The Situation with Yoshi in Sonic 2

So, there's a lot of hype at the moment about a ROM hack called "Yoshi in Sonic 2". While it is getting attention now, it originally was shown back in 2010 at the Sonic Hacking Contest of that year. It was either a private or partial private entry at the time, as those were still a thing back then, meaning that a ROM was never released to the public. However Xenowhirl, the creator of the hack, released a ROM of it in the Tech Members Lounge to get both opinions and bug reports, as they felt it wouldn't be ready before 2011.

Although this forum itself has gone quiet recently (along with Tech Member advancements), the whole point of a private forum such as this is to be able to release and discuss with the confidence in knowing that what is said or shown will be kept private by those in there.


It seems that this trust has been breached in some form or fashion. Someone either released this publicly, or at the very least shared it on their server at some point in a public folder with file listing enabled. One such folder is easily accessible, with the file very obviously there and available.

Unfortunately, this is the common story of a lot of leaks. If someone uploads something for someone to see, someone else accesses it when they shouldn't. If someone shares in some form, it goes down the line as more people who "are trusted to not share with anyone else" are added to the chain.


While there is nothing that can be done about this now, obviously, it should serve as a somewhat lesson at the very least.

Be careful about who you share things with.
Be careful with other people's trust.
Be careful about what you upload to share and make sure it is secure.
Think before you do anything along these lines.


If we find out this was deliberate, then said person will end up with a permaban from Retro. Shark Week for stupidity is one thing, but abuse of trust is another entirely.