Sonic 360 Demo 1.7 Beta 2

[LarkSS]

Some of you may remember Sonic 360 on the old forum. Well I finally decided to rebuild the entire game using an engine I'm designing right now. In the meantime, I decided to release the old version in it's non-changing state. It's okay I guess. No, I'm not saying it sucks, I'm just saying it doesn't have as much playability as I'd like it to. This is what it contains:

4 Direction 360 Movement ( twas my first 360 attempt without knowing about Damizean's 360 tutorials )

4 Direction 360 Grinding

Move Learning System ( every 5 levels )

Level Up System

In-Game Tutorial

Save & Load System

Name Your Saving ( Infinate Saves )

Choose Your Resolution & Graphics Settings

Ranking System

5 Missions For Each Level ( 1 level demo + tutorial )

Other Things You'll Have To Find Out For Yourself

The game has no story at it's present state nor any cutscenes. Now I know what many of you are thinking right now. Okay, before I download, I want screenies! Here ya go then.

World, level, mission, and options select screen.

Sonic Flare in action. You learn it at level 15.

Busted a badnik. Check out how happy Sonic's head is. =P

Upside-down grinding. Always fun. I wonder how his shoes stick to it though...

Since SFGHQMB only lets me put 4 pics per post, I made a little webpage using Notebook to display 15 pics.

http://sonicsoft.supersanctuary.com/SonicSoftPages/Sonic_360_Demo_1_7_Pics.htm

Well, that's pretty much it. Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, etc. Even though it's going to be rebuilt, I can still try to consider them seeing as it's going to be based off of this ( with more of a platformer RPG feel ) Here's the download link.

http://sonicsoft.supersanctuary.com/SonicSoftFiles/Sonic_360_Demo_1.7.zip

Edit: It appears that some people can't read the zip's high compression ratio. I'm not taking down the link, but I'm putting another one up. It's half a meg bigger, but it'll allow people who couldn't extract the above zip to be able to play my game.

http://sonicsoft.supersanctuary.com/SonicSoftFiles/Sonic_360_Demo_1_7_Beta_2.zip

Enjoy.

Edit: Just for future reference, it's going to be renamed to something else. ( Though I don't know what yet ) Sonic 360 seems rather unimaginative and I believe the name was used before. =/

Edit2: Almost forgot. The wallkick is not like you're used to. It works once, but goes really high. You also need the slash to progress upward between two close walls. Play the tutorial and you'll understand.

Edit3(lol): Yes, I'm aware that the backgrounds suck arse. It's going to be redone when the game's rebuilt.

Edit4(LMAO): Almost forgot to mention that this game was created fully in MMFX ( with the help of TGF for animation editting ). For those of you who don't know what MMFX is, it's the Multimedia Fusion Express which is almost ( if not exactly ) identical to The Games Factory.

[Terid Kane]

Downloading it now, I'll comment on it later.

[LarkSS]

Let me know what you think when you're done. And don't forget to read this. ( Just added it )

Edit2: Almost forgot. The wallkick is not like you're used to. It works once, but goes really high. You also need the slash to progress upward between two close walls. Play the tutorial and you'll understand.

Edit: Lol, don't forget to read this too.

Edit3(lol): Yes, I'm aware that the backgrounds suck arse. It's going to be redone when the game's rebuilt.

[Professor-J]

Screenshots look amazing, perhaps if you emphasised the whole 360 thing (yes I know the game is changing names) such as running on ceilings and tilting the whole stage and such you could get an original game (not saying you have to, just a random idea)

I'll definatly be playing this tommorow (dam school, I would stay up alter by 3:08 is really my limit)

EDIT- I don't think the backgrounds suck. I really love the whole crayony look, sort of like a Sonic version of Yoshi's Island. Or what Sonic Yoshi's Island graphics would look like.

[LarkSS]

If you check the minipage with the 15 pics, you'll see that you infact can run on cielings. Also since I forgot to mention, the game was done in MMFX so I can't rotate the stage unless everything was an active object. ( 300 object limit ) That's one of the biggest reasons I'm rebuilding it, so I can work on it in MMF.

[Professor-J]

Oh, sweet, i thought it was just an inside out loop or something. This game is gonna PWN, good luck with it. I hope to see it completed.

EDIT- I'm guessing I have to export everything into a new file, I'm not too familiar with downloading MMF games, care to tell me how?

(It'd benifit the other MMF n00bs as well)

[Terid Kane]

I wouldn't say the backgrounds suck, they fit the graphics very well. Although I have to say they feel a bit empty. I'm sure they wouldn't if the resolution was lower. 320X240 would do it.

As for the engine, it has a nice flow and movements, I find that spark attack a nice alternative to the usual homing attack. I also liked the way you kick your way up between two walls, it's fun. The other movements are nicely coded aswell. This engine would already make a nice game IMHO, but it's always good to improve.

The characters animations aren't so smooth, you might want to redo them. Oh, and the special effects are superb, keep them for your new engine :]

All in all, this game has a lot of potential, I wish you good luck with it. And I can't wait to see the final engine ;0

I have one question though. How did you do that star effect in the spindash? I have been trying to make that in my engine with no sucess. (I mean those starts that go in Sonic's direction when he's spindashing.

[Zal]

Wasn't Nitemare making a game called Sonic 360 a while ago? o_O

[Rael0505]

It got canned due to a hard drive wipe.

[Zal]

OH that's right.

God I remember speaking with him about that... how'd I forget that. >_<

[JJames19119]

Really nice, though I want you to trash the fall damage system and forget it ever existed. =P

I guess I should throw in some in depth comments and such. The level up system wasn't a bad touch, a nice deviation from the main gameplay even if it did make it feel sorta like Sonic Heroes. (Oh the HORROR!) The engine was awfully sticky, especially with walls and steep slopes, which was really, really bad. X_X Also, Slashing up the tall tiny corridor near the beginning of Sky Gardens while low level is extremely tedious. Not fun. Not only that, but there were a few bugs that prevented Sonic from jumping up anymore than a few pixels length. O_o A lot of other bugs too but those are likely standard with MMF. >_> Not bad otherwise though. I want to note how utterly evil the fifth mission is. =P

[LarkSS]

EDIT- I'm guessing I have to export everything into a new file, I'm not too familiar with downloading MMF games, care to tell me how?

(It'd benifit the other MMF n00bs as well)

After you download the zip, just extract the entire folder somewhere. ( Preferably your desktop so the icon appears automatically ) Then install the font files in your 'C:\Windows\Fonts\' folder and run the .exe.

I wouldn't say the backgrounds suck, they fit the graphics very well. Although I have to say they feel a bit empty. I'm sure they wouldn't if the resolution was lower. 320X240 would do it.

Sadly, this game might actually be the only fangame I'll ever make with the 640x480 resolution. Some people like the feel of the big screen and although I'm NEVER using 640x480 in any of my fangames again ( unless I have a good excuse ), this might be the only exception. The graphics should hopefully be much better when they're redone.

As for the engine, it has a nice flow and movements, I find that spark attack a nice alternative to the usual homing attack. I also liked the way you kick your way up between two walls, it's fun. The other movements are nicely coded aswell. This engine would already make a nice game IMHO, but it's always good to improve.

The characters animations aren't so smooth, you might want to redo them. Oh, and the special effects are superb, keep them for your new engine :]

Explain how the animations aren't smooth, and I'll see what I can do. And the special effects will be ported over using the particle spray object and any other methods. All this simply means is it'll look tons better.

I have one question though. How did you do that star effect in the spindash? I have been trying to make that in my engine with no sucess. (I mean those starts that go in Sonic's direction when he's spindashing.

Star effect? *plays game* Ah, I see. I just made the 'stars' create above Sonic high enough so it's off the screen. Then if their alt value A is 0, it randomly positions them around Sonic of a maximum of 100 pixels give or take. Then alt value A is set to 1 to prevent it from positioning again. Now that value A is 1, they always look toward Sonic and speed up. Upon collision, they're destroyed. I hope that answers your question.

Wasn't Nitemare making a game called Sonic 360 a while ago? o_O

Edit: Just for future reference, it's going to be renamed to something else. ( Though I don't know what yet ) Sonic 360 seems rather unimaginative and I believe the name was used before. =/

I knew the name was used before. That's exactly why the name is being changed. ( If I can think of one )

Really nice, though I want you to trash the fall damage system and forget it ever existed. =P

Ever try slashing at the ground to prevent getting hurt? Also, every 5 levels your resistance increases a bit so you can fall longer.

I guess I should throw in some in depth comments and such. The level up system wasn't a bad touch, a nice deviation from the main gameplay even if it did make it feel sorta like Sonic Heroes. (Oh the HORROR!)

It's meant to be a platformer RPG, but in its present state it in no way feels like one.

The engine was awfully sticky, especially with walls and steep slopes, which was really, really bad. X_X

4 Direction 360 Movement ( twas my first 360 attempt without knowing about Damizean's 360 tutorials )

It helps to read the whole first post before commenting on something. =P

Also, Slashing up the tall tiny corridor near the beginning of Sky Gardens while low level is extremely tedious. Not fun.

That's why in the future, no level will force you to do it that long.

Not only that, but there were a few bugs that prevented Sonic from jumping up anymore than a few pixels length. O_o

Really? What happened before that started occuring?

O_o A lot of other bugs too but those are likely standard with MMF. >_>

That, and it's a VERY old movement. It's 4/5 static engine, 1/5 360 engine. Also, I'd like to remind you that's not the final engine.

Edit: Scratch that. I feel shame to call it a 360 movement when it uses no sine or cosine calculations what so ever. It's just pure static engine for 4 directions.

Not bad otherwise though. I want to note how utterly evil the fifth mission is. =P

Practice is all I can say. I've actually laid back a lot on that one for the score you need. I can get quite a bit over the score limit on level 1. Becoming level 5 so you can use Sonic Meteor helps you know. Other than that, I'm surprised you actually played it through. Not many people take the time to do so.

I was actually considering releasing the source of this game, but I'm afraid the only people who could view it are MMFX users. I'm aware MMF can open MMFX files, but it uses an extension that doesn't exist for MMF and it's not on the Clickteam extension list. This means there's no way for me to import it into MMF at all. That's the biggest reason I'm redoing the game. It just seems so lacking and the old engine techniques are boring me compared to what I can program now.

OMFG, that has got to be the biggest post I've ever made. O.O

[JJames19119]

I'm not sure what happened before the low jumping Sonic bug, usually a whole array of different things so it's hard to tell what causes it.

And regardless of if it's a 4 direction 360 engine, it shouldn't be very sticky with walls, I think that fault on that was the wall jumping and it's precaurious collision detections.

[LarkSS]

And regardless of if it's a 4 direction 360 engine, it shouldn't be very sticky with walls, I think that fault on that was the wall jumping and it's precaurious collision detections.

Do you mean you're having a problem with touching walls? If so, how fast does the game run on your comp? If it runs any less than full speed, it won't work good. It also helps to set your coloring to 16bit, turn off all active programs in the background, and turn off the special effects if needed. Oh, and if you mean you jumped at a wall and he grabbed on to it, try not to hold shift down, just tap it.

[Zal]

I've just played it, and even though some of the graphics were a tad of a let down for me, your grasp on coding in such a program is quite outstanding. I'm impressed.

[someone2040]

Ergh. I cannot even bring myself to get past the tutorial.

For some reason, when hit spikes, they will not kill you... no matter what. I was stuck down there on spikes in a pit that I couldn't get out of because of this, and with no way to forcefully kill myself (Heck, I'm SITTING on spikes on 1 health) I had to restart the tutorial, which wasn't fun at all. I then progressed further on, did the grind, got up to where you're supposed to use your skills to progress. I hit a spring, and it doesn't make it up to the next spring, I fell down and fell off the level, ok, that's cool, went back to the star post. Fell into a pit of spikes... couldn't die, turned off the game.

It's really annoying when you can't tell when the next platform is supposed to be, it's kind've like a leap of faith, with annoying non-killing spikes at the bottom.

One thing that really bugged me (Other than not dying on spikes) was the curved corners. The screen jittered around a lot because of this, and it just felt really uncomfortable when playing it because of that happening. It would've been much better if the corners were just straight.

[JJames19119]

Do you mean you're having a problem with touching walls? If so, how fast does the game run on your comp? If it runs any less than full speed, it won't work good. It also helps to set your coloring to 16bit, turn off all active programs in the background, and turn off the special effects if needed. Oh, and if you mean you jumped at a wall and he grabbed on to it, try not to hold shift down, just tap it.

I had an easy time getting the game to run at full speed, just when I jumped into a wall, the physics got weird, as if the wall was sticky. I had multiple instances where Sonic would jitter in and out of the wall without actually grabbing onto it and it made him fall weirdly.

And:

One thing that really bugged me (Other than not dying on spikes) was the curved corners. The screen jittered around a lot because of this, and it just felt really uncomfortable when playing it because of that happening. It would've been much better if the corners were just straight.

I agree with this post.

[LarkSS]

I had an easy time getting the game to run at full speed, just when I jumped into a wall, the physics got weird, as if the wall was sticky. I had multiple instances where Sonic would jitter in and out of the wall without actually grabbing onto it and it made him fall weirdly.

I really don't know what to say then. It works perfectly for me believe it or not.

One thing that really bugged me (Other than not dying on spikes) was the curved corners. The screen jittered around a lot because of this, and it just felt really uncomfortable when playing it because of that happening. It would've been much better if the corners were just straight.

4 directions ring any bells? When you go up or down a slope, right in the middle of it the entire gravity changes and the sudden ackwardness causes the engine to twitch. Heck, it took forever to find a method so at slow speeds he wouldn't glitch badly on the slope. You don't really have to worry about that though. The engine is being redone in true 360.

Ergh. I cannot even bring myself to get past the tutorial.

For some reason, when hit spikes, they will not kill you... no matter what. I was stuck down there on spikes in a pit that I couldn't get out of because of this, and with no way to forcefully kill myself (Heck, I'm SITTING on spikes on 1 health) I had to restart the tutorial, which wasn't fun at all. I then progressed further on, did the grind, got up to where you're supposed to use your skills to progress. I hit a spring, and it doesn't make it up to the next spring, I fell down and fell off the level, ok, that's cool, went back to the star post. Fell into a pit of spikes... couldn't die, turned off the game.

It's really annoying when you can't tell when the next platform is supposed to be, it's kind've like a leap of faith, with annoying non-killing spikes at the bottom.

Lol, I've never hit the spikes nor did any of the people who tested it, so I had no idea something like that would happen. That'll definately be fixed. Thanks for mentioning that.

Oh, and you said the spring didn't make it over to the next. Was he smacking the wall and loosing all upward velocity or just not making it up there? If he just wasn't making it, the game must not be running well. The engine will glitch BADLY if you're not getting 45-50 fps.

Sorry you had such a hard time. =/

Edit: About the leap of faith thing, did you try looking down? I tested the level several times and all parts of the level are visible without a leap of faith. That part you're talking about requires you to hold down and see what's below you. It's just trying to make use of the camera technique.

I've just played it, and even though some of the graphics were a tad of a let down for me, your grasp on coding in such a program is quite outstanding. I'm impressed.

Heh, everything I did was simple. The 360 movement itself is just 4 static engines combined into one.

[someone2040]

Lol, I've never hit the spikes nor did any of the people who tested it, so I had no idea something like that would happen. That'll definately be fixed. Thanks for mentioning that.

Oh, and you said the spring didn't make it over to the next. Was he smacking the wall and loosing all upward velocity or just not making it up there? If he just wasn't making it, the game must not be running well. The engine will glitch BADLY if you're not getting 45-50 fps.

Sorry you had such a hard time. =/

Edit: About the leap of faith thing, did you try looking down? I tested the level several times and all parts of the level are visible without a leap of faith. That part you're talking about requires you to hold down and see what's below you. It's just trying to make use of the camera technique.

Tch, looking down! Looking down is for wimps! I mean... err... I forgot I could do that. I shouldnt really have to look down to know where I have to jump, especially when there are un-killing spikes below .

He was smacking into the wall and losing all upwards velocity. I probably could've made it back to the spring with wall jump... but that's a bit buggy, and I can't remember what I did, but I ended up below the spring and wall slashing to my death.

[LarkSS]

Ah, that bug happens from time to time. The X movement uses the built-in ball movement so sometimes you hit the wall so fast your top sensor overlaps the backdrop and you loose all upward velocity. I believe in your case wall jumping would be your only resort.

[null1024]

I was actually considering releasing the source of this game, but I'm afraid the only people who could view it are MMFX users. I'm aware MMF can open MMFX files, but it uses an extension that doesn't exist for MMF and it's not on the Clickteam extension list. This means there's no way for me to import it into MMF at all. That's the biggest reason I'm redoing the game. It just seems so lacking and the old engine techniques are boring me compared to what I can program now.

Isin't it possible to import MMFX extentions into MMF?

[LarkSS]

Originally Posted by LarkSS

I was actually considering releasing the source of this game, but I'm afraid the only people who could view it are MMFX users. I'm aware MMF can open MMFX files, but it uses an extension that doesn't exist for MMF and it's not on the Clickteam extension list. This means there's no way for me to import it into MMF at all. That's the biggest reason I'm redoing the game. It just seems so lacking and the old engine techniques are boring me compared to what I can program now.

You need the extension for MMF for it to work.

[null1024]

How does the game use the extension, if it dosen't exist?

[LarkSS]

*sigh* It doesn't exist for MMF, but it does for TGF and MMFX. It just hasn't been ported over.

[sonicfanultimate]

Cant wait. I like sonic 360 but the missions should be optional. I can help out in sprite and storyline work to. I am making an neat sprite lib!