Rubberduckycooly, the person behind the many classic Sonic game decompilations, has released their latest project. After successfully decompiling Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD's mobile ports, they've completed reverse engineering Sonic Mania, in addition to having released a modding API for the game to go alongside it. This project works with all versions of Sonic Mania, including the original release, the 1.03 update, and the Plus update. In order to run the decompiler, you'll need a legit copy of the game, available across Windows, Switch, PS4, and XB1. According to the developer, this will be their final decompilation work, Sonic-related or otherwise, capping off their hard work on the Retro Engine series of Sonic titles.

Source

 

[RupeeClock]

sonic fanbase has been killing it recently
can we get an advance decomp next? i hate that gba screen crunch

I feel you on that. Decompiling the Advance trilogy and modding it to expand the screen space from that tiny 240x160 would be amazing.
That mod would be non-trivial though, you have to change a lot of the game logic so that things don't break when actors move on or off screen, or that scenes designed for a fixed screen width or height don't act strangely.
I was always hopeful that SEGA/DIMPS might do something like an Advance trilogy release for DS or 3DS, but it never came to pass.

 

[Bladexdsl]

sonic fanbase has been killing it recently

that's because sega actually like their fans and who don't have to live in fear of being DMCA'd like someone else we know

 

[Wavy]

that's because sega actually like their fans and who don't have to live in fear of being DMCA'd like someone else we know

...even though Nintendo hasn't struck down any decomp projects ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[CeeDee]

...even though Nintendo hasn't struck down any decomp projects ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think they have a case against the actual code or whatever, given it's basically a recreation and not their original code. This is why most decompilation projects don't include game assets, ie. graphics and sound.
They did try and take down some stuff related to the Mario 64 decomp a couple years back, but it seems like it was likely videos and pre-compiled versions.

Sonic having a ton of fan projects just because "Nintendo DMCAs things" is a shit excuse though. Sonic has fan projects because it's Sonic. This kind of thing is just what Sonic fans do.

Really, all it takes is: just don't brag about your Nintendo fan project before releasing it! Once it's actually out, a DMCA won't stop people from spreading it, so it literally doesn't matter if Nintendo takes it down!

 

[Wavy]

I don't think they have a case against the actual code or whatever, given it's basically a recreation and not their original code. This is why most decompilation projects don't include game assets, ie. graphics and sound.
They did try and take down some stuff related to the Mario 64 decomp a couple years back, but it seems like it was likely videos and pre-compiled versions.

Ye, that's my point. I was referring to Nintendo not taking down the decomp projects themselves, not anything that comes from it.

 

[Metoroid0]

one thing is for old games being decompiled, but this game is still selling on current consoles, i think the one who gets hurt the most is the dev sadly.

Sure, they are being hurt...right....

 

[Lostbhoy]

Bit of irony in all of this... Wasn't Christian Whitehead just a fan game modder/creator who got hired by Sega to make this?

Ok technically writing your own engine and decompiling aren't the same but can't help feel a circles been completed here!

 

[ChiefReginod]

Bit of irony in all of this... Wasn't Christian Whitehead just a fan game modder/creator who got hired by Sega to make this?

Ok technically writing your own engine and decompiling aren't the same but can't help feel a circles been completed here!

I'm guessing there are already mods for Sonic Mania, too. It's got to be pretty surreal for the guy. Really cool, though.

 

[satoshi213]

good game

 

[KeeperCP1]

How are we supposed to put the DLC in the decompilation?
Not asking for links to illegal warez, sorry.

 

[RupeeClock]

How are we supposed to put the DLC in the decompilation?
Not asking for links to illegal warez, sorry.

The DLC is baked into the game itself, and uses a flag to determine whether or not you have and should be able to access the DLC content.
The DLC and its access key/flag isn't in the assets RSDK file.

The only way to access the DLC is to build the decompilation from source yourself, and even then there's arguably no legal way to access the DLC as there's no way to prove you have legal access to it based on local user files.

Incidentally, a small amount of the DLC content is accessible without the DLC, this is even true on console versions.
Via the Level Select cheat code (or the in-game devmenu), you can access the 7 Encore Special Stages, and the Pinball mini-game. The Encore stages and two extra playable characters remain inaccessible.

 

[KeeperCP1]

Well i'm looking for playing as mighty and ray

 

[Smoker1]

Save Game I found works. Search for " Sonic Mania Plus Game Save ", then should be the first Link (Banana)

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Okay, so to get the dlc to work, i need to install stuff on my pc to... what it's called? Compile the thing to make the dlc work? I wonder how many people know how to do this. Maybe a video tutorial can help the inept users, since it has to be this way.

 

[Smoker1]

Okay, so to get the dlc to work, i need to install stuff on my pc to... what it's called? Compile the thing to make the dlc work? I wonder how many people know how to do this. Maybe a video tutorial can help the inept users, since it has to be this way.

Purchase the PC Version (Steam), get the Data File needed, then find the VPK that has the DLC Enabled, and you are Set

 

[KeeperCP1]

I have the dlc-enabled version on android now, but the game is unplayable because the touch controls mod disables itself like other mods, unlike the no-dlc version in which the touch controls work. (Albeit invisible)

 

[HollowSuperHylianHedgehog]

It would be nice to have a Linux port of Sonic Mania so we can play it on Retropie. That way we'll have all the classic sonic games from Sonic The Hedgehog all the way to Sonic Mania on the retro gaming console through Raspberry Pi.

 

[KeeperCP1]

It would be nice to have a Linux port of Sonic Mania so we can play it on Retropie. That way we'll have all the classic sonic games from Sonic The Hedgehog all the way to Sonic Mania on the retro gaming console through Raspberry Pi.

It is available in github, however you need to find a data rsdk somewhere else.

 

[Hopalongtom]

Is there a step by step instruction for compiling this? I can't make heads nor tails of how its all split up and the seperate split readme's not making any sense to me or telling me where to put anything.

I have Mania on the Epic games store, and I'd be running it on my Steam deck, which would be an arch linux compile.

On my attempts to look online, I've only seen step by step install guides for windows, android and the console ports.

Edit: I found a precompiled flatpack in the discover center, will play around and see if I can get that to run right.

 

[godreborn]

Is there a step by step instruction for compiling this? I can't make heads nor tails of how its all split up and the seperate split readme's not making any sense to me or telling me where to put anything.

I have Mania on the Epic games store, and I'd be running it on my Steam deck, which would be an arch linux compile.

On my attempts to look online, I've only seen step by step install guides for windows, android and the console ports.

Edit: I found a precompiled flatpack in the discover center, will play around and see if I can get that to run right.

I might be able to help if you're still interested. The only build I couldn't figure out was android. I don't really understand even the basics of compiling for android. I was able to compile sm64 for android though.