Prerelease:Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers (Windows)
This page details pre-release information and/or media for Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers (Windows).
Contents
Development Timeline
As a tribute to Carl Banks, Disney Interactive decided to work with Ubisoft to develop a series of video games featuring Donald Duck for different systems from different developer studios.
The Ubisoft studio in Casablanca decided to develop a version for Windows, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 on the Rayman 2 engine and began development in late 1999.
- Late 1999 Development began
- 19th November 1999 This early loading screen was created (according to the developer text).
- May 2000 Early builds were made available at E3
- Mid 2000 An early demo with the simple title "Donald Duck Demo" was released for Windows PCs
- Mid 2000 unknown date Demo version 1.1 was released, which is almost identical to 1.0, but shows an extra image after the demo is finished with the final European game name.
- November 16 Windows version is released in America
- December 2 Windows version is released in Europe
- December 8 Nintendo 64 version is released in America
- December 13 Dreamcast version is released in America
- December 15 Dreamcast version is released in Europe
- December 20 Nintendo 64 version is released in Europe
Early Music
The composer released a few of his songs in High Quality on one of his YouTube channels.
The songs have slight differences from the actual songs of the game.
Gyro's Lab (0:00)
- The piano instrument is different in the video and seems to use a honky-tonk piano.
- The beat instruments are pitched a little differently.
Under 'Hand'ed (0:47)
Only a once-looping section of the song is shown in the video, which also has slight differences from the in-game song.
There is a similar unused song in the final version that is also just that short, which may indicate that the song shown in the video is a slightly reworked version of that song before it was expanded through multiple segments.
Bernadette Boss (1:41)
- The trumpet is different and seems to use a different sample or effect
- 2:13 A drum note is heard in the video that is not heard in the game.
- 2:29 Another drum note that is not present in the game
- 2:25 The drum note that is audible here in the game is not present in the video.
Ghostly Path (2:42)
- The effects in the background are pitched a bit higher than in the game.
Media
 | To do: Find screenshots without the watermark. The IGN screenshots are the highest resolution so far though. |
Earliest Screenshots
Screenshots from a pretty early build can be seen on various websites and also certain packages that differ by country.
General
- HUD was very simple and seems unanimated, with a placeholder font and picture
- Debug displays are visible
- There were scrapped blue gyro boxes.
- The stars looked quite different, cartoony, with eyes, instead of 3D pre-rendered stars
Duckburg
First Avenue
Urban High Rises
The Roofs
- Painter enemy was completely different and didn't have a ladder in his hand at all, but some kind of pole (?)
First Avenue
- Instead of wooden beams, there were metallic scaffolds
- Electrical areas are very dark, similar to the Donald Duck Demo prototype
The Roofs
- The level was by day and not by night (!)
- No second entrance in the upper floor can be seen
Magica De Spell's Manor
- Frankenstein's monster had his hands up
- The decoration was different, with much more books
Merlock's Temple
- Completely scrapped balloon objects are visible. These were later only used in the Gameboy Color version
- The golden seesaws in the lava were originally simple wooden seesaws.
- Decorations were different
Later Screenshots
General
- HUD has the same layout as before, but with life indicator and star count swapped. Icons have been updated slightly.
- Font now seems to look more like the final version, but drab.
- Stars no longer have eyes, but still have a similar 2D design as previous screenshots.
- Teleporters had a different design, which is similar to the Playstation version
- In invulnerability mode, Donald is animated differently. He holds his hat tightly and stretches one arm forward instead of swinging his fists briskly
Cutscenes
Merlock's Temple cutscene area, that went unused in the final game
Gyro's lab
An early version of the scrapped intro sequence that was eventually only used in the N64 port is shown here.
The icons found unused in the Donald Duck Demo Proto are used here.
Gyro's Lab
- Looked completely different, with brighter colors and different decorations
- On the right is probably an extremely early version of the HUB World selection and early teleporters
- An apparently early version of the unused mur1.gf image can be seen in the background
- Only Gyro is seen in the intro with a pose not seen anywhere else like this. Possibly a discarded scene
Merlock's Temple Scene
- The palace looked much different, with different textures and extra lava
Forest
The Gorge
- Level was at daylight and not at dusk
- Skunk was different, apparently animated hopping
- The stone in the first screenshot was removed in the final
- Milkshake was smaller
Magica De Spell's Manor
Haunted Hall
- The early teleporter design can be seen here
Merlock's Temple
Artifact Way
- The sliding brown stone platform is much bigger
- Lava looked different, more simple
Nintendo Power Article
Nintendo Power issue 135 (August 2000) contains more early screenshots from a slightly later build than before.
General
- The HUD font has been updated a bit and resembles that of the later Donald Duck demo, otherwise it is the same as before.
- The teleporters still look completely different and have been extended with a crane-like metal frame.
- The boss teleporter panel was smaller, angular and there doesn't seem to be a portrait of the boss on the panel, just a metal area
- The magic evil books were yellow and had no mouth.
- Boss Warp Pad pieces had a different design (see below)
Gyro's Lab
Another glimbse at the early version of Gyro's lab, which provides a look at the HUB World selection and the different teleporter design.
The early dialog icons are still in use here.
Ducky Mountain HUB
| Early | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Early Ducky Mountain HUB world that barely resembles the final version.
- The mountain with the big waterfall is missing
- No river outside
- Rainbow is missing
Forest Edge
- Instead of the video chat monitors with Gyro's instructions and tips, there were simple signs with a green logo on them.
- The Boss Warp field looked like a strange shaped... something. The magazine calls it a "shiny reflector piece". In the final version, it looks like a pizza slice, which also makes more sense when all the pieces are joined together to form a whole teleport platform.
- It was also placed right at the end of the level, while in the final version it's hidden in the wooden house.
First Avenue
| Early | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
- Instead of rounding off, there are more electric areas here
- They are also as dark as in the Donald Duck Demo
- Gyrobox was moved to the later platform
- The evil book was placed on the crate while in the final version it was placed further in front under the building.
- The upper floor of the front building didn't seem to exist yet, which also indicates that the toy cursed by the book was also somewhere else.
- The construction site barrier on the stairs was placed slightly differently.
Roof Tops
The early book design is best seen here.
- The book is located right at the checkpoint, while in the Final version it is located much earlier in the level under a roof.
- Buildings have different colors.
Removed Magica Scene
A mysterious scene with Magica flying through an unknown corridor, which happens nowhere in the final version. Her model is less detailed and more angular.
