Sonic 1 & 2 : Taxman & Stealth Edition; coming to iOS/Android, most likely consoles too ("BUY THESE" - Retro)

[Indigo Rush]

Why not include a custom soundtrack option.

 

Y'know, where you can select a music file and assign it to a level. That way, if they need to change the music, there's no preventing fans from putting the original music back into the game.

 

Eh, I'm a fan, not a game designer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Milo]

Notably the S3, Spinball and Advance series tracks in Generations were MIDI recreations, while tracks from other games were left unchanged. Also the PC tracks, even though there's every chance they'd elect against using those as well.

 

Aside from Hydrocity, there's also the Sonic 3 Final Boss remix for the Big Arms boss remake, the Angel Island remix for the Gallery section, and the Balloon Park remix for that Chemical Plant mission with Amy-which while weren't MIDI recreations were still remakes of the original songs.

[Blue Blood]

Aside from Hydrocity, there's also the Sonic 3 Final Boss remix for the Big Arms boss remake, the Angel Island remix for the Gallery section, and the Balloon Park remix for that Chemical Plant mission with Amy-which while weren't MIDI recreations were still remakes of the original songs.

I was specifically talking about the unlockable tracks, making the point specifically that none of the S3 tracks appear in their original form for some reason. So yeah, all the other remixes you mentioned fall into that same category. It's odd, and likely proves that some tracks are perfectly safe.

Angel Island, 1UP and the menu screen were already shoe-ins cause of other remixes and reuses over the years. Generations adds Hydrocity 1, Marble Garden 1 and Balloon Park, and none of those are amongst the tracks with supposed rights issues.

[Milo]

There was a remix of Marble Garden? Huh, never knew about it.

[Autosaver]

Why not include a custom soundtrack option.

 

Y'know, where you can select a music file and assign it to a level. That way, if they need to change the music, there's no preventing fans from putting the original music back into the game.

Can't you already do that with the music player on your phone?

[E-122-Psi]

So if remixes are fine, couldn't they technically just include the old tunes but retooled slightly? (eg. different instrumentation or odd notes changed).

[Shane]

Can't you already do that with the music player on your phone?

 

At the cost of immersion, perhaps.

[Autosaver]

At the cost of immersion, perhaps.

Replace all the music with Sonic 4 music.

 

[Indigo Rush]

The range of Android phones and their different specifications make this a mixed bag. My phone will not run both the music app and a game at the same time, and then you need to consider that you'd have to exit the app to change the tracks once you get an invincibility power up or you change acts. Its not feasible or convenient.

Assigning mp3, wav, etc. files to individual levels and having them loop is the best way to tackle the concept.

[Your Vest Friend]

Wasn't the lawsuit said to about to commence in 2012? If so, there could be a basis for Sonic Generations being able to do it and not this.

[Gabz Girl]

Slightly remixed music for Sonic 3 Remastered would be fine by me. I still don't understand why a handful of remixes still made it in Generations and yet there's no other references to Sonic 3. Well besides Big Arms in 3DS version I guess. 8/

[Indigo Rush]

The remixes that made it in Sonic 3 were also in the PC port. Carnival Night, Ice Cap and Launch Base (and the ending credits and Kux's drum beat) were conspicuously absent, as well as not featured in Generations in any way, despite most of those being blatant fan favorites.

[Gabz Girl]

Aha, and those are the ones that sound suspiciously (or rather not so suspiciously) like Michael Jackson's tunes!

 

They could just replace those with the PC port music and Knuckles' S&K theme replaces Knux's drum beat, though I'm not particularly keen on the idea since those aren't my favourite tunes. But if that's what it takes to get Sonic 3&K Remastered, then I'll just have to take that sacrifice. D=

[MegasonicZX]

Notably the S3, Spinball and Advance series tracks in Generations were MIDI recreations, while tracks from other games were left unchanged. Also the PC tracks, even though there's every chance they'd elect against using those as well.

Wow, I really like this version of the song. I thought it was the same as the S3 version since I couldn't hear it very well in generations but now that i'm hearing it now, this may be my favorite mix.

[Komodin]

Hey, have anyone else been experiencing an issue with the Android version of Sonic 2 where the game outright refuses to load? It's been like this for a while now for me, but I thought it was just due to a lack of compatibility with Android 5.1, since I have a Nexus 5.

[Blue Blood]

It's an issue with Google Play having been updated and the game no longer supporting it correctly. As there's no update, I think you can manage a workaround by disabling Google Play.

[TheOcelot]

PowerUpGaming Steath interview

 

Here are the most interesting bits:

 

CM: What do you think you were able to bring (sonic 1) to the table that perhaps Christian couldn't on his own?

 

ST: Aside from just being an extra set of hands, I think my most important contribution was my experience with the original game code. I had already learned a lot about how the classic Sonic games worked and how to manipulate them, so when it came to specifics that I didn't already know, I was able to find them easily. When necessary, I was able to dissect whole sections of code and re-construct their functionality in Retro Engine. If anything were approximated, I could follow behind and tweak it until it was just right. My existing work on SonED2 also came in handy, as I made a few modifications to it that allowed me to perform some of the necessary data conversions and to more-easily edit the collision issues that became apparent upon the addition of the new characters.

 

Later in development, after most gameplay bugs were dealt with and while Christian was sorting out the menu interfaces and any issues with Retro Engine, I was able to use some of the extra time I bought us to go through and add some of the hidden extended features, such as Super forms in Sonic 1, Tails+Sonic mode, Sonic 3 shields, most of the prototype content found in Debug Mode, and most of the modified level sections.

 

 

CM: Turning to Sonic 2 specifically, who was primarily responsible for the reinstatement of Hidden Palace Zone, and its layout and boss? What did you take inspiration from besides the original unfinished level; did you have access to any early concept work? Were Sega at all reluctant to have you recreate the level?

 

ST: Christian ended up performing the implementation, as well as mostly designing the new content. We had many discussions about it, as early as during the development of Sonic 1. The only material we had to work with was the version of the level that most people have seen in an early prototype of Sonic 2, so direction was pretty much up to us, but we would have to actually make it appealing if we wanted it to be present at all. There were a few concepts that came up, such as preserving its original intent and having it show up upon completion of the 7th Special Stage instead of receiving the Chaos Emerald immediately, and having to retrieve it from a boss at the end of the stage. In this case, in particular, it was ultimately decided that this would be too intrusive in relation to the game as it was originally released, so, we opted to instead hide it away as a special, optional bonus.

 

To get approval, we had to impress both Takashi Iizuka as current Sonic Team head, and Yuji Naka as the head of Sonic Team at the time Sonic 2 was being developed.

 

 

CM: Sonic CD was obviously incredibly successful, spawning home console and PC ports shortly after its launch. Why do you think Sonic 1 and 2 weren't afforded the same treatment?

 

ST: One reason may be that, unknown to us at the time, SEGA and Nintendo signed an exclusivity deal shortly before we were contracted for Sonic 1, which pledged the next three Sonic the Hedgehog-related games to Nintendo platforms. It may be that they didn't regard Mobile as competition, so it would be outside of the scope of the contract.

 

Another contributing factor is that SEGA have already released Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 for many other platforms via emulation, whereas they hadn't successfully created a SEGACD emulator, and therefore SonicCD was still very underrepresented. Also, as 1 and 2 were released as free updates to the original emulated versions on iOS, the general assumption has been that all emulated versions would be replaced as a free update, which hurts the potential to recover the extra development cost, as well as what they're charged for releasing the update on each of several platforms.

 

 

CM: Turning now to Sonic 3, I believe you and Christian pitched the game to Sega on several occasions, but were ultimately unsuccessful. What did your pitches consist of? Any ideas as to why they didn't approve them?

 

ST: It came up in conversation along with other potential projects, but the only true pitch was made with the one demo we created, which we took with us to E3 to show to them. We reminded them at least once afterward, but that's pretty much when we really became aware that it wasn't going to happen.

 

As I've mentioned in a few other places, what I've heard indicates that there's a legal issue of some sort regarding Sonic 3, which makes sense when compared with the publicly available information such as the rumored rights issues over certain songs, and a statement made by one of the composers that claimed that there was some form of legal action "going on or about to go on" in early 2012, which directly follows the last release of Sonic 3 to-date, the 2011 Steam release. I don't know any more than this, myself, but that's where I'd put my money. Some people claim that the current availability of the Steam version, among others, disproves this, but the truth is that we don't have any of the details regarding when and how these songs could be used, even after a presumed violation. One important fact to bear in mind is that previous re-releases were emulation-based, which could very well be considered to be the same as continuing to distribute physical cartridges, as it's a direct, unchanged copy of the game. The remastered games, on the other hand, have been re-created from the ground up, and thus, are much more likely to be considered a new product.

 

CM: You showed off your proof-of-concept for a remastered Sonic 3 & Knuckles last October to mark the game's 20th anniversary. I believe you originally had created the demo earlier in the year as part of one of your pitches to Sega. How much more was there to the title besides what the YouTube video showcased?

 

ST: We made certain to highlight all important aspects of the demo within the video, with the exception of the "Blue Spheres 2" concept for which I included a video in the blog post that accompanied the primary video. All that exists of that concept is a functionally-complete implementation with the one test level, and there are no materials regarding any of the other additions that we were considering. As for the original game, there is nothing playable that wasn't shown in the video.

 

 

CM: It seemed that in the weeks following the release of the gameplay footage, fans' appetite for Sonic 3 Remastered just continued to go up and up. Was that your aim; in releasing it, did you intend to try to rally support to petition Sega, or was it merely meant as a nice treat for fans of the series in time for the game's birthday?

 

ST: Honestly, I wanted very much to display the work that we had put into the game, since the pitch had been rejected. Since Christian had similar feelings, we settled on using it to celebrate the game's 20th anniversary.

 

We were getting a lot of questions regarding when/if Sonic 3 was going to be released, which mostly leaned toward the "when" side, as well as there being posts on many sites with people who assured others that it was, in fact, coming, and plenty of speculation as to when a release was going to be made. Personally, I wanted it to be very clear that we did try, and it's not our decision that it's not happening. The expectation was created, and one very real concern was the potential for fingers being pointed at us causing harm to our own businesses, as we both had our own projects to move on to. We love Sonic as much as anyone, and that scenario would be far from fair to us.

 

CM: It must be extremely satisfying to see so many people get involved with the Sonic 3 Remastered letter-writing campaign and petition, both of which have launched in the last couple of months. What are your general thoughts on how the campaign has been conducted so far, and what do you think the chances of Sega actually listening to it are?

 

ST: Well, you may know that I've decided to support the campaign in a personal capacity, myself, having blogged/tweeted about it, having participated in both the letter-writing aspect and the petition, and having participated in a recent live streaming event on Twitch that was meant to raise awareness of the campaign. It's a very exciting thing to essentially have a movement such as this dedicated to you, and I want to help it gain the exposure that it needs to prove the demand that we all know is waiting to be discovered. Sonic 3 is an excellent game that deserves better treatment in the first place

 

Though I want to see the campaign succeed, I can say very little in regard to how SEGA would respond to it even if it does receive upward of 100,000 signatures or letters, and those two things must not be considered to add to each other due to the possibility of overlap. This figure is my own, and comes from nowhere other than my own estimation based on projected development cost and the purchase price assumed by the campaign, which may also be incorrect. It does take a lot, though, and it will take a lot to prove sufficient demand to do better than break even. As I said, though, there is absolutely no guarantee that the demand will actually cause any change, because we don't know the exact reasoning behind the game being turned down. Even if it's something that can be addressed by the fans, such as the need to replace certain songs to avoid legal issues, fans who would accept this would have to make that fact absolutely clear to SEGA, and even then there's no guarantee that it would have a real effect. My own involvement in the campaign is based purely on the fact that I don't personally see another way to address the problem, and although it's entirely possible that it will have no effect whatsoever, it seems worth attempting.

 

CM: Do you have any thoughts on Sega's recent restructuring? Do you think it will harm or improve the chances of Sonic 3 being greenlit?

 

ST: I don't really have anything to say about the restructuring itself, but my feeling is that it's causing nothing that would have any effect on Sonic 3.

 

CM: Supposing Sega eventually does green light the project and brings you guys on board once again, what can we expect in terms of new features and additions that weren't present in the original game? Fans loved the introduction of the Hidden Palace Zone and Boss Attack mode; do you have any similarly exciting ideas in the pipeline for Sonic 3 – and can you share them?

 

ST: I wouldn't say that you should actually expect anything, considering that this would be SEGA's game and everything is subject to their approval, but there are certainly some things we'd like to do if given the opportunity. One concept was the "Blue Spheres 2" mode that I mentioned previously, which is a secondary game provided on the side of the original "Blue Spheres" with all-new levels containing two new types of spheres – Green which must be turned blue before they can be turned red, and Pink, which would transport you randomly to another Pink sphere somewhere else in the level. On a related note, I do love level editors.

 

We had a few other ideas as well, but proceeding under the assumption that this could ever happen, it might be fun to leave some of them as surprises.

 

CM: As we know, Sonic 3 was split into two games due to time constraints at the time of its original release. What plans do you have in terms of the level order; would you offer fans the chance to play through the zones as the developers originally envisioned?

 

ST: When I say "Sonic 3", I'm always referring to the complete game, which is commonly known as "Sonic 3 & Knuckles", so I certainly want to see the entire thing accounted for. As for level order, we are working with a pre-established game so similar considerations to those observed with the previous remasters apply. That being said, we have been known to tuck away some optional stuff.

 

CM: Whenever someone mentions a Sonic 3 remake, my thoughts are often immediately drawn to Tiddles' fantastic Sonic 3 Complete hack, which lets players effectively customise the way they play the game. Have you played the hack, and do you take any inspiration from it?

 

ST: I haven't paid it much attention, personally. It's not that I have anything against it or the author, but I usually keep myself very busy with my own projects, and aside from that, I'd rather go into a Sonic 3 remaster with as clear of a head as possible. It's almost certain that there would be some similarities, though, just because we're all huge fans with concepts to improve the classics, and there are just some things that really stand out as obvious candidates.

 

Similarly, Sonic 2's Boss Attack mode has been likened to "Robotnik's Revenge", although many other games do this sort of thing as well, and as a concept it's long been a personal favorite of mine.

 

 

CM: Moving beyond Sonic 3 now, what are your future plans for your company Headcannon, your game engine, and your working relationship with The Taxman? Could we perhaps see more Genesis classics remade and remastered, or even an entirely original Sonic game?

 

ST: We've discussed the idea of remastering some other games, but for me, personally, my primary motivation was getting involved with Sonic. An original Sonic game was among the things we discussed as possibilities, but nothing serious has really happened in that regard to-date. Given all that's happened since Sonic 2 was completed, I'm not very confident that that would be possible at this point, but I would say that it makes sense to me that the likelihood would increase somewhat if we were to actually be taken on for Sonic 3. An original Sonic game was one of my long-term goals, and I'm still very interested in it.

 

I do, however, have several of my own original projects lined up, including further development of HCGE itself. My intent is to license it to other developers and to make several of my own games with it. The progress I've made with it lately has been very exciting, and there are a lot of things that I'm still looking forward to doing with it.

 

As of right now, there are at least three game concepts pending with the Headcannon brand that will be developed using HCGE, and one more which is currently in development. The working title for the current project is "Bone Rattle", and the game itself is a 2D action platformer with visual and audio style similar to the Genesis. I recently tweeted a link to the development blog where we've been posting progress updates.

 

 

CM: Do you have any thoughts on the recent Sonic Boom spinoff games and Sonic Runners? Do you like the direction modern Sonic seems to be moving in?

 

ST: Sonic Boom was kind of a mess. You can tell that development didn't go very well, and nothing about it really says "Sonic", despite the fact that it includes a blue hedgehog character named "Sonic". I found neither the Wii U version nor the 3DS version very appealing at all, and although spinoffs are fine in theory, this seems to have been made out to be "the" thing for Sonic in 2014, as opposed to the treatment of say, the GBA game Sonic Battle or the DS game Sonic Chronicles. The big budget and hype really make the fact that Sonic Boom is not a "Sonic" game stand out.

 

Sonic Runners, on the other hand, is kind of fun. I've gone back to it several times since I first got it. I wouldn't say, though, that that's where I want Sonic to go. It's a F2P mobile game, and within that scope, it's not bad, but if I had to choose between that or a game that you'd find on console/PC, I'd choose the latter. There's a certain type of game that goes along with the concept of "mobile", and it really doesn't do Sonic justice, nor is it what I think of when I say to myself "I want to play a game". Luckily, SEGA have openly confirmed that Sonic isn't going to be restricted to mobile.

 

 

As for direction, it doesn't really seem to me that Sonic actually has one. I think he's been looking for an identity since 2006, and he hasn't really settled down at all. The most consistency we had was the prevalence of the "modern" formula, which was basically running straight forward into the screen at an almost unmanageable speed. Sonic is supposed to be fast, sure, but they seem to have forgotten the physics and slow-down-and-platform elements from the classics. Lost World marked the end of what even SEGA had been referring to as "Modern Sonic", but that game came with its own problems.

 

To me, the best post-classic, main-series Sonic game was the original Sonic Adventure, and I'd like to see that sort of gameplay make a return, if not be improved upon.

[Autosaver]

Hey, have anyone else been experiencing an issue with the Android version of Sonic 2 where the game outright refuses to load? It's been like this for a while now for me, but I thought it was just due to a lack of compatibility with Android 5.1, since I have a Nexus 5.

Well if it's anything like Sonic 4, expect no bug fixes and you're never going to be able to play a game you paid for ever again. Thanks, Sega.

It's been two years since Sonic 4 broke and it's been 5 months since Sonic 1/2/CD have been updated to support the new iPhones. SEGA doesn't give a shit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheOcelot]

Another interview for PowerUpGaming. This time with Taxman.

 

Here's the best bits.

 

Taxman provides a nice insight about Hidden Palace.

 

CM: Turning to Sonic 2 specifically, I understand you were primarily responsible for the reinstatement of Hidden Palace Zone, and its layout and boss? What did you take inspiration from besides the original unfinished level; did you have access to any early conceptual work? Were Sega at all reluctant to have you recreate the level?

 

CW: The implementation of Hidden Palace Zone was something that I was primarily behind, yes, although naturally I ran many of the concepts by Simon to get his input, too. HPZ was something we really wanted to ensure would be part of the Sonic 2 release, since it has such a huge cult following behind it, and this was the first real opportunity to make it happen. However, to make it in the remaster, logistically HPZ needed some redesigning to get approval with how the final version of Sonic 2 ended up.

 

We'd received feedback from Sonic Team that the original team were not happy with how the level was panning out during development back in the day. Some of the first comments we had received were that Sonic could not move through the stage fluidly and fast, and as a result didn't have the right 'feel' for Sonic. In addition to that, the concept of Hidden Palace was essentially recycled in Sonic & Knuckles; It was now the resting place for the Master Emerald on Angel Island, and allowed the players to get Hyper powers.

 

What was clear, was that we had to approach HPZ in a different way to make it its own experience, and not a Sonic 2 version of Sonic 3's Hidden Palace. As a result, HPZ became a secret alternate act for Mystic Cave, with a smooth flowing level design, complete with enemies and stage gimmicks that would be a bit more forgiving for anyone who struggled with Mystic Cave. All it needed was a 'secret'. Previously, HPZ was conceived of as the place where Sonic would gain access to Super Sonic. With that no longer the case, we decided that the HPZ in Sonic 2 would have a "Phantom of the Opera" vibe; someone or something lived down there maintaining a grand cathedral, but that has since been lost to time. And now Dr Eggman shows up in his typical child-like fashion with his own devious instrument, haha.

 

CM: Turning now to Sonic 3, I believe you and Stealth pitched the game to Sega on several occasions, but were ultimately unsuccessful. What did your pitches consist of? Any ideas as to why they didn't approve them?

 

CW: We only developed a single proof of concept for Sonic 3, but unfortunately there were circumstances that meant it was not a project we could pursue further [Christian was not in a position to expand on these when questioned – CM].

 

CM: You showed off your proof-of-concept for a remastered Sonic 3 & Knuckles last October to mark the game's 20th anniversary. How much more was there to the title besides what the YouTube video showcased?

 

CW: The video shows snippets of everything that what was properly playable: The Title Screen, Angel Island Zone, Special/Bonus stages, etc. We imported a few of the other Zone layouts, but they were basically empty as far as objects go.

 

CM: It seemed that in the weeks following the release of the gameplay footage, fans' appetite for Sonic 3 Remastered just continued to go up and up. Was that your aim; in releasing it, did you intend to try to rally support to petition Sega, or was it merely meant as a nice treat for fans of the series in time for the game's birthday?

 

CW: Unlike Sonic CD, the video it wasn't a call to arms for me. Personally, I only made the footage of the demo available for my portfolio, since it was the game's 20th anniversary and I was getting a crazy amount of emails asking if we'd thought of doing Sonic 3k.

 

CM: It must be extremely satisfying to see so many people get involved with the Sonic 3 Remastered letter-writing campaign and petition, both of which have launched in the last couple of months. What are your general thoughts on how the campaign has been conducted so far, and what do you think the chances of Sega actually listening to it are?

 

CW: I'm definitely flattered that there's a lot of people that support our work that strongly. I can't really comment on the campaign itself and and its chances, as the development process behind the scenes is always more complex than it appears. There can be many factors that determine whether or not something is feasible to release, so it'd be a conflict of interest for me to comment and incorrectly set expectations.

 

CM: Supposing Sega eventually does green light the project and brings you guys on board once again, what can we expect in terms of new features and additions that weren't present in the original game?

 

CW: I wouldn't want to give too much away – got to keep some mysteries, hey! One thing I would've liked to do is really beef up the competition mode. The original game had tiny little tracks and sprites for split-screen, so making them into full-sized graphics, with larger maps, more items, modes, etc. that you could play head to head (or solo Time Attack) like in Sonic 2 Remastered would be great.

 

CM: As we know, Sonic 3 was split into two games due to time constraints at the time of its original release. What plans do you have in terms of the level order; would you offer fans the chance to play through the zones as the developers originally envisioned?

 

CW: When we developed the previous Sonic remasters, we always put in some neat custom options in the level select menu, so I could imagine that trend continuing if we ever did Sonic 3.

 

CM: Moving beyond Sonic 3 now, what are your future plans for the Retro Engine? Could we perhaps expect to see more Genesis classics remade and remastered, or even an entirely original game – Sonic or otherwise?

 

CW: Right now I'm currently working on a new game that's a brand new IP. It's not actually using the Retro Engine, though. In the last year I've been working on a new set of tools and tech in order to develop it, as it's a fully 3D game. It's still early days, but I'm very much looking forward to being able to reveal what I'm working on later this year!

 

Back to the Retro Engine, I don't have any specific plans to do more classic remasters in the future, but I would be open to doing stuff like Knuckles' Chaotix, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, etc. I've never wanted to become a developer that only does that stuff, but it'd be nice to give some other awesome retro games some love every now and again, I guess.

 

CM: Do you have any thoughts on the recent Sonic Boom spinoff games and Sonic Runners? Do you like the direction modern Sonic seems to be moving in?

 

CW: To be honest, Sonic Boom doesn't appeal to my senses at all. I think it's a shame that many of unique game mechanics and iconography (Art Deco fonts, geometric inspired patterns) that gave the original Sonic series a strong identity were tossed out in order to make the game more "Western". I realise though, that the developers were trying a whole new audience, and classic Sonic isn't necessarily what's big in that demographic. It's early days for Sonic Runners, but as a casual game I think it's standing out pretty nicely compared to Sonic Jump and Sonic Dash.

 

CM: We recently learned that Sega quietly put Dimps' Sonic 4 Episode 3 on hold a couple of years ago. Did this mark a change in direction for the company – away from reviving its classic IPs, and the beginning of its shift/refocus towards those casual games?

 

CW: When I started Sonic CD, mobile games were handled within Sega of America, but in the last couple of years mobile at Sega has become its own dedicated division. So I think there's definitely been a shift to cater directly to the mobile F2P casual market.

[expansivelovestories]

All in all this is a very positive situation 

^__^

 

* Sonic 3 Complete exists and is free!

* the Stealth/Taxman team is an incredible mix of beyond capable, genuinely interested, and are friends of many people in the sonic community /as well as friends to the rest of us ^__^

* the more time passes, the better an eventual Sonic 3/Knuckles re-release will be!

 

it is an incredible win-win situation!

[Mauro Fonseca]

Bonerattle, incidentally, is looking amazing, with art by two great old Retro-ites.

[Your Vest Friend]

* the more time passes, the better an eventual Sonic 3/Knuckles re-release will be!

 

But...if StealthTax are working on other projects, there's zero work on this in that time. Not saying it's negative, it's just that the time passed would literally have no effect on the (hypothetical at this point) eventual outcome.

[goku262002]

But...if StealthTax are working on other projects, there's zero work on this in that time. Not saying it's negative, it's just that the time passed would literally have no effect on the (hypothetical at this point) eventual outcome.

Their projects are just personal work for now, if SEGA came to them approving Sonic 3k and money is involved then Financial trumps Personal.

But I have a bad feeling Taxman won't come on board if Sonic 3k is approved, he seems too dis-interested on both the movement and the current status of Sonic 1 and 2.

[Autosaver]

A Ristar remake would be epic.

[E-van]

Yeah, a Ristar remake would be awesome. Especially since the only time it's ever been re-released is on the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, I think. So it would be really nice to give more people a chance to play it.