Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U)

[DarkRula]

So, anyone remember back to the last issue of ONM [uK based] where they did those joke reviews?

Sonic Boom's summary was literally something like "Who knew? Turns out Sonic's friends were the best part of this game".

Do we think that this joke actually turned out to be true? Probably yes, I'd say.

[FriendBot]

The ability to play as other characters was a plus point, no doubt and I'm glad it was the 3&K/Advance approach they took with it. They play roughly the same but each has their unique abilities, that makes them play entirely different from one another. I just don't see how people can't really get into it with this kind of approach, I can understand drastically different gameplay styles like in the Adventures but what's the problem with the 3&K/Advance approach?

 

Sonic is the least interesting to play?

 

Well most people would play as Sonic anyway, so that point seems kind of stupid. I mean, Sonic is the fastest so having to play as a speedy character in a fast-paced platformer makes sense. Tails and Knuckles in 3&K were made to explore the levels to find hidden goodies or alternate paths, and the fact they're optional is fine as alright as well.

 

In Boom, there are some segments that playing as Sonic isn't an option and those are for a few parts in the game. So for the most part in the story, you have the option to play as Sonic. Actually, that's what I liked about Rise of Lyric's level design, there is always a path available for each character. You could hit homing targets as Sonic or maybe you climb up those poles as Amy. The desgin around the game makes it really fun to play.

 

But yeah, Rise of Lyric is bad but I still find it pretty fun to play.

 

People are going to mock me again, aren't they? :/

[Blue Blood]

For something that's arguably so similar to S3K in it's setup, RoL (and SC) got it so wrong. All of the characters abilities are entirely situational to the point you'll never be able to use them outside of specific areas, or you'll find no benefit in attempting to do so. Tails' flight/hovering is worthless without a fan, Sonic's spindash lets you move marginally faster by means of exploiting a mechanic and you literally cannot do anything that makes Knuckles' unique without a special wall/floor to facilitate him. Amy's triple jump does become useful for simple platforming and is the only character specific ability that isn't an absolute bore, making her the de facto best choice.

 

Really, they could have lumped all the abilities to just one character instead of arbitrarily splitting the characters up with very basic moveset differences that only work when the game tells you to use them.

[Gabz Girl]

It would've been nice if they gave Sonic a special run button a la Sonic Lost World. Not only would this be something unique to him since he's the fastest, but it's better than just continuously spamming the spin dash button to get around much faster. Getting around with Sonic's painfully slow jogging speed is ridiculous for a series that's all about speed.

[goku262002]

It really all depends on the profitability of a prospect. A multi-platform game backed with advertising slots during each episode's break could probably turn enough of a decent profit.

It would probably be low budget as all hell, though. It's sad most cash-ins abandon any attempt at quality.

 

Dude, drop it don't give yourself hope like that. the probably of SOJ even letting american developers touch the sonic franchise of any kind is 0.0001% now.

Best hope is for a mobile title, but I'am not expecting something like the BRB-SOA/SEGA partnership to happen ever again.

(Then again, this is your fault SOA for going in on a cheap and rather new development company on a big title like this and then throwing a brick in their development plans.)

[Daisy-Fan]

They should it done a Sonic Rush 3! it will be time to live on if it happen.

[pppp]

They should it done a Sonic Rush 3! it will be time to live on if it happen.

 

Colors DS was pretty much Rush 3.

[FriendBot]

But Colors DS doesn't have the Tricks mechanic, so it's not the true Sonic Rush 3!

[Milo]

Colors DS was pretty much Rush 3.

 

This. Colors DS couldn't be more of a sequel to Sonic Rush if it tried in spite of the new name.

[Daisy-Fan]

I totally skip DS colors somehow. but glad to hear it was close to Sonic Rush. Sonic Rush adventure was amazing back then, probably my favorite sonic portable game after advance 3. Also was my post about the gif is gone too? aww i can repost it too so. it is okay? c :

[Badnik Mechanic]

Stephen Frost talks about Sonic Boom.

 

http://www.seganerds.com/2015/03/17/sega-nerdcast-episode-81-with-stephen-frost/

 

Starts at 1:42:00 

 

His first words on the subject are 'There are pros and cons to Sonic Boom... people tend to focus on just the game'

[Sami]

I feel like there's some legal tape stopping him from telling us what actually happened. The end product is honestly indefensible. 

[Badnik Mechanic]

I feel like there's some legal tape stopping him from telling us what actually happened. The end product is honestly indefensible. 

 

Doing a topic on it. Some of the stuff said here is a bit questionable... the story about the T-shirt especially has me questioning a few things. Because there are no adult sized Boom shirts out in the US that I'm aware of.

[Sami]

Doing a topic on it. Some of the stuff said here is a bit questionable... the story about the T-shirt especially has me questioning a few things. Because there are no adult sized Boom shirts out in the US that I'm aware of.

 

Looking forward to reading it!

[goku262002]

I'll start listening to the guy when hes not behind NDAs anymore, hes still speaking PR-nese so its hard to really get a clear answer for anything out of him.

[Gabz Girl]

I'm surprised Frost is still under NDAs, especially since he's been kicked out of SoA recently.

 

Guess it might take awhile before he can spill the beans, because some of the comments I really don't agree with like saying that the Sonic Boom games were a success and that the games are perfect for newcomers.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'm surprised Frost is still under NDAs, especially since he's been kicked out of SoA recently.

 

Technically I'm still under an NDA for a number of things, couple of games including a Sonic one and some fan stuff... and one involving Dreadknux's hair, think I'm safe to break that one.

 

Funny thing is, if I want to, I can break all those NDAs and there would be utterly no consequences to me other than pissing people off and potentially losing connections, so I don't do it, but it's not just for those reasons that I don't talk about some stuff I know.

 

Now the thing with NDA's is that usually there are no end dates to them. It's basically "You're on an Non Disclosure Agreement." Depending on the nature of it, e.g. if it's a press event, then the NDA is the embargo date, but for working on something, typically it has no end date, and will never have an end date until the people involved decide to leave the game industry or are in a significant position where they can walk into a job or run their own business. 

[goku262002]

Technically I'm still under an NDA for a number of things, couple of games including a Sonic one and some fan stuff... and one involving Dreadknux's hair, think I'm safe to break that one.

Funny thing is, if I want to, I can break all those NDAs and there would be utterly no consequences to me other than pissing people off and potentially losing connections, so I don't do it, but it's not just for those reasons that I don't talk about some stuff I know.

Now the thing with NDA's is that usually there are no end dates to them. It's basically "You're on an Non Disclosure Agreement." Depending on the nature of it, e.g. if it's a press event, then the NDA is the embargo date, but for working on something, typically it has no end date, and will never have an end date until the people involved decide to leave the game industry or are in a significant position where they can walk into a job or run their own business.

Basically we have to wait until Frost is at a point where he has nothing to lose.

[Linkabel]

I honestly wouldn't put much thought into the shirt story like at all. For one, I have two kid's shirts that fit fine and I'm exactly a pack of bones, Frost is way skinnier than me so I bet he can fit into one.

Second, he works at Sega so I'm guessing he gets merchandise that we don't see. In fact, there's a pic of him wearing a Sonic & Knuckles game shirt that I've never seen before, but that doesn't mean he worked on that game and might be something that's laying around in SOA or had it custom made.

[Jason Berry]

Doing a topic on it. Some of the stuff said here is a bit questionable... the story about the T-shirt especially has me questioning a few things. Because there are no adult sized Boom shirts out in the US that I'm aware of.

 

Not in stores no, but he did work at Sega and it's very possible they had Sonic Boom promotional T-Shirts for staff.

[Autosaver]

#shirtgate

[Autosaver]

I keep going back to Boom to see the changes from the initial reveal to the final release. There's... a lot. I think I need to make a video showcasing all of them. Anyways, I went to check information over developers, mainly Chris Senn.

 

1. He worked for almost 3 years at BRB. He was the lead level designer.

2. He made the speed sections and vehicle sections. Apparently there's 27 speed sections and 3 vehicle sections. I think it's important to note that all of this was made in 2014, the year the game was being launched. A big chunk of the game made in less than 1 year! I think this also concludes the speed sections were shoe horned near the end of development.

3. He got laid off in June. 4 months after Boom was announced. What's funny though is BRB's page said they wanted to expand for Sonic Boom. Instead, they ended up laying off a ton of people. Senn wasn't just a small time developer, he hired and trained staff and personally designed most of the game!

 

Some other news from going through other pages.

 

1. BRB was originally working on mobile games.

2. Senn grew the dev team to 70 people... so 70 people worked on Sonic Boom.

3. A Junior Level Designer, taken straight out of school, designed entire levels for Sonic Boom!

 

Oh, and the development cycle. I know that we've seen saying it started x, y, z, etc. According to the producer's page, it had a 3 year production schedule. He apparently was also laid off early, which makes no sense. Why lay off the producer of Boom?

 

The hiring for Sonic Boom asked for PS3 and Xbox 360 development experience. Some people thought this game was heading to PS4 due to how advanced the initial previews were, but it seems like this was going to be a 360 game. Now, it does make absolutely zero sense why the game was being built as a high quality PC title.

 

I really wish the developers could talk more about the title. Unfortunately, I'm sure they're tied to NDAs and don't want to get "in trouble" by their old employers. Eventually, Senn talked more about Sonic Xtreme. Maybe in a decade we'll start hearing about Boom's downfall.

[Blacklightning]

1. BRB was originally working on mobile games.

[Gabz Girl]

I feel sorry for Stephen Frost, but maybe more so for Chris Senn since this is the second Sonic-related project he's worked on that didn't go as planned. At least this one got a release date, but too bad it ended up being a piece of crap!

 

Also not surprised to find out they initially worked on mobile games! They've probably gone back to that now after Sonic Boom bombed.

[Blue Blood]

2. He made the speed sections and vehicle sections. Apparently there's 27 speed sections and 3 vehicle sections. I think it's important to note that all of this was made in 2014, the year the game was being launched. A big chunk of the game made in less than 1 year! I think this also concludes the speed sections were shoe horned near the end of development.

Can you provide links to all of the info you've gathered? This bit in particular interests me - it sounds quite plausible. Although there was a fair chunk of cut content in the reveal trailer and screenshots in general, a lot of it manifested in other ways. For example, the Sonic statue in the "secret room" was seen in concept art and became a recurring bit of background scenery in the game. But absolutely none of the speed/running sections bare any resemblance to the final game. It definitely is as though they were in very early production back then.

Here's a few screenshots, complete with a beta boost ring:

Yep. None of those areas are ever seen, of it they are then they got changed considerably. And poor textures aside, they look better visually than the final game too.