Demo 2

Demo 2 is an outdated version of SRB2, released on March 5th, 2001. This release introduced Greenflower Zone Act 2, Greenflower Zone Act 3 and Techno Hill Zone Act 1 in addition to an expanded version of the previous demo's Greenflower Zone Act 1. This was a more complete representation of what Single Player gameplay in SRB2 would be like.

While the splitscreen feature, which was not working correctly, was removed from the menu (it could still be enabled by typing SPLITSCREEN ON in the console), netgaming became a stronger focus in Demo 2. Because netgames could not yet be set up or joined from the in-game menu, Demo 2 was shipped with a launcher program that started SRB2 with the appropriate command line parameters. Around this time, SSNTails created the first Match map, entitled "smatch.wad". It is included in releases to this day as Meadow Match Zone.

Demo 2 was also showcased at the second Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE), which started on March 9th, 2001. This SAGE received complete coverage by Sonic Stadium at the time, where it was met with positive reception.

Features

Single Player

In this demo, Greenflower Zone Act 1 was extended, now ending after a second lake room, where it would remain until being extended again in v2.2, and could now be cleared. The second and third acts of Greenflower Zone were added, as well as the first act of Techno Hill Zone. Clearing Techno Hill Zone Act 1 warped the player back to Greenflower Zone Act 1.

Greenflower Zone Act 2 was the first level to feature moving FOFs and water currents, both of which had been added for this demo. Greenflower Zone Act 3 featured the re-added Egg Mobile boss from SRB2 Christmas. The boss's AI was toned down to make fighting it easier. At the time, the arena itself was rather basic, consisting of four large square platforms surrounded by shallow water, and a higher grass ledge with flowers next to the bordering walls. This arena was later redesigned in v2.1.

Techno Hill Zone Act 1 was also similar to how it appeared in the game before its redesign in v2.1, but the slime was not yet damaging and the factory part had platforms with fans instead of the current gas jet gimmick.

The Level End Sign graphic was changed and the sign no longer spun before finishing the level. The 10-minute time limit from SRB2 Christmas and Demo 1 was removed, allowing players to play levels without time restrictions.

Characters

The sprite set for Sonic's waiting animation was completed by this demo.

Tails, who was not included in Demo 1, was added back into the game with a mostly complete set of sprites of his own (some walking angles and gasping still displayed Sonic Xtreme sprites). His flight speed was slowed down compared to SRB2 Christmas and he could now fly underwater.

Knuckles was first introduced also, although without his climbing ability. Similarly to Sonic's multi-thok ability, Knuckles could stop and resume gliding as often as he wanted during one jump. At this point, he did not yet have his own sprites, so he used a random assortment of Sonic and Tails sprites from various sources.

Other changes

Demo 2 also furthered SRB2's transformation from a Doom port to a stand-alone game:

• A new title screen was added, the basic look of which would remain unchanged until being replaced with a new title screen in v2.2. At this point, the title screen was rendered using a reserved map slot and a pre-recorded demo. The reserved map slot was hardcoded to display the Sonic and wing logo graphics, and the demo created the scrolling sky effect by rotating the view within the map. From SRB2 2k3 onwards the title screen was re-coded not to need these.
• The menus were standardized to all use the same font. The "Multiplayer" and "Quit Game" options were removed from the main menu in this demo; the user must quit the game using F10 or the QUIT console command instead. ("Quit Game" would be re-added in Demo 3.)
• The automap, which was a leftover feature from Doom, was disabled (it would later return as part of development mode).
• Super Sonic's jump height was doubled.
• The Armageddon Shield now also exploded when the player was hurt and not just when activated intentionally.
• Colormaps were added to bodies of water in this demo.

Levels

Single Player levels

• MAP01: Greenflower Zone Act 1
• MAP02: Greenflower Zone Act 2
• MAP03: Greenflower Zone Act 3
• MAP04: Techno Hill Zone Act 1

Other

• MAP33 (reserved for the title screen)

Secrets

• Typing the cheat code BEEDEE on the screen in a level (without opening the console) crashes the game with the message: "Hohohoho!! *B^D". This was an in-joke referencing David Bulmer, who was a STJr member in SRB2's early years. This secret was present in SRB2 releases following this version until v1.09, when it was removed. A similar secret appeared later in v2.0. (Note: The crash message may not appear properly in modern versions of Windows except in the Final Demo releases.^{[confirm? – discuss]})

External links

• Archived Versions – srb2.org – Information and download
• Sonic Robo Blast 2 – Demo 2 Preview – Youtube