My Sonic 2 8 bit remake thread

[Roger_van_der_weide]

Neat this is still ongoing.
Hah, that random YAY fanfare when you make a jump, that's neat.

[John43]

On 8/6/2022 at 2:06 PM, Roger_van_der_weide said:

Neat this is still ongoing.
Hah, that random YAY fanfare when you make a jump, that's neat.

Super Mario Maker inspirations, as the engine's level editor is very much like SMM. Thank you.

One last video drop until the SAGE trailer is ready. Going to keep Act 2 a secret until at least one person on YouTube makes it there. I hope to add more to this boss encounter in future versions as I get better at scripting. Perhaps a running segment, pre boss, kinda like the Angel Island bombing (but running on water).
 

3 weeks to go! I'm nervous and excited! Plenty of time to finish Act 2 and add more little touches here and there

[Roger_van_der_weide]

nice outdoor backdrops with the reflection and 3d water.

Heh, the balloons exploding in a fiery bang.

[Indigo Rush]

This is shaping up real nicely! I like how this is looking and regret not popping in before to show support. Great work!

[John43]

Thank you guys, your support means the world to me! Sometimes one gets paranoid and thinks he's talking to no-one. But it's only paranoia. My YouTube analytics show that 20% of traffic comes from these forums. Thank you SSMB for letting me host this thread. Tonight I wrapped up my demo, finished my list of things to, bug fixes, level design, art. I put together the credits and had an emotional moment. I'm so happy I made it to a point where all I can think to do is add more random idle animations.

A YouTuber known as The Game Gambler (who I met through being in the chat during their playthrough of the SAGE 2020, and has been super supportive of the project since) should be finishing a special promo trailer in a week or so which I will post here. I am super excited to see how it's gonna turn out.

Also, you can spot some brief gameplay in the SAGE 22 trailer. Surreal!

 

[John43]

Adding a boss rush mode has been on my mind for about 2 weeks, since I saw another Opensurge community member talk about a boss rush mode for their game. So I thought about it, and then today, I managed to finish two variants of the level and a nice menu to go with it. I hope somebody appreciates this extra bit of content. I wonder if anybody will seriously try to speedrun dread rush O.o

[John43]

For those to keep up to date with development, this video contains nothing new - but...

To see a trailer like this made for my silly little fan game is like a dream come true. The song used in the Trailer, OSC's remix of Under Ground Zone from his album "Zoned" was one of the first I discovered when researching. The energy of his music and the way it made me feel, motivated and inspired the direction for the project. And while I feel his music is too good for my game, I'm glad that I could use it in the trailer.

This trailer was made by somebody I met through watching his reaction to the first demo. A YouTube personality known as "The Game Gambler", a talented graphic designer and lover of sonic fan content. It has been a joy being part of his community over the last couple of years. I have learned about graphic design and game design and even how to handle live streaming, all thanks to him. If you enjoy his editing, or just somebody who enjoys daily videos of fan content, please consider dropping him a subscription. He has spent 7 years building up a small YouTube channel, with subs over the thousands, but unfortunately, he has had to restart and build a new channel again. This is thanks to Roblox, where his data and privacy were breached resulting in loss of control over his channel (I hope users are aware of the dangers of using Roblox).
 

[John43]

Tomorrow, SAGE goes live, so I thought now would be a good time to post these videos
 

Title Screen Reveal

Aqua Lake Act 2 Reveal

SAGE 22 Demo Credits

 

As always, any feedback you have is valuable to me, and I look forward to watching any gameplay or criticism that might pop up on YouTube starting tomorrow!

[John43]

The SAGE 22 Demo Booth is now live!

https://sonicfangameshq.com/forums/showcase/as2r-another-sonic-2-remake-sage-22-demo.1389/

[John43]

I hope this speedrun attempt shows why I think my levels can be fun instead of frustrating.

It has been fascinating to research the wide diversity of Sonic players skills and preferences. I never intended to upset anybody, but I will admit that this project has been somewhat of an experiment on the Sonic fan base. I have lots of interesting notes

All criticism I have heard so far has been very fair indeed!
 

 

[John43]

I have started to upload the original "High Quality" art here

Also some videos, the music videos include footage of their respective bosses development experiments

Dread Rush Mode Survived + Sonic CD Easter Egg for completion

Music for Master Sealion Miniboss Fight!

Music for Master Sealion Rematch!

 

[Dreadknux]

I just LOVE how far this project has come! Well done @John43, this is amazing work. Definitely worthy of showcasing to the rest of the community!  

EDIT: And please don't worry, you're not posting to an empty room! A lot of people are shy to post in forums these days (and some people, like me annoyingly, have real life adult stuff to deal with all the time), but rest assured we're all watching and cheering you on!

[John43]

I have quietly added an updated version to the SFGHQ page, check out v2.1!

AS2R @ SFGHQ

Detailed Update notes:

v2.1:
- Fixed an issue in No Rings Sky High Act 1 where some layer triggers had been accidentally deleted, making the level impossible to complete
- Removed an extra life monitor from SIZ Time Attack mode
- Corrected a misprint of the screenshot key (previously said +, now says = )
- Added the ability to save your Highest Score to Time Attack Mode, doubling the mode as a Score Attack. This script has been supplied by new opensurge community member "Jookia". I am learning from this script and learning about saving still so there are no other saves for now.

v2:
Opensurge 0.6.0.1
- Controller remap (All buttons now jump, exit has been moved to select)
- Pipes Updated (rare softlock hopefully fixed, have not been able to replicate)
- Bubbles spawn quicker
- Performance and fps optimisations
AS2R v2
- Level design tweaks, most notably in ALZ
- Decreased Master Sealion 2's ranged attack radius to 150px
- New modes!
- Casual Mode: An easier mode with bottomless pits removed, direction signs added to maze levels and easier bosses
- No Rings Mode: Another mode. I could have gone crazier adding more remix modes. I'm not sure if people will even play this one. Let me know if there is interest
- Time Attack: One chance to race to the goal. Screenshot your best time!

[John43]

I always forget to share updates here. Mind you, I had a pretty rough autumn and winter season where I couldn't develop much due to my living conditions. Thankfully, and after months of worry and stress, I avoided homelessness and managed to move into a home I can call my own, rather than the shared accommodation I had been living in previously. I have settled into a nice routine where I can work on my various projects.

Here is the result of March's work. I hope to provide monthly updates with my new routine.

Also, on March 12th, I live streamed a "playing for score" run of the latest build at the time. I notice some issues and provide some commentary.

Hope to see you again in April!

[John43]

As random as life can be, I haven't been able to reach the development goals set in last month's video. This is because 1, my channel broke 500 subs this month, meaning I have started work on some celebration projects for the channel. Reason 2 is, because I have found a speedrunner to playtest! See the video description for more info!

 

[John43]

Wow, as if the last update was 10 months ago! I took a long break away from development while I focused on other YouTube projects and battled my way through a Psychosis last year. Good news is that I'm feeling much better now and my confidence has returned thanks to completing my other projects, and I'm back into the swing of development being a part of my routine. I reckon that this year, I'll manage to get up to at least Scrambled Egg Zone!

I have some progress videos to share!

First up, is the reveal of Green Hills Zone Act 1:

The first half of this level is done, and more time and assets are required for part 2. It's fairly faithful to the layout of the original game's Act 1 and 2 combined. I want it to feel like a fun breezy run through fields, collecting rings and increasing your score, a bit of freedom after the maze of Aqua Lake Act 2. The music was composed exclusively for this game, the composer and I collaborated and exchanged ideas, resulting in music that tells a little story in combination with the level design.

The other video I'd like to share is a recent stream where I test out the game's newest engine update:

This update includes new physics which allow for powerful slope jumps, more like the 16 bit physics. A new options screen with volume control, graphics settings and mod loading support. New shaders which allow for cool wavy underwater effects. You also get to see more of Green Hills and progress on Sky High Act 2's boss, which is going well so far. I scripted a system which counts how many bird enemies are left in Sky High Act 2 and they get summoned by the Boss before the real battle begins.

Another thing this new update brings is 2 Player support:

 

I have spent some time adding other Sonic characters and giving them their abilities (this has been tough work, as most Opensurge users have only previously made sprite reskins of Sonic with no abilities at all, so I have had to study the classics and try to replicate these behaviours from scratch, in Surgescript), and making them working Player 2's, using the logic provided by the Engine's creator. I have a lot of fun testing this with members of my Discord server over Parsec, and it's surprisingly polished.

This video shows Metal Sonic playing alongside Sonic, but I have also added Tails, Knuckles and Amy! Heck, you can even have any combination of character!

So you heard it here first! The final game will have at least an unlockable Tails (tied to completing the main story), Knuckles (tied to collecting all Red Star Rings) and Amy (probably tied to completing Encore mode(that's right, encore mode)). They'll all have hand drawn sprites in the style of Sonic too.

I'm not sure if I'll include Metal, he's just there for testing.

I'd like to give special thanks to the supporters of this project. Over the last year, I have been connecting with various people from across the Sonic community. Alex Yard is a very vocal supporter of the project, having showcased the demo a few times over on his Twitch. His Music Theory videos were a huge source of knowledge during the development of this game, and I have since become fascinated by Music Theory. He accepted me into his community and made me feel welcome. I'd also like to thank a couple of Sonic CD speedrunners, who saw appeal and promise in the project and have since become advisors and testers. I feel incredibly lucky to have met both PimpUigi and drYVin. Usually Sonic fan games don't get any attention from speedrunners unless they are complete. Also huge special thanks to Dreadknux of this very place, The Sonic Stadium, who highlighted and promoted this thread during SAGE 2022. I have a YouTube video project in the works about a certain Event this site ran, it was the last one ever, and it was one of the best days of my life. Thank you for making this website a part of my life since the mid 2000's.

And finally, thanks to the opensurge discord server, and members of my own discord community for their support!

I truly can't wait for the day this game is finished and in your hands!

[John43]

Surprise Announcement!