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31
Leaderboard Disputes / ATTN: SonicBoom737
« on: August 14, 2012, 02:28:46 pm »
Your Angel Island 1 time for Sonic links to a video that clearly disobeys the following Competition Rule:
Additionally, one of your videos describes the six-rev spin dash as rubbing your thumb over the A, B, and C buttons, yet it is clear you are using an emulator (as evidenced by the "improved" PSG sounds output by Gens variants); I would like to know what third-party controller you are using that is set up for easy spin dashing.
Please clear these matters up and reply to this post as soon as possible.
Quote from: General Rules
* In any game where there is a co-op mode, the second controller may not be used.
Additionally, one of your videos describes the six-rev spin dash as rubbing your thumb over the A, B, and C buttons, yet it is clear you are using an emulator (as evidenced by the "improved" PSG sounds output by Gens variants); I would like to know what third-party controller you are using that is set up for easy spin dashing.
Please clear these matters up and reply to this post as soon as possible.
32
News and Updates / TSC Marathoning Shenanigans - Late Planning Stages
« on: December 21, 2011, 01:51:46 pm »
I've brought this up a few times in chat, but I think it's time to start getting ideas together.
Considering that tons of other sites have done successful charity Sonic Marathons (such as Bonus Stage Marathons), and considering I've spoken to a couple of SDA/TSC members who would back it, I truly think this is something we could pull off. It would be easier now than ever before considering how game streaming and Skype use have become pretty prevalent on TSC. CosmicFalcon tried putting something together a long time ago in this topic, but it didn't really get off the ground. In the interest of not stretching the front page to ridiculous proportions with this topic, I'm going to double-post: front-page readers can click the comments link at the lower-right of this message to view the rest of the topic.
Anybody who has thoughts or suggestions and anybody who wants to contribute or play during the marathon should post. Note that if there's conflict between people wanting to play a certain game, I intend to look at both their popularity on the site and their game rank to make a decision: we want both entertaining gameplay and commentary, not just one or the other.
Considering that tons of other sites have done successful charity Sonic Marathons (such as Bonus Stage Marathons), and considering I've spoken to a couple of SDA/TSC members who would back it, I truly think this is something we could pull off. It would be easier now than ever before considering how game streaming and Skype use have become pretty prevalent on TSC. CosmicFalcon tried putting something together a long time ago in this topic, but it didn't really get off the ground. In the interest of not stretching the front page to ridiculous proportions with this topic, I'm going to double-post: front-page readers can click the comments link at the lower-right of this message to view the rest of the topic.
Anybody who has thoughts or suggestions and anybody who wants to contribute or play during the marathon should post. Note that if there's conflict between people wanting to play a certain game, I intend to look at both their popularity on the site and their game rank to make a decision: we want both entertaining gameplay and commentary, not just one or the other.
33
Leaderboard Disputes / ATTN: supersonic465
« on: November 07, 2011, 08:00:49 pm »
So, hey, Mr. supersonic465, our Ultra Bullshit Detector 4000 is saying that you either typoed or lied about a good chunk of your Sonic Adventure 2 stats. At the moment, your ability to submit is revoked until you check what you've submitted against your save file and correct what I hope are typos.
If you insist that everything's correct, we'll ask for picture proof of a random sample of times from the Stage Select screen (the chosen ones are at our discretion, so taking five or six pictures now will not solve this).
Please fix this as soon as possible.
If you insist that everything's correct, we'll ask for picture proof of a random sample of times from the Stage Select screen (the chosen ones are at our discretion, so taking five or six pictures now will not solve this).
Please fix this as soon as possible.
34
News and Updates / Sonic Generations Charts Discussion
« on: November 03, 2011, 10:04:06 am »
In the interest of getting charts created sooner rather than later, I am posing a few questions about the rules and brackets for Generations competition (not the 3DS version yet, of course).
- Will we mimic the leaderboards and disallow skills, will we allow all or most skills, or will we have charts for both methods?
- Will we track 30 Second Trials, which are simply small portions of the full-level time attacks?
- If we allow skills, will we make separate charts for using the skill earned for beating the game? (You can say what it is in your answer, but since this post is on the main page, I'm avoiding spoilers in the off chance that somebody doesn't know about it.)
- To what extent will we track challenges (i.e. will we just track times, or also rings when applicable)?
35
News and Updates / SAGE 2011 is here!
« on: September 18, 2011, 09:05:53 pm »
It is that time of year, folks! www.sagexpo.org is here for a week for all of your Sonic game needs, as well as dramatic fanfiction reading and other exciting events on SAGECast and the results of the latest hacking contest. Plus my hack is at SAGE are you should play it!
The SAGE chat is on irc.rizon.net #sagexpo and will be open all week.
The SAGE chat is on irc.rizon.net #sagexpo and will be open all week.
36
News and Updates / Sonic Team Franchise Anniversaries 2011
« on: July 05, 2011, 04:09:29 pm »
This post totally isn't for the sole purpose of keeping the front page active.
First of all, June 23rd was Sonic's 20th anniversary, as I'm sure most of you know. The biggest thing to come of this was the demo for the console versions of Sonic Generations, and I leave a reminder here to make sure you download it ASAP if you haven't already, since the download will be removed from Xbox Live and Playstation Network on July 12th. The demo is set to stop working after that date as well, but it's been found that this can be circumvented with a bit of trickery.
Secondly, today (July 5th) is the 15th anniversary of another Sonic Team franchise, NiGHTS. OCRemix and the NiGHTS into Dreams fan site are celebrating with the release of the free fan album NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming. If you've gotten an OCRemix album before, you'll know that the albums tend to be comprised of some really over-the-top remixes, some mixes with vocals added, and some very laid back instrumental pieces, so there's something for everybody, especially those familiar with the source material. Three related points...
First of all, June 23rd was Sonic's 20th anniversary, as I'm sure most of you know. The biggest thing to come of this was the demo for the console versions of Sonic Generations, and I leave a reminder here to make sure you download it ASAP if you haven't already, since the download will be removed from Xbox Live and Playstation Network on July 12th. The demo is set to stop working after that date as well, but it's been found that this can be circumvented with a bit of trickery.
Secondly, today (July 5th) is the 15th anniversary of another Sonic Team franchise, NiGHTS. OCRemix and the NiGHTS into Dreams fan site are celebrating with the release of the free fan album NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming. If you've gotten an OCRemix album before, you'll know that the albums tend to be comprised of some really over-the-top remixes, some mixes with vocals added, and some very laid back instrumental pieces, so there's something for everybody, especially those familiar with the source material. Three related points...
- At this year's Summer of Sonic, DiGi and TRiPPY, who run aforementioned fan site, got to have an interview with Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka. DiGi and TRiPPY gave Naka and Iizuka copies of the album, and Iizuka asked for more copies to give to others, including NiGHTS into Dreams' lead composer Tomoko Sasaki. SEGA's more senior members still hold NiGHTS in high regard.
- If you aren't familiar with the real-life concept of lucid dreaming, you should really hit up some sites related to it such as Dream Views and LD4All. It's life-changing stuff and is some of the most fun I've had ever. You may have to look past some of the people spouting pseudoscience if you start researching it heavily (in particular, the movie Inception is pretty far off, and many people claim that lucid dreams provide access to other planes of existence), but even from a scientific standpoint, limitless possibilities within your own head is both possible and amazing if you're dedicated enough or born lucky enough to master it.
- What better day than today to support a port of the original NiGHTS game to modern consoles? Hit up NiD15 to show support. A Playstation 2 remake of the original game and half of the Christmas bonus game was released in Japan a few years back, and it could easily be ported to a more powerful console. SEGA may be listening, so it's worth your time.
37
Competition Central / (Possible) Return of the TSC Level Design Contest
« on: January 05, 2011, 05:15:52 pm »
The last time we had a level design contest, we used this fan game. It was a little finicky, but it served its purpose. Also, it was fun. I'm somewhat interested in giving such a contest another go. However, I'd like to move from that fangame to an actual Sonic engine, using SonED2.
Basically, I'd provide the source code, level assets, object definitions, and perhaps a small selection of music, and you guys can edit to your heart's content without having to know a thing about coding. At the end of the contest, I'll pack everything you guys make into one ROM and send it off to the Sonic Retro userbase for judging instead of making douglas do it like last time.
Of course, this only works if people care (and TSC was much more caring at the time of the last contest). There's really no prize, just the satisfaction of beating somebody else from TSC. If you're interested, let me know here. I'll figure out a few more specifics (such as which game's source code to use) after I know this will go somewhere.
Basically, I'd provide the source code, level assets, object definitions, and perhaps a small selection of music, and you guys can edit to your heart's content without having to know a thing about coding. At the end of the contest, I'll pack everything you guys make into one ROM and send it off to the Sonic Retro userbase for judging instead of making douglas do it like last time.
Of course, this only works if people care (and TSC was much more caring at the time of the last contest). There's really no prize, just the satisfaction of beating somebody else from TSC. If you're interested, let me know here. I'll figure out a few more specifics (such as which game's source code to use) after I know this will go somewhere.
38
News and Updates / Sonic Colors Charts Impending, Possible Race
« on: November 17, 2010, 08:04:22 pm »
The subject says it all, but I'll elaborate anyway.
1stKirbyever and I have both achieved 100% completion of the Wii game and have enough knowledge to make the charts. My biggest concern is that there is only one recorded time/score stat per level even though the unlockable option creates the need for TSC to make two for all except Game Land, bosses, and Egg Shuttle, but we'll probably use our old standby of "well you'll just have to write down your stats or memorize them". I feel like I'm tainting my records and the leaderboards if I use said option, but that's just me being strange... or maybe it's because a six-second Asteroid Coaster 3 feels really, really underwhelming.
With regards to the DS game, the only thing left to figure out there is if the Multiplayer vs. CPU stages are worth tracking. TSC precedent says yes, but we have one vocal opponent to this, so you might try chiming in with your opinion now. Charts will not be delayed just because we need an answer to this question: when one of us admins decides to make the charts, we'll make them even if nobody's answered yet, so speak up soon.
For both versions, charts should be up soon. Thanksgiving holiday gives me the 23rd, 24th, and 25th off from work and classes, so if I or another admin haven't made charts by this time, it'll happen then.
In other Colors news, this game still needs a TSC Race Night. I'm thinking of holding one for the Wii version's Egg Shuttle on the 23rd, since it'll be a week after the North American release and any later will see people miss the race due to Thanksgiving. If the DS version players want to get a race going, I'd suggest sometime on the 23rd or 24th for the same reasons.
EDIT: It'll probably happen at the usual time: 7 PM EST.
1stKirbyever and I have both achieved 100% completion of the Wii game and have enough knowledge to make the charts. My biggest concern is that there is only one recorded time/score stat per level even though the unlockable option creates the need for TSC to make two for all except Game Land, bosses, and Egg Shuttle, but we'll probably use our old standby of "well you'll just have to write down your stats or memorize them". I feel like I'm tainting my records and the leaderboards if I use said option, but that's just me being strange... or maybe it's because a six-second Asteroid Coaster 3 feels really, really underwhelming.
With regards to the DS game, the only thing left to figure out there is if the Multiplayer vs. CPU stages are worth tracking. TSC precedent says yes, but we have one vocal opponent to this, so you might try chiming in with your opinion now. Charts will not be delayed just because we need an answer to this question: when one of us admins decides to make the charts, we'll make them even if nobody's answered yet, so speak up soon.
For both versions, charts should be up soon. Thanksgiving holiday gives me the 23rd, 24th, and 25th off from work and classes, so if I or another admin haven't made charts by this time, it'll happen then.
In other Colors news, this game still needs a TSC Race Night. I'm thinking of holding one for the Wii version's Egg Shuttle on the 23rd, since it'll be a week after the North American release and any later will see people miss the race due to Thanksgiving. If the DS version players want to get a race going, I'd suggest sometime on the 23rd or 24th for the same reasons.
EDIT: It'll probably happen at the usual time: 7 PM EST.
39
News and Updates / SAGE 2010
« on: August 08, 2010, 12:38:42 am »
In case you haven't heard the big news, SAGE 2010 is now live at http://www.sagexpo.org/ with 32 fangame websites linked. Go play them so we can pretend to have a conversation about something on this forum for once.
Really, this post was just an excuse to get Sonic Colors news off of the front page. Let's try to appear current kthxbai.~
Really, this post was just an excuse to get Sonic Colors news off of the front page. Let's try to appear current kthxbai.~
40
Leaderboard Disputes / ATTN: gamer73
« on: June 29, 2010, 02:38:31 pm »
Several of your submitted times have been called into question. To continue submitting to the site, we request proof of a few of these times (not all) to verify their validity. We're not saying "redo and record these times" because that would take you forever: we're asking for a simple picture or video of the stage select screen with these times showing.
Sonic Adventure:
Emerald Coast -- Sonic -- 1:16:22
Casinopolis -- Sonic -- 0:14:77
Windy Valley -- Tails -- 0:23:97
Speed Highway -- Sonic -- 1:12:24
Sonic Unleashed 360/PS3 (w/ DLC):
Cool Edge 1 -- Day -- 2:43:96
Skyscraper Scamper 1-2 -- Day -- 1:57:12
Again, a simple picture or video of the stage select screen will do. That's also ALL we will accept: too many times have we had people panic and record a brand new run that doesn't come up to snuff. It should only take about ten minutes or so to get the pictures: point digital camera at screen, click shutter button, rinse and repeat, then submit them to Imageshack or zip the pictures together and upload the zip to a file sharing site.
Feel free to respond with the aforementioned proof or questions.
Sonic Adventure:
Emerald Coast -- Sonic -- 1:16:22
Casinopolis -- Sonic -- 0:14:77
Windy Valley -- Tails -- 0:23:97
Speed Highway -- Sonic -- 1:12:24
Sonic Unleashed 360/PS3 (w/ DLC):
Cool Edge 1 -- Day -- 2:43:96
Skyscraper Scamper 1-2 -- Day -- 1:57:12
Again, a simple picture or video of the stage select screen will do. That's also ALL we will accept: too many times have we had people panic and record a brand new run that doesn't come up to snuff. It should only take about ten minutes or so to get the pictures: point digital camera at screen, click shutter button, rinse and repeat, then submit them to Imageshack or zip the pictures together and upload the zip to a file sharing site.
Feel free to respond with the aforementioned proof or questions.
41
News and Updates / All Stars Racing Console/PC Charts Now Live
« on: April 07, 2010, 12:00:35 am »
The topic title says it all: after a long wait and plenty of nagging the admins, game charts are now up for the Console and PC versions -- the DS and mobile versions do not have charts yet. DsS thanks you all for giving him another championship and more sitewide points.
Please take note of the following unusual rule that was added for the game:
Do not simply submit times shown when pressing the Info button at the course select, since some times that aren't achieved by the player appear for an as of yet unexplained reason.
If you're not sure if you actually achieved a time in the Races category, don't submit it.
Update: Metal Sonic & Death Egg Zone -- Egg Hangar are now downloadable from Xbox Live Marketplace for 560 Microsoft Points,but not on the Playstation Network; it will be coming soon, though, as evidenced by the leak a week before today. Charts for DLC will not be available until we know that it will consist of more than one or two courses, and it will be ranked separately from the standard game to be more fair to Wii and PC version players.
Update 2: The Playstation 3 version has been released.
Please take note of the following unusual rule that was added for the game:
Do not simply submit times shown when pressing the Info button at the course select, since some times that aren't achieved by the player appear for an as of yet unexplained reason.
If you're not sure if you actually achieved a time in the Races category, don't submit it.
Update: Metal Sonic & Death Egg Zone -- Egg Hangar are now downloadable from Xbox Live Marketplace for 560 Microsoft Points,
Update 2: The Playstation 3 version has been released.
42
News and Updates / TSC & SCD at the Olympic Spring Games
« on: February 13, 2010, 10:56:27 pm »
do tsc scd teamwork stuff....................
*sighs* If we have to...
In all seriousness, since TSC Race Night seems to be dead, buried, and forgotten (could you guys at least have paid for a grave marker?), and Sonic Cage Dome (read: Strong Bad) is raring to get another tournament going, we've decided to deliberately ignite an old rivalry and gets you guys screaming at each other again! The tourney will take place from March 14 to March 21 and will take place cross-site, with online play being handled at SCD because that's just their bag, baby, and offline play being handled on TSC (or maybe TLC, if we can resuscitate that). The Sonic games in question will be Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, with the two-player competition modes getting some love over netplay and some solo speed runs and possibly score runs happening here. Entering the online portion of the tournament requires registration to allow time to create a tournament tree. Entering offline competition is at your leisure. This means that even if you live in, say, Australia and your ping is astronomical, you can still participate offline.
If you're available for either portion of the tournament, please participate to show SCD how good we are per Section III Part II Clause IV. Head over to Sonic Cage Dome to register for online competition. Oh, and don't tell Strong Bad that Spring doesn't start until after March 14.
43
News and Updates / Project Needlemouse "Midnight" Reveal: Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I
« on: February 03, 2010, 08:05:00 pm »
The registered http://sonicthehedgehog4.com redirects to the game's site and is now open, and has all of the info from GameSpot plus countdowns to new information reveals. If you want to hear the jingle revealed on February 2nd, the Japanese Sonic 4 site plays it. The logo above was taken from the Japanese site by Sonic Retro user celebi23.
44
News and Updates / Project Needlemouse Faux Concept Art Challenge
« on: January 27, 2010, 11:02:31 pm »
The reveal of concept art at the end of The Needlemouse Challenge from two weeks ago serves as the basis for The Needlemouse Challenge: Part II... the last part, for better or worse. Instead of days of tasks across several sites, we have one goal on one site: Submit over 100 pieces of fan art of classic Badniks to SEGA by Monday, February 1 at 10am MST. It doesn't matter how you do it, although they are of course encouraging creativity, and only one piece of art counts per person. The stakes? The game's true name, concept art of Zone 1, and another "bonus". Note that rumors have stated that Project Needlemouse has been called Sonic 4 within Sonic Team, so don't be disappointed if that's the game's name.
Some info came out today, as well. Concept art of a Motobug was revealed, and we were left with these words at the end of the blog entry:
What do you make of this? Are you intrigued, or are you FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFing?
EDIT: This. Just... this. SEGA's learning...
UPDATE: The goal's been met. SEGA's updated the blog with some new info: as you should already know if you recognized the first concept art as Shellcracker from Sonic 2 16-bit, this is not a Sonic 1 remake. SEGA felt like that had to be cleared up. Concept art will start to be revealed on Tuesday, February 2, along with prize giveaways. For every 50 pieces of Badnik fanart submitted after the initial 100, an extra bit of swag will be included in the giveaway. All of this is leading up to a "big" announcement come the weekend.
Of course, the most important bit of news from this blog is that MY MOSQUI MADE THE FRONT PAGE YYYEEEAAAHHH~
Some info came out today, as well. Concept art of a Motobug was revealed, and we were left with these words at the end of the blog entry:
Quote from: RubyEclipse
Speed is something that is not given; but rather earned through dedication. Speed is not found by simply pushing a boost button, but by building momentum. It is the reward for skill in the face of difficult challenges – this kind of speed is the most exhilarating, not only because it is fast, but because of the pure perfection such speed exemplifies. This is the truth of the original Sonic games – and this is the truth of Project Needlemouse.
What do you make of this? Are you intrigued, or are you FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFing?
EDIT: This. Just... this. SEGA's learning...
UPDATE: The goal's been met. SEGA's updated the blog with some new info: as you should already know if you recognized the first concept art as Shellcracker from Sonic 2 16-bit, this is not a Sonic 1 remake. SEGA felt like that had to be cleared up. Concept art will start to be revealed on Tuesday, February 2, along with prize giveaways. For every 50 pieces of Badnik fanart submitted after the initial 100, an extra bit of swag will be included in the giveaway. All of this is leading up to a "big" announcement come the weekend.
Of course, the most important bit of news from this blog is that MY MOSQUI MADE THE FRONT PAGE YYYEEEAAAHHH~
45
Information Kiosk / Site happenings, or lack thereof
« on: January 18, 2010, 01:28:46 pm »
I thought about front-paging this, but decided that guests probably don't care about anything here.
There's plenty of things that need to be done on the site that just keep getting put off, and there's some things that I want to see happen even if they aren't pressing matters for the sake of keeping things running smoothly. Opinions on the latter type would be appreciated.
Needs to be Done
If there's anything crucial that I'm forgetting, please tell me and I'll add it in.
Things I'd Like To Do (anything I do admin-wise has to go through SonicAD first, and won't be done if people reject it in replies to this post)
...shoot, I had other things on my mind, but forgot them. The first list is more important than my opinions, anyway.
There's plenty of things that need to be done on the site that just keep getting put off, and there's some things that I want to see happen even if they aren't pressing matters for the sake of keeping things running smoothly. Opinions on the latter type would be appreciated.
Needs to be Done
- Sonic Triple Trouble rankings need to be cleaned up: We've known for ages now that some people used the PAL settings on their emulators to take advantage of the slower timer, an effect that happens with Sonic Master System games. The issue here is that Sonic Triple Trouble doesn't have a Master System version, and Game Gears worldwide all play the game at the same speed. SonicAD told me before to just go ahead and wipe suspected illegal stats, but I'm going to check with him one more time before the wipe. Actually, he'll probably just see this message and then get back to me... same difference. Time and Score stats are obviously affected, and while Rings are questionable, the way stats get banned means that every Time and Score stat would have to be banned individually instead of a game-wide ban... so yeah, if you're suspected, your entire game's stats will be removed. To reinstate stats you've achieved that were legit, use the Time Machine at the top of the sidebar to return to January 17th, write down the legit stats, and resubmit them in the present. If you believe your stats were banned in error, please contact a site admin, as we can easily restore all of them.
Update: At the very least, all of the known cases are checked on and handled accordingly. Any cases remaining (if any) are low enough on the charts to beat without this exploit... consider it a challenge? - Sonic '06 stats need to be re-organized: This is low-priority due to general dislike of the game causing very little competition, but it's an issue nevertheless. Individual boss charts need to be moved to the Bosses division, and Boss Attack, Very Hard, and Team Attack Amigo charts need to be moved to a separate game. This can only be done by GerbilSoft, and he has other things to be worrying about.
- Potential new charts need to be made before they lose relevance: So, are we making charts for the Mario & Sonic series or not?
Update: Gerbil's been working on the new score types necessary for the Wii version of the Winter Olympics.
Update: Gerbil and I put up All-Stars Racing charts for all versions except DS and mobile. - Links on the Submissions page to topics explaining why certain charts aren't tracked should be added: This was suggested long ago but never implemented. It's another thing that falls to GerbilSoft, so other issues should be dealt with first.
- TUSC and TLC need to be taken down: TUSC suffers from the ever-changing nature of fangames, the inability to advertise its existence where it matters (forums for fangames tend to ban you for site advertising), charts for games that are just plain stupid, and a general lack of interest in fangames and hacks by the whole of TSC. TLC hasn't done anything since August 2009. In lieu of it, a new tournament format needs to be implemented when tournaments become popular again.
- Move the maps saved in Rolken's directory to the main site: There are maps on TSC that aren't in the public's view for reasons unknown. Unless they're hidden for a reason, which I very much doubt, they need to be linked to from the Maps page.
Update:
(at Rolken a.k.a. Fen)
<@Thorn> speaking of TSC (because we never do)
<@Thorn> is there any particular reason that some of the maps in your directory on the site aren't linked to from the maps section?
<%Fen> because nobody's linked them
<%Fen> go to town :v
<%Fen> actually a few days to a week ago I was looking for them and a bit surprised that they weren't up there
Permission granted.
If there's anything crucial that I'm forgetting, please tell me and I'll add it in.
Things I'd Like To Do (anything I do admin-wise has to go through SonicAD first, and won't be done if people reject it in replies to this post)
- Change the Rules Committee from IRC-based to forum-based: The Rules Committee meetings are few and far between because to have a worthwhile meeting, there needs to be several issues on the table. Moving this from IRC to a private board would allow for issues to be addressed as they come up, since we wouldn't have to have everybody on the committee present at the same time. Permission to the board should be assigned as a member group, using individual permission on a case-by-case basis when necessary (e.g. the Rules Committee is at a loss over a rule for a game, so the game's champion gets temporary permission to view the board).
Update: Done. Due to making "Rules Committee" a primary member group instead of a hidden permission, this did knock DsS and Spinny out of Prominent Members, but since Prominent Members is also on the list of things that need to be revamped, this will be fixed. - Revamp the Prominent Members page : Half of them aren't really that prominent anymore, due to the page simply displaying the bio of everybody in the "If I Had a (Ban)Hammer" member group. This could be solved by making another group with the same permissions and moving all IIHA(B)H users that aren't prominent users to the second group. The move isn't meant as an offense to anybody on the list (you wouldn't lose any forum permissions); it's meant to be more reflective of who's active on the site.
- Open a Board Games board: No, not like Monopoly, although I guess that could fit here as well. This is an idea I'd thought about for a while, but it would either make for fun times or a complete disaster, so I haven't done anything about it. Forum games that currently reside in Wikkity! or that have been deleted such as Pick Up the Phone Booth, Horrible Misfortune, RPG's Murdering Topic, and genus-inspired Random Questions aren't necessarily "bad", but most forums wouldn't allow them to be mixed in with other topics. Moving forum games to their own subforum (better known as a board... get it?) would keep them contained and make them fun but not disruptive.
Update: As soon as I said that it needn't be done due to lack on interest, SonicAD said to do it anyway, so it's done. - Add the Process New Suspensions script to the sidebar for admins: The first time I suspended a stat, I was chastised for not running this script. Frankly, I was unaware of its existence. It turns out that, just like how clicking Submissions and clicking Statistics does the same thing, admins can click Admin to see all of the admin commands. Process New Suspensions is the only command available by clicking Admin that isn't available on the sidebar (besides another broken command). This is petty stuff, I know, but eh.
...shoot, I had other things on my mind, but forgot them. The first list is more important than my opinions, anyway.
46
News and Updates / Project Needlemouse Character Countdown Trivia Game
« on: January 11, 2010, 02:24:00 pm »
This really isn't newsworthy, but it's a bit late to be having a Happy Holidays message on the homepage, so this'll make us seem up-to-date because every other Sonic site is posting it. :P
So, the trivia game is over. Make of it what you will.
So, the trivia game is over. Make of it what you will.
47
Competition Central / Sonic 1 / CD / 2 / 3 & Knuckles: Basic breakdown of level designs and collision
« on: January 04, 2010, 05:22:26 pm »
This post will cover some of the internal mechanics of the classic Sonic games and what quirks arise from their design for the sake of making clearer rules and providing explanation as to why some of TSC's tricks work. If anybody can think of something that needs to be appended or that he/she would like to hear more about, please mention it. Do note that this post isn't for stating level-specific tricks unless they serve as an example of something that needs to be mentioned.
Note: Terminology used within this post is widely used at Sonic Retro and other Sonic hacking sites. Sonic Team may have different terminology. This guide is deliberately dumbed down and may not cover exceptions to the norm, but is largely accurate. This guide is centered around Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 , and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but most of it can be applied to other games built on a similar structure.
Level design in Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 , and Sonic 3 & Knuckles can be broken down into a combination of things, the most prominent of which are chunks and objects.
Chunks and Divisions Thereof
Level design starts with small 8x8 squares of pixels, typically called tiles. These serve primarily for housing art that is rearranged, flipped, and mirrored throughout the level, and can be set to appear either in front of or behind many objects and the character (an object's tendency to be drawn on top of other things is called its priority). A 2x2 square of tiles in any fashion creates a 16x16 square of pixels called a block. Blocks also have the capacity to be mirrored, flipped, rearranged, etc., and it's here where the level's collision starts to be handled. The next and final step up from here is the chunk, which is 8x8 blocks or 128x128 pixels in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles and 16x16 blocks or 256x256 pixels in Sonic 1 and Sonic CD. Chunks are never mirrored or flipped: anything that appears so is actually two separate chunks with symmetric designs. Chunks also determine how the collision that is established in blocks is used. Level backgrounds are also made of chunks, but for the purposes of competition on TSC, you won't need to know much about them (although a little knowledge does help explain why the background appears glitchy after you pull off certain tricks that the game didn't intend).
Objects
Take a look at TSC's Sonic & Knuckles maps. With the exception of Mushroom Hill 1 and 2 and Sandopolis 2, the maps lack rings, star posts, badniks, and a slew of other things. These maps only contain the foreground chunks of the level: anything that's missing is an object. Objects still use tiles for art, but they handle collision, movement, and pretty much everything else about them within code specific to that object (although they still use some shared code, such as detecting when they're colliding with blocks and chunks and succumbing to gravity). Many object properties are only considered if the object is on the screen -- taking advantage of this behavior is necessary for several tricks.
In Sonic 1 and 2, objects are set to either get an entry in the respawn table, or to not receive an entry. The respawn table is used to reload objects when appropriate, since they stop being managed as soon as they are off-screen. Objects that require an entry are ones where multiple states need to be remembered that aren't dependent on other conditions of the level: a ring can be either collected or not collected, a monitor or a badnik can be destroyed or not destroyed, etc. Part of the issue with certain charts on TSC is poor respawn decisions on the part of the game designers. Some objects that award points, such as rocks in Hill Top or blocks in Marble, don't remember when they've been destroyed and will revert to their initial state once you move away from them and then put them back on-screen. Sonic 3 & Knuckles has some issues with this as well. If you come across objects that award points infinitely by respawning, check with the rules to make sure that they aren't banned from repeated use.
One object that deserves special mention is the spikes object from Sonic 1. Early revisions of the game were set up so that spikes hurt Sonic in their own special way instead of calling the code that typically hurts Sonic. Since this code was made just for spikes, anybody referring to Sonic 1's spike behavior as a "glitch" or "bug" should be slapped with a large trout.
Level Boundaries and the Camera
Horizontal and vertical level boundaries are defined for every level to prevent the player from moving into the void beyond where the level stops. These values have limits: for example, in Sonic 2 the maximum horizontal distance a level can go is 128 chunks, and the maximum vertical distance is 16 chunks (these values are different in other games, but the concept is the same). When the camera crosses the limit horizontally or vertically, the game simply loops from the beginning. This is how levels such as Metropolis Zone function: the higher and lower vertical level boundaries are set above and below the camera's limits respectively, so reaching the top of the zone brings you to the bottom. This is also why there are areas in levels where you try to move beyond the level's upper boundaries and run into walls: you're bumping into chunks on the bottom of the level. The inverse is true as well: a bottomless pit in line with the bottom of the vertical limit won't kill you if there's a chunk below it or at the level's top due to vertical wrapping, since you'll stand exactly level with it on the bottom of the screen. Horizontal looping can be seen in several tricks in Sonic 3 and Knuckles that send the player beyond the end of the zone, but notice that objects don't loop horizontally.
A screenwrap is performed by utilizing a quirk in the vertical wrapping behavior. On levels that use the same vertical level boundary setup as Metropolis, one can duck to move the camera downwards, then jump off of the screen's top to send the camera scrolling downwards and across the wraparound point in an attempt to find you. Since objects aren't handled unless they're on the screen but block and chunk collision is always handled, you can pass through objects that interfere with your intended route.
Block and Chunk Collision
You've probably noticed that not all "walls" are solid: the same art that's used for a solid wall in Green Hill is also used to show a wall that's "behind" you that you can pass by.
Blocks are assigned a value that tells them which pixels can be make solid and at what angle you move across it. Chunks choose whether or not said pixels actually are solid, and how. There are three main ways collision in a block can be handled:
While cheating through Top Solid blocks is used for a few tricks on TSC, Left/Right/Bottom and All Solid blocks are more interesting, as they allow for zipping a.k.a. wallzipping (although objects can be used to zip too). If you are standing between two tiles with some form of side collision, the game tries to eject you from your spot if you move in the slightest. The ejection is performed in the opposite direction that you try to move (i.e. press right to zip left, and press left to zip right), and it moves you so fast that the game often ends up ignoring other collision in the process, particularly with objects since you can get off-screen from the speed. Hitting the left boundary of a level at zip speeds often causes you to wrap around to the right edge of the level.
Here's a screenwrap-zip combo to try: look at the very center of TSC's Marble Garden 1 map. Find the approximate center of the map, and then zoom in on the big ring just to the lower-right. To the lower-right of that is a blue top object, and to the right of that is a rotating set of platforms with a fire shield item below them. Screenwrap in this area, and maneuver through the fire shield item to its right side while the camera isn't focuses on you. When the camera returns to you, the fire shield will be on screen, and its collision will be checked. You can zip out from behind it right into the nearby wall. Once in the wall, you can zip again to land on the steep downward slope on the right.
Collision Planes
Once you know how block and chunk collision is set up, this concept is easy. Look at any Sonic 1 map, and you'll notice that the paths never cross. Sonic 1 uses one plane of collision, so setting up crossing paths is difficult and can only be done in certain ways. Later Sonic games assign two forms of collision to each block in most zones (zones that don't have crossing paths still use only one), and by switching the player between them when appropriate, paths can cross. The invisible object that handles the switching is called a path swapper. Path swappers have the following properties:
FAQ
Q: Why do objects appear glitchy in debug mode once I reach the boss/signpost? Why does the prison egg look like a garbled mess of item art until I beat the boss?
A: A pattern load cue/queue (depends on who you ask), or PLC, tells the game what art to load into the memory space the game has to store art. Most art is loaded right at the start of the level, but the limited amount of space means that not all of it can be loaded at that time. Boss art and signpost art are loaded as you approach the point where the actual object code is run. This art overwrites art used earlier in the level that won't be seen again since the level is ending. The arrangement of the art data a.k.a. mappings is maintained, but the actual data in place of the old art has changed, or in the case of the prison egg before reaching the boss, not changed.
More to come...?
Note: Terminology used within this post is widely used at Sonic Retro and other Sonic hacking sites. Sonic Team may have different terminology. This guide is deliberately dumbed down and may not cover exceptions to the norm, but is largely accurate. This guide is centered around Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 , and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but most of it can be applied to other games built on a similar structure.
Level design in Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 , and Sonic 3 & Knuckles can be broken down into a combination of things, the most prominent of which are chunks and objects.
Chunks and Divisions Thereof
Level design starts with small 8x8 squares of pixels, typically called tiles. These serve primarily for housing art that is rearranged, flipped, and mirrored throughout the level, and can be set to appear either in front of or behind many objects and the character (an object's tendency to be drawn on top of other things is called its priority). A 2x2 square of tiles in any fashion creates a 16x16 square of pixels called a block. Blocks also have the capacity to be mirrored, flipped, rearranged, etc., and it's here where the level's collision starts to be handled. The next and final step up from here is the chunk, which is 8x8 blocks or 128x128 pixels in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles and 16x16 blocks or 256x256 pixels in Sonic 1 and Sonic CD. Chunks are never mirrored or flipped: anything that appears so is actually two separate chunks with symmetric designs. Chunks also determine how the collision that is established in blocks is used. Level backgrounds are also made of chunks, but for the purposes of competition on TSC, you won't need to know much about them (although a little knowledge does help explain why the background appears glitchy after you pull off certain tricks that the game didn't intend).
Objects
Take a look at TSC's Sonic & Knuckles maps. With the exception of Mushroom Hill 1 and 2 and Sandopolis 2, the maps lack rings, star posts, badniks, and a slew of other things. These maps only contain the foreground chunks of the level: anything that's missing is an object. Objects still use tiles for art, but they handle collision, movement, and pretty much everything else about them within code specific to that object (although they still use some shared code, such as detecting when they're colliding with blocks and chunks and succumbing to gravity). Many object properties are only considered if the object is on the screen -- taking advantage of this behavior is necessary for several tricks.
In Sonic 1 and 2, objects are set to either get an entry in the respawn table, or to not receive an entry. The respawn table is used to reload objects when appropriate, since they stop being managed as soon as they are off-screen. Objects that require an entry are ones where multiple states need to be remembered that aren't dependent on other conditions of the level: a ring can be either collected or not collected, a monitor or a badnik can be destroyed or not destroyed, etc. Part of the issue with certain charts on TSC is poor respawn decisions on the part of the game designers. Some objects that award points, such as rocks in Hill Top or blocks in Marble, don't remember when they've been destroyed and will revert to their initial state once you move away from them and then put them back on-screen. Sonic 3 & Knuckles has some issues with this as well. If you come across objects that award points infinitely by respawning, check with the rules to make sure that they aren't banned from repeated use.
One object that deserves special mention is the spikes object from Sonic 1. Early revisions of the game were set up so that spikes hurt Sonic in their own special way instead of calling the code that typically hurts Sonic. Since this code was made just for spikes, anybody referring to Sonic 1's spike behavior as a "glitch" or "bug" should be slapped with a large trout.
Level Boundaries and the Camera
Horizontal and vertical level boundaries are defined for every level to prevent the player from moving into the void beyond where the level stops. These values have limits: for example, in Sonic 2 the maximum horizontal distance a level can go is 128 chunks, and the maximum vertical distance is 16 chunks (these values are different in other games, but the concept is the same). When the camera crosses the limit horizontally or vertically, the game simply loops from the beginning. This is how levels such as Metropolis Zone function: the higher and lower vertical level boundaries are set above and below the camera's limits respectively, so reaching the top of the zone brings you to the bottom. This is also why there are areas in levels where you try to move beyond the level's upper boundaries and run into walls: you're bumping into chunks on the bottom of the level. The inverse is true as well: a bottomless pit in line with the bottom of the vertical limit won't kill you if there's a chunk below it or at the level's top due to vertical wrapping, since you'll stand exactly level with it on the bottom of the screen. Horizontal looping can be seen in several tricks in Sonic 3 and Knuckles that send the player beyond the end of the zone, but notice that objects don't loop horizontally.
A screenwrap is performed by utilizing a quirk in the vertical wrapping behavior. On levels that use the same vertical level boundary setup as Metropolis, one can duck to move the camera downwards, then jump off of the screen's top to send the camera scrolling downwards and across the wraparound point in an attempt to find you. Since objects aren't handled unless they're on the screen but block and chunk collision is always handled, you can pass through objects that interfere with your intended route.
Block and Chunk Collision
You've probably noticed that not all "walls" are solid: the same art that's used for a solid wall in Green Hill is also used to show a wall that's "behind" you that you can pass by.
Blocks are assigned a value that tells them which pixels can be make solid and at what angle you move across it. Chunks choose whether or not said pixels actually are solid, and how. There are three main ways collision in a block can be handled:
- Top Solid: If you land on top of one of the pixels that can be solid, you can stand on it. Often called a one-way floor or a through-floor by gamers, because you can jump up from beneath it and land on top, but not return through it to below. That said, it's possible to cheat your way through these if hit fast enough or at an awkward angle. These blocks are highlighted green on TSC's maps and white in SonED2's collision viewer.
- Left/Right/Bottom Solid: If you land on top of one of those pixels, it may as well not be solid. If you hit it from the side or bottom, you'll collide with it. These blocks are highlighted red on TSC's maps and yellow in SonED2's collision viewer.
- All Solid: You'll collide with the pixels no matter how you hit them. In addition, this allows for running on walls provided the angles you've traversed leading up to it have you moving nearly vertically. These tiles are highlighed blue on TSC's maps and black in SonED2's collision viewer.
While cheating through Top Solid blocks is used for a few tricks on TSC, Left/Right/Bottom and All Solid blocks are more interesting, as they allow for zipping a.k.a. wallzipping (although objects can be used to zip too). If you are standing between two tiles with some form of side collision, the game tries to eject you from your spot if you move in the slightest. The ejection is performed in the opposite direction that you try to move (i.e. press right to zip left, and press left to zip right), and it moves you so fast that the game often ends up ignoring other collision in the process, particularly with objects since you can get off-screen from the speed. Hitting the left boundary of a level at zip speeds often causes you to wrap around to the right edge of the level.
Here's a screenwrap-zip combo to try: look at the very center of TSC's Marble Garden 1 map. Find the approximate center of the map, and then zoom in on the big ring just to the lower-right. To the lower-right of that is a blue top object, and to the right of that is a rotating set of platforms with a fire shield item below them. Screenwrap in this area, and maneuver through the fire shield item to its right side while the camera isn't focuses on you. When the camera returns to you, the fire shield will be on screen, and its collision will be checked. You can zip out from behind it right into the nearby wall. Once in the wall, you can zip again to land on the steep downward slope on the right.
Collision Planes
Once you know how block and chunk collision is set up, this concept is easy. Look at any Sonic 1 map, and you'll notice that the paths never cross. Sonic 1 uses one plane of collision, so setting up crossing paths is difficult and can only be done in certain ways. Later Sonic games assign two forms of collision to each block in most zones (zones that don't have crossing paths still use only one), and by switching the player between them when appropriate, paths can cross. The invisible object that handles the switching is called a path swapper. Path swappers have the following properties:
- Length: Some path swappers require you to pass through a small area to trigger them. Others bridge a very large area. It's that simple.
- Orientation: Path swappers work by passing through them either horizontally or vertically.
- Collision Plane Switching: As already states, path swappers can put you on different collision planes. This property has two values: one for each direction you can pass through the path swapper.
- Priority Switching: Path swappers can cause you to abide by the art's settings for when you appear in front of it or behind it, or they can always cause you to appear in front of it. This property has two values as well.
- Ignore Midair Players: Some path swappers, such as those that make loops function, only act on you if you're walking, running, standing, or rolling -- if you're not hugging a surface, they won't work.
FAQ
Q: Why do objects appear glitchy in debug mode once I reach the boss/signpost? Why does the prison egg look like a garbled mess of item art until I beat the boss?
A: A pattern load cue/queue (depends on who you ask), or PLC, tells the game what art to load into the memory space the game has to store art. Most art is loaded right at the start of the level, but the limited amount of space means that not all of it can be loaded at that time. Boss art and signpost art are loaded as you approach the point where the actual object code is run. This art overwrites art used earlier in the level that won't be seen again since the level is ending. The arrangement of the art data a.k.a. mappings is maintained, but the actual data in place of the old art has changed, or in the case of the prison egg before reaching the boss, not changed.
More to come...?
48
News and Updates / Merry Christmahanukwanzikah to All
« on: December 23, 2009, 08:02:51 pm »
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, have a nice Kwanzaa, and Festivus for the rest of us. It's been a weird year with admins disappearing and reappearing with new nicks (such as Rolken changing his nickname to SonicAD), a mass influx of furries into the chatroom, and no new mainstream Sonic games to compete in. Nevertheless, we all somehow made it through 2009 alive, so kudos to everybody for not killing each other.
SonicAD put Gerbil in charge of getting a Christmas tree for the front page this year.
Big mistake, to say the least. >_> I was put in charge of getting the Festivus pole. I couldn't find a good one until today, but I got it here just in time for the Airing of Grievances and to pick at what was left of Festivus dinner. I'm a bit busy to hang around for the Feats of Strength, though. I have things to do. Yeah. Really.
It's pretty, I know. I found it on the side of the road where some construction workers were putting up a new streetlight. They gave it to me for half of what the lot down the street was charging for poles. See, this is why you bargain-hunt.
In any case, may this be another glorious year of competition and another year of excellent human-furry relations. If anybody has any sentiments they'd like to add to the front page, please reply.
SonicAD put Gerbil in charge of getting a Christmas tree for the front page this year.
Big mistake, to say the least. >_> I was put in charge of getting the Festivus pole. I couldn't find a good one until today, but I got it here just in time for the Airing of Grievances and to pick at what was left of Festivus dinner. I'm a bit busy to hang around for the Feats of Strength, though. I have things to do. Yeah. Really.
It's pretty, I know. I found it on the side of the road where some construction workers were putting up a new streetlight. They gave it to me for half of what the lot down the street was charging for poles. See, this is why you bargain-hunt.
In any case, may this be another glorious year of competition and another year of excellent human-furry relations. If anybody has any sentiments they'd like to add to the front page, please reply.
49
News and Updates / A little something new for TSC Race Night
« on: November 29, 2009, 05:28:05 pm »That said, I'm not giving up on netplay. I'm throwing together something that should appease people that won't play anything but old favorites, but that should also pacify people looking for something fresh. The game of choice this week will be Sonic 2 16-bit, and I'll be structuring the game to be cooperative, not competitive. It doesn't involve desperately trying to keep up with Sonic as a player-controlled Tails like normal co-op Sonic 2: I'll be providing a ROM that will host a new take on cooperative play. This is also beneficial for SDM, as the plan is to use his OpenKaillera peer-to-peer, which he claims is near-lagless.
If you want in, find a partner. Be fair - I'm not allowing two uber-pwn Sonic 2 players on one team if I can avoid it, and I'm asking interested parties to reply to this message so that registration can be watched. The race will be this Saturday, December 5, at 7:30pm EST. Please show by 7pm to receive the ROM and to make sure that netplay works for you.
Speculate and sign up as a reply to this post.
Nobody signed up.
There's less than six hours until race time, so it's a bit late to be hacking something together unless it's *really* simple, and in that case it's unlikely that anybody would want to play it. If you have any last minute ideas for a game to race, please pitch them.
50
Competition Central / Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - Chart Possibilities
« on: October 24, 2009, 04:18:06 pm »
[15:30] <~SonicAD> so Thorn >_>
[15:30] <~SonicAD> what do we have in the way of chart possibilities <_<
Well, we should probably check on the prequel first...
In any case, here's notes on the Wii version of this game.I don't know of anybody on TSC that has the DS version, though, so charts might not even be necessary. :P There's a few points of possible debate in these chart suggestions, so if you have the game, voice your opinion.
EDIT: Struck out line due to the next post.
NO TOTALS - TIMES/SCORES ARE NOT PROPORTIONAL BETWEEN EVENTS
Any character (including Mii) for all events - no division splitting
All times are in XX:XX:XXX format (down to milliseconds)
Margin of victory scores should be submitted as Player Score | Opponent Score, with TSC calculating margin of victory and sorting by largest margins are best. In the event of a tie, either highest player score wins or it's just a tie. This much is up to GerbilSoft: it won't rape the competition horribly either way.
Downhill - Time
Giant Slalom - Time
Individual Large Hill - Score (decipoints)
Team Large Hill - Score (decipoints)
Moguls - Score (centipoints)
Ski Cross - Time
Halfpipe - Score (millipoints)
Snowboard Cross - Time
Speed Skating 500m - Time
Short Track 1000m - Time
Short Track Relay - Time
Figure Skating (Swan Lake) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Skater's Waltz) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Fantaisie Impromptu) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Ave Maria) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Spring) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Waltz of the Flowers) - Score (millipoints)
Skeleton - Time
Bobsleigh - Time
Ice Hockey - Score (margin of victory)
Curling - Score (margin of victory)
==============================
Dream Alpine Individual - Time
Dream Ski Jumping Individual - Score (whole numbers)
Dream Ski Cross Individual - Time
Dream Snowboard Cross Individual - Time
Dream Short Track - Time
Dream Figure Skating (Mario World) - Score (deciscore)
Dream Figure Skating (Sonic World) - Score (deciscore)
Dream Bobsleigh - Time
Dream Ice Hockey - Score (margin of victory)
Dream Curling (6 Frames) - Score (whole numbers)
Dream Snowball Fight - Score (margin of victory)
Dream Gliding - Score (margin of victory)
Not being charted: Any event's "Team" mode. While allies are generally helpful (or at least not incompetent) in most margin of victory events, their intelligence in all of the racing events seem to be incredibly random, leaving only Dream Gliding Team, which plays like Dream Gliding Individual only with four opponents to target instead of three.
Rules
-----
In team events, you must control teammates whenever possible.
On events that allow either Individual or Team play, Individual play must be used.
Party games and rival battles may not be used for submissions.
The default settings must be used for all events except Dream Curling.
[15:30] <~SonicAD> what do we have in the way of chart possibilities <_<
Well, we should probably check on the prequel first...
In any case, here's notes on the Wii version of this game.
EDIT: Struck out line due to the next post.
NO TOTALS - TIMES/SCORES ARE NOT PROPORTIONAL BETWEEN EVENTS
Any character (including Mii) for all events - no division splitting
All times are in XX:XX:XXX format (down to milliseconds)
Margin of victory scores should be submitted as Player Score | Opponent Score, with TSC calculating margin of victory and sorting by largest margins are best. In the event of a tie, either highest player score wins or it's just a tie. This much is up to GerbilSoft: it won't rape the competition horribly either way.
Downhill - Time
Giant Slalom - Time
Individual Large Hill - Score (decipoints)
Team Large Hill - Score (decipoints)
Moguls - Score (centipoints)
Ski Cross - Time
Halfpipe - Score (millipoints)
Snowboard Cross - Time
Speed Skating 500m - Time
Short Track 1000m - Time
Short Track Relay - Time
Figure Skating (Swan Lake) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Skater's Waltz) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Fantaisie Impromptu) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Ave Maria) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Spring) - Score (millipoints)
Figure Skating (Waltz of the Flowers) - Score (millipoints)
Skeleton - Time
Bobsleigh - Time
Ice Hockey - Score (margin of victory)
Curling - Score (margin of victory)
==============================
Dream Alpine Individual - Time
Dream Ski Jumping Individual - Score (whole numbers)
Dream Ski Cross Individual - Time
Dream Snowboard Cross Individual - Time
Dream Short Track - Time
Dream Figure Skating (Mario World) - Score (deciscore)
Dream Figure Skating (Sonic World) - Score (deciscore)
Dream Bobsleigh - Time
Dream Ice Hockey - Score (margin of victory)
Dream Curling (6 Frames) - Score (whole numbers)
Dream Snowball Fight - Score (margin of victory)
Dream Gliding - Score (margin of victory)
Not being charted: Any event's "Team" mode. While allies are generally helpful (or at least not incompetent) in most margin of victory events, their intelligence in all of the racing events seem to be incredibly random, leaving only Dream Gliding Team, which plays like Dream Gliding Individual only with four opponents to target instead of three.
Rules
-----
In team events, you must control teammates whenever possible.
On events that allow either Individual or Team play, Individual play must be used.
Party games and rival battles may not be used for submissions.
The default settings must be used for all events except Dream Curling.
51
News and Updates / New HD *2D* Sonic Game in 2010
« on: September 08, 2009, 11:17:47 pm »
If you haven't heard the news, a new Sonic game was "announced" today, if you could call a teaser and a project name an announcement. GameSpot's left us this, which says volumes:
1. It's coming in 2010. Two years between mainstream games is pretty typical... but this year, we haven't heard of any side titles like the Storybook Series or the Rush series. There's Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, but that's it. Almost all resources seem to be going to this new title. EDIT: Oh wait, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing... but that's kind of the same deal, what with not being developed exclusively by Sonic Team. Also, note that Unleashed came out seven months after its announcement in April (the March leak doesn't count >_>), so perhaps this one will be out in the first half of next year? Clearly that's not much to go on, but it does seem to have been announced too soon for the usual pre-Christmas release.
2. It's supposedly entirely 2D. That doesn't necessarily mean a departure from scripted loops and dash pads galore, but Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure still had their own kind of charm (particularly Sonic Rush Adventure, which cleaned up many of the rough patches in Rush's pit-filled level designs). Truth be told, I can't imagine the boosting moves of these games ever being removed from the series, so I wouldn't expect Sonic 4, but hey, it's 2D, so you are given permission to squee.
3. It's codenamed "Project Needlemouse". Make of that what you will.
For those of you looking to get a 2D Sonic fix in the meantime, Sonic Retro's just ended the submission period for their Annual Sonic Hacking Contest. You can head on over to their hacking forum to see what's new this year, or if you're truly feeling lazy, visit HackTube at SSRG, where you can play submitted hacks via a Java-based emulator (note that hacks that save data must be downloaded to your PC for use in a standalone emulator in order to work).
New member registration is still down. E-mail gerbilsoft at verizon dot net with a desired username to create an account.
SonicAD wants to remind you all thatSonic Adventure 2 Sonic Advance Sonic 3 & Knuckles, as Knuckles Sonic 3D Blast Sonic Heroes - Chaotix will be featured this Saturday night at 7pm EDT for TSC Race Night. It's gonna be pwn, y'all, so join the chatroom and play.
1. It's coming in 2010. Two years between mainstream games is pretty typical... but this year, we haven't heard of any side titles like the Storybook Series or the Rush series. There's Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, but that's it. Almost all resources seem to be going to this new title. EDIT: Oh wait, Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing... but that's kind of the same deal, what with not being developed exclusively by Sonic Team. Also, note that Unleashed came out seven months after its announcement in April (the March leak doesn't count >_>), so perhaps this one will be out in the first half of next year? Clearly that's not much to go on, but it does seem to have been announced too soon for the usual pre-Christmas release.
2. It's supposedly entirely 2D. That doesn't necessarily mean a departure from scripted loops and dash pads galore, but Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure still had their own kind of charm (particularly Sonic Rush Adventure, which cleaned up many of the rough patches in Rush's pit-filled level designs). Truth be told, I can't imagine the boosting moves of these games ever being removed from the series, so I wouldn't expect Sonic 4, but hey, it's 2D, so you are given permission to squee.
3. It's codenamed "Project Needlemouse". Make of that what you will.
For those of you looking to get a 2D Sonic fix in the meantime, Sonic Retro's just ended the submission period for their Annual Sonic Hacking Contest. You can head on over to their hacking forum to see what's new this year, or if you're truly feeling lazy, visit HackTube at SSRG, where you can play submitted hacks via a Java-based emulator (note that hacks that save data must be downloaded to your PC for use in a standalone emulator in order to work).
New member registration is still down. E-mail gerbilsoft at verizon dot net with a desired username to create an account.
SonicAD wants to remind you all that
52
Board Games / Return of the genus-inspired Random Questions Topic
« on: August 18, 2009, 08:06:54 pm »
It's back, bitches, like I promised mike it would be. It's actually not genus-inspired this time, but it's in the same vein so eh.
If you're weren't here for the original, here's the lowdown: a bunch of questions are listed, and you answer. It's your choice as to what to answer... if you look at the whole list and don't want to put in the effort to answer it all, then just answer a few. Likewise, if you answer 90% of them and leave just a few out, that speaks volumes about what you don't want to talk about. Don't just give an answer in any case: give a sentence or two stating your reasoning, but don't write an essay and expect us to read it unless it's hilarious. There's a few repeats from the last topic, but it's been almost two years so some answers may have changed.
Since the last topic got a bit messy, let's lay some ground rules down:
* This time around, I'm only asking a few questions. You guys make the rest and quiz each other, and I'll modify the sane ones into this post like before. No, I won't edit every "wtf" question genus asks into here this time. As before, I'll give my answers a bit later. You wanted this topic back, mike, so I expect a few questions outta you. >_>
* The hypothetical, not-reality-based questions this time are going to be along the lines of "pick one out of these choices", rather than giving some out-there scenario and asking how you'd react. Hopefully this stops people from thinking "ew, it's like a bad fanfic"... short, sweet, and to the point, with no story to it. This should make it easy for other people to add questions to this category too. If your answer is "none of those choices" and has an explanation about how horrible it would be to deal with each one, just don't answer the question. >_>
* To answer, quote this post, then edit out everything from the beginning to the horizontal rule, and edit out the quote tag at the end. I'm formatting this post so that you can easily insert your answers without having to format it yourself this time.
EDIT: Lemme repeat: It's your choice as to what to answer. There is one question (and possibly more later, if other people add some) that I highly doubt most people will answer, and instead of just ignoring it, most people are giving me ">_>" in chat.
Reality / TSC
What's the coolest screen name you've seen on the Internet that isn't yours?
What's the best dream you remember? (I know there's a topic for this, you can link a post of yours if need be).
Who do you talk to / hang with most on TSC?
TSC Furries: Poisoning the site, bringing smiles and happiness to the site, or just more users?
Given one day as admin, what do you change around here?
What do you think about these TSC fads:
* iSketch
* Mafia
* SRB2
* Toulouse
What's your theory on DsS's skills? Genetic mutation, virus, disease, gift from God, result of the Vorlon touch, or something else? Is it (hopefully) communicable?
Does Sonic Team has one foot in the grave, both feet in the grave, or is it rising from the grave as an undead? Or *gulp* is it wising fwom its gwave as some sort of Altered Beast? *shot*
Hypotheticals
Cooler power-up to own: Super Leaf or Fire Flower?
Coolest "psychic" ability to wield at an unrealistic level: psychokinesis (telekinesis), pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, telepathy, empathy, etc.?
For those of you with a "fursona", or for those just answering for the lulz: your species, gender, and color are...? (I had to do it, sorry... I'm not appealing to a minority with this one anymore~)
Cooler height to be for a day: 1cm (0.4") or 50m (164'), Square-Cube Law be damned?
Coolest Sonic-game body to inhabit?
Coolest non-legendary Pokémon to be?
Coolest Halloween monster to be? (Use traditional definitions, not Twilight definitions)
Coolest video game to play the main character's role in?
Coolest TSCer to trade lives with for a day?
If you're weren't here for the original, here's the lowdown: a bunch of questions are listed, and you answer. It's your choice as to what to answer... if you look at the whole list and don't want to put in the effort to answer it all, then just answer a few. Likewise, if you answer 90% of them and leave just a few out, that speaks volumes about what you don't want to talk about. Don't just give an answer in any case: give a sentence or two stating your reasoning, but don't write an essay and expect us to read it unless it's hilarious. There's a few repeats from the last topic, but it's been almost two years so some answers may have changed.
Since the last topic got a bit messy, let's lay some ground rules down:
* This time around, I'm only asking a few questions. You guys make the rest and quiz each other, and I'll modify the sane ones into this post like before. No, I won't edit every "wtf" question genus asks into here this time. As before, I'll give my answers a bit later. You wanted this topic back, mike, so I expect a few questions outta you. >_>
* The hypothetical, not-reality-based questions this time are going to be along the lines of "pick one out of these choices", rather than giving some out-there scenario and asking how you'd react. Hopefully this stops people from thinking "ew, it's like a bad fanfic"... short, sweet, and to the point, with no story to it. This should make it easy for other people to add questions to this category too. If your answer is "none of those choices" and has an explanation about how horrible it would be to deal with each one, just don't answer the question. >_>
* To answer, quote this post, then edit out everything from the beginning to the horizontal rule, and edit out the quote tag at the end. I'm formatting this post so that you can easily insert your answers without having to format it yourself this time.
EDIT: Lemme repeat: It's your choice as to what to answer. There is one question (and possibly more later, if other people add some) that I highly doubt most people will answer, and instead of just ignoring it, most people are giving me ">_>" in chat.
Reality / TSC
What's the coolest screen name you've seen on the Internet that isn't yours?
What's the best dream you remember? (I know there's a topic for this, you can link a post of yours if need be).
Who do you talk to / hang with most on TSC?
TSC Furries: Poisoning the site, bringing smiles and happiness to the site, or just more users?
Given one day as admin, what do you change around here?
What do you think about these TSC fads:
* iSketch
* Mafia
* SRB2
* Toulouse
What's your theory on DsS's skills? Genetic mutation, virus, disease, gift from God, result of the Vorlon touch, or something else? Is it (hopefully) communicable?
Does Sonic Team has one foot in the grave, both feet in the grave, or is it rising from the grave as an undead? Or *gulp* is it wising fwom its gwave as some sort of Altered Beast? *shot*
Hypotheticals
Cooler power-up to own: Super Leaf or Fire Flower?
Coolest "psychic" ability to wield at an unrealistic level: psychokinesis (telekinesis), pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, telepathy, empathy, etc.?
For those of you with a "fursona", or for those just answering for the lulz: your species, gender, and color are...? (I had to do it, sorry... I'm not appealing to a minority with this one anymore~)
Cooler height to be for a day: 1cm (0.4") or 50m (164'), Square-Cube Law be damned?
Coolest Sonic-game body to inhabit?
Coolest non-legendary Pokémon to be?
Coolest Halloween monster to be? (Use traditional definitions, not Twilight definitions)
Coolest video game to play the main character's role in?
Coolest TSCer to trade lives with for a day?
53
Information Kiosk / Constitution is outdated, needs an update
« on: August 06, 2009, 05:03:21 pm »
The Constitution is very much outdated. This cannot be allowed, lest flagrant immoral acts be committed while they are not in direct violation of any law. I have drawn up a draft of an updated Constitution, and require other TSCer's input on additional clauses. Each of the If I Had a (Ban)Hammer users may sign off when they are comfortable with their representative states obeying the laws created within.
SECTION I: ITEMS PERTAINING TO THE SONIC CENTER
Overview: The Sonic Center is the best site ever. Under no circumstances is this statement to be challenged, and any User who challenges this statement will be subject to the BANHAMMER.
TSC specializes in the completion of Sonic games at an exceptionally high standard. Its Users carry this standard into all its other facets of their daily lives: high standards of ethical and moral conduct, intelligence and melee combat are paramount.
Part I – Roles of Users
· Rolken – The former administrator, spiritual leader and former wielder of the BANHAMMER at TSC, his word is law, unless it contradicts any statement in this Document.
· flyby – Rolken’s hot wife holds absolute control over Rolken, and zero control over TSC. She runs The League Center, where TSCers compete for glory for three weeks or so, then forget about the following weeks.
· SonicAD – The current administrator and wielder of the BANHAMMER, he will bring up topics for his underlings to discuss, then set the majority opinion as law, a tough job indeed. Do not confuse him with SonicBC, a neanderthal anthropomorphic creature (anthro) that wields the long-lost BANCLUB.
· SadisticMystic / SprintGod / yse / Thorn – In the absence of SonicAD, these four are meant to fill all administrative roles, as well as aid in the detection of cheaters, morons, and miscellaneous spies. yse has announced his resignation, and has been replaced by nobody, suggesting his utter uselessness. Thorn is the current Constitution editor; he has already braced for the hundreds of PMs stating how horrible it is that some minor typo made its way into this document. SprintGod seems to have disappeared, and the tracking device planted in the back of his skull is giving no clues as to his location; it can only be assumed that he stumbled into an interdimensional portal and landed in a world where Sonic games are still good, and he does not wish to return.
· GerbilSoft – Whereas the above four are "meant to fill all administrative roles", this is the man that actually does it. He's never gonna give up making you lose The Game. Despite being the single person keeping the site up and running, all members must mock him once per week (minimum).
· If I Had a (Ban)Hammer – Once known as Spaceship Users, this group consists of a large amount of chosen TSCers that supposedly represent the site as moderators, exemplary competitors, and assist the five administrators where necessary. They are occasionally seen in spaceships, but have also been known to travel along rainbows. Users in this category universally aspire to one day wield a BANHAMMER. Note that many of these moderators cannot actually delete posts or lock topics, and are only able to make edits to other posts – this is why your fifteen-paragraph essay on why the Werehog deserves a Werechidna partner now reads "HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS".
· Underlings – This category of users does as it is told at all times, and can be expected to scrub floors, wash dishes and clean dust for any of the higher-level Users. Are permitted to submit the occasional Statistic, but not one that surpasses that of a higher-level User. Disobeying this command is punishable by BANHAMMER.
· Furries – Populating the Internet en masse and not simply TSC, these users wish to live as half-human hybrids, often purring or making :3 faces. Furries are typically frowned upon in the community. "Furry" is a derogatory term – to address one of these users with respect, call him/her an anthro. Some furries may ask you what is so wrong about wanting to be a creature with all of the benefits humans have over animals and all of the advantages animals have over humans – when asked this, the proper course of action is to cover your ears to prevent any sound logic from seeping in, and slap the furry across the face. Note, however, that the first Tuesday of each month is Furry Appreciation Day (FAD), in which nobody acts any differently.
· Liars – Not welcome. No questions asked. Unless you’re Dale.
Do note that submitting exceptional statistics, being a funny and friendly member of the community, and curing cancer are not sufficient grounds for a promotion to the next member group. Promotions are given in the form of the gods playing eenie-meenie-miney-moe and striking the chosen user with an empowering bolt of lightning.
Part II – Rules of the Site
1. The Site is to be used for the sole purpose of the submission of Statistics to be ranked against other Users, or Guides or Videos explaining the methods by which these Statistics may be attained. An exception to this rule is for people in the Liar category, who can submit anything they like for 45 minutes and are then permanently removed from the site, along with all of their Statistics. They can then return to GameFAQs and talk about what big n00bs we are for getting duped by them.
2. At the bottom of the main page is a “News Updates” bar, where the most recent ten notable achievements are stored. This is generally used by Users to show off and profess their coolness. It is also used by liars to make their achievements more noticeable, and for random garbage when a faulty submission is removed and all former record holders have their accomplishment reinstated simultaneously.
3. As the traffic on TSC directly impacts on world events, it is the Administrators’ civic duty to keep traffic, and hence the world, in balance. Therefore if Iran starts firing nuclear weapons at the West, the administrators reserve the right to ban all they deem necessary until the problem is resolved.
4. Points obtained in officially sanctioned Tournaments are not redeemable for Sitewide Points, or vice versa. This is usually a non-issue, as Tournament officials will usually forget about the Tournament two weeks before its scheduled end.
5. Exactly half of Users must be named either Mike or Dan, even if TSC has an odd number of members. This means Users may have to change their name periodically or split themselves in half to comply. Mikes tend to have high Agility, Intelligence, and Magic stats, whereas Dans excel in Attack, Defense, and HP; choose your alignment wisely. Also note that Mikes prefer Phoenix Wright and Dans prefer Miles Edgeworth.
6. The Triforce was originally planned to be a collectible object in TSC, but was removed before release. Rumors state that the Triforce still exists deep in a seldom-visited directory, but all followers of these rumors have only brought themselves anguish via hidden RickRolls on the site.
7. After submitting a stat, you may be subjected to a drug test. Use of any of the following illegal substances is grounds for disqualification from the competition:
8. The Sitewide Rankings are the best measure of competition skill. They are to be ignored, seeing as the only games that matter are Sonic 1/2/3 & Knuckles and the Sonic Adventure series.
9. There is no Sonic Shuffle competition, or Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis, or Sonic Spinball, or Sonic Blast, or Sonic Pinball Party, or Sonic Labyrinth, or Tails' Skypatrol. Learn to live without.
10. The Shadow the Hedgehog game was a return to form after the gimmicks of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. It consists of about 85% running around and platforming and 15% shooting, all with only one character. However, it has guns and angst and thus may not be respected.
Part III – Rules of the Forum
1. You can say whatever you like, pretty much. It is recommended that you remove the key to the left of "A" on your keyboard, to prevent accidentally finding the rare exception to this rule.
2. If your name is Paul Corby, don’t post.
3. Take another look at Rule 2 just to make sure.
4. If you’re pressing Submit on your third one-liner in a row, you might want to stop and think about the quality of what you’re posting.
5. If you’re having problems with flood control, see rule 4.
6. If your sigs are longer than your posts, see rule 4.
7. Be nice.
8. If you’re having problems with rule 7, don’t expect people to like you.
9. Don’t quote anything you’re not responding to, since we’ve already read it once. Also, if you're responding to the most recent post in a topic, consider using a ^ or simply responding instead of quoting the ten-page report on Sonic Team's decline in quality contained in the previous post – Quote and Reply are different buttons for a reason.
10. Coloured text is pointless and annoying. Also, colored text is pointless and annoying.
11. The photo option is never to be used. Learn to use ImageShack.
12. thos of u who talk lik dis will be even more ostracised in here than usual.
13. Users are required to observe a certain Standard of Epicness. This standard should be observed at all times, without fail, under threat of BANHAMMER.
14. Topics such as "Who would win in a fight, Knuckles or Shadow?", "If you were Perfect Chaos what would you do?", and forum games are great for showing how creative you are and for eliciting fun-to-read responses. Don't ever make these topics.
15. All topics can be made awesome by adding a GIF of an Ace Attorney character. No objections to this rule will be sustained.
16. All topics have been won by User douglas, even if he hasn't yet posted in them. Therefore, you shouldn't even try to win a topic; you are destined to fail epically.
Part IV – Rules of the Chatroom
In the Chatroom, some roles are changed. They are detailed below:
· SonicAD assumes the mantle of founder of #soniccenter and Keeper of the Tilde. Anyone who uses the tilde (~) in the Chatroom may be subject to a kick from the room unless express written consent is given to use it. His word is still law.
· Sprint and yse, placed just below SonicAD, have positions signified by the ampersand (&), as a reference to the banning power they wield. Their word is law in the absence of SonicAD. Note that Stefan a.k.a. Typo has won an ampersand in a contest – you don't have to listen to him.
· Several users, mostly of the If I Had a (Ban)Hammer category but also CherryMay and flyby, are identified by their @ symbol, which has no significance but serves as a reminder that they’re more powerful than everyone below them – oh, and they can kick you, too. Keepers of the at sign are expected to change the Chatroom topic to a new witty line at regular intervals; failure to do so results in loss of status.
· CodeGirl is a bot engineered by SadisticMystic (known as Tails in the Chatroom). Her purpose is to collect data about TSC, then discard it and drive into walls. Her specialty is running the game "Global Thermonuclear War", in which players who join are kicked 95% of the time. There is a 5% chance that a player may gain highly beneficial mutations from radiation from the war weapons, including extra arms, psychokinesis, pyrokinesis, becoming 20 feet tall, or earning a tilde – play often to win!
· Some people have a % symbol instead. These people are among the very few certified females on the internet, and are granted a token position under TSC’s Endangered Species Protection Scheme. They are to be treated with respect lest the BANHAMMER hit you. Exception 1: Rolken is not a female – he is simply secure with his masculinity. Exception 2: Donna won't let us be nice to her. :( Exception 3: Koshi the furry lost her privilege after nibbling on several users and creating werefurries (see clause on DsS in Section III Part I).
· The remaining regulars have a + symbol. This means absolutely nothing.
· Everyone else remains at the usual Underling level. The usual rules applying to Underlings (as specified in Section I Part I) apply here.
Additional things of note not related to user roles:
· TSC has its own IRC applet accessible from the Site – however, it should not be used under any circumstances.
· Furries are to be fursecuted in #furschwitz. Fursecution is quick and painless, because it does absolutely nothing. Furries are kept alive for the sake of entertaining the entire Chatroom. Furries seeking furry entertainment may enter #roots, where they will be scarred for life, never able to view a dog's belly the same way again.
· Sonic roleplaying is banned. Pokémon roleplaying is highly encouraged.
· If you're aiming to kick somebody, be sure that "kick" starts with a K, not an L.
· If you have an opinion and it is contested, feel free to defend it. Progressing past four rebuttals changes the argument into an "intellectual debate" as a defense against being kicked.
· ":)" shows satisfaction with the current state of affairs, making it a display of weakness. To keep The Sonic Center's name strong and to let other sites know that we are not to be !@#$%!ed with, all ":)"s must be met with an equal or greater number of ":(".
SECTION II: ITEMS PERTAINING TO SITES OTHER THAN THE SONIC CENTER
Overview: As mentioned earlier, TSC is the best site ever. Therefore, by a simple process of deduction, this means that other sites are of lesser worth to Users than TSC. However, the amount of worth that can be derived from these sites varies, as explained below.
Part I – Other Sonic the Hedgehog-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: The Sonic Stadium, Sonic Cult, Sonic Retro, Sonic Cage Dome, and Sonic Vegemite.
· These sites generally hold little value to Users, as the users of these other sites generally do not comply with TSC’s standards of excellence. Higher-level Users are permitted to visit these sites in order to recruit the few members who do comply with these standards, but Underlings are generally kept within the confines of TSC at all times in order to prevent exposure to these sites.
· Status earned on other sites does not correlate to status on TSC. For example, becoming a Super/Hyper/Cthulhu Member on Sonic Cage Dome may make you invincible there, but referencing that here will see you kicked. Likewise, Tech Members on Retro can expect to be considered know-nothings on TSC.
· Some members of other sites (and occasionally some TSC Users) may try to show you "fangames" spawned by the devil. Avoiding exposure to this logic is handled somewhat differently than the logic used by furries: when a fangame is brought up, be sure to call it utter crap before looking at it. Mention how bad it is compared to the official games by Sonic Team. Repeat ad nauseum until the fangame proponent stops speaking about it. For maximum effect, wait five minutes after this conversation, then talk with a different person about how awful Sonic Team's games have been since [insert your most hated game here], and say that unless somebody makes a fun Sonic game, the franchise will die.
Part II – Other video game competition-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: Speed Demos Archive, TASvideos, MarioKart64.com, Cyberscore and The-Elite.
· These sites are generally of great value to Users, as the users of these sites tend to have highly developed skills, and would be good recruitments to TSC. The videos provided by these sites can also help Users to develop their own skill bases. Additionally, they provide another arena in which Users can show off.
· An exception to this rule is Cyberscore, which should be avoided by Users at all costs.
Part III – Permissible Non-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: Google, Wikipedia, and miscellaneous news sites.
· These sites have the potential to be beneficial to Users, as they can broaden one’s knowledge of the world around them. Care should be taken to only read reputable sources, i.e. American sites should not be considered, including TSC.
SECTION III: UNIVERSAL TRUTHS
Overview: In any walk of life, people come across things that they were not aware of before, and yet are just as true as the sky being blue, or day following night, or pigs being able to fly. In this section these universal truths which Users should observe at all times are documented.
Part I – Universal Truths pertaining to The Sonic Center
· The Golden Rule: Whenever Andy is sure of something, he’s BSing.
· Correct tenses with the /me command are for other chat rooms.
· We run down the street with only gloves and boots on and destroy cars.
· The topics are always relevant.
· If you pick up the phone booth, you die.
· You just lost the game.
· Holy crap we’re awesome!
· We break servers.
· PPA is a furry!
· Members who seem insane have become so by witnessing RPG's face and being unable to comprehend its true nature.
· THE FUN CAN NOT BE HALTED.
· We're never gonna give you up.
· Cherry would rather have a tiger :(
· TSCA (TSC Adventure) is an RPG with TSC members, designed by the User RPG. It is two tiers better than the Standard of Epicness and is the most awesome thing ever. It will be finished and released to the public tomorrow.
· This space intentionally left blank.
· Any record you earn on TSC was obliterated by a ten-year-old Japanese boy two years ago. This rule still applies to games released within the last two years.
· No you don't add the goal ring to your ring total >_>
· All internet violence hurts DsS, whether intentionally or otherwise. To date (6/8/09), DsS have been hit with over 10000 bullets, hit in the face with 492 large trouts, and bitten by a werewolf fifteen times.
Part II – Universal Truths pertaining to other sites
· We own Stadium and Cult because they can’t play.
· Zizou really is lol.
· Kogen is a spic.
· SCD don’t realise how good we are. This is likely why SCD admin SpinDashMaster regularly recruits TSCers for his challenges over at SCD – to shell-shock his newer members.
· We want to know how they came up with the name “Microsoft Powerpoint”.
· Sonic is not in Brawl.
· Sonic is in Brawl!
APPENDIX A
Abbreviations used in this Document:
· TSC – The Sonic Center
· TSS (or Stadium) – The Sonic Stadium
· Cult – Sonic-Cult
· SCD – Sonic Cage Dome
· User – Member of The Sonic Center
· Site – The Sonic Center main site
· Forum – The Sonic Center forum
· Chatroom – The Sonic Center chatroom
APPENDIX B
Version History/Amendments:
1st Amendment: Comma (,) changed to a full stop (.) somewhere.
2nd Amendment: Keeper of the Tilde changeover, yse added to banning category
3rd Amendment: More Universal Truths added.
4th Amendment: Abbreviations added.
5th Amendment: flyby’s status corrected to “Rolken’s hot wife.”
6th Amendment: SCD link corrected.
7th Amendment: A couple of amendments re-ordered.
8th Amendment (13/11/07): Lots of cool stuff.
9th Amendment (6/8/09): American Constitution editor angsts over the day/month/year date format and words with an extra U or an S where a Z should be. Constitution given a two-year update.
The Sonic Center Constitution of Infallibility
–
–
SECTION I: ITEMS PERTAINING TO THE SONIC CENTER
Overview: The Sonic Center is the best site ever. Under no circumstances is this statement to be challenged, and any User who challenges this statement will be subject to the BANHAMMER.
TSC specializes in the completion of Sonic games at an exceptionally high standard. Its Users carry this standard into all its other facets of their daily lives: high standards of ethical and moral conduct, intelligence and melee combat are paramount.
Part I – Roles of Users
· Rolken – The former administrator, spiritual leader and former wielder of the BANHAMMER at TSC, his word is law, unless it contradicts any statement in this Document.
· flyby – Rolken’s hot wife holds absolute control over Rolken, and zero control over TSC. She runs The League Center, where TSCers compete for glory for three weeks or so, then forget about the following weeks.
· SonicAD – The current administrator and wielder of the BANHAMMER, he will bring up topics for his underlings to discuss, then set the majority opinion as law, a tough job indeed. Do not confuse him with SonicBC, a neanderthal anthropomorphic creature (anthro) that wields the long-lost BANCLUB.
 |  |
SonicAD | SonicBC |
· SadisticMystic / SprintGod / yse / Thorn – In the absence of SonicAD, these four are meant to fill all administrative roles, as well as aid in the detection of cheaters, morons, and miscellaneous spies. yse has announced his resignation, and has been replaced by nobody, suggesting his utter uselessness. Thorn is the current Constitution editor; he has already braced for the hundreds of PMs stating how horrible it is that some minor typo made its way into this document. SprintGod seems to have disappeared, and the tracking device planted in the back of his skull is giving no clues as to his location; it can only be assumed that he stumbled into an interdimensional portal and landed in a world where Sonic games are still good, and he does not wish to return.
· GerbilSoft – Whereas the above four are "meant to fill all administrative roles", this is the man that actually does it. He's never gonna give up making you lose The Game. Despite being the single person keeping the site up and running, all members must mock him once per week (minimum).
· If I Had a (Ban)Hammer – Once known as Spaceship Users, this group consists of a large amount of chosen TSCers that supposedly represent the site as moderators, exemplary competitors, and assist the five administrators where necessary. They are occasionally seen in spaceships, but have also been known to travel along rainbows. Users in this category universally aspire to one day wield a BANHAMMER. Note that many of these moderators cannot actually delete posts or lock topics, and are only able to make edits to other posts – this is why your fifteen-paragraph essay on why the Werehog deserves a Werechidna partner now reads "HAHAHA DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS".
· Underlings – This category of users does as it is told at all times, and can be expected to scrub floors, wash dishes and clean dust for any of the higher-level Users. Are permitted to submit the occasional Statistic, but not one that surpasses that of a higher-level User. Disobeying this command is punishable by BANHAMMER.
· Furries – Populating the Internet en masse and not simply TSC, these users wish to live as half-human hybrids, often purring or making :3 faces. Furries are typically frowned upon in the community. "Furry" is a derogatory term – to address one of these users with respect, call him/her an anthro. Some furries may ask you what is so wrong about wanting to be a creature with all of the benefits humans have over animals and all of the advantages animals have over humans – when asked this, the proper course of action is to cover your ears to prevent any sound logic from seeping in, and slap the furry across the face. Note, however, that the first Tuesday of each month is Furry Appreciation Day (FAD), in which nobody acts any differently.
· Liars – Not welcome. No questions asked. Unless you’re Dale.
Do note that submitting exceptional statistics, being a funny and friendly member of the community, and curing cancer are not sufficient grounds for a promotion to the next member group. Promotions are given in the form of the gods playing eenie-meenie-miney-moe and striking the chosen user with an empowering bolt of lightning.
Part II – Rules of the Site
1. The Site is to be used for the sole purpose of the submission of Statistics to be ranked against other Users, or Guides or Videos explaining the methods by which these Statistics may be attained. An exception to this rule is for people in the Liar category, who can submit anything they like for 45 minutes and are then permanently removed from the site, along with all of their Statistics. They can then return to GameFAQs and talk about what big n00bs we are for getting duped by them.
2. At the bottom of the main page is a “News Updates” bar, where the most recent ten notable achievements are stored. This is generally used by Users to show off and profess their coolness. It is also used by liars to make their achievements more noticeable, and for random garbage when a faulty submission is removed and all former record holders have their accomplishment reinstated simultaneously.
3. As the traffic on TSC directly impacts on world events, it is the Administrators’ civic duty to keep traffic, and hence the world, in balance. Therefore if Iran starts firing nuclear weapons at the West, the administrators reserve the right to ban all they deem necessary until the problem is resolved.
4. Points obtained in officially sanctioned Tournaments are not redeemable for Sitewide Points, or vice versa. This is usually a non-issue, as Tournament officials will usually forget about the Tournament two weeks before its scheduled end.
5. Exactly half of Users must be named either Mike or Dan, even if TSC has an odd number of members. This means Users may have to change their name periodically or split themselves in half to comply. Mikes tend to have high Agility, Intelligence, and Magic stats, whereas Dans excel in Attack, Defense, and HP; choose your alignment wisely. Also note that Mikes prefer Phoenix Wright and Dans prefer Miles Edgeworth.
6. The Triforce was originally planned to be a collectible object in TSC, but was removed before release. Rumors state that the Triforce still exists deep in a seldom-visited directory, but all followers of these rumors have only brought themselves anguish via hidden RickRolls on the site.
7. After submitting a stat, you may be subjected to a drug test. Use of any of the following illegal substances is grounds for disqualification from the competition:
8. The Sitewide Rankings are the best measure of competition skill. They are to be ignored, seeing as the only games that matter are Sonic 1/2/3 & Knuckles and the Sonic Adventure series.
9. There is no Sonic Shuffle competition, or Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis, or Sonic Spinball, or Sonic Blast, or Sonic Pinball Party, or Sonic Labyrinth, or Tails' Skypatrol. Learn to live without.
10. The Shadow the Hedgehog game was a return to form after the gimmicks of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. It consists of about 85% running around and platforming and 15% shooting, all with only one character. However, it has guns and angst and thus may not be respected.
Part III – Rules of the Forum
1. You can say whatever you like, pretty much. It is recommended that you remove the key to the left of "A" on your keyboard, to prevent accidentally finding the rare exception to this rule.
2. If your name is Paul Corby, don’t post.
3. Take another look at Rule 2 just to make sure.
4. If you’re pressing Submit on your third one-liner in a row, you might want to stop and think about the quality of what you’re posting.
5. If you’re having problems with flood control, see rule 4.
6. If your sigs are longer than your posts, see rule 4.
7. Be nice.
8. If you’re having problems with rule 7, don’t expect people to like you.
9. Don’t quote anything you’re not responding to, since we’ve already read it once. Also, if you're responding to the most recent post in a topic, consider using a ^ or simply responding instead of quoting the ten-page report on Sonic Team's decline in quality contained in the previous post – Quote and Reply are different buttons for a reason.
10. Coloured text is pointless and annoying. Also, colored text is pointless and annoying.
11. The photo option is never to be used. Learn to use ImageShack.
12. thos of u who talk lik dis will be even more ostracised in here than usual.
13. Users are required to observe a certain Standard of Epicness. This standard should be observed at all times, without fail, under threat of BANHAMMER.
14. Topics such as "Who would win in a fight, Knuckles or Shadow?", "If you were Perfect Chaos what would you do?", and forum games are great for showing how creative you are and for eliciting fun-to-read responses. Don't ever make these topics.
15. All topics can be made awesome by adding a GIF of an Ace Attorney character. No objections to this rule will be sustained.
16. All topics have been won by User douglas, even if he hasn't yet posted in them. Therefore, you shouldn't even try to win a topic; you are destined to fail epically.
Part IV – Rules of the Chatroom
In the Chatroom, some roles are changed. They are detailed below:
· SonicAD assumes the mantle of founder of #soniccenter and Keeper of the Tilde. Anyone who uses the tilde (~) in the Chatroom may be subject to a kick from the room unless express written consent is given to use it. His word is still law.
· Sprint and yse, placed just below SonicAD, have positions signified by the ampersand (&), as a reference to the banning power they wield. Their word is law in the absence of SonicAD. Note that Stefan a.k.a. Typo has won an ampersand in a contest – you don't have to listen to him.
· Several users, mostly of the If I Had a (Ban)Hammer category but also CherryMay and flyby, are identified by their @ symbol, which has no significance but serves as a reminder that they’re more powerful than everyone below them – oh, and they can kick you, too. Keepers of the at sign are expected to change the Chatroom topic to a new witty line at regular intervals; failure to do so results in loss of status.
· CodeGirl is a bot engineered by SadisticMystic (known as Tails in the Chatroom). Her purpose is to collect data about TSC, then discard it and drive into walls. Her specialty is running the game "Global Thermonuclear War", in which players who join are kicked 95% of the time. There is a 5% chance that a player may gain highly beneficial mutations from radiation from the war weapons, including extra arms, psychokinesis, pyrokinesis, becoming 20 feet tall, or earning a tilde – play often to win!
· Some people have a % symbol instead. These people are among the very few certified females on the internet, and are granted a token position under TSC’s Endangered Species Protection Scheme. They are to be treated with respect lest the BANHAMMER hit you. Exception 1: Rolken is not a female – he is simply secure with his masculinity. Exception 2: Donna won't let us be nice to her. :( Exception 3: Koshi the furry lost her privilege after nibbling on several users and creating werefurries (see clause on DsS in Section III Part I).
· The remaining regulars have a + symbol. This means absolutely nothing.
· Everyone else remains at the usual Underling level. The usual rules applying to Underlings (as specified in Section I Part I) apply here.
Additional things of note not related to user roles:
· TSC has its own IRC applet accessible from the Site – however, it should not be used under any circumstances.
· Furries are to be fursecuted in #furschwitz. Fursecution is quick and painless, because it does absolutely nothing. Furries are kept alive for the sake of entertaining the entire Chatroom. Furries seeking furry entertainment may enter #roots, where they will be scarred for life, never able to view a dog's belly the same way again.
· Sonic roleplaying is banned. Pokémon roleplaying is highly encouraged.
· If you're aiming to kick somebody, be sure that "kick" starts with a K, not an L.
· If you have an opinion and it is contested, feel free to defend it. Progressing past four rebuttals changes the argument into an "intellectual debate" as a defense against being kicked.
· ":)" shows satisfaction with the current state of affairs, making it a display of weakness. To keep The Sonic Center's name strong and to let other sites know that we are not to be !@#$%!ed with, all ":)"s must be met with an equal or greater number of ":(".
SECTION II: ITEMS PERTAINING TO SITES OTHER THAN THE SONIC CENTER
Overview: As mentioned earlier, TSC is the best site ever. Therefore, by a simple process of deduction, this means that other sites are of lesser worth to Users than TSC. However, the amount of worth that can be derived from these sites varies, as explained below.
Part I – Other Sonic the Hedgehog-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: The Sonic Stadium, Sonic Cult, Sonic Retro, Sonic Cage Dome, and Sonic Vegemite.
· These sites generally hold little value to Users, as the users of these other sites generally do not comply with TSC’s standards of excellence. Higher-level Users are permitted to visit these sites in order to recruit the few members who do comply with these standards, but Underlings are generally kept within the confines of TSC at all times in order to prevent exposure to these sites.
· Status earned on other sites does not correlate to status on TSC. For example, becoming a Super/Hyper/Cthulhu Member on Sonic Cage Dome may make you invincible there, but referencing that here will see you kicked. Likewise, Tech Members on Retro can expect to be considered know-nothings on TSC.
· Some members of other sites (and occasionally some TSC Users) may try to show you "fangames" spawned by the devil. Avoiding exposure to this logic is handled somewhat differently than the logic used by furries: when a fangame is brought up, be sure to call it utter crap before looking at it. Mention how bad it is compared to the official games by Sonic Team. Repeat ad nauseum until the fangame proponent stops speaking about it. For maximum effect, wait five minutes after this conversation, then talk with a different person about how awful Sonic Team's games have been since [insert your most hated game here], and say that unless somebody makes a fun Sonic game, the franchise will die.
Part II – Other video game competition-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: Speed Demos Archive, TASvideos, MarioKart64.com, Cyberscore and The-Elite.
· These sites are generally of great value to Users, as the users of these sites tend to have highly developed skills, and would be good recruitments to TSC. The videos provided by these sites can also help Users to develop their own skill bases. Additionally, they provide another arena in which Users can show off.
· An exception to this rule is Cyberscore, which should be avoided by Users at all costs.
Part III – Permissible Non-related Sites
· Examples of sites in this category include: Google, Wikipedia, and miscellaneous news sites.
· These sites have the potential to be beneficial to Users, as they can broaden one’s knowledge of the world around them. Care should be taken to only read reputable sources, i.e. American sites should not be considered, including TSC.
SECTION III: UNIVERSAL TRUTHS
Overview: In any walk of life, people come across things that they were not aware of before, and yet are just as true as the sky being blue, or day following night, or pigs being able to fly. In this section these universal truths which Users should observe at all times are documented.
Part I – Universal Truths pertaining to The Sonic Center
· The Golden Rule: Whenever Andy is sure of something, he’s BSing.
· Correct tenses with the /me command are for other chat rooms.
· We run down the street with only gloves and boots on and destroy cars.
· The topics are always relevant.
· If you pick up the phone booth, you die.
· You just lost the game.
· Holy crap we’re awesome!
· We break servers.
· PPA is a furry!
· Members who seem insane have become so by witnessing RPG's face and being unable to comprehend its true nature.
· THE FUN CAN NOT BE HALTED.
· We're never gonna give you up.
· Cherry would rather have a tiger :(
· TSCA (TSC Adventure) is an RPG with TSC members, designed by the User RPG. It is two tiers better than the Standard of Epicness and is the most awesome thing ever. It will be finished and released to the public tomorrow.
· This space intentionally left blank.
· Any record you earn on TSC was obliterated by a ten-year-old Japanese boy two years ago. This rule still applies to games released within the last two years.
· No you don't add the goal ring to your ring total >_>
· All internet violence hurts DsS, whether intentionally or otherwise. To date (6/8/09), DsS have been hit with over 10000 bullets, hit in the face with 492 large trouts, and bitten by a werewolf fifteen times.
Part II – Universal Truths pertaining to other sites
· We own Stadium and Cult because they can’t play.
· Zizou really is lol.
· Kogen is a spic.
· SCD don’t realise how good we are. This is likely why SCD admin SpinDashMaster regularly recruits TSCers for his challenges over at SCD – to shell-shock his newer members.
· We want to know how they came up with the name “Microsoft Powerpoint”.
· Sonic is not in Brawl.
· Sonic is in Brawl!
APPENDIX A
Abbreviations used in this Document:
· TSC – The Sonic Center
· TSS (or Stadium) – The Sonic Stadium
· Cult – Sonic-Cult
· SCD – Sonic Cage Dome
· User – Member of The Sonic Center
· Site – The Sonic Center main site
· Forum – The Sonic Center forum
· Chatroom – The Sonic Center chatroom
APPENDIX B
Version History/Amendments:
1st Amendment: Comma (,) changed to a full stop (.) somewhere.
2nd Amendment: Keeper of the Tilde changeover, yse added to banning category
3rd Amendment: More Universal Truths added.
4th Amendment: Abbreviations added.
5th Amendment: flyby’s status corrected to “Rolken’s hot wife.”
6th Amendment: SCD link corrected.
7th Amendment: A couple of amendments re-ordered.
8th Amendment (13/11/07): Lots of cool stuff.
9th Amendment (6/8/09): American Constitution editor angsts over the day/month/year date format and words with an extra U or an S where a Z should be. Constitution given a two-year update.
54
Tournament Central / Another Marathon Topic -- now on the correct board!
« on: July 22, 2009, 05:24:16 pm »
Race Night is nice, but it takes a week of waiting to play a half-hour race (at least for the first two races). I am bored and therefore I propose another marathon. I propose a marathon on older handheld games because they get no love, preferably sometime within the next two weeks or so before people with early-starting colleges return to classes.
Sonic 1 GG/MS
Sonic 2 GG/MS
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Triple Trouble
Sonic Pocket Adventure
Who's with me?
Nobody?
I hate you all.
Sonic 1 GG/MS
Sonic 2 GG/MS
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Triple Trouble
Sonic Pocket Adventure
Who's with me?
Nobody?
I hate you all.
55
Leaderboard Disputes / ATTN: bertin
« on: July 20, 2009, 12:17:31 am »
So, I've been told that you're not at home right now and that bugging you in IRC isn't a smart idea, so here's a topic that'll still be here when you get home.~
You've posted 269 rings in Meta Junglira 1 for both characters, and I'm only pulling 259. That in itself isn't cause for alarm. Here's my logic...
* Both my run and the level map show 201 rings (if you look at the map carefully, there's little "1D" symbols where some rings would be in the first loop and in the tube immediately after the start).
* You can end the level with a ring count ending in 9 to earn 10 rings from the signpost at the end of the level. So, forfeit 2 of the 201 to finish with 209.
* You can enter the level with 50 free rings if you spin a Chaos Emerald on a signpost from a level immediately before attempting this level. That brings you up to 259.
* The only known 10 rings not marked on that map are from a 10-ring monitor that appears in place of the Chaos Emerald monitor if you've either finished the special stage in that monitor or have finished all five of the game's special stages. This would bring you up to 269.
Now, here's where the problem begins.
* If you enter the special stage, you forfeit the 50 free rings you came in with, since your ring count resets to 0 upon finishing the special stage.
* If you enter a special stage, return to the main level, and die or die + continue, the special stage box does not respawn -- it becomes a 10-ring box, but you forfeit the 50 free rings you started with on your first life.
* Meta Junglira is the 5th act with a special stage, so you can't have all special stages done before entering the act due to the above point preventing you from earning more than one emerald at previous opportunities.
* Therefore, you can't have earned 10 rings from this Chaos Emerald / 10-ring monitor, and you must have got them from another source.
Thus, this stat is erroneous, or the map is erroneous. The stat certainly isn't a typo, because a quick check of your stat history shows that you'd posted a 219 before, which is most likely your stat sans the 50 free rings, and which is 10 above mike's 209 which was likely also earned without the 50 free rings.
So... yeah. Explanation plz. At the very least, we could correct the level map.
EDIT: Explanation received. Apparently I was "<bertin> soooo ignorant" of the most batshit crazy glitch I've ever heard during my time at TSC, but it's been explained. That brings me to my next point... YOU CAN'T DELETE YOUR OWN TOPICS ON THIS BOARD? WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS THAT?
You've posted 269 rings in Meta Junglira 1 for both characters, and I'm only pulling 259. That in itself isn't cause for alarm. Here's my logic...
* Both my run and the level map show 201 rings (if you look at the map carefully, there's little "1D" symbols where some rings would be in the first loop and in the tube immediately after the start).
* You can end the level with a ring count ending in 9 to earn 10 rings from the signpost at the end of the level. So, forfeit 2 of the 201 to finish with 209.
* You can enter the level with 50 free rings if you spin a Chaos Emerald on a signpost from a level immediately before attempting this level. That brings you up to 259.
* The only known 10 rings not marked on that map are from a 10-ring monitor that appears in place of the Chaos Emerald monitor if you've either finished the special stage in that monitor or have finished all five of the game's special stages. This would bring you up to 269.
Now, here's where the problem begins.
* If you enter the special stage, you forfeit the 50 free rings you came in with, since your ring count resets to 0 upon finishing the special stage.
* If you enter a special stage, return to the main level, and die or die + continue, the special stage box does not respawn -- it becomes a 10-ring box, but you forfeit the 50 free rings you started with on your first life.
* Meta Junglira is the 5th act with a special stage, so you can't have all special stages done before entering the act due to the above point preventing you from earning more than one emerald at previous opportunities.
* Therefore, you can't have earned 10 rings from this Chaos Emerald / 10-ring monitor, and you must have got them from another source.
Thus, this stat is erroneous, or the map is erroneous. The stat certainly isn't a typo, because a quick check of your stat history shows that you'd posted a 219 before, which is most likely your stat sans the 50 free rings, and which is 10 above mike's 209 which was likely also earned without the 50 free rings.
So... yeah. Explanation plz. At the very least, we could correct the level map.
EDIT: Explanation received. Apparently I was "<bertin> soooo ignorant" of the most batshit crazy glitch I've ever heard during my time at TSC, but it's been explained. That brings me to my next point... YOU CAN'T DELETE YOUR OWN TOPICS ON THIS BOARD? WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS THAT?
56
Competition Central / TSC's Next Game to Rank - First Look
« on: June 04, 2009, 10:38:20 pm »
http://wireless.ign.com/dor/objects/14354970/sonic-unleashed/videos/sonicunleashed_iphone_trl_e3.html
I *want* that MIDI. Also that transformation is hilariously bad. The gameplay reminds me of a Playstation Crash Bandicoot game.
I *want* that MIDI. Also that transformation is hilariously bad. The gameplay reminds me of a Playstation Crash Bandicoot game.
57
Board Games / Pick Up the Phone Booth and TSC
« on: June 04, 2009, 06:57:06 pm »
So a short while ago I was introduced to the magic that is Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die, Aisle, and Pick Up the Phone Booth and Aisle.
And they were hilarious.
Then it hit me that we already had Horrible Misfortune topics on TSC -- namely, RPG's posts in his Murdering Topics (the Horrible Misfortune Game topic was different). Said topics were tossed into the Moron Archives and are now dry-rotting in Sonic '06 Appreciation Land. So I figure we should start this up again, only with the formatting changed to make it a group activity in the hopes of it not being moved to S'06 AP again.
If you're unfamiliar with all of the magic text adventures I mentioned, allow me to get you up to speed. You are presented with a short explanation of the setting/situation you find yourself in. As with any text adventure, you state a verb and, if necessary, the object(s) to which the verb is applied. You then continue with the story. In these games, though, the story always ends right after you make your first action. A good 90% or so of the possible actions end badly for the player, with the occasional subversion thrown in for good measure. So, you provide the verbs, and any TSCer with the ability to modify posts creates the result -- perhaps more than one result if more than one person has a clever outcome. A lot of the responses in this topic tend to be in-jokes based around TSC members, so if you don't get it, it's not your fault -- heck, the consequence might simply be unfunny to begin with.
You are at the first ever TSC Convention, on the lawn of flyby's house. It's a bright, sunny day, with only a few clouds in the sky. TSCers from around the world have gathered and are talking about... stuff. To the north lies flyby's house. To the east is a picket fence. To the south is a street. To the west TSCers are congregating.
A phone booth inexplicably sits in the middle of the lawn.
And they were hilarious.
Then it hit me that we already had Horrible Misfortune topics on TSC -- namely, RPG's posts in his Murdering Topics (the Horrible Misfortune Game topic was different). Said topics were tossed into the Moron Archives and are now dry-rotting in Sonic '06 Appreciation Land. So I figure we should start this up again, only with the formatting changed to make it a group activity in the hopes of it not being moved to S'06 AP again.
If you're unfamiliar with all of the magic text adventures I mentioned, allow me to get you up to speed. You are presented with a short explanation of the setting/situation you find yourself in. As with any text adventure, you state a verb and, if necessary, the object(s) to which the verb is applied. You then continue with the story. In these games, though, the story always ends right after you make your first action. A good 90% or so of the possible actions end badly for the player, with the occasional subversion thrown in for good measure. So, you provide the verbs, and any TSCer with the ability to modify posts creates the result -- perhaps more than one result if more than one person has a clever outcome. A lot of the responses in this topic tend to be in-jokes based around TSC members, so if you don't get it, it's not your fault -- heck, the consequence might simply be unfunny to begin with.
You are at the first ever TSC Convention, on the lawn of flyby's house. It's a bright, sunny day, with only a few clouds in the sky. TSCers from around the world have gathered and are talking about... stuff. To the north lies flyby's house. To the east is a picket fence. To the south is a street. To the west TSCers are congregating.
A phone booth inexplicably sits in the middle of the lawn.
58
General Sonic / "The Speed Zone" -- webpage on Sonic 2D/3D design differences
« on: May 21, 2009, 10:18:32 pm »
http://sonicjam.wikidot.com/nsssp:index
This was posted over on Retro and it's worth a read. It's your standard page of arguments for what's wrong with Sonic today, only it contrasts said problems with what made similar things in the classics seem great, and it acknowledges the need for flashiness in a modern world where a game has to work damn hard to make up for the sin of using a color palette aside from brown, beige, gray, and black. Too bad much of the video footage doesn't load.
I can safely say I'm glad I read it. I'd already had a lot of those concepts in my mind due to designing a Sonic 2 hack, but the ones I either learned for the first time or was reminded of will definitely come in handy.
EDIT: The entirety of the site is here, but a recent argument in chat made The Speed Zone seem the most relevant.
This was posted over on Retro and it's worth a read. It's your standard page of arguments for what's wrong with Sonic today, only it contrasts said problems with what made similar things in the classics seem great, and it acknowledges the need for flashiness in a modern world where a game has to work damn hard to make up for the sin of using a color palette aside from brown, beige, gray, and black. Too bad much of the video footage doesn't load.
I can safely say I'm glad I read it. I'd already had a lot of those concepts in my mind due to designing a Sonic 2 hack, but the ones I either learned for the first time or was reminded of will definitely come in handy.
EDIT: The entirety of the site is here, but a recent argument in chat made The Speed Zone seem the most relevant.
59
Wikkity! / Post your class notes!
« on: May 19, 2009, 10:48:23 pm »
So, for most of us, school or college/university classes are coming to an end or recently ended. So... um... post your class notes!... or at least a legible section of it. Let's see who learned anything this year.
Attached is 75 minutes' worth of math notes. My chemistry class was essentially a repeat of high school chemistry, my cultural geography course makes little sense, and the psychology notes aren't much to look at.
Attached is 75 minutes' worth of math notes. My chemistry class was essentially a repeat of high school chemistry, my cultural geography course makes little sense, and the psychology notes aren't much to look at.
60
General Sonic / Return of the Obligatory Post Describing New Unleashed (360) Downloadable Levels
« on: April 30, 2009, 07:39:59 pm »
Savannah Citadel extra acts this week, for 250 MSPoints again. From what I hear, they're not on PS3 yet.
As Rolken stated in chat, all of these downloadable levels are essentially a series of "insert object alpha in position (x, y, z, theta sub 1, theta sub 2) with state beta", along with lighting and camera controls; the levels themselves are likely already on the disc. Nevertheless this is an extremely fun pack of that data, consisting to two new day acts, two new night acts, and two altered versions of preexisting day acts.
One area seen in early screenshots returns for a night act, but the beta Savannah Citadel area of the day stage that was in screenshots is nowhere to be found.
That being said, I'm not going to go into much more detail other than to say that the night acts are very platformy and grabby instead of swingy and glitchy, and that TSC will probably break Day Act 5 to finish it in under thirty seconds. Any further information would ruin the fun, since some old concepts were used in pretty creative new ways. Rank requirements during the day are somewhat strict (i.e. time attack != score attack), but are more lax at night.
So... yeah.
As Rolken stated in chat, all of these downloadable levels are essentially a series of "insert object alpha in position (x, y, z, theta sub 1, theta sub 2) with state beta", along with lighting and camera controls; the levels themselves are likely already on the disc. Nevertheless this is an extremely fun pack of that data, consisting to two new day acts, two new night acts, and two altered versions of preexisting day acts.
One area seen in early screenshots returns for a night act, but the beta Savannah Citadel area of the day stage that was in screenshots is nowhere to be found.
That being said, I'm not going to go into much more detail other than to say that the night acts are very platformy and grabby instead of swingy and glitchy, and that TSC will probably break Day Act 5 to finish it in under thirty seconds. Any further information would ruin the fun, since some old concepts were used in pretty creative new ways. Rank requirements during the day are somewhat strict (i.e. time attack != score attack), but are more lax at night.
So... yeah.
The Sonic Center v3.9
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