It's all over, folks! This fight is DONE! The last blow has been struck!

However, I still have a little ways to go before I'm done. I still have to add some effects to the final segment, animate the closing story segments, make the credits, do some general sound tweaking, synch up my backgrounds, build the preloader, make the menu interface, Insert and organize voice actor clips, and about half a dozen other steps.

That seems like a lengthy list, but the path in front of me is nothing compared to the path behind me. In the interest of padded estimates, I am hoping to release this video by the end of this month. Assuming that I experience no serious setbacks, this should be quite feasible.

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I'd like to take a few moments to reflect upon this project.

Honestly, when I started this battle, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do a four-minute fight between Gambit and Talbain. I wasn't sure that I would be able to create enough new moves and new tactics to keep a four-minute fight from becoming repetitive and uninspired. In short, I had a whole lot of performance anxiety resting on my shoulders.

That fear didn't last long.

Over the last six months, I have created what I believe will be the most hardcore sprite fight ever witnessed. It has come together far better than I could have ever imagined. Quite frankly, I'm going to have a difficult time topping myself from here on in. Perhaps that is the fate for all who want to be the best at what they do.

Still, as long as I enjoy what I do and can share it with a few willing viewers, I won't be going anywhere. I just hope you guys enjoy the ride.

Prepare yourselves. VG Exiles Episode 2 is coming soon.

R1665

Well, April was not as productive a month as I had hoped it would be. I was hoping to be finished with the fight portion of VG Exiles Ep.2 by now. However, there has been some progress.

The fight is now 75% done and stands at three minutes. While I am now officially in the home stretch, there is still a lot of work to be done before I can unleash this beast on the world. Even after I finish the fight (which will be within the next month if current trends continue), I will still need to do all of the menus and story-based stuff. I still need to recruit my potential voice actors (yeah, I said "voice actors"...).

As a matter of fact, I will be taking the third week of May off from work. Hopefully, the extra time will allow me to get this thing out sooner. (Yes, I use my vacation days for flashing. Ain't that sad?)

I also need to get with my Art Director and storyboard the script for the final art scene. You might remember Lee Drake's artwork from the "Panoptichron" scenes in Episode 1. Well, he is now the proud owner of a Wacom tablet and I must say that the concept art that he has provided me so far has been stunning! In fact, he made my cool new profile image!

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Now, on to the content of the fight. When I started Episode 2, I decided that I was going to make the most brutal, most violent, most savage, most hardcore sprite fight the world has ever seen. One would expect no less with a martial arts-trained werewolf taking on a criminally insane super-powered serial killer. Well, I believe that I will actually accomplish this goal!

I've shown the WIP to a couple of people and the feedback has been incredible. One friend of mine is a big Gambit fan and his reactions during the screening were priceless. To paraphrase him, "This isn't a fight. It's an ASSAULT!"

In other words, prepare to be blown away.

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Once more, I offer you a W.I.P. screenshot!

As you can see, both Chun-Li and Ryu make an appearance! But, wait a minute... whose side are they on?!... What the hell is going on here?!...

You'll just have to wait and see!

R1665

Once again, I find myself at a milestone.

In the past month, I have added another sixty seconds to VG Exiles Ep. 2 and the production now stands at two minutes. All things considered, it's not as far along as it should be by this point. Granted, I am fully producing this fight as I go with all necessary effects, but during NaNoWriMo last November, I put five seconds on my flash almost every night. I need to find some excuse to accelerate my productive drive again.

I've spent the last few nights doing more work than usual on Episode 2, so I guess I now have a good start for SCRIPT FRENZY!

SCRIPT FRENZY is an online event during the month of April in which participants are challenged to write a 100-page script in 30 days. It is almost identical to NaNoWriMo's November goal of a 50,000-word novel written in one month.

Two years ago, I unofficially used NaNoWriMo as kind of an artificial deadline and motivator for writing a script for a horror film (long story, don't ask). I unofficially used NaNo last year for getting the bulk of VG Exiles Ep.1 finished. Unfortunately, NaNo won't be around again until November. Fortunately, I now have Script Frenzy to supply the artificial urgency that I need in order to work at maximum efficiency.

It may seem strange to you that I work best with an artificial motivator, especially considering that I never formally participate in the actual event.

...but it works.

By this time next month, I'm hoping to have the fight portion finished at four minutes and some change. I know that I originally mentioned a five-minute fight, but I have to take the cumulative effect on that extra minute into account when estimating my final file size. It still won't be under 10 MB, but it shouldn't be so high that it makes Tom Fulp recoil in disgust.

I'll make up for it by cramming three minutes' worth of action into the last two minutes.

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No screenshot this time, so no Front Page post. That was the deal.

I'm sure the usual crew won't miss these words, though!

R1665

It's official. I have passed the sixty second mark on VG Exiles Episode 2.

Looking at this beast, I have come to a few conclusions. First of all, I will not be putting life bars in this movie. The fact is that there are too many hits being exchanged to make life bars effective. Let's not forget the fact that it will push back the release of this movie by at least two weeks. I am already feeling the crunch of self-imposed time restraints and I would like to get this movie finished and released with as few roadblocks as possible.

Secondly, there is no way in hell that I am going to get this movie under 10 MB. I've got two "Capcom" fighters with over 1500 sprites each. I'm going to have over half a dozen cameo appearances adding to the file size as well. The musical track (and therefore the fight) is over a minute longer than that of Episode 1.

The fact that I got Episode 1 under 10 MB was a towering monument to sheer luck. Even though I have developed some new file size-saving techniques since then, the simple fact is that Episode 2 will require administrative approval from Newgrounds in order to appear here. This will not deter the project. I cannot help the file size, so my only recourse will be to make a battle so incredibly epic that it will be worthy of administrative upload.

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Now, I made a promise in my last news post that I would no longer place my news posts on the front page unless I had a screenshot to go with them. Since I want this to appear on the front page, I suppose I have to offer you guys a screenshot!

As you can see, Ibuki will be making a cameo appearance in Episode 2! In this particular image, she is looking into the soul of Remy Boudreaux, and she doesn't like what she sees. In this instant, she sees his true form as well as many of the people whose deaths he is responsible for, including four slain Exiles. You might remember a couple of them from Episode 1!

Oh, and he will be adding several more to his "collection" by the time this fight is over!

R1665