The following is a guest post from community member FTA.
On Saturday April 19th, Find The Computer Room will be teaming up with Packrat Comics in Dublin, Ohio to host a special charity stream for the one and only Tracy Yardley! We aim to start around 3pm EST, and it will be a fun filled event for people of all ages. We plan to spend time playing several Sonic games, talking about the Archie series and Tracy’s influential work on them over the years, and we’ll be airing an exclusive interview with the man himself!
In order to explain, let me pass over to the man himself:
To My Wonderful Fans,
Having worked with Archie Comics on the Sonic the Hedgehog comics has been a great privilege. Unlooked for, the good people of the Packrat Sonic Club of Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio had a divine revelation that I could use some help and decided to run a benefit on my behalf. As some may know, I am the father of 5 children. My wife and I adopted 3 and had 2 of our own as well. By many standards I am a very rich man, but this last year has been trying in the money department. I know there are many out there who are in a much worse position that I am, but I’m very grateful for the help offered to me. I am continually awed by the love and encouragement I receive from my fans and I hope to help with future charity efforts to share the amazing goodwill that my fans have shown me.
With gratitude,
Tracy Yardley!
Tracy has been kind enough to offer up some personal signed material for the stream, we have signed issues, trade paperbacks, toys and original art to give away for donators!
We hope to see you at 3pm EST on Saturday April 19th at the FTCR Twitch channel for what promises to be an afternoon of fun no Sonic fan will want to miss!
Thanks!
-FTA!
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Community, Fan Works, Game News, Hacking, Humor, Music, Podcasts, Sega Retro, Site News
Monday Links: Bartman’s Phantasy Star Online 1 Check-In Edition
Oh dear, I got stuck with the Monday Links this week. You know that new Sonic game that everyone is talking about? Yes. No? Well, theres still not much to talk about, or Sonic Boom, or much of anything Sonic lately, and you probably don’t want to talk about sports either. In fact I’ve been busy messing around Phantasy Star Online despite being over 14 years too late, and I haven’t moved on to Phantasy Star Online 2. Why? It was something I had missed out on when it came out for the Drreamcast and Gamecube. Since I had broadband adapters for each, and my curiosity in private servers piqued, I wanted to take a look to see what I had missed.
The game’s aesthetics and gameplay structure were the main reason for me wanting to look back at this outdated RPG, because it used a theme thoat most RPGs have not tried to work with, and most would follow the large, open world that World of Warcraft popularized. In fact several of them had an identity crisis to the point that you’d think the developers just wanted to get away with making World of Warcraft. But not Phantasy Star Online, a game that took Sega’s established RPG series and not only gave it a multiplayer component but emphasized real-time action where you are actively engaged in battle, and avoiding damage and looking for enemy weakpoints requires creative strategy. This is probably the best non-Sonic game from Sonic Team, at least in my eyes. You’re still not going to be won over by the story, and it is absolutely difficult for newcomers to find others to play with online, but it certainly reached a technical marvel and helped kickstart a genre to what was popularized by its successors. Theres also fun to be had by playing the game Single Player, but the social element definitely makes up half the game through social interaction, item trading, and planning with your teammates on what to do.
My only handicap that I am personally following is to play this game as blind as possible. I’m not going to bother with item duping, I know Force classes are utterly broken, and I don’t want to consult a wiki to generate the best possible outcome for my character(s). I want to try to match my experience with the game similar to how others played the game back when it came out. Its incredible how the evolution of game design and social interaction has changed the way we play the game, and for a game like Phantasy Star Online, the experience does not match with a modern massive multiplayer environment. But to get the most out of the game, its best to look at why the game had it’s strengths in the first place. Its not entirely possible, and I do want to try and avoid the technical hurdles the game has, because there’s nothing quite like it out there. I want to see about doing an annual check in with the game as well as have more video podcasts with people who played the game before sharing their experiences. Because honestly? I truly regret letting it pass by me, even with the paid subscription fees involved.
Now, lets take a look at the headlines for Monday.
Retro/Bits News
- Barry the Nomad and Shigs talk with GameSpot Editor Peter Brown reminiscing on all things SEGA. [Swingin’ Report Show #54]
- Ben wrote an editorial on how Sonic should remain true to himself while branching out. [Sonic Lost Identity?]
- You can check out the PSO Adventures on our YouTube Playlist and on Twitch [Tales from Ragol]
- I was also part of another stream with three other people and we defeated Dark Falz [Jay’s Gaming and RetroGaming Stream]
- Wait. What happened to Vidya Retro? In a joint effort with SEGAbits, we renamed it to SEGA Channel Retro. [That Logo is Pretty Nice, Barry]
Sonic/SEGA Stuff
- On 2/2/2014 was the 20th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. [You’re Old]
- Retro user MarkyJester releases another Sonic 1 ROM hack titled Ring Ride 3. [Fill Sonic with Lead]
- Jazz Jackrabbit 1 mod Sonic With a Gun by VioletCLM releases on Feburary 23rd [I Miss the Jazz Days]
- Relic Entertainment and Creative Assembly Fight to the Death in Counter Strike [Relic’s Victory is Similar to the Super Bowl]
- Akira Yuki was officially revealed as the next statuette in the SEGA All-Stars line [First 4 Figures]
Watch live video from VidyaRetro on TwitchTV
Watch the aftermath of what we did instead of watching the VGX. It involves Yogscast, Sonic Adventure DLC, bad Sonic rap and more for six hours.
Its free weekend for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on Steam once again and its Saturday night, which means its time for another Retro Community Day. We’ll be kicking off at 5 PM central with the return of the pre-game show the hour before. You can expect Yogscast DLC characters to appear. Of course its either this or Pewdiepie on VGX. It’s your choice really.
Start sending in your friend requests to VidyaRetro on Steam now! We’ll periodically send out requests to join a two round game for each person added to the friends list. See you there!
Community, Site News
Thanksgiving/Hanukkah Giveaway: Sonic Lost World Wii U and 3DS + Mario & Sonic 2014
UPDATE: [2013/12/03 05:13 PM EST] I’ve added a clarification for question #2 in response to some of the emails I have received: If you think you may have submitted an incorrect answer and this clarifies it for you, you may resend your answer for question #2. I’ll combine the emails for the final count.
The following is a guest post by long-time community member GerbilSoft.
Hello, I’m GerbilSoft. And today, I’m going to make history.
I’m putting up TWO Sonic games that says I know more than you.
So if you’re smart enough, fast enough, and if you’ve got the guts, you can Win GerbilSoft’s Sonic Games!
Two winners will get the opportunity to select one of these three games:
- Sonic Lost World (Wii U)
- Sonic Lost World (3DS)
- Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Official Rules:
- Participants will send their answers to the five questions below to [email protected], with subject: “Sonic Retro Thanksgiving Giveaway”. Entries must be sent by 2013/12/08 11:59 PM EST. [DON’T POST YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS!]
- The giveaway is open to all legal residents (13 years of age or older) of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia (except ACT). Other countries may be eligible; check your local regulations.
- Only one entry per person; make sure your answers are correct before you send your email!
- Sonic Retro, Sega Retro, and SEGAbits staff are not eligible to participate.
- Two winners will be randomly selected from all entries that have the correct answers for all 5 trivia questions. If no one got all five correct, then two will be selected for 4 out of 5, etc. If no one got any answers right, then you all suck and the contest will start over with new questions.
- Winners will be announced within a week after the contest closes, and they will be contacted with regards to what game they would like to receive.
- Prizes will be new games delivered to the winners using Amazon.
Win GerbilSoft’s Sonic Games!
If you want to win GerbilSoft’s Sonic Games, you just have to answer these five trivia questions. Send your answers to [email protected], with subject: “Sonic Retro Thanksgiving Giveaway”. Entries must be received by 2013/12/08 11:59 PM EST.
- What was the original name of the Sonic Retro Wiki?
- What was the first official Sonic game released for a non-Sega platform (excluding PC and single-game handhelds)? [CLARIFICATION: “Single-game handhelds” refers to a handheld device that can only play a single game; that is, it doesn’t have removable cartridges or discs.]
- What celebrity got the chance to play a Sonic 2 prototype on the TV game show Nick Arcade?
- What Sonic 1 zone was originally going to follow Green Hill Zone, until the developers decided it would be too difficult as the second zone?
- Big the Cat is known for his cameo appearances in Sonic Adventure 2. What other Sonic game did Big make cameo appearances in?
Community, Humor, Miscellaneous
UPDATED: PSA: Sonic Lost World “First Play” Charity Marathon This Saturday
Watch live video from Nyteworks on www.twitch.tv
The stream is live right now, be sure to hit play in the player above and donate often!
Usually, we don’t really cover goings-on with other sites in the community, much less those outside of it. However, when a charity marathon pops up that is not only centered around the as-of-yet-unreleased-in-the-U.S. Sonic Lost World on Wii U but also features Archie Comics’ own Ian Flynn (the man behind the current line of Archie Sonic comics and Mega Man comics), exceptions can be made.
Mega Man Network site staffer LBD Nytetrayn will be streaming the game while chatting with Flynn about all things Sonic and Mega Man, and viewers will be able to grill the man behind the panels about all things comics. On top of donating to the Sick Kids Foundation, raffles will be open to donors for prizes such as Sonic Boom 2013 lanyards, the History of Sonic book from Udon, and even a Deluxe Wii U with a copy of Lost World.
For the Americans that can’t wait until Tuesday or don’t have a Wii U, here’s one more chance to see the game in action live. The activities kick off at noon Eastern time and will be available for viewing on Nyte’s own page, through Twitch.tv, and on YouTube.
Community, Game News, Humor, Miscellaneous, Podcasts, Sega Retro, Site News
Tuesday Links: TGS Happened Edition
So either because not much was shown this year or because everyone is playing GTA V, I don’t think anyone noticed that TGS happened last week. But even though nobody cares anymore, SEGA still had a decent showing at the event. With them showing the first gameplay footage of Yakuza Ishin and Puyo Puyo Tetris. Also they bought Atlus and now everything is ruined for people in western countries who want Atlus games.
Retro/Bits News
- Forum member Jason spent his summer making a Sonic Generations stage called Titanic Timber and released the alpha version [Forums]
- We did another Vidya Retro live stream, and I actually joined in for about 20-30 minutes! [Vidya Retro]
- This week’s Swingin’ Report Show guest stars our very own Bartman3010 [Swingin’ Report Show #51]
- There’s also a new episode of the other SEGAbits’ podcast [Sonic Talk #23]
Sonic/SEGA News
- There was all of this Sonic Lost World stuff [Here’s the round-up]
- There’s also this TGS trailer for Sonic Lost World I didn’t mention in there [Youtube]
- Mario & Sonic at the 2014 Winter Olympics will be released on November 8th [CVG]
- Atlus joins the SEGA family [SEGAbits]
- The Dreamcast version of Toejam & Earl 3 has been discovered [Forums]
- A new fighting game called Dengeki Bunko Fight Climax has been announced [Shoryuken]
- This new trailer for Yakuza Ishin shows what the gameplay is like [Youtube]
- There’s also a trailer for Puyo Puyo Tetris [Youtube again]
- And one for Phantasy Star Nova as well [Another gosh darn Youtube link]
- Speaking of which, there are currently no plans to release Phantasy Star Nova in the west [SEGA-Addicts]
If you’re in London today and looking to hang out with some fellow Sonic fans, you picked a good day. Forum user HelenBaby has the details:
“A further few points about the event :
We will announce whether the meet will be held in the Plan A or Plan B venue in the days leading up to the meet depending on the weather forecast, as we have done in the past. If we go with Plan A, the picnic in Regent’s Park, guests are encouraged to bring along picnic blankets, picnic foods (obviously), suncream and water! I guess there will be less to bring if we go for the Plan B option, but do make sure you bring enough food (you are allowed to eat your own food inside the Royal Festival Hall thankfully) and, I guess, an umbrella?
~ Art Corner : The voice actor and artist Andrew Hamblin, a SonicLondon regular, has kindly agreed to host our Art Corner for us. Go over and join him, grab a pencil and some paper (provided) and get sketching!
~ Blackjack : At some point during the meet Cyburn (a member of SonicLondon staff) will be hosting a game of Blackjack, and the eventual winner will recieve a prize. Time and prize to be confirmed on the day.
~ 3DS/Vita Corner : Our friends from Monster Hunter Community UK have kindly agreed to host our handheld corner. They’ll be happy to play the likes of MK7/Mario Tennis/Luigi’s Mansion 2 with attendees. And would, of course, be most up for a sneaky Monster Hunt with those of you that way inclined.
~There’s also going to be a Sonic Transformed (3DS) tournament, with e-shop vouchers as prizes (courtesy of Nintendo).
For more details and to RSVP please see : http://www.facebook.com/events/585438461479599/ “
Community, Fan Works, Hacking, Music, Podcasts, Site News
Sonic Hacking Contest 2013 Unveils Results
Watch live video from MegaGShow on TwitchTV
Last Sunday, the winners of the 2013 Sonic Hacking Contest were revealed by judges through a livestream event which has been preserved on Twitch for everyone to watch in the above video. During the two hours it took, the winners were announced for each category, including categories decided upon community members of Retro and SSRG. You can view the results immediately on the Hacking Contest website here, or you can check past the jump for the complete list.
Don’t forget to check out the available entries for yourself, and even for the ones that didn’t win, they still deserve your attention for their hard efforts. Congratulations to everyone involved!
The hacks are done and submitted. With judgment day looming over which hacks will reign supreme, the time has come for you–Yes, YOU!–to play these works. Lovingly called Contest Week, the festivities will begin on Aug. 12 and last through Aug. 18. During this time, everyone is able to download the games on display. However, to actually vote for Community Choice trophies, users must have a validated account on either SSRG or right here on Retro.
According to contest judge and organizer Spanner, a number of regular events are scheduled to take place every day over on the SHC website. These include live streams of the games by MegaGWolf (from 7pm to 9pm British Summer Time, or 2pm to 4pm Eastern for the Americans) and SomecallmeJohnny (1am to 3am BST/9pm to 11pm Eastern.)
A daily podcast will also go live at 9pm BST (4pm EST) and last until 11pm BST (6pm EST.) At the end of the Contest Week, the winners will be announced live via the radio server on the site, so make sure to tune in from 8pm BST (3pm EST) to 11pm BST (6pm EST.)
Other events planned include hacking workshops–of which they’re still seeking ideas for more, so fire Spanner a PM if interested in hosting your own workshop–and a daily hacking contest open to everyone which will ultimately produce a level within Sonic 1. For that last one, a Retro or SSRG account is not required.
Fans can join the discussion about the contest all week via IRC by joining the server located at irc.badnik.net and joining #hackingcontest.
Community, Fan Works, Game News, Hacking, Miscellaneous, Site News
Actual Monday Links: Summer of Not For Reupload Edition
So Summer of Sonic happened, meaning that new stuff was revealed there right? Well, besides this new Sonic Lost World trailer not really, but it seems like it was still a fun event for fans. Overlord did a write-up on his experience there, so be sure to check that out. If you want to know what the Sonic Lost World demo was like, an article with impressions from Overlord and other Retro members will be coming out soon. But for now, check out this stuff:
Retro News
- Seriously, go read Overlord’s write-up on Summer of Sonic 2013 [Sonic Retro]
- vladikcomper put up a new video of his Sonic Winter Adventures hack, which has seemingly moved on to be for the Sega CD [Youtube]
- A new version of Dude’s Sonic Generations mod: Sonic Adventure Generations has been released [On our forums]
- MainMemory released a Sonic Adventure 2 Mod Loader for the PC version, along with a few mods to go with it [SA2 Mod Loader]
- Delta Hedgehog put up a new trailer for his fangame Sonic: Edge of Darkness, which will have a new demo at SAGE 2013 [Youtube]
Sonic/Sega News
- A new trailer for Sonic Lost World got released cause Summer of Sonic happened [Look up]
- The PC version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed got a new update which adds a character from Total War: Rome II [Sonic Retro]
- Atlus’ parent company might be getting bought by SEGA-Sammy [SEGAbits]
- SEGA actually made some money! [SEGAbits]
- Here’s a handy information guide for Sonic Boom, looks like we’ll be seeing some announcements there [SEGA Blog]
- What is Sonic doing in Ocarina of Time? [Youtube]