Super Sonic Knockout: It's time for Beta 3.3!

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

CLICK FOR THE OFFICIAL SUPER SONIC KNOCKOUT WEBPAGE

FULL GAME FEATURES:
> 27 fighters, with their own skills and fighting styles.
> New moves for fighters, and better use of the old ones too.
> Over 30 stages, with varying sizes, gimmicks, and hazards.
> Solid frame rates on older computers.
> The story will be continuous, but will take place after SONIC the hedgehog.
> Easy customizable controls that don't hinder your butt-kicking progress.
> Two-on-Two tag team matches.
> Buy unlocked stuff at the Future City store! What do you think is inside?
> 3 slot save feature
> Over 100 unlockables

I'm almost annoyed with myself for not registering and making a project here sooner XD

Super Sonic Knockout (SSK) is a fan project being lead by me and is one of the fangames being produced by SCDTi (Project Headway being the lead project...). SSK is a free-roaming fighting game, so it is usually thought of something on the lines of Super Smash Bros. The game is a sequal to my previously completed project "Sonic Knockout" and SSK so far has already gone major leaps ahead of the prequel. This is one of the new big names in fangaming, a fact that I'm very proud of

Reviews and all constructive critism is all welcome and will be addressed.

[Sir Euan]

It looks pretty cool, and I don't wanna be cheeky but I've never heard of it, where is it a big name?

It does look pretty cool though, the only thing that seems odd is that your 2 player screens seem to be split vertically, this seems odd for a game where most of your movement is horizontal.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

It's a big name down at the Sonic Cage Dome, plus Slingerland said himself this is one of the better titles for SAGE so I must be getting somewhere XD.
There wouldn't be that many people who would know too much about it if they never go to SCD, which is understandable.

I came here to get some more critique, since SSMB don't talk much at all in there their fan creation forum.

Anyway, progress on the game and several other bits for SAGE are well on their way. I registered for SAGE last night.

[nazo1994]

I saw this fangame game.It's cool.

10/10 for a demo.

[Spike]

I've played this game before. It's pretty cool. The enemy AI amazes me every time.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

Just wait till you see the AI in Demo 3... jeez. I reprogrammed the AI from scratch recently it is relentless... so now I actually need to make it worse and add difficulty levels.

[Amesuki]

One of the few titles Im looking forward too. I hope this game goes well. Looking forward to playing it,

-Amesuki

[Klonk Pulse]

The Messages is leaving very fast! In particular Hints. I cant read so fast!

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

That issue will be resolved. Hints will display twice as long and the cutscene scripts can now be forwarded by pressing any key except Enter (which skips the cutscene.)

Progress is being made, but more so on character art at the moment.

[TRD]

I finally got a chance to play this, and I have to say, I'm very impressed.

The Enemy A.I. is well done, shows that it's not the usual path movement that I usually see in Sonic Fighting games. The graphics are hawt as well.

Looking forward to seeing this game being completed.

[Serephim]

Doubt im making sage but this can be a nice challenge for my Fighter.

Nice to see someone else doing a fighting game by the way.

[KoE]

Very impressive!
My only problem not really with the game, but when i press escape the window does not close.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

I did that to avoid accidental game exits, but the issue has already been taken care of. You will have to press F4 to exit Fullscreen mode then click the Close button, or you have to select "quit" in the game's main menu.

Anyway, things are going a little slower than usual. An unexpected injury and other things have put SSK back a couple of days. Nothing to worry about though.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

I'm still working on the game by the way. It's just that my holiday had delayed production by 8 days. I'm going to be finishing up the main menu stuff soon, plus (with the exclusion of chaos attacks) I've completed some more characters.

There were a couple of new things on the new website that opened during SAGE... Mainly a couple more screenshots, a new video, more character art and profiles too... however another demo is a long time coming because I want it to surpass Demo 2 in as many areas as I can.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

AND THE NEW IMPROVED SSK WEBSITE

These past few weeks have been very hard on me. I've hardly spoke to anyone about SSK lately, and this is why. Suddenly and without warning I want to blast the latest playable demo of Super Sonic Knockout in your faces.
It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. Here is what to expect from this demo:

• 8 fully playable characters, including 3 new additions
• 6 fully playable arenas, re-introducing the new version of Route-99
• The first 3 levels of Sonic's story, complete with a modified (shorter) script, a modified level 2, and more!
• Last-day addition - Replay Mode! Play Sonic's first 3 levels with harder difficulty and varied missions
• The Save System and Emblem Gallery
• The completed Chaos attack and Boost system
• 13 Item Boxes

The list can go on. But you can read the instruction manual that comes with the game to get all the new features. On the NEW IMPROVED website, you can find screenshots, movies, older demos, and all sorts. The image at the top will take you to the downloads page, and you should read what I have to say before downloading the beta.

Oh, and my actual site The ShadowBlaze Portal has also been given another rebirth, and some interesting additions actually worth checking out...

So... surprise XD.

[Power Hedgehog]

When I loaded the game, I got this error message:

ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object PersistantControl:

Error defining an external function.

[dark team]

Extract the archive to a folder then it will work.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

No it won't... I need to re-upload the zip because it's missing 2 important files. Sorry. (This always happens whenever I release something... ALWAYS!)

EDIT: The zip file is fixed. Follow the same links to get it.

[Spike]

I died in the second level and got this error:

ERROR in
action number 1
of Begin Step Event
for object parent_player1:

Error in code at line 6:
near = camera.near

at position 16: Unknown variable near

So I couldn't get any farther than that. I only have a few complaints.

1. Why are the keys backwards? I see no reason to use WASD unless you are going to need the mouse for something. Why not use the arrow keys and ASD or something?

2. It is as hard as hell to even get a hit to land. For one, Sonic's spin attack spins all the way around, but it only hits exactly a few pixels in front of him, like the other attacks. I always get beat up just because the attacks have to hit dead on perfect. No other fighting game I have ever seen was this picky.

3. The character art is really wonky. All of the characters are insanely tall and stretched, even the Sonic Riders models weren't this off.

Other than these three things, this is easily one of the best Sonic fangames ever made. The presentation is amazing, it's almost as if I were playing a real Sonic game. I love the little things, such as the hint bubbles and how you brought back Gemeral (I guess Sega just forgot about him?). I'm definately going to watch this from now on. Rep up.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

Thanks for that Spike. I would have thought as much that a glitch would come up in that stage. I've never lost that stage so I really should have tested that XD.

The reason the keys are 'backwards' is because of the player 2 controls taking up the arrow keys. It's been REALLY hard to find a default control scheme that works and NO-ONE has suggested of anything better! If you could help me with that, than it would be really appreciated.

Sorry about the hitting collision being picky at times, The collision masks might need to be revised later. That and I forgot to set the character mask back to normal after doing some testing weeks back.

The character art looks that stretched? Oh well, I really don't want to remake all that artwork again, so I'll just take that advice for the remaining artworks I've got to do XD.

I'm glad you like the whole presentation, it's been alot of work worthwhile.

[Spike]

Well, if you need the arrow keys to be free then I guess that is the only way to go. I guess it doesn't matter since you can change the controls (which is another thing I love about this game).

[AeroGP]

Besides the A.I complaints I had the last time I tested this for you (just back them into a wall, Spike - they'll never recover), there are a couple of other things I'd like to point out about the new additions:

Spoiler:

show spoiler

Twinkle Snow looks pretty cool, but the level kept giving me errors whenever it tried to spawn the item boxes.
<3 E-123 Omega. The spritework is incredibly accurate, making it feel like an actual character from Sonic Battle. It's just as awesome as your spritework of Gemerl, and I applaud you.

Keep up the good work, buddy! =D

[Huepow00]

ERROR in
action number 1
of Key Press Event for <Down> Key
for object objMainMenuNew:

Sound does not exist.

Occurred after LOADING a Saved Game

EDIT :

For those unable to download the game - Here is an Alternative Link on my 4 Shared Account.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

All glitches reported (as well as a 3 others XD) have been fixed. Please continue to bug-report so a more decent bug-fix release can be done in a week or so.

[Spike]

How do you unlock Omega and Twinkle Snow?

[Huepow00]

It tells you in the EMBLEM menu...

A specific number of Single and Multiplayer matches must be won...or fought...

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

Well that was the case... If I didn't leave some variables the way they were supposed to be...

To unlock Omega in Beta 3.2 you must finish 1 2-player vs match. It doesn't matter if there isn't someone else to fight with XD. To unlock Twinkle Snow you must have 15 of the 18 emblems. However seeing that the item spawning thing is glitchy it might not be the best idea and you might want to wait for the bug-fix release.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

I have been working on this still, just in case you were wondering XD.
I have a nice list of bug fixes I have done for Beta 3.3 and I would like to share them. Quite a few of them were found by myself XD:

> The saving/loading system now functions correctly because sound is handled differently
> Knuckles P2 no longer creates an error when hit by Omega's UP+2 attack
> All COM controlled characters are now affected by Omega's UP+2 attack
> Omega COM attacking errors have been fixed
> Attacks are now stopped if the player goes through a dash ring
> You will now be told if you aquire the 'Beaten: Sonic Story' emblem
> You now must win 3 single-player matches to unlock Rouge
> You now must win 3 multiplayer matches to unlock Omega
> Attack masks are now larger, so you don't have to be really close to attack someone
> Itemboxes now appear correctly in Twinkle Snow arena
> Itemboxes no longer spawn in Extra Missions
> Dying in a set battle on Sonic Stage 2 will not cause an error
> you won't hear landing sounds at the start of Stage 2
> Bullets being fired from Egg Pawns now do damage
> Error no longer occurs on Sonic Extra Stage 3 if you don't beat Knuckles and Tails together.
> A text error in the Game Stats menu has been fixed
> Performing a successful Chaos attack on Sonic Extra Stage 3 will now work perfectly
> Glitch where strong winds can affect characters throughout the game is fixed
> Tails' Arena now spawns items at the correct speed
> Graphic glitch in Replay mode when changing stories has been fixed


There are some major bugs that are fixed, others not so important, and others found today O_o. I really should have held beta 3.2 back if I knew how glitch-worthy it was.
This list doesn't include other changes I've made to the game. You'll have to wait for the full list to come with the game.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

This was supposed to be released a week ago. But I made a date and actually stuck to it. I've gone through everything I possibly could up to this point and I've tested the download links, the zip content and the game one last time to insure that this bug-fix beta is truely the one you've all been waiting for.

The bug-fix and changes list has almost doubled since I bug-fix list I posted not too long ago. If you want to see them then you only need to look in the manual.

On another note. If you have any questions regarding the game's mechanics, story, development and content... I am now willing to answer more questions on those matters because I want to be more open to you all. Ask nicely and I might be inclined to give out more secret information regarding the game ;D.

[Khorney]

huzzah! D/Ling now

EDIT: 1 bug so far, i got shot by the first eggpawn on the bottom of the 2nd stage, and this error message popped up:

(i meant to get the whole screen, but it turns out alt-prntscn only does that box - my bad)

i pressed ignore and carried on playing, went back to the pawn that caused the error and got a CTD

[Felik]

Played your demo. Thanks for fixing sale/load bug, it was very annoying.
About demo: VERY wellmade, I didn't find any bugs at all (errors doesn't count). AI is rather smart but sometimes it is acting stupid. Your game (demo) is the best fanmade sonic fighting (besides amy one girl army) I ever played.

P.S. And Omega's air attack is too cheap. I can easily defeat anyone with it. Please balance it.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

@Khorney
There's always one XD. Projectiles have been doing me up lately and I'm not sure why. All the other projectiles seem to work though, so meh. At least it wasn't a fatal error. Everyone at the SSMB seems to have caught onto this aswell. So I'll attempt fixing it up when I can.

@Felik the velik
AI is hard, but I'm always willing to improve. As long as it acts smart most of the time, then it's passable I suppose. And I suppose Omega could do with balancing, being the strongest character in the beta. I'll get onto it.

EDIT: And thankyou for the compliment. I've played One Girl Army and that was really good. I'm glad you enjoy SSK.

[Felik]

Why don't you try to make some rpg/quest elements during "adventure" fields (when you defeat eggpawns) for example potions, usable items, searching for keys or key items, inventory, artifacts etc?

About omega: the cheapest thing is that he can use his air attack multiple times while in midair. Maybe you should allow him to use it only once while he is in the air until he lands and jumps again?

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

I noticed that I never set up a limit for Omega's air attack. But I've now changed that. In the next build you'll only be able to do twice per jump.

Also, I will expand on the platform styled levels. Sonic stage 2 is pretty much finished, but the 4 main characters have like 3 platform stages each. I'll be more creative in the future. In future platforming levels, I intend to have players pick up items like keys, turn things on etc. Health up itemboxes will also become available, as will checkpoints.

In Demo 3, Sonic's Stage 5 will also be a platforming stage.

[Asuma]

On Route 99, I got a DKO. I was Amy and I had like one hit left after I KO'ed Sonic. Then a car hit me an and the game didn't go to the next screen.

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

Crap. I forgot about DKO situations entirely. I'll need to fix that and there are some ways around it. I'll probably just disable hazard damage once the match is over and that shouldn't take long to sort out. The reason it wouldn't continue is because someone must start a winning pose to proceed... oh well, avoid DKOs in the future XD.

[Icecreamkid]

Wow this game is that great. I played the first one and that one was good but this one tops it all. Great job man! I definatly can't wait for the final version. This is a game that I would keep on my hard drive along Neo Sonic Godspeed and some others. 10/10!

[sayi50]

I love this game (demo at least) but I want to make a suggestion.
I see that you have platforming levels and fighting levels and that makes me wonder:

Can you make race levels too like in Sonic Rivals?
Anyway this is a good game already so you don't have to implement it

And there is something that bothers me
Why do I have to do a Heavy Combo for CHAOS meter charge???
For example we could press Attack1 + Attack 2 to get into a CHAOS meter charging stance (I'm thinking about the healing sprites of Sonic Battle)

Keep up the good work

[Pro ShadowBlaze]

Racing levels have been a consideration. But I wouldn't delve on it too much because the game is primarily a fighter. I could be possible to have races, but none have been planned story or otherwise.

Now about charging chaos... that is impossible. Chaos cannot be gained like in Sonic Battle, it has to be gained through stylish play. Successfully landing a heavy combo is one such thing because they are usually slower combos to do and as a result should be given a small reward.
Other things that boost up chaos are getting itemboxes, performing a well-timed guard, recovering from being knocked-back, and (mostly) doing combos. I actually have no intention for a healing mechanic. as the game would get too easy with it.


On another note I'm just gonna say progress is slowing, mainly due to college. I've also been working on the story of the game... it is coming along very well and it's actually making sense and is, of course, without plotholes as it stands.

[Khorney]

im still yet to figure out how to activate chaos attacks. have you put in the DBZ QTE ones in yet?