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Where do I begin, to tell the story of how great our love can be…?

My last update featured a sketch that I had done of a Sonic picture. Well, I have been busy creating more sketches, this time of Tails, Knuckles and Shadow. Admittedly, they are not perfect, nor original but as I haven’t practiced (and practice always makes perfect, right?) these are all images “sight-traced” from real image I had on-screen. Feel free to browse them and comment on them over on my DeviantArt profile.

Since the last update, I have left the Norwich City Concert Band (something that needs to be updated on the Music page), after several niggles with certain members of the band. Do I miss playing with them? I suppose in a sense I do, but as the band wasn’t progressing and not getting along with certain members, I thought it was best if I left them to it.

I’ve been on holiday!! Three times! I spent a week in Wales, touring many of the narrow-gauge railway attractions that Wales has to offer, along with meeting relatives that I’ve only ever spoken to on Facebook or over the phone. One thing I need to do to this site is find a way to add a gallery so that you can see all of my photos.

Immediately after returning from Wales, I was invited down south, to Kent, to visit Page, Chrissie and family. We spent the extended weekend (Saturday to Monday) gaming and creating Atari 2600 games. If it hadn’t been for Page, I probably wouldn’t have gone back to assembly language programming as this was one of the things I had learnt in school but haven’t needed to use, up until now!! A few weeks later, I was invited to stay with them for a week, rather than a weekend, and more gaming and programming occurred! Not only that, but the Friday of that week saw another first for RadioSEGA – should have been a first about 3 or so months previous but changes of situation meant that on that Friday, SEGA AGES was broadcast “on-the-road”, as in away from home. Not only that, but by sheer coincedence, the theme for the show was actually to play the music from SEGA’s driving games!

Finally, the latest update, following on from Atari programming is the switch to another platform beginning with A. At work, I’ve been looking into building Android apps. Taking one of our accredited standards, BS25999 – Business Continuity Management, I wrote an information style app that allows staff members to take the paper-based “Aide Memoire” with them in electronic form. The app has been marked for release but after testing it on a Samsung Galaxy S, there are a few enhancements that can be made.

And, that’s it! Hopefully, I’ll remember to keep you all up to date more often!

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No news is good news, right?

The idea of setting up this blog was so that I could keep you all informed with what was happening. Turns out that hasn’t been happening. Well, I have some news, coming soon…

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Retro Sonic Sight-Traced

I’m not really an artist, in fact, I feel that I cannot draw to save my life, but every now and again I give it a go, and sometimes I’m quite amazed by the results.

My art style is by sight-tracing. I put a picture up on my laptop screen, or I see an object in front of me and I do my best to “sight-trace”, as in copy what I’m seeing. unlike ordinary tracing, where you place a piece of paper over a picture and actually draw over the printed lines, I try to draw by sight.

The other evening, during @TheTallGuy91‘s twitcast stream, I decided to give drawing another go and ended up with this:

 

If you like it (or dislike it!!)’ feel free to leave a comment. I may try and digitally colour it at some point.

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Google+

I’m now on Google+, the new social network from Google.

I haven’t really had much of a play yet so I’m not sure what to make of it.

If you have Google+ and wish to add me to your “circles”, then you can find my profile at:

http://plus.ly/foreversonic

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Super Sonic in Emerald Hill Zone – Achieved

For years, I’ve been able to get 6 of the 7 chaos emeralds in Emerald Hill Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It has been annoying because there are 8 signposts between the first two Acts and yet I’ve had to wait until the second Zone, Chemical Plant Zone in order to become Super Sonic.

Until now…

Super Sonic in Emerald Hill Zone

Super Sonic in Emerald Hill Zone

We were discussing this very topic, along with getting past a certain point in Chemical Plant Zone on one of the recent episodes of SEGA AGES over at RadioSEGA.

Not only did I finally achieve this, but I also recorded it! The video is 37 minutes long so feel free to fast forward…

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My Musical Recordings

I’ve just had a quick look around the web and am very pleased to find that people are listening and scrobbling my musical recordings.

Now I’m not exactly the greatest performer in the world and am not in the least famous, but it puts a smile on my face to see that the music I record is not just for my pleasure.

For example, looking at the statistics on the Sonic Unplugged album page, this has had eight plays in the last month and over a hundred visitors in the last seven days via that website alone – not many, I know but better than none!

 

 

A number of people (via last.fm listener statistics), have Casino Night Zone as their “most listened to” track. Out of the three so far on the album, that is my favourite track.

I have another album in the works. It was hinted at by the latest video on my YouTube channel. This being SEGA on Recorder. The recorder gets little love due to it being the first thing that you make a noise with as a child. I will be returning to this childhood by playing some fairly well known and not so well known SEGA tunes on the recorder.

Risscave (Good Evening!) – Super Fantasy Zone

So, a big thank you to all who listen to and enjoy my music, and look out for more tracks in the future!

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NiGHTS Turns 15

NiGHTS 15th Anniversary

(picture stolen from NiGHTSIntoDreams.com - sorry)

Not long after Sonic Team’s spiky blue mascot celebrated his 20th anniversary, another of Sonic Team’s IPs celebrates an anniversary.

Fifteen years ago today (5th June), NiGHTS Into Dreams was released for the SEGA Saturn. Now, I haven’t played this game as much as I should have, but for anyone looking for retro gems, this is certainly one to pickup, along with a Christmas themed extra, Christmas NiGHTS.

NiGHTS eventually had a sequel, ten years later, NiGHTS Journey of Dreams, available for the Wii. If you have played any of the NiGHTS games and want to help voice your vote for a port of this fantastic game onto current generation consoles, head over to NiD15.com and click on the “FANS” button.

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Super Sonic in Emerald Hill Zone

For years I’ve been trying to become Super Sonic in Emerald Hill Zone.

For those that aren’t aware of what I’m talking about, SEGA released Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive back in 1992, and the first two levels (or acts, as they are better known) are called “Emerald Hill Zone”.

In order to become “Super Sonic”, you need to earn the seven chaos emeralds, and you do this by completing the Special Stages, unlocked by passing a checkpoint with seven rings in hand (Sonic and the Secret Rings joke there, apologies), fifty or more rings.

One of the Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Up to now, I’ve managed to get six of these chaos emeralds between the two acts. I’ve known where the seventh checkpoint is, but only now have I been able to reach it. This is due to a glitch (?) in the mechanics.

In Act 2, just before the Dr. Robotnik fight, there is a floating island which has the checkpoint in question on. The only way you can get to it is by using the red spring a long way back from it, just at the beginning of the corkscrew path. Only, if you hold right, as you would expect off the spring, you don’t fly as far as if you don’t press anything at all, and it’s by this not pressing right that gives you the distance to land on the loop-de-loop before it. Weird.

I’ll try and post a video collecting all seven chaos emeralds in the first zone soon…

 

For more information about Emerald Hill Zone, and/or Sonic 2, visit:

http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic2/emeraldhill/

 

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