User:Digiku/SRB2 Version Timeline
Through SRB2's development, several releases, or versions, were made. A major version contained a multitude of improvements over the last version, such as game engine, and levels.
SRB2 Halloween
SRB2 Halloween is the first public release of SRB2. According to SSNTails, it had only been 40 days since they started coding SRB2. It consisted of only one playable level.
Halloween could be considered a very rudimentary precursor to what is known as SRB2 today. A lot of the elements then still retained their Doom origins.
SRB2Xmas v0.93
The SRB2Xmas releases were the next major releases in the SRB2 timeline. At this point in development, a lot of progress has been made. Game elements were a lot more intune to the classic Sonic games. The familiar HUD, for instance, was implemented.
This time around, there were more levels to play through — enough to be considered a complete game on its own. There were also secrets that existed, such as a level based on Sonic Adventure's Emerald Coast, and also a very early version of what is now known as Greenflower Zone Act 1.
SRB2Xmas v0.96
Demo 1
Demo 1 is the first of what could be considered the starting main set of SRB2 demos. Since the Xmas versions, more progress has been made yet. The game engine had a more solid build to it at this point.
Greenflower Zone Act 1 is the only playable level in this demo. However, the inclusion of GFZ1, an official level of the game, makes this demo significant as it starts what could've been seen as the main set of demos towards SRB2's completion.
Demo 2
Demo 2 added yet more improvements over Demo 1. Among the most significant of these is the amount of playable content added to SRB2.
Demo 2 introduced Greenflower Zone Act 2, Greenflower Zone Act 3, and Techno Hill Zone Act 1 in addition to the previous demo's GFZ1. This became a more complete representation of what the final SRB2 would be like in terms of Single Player gameplay.
Also starting in the Demo 2 era, internet play (or netgaming) started to be experimented with. At around this time, SSNTails created the first official Match map, titled "smatch.wad" (which is now known as Meadow Match Zone and is still included in releases to this day.)
Demo 3
Demo 3 added improvements to the netgame aspect of SRB2. For the first time, a full roster of Match levels was introduced, starting at MAP05 and then working upwards.
Demo 3 also introduced Tag mode, where in a netgame, one person is "It" and the other players try to run and hide from the person so they wouldn't get caught. One multiplayer level was devoted to Tag mode. At the time, Tag was extremely popular amongst netgamers, who had, in the past, played only in Match mode, as it was the only available competitive mode at the time.
Demo 4
Demo 4 made accomplishments in the way of both Single Player and Multiplayer types of play. Several elements of the game were introduced with this demo.
Special Stages, and therefore a proper way of collecting Chaos Emeralds, were introduced in Demo 4. The first Special Stages were created by Sonikku. Collecting all 7 emeralds also unlocked the secret "Castle Eggman Zone".
In the aforementioned sense, Castle Eggman Zone Acts 1, 2, and 3, were introduced in Demo 4. The introduction of the Chaos Emeralds and a "certain unlockable" for them was heavily hyped in the period before Demo 4's release. The developers would jokingly tease the community by ever-so-subtly calling the certain unlockable, "Cas**HACK**".
In the netgame aspect, Demo 4 introduced Capture the Flag mode, where there are two teams of players who try to retrieve the opposing team's flag. The multiplayer map roster was modified for Demo 4. The roster then included two CTF maps: versions of what are now known as Lime Forest Zone and Castle CTF zone.
Demo 4.1
Demo 4.1 was a minor release that fixed a major bug found in Demo 4.
Demo 4.1 also introduced the placeholder Knuckles sprites, modeled in 3D by DOHlberg (now known as Jackel) and then captured into sprite form for SRB2's use.
Demo 4.35
Demo 4.35 marked several improvements. It also marked the conversion to the Legacy 1.35 source code, which SRB2 is now based on.
SRB2 2k3
SRB2 2k3 is a demo showcasing major improvements to the Multiplayer aspect of the game. It could be considered a strong precursor to the Final Demo series of SRB2 demos, as the improvements shown in this demo are also very characteristic of how advanced the Final Demo series became in comparison to Demo 4.35 and other past demos.
SRB2 2k3 implemented a thought-out system for the multiplayer roster, so there were maps specifically designated for their respective gametypes. The MAP80-89/MAP90-99 numbering system of maps came into play at this demo.
SRB2 2k3 also implemented weapon rings.
Among other notable internal improvements made in this demo were the inclusion of high-resolution flats (those bigger than 64x64), and also the introduction of level headers. The introduction of level headers also made 2k3 the first demo in which multiplayer maps had names. Formerly, the multiplayer maps did not have names, as giving maps a name required extensive graphic resource editing for the title cards. Then, with the level header system, maps could be named simply by typing out an entry in the header, which would prompt the game to automatically generate a title card.
2k3 also had a secret NiGHTS level. It was an extremely early version of Spring Hill Zone. At this point in development, the NiGHTS system was still in the process of being coded. Hoops were placed as per a very preliminary generation algorithm of hoops.