Mech Mice Tactics (Unity Web Player)/Unused Levels

This is a sub-page of Mech Mice Tactics (Unity Web Player).

Many levels inaccessible to the player reside in the game's assets, some more interesting than others.

Note: in order to avoid page slowdown when loading, only screenshots are provided on this page. Click them to access video footage hosted on YouTube.

Chapter 3 Remnants

Development of Mech Mice was abandoned before the Hyper Hippo team wrapped up production of the game's third chapter, which had been teased on social media and in-game before. Nevertheless, some of what was finished remains in the files and may be accessed with memory editing.

11CA/11D0: Level 3-1/Story Mode

The first official level of Chapter 3. The player is assigned the Bazooka Grunt unit and... not much else. No enemies are present and there is no end portal. The scenery seems to be pretty much finished, however.

11D2/11D8: Level 3-2/Story Mode

A reasonably smaller map than Level 1, which could've seen more focus on combat than exploring the area. Features a prop not seen in any of the other levels – the WURM, a transport whose only canon appearance was in the Mech Mice: Genesis Strike book. It's the only level of the chapter to be set during the day.

11DA/11E0: Level 3-3/Story Mode

Like the first level, scenery here looks quite polished and ready to be populated with enemies and interactive props.

11E2: Level 3-4

Only exists in the form of a map file. Being pretty barebones overall, this is simply a big arena which would've hosted a fight against the chapter's Repair Mini-Boss.

11E4/11EA: Level 3-5/Level 3-5

The player starts in the middle of the map here, with the northern path leading to the enemy's fortress. This is the last level to be fully detailed, with further maps being either half-finished or barely started.

11EC: Level 3-6

Map only. The upper half of this level has a decent amount of detail, with a broken bridge and a big cage serving as eye candy, while the lower half is just emptiness.

11EE: Level 3-7

Map only. This is as barebones as it gets, with a rather basic layout and invisible walls closing the edges of the map.

11F0: Level 3-8

Map only. Very similar to level 7, this would've hosted the final boss fight against a reformed Queen Termina.

'Defend the Shard' Levels

Perhaps the most interesting of the bunch, levels where the player must defend their base from waves of enemies exist, but see no regular use whatsoever. A stripped down version of this concept is seen in the Chapter 2 level "Hold the Line," titled after one of the unused levels.

10C6/10CC: Cody's Prototype Bomb Run/Bomb Run Prototype

In this level, the shard is placed in the middle of the map, with waves of enemies – Medium Bugs, Destroyers and two Elite Small Bugs on steroids – coming from the left and right sides. The goal is to survive for as many turns as possible, as enemy forces are often replenished.

Of note here is that Torq the Engineer is assigned an otherwise unused special ability: "Tamper." This allows her to take control of most mechanical units (i.e. bugs) standing right next to her, giving this unit a bigger purpose than simply being a repairer.

1108: Hold The Line Map 1

This variation features a vertical layout, with the shard being placed on the top side of the map and enemies spawning on the bottom. The player must endure multiple rounds against various types of bugs before confronting a gigantic Elite Small Bug. Existent in five difficulty levels – Level 1 (111A), Very Easy (1126), Easy (110E), Medium (1120) and Hard (1114) – each with enemies of different hitpoint and damage settings.

Assorted Test Levels

A decent number of test levels is present here, with each of them focusing on different gameplay mechanics.

10B8/10BE: Andrew LOS Test01/box test

A simple level for testing the durability and destruction animation of different types of boxes, rocks and cactuses.

Note: 'Andrew' here refers to artist Andrew Pearson-Roach.

10B8/10C4: Andrew LOS Test01/LOS Test01

A level for testing the player and enemies' line of sight.

10CE/10D4: Cody's Prototype Zone/Test Scenario

A small level where the player is trapped in a lower level than its foes, being vulnerable to attacks. Likely intended for testing the Recon's "Stealth" ability.

Note: 'Cody' here refers to level designer Cody Vigue.

10D6/10DC: Cody's Test Zone/Chris Demonstrate Cutscenes

As the name implies, a demonstration of a cutscene followed by an enemy spawn.

Note: 'Chris' here could refer to either programmer Chris Kyle or game designer Chris "Screenhog" Hendricks.

10D6/10E2: Cody's Test Zone/Cody Test Scenario

A level for testing triggers. The first trigger fires a single dialog followed by an enemy spawn, while the second fires a dialog followed by an enemy spawn, a second dialog and yet another spawn.

10D6/10E8: Cody's Test Zone/Cody Test Traverse Hexes

Another level for trigger testing, this time involving traversable hexes.

10D6/10EE: Cody's Test Zone/MM-461

A level where clicking on any hexes results in a sound effect being played and a dialog that just says "It worked!" appearing. Exact purpose unknown.

10F2/10F8: FrankieTest/FrankieTest

A level for testing the behavior of the FrankenCrab mini-boss of Chapter 2.

10FA/1100: FrenzyTest/FrenzyTest

Another mini-boss behavior test, this time for Chapter 1's Frenzy.

10FA/1106: FrenzyTest/TerminaTest

This level is meant to test the behavior of Chapter 1's main boss, Queen Termina, but is quite broken as she'll just stand there after turning into Super Termina at half health and won't explode after death.

1128/112E: Kevin/kevin test 01

Purpose unknown, as it hardlocks the game at loading.

Note: 'Kevin' here refers to programmer Kevin Yockey.

11F2: LOSTest

Triggers defeat automatically if played in Story Mode due to a lack of assigned units. This level's name suggests it's meant to be another line of sight test, but the two enemy bugs present in it cannot be attacked and just stand in place.

Note: this scenario's metadata file originally references the "TestSuite" map, loading it in case it's called as-is. However, a map file named "LOSTest" exists, going unreferenced by any metadata files, and is used on the screenshot and video footage embedded here for consistency.

11F4/11FA: Special Ability Map/Special Ability Test

A level for testing the special abilities of every type of mouse unit. Like in "Hold The Line Map 1," Torq the Engineer is assigned the "Tamper" ability, with Brix the Shield Grunt being assigned the "Shield Bash" ability, not available if this equally unused character is forcibly selected in Adventure Mode.

126A/1270: WormTest/James Worm Test

A small level for testing the behavior of Chapter 2's final boss, S.A.W.

Note: 'James' here refers to programmer James Brotherston.

126A/1276: WormTest/WormTest

No notable difference from "James Worm Test."

Test Suite

In addition to the levels listed above, the TestSuite map alone holds sixteen tests... many of which were apparently broken by updates.

11FC/1202: TestSuite/AOE Tests

Triggers defeat automatically if played in Story Mode due to a lack of assigned units, and hardlocks the game if played in Adventure Mode. Presumed to test the area of effect damage of special abilities.

11FC/1208: TestSuite/DamageTargets

Hardlocks the game when loading. Another type of damage test, judging from its name.

11FC/120E: TestSuite/ExperienceTest

Judging by its name, a level for testing the display of "experience" earned by destroying enemies, which is just the game's currency in reality.

11FC: TestSuite/Exploding Cactus Test

No metadata file, hardlocks the game when loaded via file swaps. Presumed to be a test of the explosive cactus and its damage to nearby units.

11FC/1218: TestSuite/FrenzyTest

Another level for testing the behavior of Frenzy, except the player is in a lose-lose situation here. If the mouse is moved within attack range, Frenzy one-hits him afterwards, otherwise the ongoing game simply freezes during the enemy's turn.

11FC/121E: TestSuite/James Mech Test

Hardlocks the game when loading. A Mech test of sorts.

11FC/1224: TestSuite/LineOfSightTest

Hardlocks the game when loading. Some sort of LOS test, as if it wasn't tested enough already.

11FC/1230: TestSuite/Mech Doom Spin

A level for testing the Mech's "Doom Spin" ability.

11FC/1236: TestSuite/PatrolTest

Triggers defeat automatically if played in Story Mode due to a lack of assigned units. Intended for testing the enemy's patrol behavior, but the bug just stands there.

11FC/123C: TestSuite/PropAnimationTest

For testing animated props, in this case the Grenadier's "Decoy Mouse" ability.

11FC/1242: TestSuite/SpecialsTest

Hardlocks the game when loading. Presumably for testing special abilities.

11FC/1248: TestSuite/Turn Order Test

A level for testing the order in which units are selected during a single turn.

11FC/124E: TestSuite/UnitDestroyTest

Hardlocks the game when loading. Presumed test of unit destruction behavior.

11FC/1254: TestSuite/WallRiseTest

A test of the rising wall functionality extensively used during Chapter 2.

11FC/125A: TestSuite/WeaponTrail Test

Presumably for testing the small trail animation left by the Engineer's wrench.

Other Levels

Slightly different versions of levels normally playable are present in the game's assets. While most just reuse the final map files, at least one presents more differences than dialogue and bugs.

10F0: Dusty Trailer Map

Map only. A copy of "Night Falls" (Level 2-1) for the most part, except the latter half features Dark Union metallic decoration that is absent from the final version.

1130/113C: Level 1-1/Uber

An alternate version of "The Beginning," with different dialogue and prop placement due to the absence of the help gears seen in the used version. Also no "evil cactus" at all.

113E/1144: Level 1-2/Story Mode 1-2 Temp

An earlier version of "Desert Ambush," again with differing dialogue and other details such as Flank's "Doom Spin" not having enough range to destroy all enemies at once.

115A/1160: Level 1-5/Story Mode 1-6 New LevelEnd

Mostly the same as the used version of "The Swarm," except Termina's defeat triggers after a single spawner is destroyed, and the player can't actually reach the end portal.

115A/1164: Level 1-5/Story Mode 1-6 Test

Hardlocks the game when loading.

11A6/11B2: Level 2-4/Test

Empty scenario that uses the map of "Algernon's Laboratory." Purpose unknown.

11BC/11C2: Level 2-8/Story Mode Cody Style

It's unknown how different from the used version of "The Early Bird" this is, as defeat is automatically triggered due to no units being assigned to the player at start (even in Adventure Mode).

125C/1268: Uber Level/UberTest

Mostly empty scenario with a single bug and an invisible end portal. Possibly intended for quickly testing the victory screen variation displayed after "The Fall of Beta Squad," which includes turn and kill counters not seen in the regular victory/defeat sequence.