Sonic 2 HD, the promising HD fan remake of Sonic 2 has been officially cancelled as per a message left by Vincent (the project leader) on the project’s official Facebook. Reasons for this are mainly pinned on ex-lead developer LOst who wouldn’t provide the rest of the team with a DRM free version of the game and is solely responsible for the inclusion of the DirectInput bug which made users believe they’d downloaded a keylogger. He is also the only person holding what would be the source code for the game so production cannot continue without his involvement.
DRAMA.
Never-the-less, it’s sad to see the project go as the alpha demo was an impressive piece of work by what is essentially a bunch of bedroom coders. 2 members of the team (scanline99 and Cerulean Nights) have moved on to other independent work in hopes of furthering their game-developing careers and we wish them all the best for the future.
Members of Sonic Retro have discovered that the keylogger found in Sonic 2 HD’s code is not harmful to anyone who downloaded the game.
Lead programmer LOst has also been fired from the team after “several allegations from team members that LOst held the project hostage through the inclusion of DRM, public feedback of a bloated engine running an otherwise simplistic game, and other behind the scenes issues.”
Anyone who downloaded the recently featured Sonic 2 HD needs to get rid of it fast as it was discovered recently that it contains a keylogger which could have potetntially bad consequences if you regularly enter passwords and personal information in secure websites. Here’s the full details from Sonic Retro:
“Earlier today, I was contacted by a professional antivirus employee who was interested in why Sonic 2 HD consistently popped up as a threat by multiple antivirus software programs and did some investigation. His results showed that a keylogger is part of the Sonic 2 HD software. After receiving this notification, we conducted our own independent tests and found that there is indeed a keylogging program as part of the Sonic 2 HD alpha software.
I want to emphasize that at this time, we have found no evidence that the software has been “phoning home” any data—only that we have found the capability exists.
Because this vulnerability has been found, we are strongly advising that the software be removed. You will need to delete the files included with the Sonic 2 HD zip, as well as the registry keys hooked at HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/NakaSMK (if you are unfamiliar on how to do this, go to Start->Run.., type regedit, follow the folder path, and then delete the NakaSMK folder.)
We will have more information on the situation as it evolves.”
UPDATE ON 29/3/12
Please be aware that the zip you have to download to play this game contains 2 infected files; a dll and the main executable. Remove these and use the 64 executable as to not put your computer at risk.
The Sonic Retro fan-game project Sonic 2 HD which aims to recreate Sonic 2 with high definition artwork, has received a new alpha release which is available to download from the project’s official website now.
erbuka85 on the Sonic Fan Games HQ forums has revealed this trailer for a work in progress Blue Spheres fan game that he calls ‘Blue Spheres Forever’. Just watch:
Doesn’t that look incredible!? More news on the this fan game as we get it!
WaterMelon Games have opened a new website called Magical Game Factory. The developers of Pier Solar (the Mega Drive RPG released in 2011) are allowing users to invest in game ideas using a GEMS system on the website. The most popular game ideas will then be considered for development by WaterMelon Games. Not only will investors help fund the development of a game, but they’ll also be given access to pre-order the game early and even receive a special ‘Investor Version’ of the finished game once it’s complete.
Pier Solar, the massive new Mega Drive RPG from Water Melon Co. is now back in stock. The version in stock is the reprint edition that features the old-school, black square artwork that Mega Drive fans will know from earlier releases.
However, the reprint edition does not come with the CD soundtrack that is optional to use with the game. The soundtrack used to be available as a downloadable image which you could burn yourself so that those with the reprint edition could experience the game the same way those who got the first pressing did.
Well now Water Melon Co. have made a 4 disc special edition of the soundtrack available for pre-order. The 4 disc edition contains the original soundtrack on 2 discs, as well as a disc of remixes and another disc which contains the soundtrack for use with the reprint edition.
The soundtrack is not expected to be released until the 1st April 2012 (this better not be an April Fools!) so there’s plenty of time to place an order. You can place an order at the official Water Melon Shop here: CLICK HERE
LakeFeperd is one busy little man! Not even a month after the release of Sonic Before the Sequel (which you can download here) and Lake has already released a demo for the sequel, ‘Sonic After the Sequel’. Check out the announcement trailer below:
There’s been a fair bit of activity in the Sonic fangaming scene and it all regards full releases (they apparently don’t happen according to some people)!
Sonic the Hedgehog Classic
Sonic the Hedgehog Classic has received several bugfixes as well as a newly implemented widescreen resolution. You can grab the latest version here: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Sonic Axiom
Sonic Axiom has also received several bugfixes and now plays better than ever. The latest version can be downloaded here: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Sonic Before the Sequel
The big news surrounds Sonic Before the Sequel which has finally been released. The game features flash animated cutscenes and a huge selection of diverse levels. Any serious Sonic fan owes it to themselves to check out this masterpiece of bedroom coding: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Gun Lord, the new game being developed for Dreamcast by NG:DEV.TEAM now has a fully functioning website which you can access HERE.
From the site we’ve learned that the release date will be the 15th of January 2012 and the game will be available in both regular and special editions that contain the soundtrack on CD.
A new trailer has also been released which you can check out below:
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