How rare are CD-i prototypes?

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 9:04 am

Because I just got my first

Crappy pictures, and crappy watermark, but Im at home without all my equipment

Ignore the case, itll be getting a new home soon hah. Of course, the game isnt the greatest in the world, but CD-i protos are hard to come by. Also picked up another demonstration disk, this time for Chaos Control (I think that was its name). More will come once I have time to check out the released version and the files on the disk.

Post by **Bas** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 9:21 am

Nice! It looks exactly like the Microcosm disc booklet that is posted here. I guess protos of virtually everything are pretty rare, no? It's always nice to see if the developers put something extra in a proto version that was skipped eventually in the retail version!! I love those pictures though! It's a typical Redhill prototype (that's how I call them because that's the place where all the video encoding was happening. I'm GUESSING that's where it's coming from?

Yours sais 'use DV Cartridge' as well as on the Microcosm disc, although that one sais below 'requires extra RAM' which makes me think if they used some sort of expansion unit in order to run the game? Maybe they actually needed more RAM and the memory limit eventually did end the life of Microcosm!

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 9:34 am

Interesting! Maybe that causes some of the issues in the prototype as well? I still wonder why the heck Microcosm wont rip correctly, there must be a way to figure it out. Although I must say, Id love to take screens and videos of it using my awesome setup

lol. Yeah, Im not sure where exactly this particular proto came from. As I said, Im at home so Im without my computer and recording equipment, so it sucks hah.

Do we have the specs on any of the development / Professional CD-i units? I know I missed out on one a while back, but maybe one of those has extra ram?

Post by **Devin** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:16 pm

Score for the Borman!

Very nice find and I'd say this is a pretty damned good prototype to own. Don't throw away the case however, most CD-i protos had these sorts of cases so it can only add to the authenticity and value in my opinion. As for any prototypes, products that were released would hold a lesser value than opposed to non-released games like Microcosm. I've heard of one non-game CD-i prototype with a heady amount of legal controversy associated with it owing to it's status as a non-released product. In cases like this the rarity and desirability sky rockets!

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:06 am

Prototype File Structure:

Final Retail Version File Structure:

Some differences

Note: Dont post this anywhere yet. It hasnt been posted on my site yet, I just want to keep you guys in this hah

Post by **Devin** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:57 am

First, nice Stargate Atlantis desktop!

Secondly, thanks for sharing those images! Might be worth reading the 'abstract' and 'copyright' files in note/word pad and compare them to the final retail version. Maybe holds a surprise or two? Also what dates did you get from the prototype, the files should all have a time stamped upon them viewable through IsoBuster.

Post by **Bas** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:56 pm

very nice images! It seems the prototype holds more files than the final version! So maybe the code was just optimized or there are a few scrapped pieces to find. I remember that Zelda's Adventure prototype version had no arrows which were in the final version to guide players a little where to go. Apparently the testing people complaint being lost in the woods :O

Note: Dont post this anywhere yet. It hasnt been posted on my site yet, I just want to keep you guys in this hah

That's tricky. I can't promise that for weeks Borman you teaser

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:37 pm

You wont have to wait for long, dont worry

Ill be exploring the files more, no worries. Running XP inside OSX can be slow at times though heh. I had planned on comparing the dates, but I was dumb and shut down Parallels without doing it. Expect more after my classes are done for the day

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:16 am

Copyright is the same, but abstract...

"NFL HALL OF FAME FOOTBALL is a high powered football simulation
that's so real, you'll have to wear a helmet! The arcade game
gives you complete control over the action as you choose from
hundreds of exciting plays. Once the ball is hiked, the player
can let the simulation take over or take control of the player
with the ball. The Hall of Fame section of the title features
full motion video sequences of some of the great moments in the
enshrinees' careers. Assemble a dream team from the Pro Football
Hall of Fame and play them against 40 of the best NFL teams that
ever graced the gridiron. Game plans, enshrinees' strengths and
weaknesses, weather conditions, statistical tables -- it's all
part of the game. Whether you play against the computer of with
a friend, whether you choose Quick Play, Exhibition or build your
own league, NFL Hall of Fame Football gives you everything except
the Super Bowl trophy. You have to earn that!
"

lol!

A lot of the RTF files are the same dates, though there isnt a credits file in the proto. The game files themselves, the RTBs, are almost all dated at least a month before the final version (. The cdi_loader file is months older...as are a mix of files, lots to compare though so some are different, some arent (some being as much as 4 months older). The interface.rtf is a few months older as well. I havent pinpointed which files are exclusive to the proto, my guess is its some graphic or sound sample.

Inside of the CMD folder is a bunch of debug / dev stuff! The files are: dir, copy, load, link, unlink, debug, del, iniz, list, dvbcase, cdidvx, ldim. The sys folder had nothing I could view in it...

Upon looking more, I saw more lab files in the final, another Bthun2.rtb file, another boat ile, and more

PS sorry for the randomness, Im describing it as I look lol. More to come once I actually play both hah

Borman · Post by **Borman** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:26 am

New pictures, short video, and stuff.

http://www.ptop.aborman.com/index.php?o ... 6&Itemid=1

I screwed up the formatting and cant fix it right, but oh well.

Post by **Bas** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:36 am

Very cool, Borman! That's quality stuff! That abstract file is from their previous game: Hall of Fame, so that was a cut&paste job

Have you played through the games to see if there are differences as well?