Recent Posts

1

Map Gab / Re: Sonic Advance - Sonic Colors Maps' sizes

« Last post by Cyartog959 on Today at 06:57:07 am »

I think this quick-way gameplay can may have a bad influence on people and lead to excessive haste in the live. I noticed one strange feature when I explore a tourist object or go through a forest route as soon as quickly not clear why. This is useful when it need to pass the distance in 16+16km from a bus stop through the forest to cave, exploring this cave and come back and 'finish' within 6 hours to catch the bus, but I noticed that in this mounth I thied to explore castles or river valley quickly/as soon as possible (is not clear why).

Uhhh... 

I don't think it was related to the topic I'm talking about here. I also mentioned there's no Super Sonic option to play through regular Acts in these games.

2

Map Requests / Capcom's Aladdin GBA Not Up?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on September 12, 2025, 11:20:33 pm »

I couldn't help but notice that there's a GBA port of Disney's Aladdin not present in the Atlas.

I already saw the maps from Capcom's take on Disney's Aladdin game on SNES, but did anyone here not notice that the game got a GBA port? I did.

What I saw from a few longplay Youtube videos online, that game's GBA port is mostly the same, but there's numerous changes, such as having one additional area in each stage, and all the 70 red gems relocated to accommodate them, barring the "Whole New World" carpet ride stage labelled as a bonus stage, which I kinda feel is not one at all, the extra actual bonus stages, like one where you land the Genie's face during the "Break Time" bonus game that gives you a chance to gain more goods, but ends shortly if you take a dead end with an extra life in it, replacing the password system with an actual game save, and the removal of Alan Menken's songs, "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World", replaced by all-different original themes, due to additional costs from that movie composer, I'm guessing. They're rather neat to listen, though. One upside, you don't have to turn off the handheld to replay it all over again after seeing the credits and being stuck there until then.

Overall, the adventure to thwart Jafar's Agrabah conquest still remains the same.

The additional areas in each stage does address a few complaints about the game being quite too short, in my perspective, and the additional changes do make the game a bit more enjoyable.

If any mapper's interested, the port's maps are needed to be seen.

3

Map Requests / Re: Sega Genesis Mini 2 - full map set

« Last post by JonLeung on September 11, 2025, 08:48:34 am »

I guess there's not much to the last area of Space Harrier, but with that final map of "Absymbel", it looks like the "BONUS" games of the Sega Genesis Mini 2 are now completely mapped!

Feel free to correct me if that's not the case.

If the list is accurate, looks like we have a couple of Shinings, a couple of Eccos (sounds like we're talking about light and sound there), Populous, and Mansion Of Hidden Souls left.

I don't know much about Mansion Of Hidden Souls.  Skimming through some images and videos of it just now, I'm reminded of the classic PC game, The 7th Guest, which I also requested in my own requests topic.  That game is notable for being one of the first CD-ROM games showcasing the storage capacity of CDs with its many video cutscenes.  But that's The 7th Guest... we can talk about that elsewhere.

When I think of the Sega CD, I always think of Night Trap and Sewer Shark.  I don't know how I didn't hear about Mansion Of Hidden Souls.  It might as well have been hidden... at least to me...

4

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung on September 11, 2025, 08:28:12 am »

We finally have a map for Alwa's Awakening, thanks to duckfist and Stubbsy, which I put up last night, but it was my fault that it took this long because I forgot that I had asked for permission on the Steam Community page and actually got permission... on September 16, 2024... meaning that it is close to a YEAR that I finally noticed the response and got it up last night.

Cyartog959 reminded me that I had asked... weird that I forgot. I don't make it a habit to ask for maps... you'd think that alone would make it more memorable.  Must be my old age... 

In any case, we have it now!  Yay!

This is the kind of indie, 8-bit-styled game that I like to see more maps of.  More modern/recent content!  (Well, the game is like seven years old - some sources say eight - but still, you know what I mean, where the 8-bit look is a stylistic choice as opposed to a necessity.)

Thanks again, duckfist and Stubbsy!

5

Map Requests / Re: Sega Genesis Mini 2 - full map set

« Last post by JonLeung on September 10, 2025, 09:43:04 pm »

We "gained some ground" (heh) thanks to G.E.R. today, with maps of
Gain Ground,
The Ooze,
and one map from Populous.
Now every base Genesis game is at least partially mapped!

Also, more of the maps from the hidden Space Harrier.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there's one more stage to go, and then the "BONUS" section will be complete!

Getting close to the end, many thanks to G.E.R.!

Looking forward to seeing maps of the Sega CD games!

6

Gaming / Re: Silksong's Launch is Nigh! Excited?

« Last post by Cyartog959 on September 09, 2025, 11:25:30 pm »

Pretty excited to see what TC has cooked up. Even if it's more of the same, HK was one of my favorite metroidvanias. Only thing I'm dreading is how difficult the optional lategame stuff will be, based on some of HK's insane challenges...

You mean challenges like the "White Palace", or the "Delicate Flower" quest? I have a feeling their challenges may be a bit more tougher for Silksong this time around. Better strengthen your endurance and determination, pal. You'll need it.

"Guacamelee! 2" was quite more of the same, the moves and such, but that didn't stop me from having loads of fun. Longer and  tougher, yes, but still fun. And, before many Metroidvanias were made, loads of people enjoyed more of mostly the same hi-speed 2D adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and there weren't many complaints about it.

Even I enjoyed it all, and I still don't gripe about the later 2D Classic Sonic games being quite the same(well, maybe more should continue along the treads of Mania's, but not the anniversary themes, to say). Its the material and substance that matters in each game, on the inside.

On a small note, the game's RAM requirements for the PC version is more or less the same as HK's, but I think its more leaning towards 8GB of RAM than HK's 4 to 8GB. My one guess, its to accommodate for the larger world, Pharloom.

You know, a bit unrelated, but, so far, many Metroidvanias have used about 4GB, to 8GB, and sometimes, even 16GB of RAM for creating big worlds, but not a one has yet to reach about 24GB or 48GB of RAM(yes, I know the shocked feeling you got, go ahead).

I mean, not that they cannot reach it, but I'm just saying. All the loads of RAM memory we got and it may need to be put to use in creating larger Metroidvania maps... at least, sometime soon.

Think about it.

To compare, "Noreya: The Gold Project" uses about 8 to 16GB of RAM, providing two rather large worlds based on choices on path allegiances, one for The Path of Light, the other for The Path of Gold.

In short, they're about roughly twice as much as any Metroidvania world put together.

Well, hope you have fun!

7

VGMaps Social Board / Re: Sonic 3 Unlocked, Act Transitions, A Blog Series

« Last post by Cyartog959 on September 09, 2025, 12:49:20 am »

Thanks for sharing, the Sonic 3 Unlocked series is a fascinating deep dive into how the game achieved seamless stage transitions on the Genesis, and it’s a great resource for anyone interested in game coding or level design.

You're quite welcome! I wonder how such coding can be readjusted to commit stage-to-stage seguing beyond Act 2 in a Zone, and so on?

As far as I saw before, I think Retro Engine got that continued in Sonic Mania, and I also think Hatch Game Engine does it too in Sonic Galactic.

Even Freedom Planet, as I actually recall from memory, replicated that kind of Act-to-Act seguing when I first saw the video showcasing its first stage, Dragon Valley, that is, when it was a Sonic fangame at the time. I was very impressed it took on the kind of formula from Sonic 3's both halves, whereas most Sonic fangames followed on those of either Sonic 1 or 2, which doesn't have seamless seguing in stages.

I did get the video link, actually archived by Iceland's/Iceland's Old Channel, due to that original from its original user's video being shuttered into privacy quite some time before the game's launch. Thankfully, for its preservation, that YouTube user was able to secure it for anyone to watch it again.

Here it is - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_32k_5gWmc

Maybe there should be a video tutorial series centered on coding stage seguing in games in the fashion of Sonic 3, for those interested.

8

Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests

« Last post by JonLeung on September 06, 2025, 08:37:08 pm »

zagato blackfist saw a recent post on Bluesky where I mentioned the 17 ColecoVision games that I grew up with, and took it upon himself to map the ones that hadn't already been mapped!

These include four of them that I requested in this topic:
Frogger,
Lady Bug,
Smurf: Paint 'N Play Work Shop, and
Venture!

But of course I'm glad to see my entire pre-NES childhood mapped, so also a shout-out to zagato for the maps for
Buck Rogers: Planet Of Zoom,
Carnival,
MouseTrap,
Omega Race,
Q*bert,
Slither, and
Super-Action Baseball!

The other games I grew up, also mapped by zagato, back in 2021, are:
BurgerTime,
Donkey Kong,
Donkey Kong Jr,
FrontLine,
Jumpman Junior, and
Popeye!

Thanks again so much, zagato!  It means a lot to me that these games are mapped for this site!   

Keep up the awesome work!

9

Gaming / Which retro games do you find the hardest to map without using tools?

« Last post by sophia2005 on September 03, 2025, 04:04:42 am »

Hey everyone on VGMaps! I'm really curious about your experiences with creating maps for retro games, especially on systems like NES, SNES, or Sega Genesis. Which game do you think is the toughest to map out by hand without using tools like emulators or screenshots? Maybe it’s due to complex maze designs, continuous scrolling, or hidden elements that are hard to track down? Share your stories and how you tackled (or didn’t tackle) the challenge! I think this could spark some great discussions for those of us who love game mapping. 😄

10

VGMaps Social Board / Re: Sonic 3 Unlocked, Act Transitions, A Blog Series

« Last post by universalkelp on September 03, 2025, 12:40:43 am »

There may be a load of technical talk here, but I came across an interesting blog series about the depths of how Sonic the Hedgehog 3's coding works, its very interesting details about its coding operations, some oddities, and more of all, the knowledge of how Sonic 3's stage segue from one to another!

The series on that blog, Sonic 3 Unlocked, centers on how Sonic 3's acts instantly segue from Act 1 to Act 2 in a Zone, then to the next Zone via in-game scenes after the stage score tally finishes, the likes of which was from Sonic 1 did so at Scrap Brain Act 2's ending after finishing that act, where the game segues from the results to an in-game scene showing Dr. Robotnik sending Sonic to Act 3, but entirely expanded to encompass the WHOLE GAME, WITHOUT each Zone's Acts fading out and in from one to another.

It's all from the whole game, including its split halves.

For those that don't know what the word "Segue" means, and its applicable to video games, it means to make a transition directly from one section to another. Ergo, finish one level, instantly continue to another without fade-outs.

I was completely AMAZED about how that game managed to pull off such seguing within the Genesis' capabilities! Made me think at times, "Why can't other games like Sonic 3 do that kind of thing?". That kind of thing didn't happen for YEARS, until Freedom Planet later on, which its stage structure followed Sonic 3's act seguing formula, before it got slightly modified as it changed from a Sonic fangame to an indie game, and Sonic Mania would resume it suitably.

The coding was all done by Assembly, mind you. And, I'm kinda sure that kind of stage-to-stage segue coding was replicated into other programming languages, if I could only know how to adapt that kind of thing into said languages.

Well, Sonic 3 Complete's fixes did take care of very minor inconsistencies from music placement in select Acts & such, but still...

It's divided into eight posts, starting from August 28 2017, and ended on September 6 2017. They cover everything on how the Act transitions work, including how Icecap's maps instantly segue to the next before facing the miniboss, Big Icedus, there. I'm sure those who may be interested in seeing the inner workings of its coding.

Here they are, from Sonic 3 Unlocked's blog posts...

Act Transitions Part 1: The Beginning - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/08/act-transitions-part-1.html bloodmoney
Act Transitions Part 2: Angel Island Zone - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/08/act-transitions-part-2-angel-island-zone.html
Act Transitions Part 3: Icecap Zone - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/08/act-transitions-part-3-icecap-zone.html
Act Transitions Part 4: Whither Offset? - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/08/act-transitions-part-4-whither-offset.html
Act Transitions Part 5: Horizontal Underflow - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/09/act-transitions-part-5-horizontal.html
Act Transitions Part 6: Deferred Execution - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/09/act-transitions-part-6-deferred.html
Act Transitions Part 7: Putting it Together - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/09/act-transitions-part-7-putting-it.html
Act Transitions Part 8 (FINALE): Sandopolis Zone - https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/09/act-transitions-part-8-sandopolis-zone.html

That kind of coding knowledge can be useful when re-adapted to other languages for games that may need that kind of seamless seguing in stages, even their maps.

And it felt too good not to share this with the rest of the VGMaps community, even those that may be thinking of seamlessly making maps from one stage to another for their games... so, I needed to, and did.

Drop by sometime, and give it a good look! You may find this very amazing and interesting to know the process and how you could use that kind of knowledge for those into level designing and more.

Thanks for sharing, the Sonic 3 Unlocked series is a fascinating deep dive into how the game achieved seamless stage transitions on the Genesis, and it’s a great resource for anyone interested in game coding or level design.