Proto:Syndicate Wars (PlayStation)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Syndicate Wars (PlayStation).

  This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

A prototype of the US version of Syndicate Wars was released by Hidden Palace in April 2021.

While the disc has "6/10/97" and "Beta" written on it, the files themselves are dated no later than July 2, 1997, compared to July 18 for the final US disc. Analysis of the game's files show 99% of them are identical to the final US release, with all actual game content exactly the same. There are also no apparent differences when actually playing the game, but this has not been extensively tested.

The main item of note from this release is that it seems to contain the debug symbols for the game in the file MAIN.SYM, which is not present in the final release.

Changed Files

The following files are different from their counterparts on the retail US disc.

• DUMMY.RAW - Not present on the final disc. Presumably is an actual dummy file probably to improve disc load speeds. It contains the headers for a .wav file, but the actual file contents beyond this are just zeroes (i.e. blank).
• FRONT.PRG - Seems to be the frontend (menus, etc.) program. Same size as the final game, but substantial changes to data. Unclear what is different in practice.
• SLUS_002.62 - Main executable. Same size as the final game, but substantial changes to data. Unclear what is different in practice.
• MAIN.SYM - Not present on the final disc. Contains the debug symbols file for the game.

MAIN.SYM Debug Symbols

Contain debug symbols for Syndicate Wars. However, while clearly for the PlayStation port, there are many references to features that are not present in the PS1 version, such as entries for the email GUI functionality, research system, and trains, all of which are missing from the console port. Therefore, it may have some application to the original DOS release as well.

Example legacy strings:

• queue_up_new_mail, delete_mail - various mail-related commands. It seems these are from the PC original and relate to the email system from that version. The PS1 version has a simpler interface that does not include the email system.
• ResearchInfo - whole section on progress on researching various items when this was all cut from PlayStation version