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[plufim]

Hmm.. doesn't show much, but at least it's something!

 

[SovanJedi]

In still screens, I dunno. It's nice and clean and colourful and actually pretty well drawn, but I think some of the shading lets it down. Too pillowy.

In motion, though, wow. It looks superb. The animation is spot-on and everything seems to fit in place with the original while still bringing us HD graphics.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed. I'll be watching this and the 3D HD remix.

 

[celebi23]

Looks good but my heart belongs to Sonic Fan Remix.

for reference

/thread. Just played through the demo again. DAMN. It's still fucking amazing.

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

Look, I don't give a crap how you classify 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles. But you CAN'T put Sonic Spinball or 3D Blast on the same level as those games.

Both fan projects are great and have great physics. Sonic Fan Remix is good because it doesn't copy the assets, but everything is way too busy. Sonic 2 doesn't offer anything new, but the graphics are very, very crisp and doesn't lose any of the original appeal.

 

[Diablohead]

I like how they changed the sonic 2 HD style to be along the lines of the old sega watercolour artwork from the early 90's instead of a supersampled direct enlargement, a little more charm in the new look.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

VERY NICE

 

[V_Ben]

Crikey. Really impressive stuff.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Eh, I still consider it to be utter madness

Spoiler

Sandopolis and Marble Garden were absolutely godawful, probably the worst zones in any of the main trilogy games. The rest of the levels weren't too bad, even though they tended to be a bit too long, making them drag on. And the colour palette in S3&K is meh as far as I'm concerned, as it far too often looks like someone vomited up a bunch of colours. Also prefer the clean, sleek look of Sonic 1, 2 and CD over the grainy look of S3&K.

And not even Ice Cap can beat Chemical Plant.

There's factually wrong opinions and there's the acceptable but still questionable 'watcha talkin' about willis?" opinions. His was the latter.

Spoiler

S3&K had by far the most creative and satisfying level design. Granted some of its gimmicks were more tedious than fun, and Sandopolis in particular was mediocre, but its heights were higher than 2. Not to mention an exceptional colour palet, superior level flow (despite 2 having the incredible Chemical Plant, which is second only to Ice Cap) and the wonderful transitions from act to act. Plus no Mecrapilos Act 3!

Spoiler

Why are you guys whispering?

 

[WillyFive]

I love the logo.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Spoiler

Why are you guys whispering?

Spoiler

Because we don't want to get Wily's attention so that he'll come around just to tell us that Sonic Adventure 2 is the best Sonic game

 

[Gravijah]

sigh

 

[Balb]

Since it doesn't say on the site, is this a graphics patch or is it a full game that you download?

 

[Azure Dream]

Since it doesn't say on the site, is this a graphics patch or is it a full game that you download?

This is a stand-alone remake you download. Sonic 2's engine has been torn apart by hackers, though, so they're not just taking rough guesses at "it should kinda move like this," I presume they're pretty much going to mimic the exact physics calculations as much as possible.

 

[WillyFive]

I heard that.

You know it to be true, Combichristoffersen.

 

[Balb]

This is a stand-alone remake you download. Sonic 2's engine has been torn apart by hackers, though, so they're not just taking rough guesses at "it should kinda move like this," I presume they're pretty much going to mimic the exact physics calculations as much as possible.

I'm interested but is there a reason why Sega hasn't shut it down?

 

[Gravijah]

SA2 isn't even the best Sonic Adventure game.

 

[WillyFive]

But I prefer games that at least seem like they are finished, Gravijah.

Looks like a Flash game.

It used to, but now it looks great.

 

[Gravijah]

But I prefer games that at least seem like they are finished, Gravijah.

Unfinished and good > finished and shit

 

[Hot Coldman]

whilst we're debating which sonic adventure is best, let's debate which star wars prequel is best

 

[Blueblur1]

I think it looks fantastic. I can't wait! I was reading this thread earlier in bed using my iPhone and it compelled me to get up and play some Sonic 2.

 

[Gravijah]

whilst we're debating which sonic adventure is best, let's debate which star wars prequel is best

KOTOR2

 

[Veins]

I think it looks fantastic. I can't wait! I was reading this thread earlier in bed using my iPhone and it compelled me to get up and play some Sonic 2.

There is Sonic 2 for iPhone you know. Also this looks cool, but I'd rather something more in the vein of Sonic Fan Remix.

 

[WillyFive]

Are there any shots of the later levels?

KOTOR2

Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars

 

[Gravijah]

Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars

Ah, something we may agree on!

 

[Chao]

Looks awesome, the animation is spot on and it really feels like sonic 2 in hd. Cant wait for it

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I'm interested but is there a reason why Sega hasn't shut it down?

Sega generally doesn't shut down fan projects and hacks. I wouldn't be terribly shocked if they tried to stuff this one since it's a close to exact remake of one of their games, but it'd still be out of the ordinary for them to do so.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

I appreciate the hard work and skill that went into this but I do not like what that looks like, at all.

Sadly I have to agree. It's certainly crisp and smooth but it looks soulless, although that could partially be down to Emerald Hill being dull as dishwater.

It may just be me, but I feel that remakes need to mix things up a little and make their own mark. Sonic Fan Remix is an apt example, the visual style may divide opinions like Marmite but the creator has a clear vision of the style he wants. This just seems a little bit too much like design by committee.

 

[Balb]

Sega generally doesn't shut down fan projects and hacks. I wouldn't be terribly shocked if they tried to stuff this one since it's a close to exact remake of one of their games, but it'd still be out of the norm for them to do so.

It's just strange that they haven't shut it down because it would theoretically put the value of Sonic 2 at $0. There would be no reason for anyone to pay money for Sonic 2 ever again, especially when considering Sonic 2 is sold on PC (like on Steam).

 

[Diablohead]

Sadly I have to agree. It's certainly crisp and smooth but it looks soulless, although that could partially be down to Emerald Hill being dull as dishwater.

It may just be me, but I feel that remakes need to mix things up a little and make their own mark. Sonic Fan Remix is an apt example, the visual style may divide opinions like Marmite but the creator has a clear vision of the style he wants. This just seems a little bit too much like design by committee.

Due to the widescreen the gameplay also feels like it is zoomed out too much, another flash like feeling to me.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

I'm interested but is there a reason why Sega hasn't shut it down?

Sega's relationship with Sonic Retro (the guys behind Sonic 2 HD) is actually super bizarre if you really stop and take a good hard look at it.

So you have Sonic Retro, a community who, at least in the circles I was a part of, primarily gained notoriety for the act of hacking Sonic games. Adding new characters, new levels, or simply using their hacking knowledge to uncover ideas left on the cutting room floor.

Initially, these sorts of things were distributed as IPS patches, which would then be applied to a game ROM to modify it. IPS patches were more or less legal as they were not the game itself, just a record of the differences between two versions of a game (the modified version and the "clean" version).

Somewhere down the line Sonic Retro abolished the idea of distributing patches and decided to take the easy road.

Now as I say this, keep in mind that Sega Community staff occasionally posts in Sonic Retro's forums and that these same people have partnered with Sonic Retro to release exclusive content on their front page and gather feedback from these forums. Sega is more than aware of what goes on in there.

When the Sonic 4 leaks started coming hot and heavy, and Sega got really angry that basically their entire game was being exposed to the internet for all to see months before its scheduled release date, a great number of those leaks seemed to be coming out of Sonic Retro. One of the first times discussion of Sonic 4 was banned on Sonic Retro is because moderation staff put their foot down and said on their front page, (to paraphrase) "Sonic Retro does not allow illegal content and we have removed all of the offending Sonic 4 leaked stuff from the forums." This, right above a news post about all of the leaked videos... that was never removed.

Nevermind a stickied forum thread that contains... well, I've probably already said too much.

Again: Sega has officially partnered with this forum to do special activities.

tl;dr: Nobody knows but the general response seems to be "They're going to pretend it doesn't exist for everybody's sake." Sonic fangames in various forms and such have been around for more than a decade and Sega's never done anything about them before.

 

[orioto]

That's this project that actually gave me the idea of beginning this whole gaming wallpaper thing. I don't really like the artistic direction in first place but it works well i must say!

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Initially, these sorts of things were distributed as IPS patches, which would then be applied to a game ROM to modify it. IPS patches were more or less legal as they were not the game itself, just a record of the differences between two versions of a game (the modified version and the "clean" version).

Somewhere down the line Sonic Retro abolished the idea of distributing patches and decided to take the easy road.

It's not quite that simple.

The IPS patch format is very rudimentary. When it comes to simple hacks, where you just change a few hex values here and there and don't shift around much of anything else in the ROM, yes, the resulting IPS patches are usually very small and literally only contain a record of what was changed and how. When you start to get into more complex hacks (like most of the stuff you see on Sonic Retro these days), where a full reassembly of the game is required, an IPS patch would usually end up containing everything in the game in the first place, so there's not much of a point in using it for more involved projects.

There are better and more sophisticated patch formats out there now to avoid this sort of thing and keep the distribution of romhacks more on the up and up, but the last time I checked most of the romhacking community at large doesn't really bother.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

It's not quite that simple.

The IPS patch format is very rudimentary. When it comes to simple hacks, where you just change a few hex values here and there and don't shift around much of anything else in the ROM, yes, the resulting IPS patches are usually very small and literally only contain a record of what was changed and how. When you start to get into more complex hacks (like most of the stuff you see on Sonic Retro these days), where a full reassembly of the game is required, an IPS patch would usually end up containing everything in the game in the first place, so there's not much of a point in using it for more involved projects.

There are better and more sophisticated patch formats out there now to avoid this sort of thing and keep the distribution of romhacks more on the up and up, but the last time I checked most of the romhacking community at large doesn't really bother.

I knew somebody was going to bring up different patch formats, but I figured "IPS patch" was probably prolific enough that people who weren't in deep on that kind of stuff would probably vaguely know what I was talking about.

 

[jman2050]

Sega1991 pretty much covered it as far as Sega's relationships with fangames and hacks go. I mean, RubyEclipse posts at Retro and even appeared in a semi-official interview over skype to talk about Sonic 4... during a week-long online exhibition of fangames and hacks

Also for posterity's sake I probably have a different perspective of this project from having followed its non-progress for the past three years.

 

[Wandering Leopard]

I really like it, especially the music which I think was very underrated in the early Sonic games.

 

[Gravijah]

I really like it, especially the music which I think was very underrated in the early Sonic games.

Early Sonic game music... underrated? Come on now! It gets love urrwhere!

 

[Facism]

looks great, but then again i'm not a bitter whine-merchant who finds fault with everything

Music was bossman 9000 too.

 

[SimonM7]

I think Fan Remix is gorgeous, but in a way that'd be too busy and bloated for a game that isn't already incredibly familiar. If you didn't know beforehand what can harm you and what can't, that's far from obvious by just looking at it. Cliffy B's "clarity of experience" thing comes to mind.

I think Fan Remix is really exciting as "artwork in motion", and it's interesting to an established fan to run through these familiar levels where artists have completely devoted their resources to cramming in lush detail and cool distractions, but I hardly find it a viable way to experience Sonic 2.

I'm fairly certain that this will become the better game, and if I didn't have OCD about having people play the originals, I think you'd probably be able to play this first and still get a faithful representation of Sonic 2.

 

[Firestorm]

Wait this project is still alive?

 

[Diablohead]

I watched the trailer a few times again and just noticed they added in extra animation frames, last time I checked progress on s2hd it was just an exact remake in high res, no bonus frames or style change, I am going to say that the smoothness of sonic now gives off even more of a flash game feeling, but personally I have no problem with it, it gives the illusion of his wheel of feet feeling slow however.

 

[maniac-kun]

€: After seeing the trailer the trees and sonic need some work the rest is fine.

 

[Jme]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

This is exactly what I want when someone says "Sonic HD" - I don't like things like Sonic Fan Remix, etc. They look messy with the overdone photorealistic textures in a non-realistic shape, etc.

This is it man. This is what Sonic HD should look like. Crisp clean, true to original animation. Fucking perfect.

Spoiler

YES!

 

[skyfinch]

Can't wait to see what the bonus levels will look like. They were so choppy in the Genesis version.

 

[Merovin]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

This is exactly what I want when someone says "Sonic HD" - I don't like things like Sonic Fan Remix, etc. They look messy with the overdone photorealistic textures in a non-realistic shape, etc.

This is it man. This is what Sonic HD should look like. Crisp clean, true to original animation. Fucking perfect.

Spoiler

YES!

Just to save myself copying and pasting yes a thousand times, this is it, this is the dream!

 

[Mama Robotnik]

Sega's relationship with Sonic Retro (the guys behind Sonic 2 HD) is actually super bizarre if you really stop and take a good hard look at it.

So you have Sonic Retro, a community who, at least in the circles I was a part of, primarily gained notoriety for the act of hacking Sonic games. Adding new characters, new levels, or simply using their hacking knowledge to uncover ideas left on the cutting room floor.

Initially, these sorts of things were distributed as IPS patches, which would then be applied to a game ROM to modify it. IPS patches were more or less legal as they were not the game itself, just a record of the differences between two versions of a game (the modified version and the "clean" version).

Somewhere down the line Sonic Retro abolished the idea of distributing patches and decided to take the easy road.

Now as I say this, keep in mind that Sega Community staff occasionally posts in Sonic Retro's forums and that these same people have partnered with Sonic Retro to release exclusive content on their front page and gather feedback from these forums. Sega is more than aware of what goes on in there.

When the Sonic 4 leaks started coming hot and heavy, and Sega got really angry that basically their entire game was being exposed to the internet for all to see months before its scheduled release date, a great number of those leaks seemed to be coming out of Sonic Retro. One of the first times discussion of Sonic 4 was banned on Sonic Retro is because moderation staff put their foot down and said on their front page, (to paraphrase) "Sonic Retro does not allow illegal content and we have removed all of the offending Sonic 4 leaked stuff from the forums." This, right above a news post about all of the leaked videos... that was never removed.

Nevermind a stickied forum thread that contains... well, I've probably already said too much.

Again: Sega has officially partnered with this forum to do special activities.

tl;dr: Nobody knows but the general response seems to be "They're going to pretend it doesn't exist for everybody's sake." Sonic fangames in various forms and such have been around for more than a decade and Sega's never done anything about them before.

Its a really interesting relationship that has developed (and your post clarified some of the finer points for me). SEGA seem to understand that challenging these hackers has little benefit, and works with them to extend the "sonic community".

They're millenia ahead of so many other publishers in this regard and Ruby and his colleages should be praised for it. Sega don't unnessecarily unleash their lawyers like so many bastard companies.

Its just a shame that despite the best efforts of the community managing and PR sides of Sega, the actual part of the company that makes the bloody games doesn't know what it is doing!

 

[gutter_trash]

beautiful!

 

[APZonerunner]

Just want to chime in and say that Sonic 3 & Knuckles may have a nasty character sprite for Sonic but it's still the best Sonic game, and probably the second best 2D platformer of all time. Or the best. Depending on mood. (Mario World, Mario 3 contenders.)

Footage looks great! Wish it was Sonic 3, though.

 

[TheOGB]

I don't mind Sonic's S3&K sprite at all. Just throwing that out there.

but damn this game looks a lot better now

 

[Blueblur1]

There is Sonic 2 for iPhone you know. Also this looks cool, but I'd rather something more in the vein of Sonic Fan Remix.

Yeah, I won it. Can't complete all the special stages with touch controls tho so I don't play it much. >_<

 

[Adam J.]

Jesus, this looks perfect. If I was a member of Sonic Team (or Dimps, or whoever) I'd kill myself after seeing this. They are seriously getting school by amateurs and that is incredibly sad.