...but were afraid to ask.

All right, folks, here's a comprehensive summary of what we know about Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix (SFHD) so far.  I was inspired to create this thread after Sven requested that I bring this information over from the Shoryuken forums.

What We Know about SSF2T:HD Remix (SFHD) So Far

Before I begin, make sure you check out Capcom's main Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: HD Remix's FAQ and the State of the Union address in the Capcom blog before you ask questions about SSF2T:HD Remix (abbreviated to SF:HD from this point on). Some of your questions may be answered there.

Here's what we know about SF:HD so far based on what was said by Sirlin, Rey Jimenez, and other Capcom/Backbone employees.

SF:HD is considered to be the next entry of the SF2 series, making it the 6th installment of the series (Hyper SF2 is not considered a new SF installment). There will be actually be two games in SF:HD: the original Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and a remixed gameplay mode with rebalanced gameplay tweaks. Fans will be able to play the game with the classic ST sprites or the new redrawn HD graphics (drawn by Udon artists) in either mode (however, the backgrounds will remain in their redrawn HD state regardless of sprite-style selection).

The game will be released as a downloadable title for both Xbox LIVE Arcade and Playstation Network (XBLA and PSN), but a price has not been determined yet. Christian Svensson indicated in the Capcom BBS that the price will not be $10. Capcom revealed that both versions will be identical, as Microsoft has granted Capcom an exception to the 150MB XBLA size limit that could have limited the XBLA version of the game.

Release Date

The official word from Capcom is that the game will be released "when it's done." It was originally announced as one of the games in this year's Evolution 2008 tournament, which takes place August 8th-10th at Las Vegas, but it has since been replaced by regular Super Turbo. A playable version of the game will still be available at the Evolution tournament.

SFHD Beta

Capcom announced that those who purchase Wolf on the Battlefield: Commando 3 via Xbox LIVE Arcade will be able to access an eight-week SFHD Beta where Ryu and Ken will be the only selectable characters. The purpose of this beta is to test the game's network connections. Some have complained that PS3 owners were left out of the beta, but Christian Svensson explains why that happened.

We are resource constrained. This project already has gone over the original budget (we had a new budget approved to accomodate our dedication to its quality and the new features… there were even a few we wanted to do that had to get cut in the end… more on that in a post mortem blog or something). Anyway, we wanted to do a beta to test the new network features but even if it were possible for Sony to do, it would require 3 submissions (US, Europe, Asia/Japan) to reach the same global audience we can with MS in a single test and global submission.

Commando 3 is now available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace as of Wednesday, June 11th, 2008, for 800 Microsoft Points, which equates to $10 US dollars. The beta has been active since Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 and will run for approximately eight weeks.

If you are participating in the beta, be sure to leave your feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism (Capcom won't respond to flames) in their beta forums.

Remixed Mode

Sirlin revealed his design goals for the remixed mode.

Here are the design goals:

1) Make the game easier to play—more inclusive rather than exclusive
2) Make the game even more balanced for tournament play
3) Add fun as long as it doesn’t interfere with #2.

In this mode, we can assume that inconsistent properties such as random dizzies will be fixed in the game. Characters who did not have reversal supers can now perform them (we saw Ken do a reversal super in the SF:HD footage that Rey Jimenez revealed). Most interesting is what was revealed in a 1up.com preview article.

The game will feature a "rebalanced mode," which will not only attempt to eliminate significant advantages between characters, but also simplify move inputs for casual players. Svensson stresses that all original button combinations will still remain intact, but those looking to pull off Zangief's typically complex piledriver move or one of Akuma's three-button attacks with one fewer button press will have that option.

More surprising than the slight modification of existing moves is the addition of new ones -- both those taken from other, non-numbered series entries (such as Ryu's fake fireball), and some that have been created from scratch for HD Remix. According to Svensson, "almost every character, especially the less popular characters, has been given some new toys." Several of the world's top Super Street Fighter II Turbo players have been consulting to help maintain the integrity of the experience during this rebalancing process.

Sirlin revealed in a Capcom blog the extent of these changes.

Easier Moves Overview
• Dragon Punch timing more forgiving
• 360s alternate motions
• Tiger knee motions removed
• Mash moves easier
• All 3 button moves changed to 2 buttons

You can read more about the changes in this post.

Brian Dunn revealed this in the Capcom Digital Blog, "This game uses the Dreamcast version as a base. Basically it uses the same base code (with improvements and new features and additions), with all of the "art" files replaced with new ones for the updated look." Rey added the following in this Capcom Digital blog post after some objected to the use of the DC version of ST.

Brian mentioned that we are basing the game off of the Dreamcast version. That was done because the DC (Japanese version) code is easier to work with, and there was already existing network code within the game to start with because the Japanese version had an online matchmaking service. Now, before you guys start throwing tables in disgust because we are using the DC version and not the arcade version, realize that the DC version was an arcade perfect version. Or at least it was really close. Some “dip switches” were changed for the DC version that gave it some of its interesting quirks. For SFHD, we are simply flipping those “switches” back to their original settings so that the game plays like the arcade version. Also, we are making fine adjustments as needed to make sure it plays exactly like the arcade. So, while it is true we are basing the code off of the DC version, the end result will play arcade perfect.

Updating the Fighters

Sirlin has posted how the ST cast will be changed in the Remixed Mode. Here's a list of changes revealed so far.

Ryu
T. Hawk
Ken
Blanka
Cammy
Balrog (Boxer)
Sagat
Fei Long
Updated changes to some of the characters mentioned above.
T. Hawk revisited
Guile
Dhalsim
M.Bison (Dictator)
Updated Changes II Turbo
Zangief

JimmyRey posted the final change list on his Capcom blog.

This list will be updated as more character changes are revealed.

Graphics

According to this Game Informer article:

According to Svensson, the art is behind schedule and Capcom won’t release the game until it’s ready. The team at Udon was previously doing all character art, all static portraits, all backgrounds and all key frames. "What’s likely to happen is we’re going to have Udon do every single frame. As a result, we’ll get a better product, but it’s going to take more time." Svensson stated that the art budget alone surpasses what most companies spend on an Xbox Live Arcade game in its entirety.

Rey Jimenez revealed in the Capcom blog, "The HUD and fonts are very early. We haven't done anything to jazz it up yet. So I know it looks boring now, but it's something we'll be working on."

Capcom revealed how the HD art looks like now in the State of the Union address.

Music/Sound

In a reversal to what was announced previously, remixed tunes will be available in the game. According to the 1up article, Christian Svensson hints that the community will come into play somehow with the creation (or selection) of the remixed music tracks. Rey Jimenez said in the Capcom Digital Blog, "You'll also notice the new Ken level music. Again, this is an optional feature, but I am working with a bunch of talented individuals to get new music in the game. I'll let you know who they are later as we get closer to release."

In recent gameplay videos, the remixed tracks for Ken's, Vega's (claw), Fei Long's stages were modified tracks from the Blood on the Asphalt remix project. It was also confirmed that players can play with the classic or remixed soundtrack in either Classic or Remixed mode.

No word yet if Guile will have a manly "Sonic Boom" voice this time, but Ken and Ryu were using their CPSII voices in the SF:HD footage. It has been requested by many fans that Guile's and Balrog (boxer)'s voice be changed from the current ST announcer's voice.

Larry Oji, the assistant music producer for the remixed soundtrack of HD Remix, wrote about what to expect from the remixed soundtrack.

Because we at OC ReMix worked within the basic framework of the past game, keeping things to about a minute to 90 seconds long, the OC ReMix soundtrack is basically paced the same way.

We got hired in the first place off the strength of Blood on the Asphalt, so 8 of the stage themes are adapted from that, and we're proud Capcom felt our work on that album was what they were looking for with HD Remix. So I'm glad we got to adapt a lot of our work for this particular title. 3 more are from other OC ReMixes, and 6 were created from the ground up. Nothing's been set yet on an album release for the soundtrack, but I'm sure once something is finalized, you'll definitely know!

For Guile's stage, the lead is an electric guitar synth. But since then, artist Big Giant Circles actually bolstered up the track by getting his colleague Justin R. Coleman to add some real electric guitar in. So the melody's now Justin's live guitar doubled by the guitar synth, for a more realistic tone and beefier sound. Once you hear the finished cut, I think you're gonna be feeling it even more!

For Vega, our main bro, José the Bronx Rican, tweaked his version up as well since the demo footage went out, adding some Latin style plucked strings to hook things up nicely and stay loyal to the Spanish influence while doing his own thing. For a hip-hop style piece, I actually thought it fit really well, especially the string intro as the fight is introduced, which was some amazing synergy.

AE and Prozax's menu music remixing Ken's stage is just for the menu, so that explains why there's balls-out guitar soloing that we'd NEVER drop into the actual Ken stage music, since it would be a major distraction. But it's a done deal, for sure. We are using Sixto Sounds' "Made in USA" from Blood on the Asphalt for the actual stage theme, also.

José the Bronx Rican handled most of the ending themes, and those were kept fairly straightforward since they were so brief in the first place. Those are all about 30 seconds long.

Widescreen Mode

In another reversal to what was said previously, SF:HD will have a widescreen option. According to Rey Jimenez, "As you may remember, we weren't planning on including any sort of widescreen support that would extend the edges of the playing field to the edge of the screen. But the community voiced that they wanted it really bad, so we decided to put it in. The mode is optional, so you can play in standard 4:3 if you want to. It’s not a stretched mode, but something similar to what’s been suggested on many forums as a widescreen option. Essentially, it’s a zoomed in mode, with a portion of the top of the screen cropped off." Sirlin at one point in his blog said, "The widescreen mode zooms in the camera but does not change gameplay. I was skeptical at first, but it's turning out surprisingly good. Even hardcore players seem to like it, even prefer it to the regular 4:3 mode."

Remember, widescreen mode is optional.

Tournament Options

Capcom has revealed that there will be an 8-man tournament option in the game.

Online Matchmaking

In this Videogamer.com interview, Sirlin confirms that a visible time limit will appear on the character selection screen. It will visibly dissuade opponents from staying on the versus screen indefinitely (like those in Hyper Fighting who pick up wins from quitting players who are tired of waiting) and also advise indecisive Super Turbo players how much time they have left before the game chooses a fighter for them.

Speaking of quitting, Sirlin has stated that quitters will be dealt with (most likely with an automatic loss). Some have also suggested adding a disconnect stat (like DoA4) so that you can see if an opponent likes to quit mid-match a lot.

Rey Jimenez revealed that ranking system will no longer just track win/loss ratios. It will be a system similar to chess' ranking system.  Furthermore, there will be two leaderboards, one for original ST, one for Rebalanced/Remixed ST.

Quarter Match

Rey Jimenez confirmed that Quarter Match will be available, and according to a Game Informer article, it's going to be expanded. The Quarter Match lobby can now hold six people with four spectators and two players. Spectators can hang out and opt out of gameplay if they don’t want to play. Also, if someone drops out, someone can join a game that’s already in progress.

Stat Tracking

From the 1up.com article:

We'll ultimately have to wait to see if such prognostications pan out, but one feature we expect to be completely fascinating is the addition of robust stat tracking tools. "Think of it as your Halo 3 service record," says Svensson, referring to Bungie's mighty collection of highly specific in-game statistics. Either through the game or via a web-based portal, HD Remix players will be able to check out a heap of stats, broken down by character, country of origin, and even move type. "If I want to see the top Cammy players from Canada, I can do that," he says. "If I want to see who has the most throws in the world, period -- I can do that."

That's all the information that I have at the moment. I'll keep updating this post as more information is revealed. To all Capcom staff, if there is any information that is missing or inaccurate, please let me know so that I can correct it. If you made any changes to this post through your mod powers, please let me know so that I can update the sister thread on the SRK forums as well.

that's because www.evo2k.com is the official site for evolution.  Granted, wiz hasnt been doing much updating to the main srk page, mainly due to the part that no one looks at it.  People tend to go straight to www.shoryuken.com/forums.  If you go there, there are evo2k8 banners with info all over the place.

no doubt.  But the information is not particularly hard to find either....

agreed, a sticky for this info would be nice

Great post (stickified!).