[SpinDashMaster]

Got an idea? Post it here! This is a no-holds-barred squawk box for you to offer what you think would be an awesome Emerald Challenge.

Currently I am taking suggestions for a White ME and a Light Blue ME challenge, so I'll be paying special attention to suggestions that fit their themes.

Also make sure you keep checking this first post for things I'm looking for. :o

[DanielTheFalcon]

Do The Doomsday in 3:00.

[Groudon]

Under 2:00 sounds more challenging.

[DanielTheFalcon]

Yep, i think 2:00 is better.

[Spinballwizard]

We want a challenge, not something that's piss easy. Even 2:00 is doable by the average player. (Just check the chart -- the lowest yellow can achieve 2:00, which is below the median time.) It doesn't fit either theme, though.

I'll have to see if it's possible (I don't think it's possible in all areas), but maybe beat S3K as Knuckles using Sonic's routes whenever possible for light blue. Problem being I'm not sure if it's possible on all acts. On some it's piss easy, while on others you're forced into Knuckles' route. (I know Knux can get around it for MG2 and CN2, but I don't think he can do anything else.)

Maybe one for either challenge could to be beating some act or series of acts on S3K as Hyper Sonic without moving while touching the ground, maybe with a 1:00 transform time (though with the large rings it's less of an issue than in S2).

[yse]

On some it's piss easy, while on others you're forced into Knuckles' route. (I know Knux can get around it for MG2 and CN2, but I don't think he can do anything else.)

LB2. :D Also Sandopolis 2.

I can't think of a way to circumvent AI1, HC2, or LR2 though.

[Rane]

I also have one:

Finish Sandopolis 2 without switching on the light (maybe without taking damage?), would fit under some category like endurance or handicap :-)
Obviously, not a candidate for a master emerald, but maybe an easy super or a hard chaos one.

[hedgehogsamurai]

It's basically what a another member said for Sandoplis act 2

Finish the act without avoiding the ghost switch and not pull on the switch that makes em go away.

[Rane]

Yes, thats exactly what i meant.

I just tried it, took me several tries, but i can provide a .giz of it if desired (obviously only to SDM).
There are a few knacks to it, but once you find them out its not too hard.

Also, what about a challenge where you need to finish an act (or a zone?) without obtaining any rings.
In this challenge the choice of level would be free i guess. Probably too easy for a master emerald again.

[yse]

Also, what about a challenge where you need to finish an act (or a zone?) without obtaining any rings. In this challenge the choice of level would be free i guess. Probably too easy for a master emerald again.

Funny you should mention that.

MK and I have been working our asses off the past couple of days to try and complete a full game without collecting any rings. The Knuckles in Sonic 1 hack gives us the best chance - the only ten rings that appear unavoidable at this stage cover a switch in Labyrinth 2.

I made a GMV which currently completes GH EDIT: up to SY1 with no rings, but it'll be updated soon enough to include Marble and Spring Yard. (SY will be an exercise in frustration for me, but you guys are going to love it.)

Also RPG is a ho for editing my posts. I call power abuse. And no, I'm not being hypocritical in any way. >_>

Douglas: If I were to, hypothetically, actually submit this to TASvideos, which do you think is more impressive? "NO RINGS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME!!!" or "NO RINGS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME except ten I couldn't avoid"?

Hence I continue to work on a way to avoid the last ten.

[Rane]

An entire game, now that would sure be worthy of a master emerald :-)

Another idea would be to open all monitors in an entire game. The problem would be that it would be a pretty long run, since one would need to get to almost all secret areas.

[douglas]

If it's not possible to avoid rings, you could always make the specification something like "at most 20 rings in the whole game".

Also, a thought that I've been playing with: what do people think about a set of challenges for the Advance series (1/2/3/Rush/Battle)?

[Rane]

Yeah, just make an exception for the unavoidable rings.

Another suggestion:

Finish an entire act/zone with only x jumps (spindashes?), shield uses would of course count as additional jumps.
(Maybe the number of allowed jumps would have to be higher for S3&K, as the levels are much longer.)

Edit: I got yet another idea (Yeah, it just keeps coming to me ^^):
The challenge would be to rack up a certain amount of lives in a single act of choice, maybe 5 (or 4 if 5 is not possible, i don´t have all extra live monitors in my head)
The first 2 lives would obviously be 100 and 200 ring bonus lives, the other 3 would have to be found in monitors(or gained through points). Bonus stages would of course be forbidden.

[Bonzi77]

For LB Master...

Finish S3K Using nothing but your partner (Tails) to move, attack, ect. Unless this is impossible.
Then...never mind.

[douglas]

Also, what about a challenge where you need to finish an act (or a zone?) without obtaining any rings. In this challenge the choice of level would be free i guess. Probably too easy for a master emerald again.

Funny you should mention that.

MK and I have been working our asses off the past couple of days to try and complete a full game without collecting any rings. The Knuckles in Sonic 1 hack gives us the best chance - the only ten rings that appear unavoidable at this stage cover a switch in Labyrinth 2.

I made a GMV which currently completes GH EDIT: up to SY1 with no rings, but it'll be updated soon enough to include Marble and Spring Yard. (SY will be an exercise in frustration for me, but you guys are going to love it.)

Also RPG is a ho for editing my posts. I call power abuse. And no, I'm not being hypocritical in any way. >_>

Douglas: If I were to, hypothetically, actually submit this to TASvideos, which do you think is more impressive? "NO RINGS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME!!!" or "NO RINGS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME except ten I couldn't avoid"?

Hence I continue to work on a way to avoid the last ten.

I appreciate this; however you are pwn and the rest of us want to not have to dedicate the rest of our lives to completing one emerald challenge ;)

[SpinDashMaster]

For LB Master...

Finish S3K Using nothing but your partner (Tails) to move, attack, ect. Unless this is impossible.
Then...never mind.

Tails can't get enough velocity carrying Sonic to send him through a loop.

[Blitz]

maybe beat the game as fast as you can with debug mode(under some regulstion) just wondering, but its probably a dumb idea.
and SPW? i can't find an emu thats can record AND that works.

<RPG: Theres a 'Modify' button for a reason.>

[Crowbar]

For White, maybe get through Sonic 1 (or another game) without making any contact with enemies (except bosses).

Not sure it fits with the idea of "grace" presented by the Chaos and Super challenges though.

[Thorn]

Okay, the only kind of "theme" I see with the Light Blue challenges is that you're always handicapped in some way.  So for the Master Light Blue, what if you haven't TAed the levels before?  Grab a modded/hacked/whatever-you-wanna-call-it game and tell us to finish in X minutes.  Only thing I can picture not working is Tweaker's Sonic 1 mod, as he already has the upper hand there (and it isn't completely changed anyways).

Yeah, I know, morality of editing SEGA's material comes into question, and what not.  I'm on the fence myself.

[Crowbar]

The sight-reading aspect of it disappears as soon as you retry even once.

And stipulating that you can only try once ever would be ridiculous.

Also, while I'm not as familiar with these challenges as some, I get the impression that they're supposed to be strictly for existing, official games, not rom hacks.

[Crowbar]

Another idea for Master White: as Tails, get through S3&K without landing on the ground except for at the start of levels, bosses, and when it's necessary to go round a loop (you have to land on the slope of the loop and spindash from there).

This may be completely impossible, though, or might necessitate too many "exceptions to the rule" to be viable.

[Rane]

Hm... i guess that would be impossible because he gets tired after some seconds of flight and you need to land.
Maybe if walking would be forbidden, so that you can land and have to take off again to make progress.

[Crowbar]

I wasn't expecting you to stay airborne the whole level, silly! You'd just have to find things to land on that AREN'T the ground, like item monitors.

But then we'd get into debates about what constitues the ground. Is the top of a loop or a moving platform ground?

[Rane]

Ah, didn´t think about that, well, in that case it sounds kind of interesting (although it would look rather awkward, not graceful ^^).

I guess things you could land on would be all "objects", as you said, monitors, moving platforms, stuff like the rocks and switches in Sandopolis, spikes (rather unhealthy). Basically everything that is a sprite instead of the map itself

[nitsuja]

Here's an interesting idea, not sure what theme it would fit but it's more challenging than it sounds: Play through some number of levels in S3&K using Knuckles, anything goes except you are not allowed to press either left or right at any time. So far I've gotten through Angel Island 1 and 2 and Hydrocity 1 without pressing left or right, and Hydrocity 2 with only one exception (pressing left once on the first set of hover fans, couldn't find any way around that), and Marble Garden 1. I stopped when I got stuck somewhere in Marble Garden 2, but I was probably taking the wrong route. Also, I would say Super/Hyper Knuckles shouldn't be allowed, at least I didn't need to use them.

[Rane]

Now that sounds challenging!

I´d categorize it as light blue, because it´s a handicap.
Did you do those levels without even turning around?

[nitsuja]

Without using left or right to turn around, yes. But Knuckles can turn around in a few ways without pressing left or right, which I took advantage of when necessary.
- glide at a wall and jump from it
- stand just barely on the edge of a ledge or object
- hit a spring that faces the opposite direction

Bosses become extra-challenging when there are no walls or ledges to use to change direction, but they were all still possible so far.

EDIT: Confirmed that Carnival Night 1 and 2, Icecap 1 and 2, and Launch Base 1 and 2 can also be beaten this way, without exceptions. Marble Garden 2 I think needs an exception for the very end of it to be possible, unless there is some easy way for Knuckles to get into Sonic's route that I don't know about. Launch Base 2 had a nearly-impossible section by a switch that probably warrants an exception.

[Rane]

Wow, i never thought that would be possible, thats 99% of Sonic 3... now onwards to S&K?:-)

Other possible (far easier) challenges:
- Collect all rings in the glowing spheres bonus stage
- Collect a certain amount of items in glowing spheres, or the gumball machine stage
- Collect X rings in the slot machine stage
- Something with Sonic 1 and 2 special stages?

Just some brainstorming here :-)

[douglas]

How about get all the chaos emeralds in Sonic 2 by the end of Emerald Hill 2/S&K by Mushroom Hill 2?  Is something similar possible for Sonic 3, my memory of super ring locations is letting me down.

[nitsuja]

now onwards to S&K?:-)

Yep. All of the S&K levels went by without any major problems, to the ending. I'm attaching demos of a couple of the easiest Sonic 3 levels, if anyone wants an idea of what it looks like. EDIT: Huh, those movies make it look easier than it is... in most levels it's hard to figure out what to do and easy to screw up and die or get stuck. Just try beating Sandopolis or Flying Battery like that and you'll see what I mean...

How about get all the chaos emeralds in Sonic 2 by the end of Emerald Hill 2/S&K by Mushroom Hill 2?  Is something similar possible for Sonic 3, my memory of super ring locations is letting me down.

I think Sonic 3 would take until the first big ring in Hydrocity 2.