Eggman Hates Furries

[luksamuk]

My thoughts:

Definitely a different, hard, and not for children Sonic fangame. It sometimes doesn't even looks like it's Sonic (I mean, for the concept). Was this game built off of a nightmare of yours? lol.

Loved Tails Doll boss. Quite terrifying. And I can't get past that grabbing boss.

[Vexus]

I completed the game (A Sonic fangame that can be played from start to finish? Congrats) First off, the key disappointment in this game was the level art. As a few have said it is rather bland and lifeless. Now that the core game is done I think you can go over the level tiles to bring this game to next level. Now onto business, a quick level-by-level review of this short and sweet game:

Intro

I was annoyed that had to play through this before getting to the main menu, and more annoyed by the fact that the whole sequence was essentially 'hold right'. Still, motorcycle was cool, even if I couldn't do anything with it.

Main Menu

Simple enough, but if you go to the level select and you haven't played further than Intro, pressing up while highlighting Intro will cause an array error.

Dream

The tutorial level had some interesting/weird stuff going on in it, especially the room where you grab the rings in the round room. There was ALOT of lag in this level though, and given that the level is essentially 'the fangame test room' with a fancy background I can't see how that should be the case.

Grass

Skipping the 'playable cutscene' to the first playable level. It was short, boring, and only had one path. This would really benefit from... something to do. Dream already explained the game mechanics, so use this level to ease players into combat situations with enemies and traps.

Robot - Doors

A boss fight! and what a killer first boss. It took a while to get used to the playing field and it took me a while to guess how to land the killer blow, but this is the point I started enjoying myself. The boss was well animated and was quite a challenge. How did you pull off the looping shaft so well? I've been trying to do that in Game Maker for ages.

Now we go into bits not everyone will have seen yet...

Lost - Hell - ZigZag

A platforming stage with hazards, well thats a nice change of pace. This was the best looking level of the game. The boiling lava and the caves walls made it look really nice. Though it made good use of a variety of gimmicks, there were no badniks, which was a surprise.

Doll

Next boss, and it was quite creepy even after more than one playthrough. I lol'd at the Doll using Negative Zone as an attack. He was quite hard to hit though, as hitting the constantly moving target was a hit-or-miss kinda deal.

Chopper

A good boss fight, but compared to the rest of them this was lacking. Wall running and good timing made this fight too easy. I don't have much to say on this one.

Join Me

I lol'd. That was awesome

Egg - Roll

Best part of the game for me. The final bosses fall just short. Sonic vs Eggman in a giant robot, what more could I want? The attack patterns kept me on my toes and the whole setup was creative and well executed. This made the game worth downloading on its own, but things got more interesting...

Emerald

Oh crap... but I totally saw this coming

Attack - Battle

A really cool Super Sonic final boss. It took me a while to realize the shield needed to be charged to work though. The shockwaves (especially the last shockwaves) killed me plenty of times because some guesswork was needed. I enjoyed this, but this is another level that would benefit greatly from a graphical bump.

End - Ultimate

I did not see this coming, what a brilliant and dramatic final stage. One thing though... NO CHECKPOINTS T_T. I loved the way the terrain morphed through Eggman's power and I loved the intrigue at the end. Who really took down Hyper Eggman? We'll probably never know.

Love

I REALLY did not see this coming. This has got to one of the most surreal game endings I've played in a long time. Unskippable credits wasn't nice though (and you gave out plenty of credit XD) while Tails' Poem made me slightly confused. Still, what an experience.

I would call this a winner, because these kind of set pieces are what I really love in games. Now its time to refine this bad boy into something special.

[Hyper Emerson]

This game made me remember about a dream i had about a decade ago. In it, i was playing a Sonic game, in a rainy Green Hill-like stage set at night and Sonic was carrying Eggman's body around for some reason.

Feels strange, man. o_o

The game started (why i'm riding a bike? =V) and ended (...What.) by leaving me confused, but overall it was a lot of fun.

But i didn't like how it takes so long to push some switches.

Also, is the boss fight against the Chopper supposed to have checkpoints? I hit it two times and died, then came back and it blew up once i landed another hit.

PS: After i beat the game, i got a error at the opening and had to close it.

PS: After replaying some levels, then going back to the menu, a few times, the screen turned blank, though the game didn't crash.

[Djawed]

Hi guys,

This is my first post and I was gonna register some time ago, but this thread made me gp register straight away. This game......

@Oddwarg

When I watched that teaser and the boss footages. I was like, it looks decent. I mean, I thought it looked spectecular but didn't think I would be even able to handle such crazyness.

I started t he game and from the first motorcycle cutscene my mind was blown. It wasn't just the simple but fun gameplay sequence that had me sold, but the overall atmosphere. Like wtf, how do you that? I like your style a lot. The rain, the sence of speed, all the effects used to add to it. All is well done. I imagine you have putten a lot of love into it.

So than after the motorcycle bit I picked the next thing. It was the tutorial. Doing it quick the real thing started with the first official cinematic. The way they are presented never got me bored and I watched them full of interest and enjoyment. How robotnik showed up after tails flew away with his plain was really well done and it was clear that robotnik showed up to go after him. I actually felt bad.

Adrenaline went straight through my body thinking that I would never be able to play the game since it was maybe a bit too much. But in a minute or two I mastered it to an extent allready and fully enjoying the first boss. I just couldn't stop playing even when it did feel like trial and error a lot of the times. I just couldn't, it was too epic. Everything that came after just kept me on my toes and I just didn't know exactly what I had to think about it, all I knew was that this is some artfull piece of game.

The bosses were great, every one of them. CHallenging, tactiful and fun at the stame time. I would really love going into detail about them, but that would make this post double the size it is going to be. In short. They are epic. One of the most epic boss battles I have ever encountered for any game. It's mainly because of how they are presented to. The way the first boss touches the walls everytime and scratches himself. Moves so fluidly. They are all a beautiful sight but at the same time fun and challenging as well.

The best thing in the game was Tails shooting on super form of robotnik everytime you hit him with supersonic. Never have I seen tails be such a badass lol.

I finished it and it was worth it all the way. No matter how many times I died, the game just forced me to continue through the beautiful atmosphere.

I do have some feedback for you however.

The controls: I can see where you are heading with them. I mastered them eventually and the wall running/walking and than jumping was pretty neat thing. I do feel however they need a little bit of tweaking. Mainly sonic's floatiness.... I think. Maybe it was intentional.

Trial and error: This is one of the biggest issues most sonic games suffer from. Your game however doesn't suffer from it that much since the game seems to be based of that concept with the checkpoint system and no score system and all that. The thing is, some of the level design just doesnt allow you to correct a mistake. Like in that lava section where you have to run up those bricky platforms that crumble down when touching them. I just felt like it was unfair that one little mistake killed me everytime. In other words, the platforming parts need a little bit of work.

The animated cutscenes: They look like they have been made with paint. I don't consider this an issue but I would just rather watch the beautiful looking sprite scenes instead of the 3d with animation cutscenes. They just need work and it looks like that would maybe cost a lot of effort. Since the sprite cutscenes allready look great, maybe just sticking with those may be a better solution.

Other than that. I love your work man. Sonicteam could really learn a thing or 2 from that sick presentation of your game. The cutscenes are just awesome. Keep doing your thing. Polish the graphic tiles a little bit. Add some detail to the environment.

I don't know if you are planning to add more stages/bosses. But I would love if that would be the case. I'll be keeping my eyes on this project!!

I wonder, the style reminded me so much of Limbo the xbla game. I can't help but feel this game is inspired by it. Correct me if i'm wrong[

[oddwarg]

Maybe it's time for some proof of life.

And I can't get past that grabbing boss.

This is probably my greatest concern, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate to lower the difficulty by any significant amount, for the reason that this could detract from the experience for certain other players. However, if this sort of thing happens to many people then I must obviously make changes.

@Pro ShadowBlaze

Your post was very elucidating and it has received special attention as I have evaluated how to take action.

Also, is the boss fight against the Chopper supposed to have checkpoints?

PS: After i beat the game, i got a error at the opening and had to close it.

PS: After replaying some levels, then going back to the menu, a few times, the screen turned blank, though the game didn't crash.

I believe you must have touched the shift key during the chopper battle, I forgot to remove a debug thingy there. I can't seem to reproduce the other bugs but I'll probably figure it out sooner or later if it is a problem.

@Jwiwo

I'll say welcome to the forums even though I don't really have a strong presence here.

It is reassuring that someone thinks the game is worth playing through even though they think it is difficult. I also thank you for the lengthy review. I do consider everything which is spoken here, but at this stage I will be reluctant with major changes.

I've never heard of Limbo until now and I do not own an Xbox so I can't say I'm inspired by it.

At this time I'm fairly certain I'll stick with the control scheme. Without further elaboration I will say that I have my reasons. I will consider slightly increasing the initial acceleration if I can pull it off without breaking the game, but otherwise it is unlikely that I will change the physics unless bugs are found.

Because of what has been said, I am in the process of restructuring the first level in order to give a better initial impression and to give the player some more time to familliarize him/herself with the mechanics. I have introduced a new boss at the beginning of the level. I tried to make it as easy as possible without being too boring.

I have built a short traditional platforming sequence after this boss, and then I felt that I needed something to keep the pace up.

This last one is not finished, and I've had serious trouble with it. I cannot promise that it makes it to the final version.

There are also some minor graphical changes in the level but please do not expect a very high level of static detail. Other than this I have only been fixing a large number of bugs and making other minor changes.

...rainy Green Hill-like stage set at night and Sonic was carrying Eggman's body around for some reason.

[Djawed]

Hey Oddwarg, one question though. I forgot about it last time because all the good things about the game kind of overwayed it.

But whatsup with that last scene where sonic and tails..... you know?

I found it kind of disturbing tbh XD. Other than that i'm glad to hear there is going to be more. It's nice to have some variation in the sonicfangame community.

I really like your game man.

About Limbo, if you have an xbox360. I recommend it wholheartly to you. It's 15 bucks so that's another thing.

[oddwarg]

last scene

It would go against the very premise to explain it thoroughly, but I consider the scene to be of outmost importance, and it only serves it's purpose if the player does not suspect that it comes. If you want an in-depth explanation of my goals with it(or any other part of the game) then you'll have to contact me privately(PM).

I've watched a few videos of Limbo, it looks very nice, but as I said, I do not have a 360. I might get one in the future but I don't have much space for such things as I live in a sailboat.

[Djawed]

Hey oddwarg,

Thanks for your kind pm. Check the post again, it's been done.

I cannot PM myself yet since I have to reach 10 post count before I can. Well I guess if you read this it won't be nescesary to PM you anymore.

Anyway. Thanks for the offer but on second thought, just leave the details. I'll wait for it to become a finished product and i'll let the game speak for itself.

Again thanks for your kind PM.

[oddwarg]

Good day,

The project has remained largely unchanged for a number of days now, and I have attended to the issues pointed out by the very few people who have tested the latest version. I have no further plans for it. Thus, I have decided to release it to you.

http://folk.ntnu.no/oddvahu/Permanent/EHF.zip

I have fixed a large number of bugs, performed numerous lesser enhancements, and reconstructed the first level with two additional boss battles.

This could very well be the final version. Personally I am happy with it the way it is, and it is time for me to move on to new projects. I will still fix bugs if they arise, but I will need a particularly good reason to make other changes.

I have tried to give at least a little bit of consideration and/or effort to all the problems you have described, while not straying from my own desideratums and avoiding too much work for results that, in my eyes, would be of little significance. Some of you may have hoped for more changes, but I do hope that I have not caused unrealistically high expectations in any areas.

Unless something unexpected happens, I will present this game at a few other internet sites soon.

Here is the source gmk:

http://folk.ntnu.no/oddvahu/Permanent/saanik.zip

It is not useful and it would be very difficult to study it, but I do not have any reason to place restrictions on my work. I can, however, not grant permission to reuse the resources which I have not produced myself, so read and understand the credits if you intend to create any kind of derivative work.

I thank you for your time, attention, and good will. I will still read any suggestions and I will do my best to fix any bugs if they are found and reported.

[Djawed]

I just played a little bit of the new version. I can see the changes, also in the environments and level design. Very nice.

I stopped after the second boss. I don't know if you also changed things after in those sections, but i'll find out eventually.

The reason i'm allready writing this post is because I found a little bug in the second drill boss. After I defeated him I think I should have landed on the surface.. but I didn't. I fell through it and runned on the water there and just fell down after, endlesly going downwards.

Also the first boss is kind of unforgiving. I mean like theres only one way to defeat him. At first I landed at the back of him only finding out that it was impossible to do anything when you're in the back. Than I died. Also after hitting the flying robot and jumping over the wall while the mech hits itself on the wall, the mech hits me even if I time the jump well and keep pressing right. The mech still hits me and I kind of thought that was unfair. I would be running in the middle of the screen and the mech just comes at me while sonic doesn't go any further than that.

Still, the 2 bosses caught me by surprise and they are both original. I liked the idea of running upwards with speed boosters placed on both sides of the wall. I loved the changes you made in the first section. The platforming and stuff.

I can understand if you'd want to move on to another project. But I just love the direction of this game so much. I love the original idea's you implement into the game. I just kind of fell in love with your style.

The feeling I got when entering those new bits really got me interested "again". It would've been beautiful if it was possible to have lots of more stuff added into the game. I'm thinking of more levels, more idea's, more twists.

I'm sorry if I come off as pushy . Just consider it as a compliment. If you're planning to start something new, as long you stay here, i'll keep giving my support.

[oddwarg]

@Jwiwo

I have not made any noticeable changes to the areas after the grass level, so there's nothing new to see there.

I was not able to reproduce the drill boss bug without using code injection, but I am pretty sure that I fixed it. The bug I fixed could also have created similar issues during other parts of the boss battle.

I assume you somehow managed to get around the boss and in front of it while it was falling. In that case you were supposed to have been killed by the drill, but I forgot to add the code for that when merging the boss into the main project file. I also pushed the checkpoint for the boss' defeat back to the point where he falls out through the wall, so the player won't lose his/her progress if killed by this. It is a bit dirty but it'll have to do.

"The first boss is unfair" goes under the category "particularly good reason", so I tried to do some stuff to it. It is supposed to be completely obvious and on-rails, while still setting the mood for the rest of the game.

I'm not sure how you got behind it, but as you might have guessed you're not supposed to do that, because it means inevitable death by either drowning or burning. What I did with this issue was simply to make it more difficult to do get behind it. If players keep having issues with this then I'll keep working with it, but I have yet to come up with a definite solution.

About what happened to you after jumping over the wall, I believe that your timing was simply too good. If you were speedy then it tried to catch up, and overcompensated. In any case, I slowed it down so this shouldn't be a problem anymore. If it is, then I would very much appreciate it if someone gave me a vastly detailed explanation of what they did.

I'm glad you seem to approve of the new parts. But as I tried to express, I will avoid adding any new content to this. There are a number of reasons in addition to what I have mentioned, but I shall not elaborate on those unless someone really needs further explanation.

I have not yet decided what my next big project will be, but I do have a very rough plan for my creative moves in the long run. I don't usually promote my projects as much as this one because I have some issues when it comes to dealing with publicity. I'm working on that, but please do not expect any new forum threads announcing a major project anytime soon; I'll probably wait till it's somewhere near completion. If you really want to follow what I am doing, then subscribe to my journal on deviantArt(the name's HemmaMann) or something. And I like to post in screenshot threads.

I have updated the files. The links are the same.

[sonicyoda]

Absolutely loving the new build. The game progresses at a steadier pace now. The only thing I'd recommend changing now is the song that plays in the dream sequence/tutorial. Bit irritating!

I've also featured the game at SEGADriven: http://sega.sonicstadium.org/2010/12/05/fan-scene-eggman-hates-furries/

[Djawed]

Lol you mad? That song is crazy . I like it.

Anyway Oddwarg, I haven't tried the newest built yet (the one that should git rid of the bugs) but I might later this evening.

I recommended it to a friend in a chatbox some time ago. He loved it, but that last part kind of threw him off as well lol.

I kind of expected the last build to have some kind of explenation to why that last part happens. If that still isn't the case, i'd love to get a pm about it.

[Candescence]

Man, the game is even BETTER now. It truly shines as a "boss rush" game, and the bosses are both inventive and challenging. I mean, come on. What boss ever uses a goddamn flashbang? They don't even try that shit much in an FPS outside of Counter-Strike.

[Djawed]

I especially love how he invented this wall running mechanic and built the level design around that idea. Really original and intuitive.

[oddwarg]

Absolutely loving the new build. The game progresses at a steadier pace now. The only thing I'd recommend changing now is the song that plays in the dream sequence/tutorial. Bit irritating!

I've also featured the game at SEGADriven: http://sega.sonicstadium.org/2010/12/05/fan-scene-eggman-hates-furries/

Many thanks for the feature. It would be interesting if this project actually got some popularity.

I feel that the music which played during "Dream" accurately represents the mood of the sequence. It is not supposed to be a very pleasant dream. However, I have received multiple complaints directly aimed at this specific piece, and I do not want to scare people away at such an early time. Under much doubt, I have replaced it with a new composition which has the same feel, but it is a lot less perturbing.

@Jwiwo

The wall-running feature is a byproduct of this particular way of designing a game engine, so that I would actually have needed to write additional code in order to disable it. I have not seen another Sonic game with this particular form of wall-running though, and that puzzles me a bit since it seems rather natural for such a character.

I appreciate that you reccommended the game to another person. That is probably the best possible form of advertisement.

But, it seems I have seeded a false idea in your head. I shall compose and send you a personal message as soon as possible.

It is very good to see that people like the update with the new areas. I was a bit uncertain about it, but it seems like it was a success.

The files have been updated with a different music file for the "Dream" level and a new easter egg. This is an insignificant update as there are no bugfixes nor new gameplay features.

It is worth mentioning that your save file is called "dat.dat" and it is currently compatible with all versions of the game. It only needs to be present in the game directory when you start the game.

[Djawed]

So I was just scrolling around at destructoid, and I don't know if you allready know Oddwarg, but they wrote an article about your game.

http://www.destructoid.com/if-you-love-sonic-download-eggman-hates-furries-189106.phtml

I'd feel proud if I were you.

[sonicyoda]

Oh shit, they sourced it from my feature (even though they've put 'via Sonic Stadium'). Well that certainly got you some unexpected popularity!

[Strife]

Wow, that's awesome! =D Congrats Oddwarg!

I find it mildly amusing that the commentors at Destructoid are complaining, of all things, about Eggman's name over Robotnik. xD

[sonicyoda]

Yeah I noticed that. But what do you expect? After all, this is the site that Jim Sterling works at. Hack.

[oddwarg]

Good day.

I feel obligated to make a statement regarding the review of my game at "Destructoid". I do not enjoy talking lowly of other people or their works, but this man has misinterpreted my work as a whole, and I do not want anyone to think otherwise. I shall try to be brief.

The review expresses shallowness and an inability to spot any humorous, emotional, or philosophical aspects I attempted to include in this game. It only emphasizes the mindless and violent parts of the game, and even fails to see the ambiguous and satirical nature of these segments. Also, it is disrespectful and insulting that the reviewer not only misinterprets and rejects the very morale, but encourages others to do the same.

It could, of course, be that I have failed at conveying the message, but I know that many people understand at least some of it. In any case, the point of this post is merely to say this and to leave no doubt about it: I hereby express my disapproval of the views expressed in this review.

I must, however, appreciate the publicity even though this is the last way I would want people to get introduced to the project. In the end I am grateful, make no mistake about it.

The pack of nonthinking commenters is a natural internet phenomenon and is to some degree excusable, so please do not get caught up in their behaviour.

[Cstyler]

oddwarg, talking about the popularity of your project... I am actively promoting the game in Russian Sonic community, and for you just to know: people love your project.

http://forum.sonic-world.ru/index.php?showtopic=16497

http://sfg-blog.sonic-city.ru/?p=316

http://sfg-blog.sonic-city.ru/?p=349

[oddwarg]

@Cstyler

I actually noticed some of your posts there earlier, and was quite surprised. I think it's excellent that people want to support the game like this. I do not understand the language though. I could use a translator but I'm probably better off not knowing the exact wording.

I made yet another minor update today. There is one area in the "Drill" boss which is a bit more lenient now, and I added a sort of indicator which makes it easier to spot the pattern of the lasers of the "Egg" boss. The links are the same.

[Polar Exelion]

Wow, this game is really, REALLY fun. And when my little bro saw the ending with Sonic and Tails, he started laughing his ass off. xD Anyway, I need to play it again for the 4th time.

"scr_-9001.png" <- I lol'd.

[sonicyoda]

I made yet another minor update today. There is one area in the "Drill" boss which is a bit more lenient now, and I added a sort of indicator which makes it easier to spot the pattern of the lasers of the "Egg" boss. The links are the same.

Can I use my old save file with the new build?