I mentioned this briefly in another related thread a while back, but recent developments have made me feel it is worthy of its own thread...
![[Image: sonicspeedorbj5.gif]](http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3866/sonicspeedorbj5.gif)
![[Image: speed1pi7.gif]](http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/9169/speed1pi7.gif)
http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showforum=42
Long story short: rebuilding Sonic the Hedghog 2 of Genesis fame from the ground up using new high res graphics built from the original low res sprites. They're also talking about a level creation system whereby levels not originally appearing in Sonic 2 could be created and online multiplayer.
I think they might even be considering doubling the frame rate and creating inbetweens for smoother animation. Doing that in a fighter (like, say, Super Street Fighter II Turbo) might be detrimental to maintaining classic gameplay, but doing it in a platformer built around speed could do nothing but make the game smooth as pineappleen silk.
Anyway, I've been trying to keep a pulse on this, and they released the tech demo yesterday. I checked it out and it looks really promising. I was a little worried that they were plowing through all the necessary artwork and they wouldn't have the programming to back it up, but they really delivered.
I took a few screens from the demo for anyone not wanting to bother downloading a demo with nothing really to play (some folks are also having trouble running it). They're not levels or anything, just a screen where you can move around and test out the physics. Knuckles is also available in the demo (although not in high res because his artwork isn't done yet), and his gliding and climbing abilities seem to be working flawlessly. Check out the 1x one first... you might not even be able to tell that it's running on new high res graphics, that's how true to the original it is in it's take on the graphics:
Title (they even animated Sonic popping up and throwing his thumb back like he did on the Genesis)
1x
2x
4x
a youtube video that shows how effective it is, even if the high res graphics aren't distinguishable
I just hope they can complete it without getting killed by Sega.
ps this is a community endeavor, so if you have skills with graphics, programming, or music, you might be able to help. Check out the forum.
http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showforum=42
Long story short: rebuilding Sonic the Hedghog 2 of Genesis fame from the ground up using new high res graphics built from the original low res sprites. They're also talking about a level creation system whereby levels not originally appearing in Sonic 2 could be created and online multiplayer.
I think they might even be considering doubling the frame rate and creating inbetweens for smoother animation. Doing that in a fighter (like, say, Super Street Fighter II Turbo) might be detrimental to maintaining classic gameplay, but doing it in a platformer built around speed could do nothing but make the game smooth as pineappleen silk.
Anyway, I've been trying to keep a pulse on this, and they released the tech demo yesterday. I checked it out and it looks really promising. I was a little worried that they were plowing through all the necessary artwork and they wouldn't have the programming to back it up, but they really delivered.
I took a few screens from the demo for anyone not wanting to bother downloading a demo with nothing really to play (some folks are also having trouble running it). They're not levels or anything, just a screen where you can move around and test out the physics. Knuckles is also available in the demo (although not in high res because his artwork isn't done yet), and his gliding and climbing abilities seem to be working flawlessly. Check out the 1x one first... you might not even be able to tell that it's running on new high res graphics, that's how true to the original it is in it's take on the graphics:
Title (they even animated Sonic popping up and throwing his thumb back like he did on the Genesis)
1x
2x
4x
a youtube video that shows how effective it is, even if the high res graphics aren't distinguishable
I just hope they can complete it without getting killed by Sega.
ps this is a community endeavor, so if you have skills with graphics, programming, or music, you might be able to help. Check out the forum.