Confusion over S2HACK and S2BETA history... help with proof of dates?

He did an impressive job. I actually never saw this program until he told me about it *years* later. I think I had retired the Sonic 2 Hacking Guide by that point (which was June of 2004) and wasn't active in much.

Also, I didn't post this earlier, but I think it's noteworthy:

https://groups.google.com/g/alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog/c/o5SbBcRBFMU/m/mBI1nI1SAG4J

That is the earliest instance that I can find of the famous Hidden Palace Zone PAR code being posted on the newsgroup. It had apparently been seen by people even before that though. This is 12/08/1997. That was posted by TomSonic, who would later post all the PAR codes he had and map them to KGen and Genecyet savestate addresses so people could access it via emulators. SSNTails was the one who told me about the PAR codes existence once it was shared online, but I couldn't see it for myself at the time. I didn't have a computer to use at home anymore since my dad repurposed it for the business he was starting up at the time, and it wasn't being connected to the internet.

 

I was actually referring to these links:

12/29/1998:
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog/c/_YWFZlRoUC8/m/lACdXptVnh0J

01/01/1999:
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog/c/g_2ZHR9XUYo/m/3zn5yadxADUJ

 

https://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_(Simon_Wai_prototype)

I think that pretty much says it.

 

I thought there was only one version of s2hack.txt, but I'm starting to think there was actually more than one:

https://web.archive.org/web/20030428010440/http://www.shacnet.com/s2hack/s2hack.txt

That one actually says 1999 in it, and it has more information than I remember putting into it. Note that this would have been *before* the HTML version created for SSRG sometime in January 1999. I recall the hand-written hacking guide that I mailed to SSNTails in November of 1998 had four bullets. These same four bullets were in s2hack.txt as was written on my dad's business computer.

Anyway, the one I linked to above has more than four any way you slice it. But I am so far unable to locate the version of the file I am claiming has the December 1998 date tied to it. If anyone else knows where it is, feel free to chime in. Otherwise, the search goes on.

 

For those who might find this interesting, here's a timeline of events that ultimately influenced the release of the Simon Wai prototype:


12-08-1997
* TomSonic shares (incorrect) HPZ PAR code (FFFB1:00008)

12-18-1997
* TomSonic shares (correct) HPZ PAR code (FFFE1:00008)

08-19-1998
* TomSonic experimenting to figure out how to get to HPZ from Genecyst

08-21-1998
* TomSonic finds the *other* secret levels in Sonic 2 by playing with PAR code

08-22-1998
* TomSonic creates his website

08-25-1998
* TomSonic figures out how to modify Genecyst savestate to access HPZ (first time a vast majority of people ever played it)

10-06-1998
* Andre Dirk advertises SoStH (brand new?)

10-31-1998
* Andre Dirk moves SoStH to Emulation Zone

11-02-1998
* Wood Zone entirely mapped (SSNTails?)

12-16-1998
* Andre Dirk begins trying to sell his beta cartridge

12-25-1998
* SSNTails releases version 1 of Hidden Palace Zone C&C recreation (could be before this date)

12-29-1998
* SSNTails releases version 2 of Hidden Palace Zone C&C recreation

01-01-1999
* SSNTails releases version 3 of Hidden Palace Zone C&C recreation
* Simon Wai looks for, and finds, "beta" prototype of Sonic 2

01-02-1999
* TomSonic figures out how to enable debug mode in savestates to aid Sonic 2 beta exploration


I began the Sonic 2 Hacking Guide sometime after Tom found out how to get to Hidden Palace Zone through a Genecyst savestate. So, I would have started in August at the earliest. And as I've mentioned all too often now, the initial release of it fits in the December timeframe somewhere. I've tried my best to locate some kind of evidence of this date apart from me just repeating the claim over the past couple decades, but I have not been successful. It's proving extremely hard to find that original text file (NOT the 1999 version I linked to in an earlier post). In fact, there's a good chance it's lost entirely. I haven't given up hope just yet.

I know for a fact that archive.org has *some* page out there that links to the text version (whether it's 1998 or 1999, I don't know), because I've seen it before. But now I can't find it for the life of me. It would have been a page with some kind of connection to Sonic hacking, secrets, or hoaxes.