And it's fucking depressing to me that when Forces recreated that exact curve, Sonic can't even get all the way through it without the aid of dozens of invisible speed boosters because the ability to create and maintain any kind of momentum is embarrasingly gimped if not outright non-functional. Tangent: we all know about this curve in Green Hill, right?Ī lot of people think of the loops first when someone mentions Green Hill, but it really can't be overstated how much more important these S curves were for the development of early Sonic's mechanics as a whole, because it's a perfectly succinct demonstration of everything the engine is touted for - you gain speed moving downhill, you gain that speed more efficiently when you roll to surrender some level of control to the game, and you can use the resulting speed buildup to do some fucking crazy stunts - whether for setpiecing, flair or actual speedrunning tactics - when the stars align and the level design allows for it. Shit, remember all that piss and vinegar about Sonic 4 deciding your speed should just suddenly stop existing the moment you let go of the control stick? Did they ever really fix that as of Forces? Regardless of which end of the spectrum you fall on, I feel it should be insane that Sonic often suffers arbitary speed drops for actions as simple as jumping.

But it still doesn't change in my mind just how embarrasingly bad Sonic has gotten at it, and it definitely has implications on how he handles moment to moment. Like yeah, I can see the idea that fans and fangamers overstate the importance of it - I definitely won't contest that.

Re: Azoo, I'd just like a system in which basic conservation of momentum, nevermind slope physics, played some actual part in the game.

Sonic utopia 2022