S2HD Q2 2016 Progress Report

While we've shown a lot of our work through visual changelogs and time-lapse videos since the project's revival, we've never really given a full progress report on where the project is at, and how close we are to another release. So for this reason, we've decided to provide you with some details on the things we've most recently working on and how the project is travelling.

The vectoring of the Chemical Plant Zone background is now finally complete. This has been our primary focus and one of our core goals lately. We are especially proud of this accomplishment since a large portion of the background, particularly the lower section, has been redesigned from scratch. We have used a multiple stage process in the creation of this background, as per the image below, starting with various lineart concepts from Nerkin. Once a particular design has been approved, the lineart will be colored and subsequently vectored by our level artists. Now that the Chemical Plant Zone background has been fully vectored, all that remains on the level art end of things for the next release are some minor bits and pieces for Hill Top Zone and adding animations to the CPZ background.

The development of one of the towers from the middle section of the CPZ background. Click image for full size.

Recently, we have brought onboard a new programmer, named Lake-Ishikawa, who has made some incredible progress on the implementation of the Special Stage physics and game mechanics. This is a very promising development. We've also seen some substantial work being done on asset creation for the pause menu and Nerkin's creative genius at work in some main menu concepts. This is an aid to providing you with the most polished release experience possible. Other recent work includes progress from Toni Leys on tracks for Hill Top Zone Act 2 and the Options Menu, superb animated artwork for the Hill Top Zone boss flamethrower and other fiery projectiles, and some work on enemy animations, with only one remaining for the next release.

Some of our immediate goals include animating Tails, importing the Chemical Plant Zone Background, and further refining and developing the engine. Stay tuned for more development updates!

-Team S2HD