I had no idea G4 made a special about TRON 2.0. Apparently it might only have been shown at GDC 2004, and not aired on G4TV, so that's why I wasn't aware of it until now.

It's a really great retrospective on both TRON and the making of TRON 2.0.

It also basically confirms a rumor I'd heard, as to why TRON 2.0 was delayed from early 2003 to August 2003.

Thanks to ENunn on YouTube for sharing this!

For the 18th Anniversary of TRON 2.0 (released August 26, 2003 in North America) I responded to a challenge from the Lead Programmer of TRON 2.0 (when he was at Monolith Productions), Kevin Lambert.

Time stamps of note:

• 00:02 - TRON 2.0 Lead Programmer Kevin Lambert's TRON Maze Challenge
• 00:47 - Response
• 01:29 - A trace of this idea left in the game
• 01:39 - Light Cycle improvements in Killer App Mod v1.2

If you want to see Killer App Mod v1.2 progress updates between video uploads to the LDSO YouTube channel, visit here:

https://twitter.com/i/events/1106632744799535105


Kevin asked if anyone could add a concept that was left out of the final game: Placing the player in a claustrophobic Light Cycle maze like the one seen in the original TRON film, with prompts appearing to let the player know when to turn (somewhat like how the game Dragon's Lair prompted the player when to move).

A fourth Killer App Mod v1.2 Single Player fixes trailer is still forthcoming. Consider this to be a "Preview Trailer 10.5". 🙂

Killer App Mod v1.2 will now include what's needed so you can make your own custom maps/levels to prompt the player to turn when riding a Light Cycle. And we'll most likely end up using this concept in User Error 3, LDSO's upcoming follow-up to the previous User Error 1 and 2 Single Player expansions.


https://twitter.com/kevinlambert/status/1431076108301049856
And Kevin did reply to me on Twitter! He was pleased with the response to his challenge to do a Light Cycle "TRON Maze" in TRON 2.0. 😊

Light Cycle mazes with "turn prompts" were something meant to be in the final game, but the TRON 2.0 development team at Monolith Productions didn't have enough time to put them in.

P.S. I do plan to ask Kevin about some things, but I want to give him a bit of space and not come across as too pushy or demanding. So please don't anyone bother him too much, or else he might get annoyed and it will end up doing more harm than good. I believe he works for Microsoft now, so he's probably super busy a lot of the time.

August 31st, 2021 UPDATE:

https://twitter.com/MonolithDev/status/1432767099592601602
Monolith retweeted the TRON Maze challenge response video. Honored that they thought it was worth sharing on their Twitter account! 😃

I'm late in covering this, but just in case you haven't already heard . . . it looks like a TRON 3 sequel might finally be "in development" now. Though the news could be bittersweet for many fans. Garth Davis has been named director of TRON: Ares, starring Jared Leto.

https://deadline.com/2020/08/garth-davis-tron-sequel-director-jared-leto-movie-1202992103/

https://collider.com/tron-3-title-tron-ares/

This news is personally a bit frustrating and disappointing, because the pendulum between TRON 3 being a direct sequel to TRON Legacy called TRON: Ascension and a spin-off named TRON: Ares has swung back and forth multiple times.

As recently as TheDisInsider article (that kicked off the initial rumor frenzy), it was stating that TRON 3 was "expected to be more of Tron sequel rather than a reboot, and the cast from Tron: Legacy could return". But it's not sounding all that likely at this point.

It sounds like the fact that Garth Davis "aggressively pursued the job, eventually winning over execs" — and no doubt bringing his vision for what the next TRON film should be along with him — is why the TRON: Ares pitch won out.

I also pretty much guessed that Joseph Kosinski likely wouldn't be returning to direct, because he's busy with other projects right now. So unless Disney was willing to wait, they'd hire someone else to direct another TRON sequel. Which is what they did.

Another reason why the TRON: Ares spin-off pitch starring Leto may have won out, could be for cost reasons. If there's only one main star in the picture, without the Legacy cast returning, it would reduce the budget. Disney's financials are currently not in the best of shape, and construction on the TRON roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom in Florida has been temporarily halted.

There's at least still a possibility of Daft Punk returning, to do the TRON: Ares soundtrack. As per the Mitchell Leib podcast interview (starting at the 27:24 mark). But, then again, he also said Disney wanted Kosinski back. And that's not happening. So . . . yeah. 😕


And another rationale for thinking the TRON Legacy cast may not be returning for TRON: Ares . . . it's already rumored additional casting has begun, and Disney is interested in adding Mulan's Liu Yifei. Yet still no word on TRON Legacy actors.

https://fullcirclecinema.com/2020/08/10/tron-sequel-liu-yifei-lead-role/

Thanks to Employee_427 on Twitter and LDSO team member YCP on Facebook for being the first ones to alert me to the TRON: Ares news.

Eight levels in roughly 25 minutes. This third trailer showcases many of the fixes to the Single Player levels of TRON 2.0, via the upcoming Killer App Mod v1.2.

These are all the Single Player issues I've personally noticed, or had pointed out to me. But I'm sure I've still missed a few.

The third trailer was originally meant to show all the remaining Single Player level fixes. But the video became too long, so it had to be split and a fourth trailer is still upcoming.

You can see the first Single Player fixes trailer here.

One of the mandates of Killer App Mod v1.2 has always been to fix or enhance the Single Player campaign, a goal partly inspired by the similar (in purpose) System Shock 2 Community Patch (SCP).

Time stamps for notable changes and fixes:

Security Server

• 00:35 - You can now skip the Security Server level (which consists entirely of one long cutscene) by pressing the spacebar (not shown, just mentioned)

General changes/fixes

• 00:45 - Experimenting with AI Tools to upscale and enhance the textures in TRON 2.0

Tested Waifu2x, ESRGAN (Manga 109 model), Topaz AI Gigapixel, and SFTGAN. Waifu2x always provided the best result.

When comparing several texture upgrades before and after in-game (more than shown in the video), the results showed little to no difference in the majority of cases. Only a few results showed differences that were noticeable.

Therefore, the conclusion is that doing a replacement of ALL textures is not worth the extra memory and disk space required. But perhaps some selective texture enhancement, in a potential Killer App Mod v1.3, is worth doing.

Link to high quality .PNG screenshots of the results:
https://tronfaq.blogspot.com/2019/03/tron-20-killer-app-mod-v12.html

• 02:10 - First-person Sequencer disc selection animation enhanced for 16:9 aspect ratio

The wider field of view in 16:9 reveals awkward movement by Jet's left arm, that was previously hidden off-screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. Jet's left arm now pauses, then lowers, in a less awkward way.

• 02:37 - First-person Cluster disc catching animation enhanced for 16:9 aspect ratio

The wider field of view in 16:9 reveals extremely awkward movement by Jet's left arm, that was previously hidden off-screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. Jet's left arm now lowers, in a less awkward way.

• 02:57 - Restored gibberish reaction when Rod Primitive is used on a Male Civilian program
• 03:15 - Old vs. New disc in Main Menu Jet throwing animation

Killer App Mod v1.1 added an animation on the game's Main Menu, featuring Jet throwing the disc. This animation has been updated with a new disc. (See the next item for an explanation as to why.)

Power Oculus

• 03:49 - Enhancements to ending cutscene (Jet's lips now move while talking, Jet is holding new disc, disc sound plays on-camera, Jet entering beam sound starts on time)

Jet now has a new disc in all cutscenes, including this one. This particular cutscene reveals why the change should be made.

Jet removes the disc from his arm, preparing to throw it. In doing so, it shows the underside of the disc. Revealing how the bottom surface of the disc, in this third-person view, does not match the first-person view. The disc is also oversized (diameter is too wide, and too thick).

The new disc is a bit smaller, thinner, and the underside of the disc now matches what's seen from the disc in first-person view.

City Hub

• 05:07 - Status changes of moving platform switches now accurately reflect events, third switch added

When you use the switch to call the moving platform, the status changes on both it and the switch on the platform itself, don't properly reflect what's happening.

The status changes now more accurately show what's going on. And a third switch has been added on the other side. It didn't make much sense that a two-way platform would only have a switch to call it on one side. How would any programs on the other side be able to call the platform, in order to get across?

• 08:46 - Fixed geometry error in the floor of the main City Hub area, creating flickering (caused by Z-fighting)
• 09:03 - Fixed sign above the Low Level Compiler's "shop" that didn't display any info when highlighted by the reticle
• 09:09 - Fixed question text and subtitles not matching speech when talking to Low Level Compiler program
• 09:52 - Added hint for users of permissions cheat when trying to open the Progress Bar door, and added info when door is highlighted by reticle

The player isn't supposed to have all the permissions in this level. Trying to open the Progress Bar door with the permissions cheat results in nothing happening. Added a hint that you need to do something else first, before you can get into the Bar.

Retrieving Ma3a

• 11:35 - Enhancement to cutscene for 16:9 aspect ratio (wider field of view reveals Crown in base pose with arms straight down, when they should be raised)

Remote Access Node

• 12:35 - First instance of a lighting error that's been fixed (there are others at later time stamps that aren't listed, to avoid repeating this over and over)

Throughout the Remote Access Node level, there are surfaces that are in dark shadow. While shadows do exist in the "electronic world" of TRON, they're not that frequent and they certainly make no sense here. These particular surfaces are glowing (self-illuminating), so they shouldn't be completely dark.

• 13:18 - Closed an opening in the ceiling that allowed you to see one-sided geometry
• 16:06 - Fixed binary bit switch not displaying info when highlighted by the reticle
• 16:12 - Fixed possibility of an energy drain effect still appearing after all Resource Hogs are removed from the level, once Security Clamp is released
• 16:45 - Made force field two-sided (it's possible, without cheating but with much difficulty, to reach the other side of the force field where you could see it was originally one-sided)
• 16:53 - Fixed issues with Exit Port (beam splash present, "socket" has panning texture at rear, trim isn't dark, objective completion message appears on time when entering beam, sound effect when entering beam)

Prepare the DataWraiths

• 17:19 - Enhancement to cutscene (Crown originally not visible near start, even at 4:3 aspect ratio, then appeared from nowhere)

Thorne's Internal Partition

• 18:05 - Fixed being able to fall down Data Stream exit, interior of beam not being bright, no sound effect when entering
• 18:15 - Fixed being able to crawl beside Data Stream exit and then fall underneath level
• 18:52 - Fixed attempting to enter Data Stream at an earlier point resulting in falling beneath level

Function Control Deck

• 19:10 - Enhancement to cutscene (beam splash added)
• 20:26 - Fixed texture error causing flickering (texture is scaled badly)
• 23:02 - Fixed texture errors on all switches on level, and fixed energy bridge switches having no sound effects
• 23:20 - Fixed texture errors on both energy bridges, and centered both bridges (horizontally and vertically)
• 23:28 - Fixed a white striped texture missing between the two bridges, also fixed geometry errors on both sides of platform between bridges causing flickering
• 23:36 - Enhancement to cutscene ("transmission" text no longer intrudes into cutscene, beam splash added, Jet entering beam sound starts on time)

The GDC 2020 (Game Developers Conference) has a session covering the history of TRON, the games based on it, and its cultural impact.

There's no specific date given yet (at the time I'm writing this) on the session's dedicated page, as to when it's taking place. But the conference itself takes place between March 16-20, 2020 in San Francisco, California, USA.

If we're lucky, it's possible upcoming TRON content might be alluded to there.

Thanks to FattyJoker_ on Twitter, for making me aware of this!

A filmmaker has tweeted that a version of TRON Legacy supposedly exists, which has been upscaled to 4K UHD resolution (in 3-D, too).

And, more importantly, that the de-aging CGI effect for CLU (and most likely Kevin Flynn as well, in the flashback at the start of the film) has been greatly improved. No more "uncanny valley" look for CLU. He apparently now looks "normal", and much more human.

I’ve linked to archived versions of the tweets making these claims, just in case they’re deleted.

https://archive.is/0h0Jl

https://archive.is/VRO0y

As to why Disney would withhold an updated version of TRON Legacy (it’s not even on Disney+, as far as I’m aware), I don’t know. But I’m sure they’d release it, eventually. Maybe they’d do a limited 10th Anniversary re-release in theaters, next year? Followed by its release on Disney+/Blu-ray?

Thanks go out to wildchargergame on Twitter, for letting me know about this!


And another rumor about a TRON "reboot", possibly appearing on Disney+. I wonder if this is the same "reboot" idea we’ve heard about before. Except, this time, perhaps without Jared Leto attached. We’ve also heard the "new TRON content coming to Disney+" rumor before.

https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/disney-reportedly-developing-tron-reboot/

Thanks once again to Employee_427 on Twitter for the news!

Monolith Productions changed their banner on Facebook and Twitter to include TRON 2.0, for their 25th Anniversary. Nice! (I also especially like NOLF, Shogo, and FEAR too, of course!)

I'm kind of surprised Monolith is acknowledging TRON 2.0 (and Aliens vs. Predator 2, for that matter) because, up until now, Monolith's social media accounts seemed to go out of their way to avoid mentioning their older titles made with licensed IP (from competitors to Monolith's current owner, Warner Media).

Perhaps Monolith obtained special permission to mention them, for the 25th Anniversary. Regardless, I'm glad to see Monolith's entire catalogue of games from the last 25 years will likely be featured in some way!

And Monolith is having two contests (so far).


One is where the person who submits the fastest time, in a speedrun video, for one of the indicated games (TRON 2.0 being among them) can win one of several exclusive posters, specially made for Monolith’s 25th Anniversary.


The speedrun video submission doesn’t have to beat the current record (which is 1h 40m 29s for TRON 2.0, at the time I’m writing this). It just has to be the fastest time submitted to the contest.

This contest ends October 24, 2019.


The other contest is to see who can submit the most artistic screenshot for the games indicated (with TRON 2.0 again being among them), the prize being a 25th Anniversary T-Shirt and signed print of their submission.

This contest ends October 22, 2019.

I’ve already tried coaxing digitalfrontiers into submitting some of his gorgeous screenshots of TRON 2.0, but haven’t received a response yet . . .


There’s also apparently further surprises in store for Monolith’s 25th Anniversary, when it comes to celebrating their classic titles. So there will likely be more TRON 2.0 related content from them, to follow.


October 30th, 2019 UPDATE: Monolith recently released some new concept art for TRON 2.0 I'd never seen before, as part of their 25th Anniversary celebration. I asked for, and got permission, from Monolith to share this new TRON 2.0 concept art. In return, they asked that I provide a link to their Official Monoilith Productions Discord channel, where the new art originated from.

Here are a couple of samples, of the TRON 2.0 concept art that Monolith released.




Last year, for the 15th Anniversary of the release of TRON 2.0, I put together a package on behalf of LDSO containing — among other things — concept art, and made it available to download. The majority of the content in this package is what I've personally managed to collect, and preserve, over the years. But since Monolith released more concept art, I've updated the package to include the few new pieces of art Monolith provided.

Find a download link to the TRON 2.0 15th Anniversary download package (now including Monolith's released concept art) here.

I also found out that my friend digitalfrontiers, whom I convinced to enter Monolith's screenshot contest, was one of the winners with his TRON 2.0 entry! So congratulations to him! He wins a Monolith 25th Anniversary t-shirt, and a print of his screenshot autographed by Monolith Productions staff!

Here's a screenshot from Monolith's official Discord channel announcing his win. (He's shown as Nautilus here on Discord.)