Hey, so myself and a few others on the Sonic Eats Rings Discord server have started making a fortnightly podcast. So far we've 2 episodes:

Episode 1, Sofox, Mylz and Nicholas Patrella talk about Sonic Movie, and some other stuff we're involved in.
https://needlemousepodcast.com/2020/04/04/needlemouse-podcast-episode-1-of-gundam-and-hedgehogs/

Episode 2, Sofox, Mylz, Matt_TY and David The Lurker talk the about early online years of the Sonic Fandom.
https://needlemousepodcast.com/2020/04/14/needlemouse-podcast-episode-2-sonic-fandom-the-netscape-days/

If it grabs your interest, have a listen!

https://sonicfangameshq.com/forums/showcase/petrichor.218/

Get it before SAGE ends!

Also, we talked about the game's development process on a stream you can currently watch here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/302555165 (skip to 57 mins in)

Essentially, it's a jetpack spaceman game about shooting and exploring!

Mine: https://twitter.com/TheSofox

Myst posted his recently: https://twitter.com/cjmyst
And he followed Keith Stack: https://twitter.com/keithjohnstack
And you know, I followed Drak a bit ago: https://twitter.com/fancydrak
Blaze is probably on here too: https://twitter.com/BlazeHedgehog
How about Gagaman?: https://twitter.com/theGagaman
Huh, Fadflamer: https://twitter.com/Fadflamer

Further to this thread, http://www.soniceatsrings.com/index.php/topic,7637.0.html and with Spazz giving me the nod in the SER Discord group, we're officially reopening registration.

To deflect spambots (and seriously, last time we opened up they flooded in), I've added a set of fun but basic security questions. If anyone wants to help out, please check the registration page (maybe in a private/incognito window so they can get to the page), and give their opinion on whether the questions are good or not. They have to be answerable easily enough, but also not straightforward enough for a bot to work out.

I hope it works well and hope it leads to more fun times!

So I got to play Sonic Mania today at Summer of Sonic. I had a choice of two levels, Green Hill and Studiopolis. I went for the new one. From glancing at others screens, it seems Green Hill took a lot of the original level but certainly added its own stuff. I wanted to go original.

The level is themed around studio A/V production. There are clapperboards, projectors, TV vans, badniks that are big pendulum microphones,  the whole thing. It gives the level a stylised abstract quality which is nice, but thankfully not abstract to the level of Sonic CD, the level has a very clear theme.

You've seen the videos so you know it looks good, Taxman is behind it so you know the physics are great. You've heard the music and can make your own opinion on that (I wasn't bowled over, but it's still nice).

So what I thought was going to make or break this game, would be the level design, and I can tell you, I'm very happy with it.  Right from the start it seems there are multiple routes to take, as you fly through this bit and that, you often see alternative routes. It's like a big playground you're trying to navigate through, lots of things going on and obsticals to overcome. Most fun I've had playing a Sonic level for quite a while.

It stood in stark contrast to Fire and Ice which I played at an adjacent demo booth. Long story short, Fire and Ice is very linear. If you screw up, it tends to forcibly move you back a few steps as if to say "now you can do it properly this time". You can switch between fire and ice mode, and both affect the level in different ways (as fire you melt ice blocks to pass through, as ice you can freeze water to walk on it and avoid spikes), but it all seems arbitrary. Then there are sudden fast moving sections to break up the awkward platforming. It's not necessarily bad, but it's a typical average game where you're expected to go through a set of defined step to reach your goal, as opposed to Sonic Mania, where you've got a general goal but feel you're kinda freewheeling towards your destination.

Anyway, for all 4m12s07 I spent playing it, I enjoyed it. It's great to have people working on this vibrant style of level, and I hope things go well and we get a big full game with lots of zones that's all really fun.

Hey, I know I'm not always the most in tune with the the Sonic Fandom, but I've noted a lot of stuff about Tails' Channel and it seems to be a big deal, anyone watch it?

I've missed every previous Summer of Sonic due to not getting interested fast enough or tickets selling out at a frankly insane rate. This year, they seem to have a Kickstarter going and actually there seem to be quite a few tickets remaining: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tbird/the-summer-of-sonic-uk-fan-convention-one-more-run?ref=hero_thanks

I plan to go (hopefully, I've booked my tickets and hope nothing distracting happens around August), and wondering if anyone else plans to go. I know some of you here have been to previous SoS events (lucky!)

So a new SAGE is on the horizon and will take place this December.

For this SAGE I plant to submit my most recent build of MCRPG! It's actually not the first SAGE the MCRPG has been at and that's kinda why I'm posting here about it.

Elliotro coded the original version of the MCRPG (and submitted it to SAGE), and I helped out. Fast forward several failed attempts to a few months ago, and I coded up a new version of the MCRPG from scratch in Javascript. The thing is, it still uses a lot of the assets, art and characters from the orginal, so I want to be sure I have everyone's permission. Currently, I have the credits of the game as: - Original idea; Elliotro - Coding original version; SoKnuck, Blues the Squire, Keith Stack, Twister, Kulock - Character contributions; Kulock - Original board the game is based on + miscelaneous art; Sofox - coding current version + a lot of other stuff. If anyone's contribution is not listed, please let me know and I'll include credit. If you want to revoke permission for me using something in the game, please also let me know and with enough time I can replace it with something else. If you want to look through the current game to double check anything, feel free to check it out

Finally, if anyone has anything that they feel needs to be cleaned up or added for its SAGE showing, I'm open to suggestions!

And finally, thanks everyone who helped make the community what it was that lead to this game being made!

https://www.radiosega.net/

So yeah, I knew a fan internet radio stream of Sega music existed, but only recently took a look and man, they have a GIGANTIC selection of Sega and Sega-related music playing, including fan remixes and Sega published games.

The best part is, if you register, you can request tracks from their gigantic database and it'll usually play on the stream within a few songs.  That is a big playlist, I challenge you to find a Sonic tune that's not on it.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm late to the party with this one but thought I'd mention it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ak3ebBep0[/youtube]

Honestly, not 100% sure Sonic should become this, but I really like the approach and game design ideas. Something about having a cautious game protagonist, who can still take on the environment but is not so cock-sure about it, kinda resonates with me. Would be neat to have a game based on this.

One day at the Ring Restaurant...

http://bitnotefm.com/?ep=BitNote_Ep130

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKrqmvj8Lok[/youtube]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKrqmvj8Lok

Worked a bit on this, edited in Blender of all things, what do you think?