Core

Thanks for your replies. I get it, I need to lower the gravity. Yes, sorry about that. It was actually working better in the previous version, with the camera rotation speed being lower and increased gradually, but I changed the camera system recently and didn't notice the problem. I'll make sure to fix it in the next version. Do you mean his turning speed should be lower? Thanks for your encouragements. But it's actually supposed to be relatively advanced in development. Sorry about that. I assume you're using the shortest clipping distance? Unfortunately I don't see how I can make the game run faster, aside from adding an even shorter clipping distance option... I can make the default camera higher, but I'm not sure what you mean by preventing it from going through the ground; the camera isn't able to go below the ground. Yes, but I don't see how that's a bad thing. Alright, I'll try to fix that. I was considering adding power-up items that increase the damage radius, but that may not be a good idea to restrict it to power-ups. Unfortunately, I really don't know what could cause this. It doesn't happen with me. Yeah, it happens sometimes. I'll try to correct that. Edit: By the way, I've been told that Sonic is too small or that the plants are too big. What do you think?

Thanks for your comment. Though I don't know what you mean by the physics being too fast. About the problem with the "minor direction adjustments while running quickly", if you're playing with the keyboard, I'm not sure whether it is due to the camera or the turning speed (the turning speed could be lowered but then that may cause other problems...). If you're playing with a controller though, there is indeed a problem with the camera; I've only noticed it since you pointed it out. I'll try to correct that for the next version.

Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I'll consider it, but for now I'd like to keep the current system. --- New Version (0.5) Download (10.4 MB) What's new compared to the previous (SAGE 2011) version: - better performances (if the previous version ran too slowly on your computer, this one should work better) - brand new level, about 25% done (I've made more, but I want to be sure I'll have something new to show at SAGE 2012) - brighter textures - mouse controls - with a joystick, possibility to move the camera with the right analog stick or buttons/triggers - framerate selection (30, 40 or 60 FPS) - some modifications to the engine - smaller file size Any comments or feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm mostly looking for ideas that would not be too difficult to implement. A health meter should be easy, but it would not fit with the current ring system.

Hello, I need some opinions. There are currently 2 items boxes in the game (10 rings and shield), so I thought I should try to add more. I don't really want to add speed shoes or invincibility as I don't think they're too useful (though I may change my mind about invincibility), so I thought about adding more shields. For example, having an electric shield that attract rings, and a fire shield that can damage enemies when you're rolling or jumping (basically increasing Sonic's collision size), and a green shield that double the insta-shield's size and duration. Or, an electric shield that only attracts rings when you use the insta-shield, and a fire shield that makes the insta-shield much bigger, and a green shield with another insta-shield effect... (I would like to avoid implementing special moves such as a double jump, because unless I make all the cliffs twice higher, I fear that could potentially break the game.) In addition, since I don't use lives, I'm wondering if there's something else I could do with the rings (notably when you get 100), aside from just a score bonus at the end of the level... Any thoughts?

@LakeFeperd: great work; I like the city's background. It's very detailed. Is that Angel island in the sky? @Candescence: looks nice. But I think the tiles could be more colorful. @Strife: looks very impressive, I can't wait to see that in motion if you manage to do it.

Are the controls explained somewhere? Since I couldn't find a readme file or a way to configure the keys, I had to try every key on my keyboard in order to find how to enter and exit the options menu. Maybe they are the standard Sonic World keys but I'm not familiar with it. Also, during the game, I could find how to pause the game, but I couldn't find a way to resume the game after pausing. I tried every button when playing with a controller, but nothing worked. Also, when running up or down a wall (like at the very beginning of the level) the camera jerks left and right and it's rather uncomfortable. Otherwise it doesn't seem bad but it's too short to judge. With Sonic, I could complete the level within 30 seconds when taking the upper path and 50 seconds with the lower path.

New screenshots. The first level (first act) is now about 50% done (or more if I decide to make it shorter than initially planned). Before finishing the level, I'll now work on the programming; I need to improve the controls and camera among other things. I'm still looking for testers by the way.

Oh, wow. The music is wonderful.

The layout looks fine to me, but I think you should change the borders. They look strange.

It's great. I've said it before, but this game is really impressive. I'm getting an error when trying to play as Tails alone though.

@SonicFan2010 and chaos fusion: thanks for the comments A few things: First of all, Ayling has offered to write music for the game. So, future versions should feature original music. Thanks, Ayling Then, I have new screenshots (also posted in the screenshot thread): Finally... Anyone want to beta-test? I'm mostly looking for feedback on the level design. The engine hasn't changed much since the SAGE version, and I know it needs improvement, but I've made about 25% of the first level and I would at least like to know if I'm on the right track before going further. Any volunteers?

Nothing exactly new, but I'm making progress with the actual level. I'll probably post an update in my thread soon.

I think an update of this thread is overdue. I don't have a new demo ready yet, but I'd like to share what I've done so far since the SAGE version. - I added optional mouse control. Move the mouse to move the camera, left click to jump, right click to roll. (but it's not perfect, I need to improve it) - When playing with a controller, you can now move the camera with the right analog stick (or triggers/bumpers). - Checkpoints are now wider (in the demo, the checkpoints were quite narrow so it was rather difficult hit them). As I showed in the screenshot thread, the textures of the first level are now brighter and more saturated: I also posted these test screenshots of the second act: (you can also see that I've added walls around the map so that the level doesn't look like it's floating in midair) Since then I've replaced the brick texture: (ignore the white wall in the background) And more recently: In addition to the walls, you can see more natural-looking formations, moving floating grass platforms, and those big flowers (they throw the player when you touch them, like a dash ring). Now I need to remake the first act and tweak the physics, and hopefully I'll have a new demo ready in not too long. Thanks for your patience and any comments are welcome.

I'm not sure whether I understand your problem well, but the way i understand it, it seems pretty basic. If you want to space your n items evenly between coordinates xmin and xmax, and if each item has the same width w, then the space between two items (or between an item and the edge) should be: s = ((xmax - xmin) - (w * n)) / (n + 1) So you should set the X coordinate of each item like this: x(i) = (xmin + s + (w / 2)) + (i * (s + w)) assuming the coordinate of each item corresponds to its center.

It looks nice, but I personally think it would look better by using an hexagonal tiling for the bricks instead of a square one. Like this:

Well, that was an interesting read. Just one thing though, you wrote this: But I don't think you actually did? In any case, I'm wondering how much of this can apply to 3D games, since I'm having trouble figuring out how to design a 3D Sonic level. I can at least remember the "Never Too Many Gimmicks' rule.

Zone:0 also give the number of rings and items in each zone in addition to level maps. But apparently there isn't the number of badniks.

@Hez: looks fantastic, great work. But why were the save files deleted at the end? @Sotsug: nice! I like the look of that big enemy.

I think I prefer the left one, with the green tiles.

According to that OpenGL Extension Viewer, I have only version 2.1 (and a few extensions from versions 3.0 and 3.1). And I did download the latest drivers for my graphic card, so I guess I won't be able to play the game. I've noticed the reason fullscreen didn't work was because I was choosing the lowest resolution. At a higher resolution, fullscreen is supported. In any case, even with the new version, I get a lot of errors in the console then I see a black screen (or an empty window) then the program crashes. I can hear the S&K title music though. As for the level editor, the problem has been corrected; now it reads the right file.

I wish I could play this, but the game doesn't work on my computer.

Nice. I like the new abilities and the fire shield, plus you have corrected the problems I mentioned before. You've got a nice engine now, and it would be great to see more levels. I think you could also make Espio walk a little faster, and I think holding S instead of Up+S to charge would be more intuitive, but that's a minor complaint.

The game looks pretty. I'm not sure the lack of grid on the floor is a good idea, but on the third screenshot it looks nice.

@Strife: gorgeous as usual. I can't believe how pretty the big blue crystals are on the first screen. @LakeFeperd: can't see much at that zoom level, but they look like large acts with a nice level design. @Cleberson: nice, I like the background here. The colors are pretty.