Sega was really lazy with a 3D sonic game on the sega saturn,BUT,,,

[johannesmutlu]

We all wish that sega did came up with a proper 3D sonic game for the sega saturn,why did they cancled their sonic X-treme game? I can’t believe it took them 2 attempts but they just couldn’t make the entire game all because of a clash within the company,so instead they brought us sonic 3D blast wich does contain 3D bonus stages and while sonic jam just contains those sonic games from the genesis,but it also does contain a 3D stage as a reminder at what could,ve been and to show off the power of the sega saturn,

now while there was also a sonic R game wich was all the way 3D but it was not an adventure game,it was more like a racing game on foots,there were no cars in it BUT it did gave it the idea about an adventure game of sonic game,

BUT sega did had atleast put some screen shots of 3D stages on the back of the pakage of both sonic jam & sonic 3D blast for the saturn just to warm up buyers with it,but at the other hand it could,ve disappoint players even more with once they find out that it was just a rushed after tout,(as if they had nothing better to do at the end) like adding those sega commercials in sonic jam and along with that 3D stage, it felt more like a promo game to promote sega and to demonstrate the saturn’s 3D capabilities but that’s it,

BUT on the positive side sega did atleast tried something to bring sonic into the 3th dimension with those mentioned games😁

i think that the saturn could,ve sold much worse without those sonic games,among many other ones.right?

Edited December 24, 2023 by johannesmutlu

[Boschloo]

Yes. Because at the end of the day, you must play Sega Saturn!

 

By the way, Sonic was in BUG! 

 

In Reptilia Scene 1, the second zone in 'Bug!' on the SEGA Saturn, find the coin and bring it to Daddy Long Legs. He will then warp you to a bonus stage where Bug races against Sonic The Hedgehog. Here he uses his Sonic 3 sprite.

Edited December 24, 2023 by Boschloo

[roots.genoa]

Lots of BUTs in that OP... 🤨

[Zoyous]

ChatGPT took a shot at editing and formatting the post:

 

"We all wish that Sega had come up with a proper 3D Sonic game for the Sega Saturn. Why did they cancel their Sonic X-treme game? I can't believe it took them two attempts, but they just couldn't make the entire game due to a clash within the company. Instead, they brought us Sonic 3D Blast, which does contain 3D bonus stages. Sonic Jam just contains those Sonic games from the Genesis, but it also has a 3D stage as a reminder of what could have been and to show off the power of the Sega Saturn.

While there was also a Sonic R game, which was entirely 3D, it was not an adventure game; it was more like a racing game on foot. There were no cars in it, but it did give the idea of an adventure game for Sonic.

Sega did put some screenshots of 3D stages on the back of the package for both Sonic Jam and Sonic 3D Blast for the Saturn just to warm up buyers. On the other hand, it could disappoint players even more when they find out that it was just rushed afterthought, as if they had nothing better to do at the end. Adding those Sega commercials in Sonic Jam, along with that 3D stage, made it feel more like a promotional game to promote Sega and demonstrate the Saturn's 3D capabilities, but that's it.

On the positive side, Sega did try something to bring Sonic into the third dimension with those mentioned games. 😁

I think that the Saturn could have sold much worse without those Sonic games, among many others, right?"

[roots.genoa]

It's way easier to read, but I miss the commas and the garbitch, though. 😔

[Arno1978]

ChatGPT is garbage.

 

One of the biggest problems was deadlines in the early days. Designers and programmers were just starting to get the hang of 3d, yet were expected to pump out games in the same time span as 2d games. 2d games already had proper tools, programming guides/tricks in place, as well as being able to more accurately plan out the scope of a game. This was of course due to having 2+ decades of 2d dev knowledge and resources. Having a 3rd dimension, polygons, lighting and shadows, camera controls thrown in was a huge step.

 

Getting that same look and feel from 2d to 3d isn't easy either. Though Nintendo did a good job with Super Mario 64, it felt very different to Super Mario World.

 

Looping back to deadlines, Sega was also competing with Nintendo and Sony. It was a stressful race to get ahead of the pack in terms of a new console. Once a particular console was the main console that everyone played on, selling an alternative was much more difficult. If you had the right games, people might shell out an extra $200 to get the console and that game.

 

When Sega was head to head with Nintendo during the height of both 16 bit systems - SNES and Genesis, they seemed to put full focus into just 16 bit games. The Genesis hit the market in 1989. By 1990, they should have had a separate division prepping for upcoming 3d games and tech. Even in the 80s Sega was experimenting with 3d visuals. Of course it's easier to say this now looking back. The story was different in the thick of things back then.

 

3d in the 90s was rough and just beginning. It was more experimental. It was probably impossible to make a 3d Sonic game back then that was as awesome as say Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

[Zoyous]

19 hours ago, Arno1978 said:

When Sega was head to head with Nintendo during the height of both 16 bit systems - SNES and Genesis, they seemed to put full focus into just 16 bit games. The Genesis hit the market in 1989. By 1990, they should have had a separate division prepping for upcoming 3d games and tech. Even in the 80s Sega was experimenting with 3d visuals. Of course it's easier to say this now looking back. The story was different in the thick of things back then.

They did - it was just all happening in their arcade division, specifically AM2. They didn't focus on 3D for the home because at that time in the early 90s, they were acquiring 3D tech from military contractors and negotiating with them to make it affordable for their arcade boards. They sold these cabinets for $20-50,000 and more. A lot of that was due to their hydraulic machinery but the 3D chips were also exceedingly expensive. Their consumer division didn't see a pathway to even bringing their sprite scaling co-processors into home consoles until late '91 with the Sega CD, which was an add-on three times as expensive as the base console at that point.

 

19 hours ago, Arno1978 said:

ChatGPT is garbage.

In what way? It's certainly part of a wave of disruptive tech, just like 3D was in 90s gaming.

[Arno1978]

3 hours ago, Zoyous said:

They did - it was just all happening in their arcade division, specifically AM2. They didn't focus on 3D for the home because at that time in the early 90s, they were acquiring 3D tech from military contractors and negotiating with them to make it affordable for their arcade boards. They sold these cabinets for $20-50,000 and more. A lot of that was due to their hydraulic machinery but the 3D chips were also exceedingly expensive. Their consumer division didn't see a pathway to even bringing their sprite scaling co-processors into home consoles until late '91 with the Sega CD, which was an add-on three times as expensive as the base console at that point.

Thank you so much. I knew they were working with 3d in their arcade division, but I didn't know much more to the story. That is a very interesting bit of knowledge there. And I do remember the Sega CD being insanely expensive. They had a lot of neat titles lined up for it, but I think many of them didn't make it to market, or they didn't live up to expectation. It was quite a time.

 

3 hours ago, Zoyous said:

In what way? It's certainly part of a wave of disruptive tech, just like 3D was in 90s gaming.

It was a lazy comment. Part luddite. I find the use of ChatGPT mostly garbage I guess. I also prefer to read text written by an actual human (even if written poorly), rather than something edited or conceived by AI. You are definitely correct - it is disruptive tech. My opinion is: mostly not in a good way. I know that AI isn't really true AI - math and complicated algorithms in layer upon layer. Still I think there is a good use for it and there are things it shouldn't be used for. I could give many reasons why driverless vehicles should never be allowed on the road, but that's for a different thread of course. I don't want to stray from the main subject.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Arno1978

[NinjaWarrior]

Full of Text

 

Can't read

[TheGameCollector]

Actually in Sonic R, Amy does use a car.

[Boschloo]

Tried playing Sonic R with my sons yesterday, but that thing is still unplayable 25 years later!