Emerald Ties: Crossing Fates Demo - DEMO UPDATED 8/18 SEE PAGE 5

[Naoshi]

I came very, very close to just deleting it after the first 10 sec. TBH, I am not sure why I kept playing (must be a lack of sleep), but the game ended up getting better. So yeah, just watch out for that first impression.

Looks better. I would feel a little better about that. (Although I don't usually get too excited about fan characters.)

Really? I couldn't tell. *Checks again* Yeah, I guess I could see that, but it is not too obvious to me.

Yeah, first impressions should never be crappy. :E We gotta be careful about that

[JEV3]

Yeah, first impressions should never be crappy. :E We gotta be careful about that

In other words, keep the make sure there isn't a Sonic Team logo in front of it?

I think I've finally mastered Relic Retreat 1 once and for all (I hope!)... after spending the entire day trying to figure out where to jump, how many dashes to use on a spindash, etc. Its a miracle that I finally got through there. Now if only someone doesn't find out how to one-up me again.

Anyways, the circular pieces of RRZ1 are a little difficult if you land on one of the edges, Sonic is usually stuck in a standing position until I jump. (but please don't patch it, I can't match that time again) Also I was building up a lot of speed during the rock chase and then fell down a pit but instead of reloading I got to stare at the interior sky with the debris falling until the timer ran out at which point I was treated to seeing the blue blowfish-like enemy from Sonic & Knuckles in the corner of the screen.

Its interesting to note that all of these bugs I've found I wouldn't have noticed had it not been for time attack. Perhaps next SAGE you can include a score attack so that people can also compete to get the highest score per level.

[Naoshi]

In other words, keep the make sure there isn't a Sonic Team logo in front of it?

I think I've finally mastered Relic Retreat 1 once and for all (I hope!)... after spending the entire day trying to figure out where to jump, how many dashes to use on a spindash, etc. Its a miracle that I finally got through there. Now if only someone doesn't find out how to one-up me again.

Anyways, the circular pieces of RRZ1 are a little difficult if you land on one of the edges, Sonic is usually stuck in a standing position until I jump. (but please don't patch it, I can't match that time again) Also I was building up a lot of speed during the rock chase and then fell down a pit but instead of reloading I got to stare at the interior sky with the debris falling until the timer ran out at which point I was treated to seeing the blue blowfish-like enemy from Sonic & Knuckles in the corner of the screen.

Its interesting to note that all of these bugs I've found I wouldn't have noticed had it not been for time attack. Perhaps next SAGE you can include a score attack so that people can also compete to get the highest score per level.

The level didn't reset when you died?

Hopefully you have the older demo considering we've been fixing up alot of glitches and re-releasing the demo. D:!

Although at the same time, that glitch is kinda funny...

[JEV3]

I went ahead and downloaded the newest version as soon as I found out it had been patched again. Did you already try to fix that?

[Naoshi]

We've probably did. I kinda lost track to be honest :x

EDIT: Okay, JEV3. What the fuck you're AMAZING! How the hell did you managed to beat RRZ1 UNDER A MINUTE?! O_O;

[Gamerdude]

Its interesting to note that all of these bugs I've found I wouldn't have noticed had it not been for time attack. Perhaps next SAGE you can include a score attack so that people can also compete to get the highest score per level.

Your score is submitted along with the time and whatnot, but a different mode could be added. It would take a little bit of effort, but I suppose it could be done.

As for that pit at the end of RR act 2...it still eludes me. It isn't a problem anywhere else, but I'll keep looking into it. Thanks again =).

[Rael0505]

JEV3, you win. Your times are impossible to beat.

[JEV3]

Your score is submitted along with the time and whatnot, but a different mode could be added. It would take a little bit of effort, but I suppose it could be done.

I know, that was actually what gave me the idea and I was going to suggest sorting it by best time, most rings, and best score, but someone may want to try for the best score without losing the ability to make a record on time attack.

Maybe if you take the time to make it a different mode you could add a combo thing where each successive ring-pickup or enemy hit would build up points and the players would be awarded points for shields. Perhaps just as something to bring up the appeal of it a bit as well as make it not quite seem like a time attack for score.

Oh, should the mid-level cutscenes still be present in Time Attack? 'Enter' works just fine but perhaps you could remove the cutscenes for it so its a little bit more seamless.

EDIT: Okay, JEV3. What the fuck you're AMAZING! How the hell did you managed to beat RRZ1 UNDER A MINUTE?! O_O;

I had to come up with every little cut I could think of and figure out just the right timing for every single jump and dash and even then it would still cut it waay close when I finally got to the lava area at the end. The problem was there really weren't many cuts left at that point that shaved off more than a split-second so there was no room for error. I spent hours perfecting it (literally, can you imagine how many 10-30 second runs fit into that space?) and I would have quit but it looked like it was so close that I could make it if could just pull off a completely flawless run up to the lava area.

[Gamerdude]

Yeah, I know what you mean JEV3. I initially had it so you could choose what record you wanted to submit. So, let's say you got an awesome score and the time was crap, you could opt to just submit the score instead of time and rings. However with the way things are currently set up, we came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be possible to tell what records were gotten in the same run. If everyone had a run for 45 seconds with scores and rings through the roof, it'd look odd. As such, we just changed it so all records were submitted, so it was an all or nothing. Adding a different mode would fix that problem.

As for making the cutscenes not occur in time attack...I actually did that for the Seaside act 2...why I didn't do it in Relic Retreat, I don't know...probably because it skipped over to another frame and I didn't have the time to edit it. Regardless of how I do it, there will still have to be a change of frames, so there's not much of a way for me to make it completely seamless. At the least, I could make it jump over to the second half of the act, but the title cards would still be displayed.

[ssbfalcon]

So I finally bothered to register for online time attack... Really nice touch...

[TSS_Ty]

This is one of the best demo's I've played for a long time. Normally when I finish playing one, it's "oh, that was cool", but I was genuinely disappointed when this demo ended. There were some really nice touches, the Tails cut-scene was nicely done, and was a nice layer of polish.

The level design is good, although there were a few areas where I thought the enemy placement was a little annoying (mostly the flying bug appearing when you go up a ramp). Other than that, it's a solid Sonic experience.

I like it!

[VectorSatyr]

The game didn't particularly wow me, but in comparison to most other fangames, I felt exactly the same as TSS_Ty; I didn't want the experience to end. If you can maintain that sensation throughout, this game will be a hit. It's already got time-attackers on their toes.

[The ParadoxX]

Man, this game was OK when I first saw...

But with the time attack it turned so addictive, I'm playing it for hours trying to beat JEV3's scores... Damn man I'll beat you!!

ET:CF - Best on Sage, period.

[Naoshi]

This is one of the best demo's I've played for a long time. Normally when I finish playing one, it's "oh, that was cool", but I was genuinely disappointed when this demo ended. There were some really nice touches, the Tails cut-scene was nicely done, and was a nice layer of polish.

The level design is good, although there were a few areas where I thought the enemy placement was a little annoying (mostly the flying bug appearing when you go up a ramp). Other than that, it's a solid Sonic experience.

I like it!

We're planning to changing that flying bug into a slower bird-like enemy. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, but yeah I agree...that enemy is annoying.

[JEV3]

Remember my complaint about having trouble when landing on the round islands in RRZ1? Well I stopped dead after hitting a similar slope in the second act so I would assume its related to the slope and the angle in which I hit it. Also I got that bug in the pit preceding the boulder again... judging by the angle I was going it looked like I would have ended up under the terrain on the other side of the pit. Additionally the camera would run ahead of Sonic and would be focused a ways away while Sonic is on the right side of the screen. The t-rex badnik would stand at a cliffs edge with his mouth open when I'm beside the cliff.

Anyways, w00t! I've come on top for each of the four levels...

EDIT: Not sure if you saw it, but I said earlier the title cards seem disorienting at first in that they depict a scene where you don't immediately start. Maybe you could come up with a more stylized thing that may work better. (maybe the base tile and an overlay or something)

[Naoshi]

Yeah, you mentioned it earlier and we'll think about changing that!

Also, congrats! Speed running is fun

[Zenor]

Everyone already said what I was about to say. but I don't think anyone mentioned that while walking, if you hold up and press to the opposite direction, sonic will moonwalk.

[OverbounD]

That's not a bug that's a feature!

[Naoshi]

Everyone already said what I was about to say. but I don't think anyone mentioned that while walking, if you hold up and press to the opposite direction, sonic will moonwalk.

Just tried that. Awesome glitch...too awesome to remove!

[Rawr]

Wow, I am really impressed with this game. The graphics were absolutely awesome, I really like the custom Sonic sprite you guys were using in this too. I really liked the first level the best though...plus the story isn't too bad so far actually. It is quite nice and simple.

What I really like too is the music in this game, it is really really good! I was debating about whether or not I wanted to try a time trial but I suck at the game so I would probably be at the bottom of the list xD. Good work on this.

[Naoshi]

Who cares about being the best?! It's for fun, so try it!

Thanks for the comment!

[Rawr]

Haha, yep, I was right...I'm near the bottom xD. It is a cool feature nonetheless plus I had fun trying anyway . That feature adds a bit of replay value to the game, which is really cool, as well as making it a good game to be competitive on if people wanted to try and best whomever's scores.

[Gamerdude]

Replay value was the main intention of adding the competitive time attack mode. I know it's certainly not for everyone, and because of that it will obviously not be the only thing that will keep people playing. =)

[JEV3]

The site appears to be down, I can't say its unexpected if it was just a SAGE booth, but if thats the case does that mean that the leaderboards are being taken down too?

Replay value was the main intention of adding the competitive time attack mode.

It certainly adds plenty of it for those willing to try. I really enjoyed these levels so I figured I'd give it a shot, but normally I don't bother going all-out with time-attack. Aside from this and Secret Rings I seldom try to set any records (actually since Secret Rings doesn't keep track of the best times I don't necessarily have 'records' set there). Racing is also great fun if its played out to be unpredictable enough (most of the Sonic 2 stages were good) but it requires a direct connection. (comment not a suggestion, I don't think ET:CF's stages are conducive to a splitscreen race, but I would have liked to see it done for Secret Rings) Just the same the levels still need to be fun enough for me to want to come back to them, time attack or otherwise, and ET:CF new levels held that appeal. I'm looking forward to seeing what the later levels look like.

[Rael0505]

I really appreciate all of the support you've been giving us, JEV3. We have some ideas to make time attack more interesting next year - I hope you'll keep an eye out for it.

I know you're one of the many new users who joined here for SAGE, but I hope you don't disappear like many of them will now that SAGE has reached its end.