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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 17, 2007 11:42:58 GMT
Actually, the reason for Sega using quite a lot of Australian voice "talent" (and I do mean that in the loosest possible terms!) was due to budget restraints and the fact many of the actors didn't need to travel far - but that was probably a little too obvious, wasn't it? Deep Fear was intended purely as Sega's own response to the shock success of the Survival Horror genre, which broke the previous year with Alone In The Dark and - of course - Resident Evil. With the sequel in development for the Saturn (though Capcom failed to complete this, as it later ended up being finished off as a Dreamcast project to give the all-new Code Veronica a boost along with a quick port of Nemesis as well), there was a point when many developers thought of trying to out-do Resident Evil - see the also-unreleased Fake Down for a perfect example of inexperienced programmers jumping on the post-Biohazard bandwagon. As a final note, did you know that Deep Fear was originally entitled Deep Blue? Could the slight name change have been the result of a secret legal skirmish between Sega and IBM, whose chess grandmaster-beating supercomputer was enjoying the height of its own success around this very same period?
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 23, 2007 11:40:45 GMT
Despite the various builds of Sonic Xtreme for different graphics engines, the fact remains that no single version appears to be more advanced than what has now leaked. Any further hope rests with Chris Senn and his PC remake project, if this even manages to remain a pseudo-licensed product (the likeliness being that Sonic will have to be replaced with a similar new character unless some type of deal is struck - this may not have occurred before, though it's still not something we should rule out just yet). Another issue with the so-called "Project S" is whether or not anybody will be prepared to attempt a Saturn conversion, since we all know from professional coders just how difficult it was to get such a detailed game running on the 32-bit platform with all effects present while maintaining a playable frame rate. In fact, wasn't it the inability to achieve this very goal that virtually brought Sonic Xtreme as a console title to its proverbial knees in the first place? Any modern effort could benefit from hindsight and new programming techniques (including SGL OS 3.02, which hadn't been made available to the public back then), though once again it would be foolish to promise anything. On the subject of Ofer Alon, he truly was a hidden gem within the many talents of Saturn-era Sega, putting the company's US division on the map next to its more familiar Japanese in-house counterpart as the best single talent since Peter Morawiec a (console) generation before. These days he's become detached from even mentioning his work on Xtreme, which remains criminally underrated to all but the hardcore enthusiast. Actually, it's because of his decision not to get involved that Chris Senn has been unable to share anything playable from the PC code he later went on to produce with Alon, who has since gone on to create ZBrush and now creates under the screen name Pixolator. If you want to see more recent fruits of this skilled artist's labour, head over to 209.132.69.82/user-gallery/getthumbs.shtml?1_Alon&linkall and prove those wrong for ignoring his talent back in the day, and maybe he might just reconsider his position what had been a massive achievement in relation to not only the Sega Saturn but videogaming in general...
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 20, 2007 12:19:18 GMT
Saturnworship, the "spikes of steel" version you refer to was built using the BUG! engine, and it was this same prototype that featured in playable form at the 1996 E3. However, only the boss stages were available to the public, and general response indicated that the frame rate was too low for such a high profile game (this was caused mostly by the processor-intensive camera effect, dubbed the fish eye lens). However, it was later resurrected for the PC incarnation of Xtreme and the plan for this had been to port the finished product over to the Saturn, though presumably this feature - which had been resurrected by this point, therefore making it highly likely to have been a design creation of Chris Senn or Ofer Alon, who worked on both prototypes - would not have survived the move back to the console it first originated on. Finally, the real goldmine now for those still holding on to more Xtreme than the recently leaked NiGHTS engine test is not "version three" but the later four-level pitch to SEGA PC, even though it's hard to say whether this could be described as being separate to the more commonly-known Saturn builds we'd all seen printed across various magazines back in the day.
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 18, 2007 12:10:21 GMT
The playable build seen at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo was indeed running off a stock Saturn, though it was created using just one of the many game engines Sega Technical Institute employed during the production of this ill-fated title. If you're not familiar with the timeline of Sonic Xtreme's development, here's a quick guide:
Pre-Saturn Era Various prototypes, some little more than animations produced on Amiga PCs while others basic MegaDrive tests. One pitch was for the abandoned Mars console, which later evolved into the 32X. There may have also been a short period when Xtreme (or "Sonic Mars" as it was still known) was in planning for Sega's other cancelled hardware of this time, the Neptune hybrid. Before the Saturn design was finalised, NVIDIA and Silicon Graphics chips were used for differing interim solutions. Both ultimately rejected in favour of a console based around the existing System 32 arcade board (albeit with significantly more power to handle "modest" three-dimensional graphics, which later ended up being upgraded yet again with the addition of polygonal capabilities above the Model 1 architecture when Sega discovered their platform would be much weaker than the PlayStation - also powered by a Silicon Graphics chipset), the latter ended up being sold to Nintendo, who changed very little for their own 64-bit hardware, then-dubbed Project Reality/Ultra.
Saturn Version 1 Based on the engine used for BUG!, with additional "fish-eye" camera lens effect that drastically affected the frame rate. A short video clip from this early 32-bit version featured at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show and can be found online, being the first media of Sonic Xtreme to be released.
Saturn Version 2 STI informed Sega of America then-CEO Bernie Stolar they needed another engine to make their Winter '96 deadline, and so for a short while they had access to the NiGHTS code - until Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka threatened to leave unless his own group's technology was handed back. This led to the test code that has now been leaked, so hopefully most of you will know everything there is to know about this now.
Saturn Version 3 Internally referred to as Project Condor, this final variant came to be when a representative of Sega's Japanese operations visited the STI offices and was impressed by Chris Coffen's own engine. Before its selection, this had only been used for the boss stages, but soon it was being adapted for the whole game. A few images of this build are in public circulation, though since then an even later version has been revealed...
The PC Attempt Breaking off from "Project Condor" to focus on their own engine, former STI lead designer Chris Senn and programming genius Ofer Alon worked together on a four-level demo that was pitched in the hope of a possible release under the Sega PC division. Not interested in anything apart from ports of existing Saturn or arcade titles, their vision for Xtreme was sadly turned down, though Senn has since uploaded a wealth of documentation, source graphics, music, concept artwork and even videos from this final stage in the convoluted history of the game. Had this been approved, it may have been possible to In the end, Sega had anticipated the collapse of Xtreme and hired Travellers' Tales for a quick port of their earlier MegaDrive smash, Sonic 3D: Flickies Island, given a minor graphical upgrade and newly composed redbook audio, plus Saturn exclusive special stages created by Sonic Team. Ironically, this also used the fish-eye camera trick, even though Senn has confirmed that a Saturn port may have been considered.
The "Other" Xtreme As a side note, Sonic 3D in its 32-bit guise was originally intended to feature bonus stages based on a pool-like concept (unsurprisingly, this was called Sonic 3D Pool) that had been made by Sonic 2 special stage designer Peter Morawiec using his own Sphere Renderer engine. For a while, this had formed the backbone of a separate game in development that was confusingly also known as Sonic Xtreme and later Saturn Sonic, with the assiatance of external programming team Point Of View. Little information is known about this project, though it was entirely independent of the more familiar STI efforts. Again, you can find a couple of screenshots from this version if you look hard enough and know where to...
Confused yet? I don't blame you!
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 17, 2007 11:51:33 GMT
Unless the more advanced four-level PC tech demo is released, this was the most advanced Saturn code that existed - not even the playable E3 '96 prototype or later "Project Condor" builds had much on this version, created in the short period Sega Technical Institute had access to the NiGHTS engine (that is, before Sonic Team programmer/producer Yuji Naka threatened to quit unless his technology was returned). The fact that Sonic Xtreme is regarded as worth more than the sum of its parts to fans won't change for now, although it's been known for quite a while that original designer Chris Senn is supervising production of a new game based on his and Ofer Alon's intended pitch to Sega PC back in the day - whether this will still feature a certain blue hedgehog or not remains to be seen, but I doubt anything licensed is going to come of this effort as Sega won't exactly like it if a part-homebrew-part-official piece of Sonic's history ended up eclipsing his more recent canonical appearances...
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 13, 2007 9:53:05 GMT
Has anybody managed to unlock the various hidden character images in Last Bronx that can only be accessed after completing the Saturn Mode under normal, hard and berzerk difficulty settings? I used to think that Virtua Fighter 2 was the hardest a game could get... until I discovered this one, that is!
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Post by Anthaemia. on Sept 11, 2007 14:12:46 GMT
Although magazine coverage of Panzer Dragoon Saga never really took off until the 1997 E3, this game was first mentioned (albeit briefly) in a Winter 1996 promotional brochure that hinted at a release very soon. Of course, development of such a massive and artistically ambitious title was never going to be a quick task, and by the time Sega Europe took delivery of a finished PAL version it was subjected to a limited print run that would never do justice to the dedicated work Team Andromeda put in originally. Not even a second batch made that much difference, which is why so many fans are now prepared to cough up huge amounts (not literally, of course) for second-hand copies, download the game online or continue demanding for a remake/sequel on modern hardware. By reissuing this "lost" classic, Sega would ruin the value for Saturn collectors, so if anything the only real options seem to be emulation - which nearly happened, had the GiriGiri project for PC not folded due to piracy - or inclusion of Panzer Dragoon Saga in a future retrospective package... maybe along with other rare titles from the same period, such as Radiant Silvergun (yeah, right!), Grandia and newly translated versions of the last two Shining Force III scenarios? Knowing the way Sega of today is so out of touch with fans of its established past, I doubt many people within the company even care about the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga when a new Sonic game is where the easy money can be found... *sigh*
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 13, 2007 10:53:52 GMT
I think the music was different in Europe and was remixed by Richard someone. I will dig out the Saturn mag article. I believe you are referring to Richard JACQUES, the in-house composer at Sega's UK-based digital studio who also produced the soundtracks for many Saturn and Dreamcast titles, including: Shinobi-X (or at least I think he did) Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (in my opinion, his finest work) Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition (certain tracks) Sega Worldwide Soccer 98: Club Edition (see above note) Sonic R (of course) Metropolis Street Racer (another landmark achievement) Jet Set Radio (in collaboration with other artists/remixers) Headhunter (for which he received an award) There are more games I cannot think of just now, but then again there is also www.richardjacques.co.uk if you want to know the complete list of what he has worked on! Also, the transparencies in Sonic R are "real" on Saturn, though due to its see-through floor surface Radiant Emerald lacks the distance fogging of the other four courses in this graphically stunning game. For the record, Travellers Tales achieved this effect throughout purely using software tricks, and to reproduce this for a certain rival console of the same period would have required the frame rate to be lowered into frankly unplayable single figures - this was once mentioned in a SSM feature, although you could argue that Mario Kart 64 was a lesser detailed inspiration for Sonic R.
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 16, 2007 15:27:03 GMT
I remember in my younger days always knocking Tekken for being little more than a poor man's Virtua Fighter played in slow motion, though I've since fallen in love with Fighters Megamix. By lowering the action speed, AM2 brought the worlds of VF2 and Fighting Vipers together much closer than I had once thought possible, even going beyond that with the inclusion of commands (and characters - if you consider Janet Marshall is just a reskin of Aoi Umenokouji) from VF3, which to this day remains criminally unreleased for the Saturn. Although I was more than pleased to finally experience VF3 without blowing my savings in the local arcade once it launched for the Dreamcast, the fact remains that Genki delivered a poor conversion that was compromised by their lack of programming expertise, a forced deadline and expectations that even Yu Suzuki and his own team may have struggled to live up to. Sure, everything plays the same, but the Dreamcast pad was never really made for such technically demanding fighters - just compare Street Fighter Zero 3 on the Saturn to its 128-bit counterpart, which although technically superior (or so you'd think, as Sega's 32-bit console does make great use of its 4Mb RAM upgrade cartridge potential) is ruined by the controller. Actually, returning to the point of Fighters Megamix, it's possible this even surpasses VF3 by removing the undulating terrain of that game. Besides, wasn't the reason AM2 removed this feature from all subsequent sequels due to the difficulty many veterans had adapting to the system (along with Taka Arashi, who was near impossible to knock over)? If anything, Fighters Megamix was more a precursor to VF4 than the third part of AM2's successful - if slightly too hardcore oriented - series, but I for one won't complain about that. After all, if you're still not good enough to challenge VF players there's always the latest Tekken to practice on...
P.S. With the exception of its fantastic visuals (which easily surpass even Ultimate Revenge Attack), you can't really compare D-Xhird to the more popular Battle Arena Toshinden when it comes to fighting games... well, on the Saturn, at least!
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jan 15, 2008 19:32:06 GMT
I always wished a football manager sim would have been released on the Saturn. There's always Soccer RPG, which came from the developers behind Worldwide Soccer. Actually, it uses the same engine as later titles in that series, but since it was only released in Japan you might want to check out if there is any major language barrier first... unless someone with more hands-on experience says otherwise or provides an Englsh language hack!
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Post by Anthaemia. on Sept 11, 2007 13:54:35 GMT
That footage is taken from the Complete Disc that came with Biohazard Director's Cut: DualShock Edition in Japan, and shows the "Version 1.5" prototype running on PlayStation. Nothing has ever been seen of the alpha stage Saturn build, which is rumoured to have been only 15% into production (and presumably therefore unplayable) as opposed to the varying figures of between 50% and 85% for its more commonly known Sony counterpart. Still, there are a few low quality screenshots that were posted back in the day on Capcom's official site I'm continuing to look for in my huge collection of videogame media assembled over the years, so maybe one day you'll get to see a more accurate representation of what Biohazard 2 - or should that be Resident Evil 2, since we're overseas? - looked like on the Sega platform...
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Post by Anthaemia. on Aug 17, 2007 11:21:17 GMT
Over the years I've seen many people list the absence of a "real" Sonic game as being partly to blame for the Saturn's downfall, when the console was actually quite successful (in Japan, at least) and that it featured two exclusive games starring everyone's favourite - or should that be only? - blue hedgehog! I know it didn't appeal to all Saturn owners, but few realised at the time of its release that Sonic R was only the first part of more ambitious plans. Actually, it was the first part of Project Sonic, which also nearly included a fully 3D game that later got carried over to the Dreamcast, only to evolve into Sonic Adventure!
You've probably already seen elements from this long-lost (and relatively unknown) prototype without even realising it, since it formed the basis for the Sonic World portion of Sonic Jam! In fact, it's been suggested that the stage playable as Sonic World was originally much larger - possibly even an open level, much like those used as "hub" areas in Sonic Adventure. Due to an error with collision near the opening of the river, you can even break out of the normal game boundaries to find a small leftover texture that bears a passing resemblance to a section of floor later used in Station Square, proof if any was needed of Sonic Adventure's origins as a top secret Saturn development.
For those still not convinced, hackers looking in more detail at the programming code of Sonic Adventure discovered that much of the game was written in language native to the Saturn, with just enough rewritten data to run on the Dreamcast (as I've mentioned before in another topic, the Saturn and Dreamcast use Little and Big Endian modes respectively). Should you not yet understand, here's one remaining key fact you might have missed - during the plane transformation sequence in Sonic Adventure you can see that lower polygon versions of the Sonic and Tails models are used, and these are "lifted" directly from Sonic R!
Finally, there's also the fact some levels ran at a faster frame rate than others in the end product, such as Speed Highway, for example. This was purely because they were intended for the Saturn, and therefore didn't have the luxury of being able to utilise millions of polygons at a time. Thanks to a looming production deadline, Sonic Team couldn't improve these earlier designs, though some efforts were made later on with the DX update. As a final side note, the only two stages known to have definitely originated in the Saturn period of Adventure's development are the previously mentioned Station Square and Ice Cap, which is rumoured to have been the other level in a two-area internal prototype that included a larger version of Sonic World without the boundaries of the version we know it as today.
How come more people don't talk about this proposed game instead of Sonic X-Treme, as it would surely have promised to be of greater substance that what is essentially a bunch of slow-running engine tech demos?
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Post by Anthaemia. on Aug 14, 2007 12:38:10 GMT
And if the rumours of Biohazard 2 were true and that was going to be released on the Saturn, I would have loved that to see what it would have been like. Don't get your hopes up, for the Saturn version of Biohazard 2 was supposedly just 15% complete when director Shinji Mikami cancelled the project. Of course, that's not to say that media won't surface one day...
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 31, 2007 14:28:58 GMT
I didn't know about there being a demo of Deadly Skies given away with the second volume of Saturn+ (ironically the only issue of that magazine I have yet to acquire), and thinking I might have discovered officially released playable code of an unreleased title I searched further and can reveal this game was indeed released in Japan - more specifically, on the 28th of June, 1996. There was also a port released for the PlayStation around this same time, though I don't think Konami based the much later Dreamcast edition on this...
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jul 31, 2007 11:23:39 GMT
If memory serves me correctly, Deadly Skies was also previewed in Saturn+ around the same time. Does anybody know with any certainty what happened to this game?
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