SRB2SuperSonic
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I was scrolling through the SRB2 Wiki, and had this thought as I was looking at "In development". I've always wondered what the complete version of SRB2 will look like, and what content it could have. I guess now's a good time to post a thread about this. Even in v2.2, SRB2 is unfinished, although no one considers even v2.2 a demo, except me, because if it ain't complete, don't bother dropping the demo name.
Ahem. Let's start with what I would like to see in the complete version of SRB2. I'll start with the zones. As we all know, 9 zones are planned for the final game, yet only 7 (technically 6 since there's only one act of the 6th zone) are implemented: Greenflower Zone, Techno Hill Zone, Deep Sea Zone, Castle Eggman Zone, Arid Canyon Zone, the first act of Red Volcano Zone, and a demo version of Egg Rock Zone (which is planned to get remade from scratch) along with Black Core Zone as a final boss rush. Sonic Team Jr. plans on changing a bunch of stuff around for the next planned major version, v2.3. Borrowed from the SRB2 Wiki, these are the plans for SRB2 v2.3 zone-wise:
- Deep Sea Zone: The version of Act 2 released in v2.2 is a placeholder comprised of a mix of new sections and repurposed old sections. The stage is planned to be significantly revamped to be more cohesive.
- Castle Eggman Zone: Act 2 was not finished in time for v2.2's release and was therefore released in an incomplete state. Empty areas were filled in with placeholder content, while several incomplete paths were removed or made inaccessible, most notably the back right path splitting off from the central courtyard. In v2.2.1, the inaccessible paths were removed to save space in the map. It remains to be seen if they will be brought back in the future.
- Red Volcano Zone: While a plan existed during the development of v2.0 to replace RVZ2 with a snow-themed act (a teaser of which was included in v2.0 as Blue Mountain Zone Act 2), this plan has since been scrapped. RVZ2 will be a regular lava-themed level like the first act. It will feature hang gliders that the player can hang on to as a gimmick.
- Egg Rock Zone: A remake of this zone is planned for future releases.
Which is not bad for plans for v2.3, but what changes would they do for the other three implemented zones? Here's my ideas on what they could do to them. Also gonna mention ideas for finishing Castle Eggman Zone up.
- Greenflower Zone : The only changes to Act 1 would be to restore the secret room on the right of the bridge you see at the start. You know, the room that contained an Armageddon Shield? That hole in the lake has since been blocked off, and now a Force Shield surrounded by spikes is on top of it. They could move the shield in there, and add a couple more monitors. The cave on the left that has a Super Ring Monitor on the other side could be unblocked, as well. Not much should be done for Acts 2 or 3, though. The best I would do about Act 2 is add extra tokens. For Act 3, the boss arena could use a bit of an upgrade, as well as take place at sunset so that it makes sense for Techno Hill Zone to be at sunset. Speaking of which...
- Techno Hill Zone : Like with Greenflower Zone, this stage would be mostly unchanged from v2.2. Maybe tone down the difficulty of Act 2 by removing some enemies and simplifying some obstacles, like they did in v2.0. To balance this out, I would bring back the old damaging slime, recolored back to a pinkish-purple hue, and put in some unexpected areas for both acts. Maybe in Act 2, add the damaging slime in the left hole in the floor and keep the "Jello" on the right, and add warning signs above them to make it easier to tell apart, kinda like what Twins' R Okay did in their Encore Mode.
- Castle Eggman Zone : I was pretty surprised when I saw the courtyard path split in Act 2, as it recalls the Final Demo version of that level. I would take advantage of this reference and reimplement the infamous button hunt gimmick the original had to access an alternative path through the gate on the wall in the front. Note that this path is per-character; Go through a spindash gap if you're playing as Sonic, Tails, or Metal Sonic, climb upward to a Knuckles-exclusive bustable wall as Knuckles (because of his lower jump height he can't go through the main path), or Twinspin/Tail Bounce into the cracked floor as Amy or Fang. It takes you to the last room of the level, right before the signpost and at the swinging chains.
- Arid Canyon Zone : Add water back to the zone, as well as quicksand for some nods to the 2.1 version of the level, while keeping the Wild West theme. Act 1 also starts off the same way as in v2.0, starting by launching from a spring onto a high cliff. There's also now mining segments in Act 1 on top of Act 2. Act 3 is mostly unchanged, except now the boss gets more epic in the pinch phase, as after Fang blows off the roof of the train car, he bounces upwards and goes onto the train cars behind the one he blew up, forcing you to chase him down and defeat him as he runs towards the end of the train throwing bombs at you, and after you defeat him, the capsule opens up below you, meaning you have to find a ledge, jump down to it, and then search for the capsule in the cars at the end of the train, like how the New Capsules mod does it.
Also, I said there's 9 planned zones, with 2 yet to come; Dark City Zone and Grand Eggship Zone (formerly Doomship, but renamed to Grand Eggship due to an abbreviation conflict with Deep Sea Zone). Music for at least the first acts of both are included in 2.2, with the latter used for Orbital Hanger and the former being an unused track. But have you ever thought about a 10th zone? I have, and it could use the winter theme, to make up for scrapping the Blue Mountain Act 2 concept for Red Volcano. This could be perfect for the secret Frozen Hillside Zone, as there are two existing acts, with the first one already in 2.2. And they could place it in between Castle Eggman Zone and Arid Canyon Zone. Hopefully this idea gets accepted by Sonic Team Jr. and Frozen Hillside Zone ceases to be a secret level and added in-between Castle Eggman Zone Act 3 and Arid Canyon Zone Act 1, just like how Castle Eggman Zone was a secret level in Demo 4 from 2001 and was then added to the main level lineup (which only had GFZ, THZ, and CEZ at that point) as the last zone in Final Demo v1.01.
Much more could be done to the single player campaign, but if only Sonic Team Jr. took advantage of that, huh? I literally just I thought of this, but what if SRB2 had an extra final boss that can only be accessed by Sonic (or Sonic and Tails) and only with all 7 Chaos Emeralds? This would make collecting the Chaos Emeralds more worth doing. Super forms are nice, but a secret final boss that can only be reached with the Emeralds is even cooler, just like it was in Sonic & Knuckles where having all of the Chaos Emeralds grants access to Doomsday Zone as Sonic. Hell, a basis for this already exists thanks to Mystic Realm v4's final zone, well, Mystic Realm Zone. For SRB2's secret boss level, it could act as a Super Sonic level, for obvious reasons, and could be a fight against a boss called the Egg Gunner that takes advantage of the many weapon rings that SRB2 has, and even uses the old Homing Ring weapon in it's pinch phase.(This thing could take 18 hits to defeat instead of the usual 8 or 12 in Brak Eggman's case.)
Now that the main campaign is covered, I'll talk about the secret stages. At completion, SRB2 is intended to include three 'Super' levels and three 'Hyper' levels, just like in SRB1. Hell, the SRB1 Remake in v2.0 and v2.1 had all six of the original SRB1's Super and Hyper levels, although SRB2 no longer includes the SRB1 Remake by default, but it has been brought back as a mod. The game currently has one Super level (Techno Legacy and Forest Fortress don't count because the former is a remake of an old level, while the latter is a prototype of CEZ1 from v2.2's development, and Frozen Hillside doesn't count either because of my 10th zone suggestion.), that being Pipe Towers, and three possible placeholder Hyper levels (or the challenge stages), those being Haunted Heights Zone from the September/October 2014 OLDC, a remade Aerial Garden Zone from Mystic Realm, and Azure Temple Zone from the May/June 2012 OLDC. I'll be honest, Pipe Towers Zone should've gotten remade from scratch in v2.2 (although a mod for a revamped Pipe Towers Zone exists), and Aerial Garden Zone (which imo should've kept the Neo prefix from v2.0's iteration.) and Azure Temple Zone are planned to get either replaced or remade from scratch (although I'm seriously hoping for the latter). For more Super levels, maybe some from older Official Level Design Contests could be brought in, seeming as that's how Frozen Hillside Zone, Pipe Towers Zone, Haunted Heights Zone, and Azure Temple Zone got into vanilla SRB2.
Oh. I forgot about the unlockable NiGHTS stages. Currently there are five of them, with one only being accessible in NiGHTS Mode. Those stages are Christmas Chime Zone, Dream Hill Zone, Alpine Paradise Zone (2 acts), and Black Hole Zone. Honestly, I think more can be done with these.
First off, please bring back Spring Hill Zone, for the sake of pure nostalgia. Christmas Chime Zone is alright, but I think that stage should be remade from scratch, because giving Spring Hill Zone a Christmas redesign wasn't a good idea, and not letting us roam around the stage in 3D anymore takes all the fun out of the stage. If Spring Hill is brought back, I would update the textures to that of the current GFZ textures, as well as remove all the staircases, and replace them with sloped surfaces now that slopes are possible. I would also rename Dream Hill Zone to Dream Dance Zone, because two stages with the word 'Hill' in their name is enough before the Green Hill haters go balistic. And besides, it's a cool homage to Sonic : After the Sequel, which everyone should play. Both acts of Alpine Paradise Zone are already great, so changing the layout isn't necessary. Although Act 1 could use Act 2's music, which is a remix of Suburban Museum from the original NiGHTS game. Act 2 could use the original music instead of the remix, as the original Botanic Serenity level pack, in which the main act is APZ1, while it's multi-mare version, The Perception, is APZ2, originally used that music. Lastly, Black Hole Zone is absolute garbage, though. I don't regret saying that it should be removed. That specific stage, I hate with a burning passion. Ahem. Moving on...
As for the Special Stages, since I haven't covered them yet, maybe now's a good time to do so. First off, I believe I speak for everyone, but I hate the NiGHTS stages. I just don't like how NiGHTS controls. That being said, keep them in. They do provide a good challenge. These types of Special Stages were added in v2.1, but some were pretty basic, and they used Mystic Realm music on top of that. Not like that's a bad thing, because it isn't, since the Mystic Realm music was amazing even back then, but something I would like to point out regardless. All seven of them did receive changes in v2.2, and now use unique tracks based off of the old Special Stage theme from the Final Demo series to v2.0. One stage was also remade from scratch because 2.1 made it too similar to Spring Hill Zone. For the next version, these are the changes I would like to see for all of these stages.
- Floral Field Zone: Give the level a sunset palette to make it just a little distinct from the main stage. Also add an alternative lower path for more experienced players, like with the upper path.
- Toxic Plateau Zone: Use the music_remade version of the Mystic Realm boss theme (which was used for this stage in v2.1), and add a rainstorm effect to the stage because why not? Aside from music and aesthetic changes, maybe replace the buoyant slime in the section after the Ideya Capsule (renamed from Ideya Capture to make more sense) with the old damaging slime for a sense of challenge since it hurts you on contact, forcing you to take the upper path. But keep the moon emblem down there for daredevils.
- Flooded Cove Zone: The additional token from the v2.1 version of the level could be restored in a similar place, and like with the previous stage, the music_remade version of Sunken Plant from Mystic Realm is applied. No other changes.
- Cavern Fortress Zone: Use the music_remade version of Tempest Valley from Mystic Realm and make an alternate path in the swinging spikeballs section (the one after the Ideya Capsule and not the one at the beginning of the stage), focusing on avoiding brambles.
- Dusty Wasteland Zone: No changes at all considering this stage was already remade from scratch in v2.2. But again, use the music_remade version of this music track.
- Magma Caves: Remade from scratch, now showing the outside of the cave, as well as containing Orbinauts. The only two sections kept are the flame throwing spiral and the lava wave room containing the Ideya Capsule. Also uses the music_remade version of Flame Rift from Mystic Realm.
- Egg Satellite: Also remade from scratch using the music_remade Mystic Realm Zone. I don't know what to say here, just please don't keep the laser fan room, as that will cause new players to lose the emerald fairly easily.
For the multiplayer special stages, while I'm happy that the v2.0 special stages were brought back, they are unfortunately placeholders for new special stages made specifically for multiplayer to come in the future. And I don't want to see them go, to be honest. They're easier than the NiGHTS stages, and subjectively better for that reason.
Onto multiplayer, I think that some things can be changed for the several game types it has.
For Match and CTF, some more weapon rings should be used. First off, the Homing Ring, which was removed in v2.0 alongside the Infinity Ring, should be brought back, and made faster as well as showing an arrow above who you want to home in on. Second, please remove the Infinity Ring, because I'm not a fan of it at all. In fact, I try to avoid this weapon at all costs, it's that bad. And lastly, a new weapon could include something called the "Precision Ring". What this does is when you shoot it, it wraps around the target before releasing red rings as debris and then hitting the target. Like my Homing Ring revival suggestion, there's an arrow to help you see who or what you're aiming at. While it's nice that the Chaos Emeralds can spawn in a match game, what's the point of collecting them if you can't go Super anymore? Just bring back Super forms, for all six characters. Super characters that aren't Sonic (or modded playable characters that have distinct Super sprites or at least a float animation) could also have a fire shield surrounding them (ala Sonic Heroes), instead of invincibility sparkles like v2.0 and v2.1, making them easier to spot. Each character could have different abilities while Super. Here's a list:
Sonic : Same as Single Player. Pressing spin after a jump will let him float across the air.
Tails : Infinite Flight. Pressing spin after a jump will shoot Tails upward, like the Whirlwind Shield, but a lot stronger.
Knuckles : Same as Single Player. Also has multi-glide back as well as an increase in jump height to be the same as base Sonic/Tails/Metal.
Amy : Double jump goes higher, and Hammer Rush releases a shockwave upon landing.
Fang : Corks fired from pop gun now take a shield on top of rings, and tail bounce is stronger than in base form.
Metal : Same as Single Player, however, pressing spin after a jump will charge a dash like his pinch phase in BCZ2.
As for the multiplayer maps, I think that both the Match and CTF rotations are good as is. Although I think both rotations are light on maps. A couple more could be brought back/added. For example, Molten Fissure Zone, Granite Lake Zone, and Radiant Caverns Zone have all been removed from v2.2, it would be nice if they were brought back with updated visuals. For new levels, I suggest some from the OLDCs from 2020-2022.
That's enough stage talk. I personally think every characters' movesets should be adjusted, as well as everyone getting a Super form.
Sonic: I believe a prototype ability for Sonic as of v2.3 will be added. I'm calling it the PowerDash; a better Drop Dash.
Tails: Flight is adjusted; Hold the button as an alt to tapping it repeatedly, as well as being able to cancel with Jump + Spin while flying.
Knuckles: Jumps as high as Sonic and Tails, and has his multi-glide from the Final Demos back.
Amy: Complete overhaul. She now spin-jumps, can roll and spindash, and has her abilities from Superstars; the Hammer Attack and Hammer Rush from Origins Plus, as well as a double jump. This allows her to be more accessible in levels.
Fang: Popgun is adjusted to work at any point on the ground or even in the air. The multiability flag is applied to his bounce, too, and he now can bust walls the same way as Knuckles, to prevent him from getting stuck if he somehow goes through Sonic and Tails's paths.
Metal: Wallbreak like Knuckles and Fang when using dashmode. Plus, he has the jump boost ability in place of his hover.
(The super forms are exactly the same as in multiplayer for Tails, Amy, and Fang. Super Metal Sonic's dash ability is exclusive to multiplayer.)
For mod support, hopefully the modding system we currently have is not changed for v2.3 for backwards compatibility with v2.2 mods. So that we don't have to make a conversion. And please add back in official mobile support. There's most likely hundreds of mobile players for SRB2, and they're all most likely pissed off because of no more official mobile support!
And for the last section, miscellaneous stuff borrowed from the SRB2 Wiki.
- Proper menus are planned to be in the next version, rather than just text that overlays the title screen.
- Map names will no longer be restricted to the MAPxx format, instead allowing for any string of text.
- Proper level transitions to connect the main zones as seen in Sonic 3 are planned to be implemented in a future release. A primitive form of these were previously present in v2.0, but were removed in v2.1 due to issues regarding netgames.
- Emblems will receive a visual overhaul. They will rotate continuously and bob up and down, flapping their wings.
- It is eventually planned to add a passive ability to the Whirlwind Shield, to match the other shields which have both an active and a passive ability.
(You guys at Sonic Team Jr could use this for your Whirlwind Shield passive effect, just be sure to credit @CloneFighter for making this.)
- The game's physics, especially involving air control, slopes, and acceleration, are planned to be significantly reworked, but nothing is set in stone yet.
- Sonic's mid-air jump ability, which has been the thok ever since SRB2 Christmas, is planned to be replaced or redesigned entirely to allow for a more intuitive experience for beginner players.
Again, not bad ideas, but please don't replace the thok. If anything, add back the ability to thok multiple times per jump. As for the emblems, maybe they could also use the sparkles from Mystic Realm Community Edition's emblems.
And that's it for today. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them here.
EDIT: Made some more minor refinements and added a section for ideas I have on finishing Castle Eggman Zone.
Ahem. Let's start with what I would like to see in the complete version of SRB2. I'll start with the zones. As we all know, 9 zones are planned for the final game, yet only 7 (technically 6 since there's only one act of the 6th zone) are implemented: Greenflower Zone, Techno Hill Zone, Deep Sea Zone, Castle Eggman Zone, Arid Canyon Zone, the first act of Red Volcano Zone, and a demo version of Egg Rock Zone (which is planned to get remade from scratch) along with Black Core Zone as a final boss rush. Sonic Team Jr. plans on changing a bunch of stuff around for the next planned major version, v2.3. Borrowed from the SRB2 Wiki, these are the plans for SRB2 v2.3 zone-wise:
- Deep Sea Zone: The version of Act 2 released in v2.2 is a placeholder comprised of a mix of new sections and repurposed old sections. The stage is planned to be significantly revamped to be more cohesive.
- Castle Eggman Zone: Act 2 was not finished in time for v2.2's release and was therefore released in an incomplete state. Empty areas were filled in with placeholder content, while several incomplete paths were removed or made inaccessible, most notably the back right path splitting off from the central courtyard. In v2.2.1, the inaccessible paths were removed to save space in the map. It remains to be seen if they will be brought back in the future.
- Red Volcano Zone: While a plan existed during the development of v2.0 to replace RVZ2 with a snow-themed act (a teaser of which was included in v2.0 as Blue Mountain Zone Act 2), this plan has since been scrapped. RVZ2 will be a regular lava-themed level like the first act. It will feature hang gliders that the player can hang on to as a gimmick.
- Egg Rock Zone: A remake of this zone is planned for future releases.
Which is not bad for plans for v2.3, but what changes would they do for the other three implemented zones? Here's my ideas on what they could do to them. Also gonna mention ideas for finishing Castle Eggman Zone up.
- Greenflower Zone : The only changes to Act 1 would be to restore the secret room on the right of the bridge you see at the start. You know, the room that contained an Armageddon Shield? That hole in the lake has since been blocked off, and now a Force Shield surrounded by spikes is on top of it. They could move the shield in there, and add a couple more monitors. The cave on the left that has a Super Ring Monitor on the other side could be unblocked, as well. Not much should be done for Acts 2 or 3, though. The best I would do about Act 2 is add extra tokens. For Act 3, the boss arena could use a bit of an upgrade, as well as take place at sunset so that it makes sense for Techno Hill Zone to be at sunset. Speaking of which...
- Techno Hill Zone : Like with Greenflower Zone, this stage would be mostly unchanged from v2.2. Maybe tone down the difficulty of Act 2 by removing some enemies and simplifying some obstacles, like they did in v2.0. To balance this out, I would bring back the old damaging slime, recolored back to a pinkish-purple hue, and put in some unexpected areas for both acts. Maybe in Act 2, add the damaging slime in the left hole in the floor and keep the "Jello" on the right, and add warning signs above them to make it easier to tell apart, kinda like what Twins' R Okay did in their Encore Mode.
- Castle Eggman Zone : I was pretty surprised when I saw the courtyard path split in Act 2, as it recalls the Final Demo version of that level. I would take advantage of this reference and reimplement the infamous button hunt gimmick the original had to access an alternative path through the gate on the wall in the front. Note that this path is per-character; Go through a spindash gap if you're playing as Sonic, Tails, or Metal Sonic, climb upward to a Knuckles-exclusive bustable wall as Knuckles (because of his lower jump height he can't go through the main path), or Twinspin/Tail Bounce into the cracked floor as Amy or Fang. It takes you to the last room of the level, right before the signpost and at the swinging chains.
- Arid Canyon Zone : Add water back to the zone, as well as quicksand for some nods to the 2.1 version of the level, while keeping the Wild West theme. Act 1 also starts off the same way as in v2.0, starting by launching from a spring onto a high cliff. There's also now mining segments in Act 1 on top of Act 2. Act 3 is mostly unchanged, except now the boss gets more epic in the pinch phase, as after Fang blows off the roof of the train car, he bounces upwards and goes onto the train cars behind the one he blew up, forcing you to chase him down and defeat him as he runs towards the end of the train throwing bombs at you, and after you defeat him, the capsule opens up below you, meaning you have to find a ledge, jump down to it, and then search for the capsule in the cars at the end of the train, like how the New Capsules mod does it.
Also, I said there's 9 planned zones, with 2 yet to come; Dark City Zone and Grand Eggship Zone (formerly Doomship, but renamed to Grand Eggship due to an abbreviation conflict with Deep Sea Zone). Music for at least the first acts of both are included in 2.2, with the latter used for Orbital Hanger and the former being an unused track. But have you ever thought about a 10th zone? I have, and it could use the winter theme, to make up for scrapping the Blue Mountain Act 2 concept for Red Volcano. This could be perfect for the secret Frozen Hillside Zone, as there are two existing acts, with the first one already in 2.2. And they could place it in between Castle Eggman Zone and Arid Canyon Zone. Hopefully this idea gets accepted by Sonic Team Jr. and Frozen Hillside Zone ceases to be a secret level and added in-between Castle Eggman Zone Act 3 and Arid Canyon Zone Act 1, just like how Castle Eggman Zone was a secret level in Demo 4 from 2001 and was then added to the main level lineup (which only had GFZ, THZ, and CEZ at that point) as the last zone in Final Demo v1.01.
Much more could be done to the single player campaign, but if only Sonic Team Jr. took advantage of that, huh? I literally just I thought of this, but what if SRB2 had an extra final boss that can only be accessed by Sonic (or Sonic and Tails) and only with all 7 Chaos Emeralds? This would make collecting the Chaos Emeralds more worth doing. Super forms are nice, but a secret final boss that can only be reached with the Emeralds is even cooler, just like it was in Sonic & Knuckles where having all of the Chaos Emeralds grants access to Doomsday Zone as Sonic. Hell, a basis for this already exists thanks to Mystic Realm v4's final zone, well, Mystic Realm Zone. For SRB2's secret boss level, it could act as a Super Sonic level, for obvious reasons, and could be a fight against a boss called the Egg Gunner that takes advantage of the many weapon rings that SRB2 has, and even uses the old Homing Ring weapon in it's pinch phase.(This thing could take 18 hits to defeat instead of the usual 8 or 12 in Brak Eggman's case.)
Now that the main campaign is covered, I'll talk about the secret stages. At completion, SRB2 is intended to include three 'Super' levels and three 'Hyper' levels, just like in SRB1. Hell, the SRB1 Remake in v2.0 and v2.1 had all six of the original SRB1's Super and Hyper levels, although SRB2 no longer includes the SRB1 Remake by default, but it has been brought back as a mod. The game currently has one Super level (Techno Legacy and Forest Fortress don't count because the former is a remake of an old level, while the latter is a prototype of CEZ1 from v2.2's development, and Frozen Hillside doesn't count either because of my 10th zone suggestion.), that being Pipe Towers, and three possible placeholder Hyper levels (or the challenge stages), those being Haunted Heights Zone from the September/October 2014 OLDC, a remade Aerial Garden Zone from Mystic Realm, and Azure Temple Zone from the May/June 2012 OLDC. I'll be honest, Pipe Towers Zone should've gotten remade from scratch in v2.2 (although a mod for a revamped Pipe Towers Zone exists), and Aerial Garden Zone (which imo should've kept the Neo prefix from v2.0's iteration.) and Azure Temple Zone are planned to get either replaced or remade from scratch (although I'm seriously hoping for the latter). For more Super levels, maybe some from older Official Level Design Contests could be brought in, seeming as that's how Frozen Hillside Zone, Pipe Towers Zone, Haunted Heights Zone, and Azure Temple Zone got into vanilla SRB2.
Oh. I forgot about the unlockable NiGHTS stages. Currently there are five of them, with one only being accessible in NiGHTS Mode. Those stages are Christmas Chime Zone, Dream Hill Zone, Alpine Paradise Zone (2 acts), and Black Hole Zone. Honestly, I think more can be done with these.
First off, please bring back Spring Hill Zone, for the sake of pure nostalgia. Christmas Chime Zone is alright, but I think that stage should be remade from scratch, because giving Spring Hill Zone a Christmas redesign wasn't a good idea, and not letting us roam around the stage in 3D anymore takes all the fun out of the stage. If Spring Hill is brought back, I would update the textures to that of the current GFZ textures, as well as remove all the staircases, and replace them with sloped surfaces now that slopes are possible. I would also rename Dream Hill Zone to Dream Dance Zone, because two stages with the word 'Hill' in their name is enough before the Green Hill haters go balistic. And besides, it's a cool homage to Sonic : After the Sequel, which everyone should play. Both acts of Alpine Paradise Zone are already great, so changing the layout isn't necessary. Although Act 1 could use Act 2's music, which is a remix of Suburban Museum from the original NiGHTS game. Act 2 could use the original music instead of the remix, as the original Botanic Serenity level pack, in which the main act is APZ1, while it's multi-mare version, The Perception, is APZ2, originally used that music. Lastly, Black Hole Zone is absolute garbage, though. I don't regret saying that it should be removed. That specific stage, I hate with a burning passion. Ahem. Moving on...
As for the Special Stages, since I haven't covered them yet, maybe now's a good time to do so. First off, I believe I speak for everyone, but I hate the NiGHTS stages. I just don't like how NiGHTS controls. That being said, keep them in. They do provide a good challenge. These types of Special Stages were added in v2.1, but some were pretty basic, and they used Mystic Realm music on top of that. Not like that's a bad thing, because it isn't, since the Mystic Realm music was amazing even back then, but something I would like to point out regardless. All seven of them did receive changes in v2.2, and now use unique tracks based off of the old Special Stage theme from the Final Demo series to v2.0. One stage was also remade from scratch because 2.1 made it too similar to Spring Hill Zone. For the next version, these are the changes I would like to see for all of these stages.
- Floral Field Zone: Give the level a sunset palette to make it just a little distinct from the main stage. Also add an alternative lower path for more experienced players, like with the upper path.
- Toxic Plateau Zone: Use the music_remade version of the Mystic Realm boss theme (which was used for this stage in v2.1), and add a rainstorm effect to the stage because why not? Aside from music and aesthetic changes, maybe replace the buoyant slime in the section after the Ideya Capsule (renamed from Ideya Capture to make more sense) with the old damaging slime for a sense of challenge since it hurts you on contact, forcing you to take the upper path. But keep the moon emblem down there for daredevils.
- Flooded Cove Zone: The additional token from the v2.1 version of the level could be restored in a similar place, and like with the previous stage, the music_remade version of Sunken Plant from Mystic Realm is applied. No other changes.
- Cavern Fortress Zone: Use the music_remade version of Tempest Valley from Mystic Realm and make an alternate path in the swinging spikeballs section (the one after the Ideya Capsule and not the one at the beginning of the stage), focusing on avoiding brambles.
- Dusty Wasteland Zone: No changes at all considering this stage was already remade from scratch in v2.2. But again, use the music_remade version of this music track.
- Magma Caves: Remade from scratch, now showing the outside of the cave, as well as containing Orbinauts. The only two sections kept are the flame throwing spiral and the lava wave room containing the Ideya Capsule. Also uses the music_remade version of Flame Rift from Mystic Realm.
- Egg Satellite: Also remade from scratch using the music_remade Mystic Realm Zone. I don't know what to say here, just please don't keep the laser fan room, as that will cause new players to lose the emerald fairly easily.
For the multiplayer special stages, while I'm happy that the v2.0 special stages were brought back, they are unfortunately placeholders for new special stages made specifically for multiplayer to come in the future. And I don't want to see them go, to be honest. They're easier than the NiGHTS stages, and subjectively better for that reason.
Onto multiplayer, I think that some things can be changed for the several game types it has.
For Match and CTF, some more weapon rings should be used. First off, the Homing Ring, which was removed in v2.0 alongside the Infinity Ring, should be brought back, and made faster as well as showing an arrow above who you want to home in on. Second, please remove the Infinity Ring, because I'm not a fan of it at all. In fact, I try to avoid this weapon at all costs, it's that bad. And lastly, a new weapon could include something called the "Precision Ring". What this does is when you shoot it, it wraps around the target before releasing red rings as debris and then hitting the target. Like my Homing Ring revival suggestion, there's an arrow to help you see who or what you're aiming at. While it's nice that the Chaos Emeralds can spawn in a match game, what's the point of collecting them if you can't go Super anymore? Just bring back Super forms, for all six characters. Super characters that aren't Sonic (or modded playable characters that have distinct Super sprites or at least a float animation) could also have a fire shield surrounding them (ala Sonic Heroes), instead of invincibility sparkles like v2.0 and v2.1, making them easier to spot. Each character could have different abilities while Super. Here's a list:
Sonic : Same as Single Player. Pressing spin after a jump will let him float across the air.
Tails : Infinite Flight. Pressing spin after a jump will shoot Tails upward, like the Whirlwind Shield, but a lot stronger.
Knuckles : Same as Single Player. Also has multi-glide back as well as an increase in jump height to be the same as base Sonic/Tails/Metal.
Amy : Double jump goes higher, and Hammer Rush releases a shockwave upon landing.
Fang : Corks fired from pop gun now take a shield on top of rings, and tail bounce is stronger than in base form.
Metal : Same as Single Player, however, pressing spin after a jump will charge a dash like his pinch phase in BCZ2.
As for the multiplayer maps, I think that both the Match and CTF rotations are good as is. Although I think both rotations are light on maps. A couple more could be brought back/added. For example, Molten Fissure Zone, Granite Lake Zone, and Radiant Caverns Zone have all been removed from v2.2, it would be nice if they were brought back with updated visuals. For new levels, I suggest some from the OLDCs from 2020-2022.
That's enough stage talk. I personally think every characters' movesets should be adjusted, as well as everyone getting a Super form.
Sonic: I believe a prototype ability for Sonic as of v2.3 will be added. I'm calling it the PowerDash; a better Drop Dash.
Tails: Flight is adjusted; Hold the button as an alt to tapping it repeatedly, as well as being able to cancel with Jump + Spin while flying.
Knuckles: Jumps as high as Sonic and Tails, and has his multi-glide from the Final Demos back.
Amy: Complete overhaul. She now spin-jumps, can roll and spindash, and has her abilities from Superstars; the Hammer Attack and Hammer Rush from Origins Plus, as well as a double jump. This allows her to be more accessible in levels.
Fang: Popgun is adjusted to work at any point on the ground or even in the air. The multiability flag is applied to his bounce, too, and he now can bust walls the same way as Knuckles, to prevent him from getting stuck if he somehow goes through Sonic and Tails's paths.
Metal: Wallbreak like Knuckles and Fang when using dashmode. Plus, he has the jump boost ability in place of his hover.
(The super forms are exactly the same as in multiplayer for Tails, Amy, and Fang. Super Metal Sonic's dash ability is exclusive to multiplayer.)
For mod support, hopefully the modding system we currently have is not changed for v2.3 for backwards compatibility with v2.2 mods. So that we don't have to make a conversion. And please add back in official mobile support. There's most likely hundreds of mobile players for SRB2, and they're all most likely pissed off because of no more official mobile support!
And for the last section, miscellaneous stuff borrowed from the SRB2 Wiki.
- Proper menus are planned to be in the next version, rather than just text that overlays the title screen.
- Map names will no longer be restricted to the MAPxx format, instead allowing for any string of text.
- Proper level transitions to connect the main zones as seen in Sonic 3 are planned to be implemented in a future release. A primitive form of these were previously present in v2.0, but were removed in v2.1 due to issues regarding netgames.
- Emblems will receive a visual overhaul. They will rotate continuously and bob up and down, flapping their wings.
- It is eventually planned to add a passive ability to the Whirlwind Shield, to match the other shields which have both an active and a passive ability.
(You guys at Sonic Team Jr could use this for your Whirlwind Shield passive effect, just be sure to credit @CloneFighter for making this.)
- The game's physics, especially involving air control, slopes, and acceleration, are planned to be significantly reworked, but nothing is set in stone yet.
- Sonic's mid-air jump ability, which has been the thok ever since SRB2 Christmas, is planned to be replaced or redesigned entirely to allow for a more intuitive experience for beginner players.
Again, not bad ideas, but please don't replace the thok. If anything, add back the ability to thok multiple times per jump. As for the emblems, maybe they could also use the sparkles from Mystic Realm Community Edition's emblems.
And that's it for today. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them here.
EDIT: Made some more minor refinements and added a section for ideas I have on finishing Castle Eggman Zone.
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