Been a while since I've existed, huh?
Going to keep everything in spoilers for organization:
I think that’s everything I wanted to say in this post, if you have any questions about anything I had planned or in general, feel free to ask. Maybe someday down the road I might have time to actually work on this? Who knows! Until that day comes, I hope you'll enjoy what I have for you here.
Going to keep everything in spoilers for organization:
I’m uploading this very incomplete level-pack because it’s been who knows how many years since I started it, and there’s a lot on my plate that I need to deal with aside from this. Keeping up with 2.1 updates that change the way my levels function (see: Sand Valley spindash plates) to working on Top Down, as well as Kart, and adding in work and school, having the time to finish this level pack pretty much impossible.
So instead, I’m uploading what I have here, and giving you a rundown of what it would have played like if it were complete, listing any changes that were made to these levels after their initial release, as well as anything else that was planned.
So instead, I’m uploading what I have here, and giving you a rundown of what it would have played like if it were complete, listing any changes that were made to these levels after their initial release, as well as anything else that was planned.
To be brief: Dr. Eggman has made a breakthrough in his research, and is able to digitalize portions of the real world and send them into his main server, Digital Egg. It’s up to Sonic & Co. to find an entrance to his server and shut it down from the inside. (Heavy inspiration from Digimon World 4)
Each Zone would consist of 2 acts and a boss as per usual. But each act was planned to connect seamlessly to the next. The final room of each act would represent the first room of the next (seen in action in Neo Canyon acts 2 & 3). This would carry over to zones transitions as well. My goal was to make the whole experience feel connected like a real adventure would.
Moving on to my design style, levels would be layered with an upper and lower path, a la Sonic 3. The beginning of each first act in a zone would introduce the theme, transitioning from the last zone, giving the player a brief look at what they’re in for. This would end at the first checkpoint, where the level would “officially” begin (best seen in the Neo Canyon => Waterway Ruin transition).
From the first checkpoint, each level would split into an upper and lower path, and those two paths would split once more somewhere along the way, introducing gimmicks. Eventually, these two paths would reconnect into one path again, for the Central Room. The Central Room would be the largest in the level, and would basically be the embodiment of the Zone itself (Remember the “Sand Valley” in Sand Valley?). After the Central Room, the level would split into two paths once more. These paths wouldn’t split a second time, but instead focus on more difficult challenges than the first half of the level. Once these paths connect for the last time, you would enter the Final Room, the last trial of the level, and from there, the Ending Room, which would both finish off the current act, and start the next. (Sand Valley is a good example if you’re looking for one.)
Knuckles would enter is own personal path from the end of the Central Room, and it would continue to the end of the level. (This is present in Neo Canyon act 2 and Sand Valley).
Moving on to my design style, levels would be layered with an upper and lower path, a la Sonic 3. The beginning of each first act in a zone would introduce the theme, transitioning from the last zone, giving the player a brief look at what they’re in for. This would end at the first checkpoint, where the level would “officially” begin (best seen in the Neo Canyon => Waterway Ruin transition).
From the first checkpoint, each level would split into an upper and lower path, and those two paths would split once more somewhere along the way, introducing gimmicks. Eventually, these two paths would reconnect into one path again, for the Central Room. The Central Room would be the largest in the level, and would basically be the embodiment of the Zone itself (Remember the “Sand Valley” in Sand Valley?). After the Central Room, the level would split into two paths once more. These paths wouldn’t split a second time, but instead focus on more difficult challenges than the first half of the level. Once these paths connect for the last time, you would enter the Final Room, the last trial of the level, and from there, the Ending Room, which would both finish off the current act, and start the next. (Sand Valley is a good example if you’re looking for one.)
Knuckles would enter is own personal path from the end of the Central Room, and it would continue to the end of the level. (This is present in Neo Canyon act 2 and Sand Valley).
Digital Empire was planned to contain 6 total Zones, and 7 total Themes. I generally make my levels a couple steps up in terms of difficulty compared to Vanilla, so if Sand Valley felt pretty difficult to you, there’s your reason why.
Zone list:
Zone 1: Neo Canyon – Time of Day: Morning
Zone 2: Waterway Ruin – Time of Day: Afternoon
Zone 3: Molten Cavern – Time of Day: Evening
Zone 4: Sand Valley – Time of Day: Night
Zone 5: Venom Jungle – Time of Day: Cloudy Morning | Main Gimmick: Ring Sapping mist
Dread Naught – Time of Day: Cloudy Morning | Main Gimmick: High Gravity
Zone 6: Digital Egg
Venom Jungle and Dread Naught are acts 1 & 2 for Zone 5 respectively, first half is infiltrating Eggman’s base, second half is the base itself.
Zone list:
Zone 1: Neo Canyon – Time of Day: Morning
Zone 2: Waterway Ruin – Time of Day: Afternoon
Zone 3: Molten Cavern – Time of Day: Evening
Zone 4: Sand Valley – Time of Day: Night
Zone 5: Venom Jungle – Time of Day: Cloudy Morning | Main Gimmick: Ring Sapping mist
Dread Naught – Time of Day: Cloudy Morning | Main Gimmick: High Gravity
Zone 6: Digital Egg
Venom Jungle and Dread Naught are acts 1 & 2 for Zone 5 respectively, first half is infiltrating Eggman’s base, second half is the base itself.
Neo Canyon
-Act 1 is missing a Final Room leading into Act 2
-Act 2 now has a Knuckles-only path. Lower path was planned to be extended, but I never got around to it
-Act 2 matches the texture scheme of the new Act 1
Waterway Ruin
-Sadly, I never got around to fixing this level, but Act 1 was going to be majorly altered in the second half of the upper path and the first half of the lower path, all of the death pits were also planned to be removed.
Molten Cavern
-Knux-only slightly altered
-First path split no longer has a death pit in the lower path.
-There is a very big, very black, very empty room on the upper path that I never got to finish.
Sand Valley
-Detons Removed
-Some visual errors fixed
-Minuses in the “Sand Valley” have been removed.
-Emblems Removed
-Sorry folks, but the brown sand is here to stay, replacing it with a death pit is boring, generic, and gives the player no chance to recover.
-Act 1 is missing a Final Room leading into Act 2
-Act 2 now has a Knuckles-only path. Lower path was planned to be extended, but I never got around to it
-Act 2 matches the texture scheme of the new Act 1
Waterway Ruin
-Sadly, I never got around to fixing this level, but Act 1 was going to be majorly altered in the second half of the upper path and the first half of the lower path, all of the death pits were also planned to be removed.
Molten Cavern
-Knux-only slightly altered
-First path split no longer has a death pit in the lower path.
-There is a very big, very black, very empty room on the upper path that I never got to finish.
Sand Valley
-Detons Removed
-Some visual errors fixed
-Minuses in the “Sand Valley” have been removed.
-Emblems Removed
-Sorry folks, but the brown sand is here to stay, replacing it with a death pit is boring, generic, and gives the player no chance to recover.
I think that’s everything I wanted to say in this post, if you have any questions about anything I had planned or in general, feel free to ask. Maybe someday down the road I might have time to actually work on this? Who knows! Until that day comes, I hope you'll enjoy what I have for you here.
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