Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

[CrazyT]

I understand what you mean. Though I actually like the picture, to me  It shows how the art direction couldve been much better if they didn't decide to use the easy way out with pre renders.

The classic model also looks nice.

[KAZ]

That picture has really vibrant colours which is something I like, but it doesn't come off as harmonized.

This isn't exactly "bad" because I think it's intentional but -- I can't stop noticing the fact that the entire background is a re-do of Emerald Hill copypasted several times to fit the entire width of the image. A 2010 game be it proper Sonic 4 or Sonic 2 HD shouldn't have such blatant tiling.
The horizon line is far too defined too, that white border is really striking. The transition from sea to sky should be smoother.

The foreground foliage has a very different hand-painted gradient look, reminds me of the first Rayman for the PS1. That kind of art clashes entirely with all other greenery in the picture - the grass Sonic is running along, the background, everything.
Take a sec to load up Green Hill or something and you'll notice palmtrees have geometrical, flat leaves. I don't think plants ever looked like plants in classic Sonic until S3's Angel Island Zone.

Not much to say on Sonic himself, never cared much for classic VS modern. As long as he's the right shade of blue he's fine.

[CrazyT]

It's just an idea, the guy himself said

"I'm just an amateur photoshopist, not a drawner. I really would like to be one to do something really detailed. But the picture shows only a concept ^^ .

THough you get the idea

[Sharky]

I think it looks on par with what we already have. No better but there are some things in it that don't look vert sonicy to me at all... Like those foreground leaves and such.

I'm going to go with what we have now from Sonic 4 is better... Although the mid level background of the first level of Sonic 4 could be better.

[Dr. SEGA Monkey]

So apparently we have to wait a year or more between episodes.

After the first episode is released, what will the wait be for the next? "We don't want it to be the case where you're waiting two or three years for the next one," Balough told Ars.

More realistically, a year or a year and a half between each section. If you finish the first episode with all the chaos emeralds, you'll get a glimpse at the next section of the game. You'll get a high level of replayability for your initial investment of $10 or $15.

Gotta love this quote:

"We have every intention of releasing the complete story, but if it comes out and not a single soul buys it and it becomes a losing thing... well, if no one really wanted it I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't release the second. But as it stands, I don't see that as a risk," Balough explained to Ars.

Glad to hear them acknowledge the fact that Sonic will sell regardles of quality.

http://http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/07/playing-sonic-4-at-e3.ars

[Sega Uranus]

I was so certain we would have the full game out before Sonic's 20th... This does not seem right at all, especially with it being five episodes long. If he is right then potentially Sonic the Hedgehog 4 will take a longer time to complete than the original time frame of the original trilogy was to release!

This does not make any sense to me, it cannot take too long to use the same engine over again and again just to add new levels...

[Dr. SEGA Monkey]

The thing is that production on the second episode hasn't even started yet. They still have to make the zone art, make the layouts, compose the music, possibly model, rig, and animate new characters like Tails, etc. So I can definitely see them taking a year or more to complete.

And there are probably only like 20 people working on this game, so....

[Sega Uranus]

It used to take less people less than that much time to make a full game from scratch. There is no good reason as to why Episode II should take over a year, especially when each episode will be practically half of any other basic 2D Sonic release with much cheaper and lower quality music to boot.

I think the models of Sonic and Robotnik are the Unleashed models anyways.

[Dr. SEGA Monkey]

Haha! Check out Sonic 2 Dimps Edition:

[youtube:2f33951x]d5t4Ny8oDWw[/youtube:2f33951x]

This hack is a parody of Sonic 4. Features include homing attack chains, pointless speed boosters, the clowny boss music, air dash, wrong spindash sound effect, wrong roll sound effect, and much more! :lol:

Download it here:

http://http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=21948

[Sharky]

So apparently we have to wait a year or more between episodes.

Would you rather they rushed it out before it was done? I know I wouldn't.

Glad to hear them acknowledge the fact that Sonic will sell regardles of quality.

They didn't mention anything about quality at all... I think they have known pretty damn well since Sonic 2 that the series is going to sell well 'regardless of quality' if you want to chuck that crap around.

All they are saying is something that is pretty much the case for every video game series in existance... If there is interest it will get sequals if there isnt it wont. I'm not sure how that has anything to do with quality.

It's fine by me if you want to hate this game but at least have good reasons.

[Dr. SEGA Monkey]

Would you rather they rushed it out before it was done? I know I wouldn't.

Huh? They were actually planning on releasing the crappy build last month. Taking their time isn't on their agenda.

What I'm saying is that it's stupid to buy a small piece of a game, then waiting over a year to get the next small piece. Then another year to get the next small piece. And so on. You can defend the game based on everything else, but you must admit there is a MAJOR lack of content to justify charging "up to $25" for this episode alone.

This episode is simply too small. Even for an episodic game. Features from previous games aren't even here. There's no multiplayer, no Bonus Stages, no alternate characters.

When you look at Rayman Origins, Ubisoft's way of going about it is totally different:

Well, to be honest, we would love to release a biiiiiig episode of Rayman Origins this year on HD consoles.

Oh yes, and there is a golden rule: the size of each episode and its replayability must be important enough to make the players feel … fulfilled.

This is the complete opposite of the Sonic 4 method. SEGA PR keep using terms like "bite-size digestible chunks" to describe the game. Why would you ever want to overpay for something "bite-size", when you can get one huge awesome game for a reasonable price?

[Sega Uranus]

Sharky, one game does not need five years to make a good product when similar people did so within under a year in the past on completely new hardware. They also did it from scratch and with no prior knowledge of just how this should all pan out.

Sonic Team now does not give a shit about how the old games were or how the new ones should be made. Just look at the latest set of interviews that have come our way, Iizuka (Whom you claim to be a misunderstood genius) has stated that all Sonic games are good and people who dislike the games are just fans of the other perspective. The proof is Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is *literally* the cheapest game within Sonic Team's list of upcoming releases, it is also the sequel to the company's biggest trilogy of all time. I can understand you love the game uncontrollably, but people who joke or say the game sucks should be allowed to do so. I think everyone has given good reasons for stating their anger.

[MadeManG74]

What I'm saying is that it's stupid to buy a small piece of a game, then waiting over a year to get the next small piece. Then another year to get the next small piece. And so on. You can defend the game based on everything else, but you must admit there is a MAJOR lack of content to justify charging "up to $25" for this episode alone.

This episode is simply too small. Even for an episodic game. Features from previous games aren't even here. There's no multiplayer, no Bonus Stages, no alternate characters.

Oh INDEED.

I've said this before, but I'm going to keep saying it because it's so true:

Look at something like Splosion Man in comparison to Sonic 4:
Sonic is one of the biggest names in gaming history, one of the biggest publishers in the world and it has about 16 levels (and that's probably being generous).

Splosion Man is brand new from an indie dev and it has ONE HUNDRED (100!) levels. No episodic bullshit, you buy the game for 800 points, you get One Hundred levels out of the box.

Not to mention I would bet good money that Splosion man is lot more fun to play...

[Sega Uranus]

What I'm saying is that it's stupid to buy a small piece of a game, then waiting over a year to get the next small piece. Then another year to get the next small piece. And so on. You can defend the game based on everything else, but you must admit there is a MAJOR lack of content to justify charging "up to $25" for this episode alone.

This episode is simply too small. Even for an episodic game. Features from previous games aren't even here. There's no multiplayer, no Bonus Stages, no alternate characters.

Oh INDEED.

I've said this before, but I'm going to keep saying it because it's so true:

Look at something like Splosion Man in comparison to Sonic 4:
Sonic is one of the biggest names in gaming history, one of the biggest publishers in the world and it has about 16 levels (and that's probably being generous).

Splosion Man is brand new from an indie dev and it has ONE HUNDRED (100!) levels. No episodic bullshit, you buy the game for 800 points, you get One Hundred levels out of the box.

Not to mention I would bet good money that Splosion man is lot more fun to play...

LISTEN HERE m9ts, Sonic Team is a misunderstood set of sweatshop workers that are not actually the worst developer in existence. They understand that games need TIME to become good, not hard work, and they always listen to the fans, that is why the next game will be exactly like Sonic Rush (IGN said it is the best Sonic game ever, so it is and that is all anyone wants and likes) it also has Rogue in a bikini and a deep story involving giant monsters that overthrow Robotnik at the end of the game UNEXPECTEDLY.

[Sharky]

Ah believe what you like! Don't buy it.