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Sonic Forces

Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2023 Announced, Trophies Listed, New Judges

Looking to introduce your Sonic hack or mod to the public at large? Want to put it to the test to see how it stacks among the rest? Wonder no longer as this year’s Sonic Hacking Contest is on track to arrive later this year in late October. This year introduces new guidelines and judges over last year’s event. Make sure to catch up to speed by taking a look at last year’s winning entries and the 2022 trailer showcase.

This year introduces upload limits, three per person, to address issues the community had raised over last year’s event and to ensure that judges are given time to address the community’s inevitably large output for this year. Entries will remain unlimited for team entries and non-judged Expo entries. To help tackle this workload, new judges have been introduced for the three entry types; ‘Retro’,’ 2DPC’ and ‘3D’ Entries. This is to also help ensure fairer evaluation for unique fan projects such as Sonic 3 A.I.R. mods that were introduced last year. The judges participating are subject to change before this year’s contest begins.

For more information on what to expect this year, head on over to the Hacking Contest’s website. You can also receive up-to-date information following the official Twitter account. Discuss the contest in the Sonic Hacking Contest 2023 thread on our forums as well as on Sonic Stuff Research Group’s own thread.

Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2022 Reveals Trailer, Entries and Trophy Names

Recently revealed is the trailer for this year’s Sonic Hacking Contest of 2022 by BlueVivacity as seen on Twitter. The event goes live next week from October 10th to the 16th. Many ROM hacks, mods and add-ons for your favorite Sonic games will be up for grabs. If you’re not sure what to play, you’ll have a chance to see them in action from streamers as the week goes on. Of course vote for your favorite entries to earn one of several awards.  After the jump you’ll be able to see what trophy awards are up for grabs this year and of course what will even show up at this year’s contest.

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Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest Announced for 2022

Once again the online event for Sonic mods, ROM hacks and general nonsense is upon us with the Sonic Hacking Contest for the year of 2022. The Hacking Contest website has been updated with finer details on entry requirements, categories and more which can be found here. Tentative dates for the event will center around October much like last year’s event. The contest is asking entries to prepare their works based on Sonic ROM hacks or mods for Sonic games. Mods can include titles released on PC including digital storefronts such as Steam (For titles such as Sonic Mania and Team Sonic Racing) as well as mods for console games. (Including Sonic Riders Zero Gravity for the Nintendo Wii) Of course as is with tradition, ROM hacks from Sonic games on Mega Drive and Genesis systems (Such as the ever present Sonic the Hedgehog 2) are also welcome as entries.

This year’s contest involves a change in how trophies are delivered. While the contest acknowledges the desire for the return of themed trophies from 2019, they are looking to make these trophies to better reflect the criteria involved. The contest is also asking for suggestions for naming trophies from the public, and is accepting multiple entries on their Trophy Naming form. Otherwise the structure of the event will be similar to last year’s event.

More information will be provided over the coming months as deadline dates and more are finalized. Future updates can be found from the Hacking Contest website as well as the official Twitter account. Discussion on the contest can be found both here on Sonic Retro’s forums as well as the Sonic Stuff Ressearch Group forums.

 

Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2020 Trailer, Entry List Revealed

SEGA’s recent sale-a-bration has provided a trove of Sonic games for low prices. After expanding your game library, now you can expand them with brand new content. This year’s Sonic Hacking Contest has revealed a list of entries and a trailer by redhotsonic.
Check out some of the highlights for this year’s entries. A texture makeover for Sonic R turns Sonic Mania zones into 3D raceways. Add more options to Sonic Heroes‘ multiplayer mode with the Extended Multiplayer Edition. Sonic 2 Pink Edition replaces the usual duo with Amy and Cream. A mouse interface to move objects around in Sonic 1 is now possible with Sonic 1 Point and Click Edition.
 
The trailer also shows several streamer personalities showcasing this year’s entries including AntDude, Argick, MegaGWolf, redhotsonic, Sam Procrastinates, Somecallmejohnny, Tails’ Channel, Just Jesss, Garrulous64 and DaveAce.
 
The contest week lasts between Monday 26th of October to Sunday the 1st of November. You’ll be able to find all entries to download and vote for when the event goes live at www.sonichacking.org. You’ll also be able to find the streaming schedule and updates for the contest as they happen. For the list of entries, be sure to expand this article by hitting the jump link below.

 

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Reviews

Sonic Forces – The Retro Review


So, Sonic Forces. It’s tough to know what to say about it. The game has been out for a while now and admittedly this review is coming a little late, but if Forces shows us anything it’s that the franchise itself needs to slow down and take time for a bit of reflection. Having had longer to digest the game, perhaps we can have a better idea of what went wrong, what went right and just how we got here.
The first trailer for the game in 2016 could be described as confusing. Announced as Project Sonic 2017, many fans (myself included) really didn’t know how to parse what they had just seen. After what had then been years of light, fluffy, Saturday morning cartoon-esque stories, we had a trailer showcasing a seemingly ruined world, overrun by Eggman’s giant Death Egg Robots destroying everything – and wait, Classic Sonic’s here too? Just what is happening? That question, along with the fact that this was being developed by the team behind Colors and Generations, was enough to raise eyebrows and generate significant interest in the title, even alongside the also-announced Sonic Mania. It’s fair to say that expectations were tempered (especially after Lost World) but many fans were expecting a return to the ‘boost gameplay’ that, love it or hate it, has probably been one of Sega’s more successful attempts at doing Sonic gameplay in 3D yet.
So is that what we got? Well, kind of.
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Community, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2019 Announced With a New Distribution System for Trophies


The annual Sonic Hacking Contest has once again been announced by Spanner over on the forums. This year sees many big new changes, largely with how the trophies will be categorized and distributed. With 3D entries overtaking the classic, more traditional hacks, last year, the following was decided:

Entries will be graded top 3 overall in the respective common submission formats/categories:
“Retro”, “3D” and “2D PC”. Various “general” categories, subject to different interpretation based
on submission format such as “best visually appealing” or “best sounding” will also be split in the
following manner.

There are some expected growing pains, as the announcement notes that certain trophies among the new system may not be applicable. This, of course, will depend entirely on what is submitted this year and how the voting shakes out. The contest is currently slated for December 2nd through December 8th, and you can get the deadlines for submissions, contest rules, and further details over on the forum. And as always, sonichacking.org is live for all the entries from previous years.
[Source Topic: Sonic Hacking Contest 2019]

Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2018 Serves Up a Hearty List of this Year’s Entries


EDIT: Updated the article to embed the trailer hosted by TailsChannel.
The deadline for entries has passed and the community has provided a helping of hacks and mods for both the Expo and the Hacking Contest, including entries for both Sonic Forces and Sonic Mania for the contest. Since its nearly Turkey Day its time for me to bust out some food adjectives.  You can also expect savory helpings of mods for Shadow the HedgehogSonic HeroesSonic Adventure 2, a drizzle of SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis ROM hacks and more. Hit the jump to check out whats on the menu this year. In the meantime there is one entry made available early to the public, Sonic 3 & Knuckles Battle Race.  Check out this page for download information and more before the smorgasbord later this month!
The contest week is set for Monday through Sunday, 26th of November to the 2nd of December. To learn more about the rules and trophy guidelines you can check out the contest’s new website by visiting sonichacking.org.
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Fan Works, Hacking

More Hacks, Mania Mods, Forces Mods and Procrastination in the Sonic Hacking Contest 2018


After the success of the Sonic Hacking Contest’s 15th anniversary last year the team is retaining changes made to the rules to strengthen quality control for the Sonic Hacking Contest 2018.
This year the contest will be accepting hacks and mods for Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces for trophy eligibilityLast year these entries were denied trophies due to the short time available for development of mods and tools for these titles. Now these entries will be able to match the same levels of acceptance of other ROM hacks and mods for games such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on Game Gear, Sonic GenerationsSonic Lost World and more.
The contest week is set for Monday through Sunday, 26th of November to the 2nd of December. To learn more about the rules and trophy guidelines you can check out the thread of the announcement on our forums here. Don’t forget to check out the contest’s new website which hosts entries from previous years by visiting sonichacking.org.
[Source Topic: Sonic Hacking Contest 2018]

Opinion, Podcasts

SEGA News Bits: Our Favorite and Most Disappointing SEGA Games of 2017

Another year comes to an end, and with it we present to you the SEGA News Bits videos featuring our favorite and our most disappointing SEGA games of 2017. Seeing as these are being posted on Sonic Retro, I think you might already know which games we discuss.
If you enjoy our SEGA News Bits segments and want to support us: Give us a sub and give this video a like so it shows up on more like minded fans YouTube recommendations. You know, how that YouTube algorithm is.
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Fan Works, Hacking

Sonic Hacking Contest 2017 Website Launched


No longer a sub domain to Sonic Stuff Research Group, the Sonic Hacking Contest website launched on it’s own domain at http://sonichacking.org and it’s live right now along with your opportunity to submit your hacks for the event!
The stakes are going to be higher for everyone this year with the introduction of new quality control measures and newly split trophy requirements. If you are not participating, you can always hit up our forums to talk about the contest in this thread here. Are there any entries you’re excited to see? To bring you up to speed with the goings on with the contest hit the jump to check out some things to make note of. Continue Reading