Here are the six best Sonic Mania levels put in by modders

There used to be a time when the only way to prolong a game further, would be to use cheats or hope that an expansion pack would soon arrive to bring out new levels.

But we live in a time where modding a game can be very easy, as long as you have the patience. The Sonic community is a great example of this, where full-blown makeovers of existing games, or additional levels have been created to showcase what a game could do further.

Since its release in 2017, Sonic Mania is still regarded to be one of the best Sonic games of its time, but modders have been expanding it with new levels, mods, characters, and conversions to prolong it further.

With this in mind, we've played through countless levels to highlight five of the best, from their time and attention paid, to the complete randomness of how some fit so well for a Sonic game.

Aquatic Ruin Zone

Sonic Mania Aquatic Ruin Zone

(Image credit: Future)

This zone is part of a collection that has four other levels from Sonic 2, released back in 1992.

Sonic 2 Mania is a team effort to remake certain zones into the Sonic Mania engine, but with remixed music and their Act 2 variants twist what you think of what the level entails.

This mod has been the template for other modders to follow since its first release in 2019, as other levels released before this, would be 1:1 copies. Here, they're fresh but look as though they're DLC from SEGA.

Aquatic Ruin Zone has been remade from the ground up, with remixed music and all the enemies intact, alongside the dangerous arrows and the breakable pillars that are across the two acts.

Labyrinth Zone

Sonic Mania mod: Labyrinth Zone

(Image credit: SEGA)

This zone is a great example of building on what made the level memorable while expanding its design.

Released as part of the Misfits Pack, you also get three other zones as part of a demo that remixes established and cut levels from past Sonic games.

The music is a big highlight here, where the drums and percussion make the track pop as you run for an oxygen bubble or jumping across platforms.

But what makes this zone a highlight, is how much the level doesn't stay in the underground parts of the Mega Drive version. As you try to jump and run to the top of the level, you see cracks of light in the background, reminiscent of a scrapped idea for the zone that was found in a leaked beta build of Sonic 1.

Once you reach the top of the level, you find an unexpected night sky, but it works so well you end up accepting this.

As there's currently no way to edit or add in new bosses, you're using the same one from Hydrocity Zone Act 1, but it still fits the brief, and it makes you wonder how a new boss could work in this remixed Labyrinth Zone.

Jungle Zone

Jungle Zone in Sonic Mania

(Image credit: SEGA)

This is a level taken from the Master System release of Sonic 1, SEGA's 8-bit system released two years before the Mega Drive.

Some arguably regard the 8-bit port to be superior to the Mega Drive version, mainly due to the different zones such as Jungle Zone and Sky Base Zone, alongside the Chaos Emeralds being hidden in each level, rather than the motion-sickness-inducing Special Stages.

Instead, this mod is the best of both worlds, where you get one of the best levels from an 8-bit Sonic game, with its green and orange pixel art put together with its catchy music tune that's remained unchanged, and rightfully so.

Available as two acts, with the second act offering a sunset theme, it's a level that's asking to be remade in a future game.

Music Plant

Sonic Advance 2 level Music Plant in Sonic Mania as a mod

(Image credit: SEGA)

This isn't just one zone from the GBA sequel released back in 2003, but six, all working as intended in Sonic Mania.

Music Plant is part of a collection of levels from the Game Boy Advance release of Sonic Advance 2, released back in 2003. It was the second time Sonic appeared in a 2D game on a handheld other than SEGA's, with an appearance on the NEO GEO Pocket Color in 1999.

Here, there are six zones recreated in Sonic Mania, all with its original music. But it's Music Plant which is the highlight for this mod.

In one of the most colorful zones in a Sonic game, you're bouncing between piano keys while rolling down rails, all in Sonic Mania's engine. The zone's music is originally from another SEGA game called Ristar, which is also in this mod, which fits well for the design and the atmosphere of Music Plant.

But the mod is still under development, with more zones being worked on to be implemented.

Hill Top Zone

Sonic Mania Hill Top Zone

(Image credit: SEGA)

We're slightly cheating here, as this is part of the Sonic 2 Mania mod that has Aquatic Ruin Zone in this list. But when you consider that there's two Acts here, completely remade, with remixed music and a twist in Act 2, it's one of the best mods you could download for Sonic Mania.

You can control other characters here as well, but Knuckles is a good fit for Hill Top, as you can glide and climb up the platforms while avoiding the lava.

The moments of being in a cave and the rising lava is all here as it was in Sonic 2, and again the two acts feel as though they are right at home in Sonic Mania. For a level that was originally conceived to be a past version of Emerald Hill Zone during Sonic 2's development, it's become iconic in 30 years since its debut, and begs to be remade for a future 2D or 3D outing.

The PrideLands

The PrideLands level from Lion King, in Sonic Mania

(Image credit: SEGA)

Do you remember playing The Lion King in the mid-nineties, and wondered if a level could work in a Sonic game?

Wonder no more, as a talented modder has ported over the fifth level from the SEGA Mega Drive game, with monitors and enemies scattered throughout.

It's a short level, as you need to reach the top, and Act 2 requires you to get to the end in under sixty seconds.

But what sells it, is a cover of Toto's Africa that plays throughout both Acts, which is random on one hand, and so right on another.

Its randomness is what makes this level so compelling, and while there's next to no chance of a Sonic and Simba crossover, it does make you wonder if other levels from The Lion King, or Aladdin on the Mega Drive, could also work for Sonic Mania.

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The start of a new era for Microsoft Teams is here

Microsoft has rolled out an update for Teams that will change the way many people collaborate with colleagues and perform their daily tasks on the platform.

The update introduces functionality from Microsoft Loop, a new application designed to help workers cooperate on tasks in real-time with portable components that synchronize across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

As per a new blog post, Loop components have now arrived for Microsoft Teams, unlocking a variety of opportunities to streamline workflows, as well as minimizing the number of apps workers are required to juggle.

For example, users can post a data table or list of actions into a Teams channel, where all members are able to edit the content and see any changes live. The content will also remain up-to-date wherever else the components have been deployed (say, in a Word document or PowerPoint presentation).

“Loop components offer teams more flexibility in how they get work done – ensuring everyone always has access to the latest information. Where it is contributing in real-time or at a time that better fits your team’s schedule, Loop components enable you and your team to stay connected without worrying about working with stable information,” explained Microsoft.

Microsoft Loop comes to Teams

First unveiled at Microsoft’s annual Ignite conference last month, Loop is made up of three elements: components, pages and workspaces.

Loop workspaces are shared spaces that contain everything relevant to a specific project. Loop pages, meanwhile, are described as “flexible canvases” where users can organize their various components and draw in files, links or data.

“For years, the established patterns of work were clear. Communication took place via email and content creation was mostly documents, spreadsheets and presentations,” wrote Microsoft in a separate blog post, when Loop was first announced.

“In the last 18 months, the world has changed, and we have adapted to a new working environment where people had to complement traditional communication tools and in-person collaboration with alternative solutions. But we need to go further. That is why we are reimagining Office, adding new apps to respond to new opportunities, and making Office a universal, interactive canvas.”

Deployed in Microsoft Teams, Loop components have the potential to change the way remote and hybrid workers collaborate with colleagues in a significant way. And this is just the start, Microsoft says; additional components are expected to be announced at Microsoft Build next year.

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Intel Lakefield is here, powering the future of computing

At CES 2020 it seemed like every laptop manufacturer wanted to show off foldable devices, but wouldn't reveal what was powering them. However, Intel Lakefield processors have now been launched, and will be powering a whole slew of inventive computers.

Intel Lakefield will only be behind two announced laptops at first: the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold and the Intel version of the Samsung Galaxy Book S. The former doesn't have an official release date at the time of writing, but Samsung's Lakefield-powered device should be hitting the street this month. 

It's important to note that these aren't just another processor refresh – this is a completely new chip design. Intel has clearly taken some inspiration from ARM's big.LITTLE architecture: one 10nm Sunny Cove CPU core will be paired with four lower-power Tremont cores. The bigger Sunny Cove core will tackle heavy workloads that need a lot of power, while the Tremont cores will more efficiently tackle background tasks. 

What's even more impressive is the new Foveros 3D stacking technology, which will essentially stack the entire SoC and memory into one tiny package that measures just 12 x 12 x 1mm, which is basically the size of a dime. This will eliminate the need for RAM to be built into motherboards externally, and will lead to much smaller devices.

Coupled with the included Intel LTE solution built into the die, Intel Lakefield is going to be behind the most portable devices we've seen, and we can't wait to get our hands on it. 

Don't expect a powerhouse

The two processors announced as part of Intel Lakefield are the Intel Core i5-L16G7 and the Intel Core i3-L13G4. Both of these processors are 5-core chips with no Hyper Threading, and even the Core i5 has a max single-core speed of 3.0 GHz. 

Needless to say, hardcore productivity isn't the aim of these processors. In terms of raw performance, these CPUs are almost certainly going to be slower than Intel's Ice Lake processors, and are instead aimed at long battery life and portability. 

We obviously haven't had a chance to test any device with one of these processors quite yet, but we imagine that these chips will be ideal for folks who need an always-connected device that they can take with them wherever they go, and who only need something powerful enough to do light office work like checking email and loading up some spreadsheets. 

And, because of the smaller board size that will be enabled by these Intel Lakefield processors, this architecture will be the default for foldable devices, where there is less space available. 

For instance, when we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S with the Qualcomm Kryo 495, that laptop weighed in at just 2.12 pounds (0.96kg) and was less than half an inch thick. The obvious benefit with the Intel Lakefield version will be that it will be able to run all Windows apps, as it will support all x64 and x32 programs. 

So before you go out and preorder a Lakefield-powered device because it is the future of mobile computing, you should seriously consider if it's right for you. If you're a traveling businessperson, it might just be for you. 

 

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