In September 2012, a lot of internal information relating to Dinosaur Planet was leaked to the public by Rare Thief, this included a condensed version of the game's story from early 2000, character profiles, and a bunch of concept art and high quality renders for characters.
The condensed story that dates back to early 2000 also contains some differences to the December 1st build.
Originally at the Desert Force Point Temple 3, you have have fought General Scales before getting the spellstone, however in the December 1st build, it was changed to a simple cutscene where General Scales is defeated by a big fall.
Although the ending of the game was never fully written, the December 1st build contains a lot of unused dialogue that relates to the Krazoa being the true villians of the story after Drakor is defeated, while the condensed version somewhat implies this twist wasn't added yet.
circa. Pre-E3
Pre-Press Build Screenshot
A screenshot for the game that comes from a 2000 E3 Press kit, however it appears to be from a much earlier build where Krystal had a slightly different design ingame.
circa. Spring
Pre-E3 Press Video
A 55-minute video for press members was leaked in September 2012, showing a good chunk of the game's content. The footage appears to predate the E3 2000 version.
Kyte's voice at 6:25 sounds temporary compared to the December 1st build.
Many locations appear largely unfinished.
Sabre lacks lip movement when talking to the SharpClaws before the Ice Mountain race.
The ship that drops Tricky at Ice Mountain appears to be a placeholder.
Sabre at this point doesn't have his own HUD portrait so Krystal's is used as a placeholder.
He also uses Krystal's voice grunts as a placeholder during gameplay.
Krystal
Kyte doesn't have her own portrait yet so Tricky's is used as a placeholder.
Intro
Press Video Build
E3 2000 to December 1, 2000 Build
Different Nintendo 64 and Rare logo screens.
The press video build contains this title screen, not found in the December build.
Prologue
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
Krystal's HUD icon was different, appearing to use a pre-render of her rather than a drawing. Health was also displayed as blue bars instead of fruit, and magic using a numerical value, rather than a bar.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The door that Scales appears from used a different texture, appearing much cruder and using a simple gold palette rather than the more ornate design in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
Kyte's cage was brighter.
Kyle's dialogue sounds to've been a placeholder scratch track.
In the Press Video build, when Scales is struck by lightning, he gets knocked off the ship. In the December build, he simply laughs and teleports away.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
After Scales disappears, the game's title was shown over shots of his ship. This is missing in the December build.
Location Differences
Warlock Mountain
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The location text for Warlock Mountain was displayed here, but is missing in the December build.
The exterior of Warlock Mountain is very different, using more blue rocky textures. By the December build, more structures were added around the area.
The skybox appears to've been locked to a green color, instead of adhering to the time cycle persistent elsewhere in the game.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
A jellyfish-like enemy was added in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
These stairs were individually modeled in the Press Video build, but have been changed to a simple sloped surface in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
An early design for the gem pickups was used, appearing to be a grey sphere rather than the bright red gems they would later become.
Picking one up showed off a HUD element that would end up being scrapped later on, depicting the same artwork as the door before the warp pad.
A snippet of chanting could be heard when the triceratops died.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
A Sharpclaw enemy was added to this room in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
In the Press Video build, the player had to knock over a pillar to break a small chunk off, which could then be placed on the switch to open the door. In the December build, this pillar is not present, and the small chunk is already there.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
In the Press Video build, the Warp Crystal could be found on the floor without a need to solve a puzzle. In the December build, the player had to shoot at a panel on the wall to get it, serving as a tutorial for the mechanic.
Randorn's dialogue also appears to've been a placeholder scratch track.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The Warp Crystal was called a "Warp Activator" in the Press Video build.
The collection jingle was also different.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The door in this area was slightly different.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
Like outside, the Press Video build had individually-modeled stairs for this area, removed in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The C-Button menu for abilities was moved from the bottom of the screen to the right.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
Krystal used her hands to fire projectiles in the Press Video build. In the December build, she uses her staff instead.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
When returning to the dock, Scales flies away and the player had to fight some Sharpclaw enemies. This was changed to a proper cutscene in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
A Sharpclaw enemy was added near the Warp Crystal pedestal in the December build.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
A different camera angle for when placing the Warp Crystal on the pedestal.
Press Video Build
December 1, 2000 Build
The door to the warp pad used different textures, using a texture similar to the warp pad itself. This was changed to a less specific design.
May
E3 2000
When Dinosaur Planet was shown off at E3 2000, the demo was bugged to the point where Nintendo's employees had to reset the N64 frequently whenever the game crashed. Dinosaur Planet's impressive visuals also meant it could run no faster than 15 FPS.
This footage shows several things, such as the menus used for previewing the game and a fragment of Krystal's first encounter with the Lightfoots.
This footage shows even more things, such as the E3 Build having the December 1st Build's title screen, and a lot more Sabre footage.
September
ECTS 2000
Dinosaur Planet was shown off for the final time at the European Computer Trade Show 2000 shortly before it was scrapped and redone.
circa. Fall/Winter
Star Fox Adventures Rebrand
When Shigeru Miyamoto saw a build of the game, he decided that it would be better if it was incorporated into the Star Fox universe in some manner. Miyamoto noted the protagonist Sabre looked similar to Fox and suggested that the game should be reworked to fit that. The game's name had been changed to Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet.
