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(First?) Shots of Sonic Unleashed

C

ckohler

Member
It's not a fake. Sega of America posted it on their YouTube channel. The same Sega employees who run Sega's official forums also linked to the video. It's legit.

The forum admin who works at Sega of America had the following to say:

The Sonic Unleashed Website
The final Sonic Unleashed site will be different than the one that's up there now, and have far more information, media and interactivity. Not sure about RSS as of yet.

Regarding the blog, I'll do my best to make sure to post whenever we add significant new assets to the Unleashed site.
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The Hedgehog Engine
When asked how long it would take to finish the game, he said:
The Hedgehog Engine used in Sonic Unleashed has been under development for around three years, and I saw an early build of this game many months ago. It's not like we just started working on it last week and announced it today... :)
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Is the game being rushed?
When asked if the quality of recent Sonic titles was due to them being rushed, he said:
Rushed? I dunno... maybe. Sonic Next Gen is generally regarded to not be a very good game by a lot of fans, but I don't know if that's an issue with it being rushed, or an issue with the fact that it was developed for next-gen platforms at a time when basically nobody knew what they were doing on those consoles. Take a look at most of the early titles for both PS3 and 360 (not all, but most) -- most really weren't very good. It typically takes any developer a couple years to get the console's capabilities under control. I had a 360 at launch and I can tell you that almost all of the early titles I played left a lot to be desired.

But I dunno, maybe that had little or nothing to do with NG's flaws. I wasn't at SEGA at the time. All I can tell you is, I don't think Unleashed is being rushed at all -- there's still at least a half-year of development (or longer) that will occur before the game is released, and they've been working on it for a while already.

I get that many Sonic games as of late haven't been very well-received, but between Chronicles and Unleashed, I think 2008 is going to be quite a good year for our little blue hero.
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Porting
When asked if the game would be developed on Wii/PS2 and ported up or on 360/PS3 and ported down, he said:
I don't have an answer to any of those questions, sorry. The early build I saw several months ago was 360, and the graphics look next-gen quality, so I don't think it's being ported up... but I don't have specific answers as to the development, porting, details or features specific to each console, etc.
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G

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
Rushed? I dunno... maybe. Sonic Next Gen is generally regarded to not be a very good game by a lot of fans, but I don't know if that's an issue with it being rushed, or an issue with the fact that it was developed for next-gen platforms at a time when basically nobody knew what they were doing on those consoles. Take a look at most of the early titles for both PS3 and 360 (not all, but most) -- most really weren't very good. It typically takes any developer a couple years to get the console's capabilities under control. I had a 360 at launch and I can tell you that almost all of the early titles I played left a lot to be desired.

But I dunno, maybe that had little or nothing to do with NG's flaws. I wasn't at SEGA at the time. All I can tell you is, I don't think Unleashed is being rushed at all -- there's still at least a half-year of development (or longer) that will occur before the game is released, and they've been working on it for a while already.

I get that many Sonic games as of late haven't been very well-received, but between Chronicles and Unleashed, I think 2008 is going to be quite a good year for our little blue hero.
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It is sad that Sega still hasn't figured out that Sonic's main problem is Sega's horrid design choices
 
D

Death_Born

Banned
grandjedi6 said:
It is sad that Sega still hasn't figured out that Sonic's main problem is Sega's horrid design choices
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Don't worry, they just didn't have the next gen consoles "under control." Once they fully develop their capabilities, they'll release a Sonic game with guns, a werewolf and shitty friends.
 
S

Sciz

Member
Kulock said:
This doesn't look like their usual CG work, which is a shame because that was one of the better things they had going for the last few games. The wolf hand looks really awful stylistically. The whole thing reminds me of the recent Crash Bandicoot reboot, I just can't help but think that.
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I'm fairly certain the CG in Sonic games is all outsourced to these folks. Art direction is Sega's fault, though.

Manabanana said:
I don't know if this was mentioned, but the song in the trailer is a remixed version of Back to Back from Sonic Rush.
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I'm not hearing it.
 
S

Sciz

Member
Ah. You're still wrong though. You can claim some vague stylistic similarities, but the tune is entirely new.
 
Z

Zilch

Banned
Kulock said:
Watching the high res MP4 version... if that's a fake, they knocked together some convincing models ahead of time, some excellent lighting effects (there's a trailing glow on the ring), and effects like the fur on his arm shaking around after the slam... I'm not saying it's impossible, but people like that get hired for this sort of thing, and generally don't have the time to make things on this quality level for their own entertainment.

This doesn't look like their usual CG work, which is a shame because that was one of the better things they had going for the last few games. The wolf hand looks really awful stylistically. The whole thing reminds me of the recent Crash Bandicoot reboot, I just can't help but think that.
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Yeah, you're right. I don't think it's fake now, but I kinda wish it was.

The grammar is inexcusable, though.

edit: I totally agree with your second thought too. They shoulda gone with some akin to Dark Jak in Jak 3.
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
Sciz said:
I'm fairly certain the CG in Sonic games is all outsourced to these folks. Art direction is Sega's fault, though.
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Correct, and the CG in the teaser reminds me of someone else's work somehow (a different company, or Sega internal), but it could just be the model designs.



Rushed? I dunno... maybe. Sonic Next Gen is generally regarded to not be a very good game by a lot of fans, but I don't know if that's an issue with it being rushed, or an issue with the fact that it was developed for next-gen platforms at a time when basically nobody knew what they were doing on those consoles.
Click to expand...

Game design-wise, Sonic Next Gen was a muddled mess, but when you look at what the engine was trying to do, and often successfully did (60-70% of the time), it was slinging around some pretty high-poly models with long draw distances, often up to a 60 FPS clip, at a time when R&C Future was only being teased for the first time. Couple that with the list of axed content various people have hacked out... yeah, the thing was rushed.
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
SegaDawg Sonic Unleashed Impressions! (XBOX 360)

Having worked in the video game industry for closing in on a decade, I’ve heard a lot of common misconceptions from my friends and family regarding exactly what it is that I do as my job. The most common one seems to be: “You just get to sit around and play video games all day, don’t you?”

The short answer is no, I don’t — not even close, unfortunately.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t get to play games at all; on the contrary, most of the time I’ll get to play one of our titles well before it hits retail shelves. Today, as an example, I got to play Sonic Unleashed on the 360 for about 15 minutes.

The game is far from complete, but most of the game elements are in place, and in some cases it’s just a matter of polish and tweaking to get the gameplay to work correctly. In other cases, there’s more development that needs to be done, but since the game’s not due to ship until late in the year, there’s still a ton of time to iron out the details, both large and small.

I got to see three different levels being played, and then got to try one of the levels myself. Here are my initial impressions, keeping in mind that there are still aspects of the game that we won’t discuss until a later time:
# There’s speed, and lots of it. Those of you wanting 2D — you’ve got it. Those of you wanting 3D, well, you’ve got it too. Each perspective brings its own challenges.
# The gameplay itself on the level I played really felt like classic Sonic. There’s rings, there’s bumpers, there’s loops, there’s jumping … but there’s also a few other things in there as well that add to the experience.
# The level I played had multiple paths so you’ll be encouraged to play each level several times over and try to find the fastest path or the most rings you can.
# There was a cool section in 3D perspective where Sonic has to use a quick-step to the left or right to avoid multiple obstacles in his path. This is done with a button-push, not with the stick, so it’s an almost-instant jump left or right without breaking stride. Pretty cool.
# The landscape and environments look great and there are some things there that Sonic can interact with.
# A couple of the sections felt a lot like a roller coaster.
# Not all the bumpers work in Sonic’s favor.

Overall, even though it was one level, it was a blast and I would have played it a lot more if I’d had the opportunity. The gameplay style of this particular level — a style that comprises a good portion of the overall game — is going to make a lot of old-school Sonic fans really happy. The little blue guy gets going so fast sometimes that it’s truly difficult to keep up…!

That’s all I can really say at the moment, but I wanted to throw it out there to wet your whistle on a Friday afternoon. Have a good weekend!
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http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2008/04/25/playing-unleashed/
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
Who else is suppose to give the impressions then? Its still in fairly early stages of development, it would be stupid of SEGA to let some media outlet give impressions, and this isn't meant to be like major news =P just a afternoon blog entry made by a sega america employee talking about his experience with Sonic Unleashed so far.
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
RagnarokX said:
"# A couple of the sections felt a lot like a roller coaster."

:(
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Sonic Heroes was first described as "like a roller coaster." That and "going back to his roots", I wish they would stop using these phrases. How about "It feels like a solid action game" and "We don't have a set release date"?


The little blue guy gets going so fast sometimes that it’s truly difficult to keep up…!
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...Yeah, let's not shout that out so proudly.
 
I

Innotech

Banned
I dont recall the original sonic games ever going so fasT I couldnt keep up. thats not a good thing. Unless its Fzero, then its just standard. but this isnt Fzero.
Sonic was always controllable and very few times did you not have complete control over him. I dont very much enjoy the parts of recent sonic games where he explodes into speed in a cutscene and you cant do anything.
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
Kulock said:
Sonic Heroes was first described as "like a roller coaster." That and "going back to his roots", I wish they would stop using these phrases. How about "It feels like a solid action game" and "We don't have a set release date"?




...Yeah, let's not shout that out so proudly.
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No, the problem is that Sonic games have become too focused on speed and not on platforming and exploration. Describing this as a roller coaster is a negative thing.

Innotech said:
I dont recall the original sonic games ever going so fasT I couldnt keep up. thats not a good thing. Unless its Fzero, then its just standard. but this isnt Fzero.
Sonic was always controllable and very few times did you not have complete control over him. I dont very much enjoy the parts of recent sonic games where he explodes into speed in a cutscene and you cant do anything.
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Actually, there is one stretch in Green Hill Zone where you can go fast enough that you die because Sonic goes down a hill before the screen can scroll down and it mistakes it for a bottomless pit. But yeah, modern Sonic games are way too fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0lONBc5VJs
 
D

Death_Born

Banned
# There was a cool section in 3D perspective where Sonic has to use a quick-step to the left or right to avoid multiple obstacles in his path. This is done with a button-push, not with the stick, so it’s an almost-instant jump left or right without breaking stride. Pretty cool.
Click to expand...

battletoads2.jpg
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
RagnarokX said:
No, the problem is that Sonic games have become too focused on speed and not on platforming and exploration. Describing this as a roller coaster is a negative thing.
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I didn't say it was a positive thing, so I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to correct me on.
 
M

mr_nothin

Banned
is this shit on rails?
it better not be
i better be able to stop and go backwards and do w/e the fuck i want
otherwise do not want....
 
J

jman2050

Member
To be fair, Sonic Rush (and Adventure) were pretty good games with emphasis on speed. Then again, it seems like for Rush Dimps was attempting to go in their own direction and succeeding while Sega continually strives towards "bringing Sonic back to his roots" except they never actually do that.
 
I

Innotech

Banned
I still think putting Sonic in a NiGHTS like "tubular sidescrolling 3d" viewpoint is probably the best way to go about it. Like wrapping a stage around a central tube and designing the whole thingl ike a track. except you dont speed through it. Include lots of physics based platforming and enemy traps. It could work so well but they never seem to go this route.

Im thinking like sonix Xtreme but without the nausea inducing fish eye camera angle.
 
B

BlazeHedgehog

Member
jman2050 said:
I'm kind of shocked it spread this far already, since we actually haven't done anything with it yet.
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Holy shit, yeah, no kidding. There isn't even really an engine or anything yet, and it was started like 4 or 5 days ago. Personally speaking I was trying to keep quiet on it around the internet until there was something major ready to show because unfortunately community projects have a habit of falling apart (I really, really hope this one doesn't, though).
 
T

TreIII

Member
Firestorm said:
Rush was decent but honestly not that good of a game.

Now that HD thing... hooolyyy crap:
5ozi2f.gif
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HOLY CRAP indeed. O_O

Man, that looks pretty. That's more along the lines the kind of stuff we should have been getting any way! :lol
 
L

Link Man

Banned
Firestorm said:
Rush was decent but honestly not that good of a game.

Now that HD thing... hooolyyy crap:
5ozi2f.gif
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Oh wow!

One free VC game to the person that can make that into a good avatar for me (I don't know how to work with anigifs. :( PM me so it's not stolen).
 
S

Sciz

Member
Sega guy said:
# The gameplay itself on the level I played really felt like classic Sonic. There’s rings, there’s bumpers, there’s loops, there’s jumping … but there’s also a few other things in there as well that add to the experience.
# The level I played had multiple paths so you’ll be encouraged to play each level several times over and try to find the fastest path or the most rings you can.
Click to expand...
Well, this sounds good. I won't complain if they're shooting for something in between a clasic and Rush experience.

And I was wondering recently just where the Sonic hacking community could go, having basically reverse engineered everything possible out of the classic games. Guess now I know. Best of luck guys.

edit: Man, reading the topics on the project is fascinating. I never would've dreamed people could debate that much over the details of a single sprite. And pulling in some of the OCRemix guys? It's like you're setting out craft hopes and dreams into reality.
 
L

Link Man

Banned
LinkAMN said:
Oh wow!

One free VC game to the person that can make that into a good avatar for me (I don't know how to work with anigifs. :( PM me so it's not stolen).
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And the contest is over, with sevenchaos' avatar winning. Sorry to everybody else who participated.
 
S

ShadiWulf

Member
A Update from SegaDawg, same blog entry

EDIT Saturday 4/26:

It’s a gorgeous day in the Bay Area so I don’t want to spend too much time on work stuff, but after seeing the flurry of comments here and on various boards and blogs, I wanted to clarify some things.

One: I know you guys have a ton of questions about the game, but please keep in mind that there are aspects of the title — ranging from environments to characters to gameplay — that haven’t been officially announced yet. There’s a lot about the game that I still don’t know about myself. So, don’t take it personally, but please understand that your questions will be answered in due time, and for various reasons I can’t address some of the things that are being asked. (Not to mention that if I did answer every question, I wouldn’t have enough time to do all the other work on my plate…!)

Two: I only played one level. I played for 15 minutes, mainly because I kept dying over and over. Right now the controls are ultra-sensitive (this will be refined in the coming months) and not having played before, it was really easy for me to mis-time a jump or fall off the path to my doom. But for the 15 minutes I played, I had a lot of fun.

Third and perhaps most important: Yes, I am a SEGA employee. This means that of course there will be a bias in whatever I write about any of our games. And yes, as someone else commented, early builds of games almost always get positive reviews, at least in the gaming press, to say nothing of reviews from employees of the company that makes the game…!

That said: You Sonic fans are a very loyal and rabid fanbase, and you deserve a great game. Unleashed, right now, has the potential to be that game. Thing is, it’s not going to ship for a half-year at least, which is a long time… and that means your hands-on stories from the gaming press won’t show up for quite a while. But I work here, and I got my own hands-on yesterday, and I had a good time with it. I figured giving you guys a few tidbits to tide you over, even if it’s from an official company source like myself, is better than just giving you complete radio silence until our next big PR announcement.

So — take it for what it is: one man’s impressions of an early build, nothing more. I haven’t seen well over 90% of what the game has to offer, and when I do finally see the rest (and I get the go-ahead from our execs), I’ll tell you a lot more. For right now, feel free to keep discussing what I wrote, and again, trust that your questions will be answered in due time, in most cases long before the game is due to ship. But there’s still a long way to go, so please keep that in mind.

Happy gaming!
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P

Prime crotch

Banned
RagnarokX said:
No, the problem is that Sonic games have become too focused on speed and not on platforming and exploration. Describing this as a roller coaster is a negative thing.


Actually, there is one stretch in Green Hill Zone where you can go fast enough that you die because Sonic goes down a hill before the screen can scroll down and it mistakes it for a bottomless pit. But yeah, modern Sonic games are way too fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0lONBc5VJs
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Sega Master System Sonic 1 was a diferent game though, I remember being so fast the screen couldn't keep up lol. It only happened on Green Hill Zone though I think.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Yeah, I have little faith in fan projects but really want this to happen. I want Sonic 3 & Knuckles HD more, but I'll settle for this one =)

jman, any desire to go widescreen on this one? Or would that be too much trouble? If this ever gets down, I just plan to use a VGA cable to play it on my HDTV and control it wirelessly with my DS using DS2Key.
 
H

Hero of Legend

Member
I'm sure you could do a high-res remake of Sonic on the Wii.

Look at games like Monkey King: The Legend Begins, clear enough 2D sprites, I'd like a 2D Sonic that clear!

monkey090307.jpg


Looks good enough to me!
 
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