Prerelease:GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64)
This page details pre-release information and/or media for GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64).
 | This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes. |
 | To do: Investigate the Nintendo debugging tape. If these bugs don't appear in the final game, document it here. See if there's any other beta stuff here (graphics, objects, etc). (timestamp 1), (timestamp 2). |
GoldenEye 007 was initially conceptualized as a prerendered 3D side-scrolling SNES platformer like Donkey Kong Country. Development on this version never started, however, as director Martin Hollis insisted the game target Nintendo's then-enigmatic "Ultra 64" instead.
The original N64-era design document was for a 3D rail shooter similar to Virtua Cop, with elements of Doom. The game was expanded into a first-person shooter not long after development began, retaining a minor rail shooter element in its aim mode. Its popular multiplayer mode was only added in the last few months of development.
Contents
Videos
The earliest known footage of the game, shown at Shoshinkai 1995. It has a clip of the intro, where Bond uses a different animation, and some mockup "gameplay" in Archives using a prerecorded camera and soldiers scripted to die.
The E3 1996 NOA take-away VHS tape. The relevant part is at 3:04. It shows Bond riding up an elevator in Silo, then killing a guard and shooting at another.
The play control at this point in development looks very different, with Bond's weapon being aimed freely while moving. The AR33's sounds are completely different. Blood is completely opaque and blueish white in this footage.
Footage of Silo and Bunker 1 from Shoshinkai 1996. By this point, the control scheme and blood look the same as they do in the final game. It also shows off a bunch of minor prop differences in Bunker 1.
A promotional trailer, one of the few sources of pre-release footage of Dam and Runway. Sean Connery's Bond model is also seen in a multiplayer game, and the narrator specifically mentions "two-character split-screen". The title pic is missing the red halo over the "e" in GoldenEye, and the spacing is wider between the letters. Weapons are still referred to by their real-world names, and the old KF7 model is still being used.
A video of unknown origin, with footage of the game interspersed with clips from the movie. It seems to span multiple builds, since it shows both KF7 Soviet models. One thing of note is the sound - much of the music has different instrument samples and/or sequencing, many of the weapons have different sounds, and Bond has audible footsteps. This indicates this build is older than the video above, where the old KF7 was already using the final version's sounds.
A segment from Escape, a Polish video game show. This starts off with footage of Banjo-Kazooie before switching to GoldenEye at the 3:12 mark. It seems to be from the same source as the video above, but is cut differently, showing off some footage that the other doesn't and vice-versa.
A video shown in a WalMart kiosk. It shows the former Bonds' portraits in the main menu, including closeups of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Part of Dam's intro is shown and Objective D (the only Objective D in the final Dam is "Bungee Jump from Platform" on 00 Agent, so it's presumed it is this) is completed as soon as the mission starts.
General Changes
Game Mechanics
According to Nintendo Power Issue 85 and N64 Magazine Issue 3, Bond's footsteps could alert enemies. The slower you walked, the less noise you made. Footsteps can be heard in the videos above, but there's no way of telling if this mechanic was implemented at the time. While no explanation for this feature being dropped has been given, both articles specifically mention the analog stick. The final game offers two control styles that let you move forward and backward with the D-Pad and C buttons, rather than the stick, and you cannot vary your movement speed when using them. This mechanic would've put players using these styles at a disadvantage.
The player footsteps were eventually added in Perfect Dark, without the stealth mechanics.
| To do: Source this. |
According to the developers, the digital ("Turok-style") controls were actually a late addition. The game only had one control scheme before they were added, while the final version offers four in multiplayer and eight in single-player - the extra four utilizing two controllers for dual analog control.
| To do: And this. |
The ability to "peek" out from behind cover by pressing a left or right strafe button when using aim mode was added late in development, at Ken Lobb's request.
The original plan for the reload mechanic required the player to remove and reinsert the Rumble Pak. Nintendo wasn't too keen on this idea, for good reason - it would require a peripheral to play the base game, and would be incredibly clunky to utilize in the heat of battle. If it were optional, it would just be a useless gimmick, not to mention its effects on multiplayer overall.
Menus
| To do: Pretty (or not-so-pretty in some cases) pictures. |
The list of objectives was originally the last page of the briefing. The background information was the first and the mission's photo was clipped to it. M, Q, and Moneypenny's briefings went in the same order as the final game between them.
The abort option was not present on the mission status tab of the watch menu.
| To do: Didn't Zoinkity dig up something about this in the code? Might be able to move this to the main article if I can find it again. |
At one point, there was a sixth tab in the watch menu, but there are only five in the earliest shots, like the final game.
Weapons
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
| Walther PPk | PP7 Special Issue |
| Walther PPk (silenced) | PP7 (silenced) |
| Tokarev TT33 | DD44 Dostovei |
| Skorpion VZ/61 | Klobb |
| Spyder | |
| Kalashnikov AK47 | KF7 Soviet |
| uzi | zmg (9mm) |
| mp5k | d5k |
| Spectre | Phantom |
| Commando M16A/2 | US AR33 Assault |
| ruger magnum | Cougar Magnum |
| Blackhawk Magnum |
Many of the weapons originally used their real-world names. While it's likely that all of them did based on their model filenames, these are the only ones with screenshot or video proof of their original names.
Late in development, Ken Lobb told Martin Hollis they couldn't use the real names in the game, and they were replaced with fictional ones. As is widely known, the Skorpion VZ/61 became the Klobb, named after Ken Lobb himself. The Tokarev TT33 became the DD44 Dostovei, "DD" coming from David Doak's initials. The Walther PPK became the PP7 because the name sounded good.
While the name "Spyder" isn't seen in any known screenshots or videos, it is used in the game's manual. This earlier fictional name for the Klobb was changed four weeks before the game's release due to being trademarked for a real-life paintball gun. Evidence of this last-minute decision can be found in the game's text file for weapon names, where the Klobb's strings are the only ones that don't follow alphabetic order.
PP7
Klobb
KF7 Soviet
AR33
Cougar Magnum
KF7 Soviet
| To do: Prop model differences, as it originally had a stock. |
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
The KF7 Soviet was originally boxier and darker. The final model gives it a sleek and shiny appearance. This is probably one of the game's most well-known changes, since a shot using this model appears on the back of the game's box.
Later footage shows the new model, but it is positioned farther out from the screen.
Grenade Launcher
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
A lot of "bulk" was added to the final grenade launcher model and its offset was changed to be closer to the camera. Elements of this model are still present, but can only be seen in the watch menu.
Rocket Launcher
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
The rocket launcher was entirely different early in development. Additionally, Bond held it over his right shoulder with his left hand, rather than holding it like any other weapon. This screenshot is from February 1997 - later pre-release screenshots show the same model as the final version.
Based on the ammo display, it could apparently load three rockets at a time, as opposed to one in the final version.
Taser
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
The taser is another weapon that received a complete redesign. Instead of the final "Tazer Boy", the taser was originally a large, dark gray weapon with a lightning bolt in a yellow box on its left side. There was a power gauge on its back, along with two buttons. Both the gauge and the buttons were green and red.
Interestingly, the description of the weapon given by Nintendo Power at this point in development claims it would only incapacitate human targets, and only work at short range. This makes perfect sense for a taser, but the final weapon is basically just a pistol that doesn't need to reload.
Blood
According to the developers, the blood spatter effects were dropped early on. They don't appear in any of the pre-release videos; the final spark effects are used. Nintendo asked for versions of the game with red, green, orange, and bright blue blood, and after seeing how awful the latter colors looked, accepted the use of red blood in the game. The blue (and white) blood can be seen in the clip with Silo's elevator. Unlike the final blood, which gives a subtle red tint to the vertices in an area where a character is shot, and gets redder the more they are shot, the blue blood is much more opaque. There is a shot of similarly opaque red blood on the back of the game's box.
Level Changes
Original Mission Plan
- Severnaya — Part One
- Dam, Arkhangelsk
- Chemical Warfare Facility #2, Arkhangelsk
- Manticore, Monte Carlo
- French Destroyer, Monte Carlo
- Severnaya — Part Two
- Statue Park, St. Petersburg
- Russian Intelligence Building, St. Petersburg
- Trevelyan's Train, St. Petersburg
- Jungle, Arecibo
- Transmitter Perimeter Buildings, Arecibo
- Transmitter dish, Arecibo
- Control Centre, Arecibo
- Transmitter Catwalk, Arecibo
- Trevelyan, Arecibo
This level order is seen in Martin Hollis' GoldenEye Postmortem and predates the beginning of the game's development. There are also some early descriptions shown for certain missions. There are some pretty interesting differences compared to the final mission order:
- The game starts with Severnaya instead of Dam. In the mission description, Bond and Trevelyan would have to covertly infiltrate the base and obtain information about the GoldenEye project from the wall safe using a gadget from Q.
- Instead of shooting a lock to gain access to the dam, Bond would've had to hit a switch in the guardhouse. This is actually based on a scene deleted from the movie. The idea is present in the final mission, where you need to use two of them to get past the large security doors before the guardhouse.
- Runway is missing from the Arkhangelsk mission.
- Silo wasn't planned yet, despite being one of the first backgrounds modeled.
- The Manticore is visited as a part of the Monte Carlo mission. This is the yacht where Bond discovers the French admiral Xenia killed to get access to the Destroyer/Frigate. Unfortunately, the mission's description is cut off in the postmortem.
- Visiting Severnaya a second time was planned from the very beginning. Each visit being two levels wasn't, apparently.
- Statue's description doesn't mention Valentin or Natalya and plays out slightly different, with Bond finding and destroying the Tiger (Pirate) helicopter himself.
- The Russian Intelligence Building is the Archives. The description says Bond will have to use improvised weaponry at first, and that Bond is being framed for Mishkin's murder, which happens in the movie but not the final game.
- Streets and Depot weren't planned as missions.
- Train's description mentions Bond disabling the train then boarding it, like the movie, but that Bond would've had to fight through Janus operatives like the final game.
- The Cuba (Arecibo - where the Cradle scenes were filmed for the movie) mission originally had two parts that were dropped: Transmitter Perimeter Buildings and Transmitter Dish. Interestingly, Temple's level slot, which falls between Jungle and Caverns, is called dish. This might be a coincidence, since the internal level order is kind of random, but all of the Cuba levels outside of Control are stored very close to one another.
- The Water Caverns weren't planned yet: Control would've led right to Cradle, like the movie.
- Cradle is called the Transmitter Catwalk. The level slot between Caverns and Cradle, used by Citadel, is cat. (Cradle's slot is crad.)
- The showdown with Trevelyan was planned as its own mission.
Dam
Despite being the first mission of the game, Dam didn't get much pre-release coverage. Most of what is known comes from the promotional trailers linked above.
- Secret Agent difficulty originally had the same objectives as 00 Agent does in the final game.
- The Siberian Guards originally wore ushankas. They have no hats in the final mission.
- Bond started with an unsilenced PP7.
- The final objective was originally completed as soon as the mission began.
- There was at least one manhole on the dam between the entrance gate and the first guard tower. In the final background, manholes are only found in front of each guard tower.
- The shadow of the grating above the secret ops room was originally darker and 3×3 instead of 4×4.
- Code was written that would allow players to drive the military truck, but it caused too many problems when the truck got stuck in a dead end.
- The island originally had a solitary guard patrolling it.
Facility
This was the first background Karl Hilton modeled, when the game was still intended as a rail shooter, and he had to later go back and fill in missing areas that couldn't be seen originally.
Early
Facility was first revealed around February 1997. Unlike most backgrounds which are only known to have received minor edits, these screenshots show that the level received a significant texture overhaul. At this point in development, Russian Infantry are used instead of Russian Soldiers. All of these infantrymen wore green helmets, whereas many of the soldiers wear hats instead.
This level seems to have been used for weapon testing, with the throwing knives, silenced D5K, RC-P90, rocket launcher, and even laser making appearances.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Here's a shot of the bathroom. While the geometry is the same as the final version, the texturing is very different. The walls above the tiles are white with gray splotches and the ceiling is brown. The "no smoking" sign is missing. The rusty steel doors from Archives are used on each stall instead of the final cyan doors. There is a gun sticking through the door on the far right; no soldier is placed in this stall in the final version.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
One of the side rooms, after the first security door. The most notable thing here is that the large tanks are both white. The textures they use in the final game are also white, but only one tank is white, since different colors are applied to their geometry's vertices to recolor them.
The scientist near the tanks seems to be standing still, which doesn't happen in the final game - one scientist walks through here, as seen in the final shot, and one stands near a computer console in the back. Speaking of that console, it doesn't appear to be present in the pre-release shot. The walls are also textured differently and seems to have dark trim at the bottom.
You may have originally been given timed mines instead of remote mines, but this could just be another instance of testing a weapon. Interestingly, Nintendo Power Issue 93 claims that timed mines have a 1-minute fuse, which would've been worthless for practical use but would've been great for a scripted sequence at the end of the mission, like the remote mine used in Surface 2.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
More shots of the white texture above the walls. This texture is actually still present on the backs and tops of some of the wall supports in this area, where the designer must have missed it when retexturing.
The shot also shows a scientist in this hallway. The only scientist that appears here is the one carrying Clearance Card A, who runs from a lab near the bottling room to the bathroom, and would never be facing in this direction.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
|
|
More white walls, although interestingly one part is using the final gray cement texture. In terms of other differences, there are no props here, including the glass, and the caution stripes are missing from the window. Additionally, all of the soldiers in this security room are scripted to run out when you walk in front of the windows, which obviously wasn't the case at this point in development.
Later
It's not known when these shots are from, exactly, but they're closer to final than the ones above. The Russian Soldiers are in now, but some of the geometry and texturing is still different than the final game.
An infamous image showing an armed scientist. The quality of this scan is atrocious, but the image definitely comes from later in development: the soldiers are in their final uniform, the texturing looks final, and there are glass props. It was speculated that there might have been soldiers disguised as scientists in this mission, but there's no real evidence for it.
In the final game, scientists can draw a DD44 and attack you if you injure them twice without killing them. The scientist here is carrying a rifle or SMG, though.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
The four groups of gas tanks closest to the door where you enter the bottling room originally had another gas tank stacked on top of them, similar to how they were laid out in the movie. These extra tanks were removed from the final version and no pads remain for them. The tanks in this room weren't actually props originally, and could not be destroyed.
There were also at least two scientists in the bottling room at one point. As can be seen, the mission's fog was greatly increased for the final version. This was likely done so that the fade distance for models could be shortened, to help improve the framerate in this and other detailed areas.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Even more white wall textures, though not the same texture as before. The bulletproof glass seems to be missing from the window frames looking into the lab. There are also supports holding up the walkways in this shot and the previous one, whereas the final game only has supports on some of the stairs.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
The conveyor belt you can use to escape seems to be missing here, although it might just be shorter and obscured by the explosion.
An overview of the bottling room actually shows that the two conveyor belts were originally connected to one another. Since the source of this image is unknown, it can't be determined if this is earlier or later than the shot in the comparison above, but neither belt is textured. It also shows the stacked gas tanks as part of the background, rather than props.
Runway
Another mission with almost no early coverage. All that is known is that Bond originally started on the conveyor belt next to the final start point, and the intro camera clipped through the walls when rotating into him.
Surface 1
An overview of the background is shown in the June 1996 issue of Nintendo Power. The only differences here are that the helipad has a white cross on it instead of a yellow "H" and that the satellite dish points straight up and hasn't been converted into a prop yet. The paths through the snow also look darker than they are in the in-game shots below.
Nothing of the actual mission is seen until close to release. Early setups seem to have been empty. All screenshots of the old Taser come from this mission.
Eight months later, in the February 1997 issue, some actual in-game shots of Surface, well, surface:
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
The most noticeable difference is the sky: stark white and cloudless, with thick fog. It almost looks like a snowstorm! Later, this will be replaced with the more interesting "sunset" sky - light purple with orange clouds, and thinner fog. In this shot, the dish is still pointing straight up; it's angled in the final game and rotates. Lastly, this is the only early Surface shot with the wall of trees around the level perimeter (barely) visible.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
|
|
Notably, most of the "tree walls" surrounding the perimeter of the background don't appear to have been rendering at this point in development. Indeed, no secondary geometry seems to. Notice how there is no chainlink fence between the posts in this shot?
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
And how the ladder and handrails are missing from the ventilation tower here? It's doubtful it wasn't modeled yet, considering the steps are already there at the top.
Bunker 1
This was another one of the first backgrounds modeled, and it doesn't seem to have changed at all throughout development.
Early
- Bond carried an unsilenced PP7 and wore his blue suit instead of his "boiler" stealth gear.
- The enemies were originally Jungle Commandos instead of Russian Soldiers.
- While all of the screens seen in the final mission were present, they all used the Bond silhouette animation as a placeholder.
- The four TVs in each rack attached to the ceiling were missing, however.
Later
- One of the Janus Special Forces guards that spawns in when the alarm goes off is shown using a silenced PP7. The only pistol they can spawn with in the final mission is the DD44, and they always dual-wield it.
Silo
Silo was one of the first backgrounds modeled and appears in some of the earliest footage of the game. This is pretty interesting, since the original design document for the game stuck even closer to the movie than the final missions do.
Early
Silo got a decent amount of coverage in the June 1996 issue of Nintendo Power, however the only gameplay shots are from inside the first launch silo - 4-H4. At this point in development, the mission used Jungle Commandos and Janus Special Forces for guards, and Bond had access to the AR33.
Launch silo 4-H4 originally had a functional elevator! This is something the final game doesn't support. The scaffold for it can be seen in both shots of the silo, and there's even footage of Bond riding it available in the videos section. The elevator moved up very quickly, then decelerated when nearing its destination. It stopped at the top walkway, which at this time only wrapped a quarter of the way around the silo and had a commando on it. In the final version, the top walkway has no guard placed on it, goes halfway across the silo, and is accessible by going right at the T junction where General Ourumov is encountered.
Presumably the elevator would've been entered from the bottom walkway you start on, although this is not seen in any footage. Both the bottom and top walkways in the final game are missing their handrails where they would've originally attached to the elevator scaffold.
While there are two inaccessible walkways in the final background, this screenshot seems to show Bond standing on a walkway that no longer exists in silo 4-H4. It looks like this walkway was also connected to the elevator scaffold and is positioned below this silo's inaccessible walkway in the final background. In the final game, you would be able to see the door leading to the T connector with Ourumov from this location, were it accessible.
Both this shot and the one above show Bond firing at a Janus Special Forces guard on an inaccessible walkway. This guard has been removed from the final game. On a less interesting note, the ICBM is facing a different direction than it does in the final game - the "CCCP" text is no longer visible from this angle, since it's on the other side of the missile.
Here's an editor capture of silo 4-K2, the third silo encountered in the final game, and its fuel room. This silo also had an elevator scaffold running from bottom to top. It appears opaque in the capture, but so do the railings and grated walkways, so it's likely the editor didn't render transparent sections in textures. Unlike in silo 4-H4, this elevator doesn't seem to be connected to anything except the walls, and it's positioned on the same wall as the one in 4-H4.
Additionally, the door leading from the upper walkway is present in this shot, meaning it was modeled as a part of the background.
Later
| To do: Screenshots from Rare. |
This mission appears in video footage and looks pretty much indistinguishable from the final game in terms of gameplay.
Frigate
This mission was originally called Destroyer in the watch menu. This name would definitely not fit onto the level select screen, with the limit there being eight characters. This might have been the reason for the name change.
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
you know what i'm worried about, james. i won't be a bit impressed if you let that xenia woman get onatopp of you. |
xenia onatopp, one of janus' main operatives, may be on board the la fayette. they say she has thighs of steel, james. just be sure to stay out of their grasp. |
Moneypenny's innuendo was toned down a little for the final briefing. The time indicated on the watch is the same one used when a default level template is loaded, indicating that the time hadn't been set yet.
Bond's boat and the inexplicable stairway leading to it aren't present in this early overview of the background. As seen in two of the videos above, Bond originally started on the deck of the ship, near where the stairway was added later. Additionally, the ship's guns were modeled as a part of the background when this overview was captured; they're props in the final game. There seem to be flags hanging from one of the towers, something seen in the movie but not the final game.
Surface 2
The only screenshots of this mission are from very close to the game's release and don't show any differences. Presumably the background went through the same stages as Surface 1.
Bunker 2
Lamps used to hang in the jail cells. Like the lights in Silo, they emitted a triangular beam of light and were entirely flat. There is actually one of these lamps still in the game, in Depot, but its light beam does not render despite being present.
Statue
This mission had thick, gray fog at one point during development, which gave it an entirely different atmosphere - it looks like it takes place during the day. Several parts of it were also rearranged slightly. The most significant change is that Lenin's statue is placed among debris earlier in the level, rather than having its own little section to itself.
Archives
| Pre-release | Final |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Several walls were added to this area in the final version, it's likely that the game would've slowed to a crawl without them in place, since so much would be in view at once.
Caverns
The walkway leading to the circular area with lockers and the secret passage to the outlet pump controls is not present in this screenshot.
The outlet pump control consoles themselves are in a different location than the final version.
Aztec
Here's Bond, wearing his blue suit instead of a dinner jacket, and carrying a silenced PP7. It might be taken from an early intro camera, which would mean the start point was one room ahead of where it is in the final setup. The mission seems almost entirely devoid of objects at this point in development.
There are screens on the meeting room table; pads for these still exist in the final setup, but they Z-fight with the table. The vents to enter the ducts are smaller than they are in the final background, and there are no standing consoles in front of them.
This is the corridor between the first two rooms in the mission. Unlike other pre-release screenshots, which match the final mission, the fog here is incredibly heavy and white.
