Sonic The Hedgehog Unreleased Tech Demo

[handofg0d]

The people over at Sega-16.com held an interview with former Sega of America employee, Peter Morawiec (link) (http://www.sega-16.com/Interview-%20Peter%20Morawiec.php). It's a pretty interesting read, but the best part is at the end when they provide a video of an unreleased Tech Demo he had made for a new Sonic game based on the ABC Cartoon designs. Features include new moves (throwing rings, buzzsaw attack), larger sprites, and "3D" environments.

You can find the wmv of the video linked at the bottom of the article, but here's the YouTube version. (http://www.youtube.com/v/TYRz3oWVEMQ)

[Barc0de]

impressive, yet slow for a sonic game

[diddydonn]

wow, that looks really great is it based off the original sonic tv show or the awful sonic underground?

[Alchy]

Judging by that brownish fox lady (can't remember the character's name) I'd say the latter.

Anyway, I'm always interested in unreleased Sonic stuff. Was this just a rolling demo or is there playable code as well? I had a quick read of the article, couldn't find much on it.

[3do]

That is a great looking sonic game i must say.

[Twimfy]

Wow, I just purchased the complete DVD boxset of Sonic SatAM, this looks like a game which would have complimented it perfectly had it seen release.

I hope someone finds some playable code sometime soon.

[PhreQuencYViii]

Looks like Sonic Spinball kind of!

[handofg0d]

Looks like Sonic Spinball kind of!

Well, that's probably because Sonic Spinball was 100% created at STI, which is where this came from.



As far as I can tell (they don't actually talk about this in the interview for some reason) I think it was just a rolling demo animation, no actual code. I am only basing this on his statements about the Comix Zone demo which he says was an animation he made on his Amiga, that was the basis for the game. I'm guessing he made this animation, to shop it to Sega and they turned it down (probably because it's too slow and detracts too far from the Sonic franchise (at the time)).

[sirmosh]

Looks pretty, shame about the lack of speed.

[APE]

The tech documents for this game are on the internet, never thought it actually was implemented in any form.

[opethfan]

Am I the only one who perferred AoSTH over SatAM?

[PhreQuencYViii]

Am I the only one who perferred AoSTH over SatAM?

Nope! :nod: I liked funny VS the other as a kid, plus I read the comic, which was pretty much same thing as SatAM.

[handofg0d]

The tech documents for this game are on the internet, never thought it actually was implemented in any form.

Do you have a link, or any info on what the game was being called to help me search for this?

[Taucias]

Well, that's probably because Sonic Spinball was 100% created at STI, which is where this came from.



As far as I can tell (they don't actually talk about this in the interview for some reason) I think it was just a rolling demo animation, no actual code. I am only basing this on his statements about the Comix Zone demo which he says was an animation he made on his Amiga, that was the basis for the game. I'm guessing he made this animation, to shop it to Sega and they turned it down (probably because it's too slow and detracts too far from the Sonic franchise (at the time)).

I don't think the speed was the issue (if it was a tech demo it would have been coded in C, according to practices at STI at the time), as this would have changed during development in ASM. More like Sonic politics got in the way, which the guy goes on to talk about when they set up their satellite studio and the Sonic project got the can.

[Nitrosoxide]

Do you have a link, or any info on what the game was being called to help me search for this?

Sonic Mars

[APE]

http://www.sonic-cult.org/dispart.php?catid=6&gameid=10&subid=1&artid=21

[handofg0d]

Thanks, I actually found the docs after Nitros posted the name- they seem to be from the 32X incarnation of this game - and seem to share very little. I guess it morphed into this over the years. The CulT site says that this eventually became Xtreme, however in the interview posted above he clearly states "Not to be confused with Sonic Xtreme" - so it looks like there were 2 Saturn titles in the works.

While I was looking for these tech docs I also found a screen shot from the 32X game Sonic Mars (or Sonic on Mars according to the storyboard) The screen matches up almost exactly with a screen from those docs as well (page 84).
http://xtreme.projectsonic.com/misc/Mars_Demo.jpg

Still, you can see see some (vague) similarities between the video and these docs. For example, the docs refer to the character designs being based on the ABC cartoon.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Judging by that brownish fox lady (can't remember the character's name) I'd say the latter.


Nope. That's "Sally" from Sonic SatAM.


Interesting that somone at Sega had planned a game based on the cartoon alone.The speed in the demo is definitley a problem, but who knows how it would have turned out if Sega had approved the project and they had been allowed to work out the kinks and turn it into a real game. Could have turned out to be a lot of fun..oh well.

[PhreQuencYViii]

Sally and the other SatAM charectars were in a bonus stage in Sonic Spinball, she looked a lot like that.

Also, I remember a little handheld LCD game called Sonic on Mars (or something space related), dunno if thats signifigant.

[Yakumo]

http://xtreme.projectsonic.com/misc/Mars_Demo.jpgWow, nice image. I've never seen that before. Is it taken from code running on the 32X? I alwqays though Sonic Xetreme in it's fish eye form looked shit but this shot looks much nicer. I hate deformed graphics.

Yakumo

[z3ntn3l]

I alwqays though Sonic Xetreme in it's fish eye form looked shit but this shot looks much nicer.

For me, Xtreme´s Fish eye is one of the best ideas which never was included in Videogames. I think it could be a great way to become "better looking" 3D Effects on the 32Bit Systems.

[Yakumo]

nah, just limits the view. If programmed correctly you can have very good 3D. The fish eye lense was an easy way out if you ask me. The older shots of Sonic Xtreme without the fish eye lense looked well better.

Yakumo

[handofg0d]

Wow, nice image. I've never seen that before. Is it taken from code running on the 32X?

Honestly, not too sure about it's origins. I found it on sonic-xtreme.com
I know it was posted before the tech documents auction ended because in the thread on sonic cult they are discussing the image before the auction ended.

While looking through that site I also found this image, which is a much cleaner shot from the video I posted, that looks slightly different:
http://xtreme.projectsonic.com/misc/Genesis_PM_Concept.gif

Looking closely, I think sonic's outline is more predominant, and the pipe running along the bottom is a slightly different color. Also not sure of it's origin.

I'm no expert on sonic stuff... I barely paid paid any attention to Xtreme information (except vids). I don't like that fisheye look either. In theory it's interesting, but in practice it would probably make players feel sick after playing too long.

It's a shame this Genesis or 32X version didn't turn out though. They both look very interesting in their own ways.

[Alchy]

That really looks like placeholder art for press releases. Does anyone have any info how far this game got?

[Anthaemia.]

Wasn't this mock-up by Peter Morawiec one of the earliest concepts for what later evolved into the Sonic X-Treme project, back when it was (briefly) still in planning for the MegaDrive under the codename of Sonic Mars - or should that be "Sonic 16" as it is now being referred to? After this period of its troubled development, STI moved production onto the 32X, with later code splitting into opposing directions for the Saturn and PC from different splinter groups within this ill-fated wing of Sega's US operations. Of course, I might be a little off the mark with a few details as the infamous story behind X-Treme is more complicated than the Spaghetti Junction... well, probably!

[Barc0de]

Sonic X-treme was commenced on the SGI-proposed alpha kits, with full polygonal rendering. Everything was scrapped and eventually two different engines were merged in reaching the game's design as we know it.

[Dj AXS]

I think images of the video can be seen at Chris Senn's website, in the Sonic XTreme section.

[Shadowlayer]

Maybe this was the Sonic RPG some were talking about? that would explain the low speed since it looks more like an adventure game than a classic sonic game if you ask me.

SA2 proved that speed and elaborated movements arent a good conbination (at least for most people, since that was one of the major complaints about the game, along with the knuckles levels...) so maybe this Sonic16 or whatever it was called was meant to be an adventure/RPG game based on the script of the SatAM cartoon.

After all, since sonic games didnt had a real/official story until SA1 is no wonder that some guy at STI had the idea to make a sonic with an actual story in the form of a RPG.

Anyway, in page four theres a general gameflow sequence list where it says "8. Rescued character screen".

In chaotix you had that, maybe this game went on to become that non-sonic 32X game? who knows...


EDIT: november 1993?! jesus christwagons! I was at elementary school at the time...

BTW, its just me or somebody else think this couldnt've be done in the Genesis? dunno, I've the feeling that it was near impossible to do something like this with that hardware.

On the other hand its a techdemo so it may be a bit exagerated. Althought the comix zone one looks surprisingly like the final game.

And that one was from december 1992! and to think it was released 3 years later...

[Borman]

November of 93 would make me 5 years old, so probably Kindergarten or 1st grade at best

[Shadowlayer]

One year less than me then, I was already in 1st grade.

Man I'm getting old...

[handofg0d]

I was 11 at the time - and I was going absolutely apeshit over Sonic CD. I just couldn't believe the music! And that bonus level in 3D! Had I seen this video back then I would have been writing letters to Sega Visions begging for all the dirt...

[Bramsworth]

Regardless of how slow and unlike-Sonic this game looks, considering his popularity back then there's no doubt that this would have sold just based on the fact it's Sonic. Of course if it was released for the 32x instead of genesis it probably wouldn't have mattered either way :nod:

[ServiceGames]

November of 93 would make me 5 years old, so probably Kindergarten or 1st grade at best

Damn... you guys are making me feel old now.

[wingedwolf]

i have seen this image some 2 thousand times! LOL
i hope it is screenshot from the game...
anyway, fish-eye would not be so good thing...

[Shadowlayer]

Damn... you guys are making me feel old now.

Welcome to the club, anyways, how old are you then?

[handofg0d]

I just found this video of gameplay footage from the 32X "Sonic Mars" version. It looks exactly like the descriptions of those technical documents:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHLqSAoE0bk&NR=1


I believe it came from Chris Senn's website. Still interesting to see the timeline and progression of this...

[Shadowlayer]

That must be the non-playable demo he did on an Amiga to show off the concept.

Honestly I doubt that could be done on the 32X at the time, since it seems theres more polys on-screen than in Xtreme on the Saturn...

[Mazyora]

I wonder how far the Nights engine version was in development before naka stopped them from using his teams engine?

[Shadowlayer]

Isnt that the alpha release we just got?

Still feeling old and shit...

[Barc0de]

very impressive video, with some nice visual hacks/transitions from poly to sprite.

This being just a concept demo, is probably running on a PC, but the intended platform does seem to be 32X judging from the simplicity of the polygone models and the lack of textures.

[Flyinghigh]

This being just a concept demo, is probably running on a PC, but the intended platform does seem to be 32X judging from the simplicity of the polygone models and the lack of textures.

As far as i know it was made on a amiga system.

[Barc0de]

didn't know that, thanks=)