#sonic infinity engine

[doctordragonwho]

golden is a platformer taking after pizza tower and super Mario world and Deltarune in gameplay, but taking after toh, gravity falls, wings of fire, Deltarune and super paper Mario in story, a story that twist traditional fantasy tropes, it has a very Tumblr esque writing style lots of dragons.

And sundown is an urban fantasy surreal horror rpg that comments on mental health

Taking after Deltarune and Mario and Luigi super start saga in gameplay, but feeling more like gravity falls infinity train, creeppasta games and wings of fire in story.

[best-train-conductor-competition]

THE TRAIN IS NOW BOARDING!

Let's see who has a ticket!

The Polar Express Conductor (The Polar Express)

The Owl Express Conductor (A Hat in Time)

Milky Way Cookie (Cookie Run)

Mr. Conductor (Dinosaur Train)

Link (Legend of Zelda, Spirit Tracks)

C.Q. Cumber (Splatoon)

One-One (Infinity Train)

Amelia Hughes (Infinity Train)

Mr. Macbeth (The Henry Stickmin Collection)

Kokoro (One Piece)

Tiramisu Cookie (Cookie Run)

Skimbleshanks (Cats)

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Trolley Troubles)

Excess Express Conductor (Paper Mario)

Claire Stanfield (Baccano!)

The Conductor (Cuphead)

Odin (The Bifrost Incident)

Bendy (Bendy and the Ink Machine)

Charon (Alchemy Stars)

Mr. Conductor (Thomas the Train)

The Engineer (Toonkind DND)

Kisaragi (Whisper Court)

Death (Hatoful Boyfriend)

Ingo (Pokemon)

Emmet (Pokemon)

The Mirage Express Conductor (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)

Jenkins (The Adventure Zone)

Tina Johnson (Welcome to Mountport)

The Narrator (My Trains, Lemon Demon)

The Conductor (Adventure Time)

Astrotrain (Transformers)

Alfonzo (Legend of Zelda, Spirit Tracks)

Polls will open.... soon.

[sonicfangamebot]

'Sonic Infinity Engine - Crisis City' (2019) by BOLT (Demo) Based on the ‘Sonic Infinity Engine’, in Unreal Engine 4. https://www.sonicfangameshq.com/forums/showcase/sonic-infinity-engine-crisis-city-demo.372/

[90percentstudios]

What sounds did you use for the main cast of CKC's voices?

i'm just gonna post the entire voice list for (almost?) all the characters since i have it on hand!

abracadad - flim and flam from my little pony alarmy - alarm sound effect allegra - estelle/garnet from steven universe andante - thanos from marvel cinematic universe andy - andy aunt nat - grandma dillis from clarence baby g - baby crying sound effect bapawmet - the lich from adventure time blondie - perfuma from shera brownie - disgust from inside out burger queen - hedonism bot from futurama cody - sonic from sonic prime daniel - arin hanson as bird wizard from bee and puppycat david - gaston from beauty and the beast denny - denny dot - peridot from steven universe fluffy - cat meowing sound effect g-ma - cruella deville from 101 dalmations gigi - mai from avatar airbender goochi god - kim kardashian harmony - cassandra kiramman from arcane holden - bow from shera jeepsus - lightning mcqueen (engine) jessica - dog woofing sound effect juvie - raine whispers from owl house katy - kipo from age of wonderbeasts kay - jolyne cujoh from jojo's bizarre adventure mama pepper - jasper from steven universe mayor stick - bill cypher melody - wendy from south park mini - kipo from age of wonderbeasts mir - bow from shera mr. wilson - foghorn leghorn from spacejam a new legacy narrator - typing noises nori - sonic from sonic prime olive - denny papa tony - hal from malcome in the middle patches - winston from 13 reasons why peggy - pinky pie from my little pony peter - tails from sonic prime phoebe - marceline from adventure time pie - terrell ransom's darwin from gumball planet dance - glad0s from portal puppets - catbug from bravest warriors rhyme - allura from voltron sarah - marceline from adventure time stetson - big mac from my little pony steve - morgan freeman on helium the real steve - jim carrey in the mask thorn - count von count uncle bruce - gus fring wanda - tulip from infinity train

[agentditto]

How I imagine Bunnie Rabbot:

(The design on the left is a more canonical design, the design on the right, after her upgrade and acceptance of her being a toy.) "Naugus said I was just a toy...so why not embrace that? When I get back, I'm gonna blast him, and that polecat Eggman, straight to infinity and beyond!"

Bunnie Rabbot, originally a cheerful and kind-hearted young woman in Mobotropolis, had her life forever altered by Dr. Eggman's tyrannical rule. Injuries from his takeover forced her uncle to partially roboticize her, integrating mechanical limbs into her body. Despite the struggle, Bunnie found strength in the support of her fellow Freedom Fighters, who accepted her without judgment. Her journey took a pivotal turn when Sonic the Hedgehog arrived, proving his promise to defeat Eggman and save King Nigel Acorn, inspiring Bunnie to join Sally Acorn, Tails, Rotor, and Antoine in forming the Freedom Fighters. Over time, Bunnie underwent upgrades to her robotic limbs, a decision fraught with uncertainty about her humanity, but bolstered by the unwavering encouragement of Antoine. Tragedy struck during a battle with Walter Naugus, resulting in Antoine's death and Bunnie's grievous injury, shattering both her heart and her mechanical limbs. Cast adrift into the unknown, she found herself in the enigmatic "Dittoverse," a realm overseen by Caelan Graham-Rountree, a Fictionist knight capable of wielding the Keyblade. Bunnie, now equipped with toy-like mechanical limbs crafted by the realm's engineers, adapted to her new reality alongside Caelan, who became not only her protector but also her companion. Though homesick for Mobius, Bunnie found solace in her role as queen of the Dittoverse and as Caelan's bride, embracing her newfound home. Despite the distance, she remained hopeful of returning to aid her friends and confront Eggman and Naugus with renewed determination. Until then, Bunnie relied on Caelan's support and the companionship of the Dittoverse, knowing that when the time came, she would be ready to face whatever challenges awaited her back in Mobotropolis.

[junimojups]

ABOUT JUNIMOJUPS!

my name is jupi! i'm 18 and i go by they/them! im a sophomore in college, digital media major and i'm african american!

HOBBIES ꒱ writing, obviously, painting, graphic design, baking, traveling, playing games, fashion, listening to music, and calligraphy.

LIKES ꒱ cats, fall, halloween, road trips, horror movies/games, sanrio (specifically cinnamoroll, usahana and my sweet piano), making aesthetic themes, and reading manga.

DISLIKES ꒱ spiders, roller coasters, too much sun/heat, overpowering smells.

FAVE ANIMES ꒱ mob psycho 100, ouran high school host club, devilman crybaby, jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer, haikyuu, saiki k, hunter x hunter, bungou stray dogs, sailor moon, death note, sk8 the infinity.

MUSIC I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO ꒱ living dead girl, homesick, engine no. 9, helena, the reason, yeah boy and doll face, disasterology, i hate everything about you, american wedding, she, lovers rock, life of the party, sleep, all because i liked a boy, sleep walk, please please let me get what i want, bloody cape, dove - doll ver., phantom bride, linger.

FAVE CHARACTERS ꒱ chuuya nakahara, geto suguru, choso kamo, yuta okkotsu, toge inumaki, shoya ishida, kurapika, killua zoldyck, chrollo lucilfer, feitan, bakugo katsuki, shadow the hedgehog, sally face, sero hanta, shigeo kageyama, teruki hanazawa, reigen arataka, knuckles the echidna, dimple/ekubo, cloud strife, noctis, nagito komeada, leon kennedy, giyuu tomioka, sanemi shinazugawa, rengoku kyoguro, sebastian (sdv)

SOME GAMES I PLAY ꒱ sally face, roblox, splatoon, mario kart, cooking mama, tomodachi life, sims, undertale, sonic, stardew valley, minecraft.

[electricgaunt]

Live Blog of Interstitial Infinity #20: The Engine

joined for the last time by clowne, and only clowne

pronouns withdrawn!!!

oo playing the NPCs is fun

everyone feeling bad and/or pissed off

11 million wowowow...

shoka asking if anyone had powers = like when someone asks if there's a doctor aboard this plane

I know we're literally in the finale, but did you know interstitial is a fun game? did you know it's fun to go, oh I know that character! and they're here??? did you know it's fun to see them all interact and have interpersonal conflicts??? on a weird and crazy train??? this is my testimonial as a podcast listener

al, offended: you think I can't make a catapult? 💢 I may be a side character but I'm still a child genius

get on the podtrain!

do you wanna fight, okAY OKAY

I'm trying to think of who in al's world that al would think Shoka reminds him of...would Shoka get along with Teacher...would Shoka get along with Greed...

might relisten to this ep afterwards, after I listen to the frankencast

"I'm sorry" "are you the devil?" beautiful

oh Trish anti-Christ?

Alright Trish!!! Alright Trish!!!

jesus pulls up...jojo doing it's jojo thing again I see

two stands holdin' hands...

I don't think I'm going to finish this ep before the in-character talkback, but I'd probably ask something about just like, the existence of Stephen King, that guy in Maine

messy heart link!!!

JASON KEYBLADE?? or Charm??

roxas and jason are sweet

I wonder if Roxas reminds Jason of any of the bat family

we're friends 😭

trying to think about shoka themes/interiority/voice, not sure if this is accurate/right since interstitial infinity is my only perception of shoka: everyone leaves if they become better but if I keep them worse or dead like me then, maybe, no one will leave me. [if everyone leaves (me) when they can, when they become better, what does that say about me]

hhhh shoka

hoo boy hoo boy (varian and amelia and trish)

"you are the creator of tragedy" I say to my friend clowne [t-shirt/merch idea]

oh all the sound dropping out, good

thinking about what carrie thinks of trish after all this omg

you can go back on the train!!! trish!!!

get off the train amelia!!!

shadow voice!!!

~it's been an hour~

aaa mob and audrey 🥺

ohh infinity train characters getting whistles ahh (across time???)

a lot of very good images in this scene

ahhhh

arrivederci!!!

Shadow's apartment...

hhhh mei hhhh

jay made sort of a super sonic sound about everything that's happening and I feel that

Carrie and Trish [foams at the mouth]

aaa Jason and Roxas!

akshakja Riley! [it is, it is yuri]

AAAAA finale!!! aaaa!!! fuck!!!

god it's been a fucking pleasure to listen to this show and to do these reactions. just, thank you so fucking much to everyone who worked on this beautiful show!!! train gang 💚😭💚😭💚

[ninjapotatohead]

Do you think Bolt should have been thrown in jail for trying to profit off an IP they don't legally own with Sonic Omens?

I definitely think Bolt (and the rest of Ouroboros Studios, for that matter) definitely should have faced some legal repercussions for even housing their Patreon for Sonic Omens, along with shilling their Patreon page constantly within the game itself. Since the game runs on the Infinity Engine, then if said engine was made using a personalized version of the Unreal Engine, Epic Games could rightfully sue them for violations of TOS.

On the other hand, if the previously incriminating posts on their Patreon are gone now (and screenshots unfortunately aren't substantial enough in a court of law), there's not a whole lot that could be done on SEGA's end if they did want to pursue legal action.

[dustedmagazine]

Joseph Branciforte and Theo Bleckmann — LP2 (Greyfade)

Repeated motifs skew and recalibrate in soft focus with the deceptive simplicity of a folk song. Octaves are dismembered only to regroup, and tiny dynamic peaks stretch toward the infinities they imply. The vocal melody drifts languidly along atop a luminous wash of plucked bass, amoebic drone and something crossing oceanic tide and vinyl crackle thrown in for good measure. Yet, the luminous nocturn that is “11.15” comprises only one aspect of Joseph Branciforte and Theo Bleckmann’s LP2, a sequel and an advancing of the ideas explored on their first album several years back.

Much of that debut inhabited a dream space, a lush area of semi-somnolent exchange that it would be misleading, even incomplete, to call a dialogue. This new venture continues the journey but with a few large-scale formal elements included to shock the system. Amidst the drone and sonic wash, some stuttering aphorisms have been inserted, such as the fragmented “10.17.13.” Yes, the drones are still present, but they’ve been relegated to a background level, a higher register subservient to the bleeps, dull thuds and click-and-pop ur-glitch typifying the music’s fuzzy and bumpy trajectory. A technoid rhythm emerges, a spring-loaded fragment of fractured beat makes the music lope rather than engaging in the spring that should be its birthright. All fades in an immaculately lopsided reiteration, a deliberately misshapen figure eight.

 These teeny vignettes can chill or heat, depending on the mode of listening. They eschew the modal frameworks the duo so often establish in favor of punch, grind and antiseptic lather, like the increasingly layered “10.14.4.” A miniature engine drives it, a crystalline electronic motor somehow present but remote, Bleckmann’s voice almost courtly in its contrapuntal vowel repetitions. As surprising as the cross-section I, it offers nothing in preparation for the hard edges and jack-in-the-box mutations of “8.11.” That three-minute marvel may be the disc’s standout piece, so completely does it sum up all that makes the listening experience such an unpredictable treat. The miniatures complement and offset those vast tracts of space and sound in tandem familiar to anyone following these veterans’ work. Even here, there’s no shortage of timbral novelty. Are those strings on “7.21” or just a vocal manifestation? Throughout it all, Bleckmann’s voice (he is so obviously a master of overtone manipulation!) samples and holds any electronic concerns underpinning it. The music moves in concentric waves, rings of tone and mosaics of rhythm imbuing each moment with luminosity, masking a dizzying array of sounds below the frigid surfaces. If my descriptors are contradictory, so is the music, at once fiery and frozen in the alien climate it creates as, ultimately, time stands still.

Marc Medwin

[badmusejail]

🚫Are there blogs you just won’t follow or characters you won’t interact with?

Hot Takes OOC

Absolutely, and I'm not afraid to admit it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with it, that everyone should know their boundaries.

Here's a few general concepts relating to what blogs I won't follow, outside of the normal 'icky' stuff:

Blogs mostly / solely focusing on sex. That's great for you, but not my thing!

Blogs run by muns that previously didn't follow me or have unfollowed me. Again, totally their choice, but if they wouldn't interact with me on one blog I don't feel like wasting both of our time by trying again.

Blogs that I can't comprehend. If I can't figure out what's going on, which character is which, what verses are what, what the consistency is, I'm unlikely to follow.

Characters are a bit tricky, as I tend to give any character a chance if the mun wants to, but here are some ones that I probably won't initiate interaction with:

Characters whose only defining trait seems to be angst. This is something I've just been burned out on over the years, and maybe it sounds hypocritical given that some of my characters are hugely angsty, but if the character is just a string of bad things over and over again, it just irritates me. In that vein, using trauma as a cheap way to invoke angst without actually following through with the consequences.

Characters that are a mismatch of differing canon. Crossovers are great when well thought out, but I don't particularly enjoy seeing characters that, like, 'graduated from hogwarts and has a pet pikachu and reverse engineered a sonic screwdriver and has one of the infinity stones.' It can be done well, but most usually it's just a sort of chaos I don't want to mess with.

I'm sure there are others, but there's a few that come to mind.

[sonicfangamebot]

Sonic Infinity Adventure Pack' by NOTO G (Demo) Built in the Unreal Engine https://www.sonicfangameshq.com/forums/showcase/advpack-season-2-sage-demo.742/

[deafeningeagleking]

High-level Sorc/Wiz(or Cleric willing to spend a Miracle) can run (Greater) Anticipate Teleport and jump back home just before you arrive

Also I am not completely sold on Wizard omnipotence. I am sorry but I am bugged by "everyone" sweeping statement.

Here`s my test subject for caster omnipotence: Voidmind Half Stained Glass Golem Wereboar Crystalline Troll

Regeneration/acid over immunity to acid and to non-lethal damage

Immunity to everything that allows SR except Shatter and sonic(both of which are raw damage, but look above), to mind-affecting, to ability damage/drain and energy drain

+24(unless I mismathed) Fort save and, with Steadfast Determination, +18 Will(plus no nat1 Fort fail)

Shapechanger subtype that allows to reverse Polymorph-based effects as standard action

Can take Trollbane immunity as a feat

1/day (Su) 30ft cone of acid that stuns for 1d4+1 rounds, Fort DC 29 to negate if I didnt mismath

Enough treasure to be spent on a good bow and on Feathered Wings Fiendish Graft, which is (explicitly IIRC) allowed.

CR 13 precisely.

~~~

At higher CRs you can expend the encounter:

Couple Dretch Beguiler 1 / Fiend of Possession 5 / Fiend of Corruption 1. At 9 HD and +2 LA they are precisely within range of pre-Epic NPC Simulacrum. Each of them can provide +3 untyped to ability score and either +4 profane to ability or +5 equivalent of special qualities to bow, both of which can be readjusted at will. Also each of them alone has CR 9, which makes math trivial - 9+9=11, 11+13=14.

Voidmind-bound Illithids - there are 3 of them, and they can manifest powers from 5 miles away. Basic Midnight Augmentation + Bonus Essentia allows base Illithid to manifest Bestow Power for 9 pp granting 14 pp, I am pretty sure as levels go up there are better infinity engines. 2x Psion X and Psion X+2 come to group CR 11+X, or you could reshuffle them in different ways

A caster of their own. Ur-Priest has semi-unique accelerated spell progression(at slightly reduced slot capacity), but I think thinking around may bring other good opponent candidates.

Here is my adored CR 20 encounter:

4 Trolls, 2 Dretches each: 1 bow-hosted and 1 troll-hosted. Bow is Dragonbone Bone(2d8 damage, 140ft range increment) and arrows are Howling Dragonfang Serpentstongue(+1 (Ex) sonic damage, hybrid slashing/piercing damage). Uses one of free feats for proficiency with it. Bow Dretch in passive mode is +1 Eager Warning, for +2 untyped +5 insight on Initiative

2 Illithid Psions 5 and Psion 8, with P8 using (Mental Tap / Capacitor+Transducer) Psionic Tattoo of Schism and blasting/healing to hearts content while 2xP5 focus on alternately providing secondary fire support and running infinite PP engine. To repeat again, they are not here - they are sitting miles away in a scry-proof area, and use Voidmind Trolls as mediums for manifesting. Psion 8 may drop a Null Psi Field onto whichever Troll is within grapple distance of your casters.

Human Cleric 1(Magic, Planning, Rebuke Dragons) / Necromancer (Enhance Undead) 1 / X 1 / Human Paragon 2 / Ur-Priest 8 / Paragnostic Apostle(See through Veil) 1 with Practiced Spellcaster(Ur-Priest) putting CL=HD. Has DMM-Persisted Divine Power and Draconic Polymorph (Sand Giant). Has augmented all bows and natural weapons with Ghost Touch via Blink Dog Tooth. Has a Greater Spell-Storing Ring made by Chameleon with effective ability score 36 and Enhance Item feat(for +13 to DC of spells cast from it), filled by... Well, ;). Also he carries a Runestaff(1x Miracle, (4x) well, (: ) crafted by same and charged with Twin-Spellstaff of... Well, ;). For Miracle in particular, since he has Wis of 26, its DC is 40, nice and even - and he can Chain it; His classic opening is Baleful Polymorph(Toad). Also he has 5 Spell-Storing Arrows charged with Sudden Max Sudden Emp DMM Twin/Repeat Chill Touch, and Divine Defiance feat

2 Rebuke-Controlled Gem Dragons, Young Amethyst and Young Adult Sapphire. If you manage to kill them, he has spare in the dungeon but getting new ones will eventually require a dedicated raid.

6 Rebuke-Controlled Spellstitched Devourers, with one of Stitches being 2/day Wings of Flurry, made in Desecrate zone while temporarily(through Psy Reform) having full Corpsecrafter feat line, fed by non-augmented lycanthrope trolls for 13 HD. If you kill those, getting new ones is trivial but Spellstitching will require a dedicated trip

(Plague of Undead) Awakened Zombie Colossal Monstrous Scorpion. He is here to provide a DC 50 1d10 Con injury poison, which every arrow and claw is dipped in.

4 Trolls is CR 18, Ur-Priest plus Psion 8 is CR 17, 2x Psion 5 is CR 15, 15+17=18, 18+18=20.

If you plan to Dweomerkeeper for Supernatural then so is he, which loses him 2 Devourers, while still being to curb you with Defiance(which explicitly works against "spelllike effect").

~~~

Oops, due to reasons unknown, Crystalline Troll Regeneration is not bypassed by acid; It is bypassed by sonic and there is immunity to acid. Oh well, scrap that, use Half-Troll War Troll instead, individual CR 20

That night he dreamed. A duel between magicians makes a fascinating tale. Such tales are common—and rarely true. The winner of such a duel is not likely to give up trade secrets. The loser is dead, at the very least. Novices in sorcery are constantly amazed at how much preparation goes into a duel, and how little action. The duel with the Hill Magician started with a dream, the night after the Warlock's speech made that duel inevitable. It ended thirty years later. .... And in his sleep he concentrated, memorizing details. A narrow path curled up the hillside. Facts twisted, dreamlike. There was a companion with him; or there wasn't. The Warlock lived until he passed through the gate; or he died at the gate, in agony, with great ivory teeth grinding together through his rib cage. He woke himself up trying to sort it out. The shadowy companion was necessary, at least as far as the gate. Beyond the enemy's gate he could see nothing. A Warlock's Wheel must have been used there, to block his magic so thoroughly. Poetic justice? He spent three full days working spells to block the Hill Magician's prescient sense. During that time his own sleep was dreamless. The other's magic was as effective as his own.

Larry Niven's novelette "What Good is a Glass Dagger" isn't generally super well remembered; to the extent people think of it, it's in relation to the much more famous sequel, "The Magic Goes Away", which used magic as a metaphor for the oil and energy crisis.

(It's also one of the first stories to use the word "mana" to refer to magic power; it's still exotic enough that Niven italicizes it in the text. It's not the first ever, but I believe it's the actual source that RPGs drew on when they used that word.)

But this passage has always stuck with me. Wizard duels aren't flashy explosions of power. They're very careful maneuvering, with decades of prescience, and the winner is the one who best manages that careful maneuvering around their opponent's blind spots while creating blind spots for their opponent.

(There's a truism in D&D3.x that a level 13 wizard, with time to prepare, can kill anything that isn't preparing in return. And I feel like this story represents that concept really well, though the details are all different.)

[bltngames]

SAGE 2020: The Usual Suspects

Hi, folks! Back when I used to work at TSSZ a lot of people really enjoyed reading my articles where I’d talk about various games at the Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE), and I’ve gotten more requests in the last month and a half to continue doing those types of articles than I think I’ve ever gotten about anything else I’ve ever done before. So, here we are!

But I also need to be real with you: there are a lot of games at SAGE. It was exhausting enough when there were 70, 80, or even 90 games. Heck, the one year I wrote about 85-something games by myself, I sort of felt like I was going to die. This year, there are over 220 games at SAGE. It is physically and emotionally impossible for me to talk about everything, and it may even be impossible for me to play everything. Things will fall through the cracks. Most things, probably. Though I am responsible for basically inventing SAGE 20 years ago, I am also a human. I have my limits, and I am sorry it has to be this way.

Structurally, we’re going to be doing things a little bit differently, and you should expect this to be a little fast and loose. Since I’m not talking about every single game on the show floor, articles are going to be broken up into types:

“Usual Suspects” will be for games that either appeared at previous SAGEs or that I’m at least aware of.

“Fan Games” should be obvious, and it’s whatever doesn’t fall under Usual Suspects.

“Indies” is the same deal, but for original games.

And finally, there will be a “Honorable Mentions” article for whatever random leftovers I don’t cover in the first three articles. Looking forward to me talking about your game, but I don’t mention it? Tell me about it and maybe it’ll end up here.

Without any more delay, let’s talk about those Usual Suspects...

Sonic GT

Sonic GT has always been kind of a difficult game to control, but usually it just took a little bit of getting used to. There was always a period of adjustment, where you had to learn the game’s quirks. But, over time, I feel like the game is also just getting… quirkier. Every time I come back to this, I slam head first into the Sonic GT’s learning curve, and it always feels just a little bit steeper. This is one of those games that tries to fit a lot of abilities into a tiny amount of buttons. It works, but it feels like you have to memorize an operator’s manual. It’s all about figuring out which button to hold when to get what state. But, man… when it clicks into place, it’s still kind of magic. And, at the very least, the levels have all been reworked to take better advantage of Sonic’s high-flying, death-defying acrobatics. You’ve just got to be willing to learn. The real downside of this new version is the inclusion of a proper story mode -- I don’t have anything against having cutscenes in your game or whatever, but for the purposes of reviewing these games, some ability to fast forward through the talking heads so I could get back to the gameplay would’ve been nice. You can skip ahead in cutscenes you’ve already watched, but that doesn’t help when it’s your first time through. Oh well. So it goes. (Update: in the process of getting this article posted, Sonic GT has been patched to make cutscenes always skippable.)

Project SXU (Sonic X-treme Unity)

Another year, another Sonic X-treme recreation. This one’s interesting because it seems to be the most “complete” yet, offering the four most famous levels: Jade Gully, Crystal Frost, Red Sands and Death Egg. Intentionally or unintentionally, this also seems to replicate quite a few quirks we’ve seen in Sonic X-treme’s controls in the videos that have been released of the in-development build. Which means that it, uh, kind of sucks to play. I realize that’s kind of rude, but I’m sort of allowed to say that. 15 years ago, I was basically the only person on the internet that cared what happened to Sonic X-treme, so... I started contacting developers, starting with the game's producer, Mike Wallis. He lead us to Chris Senn, and that broke the dam on information about this game. Now, I don’t claim ownership over everything that came out of this, I’m simply saying I was the one who got the ball rolling. I watched the mystery of Sonic X-treme slowly get uncovered with as much intent as one could possibly have. It is a fascinating piece of lost media, but as a game… well, I think it got canceled for a reason. SXU shows us a clear vision of that, with a game that’s disorienting to look at and hard to control. Heck, if you’re using a controller, you can’t even use the analog stick -- you have to use a d-pad, leading to controls that feel frustratingly twitchy. But that's true to the experience. I probably spent almost as long in this demo accidentally slipping into bottomless pits as I did exploring its levels. Again, this more or less feels accurate to what we’ve seen in videos, though I do think Sonic probably feels a little too sensitive, here. Regardless, it’s still absolutely fascinating.

“Sonic Infinity Engine” Games

I’m cheating a little bit, here. This is technically three entries, but it’s in “Usual Suspects” because there’s been Infinity Engine games at SAGE for a few years now. Listen, it’s my site, my rules, and we’re playing fast and loose, baby!

Adventure Pack 2

This claims to be a “pack” of multiple levels, but the one level I played went on for over 25 minutes without showing any signs of ending. The level is… well, it’s the kind of stuff we’ve seen at SAGE for years and years and years, a space previously occupied by SonicGDK and BlitzSonic before it, where somebody is clearly starting out learning 3D level design, has some prefab assets, and goes to town creating a huge, intricate environment… that doesn’t fit a Sonic game at all. Too many tight spaces, too much enemy spam, and too much labyrinthine pacing. This is “Sonic Visits Anor Londo,” and while it looks interesting visually, it’s easy to get lost, or worse, killed because something isn’t functioning right. Like a lot of Infinity Engine stuff, it’s a bit hit or miss.... And now, also cramped.

Infinity+ Colorful Combat

The primary goal of this seems to be to update the Infinity Engine with extra features, something that I think is pretty welcome. The Infinity Engine is okay, but it’s missing a little bit of polish that the original developer neglected to give it before abandoning the project. This helps tighten some of that stuff up, while also introducing Wisp powers and more playable characters. Some of the new characters could still use some work, yet, but given the project is still in active development, that’s pretty much a guarantee. This could end up being the defacto version of the Sonic Infinity Engine.

Sonic Reforge: Red Ridge (Blockout)

This is what’s called a “Grey Box.” Rather than build out a fully-detailed level, you get a rough estimate on how the stage will flow before you put all the graphics in. What’s here is okay, I guess, but the level loops back on itself in ways that can be kind of confusing. There are a few places where it’s not really clear where you’re supposed to go next, and I spent several minutes running in circles. I’m also not a huge fan of the changes to Infinity’s physics; jumping off of ramps is a key part of the Sonic experience, but there are several places here where that doesn’t work -- to get the height needed to progress, you just need to roll really fast. It works, but it doesn’t feel like the Sonic I’m familiar with.

Sonic World DX

I have a bit of history with this game. Or, well, with a different version of this game. I wasn’t kind to some of the original entries at SAGE many years ago, but over time, they’ve cleaned the game up and streamlined it a fair amount. Now we have the “DX” release, a further cleanup effort splintered off from the main project, but to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what’s different from the previous release. The main version of Sonic World supports an absolutely gargantuan amount of content, with 50 playable characters and at least that many levels. It was big, and weird, and impressive. This demo ships with three or four playable characters and eight stages. Beyond that, there’s not much else to say -- it’s still Sonic World, though this release doesn’t work right with my controller. It picks up the controller binds from the main version of Sonic World, correctly assuming I’m using a DualShock 4, but none of the buttons are correct. When it asks me to press the X button, I have to press Circle for it to properly register. Not only that, but the right stick camera control is completely broken. Switching to an Xbox controller fixes the camera issues, but now the face buttons have the opposite problem: when it asks me to press A to jump, I have to press X. Throws my whole vibe off, like wearing your shoes on the wrong feet. The menus are bizarre, too -- while adjusting the volume, you can’t push left or right to adjust the levels, you have to use controller face buttons for some reason. This whole thing feels like I stepped back in time to 2013 in a bad way.

Sonic Freedom

I feel like I’ve been waiting to see a major development from Sonic Freedom for half a decade at this point. The art considerations for this game are no joke, and I do not envy anyone trying to make a proper high-def 2D Sonic game that looks this good. But, well… it’s another year, and there’s not a lot here. It plays fine, I guess -- the controls are decent, at least. The problem is the level design. Does this level even end? I’m not sure. I know previous demos for Sonic Freedom have had more than one level, but the stage you start out in here is a confusing, empty labyrinth with respawning enemies and a finite number of rings. You climb up and up and up, but eventually I reached what felt like a dead end. Visually it will always look incredible, but I’m wondering if it’ll ever actually become a game at any point in the future.

BraSonic 20XX

Here’s a strange blast from the past I wasn’t expecting. BraSonic is an old fangame from probably more than a decade and a half ago. It was so long ago that I can’t even actually remember if I played the old version of the game or not, but I definitely remember the name. What really throws me for a loop playing the 20XX version now is how much it feels like a game from back in the early 2000’s. The artwork, the sound effects, the locations, all of it makes me feel like I’m 19 again. Thankfully, this doesn’t play like a fangame from 2004; physics seem pretty solid, level design flows pretty well, and it generally seems to be fun, weird, and most importantly, unique. There aren’t many fan games here at SAGE that open with their first boss fight being against Sonic the Hedgehog. If you find yourself getting burnt out from so many Sonic fan games feeling same-y, this could be a good change of pace.

Sonic Frenzy Adventure

Maybe it’s the fact that this is the 20th Anniversary of the Sonic Amateur Games Expo, but here’s another very old fangame coming back out of the woodwork for an enhanced modern re-release. This game was a mainstay of the mid-to-late 2000’s SAGE events, after which it disappeared before being finished. Well, maybe it was finished. Again, a lot of this stuff was so, so, so long ago that this poor old man’s memory just can’t recall it. Seeing Frenzy Adventure back warms my heart, though. It’s an old friend in what has proven to be a very challenging year. Admittedly, parts of it still feel a bit mid-2000’s, but I consider those charming quirks. Throwbacks to a simpler era. At the very least, controls have been improved, so it does play better than the old releases did. Good stuff. Glad to see you again, dude.

Sonic Speed Course

This was a game that turned up last year, but in the kerfuffle I didn’t get around to trying it, even though I really wanted to. This is clearly a game inspired by Kirby’s Dream Course, but instead of Nintendo’s pink puffball, we have Sonic and friends. Whereas Kirby gained abilities by bowling through enemies, this adapts a more traditional Sonic gameplay structure of item boxes filled with shields and other powerups. But here’s my deep dark secret: even though I love Kirby’s Dream Course in concept, there’s a part of me that feels an intense hatred for that game. I have distinct memories of renting Kirby’s Dream Course as a kid and getting really far into the game, but trying to play it as an adult I’m baffled at how difficult it is. The main problem I have is that every stroke you take subtracts from your health, meaning you can only hit the ball so many times before you just… die. This makes for a very, very steep learning curve that discourages play and experimentation. Every shot truly, deeply matters and eventually I find myself caught in a death spiral and staring at the game over screen. All of this is replicated in Sonic’s Speed Course, which, much like with Kirby, I find myself drawn to like a moth to the flame -- only to come away feeling dejected and like I’m just not good enough. For fans of Kirby’s Dream Course, this is undoubtedly good news, as this means Sonic Speed Course is faithful to the tone of that game. But I find myself wishing there was a practice mode or something that let me play these courses without the punitive health system, because I’m ready to love them.

Sonic: Triple Trouble 16-Bit

When you write about so many games at SAGE every year, things start to blur together... a lot. I seem to recall that Triple Trouble 16-Bit last year was good, but had room for improvement. Well, this year, this demo feels… really quite good. I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical about remaking this game. Sonic: Triple Trouble was among the first batch of Game Gear games I ever owned as a kid, and while I liked the game, in my adulthood, I feel like I’ve come to appreciate Sonic Chaos more. But so much has been added to this game that it’s really come into its own. It uses Triple Trouble more as a jumping off point to become something fresh and interesting, and on top of that, this demo is pretty polished. This game was kind of always on my radar, but it’s really turning into something special.

Battle Cross Fever

Every year, I download this game hoping for some kind of single player offering, and every year I’m let down. Battle Cross Fever is a fighting game that plays a lot like Smash Bros., but contains elements that pull it closer to traditional fighting games like Street Fighter. It’s the kind of game that can check with the server to make sure you’re playing the latest version, but doesn’t have true online multiplayer -- instead advertising that you should use a piece of screen sharing software like Parsec to accomplish online multiplayer. In their defense, the few times I’ve used Parsec, it’s basically been magic for how well it works. But I just want, like… anything that I can play by myself. Even if it’s just a super basic arcade mode with brain dead AI, anything is better than nothing. But, I suppose, I am an outlier. Judging by the horrific character select music I landed on, Battle Cross Fever has enough of a community that they could get fans to sing along to “Ghost Town” from Sonic Forces -- which is a fun idea, don’t get me wrong, but when you have loud voices over cheap microphones, well… I hope you aren’t wearing headphones like I was. Anyway, this game’s always seemed solid, but I’ve also never played it with another human being, so really, I’m speaking from the perspective of admiring the diverse roster and all of the fun arenas they’ve ported in. Maybe someday it’ll get some single player content.

I’ll be back with another article… uh, eventually. In truth, I was only going to feature five games here, but it ended up being ten, so we’ll see how many are in future articles when we get there!

[latin-dr-robotnik]

Latin Dr. Robotnik’s SAGE 2019 Coverage: Sonic Infinity Engine - Crisis City 2.0 Demo

You know, this looks great, sounds great and plays great most of the time...

But 11 times out of 10 the scripting just simply breaks and falls apart.

I think I know what is the biggest weakness of this demo: trying to make a pretty script-heavy level work on a free-flow Sonic engine. The Infinity Engine itself is pretty impressive as a fan-made 3D, UE4 based Sonic framework tool, but everytime a spring breaks on this level, or a ramp shoots you out on the wrong direction, the spectacle is broken, shattered to pieces as you most likely fall to your death. I feel like this engine works best when you have some degree of freedom to run, explore and experiment, and Crisis City doesn’t seem to be putting the engine under the best light. Maybe other levels, like Seaside Hill or even Twinkle Park could work a lot better.

Still, this is quite a joy to watch and it’s pretty fun when you pull some weird-ass shit after a spring breaks, and you somehow manage to return to the main path without falling to your doom. Also you can play as both Sonic and Shadow, that’s very cool.

But like I felt on last year’s SAGE with the Sonic NEXT Crisis City demo, there are deeper problems with 06′s levels that really stick out when the original game isn’t involved.