Messages

1

Map Gab / Re: Sonic Advance - Sonic Colors Maps' sizes

« on: December 19, 2024, 10:12:43 pm »

That's a fascinating breakdown of Sonic maps and their evolution in scale! Long levels like those in Sonic Advance 2, Sonic Rush, and Sonic Colors DS can be incredibly satisfying to conquer, especially when they test both speed and precision. What I enjoy most about tackling them is the sense of flow you get when mastering the level design—finding the fastest routes, chaining boosts, and nailing those perfectly timed jumps can make even enormous levels feel smooth and rewarding.

The strategy I lean on is patience during the first few runs to explore the routes and mechanics, then refining it with practice until I can sprint through sections without hesitation. In Sonic games, the challenge of balancing speed with control is what makes long levels shine; you’re not just racing against the clock, but also your own skill ceiling. And nothing feels better than hitting that perfect line through a massive stage!

That's a neat strategy to follow! Many people that played such levels that get longer and longer tend to feel more hesitant in finishing them, even in their blind runs, then, falter quite more in trying to get to the goal.

The maps from "Sonic Rush Adventure", the main stages, that is, from what I've seen, were designed to be a bit far more straightforward in harnessing the Boost, but the consequence, they're made shorter to finish than Rush's levels, many, at least, despite few made larger in size.

They were less labyrinthine, cut down the sense of flow that made the Boost kinda less enjoyable, and made less alternate routes to take, which is the point of having longer, larger levels, not to mention having the fun in taking them in repeated playthroughs for multiple characters.

Made the adventure less fun, too, even though the amount of written dialogue to convey some lore and filler chatter were crammed in to accommodate Sonic and Tails' time being stranded in Blaze's home dimension.

I have no quarrel of storyline exposition and lore in games, though. It was the overall writing vision, pacing, and execution that dragged that game down. At least, the writing there kept everyone in-character within their personalities.

By comparison, Plant Kingdom's maps were made quite shorter than Leaf Storm's, which is, to me a letdown. A skilled Sonic player using Boost a lot could clear them in less than a minute, tops, compared to past 2D Sonic games having maps in many levels that were beaten in that same estimate.

I'm kinda sure whatever upgraded proprietary computer tech Dimps had in making those Sonic games at that time benefited them to making such longer levels, but that stopped as they made more different games for later systems.

People expected slightly longer maps time and again, but prior to us knowing their sizes and being able to chart more larger maps, their expectations briefly changed.

Yet, still, the persistence to withstand longer and larger levels can't truly go away. All it takes for people to get used to them is some gradual adaptation.

2

Gaming / Re: Sonic 3 Competition Plus - my fangame

« on: December 19, 2024, 01:19:02 pm »

Hmm...

Well, looks like you're doing good so far with your project.

I see you're using Open Surge as the engine. Not a bad choice.

I was having additional thoughts on others that would've done well, comparably to Taxman's Retro Engine, such as the Orbinaut Framework, which has been upgraded to 2 lately, and the Harmony Framework, made by Darkn, used in Sonic Aural(there's a demo up for download to try, if you want to.), another fangame I've seen.

You know, I think Retro Engine should be more used by people to develop more new games, alongside more new 2D Sonic games, but so far, that engine's not available for public use. Sure hope Taxman can make it so sometime soon. People will want to use it.

Back to the two frameworks...

So far, both of 'em did very good at utilizing the 2D gameplay formulas past Sonic games have before, aside from small differences between them.

Sonic Worlds, another framework usable for Clickteam's Fusion engine, has been used for Freedom Planet, from what I've read, to maintain the Sonic 3 formula staples(which weren't used since Sonic 3 & Knuckles, true thing), with small changes during its conversion to its own indie game, has been also a fine choice, but I get the whole of Clickteam's engine hasn't been updated and optimized to handle far more larger level maps, at least, past the yet-to-be reached limit after its raised from MMF2's size limit of 32,767.

A different fork of it, Simple Sonic Worlds, has been used for another Sonic fangame that surely could be a potential prequel adventure to Sonic 1, Sonic Overture '95. That game really gives thoughts and insights on how Sonic and Robotnik first became sworn enemies, and how it keeps in line with what Sonic 1's Japanese manual's storyline describes on how Sonic always thwarted his world domination schemes since they've truly met. I don't ever count Sonic Origins as the definitive tale. Its only a compilation that adds in animated scenes for each game.

Those are all neat frameworks for making Sonic inspired levels, but their differences stand them out from each other, as well as their efficiencies.

If you're up to trying them out, you can download the Orbinaut Framework(requires Gamemaker to use) and the Sonic Worlds framework and its aforementioned fork(requires Clickteam Fusion 2.5 to use). Harmony Framework, though, has just been made downloadable, but right now, its at 0.91. Its usuable and downlodable, but close to being complete. You can still keep Open Surge, though.

Not all bosses have to have phases. I've been content with bosses, past and present, that were damage sponges, but I've been through others that changes their attack patterns, not doing multiple phases, that's for final and true final bosses, after taking enough hits to make them less tedious. Just a matter of being a bit inventive with the patterns while still making them endure great damage.

Oh, my 5 best Sonic games? Well...

1 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Easily the overall best Sonic game! A great adventure spanning over more than 10 Zones, packing more larger Zones, seamless Acts without needing fade-outs to the next, new Act 2 themes that remixes the Act 1 theme to make each Zone more exciting and distinctive, in-game storytelling to convey the action better, better variety of bosses, including the addition mini-bosses in the end of each Zone's 1st Act, which I REALLY love, and, Knuckles, who's been a worthy addition to the series. My best Sonic game yet, even split into both halves!

2 - Sonic Mania: That game is a far more greater definition of a continuation of Sonic's 2D platforming adventures! Retouches many past Zones to give it the aesthetics of an actual Sonic game on the Sega Saturn, one that actually continues from the formula after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as a whole. And, I enjoyed the original Zones, too. Really contributes to Sonic's anniversary. And the "Sonic Mania Plus" update brings back Mighty and Ray after being long absent in the series!

3 - Sonic Rivals: That game puts the emphasis of speed to reinforce the competition aesthetics and aspects by pitting two rivals against each other for the goal! Silver's proper introduction helps, too. Really loved it!

4 - Sonic Generations: Easily one of my best 3D Sonic games that celebrates Sonic's birthday, disrupted by the time-tearing monster, Time Eater, spanning visually overhauled stages from the past and the near-present, utilizing both of Sonic's selves to travel through each stage's different perspectives.

5 - Sonic Unleashed: Best one! That game introduced key additions, such as the Boost in 3D games, the Quick Step, Sonic Drift, and using his Werehog form at night to fend off monstrous minions, in a global-wide adventure to put the planet back together after Eggman broke it apart to awaken Dark Gaia, and the first to use the Hedgehog Engine and used in later games since!

3

Maps Of The Month / Re: 2024/12: Sonic X Shadow Generations (Switch) - G.E.R.

« on: December 18, 2024, 07:48:44 pm »

A very great mention to be the Map of the Month, being a game that stars Shadow again in such a long time and having its events run concurrent with the original Sonic Generations' events. I know people are having a thrill playing as the Ultimate Lifeform himself once again.

Sure enough, Black Doom would return from his demise one day, and he would do everything in his power to exact his revenge against his hybrid creation for thwarting him and decimating the Black Arms in their complete entirety.

Those maps, albeit neat, are great for Shadow fans to look at, in case they struggle. I send many thanks to G.E.R. for doing them!

4

Gaming / Oscar, the Game Series

« on: December 17, 2024, 02:20:15 pm »

I would like to take the time to speak about a rather highly forgotten game series, Oscar, and to let any in the VGMaps community know this, for those who haven't heard of it nor remembered it in long.

Here's the lowdown...

That series stars the rather titular character, Oscar, an otter/chipmunk hybrid of some sorts, on his adventures through many themed levels to get to the goal, mostly themed on Hollywood movie fame and such.

The first game, made by Flair Software, a studio from UK, was brought to the Amiga computers, and the CD32, which was a launch bundle-in with Diggers and was later ported to MS-DOS and SNES, and it focused on Oscar traveling through seven levels, each divided into stages, based on select Hollywood famous movies and their fitting genres, collecting the Oscars, the statues made after his liking, and facing many dangers and hazards along the way, before reaching the clapboard that marks the exit in each stage.

A bit of history, the game started out as a promotional game for a children's toy line, "Trolls", and was made to gather more sales to those toys. After its launch in 92, I guess the game was going to be followed up, but licensing rights made it a bit too troubling, and the rights they had lapsed sooner or later. So, a different IP had to be made from scratch, hence, the rise of Oscar, with almost the whole of its blueprints made intact, but everything else from the rest had to be made brand-new to distance it from that game.

I can quickly guess that premise had no story focus, nor plot cohesion, but the gameplay looked rather fun, running through each stage to collect Oscars before getting to the goal. It looked neat as a platform game.

The one weapon Oscar can fight off enemies is his yo-yo, and can be rather handy in many tight situations. Of course, Oscar can hop on enemies to defeat them, if careful enough.

Each level held plenty of goodies and secrets, such as power-ups and finding hidden letters that spell "B-O-N-U-S", which can take Oscar to the Bonus Stage upon collecting them all and spelled right.

But, there is one nasty trick hidden.

There is a collectable letter hidden just like all the previous, but that letter's spelled "G", and if Oscar collects it, that letter takes "N"'s place and put the rest together, it spells "B-O-G-U-S", and that, in turn, can take him to the "Bogus Stage", kinda the opposite of "Bonus Stage".

No joke. Even the stage's name gives it self-explanatory reason of why its named that.

There, Oscar has to find specific items before exiting, unlike the Bonus Stage that freely gains bonus points, not to mention the only place to get a Lucky Rabbit, which signifies as the game's Continues, before leaving.

One hazard they all do have in common, the rising water that fills the whole level, hence the main reason anyone can't stay there for too long. If in the water, Oscar has to leave fast before he drowns.

The Bonus and Bogus Stages do have their own negative outcomes upon failing them. For Bonus, everything collected there will be forfeit. For Bogus, and its a rather nasty cost, a life is forfeit.

The checkpoints in each stage are the Big Red Elephants, that kinda seemed to be Oscar's friend, who marks where he finds them and reappears if he loses a life by any danger. In the Bonus/Bogus Stages, the elephants are marked exits.

The CD32 version has graphics looked rather stellar, and having 2 more new levels in addition to total it up to nine, even the tilesets and backgrounds, but the music is amazing to hear!

However, people that bought that game have pointed out many flaws, such as complaints about enemy and hazard placement, physics problems, and level designs, but the SNES version had it quite worse.

I can point out, from seeing the game's videos I've seen on YouTube, the enemies don't take one hit to take down, but three, and I do mean, three hits to defeat. How could they be programmed to stop them in three hits? It should be regularly one, unless reserved for tougher enemies.

The game wasn't followed on until the DSi came out, and a comeback for Oscar had to be made.

The first game in the DSiWare line was "Oscar in Toyland", which centers on Oscar's adventures through many toy-themed levels. Later, we got "Oscar in Movieland", which is about movies, like the first game. Then, a sequel to Toyland, "Oscar in Toyland 2", continued the toy-themed adventures, but more different this time, and finally, "Oscar's World Tour", which featured Oscar going around the world for adventures and thrills in levels based on real-world locations.

They were all made by Sanuk Games, & published by Virtual Playground.

Oscar's DSiWare games have featured a neat minimap for the touchscreen that keeps track on where people explored levels. Kinda handy to make sure nobody got lost. If only it would've been improved more.

I can tell all of Oscar's DSiWare games are completely different, albeit with the same blueprint from the first game still used time and again, but they're not ports of it. Just different games.

The games sizes are rather small, and had so much levels in them. Impressed they crammed so much in keeping with the DSiWare's 20MB limit.

The only things that kept Oscar from being a more memorable series are lacks of story cohesion and plot relevance.

I mean, I can distinctly tell there's obviously no main villains in each game past the first that instigated dangers that started Oscar's newer journeys. And there's not an original story made for Oscar to be told in each of his games.

Not to mention this, not a single game featured boss battles, not even original bosses to take down by Oscar. Not a ONE. That would've been more enticing to the series to make for plot cohesion.

And, even more, the series didn't get its chance on the Nintendo 3DS that should've taken great use of its advancements, such as the wider top screen resolution, better audio, and new improvements to the overall gameplay blueprint to make the series less obscure. The 3D feature would be optional, of course, but that would've been neat to see.

We could've had more amazing adventures there. In my mind, I imagined a potential new original Oscar game for the 3DS, "Oscar's Galaxy Trip", an outer-space theme adventure. That would've been great.

I didn't get my chance to play them in my spare time, not even the DSi games. Kept forgetting to.

So far, no one else had made playthroughs/longplay videos about Oscar's DSiWare games. I've seen later videos that paid more attention to them, but not playthroughs. Not to mention there's not much behind-the-scenes insights/interviews about the people responsible for Oscar.

The only people worked on Oscar are more or less the same people that worked on Oscar, and I thought the same people or new devs worked on Oscar's DSi games, but I don't know yet for sure.

I don't even know which studio holds Oscar's IP rights now with Flair and Virtual Playground's shuttering(if its true or not), but I hope someone around here can take some time to gather that info.

Obscure as it is, Oscar still deserves to be remembered by people that acknowledge the series, the history, and the games made. I'm sure some people still had fun playing them, no matter what.

Oscar still has a chance to make another comeback someday, and I can sure hope his return will be made more memorable than ever before.

To any that played them before, what do you remember about Oscar and its games that followed up?

5

Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: DO NOT submit maps that you didn't create yourself!

« on: December 16, 2024, 10:08:16 pm »

I just got an email from someone who has contributed 91 maps for six games (at least according to my count), but are now asking for their maps to be removed, claiming that they never gave permission.

Which is strange, as I found earlier emails - from that same email address they're using now - saying that they were indeed personally submitting some of these.

53 of those maps were co-credited, so there may be an issue there, depending on who did the submitting.  There are also other maps by others for those games.

But 38 of them are for two games that have no other maps by anyone else, so I will have to delist those two games.

I won't get into any more specifics, but as of now, they are still up, while I am doing more investigation as to what is going on here, as it's all very strange.  Whether there is an imposter or misunderstanding or what, it is an reminder to take the opportunity to reiterate that you should not contribute maps that you did not create yourself!  And if you wish to add to someone else's maps, I will need to be assured from both parties - the original mapmaker and the one adding to it - that they are both on board, sent from BOTH their email addresses.  I'm not going to just take anyone's word on it.

Just as it is work to publish your maps, it is also work to remove them, so let's be clear about submissions.

EDIT: I asked them if they could elaborate on their decision, and have now received some clarification.  So that they won't be judged, I won't get into the specifics of why, other than that they are simply wishing to remove their name from some places on the Internet.  They have, however, now allowed me to keep the maps, if I remove their names/credits.  So, thankfully, nothing of value will be lost after all.

That situation kinda got me instantly worried about maps removed over a dispute about miscredited mappers with inactive/deactivated email addresses, credit removal needs, or some other matter I would've found ridiculous, but I won't complain.

Thank GOODNESS no maps were removed, and the site is DMCA protected, that I've read, or someone else would have to recreate them all over again. One of the last things we'd want in our lives & within the VGMaps community, which we never want to see, is maps removed over whatever went on.

Still, I hope to be on the safe side on many things in terms of mapping, game mapping rights claims, and mapper crediting. Sure we have the original game devs regular and indie, game companies & their employees that made them, but us mappers worked long and hard to deliver for people that had trouble clearing levels to see.

I've read, and, yes, its never okay to claim maps that aren't ours, 'cause none of us want to step in someone's work without knowing, but I didn't think a possibility someone would want their credits removed from their maps via dispute, but I feel it's still crucial to remember the original mappers & co-mappers and co-credit them, no matter how long they've been away.

Let's truly hope these kinda problems don't occur again, and reinforce our mapping rights, JonLeung. Can't cause that kind of worry again.

6

Map Requests / Re: Maps to Cover...

« on: December 16, 2024, 04:29:36 am »

It's fantastic to see such enthusiasm for preserving and chronicling maps from both classic and obscure games—this list is a treasure trove for fans of gaming history! There’s a great variety here, from lesser-known titles like Oscar in Toyland to modern indie gems like Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider. Documenting these maps not only keeps these games from being forgotten but also celebrates the artistry and creativity behind them. Thank you for sharing this and helping to keep the VGMaps community vibrant and full of new possibilities!

Glad you noticed! Yes, you're right! It really does help to increase the games' attention and celebrating their artistry, no matter how good or badly received they are, but when they're mapped and uploaded to be seen, when willing in their schedules, it'll really help those who are struggling to beat them.

Plus, it'll help introduce people that never heard of such games before and develop fond appreciation for them, and for those that previously gave less appreciative words and thoughts about 'em give 'em a second opinion.

The more widespread attention to those games, the better for people to appreciate them.

The matter of all that is using the specific tools for it, such as an efficient emulator and editing programs to ease up the map-making process, focusing all the work on mapping them, and making sure they're not yet claimed by someone else to map them.

7

Maps In Progress / Re: Jackster's Map Projects

« on: December 12, 2024, 12:02:15 pm »

Popped by here to talk, even though this hasn't had a post in long.

I have a heads-up for Jackster, who's been away for quite so long since last doing any maps and being here, so...

A contributor from The Spriters Resource(if any heard of it yet or not, or haven't seen it in a while), a site that contributes to archiving sprites of all kinds, custom included, has already saved Jackster the work of doing Nazo no Murasam... eh... Actually, The Mysterious Murasame Castle's(the name translated from Japanese to English) maps and uploaded them there, listed underneath a category as "Backgrounds" in the site's NES section, alongside the game's bosses and other misc. sprites, too.

I took a quick stop-in one day, and saw them and the contributor's work responsible for it, MisterMike. I was a little surprised that guy did most of the game's sprites and all of the maps for each stage, and nobody told the VGMaps community about that, nor uploaded its maps, too.

Jackster's mapping plans did include that game, but MisterMike saved that work for him without knowing.

I only found it, so you know.

From looking at them, the FDS game's maps aren't that too large nor complex, but that doesn't mean it didn't present great challenge in its time. Big shame it never got worldwide availability, but, given the FDS' unfortunate problem pileups about the hardware and its splintered reliability, it is kinda understandable. Up until lately, the game finally got that availability onto the 3DS.

The link about that is here - https://www.spriters-resource.com/nes/themysteriousmurasamecastlejpn/

JonLeung, if you're around, I felt this should be brought up to your attention, and take a look at MisterMike's work. Hope you can get a hold of Jackster and MisterMike, when you have time, that is.

8

Map Requests / Re: Shinobi 3DS Maps

« on: December 10, 2024, 03:38:12 am »

Oh, thanks for sharing. I've been looking into this as well. What specific aspects of the stage design in Shinobi 3DS do you think contribute the most to the sense of length and challenge, and how does that compare to other games in the series?

Glad you took notice. And, welcome to the VGMaps community!

Well, if memory serves me correct, comparing to perhaps Shinobi III's length, Shinobi 3DS' maps have upped theirs to select stages in maintaining the challenge of prior Shinobi games, notably the 2D games. I was not used to the different control mapping configurations, though. Kinda made it tough for me.

The gameplay blueprints from past games' blueprints remained mostly the same for aspects, but the stage design, completely different, but still new there. Only notable thing, they seem to be about twice or thrice as long as the more action-packed "Shinobi III". I didn't look for all the secret areas the hints kept encouraging for each stage, though. Some I did find, but not all.

One, in example, is the first stage, the Oboro Clan Village, taking place in 1256 A.D., where the main hero, Jiro Musashi, began his own adventure to fight against the Zeed, the long-standing evil syndicate, before being flung into 2056, A.D., where Zeed ruled a dark grip in a future.

To my perspective, that first stage was quite lengthy, being the first, unusually, but the length could've been expected, if at all to those that played it the first time. I kinda had not felt such fatigue in finishing that my first time around. Considering the 3DS' cart size greatly surpassing the DS', its justifiable for games made for that handheld to be made longer than before.

The total overall maps that stage has is about 9, give or take. When I reached each map's exit point, the stage kept on going, as if it felt like a bit of a long run. The 3rd map, having a horse riding segment there, was a different story, but I endured through.

It was only at the last map that I felt a bit of a relief for me that I finally got to the main boss, Yuki Onna. The goal time for high rank was set at 10 minutes, and that was kinda much for it being a first stage of the game.

The shortest amount of maps in the game is the 3rd stage, Hyper Transport MG97, a large futuristic supply train carrying Zeed's monstrosities and experiments for their army. Maybe more monstrous than those seen in "Body Weapon" from Shinobi III. It only had two maps, the second only having a boss in the end, the wretched experimental monster, Kryoborg. Cool looking boss, though.

And the goal time for high rank, 10 minutes. Kinda felt a bit befuddled about that estimate, but, who's complaining?

My overall favorite stage in it is the fifth, Afterburned, which is pretty much a strong nod to another Sega series, "After Burner", hence the name.

The stage, somewhat having an aerial theme in it, was a thrill, and I grasped its greatness. Venturing through the depths and inner workings of a warship operated by Zeed at sea in the first half was great, but upon surviving its hopping air jet segment, I enjoyed the really cool second half of the stage, an armed aerial fortress!

The 5th map, encompassing most of the fortress, was my favorite in it! I was really having a blast in braving all of its dangers. What I spotted there was a cool callback to Shinobi III's last stage, "The Final Confrontation", which is also set in Neo Zeed's flying fortress, commanded by the Shadow Master.

The callback was the fortress' two energy shooting weapons built onboard to destroy intruders. Their design looked identical to their originals. Their comparison looked coincidental.

Of course they were only seen outside before facing the stage's first midboss, a differently redesigned Fushin Ninja. Different, compared to the series' previous boss in past games named that.

Once beaten, the stage continues into the inside of the fortress, filled with hazards and traps, especially the airlocks. I also got to confront another midboss there, the Mega Core, a favorite of mine! It was a different take of a core boss, but still fun to demolish.

The danger kept on going after destroying it, but I was able to reach the end, where I faced the Zeed's pilot, their monstrous creation, Super Soldier. And let me tell you, he was indeed monstrous.

The goal time there, 18 minutes and 30 seconds. Really a high estimate for it.

I kinda stopped at stage 6's boss, Lava Crawler, and kept forgetting to beat that boss. It really was tough for me going through it to the end again and again. The fatigue really hit me there. I'll keep trying later on when I can.

I really enjoyed that entry in the series. Strong pity it wasn't followed up because of its steep difficulty curve and its lack of its coherent narrative to the story. Doesn't feel like a reboot overall. Just more like of a continuation.

Still, the 3DS game maps are in need of mapping, and its great you're taking interest in mapping it. Hope your endurance is strong.

9

Map Gab / Re: Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

« on: December 07, 2024, 11:28:40 am »

Funny you should mention that... there is actually a related reason why I looked into these Bubsy maps... 

You're quite spot on. You know, I could think that collection would've had the often regarded entry from the Atari Jaguar, "Fractured Furry Tales", but, right now, it doesn't. I felt a bit awful it didn't sell many copies, and, well, not many people heard of it and didn't got much attention until quite lately. That game had some good speedrun videos some people made.

I never actually played that game myself, because, I never got the chance to. Looked like a good game, aside from the changes and improvements from "Bubsy II" not seen there. Read that game's source code was brought from the Genesis version and ported there before adding in new enemies, levels, and so on.

If FFT had a chance of being ported into the collection, I hope it'd be during development or in a patch later on. I'd be all over doing that game to see how challenging it was. If only someone could take the time to do it someday.

If anything, from my perspective, Bubsy FFT could've had an actual boss theme for each boss, and one more level having an actual final boss at the end, the true main villain responsible for twisting the fairy tales to his or her liking and messing up children's stories, which Bubsy could defeat and truly save them all.

To let you know, I spotted only one map about the game at AtariAge Forums posted by the game's programmer, Andrew Seed, no joke, but that map's a bit too small to see, 'cause the size was made smaller instead of full size to adhere to image size limits there. It's only the 2nd level of the 4th world, Waterbubsy, "Bubble Trouble", incorrectly labelled as "Bubsy 4C". Should've been "Bubsy 4B". No other maps have been made nor seen since.

Map and forum page link here - https://forums.atariage.com/gallery/album/1847-bubsy-maps/

There's a video interview I've found on YouTube about FFT's process conducted by Doctorclu with the game's producer, Faran Thomason. Doctorclu also did many speedrun videos about FFT. You should see some of 'em. That guy really did good, aside from some blunders trying to finish faster.

He also said in his recent forum post there, "Since that time, great efforts have been made for mapping Bubsy FFT, and people have been playing, so I'm sure that will change soon. Good to see FFT getting some love.". Sounds like he wants that game mapped to give that game more attention to the people. Would really help plenty of Bubsy fans having trouble with it. Really.

I only found that post lately while looking and felt that should be brought to your attention.

Doctorclu's recent forum post here at AtariAge's forums - https://forums.atariage.com/blogs/entry/19259-cruizin-atariage-the-making-of-bubsy-the-atari-jaguar-with-faran-thomason-december-2024/

Here's one FTT Speedrun video Doctorclu made. Link here for any wanting to watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ_uNJm_UFk

10

VGMaps Social Board / Re: Furnace, the Chiptune Tracker Discussions

« on: November 30, 2024, 01:43:15 am »

I almost forgot to mention...

Out of a lotta chips the tracker has, well, so far right now, I do notice key chips not in yet, the Sega 32X's sound chip, the SH-2, that adds 2 additional DAC channels, heard from Knuckles' Chaotix's songs via videos, and, of course, the Sega Saturn's sound chip, the SCSP, A.K.A., the YMF292, which has 32 sound channels that can be used in either FM synthesis, kinda said to be stronger and more advanced than prior key FM sound chips, by comparison, or by PCM digital audio recording and conversion.

I felt very awful the two systems launched too close to each others' dates, the 32X in the US, and the Saturn's launch in JP a day later, and because of it, the 32X's lifespan's been unfortunately cut short, and that hindered its potential a lot, being an add-on for the Genesis, and not even the greater potential with it plugged in to the Sega CD.

I wonder how much better Sonic 3's both halves would've been as one whole 32X game alongside the original split into 2 16-Meg carts, the latter's second half having its lock-on cart built in?

I could imagine seeing enhanced graphics by the 32X's capabilities, such as having one additional layer for backgrounds in pretty much every Zone in there, as the cases with Spider-Man: Web of Fire and the cancelled 32X version of Disney's Pinnochio(which looked better compared to the Genesis' version, just only saying), and lots more on-screen sprites, and much bigger sprites that could've been for bosses, even for the Kyodai Eggman Robo, the game's final boss at Death Egg Act 2 after the penultimate and final major boss, Death Ball.(Note: It still counts as a MAJOR boss, NOT a mini-boss. I can tell because it played the major boss music in all prior Zones)

If anyone could even conceive a 32X enhanced port of Sonic 3's both halves into one game that actually uses the 32X's capabilities one day, well, I'd be greatly elated to see it come to reality.

But enough of it. Moving on...

I could presume the YMF292's FM sounds were recorded and compressed into the PCM's audio channels, because even though the FM sound pallet sounds a lot more beautiful to hear, as the cases for sounds heard from Sonic R and Sonic 3D Blast's Saturn port, they're not completely heard crystal clear, as in, straight from the chip's FM channels themselves. A good guess, from my perspective and small insight, the latter's sounds were used as a soundfont of its own, rather than the chip's FM channels.

Of course, to better hear how those sounds were, I do have YouTube video links about them here...

Video 1 - Sound 3D Blast's sounds, by ClassicSonicSaturn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIrqILk0Z6Y

Video 2 - Sonic Jam's sounds used in Sonic 1 through Sonic & Knuckles, by ClassicSonicSaturn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSkPU8CHST8

Video 3 - Sonic Jam's Sonic World sound effects via Sound Test, by ClassicSonicSaturn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC9K4gztrd8

Video 4 - Sonic R's Sound Test, PAL ver., by ClassicSonicSaturn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkRALJxJ6C4

Sonic Jam's sounds, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bag, from some people's perspectives. Some sounded rather less stellar, but others sound like they're better enhanced by the chip itself, example being the Continue sound effect sounding a lot more beautiful than before.

You could tell the difference from those recorded into the Saturn's PCM channels, and from the Genesis' channels' crisp and clear audio themselves via your ears.

I would REALLY love to see and have those chips added to Furnace. All that potential those chips still have, are still regarded, ignored, and taken for granted by a lotta people lately, as with loads of sound chips before that tracker's launch. If anyone could take the time to talk to TildeArrow about that, well, it would really help to add to the tracker's ever-growing collection.

11

VGMaps Social Board / What's gonna be the 50,000th Map in VGMaps History?

« on: November 18, 2024, 04:34:05 pm »

I've enjoyed seeing more maps uploaded to VGMaps, but I'm recently curious...

I don't know how many maps VGMaps has so far, because I myself can't keep track of how many by memory, but the count's kinda got to be close to about 50,000 maps so far... maybe...

The map count's no doubt in the 40,000+ range. Only guessing my estimation, here.

I honestly don't know what game map's going to harbor that milestone within the collection, but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be a great honor for it to be the 50,000th map in all of VGMaps history.

Wonder what kind of customized commemoration it may be for that milestone when it gets there? I could think of a cool, pixel art immortalized commemoration, but, that's just me thinking.

Relatedly, I don't know what's the 25,000th map, either.

Just asking out of curiosity, here.

12

Maps In Progress / Re: YK's random map progress thread

« on: November 16, 2024, 02:31:42 am »

Dropped by to say I'm astounded you tackled such a forgotten Dungeons and Dragons game as Warriors of the Eternal Sun, and you were quite the explorer in mapping out each and every single area there and withstood every dangerous trap and defeated all those ferocious monsters down below the dungeons, not to mention discovering so much treasure, too.

I also saw the map and understood why that last Dungeon, Schattenalfen Elven Realms, was a pain to map through because of how complex that is, but, that effort's worth it, anyway. That'll really help out those that had trouble getting through it with newfound confidence.

*sigh* Nothing like a good ol'-fashioned Tactical RPG adventure to get you going.

Brief question, but, thought of doing "Order of the Griffon" next? It's one of TurboGrafx's games not yet mapped. If you're doing a different game, fine. Thought it'd be a good recommendation.

13

VGMaps Social Board / Re: Furnace, the Chiptune Tracker Discussions

« on: November 16, 2024, 02:29:42 am »

Furnace sounds incredible! The ability to use multiple chips from various consoles at once is a game changer for chiptune music. I can't wait to try it out and explore the endless possibilities. Thanks for sharing the links and the video!

You're welcome! I know you'll have a blast with it, as others have.

It truly does takes care of such a long-standing obstacle that kept people using prior trackers from making more amazing chiptune music and sounds because of each chip's limited channel polyphony and, even before they arrived, prior composers and sound designers had to adhere through tight sound channel limitations while harnessing the chips' potential in many ways.

Say, for example, trying to write an "Act 2" theme in a level made for more than about Sega Genesis' 10 channels through both chips to maintain true authenticity, but had to make cuts to adhere to the limited polyphony, and with no duplicates to help overcome it. That kind of struggle hindered anyone's creative imaginations in music.

This brings another video to mind about that obstacle, having a bookmark in it often known as "Priority Mailboxes", or rather, "conditionals", that described how to adjust to those limits while using those chips within that quirk, too. A bit lengthy, but that'll explain it.

That video's called "How to make Sega Genesis music (in 1994)", made by GST Channel on Youtube.

Video link's here, with bookmark having said name at minute 10:39 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEvnZRCW_qc

14

Map Gab / Re: Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

« on: November 16, 2024, 02:10:01 am »

Stopped by to say, many thanks, beltran63, for having the game's maps uploaded.

As a strong Bubsy fan, I have to say, it was about time that got done after waiting a long while. That'll help out many that had trouble getting through each level. And, with Bubsy's "Purrfect Collection" coming up, what better time to do it than that before its launch?

15

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« on: October 30, 2024, 11:49:02 am »

Alright. I have no problem with all that. I don't want to disappoint anyone here. I was only talking, but you're right on this and others. Its about your personal requests in this post, and I can do the mapping myself. Its the first steps I've got to take.

Not too nervous or anything like it, and don't want to be rushed of any sort by pressure, not that I am in it, but, yeah, I can do it, and still talk about other matters and hang out, which I like to do sometimes, 'cause it comforts me.

I almost forgot to ask, how goes the talks with Stubbsy on the matter with Alwa's Awakening's map since you sent your message? I don't want to presume its briefly forgotten because of how busy everyone's been at times. I hope you've kept in touch.