Seraphic Skylands Zone

Hi, I made this level. You might've heard of it.

I've made a few changes to the level since it's participation in the OLDC of May/June 2014, including but not limited to:

• readdition of the originally cut final area
• major changes to some laggy/bad areas
• five mostly-new emblems to find
• minor level fixes

Given the size and construction of the level, there's bound to be a few errors and bugs. Please report them if you spot any, and I'll try my best to fix them.

Eternal thanks to MascaraSnake and toaster for Zone Builder, without which this would've been completely impossible, and also to Boinciel for enlightening me about the unnecessity of thok barriers.

Spoiler: changelog

v2:

• tons of minor level fixes & edits
• changed some areas in an attempt to reduce lag
• added a few new textures, mostly spindash lift-related
• added MIDI version of the level music
• new title screen background & demo
• reorganized emblems (removed sixth in-level emblem & added devtime emblem)

v1.1:

• removed all unnecessary thok barriers
• removed the faulty blockmap lump
• new sun emblem art, new lightning emblem haiku & fixed time emblem requirement
• minor level fixes

v1:

• initial release

[Ritz]

So what's the biggest factor for performance in this map? It doesn't look terribly unoptimized, is there just no avoiding lag on huge maps?

[fickleheart]

(sorry in advance that this post will go slightly off-topic)

I remember attempting to debug performance on this map a while ago and found that the sheer number of sprites being rendered in some areas had a big impact on performance, at least in software. (The sorting algorithm takes something like O(x² + x+y) to complete, where x is the number of sprites and y is the number of midtextures/FOF sides/planes, and then rendering all of those leads to a lot of overdraw. I don't have concrete numbers on performance based on sprite count, though.) Map size also has something to do with it, due to how the BSP tree works. (Use a full nodesbuild when testing performance; on my old laptop I had ACZ2 chug at 15FPS on the quick nodesbuild and get full 35 on a full one.)

That said, my laptop with an i7-6700HQ never goes below 30 on the original release of this map at 1280x800w software, lol (but I haven't tried the new version yet to compare)

[CobaltBW]

Well, if the sprites have anything to do with it, maybe enforcing some sort of draw distance for sprites (something like how NiGHTs maps do it) would be beneficial.

My laptop dips below 20 for most of the entire level, which is a shame since it really is a joy to explore.

[Monster Iestyn]

Should note that as of 2.1 the game now has configurable draw distance limits in the form of console variables for sprites in normal gameplay (drawdist), as well as sprites in NiGHTS (drawdist_nights) and even an option for precipitation (drawdist_precip). You can also fiddle with all three in one of the options menus somewhere...

[sphere]

Originally Posted by RedEnchilada

(sorry in advance that this post will go slightly off-topic)

I remember attempting to debug performance on this map a while ago and found that the sheer number of sprites being rendered in some areas had a big impact on performance, at least in software. (The sorting algorithm takes something like O(x² + x+y) to complete, where x is the number of sprites and y is the number of midtextures/FOF sides/planes, and then rendering all of those leads to a lot of overdraw. I don't have concrete numbers on performance based on sprite count, though.) Map size also has something to do with it, due to how the BSP tree works. (Use a full nodesbuild when testing performance; on my old laptop I had ACZ2 chug at 15FPS on the quick nodesbuild and get full 35 on a full one.)

That said, my laptop with an i7-6700HQ never goes below 30 on the original release of this map at 1280x800w software, lol (but I haven't tried the new version yet to compare)

well then

This is actually incredibly helpful! I've never considered the sprites being the main culprit, so almost nothing was ever done to optimize those. In a test build, I've removed the reeds and cut down on the fan particle generators, which gives me a smooth 35/35 fps everywhere. (with the exact same processor, lol)



also, it has begun

[ManimiFire]

Originally Posted by Spherallic

well then

also, it has begun

Yes, YES!

What has began?

[MK.exe]

Originally Posted by ManimiFire

Yes, YES!

What has began?

I think slopes?

[HomestuckTrash]

this was really fun!

[Hyzoran]

Registered just to compliment the author and their work on this map: Spherallic, this is a true work of art.

I realize I am rather late to the party, as this map already has two years of existence under its belt, however I have just discovered it earlier this morning and I have to say it has been a wonderful, adventurous, and soothing experience to play this map. The color scheme, the architecture, the music, the transitional flow between the forest and ruins, the hidden 'shrine' above the waterfall. Brimming with atmosphere, it just hits a soft spot for me. It's a true gem among virtual worlds.

Pieces like this just help to relax and inspire me and I thank you for this.

[Ice]

The amount of praise you deserve for this map can't be contained in my post. I remember seeing random entries from you in Match and CTF (I think??) and thinking: "wow... this guy knows how to decorate a level". And decorate you did.

You don't have to look beyond the first virtual step you take into this level to immediately see that this map has been perfected down to the last pixel. Every single ring, flower, sector and vertex has been lovingly and painstakingly placed into the exact place its creator wanted, and nowhere else. If I found myself living in this world, the existence of a God could not be denied. I consider myself perfectionist (though I'm trying to break free from it) and I couldn't possibly make the first room without flipping my desk and quitting the internet. I mean seriously! Look at how round those sectors are! There's barely a texture out of place, too! This thing must've taken you years!

Breathing in this map is a delight. It's a shame that Sonic is so bloody fast, because blowing through this level is a disservice to you and the map. Not that the map gets in the way. It's relatively easy (which isn't a bad thing), and more importantly, it flows beautifully. The paths all weave in and out of each other and there's a great feeling of huge scope, that even after exploring for hours, there's still more nooks and crannies to explore and uncover.

Everyone has inside themselves an image or a feeling of what beauty is, and those of us who create things try to express it in one way or another. Your vision of beauty is extremely powerful, magical, and serene. You express it perfectly through this level and deserve more than a couple of pages of comments on a message board as a reward.

Thank you for making this map, Spherallic. You poured your whole heart into it and it's beautiful.

[doom]

Are you aware of this?

[toaster]

You should probably turn devmode on before taking a screenshot to show coordinates, but for sphere's notice, you can extract them by downloading ExifTool, or using an online viewer.

[doom]

Sorry for taking so long to respond, here it is:

[Ezer.Arch]

Hello, just a question: what's the original track of the level music? It is.... for a friend. :)

But also I'm interested to know the original version. I remember I had found it once, but I couldn't find it anymore.

I hope you all are well. o/

[RomioTheBadass]

It's Rusty Ruins Zone Act 1 Music from the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ5dXMLhQPc

[Ezer.Arch]

Originally Posted by RomioTheBadass

It's Rusty Ruins Zone Act 1 Music from the Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast.

Thank you, good person! :)