UK based Saturn homebrew developer, VOXEL, has just released a NEW teaser trailer (below) for the upcoming SAGE ’22 hosted by SFGHQ (Sonic Fan Games HQ).
Here’s VOXEL’s NEW TRAILER showing the game running on REAL SEGA SATURN HARDWARE...
Back on April 1st, we reported on this new and exciting project that was surprisingly NOT an April fools joke, but in fact a very real project intended to resurrect the infamous Sonic X-Treme as it originally appeared back in the E3 ’96 promo teaser, using the “fish-eye lens” engine.
Here is that original E3 ’96 promo teaser…
This original “fish-eye lens” version of Sonic X-Treme was actually programmed on PC and was never ported to Saturn hardware, so the E3 ’96 footage shown was PC game footage.
Back in September of 2020, VOXEL had gotten a hold of the original, unmodified DEF/PCX formatted levels (assets that have been leaked to the public over the years) and put together an interactive level viewer for PC working on in Unity. This was the starting point from which all levels would then be ported over to real Saturn hardware.
VOXEL’s interactive level viewer in Unity…
Working on this project off and on in spare time since September last year, VOXEL programmed it using the Sega Graphics Library (a resource which was used to make original retail Saturn games).
Here’s VOXEL’s original teaser showing gameplay on real hardware…
Also impressive is the short tech demo that VOXEL released back on May 27, 2022, demonstrating a playable Sonic in an empty (but colorful) 3D tropical resort themed stage, consisting of a building, some badniks and a goal ring. Using a variety of techniques (including mesh bone animation, gouraud lighting, environment mapping (on the goal ring), object frustum culling and a VDP2 background + floor) VOXEL has shown some serious technical prowess and understanding of the hardware. Even thought this is considered a “failed” project, it stands as a great example of what we can expect from this new up and coming developer.
A massive Saturn fan since Christmas ’96, Dave is enthusiastic about growing the community and spreading Saturn love and knowledge to fans old and new. Co-founding the SEGA SATURN, SHIRO! podcast back in 2017 and creating the SHIRO! SHOW in 2020, he seeks to create interesting and engaging Saturn-related content for the community. Dave’s interests circle around game preservation, and he is a huge fan of game magazines and developer interviews.
