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Sonic Nexus

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Sonic Nexus
Latest version: SAGE 2007 Demo
Latest release date: 8/7/07
Engine: Sonic Worlds, C++ engine to be revealed at SAGE 2008
Credits: Slingerland, Damizean, DimensionWarped

Sonic Nexus is a game being created by Nexus Team, headed by Slingerland of SFGHQ. At SAGE 2006, he acquired two more team members in Damizean and DimensionWarped, also of SFGHQ. The game currently uses Multimedia Fusion for its engine, dubbed Sonic Worlds, but will be switching to C++ in the future. The game began development in the summer of 2006 and has had two demo releases, both at the Sonic Amateur Gaming Expo. It is a critically acclaimed fangame, garnering comments such as, "absolute perfection of the classic Sonic style" from SAGE visitors. The character lineup will consist of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles.

Nexus was originally created from Damizean's "360 Engine v2.0" created in Multimedia Fusion 1.5 by Slingerland, with assistance by Damizean to point him in the right direction. The first demo was created in the 3 days prior to the 2006 Sonic Amateur Gaming Expo. After the successful, inital showing at SAGE 2006, DimensionWarped and Damizean became full time members and the project took on a much larger scope.

Damizean and DimensionWarped are currently the lead programmers and Slingerland is the project's director, concept artist, background artist and level designer. The three all contribute to the game's background art. The music is provided by Hunter Bridges, known as Sage/hRook on SFGHQ. Ryan Cordel, a spriter, joined Nexus Team in 2007 and he began revamping finished graphics and creating new backgrounds and badniks. TRD of SFGHQ also worked on badniks in 2007, but has since left the team. In late 2007, RgxSuperSonic was recruited to do the intro and outro cutscenes in flash.

2008 Development Updates

  • January 1st: Progress on the C++ engine continues into the new year.
  • February 15th: Nexus is put on hold until the end of the U.S. college school year. The team member's schedules are too busy to be working on the project at this time.
  • May 10th: Work continues after a 3-month hiatus. The engine is nearing completion
  • June 22nd: Level editor completed, engine very close to being complete as well. Programming in certain areas, such as level gimmicks, still needs to be ironed out.
  • July 2nd: Level editor interface being tweaked for ease of use. Magma Monoliths re-design in the works - ground tiles completed.
  • July 13th: A "note" has been added to the soundtrack section of this page. The "planned levels" section has been updated and expanded with more information. Development wise, the layout of Act 1 of the SAGE 2008 demo zone (to be announced) is finished and awaits springs, badniks, gimmicks, etc. Development on Act 2 has begun, as the grid paper map is being placed piece by piece into the level editor.
  • July 28th: Various bits of scenery, like trees, bushes, and flowers have been completed and put in both acts. Object scripting on act 1 is underway. Act 2's layout is almost complete and will enter object scripting immediately upon completion. Everything is still running on schedule with the beta ready for play the week before SAGE (August 13, specifically). The beta will be given to a select few people to beta test. These beta test positions have already been filled.

Planned Levels

  • Sunset Shore

The obligatory tropical paradise first zone. This level is planned to have an actual sunset occur during the player's journey. The level is a rib at Blue Frenzy's long-delayed "Sonic Frenzy Adventure," as it uses a similar zig-zaggy pattern in the foreground. The level features the traditional array of tubes, loops, breakable walls/ground, bridges. However, new gimmicks take center stage in the form of a parachute and a zip-line.

  • Cosmic Chaos

A . This zone was the first level shown to the public at SAGE 2006 and was an instant hit. The zone features flippers, wall running, slots, bumpers, roulette wheels (not in SAGE 06 demo), and high speed sections. The art is a combination of Blue Frenzy's "Neon City" custom background library and the beta version of Casino Night Zone with minor tweaks and neon signs by Slingerland. The level's foreground has undergone a face-lift, rather than using a infinitely repeating amount of orange blocks. New casino elements arise in Cosmic Chaos now, such as a roulette wheel and a deck of cards that creates new paths.

  • Magma Monoliths

The obligatory lava level. The level is currently in a basic state, but currently features pushable blocks floating over lava (a la Marble Zone). The level was created by Rael0505 of SFGHQ. The zone has been revamped, with the foreground being completed just recently. Therefore, the screenshot of the level below is obsolete.

  • Beaming Bridge

A Genesis revamping of Bridge Zone, from the Game Gear version of Sonic 1, with many improvements. No gimmicks or features have been announced at this time.

  • Dusky Deposit

Formerly known as "Misty Mine," this zone features mine carts, drills, and everything you would expect to be in a mine. The level is being created by SkyLights, a quality spriter featured at The Spriter's Resource.

  • Pristine Palisade

The obligatory water level. This zone was on display at SAGE 2007 and helped Nexus garner "Best in Show" honors. The level is a tribute to Aqua Lake, from the Game Gear version of Sonic 2. The level features swinging platforms, bubble lifts, crank-operated doors, and various aquatic gimmicks. The teleport gimmick is noteworthy, for it transports the player into an Atlantis-like world, leagues under the sea. The level is blocky and platform-heavy, akin to Labyrinth Zone and Tidal Tempest, and thus, it lacks loops and curves.

  • Angelic Airway

Formerly known as "Aerial Acreage." The art has not been revealed for this stage at this point in time, but currently, it is a hybrid of Sky Chase and a traditional Sonic level, in that not only will Sonic be riding on Tails' Tornado plane, but he will be dropped off occasionally to defeat badniks in a city in the sky.

  • Wicked Works

The art has not been revealed for this stage at this point in time, but currently, it is Robotnik's base set inside a rustic clock tower. The gimmicks are similar to what you have seen in past factory zones, but a "portal" gimmick sets this zone away from the pack.

Screenshot Gallery

Original Soundtrack

Nexus' soundtrack is composed by Hunter Bridges (a.k.a. Sage/hRook at SFGHQ). Some tracks feature his fellow bandmates from his band, Riker Out. The following are 30-second mp3 samples of the completed tracks:

NOTE: Brand new, remastered versions of all the previous songs will be released at SAGE 2008, in addition to new songs.

Christmas Spin-Off Series

Sonic NeXmas is a one-zone mini-game that is released every holiday season by the Nexus team. On Christmas Day of 2006, the old engine, created in Multimedia Fusion 1.5 by Damizean, played host to a holiday-themed version of Emerald Hill. The Christmas remixes of the Emerald Hill and Sonic 2 boss music were done by Nexus' composer, Hunter Bridges. The boss, which was rather rushed, was quickly sprited by Aerosol of SFGHQ and was programmed by DimensionWarped.

Sonic NeXmas 2007 was not released due to the creation of the new C++ engine and the fact that Slingerland's computer exploded. It will probably surface in July as an electronic store-esque "Christmas in July" release.

Accolades

  • SAGE 2006: Best in Show runner-up
  • SAGE 2007: Best in Show (tied 1st)
  • Sonic Site Awards 2006: "Fangame of the Year" nomination
  • Sonic Site Awards 2007: "Fangame of the Year" nomination
  • Sonic Site Awards 2007: "Best Music" nomination

Downloads

Download.svg Download Sonic Nexus
File: SonicNexus07.rar (4.97 MB) (info)
Current version: SAGE 2007 Demo

Prior Versions


External links