Rampage Edition maps are up!
GrantAviary (
unmarked) (
+hints)
Savanna (
unmarked) (
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Cargo Ship (
unmarked) (
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Hidden Ruins (
unmarked) (
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River Run (
unmarked) (
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Burning River (
unmarked)
RaptorAviary (
unmarked) (
+hints)
Savanna (
unmarked) (
+hints)
Hidden Ruins (
unmarked) (
+hints)
River Run (
unmarked) (
+hints)
Cargo Ship (
unmarked) (
+hints)
So as with the JP1 maps, the foregrounds are stitched screenshots/videos, and the item/enemy sprites are pasted in after playtesting to determine their position. Backgrounds are a bit simpler this time, mostly just bicubic enlargements.
What makes Rampage Edition trickier to map than JP1, other than its massively increased size, is the fact that the retail build doesn't have a noclip mode. Some of the beta versions do though, so my process has been to map out the foreground in the beta version, then play through the explorable areas in the retail version and replace any sections that don't match. The beta and retail layouts are
generally very similar, but you'll occasionally find a 32x32 pixel segment with different art, or a slightly different ledge length. It's possible that I may have missed some spots where there are differences between the versions, but I've been careful.
In terms of enemy positions... this too is trickier in Rampage Edition, because the enemies are far more dynamic. They begin moving around before they come on-screen, so it's impossible to determine their exact starting position without access to the source code (which I don't have). The pterosaurs are a particular headache, because they don't have starting locations so much as starting
zones: you can encounter them in radically different places depending on your angle of approach. In Grant's version of River Run, it's likely that I don't have an accurate count on the number of Pteranodon in that level.
Another River Run quirk is that there are areas which can't be explored, but probably contain enemies. Noclipping around the inaccessible areas in the beta showed quite a few. But I only used the retail version for item/enemy locations, so if I couldn't see it in the retail version, I didn't include it in the map.
Anyway - if you happen to spot a difference in graphics, or an item that I missed, please do let me know. It's unlikely, I've gone through these levels with a fine toothcomb... but I'm only human, and these maps are just made through playtesting rather than assembling from the source code, so it's possible I may have missed things. But I'd be surprised.
If anyone has any questions about either of these games, please feel free to ask. These are probably going to be the last maps I make, every other Megadrive game I have/had is already mapped. But it's been fun!
