Hello everybody! OLDC staff and the collab participants have been working on the next exciting round of the OLDC for quite a while now, and we’re pleased to finally share what we’ve cooked up. (I’m a bit late to publish this, but between issues preventing me from getting this news post up at all and some severe bugs with the initial release, I opted to wait.) We decided to have a little extra fun this time around, allowing participants to create little stores in a mall, which functions as this round’s hub. As with last round, participants were also encouraged to allow fellow participants to enhance their map submissions.

Round 2 here contains a total of 34 maps to play (not far from the current record of 41), ranging from plains to farms to glaciers to asteroids and much, much more. Mappers like Othius and Vixuzen have returned to the event once more, and newcomers like starshy and SonicHeroX45 have brought some variety to the table as well.

There are once again several new features this time around, the most important of which being the mall minimap, which can be enabled or disabled with a console command. The mall really is massive, but the minimap should help you find your way around.

If you’d like to play the latest iteration of the OLDC, make sure you’re running SRB2 v2.2.13 or later, then click here to grab it! Quite a few entries have already been submitted for the next OLDC, but if you haven’t gotten yours in yet, make sure you do so before May 1st, 2024, at 11:59pm UTC (6:59pm EST).

As always, thanks for your continued support of SRB2, and thanks for playing! Speaking of playing, quit reading this post like a big nerd and go play the new OLDC pack already!

Hello everybody! Here’s the conclusion of our double triple whammy!

The latest round of the OLDC has just released. As most of you are aware by now, the OLDC is no longer a contest, it’s a collaboration instead. The changes in the previous event were big, but we want to go all in on collaboration. This time, we decided to do something new: once the participants had a while to polish their maps, we asked them all to collaborate in order to further enhance each other’s maps. With this change, the OLDC is no longer simply a pack of levels submitted by a bunch of people, it’s a truly collaborative event!

And what an event this has been! Our participants have got a whopping 29 maps for you all to play — including the most Single Player maps ever in an OLDC to date — and some of them are just incredible. Mappers like Othius, RoyKirbs, and TheLastKitchenGun have taken full advantage of the capabilities of UDMF to create visually stunning playgrounds for Sonic and the gang to roam. Programmers like Tatsuru, BuggieTheBug, and Princess Plushima have also provided some incredible Lua work which is used to provide gameplay experiences never seen in SRB2 before.

There are several cool new features this time around, but the feature I want to make sure people are aware of is the special new portals that only appear while in a multiplayer game. We thought they would make it more convenient to access the handful of ringslinger and circuit maps included. They might make for a nice break between co-op levels.

If you’re interested in playing the latest edition of the OLDC, make sure you update SRB2 to v2.2.13, then click here to check it out! We’re looking forward to the next round of OLDC submissions, which are due November 1st, 2023, at 11:59pm UTC (6:59pm EST). We’ve already gotten a couple, in fact.

With that, the whammying subsides. As always, we’ll be keeping you posted here on SRB2.org and our social media accounts. Thanks for playing!

Our double whammy is now a triple whammy. Guess we needed one more release candidate, but we were just so excited to launch that we forgot. Here’s an update that makes netgames work correctly again, plus some bonus bug fixes and optimizations.

• Fixed renderhitbox causing netgame instability
• Fixed floorsprite rendering causing a possible crash if the sprite had a size of 1×1
• Fixed hitbox interpolation when scaling mobjs
• Optimized sprite rendering in the software renderer
• Exposed skin.supername to Lua

More details about this changelog are on our GitLab. Grab the update from the usual place. See you soon with the REAL conclusion!

Hello everybody! To cap off the summer, we’re bringing you part 1 of a double whammy of releases! Today’s release is SRB2 v2.2.12. Let’s start with the major highlights of the patch:

The first change I’d like to talk about has been requested by probably hundreds if not thousands of players by now, going back farther than when I myself started playing SRB2: you can now save the game and unlock secrets when addons are loaded. For as long as I can remember, SRB2 locked you out of saving with addons loaded as a defense against cheating — in the old days, the question our team asked was “Why should you be allowed to keep all 7 Chaos Emeralds if you only got them by replacing GFZ1 with a little room with the emeralds in it?” Well, times and changed, and the question we now ask is “Why not?” We believe that SRB2 is a game that people should be able to play any way they want. Besides, modders have long since figured out that all you had to do to save with addons was to load a SOC that allowed you to make custom saves, so all the limitation served to accomplish was to be an inconvenience to players who just wanted to 100% the game as Shadow. So go out there, add your favorite characters and scripts, and enjoy playing SRB2 the way YOU want! (To be clear, stuff like DEVMODE is still considered cheating and will still stop you from saving, so don’t go thinkin’ there’s no more cheat protections at all!)

The other major change I’d like to talk about is multiplayer emblems. You can now team up with your friends locally or online to collect emblems in the base game campaign or any map pack. For most map packs, the emblems you collect in netgames are yours alone; they are not shared with other players. They’ll have to hunt ’em down themselves! However, map pack creators can choose to make them shared by setting SHAREEMBLEMS = true in their MAINCFG SOC. Just remember, in netgames, the content that’s unlocked and accessible is determined by whatever the host player has unlocked. A minor exception to this is dedicated servers, wherein all content is automatically unlocked. Additionally, you can now unlock record attack emblems in regular single-player gameplay and in netgames. We hope you’ll have a great time earning and tracking down emblems with these changes.

Also worth noting are these changes:

• Fixed inconsistent crash caused by music volume fading while changing to different music
• 44 new player colors (press enter on the selector to see ’em all in a nice grid)
• Toggle fullscreen on/off with F11, toggle renderers with F10
• More accurate FPS counter
• Cutscenes now play at correct speed for netgame clients
• Fixed joining netgames during intermission causing strange behavior
• Fixed IPv6 support
• New UDMF, SOC, and Lua features

This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of changes, so check out the full changelog to see the rest. Fixes for the long-standing issues commonly known as “leavebug” and “chatbug” are not on it — we’re still looking for a reliable way to reproduce those, so if you know of one, please get on our Discord server or our GitHub or GitLab and tell us about it. Additionally, changing from OpenGL to software render modes may not work in fullscreen; try going back to windowed mode with F11 first.

Please also note that the changes in the UDMF implementation have resulted in maps using object scaling to only scale their sprites, not their properties. You’ll want to extract your map’s TEXTMAP lump using SLADE, then run this Python script we wrote on it. Just make sure TEXTMAP is in the same folder as the script, and when the script is finished, you’ll get a TEXTMAP_MODIFIED.txt. Replacing the TEXTMAP in your map with the modified one will restore the objects to the way they behaved in the previous patch.

Those of you deeply ingrained in our community are probably aware by now that one of our artists, MotorRoach, has completed a set of improved sprites for each character in SRB2. We know many of you were looking forward to seeing this in v2.2.12, but we have chosen to hold off on putting them in the game for now. While 4 of the 6 characters’ sprites are ready to put in the game right now, the last two, Fang and Amy, require code to account for additional animation frames created as part of the improvement process. This code was not worked on in time for the feature freeze phase of this patch cycle. Although we could have put the new sprites in for four of the characters, we ultimately decided that it was more important to keep the scope of this patch under control, and to keep the style of all the characters’ sprites consistent. While we can’t promise when we’ll be implementing them, rest assured we know how excited you are to play with them — trust me, we’re excited to play with them too! — and we’re underway working on the necessary code to get them in the game proper.

For those of you not in the know, click here to see a sneak peek at the improved sprites!

That wraps up our news for today. Don’t forget to grab the new patch on our Download page. Keep an eye here on SRB2.org and on our social media accounts so you don’t miss the thrilling conclusion of our double whammy. Thanks for being such an incredible community, and as always, thanks for playing!

Hello everybody! We’re happy to inform you that another fantastic SRB2 update has landed on your doorstep. Here are the key changes in SRB2 v2.2.11:

• Removed the framerate limit: Using interpolation, SRB2 can now run at far more than 35fps, allowing for smoother looking 60fps gameplay (or much higher on supported monitors). You can set a custom limit at the bottom of Video Options.
• Fixed error 503: This prevented some players from accessing the ingame Master Server browser. If you’ve been having trouble using the Master Server, give it another try.
• Support larger characters in ERZ: Addon characters with large collision boxes, such as Ryder the Falcon, can now complete ERZ. We introduced some new gravity-related elements you can add to your maps as a part of this fix. Read about them here.
• Added support for the Universal Doom Map Format (UDMF): UDMF is a more flexible and powerful map format that allows for easier editing and more complex level designs. This long-awaited feature is a game-changer for mappers, opening up new possibilities for custom levels.
  • The implementation isn’t set in stone. We intend to make changes to it based on mappers’ feedback if necessary.
  • The UDMF map editor is not complete. Until it is complete, you can find the latest build pinned in #udmf on our Discord server.
  • You can convert your existing map to the new format, but older levels should continue to work as normal (let us know if they don’t!)
  • UDMF maps are allowed to be submitted to the OLDC!
• Better rendering in large levels: Levels that used to break the renderer by the sheer size of their rooms should be far more visually stable now.
• Improved Lua command/cvar safety and added basic rate limitation for Lua file access: Helps prevent addons from writing too much data to hard disk, among other things.

There are plenty of other bug fixes and other improvements. Check out the changelog for a complete list.

We appreciate your continued support and feedback as we work on our favorite project. You would probably appreciate heading over to our downloads page to get the new patch and start playing. Enjoy!

Hey everybody! I hope spring is treating you all well. We are thrilled to announce that the OLDC is officially back after all these months!

In case you missed it, the OLDC is no longer a contest. It has become a purely collaborative event. Check out this news post to catch up. We concluded that article with the news that OLDC submissions would be closed until our new rules were in place, and now that they’re published, I’d like to talk through some of the changes with you.

First, the collab divisions have changed. There are now only four of them, all part of base SRB2: Single Player, Circuit, Match, and Capture the Flag. We know there are still a good number of Battle fans out there, but we’ve run into logistical issues that prevent us from including its game modes. On the plus side, this means there only has to be one file per pack from now on, which should hopefully make adding the OLDC pack to your game a little easier.

The second and most important change to the event is the new requirement that all participants must be members of our Discord server in addition to having an SRB2MB account in good standing (read: not banned). During our last few events, we have used a private Discord channel for event participants to talk in, where they helped each other test maps, fix bugs, and more. It is now the most important source of map feedback for all submitters, and discussion there leads to an overall better final map pack for everyone to enjoy. But why require every participant to be there? Well, submitters who chose not to be present there simply weren’t there to get all the important feedback, and therefore they couldn’t use that feedback to improve their maps before each pack launched. We believe that this phase of private group testing, bug fixing, and feedback is so important that we are requiring all participants to be a part of it. We have even moved the submission process to Discord — you won’t be submitting OLDC entries via the Message Board anymore.

Third, I’d like to mention that each OLDC pack from here on out will have the permissions set for anyone to maintain it, but not make major modifications to it. This is a more lenient approach compared to previous packs, which were fully barred from being ported or otherwise modified by anyone outside of event participants and staff. (If you weren’t aware, the simple “reusable” vs. “non-reusable” system we used to have for addons submitted to the Message Board is gone; it’s been replaced with new options you can read about here.)

Finally, some minor details: In the past, we required maps to work properly in the software renderer and not cause crashes. We still require maps not to crash, but we have expanded the requirement for maps to work properly to include both software and OpenGL rendering modes. It’s fine if one render mode doesn’t look quite right, though, as long as the level remains playable in it. We are willing to make exceptions for submitters who don’t have computers capable of running both render modes, but please note you will need to hand off your map to other participants in order to have it fixed in time for release. Also, custom music and sound effects must be converted to OGG format (quality level 0). We’ve included a link to how to do this within the event rules. [EDIT: A small handful of other formats are now allowed for music as well — see full rules for details.] Last but not least, we have lifted the restriction on the amount of maps you’re allowed to submit. Please keep in mind that you should be striving for quality over quantity when you make maps to submit, though — don’t spread yourself too thin!

That’s it! The submission deadline is Saturday, July 1st at 6:59PM EST. Be sure to check out the full rules before you submit, and make sure your entry complies with them. We’re stoked to get this event off the ground, and we hope you are too! See you soon!

Well, we didn’t have anything special prepared for the big day. It kinda snuck up on us. Sorry.

So instead of showing something off, we wanted to hear from you! We asked what your favorite memories of SRB2 were on social media. There were plenty of people talking about downloading the game on to their school computers, nostalgia for almost every version of the game (and every mod you’d expect), big achievements in speedrunning, antics in netgames, and much, much more. If you’d like to take a real trip down memory lane, check out the many responses to our post on Twitter.

As for me, the big hype trains behind the v2.2 and SRB2Kart releases were big highlights, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss struggling to play Final Demo netgames on mom’s slow PC and slow internet. Well, okay, maybe only a little bit.

What SRB2 gave me that I’ll remember the most is the drive to learn and grow. To put it shortly, I may have never gone down the path of game development if I didn’t have a free Sonic game to make levels for as a kid. I wouldn’t have met any of the people I now consider to be my best friends, either, and they wouldn’t have helped shape me into who I am today.

Thank you SSNTails, Sonikku, all of STJr and Kart Krew, and everyone else who contributed to SRB2 and/or its community over the years.

I can’t tell you if I’ll still be here writing news posts in 25 years, but whether I am or not, I think SRB2 will still be around in one form or another by then. After all, it’s proved to be a great platform for people to have fun playing and creating, and that’s not changing any time soon.

I look forward to seeing that future. I hope you do, too.

Hello everybody! If you’ve been paying attention to our Discord server and our social media accounts, then you’re already aware that the latest OLDC pack is out. There are some pretty good maps in it that you should definitely check out, especially since we’ve just put out a patch that fixes issues in four of the maps. This round is a little different from previous one, though — from this round forward, OLDC no longer stands for Official Level Design Contest. Instead, it stands for Official Level Design Collab!

We made this change for several important reasons. First, we felt that removing the contest element from the event would create a more positive atmosphere in the community. There aren’t any winners or losers anymore, just a bunch of cool people making maps. Second, this solves a long-standing issue we’ve been running into with submissions for the multiplayer categories. Multiplayer has simply not been as popular to make maps for as single player, so submissions for match, CTF, circuit, etc often ended up with no maps to compete against. We addressed this by holding maps back from release in OLDC packs until they had another map to compete against, but this means submitters would have to wait a minimum of 6 extra months before their map would be released, and we ended up with a few maps that waited well over a year. With the contest aspect gone, multiplayer maps will always be released in the pack they were built for. We hope this will inspire more people to submit new multiplayer maps. Third, shifting gears away from being a contest makes it easier on us to host the event. There’s a surprising amount of behind the scenes work that goes into running a contest, and we seem to have less free time to work on it every year. With a collaborative format, we can simply release the pack with no extra work required. Several minor things also contributed to this decision. We hope this change to the event will be a net positive for everyone! Also, we expect to revise the OLDC rules later on — we’ll let you know how that turns out. Please note that OLDC submissions will remain closed until the new rules are published.

With that out of the way, I’d like to briefly address the other half of this article’s headline: Sonic Team Jr. now has a Mastodon account. Mastodon is a free and open source social media platform that recently gained traction in the wake of events on a certain bird-themed website we use. This post from Fedi.Tips explains more about it. We’ll still be on our bird- and face-themed accounts, too.

That’s all we’ve got for you today, but we’re hard at work wrapping up development on the upcoming v2.2.11 patch. We plan to upload a build for our prerelease testers on our Discord server as soon as possible. Why not join and be among the first to help with testing it? Some newly-added features have introduced bugs, so we’re trying to fix them before prerelease — please be patient! Until then, keep being the awesome community you are, and thanks for playing!

Hey everyone! Round 1 of this year’s OLDC has ended. There were a lot of great and amazing maps created for this OLDC round. Let’s see the results!

The winners of the single player division goes to Othius, Kanna, and Spectorious with their entry, Foliage Furnace Zone Act 2. An incredible sequel to Foliage Furnace Zone Act 1 with a lot of neat barrel canons interactions and a scorching hot furnace theme to go with it! Congratulations!

Now onto the multiplayer division!
The winner for the Battle CTF division goes to PeneBoi with their entry Quartz Quadrant. A very fun and vibrant map featuring Sonic CD’s Quartz Quadrant in Battle CTF! Congratulations!

The winner for the CTF division goes to Blast98 with their entry Aquatic Territories Zone. An interesting CTF map based underwater with bases! Congratulations!

You can view the full contest results here. If you haven’t checked out this contest pack yet, you can download it here.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the OLDC 2022 Round 1! The deadline for OLDC 2022 Round 2 is December 1st, 2022 at 23:59 UTC (6:59 EST). See you next OLDC!

The Official Level Design Contest is back! This round has 14 single player maps, 2 CTF maps, and 3 Battle CTF maps, totaling 19 entries by 18 creators. All aboard the contest train! Be sure to vote for your favorite maps when you’re finished playing. Check it out!

Please submit your votes before July 11th, 2022 @ 6:59 PM EST (23:59 UTC). Thanks to all our contestants, and have fun!