NiGHTS into Dreams? ? in HD ? XBLA, PSN, Windows download

SEGA
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HIGGS BOSON

Er, I mean blogs.sega.com/2012/07/05/dreams … %E2%80%A6/

[quote]Today is a day that many NiGHTS fans have been waiting for. We?re so excited to announce that an HD remake of the fan-favorite flying platformer, NiGHTS into dreams?, will be coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC Digital Download this fall. To prove this news isn?t a dream itself, check out the first official NiGHTS trailer!


Initially released for SEGA Saturn 16 years ago today, on July 5, 1996, NiGHTS into dreams? is one of the best-regarded games in SEGA history and a favorite of many fans thanks to its innovative 3D gameplay and multi-faceted level design. This new version will bring Nightopia to vivid life with improved HD graphics and a 16:9 aspect ratio, as well as added support for leaderboards, trophies, and achievements. It will also feature an optional Saturn Mode that will let players experience the game with the original graphics intact.
Caveat emptor: this is probably a port of the PS2 version that was released in Japan a while back, and there are numerous differences in gameplay that you may or may not judge as being intrusive and/or detrimental ? Differences Between PS2 and Saturn | nidscores.com ? not that I can comment from personal experience, but I basically abandoned my idea of importing the PS2 version after reading that a while back.

But, er, more positive things! More attention for the game is always good. And for all I know, the differences noted above might well not be a deal-breaker anyway, particularly with the upgraded graphics and features. There are some games that really deserve better graphics than the technology of their time allowed, and this is definitely one ??so that alone may be reason enough. Plus, at the end of the day: even accounting for whatever gameplay differences there might be, new players ? and/or non-sticklers ? will not be put off by them, and we all know that more recruits are always wanted and needed. :wink:
[size=59]And the most positive thing of all ??they typeset the title completely correctly: italics, small i[/size], proper ellipsis character, and everything! I?m so proud, Sega :anjou_sad:

So, what do you think?[/quote]

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NiGHTs is the best game I’ve ever played, so to see this rereleased (and on PC no less) is great news. Also, apparently NiGHTS’ biggest fans are directly involved with the port of the game, so I’d imagine they’ll make Sega aware of the problems with the PS2 version:

nightsintodreams.com/?p=1800

That said, this also means something for the Panzer Dragoon franchise. It means the NiD15 achieved its goal. With no less than four Panzer Dragoon games in existence, I can’t imagine the Panzer Dragoon community can’t achieve the same.

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Exciting news for Nights fans. Regarding the Panzer games though, didn’t they lose all the code for PDS? I can’t imagine they would spend the money to entirely recreate it. I might be wrong, but that was the last I had heard.

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[quote=“Draikin”]Also, apparently NiGHTS’ biggest fans are directly involved with the port of the game, so I’d imagine they’ll make Sega aware of the problems with the PS2 version:

nightsintodreams.com/?p=1800[/quote]

Oh, right! Thanks for that.

[quote]SEGA have been directly working with the fans on this one.

How do I know?

We’ve been working on the game. This is the real deal.

This was the one title that caused me to chase my dreams for years to work at SEGA. It’s with a great sense of pride I can say I achieved that dream years later. The day I sat down infront of this project at my desk I just couldn’t stop smiling.[/quote]

Very cool.

[quote]I knew this entire community was perched up on my shoulder. This has been a real dream come true. For all of us.

Thank you so much to EVERYONE who worked so hard to make this happen. The years of campaigning and promoting, causing mischief and creating the best kinds of memories. You should all feel very proud of yourselves and thankful to everyone behind the scenes. If you believe in something enough, face your fears and never give up ? it can happen.[/quote]

Oh you guys I?m tearing up ;_;

Not sure if serious?

Y?know, I thought this after my OP. I hope you?re correct, but as frelled pointed out, there are possibly big roadblocks in the way of anything besides an emulated version ? if they?d even deign to provide that.

As for the other instalments, they could at least port the AGES version of PD1 from PS2 to the new platforms. And if they still have source for Zwei, that would be incredible. Imagine that game in HD with re-done textures and no pop-up! Imagine :anjou_wow:

Having said that, imagine an HD version of Saga! The very thought is too for me to handle, almost. :stuck_out_tongue: So I do hope all isn?t lost, somehow.

I wonder if, at the very least, they could get a proper emulator going ? with upscaled polygons, dynamic texture replacement, possibly some workaround for draw-distance? but then, are these things feasible, and would it be worth their while?

Must? stop??thinking? aloud?

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That’s often brought up as the main reason the game isn’t going to be rereleased, but it doesn’t really matter as much as people think. Read this for example:

[quote]Using legacy code is not always be the best way to create the best possible HD re-master. Bluepoint’s track record with God of War, Metal Gear, and Team Ico’s game shows that their method might be preferable: Don’t use old code, use the finished game itself.

“We don’t use archive data,” says O’Neil, “We take retail discs of the game and reverse engineer them. That way we can be 100% sure we have all the final retail data and that it matches up. That takes a lot time. Then to get it working, we basically have to go in and change every single piece of data. We get the code and we use that to build a PC version of the game.” [/quote]

Source: http://www.1up.com/features/the-problem-with-preservation?pager.offset=2

Now even then it’s still unlikely to happen, Saga is a game that would probably need a full remake. But they can always start with the other games. Panzer Dragoon Orta in particular would be ideal for a rerelease, and pave the way for remakes of the other games.

But the biggest problem here is that the Panzer Dragoon community isn’t as organized as the one for NiGHTS. I’m not sure why that is. TWOTA is basically the equivalent to nightsintodreams.com. Panzer Dragoon Revival is the equivalent to NiD15.com. But unlike NiD15.com which (relatively speaking) exploded upon release with fans rallying behind the cause, Panzer Dragoon Revival never got out of the starting blocks. And I don’t really know how to fix that. :anjou_disappointment:

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Can’t wait for the nostalgia trip, even though I don’t expect the port to be anything special it at least includes two versions of the game. Shame they don’t top it off with Christmas Nights though, surely it fits on there considering the originals were on CD.

And yeah those guys simply show their skill and passion doing ports like that, the source code would ensure better results with lesser effort however, for the lesser studios.

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Really cool news.

I’ve posted an update on the main page about this, urging Panzer Dragoon fans to spread the word about Panzer Dragoon Revival. thewilloftheancients.com/new … ened-to-us

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But, AFAIK, the ?Saturn mode? was purely cosmetic, with the same less-than-identical mechanics of the normal remake that were reported by nidscores.com (link in my first post).

If anything, this is so they can release it as DLC later. Aside from the inevitable debate over the very nature of DLC, if this does happen, I?d hope they don?t release the same incomplete Christmas NiGHTS that was included in the PS2 version.

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The remake looks almost identical to the saturn version. It’s like they just applied a smooth filter and replaced some character models and BOOM, done!
I think the game deserves a little more effort in the graphics department seeing how outstanding the graphics were for their time.

Well, it is nice to know that maybe this will give the series a little more recognition.

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I agree; having watched the video and seen a few screenshots, I was disappointed. I can?t be unrealistic in expecting downloadable remakes to rival top-of-the-line current-gen games, but surely there could be a lot more effort put in.

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Yeah when I saw the first screenshot of the desert level I was like: I know this is Nights and I hope it looks awesome!

But it just looks bland and I’d rather put the original and Christmas Nights in my Saturn and play it how it was meant to be played! :anjou_sigh:

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[quote=“Solo Wing”]Really cool news.

I’ve posted an update on the main page about this, urging Panzer Dragoon fans to spread the word about Panzer Dragoon Revival. thewilloftheancients.com/new … ened-to-us[/quote]

Thanks Solo!

It’s definitely running in higher resolution, so it’s not just a filter they applied (which was the case for Guardian Heroes for example). Apart from that, the updated character models and (some) updated textures doesn’t make this a bad port at all, if anything that’s about as much as you can expect nowadays. They could have done better, certainly, but Sega’s rereleases used to be a lot worse (Sonic Adventure for example). I’d say this is adequate. That doesn’t mean I’m not hoping for more upgrades thoug. Actual high-res textures would improve the graphics quite a bit.

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Looks like Sega have finally approved my spamish comment (comment #100) below the Sega blog post with a link to Panzer Dragoon Revival. Hopefully this will gain us a few more signatures. :anjou_happy:

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See now the new Nights track in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed is what the remake should look like.

But I guess if that were the case they would have to build it from the ground up…

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Nice ^^

Nights is probably the most charming game I’ve ever played and is definitely on my Steam wishlist. I tried my Saturn copy recently and it looks bloody awful on my plasma TV.

I hope Sega includes the Xmas expansion with the main game; if they try and sell it off separately as DLC then they won’t have my money until a “complete” version is out. I wish more publishers would adopt the same stance on DLC as CD Projekt Red. I always buy “complete” versions of games with expansions like Fallout 3 and Oblivion even it means waiting years. So yeah, boo to DLC!

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I typically don’t buy DLC either, but that’s usually because by the end of the main game I’ve had enough. Games are often contain so many similar missions that they begin to feel like work.

For NiGHTS it might be worth it though since this is NiGHTS we’re talking about.

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I think DLC can work, but some of the business practices deployed by for example EA are unacceptable. In the case of NiGHTS, I would buy any DLC that adds new content to the original game. But I would be very disappointed if they actually turned Christmas NiGHTS into DLC, simply because it was originally released for free. It was a great gift to Sega fans at the time and of they were to monetize that now… that would just be wrong.

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This, exactly. You?ve explained it perfectly. I still marvel at Sega?s generosity with this and CD1 of PDS.

I mean, really, it?s like if they (in some mythical parallel universe) did indeed re-release PDS but also released a quarter-length version for which they charged way more than a quarter of the price! Or something? I forget my point. :stuck_out_tongue:

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[quote=“RYB”]Nice ^^

Nights is probably the most charming game I’ve ever played and is definitely on my Steam wishlist.[/quote]

You remember this?

web.archive.org/web/200409050312 … opiaworld/

:stuck_out_tongue:

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New footage:
segabits.com/blog/2012/08/21/twe … -dreams-hd

It looks so fresh. Imagine what an HD version of Panzer Dragoon Saga would look like if given similar treatment…