We’re already talking about Hacking Contest in 2017? You bet! The Sonic Hacking Contest’s 15th anniversary is upon us all and they need your help in a big way! The early report brings about rule changes and new trophies are being introduced in next year’s contest.
New rules are set to enact new “quality control” measures for entries to give a bigger focus on the technical achievement for entries with a lower focus on referential humor. New trophies are being made to address entries made for other platforms such as entries for handheld platforms with the Advance Trophy, 8-bit hacks with the Crystal Egg Trophy as well as introducing new trophies to be voted on by the community at large.
You can read up on how you can get your entries ready by reading Spanner’s post on the forums that details the rule changes, trophy guidelines and more. But when does the contest start? You have nearly a whole year before the deadline which is set for Sunday the 8th of October. The contest week then goes between the 6th of November to the 12th. There is plenty of time before then, but don’t let it sneak up on you before you know it!
[Source: Spanner on Sonic Retro’s Forums]
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The Hacking Contest for this year has concluded, and the results are in! Spanner a.k.a. SOTI has provided a write up on the forums for this year’s winners as well as some general thoughts on this year’s contest overall. You can read more information on the results on the Retro forums here. You can also hear reactions from the contest judges and see the winners in action on the Results Show hosted by MegaGWolf here. Hit the jump to see the winners for all the trophies of this year chosen by both contest judges and community members.
Hidden Palace Trophy
1st Place
Sonic: Scorched Quest (SHC’16 pre-final) by Team Painto
Wood Zone trophy
2nd Place
Sonic: Virtual Adventure (SHC 2016 Demo) by Ladego Team
HONOURABLE MENTION: Sonic 2 ReMastered by MrCat (very split decision with this trophy)
Dust Hill Trophy
3rd Place
Untitled Sonic 1 Hack by jubbalub
The 2016 Sonic Hacking Contest site is live, with 54 different hacks and mods to download and play! No account is required to play or download any of the hacks, but make sure to sign in with your Sonic Retro or SSRG account to vote on the community trophies. Also check the schedule for near-round the clock streams from folks like SomeCallMeJohnny, MegaGWolf, RedHotSonic and many more!
Downloading hacks are open until Sunday the 13th. Some mods you’ll encounter include ROM hacks of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Pocket Adventure as well as mods for PC versions of the original Sonic Adventure DX release, Sonic Generations and Sonic Lost World. Check them out today!
![uCy4RHs[2]](https://www.sonicretro.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/uCy4RHs2.gif)
Is your Sonic library on Steam lacking a few titles? Why wait for a Steam sale when you can set your own price and meet payment tiers in the latest Humble Bundle featuring a trove of Sonic games that can be redeemed on Steam which includes Sonic Lost World and an exclusive T-shirt for $35. Games such as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Generations all feature their DLC included as well, except for our good buddy Simon from Yogscast in Transformed. The SEGA Genesis and Mega Drive games also take advantage of the updated emulator that supports ROM hacks as well.
If you’re not familiar with how the Humble Bundle works, you can set the price on what you would pay for the games and receive a Steam validation code for each game covered by your payment. You can also pay above two different tiers with one being the average paid amongst different users on the Humble Bundle. Previous Humble Bundles included mobile Sonic titles and the Archie Sonic comic series. This marks the first time Sonic games on Steam appeared in a Humble Bundle set.
Be sure to check out the Humble Bundle page on more information. More games will be added to the bundle in the near future which do not require additional payment. Hit the jump to see what games are available in the bundle.
It would be an uneventful year without the time honored tradition of the hacking contest. Despite the delays and complications the Sonic Hacking Contest got 2016’s back for another round of ROM hacks and more! For the time being, there are no entries being accepted as the website will be up later.
You can get your submission ready by viewing the rules here on our forums courtesy of hacking contest judge Spanner. Deadline is Sunday 9th October 2016, so there’s plenty of time before the contest begins. Watch this space or check with the forums when the website goes live.
Remember that you can submit more than just ROM hacks as there are entries for mods as well. Will you make the ultimate mod to Sonic Lost World?
[Source: Sonic Hacking Contest 2016]
[UPDATE: The SHC site seems to be overloaded! For now, hang out in the IRC channel provided below for as-they-happen updates.]
Rise and shine, Retro. Chances are if you’re reading this, you’re already groaning that another work week has come in this hamster wheel called life. But that’s fine, because there are several new hacks waiting for you to get your digits all over.
If you swing on by the Sonic Hacking Contest 2015’s website, you now have a selection of titles from some of the Sonic Scene’s more technically inclined to try out and evaluate. While you can play the games without restriction, voting does require a Sonic Retro or an SSRG account, so try to snag one by Saturday if you want to guarantee your vote.
If you’re not about that, you can enjoy a week of streams, with one kicking off in a less than 20 minutes. These streams will let you see some of the community’s finest play the games for you to watch and just hang out with fellow fans. Fan-favorites MegaGWolf and SomecallmeJohnny also return, with a music workshop hosted by DalekSam Saturday, if you’re interested in learning how to create songs for games. The schedule is as follows:
5pm BST / 12pm EDT to 7pm BST / 2pm EDT – Monday to Friday: Donnie
7pm BST / 2pm EDT to 9pm BST / 4pm EDT – Monday, Wednesday and Friday: Spanner
9pm BST / 4pm EDT to 12am BST / 7pm EDT – Monday to Friday: MegaGWolf
12am BST / 7pm EDT to 3am EDT / 10pm BST – Monday to Friday: SomecallmeJohnny
5pm BST / 12pm EDT to 7pm BST / 2pm EDT on Saturday: DalekSam Music Workshop
7pm BST / 2pm EDT to 11pm BST / 6pm EDT on Saturday: Nova
7pm GMT / 3pm EDT to 9pm GMT / 5pm EDT (clock change on Sunday): Results Show
So come on by and relax in the Sonic Hacking Contest’s IRC. Just point your favorite client (or mibbit) to irc.badnik.net #shc2015.
As sure as the air gets crisp and the leaves turn brown (or green if you’re upside down in the world), the Sonic Hacking Contest is live once more for the next generation of game hackers and homebrewers. We’re partnering with SSRG once again to see what the more creative of you can do given a digital game jam of sorts.
To start, you’ll need a forum account for either here or SSRG (the rules are a little more relaxed if you’re actually entering.) Participants will have until Oct. 4 to submit a playable build of their game or hack, and then a further week to work on their projects should the entrant deem it necessary. Voting will then go live on Oct. 19, and also requires an account to either site.
Much like last year, everyone can download and play the entries, but streams will be held that showcase the games for those more interested in hanging out and talking with others.
Don’t be shy if you feel you’ll be swept up by more veteran groups. It’s not unusual for someone to come out of left field and stun the competition, such as with the likes of Robotnik’s Revenge, which in a roundabout way inspired the boss rush mode in Sonic 2 Mobile (2013)/Egg Gauntlet Zone. Practice the craft and have fun with it. Joke hacks are certainly welcome too, but not joke submissions. Basically, you can make something funny, but don’t submit something that’s clearly just stupid (see: Sonic 1337.) If you’re going to swing for worst hack, do it with some grace.
If you’re not into the whole Sonic theme, you can also submit SEGA-themed fangames too. Golden Axe, Shinobi, Jet Set Radio, Puyo Puyo… any of those brands are ripe for the picking. Going off the hip, I can say a Mighty Switchforce 2 styled Burning Rangers may be a neat idea, but you didn’t hear it from me.
And yes, this isn’t just limited to the Mega Drive games. The 3D games like Sonic Adventure, Sonic 2006, and Sonic Generations are encouraged.
Whether you’re sharing your life with other people or if today is more of a, “Nope, not getting out of bed today” sort of affair, we just want to take a little time to say, “Hey, thanks for still putting up with our insanity and we love you.” Truly! Retro wouldn’t be half of what it is right now both as an information hub and as the forefront (or at the very least, the knowledge base) of some of the neatest Sonic hacks out there if it wasn’t for your support.
It’s not much, but since trying to email chocolate to everyone who visits would not only be impossible and probably messy, we’d like to show our appreciation by hooking you all up with a project tucked away in the corners of SoundCloud aiming to recreate an often sought but never discovered soundtrack. Mr Kingalicious is in the middle of making the Sonic OVA soundtrack himself and it sounds pretty damn good, all things considered! Go show his work some love today too, since it deserves recognition for being pretty quality stuff.
And if today isn’t the best for you? Hang in there. Let this little gift at least give you some light.
Has it already been a year? We and SSRG are teaming up once again for the annual Sonic Hacking Contest, where talented fans work on creating their own game hacks. Now, this may make some people think that it will be nothing but the usual MegaDrive game hacks, but the contest also features Sonic Generations and Sonic Adventure DX edits among others.
New to this round is the introduction of Team entrants, which allows multiple users to be credited together for a work instead of last year’s single representative. Teams can consist of Retro members, SSRG members, or a mix of both.
As always, you’ll need a Sonic Retro or SSRG account to log in and actually vote for which title you feel best deserves an award from many categories. Downloading, however, is free to the public. Who knows, maybe these works can inspire some of you to take a stab at it next year, especially with the many tools Generations hacking has.
You’re still reading this? Get over to the site already!