SORR V5.3? Improvements/ Requests/ Bugs

First off...

Let me just start this thread by saying that I had no idea that a second version of SORR was being released. I remember that when V5 was released, SEGA wanted it removed and I think I remember reading that the Bombergames team had no intentions of doing any more work to the game. However, I'm happy to learn that this was not the case. V5.2 surprised me in every way. However, if I had known that improvements were in the works, I would have loved to have given some suggestions. So in the hopes of a V5.3 should the day ever come, I'd like to leave this an open topic to anyone that might have ideas. Here are some of mine.


SORR Improvements/ Requests

SOR1 punk slide - One of the first things I noticed playing through V5.2 was that the SOR1 Punks now slide like they did in the original. Not only is this impossible for someone to slide that far from a standing position and lack of momentum but, it just makes them far more frustrating to deal with. In the earlier version V5.1 their slide was far more realistic and allowed the player to time the slide, jump, and land on them at the right moment setting them up for a beatdown. This was far more enjoyable to me. I feel this was an unnecessary change as you already perfected this the first time.

Mr. X standing design - Whenever Mr. X is standing still, I can't help but notice that something is off. It's either that his head is too small for his body, he looks constipated or it's the fact that he has no neck. The Big Boss demands more respect!

Mr. X trap - During the last stage of the SOR1 Route, when Mr. X asks you to join him, saying yes with both players or on your own sends you through the floor back two stages. I always thought this was a missed opportunity to an alternative route rather than making you grind all the way back to him. It's a beginners trap I get it, I just wasn't expecting the Remake to repeat the same process. Maybe Mr. X wants to test your loyalty with a challenge or maybe the floor sends us to a stage we haven't seen before. It's an idea.

Dr. Zan - Apart from Axel being my favourite character I always had an appreciation for Dr. Zan, but in the Remake, apart from his front throw every move seems so weak. His Robot physique alone gives him that physical advantage. When those hydraulic arms slam an enemy to the floor, they're being slammed with force. The same logic should apply for his punches. I noticed that his downward punch (Hold Flurry) has been replaced with some awkward looking overhead slap. Again, this was not something that needed changed. His x2/ x3 Star Blitz confused me. What was wrong with his double and triple Elbow strike? I like that you tried something different, but I think the original moves still looks better. I also chose the option for the SOR3 voices. The problem with this is that in the original SOR3, Zan roars whenever he jumps/ throws/ specials/ blitz. I think it's the Japanese version where he makes those weird breath noises. However, we get a mixture of both with the remake regardless of whatever version we choose. Can this please be fixed? On that same subject, how about a list of options for each characters voice rather than being stuck with the one version for all?

SOR3 Axel's double knee attack (Hold flurry) - I know this one may seem petty, but even the smallest of details matter. During SOR3 Axel's double knee attack during the hold flurry, the wrong sound effect is used. Compare the remake double knee attack to the SOR3 version and you'll hear the sound difference I'm talking about. Also the double knee attack is a lot faster in SOR3 than the remake, but this may be due to the combo type I chose.

Colour Editor - By far the most frustrating feature for me. There's no option to copy/save a colour. Each block doesn't describe what I'm changing (Example. Head/Feet = Colour). Though the Colour Editor is still a great feature to have, I do feel like this was rushed and was left with a lot of room for improvement. My biggest frustration with this tool is not being able to colour each individual part of a character without changing the colour of another part. I can't have the US version of SOR3 Axel because changing the colour of his shirt also changes the colour of his shoes. The possibilities for different outfits would be endless if this problem can be fixed.

Police enemies - One of my biggest requests is for new enemies. Not just any kind of enemy, but police enemies. I've tried to apply this using the colour editor with certain enemies, but it just doesn't work... The original stories told of the police being corrupt which is what makes Axel and the gang stand up for the city because no one else including the police would, but never once do you actually fight a corrupt police officer or any kind of riot gear police, not that beating up police officials would have been a good message to send to kids back in the day lol. This is one of the only few things that SOR4 introduced that I appreciated.

Boss endings - Another big request. As thorough as the team was with giving an option to almost every preference from the original games, there's one option that was missed. Boss Endings. What I'm talking about here is that whenever you beat a boss in each of the original games, each game had a specific way of ending the stage. For example:

SOR1 - Once the final strike is delivered, the boss falls to the floor at regular speed like normal. The boss music would continue to play until the scene faded to black and the Stage Clear would appear with the Stage Clear music.
SOR2 - Similar to the remake. After the final strike is delivered, the boss falls to the floor as the game speed slows down. The scene would then be interrupted by the Stage Clear and the Stage Clear music.
SOR3 - The final strike to the boss would stop the music and the game speed would slow down dramatically until the boss slams to the floor. The Stage Clear would then appear on screen along with the Stage Clear music.

I always preferred the SOR3 Boss finish. Even if the final damage came from a throw or slam the game speed would slow down just before the boss hit the floor. The Remake doesn't do this. If each of these boss endings were an option to choose from, then for me personally this would enhance the gaming experience and add one more to the list of many preferences that are offered.

A defeated boss should stay on screen - This is something that SOR2 and I think SOR1 are guilty of. When the final strike is delivered to the boss, it's possible to send them off screen. This always annoyed me in SOR2, especially when fighting Mr. X, because 9 times out of 10, I'd most likely knock or throw him off screen when really I wanted to see the animation of him failing to get up. It amused me. This is something SOR3 removed. Personally I preferred it this way, but in the remake the boss still slips half off screen. Can this at least be among the list of options, if not fixed?


SOR Maker

Mr. X boss pose - The setting to have Mr. X enter the stage with his seated boss pose has one problem, the endless waves of galsias and donovans that come with the package. If I wanted galsias and donovans to invade my scene, I would add them into it. Can this please be tweaked?

Sound effect icon - The option to place a sound effect icon onto the map. The Ambient background noise is a great option, but it got me thinking... What if, I want a sound to play only once rather than be stuck on a loop? For example, I want to create the effect of a window breaking just as a broken window is revealed in the background of the scene. A small explosion and a window smash sound effect would be perfect to create this effect. There are many more examples I could make here, but my main point is that having this feature would help mods to be more creative with their scenes.

Running outro - So we have a running intro, but what we're missing here is a running outro. I have a scene where the stage has a timer set because a bomb is about to demolish the building. Watching the character(s) casually walk off the edge of the screen, when time is of the essence, doesn't help create the drama I was looking for. This would be a handy option to have to help keep the tension going for story purposes.

Wake up intro - A wake up intro. The character(s) getting up from the ground. For example, the character(s) waking up in a prison cell like in SOR4, or after a certain situation leaves the character(s) unconscious. Just a couple of examples there but this intro helps with setting up a number of scenes.

Earthquake option on/ off - I'm not a fan of this option, simply for the reason that the effect doesn't last. I barely notice the screen shake. However, if the screen were to shake until an 'off' icon was applied similar to the rain/snow/mist/wind effect, this would work better.

Chain explosion - Another great option available but it has one issue, it only works if the player(s) is moving towards the right. Can this be applied for both sides?

Heroes as Villains - By far my MAIN request! Heroes as enemies. Giving AI to the main characters and making them available for mods in the SOR Maker as enemies or bosses opens up an endless number of possibilities for stories for every mod out there. It can be done! I have faith in the team! Fighting Axel in SOR3... Heading up the glass elevator to find Max as an enemy boss in SOR4... Opening up a story after a Hero chooses to be the next Big Boss. A betrayal?! How about an army of Skates?! This could keep mods running for years to come! I think I speak for everyone here by saying that this is something that needs to be considered.


Bugs

Axel weapon dash bug - Using SOR1/ SOR2/ SOR3 Axel's dash attack with a blunt object (pipe/ plank/ bat) delivers zero damage to the weapon itself when using the SOR3 weapon type setting. I'm not sure if this was intentional seeing how all 3 versions of Axel has this issue. I only bring this up because it's went so long unnoticed.

CPU Team attack issue - Not exactly a bug but more of a pain in the ass. When selecting the CPU option for a co-op run, 9 times out of 10, the CPU will unintentionally hit me in mid air when I'm trying to use the team attack, which results in me kicking their ass for the inconvenience caused. Can't the CPU be programmed to stay dormant for at least one second after I vault over them, so that I can take advantage of the team attack in all it's glory? I am a peacock and you must let me fly!

Weapon cheat SOR3 bug - Selecting the 'Keep hold of weapons between stages' cheat actually clashes with the SOR3 weapon type setting. If you select both the cheat and SOR3 weapon type setting, the weapons become invincible and take no damage. This defeats the purpose of preferring the weapons to have damage meters.

Yamato breaks the collision map - I'm not sure how this glitch works exactly but all I know is that I have a scene in my mod where there are two pits on either side just outside of the screen, and there's two Yamato Ninja Bosses to fight. If either of the Yamato Ninja Bosses jumps, slashes or vanishes, he becomes immune to both pits, just walks right over them like Jesus or something. He even walks through the collision areas.


End...

Well that's all I can think of for now. I understand that even if you were to consider any of these suggestions that it would still be a lot of work, hours and a whole new version, so let me take the time right now to thank the team for the work you put into this remake. This is a franchise that I've been passionate about since I first picked up a controller. Thanks to you and everyone in the forums who supported the project, we've all been able to keep this franchise up and running even to this day. SOR4 may have came and went, I don't care what any of those reviews said but to me that sequel was cheaply made, uninspired and above all else, not in any way faithful to the original source material whatsoever. Most of the soundtrack was shitty. The new characters were dumb. The story was written by a ten year old. Mind control music?! The Y twins?! A castle?! a robotic spider throne?! I could go on... but forget my review. I'm here for the remake. At least this team cared. Thanks.

Look, no offense but if B (or whoever did v5.2) didn't contact or listened to us the veterans of the game/modders, don't think they'd listen a newcomer either. Some ideas are solid and could work, but considering that v5.2 was more like a whim rather than a community work (which what v5.1 was), things could have gone a lot better. v5.2 wasn't that well received overall.
For us modders was a slap in the face, especially for all the work we've done for the mods in v5.1. In fact, most of us (if not all of us) keep modding on v5.1.

BTW, there IS a thread I opened it for that purpose already, so I'm gonna lock this one and continue the discussion there.

https://sorr.forumotion.net/t970-sormaker-v5-3-wishlist-things-the-mod-developers-we-actually-need