Sonic Small World

[Core]

Maybe you could do ring based health like the Tails/Eggman missions in SA2?

Sorry I didn't reply earlier. I'll consider it, but for now I'd like to keep the current system.

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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.

[Nemox]

Just checked this out for the first time. Really neat! Not sure if it's my computer or what, but the physics seem a little too fast. If that's normal, a little smoothing could be useful.

Also noticed that doing minor direction adjustments while running quickly was kind of hard, and I believe it's a camera-based issue. Since my own game is the same way, it must mean I'm doing something right. xD

Seems to be common with free-range cameras.

[Core]

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.

[Nemox]

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.

I was using a controller. After I went back and played Sonic Heroes, I saw that it's because the camera always rotates toward wherever the player is running - thus changing where the new "forward" leads. In Heroes, it doesn't rotate immediately, but pans to the side along with the character. This makes the controls feel a bit more accurate.

As for the physics, it seems like there's almost no air-time; I jump very quickly, and am slammed back to the ground very quickly. Gravity seems a bit too strong. I wasn't sure if my physics framerate was simply too fast, but it seems like his running/acceleration is about right, so now it really just seems like gravity is what's fast.

[JetHawk95]

Well I just downloaded this and gave it a try and I think its got potential. I think the 2 main concerns is the camera and the slipperiness of sonic, he just seems to be all over the place, His turning needs to be stiffer I think. Also when he falls off a ledge without jumping he falls like a ton of bricks, Maybe decrease the gravity a bit?

I personally think this is better than the Blitz Engine because it at-least has some sort of automated camera and the goal ring actually works. I know this is still early in development so keep at it!

[Serephim]

*i have small framerate issues with this game on my laptop*

The good:

- I absolutely love the terrain work you have going on here. It feels varied, fresh and organic. Keep up the good work -- i was genuinely motivated to actually explore your level. It feels alot like playing Sonic Adventure. Also, good placement with the jumpy flower thing.

-I love that you actually have an automated camera going on. Not many people bother with that.

The parts that could use work:

- You have an automated camera, and i like how it stays behind sonic, but it goes under him way too much, meaning that i constantly end up clipping through the floor. Maybe you should make it follow him a tad higher, or maybe prevent it from going through the ground?

- The spindash doesn't work unless it's fully charged

The bad:

-Hit detection is way too literal. Sonic needs a MUCH bigger hitbox for damaging enemies. I jump around and around and cant really hit anything. Even the Insta-shield is too small. Either you should increase his damage radius while spinning, or alter sonic's gravity so you can control better in the air while falling.

-This is just personal for me, but i really think you should ease up on sonic's gravity. He feels really really heavy. Sometimes just jumping and trying to hit the edge of a platform seems to give him enough falling momentum to slide farther down the hill you're standing on.

-Dont know what i keep doing but eventually sound effects just cease during gameplay. I think it happens after i get hit. or maybe after spindashing.

-Near the area with the 2 walls of spikes and the badnicks, i broke through the right wall. dont remember how i did it.

[Core]

Thanks for your replies. I get it, I need to lower the gravity.

After I went back and played Sonic Heroes, I saw that it's because the camera always rotates toward wherever the player is running - thus changing where the new "forward" leads. In Heroes, it doesn't rotate immediately, but pans to the side along with the character. This makes the controls feel a bit more accurate.

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.

I think the 2 main concerns is the camera and the slipperiness of sonic, he just seems to be all over the place, His turning needs to be stiffer I think.

Do you mean his turning speed should be lower?

I personally think this is better than the Blitz Engine because it at-least has some sort of automated camera and the goal ring actually works. I know this is still early in development so keep at it!

Thanks for your encouragements. But it's actually supposed to be relatively advanced in development.

*i have small framerate issues with this game on my laptop*

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...

- You have an automated camera, and i like how it stays behind sonic, but it goes under him way too much, meaning that i constantly end up clipping through the floor. Maybe you should make it follow him a tad higher, or maybe prevent it from going through the ground?

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.

- The spindash doesn't work unless it's fully charged

Yes, but I don't see how that's a bad thing.

-Hit detection is way too literal. Sonic needs a MUCH bigger hitbox for damaging enemies. I jump around and around and cant really hit anything. Even the Insta-shield is too small. Either you should increase his damage radius while spinning, or alter sonic's gravity so you can control better in the air while falling.

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.

-Dont know what i keep doing but eventually sound effects just cease during gameplay. I think it happens after i get hit. or maybe after spindashing.

Unfortunately, I really don't know what could cause this. It doesn't happen with me.

-Near the area with the 2 walls of spikes and the badnicks, i broke through the right wall. dont remember how i did it.

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?

[Core]

I was still wondering about power-ups, and in the end I've decided to add invincibility.

But instead of being activated immediately, you can activate it whenever you want (by pressing the roll key during a jump). That way you can save it for later if you want (and I don't have to worry about placing it where it's useful).

This little icon appears when you have an invincibility that you can activate:

And invincibility looks like this:

(yeah, I'm not an artist. But it looks a bit better in motion.)

I've also found a use for the rings: now they increase the size of the Insta-shield. Compare:

The more rings you have, the bigger the Insta-shield is. There's currently no maximum.

Thoughts?

Also, I'd like to ask again, does anyone think that Sonic is too small or that the plants are too big? I need another opinion.

[SonicFan2010]

Just make sure the insta-shield doesn't take the whole screen.

[Core]

Heh, you're right. I'll put a limit at 200 rings, else the insta-shield becomes too big beyond that.

[Core]

Since some people have framerate issues, I've made a special version that display the framerate and the time taken by several functions.

So, if you have framerate issues, please try this and tell me what it shows (for example, what takes the most time and what framerate you have compared to what you're supposed to have), so that I may know what I need to improve.

Download

(note: the game's framerate should actually be 1 or 2 FPS higher than what the setup program says)

(by the way, I've reduced the gravity a bit, which causes other problems that I will correct later. Please ignore them and just look at the numbers)

[Ayling]

Camera collides with the ground but not the walls.

http://cl.ly/1I2R2Z3D0P1o3431172Q/Screen%20Shot%202012-06-30%20at%201.43.15%20AM.png

No performance issues over here, even running in WINE at 60fps and 1440x900. How old are the computers having performance issues?

[TailsSena]

Oh, whoops. How about a screenshot of mine, huh?

My laptop's specs. (I don't know how many times I've posted this information...)

CPU: i5 Quad-Core @ 2.53GHz

GPU: Intel HD Graphics Family (Probably the 2000) <--IT'S THIS FUCKING THING THAT'S MY ONLY PROBLEM!!

Bus: 64 bits

RAM: 6GB, 11.9GB total Commit.

EDIT: Forgot this part.

[Core]

Thanks for the replies.

Camera collides with the ground but not the walls.

Yeah, camera is supposed to collide with the walls but it often manages to get through... Don't know why, but I'll try to correct that.

@TailsSena: only 7 FPS!? Now that's worrying. It also seems that most of the drawing time is spent drawing something else than the 4 things displayed... I don't know what could take so much time. Or why you're spending so much time waiting.

I'll try to find ways to make the game run better, but I'm a bit lost here.

[Ayling]

Oh, whoops. How about a screenshot of mine, huh?

[qimg]http://i.imgur.com/pE0Jd.png[/qimg]

My laptop's specs. (I don't know how many times I've posted this information...)

CPU: i5 Quad-Core @ 2.53GHz

GPU: Intel HD Graphics Family (Probably the 2000) <--IT'S THIS FUCKING THING THAT'S MY ONLY PROBLEM!!

Bus: 64 bits

RAM: 6GB, 11.9GB total Commit.

EDIT: Forgot this part.

[qimg]http://i.imgur.com/kplMZ.png[/qimg]

Yeah, I'm willing to bet that not having a dedicated graphics card kills it. (AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256 MB )

Edit: For reference, I'm running a on an Ivy Bridge 2.0GHz Quad Core i5 (almost a 2 year old processor), with 8GB of RAM

[Moonrat]

I'd like to beta test!

[Core]

Thanks for the offer, but now that I've released a new version I'm not currently looking for beta testers to test the game privately. However, you're more than welcome to try version 0.5 and post feedback here.

[justin123]

The game runs at a constant 60 fps for me. It plays pretty good, but I found myself constantly readjusting the camera. It felt like a noob when I couldn't get to the first platform because the camera was changing angles mid jump lol.

[TailsSena]

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah, camera is supposed to collide with the walls but it often manages to get through... Don't know why, but I'll try to correct that.

@TailsSena: only 7 FPS!? Now that's worrying. It also seems that most of the drawing time is spent drawing something else than the 4 things displayed... I don't know what could take so much time. Or why you're spending so much time waiting.

I'll try to find ways to make the game run better, but I'm a bit lost here.

Could be all the unused geometry I noticed when I fiddled with the Camera. It's not much, but it still takes time to render.

Oddly enough, I can run Generations just fine at 75fps, max settings.

[Core]

@justin123: thanks for replying. Sorry about the camera problems; I'll try to fix the camera before SAGE.

@TailsSena: I don't think rendering unused geometry would slow down the game so much; the problem seems to come from somewhere else. Maybe the game is using too much resources. Or maybe your OpenGL drivers are too old. I don't know if you can update them.

[TailsSena]

It probably is my OpenGL drivers. Never got OGL to work with PCSX2, so I just use Direct3D/DirectX 11.

Maybe that's something you can do! Add Direct3D support for those of us who can't use OpenGL! (Just a thought.)

[Core]

Quick poll: do you think it would be better if I replaced the Insta-Shield with a Homing Attack?

It may be too difficult to hit enemies without the Homing Attack, but I fear it would become too easy with it.

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@TailsSena: adding DirectX support is probably something I should do; the problem is that I've never used DirectX and don't know how to use it. I think I'll look into it once the game is finished.

[Chaos-Fusion]

Well, if this meant to be Classic Gameplay in 3D, I wouldn't use the homing attack as the insta-shield does its job really well when you have enough rings and also, the player has the option to roll into the enemy to destroy them. If you think that a homing attack needs to be added, add a difficulty setting where Easy modes include it or maybe a shield variation that gives you a homing attack ability (Like the one in Sonic 3D Flicky's island).

[Djawed]

Turn the homing attack into a shield. The simple jump and aim with instashield works just as well as any other game with spin attacks. I like it.

If the majority vote however wants the HA, i can understand.

[Briraka]

I'd say add the homing attack. Even if this is supposed to be a classic - styled game in 3D, it's still hard to try and hit stuff with the z - axis.

Besides, you could make it work like it did in Sonic Adventure. That game's Sonic gameplay was almost like a 3D classic.