Solar2D Second Anniversary!

Getting Started Announcements
#1

Happy Solar2Day!

Today we celebrate the second anniversary of Solar2D as an independent fully open source project driven by the amazing community.

Last year brought us dozen builds, hundreds of commits, minor and major platform updates, multiple plugin updates. Among newer developments are revamping of the Linux support, and the most exciting news - we’re preparing to ship the first game to Nintendo Switch! It is currently going through the rigorous vetting and testing process required by the platform. Access to the platform is not generally available, but enthusiasts with DevKits can already try it. Look for details on our Discord server.

The project development is completely funded by donations on Patreon and GitHub Sponsors. We are doing well financially. Now we have 3 paid developers working on the improvement of the project. Our latest hire is Scott Harrison. He has been a very active member of the community for a while now and created a lot of independent plugins during Corona Labs days. Today he is running his own independent plugin marketplace and working on updating and supporting first party Corona Labs and Solar2D plugins. We are very glad to have Scott onboard.

For me, personally, this was a very rocky year. I had to move countries to help my brother to fight cancer, ultimately losing the battle and shortly afterwards having to flee the war. COVID, personal loss and horrors of the war are not easy things to deal with, especially in quick succession. I am very grateful for Solar2D community members who were supportive through the whole thing and helped out with running the project. My family and I are safe now.

As I see it Solar2D is stronger than ever. We are keeping up with development of platforms and the process is not tied or dependent on a single person. This makes me want to work and build our game engine even more.

All this is possible only because of the continuous support of our sponsors on GitHub or Patreon. Please consider joining the cause, Solar2D is being made possible by users just like you.

For existing sponsors, I want to express my deepest respect and gratitude for trusting in me and in Solar2D.

Thanks to you all Solar2D will continue to live and develop as an amazing free and open source project, making creation of games easier for everyone. Great things are coming!

As a final note, I want to express great sorrow about the Russian invasion into Ukraine. I hope and pray for the aggression to stop. Solar2D stands with Ukraine.

Vlad Shcherban
Solar2D Developer

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#2

An amazing achievement given the instability two years ago. Genuinely couldn’t be happier for you.

Sorry though, that you’re going through such personal hardship!

1 Like
#3

Has in been 2 years already?

As mentioned before I am so sorry to hear about everything that you had to go through this year, my heart breaks for you and your family. I’ve only had to experience a fraction of what you’ve gone through and that was too much for me.

On a happier side though I’ve been with Solar/Corona since 2009 ( or maybe 2010, my memory is hazy now ) and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more secure in my decision than I have over the past 2 years.

Here’s to a lot more!

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#4

Solar2D is putting food on my table. Can’t be more grateful
Love to entire Solar2D community

2 Likes
#5

I’m very happy that Solar2D is around, I’m still able to spend time making hobby apps. Thank you!

#6

Congratulations for the anniversary and thank you very much for your effort!

#7

Great work so far in not only sustaining the development and maintenance of the engine after the demise of coronalabs but actually making it better, more organised and feature-rich!

Very sorry that you’ve personally had to endure very difficult times and we wish you the best.

I was wondering if it is viable for you to share some limited financial insights with the larger community who might not be sponsors yet? This might actually encourage more people to get involved and back the project imho.

3 Likes
#8

Happy anniversary! I’m really happy to hear Solar2D is doing well in financial terms. You can predict things are going good on the development side if you are following the repository closely but it’s better to hear it from you. Hopefully, I’ll make things right this year and become a supporter as well.

Though it’s great news for Solar2D, I’m sorry to hear that you went and probably still going through hard times. I’m very sorry to hear about your brother. I hope things will be far better for you and your family this year and onward.

#9

Thanks man for your kind words. Thank you all.

#10

Happy anniversary everyone, and hoping for the best for you Vlad and others in the community, has been tough past few months

#11

I’m so grateful for all you do for Solar2D and all of us developers. My heart goes out to you on the loss of a brother to cancer. And I share your sadness on the criminal invasion of Ukraine. Here’s hoping we all have many more years working together!

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