[EngiNerd]

Is it just me, or are there some major differences between some of the Game Gear versions?  I have Mega Collection Plus (do I say that every topic?) and the Sonic 1 Game Gear that's on there doesn't match the maps on here, particularly with Bridge 2 and Jungle 2.  The difference is enough that, when I just now RAed Bridge 2, I only missed maybe 3 rings and came up 50 rings short of those in this competition.  How are the versions so different?  And, should we have different charts for each one?

[Groudon]

It's like SA(DX) and SA2(B) in terms of version differences.  Both versions of each game are tracked, as is for all games on TSC.

[EngiNerd]

Gotcha.  Hmm, maybe I should make maps for the version I have to post them here.  Add that to the "maps for 3D Blast" project that I've been considering but haven't started yet.

[Thorn]

^For the S3D maps, you could just get a picture of the Pause screen from the Saturn or PC games, draw the hidden rooms not tracked, and place dots down to mark badniks, Dimension Rings, Knuckles, and Tails. If I weren't so lazy I'd begin now... unfortunately, I am lazy.

Also the version differences you see for Game Gear games are due to the Master System versions having (usually advantageous) different layouts.

[EngiNerd]

^For the S3D maps, you could just get a picture of the Pause screen from the Saturn or PC games, draw the hidden rooms not tracked, and place dots down to mark badniks, Dimension Rings, Knuckles, and Tails. If I weren't so lazy I'd begin now... unfortunately, I am lazy.

That's what I was planning, but why bother place dots when the badniks and friends would show up on the screenies?  Heck, it would also show all rings and item boxes and still wouldn't be too large.

[Thorn]

^Because not only would a map of 500 screens take forever to piece together, it would also suffer due to obstructed views of areas behing tall structures. Plus, if you're gonna do it that way, I demand that you use the PC or Saturn version just for the aesthetics :P.

[P.P.A.]

Does the PC version have the fancy weather effects too? If yes, I might bother installing it after having it for like five years. >_>

[Thorn]

The PC has no weather, and dumbed-down Special Stages compared to the Saturn game, but the rest of the aesthetics and all of the music tracks are the same, putting it miles above the Genesis game.

^Also gay, another one-liner post from me... wait, this saved it!

[EngiNerd]

Heh, oops, I have the Mega Collection version, so it is identical to the Genesis version.  I don't know; I thought that the original would be less distracting anyways.  It's the same layout, right?

[Thorn]

^Yeah, but it lacks sexiness. We ALL like sexy.

[Marth]

The PC has no weather, and dumbed-down Special Stages compared to the Saturn game, but the rest of the aesthetics and all of the music tracks are the same, putting it miles above the Genesis game.

^Also gay, another one-liner post from me... wait, this saved it!

I remember that it does have a rain effect in Rusty Ruin, but there's no fog or whatever.
Doesn't the manual say that there's fog? *checks, but only because the cover happens to
be within arm's reach* Yep. "some parts of the Rusty Ruin Zone are drenched in fog and rain"

About the music, I think I might prefer the Genesis one overall. Not that the PC/Saturn one isn't good.

Now, getting to the part that's actually semi-important, if actual game graphics will be used
(which is great, if there's a way to rip backgrounds, which seems to be possible
(how were TSC's maps for side-scrolling games made?)), the PC/Saturn one would be better,
unless it looks cluttered and distracting. But then, maybe the lack of detail in the
Genesis version's untextured grid floors would look fine as part of a huge map.

[Thorn]

I just noticed a snag in both versions: you'd hav to erase Sonic out of every shot. The Genesis version will let you use an emulator and turn Sprites off, but that defeats the purpose of sprited maps. >_>

Also, since some people here are clueless as to version differences, I'll post a few screens. Credit to The GHZ for these, because atm I'm too lazy to make actual screenshots of my own. This will not be friendly to slow Internet connections, I warn you (but is anything anymore?).

[Shadow Jacky]

IMO, Richard Jaqcues did too good of a job for the music to the Saturn/PC versions.  I love it, but it seems to not fit with the style of the game.  Then again that may be just me being odd >_>

[EngiNerd]

Holy cow.  The level of detail change is staggering.  But, I can't afford the PC/Saturn version on my budget (which is currently zero).  Besides, I've already started mapping Green Grove Zone 1.  Boy, did this thread go off topic.

[Marth]

Whoa, what is that? I didn't know the Final Fight had a different background on Saturn!
The reason it's all Genesis-y on PC must be a transparency problem. Same with the fog effects
that, surprisingly, are in like half of the stages. (I remember reading that Sonic R also had
special transparency effects only on Saturn.) Also, I wasn't really expecting the Special Stage
to look like that, with the 3-D Sonic and that background.

I don't know what this has to do with Game Gear (oh, right, maps), but
how bad would erasing Sonic be? A little time-consuming, but bearable on Genesis,
since you'd just have to redraw the simple tiles where Sonic was erased.
But how were the other Genesis maps made? Weren't they directly ripped?

[EngiNerd]

I have no idea how the other maps were made.  I'm leaning closer to only putting the tiles and ground objects visible, so I can actually just grab a bunch of sprites for the tiled grounds and various objects and recraft it.  (the screenshot method was a little annoying, but I can still go with that if necessary).
And, just curious, does the Saturn still have the flaming flicky visual glitch?