Doom 64 prototype leak?

[betabox]

Agreed. When prototypes like this get posted online, we refer to them as dumped and released. Or simply just say released. These are press, QA and other such builds that left press or evaluation hands (and more importantly, their proprietor's eyes) a hell of a long time ago. There were talks in some preservation groups that this came from one of those typical N64 dev carts, and that falls right in line with the notion.

 

If anything, the really shocking thing about this is such a prototype on a cart of Doom 64 is even known to exist in the first place, and as different from the final as it is. I and others kept an eye out for a long time back in the day, for a prototype cart of it to surface either on ebay or one of the forums. Not even DreamTR ever had one. Just shows what kind of good stuff are still found in private collector/other hands. Or got swept up from an auction site before anybody noticed.

[Individualised]

Makes me hopeful that a prototype of the SNES version of Doom 1 will resurface some day. I know one was dumped a while back but I'm pretty sure it was the final build with a different header. The source code implies that the game had a lot of things are cut; of course the cut maps are the obvious ones but there's also stuff in there I haven't seen people talk about, such as demo playback (there's no demos present in the final game though the code for playing them back seems to be there - if you wait on the title screen it just brings you straight to E1M1, no demo) and remnants of a more proper credits sequence.

 

The original iteration of GBA Doom with the custom engine rather than being a port of Jaguar Doom would be cool to see though there is probably a good reason why it was rejected, unless it was another Saturn Doom situation. Or the GBC Doom pitch that David A. Palmer also made (which I theorise is where the music for GBA Doom came from or at least is based upon, since it mostly uses the legacy PSG channels with sloppy PCM percussion added on, and honestly sounds like all of the tracks were recreated from memory, like one of those pirate NES demakes)

 

Also, out of curiosity, do any pre-release magazine screenshots line up with this build?

Edited January 8, 2023 by Individualised

[betabox]

I know that there's a build of SNES Doom with cut levels, it's very barebones in presentation but it still shows there was more to it than what's in the releases. My only hope for that is if a separate copy surfaces some day. Though it seems more like an internal build, as nothing like it was described in any print, which makes the hope unfortunately pretty grim.

[Individualised]

12 hours ago, betabox said:

I know that there's a build of SNES Doom with cut levels, it's very barebones in presentation but it still shows there was more to it than what's in the releases. My only hope for that is if a separate copy surfaces some day. Though it seems more like an internal build, as nothing like it was described in any print, which makes the hope unfortunately pretty grim.

Did Randy Linden ever mention this? I've heard this before but the last time I heard it was from something posted way before Randy released the source code/did any interviews about SNES Doom. I know he mentioned that the one that was presented to id Software was a very early build that used the SuperFX1 and only had E1M1 with no music or enemies etc, just the game world. If there's a source for this later prototype I'd be very interested.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Individualised

[betabox]

I don't know if Randy Linden mentioned it (would be great if he has a backup of the build, though), but a private collector has/had it about 8 years ago. I'm sure I brought it up here a few times in the past. Basically, I never managed to buy it off the person or at least get them to dump it. I did buy one from someone else hoping it was the same build, but it wasn't. It's the one that is identical to final but with the modified header. 

[Individualised]

I know Randy did mention that there was the possibility of having prototypes on old hard drives that he hadn't looked through yet - but that was a while ago and I don't know if he's checked everything by now. Might be worth asking him.