[General Discussion] "On the Cutting Room Floor", or "Previews and their horrible, horrible lies."

Ah, the infamous Rockman X Alpha. These scans are from the GamePro issue than covered the game's pre-release back in the day. You can find out everything you want to know about what little shots were available at The Mechanical Maniacs "Mega Man X Mysteries" section. Some of the unused graphics are actually kinda neat. I wish I could track down of ROM of this thing.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Miles

Anyone remember the kiddy version of Conker?

You can still see kiddie Conker as a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing. He was added to the game before his own title ("Conker's Quest", later "Twelve Tales: Conker 64") got its huge overhaul, so he's still got his old Disney-esque attitude and voice. Such a big change - it went form happy-go-lucky to Happy Tree Friends in only a few months!

Most amazing jew boots

Yeah, Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 both used voxels to render most of the vehicles. It might not have been full rendering, but I know it was at least partial. Blade Runner (which Westwood also worked on two years earlier) used voxels for a lot of its graphics, too.

Also, I remember there were lots of games on the PS2 that were supposed to have online modes, but scrapped them way before release when the whole PS2 modem plan imploded. Square said FFX was supposed to have an online mode of some kind way back when it was first announced, but never gave any details on what it was supposed to be. Most people thought certain scenarios would be played online with other people, which would be a sort of baby step for people getting ready to play FFXI, which was fully online and quite possibly the evolution of the series. As cool as it might have been, I'm glad the line between MMOs and CRPGs wasn't blurred too much here. You have to keep these genres fenced off in separate pastures, otherwise they'll interbreed and you'll have some gangly sterile hybrids on your hands that you can't sell.

Breath of Fire DQ was also supposed to have some sort of online function, but it was scrapped before programming even began, as well as a fishing mini-game like every other BoF that was cut when they fell behind schedule. This info never made it to previews, though (you had to read about it in the art book), so no one's hopes were really dashed here. I just thought it was neat.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Quote:

You know, I remember hearing about that, but from what I recall it was something about using the PlayOnline service to "connect" to other users (which was a pretty vague statement) to get help to advance your quest, like asking others for advice and discussing aspects of the game as you play. I thought the whole concept was rather silly and pointless since it sounded like you'd just be using an online message board on the console or something like that. I think they were just using FFX to market their PlayOnline service for when they actually decided to use it in a game.

I'd believe that. The whole thing does sounds kinda wonky, and I doubt Square had the infrastructure to host FFX and FFXI's servers at the time and provide full online modes for each one. Even if it was just a message board system or something, I think it takes something out of the game when you encourage interaction rather than let people figure stuff out on their own, especially in RPGs. Still, any gimmick like online features was exciting back then, especially since the Dreamcast was the only console getting it right at the time.

And since it fits the topic - beta screens! Including the old, minimalist menu, the old logo (coming 2001 - believe it!), and the virtually unchanged Tidus model. Shots are from GameCore back in 2000 when the game was announced.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Yeah, I remember that. It was supposed to be this huge online archive like you said, but it really wasn't anything that comprehensive. The original PlayOnline site was taken down for a while a few years after FFIX got old, but it was later integrated into the main Square Enix site. The codes from the strategy guide still work, too, for what it's worth.

I was speaking idiomatically.