Sonic 1 Blastless - But does it work on Real Hardware?

[@vladikcomper]

Huge thank you for such a spectacular and in-depth review! I was particularly happy that my little surprise for the PAL users was finally noticed and appreciated, as I went the extra mile to make it happen. Also, I think that new camera you've got recently added some extra Blast Processing to this video! To address some occasional water level crashes you had during some tests, I investigated it and it appeared to be a rather rare low-level bug on the hack's side. It was causing a data race condition and affected some machines more than the others (I assume it really comes down to tiny differences in memory performance of the flashcart and the system itself). I released a small update that fixes this issue. The hack should now work stable on any Genesis/Mega-Drive revision. Download link is the same.

[@kirbykirby6136]

Furry

[@ValkyrieMC]

@@kirbykirby6136 that was nothing related to their comment.

[@KalokesMysteries]

This is a fantastic effort! I've gotta say, great, great job on all of this!

[@WickerBasket9]

Best ROM hack of 2021, vladikcomper! I just played your hack the other day and I was amazed at what the Sonic engine can do, it was really cool!

[@SonicTheDutchHedgehog]

Why are people saying furry to him he did alot of effort making this romhack.

[@gamingnubs7628]

The creator needs to make this a series or something. This is insanely impressive. I wonder what Sonic 2 would play like with this mod.

[@czech_ring]

if they ever made a sonic cd version, then it would literally have 16 versions of a level and it's music, multiplied by 7 levels that's 112

[@gamingnubs7628]

@@czech_ring is it even possible to fit all of that into an iso image?

[@czech_ring]

@@gamingnubs7628 probably no

[@zanegandini5350]

@@gamingnubs7628 The issue isn't "fitting" it into an iso image, it's the fact that the disc would have to physically load up every time the graphics change. A lot of painfully long loading times.

[@gamingnubs7628]

@@zanegandini5350 oh god, youre right. That sounds absurdly painful to wait through.

[@yungboiskilz]

2:04 best ad reading ever

[@PKSuperStar256]

"Haha, you thought this was sponsored."

[@cybersrandomzone5166]

Scalping The Megadrive

[@ikomanggita9838]

I was thinking he about to do a sponsor 😂

[@SunkythePootis]

6:34 Ya know I think we might need a counter for how many times that Sunky guy has come in with the assistance. They're not even the real Sunky and yet he seems to be everywhere.

[@dannyleedawber]

Yes that does that need happen *clears thorat* Oh Joshua Hunter, we need a counter please 🤣

[@sonic8741]

Hi

[@gavinwilson5895]

MILK AND CEREAL MILK AND CEREAL MILK AND CEREAL CEREAL AND MILK

[@luk_143]

You are the Sunky that he mentions.

[@Garrulous64]

As much as I like Sonic's 16-Bit look, that Gameboy Sonic is REALLY cool.

[@zigazav1]

Hi Garrulous64! I'm one of your Subscribers on KZbin! And yeah, that Gameboy mode of Sonic 1 Blastless is pretty cool despite the hard to distinguish what's what due to the degrading graphics quality.

[@BrianFan7650]

Hello garrulous64!

[@mr.thefrog5356]

redhotsonic: “It’s not the end of the world” Music: End of the World nice

[@BinglesP]

5:46 I always assumed that the “no signal” message was done in editing to make sure glitches were clear. Didn’t know it was part of the display itself.

[@redhotsonic]

No, actually. All capture cards have a "no signal" message of some kind but with Magewell capture cards, you have the ability to change that message. So, I made my own "no signal" screen and told it to use that (I can change it to any picture if I really wanted lol). So, whenever my capture card gets no signal, my own text appears. No video editing was done to make it do that 😅

[@BinglesP]

@@redhotsonic well I didn’t know how to describe it really

[@DryPaperHammerBro]

@@redhotsonic do GIFs work?

[@Speems]

Your setup definitely looks RTX enhanced, fits in with the hack quite nicely! Plus the PAL twist is was legitimately surprising

[@Imfernolistico]

HALLELUJAH, PAL ACTUALLY WORKS! Also, that bra gag made up the entire video. Good job.

[@GameDevBurger]

Yay you spoiled it>:( Wait he kinda says it in the start of the vid nvm.

[@Whatsupqyjd]

​​@@GameDevBurger 🔫 D;< GET THE F**K OUT LITTLE TIMMY (If It's Not Your Real Name, I Will Still Call You Little Timmy)

[@redstreak9430]

This is basically the AVGN Wrist Game meme but for Sonic

[@YakupagaGaming]

Y E S

[@Cursedsome]

3:08 is this sonic 3d blast 5

[@ArpeggioPegasus]

I see what you did there

[@ariel78_]

Just the word "sonic 3D blast 5" hurts my ears

[@nbttranslator]

Fact: Sometimes when Blast Processing (when its already on 16-bits) drops to zero you can got ILLEGAL INSTRUCTION error.

[@the2323guy]

Is it possible to resume with C?

[@fatyoshi1456]

​@@the2323guy Yes, but the life icon gets replaced with letters

[@AmaroqStarwind]

There is actually a trick that can be done to get a full 320 x 240 resolution on NTSC Mega Drive / Genesis systems, but it's pretty complicated. The TiTAN group actually used this trick for Overdrive 2.

[@RandomTomatoMusic]

Completely unrelated, but... iz fellow floof?

[@AmaroqStarwind]

@@RandomTomatoMusic Yep.

[@RandomTomatoMusic]

@@AmaroqStarwind °o° yei

[@BrawlerDayDX]

12:04 He really did the, 64 BITS! 32 BITS! 16 BIT, 8 BUT 4 BIT 2 BIT 1 BIT 1/2 BIT 1/4 BIT THE WATTCCHH GAMMMEE

[@giovannicorreia2680]

8-Bit

[@milliemaldonado8844]

16-bit

[@zanegandini5350]

This hack is amazing, I wish I knew just how they managed to do it. It's unfortunate that the OSSC and Framemeister struggle with this one, as the retrotink 2X runs it with no issue whatsoever. But then again, that's a line-doubler rather than a true upscaler.

[@redhotsonic]

The OSSC is also a line doubler; not a true scaler. I should have picked my words more carefully. My bad. I've heard that the RetroTink is more capable with resolution changes. I'm really looking forward to the RetroTink 5X.

[@zanegandini5350]

@@redhotsonic I have the 2X scart and 2X multiformat, they're both incredibly capable, easy-to-use devices. One thing I've noticed is that in the Sonic 2 bonus stage, it handles the resolution change seamlessly, but my TV mentions the new resolution.

[@Octo4533]

I never thought I'd see the day where RHS says the word 'sus' and refers to Eggman as that.

[@ArpeggioPegasus]

16 bits ? 8 bits ! 4 bits ! 2 bits ! 1 bit ! Half bit ! Quarter bit ! THE WRIST GAAAAAAME

[@teoslayer2005]

The Bit Wars Filmed by Angry Video Game Nerd

[@JohnGames-gz7ue]

THE WRIST GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@knux7468]

"And speak of privacy!.." I thought this would be a segue for a NordVPN sponsorship but I was wrong lol

[@calypso_th]

Ah yes, my favorite tea brand, Sonic Tea.

[@zigazav1]

Speaking of drinks, I read a manga awhile back, and Sonic makes a cameo in one of the panels. His likeness is on a mug owned by the protagonist's friend.

[@ethanjones9532]

nice video your videos are entertaining and your great at showcasing things your channel is amazing

[@antytrend]

I love how realistic and immersed means over 50% of the screen is pure black(like in the intro clips). So bad. Thumbs up on the video

[@waltercomunello121]

*lifting the VDP pin is actually the most destructive way of getting rid of the jaibars, because the pin might tear and fall off, and there's no turning back. moreover, lifting a single VDP pin is more difficult since the adjacent others might get damaged in the process. there's a much safer option, and that's cutting a trace on the motherboard near the video encoder and bringing the target encoder pin to ground. this way the VDP risks nothing and the cut trace can easily be bridged later. DO NOT do it if you don't know what you're doing. jailbars derive from the colorburst frequency, which is generated by the VDP, and if you are only using composite video you'll see everything in black and white. That's also why I would go for the "encoder trace" option instead of this one - it's easily reversible. So this mod is recommended ONLY if you use RGB cables.

[@0n1c420]

4:14 ah yes, my favorite zone, Lab Zone

[@XentinelSB]

Nice 16 bit rendition of Planet Wisp. I noticed it playing while you were comparing Analogue and Digital Scaling :)

[@redhotsonic]

Its not a 16-bit rendition. It's from Sonic Colours Planet Wisp Act 2.

[@XentinelSB]

Oh, I see 😅. Thanks for correcting me!

[@skins4thewin]

Those game crashes probably come down to hardware revisions being slightly different. There are several games out there that have certain bugs or issues when played on certain revisions of the Genesis hardware, of which there are literally dozens of. Significant changes were made internally between some of these revisions, leading to issues when it comes to certain game's programming being designed around a specific revision. Some games even take advantage of bugs present in Model 1 hardware to produce certain effects. It's all pretty well documented & very interesting.

[@UltimatesimbaUnlimited]

4:00 *screams in pain*

[@RyanNeoHedgehogOfficial]

4:00 A M O G U S

[@milliemaldonado8844]

S U S

[@xboxed7202]

Among Us is cringe

[@SluggishRain]

S U S

[@xboxed7202]

@@SluggishRain Among Us is cringe

[@RyanNeoHedgehogOfficial]

@@xboxed7202 shut up you don't get to have an opinion Now Sus

[@imperialny2739]

4:02 AMOGUS REFERENCE?!

[@AmaroqStarwind]

I have a suggestion that might help out with your digital capture card issues in the future, though it would require asking somebody to build a modchip for you. Here's what I have outlined... *Mega Drive VDP modchip for seamless native integer horizontal scaling on digital output;* - If the VDP registers are set to H40, do a 4x horizontal integer scale to get 1280 pixels. - If the VDP registers are set to H32, do a 5x horizontal integer scale to get 1280 pixels. - Either way, regardless of VDP mode, the horizontal resolution is always the same on the digital output, keeping digital capture cards happy. - Because it is linked directly to (and controlled by) the VDP registers, the modchip should theoretically have no delay when switching resolution modes. - For outputting to a 4K capture card, just double the horizontal integer scaling value. - Something similar could probably be done for the vertical resolution to help a digital capture card think it is receiving a 480p signal regardless of whether the console is operating in 240p or 480i modes. Again, it would be linked directly to the VDP registers, minimizing the delay.

[@AmaroqStarwind]

Please like this comment so that @RedHotSonic is more likely to see it!

[@ascii_guy]

4:03 I think I saw Eggman vent in electrical a few seconds when this meeting was called and he tried to kill me (joke)

[@noahcool11kid68]

2:05 They had us in the first half, not gonna lie

[@rubykaylaandogie3334]

That crash in labyrinth zone that was gone the next day gives me every copy of sonic blastless is personalised vibes

[@lesterrr12312]

nice sygnal degradation at the end, haha, especially the camera audio! :D I was also expecting a bitcrusher, but that's fine))

[@2097xl]

Omg I still have one of those old thick Panasonic TVs, I use it for my PS4 and my MD. Really good screens on them

[@ShadowKirbo0]

@redhotsonic okay I'll cut it some slack. 3:10

[@steven123jambi]

3:13

[@EpicGamer_SansheeFreddy]

1:33 *Sonic Tea Presents*

[@xxlarrytfvwxx9531]

Could the crash be caused by the animated spikes-pointy thingies? Maybe it's caused when the water waves are loaded into RAM? Just trying to figure it out in my brain.

[@captainnintendo]

PAL resolution hacks really should be a thing we see more of. If they could also allow for an optimized framerate that would be epic. This is one really cool idea for a hack tho

[@norjia]

You started about privacy and i was imidiatly going to the chapter system to skip a sponsorship lol. You got me good there

[@squid_cake]

This mod really shows how much people take graphics resolution for granted nowadays. 4k is overrated. Even 240p can be beautiful. Of course, high resolutions are the opposite of worthless, and they all have their uses. But the bigger that screen resolutions become, the less you can appreciate how they improve overtime. This mod is an eye opener for me. Thank you, vladikcomper.

[@KirbTheKorb]

2:04 Good one, i was going to smash that right arrow to skip

[@skins4thewin]

The good news is that the new RetroTINK 5X handles resolution switching MUCH faster than the Framemeiser and OSSC, so anyone lucky enough to grab one of those should be able to play this without too much trouble.

[@Left-Earth]

_"I don't see a difference."_ 👀 Gotcha 👌

[@amarillodragon2702]

I've noticed you have changed your thumbnail, it look very nice.

[@mypkamax]

Sweet! A new BDIWORH video! I see you've finished your chores from your wife's list from the last video...

[@vcr_DRIFT]

bro that sonic tea presents joke around the beginning was so perfectly timed as i was drinking tea at the *exact* same time as mr red hot chili peppers

[@AleT118]

As soon as I heard of this game, I just knew you'd be making a video on this.

[@mikofox9798]

There's a Blast less DX as well that makes the transitions even faster then before. Works fine on my flash cart, (tested on my Electrohome CRT rather then my flat-screen, Genesis model 2 and AV cables) but would the DX version possibly fix the weird compatibility issue with scales and such?

[@M0rinkashi]

As I open up this video, I get an ad introducing a YT channel called "Knuckle Head".

[@SilverAura]

The best part about this is the argument to be made that this would have been just a game that was incompatible with newer displays. Like how Duck Hunt only works on CRT televisions because it relies on the scanline timing to sync with the gun during a very fast verification sequence. And yes, the flashing black/white square is key.

[@Jayteaseepiirturi]

Well, that's one clever rom hack! :) Thanks for showing it to us.

[@SageNoodleVT]

How does this not have 6 million likes already??

[@oil_moon]

2:05 oh boy here we go better get ready to ski- oh you had me!

[@Aintyx]

Gracias por subtitular todos tús vídeos. I understand English, but it helps me in some parts

[@CHMernerner]

I love sonic 1 mods that add spindash as bonus. Quality of life improvement.

[@SkeleGamer101]

10:11 given the info presented, it's likely that this crash occurs on water levels on (mostly) PAL consoles. that's just my guess.

[@georgef551]

Blast Processing was never used in any games, they used the term that is for some other feature to simply state their clock speed was twice as fast as the SNES. There are technical articles out there that show what Blast Processing really was, and it wasn't for gaming, because there wasn't any power left to do that (irony). Basically, it was just a way to directly access all 3 channels for red, green, and blue, and switch them to any intensity as desired, showing all 512 colors at once, if desired. The fact the DMA use allowed for faster access, is the "Blast Processing". The wrinkle in it is that it required precise timing to draw a stable image on-screen, similar to Atari's "Racing the Beam", except each console's clock speed was different enough that any Blast Processing images were not compatible with each other fully, but can be with timing tweaks, again different to each system. There have been SEGA Fan-Boys refusing to accept that this is what Blast Processing is, but again, technical journals prove the above to be correct, albeit in far better detail.

[@GB_256]

The solution to the video mode switching thing is to pause the game when it switches.

[@Alexrun902]

I was wondering weather or not you'd cover this rom hack, although you did forget to mention something, they added the spindash in this hack, I know that's kind of standard Sonic move now a days but given that the hack is mostly about the technical stuff we should at least be thankful they did that. I was really surprised and pleased by the fact that this hack the full vertical res of the pal contraption, looks like you can do that with a Sonic Rom Hack, this makes me excited in seeing the other 3 Classic Sonic games in the full 320 by 240 pixels on Pal consoles, just imagine the glory of S3K in 320 by 240 pixels.

[@Jongivitis]

7:25 what song was playing here?

[@PhirePhlame]

I think the slowdowns add to the "blastless" effect anyway.

[@CrashFan03]

hey rhs have you thought about trying ralakimus 's Genesis port of Sonic CD Palmtree Panic Act 1 and seeing if that works on real hardware? I'm really curious as to if that would work

[@lmcgregoruk]

3:49 "The rest of it is still your base Sonic 1". 6:53 oh really now?

[@zaxchannel2834]

There have been successful CPU upgrades from 68000 to 68010 for some slowdown reduction at the cost of game compatibility

[@arsentvpro]

10:24 It never happened on my PAL Mega drive 2

[@susanswan6160]

The fact that it said:"Sonic T e a Presents" Just got me for some reason

[@sesukun2064]

That end was GOLD

[@PoliThePolarCat1947]

1:00 Rare footage of RHS turning into Blippi.

[@dannyleedawber]

Amazing video love lighting improvement :)

[@arsentvpro]

Sonic blastless DX optimises speed of game for pal consoles: on my Pal Mega drive 2 S1 blastless DX runs in 60hz!

[@busterbunny005]

8:50 what's the song playing in the background?

[@thewinterwarriormane]

This ROM looks awesome! Might play it too...

[@Cliffordlonghead]

Awesome Video love it

[@THENAMEISMEGAMAN]

12:05 64 BITS~ 32 bits~ 16 bits. 8 bits. 4 bits! *2 bits!* *1 BIT!*

[@soniccd9983]

Well now I know why genesis games dont look right on emulators im used to the bars. Even that m2 3ds port with the realistic crt display using 3d was a little too smooth

[@logan0fficAL_GD1]

Yeah man, We blast processin' with this one

[@hotdogrobloxpc2684]

man over all these years no bloody one million subs i hope u get one gillion billion gillion million subs

[@Sonictheoofhog4]

Sonic 1 blast levels: Sonic 1 Genesis. Sonic 1 Master system. Sonic 1 Atari or commodore 64. Sonic 1 G A M E B O Y

[@dragonick2947]

Cool vid! I wonder why Sonic has a darker shade of blue?

[@mypkamax]

To be in-line with Sonic 2?

[@dragonick2947]

@@mypkamax Unlikely, in Sonic 2 he was more saturated, but in this hack they replaced his darkest shade with a dark blue.

[@GreenLegendRan]

I love this channel. Bravo.

[@SailsPlays]

Yay a new episode of bidworth

[@JohnDoe-dv6zb]

Is there a ROM hack like this with no blast processing at all? The Game Gear/Master System titles and unofficial NES port were cool, but the playing the original 16-bit version in 8-bit mode is pretty interesting.

[@YouTubeMillionaire456]

0:27 Do not panic! Lifting this pin just helps reduce the jailbar effect off of the Mega Drive. If you have no idea what that is, then do not look it up as you'll never be able to unsee it!

[@sonicabsorb7597]

“When your TV signal goes haywire”

[@megaloex2904]

I've got an idea m8 Sonic 1 RTX, But it works on real hardware?

[@insertaccountnamehere9505]

It's funny that this is considerd Blastless as technically zero commercial MD releases used blast processing. It did exist but couldn't be used due to technical limitations on games at the time.

[@Jadethehedgehog980]

Red did you hear that sonic classic has s1,2,3&k and mania are on one game card

[@GuiTomoTuber]

Eggman is looking sus Amogus reference

[@YgorG]

" And when it comes to pal, ohohohohoho this is soo Exiting, lets begin "

[@giovannicorreia2680]

12:15 redhotsonic in gameboy

[@ruqg-1]

nice vid red :)

[@2018nooks]

4:03 I think eggmans looking sus too

[@lemonadesnake]

3:35 does anyone know what the text says?

[@ChillyTheDog21]

There's a button code for the DX Version of Sonic 1 Blastless just press Up, Down, Left, Right and then A + Start which is the Sonic 1 Level Select code and allows you to change what the Hack can do like playing it with other Different System Styles

[@connorplays6263]

What is the cheapest flash cart would you recommend?

[@redhotsonic]

Mega EverDrive X3. It does the job well enough for Mega Drive (Genesis) games.

[@connorplays6263]

@@redhotsonic ok, just ordered one

[@SuperSkyPhoenix]

When you said and this is the perfect opportunity to...I tried to skip the sponsor and then was like wait and realized it was a joke when instead of a 3 minute break to plug a VPN, it you just continued and went back and then I laughed when I saw the gag.

[@UON]

This is a pretty awesome hack! What's the song that starts at 07:30 ?

[@LilUltraKataru]

Just wait for the switch port this October

[@fabianhcarsnvlogs]

4:18 uhmmm, not sure how Millie's gonna feel about this

[@damjanbaldi]

Fun fact:if you have level select unlocked you can press start b to change anything and dont have that blast procces bar