Ryan Bloom
patreon
The Definitive Way to Play Sonic Adventure 2 (Early Access)
🕑 Added 2023-01-30 22:21:34 +0000 UTCIt's finally here, folks. As I think you may know, I've been working on this video since September 2022. There's a lot of reasons it took so dang long. So many reasons that I almost don't even want to write them all out, but let's just say it was a mixture of impostor syndrome, cold and flu season, kids being hospitalized with pneumonia, holiday craziness, and on top of that my phone died.
This video is the first I've ever done with a paid sponsorship segment! Not that you'd ever know. Since you folks pay for early access, I've cut the sponsor segment from this version of the video, though it still gets mentioned in the credits scroll at the end and some of the footage I use during the credits are outtakes from the segment.
I just got final approval for the sponsor segment so I'm rendering the finalized video out now (which has a few minor changes from this test render). Public version of the finalized video will probably go live this Friday, so you get almost a week of early access time. Enjoy!
Written instructions on how to install and get all this stuff working
Step 1: Download the SA2 Mod Manager. https://gamebanana.com/tools/6333
Step 2: Copy the contents of the SA2 Mod Manager zip file in to your Sonic Adventure 2 install folder on Steam. You can easily get to the Sonic Adventure 2 install folder by right clicking Sonic Adventure 2 in Steam, selecting "Manage" and clicking "Browse local files".
Step 3: Launch SA2ModManager.exe. If it asks you about an update, say yes.
Step 4: Go through the tabs at the top one by one and make sure all your settings are correct. Turn some cheat codes on if you wish (I'd recommend "Reduce Spin Dash Delay").
Step 5: Under the Graphics tab, it's recommended you check the box for "Lock Framerate." This will stop Sonic Adventure 2 from running uncontrollably fast on newer displays.
Step 6: Under the Options tab, you can check "Disable Loading Animation" to marginally speed up the game's loading times and make it operate more like the original Gamecube/Dreamcast version. It also skips the loading screen tips, but they were almost impossible to read on the PC anyway.
Step 7: Also on the Options tab, click "Enable 1-Click Install." This will allow the Mod Manager to automatically grab and install files directly from GameBanana.
Step 8: When you're done, ALWAYS remember to click "Save."
Now that you have the Mod Manager installed and ready to go, go grab some mods:
General GameBanana SA2 Section: https://gamebanana.com/mods/games/5855
RECCOMMENDED MODS
Cutscene Revamp https://gamebanana.com/mods/48872
No Model Tinting https://gamebanana.com/mods/48874
SA2 Volume Controls https://gamebanana.com/mods/381193
Highest Quality Textures https://gamebanana.com/mods/48912
Level Oddity Patch https://gamebanana.com/mods/48894
Eggman Lighting Fix https://gamebanana.com/mods/397234
HedgePanel https://gamebanana.com/mods/48950
-- Setting Up SA2 Volume Controls
In the mod manager, select "SA2 Volume Controls" and click "Configure" located under the list. Set the volume controls to your liking. You can always click "reset" to reset all values to their defaults. I recommend lowering music volume to 74 (from 76), but that's my personal preference.
-- Setting Up HedgePanel
In the mod manager, select "HedgePanel" and click "Configure" located under the list. My personal preference is to disable Fast Somersault, Random Homing Attack Sounds, and Automatic Magic Hands Prompt. Everything else can be left as "enabled."
OPTIONAL MODS
Smoother Wall Collisions https://gamebanana.com/mods/363188
Dreamcast Characters https://gamebanana.com/wips/48797
Disable Upgrade Models https://gamebanana.com/mods/48841
No Battle https://gamebanana.com/mods/33167
Better Radar https://gamebanana.com/mods/313161
Character Select Plus https://gamebanana.com/mods/33170
The New Challengers Assets https://gamebanana.com/mods/422188
MY MOD LOADER ORDER
01. No Model Tinting
02. Cutscene Revamp
03. Disable Upgrade Models
04. No Battle
05. Dreamcast Characters
06. High Quality Textures
07. Character Select Plus
08. HedgePanel
09. Oddity Patch
10. Eggman Lighting Fix
11. SA2 Volume Controls
12. Smoother Wall Collisions
13. Better Radar
14. The New Challengers Assets
OTHER MODS SEEN IN THIS VIDEO
SA2 Battle Network https://github.com/michael-fadely/sa2-battle-network
SA2 Retranslated https://gamebanana.com/mods/48846
Physics Improvement https://gamebanana.com/mods/48920
Korone Inugami https://gamebanana.com/mods/349118
Modern SA2 v6: The Trial https://gamebanana.com/mods/406063
Lava Shelter https://gamebanana.com/mods/389732
Boom Sonic https://gamebanana.com/mods/291813
Honey the Cat https://gamebanana.com/mods/245444
OTHER LINKS
You can find links to all my socials, Twitch streams, and way more on my Link Tree.
https://linktr.ee/blazehedgehog
Kevin MacLeod's music is available at
Check out SPEEPShighway's Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/@SPEEPSHighway
Flycast emulator
https://github.com/flyinghead/flycast
Redream emulator
Dolphin emulator
Comments
JetSetSet
Wow, no wonder this vid took you a while to make. This is extremely in depth, not just in terms of instructions but in terms of your personal thoughts about SA2. While I got Adventure 1 on the DC as a kid, I never got the DC ver of Adventure 2 so the Battle port is what I experienced for a while. I don't think that port is as dire dire docks as SADX, but the cutscenes really took a hug dive in quality. I had a couple of these mods installed but didn't know about the modern rail grinding one. I've always known how to grind in SA2 but I didn't know the analogue sensitivity was broken in the ports so I always thought leaning was just a little janky by default. Excellent video! Edit: Also, congrats on getting your first sponsor!
Melco Driggs
The little "You paid to skip this" bumper got a chuckle out of me. :P Don't recall if you've said who sponsored you though. Guess I'll have to watch the public cut to find out! ;)
