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LEGO Island 2 Beta on PS1 "discovered" (IMAGE HEAVY)


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Playing around with the beta myself and I can't seem to get in any road vehicles? I can get in boats and the helicopter but not any cars. Ok I managed to get into Mr Picking's red speedster ONCE but most of the time no buttons work at all. So it's just glitchy.

 

Also no icons show up when you're next to an NPC, vehicle, or building, to tell you when you can talk to them/drive them/go inside.

 

In the beta, Pepper often (but not always) plays an animation where he dips his toe into the water before he starts swimming. If you stop holding directional keys while this animation plays he won't start swimming once it finishes, like it's supposed to give you a chance to change your mind about swimming. I can't get this to happen on retail.

 

jqrPQi8.png

 

And zooming the camera all the way in on Pepper while standing still does... Bad things. (This happened while near the party house.)

 

A0PrNEd.png

 

At the front end, in retail the options menu text is "Options Menu". In beta it's just "Options". The beta also has different default audio levels than retail, and retail has vibration turned off by default, but on by default in beta. Different text in the screen offset menu too, and while starting a new game without a memory card.

 

Camera starts in a different position after the first cutscene with the Infomaniac.

 

In the infocenter, if you run all the way to the back wall and hold down in beta, Pepper slides along slowly. In retail he doesn't.

 

GOOD DAY MASTER PICKINGS (beta on the right, games aren't perfectly synced but oh well)

 

GRS6S2m.png

 

When leaving the infocenter in the beta, the camera starts in some other default position and rapidly whooshes over to the infocenter to view Pepper.

 

Here's a video of the beta from 2014 that currently has nearly 49000 views, with nobody even really realizing it's a beta

 

You can swim through boats on the beta.

 

I just tried calling the Infomaniac and he DID point to the objective... But only after I pressed the button a second time while he was already talking to me. Odd.

 

RTkmlLB.png

 

FVJPF7O.png

 

Sadly you can't drive vehicles off the edge of the bridge like on PC, they just hit the edge and spin around. There are some rendering bugs with pieces disappearing at certain angles though, and if you walk up underneath it you just phase through it to the top (if you do that on PC you clip through the island and end up walking on water).

 

8DCwHtn.png

 

Beta front end has no grass on top of space mountain, different road on space mountain, and no stairs at the skate park (but only in the front end):

 

EAd2coe.png

 

Credits are mostly the same but there's some minor differences:

 

x0aqcZr.png

 

Xtiv6id.png

 

w2JPIYE.png

 

PdvKXVi.png

 

Including this rather amusing flub(?) in the retail game where the Testers section has somehow become... David Lane:

 

TnPSout.png

 

The floating radio is there even before the radio station is destroyed:

 

1nN2drh.png

 

And the bug with the skateboard seems to happen whenever Pepper's state is changed during the animation where he puts the skateboard away... Talking to an NPC, sliding down a hill, etc.

 

WSHxBm4.png

 

 

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So while the folks above have been playing the game side-by-side for a round of spot-the-difference, I've been diving into the raw underlying filesystem of the two builds. This is gonna be a mix of differences between the two builds and a general technical rundown of the engine/formats. Strap in.

 

Here's a diff listing of the two versions, showing which files differ and which files are only present in one version.

Spoiler

Only in nobridge: PADDING.BIN
Files FMVNTSCU.STR differ
Files OUTNTSCU.STR differ
Files ADV.VAG differ
Files CAS.VAG differ
Files LGI.VAG differ
Files OGL.VAG differ
Files PSXDIR differ
Files PSXFILE differ
Files SLUS_012.46 differ
Files BINS/Z00FRE.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z01BPK.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z03PPH.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z04IFC.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z05WAB.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z08BKD.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z09JST.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z10RGB.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z15SSH.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z17WAS.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z18MMP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z20DSP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z22BIP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z27TRX.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z28HAT.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z36CNT.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z39ASB.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z41MAP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z42BRP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90ADV.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90CAS.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90DIP.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90OGL.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90OSD.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90PSX.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z90PYA.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z91PSX.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z92PSX.BIN differ
Files BINS/Z93PSX.BIN differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.COL differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.TKK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/ADVE.TXT differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/SKY.PMH differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/ADVE/SKY.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/CAST/CAST.COL differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/CAST/CAST.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/CAST/CAST.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/CAST/SKY.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/FRONTEND/FRONTEND.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/FRONTEND/FRONTEND.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/FRONTEND/FRONTEND.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/FRONTEND/FRONTEND.TKK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/FRONTEND/FRONTEND.TXT differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/HAT/HAT.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/HAT/HAT.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/HAT/HAT.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/HAT/HAT.TXT differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/JST/SKY.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/LEGO/LEGO.COL differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/LEGO/LEGO.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/LEGO/LEGO.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/LEGO/LEGO.TKK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/LEGO/LEGO.TXT differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/OGEL/OGEL.COL differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/OGEL/OGEL.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/RGB.COL differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/RGB.JEB differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/RGB.OBJ differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/RGB.TBK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/RGB.TKK differ
Files DATA/TRACKS/RGB/SKY.TBK differ

 


 

PADDING.BIN is just a copy of the outro cutscene, but with embedded audio.


FMVNTSCU.STR and OUTNTSCU.STR are the intro and outro cutscenes respectively, with no audio. I assume the audio is stored elsewhere (presumably in the VAG files or PSXFILE). The intro cutscene has minimal differences, essentially just some minor frame-timing changes. The outro cutscene has a 1-second black pause at the start in the retail version, and the credits/bloopers are omitted in the retail version.

 

The .VAG files seem to be standard PSX audio files, albeit without headers so it's a little tricky to extract data from them. I'll come back to these another time. Thanks to @mumboking for looking into this for us.

 

I've skimmed over PSXDIR, PSXFILE, and SLUS\_012.46 for now. I believe SLUS_012.46 is the game executable, so I probably won't look too closely at it (I'm not too hot on reverse-engineering program code).

 

Similarly I'll skip over the BINS folder for now as I've nothing useful to report there yet. On PC these files are data archives. On PS1 they seem to be too small, and I'm speculating that they contain pointers into the PSXFILE file, where the actual data might be stored.

 

And now on to the main event! (By which I mean the actually interesting bits)

 

TKK and TBK files follow the same format as each other, and they're texture containers.  
TKK contains the textures for the overworld objects (as far as I can tell).  
TBK contains the tile textures for the overworld terrain, as well as the textures for the fences. Terrev and I established that the fences are considered to be part of the terrain; the textures are in the same file, the fences always start and end exactly on terrain tile corners, and the slant of a fence always matches the terrain.

Spoiler

LEGO%20Island%202%20BETA%202017-03-01%20

LEGO%20Island%202%20BETA%202017-03-01%20

 

 

JEB files contain the terrain data for the Frontend (main menu), LEGO Island, OGEL Island, Adventurers Island, Castle Island, and various mini-games. Some minigames seem to use a different terrain format, ADE, which I have not yet properly investigated. I have deciphered enough of the JEB terrain format to be able to render top-down views of the terrain maps, along with heightmap and baked lighting information. I have not fully deciphered the format and will post updates in this thread if/when I make further progress.

 

TERRAIN CHANGES

 

High-res images of all the maps are available here.

Note: this section will only discuss changes to the raw terrain, it will not discuss object placement within the maps.

 

Adventurers' Island has had a couple of large changes between beta and retail. Most notably the river has been made significantly wider, and one of the volcanoes has been shifted to accommodate this. The snake pursuit path has also been extended further into the greenery. The heightmap and lightmap have also been changed significantly, seemingly to add more sand dunes. This map also features a misplaced tile in the north-west corner, which remains incorrect in retail too.

Spoiler

Beta:

bridge-adve-flat-512.pngbridge-adve-lit-512.png

 

Retail:  
nobridge-adve-flat-512.pngnobridge-adve-lit-512.png

 

Misplaced tile:  
qcWU2wC.png


    
Castle Island only undergoes one notable change between beta and retail - some tiles under the bridge have been replaced.

Spoiler

Beta:

bridge-cast-flat-512.png

 

Retail:

nobridge-cast-flat-512.png

 


Mr. Hates's camp undergoes a fairly large change between beta and retail. The target area has been moved much closer to the rest of the playable map, presumably to reduce the game's difficulty. A few minor changes to the rocks towards the east, and some larger changes to the out-of-bounds decorative terrain.

Spoiler

 

Beta:
bridge-hat-flat-512.pngbridge-hat-lit-512.png

 

Retail:
nobridge-hat-flat-512.pngnobridge-hat-lit-512.png

 


The Raging Bull map gets some very curious changes indeed. A few shoreline tiles on the east island are replaced, in a manner that seems somewhat unintentional. The water color has also been changed significantly, from the purpley blue of the Castle Island map to the brighter blue of the LEGO Island map.
Interestingly, both builds of the game also include a copy of this map inside the JST (Jousting) folder. This copy does not change between beta and retail, but seems to depict an earlier iteration of the map. The sea uses the brighter tiles from the LEGO Island map, the shoreline has no beach at all, and the two sides of the bridge appear to be misaligned.

Spoiler

Beta:
bridge-rgb-flat-512.pngbridge-rgb-lit-512.png

 

Retail:
nobridge-rgb-flat-512.pngnobridge-rgb-lit-512.png

 

Beta (copy from JST folder):  
nobridge-jst-rgb-flat-512.pngnobridge-jst-rgb-lit-512.png

 


Now, let's talk about the main LEGO Island map. This actually appears in two forms, known as "FRONTEND" and "LEGO" internally to the game. The frontend version is what appears behind the main menu - that's right, they store an extra copy of the island just for the menu.
The beta frontend shows what is likely the earliest known version of the map. It features a garbled mess of tiles, presumably for dev purposes, in the north west corner. The jail area has a small river running through it, and Space Mountain features a road winding up it. A couple of building plots near the crossroads seem to have hastily-placed tiles the player isn't intended to see.

The beta island, however, already bears a closer resemblance to the final game. The garbled tiles are gone, the jail area  no longer has a river, and Space Mountain now has a stone path with some grass growing around it. The map has been generally tidied up a bit, and a strip of sand is now present on the eastern coast, blocking off the river from the sea.  
From here, the only change made is the removal of the bridge, and its replacement with a large block of land instead. The retail frontend and island terrains are seemingly identical. 

 

Spoiler

Beta Frontend:
bridge-frontend-flat-512.pngbridge-frontend-lit-512.png

 

Beta Island:
bridge-lego-flat-512.pngbridge-lego-lit-512.png

 

Retail Frontend:
nobridge-frontend-flat-512.pngnobridge-frontend-lit-512.png

 

Retail Island:
nobridge-lego-flat-512.pngnobridge-lego-lit-512.png


The Jousting and Ogel Island terrains undergo seemingly no changes between beta and retail.

 

 

SKY CHANGES

 

I was also able to extract the sky textures for each level. Castle Island (and associated minigames Jousting and Raging Bull) all have their skies replaced, changing from a moody dark sky in beta to a cloudy orange sky in retail. Adventurers Island also receives a minor texture change. Ogel Island's sky does not change, but curiously features random texture transparency in a some places.

Spoiler

Beta Castle Island Sky:

bridge-cast-sky.png

 

Retail Castle Island Sky:

nobridge-cast-sky.png

 

Beta Adventurers Island Sky:

bridge-adve-sky.png

 

Retail Adventurers Island Sky:

nobridge-adve-sky.png

 

Ogel Island Sky:

bridge-ogel-sky.png

 

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Good to see this stuff posted. Some comments:

 

48 minutes ago, WillKirkby said:

The target area has been moved much closer to the rest of the playable map, presumably to reduce the game's difficulty.

Probably just because having it back there just dragged the minigame on for longer - there's no danger or difficulty associated with it, really. It's odd how both versions seem to have useless empty space behind the target though.

 

48 minutes ago, WillKirkby said:

Now, let's talk about the main LEGO Island map. This actually appears in two forms, known as "FRONTEND" and "LEGO" internally to the game. The frontend version is what appears behind the main menu - that's right, they store an extra copy of the island just for the menu.

To be fair this sorta stuff is pretty common. LU has terrain linked to maps/worlds/scenes in the exact same way. LEGO Racers duplicates models/textures/etc for cutscenes, god knows how many copies of the island model the original LEGO Island uses, Fez has duplicate versions of the opening village (2D, 3D, a few cutscene variations, etc). McJobless has talked about how even the Ratchet and Clank games duplicate all the assets per level/world, like LI2 PC (and maybe PS1? We haven't looked at that much though). Sure it's not the most efficient way of doing things but it's not that strange.

 

48 minutes ago, WillKirkby said:

A couple of building plots near the crossroads seem to have hastily-placed tiles the player isn't intended to see.

I'm actually pretty sure you could see them, the buildings don't take up that much space (not to mention they get destroyed anyway).

 

48 minutes ago, WillKirkby said:

the jail area  no longer has a river

Was it ever really a river if the terrain was still cutting through the middle of it? Like, there was never a bridge there or anything from what we've seen (on PS1 anyway - there's a bridge/arch of land with water underneath it on PC).

 

 

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20 hours ago, WillKirkby said:

The .VAG files seem to be standard PSX audio files, albeit without headers so it's a little tricky to extract data from them. I'll come back to these another time. Thanks to @mumboking for looking into this for us.

Oh those? I've extracted them already. ;P

Here's a link just in case you didn't see it in on Discord: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/483r4vgogards/LI2_PS1_VAG_Clips

 

These are extracted clips from the VAG files in LI2 PS1. Originally, they had no headers, so I've added headers for each clip.

Header might not be exactly how it should be, but it works. I've also uploaded pre-converted WAVs of each clip.

 

Clip counts:

(VAG: Beta, Retail)
ADV: 236, 242
CAS: 359, 359
LGI: 798, 802
OGL: 94, 94

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Those active right now have probably seen it already, but for those who might read this thread in the future - PeabodySam just earlier today reuploaded a video with beta footage of the PC version:

 

The same change to the Castle Island sky was made on PC; the dark clouds were toned down, there's more orange.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Randomly playing around in the PS1 beta and discovered that you can make the horse fly or bug it out by spamming the jump button (don't know if this is fixed in the final version, haven't tried)

 

 

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2 hours ago, Robb said:

Randomly playing around in the PS1 beta and discovered that you can make the horse fly or bug it out by spamming the jump button (don't know if this is fixed in the final version, haven't tried)

I discovered that ages ago. I mentioned it in the Discord chat when the differences were being found.
Apparently this was fixed in the final version, but I haven't checked it myself.

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1 minute ago, mumboking said:

Apparently this was fixed in the final version, but I haven't checked it myself.

I couldn't replicate it in the final build

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