Collide with water after being hurt

(Original guide by MoDule)

In the main series 16-bit Sonic games, Sonic behaves strangely when getting hurt and then falling into water. He will retain his above water gravity even under water until he lands.

This guide will show how to have Sonic interact with water even when falling after getting hurt.

Applying the change

First, locate Obj01_Hurt, which should look like this:

Sonic 1 Hivebrain

Obj01_Hurt:
		jsr	(SpeedToPos).l
		addi.w	#$30,$12(a0)
		btst	#6,$22(a0)
		beq.s	loc_1380C
		subi.w	#$20,$12(a0)

loc_1380C:
		bsr.w	Sonic_HurtStop
		bsr.w	Sonic_LevelBound
		bsr.w	Sonic_RecordPos
		bsr.w	Sonic_Animate
		bsr.w	LoadSonicDynPLC
		jmp	(DisplaySprite).l

Somewhere before the last line, add a branch to Sonic_Water, like so:

		bsr.w	Sonic_HurtStop
		bsr.w	Sonic_LevelBound
		bsr.w	Sonic_RecordPos
	    bsr.w	Sonic_Water	; <--
		bsr.w	Sonic_Animate
		bsr.w	LoadSonicDynPLC
		jmp	(DisplaySprite).l

With this, Sonic should now behave as expected when falling into water, but still feels strange exiting it.He bounces awfully low, if he exits the water after getting hurt. To fix this, locate Obj01_OutWater add a line here

; loc_1A1FE:
Obj01_OutWater:
		bclr	#6,$22(a0)
		beq.s	locret_12D80
		; ...
		asl	$12(a0)
        tst.w   $12(a0)	; <--
        ; ...

With this line added, Sonic will always get the speed boost when exiting water.

Sonic 2 SVN

First, locate Obj01_Hurt_Normal, which should look like this:

; loc_1B13A:
Obj01_Hurt_Normal:
	tst.b	routine_secondary(a0)
	bmi.w	Sonic_HurtInstantRecover
	jsr	(ObjectMove).l
	addi.w	#$30,y_vel(a0)
	btst	#6,status(a0)
	beq.s	+
	subi.w	#$20,y_vel(a0)
+
	cmpi.w	#-$100,(Camera_Min_Y_pos).w
	bne.s	+
	andi.w	#$7FF,y_pos(a0)
+
	bsr.w	Sonic_HurtStop
	bsr.w	Sonic_LevelBound
	bsr.w	Sonic_RecordPos
	bsr.w	Sonic_Animate
	bsr.w	LoadSonicDynPLC
	jmp	(DisplaySprite).l

Somewhere before the last line, add a branch to Sonic_Water, like so:

	bsr.w	Sonic_HurtStop
	bsr.w	Sonic_LevelBound
	bsr.w	Sonic_RecordPos
	bsr.w	Sonic_Water	; <--
	bsr.w	Sonic_Animate
	bsr.w	LoadSonicDynPLC
	jmp	(DisplaySprite).l

With this, Sonic should now behave as expected when falling into water, but still feels strange exiting it.He bounces awfully low, if he exits the water after getting hurt. To fix this, locate Obj01_OutWater and comment out a few line as shown here:

; loc_1A1FE:
Obj01_OutWater:
	bclr	#6,status(a0) ; unset underwater flag
	beq.s	return_1A18C ; if already above water, branch

	[...]

;	cmpi.b	#4,routine(a0)	; <-- is Sonic falling back from getting hurt?
;	beq.s	+		; <-- if yes, branch
	asl	y_vel(a0)
;+				; <--
	tst.w	y_vel(a0)
	beq.w	return_1A18C
	move.w	#$100,(Sonic_Dust+anim).w	; splash animation
	movea.l	a0,a1
	bsr.w	ResumeMusic
	cmpi.w	#-$1000,y_vel(a0)
	bgt.s	+
	move.w	#-$1000,y_vel(a0)	; limit upward y velocity exiting the water
+
	move.w	#SndID_Splash,d0	; splash sound
	jmp	(PlaySound).l
; End of subroutine Sonic_Water

With these lines commented out, Sonic will always get the speed boost when exiting water.

Things to keep in mind

This change in behavior needs to be applied to every character object in the game, not just Sonic.

Explanation

The reason Sonic doesn't interact with water when getting hurt is because the water handling routine is only called when he is in his normal state. The code for his hurt state lacks a call to this routine. Adding a branch to the water handling routine makes him interact with water almost as one would expect. The lines that are commented out in the second part of the guide are code that checks if Sonic is in his Hurt state, something that was originally impossible, and skips the speed boost he would usually get from exiting the water. With the lower y-velocity he gets from being hurt under water, the missing boost and higher gravity above water explains why he falls back into the water almost immediately.

|Collide with water after being hurt]]