Quite a history!
Exactly 20 years ago to the day, Christopho made the project’s very first commit. At the time, the project was simply a C++ remake of Zelda: Mystery of Solarus, modestly named “DX”. Those initial lines of code were followed by many more over the months, eventually giving birth to an engine that transformed this fan game into something far more polished than the RPG Maker 2000 version released in 2002.
Today, Solarus has evolved into a full-fledged engine that has enabled numerous creators to build their own games and fan games. We are proud to see the Solarus community remain active and eager to create increasingly ambitious games; this drives us to keep improving the engine further.
A few telling figures:
- 13,961 commits
- 33 releases
- 1,726 tickets, with 1,412 resolved (579 bugs fixed)
- 14 Zelda fan games released or available as demos
We aren’t stopping there. We are delighted to present a new version of Solarus: 2.1.0. This release introduces several new features and numerous bug fixes.
Let’s take a look at the major improvements in this version.
Audio gets a modern upgrade
Creators can now use audio contexts, allowing them to group sounds and music into one of three available contexts: main, game, and map. With these contexts, you can apply sound effects that add depth to your environments: echo, reverb, high-pass and low-pass filters, flanger, chorus, and more. Check the Lua documentation to learn more.
Auto-tiling gets an upgrade
A new tool has also arrived in the editor: the brush. With this tool, you can literally draw tiles onto your maps, saving a great deal of time during level design. Drawn tiles are automatically grouped, allowing you to generate outlines in a flash.
“Solarus Ice”
Finally, we have drastically improved ice terrain, making it feel more natural and very similar to its counterpart in Zelda: A Link to the Past. Any games featuring ice terrain benefit from this improvement right now! Could this be the perfect opportunity to revisit a certain Zelda: Return of the Hylian…?
Have fun!
Whether you are a creator or just a player, enjoy Solarus 2.1.0 to the fullest.
This version remains compatible with games created for Solarus 1.5, 1.6, and 2.0. Consult the migration guide for the few details requiring your attention if you plan to upgrade your game to Solarus 2.1. Finally, please don’t hesitate to report any bugs you encounter; your help is always invaluable to us.
Below is the complete list of changes for this version: