31 years of Sonic: Sonic Origins

[Atariboy]

7 hours ago, Zoyous said:

So essentially creating a menu system/launcher has introduced bugs in the physics of the games themselves? Are there global variables that would carry over from the launcher into the game?

I believe the Origins developers did a lot more than just create a wrapper for running Headcannon's work. I believe they've tinkered a lot with it, such as for creating the challenges, boss rush mode, etc. 

[Zoyous]

Oh, that makes more sense!

[Mikebloke]

I've played it, I've really struggled with it. Got into a few bugs and had to restart levels. Problem is I know this is likely to be 'it' unless sega can be convinced to at least allow developers to patch it. 

 

When the dlc dilemma popped up, I thought it might be good chance of further stuff coming up. Perhaps Amy as playable character or something random. Didn't think spin ball, flickies Island or chaotix would be likely (neither are quite as standout as the mainline series). 

[Steven Pendleton]

More new mods are out: playable Amy, smooth sprite rotation (it doesn't look as nice as in Sonic Mania and it looks a bit odd, but it works, I guess), and, most importantly, the ability to use the Sonic Mania video settings, which massively improves the video quality when you use the Sonic Mania "none" filter.

[Steven Pendleton]

Well, I have finished story mode twice, I have finished every game in anniversary mode, and the only game that I have not played in mirror mode is 3&K, which I am about to do, and I can absolutely say that this collection is good. Mostly. Softlocks and Denuvo are of course bad and neither of those should be in the game, and I hope both get removed. There are lots of little things that make the original MD versions still worth playing, like the thing where you fight Sonic's Marble Garden Act 2 boss as Knuckles (removed in this collection), but overall I'm more satisfied than dissatisfied with this collection.

 

In case anyone wants to see how the Sonic Mania video settings make the games look way better, here they are. I don't think I need to label which ones are the modded and unmodded ones, but I will say that I am not using the anti-aliasing thingy at all for any of them. Not sure how this will look when I post it, but here you go. Be sure to fullscreen and stuff.

 

 

 

 

[Mikebloke]

1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Well, I have finished story mode twice, I have finished every game in anniversary mode, and the only game that I have not played in mirror mode is 3&K, which I am about to do, and I can absolutely say that this collection is good. Mostly. Softlocks and Denuvo are of course bad and neither of those should be in the game, and I hope both get removed. There are lots of little things that make the original MD versions still worth playing, like the thing where you fight Sonic's Marble Garden Act 2 boss as Knuckles (removed in this collection), but overall I'm more satisfied than dissatisfied with this collection.

 

In case anyone wants to see how the Sonic Mania video settings make the games look way better, here they are. I don't think I need to label which ones are the modded and unmodded ones, but I will say that I am not using the anti-aliasing thingy at all for any of them. Not sure how this will look when I post it, but here you go. Be sure to fullscreen and stuff.

 

 

 

 

I'll be honest I can't see much difference other than the second one being a bit more "pixel perfect" and the grey being more white, I don't think I'd notice it. Is there much difference in the way it animates frame by frame, does the Sonic Mania settings make it feel more natural? I feel very clouded by my 'mega drive' experience of how it "should look", anything "modern" doesn't quite stand right with me. I haven't had a good play around with the classic modes yet though.

 

However, having said that, I've played it a lot more too since last time (not quite as much done as you, but I've nearly completed story mode). There's bits in each game where I go "ahh, not quite right". But I have got through 1, CD, 2 and half of 3 - its certainly playable and more so than say, playing on the mobile games. The modern bits like spending coins to retry bonus stages certainly makes up for a bit, but I'd rather than cheaty reverse time bits lol! That's how I've done bonus stages on the mega drive collections on steam - I just can't do the later stages with so little goes.

 

I'm also not sure how much my controller is effecting my enjoyment, I'm using a mix of analogue stick and d pad but neither feels quite right. I'd use a standard 3 or 6 button mega drive controller on original console.

 

 

[+jgkspsx]

I will get this when the physical copy comes out.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

On 6/30/2022 at 2:25 AM, Mikebloke said:

I'll be honest I can't see much difference other than the second one being a bit more "pixel perfect" and the grey being more white, I don't think I'd notice it. Is there much difference in the way it animates frame by frame, does the Sonic Mania settings make it feel more natural? I feel very clouded by my 'mega drive' experience of how it "should look", anything "modern" doesn't quite stand right with me. I haven't had a good play around with the classic modes yet though.

Massive difference in video quality when you are actually playing to the point where I consider this mod to basically be essential, especially since Origins runs in the same engine as Sonic Mania, so Origins should have had the Mania video options to begin with.

 

On 6/30/2022 at 2:25 AM, Mikebloke said:

I'm also not sure how much my controller is effecting my enjoyment, I'm using a mix of analogue stick and d pad but neither feels quite right. I'd use a standard 3 or 6 button mega drive controller on original console.

I use keyboard, but here you go: https://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration

 

On 6/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, jgkspsx said:

I will get this when the physical copy comes out.

 

So probably never lol. Sega does a lot of stupid things and this really should have had a physical version. I suppose having a complete physical version with all of the patches applied already on the disc/cart is the best way to do it, and that is how the Sonic Mania Plus physical is. I hope they do something like that for Origins.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Steven Pendleton

[roots.genoa]

1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

I use keyboard

?

[Steven Pendleton]

25 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

?

lol keyboard is awesome. It's comfortable since I'm basically just resting my arms on my desk at shoulder width (yeah, it's a great lazy person controller), it has way more buttons than any console controller ever created and you can arrange the keys in any fashion you like, which gives you far more flexibility, it is more precise than any d-pad or arcade stick ever created, has less travel time than any arcade stick or d-pad ever created, which gives faster response times, it allows you to access more buttons at once than any console controller ever created, and probably some more stuff. There's basically no reason to ever use a console controller over a keyboard for anything at all ever unless you need analog movement, which is why they make keyboards with analog sticks.

[roots.genoa]

But there are so many buttons you also can press the wrong one too often. ? Moreover, it of course depends on the keyboard, but the keys usually have a big range compared to a controller button (except an analog trigger of course), so I'm not sure they're much faster.

 

I'm sorry but since you usually sound like a purist about controllers and input lag, I didn't imagine you would play a Sonic game with a peripheral designed for typing text. ? But if you like it that way, you do you! I'll just stop taking seriously anything you say about video game controls, that's all. ?

[MrMaddog]

Don't laugh, many professional fighting gamers use mechanical keyboards over gamepads and even fighting sticks.

 

I personally use a gamepad for console style platformers but would prefer one with microswitches in the D-pad & face buttons...

[Steven Pendleton]

6 hours ago, MrMaddog said:

Don't laugh, many professional fighting gamers use mechanical keyboards over gamepads and even fighting sticks.

 

I personally use a gamepad for console style platformers but would prefer one with microswitches in the D-pad & face buttons...

Yeah, the non-Japanese DoDonPachi world record holder for like 8 years or something like that was a French dude who plays on keyboard.

[roots.genoa]

Oh I won't laugh. Cry, maybe. ?

[Steven Pendleton]

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

 

 

I also found out why the drop dash is so weird; I recorded some footage of it and checked it frame by frame and the way it's implemented is really strange. Once you hit the ground while charging the drop dash, Sonic will revert to his walking state for one frame, charge a spin dash for one frame, and that one frame of spin dash charging becomes your drop dash. I only tested this in CD, so maybe I'll go test it in the other games as well, but I'm pretty sure that that's not how it works in Sonic Mania or this collection's Sonic 3&K, which is even more strange. The inconsistencies across all 4 games here are very odd.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Steven Pendleton

[MrMaddog]

You know, originally I was gonna add the Sonic ROMS I got through the Sega Mega Drive Collection as individual games in my Steam library because wasn't going to repay Sega for the same games I already had.

 

A year later when I heard that games were done by the same people who did the Sonic CD port & Sonic Mania, I thought I would buy those versions to support the devs who made the modern ports in Origins which also happened to be in widescreen.

 

But now I read how awful the whole package was, even the complaints from the same devs themselves, I'm going to run the (now delisted) ROMS through RetroArch's widescreen Genesis emulator (Steam version) because Sega doesn't deserve to make money of bad games...

 

[+Cafeman]

On 7/2/2022 at 10:26 AM, Steven Pendleton said:

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Care to explain?

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, Cafeman said:

Care to explain?

Uh, there isn't really much to explain...

 

[+Cafeman]

It looks like an homage to NiGHTS Into Dreams.  

[Steven Pendleton]

I mean, I know why it's the way it is, which is because of the way the stage design is supposed to make it look like you are going through a loop

 

 

but it's still really funny to fly up there and see mountains and water in the sky.

 

If you jump out of the loop on Mega-CD, the background becomes glitchy. Highly recommended!

 

  

4 hours ago, MrMaddog said:

You know, originally I was gonna add the Sonic ROMS I got through the Sega Mega Drive Collection as individual games in my Steam library because wasn't going to repay Sega for the same games I already had.

 

A year later when I heard that games were done by the same people who did the Sonic CD port & Sonic Mania, I thought I would buy those versions to support the devs who made the modern ports in Origins which also happened to be in widescreen.

 

But now I read how awful the whole package was, even the complaints from the same devs themselves, I'm going to run the (now delisted) ROMS through RetroArch's widescreen Genesis emulator (Steam version) because Sega doesn't deserve to make money of bad games...

 

This collection absolutely isn't bad at all. If it was, I wouldn't have played it for over 30 hours. It has problems, but it's definitely a good collection.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Steven Pendleton

[DragonGrafx-16]

I have every classic Genesis Sonic game except for Sonic CD and Sonic 3D Blast. (I actually owned the PC version of Sonic CD back in the early 2000s.) I don't really see myself getting this collection.

Edited July 4, 2022 by DragonGrafx-16

[Mikebloke]

9 hours ago, MrMaddog said:

But now I read how awful the whole package was, even the complaints from the same devs themselves, I'm going to run the (now delisted) ROMS through RetroArch's widescreen Genesis emulator (Steam version) because Sega doesn't deserve to make money of bad games...

 

For all the poo pooing I've done, it's not actually that terrible. If the devs would be allowed to patch it sufficiently it would be fine. 

4 hours ago, DragonGrafx-16 said:

I have every classic Genesis Sonic game except for Sonic CD and Sonic 3D Blast. (I actually owned the PC version of Sonic CD back in the early 2000s.) I don't really see myself getting this collection.

It has extra features. The story mode is basically the series order in the same format as playing the games individually in the 'modern' wide-screen version, but does include 'original' versions with standard lives and resolution. 

 

The additional stuff is mirror mode, some slight extra character options such as tails and knuckles for sonic 1, tails for CD, knuckles and tails combo for 3 (don't think that was an original option). There is also a mission mode which is basically challenges in the vein of wii / wii u Mario games. Are they breakout ideas? No, are they cool little features beyond the mega drive collection dealt with? Sure. For people who need a new collection of sonic games, this is the one to get. If your a purist who only wants to play on original console (and I would totally do this too, the sound just never seems right coming out of anything other than my mega drive - maybe this is further pushed by how many changes to this area there is to the motherboard - many players likely have different interpretations on the correct 'sound').

 

CD is cool though, the android version is pretty good if you can't get hold of or play the original on mega drive / mega CD. 

[digdugnate]

I've had the game for a couple of weeks almost now and it mostly gets everything right, I think, for the casual Sonic player.  I do hope that they're able to patch some of the glitchiness out.

[Atariboy]

12 hours ago, Mikebloke said:

The story mode is basically the series order in the same format as playing the games individually in the 'modern' wide-screen version, but does include 'original' versions with standard lives and resolution. 

Original mode actually is still using these HD remakes. It just switches to a 4:3 pillarboxed perspective that's faithful to the original Genesis games. 

 

As an outsider looking in, my main concerns as an interested customer that's waiting in hopes of a physical release or a good digital sale rest in three areas. 

• Elimination of the majority of the many minor but irritating bugs that Origins released with.
• Option to lift the mandatory bilinear blur filter (the entire appeal here is to see these in their sharp widescreen HD glory).
• Option to play these in widescreen but with the original life system restored (Just make 4:3/16:9 a toggle for original mode).

Edited July 4, 2022 by Atariboy

[Steven Pendleton]

8 hours ago, Atariboy said:

• Option to lift the mandatory bilinear blur filter (the entire appeal here is to see these in their sharp widescreen HD glory).
• Option to play these in widescreen but with the original life system restored.

Already there on PC