A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X)/Hidden Cubemap Details

This is a sub-page of A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X).

When the game first launched on October 5 2017, many of the cubemaps in the game were not up-to-date. Most were built several months ago, or even years ago. As such, by extracting them from the map files, a look into the development process can be had, revealing otherwise unseen appearances and versions of levels! Note that not all levels had outdated cubemaps, and thus only the levels with cubemaps that show interesting content will be shown here.

Mafia Town

Almost everything in this shot is using an older texture. The older "Wind Waker" grass is still being used here. The volcano is still in the background, and the skybox texture is different. All around, this seems to be from after the Alpha, but before the Beta. Estimated date is around April 2014.

Solar Panels were a feature in the Alphas and Betas of Mafia Town, but were completely removed from the final game.

The Market area, and there's a lot of differences here. First and foremost, the older version of She Came From Outer Space depicted in concept art can be seen in this scene! The route originally went left of Thor's workshop, and over and above the market area. This seems to have been fully implemented at some point in 2016. The river tower is present, Cooking Cat can be seen standing next to the table (which is also depicted in concept art) even though she never appears in Mafia Town itself in the final game. Badge Seller is standing next to the fountain, as he was in the Beta. The juice bar is using its older design from the Beta, and the clock tower is still the older version as well.

A quite early cubemap, from before the Alpha but after the Prototypes. The giveaway is the lack of a railing around the building the observatory is planted at.

The lighthouse still has its door, and Seaside Spaghetti is still using its old sign model.

The scrapped swinging pirate ship is still present, and the presence of windmill turbines in the background date this cubemap sometime after the Alpha, but before the Beta.

The beach is using its older texture, Balloon Race is fully set up here, umbrellas are using their older models, the balloon that takes you out to the ruins via hookshot is present, and islands out in the distance that aren't in the final are visible as well.

A spinning Mafia for the cut minigame. These aren't present in the final version of Mafia Town.

These cubemaps are definitely dated from the Alpha, due to the presence of the old red Pons. There are several texture differences going on in both.

The Mafia milkman! Sadly, he does not appear in the final game, and thus Hat Kid was unable to meet up with him at night to deliver milk.

These cubemaps are dated sometime after the Alpha, but before the Beta, again due to the wind turbines in the background. The raised bridge near the Mustache Girl tutorial segment is still present. Many, many texture differences are present here. The "Wind Waker" grass can be seen in many of these again. The volcano can be seen out in the distance in the shot of the market area. The balloons appear dark in their shots due to them using an older material. The Mafia cutouts that were replaced by the spinning Mafia in the Beta can be seen in the fourth image.

Night Time

Milkman mafia gets his own cubemap spotlight in the night version of Mafia Town as well. But you still cannot deliver milk with him in the final game.

The lighthouse still has its door, and Seaside Spaghetti still has its old sign.

The swinging pirate ship is, again, still present.

The older version of She Came from Outer Space is, again, present. Another thing to note is the Ice Statue Badge in the first picture, which was an Owl's Brew Badge in the Beta.

The older beach again, but this time at night.

Lava Version

Thor's workshop appears in the lava version as well.

The observatory still has its door, and the old clocktower is still present in the distance.

The swinging pirate ship is still present.

The older version of She Came From Outer Space is still present here.

Battle of the Birds

Dead Bird Studio

An early version of the reception area, showing numerous different elements. The more major differences are Science Owls being present instead of Express Owls, and the display cases for the trophies looking very different to the final game's.

A Science Owl is present instead of an Express Owl.

The stacks of stereos that the player must navigate through at the end of the level are completely absent.

An interesting scene! While the Conductor and DJ Grooves both do appear at the end of the level, given the setup of the scene here, it appears an entirely different cutscene was once planned to take place here.

Murder on the Owl Express

These two cubemap images show a very early version of the outside area of the level, with it still using the old ground seen in very old screenshots and footage of the chapter. A different kind of post process effect is also being used, which is less "Noir" and more "sunset".

The floor is using a different texture, and the second and third images show a very early version of the second room in the final game, lacking most objects and NPCs. Almost all of the textures are different.

The Sauna looks very different, and looking very closely, the guards are actually Science Owls instead of Express Owls.

An Ice Statue Badge is shown, a badge that isn't in the final game.

Train Rush

These cubemap images show a very early outside for the level, with them lining up with the Alpha version of the level. The ground model and texture being used is the same one as in the Alpha version developer video.

An early version of the panel puzzle section, again using the old ground. The panels are also using a different color than in the final game.

Early interior pictures for the level, showing numerous elements that were changed or removed for the final game. The walls use a different texture, the removed "bomb guy" balls can be seen in the second picture, the third and fifth pictures show a removed obstacle: a wall that Hat Kid would have to smack a Dynamite Cake into to destroy, and the fourth picture shows the receptionist, back when he was meant to be the train operator. He has the role of train operator in the Beta, as well. The Dynamite Cake wall, however, was removed before the Beta builds were released.

Cubemaps from a bit further along in development, as the canyon that appears in the final game is now being used instead of the old ground. The colors on some of the trains is weird and unlike anything in the final game. This is how the models appear in the editor.

The Moon

The parade is comprised of Science Owls instead of Groovy Owls, which can be seen in some prerelease footage and screenshots. The Conductor's train can also be seen crashed into a building, a remnant from the plot of Trainwreck of Science and something that can clearly be seen in the Chapter 3 trailer (back when this chapter was the 3rd chapter instead of the 2nd).

Dead Bird Basement

The pictures in the rooms near the end of the level lack unique textures and repeat a single texture for all of them as placeholder.

Subcon Forest

The Subcon Swamp, looking almost completely empty. The date for this cubemap isn't any earlier than October 2016, as the swamp wasn't added until then and there were two dev streams that show it more detailed than it appears here.

Subcon Well

Subcon Well, with green water and different textures. This cubemap likely stems from the Alpha era of development.

More green water.

Queen Vanessa's Manor

The bedroom. A stoned Dweller can be seen, indicating an Alpha build here.

The scrapped 3rd floor. The presence of the orange wall indicates an Alpha build here.

The playroom. The portrait of Hat Kid is missing on one of the walls.

The cellar. The old red pons indicate an Alpha build featured here.

The bathroom. Less detailed compared to final, missing a few decorations.

Alpine Skyline

The level is less detailed, there's more clouds, and the ziplines are all using the same texture, but recolored. The Windmill appears to be using its placeholder blade models, while the Twilight Bell has its own placeholder model in the form of a giant golden bell from Mafia Town.

Lava Cake

The level is in a very early state, with BSP and placeholder models abound. Given that there's official confirmation that the level was not scrapped during the transition to Alpine Skyline from Sand 'n Sails, and that the map was just revamped to match Alpine's aesthetic, these cubemaps must actually be from when the level was built in Sand 'n Sails! Given the Lava Cake's appearance in Aruki's playthrough of Pumping Pumpkin Factory, these cubemaps are at least as old as September 2015.

Twilight Dungeon

The Twilight Dungeon has a completely different skybox texture, apparently a default UE3 texture. The level is also slightly less detailed than the final. The decorations placed nearby are not using the spacey materials that they use in the final game.

Birdhouse

Bridhouse is also in a very early state, though not as much as Lava Cake but definitely more than Twilight Dungeon. The general layout of the level appears to be the same, but many aesthetics are unfinished. The bird houses themselves lack paint and hay, the giant cage surrounding the whole area is missing, and the nests are using a different texture.

Pre-Windmill

The cubemap for the actual Windmill itself was just the default level, meaning one was never built before release! However, the area before the Windmill has an old cubemap. The area is less detailed, the trees are using the red cloth on top instead of the blue one, and there's more clouds.

Time's End

The skybox looks a bit different.

The line leading up to the castle used a lot of Mafia and Snatcher Minions as placeholder. The center platform is also different, looking way less detailed compared to the final game. According to Habboi, the changes to this platform were almost last minute.

The interior is in a very basic and unfinished state, showing a lot of default textures and BSP.

Spaceship Hub

Cubemaps from the Beta version of the spaceship, showing the bedroom as it appeared in that version of the game.

The mail room appears more empty than it does in the final game, and uses a different texture for the walls.

Images of an early gallery room, using a completely different layout of paintings and a different floor pattern. The paintings themselves are also using placeholder textures, using the textures normally intended for the paintings in Subcon.

Blue Rifts

Most, if not all, Blue Rifts use this generic version of the Mafia Town Sewers Rift, lacking a unique cubemap for themselves.

Purple Rifts

Mafia Rift

The first image shows off a much emptier floor than the final game's, but the other three show an early version of the rolling meat floor! The layout of this floor matches concept art pretty faithfully, complete with a different fountain model, the slanted staircase being on the opposite side, and the Mafia using their older face texture.

However, something even more interesting was found in one of the cubemaps: an extremely early version of a design for purple rifts! This version used clocktowers in the background, something no purple rift does in the final game. A platform can be seen in the distance, though what was present on it, if anything, is unknown.

Subcon Rift

All of the cubemaps for Subcon's purple rift are actually from the older version of it intended for Mafia Town! Part of this rift was shown in prerelease footage, but the other part, the part with the floating pills and TV, were only seen in concept art.