"Sonic CD" is getting a fanmade homebrew port to the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive

DragonMals · Tuesday at 8:53 PM

Finally! Now I can enjoy a version of the original CD game without trying to find the game through other means. I still don't understand the definitive way to play it with mods like Sonic 1 Forever or Sonic 2 Absolute. I guess this would be a good novelty to add since it really is based on a prototype

Exnor · Tuesday at 9:01 PM

Did Sonic CD used any of the extra hardware of the Mega CD besides the CDRom ?

I was under the impression that all the game itself was/is computed by the Mega Drive itself.

ShadowOne333 · Tuesday at 9:08 PM

DragonMals said:
Finally! Now I can enjoy a version of the original CD game without trying to find the game through other means. I still don't understand the definitive way to play it with mods like Sonic 1 Forever or Sonic 2 Absolute. I guess this would be a good novelty to add since it really is based on a prototype

Sonic CD is getting a fan remastered version based on the 2011 release, similar to what was done with Forever and Absolute, I think it's called Sonic CD Restored or something like that. Here you go:
https://gamebanana.com/mods/50089

DragonMals · Tuesday at 9:11 PM

ShadowOne333 said:
Sonic CD is getting a fan remastered version based on the 2011 release, similar to what was done with Forever and Absolute, I think it's called Sonic CD Restored or something like that. Here you go:
https://gamebanana.com/mods/50089

Yeah I remember this one alongside the other one if you have Sonic Origins, but it's complicated to setup and everything, provided that you either must have the version that you've gotten from steam, or the one on mobile, but on mobile there are two versions of the game that exist.

Robert Newbie · Tuesday at 9:20 PM

This is really interesting. It's been a while since I've played through Sonic CD, but I think the soundtrack and Special Stages would be the biggest challenges for a conversion like this. Good luck to the team!

Cranesbill · Tuesday at 9:25 PM

This is the greatest day in existence

tech3475 · Tuesday at 9:31 PM

Exnor said:
Did Sonic CD used any of the extra hardware of the Mega CD besides the CDRom ?

I was under the impression that all the game itself was/is computed by the Mega Drive itself.

My guess is that Sonic CD is running on the S/MCD's slightly faster M68K CPU (12.5Mhz vs 7.67Mhz), but I know the special stages use the ASIC for it's 'Mode 7' effect, the 'Past' stages use the Richo PCM chip for BGM and of course the consoles SRAM for saves.

RAM is something I'm not sure about as well, because AFAIK you couldn't stream CDDA and data at the same time, so all assets had to be loaded into RAM and couldn't be streamed like they can from a cart. So I question whether good programming could offset any limitations. To be clear, the game does use the S/MCD's RAM, but I'm not sure if in practice it's as much of a hinderence for shifting to cartridge.

In theory with a modern day FPGA, you could create an 'enhancement chip' similar to the MSU-1/Super FX, which could allow for a 'superior' version of Sonic CD whilst retaining the original audio, FMVs, special stages, etc.

SilverRoy · Tuesday at 9:31 PM

Now that's cool!

Scriber · Tuesday at 9:53 PM

tech3475 said:
In theory with a modern day FPGA, you could create an 'enhancement chip' similar to the MSU-1/Super FX, which could allow for a 'superior' version of Sonic CD whilst retaining the original audio, FMVs, special stages, etc.

MD+ should cover most of that as it's a 1:1 equivalent of MSU1, although nobody has used the data streaming/FMV capabilities of it yet. Like MSU1 it's mostly used for CDDA type soundtrack replacements. Even so, this "demake" with MD+ functionality would work within the confines of the hack, with regard to using the CDDA audio from Sonic CD and the "restored" PCM audio that was used for the "past" sections.

Marc_LFD · Tuesday at 9:58 PM

Tried so many times to get into this game, but never really liked it. :/

The anime intro is pretty cool.

ShadowOne333 · Tuesday at 10:00 PM

Marc_LFD said:
Tried so many times to get into this game, but never really liked it. :/

The anime intro is pretty cool.

Same boat.
No matter what, I just couldn't get into CD at all, not even once.
I only finished it a handful of times, and I didn't have fun in a single one of those.
I only wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

Interestingly enough, I'm having the same experience with Sonic 2 now, I find it insane that some people put Sonic 2 over Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Robert Newbie · Tuesday at 10:12 PM

Marc_LFD said:
Tried so many times to get into this game, but never really liked it. :/

You know, some have stated that the stage design is the worst of the Genesis-era Sonic games. I truly don't know how to gauge it, since a central mechanic is knowing where the most straightforward paths are for time travel. This means less room for level-specific gimmicks that games like Sonic 3 are known for.

I guess I'm easier to please, but it also occurs to me that I haven't had the urge to replay Sonic CD in ages. To be honest, I still don't know how it all works. Do you go into the Past and Future to destroy one machine each? I remember there's the "dual-layered one with lasers" one and the "projection of Metal Sonic" one. I'd need an expert to fill me in.

Marc_LFD said:
The anime intro is pretty cool.

I haven't watched much anime in my time, but when I picture 90's anime, I think of stuff like this. The animators did an excellent job.

Coolsonickirby · Tuesday at 10:12 PM

ShadowOne333 said:
MDTravis (me) - Main programmer and custom artist

Minor mistake here.

This is insane though! Looking forward to the first release.

ShadowOne333 · Tuesday at 10:17 PM

Coolsonickirby said:
Minor mistake here.

This is insane though! Looking forward to the first release.

That's what happens when I try to maintain the credits as-is

raxadian · Tuesday at 11:23 PM

Exnor said:
Did Sonic CD used any of the extra hardware of the Mega CD besides the CDRom ?

Well, it mostly needed the Sega CD for the music and videos, besides that it could have been a Sega Genesis game only worse and it wouldn't have got the ability to save.

BlusterBong · Wednesday at 12:17 AM

Kinda defeats the reason why SEGA (And especially the half of Sonic Team that made the game since the other half that was Sega Technical Institute made Sonic 2) made Sonic CD on the SEGA CD, doesn't it?

impeeza · Wednesday at 12:21 AM

ShadowOne333 said:
The homebrew community is no stranger to amazing achievements, be it hacks of already existing games with entirely new characters, stories and levels, to even outstanding and technically impressive ports of certain titles to other consoles or systems, and this time it's Sonic's time to shine when it comes to fan made ports.

Developer MDTravis has recently unveiled a new trailer for his latest project, this time being a port (or rather a "demake) of Sonic CD into the original Sega Genesis or Mega Drive. This specific port is based on the original v0.02 prototype of Sonic CD, and it not based on the full game. This port is scheduled to released on September 28th, 2024, to align with the start of the Sonic Hacking Contest 2024, which has been an annual contests for fans worldwide to showcase their romhacking or homebrew projects related to everything Sonic.

(R11A meaning Palmtree Panic/Salad Plain (R1) Act 1 (1) Present (A) )
The port is currently being helmed by MDTravis, but a whole lot of other developers and artists are also involved:

MDTravis - Main programmer and custom artist‪

KatKuriN‬ - Original disassembly + support

Devon - Initial MD port code reference + Un-hardcoded chunks guide + General support

vladikcomper‬ - DAC driver (MegaPCM v2.0) + MegaPCM2 debugging

sleekflash16‬ - MD arrangements of the CD-SONIC music

CollisionChaos‬ - Music research assistanceFilter - Z80 help

radiantnexus‬ - General support

The Sonic Hacking Contest 2024 will begin on September 28th and will run until October 6th, which all the entries in the contest being available for users to play. Also, there's also the Expo, which is just a place for developers to showcase their projects while not directly participating in the contest itself. Those interested can also check out The Vault, which servers as an archive of all the previous SHC going all the way back to 2012.
Sonic Hacking Contest Website
MDTravis Discord Server

DMCA in 3, 2, ...

Robert Newbie · Wednesday at 12:31 AM

BlusterBong said:
Kinda defeats the reason why SEGA (And especially the half of Sonic Team that made the game since the other half that was Sega Technical Institute made Sonic 2) made Sonic CD on the SEGA CD, doesn't it?

It's like adding the PS1 animated scenes to the SNES version of Chrono Trigger via MSU-1. We didn't need to do it, but it's incredibly impressive that we can.

ShadowOne333 · Wednesday at 12:45 AM

impeeza said:
DMCA in 3, 2, ...

Thankfully this isn't Shitendo

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