Sonic RunDrive X | by null1024

[null1024]

Download SonicRunDriveX demo v1.00.2/Engine v1.01.1 or Sonic RunDrive Final v2.20.0 --Note, version numbers may be wrong...

Sonic RunDriveX.

A sequel to a VERY old fangame I made AGES back (downloadable). (Some of you may remember it...)

To keep in the spirit of the original Sonic RunDrive, I am not using a 360 engine. I'm using Kain's engine currently, with some modification (more springs, no autojump, more Sonic animations).

I don't have much of a story (yet), if you really want to see the story, it's in the demo.

Demo v1.00.2 has 2 normal levels, a boss, and 2 test stages.

v0.95.5 screenies: (haven't gotten newer ones up yet...)

Source is up! GM5.3 source, registered not needed, and at the ultimate download link, up there.

NOTE: Make sure you d-load SonicRunDriveX.exe, not SonicRunDrive.exe if you want the new game!

[TRD]

Looks pretty cool, DLing now.

Alright, played it:

Likes:

*I admired your originality with the backgrounds and such, it could use some work though.

*Spring physics is alright, could use alittle work.

*Nice spring flash animation.

Dislikes:

*The engine is buggy, it seems very slippery and hard to handle.

*When attacking the baddies, sonic bounces back instead of bounce up in the air. :\

*When Dies into a pit, there's no restart.

*Lack of Sonic animations, some frames are missing.

That's pretty much it, try and see if you could fix those things.

Good luck.

[null1024]

The one about not restarting when falling into a pit is confusing me, 'cause I just loaded up the demo, jumped into a pit, and when I fell to the bottom, the stage restarted...

The engine IS kinda really buggy, but for now, a lot of the problems, I have no clue how to fix.

[Slingerland]

This is the same game. You've released the same game on 15 different occasions. Not once have you changed anything. Oh wait...you added ring loss. Very cool, but here's stuff that you've neglected to fix over the past year:

-RUNNING TO THE RIGHT. NO.

-ADD SLOPES: your games' habit of just ascending and descending the same platform is ridiculous.

-YOUR LEVEL DESIGN IS AWFUL: Run to the right, hit a spring. Run to the right, hit 18 springs that propel you through the entire level. You don't have to do anything in this game. Please do something.

-BOSS IS WAY TOO HARD: Give me some rings or give me a more legitimate reason to die than some random shit

Fix your shit. Please. You and your game have been nailed.

[DimensionWarped]

The good: There is an amusing boarding sequence in the second act. That sort of thing adds a little to the lackluster.

The bad: Basically, everything about the game is lacking. Graphics are terrible, the physics are simplistic, the enemies are boring and do absolutely nothing but sit there, the boss is perhaps equally disappointing (or at least he would be if he didn't teleport once in a while, but all in all, he still does nothing that equates to providing you with an obstacle to surmount), the level design is plain terrible and features minimal branching of the most simplistic kind and almost zero variety.

The Ugly: Aside from some graphics and a wanky spindash, there is absolutely nothing here that makes me think: This is a Sonic game. Everything however tells me that its a generic platformer that someone slapped together in about a couple hours and stuck Sonic in it.

That said, its a start. Everyone has to start somewhere, and you certainly didn't put on airs about it. Just keep working on it, develop your skills (particularly by doing more stuff to make levels have unique sequences like with the boarding segment), and when you start to make another fangame after you complete this one, start thinking about what is bad about this one and think about how you can take your experiences and make a better game.

Bottom Line: This isn't ever going to be what anyone will call a quality game. Its strictly a starting place for your learning. Think of it as nothing more than that and use it as an experimental staging point to learn on.

That doesn't however mean that you can't start practicing good development practices now. I have a recommendation for all people who intend to make levels for a Sonic game.

Start by thinking about the level you want to make. Does the theme indicate that the level will feature a complex path or a simple one? Do you want the level to be mostly linear or do you want it to more variable? With this in mind, and after you look at some of my Sonic 2 path maps so that you can see what SEGA did with their maps. Once you do, set about a series of lines for your general progression through the map (I love Chemical Plant act 2 for this) opting to plan any kinds of branches and interweaving that you might choose to use. Once you do that, then start thinking about how to make each segment of your level unique and unlike the other segments. Think about incentives for taking one path over another. Is one path faster? Is the other less dangerous? Does this one feature a wicked gimmick? That sort of thing. Only once you have a series of segments that are all planned appropriately should you actually start laying down your track, and please, for the love of all that is holy, don't make your next game out of a bunch of gradient tubes.

http://darkdjinn.brpxqzme.net/ExampleStuff/

For your reference.

[Syonic]

I swear to god, if I hear that annoying spring sound effects again, Im going to kiiilll you!

need more badniks and LESS F*****G SPRINGS!!??

but the engine itself isnt actually bad, for a first time its quite good, just need tweaking and better level designs, then ya laughing.

[Slingerland]

You and Meh (Null's former, and obviously superior screename) can get together and have a "Fangame Fixin-Up Party," since you both need it. You can help each other out and share stories in front of a roaring digital campfire and an episode of an anime show of your choice.

What I'm trying to say is...chill out, Syonic. "Then ya laughing?" What? Are you Blazefire? Banned.

[Spike]

Okay, here is my usual review for newcomers. Keep in mind that I am a total asshole when it comes to these. (I think they deserve the criticism, but everyone gives me crap anyway)

Pros:

+First boss was actually done well in my opinion (Give at least 3 rings though.)

Cons:

-Evough with all of the newcomers and their old recycled Advance levels!

-It's Advance style.

-ENOUGH SPRINGS!!!

-Enemies do nothing. If you are going to make a stationary enemy that does nothing, atleast make it gently float up and down.

-You bounce way too hard when you hit an enemy. I swear, you get an acceleration of 0 to 200 when you bounce off of an enemy at the right angle.

-Graphics are terrible. Every single level is an Advance background with crappy gradient floors. This is just half-assed laziness in my opinion.

-Boarding segment isn't done well. There are no animations, it feels like I am just holding down the right arrow key.

-Got stuck in a wall on the third level. There were too many small corridors. I quit there.

- No gimmicks, no level design, no slopes or 360 movement. It's a new age, buddy. If you want your game to be recognized, this is the only way to go.

- Don't make a sequal to an age old fangame that nobody has ever even heard of.

Keep trying. This reminds me of my first game (It wasn't a Sonic game). Sadly though, it isn't your first game. Keep going, you're bound to get the hang of it sooner or later. Maybe.

[Rael0505]

You haven't improved at all since I first played a game of yours in like 2005. I'm very disappointed, I've given you as much advice with each game and demo you showed as I could. Since you really don't listen, I'm not going to waste my time.

[Serephim]

It feels...dated.

For some reason, it seems like every Game Maker game i play is stuck in the Pre-Static era...

I like the frame rate though

[Spike]

For some reason, it seems like every Game Maker game i play is stuck in the Pre-Static era...

Are these stupid little half-assed games the only ones you play?

[VectorSatyr]

AWW COME ON, PEOPLE! DON't START! T_T

EDIT: Damn caps filter - had to leave the t lower...

[Slingerland]

For some reason, it seems like every Game Maker game i play is stuck in the Pre-Static era...

Dude...I actually...agree. I have noticed that too. 0_o

[Syonic]

Sling, dont compare my fan game with this one, I WILL kill you too!

I mean, im sorry but I actually put effort into mine, but this game is kinda like his 2nd attempt after 2 years and it still not improved.

Null, if possible, try and use mmf/mmf2 because it is way easier to make a decent sonic game than with GM.

[MSUK]

I too agree. If you want to make a good game only by dragging and dropping, you need to go with mmf. It's true, that GM is more powerful, but drag and drop on GM isn't really gonna get you anywhere. either learn some GML and go back to it, or completley remake it in MMF.

[someone2040]

Sling, dont compare my fan game with this one, I WILL kill you too!

I mean, im sorry but I actually put effort into mine, but this game is kinda like his 2nd attempt after 2 years and it still not improved.

Null, if possible, try and use mmf/mmf2 because it is way easier to make a decent sonic game than with GM.

That's a tad rude. It is true that he has repeatedly been told the same stuff over and over and hasn't managed to get it right yet. But that doesn't mean he hasn't put effort into it.

There is no guarantee that by using mmf that your game quality will suddenly go up.It's honestly just as easy to make a crap game in mmf/mmf2 as it is in GM.

[MSUK]

Yes, but what i am saying is that it is much easier to learn MMF than GM. Mark Overmars made it so newcomwers could learn the drag and drop then go on to GML Slowly. Also, i think quite a lot more people use MMF than GM, and could give you a hand. And the tutorials. Never forget the tutorials on the actual SFGHQ site. They whoop ass.

[Spike]

One more thing, RunDrive sounds like a new form of portable hard drive or something.

[Damizean]

Null, if possible, try and use mmf/mmf2 because it is way easier to make a decent sonic game than with GM.

Completely wrong: MMF's obscure and hideous script language makes problems appear apparently for no reason, and in order to complex stuff you need to do terrible and nasty workarounds. GM in that aspect is much greater, powerfull and flexible and ends up being easier to manage than a lot of the MMF crap

[Slingerland]

Dami <3s his Game Maker. Yet, he still makes Sonic Worlds

Just kiddin', bro.

At any rate, maybe you can take your game here, because these guys are more GM oriented. Oh wait you already have. (My favorite part of this "Doppleganger SFGHQ" is in the assistance forum, many threads either link to SFGHQ or say, "Hold on, I'll check at SFGHQ and get back to you." <3)

So, Null, are you just not responding to us anymore? Don't you want to give us some ridiculous reason why this game is still the same game with a different, less appealing background?

[DimensionWarped]

We use MMF because we know people will work with it if its an MMF engine. MMF is just more popular.

If we were willing to sacrifice audience, personally I'd opt to use Garagegame's 2D game making program. It has a sweet level editor and is faster than Gamemaker and MMF combined. Not to mention more feature rich and with more organized programming.

[null1024]

Ok... Fsck this... I'm using a 180 engine now... (Can't use 360 that well in GM5, and GM6 games don't agree well with my lame comp...) The current engine is dated, it's an old Kain one, and I'd use MMF if I had some money. But I'm flat broke.

Crap... firefox just crashed...

Ok, and the sprites were kinda just quickly done until I could get some in.

[Spike]

What do you mean 360 doesn't work in GM5? I used to do it.

[null1024]

Takes too long to load the sprite rotations, and runs kinda slowly. I've experimented with it before, and it gave me a fps of about 20-45.

[Kain]

The only reason you'd not use 360 engines in GM5 is because you can't draw sprites at an arbitrary angle, so you have to preload rotated sprites or just store them all with the game. All collision functions are unchanged since I started using GM at GM 4.

Edit: What you have to do is rotate them and store them in virtual sprites like I did with my Sonic: Terminal Velocity engine so long ago.

Edit: @DW: If you combined GM and MMF, wouldn't that make them slower? P