It's the little things that matter.

[MascaraSnake]

Deep Sea Zone is a different matter. Obviously the rising water rooms couldn't be covered with a sheet of ice, and many of the platforming rooms would become way too easy. But what about adding strategically placed chunks of floating ice to those rooms?

Adding a few icy platforms doesn't exactly make a level winter-themed.

They could even replace the regular platforms if you wanted them to, adding some new platforming to it.

If you replace existing platforms, how does it add platforming?

And before you even mention Red Volcano Zone, that would be incredibly easy and fairly interesting. Replace the lava with ice water or raging quicksand-ish snow drifts.

Ice water isn't solid on top. I don't know what you mean by quicksand-ish snow drifts.

We don't have any sort of freeze damage in SRB2, do we?

How would freeze damage work?

 

[Sergeant Brown]

Well if you replace regular floating platforms by slippery floating platforms, it does add platforming.

 

[MascaraSnake]

No, it just adds slipperiness to the already existing platforming.

This is getting sillier by the minute.

 

[Root]

You say the water being frozen would mess up GFZ2? if christmas mode returned, couldnt there be a few areas in the water that fall down(crumbling fofs) that allow you to go underwater to get tokens and stuff?

 

[Charybdizs]

Adding a few icy platforms doesn't exactly make a level winter-themed.

You're making the silly mistake of assuming that that is all one would do to make it winter themed.

If you replace existing platforms, how does it add platforming?

I rather meant get rid of the platforms and use new sequences of icebergs, but I guess I didn't make that clear

Ice water isn't solid on top. I don't know what you mean by quicksand-ish snow drifts.

These are merely suggestions off the top of my head, and your nitpicking of them doesn't prove anything. One could easily adjust to the needed formula.

How would freeze damage work?

Same way it did in Icecap Zone. Sonic is trapped inside a block of ice, and hurt when it thaws.

 

[glaber]

Or maybe more like Midnight Freeze from Mystic Realm where it's water damage.

 

[MascaraSnake]

You're making the silly mistake of assuming that that is all one would do to make it winter themed.

I'm not making any silly mistake. What else would you do?

These are merely suggestions off the top of my head, and your nitpicking of them doesn't prove anything. One could easily adjust to the needed formula.

I wasn't nitpicking, I genuinely don't understand what you meant by "raging quicksand-ish snow drifts".

Same way it did in Icecap Zone. Sonic is trapped inside a block of ice, and hurt when it thaws.

It needs coding, but that may work. However, there needs to be a way to make the icy water look threatening yet be solid on top.

Or maybe more like Midnight Freeze from Mystic Realm where it's water damage.

Again, not solid on top.

And now the hardest part: What would you do to THZ2, which is entirely indoors, and ERZ, which takes place on an asteroid where such things as winter don't exist?

 

[Autosaver]

Why not just retexture Green Flower Zone, swap the music, and call it a day?

Speaking of the holidays, did anyone miss the Easter Egg hunt? It was sort of like hunting for emblems, but they were in more obvious locations. I guess I just like treasure hunting.

 

[MascaraSnake]

Why not just retexture Green Flower Zone, swap the music, and call it a day?

That might work for GFZ and a few other levels, but try doing that with DSZ, RVZ or ERZ.

 

[Sergeant Brown]

For ERZ it's simple really.

Just add christmas trees and festive lights everywhere and everyone will think Eggman is having christmas in his Ultimate Rock of Death :P

 

[Bbop800]

Why not just retexture Green Flower Zone, swap the music, and call it a day?

I'm fine with retexturing, but music swapping would just be annoying.

 

[Charybdizs]

I'm not making any silly mistake. What else would you do?

Recolor of course. :p
Isn't that what Christmas mode is all about?

I wasn't nitpicking, I genuinely don't understand what you meant by "raging quicksand-ish snow drifts".

Well, this is just another misunderstanding between us, but let's ignore it. Anyways, what I meant by snowdrifts was sort of like the ones in Diamond Dust Zone. Except with quicksand properties which would make sense. But that's just a random idea I came up with.

It needs coding, but that may work. However, there needs to be a way to make the icy water look threatening yet be solid on top.

Again, all just ideas.

After having an interesting conversation with Kyasarin earlier, I think I'll clarify my intentions here a little more.

I am not pro-christmas mode at all. Though it may be interesting to speculate on, it is ultimately a waste of time on something which is relatively uninteresting. I haven't for a moment wanted the devs or anyone else to spend time actually re-making Christmas mode. There is so much better things to spend time on. Things that are more original, and make more people happier. What I was against was the notion that making a decent attempt at a Winter/Christmas/Ice themed Vanilla level set would be impossible.

Greenflower Zone would most certainly be possible. That's easy as cupcakes!

Techno Hill Zone could be half done. Act 1 could easily be winterized, with some possible interesting results. Act 2, on the other hand, would be completely untouchable. There's no sensible way one could handle that as far as I can imagine.

Deep Sea Zone. Imagine it as an arctic ice palace of sorts. Frozen water surfaces, icebergs, all that. The whole place would benefit from a new texture set anyways. :p

Castle Eggman Zone could have some very nice makeovers indeed. There's no rule that it has to make sense with the "story", is there? In that case, I can see a more cheery, yuletide castle. Snow gently falling on the exteriors, while the insides are bright, decorated, and altogether less vicious.

Arid Canyon Zone would likely be a snap. Instead of a dry canyon, it is now a tundra ravine.

Red Volcano Zone is a toughie. I'm honestly gonna say it'd be best left as is, even in Christmas mode, because I can't think of any good ways to do it that wouldn't be somewhat awkward. An attempt could certainly be made, but how well would ice hazards work in a level setup like that?

And then you've just got Egg Rock Zone, which you'd leave be. As if Eggman would ever celebrate Christmas anyways.

But remember, this is all just curiosity and speculation. Though it might be a cute little thing, there's no good reason to do it.

 

[Eliwood]

I'm fine with retexturing, but music swapping would just be annoying.

No, I actually wholeheartedly disagree with that. If you just play the same, non-Christmas-inspired music on a Christmas-esque stage, then what's the point? That's like putting up Halloween decorations, but no one says "Happy Halloween" nor does anyone go Trick-or-Treating.

But you know, that's just my two cents on that anyways.

 

[glaber]

And now the hardest part: What would you do to THZ2, which is entirely indoors, and ERZ, which takes place on an asteroid where such things as winter don't exist?

Did you not play the SRB2 Christmas demo at all? The gray textures related to what was once the old Techno Hill textures become blue and the blue window textures would become green to go with the red green Christmas color scheme.

 

[MascaraSnake]

Recolor of course. :p Isn't that what Christmas mode is all about?

Of course, but I have a hard time imagining winter-themed counterparts to the DSZ textures.

What I was against was the notion that making a decent attempt at a Winter/Christmas/Ice themed Vanilla level set would be impossible.

What I was aiming at is that it's possible for some levels and impossible for others. You proved me wrong for GFZ2, I'm still skeptical if a winter-themed DSZ would look believable, and we can both agree that THZ2, RVZ and ERZ won't work. I just think that it's not worth it to transform some of the levels when you already know that you have to leave others as they are. But apparently we agree on that too, so hey.

The whole place would benefit from a new texture set anyways. :p

Really? I know that the tiny brick texture looks awful and irritating on larger walls, but I've never had a problem with the other textures. The nature-themed parts look fine, we just need a good wall texture for the temple parts.

Did you not play the SRB2 Christmas demo at all? The gray textures related to what was once the old Techno Hill textures become blue and the blue window textures would become green to go with the red green Christmas color scheme.

The old THZ2 textures are god-awful and were replaced for a good reason. I think the only reason that ERZ1 still uses them is that the current ERZ textures weren't yet made when SSNTails made the level. If it were for me, all traces of the old textures would be eliminated.

 

[Eliwood]

Oh also, for an example of "It's the little things that matter" point I was trying to make, go to Google and type in "Let It Snow"

This "feature" makes absolutely no difference to Google other than a small neat pointless feature, but it's really cool.

 

[glaber]

ERZ2 uses them too you know. and I'm not reffering to EXACTLY the old textures, but the ones based upon them.
like ERZBG1-6 (ok, 1 & 2 really, but 4-6 fit in) ERZGrey1&2, ERZred1&2, and ERZblue1&2,

 

[MascaraSnake]

ERZ2 uses them too you know.

Okay, then I want them to be removed in ERZ2 too.

and I'm not reffering to EXACTLY the old textures, but the ones based upon them.
like ERZBG1-6 (ok, 1 & 2 really, but 4-6 fit in) ERZGrey1&2, ERZred1&2, and ERZblue1&2,

As far as I can see, the only difference is that the weird black/gray shape with the black outline has pillow shading instead of no shading at all. Because it has no proper shading and thus no proper depth, I can't tell what it's supposed to be.

Either way, do you really think that recoloring these textures to be blue will somehow make the level Christmas-themed?

 

[Eliwood]

Either way, do you really think that recoloring these textures to be blue will somehow make the level Christmas-themed?

I would think putting up Christmas lights around the place and changing wall textures or something actually would make it feel more Christmas-like. Maybe even changing the rings to candy-canes but hey, I'm just suggesting things.

 

[Autosaver]

That might work for GFZ and a few other levels, but try doing that with DSZ, RVZ or ERZ.

The point was to just make the first zone Christmas styled. Giving the most nostalgic zone a winter makeover would be enough for me.

Edit: I got another idea, how about a Christmas title screen? Snowy background and maybe a santa hat on Sonic's head? You wouldn't even have to alter the levels.