Sonic 3D Blast Director’s Cut |OT| Someone asked for this

[Aaron]

What the hell is this?

Some of you may have seen that Jon Burton, founder of Traveller's Tales (dev team behind Sonic 3D, Sonic R, and the Lego games) has been posting some cool prototypes on his YouTube channel, GameHut. Well it seems he had some unfinished business with Sonic 3D Blast, because he's been tinkering with it in his spare time to create a new "Director's Cut" edition. No release date set, but he's been posting updates every few days on YouTube.

Sonic 3D has never had the best reputation, and its street cred has not improved with time. While detractors will point to some fundamental flaws with the game that no amount of tweaking can fix, there are plenty of minor issues that have turned what would otherwise be an okay collectathon into a frustrating experience. Jon's goal with the Director's Cut project is to fix many of these issues and introduce new features to make it worthwhile to revisit.

Features

- Based on the Sega Genesis version

- Super Sonic implemented, using the same rules as the other Genesis games. Can turn back into regular Sonic as well

- Time and score added to HUD.

- Crab badnik seen in prototype pictures added back in

- Save functionality

- Level editor

- Revamped camera system to allow for more visibility

- Sonic's controls adjusted to be less slippery and easier to control, Sonic has two tiers of speed

- Minor color pallette adjustments to accommodate new graphics

- Flickies no longer drop when hit by projectiles, you no longer lose Flickies when hit while holding rings. If you have 0 rings and are hit with Flickies, you lose Flickies, not a life

- Speed shoes give Sonic quasi-invincibility (simply knocked back if he runs into anything)

- Flicky icons bounce when you don't have them, Flicky icon appears onscreen to let you know where they are, Flickies reprogrammed to try and find Sonic when lost

- Minor adjustments all around that I can't think of

- Director's Cut toggle so you can play without changes/improvements

Updates

Announcement Video: https://youtu.be/K_aal1U7bGQ

Video Update 1: Gameplay! https://youtu.be/q1noOrwMsc8

Video Update 2: Super Sonic!



Video Update 3: Crabs!



Pictures

 

[Super Corpse Soldier]

I laughed when he went Super Sonic in front of the water fall.

But really though. This is such an odd game to sink so much time into. This exists. It's a thing.

Spoiler

SUPER SONIC HYYYYPE

 

[Tizoc]

Sonic 3D Blast is a good isometric adventure/platformer game IMO.
It needs some fixes here and there but the concept of it is interesting IMO.

 

[RagingAvatar]

Um.. is he going to be allowed to release this? Isn't he going to get in trouble as an ex-TT employee?

 

[yap]

Didn't expect an OT for this, that's for sure.

 

[Deleted member 3294]

Don't think I ever expected to see one of the developers behind such an old game to make a rom hack of it.

Um.. is he going to be allowed to release this? Isn't he going to get in trouble as an ex-TT employee?

Click to shrink...

Seems like he still works there. And he's not just an employee, he's the founder of the company.

 

[Foffy]

Sonic 3D Blast is a good isometric adventure/platformer game IMO.
It needs some fixes here and there but the concept of it is interesting IMO.

Click to shrink...

Sega is usually super lax with this sort of stuff when it comes to Sonic.

 

[Nali]

I don't think anybody asked for this, but it's still cool that it exists.

Um.. is he going to be allowed to release this? Isn't he going to get in trouble as an ex-TT employee?

Click to shrink...

Sega's been super lax (edit: the phrase of the day, apparently) about people distributing prepatched ROMs for years now, and he's not even going that far. Standalone patches that users have to apply themselves are perfectly fine.

 

[Juke Joint Jezebel]

Such a bizarre bloody game to bring back for a reworking. Unless they pretty radically restructure and re-design the game, I hardly doubt this'll be worth picking up.

 

[gcncontroller]

just found out about this guy's channel about a week ago and i'm so glad i did!! i'm one of the few who enjoyed playing through this game and all the changes he's highlighted so far look stellar! will happily give this a try once it's done

 

[Professor Beef]

The hack that got rid of the Flickies entirely was pretty nice. Not sure about this new one, but it certainly couldn't hurt to try eventually.

 

[Wark]

As much as I didn't care for Sonic 3D Blast, this project seems pretty interesting. I'm happy over the boss camera being altered.

 

[WarpSpeedMolasses]

I remember blindly buying this way back during release and being disappointed after expecting more of Sonic/Sonic 2. But, I guess this'll be interesting to revisit from both a technical and nostalgia perspective.

 

[Miamiwesker]

This is so strange but I'll try it. I had the Saturn version and it was pretty good, I had my fun with it.

 

[PSqueak]

Will it unlock a level select menu upon finding a bug?

 

[FantasyZone]

I loved 3D Blast growing up, so it's really cool seeing the progress the Director's Cut is making. Just wish it was using the Saturn OST (or a close approximation of it).

 

[Aaron]

I loved 3D Blast growing up, so it's really cool seeing the progress the Director's Cut is making. Just wish it was using the Saturn OST (or a close approximation of it).

Click to shrink...

I would love the Saturn soundtrack, but something like that is probably outside of the scope of what Burton wants to do. Maybe someone can add it in after he releases a patch.

The hack that got rid of the Flickies entirely was pretty nice. Not sure about this new one, but it certainly couldn't hurt to try eventually.

Click to shrink...

The only problem with the no Flickies hack is the levels aren't structured to just be run through. You can ignore like 75% or the level design that way.

 

[Pasokon Deacon]

Truth be told, I'm more into the programming wizardry part of this patch than playing 3D Blast again, but this should improve the game a lot. More people ought to know about this patch before playing 3D Blast for the first time.

 

[competentcuttlefish]

I'm interested in this just because it's so *out there*. Who'd have thought that one of the original devs would come back and polish this game up? I've never played 3D Blast so I'll give it a go.

 

[Zubz]

I laughed when he went Super Sonic in front of the water fall.

But really though. This is such an odd game to sink so much time into. This exists. It's a thing.

Spoiler

SUPER SONIC HYYYYPE

Click to shrink...

Definitely; I'm really glad they got that worked out. I'd say it's an odd choice, but it's not too odd. It was a big project for Traveler's Tales that wasn't fondly remembered, so it's like he's trying to go back & make a superior version of that project. I see 3D Blast as one of the 5 worst Sonic games, but that fact he's going back to fix it in his free time alone has me excited about this!

Um.. is he going to be allowed to release this? Isn't he going to get in trouble as an ex-TT employee?

Click to shrink...

If anything, I'm hoping SEGA contacts him to do an official release!

 

[Serene]

I have a nostalgic love for 3D Blast. I played it a bunch as a kid. Definitely gonna give this a go.

 

[TheCongressman]

This is such an odd happening. I can't get over it. These changes certainly make the game improved, even if it still won't be winning any awards. I can't wait to try it out.

Also, I love his channel in general. The wizardry TT was pulling off is so interesting.

 

[Danthrax]

Yo I've been watching this guy's videos for a few weeks and I love them. Makes me wish he worked on more Sonic games back in the day so he could drop more knowledge (and alpha builds) on us.

I'm actually excited to try out his Sonic 3D Blast Director's Cut ... I always liked 3D Blast for what it was but didn't feel compelled to play it again in later years like I did the other Sonics. This guy's efforts are changing that for me.

Um.. is he going to be allowed to release this? Isn't he going to get in trouble as an ex-TT employee?

Click to shrink...

He already said he's releasing its changes as a patch so it's legal. You would have to add it to your existing (legally purchased) copy of the ROM.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I love stuff like this. There's something really cool about digging back into a decades old game with the benefit of all those years of hindsight.

 

[Pacote]

Im going to up this because I discovered a few weeks ago and it was so awesome!

 

[petethepanda]

New update! Zone/act selection added between acts and a bunch of other stuff.

 

[Palas]

Glad he went with the Mega Drive version, too. Better music and all that.

 

[Pasokon Deacon]

Hmm, locking the emeralds to one per zone is certainly a strong way to force players to try nearly all the special stages, rather than just flipping between Tails and Knuckles, but that basically eliminates any quick rush to get Super Sonic. One commenter's already mentioned replacing locked Emeralds per zone with a locked Sonic medal per zone instead, which would still force completionists to do nearly all special stages for 100% but won't hinder anyone rushing to get the Emeralds. If that's fixed, this really will be the definitive way to play the game.

 

[Het_Nkik]

I remember I played 3D Blast on Sega Channel and found it frustrating and then I played it many years later on Sonic Mega Collection on GameCube I believe and I found it insanely easy and boring. The Special Stages especially are ridiculously simple.

But whatever, fix up your old game, dude. Not gonna lie, seems like it would be a fun thing to tinker on.

 

[Palas]

Someone talked about no-flickies hack. Well, Burton has just added a time challenge that has no flickies.

 

[zasx]

New update! Zone/act selection added between acts and a bunch of other stuff.

Click to shrink...

Wow! He changed and added a lot of stuff into the game!

 

[Anto91]

I don't really like 3D Blast, but the project itself seems pretty solid.
The Sonic fanbase is really something!

 

[Spinluck]

Might be better than Forces tbh


Edit: Say what you want about Sonic fans, but when it comes to fan projects they're up there with the most dedicated of fanbases. Of course some of this has to do with SEGA and Sonic Team's treatment of the franchise.

I actually kinda thought 3D Blast was a neat idea back in the day.

 

[ParsnipForest]

His whole channel is excellent, especially his coding secrets videos. Super impressive stuff that they pulled off on Mega Drive. Sonic 3D is not a great game but I respect him turning it into a tolerable one.

 

[~Fake]

Might be better than Forces tbh

Click to shrink...

Brutal, but half true.
I liked back my ages playing 3D blast.

 

[UnNamed]

Is it still possible to play it on the Megadrive?

 

[Khezu]

We just got a sequel to Bubsy, I could go for a 3D Blast 2.

Though it would probably just be a Lego game with Sonic and his weird friends.

 

[zasx]

Is it still possible to play it on the Megadrive?

Click to shrink...

I think he mentions that you can (using Everdrive or something like that).

 

[Deleted member 2171]

Yeah, that last video really shows he's doing a serious update to this game. This is pretty cool.

 

[Aaron]

Guess that means he's adding Tails and Knuckles to Gene Gadget and Panic Puppet? They weren't there in the original game. Not totally sure how I feel about the one Emerald per Zone rule, makes it really hard to use Super Sonic.

 

[Zubz]

Guess that means he's adding Tails and Knuckles to Gene Gadget and Panic Puppet? They weren't there in the original game. Not totally sure how I feel about the one Emerald per Zone rule, makes it really hard to use Super Sonic.

Click to shrink...

Yup. It's fun being able to get Super Sonic in the first few Zones when you get a route down pat. But this way, you can't get one until the Panic Puppet Zone. By then, what's really the point of having Super Sonic?

 

[GrayFoxPL]

I wish Saturn version was on PSN. I like the game.

 

[Deleted member 12790]

Yup. It's fun being able to get Super Sonic in the first few Zones when you get a route down pat. But this way, you can't get one until the Panic Puppet Zone. By then, what's really the point of having Super Sonic?

Click to shrink...

The game saves now. You can go back and replay older levels after unlocking the later emeralds.

 

[winstein]

I loved Sonic 3D Blast when I was younger and wanted to experience more Sonic games beyond Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The PC version of this game is based on the Saturn version so I basically have more memories with that one compared to the Genesis. It baffled me at first to find out that the music is different in the Genesis version, but I guess they wanted the Saturn version to feel different?

Anyway, while I understand that the Genesis version is being used as the base for the changes made in this game for its easier mod-ability compared to the Saturn version, I hope that the PC version could have these changes applied to it as well (assuming it could be done).

Thank you for reading.

 

[Deleted member 2171]

He's updating the Genesis version because that's the one he has the source code for. Someone else did the PC and Saturn versions.

 

[Zubz]

The game saves now. You can go back and replay older levels after unlocking the later emeralds.

Click to shrink...

You've already cleared the level at that point, though. If you've gotten every Chaos Emerald by that point, the only thing there is to go back to are the medals.

Super Sonic's in a weird half-way (Well, 3/4 way) point where it's too OP for modes like time attack, but just balanced enough that the power feels like an earned reward if you can get it early without it feeling like God Mode. It feels nice when you have a run sorted out enough that you can get Super Sonic early on, because getting the run honed to that point takes effort. And playthroughs of of shorter games generally feel more fun to me if I I don't backtrack if there's no need to.

 

[Drizzy Finks]

It's not a terrible game. I had fun with the Saturn version - which, by the way, has some really nice music. Fundamentally the gameplay is the same, except for the bonus stages if I remember right.

 

[Nessus]

This is so cool.

Wish someone who had access to the unfinished code would do something like this for Sonic X-Treme.

 

[Seeya]

I have been in love with his work since I stumbled across his channel. Some of the things he explains are just mind blowing and oh so cool ( such as how they got the 30fps logo animation to function by storing multiple colour coded frames per frame and disabling colours in sequence). I has been said elsewhere that he is one of the top two assembly ciders of his time and it makes me wish that we had more people going back to the genisis today with all the knowledge we have now. His exploit for displaying, essentially, thousands of colours on screen is incredible, and it's a shame it never got stabilized to the point of becoming something they could have used.

I'd love to see him try his hand at creating a port of StarFox.

 

[The Hobo]

I played a lot of Sonic 3D as a kid. It was quite fun. Nice to see someone go back all these years later and changes things up.

Not totally sure how I feel about the one Emerald per Zone rule, makes it really hard to use Super Sonic.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, puts a real dampener on using Super Sonic.