Upcoming video - Mortal Kombat Deception - secrets/beta discussion

So, I'ven been having a look at Mortal Kombat Deception at the moment. I remember the game fondly from my childhood, as I really enjoyed playing through Konquest Mode which was a brand new mode of gameplay at the time. Konquest Mode would make a return in Mortal Kombat Armageddon, but in a more linear style of gameplay; rather than the more non-linear style that featured in Deception. By non-linear I mean that there were lots of side missions to do, that meant the player had to go wandering around the level to find and complete them.

What's more interesting is that MK Deception was never finished in the way that the designers originally intended. Konquest Mode was wrapped up quickly in order to coincide with the game's release date. Therefore, it has a few items for example, that serve no purpose in the game. Raiden's Staff and the Ninja Star for example. So I thought I'd have a look through the game to see if I could uncover anything that was potentially left unfinished.

So far, by using a walk through walls code that I created; I managed to find a koin chest and a koin in an out of bounds area in Earthrealm Village. Although not a beta feature, it's still quite interesting. :) There are also two huts that the player can't usually access in the playable area, though both huts' doors are locked. I'll look into a way of unlocking them. There are also a lot more huts that stay locked in the village, and the Shaolin Temple that seems redundant. There's a door at the top of the steps which is inaccessible, and also what looks like a side door; that the designers placed a koin chest in front of to stop the player from being able to access it.

That's all for now, hopefully I'll be able to make a video with some new information about the game. :)

Rockstar Playstation Alpha/Beta Discs

On my daily excursions through the many pages of the internet, I came across two early builds of Smuggler's Run. The first is an early alpha build, seen here on YouTube:

I'd seen this video a couple of years ago, though for some reason I always thought it was a gameplay trailer release by Rockstar during the development of Smuggler's Run. Only lately have I realised that it's actually an early alpha build of the game which actually exists on a disc; rather than being a snapshot of a work in progress.

The second is a slightly later beta build. No footage of this one but here's an image of the disc. Thanks to Ptoponline (Past to present online).

I believe the owner of this image sold this disc a few years ago by the way. Anyway, so this got me thinking about GTA III again. (I bet I sound like a broken record...) I'd always thought that the best shot of owning a beta build of GTA III was to hunt down the disc that was playable at E3 in 2001; though now I'm wondering if there's an even earlier disc out there. Possibly an alpha build like the earliest Smuggler's Run footage that I posted above. Obviously I'm just speculating, but it's nice to think that there may be an even earlier build out there; containing the game around this stage of development:

A New Gran Turismo 2 Site

Even though it came out over ten years ago, Gran Turismo 2 is still being discussed on the web today. Roadhog360 from YouTube has recently launched a small website, to further improve the longevity of Gran Turismo 2. He could do with a few viewers and forum posts, so I'm posting it here in case anyone is interested:

http://gt2info.ucoz.net

Video Games Wish List (Updated 28/09/2012)

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd post a small list of video games that I'm currently interested in buying. Some of them are quite rare, so I'm having trouble finding them. So on the off chance that anyone wants to sell a copy, get in touch! :)

Games marked with a strikethrough are ones that I have recently purchased.

Gran Turismo Test Drive Disc (Single version or Pule Pule / Pure Pure version)
Gran Turismo 2 Test Drive Disc
Grand Theft Auto III E3 2001 Demo
Gran Turismo Special Edition 2004 Toyota Demo
Gran Turismo 4 Press Kit
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Seoul [NTSC-J/KR]
Gran Turismo Demo KB Toys [NTSC-U/C]
Gran Turismo Limited Edition PlayStation discs 100 million
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva Press Pack [EU]
Gran Turismo Concept Mitsubishi Airtrek Turbo Special Edition [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Concept Daihatsu Copen Special Edition [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Nissan 350z Edition (Press Pack) [NTSC-U/C]
Gran Turismo Nissan Micra Edition (Press Pack) [PAL-UK]
Gran Turismo VW Lupo Cup Japan Training Version 1 [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo 4 BMW 1 series Virtual Drive
Gran Turismo 4 BMW 1 series Virtual Drive Dealership
Gran Turismo 4 E3 Press Kit
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec Demo [NTSC/UC]

I'll be adding more to the list whenever I come across something that I'd like to own. I'd probably also be interested in any items that are in any way similar to those that I have posted above.

Send me a message on YouTube (MattJ155) , or email me at mattj_155@hotmail.co.uk

~Matt

Video Games Wish List

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd post a small list of video games that I'm currently interested in buying. Some of them are quite rare, so I'm having trouble finding them. So on the off chance that anyone wants to sell a copy, get in touch! :)

Gran Turismo Test Drive Disc (Single version or Pule Pule / Pure Pure version)
Gran Turismo 2 Test Drive Disc
Gran Turismo 4 Press Kit
Gran Turismo 5 Press Kit
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Press Kit
Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo Collection
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Seoul [NTSC-J/KR]
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva [NTSC-J] 
Gran Turismo Demo KB Toys [NTSC-U/C]
Gran Turismo Limited Edition PlayStation discs 100 million
Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo Promo [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva Promo [NTSC-J/Chinese]
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva Press Pack [EU]
Gran Turismo Concept 2002 Tokyo-Geneva Promo [PAL-UK]
Gran Turismo Concept Mitsubishi Airtrek Turbo Special Edition [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Concept Daihatsu Copen Special Edition [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Nissan 350z Edition (Press Pack) [NTSC-U/C]
Gran Turismo Nissan Micra Edition (Press Pack) [PAL-UK]
Gran Turismo VW Lupo Cup Japan Training Version 1 [NTSC-J]
Gran Turismo Special Edition 2004 Toyota Demo [NTSC-U/C]
Gran Turismo 4 BMW 1 series Virtual Drive
Gran Turismo 4 BMW 1 series Virtual Drive Dealership 
Gran Turismo 4 E3 Press Kit 
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec Demo [NTSC/UC] 
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue Special Hologram Cover [NTSC/J]
Grand Theft Auto III E3 2001 Demo

I'll be adding more to the list whenever I come across something that I'd like to own. I'd probably also be interested in any items that are in any way similar to those that I have posted above.

Send me a message on YouTube (MattJ155) , or email me at mattj_155@hotmail.co.uk

~Matt

Tracking Down the GTA III Beta; Part 2

Since my last post on this subject, there have been a few updates to report. Firstly, the Rockstar E3 Press Kit I bought from Ebay arrived and it's a nice thing to own. It obviously contains no demo, only screenshots, some videos, a trailer and a press release statement. However, it came with a name (probably the press officer at the time); Jeff Castaneda. I managed to contact Jeff and ask him about the demo that was playable at E3. Nice guy, however he couldn't really help me and instead, directed me to Rockstar support.

The trail went dead for a while, when I was contacted by a user on YouTube; with some snippets of information about a German journalist that had owned the demo, and sold it on Ebay. I am currently investigating this lead, though I have no idea how far I'll get with it. It would be great to talk to a previous owner though, as that would be a big step forward in tracking down the disc.

More to come soon!

The Development of Grand Theft Auto III

Look at this picture; do you recognise it at all? Well if you don’t, it’s a school bus in Grand Theft Auto III. It’s not a mod either; it’s one of many things that was either cut or changed during the development. You can still see school buses near 8-Ball’s bomb shop in Portland, though they’re not driveable; they don’t even have any wheels! Speaking of 8-Ball, he was originally white rather than black, and was named Mullin. Last year, Rockstar did an online Q and A with fans about GTA III; where beta features such as these were explained. I’m going to do my best to detail what is now known about the early stages of GTA III’s development, and what is still a mystery.

At any point during the development of GTA III, did Claude ever speak?

Many people have seen this trailer where Claude appears to say; “Get out of the car!”

Here is Rockstar’s explanation:

“This is fake. This is an old bit of gameplay footage, for sure, but we think the voices were added at a later date by someone online as at no point did we plan for Claude to have a voice or even design how a speaking protagonist would be implemented until Vice City.”

Seems probable, right? Well I can shed at least a little bit more light than Rockstar can on this matter. I recently bought the press disc that was given out by Rockstar to the press at E3 in 2001. The trailer in question features on this disc, with voices and all. So it seems as if this trailer is not a fake after all, though I would assume that the voices and sound effects within the trailer were added by a Rockstar employee; and therefore a talking Claude would have never been implemented in the game. It is possible that the trailer in its finished state wasn’t seen by the powers that be at Rockstar; and so could have been added by a single designer gone haywire. This one remains a bit of a mystery.

Darkel

Darkel was a character that was cut during the development of GTA III. He was to be a revolutionary street urchin who would have given out rampage-like missions. However Rockstar decided to go back to the traditional rampage style missions and Darkel’s part in the game was cut. The only mission of his that is known to still exist in the game is ‘I scream, you scream’, which was given out to Claude by El Burro. Here are Rockstar’s comments on the matter:

“Darkel was just a crazy bum who gave you some crazy missions. They were removed a few months before the game was done and long before 9/11 because they just weren’t as good as the rest of the game, and tonally they were a little odd. He started with 5 missions and they were slowly all cut. When only one or 2 were left, they were all removed as the character just didn’t work alongside the other characters. None of these missions involved blowing up buses of school children although that is a funny rumour!”

Another rumour is that Darkel gave out a mission where the player had to fly a plane into the Love Media Building. Rockstar have never commented on this, however they have revealed that the Dodo was never meant to be flown; meaning that this mission is probably just a rumour.

“Because we were making a driving and shooting game - even that, as a combination of core gameplay elements, was very, very radical at the time. The Dodo was never meant to be flown very much at all, and it certainly wasn’t grounded as a result of 9/11 – it was just a fun thing that people then went crazy with when they figured out various bugs that let them fly it!”

There were other cut characters too: Curtly, Butler (presumed to have been Salvatore’s butler) and Novy. Tom Novy’s song ‘Back to the Streets’ was used in a trailer and it is rumoured that it was to feature on Head Radio. Both Novy and his song were cut for unknown reasons; however the textures for him and Butler remain in the game. Other characters simply changed names before the final release of the game. Salvatore Leone’s name was originally Frankie Sorvino; therefore making Joey’s surname Sorvino too.

Other Stuff

A lot of the other stuff that was changed between the first look at GTA III and the final release was mostly cosmetic. A beta map design shows that Francis International Airport was located in Staunton Island, before it was moved to Shoreside Vale. Shoreside Vale looked slightly larger than it ended up being, having more roads near where the airport would eventually be placed.

 The graphics were a lot more ‘cartoonish’ in the earliest stages of GTA III’s development, and Portland went through a few design tweaks. The police station and hospital were changed and there was originally no subway. The Police cars were originally blue rather than black, which is potentially one of the few changes Rockstar made in light of 9/11.

“(GTA III after 9/11 was) about 1% different. We removed only one mission that referenced terrorists and changed a few other cosmetic details – car details, a couple of ped comments, lines of radio dialogue etc – the game came out a very short time later. The biggest change was the US packaging which remixed the previous packaging into what became our signature style – because the previous packaging [which was released as the cover of the game in Europe] was, we felt, too raw after 9/11. All of the more extreme rumours are amusing but impossible to have been achieved in such a short period of time.”

So that’s about it. There’s just one thing left to cover really.

How is the cannelloni at Marco’s Bistro?

“Horrible! Stale as hell.”