A General Beta/Developement Discussion Thread (For the entire Unreal games too)

[Blu3Haz3]

Do you know the exact filename and extension of the prototype? Like 'beta22x.zip', I wonder if it would be possible to search for that specific file on wayback machine, I've found some other things before doing that with a different project. I don't even think you need webpages, it just searches through the entire cache library.

[Leo T_C_K]

Do you know the exact filename and extension of the prototype? Like 'beta22x.zip', I wonder if it would be possible to search for that specific file on wayback machine, I've found some other things before doing that with a different project. I don't even think you need webpages, it just searches through the entire cache library.

Of what prototype now?
Look I recovered the 95 protos in the end from hands of bbs archivists, etc. Including the 95 UnrealED. It was nowhere else left. But there was a beta that used to be linked from geocities. We have filename for it, I believe it was unrealb.zip? I forgot exactly. We don't know what version this was. I tried to track it down even to the ftp where it was once hosted at and I got the name of the guy who hosted it but I was not able to find him anymore. Its possible this was the beta that VooDoo talked about a while back, but she reportedly gave it to someone who didn't show up again. Don't know, don't ask me, many people didn't believe her in the first place, though her story does match with what was once avaiable.

There was also one more beta on some warez cd compilation called "Unreal Beta Network Game" specificaly. Not sure what the filename for that was.

[Gamesharder]

I just found this magazine cover (not the whole magazine, unfortunately)

This is from Toxic, right? The background



I don't remember being slime/acid down there, or I'm just forgetting a version.
Also, the lamps on the bridge ain't there in the retail & version 99.

Retail


V99


"PC Jeux" also featured an exclusive screenshot of Morose in the 1998 February issue


I mean, it's the French version of PC Gamer, so...

[Leo T_C_K]

I am not so sure but it indeed looks like toxic but toxic doesn't have any lava so it looks like something else, like...maybe they reused this corridor from toxic for some inbetween map/version and put it into dig/dug? Or maybe a cut dm map based on the toxic geometry? There were so many different test versions, even full ones and in 1998 even more than one a month, which is unique...

I can't fully rely on my memory from 1998, but I do remember the version i played that had vortex2/nyleve as one map, it could have had the working hub system still and dig/dug had some weird section changes/shifts that don't seem to be in the other versions. And I'd swear it was also called Arajigar at that point and not Rrajigar. The same "misspelling" did appear in some other material though so its possible they really named it that way at that point. but like....some of the level sections seemed to be shuffled or maybe i am misremembering because of shortcuts like the hole in the wall from dig. So....I can't guarantee that this didn't appear somewhere there and wasn't part of toxic. We know that most likely the modern parts of Bluff were partially taken from maps like loche of the underflow and such...and changed up a bit.

There were some crazy af changes sometimes...

edit: as for that morose screenshot, it doesn't look too unique...seems like one of the 1997 versions but we know this area from the two known versions...

[Leo T_C_K]

Its also possible that Epic made a further update to Toxic and when they sent their stuff to Legend to be reused they didn't send that one, or it was still going to be part of the "Level Pack" at that point...who knows. Maybe they decided this version was a bad idea and scrapped it.

Anyways I reached out to Tuomas and he'll look, He did preserve some stuff but not everything. So he'll keep an eye open he said.

[Leo T_C_K]

just saying but the scan from mazuto in one of his posts last page has disappeared.

[Leo T_C_K]

I just found this magazine cover (not the whole magazine, unfortunately)

This is from Toxic, right? The background



I don't remember being slime/acid down there, or I'm just forgetting a version.
Also, the lamps on the bridge ain't there in the retail & version 99.

Retail


V99


"PC Jeux" also featured an exclusive screenshot of Morose in the 1998 February issue


I mean, it's the French version of PC Gamer, so...

I also wonder if there's a way to contact those guys from the magazine maybe they had that version of toxic somewhere...

[Gamesharder]

I've actually contacted editors from PC Joker and PC Jeux recently. No luck yet, but I'll update on this.

[Leo T_C_K]

I've actually contacted editors from PC Joker and PC Jeux recently. No luck yet, but I'll update on this.

Alright, good luck.

[Gamesharder]

One editor-in-chief I reached out to from PC Joker, who I thought tested a march/april build said that he was introduced to Unreal while he was visiting the USA, Atlanta, bought one copy and brought it back to Germany, but it wasn't a pre-release version, apparently.

My source:


He also said this: (I used translator, I don't know what he meant by "liquidated together")

Unfortunately, the game was liquidated together with the publisher. The archive was sold; unfortunately not to me.

And this:

Thanks for the memories! I don't think we ever had a pre-release version of Unreal to keep in the editorial office back then. But we did from Half-Life.

[Leo T_C_K]

One editor-in-chief I reached out to from PC Joker, who I thought tested a march/april build said that he was introduced to Unreal while he was visiting the USA, Atlanta, bought one copy and brought it back to Germany, but it wasn't a pre-release version, apparently.

My source:


He also said this: (I used translator, I don't know what he meant by "liquidated together")

Unfortunately, the game was liquidated together with the publisher. The archive was sold; unfortunately not to me.

And this:

Thanks for the memories! I don't think we ever had a pre-release version of Unreal to keep in the editorial office back then. But we did from Half-Life.

I think it means that they had it in the office, but then it was shipped off/liquidated and they only kept Half-Life stuff.
The screenshots are unique and definitely taken from pre-release. You can point that out to him too. But the copy he kept was a bought one in the store that he brought over. So that wasn't pre-release.

[Gamesharder]

The screenshots are unique and definitely taken from pre-release. You can point that out to him too.

I did. I started with that, and also attached this exact picture.

[Leo T_C_K]

The screenshots are unique and definitely taken from pre-release. You can point that out to him too.

I did. I started with that, and also attached this exact picture.

ah alright, but still the rest of what i said seems to apply, they might have taken the screenshots at the US office only or whatever too. And whatever material they had was returned/shipped off later.

[Gamesharder]

Follow-up on the PC Jeux editor-in-chief: (again, translated)

No, sorry, I don't have any material from that era. I barely still have a copy of each of the magazines I did, Pcjeux and the others before. I've been living in Canada for almost 10 years, so I've had to get rid of a lot of old stuff...

The article in question was a world exclusive. We were the only ones to have access to the beta version. Other magazines around the world were given the final version to test.

This beta version had been given priority in the hands of PCGamer, our sister magazine in England at Futur Publishing, where Mark Andersen was editor-in-chief at the time, I believe.

Now I'm really interested what's in that magazine, damn.
We're still missing that from being archived, only the cover I could get.

I just found this magazine cover (not the whole magazine, unfortunately)

This is from Toxic, right? The background



I don't remember being slime/acid down there, or I'm just forgetting a version.
Also, the lamps on the bridge ain't there in the retail & version 99.

Retail


V99


"PC Jeux" also featured an exclusive screenshot of Morose in the 1998 February issue


I mean, it's the French version of PC Gamer, so...

[Leo T_C_K]

Follow-up on the PC Jeux editor-in-chief: (again, translated)

No, sorry, I don't have any material from that era. I barely still have a copy of each of the magazines I did, Pcjeux and the others before. I've been living in Canada for almost 10 years, so I've had to get rid of a lot of old stuff...

The article in question was a world exclusive. We were the only ones to have access to the beta version. Other magazines around the world were given the final version to test.

This beta version had been given priority in the hands of PCGamer, our sister magazine in England at Futur Publishing, where Mark Andersen was editor-in-chief at the time, I believe.

Now I'm really interested what's in that magazine, damn.
We're still missing that from being archived, only the cover I could get.

I just found this magazine cover (not the whole magazine, unfortunately)

This is from Toxic, right? The background



I don't remember being slime/acid down there, or I'm just forgetting a version.
Also, the lamps on the bridge ain't there in the retail & version 99.

Retail


V99


"PC Jeux" also featured an exclusive screenshot of Morose in the 1998 February issue


I mean, it's the French version of PC Gamer, so...

Ask him if he has a copy of this particular issue himself then?
Tell him we don't even have the full article now.

maybe they keep archive online somewhere like some mags do? But I dunno.

[AlCapowned]

I can’t check it at the moment, but it looks like the CD that came with the magazine was ripped here: http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=25588

[Leo T_C_K]

I can’t check it at the moment, but it looks like the CD that came with the magazine was ripped here: http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=25588

I can't check it either becase it would slurp up the rest of my data bundle right now if I downloaded the almost 500 MB archive but it implies there is a demo of Unreal? What?

[Gamesharder]

Yes, good thing this came up, actually. Thank you for reminding me Al!

I can’t check it at the moment, but it looks like the CD that came with the magazine was ripped here: http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=25588

I've seen this before, but couldn't get anything out of it.
It's supposed to be a video of some sort, maybe a couple of images showcased, not an ACTUAL demo of Unreal.
Other folders on the CD have this kind of .exe file within.



I couldn't run it myself, as I said and I don't have any vms on my PC right now either.
If anyone could look into this in more depth... please.

[Leo T_C_K]

Yes, good thing this came up, actually. Thank you for reminding me Al!

I can’t check it at the moment, but it looks like the CD that came with the magazine was ripped here: http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?t=25588

I've seen this before, but couldn't get anything out of it.
It's supposed to be a video of some sort, maybe a couple of images showcased, not an ACTUAL demo of Unreal.
Other folders on the CD have this kind of .exe file within.



I couldn't run it myself, as I said and I don't have any vms on my PC right now either.
If anyone could look into this in more depth... please.

jackhonda couldn't run it either but I'll ask him to mirror it, but he thought it might be an installer?
maybe it is some kind of demo/shareware thing inside an installer, but given the other files I am not sure and seems like it might be a presentation indeed, just throws to him some directx error.

[Leo T_C_K]

I remember that "interactive walkthrough" thing at PC Mania as well, but that worked without problems right? though this has april file date

edit:
now 'mirrored', uploaded more like but w/e lol
mirror

[Leo T_C_K]

there is some indication there's some kind of vid but it just shows black...inside that rpl stuff.

Clip info:
title: C:\WINDOWS\BUREAU\UnrealDBZRPL.rpl
copyright: Copyright (c) 1997 Eidos plc. All rights reserved.
author: ESCAPE 2.0
Load subtitles in Escape/

i have no clue what to think of all this

edit:
it claims its
ARMovie

also the .exe has macromedia headers etc in it

[yrex .]

The bundled player worked for me after supplying it BUDAPI32.DLL from some random dll website and setting the screen to 16-bit color.

However, a better way is to play the .rpl file in mpv.
ffmpeg can also convert it.

[Leo T_C_K]

The bundled player worked for me after supplying it BUDAPI32.DLL from some random dll website and setting the screen to 16-bit color.

However, a better way is to play the .rpl file in mpv.
ffmpeg can also convert it.

can any of you put it up on youtube then?

[Gamesharder]

It's the same as this, actually.

[Leo T_C_K]

It's the same as this, actually.

exactly the same? No difference at all? Oh ffs.....did they upload this directly from those cds then?

disappointing though now we know it was from april 1998 specificaly.

the only thing we need is the damn article then

It means this april beta probably had the foundry level then, the unique one.