Proto:Mario Kart DS/USA Kiosk Demo/Unused Courses

This is a sub-page of Proto:Mario Kart DS/USA Kiosk Demo.

A number of unused courses can be found in the demo's files. They are fully textured, unlike those found in the final, as the textures are loaded from the models themselves instead of separate files. This makes many of the courses much easier to navigate, which is fortunate as the game crashes if you fall off of most of them. The reason for that is because they have their course_map.nkm file in an earlier format (1E 00 44 00), where the respawns lack the IPOI (item point ID) setting, and the index IDs are (mis)taken as IPOI IDs by the game, resulting in no respawn IDs. Those with later formats (20 00 48 00 and 22 00 48 00) have no issues with respawns, however.

Early Tracks

mini_stage1 (early Nintendo DS)

(from 3:51 to 5:02)

Has a scanned image of a DS as its texture, instead of separate textures. It also uses a cloud background instead of the space one.

(Source: UltimatePisman)

mini_dokan_gc (early Pipe Plaza)

(from 2:07 to 3:50 in the video above)

Appears to be a draft design at this stage; all of the background scenery is missing and you can drive on the sides of the ramps and the metal grid. It also uses a red sky background instead of the one used in mini_block_course.

The CPUs mostly drive onto the wall behind the ramps under the metal grid and get knocked by falling upside down, and lose their balloons. It's also possible to get stuck in a corner by jumping onto the sides of the arena, due to lack of invisible walls. However, none of those happen if this version of the arena is ported to final, due to differently coded physics.

It's also worth noting that the wall texture in this version is extremely similar to the one from Luigi Raceway in Mario Kart 64.

luigi_course (early Waluigi Pinball)

Course value 03 is a track closely resembling Waluigi Pinball, probably a proof-of-concept for the track, using an odd cheese-like texture for the floor. No item boxes are present and the respawns don't work as the course_map.nkm file is in an earlier format (1E 00 44 00), with the latter resulting in a crash most of the time due to the AI driving too close to one of the flippers on the track.

donkey_course (early DK Pass)

Course value 06 is an early, incomplete DK Pass with a different layout. Like old_mario_gc, you can drive on the grass as if it was road. Falling off the track crashes the game, as the course_map.nkm file is in an earlier format (1E 00 44 00).

The respawn formation is also unfinished; there's only one respawn point and is placed at the beginning, so no matter where the player falls off, they'll respawn at the start line, having to re-drive the course all over again.

There's a Goomba (object ID 9101) and a thwomp (9301) at the end of the course, judging by their IDs and the ID between them (9201) being the rocks, there's a possible case that this track was also used to test hazardous objects.

This and mr_stage1 were the only courses completely removed from the final.

wario_course (early Wario Stadium)

Course value 07 is a slightly earlier Wario Stadium with a different road texture, and has three item boxes near the beginning of the track. The real Wario Stadium is named stadium_course and has an ID of 22. It is unknown why this course exists, but it may have been different during development and simply replaced, as the model name is internally "stadium_course".

The fog (background) color in the course_map.nkm's STAG section is also set to 248:248:248 (white), whereas it's 0:0:0 (black) in the actual track.

This track is notable for being the only unused track in this prototype with a proper end-of-race replay camera, albeit different from the actual Wario Stadium's. Some route speed leftovers from this track's cameras exist in the said track's ones, too.

It's possible this track might be different in earlier builds, as the course_map.nkm format is 22 00 48 00 which is the default format for this prototype's main tracks, plus the actual course in this prototype had a bottom screen map showing an even earlier version of the track's model whereas this unused track doesn't even have a map.

wario_course	Wario Stadium

mr_stage_1 (early Big Bully Boss Room)

Course value 30 is an early version of the boss fight arena with Big Bully, that also crashes unless you add its .nkm file. As it's supposed to be used for Mission mode, the CPU players don't move.

There's also folders in the ROM data for mr_stage_2, mr_stage_3, and mr_stage_4, but all of them are empty.

Scrapped Tracks

old_mario_gc (GCN Mario Circuit)

Course value 02 is an unfinished version of Mario Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The Goombas, trees, etc. aren't here, there're ony three item boxes at the beginning, and you can drive on grass as if it was road. This track does have respawns.

This track is notable for being the only unused track in this prototype with a proper Grand Prix camera intro.

Like wario_course, it's possible for this track to be different (object layout-wise) in earlier builds, as the course_map.nkm format is 22 00 48 00 which is the default format for this prototype's main tracks.

nokonoko_course (Koopa Troopa Course)

This course does not load on an actual cartridge: only on Slot-2 cards or emulators.

Like most courses, the game freezes on respawning because the course_map.nkm file is in an earlier format (1E 00 44 00). The actual layout is a beach with several paths, and has the closest look to a track which could be used.

The water changes frequently, and there is a slight pause before doing so, which is why the water disappears and reappears (six water files are loaded with the course). There is one Goomba on the course, but it's missing a few frames and appears as a 2 on the map.

It's possible that this track might have been replaced by Cheep-Cheep Beach, as evidence from the MapObj folder in both courses' archives; the only change in Cheep-Cheep Beach's archive was that the Goomba object model (kuribo.nsbmd) was replaced by Cheep-Cheep's (pukupuku.nsbmd). Water files with the track's name (nokonoko_sea, noko_waterA, and noko_waterC) and a duplicate of the beach tree model (yoshi_tree.nsbmd) exist in Cheep-Cheep Beach's archive as well. Some textures from nokonoko_course are also re-used in that track, only some have lowered resolution.

mini_block_course (GCN Block City)

Course value 29. The course is unfinished and has no blocks, but the item boxes are complete. There is a hole in one of the block areas, likely intended as the Mission Run file involves pushing Big Bully into the hole. This course does have respawns.

A slightly earlier version of this arena with more item boxes appear in IDs 2D, 2E, and 2F, but balloons and shine sprites don't appear on these values due to the objects that spawn them aren't located in their course_map.nkm file.

Test Tracks

dokan_course (Pipe Course)

A course with two pipes used only here and in test1_course. The ground does have collision data, but it's set to a "Fall" value. It's likely that the course was also used to test falling off of certain tracks.

There are six respawn points on this course, but the course_map.nkm file is in an earlier format (1E 00 44 00), so the game crashes when anyone falls off the track.

test1_course

Course value 05 was used as the primary test track for collision data, and has various objects such as the gears from Tick-Tock Clock, the bridge from Delfino Square, and the blocks from Bowser Castle implemented. If you fall off, you will respawn underneath the course, endlessly. This can cause a crash on real hardware (probably due to the course_map.nkm file of this course being in an earlier (1E 00 44 00) format) because the AI autorespawn if left to drive into the Bowser block endlessly (suggesting they were once a different model).

test_circle

A small circular test track with only one item box, and can be completed in a single lap. It's possible that this course was used to test the game's modes, results, or lap functionality, since it can be completed very quickly.