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=35712&st=6270

Oh boy, more shit to faf about readin!

Nah, but seriously though, I read the other thing up to the point where Buddy comes in and lost much interest to keep scrollin through that ad-fertile site.

Is this link any easier?

4 hours ago, Ratcicle King said:

Thing is, there is actual proof in the game itself that implies Infinite's backstory was rewritten late into development

"Late?"

Anyway, I thought that was rather obvious.

Plug:The Last Jedi episode on the Bumblekast offers a little more direct speculation on the matter.

2 hours ago, Marco9966 said:

 

Is Infinite a mercenary jerk or a phantom ruby lifeforms? Doesn't matter, what just matters is his edgy design and his edgy song !!!

I wouldn't mind if it was a degree of both, but I really don't think that can be comfortably done.

[Plasme]

27 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Oh boy, more shit to faf about readin!

Nah, but seriously though, I read the other thing up to the point where Buddy comes in and lost much interest to keep scrollin through that ad-fertile site.

Last page.

[MetalSkulkBane]

I just had the best  dumbest edgiest idea how to change Infinite's backstory:

Spoiler

He has the power to create very realistic illusions, right? Then how the hell he teleports?

Answer: Because he is illusion as well. Real "infinite" is dead.

The captain of Jackal Squad didn't survived merging with Phantom Ruby. But he did managed to create a new body he needs to constantly power up.

Look at last cutscene with him, what is happening to him? Would Sonic try to kill him? The truth is that he's too weak after the battle and all of his illusions are dispreading, including him.

 

[Badnik Mechanic]

Is there a way to see the original unedited doc?

[Plasme]

22 minutes ago, Mayor D said:

Is there a way to see the original unedited doc?

You would have to ask Windii on Retro or Twitter. I doubt she'd let just about anyone see it, but I reckon she'd let you since you work at TSS and are reliable.

[Diogenes]

3 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

I just had the best  dumbest edgiest idea how to change Infinite's backstory:

  Hide contents

He has the power to create very realistic illusions, right? Then how the hell he teleports?

Answer: Because he is illusion as well. He's dead.

The captain of Jackal Squad didn't survived merging with Phantom Ruby. But he did managed to create a new body he needs to constantly power up.

Look at last cutscene with him, what is happening to him? Would Sonic try to kill him? The truth is that he's too weak after the battle and all of his illusions are falling, including him.

Honestly that's what I assume they actually intended. And if it ever turns out that it's not I'm going to pretend it was anyway because I'm sure it'd be the better explanation.

Anyway, it's kind of a shame that this leaked script is almost identical to the final. There doesn't seem to be much of actual substance that's different, aside from the phantom ruby having not always been the phantom ruby. That explains some of the weird details in Forces, like the prototypes and it needing an outside power source; they make perfect sense if it's some device Eggman invented himself rather than a magic rock that jumped dimensions. Seems like tying directly into Mania was a late addition and they basically just did a find/replace on the macguffin to try and justify it.

[Almar]

It's already been pointed out that Eggman finding the Phantom Ruby doesn't fit in with what Forces says about how he got it by making it. What with the prototypes. So yeah, I do buy elements of the plot concerning the PR and Infinite being sloppily rewritten.

[Plasme]

Windii's posted a picture of the file on retro's Sonic Forces thread if anyone's interested.

[DabigRG]

Honestly, I kinda have to wonder if Infinite's backstory as a mercenary leader was something they added specifically because people were complaining about the lack of explanation for important elements in the recent games.

[Plasme]

Here's Windii's screenshot of the excel file she was sent:

Sonic Retro are accepting this as legit, and to be fair, they are the forum who know best about this kind of thing.

[Bobnik]

Now I have all the reason to believe Windii (though I do think it was believable anyway, and it came from a reputable person, so eh)

Speaking of, there's some more tidbits on this

1) Apparently, according to Windii in SonicRetro, Ian Flynn was supposed to write for Forces, but "they just used this one due to the fact that voice actors already started recording lines". That caught a bit of my attention, cuz days ago I posted this image in status updates, that was posted on one of the Russian boards in April 2017 with claims that the person that had the screencap was talking to Flynn (I somewhat doubt this part of a claim, but I guess it makes a bit more sense now with the new information). I can't find the true source, cuz the guy that posted on the Russian board said it's from another person, which in turn said that it came from Sonic Stadium (aka here). I'll ask again if anyone has seen this before and can lead me to the source, but for now I'll leave it at that.

2) Again, from Windii, there were several cells under the label "AW" with some comments by I guess some parts of the script. They're under spoilers.

Spoiler

• Tails defeats Eggman alone in SA1. Why is he suddenly so weak here? Is it just dramatic effect?
• Tails and co just let Sonic get captured? Big loophole here.
• Wait, wha? Silver? Why is he here?
• Lets not call them Buddy. Sounds childish.
• Why doesn't Tails remember Generations?
• "We're going in Hard and Fast" will be the most played line from the game on YouTube out of context
• UGH! We do this every single time. EVEry SINGLE TIME. Generations end. 06 End. SA2 end. ALL OF THEM. Whyyyyyy (on the "Sonic's friends cheering during the final boss" part)

Now I wonder who this "AW" person might be... /s

But yeah, overall this is a pretty substantial leak IMO. Maybe we'll get some more on that at the later time? And with all due respect to people working on the game, it just shows how the Japanese division doesn't care about proper feedback at all. Yes, they tried to mitigate some points that are mentioned there with supplement media, and the supplement media was pretty good, but maaan did it feel tacked on to the actual plot.

SoJ, get your shit together.

EDIT: decided to post screencaps of the post instead of actual links to posts cuz for some reason it doesn't want to go to the necessary post on Retro

[Razule]

I guess AW is Aaron Webber? Well.. at least he tried.. at least someone tried or cared

Is it the Japanese voice lines that were already recorded, or the English? It's neat that he was actually supposed to write, but if he just did Pontaff's job there isn't much he could've done. Dubbing can't remove Tails cowering in fear of Chaos 0

[Marco9966]

This game's logistics are a fucking disaster. I hope they don't work while drunk in the next game...

1 hour ago, Bobnik said:

Now I have all the reason to believe Windii (though I do think it was believable anyway, and it came from a reputable person, so eh)

Speaking of, there's some more tidbits on this

1) Apparently, according to Windii in SonicRetro, Ian Flynn was supposed to write for Forces, but "they just used this one due to the fact that voice actors already started recording lines". That caught a bit of my attention, cuz days ago I posted this image in status updates, that was posted on one of the Russian boards in April 2017 with claims that the person that had the screencap was talking to Flynn (I somewhat doubt this part of a claim, but I guess it makes a bit more sense now with the new information). I can't find the true source, cuz the guy that posted on the Russian board said it's from another person, which in turn said that it came from Sonic Stadium (aka here). I'll ask again if anyone has seen this before and can lead me to the source, but for now I'll leave it at that.

2) Again, from Windii, there were several cells under the label "AW" with some comments by I guess some parts of the script. They're under spoilers.

  Reveal hidden contents

• Tails defeats Eggman alone in SA1. Why is he suddenly so weak here? Is it just dramatic effect?
• Tails and co just let Sonic get captured? Big loophole here.
• Wait, wha? Silver? Why is he here?
• Lets not call them Buddy. Sounds childish.
• Why doesn't Tails remember Generations?
• "We're going in Hard and Fast" will be the most played line from the game on YouTube out of context
• UGH! We do this every single time. EVEry SINGLE TIME. Generations end. 06 End. SA2 end. ALL OF THEM. Whyyyyyy (on the "Sonic's friends cheering during the final boss" part)

 

Can you show us the specific links for Windii's messages in Sonic retro? It's only the first page and I can't bother to search 500 pages. Thanks!!

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, Bobnik said:

 

1) Apparently, according to Windii in SonicRetro, Ian Flynn was supposed to write for Forces, but "they just used this one due to the fact that voice actors already started recording lines".

 

Is that truly so? Hm...guess he lucked out on that.

1 hour ago, Bobnik said:

That caught a bit of my attention, cuz days ago I posted this image in status updates, that was posted on one of the Russian boards in April 2017 with claims that the person that had the screencap was talking to Flynn (I somewhat doubt this part of a claim, but I guess it makes a bit more sense now with the new information). 

...What the heck did I just skim?

19 minutes ago, Razule said:

It's neat that he was actually supposed to write, but if he just did Pontaff's job there isn't much he could've done. Dubbing can't remove Tails cowering in fear of Chaos 0

K'yeh, bullet dodged.

That's always been a concern i've had at the notion of him actually getting to write a game.