Chaotix (prototype 1207)

Chaotix (prototype 1207)

Prerelease of: Chaotix
System: Sega 32X
Build date: Dec 7th, 1994
ROM size: 3 MB
Source: CD-R disc
Found by: drx

Chaotix prototype "1207" is a pre-release build ot Chaotix for the Sega 32X. With a compile date of December 7, 1994, this is currently the earliest dumped and preserved version of Chaotix other than Sonic Crackers.

This version of Chaotix is noticeably incomplete. While all levels can be accessed (though the Stage Select screen at least), some are missing objects and Rings, and the bosses of Amazing Arena and Speed Slider have yet to be implemented. None of the Special Stages have goals, and some characters are missing their unique moves, however there is enough here to demonstrate the gist of the game to the gaming press.

Comparisons

Main article: Chaotix (prototype 1207)/Comparisons

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General

The ROM header says "Knuckles' Ringstar."
Vector's running animation is faster. Presumably, ********/Wechnia/Tails has his abilities implemented as evidenced from proto 1227.
Wechnia's palette in this proto is very different. It consists of mostly orange/yellow/red colors, implying that he was Tails at one point. In fact, some colors match perfectly or near-perfectly with Tails' palette from Crackers. In this proto, the palette is used. In later protos, the palette exists but Wechnia's palette pointer points to Mighty's palette instead. Presently, Wechnia is unplayable due to crashing issues.
Graphics for a water splash are located in the ROM. Identical to Sonic 1's splash graphics.
There's an odd skull graphic found in the ROM with some Japanese text underneath it that reads "tobu" (which is usually used in Japanese in reference to tobacco).
The backgrounds have scrolling issues, sometimes half the background lags behind, sometimes it doesn't.
All the 32x art is uncompressed, in final most of the static art uses the C42 compression. Everything that uses the 32x VDP is viewable using this version.
The title screen track has percussion thrown in, as well as most other tracks. There is also beep sounds every ten seconds or so, in different variations depending on the track. Sometimes, those beeps seem like missing bits of sound that should be there, this is especially noticeable in Amazing Arena. However, the beeps are not missing bits of sound at all, just a result of a bug in the PWM driver.
Sound Test songs are there but scratchy and beepy and even feature songs that aren't featured anywhere reachable.
Some songs are pretty different from the final, like 000D. Some even have different percussion than the ones in the other Chaotix betas, like the almost unhearable 000F. 0011 is a slower mix of the main theme, 0018 sounds like something out of a Megaman game, and 0025 sounds like a bad ending of sorts. 0015 is a different mix of a track in the final, and so are 0017, 0019, 001B, 001C, and 0021. 0026-0028 are empty, and afterwards begin the sound effects, which are basically the same throughout Chaotix's development. There are exceptions like 0047 or 004B, however. After 0069 there's nothing. The entire game's soundtrack may of been composed before actually making most of the levels. All the musical differences are based on the regular, keyboard notes, not the percussion that was later removed. Strangely, most of the songs that aren't really featured in the levels don't have the beep caused by PWM bugs.
On the NPC select menu from Time Attack, the music is DIRECTLY from sonic crackers; no difference whatsoever.
Debug mode is always enabled. (Pause to move around.)
Time Attack actually works better than normal mode, and uses the same player selection method as the later protos. And by "works better", I mean it holds out without going bonkers for 10 more seconds.
The cutscenes before the bosses are fully implemented in this proto, although the boss music starts directly in the cutscenes instead of playing "Have Some Fun" song.
Time can't go up.

Training Level

Training level shows Botanic Base title screen and plays the same music (Door Into Summer) that is found in the title screen.
Introduction level in stage select is vastly different from Introduction in "main" mode and plays the same track that the final does, however, in this beeping, percussion state.
Training 0 stage may have been used as an Engine Test level because its design is very different from the other training stages. This level features a closed place with platforms, loops and slopes. In the final game it is replaced by a copy of Training 1 although the boundaries fit the proto version.

World Entrance

Selecting World Entrance 1 brings you to an almost exact copy of the World Entrance - everything's identical except for the music, which plays the Combi Select BGM.

Marina Madness

The background deformation is entirely different from the final and also incomplete.

Amazing Arena

What's interesting is that this builds Amazing Arena actually has a light switch at least on the first level, near the first clock (just hold when you start the level to hit it). The hologram Eggman is also functional and can hit you with his fists. The next build with a switch near that first clock is the Jan 19 build, and even then its hologram's fists don't cause damage and instead just flail around for humorous effect.

History

Release

This prototype was released by drx during the February 23rd, 2008 proto release.

Download

NOTE: To play the prototype in Kega Fusion v3.6 and up, the "Fast 32X Timing" option in the 32X configuration tab must be enabled. For older versions of Kega Fusion, a special release, which can play the prototype, was made available here ^(info) (268 kB).