The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Developer: Heavy Iron Studios Publisher: THQ Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox Released in US: October 27, 2004 Released in EU: February 4, 2005 This game has unused areas. This game has unused playable characters. This game has unused code. This game has a hidden developer message. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prerelease article This game has a notes page

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is based on the film of the same name, using the engine of Battle for Bikini Bottom (minus the overworld).

It's also notable for trying to work around the presence of David Hasselhoff by using a suspiciously similar-looking guy who says, "I'm not a lifeguard, but I play one on TV." Nobody was fooled.

When Mindy said deep, she wasn't kidding!

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info

Notes

Unused Audio Did Mindy bother to tell us the controls around here?

Unused Text Stop that! Your chops are too righteous!

Unused Code & Oddities What slipped under the programmers' noses?

Hidden Objects & Triggers I better take the shortcut!

PlayStation 2 Demo A demo version found on Official U.S. PlayStation 2 Magazine Vol. 90.

Unused Costumes

SpongeBob and Patrick would have gotten costumes for the planned Goofy Goober Dream level (some leftovers in the game refer to it). There is a cheat code for Patrick's costume, however, there do exist references to versions for regular levels. While Patrick's costume works in ordinary levels, SpongeBob's does not.

#  PLS6: Spongebob Goober Dream
#  PLP6: Patrick Goober Dream


# Goofy Goober Platform Level
# PointerPlayerMapping = GG01 PLS6 PLS6 PLS6 PLP6 PLS6

TaskStatus = GG01 0 0 0	0 0 0 # World 13 (Disabled, to be removed)

(Source: Waschpenner)

Unused Textures

General

These can be found recurring throughout the game's data.

temp

PlayStation 2	Xbox	GameCube

A temporary texture can be found in the files for all three versions. Each is colored slightly differently, and the GameCube version is smallest.

Another placeholder texture, very small. This appears to be the “Temp” texture from the previous game, only at a far smaller resolution.

plate_pressure

An "ON!" flag hidden in the texture of the pressure pads. It is also seen in the same file found in Battle for Bikini Bottom.

partex0

There are two unused particle effects found in the files of the pause menu. The two unused particle effects are a star effect and a snowflake effect.

PLD0.hip

bathtub_slide

While the texture itself isn't unused, earlier in development the bathtub in Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub had a shower. This was changed to a faucet, but the showerhead is still in the bathtub's texture. (More info here)

sign_seaneedle

The texture for the Sea Needle sign leftover from SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom.

sc02.hop

patrick_cousin

An unused green variant of the starfish seen in Google-Eyes and Smelly Knick-Knacks can be found inside the texture. The model on the right is a demonstration and cannot be found in the final game.

UV_track_tr01

• 

  UV_track_tr01

• 

  UV_track_tr01_6

Two coral arrow textures.

(Source: teh_supar_hackr)

Cut-Off Portion Of Video File

Drive of the Knucklehead-McSpazitron preemptively requires the player to collect 50 Goofy Goober tokens in order for Mindy to revive the Patty Wagon; fulfilling this requirement results in the game showing a video for the Patty Wagon in the same vein as when Mindy grants access to or upgrades a move. The lower left corner of this video has a coordinate symbol (In which the developers used Maya for the cutscenes) when the video is shown in game is cut off. No other video file has this symbol.

Inaccessible Level

100% Cutscene

While only used in the 100% cutscene, the level "B402" is still fully accessible. It can be accessed by dummying the file "CREDITS_START_SCRIPT.SCRP" within the container "B402.HIP". This has been confirmed to work on all consoles, though on actual hardware the screen may go blank for a few seconds before the level starts. Dummying the file makes the game unable to start the credits and return control to the player. The game has always returned control to the player, but the credits start immediately after the cutscene ends, stopping the player from exploring the level. The level geometry is identical to the third part of the hub from Battle for Bikini Bottom, albeit with significant changes to the props and buildings. This level is also unique in that it is completely solid, whereas most inaccessible areas in this game do not have collision. The collision also prevents the player from entering the Krusty Krab, but hacking the camera reveals that the interior is fully modeled and retains most of the props from the cutscene.

Unused Models

Temporary Models

A temporary platform, indicated by the filename. Could be a temporary version of the similarly-shaped rising and lowering platform seen early in "I'm Ready... Depression".

An untextured, temporary sphere.

temp_wall_horiz_02
A temporary, horizontal wall. It uses the colorful temporary texture. It model is found in "No Cheese!"

Collision Models

A collision model for the round tables used in "I'm Ready... Depression".

A collision model for the bulldozer in "Sandwich Driving 101".

A collision model for the lamp post in the Seashell Park section in "Sandwich Driving 101". It uses the aforementioned temporary texture.

A collision model for the cacti in "Three... Thousand Miles to Shell City".

A collision model for a cliff in "Three... Thousand Miles to Shell City".

A collision model for the teleportation box.

Battle for Bikini Bottom Leftovers

The cruise bubble.

Crash Debugger

A crash debugger can be triggered by ejecting the game disc. This normally isn't seen under normal circumstances as the game is very stable, but can be triggered in (very) rare occasions. This debugger does not exist within the GameCube and Xbox versions.

This can also be triggered by corrupting the game on PCSX2 with RTC, but it takes some trial and error.

Regional Differences

Attract Video

• The International version has an attract video that simply cuts out the intro and outro and has the Desert theme playing instead.
  The announcer is also noticeably absent to account for multiple language releases.

English	International

Rock Slide Jump Scare

• In the French/Netherlands GameCube version of Rock Slide, the crab monster that jumps out gets replaced by a serpent monster. The crab monster's files are completely absent from the level.

English GameCube	French/Netherlands GameCube

Failure Riff

In the English GameCube version, the Failure Riff is in mono (single audio channel) instead of in stereo (two audio channels).
The International GameCube versions correct this issue. The difference in quality is most noticeable through headphones.

English	International

Ambush Music Fix

In the English PS2 version, there is an infamous bug found in "Three... Thousand Miles to Shell City". After the final ambush of enemies are defeated to reveal a springboard, all background music stops playing. This was fixed in the international version by simply changing the music event from "MusicTrackPlayTemporary" to "MusicTrackReplace".

Alternate Takes

Any time there exists multiple deliveries of the same line in the English version, the international versions simply use a duplicate of the same recording. This results in certain gameplay sections sounding a lot more repetitive.

Missing Rock Slide Dialogue

Dialogue exchanges between SpongeBob and Patrick (go fish, big "hair", etc.) are absent when they jump off a cliff, but individual character one-liners are still present. This may have to do with having two characters speak in one voice clip.

Sonic Wave vs. Sonic Wave Guitar

Viewing the description for the Bash upgrade makes SpongeBob say "Sonic Wave...", but it sounds as though he was meant to say something afterwards. The international versions reveal that the full line is supposed to be Sonic Wave Guitar.

Version Differences

To do: Give examples of bad texture filtering. Some good examples are the 'Disco Star' section in Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt, any place in Sundae Driving and various sections in Welcome to Planktopolis... Minions. Probably some more platform differences, especially between PS2 and GCN/Xbox. Native hardware screenshots of Xbox differences rather than capture card captures?

Unsurprisingly, this game has some interesting differences between some platforms, some due to platform limitations and others due to time. Lots of these differences are specific to the PlayStation 2 version, interestingly enough.

Graphical Differences

• The texture filtering in the PlayStation 2 version is noticeably poorer than in the GameCube and Xbox versions, with very obvious texture cascades in certain levels.
• On the PlayStation 2 version, the cheese on the Patty Wagon is incorrectly colored red. This only applies for the Patty Wagon's full-health texture, as the cheese is colored yellow when the Patty Wagon is damaged.

PlayStation 2	GameCube and Xbox

• Water rendering in Google-Eyes and Smelly Knick Knacks are all handled differently between the three consoles. The PS2 version utilizes a water effect built off of a polygonal body, the GameCube version just uses a simple texture atop a polygonal body, and the Xbox version leans into (what appears to be) a shader effect to render the level's water.

PlayStation 2	GameCube	Xbox

• The GameCube version's textures are lower resolution than those of the PS2 and Xbox releases. Ironically, this has an effect on how the game handles texture filtering, where texture cascades are considerably less obvious than they are on the PS2 version.
• The GameCube version is missing various lighting effects, impacting the look of certain levels more than others. This tends to affect levels which large amounts of bloom the most.
• The GameCube version tends to run at a lower frame rate than its PS2 and Xbox counterparts. All of the driving levels, alongside Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt and Google-Eyes and Smelly Knick Knacks are locked to 30fps on the GameCube, with potential for drops even with those caps in mind.
• The crowds of fish seen in No Cheese! and Sandwich Driving 101 are missing their animations and remain static in the GameCube version.
• The background SpongeBob that appears after switching to Patrick in Three... Thousand Miles to Shell City is missing in the GameCube version.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox	GameCube

• There are fewer thugs in the Disco Star challenge on GameCube. They are spread out to compensate.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox	GameCube

• Lloyd's texture is compressed improperly on PS2, making him appear beige instead of green.

PlayStation 2	GameCube

Menu Differences

• The start menu tells the player to Press the Start Button on the PS2 and Xbox versions, while it just tells you to Press Start on the GameCube version.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox	GameCube

• The Promotional Materials menu is stripped back on the Xbox version compared to the PS2 and GameCube versions, where both the Jimmy Neutron and Fairly OddParents trailers are removed possibly due to the games they're advertising, Attack of the Twonkies and Shadow Showdown respectively, not being released on Xbox.

PlayStation 2 and GameCube	Xbox

• The Options menu contains extra options in the PS2 version compared to the Xbox and GameCube versions, most likely to account for some fixed settings within the PS2's system settings. The PS2 version gains a Sound Mode setting, allowing the user to toggle between mono and stereo audio mixing, while also gaining a self-explanatory Screen Adjust setting.

PlayStation 2	Xbox	GameCube

• The Sound Mode has a unique SpongeBob voice line for it.

PlayStation 2
Oh Sound Mode, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

• The Vibration Mode option in the PS2 and Xbox versions gets renamed to Rumble Feature in the GameCube version, accounting for what the feature is called on a GameCube controller. A unique SpongeBob voice line is even used.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox	GameCube
Change the Vibration setting here.	Change the Rumble setting here.

• The GameCube version sometimes has audio skipping issues on real hardware.
• The GameCube version has a rare tendency to hang on loading screens. This issue is much more common when played on a Wii due to its lower disc read speed.

Audio Differences

• The PlayStation 2 version features lower quality audio than the GameCube and Xbox versions, utilizing the PS2-friendly (but rather limited) VAG audio format rather than the solutions that the GameCube and Xbox use. Most notably, this means that all of the music is now in mono form, rather than in stereo like the GameCube and Xbox versions.

PlayStation 2	GameCube	Xbox

• The GameCube version has higher quality sound effects than the PS2 and Xbox versions.
• The GameCube version has a blank ini file named "splash.ini". This is not present on other console ports.

Xbox Enhancements

Just like Battle for Bikini Bottom, the Xbox version has some enhancements.

• Texture filtering is noticeably higher quality than on the PS2 and GameCube, while the frame rate is far more stable and the draw distance is higher.
• This version supports 480p progressive scan output, as well as a slightly higher rendering resolution of 640x480.
  • Interestingly enough, both the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions internally render in a progressive form, albeit at non-native resolutions for their respective platforms.
• This version also features a pass of 2x MSAA, which helps in cleaning the image up in a rather significant way.
• There is now 16:9 cropped widescreen support, which basically means 12.5% of the screen is removed from the top and bottom. Strangely, this only works when the console is set to 480p, as, even with the console set to widescreen, the 16:9 mode will not work in 480i.
• There is now support for 5.1 Dolby Digital audio output, unlike the other versions, which only support stereo.
• For whatever reason, the Patty Wagon has varying speeds depending on the version, with GameCube being the fastest of all three.

PlayStation 3 Port

The game was temporarily available for download on the PlayStation Store as a PlayStation 2 classic, which meant it was a port of the PlayStation 2 version to be run via PS3's software emulator. This version, however, has several downgrades when compared to running the game on real PS2 hardware.

• 2 picture settings were added. One for 4:3, and another for 16:9. Strangely, the game defaults to 16:9, making it stretched.
• In-game cutscenes suffer from stuttering and de-synchronized voice clips.
• Noticeable input lag exists in this version.
• Some textures are blurry due to the game being output at a higher resolution via the PS3's software emulator.

It was taken off the store soon after its release, presumably because of these issues.