How to install Sonic 3 AIR?

[Wolfgabe]

I decided to get S3&K on steam for the Sonic 3 AIR expansion but I am trying to figure out how to install it. Do I just copy and paste the files into Steam folder or do I do something else

[Ikagura]

Publicado originalmente por Crashed:

Publicado originalmente por Nighty:

You can't legally get a rom for Sonic 3&Knuckles anymore unless you somehow have access to the original catridges and dump their data on your PC, which can be very complicated and I don't recommend newcomers to go all that way just to play Sonic 3 AIR. You can also buy Steam Keys from thirdparty websites but I would be quick, because eventually they will raise in value and be super expensive. If all fails, the last option would be to spend $40 bucks on Sonic Origins but it's not worth it right now, due to bugs, glitches and the pricetag might be pushing it a little.

Sonic Origins does not contain the ROM since the games have been remade from scratch.

People forget that this is a remaster...

[Nighty]

Publicado originalmente por Crashed:

Publicado originalmente por Nighty:

You can't legally get a rom for Sonic 3&Knuckles anymore unless you somehow have access to the original catridges and dump their data on your PC, which can be very complicated and I don't recommend newcomers to go all that way just to play Sonic 3 AIR. You can also buy Steam Keys from thirdparty websites but I would be quick, because eventually they will raise in value and be super expensive. If all fails, the last option would be to spend $40 bucks on Sonic Origins but it's not worth it right now, due to bugs, glitches and the pricetag might be pushing it a little.

Sonic Origins does not contain the ROM since the games have been remade from scratch.

I should have clairified that, yes I am aware that Sonic 3&Knuckles in Origins runs on the latest version of Retro Engine RSDKv5 and doesn't include a .bin.

I only brought up Origins, since as of right now Sonic 3&Knuckles is not very accessable at all, especially on PC and Consoles, unless you get out of your way to buy Mega Collection and other Sega Compilations for older Consoles.

[Batabii • Suikoden I&II HD]

I'm really surprised with all the weird workshop mods that Sonic 3 A.I.R. isn't one of them.

[Nighty]

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

I'm really surprised with all the weird workshop mods that Sonic 3 A.I.R. isn't one of them.

Sonic 3 AIR is essentially it's own .exe with own custom code, just like the Christian Whitehead remasters. It's not a ROM hack you can easily upload to the workshop sadly. The best option for a ROM hack that tries to do something similar like AIR would be Sonic 3 Complete.

[Batabii • Suikoden I&II HD]

Publicado originalmente por Nighty:

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

I'm really surprised with all the weird workshop mods that Sonic 3 A.I.R. isn't one of them.

Sonic 3 AIR is essentially it's own .exe with own custom code, just like the Christian Whitehead remasters. It's not a ROM hack you can easily upload to the workshop sadly. The best option for a ROM hack that tries to do something similar like AIR would be Sonic 3 Complete.

That sounds...complicated. Honestly at this point I'd rather stick with Sonic 3 Complete.

[Ikagura]

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

Publicado originalmente por Nighty:

Sonic 3 AIR is essentially it's own .exe with own custom code, just like the Christian Whitehead remasters. It's not a ROM hack you can easily upload to the workshop sadly. The best option for a ROM hack that tries to do something similar like AIR would be Sonic 3 Complete.

That sounds...complicated. Honestly at this point I'd rather stick with Sonic 3 Complete.

Not complicated, think as a Doom Sourceport.

The same assets but in a different engine.

[Batabii • Suikoden I&II HD]

Publicado originalmente por Ikagura:

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

That sounds...complicated. Honestly at this point I'd rather stick with Sonic 3 Complete.

Not complicated, think as a Doom Sourceport.

The same assets but in a different engine.

I meant complicated to install and/or play. Workshop mods are just a single click.

[NBOX21]

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

Publicado originalmente por Ikagura:

Not complicated, think as a Doom Sourceport.

The same assets but in a different engine.

I meant complicated to install and/or play. Workshop mods are just a single click.

It's also very simple - simply download it and if you have Sonic 3 & Knuckles in your Steam library, it'll automatically detect it and launch immediately, no extra steps required.

[Batabii • Suikoden I&II HD]

Publicado originalmente por NBOX21:

Publicado originalmente por Batabii • Stardew Valley:

I meant complicated to install and/or play. Workshop mods are just a single click.

It's also very simple - simply download it and if you have Sonic 3 & Knuckles in your Steam library, it'll automatically detect it and launch immediately, no extra steps required.

That's not what it sounded like.

Publicado originalmente por Nighty:

Sonic 3 AIR is essentially it's own .exe with own custom code, just like the Christian Whitehead remasters. It's not a ROM hack you can easily upload to the workshop sadly. The best option for a ROM hack that tries to do something similar like AIR would be Sonic 3 Complete.

[Ikagura]

You don't need to be a Linux user to know how to do that...

[NBOX21]

Publicado originalmente por tzer:

How do we do it now?

Believe it or not, there's still a way! If you have a copy of Sonic Mega Collection Plus on the PS2 you can use that disc on the PCSX2 emulator and once you load into a game in the collection itself, the entire ROM of the game you're running is actually stored in RAM.

By opening up a hex editing program such as HxD and bringing up the memory viewer for the selected program (select PCSX2), it's possible to find the entire ROM of the game within memory. Look for the SEGA header and start from about 16 lines above it. Simply copy its entire contents over to a separate file and save it as a .bin file.

While Sonic 3 & Knuckles combined is locked initially, it's also possible to combine both the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles ROMs together to create Sonic 3 & Knuckles using the same program and you can save it as one file. Just make sure to put the Sonic & Knuckles data first.

And there you go, a cheap, easy and legal way to get Sonic ROMs onto your PC in 2022. It even works in Kega Fusion which is nice since you can get a version of Sonic 1 with the spike bug fixed by using these steps. I haven't tested it with A.I.R. yet, though I do expect that it should be compatible.

[Benncourt]

Publicado originalmente por tzer:

How do we do it now?

It's on Internet Archive (specifically speaking of the steam version), you can also find the roms for the other 2 games too

[Batabii • Suikoden I&II HD]

♥♥♥♥ this thread is old

At this point I'd rather play Sonic Origins.

[Mike]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.