Proto:Super Mario Kart/mario-kart

This is a sub-page of Proto:Super Mario Kart.

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: Check for unused data in the ROM.

A later build than May 18 build. More things have been implemented while still missing the Nintendo polish. Despite being last modified on July 14, this build dates sometime in the latter half of June.

To get the ROM working, apply this patch.

Changes between this and earlier build

Features

• Ending has been partially implemented. (It has some debug controls and crashes at Rainbow Road scene due to unknown reasons. The crash can be fixed by pressing L or R at the Vanilla Lake scene.)
• 150cc has been implemented, which you unlock after the buggy 100cc ending.
• The replay feature from Time Trial has been implemented.
• Time Trial ghosts has been implemented.
• Ghost saving and CPU ghosts are also available now.
• The track selection and the pause menu in race can now be navigated using select.
• The secret "mini mode", which lets you play the entire race in Grand Prix and Match Race shrunken, is now implemented, but not finished (can be done by holding Y and pressing A on the driver select screen).
• The unlock Special Cup code in the Time Trials course select screen has been implemented.

Gameplay

• The final Battle Course 1 has been added, replacing the Choco Island battle course from earlier builds.
• Giving up on Battle Mode now gives a win to the opposing player. Previously, the screen would darken and a set of options appear.
• You can now throw bananas and lay down shells.
• Item generation is more polished and position based.
• Moles now behave like the final.
• While cheep-cheeps are still upside down, they now behave like the final and you no longer lose coins touching them. Same goes for the Piranha Plants
• Going over pipes and such with a star now destroys the target instead of feather jumping over it.

Graphics / UI

• The "Course Selct" typo has been corrected to "Course Select".
• The 1P and 2P icons at the item box has been changed to just 1 and 2 like the final.
• Coin UI now flashes when you have 0 coins.
• The result screen tally now functions like the final (no more OUT).
• The unique 2nd and 3rd position endings have been removed and are now identified as the final.
• Lakitu now has a X on his flag when you drive the wrong way.

Sound

• Ending BGM has been implemented.
• Getting stomped by a Thwomps now sound exactly like the final.
• Terrain SFX's are now finalized.
• Vanilla Lake's theme has been finalized.
• DK. Jr's theme has been finalized.
• The noise Lakitu makes while going the wrong way has been finalized.
• Menu BGM now has final instrumentation.
• Mario's rank theme now uses the final heavier bassline.
• The 1st-3rd podium music has now been added in.

Bug Fixes

• Rainbow Road position counter has been fixed, and can now be finished.
• Going over a lap while in Lakitu mode now counts.
• You now lose coins again when falling off the track.
• Drivers now attempt to avoid you, fixing issues like last build where drivers endlessly bonk into you.
• The AI zones and checkpoints in the battle courses are now fixed and Lakitu now successfully puts you back on to the track.

Differences

General Differences

• Like the earlier builds, you still cannot navigate the title screen and driver select menus using select, unlike the final version.
• Pressing Start + Select at title screen crashes the game. In earlier builds, It will load a Debug Menu.
• Stopping the replay in Time Trial does not darken the screen yet.
• The secret "mini mode" isn't finished, as the driver is only shrunken in the first race and will be back in their normal size in the next race.
• When being shrunken, particle effects such as dirt and dust but also the "bubble" graphic when being underwater, are missing
• There was a ghost replay function. When starting a race in Time Trial with a saved ghost, it will load a replay of the ghost instead of a race.
• There is a bug in Time Trial when starting a race with a saved ghost and with a CPU ghost at the same time: The CPU ghost will use the graphics from the saved ghost instead but with the color palette of the CPU ghost.
• In the ending, the fade out can be controlled with L or R. Holding the button will stop the fade out and stays the game at the scene. If you let go of the button, the game continues to the next scene.

Gameplay Differences

• The driver stats are still slightly different.
• AI difficulty still feels unpolished and really brutal, especially in 100cc special cup.
• It is sometimes not possible to start a drift when landing after a ramp jump, or after driving across mole holes or high wood planks from Ghost Valley.
• Rainbow Road still has no Thwomps.
• Reaching the goal while shrunken causes your driver to swap to its winning animation in normal size, unlike the final version.
• The lap skip with the feather on Choco Island 2 is not possible despite it working in earlier builds and the final.

Graphics / UI Differences

• The drivers still have some small graphical differences. This includes Mario and Luigi's always forward looking eyes, Koopa's healthy eyes and Bowser's sticking out jaw. Donkey Kong Jr. is still missing the letter on his shirt during the Award Ceremony.
• The 100 cc trophy in the award ceremony looks slighlty different.
• Saving a ghost in time trial (hold L,R,Y and press X after race at the menu options) causes the text to shortly disappear and doesn't play any sound.
• Activating the secret "mini mode" in the driver selection doesn't have any special shrunking animation and sound yet.
• Some fade out effects are slightly longer than in the final version.
• It was possible to enable rear view in replay mode.

Sound Differences

Toad's Theme

Proto	Final

More instrumentation has been added to the music, and includes a series of brass hits as opposed to the whistle in the final.

Other Sound Differences

• Rainbow Road's BGM is still not done. Battle Mode plays instead.
• Like the earlier builds, hitting an enemy still uses a lower-pitched "enemy hit" sound.
• Going over a ramp with a mushroom still has no unique sound.
• Boo's SFX are still not done, leaving now a different kind of placeholder sound.
• The SFX for skidding in Ghost Valley is slightly higher pitched.
• Skidding on rough terrain plays the regular skidding sound. In the final and other protos, this doesn't happen.
• The coin sound at the "The End" screen from the ending was missing.
• Yoshi's theme is still slower.
• Koopa Troopa's theme still lacks the piano.
• Ghost Valley's BGM is still slower.
• Peach's theme still uses the piano sample for the bassline and the xylophone on channel 8 is still missing.

Track Differences

All the missing tracks in the following subsections are identical to their respective final version.

Mario Circuit

Mario Circuit 2

The overall layout and object placement is identical to the final version, except for the ramps and the zippers. Compared to the final version, this build features only one ramp and there are less zippers.

Proto	Final

Donut Plains

Donut Plains 2

It features two ramps that were removed in the final version.

Proto	Final

Donut Plains 3

Object placement is identical to the final version, but the layout still has a subtle difference: the curve with two x-shaped coin formations became wider in the final version.

Proto	Final

Bowser Castle

Bowser Castle 3

A row of coins is missing and a path is still blocked in Grand Prix mode by an object left unused in the final game. After the mentioned path an extra ? block is present.

Proto	Final

Koopa Beach

Koopa Beach 2

Object placement is final, but the course still features a piece of seashore trapped between the walls that was removed in the final version. The grass in the track is more denser.

Proto	Final

Rainbow Road

It's smaller than the final version and there are more ramps scattered throught the course, but the ? blocks are in their final position. Thwomps are still missing, and like the earlier May proto, it still has the object placements leftover from the scrapped Choco Island 3 course.

Proto	Final

Battle Mode

Apart from having the same track order of the final version, they are identical to them too.