State of the Mix Address

Introduction

Well, it’s that time, I guess. I’ve got some news to share, and it seems most appropriate to do it now. Sort of a good news/bad news thing, so, I’m going to do the bad news first

Hang in with me until the end; it’s not all disappointing

Semper Expunctus

Putting aside my non-fluency in Latin (and Google Translate’s singular inappropriate English translation of the phrase), if you’re interested in Sonic Megamix, then you probably know about one of the most-”recent” videos I posted about it, which was titled “Never Cancelled”. I chose that name due to my frustration with repeated false assumptions that led to actions by members of the public that caused problems for myself, the team, and the project itself, but in the end, it seems to have implied a promise that couldn’t be delivered on. Contrary to popular belief and long stretches of no public updates, and disregarding one extremely-short-lived mishap, the project never was cancelled, until now. There is no “I knew this was going to happen”/”I saw this coming”/etc; there was no possible way for the public to actually know what the project’s fate would be because there was no truly solid information to indicate one thing or the other. We intended to see it through, we tried, and, incidentally, it eventually became unworkable

Over time, the whole team seemed to just move apart. Lots of stuff has been happening in the lives of each individual member, and the game project Sonic Megamix as it came to be envisioned just sort of crumbled under its own weight. To make the point directly, the team no longer has active graphic artists, level designers, additional programmers, nothing; there’s just me. The unfortunate truth is that there is no longer a “Team Megamix”

I won’t be looking for any other “members”. The essence of what would have been “Sonic Megamix” can’t be completely replaced, so to be perfectly honest, I just can’t justify holding on to it any longer. That’s why the “new game” will never be finished. As much as I would have wanted for it to be, completion of the project was never under my personal control, and it was never a promise that I could keep by myself

From the Ashes

It’s not all going to waste. I do, in fact, have plans of my own for what’s already been done, provided I have the time to devote to it

First of all, I plan to stick with the cleanup of the original “Sonic 1 Megamix” for a final and not-so-sloppy release. It’s not a light task, but it does seem like something I can do by myself

Second, I plan to attempt to make existing new content “presentable” in any way that I can. Some sprites will most likely still be missing, for one, but you should end up with a little something to play with. I don’t know in what form this will come, whether some/all of it will be used to augment “Sonic 1 Megamix”, presented as bonus content, or released separately altogether

Third, and biggest of all, I plan to continue the engine modification that I described a while back, which restructures the code to run primarily from the SegaCD/MegaCD’s SUB-CPU to take better advantage of the platform by using it to improve primary gameplay performance. I will freely release the source code for this engine to the public. This includes some enhanced Megamix core engine code, all Megamix-specific character abilities, and all related debugging and hardware transfer utilities. Anyone who wants to create a game functionally-similar to Megamix will be able to use this to do it. This, however, will not happen until I am prepared to present the engine and its code to the public in its then-current state. It’s a project that I have chosen for myself and that I intend to attempt alone until I’m satisfied with what I’ve done; everyone will have the opportunity to “continue”/expand/modify/use/research it after that point

When is that?

Unfortunately, it’s going to be a while. As I’ve said several times previously, I’m currently occupied with a contract project that’s still going to take a good bit of time to complete. None of my personal projects are currently moving ahead, and even if there were still a “Team Megamix”, I wouldn’t be able to contribute to the project for now anyway

What about Patreon?

As far as my Patreon goes, I need to reiterate that I’ve clearly stated that I couldn’t make any specific guarantees regarding any particular project listed on the campaign page. I hope that no-one was confused about that because, having provided the warning, I can’t hold myself responsible for any specific reason that anyone chooses to become a patron. I am sorry that “Sonic Megamix” couldn’t be completed as it was envisioned, but I will continue on with my new plans for its material, and I’m still developing HCGE, the project for which the campaign was primarily launched (Sonic Megamix having been noted only as one of a couple of side-projects)

While I’m not actually able to work on any of those projects at the moment, I want to thank those who are still currently contributing to the campaign. Your continued support helps provide me with stability for future progress with my personal projects and creating/acquiring other potential opportunities

Closing

Again, I felt it appropriate to share this information now rather than later, but it’s still going to be a while before any of what I have planned surfaces. For now, I’ll still be hard at work on the contract project. It’s looking like I’ll actually be able to reveal (not release) it in the near future, and I feel like many people will be pretty pleased with it if all goes well. Naturally, I’m biased, but I hope you’ll agree that it’s time well-spent :P