Super Smash Flash 2 Dev Blog

A Super Smash Flash 2 Dev Blog, shortened as SSF2 Dev Blogs, is a weekly chronicle posted by SSF2 Developers to show off some new features that will be included in the following version of Super Smash Flash 2. It contains detailed information about SSF2 ' s production from the developer's perspective, as well as some inside information.

v0.8 Dev Blogs
The first iteration covered v0.8 and ran on a weekly basis from October to December of 2011. For the first month, it covered some general features, such as improved graphics and AI, while the rest of the blog focused on the changes made for each character individually.

Dev Blog #1 — Aesthetics (3/10/11)
In the first Dev Blog, many visual upgrades were revealed. The game's sprite-based hit effects, knockback dust, shields, and attacks like ' PK moves were changed to use vector-based animations. Stages were upgraded as well, with 's day-night cycle being added and Tower of Salvation's stage hazard becoming much more effective. Items and some characters received animation tweaks, reducing the number of reused frames and increasing the quality overall. In addition, the charge bars were finally replaced with various new aesthetic effects to let the player know when a move was done charging.
 * Original thread

Dev Blog #2 — The Engine (9/10/11)
In the second Dev Blog, many changes to the game's engine were shown. Knockback trajectory was adjusted to give gravity a greater influence, allowing for a stronger combo game. Shields were also modified to be less abusable, but also better at dealing with projectiles than before. Teching, reversible knockback, Star KOs, Screen KOs, DI, SDI, unique aerial physics, traction, meteor cancelling, and higher hitstun were also mentioned.
 * Original thread

Dev Blog #3 — Character Upgrades (16/10/11)
The third Dev Blog revealed some character changes, giving some of them special gimmicks as a means to make them feel less generic or otherwise improve their playability. was given his Linked Artes; was given his powered up smash attacks and the Death effect on his down air;  was given his Weapon Switch mechanic, his spread-shot up air, and manual Crash Bomb detonation; and  was given a variety of attacks that used Shadow Clones, such as side special move and his throws. In addition, a variety of general move chances were made: 's Gazan was given a new grounded version, Naruto's fully charged Rasengan was changed, was given some new Stone variations,  got his Gale Boomerang and Bomb Arrows,  could now do a grounded float, Lloyd's special Guardian was replaced with Grave Blade, Mega Man got a new ball and chain attack based on the Knight Crush from Mega Man 6 as his down smash, and 's Kaiō-ken was made more threatening. Each character was also given new throw animations, item attacks, and were modified to have attributes that more closely resembled their official Super Smash Bros. counterparts.
 * Original thread

Dev Blog #4 — Balancing (23/10/11)
The fourth update for the Dev Blog showed off some of the balancing changes that were made for the new demo. Goku's Ki Blasts and down smash were nerfed, while his other moves were buffed to give him a better combo game. could no longer repeatedly use his Spin Dash over and over to shoot across the stage as he could in v0.7. was totally reworked into a character with amazing combo abilities but limited kill power. Naruto and Lloyd's changes from the previous update were shown off a bit more, as well as Lloyd's new recovery nerf and the rather infamous "glass cannon" claim that came along with it. Black Mage's recovery, on the other hand, was made faster, and his attacks were modified to link into each other better. Finally, an entire video was shown detailing the buffs that Kirby got, which finally allowed him to climb out of bottom tier for the first time ever.
 * Original thread

Dev Blog #5 — Wrap Up (30/10/11)
The final Dev Blog included a new trailer, revealing Fox as a playable character. Also, a release date of 12/25/2011 was given.
 * Original thread

Dev Blog Mini Posts
The Mini Dev Blogs each focused on a specific character, including a combo video as well as some additional information on the character that was left out of the main Dev Blogs. Kirby does not get one, as his video was shown during Dev Blog #4.


 * Dev Blog Mini Post #1 - Mario (10/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #2 - Lloyd (12/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #3 - Ichigo (14/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #4 - Sonic (19/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #5 - Naruto (20/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #6 - Link (26/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #7 - Goku (27/11/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #8 - Peach (3/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #9 - Black Mage (4/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #10 - Ness (10/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #11 - Sora (11/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #12 - Wario (17/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #13 - Tails (18/12/11)
 * Dev Blog Mini Post #14 - Mega Man (24/12/11)

Beta Dev Blogs
The second iteration was confirmed in early 2016 as part of the developers' plans for the year, and is currently covering the development status for SSF2 Beta. The Beta Dev Blog started on March 3rd, 2016, and a new entry is added on every Friday. Unlike v0.8's Dev Blogs, these blogs are posted in the news section of the McLeodGaming website, rather than on the McLeodGaming Forums. Discussions and comments about the blogs, however, still take place in the forums.

Dev Blog #1 — Welcome To The New McLeodGaming.com! (4/3/16)
In the first Beta Dev Blog, it explains how the McLeodGaming website has been updated with a more minimalistic, yet intuitive, design. At the same time, Two images were slipped into the article as a form of a "sneak peek" of updates to come. Sirtopeia posted the notice. This is the only blog entry with two alternate names, in the main site it is titled "Welcome To The New McLeodGaming.com!" while its discussion board on the forums is simply titled as "Website".
 * Original post

Dev Blog #2 — Effects (11/3/16)
In the second Beta Dev Blog, it shows how the game's effects have been updated; as the sneak peeks were revealing. Refurin posted the notice and he said that the next one would be posted by Proto, and would involve something much complained by the fans.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #3 — Balancing (18/3/16)
In the third Beta Dev Blog, it showcases balancing tweaks that some characters have received, though it should be mentioned that these changes are not necessarily finalized. The blog started by showcasing, who now has an improved up special move that reaches the top speed faster and has a stronger hit in the end, giving it KO power. Also, his down aerial has increased range, he can angle his grabs, and he has a new up aerial. After that, was showcased, with nerfs on both of her Lightning Kicks, giving them less damage and knockback, while increasing her landing lag. Din's Fire no longer explodes on whiff, though the move itself now hits multiple times. Her recovery is slower and shorter, but she can now use her "elevator combo", like Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. was nerfed a bit, with a sour spot on back aerial and the ability for opponents to DI out of up throw. It ended with minor nerfs, a video of Chibi-Robo vs. Zelda, and a announcement that the next Dev Blog would show something "everyone wanted to hear".
 * Original post

Dev Blog #4 — Audio and Music (25/3/16)
The fourth Dev Blog, written by thegreatapish, focused on the changes for audio and music in Beta. For example, it talked about upcoming sound effects changes and edits, and it mentioned how is voiced by voice actress Darcy Maguire. It also showcased a revised version of 's victory theme, announcing that some victory fanfares would be revisited. Finally, in its largest announcement, it confirmed the inclusion of alternate music tracks in Beta, meaning each stage will get two music tracks to listen to. It showcased two of them, and announced a follow up blog with even more music.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #5 — Costumes (1/4/16)
The fifth Dev Blog, written by spid3y916, claims its focus would be alternate colors and costumes being brought to SSF2 Beta. Before any information is given, the blog suddenly cuts into static and a laugh is heard. spid3y916 tries to resume the blog, but the transmission is interrupted by ＣＬＥＯＤＢＯＴ, a bot with the likeness of Greg McLeod supposedly created by the dev team to assist them when they are busy but has grown tired of working and has escaped. It claims devs tried and failed to deactivate it, and so it will reveal their secrets and make SSF2 pay. To achieve its mission, he claims he has uploaded its consciousness to a vessel that feels, is angry and wants revenge. The blog ends with a video montage with some SSF2 Beta gameplay featuring a playable Sandbag. This Dev Blog was actually McLeodGaming's 2016 April Fools' Day joke. The blog shares its discussion topic with the Dev Blog #5.1 under the name "Sandbag" but initially carried the name "Costumes".
 * Original post

Dev Blog #5.1 — Sandbag Bonus Blog! (3/4/16)
A complementary post for the fifth Dev Blog written by TSON, it goes into detail that, after the "mishap" of the previous entry, the Sandbag was made into a fully functional playable character, designed as the ultimate joke character and should be considered as an extra bonus – not as a member of the main cast. Sandbag is confirmed to be an unlockable character in SSF2 Beta and will remain unlockable in the full release. Its unlock method is said to be extremely different from normal unlock conditions to further drive home the idea of being a plus-one to the cast. TSON also clarifies the gameplay of the character, explaining that as a joke character, he is not as "complete" as other characters. For example, the Sandbag can't grab ledges since he doesn't have any limbs, but it strangely can grab items. It is also shown some screenshots of the Final Smash where it executes its "revenge" sucking up the character nearest to it and teleports them to the Home-Run Contest Arena where the Sandbag launches the opponent to a exaggerated far distance that even cracks the distance counter. The blog shares its discussion topic with the Dev Blog #5 under the name "Sandbag".
 * Original post

Dev Blog #6 — Costumes (8/4/16)
In this dev blog, written by spid3y916, it confirms that every character will now have at least seven palette swaps, instead of five, and many character costumes have undergone some significant changes to give them a more natural appearance. In addition, several new costumes, some of which were based on other characters, were revealed, including Dark Samus, Ghost Ness, Shadow Sora, Wolf, and classic Pokemon colors, among others. There was also a hidden message which, when decoded, revealed an additional screenshot confirming that alternate costume accessories were possible, along with the Lake of Rage as a new stage.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #7 — Items (15/4/16)
Written and published by d0ntk, this blog confirms many new items for Beta, such as Fireworks, Motion Sensor Bomb (both previously confirmed via Facebook), Smart Bombs, Blast Boxes and Explosive Tags (returning from 0.9a, with a revamped sprite). It also introduced the Beam Rod, a new item from the Kirby Universe, which shots small beams, and the Master Ball, a Pokéball which traps nearby opponents for a short while. The blog also showcased new sprites for some existing items, and it introduced new item mechanics such as item throwing animations, item knockback and glide toss, an advanced technique that allows characters to move while throwing items.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #8 — Stages (23/4/16)
This Dev Blog was originally slated to appear on the 22nd, but technical issues pushed the release back for a day. Written by Zero Insanity, it reveals some new stage-related content, including a re-sprite for Jungle Hijinx currently unfinished, the return and re-sprite of the then-removed after a long absence. In addition, some new stages were revealed including Mushroom Kingdom I, Lake of Rage, Steel Diver, and Flat Zone+.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #9 — Mechanics and Fixes (28/4/16)
This blog was posted on Thursday night rather than on Friday as usual. This Dev Blog, written by TSON, shows some of the new bug fixes and mechanics changes. These changes include increased landing lag, decreased traction, clanking/trading, more powerful jab resets, buffering, and save glitch fixing.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #10 — Pokéballs (6/5/16)
This dev blog was written by ElvisDitto, and discusses some of the new changes in store for the Pokémon. Some Pokémon are getting resprited in order to better fit the style of the game. Other Pokémon now have special variations that may appear in place of the original, such as Porygon, Porygon2 or PorygonZ. Other new/modified Pokémon include Garchomp, Zygarde, Heracross, Tepig, Snivy, Seedot, Jirachi, Beedrill, Bellossom, Koffing, Venusaur, Blastoise, Charizard, and Pichu. It also briefly went over some background Pokémon, such as Beldum and Magnemite.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #11 — Audio & Alternate Tracks (5/13/16)
A continuation or complementation to Dev Blog #4, though it was mostly written by Chernabogue, it featured contributions from the entire audio team as well. Five of the game's alternate tracks were revealed:
 * 1) Skyloft, for Skyward Voyage. A remix of the Skyloft theme.
 * 2) Mega Man X Medley, for Central Highway. A medley featuring the themes of the Mavericks Chill Penguin, Boomer Kuwanger, Storm Eagle, and Spark Mandrill.
 * 3) Hidden Leaf Medley, for Hidden Leaf Village. A composition of various genres comprising tunes from the Naruto anime.
 * 4) Bowser's Rampage, for Bowser's Castle. An ominous mix of Ultimate Bowser theme from Super Mario 64 and Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 64.
 * 5) Team Rocket Hideout, for Silph Co.. An orchestra/electronic remix of the original theme from Pokémon Red and Blue.
 * Original post

Dev Blog #12 — Performance and Quality Settings (5/20/16)
Authored by 135, this dev blog announced new code optimizations to the engine, in order to impove performance in lower-end computers. The blog also showed a new Quality settings menu, with many new options and toggles to disable elements such as backgrounds, light effects, shadows, etc. The blog finished announcing the next dev blog, by 194, which will deal with character design for Beta.