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(DC) Sonic Adventure Prototype (1998-10-16) Everything you need to know + download link inside.

#1 User is offline Orengefox 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 11:55 AM

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This is it boys and girls!

Posted Image

[Disc Scan] [Front Cover Scan] [Back Cover Scan]

Download DC Sonic Adventure Prototype (1998-10-16) - AutoDemo (J) BIN

Download DC Sonic Adventure Prototype (1998-10-16) - AutoDemo (J) ISO

Quote

SEGA SEGAKATANA
SEGA ENTERPRISES
SEGA GD-ROM1/1
J 079981
610-7029 V1.000
19981016
1ST_READ.BIN
SEGA ENTERPRISES
SONIC ADVENTURE
Tokyo International Forum Unveiling: 1998-08-22
Sonic Adventure's first release in Japan - Build Date: 1998-12-10 / Public Release Date: 1998-12-23

55 days after it's unveiling at the Tokyo International Forum. 49 days before the build date of Sonic Adventure's first release in Japan.

This is without a shadow of a doubt the earliest Sonic Adventure prototype we've acquired now. It's a Not-For-Sale Promotional AutoDemo. Meaning it only shows you demonstrations / cut-scenes of the game using the games actual assets. Not just some pre-recorded FMV footage. Although it's an AutoDemo, there's a chance it might still be playable through hacking from what I can tell.

At first I thought this build was like a bridge between the Tokyo International Forum and the first release in Japan. It might be earlier than we think. Jen will tell you in greater detail. In any case, this build has got loads of differences from the final from what Jen and I could see. And that's just scraping the surface, we haven't even got to the meat and potatoes yet (I.e. all the files stored away). It can run perfectly fine on hardware. Not so much the case on emulation as the timing on the demonstrations goes off.

Unlike my previous Sonic prototype topics, I hoping to establish a potential small donation this time around. It's not required but greatly appreciated as it helps with the Sonic prototype findings; it's one of the things I do as a Researcher on Retro. Case in point, that Sonic Advance 2 in the prototype cart MSX bought off me, that really came in handy in more ways than one. Please PM me if you would like to make a donation =)

I'll leave you all to tear this apart now. I'll be posting other things throughout the topic. Enjoy!

GerbilEdit®: Mirrored the disc images to my server to reduce bandwidth usage on Retro.
This post has been edited by GerbilSoft: 21 May 2013 - 06:51 PM
Reason for edit: Mirrored the disc images.

#2 User is offline Jen 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 12:03 PM

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Yeah, as Orenge said I've had a good look into this and I think it -might- have originally appeared in September 1998. After digging around for a bit, I came across this:

Quote

SEGA showed off Sonic Adventure running on a Dreamcast unit at the ECTS '98 show in London, England [on 7th September 1998]. The presentation took place in a suite, in a nearby Hilton hotel, and the event was by appointment only. So no public showing of the Dreamcast unit took place at ECTS '98. Here is couple quotes from a Game-Online article on the press-only event:

...

"However, the showpiece of the event was Dreamcast itself. A pre-production machine was revealed - composed of final components, but put together by hand as opposed to a factory production line.

The high-point of the presentation was seeing this Dreamcast unit running an auto-demo of Sonic Adventure. Three levels of the game were showcased: Sonic on the Super Speedway (incredible speeds), Tails at the Ice Cap (escaping an avalanche on his snowboard - incredible!) and finally Knuckles (gliding and climbing around a stunning canyon in search of three emeralds).

This wasn't video footage... it was Sonic Adventure running on an actual machine...


Source: http://www.segatech....tember1998.html

Sounds the same the first half of the auto-demo we have here, doesn't it? I wonder whether only one half of the demo was shown at this event. Unfortunately, as it was behind closed doors I've been unable to find any video footage. I also tried looking at the Game-Online article mentioned there but it doesn't exist - Wayback Machine couldn't find it either.

Alternatively I guess it could be an unplayable version of the demo that was at TGS in October 1998 (a few days before the date of this auto-demo). Here's a quote describing the levels in the TGS demo:

Quote

From the brilliantly inventive Knuckles level -- searching for crystals in a 3 dimensional game of 'hot & cold' (see earlier Sonic unveiling report) to Tails' white-knuckle snowboarding ride down a mountain (chased by an avalanche and fighter jets, no less) to the crowning glory, Sonic's futuristic speedway stage -- this is a game that just screams quality and imagination.


Source: http://www.segatech....ctober1998.html

Unfortunately I've not been able to find any footage of the game from TGS 1998 either, so I'm not 100% sure that this is the case.

Here's a list of differences that I've managed to spot from letting the demo run a few times, both via an emulator and on hardware. It's pretty exhaustive/obsessive but undoubtedly incomplete. I've put it under spoiler tags because of the size of it (and because you guys might want to find these things for yourselves ;P). Note that none of the graphical oddities mentioned below are emulation issues, as they also occur when running the game on an actual Dreamcast console.

Spoiler


I can't wait to see what you guys manage to find hidden inside this thing!

#3 User is offline evilhamwizard 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 12:49 PM

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Check this out:

Different Chao Garden BGM. :)

Also from the looks of things, STG00.PRS appears bigger than the final. I think this used to be the test map, which would've been replaced by Hedgehog Hammer's map.

This is good shit.

There are some files from 1997. I don't know what these textures would've been for.


Posted Image
Posted Image
This post has been edited by evilhamwizard: 21 May 2013 - 01:00 PM

#4 User is offline Mykonos 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:02 PM

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View Postevilhamwizard, on 21 May 2013 - 12:49 PM, said:

Check this out:

Different Chao Garden BGM. :)



Interesting. Sounds much more active, guess they decided later on to tone it down to be more relaxed, like the gardens themselves.

#5 User is offline Orengefox 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:14 PM

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I have some videos of the actual disc running on a Dreamcast. Please excuse the poor video recording and sound as I didn't have any other way of recording it. I'll see if I can get some better quality ones at some point.


This post has been edited by Orengefox: 21 May 2013 - 01:35 PM

#6 User is offline Caniad Bach 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:15 PM

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Genuinely excited about this news. Sonic Adventure is probably the game I'm most interested in the development of, aside from finding a prototype Sonic 1. It's clear that they experimented with many different things and that some stuff was changed or omitted. I really hope there's some good stuff in there.

#7 User is offline Orengefox 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:15 PM

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Double posting because of youtube video limit. These are really for those who can't run it on hardware.




#8 User is offline evilhamwizard 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:35 PM

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I was able to extract all the music from the game. A lot of it is mixed differently.

Not all the music's here though. But still, quite a lot for an automated demo. This is in ADX format.

There are also a lot more interesting sounding file names in here. Would love if this was actually playable though.

Also some localization was done. Check this out.

Posted Image

I guess they didn't pick a name for Froggy yet.
This post has been edited by evilhamwizard: 21 May 2013 - 01:41 PM

#9 User is offline drx 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:40 PM

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Congrats Orenge!
This post has been edited by drx: 21 May 2013 - 01:41 PM

#10 User is offline Orengefox 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:43 PM

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Thanks drx =)

View Postevilhamwizard, on 21 May 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

Would love if this was actually playable though.
I'm really crossing fingers in hopes it's possible by means of hacking. Maybe there's a way of enabling it. Failing that, make it so that it's possible by adding controls to it or transferring any or all information to the final version.

Here's the game's file list which you can easily find using a Hex viewer. Spoiler'd for size.

Spoiler

#11 User is offline evilhamwizard 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 01:52 PM

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Object list for STG00, definitely different from the final's STG00.

RING .SPRING .SPRINGB.O AXPNL.O IRONB.O FeBJG.O TOGE..O EME P.O RELEASE...O SWITCH....CMN KUSA....CMN_DRING...O BALOON....O ITEMBOX...Rocket H....Rocket HS...Rocket V....Rocket VS...O JPanel....O Save Point....WALL .SCENE CHANGE....O SMP S.O SMP M.O SM

#12 User is offline ultima espio 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 02:28 PM

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It would be amazing if that old Windy Valley was in there. It was the first thing I thought of :P

#13 User is offline Tanks 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 02:31 PM

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I'm hearing some minor differences between some of the tracks. I'm gonna run a few of them through audacity and check it out.

#14 User is offline Shadow Hog 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 02:33 PM

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View PostMykonos, on 21 May 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:

View Postevilhamwizard, on 21 May 2013 - 12:49 PM, said:

Check this out:

Different Chao Garden BGM. :)
Interesting. Sounds much more active, guess they decided later on to tone it down to be more relaxed, like the gardens themselves.
I was thinking the exact opposite, actually. The beta BGM is much more mellow and laidback, while the final version is a lot more energetic, placing a lot more emphasis on the blaring brass and accordion.

#15 User is offline Neko Kit Su 

Posted 21 May 2013 - 02:43 PM

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Nice! If I had the money to send, I would. I hope some good crap comes out of this.
This post has been edited by Neko Kit Su: 21 May 2013 - 02:44 PM
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