Sega is teasing a new Sonic something reveal for SXSW 2018

[Amalgamous]

SEGA usually alternates between multi-platform titles and Nintendo exclusives: does anyone think we'll see something in the upcoming Direct?

[Salamander]

It's just about conceivable that they might tease a game which then got a full reveal at SXSW, but that order of events seems unlikely.  Not impossible, I suppose, but I'm not aware that anyone from the Sega side has directed us to today's Direct as something we should be interested in, so I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 2:12 PM, Jar Jar Analysis 1138 said:

Does it really? How the levels are structured, the places you travel to(Adventure 1 was like this but SWA topped  lit up in scale) the story is presented and the entire philosophy of the game seems to be an oddball of a mirror to Adventure 1 and SA2 for how the levels are designed(in some manner).

I don't dispute that it shares some common elements of those games but in general, SA1, SA2, and '06 are essentially the adventure trilogy in terms of design philosophy. To be sure, there are major differences between even 1 and 2 (part of why I greatly prefer SA1 over SA2) but they are much more alike to each other than to any other game in the series. '06 has just about everything in common with those games, with the sole exception of a chao garden.

World Adventure in terms of gameplay, is far more similar to both Colors and especially Generations (and now Forces). Same engine, somewhat similar level design. It does feel like an adventure shoot off in terms of plot but not as much as the others.

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 2:48 PM, Monkey Destruction Switch said:

OK people, it was fun for a while, but no more Sonic Adventure 3 discussion please. We ban SA3 topics for a reason, and discussing SA3 in a different thread isn't exactly better. Not saying anyone did anything wrong, just asking everyone to drop it. Thanks.

Whoops, sorry. I didn't even really intend to do that in the first place to be honest. I've been far more interested in the SXSW speculation, which at the moment seems pointed to a racer reveal.

[GentlemanX]

I wonder if there's a chance they could announce a physical release for Mania. That'd be something to capitalize on Mania's success that wouldn't necessarily require new content from Whitehead and his team.

[Jango]

This is the second thing I want most, the first one being Mania 2.

[Salamander]

If they do happen to be planning any kind of Mania expansion, then that would also be a good time to start offering the full package at retail.  Such an approach is not without precedent.

[BlueFlare]

2 hours ago, FFWF said:

If they do happen to be planning any kind of Mania expansion, then that would also be a good time to start offering the full package at retail.  Such an approach is not without precedent.

I would pay full price and more for both original Mania (with all the missing stuff included) and Mania expansion as physical copy. Okay, put the vinyl soundtrack with it and I'll pay double. 

[Silvereyes]

Out of interest, is there any reason why people are talking about a Mania expansion? Havn't been on here for a while, it just seems like it's a thing that has popped up all of a sudden. I like the idea though, even if I would personally hope that the Mania team are focusing on Mania 2, or whatever they call it, but an expansion would be cool. Maybe some new zones, or maybe even a new character to play through the game as? Good possibilities there.

To be honest, I'm trying not to get my hopes to high for this even though. I half suspect any new game revealed is going to be some new mobile title, or perhaps a new racing title. My big hope really is that when they reflect on Mania and Forces, they give the impression that Mania will get a sequel, even if they don't actually offically announce a sequel. I guess something along the lines of "the Mania team exceeded our expectations, and they will contribute more to the Sonic franchise in the future." Or something along those lines.

[FlameStream]

I'm not sure if this is the place to add this to the discussion, but there is a post-SXSW stream/event that will happen on March 22nd, 1:45 (pacific?). It seemed to be a big deal, but since yesterday was the first time I tuned into those, I'm not too sure if it's a recurring joke or not.

[TheOcelot]

This Sonic, Knuckles & Tails art was used when Mania was being promoted. So maybe this is a hint at the "Mania Plus" edition being announced at SXSW???

[JezMM]

3 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

Out of interest, is there any reason why people are talking about a Mania expansion? Havn't been on here for a while, it just seems like it's a thing that has popped up all of a sudden.

There's some kind of an entry in Steam's backend that suggests additional content for the game could be coming, but it's not enough on it's own to be a confirmation.  Sometimes these things never amount to anything, or as little as a basic game update for bug fixes etc.

If I recall anyway, said situation has been the case for a few months now.

[Tenko]

21 minutes ago, JezMM said:

There's some kind of an entry in Steam's backend that suggests additional content for the game could be coming, but it's not enough on it's own to be a confirmation.  Sometimes these things never amount to anything, or as little as a basic game update for bug fixes etc.

If I recall anyway, said situation has been the case for a few months now.

What JezMM said, basically a password protected development branch was added to the Steam database for Sonic Mania with a vague description of "Project Plus".

https://steamcommunity.com/app/584400/discussions/0/2906376154322125649/

As much as I would love an expansion, even just fixes for the game like the missing zone transitions etc would make me giddy, I still find it jarring having some zones in different locations missing an explanation as to how the characters got back there, especially after all the talk from Christian about making the world more interconnected than previously before the games release, and especially after 3K had complete zone transitions back in the 90's. 

I'm still in on the conspiracy theory that zones had their order changed late in the game, would explain why some transitions were missing. That theory doesn't explain those Little Planet chains being missing from the Lava Reef HBH boss tho, or the printers and colour pots missing from Press Garden..that seems more not enough time to finish or scrapped ideas...But I would love to see all these unused ideas come to fruition in a complete edition. 

[Jango]

1 hour ago, TheOcelot said:

This Sonic, Knuckles & Tails art was used when Mania was being promoted. So maybe this is a hint at the "Mania Plus" edition being announced at SXSW???

OH BOY HERE WE GO

[Silvereyes]

1 hour ago, JezMM said:

There's some kind of an entry in Steam's backend that suggests additional content for the game could be coming, but it's not enough on it's own to be a confirmation.  Sometimes these things never amount to anything, or as little as a basic game update for bug fixes etc.

If I recall anyway, said situation has been the case for a few months now.

OK, that's interesting. Hopefully it just isn't meaningless data.

 

1 hour ago, Tenko said:

What JezMM said, basically a password protected development branch was added to the Steam database for Sonic Mania with a vague description of "Project Plus".

https://steamcommunity.com/app/584400/discussions/0/2906376154322125649/

As much as I would love an expansion, even just fixes for the game like the missing zone transitions etc would make me giddy, I still find it jarring having some zones in different locations missing an explanation as to how the characters got back there, especially after all the talk from Christian about making the world more interconnected than previously before the games release, and especially after 3K had complete zone transitions back in the 90's. 

I'm still in on the conspiracy theory that zones had their order changed late in the game, would explain why some transitions were missing. That theory doesn't explain those Little Planet chains being missing from the Lava Reef HBH boss tho, or the printers and colour pots missing from Press Garden..that seems more not enough time to finish or scrapped ideas...But I would love to see all these unused ideas come to fruition in a complete edition. 

 

Yeah, I would adore it if they just put in the missing zone transistions. It really is the only big flaw of the game for me, and honestly, it seems like half of them would be pretty easy to do.

 

[UpCDownCLeftCRightC]

33 minutes ago, SaberX said:

Could be. Or maybe they're just using it because its a hit, even among non fans.

Most likely.

I find the Mania additions to be the least likely SXSW announcements, personally. Too soon for anything to have been done. Even post release, Whitehead and crew were working on debugging. Its possible but my money's on a racer at the moment.

There is one quote that struck me as interesting that I'm surprised no one has really talked about but Nakamura said something in an interview about Sonic Mania months back that could be interpreted as a possible project in development but under wraps:

 

"From our perspective what we've seen right now of these classic Sonic fans being really happy about getting classic Sonic content is going to make us think about how we can make sure they're happy in the future. There's nothing to present now - but we're all watching what's happening this year, and it's going to be a positive year, and we want to think about how we can do this again so that people can get what they want"

www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-23-sonic-mania-and-its-impact-on-the-future-of-the-sonic-series

 

The full context in which that was stated was about the reaction to Sonic Mania and the future of the series from Sonic Team's perspective. To me that's a little interesting. It may not have any relevance to a SXSW announcement but it is possible, just pointing it out. I don't know why he would say "there's nothing to present" unless there was something being worked on behind the scenes. Does not mean the (hypothetical) project would ever see the light of day or that it is what will be shown next week...and I still think the racer is by far the most likely outcome based upon what we know today. My two cents. 

[R.C.]

I was hoping I'd be able to livestream the panel from my phone this year, but that doesn't seem to be an option on the YouTube android app. Twitch has it as an option, but the app crashes on my phone whenever I try to start it.

Hopefully there's an official livestream this year. If not, I'm sure other attendees will be livestreaming it.

[Amalgamous]

Is ANYONE streaming this? TSSZ and Tails' Channel streamed it last year but I haven't heard anything about them thus far.

[FReaK]

1 hour ago, Amalgamous said:

Is ANYONE streaming this? TSSZ and Tails' Channel streamed it last year but I haven't heard anything about them thus far.

in the last livestream aaron said that they were still looking into streaming themselves. he will give us an update as soon as he knows what's up.

[Pengi]

15 hours ago, R.C. said:

I was hoping I'd be able to livestream the panel from my phone this year, but that doesn't seem to be an option on the YouTube android app. Twitch has it as an option, but the app crashes on my phone whenever I try to start it.

Hopefully there's an official livestream this year. If not, I'm sure other attendees will be livestreaming it.

Maybe just record and upload later, if nobody ends up live streaming it?

[Amalgamous]

8 hours ago, FReaK said:

in the last livestream aaron said that they were still looking into streaming themselves. he will give us an update as soon as he knows what's up.

Thanks.

How long do these panels run; about an hour, correct? I may be able to watch it live - assuming we get a stream, that is.

[R.C.]

6 hours ago, Pengi said:

Maybe just record and upload later, if nobody ends up live streaming it?

Yeah, that's what I'll likely end up doing. I remember last year that one streamer apparently had good audio while another had superior video. Even if I'm just able to help out in a way like that after the fact, its fine.

[Eurisko]

12 hours ago, Amalgamous said:

Thanks.

How long do these panels run; about an hour, correct? I may be able to watch it live - assuming we get a stream, that is.

Normally about an hour - give or take. 

Speaking of which , am I right in saying that the panel will be kicking off around 8:30 pm for the UK?

[Jango]

Will there be our good old MOTOBUG stream?

[Polkadi~☆]

2 hours ago, Jango said:

Will there be our good old MOTOBUG stream?

No doubt about it. But that also depends on whether the SXSW panel is actually being livestreamed.

[Tenko]

They do seem to have a fancy for doing announcements or important moving forward etc things at events that don't cater for streaming, and then only start considering a stream late in the game with less than a week to go. Yeah it's for the attendees first and foremost, but when it's potential announcements and trailers and info the community worldwide as a whole would love to know...it seems weird they never consider this stuff earlier on and we end up with buuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz