S2ENGINE HD News

[p]After an intense testing period exclusively for patrons, we’re finally ready to release S2ENGINE 2025 to all Steam users! 🎉[/p][p]This version marks a major step forward for the engine, with a wide range of improvements, bugfixes, and new features that make game development more professional, stable, and flexible than ever.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🔧 Key Features[/h3]

• [p]New GUID-based Resource Referencing System
  You can now freely rename or move assets without breaking links.[/p]
• [p]Scene Object and Prefab Referencing Overhaul
  All scene objects and prefabs are now referenced by unique IDs — feel free to rename them without losing connections.[/p]
• [p]New Show/Hide Widget Transitions
  In addition to fade, widgets can now be shown/hidden using a smooth slide animation — perfect for modern UIs.[/p]
• [p]Spawner Improvements
  You can now assign a probability density map to control how frequently each prefab in the list gets spawned.[/p]
• [p]New Editor Icons
  The editor interface has been refreshed with cleaner and more modern visuals.[/p]
• [p]10 New GameMachine Actions, including:
  PreCacheObjects, WrapRangeFloat, SetOneShotAnimationSpeed, PutWidgetInForeground, GetRandomVec3, and more.[/p]
• [p]Numerous Bugfixes
  Including issues with RestorePrefabs, and cases where static objects reappeared after deleting a parent object and reloading a scene.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]⚠️ Upgrading Legacy Projects[/h3][p]S2ENGINE 2025 introduces a new GUID-based reference system.
For this reason, projects created with earlier versions must be updated properly to ensure full compatibility.[/p][p]📝 A dedicated article on Patreon explains all necessary steps:
🔗https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-resource-in-133765872[/p][p]⚠️ Do not update legacy projects without reviewing the article![/p][hr][/hr][h3]📦 How to Get the Update[/h3][p]If you already have S2ENGINE installed via Steam, the update will download automatically.
You can verify the version from the engine launcher.[/p][p]Important: it is strongly recommended to also perform a "Verify Integrity of Game Files" via Steam after the update.
To do this:[/p]

1. [p]Open your Steam Library[/p]
2. [p]Right-click on S2ENGINE HD → Properties[/p]
3. [p]Go to the “Local Files” tab[/p]
4. [p]Click “Verify integrity of game files…”[/p]

[p]Steam will scan for missing or corrupted files and replace them if necessary.
This process may take a few minutes but helps prevent runtime issues or installation corruption.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🙏 Thanks to All Patrons[/h3][p]A special thank you goes to all the patrons who took part in the BETA phase, tested the engine thoroughly, reported bugs, and helped shape this release.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🔄 The BETA Phase is Over, But Your Feedback Still Matters![/h3][p]While the Patreon-exclusive BETA is now officially over, your support and feedback remain extremely important.[/p][p]📢 Please continue to report any bugs, issues, or suggestions you come across while working with the engine.
Every report helps us fine-tune the release and keep S2ENGINE stable and reliable for everyone.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🔜 What’s Next?[/h3][p]Keep creating, experimenting, and sharing your projects with S2ENGINE!
And as always — your feedback is welcome.[/p]

[p]Together, we’re stronger. 💪[/p]

We’re thrilled to announce that the latest version of S2Engine (2024.2) is now available to everyone! This release brings a host of incredible new features, improvements, and fixes to enhance your game development experience with S2Engine.

This version is the public release of the beta made available to our Patrons a few days ago. Here’s an overview of what’s new:

[h2]🔹 Highlights of S2Engine 2024.2[/h2]

[h3]Temporal Antialiasing (TAA):[/h3]

• Enjoy dramatically improved visual quality with cleaner, flicker-free edges for a more cinematic look.
  

[h3]New Font System:[/h3]

• Support for Signed Distance Field rendering for scalable, high-quality text without artifacts.
  
• Direct TTF file import for seamless font integration.
  
• Fallback fonts for multilingual support, including Chinese, Russian, and Japanese.
  

[h3]Localization System:[/h3]

• Simplify the process of creating multilingual games with tools to manage translations effortlessly while preserving formatting.
  

[h3]Enhanced UI Editing:[/h3]

• Snap grid for precise element alignment.
  
• Mouse-friendly placement and resizing of interface elements.
  
• DPI-based scaling for consistent UI presentation across all resolutions.
  

[h2]📜 Release Notes for S2Engine 2024.2[/h2]

[h3]Bug Fixes:[/h3]

• Resolved a crash occurring when the physics profile is enabled, and the game simulation is started and closed.
  
• Fixed an issue where dynamic objects with overridden "GameMachines" parameters would behave incorrectly due to activation cache restoring the prefab's original parameter.
  
• Corrected the "NO-STREAM" option of the "streamPriority" object parameter, which previously failed to prevent textures from streaming.
  
• Addressed a bug where deleting a static mesh object from a prefab did not update the parent's attach list, leading to incorrect prefab updates.
  
• Fixed a bug where Physics Universal Joints did not update correctly when "Game Logic Simulation" was enabled.
  

[h3]Improvements:[/h3]

• Widgets can now be moved by dragging them with the mouse in the GUI editor.
  
• Improved widget selection in the GUI editor viewport.
  
• Introduced a safety check for GameMachine events to prevent infinite loops between immediate events (with a delay of -1).
  
• Copying and pasting a GameMachine state now includes the state transitions.
  
• Added stability improvements to the prefab system.
  

[h3]New Features:[/h3]

• Added a GetInputNameByCode GameMachine action for greater flexibility.
  
• Introduced a new GetNumStringTokens GameMachine action to enhance scripting capabilities.
  

[h2]Want to Learn More?[/h2]
For a deeper dive into the key features and improvements, check out these detailed articles on Patreon:

• Implementing Temporal Antialiasing
• Introducing the New Font System
• New UI Editing and DPI-Based Scaling

[h2]Get Started Today![/h2]
Update your S2Engine now and experience all the new features and enhancements firsthand. Your feedback is invaluable, so don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and experiences with this release. Together, we’re shaping the future of S2Engine.

Thank you for your continued support! 🚀

[h2]RELEASE NOTES[/h2]

• BUGFIX: If you create a new scene without changing its name the scene isn't processed by the prefabRepository
  
• BUGFIX: List visualization mode of the project browser and browser dialogs doesn't show items and folders icon
  
• BUGFIX: When exporting a package gameMachines aren't exported
  
• NEW: "Add..." option from project browser dropdown now allows to add also gameMachines (gms files)
  

PROFENIX STUDIO

[h2]RELEASE NOTES[/h2]

• BUGFIX: If you create a terrain from scratch and then save the scene, when restarting the project a realoding the scene, the terrain is corrupted.
  

Special Thanks to Oleg from Discord community for having submitted this bug.

Enjoy and stay tuned,
PROFENIX STUDIO

Hi guys,
This is a truly big update with many cool improvements.

[h2]POST-FX RESOURCE[/h2]
In this version I have finally introdiced a new resource type: the PostFX.
It contains all post processing data and it can be used by triggers, switches and cameras to fast and easly cross
from a post processing configuration to another.
I've also added a new cutscene track that is capable to cross fade between 2 post FX.
Finally I've added also new gameMachine actions to easly set a post FX on screen or to blend between 2 post FX given a float value.
For more info about post FX resource you can find a lot of FREE articles on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/s2engine

[h2]PREFAB SYSTEM[/h2]
The most important improvement in this update is certainly the new prefab system.
The concepts of prefab instance and parameter override have been introduced.
Now every change is done to a prefab is immediately transmitted to all prefab instances in the scene, but you can override every single instance parameter value keeping the instance always connected with the source prefab.
With the introduction of the "Prefab Repository", all changes made to a source prefab are automatically transmitted to all instances in all scenes of the entire project because the repository keeps trace of all modifications to the prefab and to all scene prefab instances.
For more info about the new Prefab system you can find a lot of FREE articles on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/s2engine

Some new short tutorials about postFX and prefabs are available now on youtube and in the engine Launcher:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8a3KyRZGZQE4dmAb6-4BkL1GX9UI7wn

[h2]CRASH HANDLING SYSTEM[/h2]
Another cool feature introduced in this version is a "Crash Handling" system.
In other words the editor is now capable to intercept a crash and apply all counter-measures (saving all relevant data) to restore the work session.
A FREE video demonstration can be found on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/crash-handling-1-108929219

[h2]RELEASE NOTES[/h2]

• NEW: Added PostFX resource type
  
• NEW: Added fxTrigger object class that uses the PostFX resources to change screen post processing effects
  
• NEW: Added fxSwitch object class that uses the PostFX resources to change screen post processing effects
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Added parameter FX in camera class object. Using this parameter you can assing a PostFX resource to a camera, so every camera can have its own post processing.
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Added a Warning message when using too dense polygonal meshes for collisions
  
• NEW: Added new "SetPostProcessingFX" gameMachine action to change screen post processing effects via GameMachine.
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Support for Embedded textures when importing a model from external formats
  
• NEW: Added new "BlendPostProcessingFX" gameMachine action to blend between 2 postFX using a float value between 0 and 1
  
• NEW: Added new "CrossFadePostFX" track in cutscene tool for creating cross fade transitions between 2 postFX
  
• BUGFIX: sometimes Terrain layers mask and color mask are clean while painting.
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Improved prefabs tool
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Improved prefabs creation
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Improved hierarchy selection
  
• NEW: Added "NavigationMesh" parameter in NavigationArea for choosing what NavigationMesh that area must affect
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Shadows in Shadowmap cache are now affected by the MaxShadowsDistance parameter in Light and StaticLight classes
  
• BUGFIX: Sometimes editing curve in Animator and Animator3d object classes makes editor to crash
  
• BUGFIX: Sometimes editing curve in FloatAnimate and Vec3Animate GameMachine actions makes editor to crash
  
• NEW: Added Crash Handling system that restores data after a crash.
  
• IMPROVEMENT: Improved prefab instancing system implementing parameters overriding.
  
• NEW: Added prefab repository for keeping prefab instances synchronized among multiple scenes.
  
• BUGFIX: Resetting dims and offset of an object in prefab viewport doesn't cause the collision shape fitting as in scene viewport.
  

[h3]If you like my work and S2Engine
DO NOT FORGET TO LEAVE A POSITIVE REVIEW :)[/h3]

if you have questions, problems, suiggestions to make or bugs to report
please join the Discord community: https://discord.gg/NxpxUnJtpA

Enjoy and Stay tuned,
PROFENIX STUDIO