Sonic Maps

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 11:25 am

A big reason that I joined was the "favorite level" thread. I said my part on it, then just sorta forgot about it for a while, focusing more on Super Metroid and Megaman 6, X, and X2. But just recently I was digging around through my old printouts, and I came across some maps of Sonic Levels which I had printed out about a year ago. I had Sonic 1, 2, 3, K, CD, and 1 for GameGear, and I was looking at them and thinking about some of the comments, and I thought, "Hey, it would be pretty damn cool to dissect these levels (hence the name of the thread) at GHZ." The difference would be that instead of saying which was your favorite or anything, you would just say what's good, what's bad, et cetera. So...let's go!

Maps can be found here and here. If anyone has maps for other Sonic games, post 'em.

Just another thing--I found the soundtrack for Sonic and Knuckles Collection at Galbadia Hotel (Music in Videogames topic), and I was wondering what tout le monde thinks of the redone Carnival Night, Icecap, and Launch Base.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:29 pm

I wouldn't mind seeing those in comparison to all the new Sonic Advance levels.

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 5:04 pm

That can be arranged, but I'll have to scan them first.

PSMad · Post by **PSMad** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 9:39 am

That was quite an interesting look. Just seeing how the levels become larger and more complex as the games go on... a Sonic 1 map being roughly half the size as most in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Another thing to note, most of the levels have an actual solid floor. The only ones which don't are ones supposed to be in the air anyway; Flying Battery and Sky Sanctuary namely. The last thing is there are so many routs! Sonic 1 less so but 2, 3 & Knuckles especially there are loads; the floor rout, the sky rout and various mid routs. If I remember correctly there was a way to get from one rout to any other meaning various play troughs resulted in you never taking the same rout twice.

Now I am very interested in seeing the Advance titles as well as Rush if possible.

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Tue Jan 03, 2006 2:39 pm

Update on the Advance Maps:

Okay--I wasn't kidding, I do have maps for Advance 1 (but no others), but it'll take me a while to put them up. They're from a guidebook I'm borrowing from a friend, so I have to color copy them and then scan them (my scanner can only handle detached sheets of paper).

As for the levels...

It's actually surprising how single routes work. I'm thinking right now of Carnival Night Act 2--by looking over the map, you can see the route which Sonic takes. It sucks. It goes up and down forwards and backwards, twisting all over the place. But he only has that one route--no alternatives. Tails, on the other hand, gets a little break. He can (in certain places) fly across gaps or up to ledges which Sonic would need a more roundabout approach for. Knuckles is luckiest of all. He's able to break through chunks of wall to allow for an almost perfectly direct route across the level which no one else can access. Sure, it's an entirely seperate route, but he can only use it because he's Knuckles. It doesn't exactly count as an alternative since no one else can use it anyway.

In Sonic 1, 2, and CD, you notice something else: no ceilings! Without Tails to worry about, there was no need for the designers to block off remarkably easy shortcuts. In some cases, Knuckles would have been able to use said shortcuts as well. Just look at Marble Zone, Act 1. Of course, there are some retrictions still in place which might render it impossible, like how there is always an invisible "roof" on the level even when it seems open air. It's hard to describe, so I'll have to hope you know what I'm talking about. However, in levels like Green Hill Zone or Emerald Hill Zone, Tails would just be able to fly all over the place. Everyone remember that 1-Up in GHZ which has those two pyramids of rings around it? Easy target for Tails (and Knuckles, too).

Back to Sonic Advance levels, they are slightly but distinctly different from any represented in the previous games. The best example is Casino Paradise Zone. When I put it up, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Is anyone else surprised at how large Scrap Brain is in the Master System Sonic 1?

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:51 pm

Okay:

Advance Maps are pretty much ready to go, I have a little more editing to do. But I have a problem: these maps are pretty chunky, each one is over 1 megabyte in PNG format. How, exactly, should I post them? Any tips on reducing their size would be great too.

The T · Post by **The T** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:54 pm

Don't use PNG.

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 1:55 pm

Oookay. What would you recommend I use instead?

And congratulations on a new avatar!

The T · Post by **The T** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:27 pm

Try GIF and JPEG, see which one looks better. Since they're scanned from a magazine, JPEG would probably be the way to go, but because they're images of a video game, GIF might be better. Also weigh the size differences, obviously.

And the icon really isn't new. I've used it in several other places.

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:22 pm

I'll give it a shot, then. I had been following this advice (translated from French):

...24-bit PNG format instead of those crappy GIF (uhh... dithering, dithering, excessive dithering... weird colors... -- when badly used) and JPEG (arghhh, crappy quality!!! Precision loss!! Color sharpness completely destroyed!!! Sometimes huge file size!! -- because this format goes well with photos and detailed realistic images, but definitely not on low detailed images, even with a few visual effects on them and using a high quality rate).

James McGeachie · Post by **James McGeachie** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 6:08 pm

I'd be really interested in seeing the Advance maps, although I must admit I'm more curious about the 2, 3 and Rush ones. Advance has a bit less in the way of pits, though chances are most of the levels are still floorless.

jenkins · Post by **jenkins** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:41 am

Actually, only the zones 5 and 6 are floorless (although there are some pits in 2, 3, and 4, they're just hard to fall into and pretty small). The X-Zone also is floorless, but you hardly notice.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:36 pm

jenkins wrote:Oookay. What would you recommend I use instead?

And congratulations on a new avatar!

Don't congratulate people on changing an unimportant picture. It's a waste of time.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 8:36 pm

For such an unimportant picture, you sure as hell change yours a lot. I'm not really sure what that has to do with anything, but its bugging me! I actually have to read who wrote the post rather than just glancing at the avatar.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:56 pm

You can tell it's Baba as long as the dude has a guitar.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:04 pm

Light Speed wrote:For such an unimportant picture, you sure as hell change yours a lot. I'm not really sure what that has to do with anything, but its bugging me! I actually have to read who wrote the post rather than just glancing at the avatar.

It's irony. Taste it, love it, indulge in it once in a while.

Starscream · Post by **Starscream** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:13 am

The T wrote:Don't use PNG.

On a sidenote, what's wrong with PNG?

j-man · Post by **j-man** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:23 pm

Nothing. The T is being a penis. PNG all the way, mahfucker.

The T · Post by **The T** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:15 pm

Starscream wrote:
The T wrote:Don't use PNG.
On a sidenote, what's wrong with PNG?

It's not what's wrong with PNG. It's what's wrong with people who don't know how to encode PNG properly.

Also, items that are scanned in never really look well in PNG. PNG is best for digital creations.

Omni Hunter · Post by **Omni Hunter** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:42 am

Wierd, all my pics are PNG, and I have no problems.
Does that make me the PNG messiah?

The T · Post by **The T** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:44 pm

No, it just makes Jenkins an idiot.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:18 pm

The T wrote:No, it just makes Jenkins an idiot.

Hee hee.

Ritz · Post by **Ritz** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:46 pm

While my post count isn't high enough for me to really have a say in this, I personally think that jenkins is progressively becoming less of a dick. He's not quite in the green yet, but he does seem to be getting there. Or perhaps I haven't been paying enough attention.

The T, on the other hand, appears to have some sand in his vagina. Let's lynch him.

The T · Post by **The T** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:50 pm

I was under the impression being a dick was part of the requirements for joining.

And I'll have you know I clean my mangina regularly.

Ritz · Post by **Ritz** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:59 pm

You sure? Last I checked, your toilet was clogged with pearls.

They were worth a rather pretty penny, though. Apparently, they're highly sought after for their rare greenish tint.