Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)

Sonic Adventure 2
Developer: Sonic Team USA Publisher: Sega Platform: Dreamcast Released in JP: June 23, 2001 Released in US: June 23, 2001 Released in EU: June 23, 2001 This game has unused areas. This game has unused modes / minigames. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has anti-piracy features. This game has hidden bonus content. This game has a prototype article

Sonic Adventure 2 is the sequel to Sonic Adventure. There are three types of levels: Sonic/Shadow levels with lots of speed, Tails/Eggman levels - shoot everything in sight, and Knuckles/Rouge levels, where you hunt three treasures. It was re-released for the GameCube as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.

Sub-Pages

Unused Audio Just like the previous game, there are some unused lines that were not given translations.

Chao World Kindergarten rooms, Online features and a load of unused text!

Unused Graphics

There are miscellaneous graphics for different purposes on the ROM that were scrapped for unknown reasons.

Egg Quarters Radar

According to an unused line from Omochao, this was a radar for Egg Quarters that was planned to detect the beetle robots patrolling the stage. It would have been located next to the objective's radar and flashed when the robots were nearby. It can be found in STG26_RADER.PRS.

Random Rings

There is a capsule graphic of a ring with a question mark on it as opposed to a 5, 10, or 20. According to the original file name, itemp_randomring, this would have given the player a random amount of rings.

Scene Select Icon

The Dark story's scene select has the option to start the game at the second Sonic boss. However, the player must complete a stage before they're able to access the equivalent part of the Hero story, as its scene select doesn't include the option to start at the boss. The icon for the option does exist though, and it's slightly different to the icon that was used for the Dark story.

Alternate Character Icons

All of the unlockable 2 player mode characters (Amy, Metal Sonic, Chao Walker, Big, Tikal and Chaos) have their own life icons, but they aren't ever seen due to 2 player mode not using the lives system.

Two Player Unused Graphics

There are two graphics in the ROM that that imply via file name that they would have been used on the two player menu, but they aren't.

Early Menu Graphics

These graphics are very much like the final menu, only less polished. They feature the same options (used and unused), and were likely used before the final graphics were complete. These graphics also have a Japanese counterpart, with exactly the same colors and organization, just in Japanese.

The original file name for this one is mainmenu_button. It would have been used on the main menu somehow, with the text laid on top of the graphic, not having a separate graphic for each option.

Menu Title Graphics

There are three menu title graphics that go unused in the final version. They would have been placed in the upper-left hand corner of the menu like all other graphics like this, yet they are not.

Unused Tutorial Screens

There are a handful of tutorial screens that were not implemented for whatever reason.

For explaining Mystic Melody with Tails. Normally, when an upgrade is obtained, screens in the tutorial are subsequently unlocked. This would have been for after Tails or Eggman gets Mystic Melody, but even when they are collected, this screen does not come up.

For explaining button prompts. A different graphic was used instead.

For testing the tutorial screens probably.

For explaining special attacks during two player. While Omochao brings up the topic on both Knuckles'/Rouge's and Tails'/Eggman's tutorials, these screens don't come up, possibly due to a glitch or an oversight.

Mipmap Test

Two images can be found on the disc that seem to have been used for testing mipmaps, as stated by the text in the background of the two images. Interestingly, these images use the earlier logo seen in Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial rather than the regular one.

Level Maps

There are maps for many of the levels in the game inside the game's files. These are stored as PRS files, but are actually BMP files.

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  CITY_ESCAPE

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  COSMICWALL

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  CRAZY

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  EGG_WEAPON

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  ETERNAL_ENGINE

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  FINALCHASE

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  FINALRUSH

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  GREENFOREST

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  HIGHWAY

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  LOST

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  MISSION

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  SKY

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  TAILS_PRISON

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  WATER

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  WHITE_JUNGLE

Unreleased Menu Themes

In order to get more character menu themes, the themes needed to be downloaded online. However, the Shadow, Amy, Omochao, Maria, and Secretary themes were never made officially available, therefore making their audio and graphics unused. The themes still exist and are unlockable in the GameCube version, but the background used for each theme was changed.

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  Shadow Theme

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  Amy Theme

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  Omochao Theme

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  Maria Theme

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  Secretary Theme

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  Shadow (In game)

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  Amy (In game)

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  Omochao (In game)

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  Maria (In game)

• 

  Secretary (In game)

Unused Stages

Test Levels

There are three test levels that were used during the game's development and removed from the final game that were known as BASIC TEST, KNUCKLES TEST and SONIC TEST respectively. Although one of these (BASIC TEST) would later be included with the Gamecube version, all three levels are absent from the Dreamcast version.

Textures

The textures for the test levels can be found in the game's files:

• 

  LANDTX00.PRS (BASIC TEST)

• 

  LANDTX01.PRS (KNUCKLES TEST)

• 

  LANDTX02.PRS (SONIC TEST)

Notably, the textures from LANDTX02 (SONIC TEST) can be seen in the version of City Escape shown off in the E3 2000 trailer.

(Source: DCcatalog (Trailer))

Knuckles Test Layout

SET0001_S.BIN, SET0001_U.BIN, and STG01_CAM.prs contain object layouts and camera information for KNUCKLES TEST. Despite the stage not being there, it seems to follow the same basic blueprint as BASIC TEST and thus, its files can be replaced to create a somewhat playable version of the stage.

There is a single camera angle at the center of the stage that seems to circle around Knuckles, focusing on a nonexistent object in the center of the map. The first two Master Emerald shards can randomly spawn in several enemies, which seem to make incorrect sounds (Knuckles voices, menu sounds, radar beeps, etc.) or in several preset locations in the ground. The third one is always in the same place, but it seems to be completely inaccessible, however.

Mission Text

Mission text for two of the stages can be found inside MISSIONE.PRS:

Stage 0 (BASIC TEST):

1st Mission: Make sure we debug this!
2nd Mission: Find 100 bugs!
3rd Mission: Find bugs that you couldn't find!
4th Mission: Debugged in 2 minutes!
Last Mission: Try bug 0!

Stage 2 (SONIC TEST):

1st Mission: This stage is cool!

Japanese hint text for Stage 1 (KNUCKLES TEST) can be found in the file EH0001J.PRS. It contains the following five strings:

Japanese	Translation
このメッセージはテストナリよ。	This message is a test.
このマッサージはベストナリよ。	This massage is the best.
このソーセージはラストナリよ。	This sausage is the last.
このボンテージはヒットナリよ。	This bondage is a success/hit.
このバンデージはビッグナリよ。	This bandage is big.

Early Green Forest Layout

There are more objects located out of view in White Jungle. They include floating platforms, lines of rings, more dash pads, two invincibility capsules, a weird spinning object, and numerous Beetle robots. These objects don't seem to have much connection and are located in such a way that the player would never see them normally.

The objects were rearranged in the GameCube version. They contain the same kind of format, but the capsules are gone, the odd spinning object is gone, and the Beetles perform different actions (nothing).

These are actually leftovers from a very early version of Green Forest. The attributes of some objects are broken (such as launch panels) but if the object files for Green Forest are replaced with the ones from White Jungle, the out of bounds objects match up to the stage perfectly.

The version of Green Forest seen here is very incomplete, with some objects suggesting it may even be older than the one shown in the E3 2000 trailer.

Two Player City Escape

SET0013_2P_S.BIN and SET0013_2P_U.BIN contain an unused object layout for City Escape in 2-Player mode that is very different from both the normal version of the level and the version that appears in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Since City Escape is never used in 2-Player mode normally, this layout is never seen.

This layout is interesting in that it resembles the version of City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial more than the one in the final game. The posters, along with objects such as the platforms before the first checkpoint all use their layouts from that version.

Two Player Green Hill

The full list of graphics for two-player locations includes Green Hill. This implies Green Hill was going to be playable with two people, but even when it's unlocked, it's only one-player.

Further digging reveals that the stage is actually an option in the game's 2 Player stage select, but it's hidden and impossible to unlock.

Despite using the same object layout as 1 Player mode, the stage works normally in 2 player mode and even includes proper pose and start points for both characters.

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• 
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Unused Objects

There are some unused objects in some levels. Some have been jammed inside a wall or another inaccessible place. Others are still interactable, because instead of being deleted, they are simply invisible.

Hidden Dash Pad in Iron Gate

After the first locked door, there's a room with an elevator that leads to a tight tunnel, and after that you drop into a room. Before that room, to the right, there is a dash pad inside the wall.

Hidden Objects in White Jungle

Near the start, there is a dash pad that was misplaced and is right below the starting tunnel of the level.

Additionally, there are two on either side of the one that Shadow falls on to start the level that are slightly below the tunnel - enough to be useless. The pad that Shadow actually uses is right in the middle. These are both present in the GameCube version.

Invisible Rail in Meteor Herd

If one uses cheats to play as Sonic or Shadow on this level, a hidden rail can be found. One end begins on the central tower, leads sharply downwards and features two successive loops, and the other ends near the starting point. Knuckles can't grind in this game, so that is why nobody stumbled upon this invisible rail when playing casually.

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Extended Rail in Final Chase

If Shadow turns around and grinds backwards on the starting rail, he will find that the rail actually starts quite a bit back compared to where he starts. However, it doesn't have any collision until it reaches a nearby spring, which is what the game uses to put Shadow on the rail at the start of the stage in the first place.

Hidden Rings

There are a few hidden rings that can be found in bizarre locations in certain levels, usually below the starting point. It's impossible to obtain them normally without dying or using a lightning shield to draw them in.

• 

  Radical Highway

• 

  Pumpkin Hill

• 

  Mad Space

• 

  Green Hill

• 

  Hidden Base

• 

  Sky Rail

World Ranking System

There is a functional World Ranking option in the Extras menu that is disabled by default. Selecting the option will bring the player to a blank screen with the options menu music playing, but the player won't be able to do anything.
It can be enabled by setting 8C5CCB09 to 0.

A partially implemented version of the menu seems to exist, but never loads. It can be seen in by enabling various flags in the Emblem Results menu. The menu has various features such as current ranking and last update, as well as four search modes - "Total Ranking", "Score Attack", "Time Attack" and "Emblem". (Although they can't be selected normally via the Emblem Results menu in this way)

As well as the menu itself, the red "X" from the Download Event menu can be found.
There are also a number of menus related to connecting to the system hidden in the game. Setting 8C6224CC to 1 will make the menu visible and 8C6224DC determines the menu shown.

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  The blue wheel spins when 8C62243B is 0.

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There are more remnants of the system in the files. The following text could be found in Advertise.prs. advsng_3.adx refers to the options menu music, which corresponds with the unused menu option.

worldRankingExec

advsng_3.adx

emblemResultExec

emblemResult

dialup_icon0

dl_event_batu

emblem256

emblem_moji0

emblem_sheet

emblem_stagename_add

emblem_title

emb_charawindow_all

stg_stagename

wrank_jyuni_window

wrank_penmaru

wrank_title

wr_flag

wr_moji0

wr_rankbtn_add

wr_rankbtn_e wr_rankbtn_j

wr_rankmode_e

wr_rankmode_e2

wr_rankmode_j

wr_rankmode_j2

wr_rankplate_big512

wr_suuji0

wr_windows

w_ranking_bg0

w_ranking_bg1

w_ranking_bg2

w_ranking_bg3

w_ranking_bg4

w_ranking_bg5

w_ranking_bg6

w_ranking_bg7

advsng_3.adx

After further digging in the disc more text is revealed which would display onscreen. There was a login and registration (probably to reduce cheating). The rankings could have been searched by country and name. It referred to the world ranking system as "The Sonic Network." The text was translated into numerous languages such as French, German, Japanese, Spanish.

Display or update world ranking

Press Y-button to update data.

Time Attack world ranking

Score Attack world ranking

Emblem world ranking

Total ranking

View stage world ranking

Edit your comments

Network registration is required

to enter world rankings.

Use latest browser to register

on the network.

Connecting to the Internet.

While connected to the network,

you will be charged a telephone

fee and ISP connection fee.

If you are using the ISAO Net

with a phone prefix number starting

with 0990, the telephone fee will be

10 yen for 3 minutes in accordance

with the Dial Q2 system.

Please refer to manual

for more information.

Do you want to connect? <Yes><No>

Connecting to the Internet

While connected to the network,

you will be charged a telephone

fee and ISP connection fee.

Do you want to connect?

Dialing �–�–�–�|�–�–�–�|�–�–�–�– <Cancel>

Enter "ISP" ID and password ID<++> Password<++>

Unable to find modem.

Check modem connection.

The line is busy.

Dialing next phone number.

Please try again later.

Check modem settings.

Unable to dial.

Check modular cable connection,

or modem settings.

Unable to connect. The line is busy.

Please check the modem settings

and try again later.

Unable to connect to server.

Server authentication failed.

Check ID and password.

Disconnected due to no activity.

While connected to the network, you will be charged a telephone

fee.

Do you want to connect?

Now connected to the Sonic Network.

The server is busy.

Please try connecting again later.

Updating the database.

This may take several minutes. <Cancel>

Cancel data connection? <Yes><No>

Are you sure you want to disconnect?

Your rank has increased to

number <++> in total ranking.

Your rank has decreased to

number <++> in total ranking.

Your ranking has increased to

number <++> in <++> score attack.

Your ranking has increased to

number <++> in <++> time attack.

Your rank has increased to

number <++> in emblem ranking.

Your ranking has decreased to

number <++> in <++> score attack.

Your ranking has decreased to

number <++> in <++> time attack.

Your rank has decreased to

number <++> in emblem ranking. <++>

Use this E-mail address

for confirmation?

(You can set E-mail address

for receiving info later.)

No E-mail setting on Dreamcast.

Use latest browser to change

Email settings. Are you <++>?

Enter your password. <Enter><Cancel><Forgot password>

Your password is incorrect.

Enter password again. <Enter><Cancel><Forgot password>

Do you want to receive

your password via E-mail?

Mail was sent to

your E-mail address.

Please check your mail.

Welcome to the Sonic Network.

Enter your user name.

12 characters maximum

length for user name. <Enter> <Cancel>

User name already exists.

Enter password if you

want to use this user name.

Next, enter password.

Passwords must be at least 5

characters, maximum is 12. <Enter><Back>

Set E-mail account.

If you forgot your password,

your password can be mailed to you. <Enter><Cancel>

Do you want to share your E-mail

address with other users?

If you don't, select "No".

Select country and area

where you live. Country:<++> Area:<++>

The Sonic Network is a public area to

exchange information with other users

around the world. Please try to

conduct yourself in a civil manner.

Warnings may be issued to users and

users may be ask not to use our

service, if activities violate the

rules of the Sonic Network.

<++>'s Registration complete.

Display ranking from the top.

List specified ranking.

Search ranking by user name.

List ranking by country or area.

Enter ranking you want to see.

Enter user name you want to search.

Enter country you want to list. Country<++> Area<++>

You can see user information.

Press B-button to go

back to list screen.

The images below display remnants of the world ranking system also:

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Debug Features

Debug Menu

There is a debug menu in all versions of the game which is accessible by replacing ADVERTISE.PRS with TITLE.PRS.

The menu has the following options to choose from:

• GAME:1P ONLY - Play a level with one player.
• GAME:2P 3POINTS MATCH - Play a level with two players until one player wins three times.
• GAME:2P 1POINT MATCH - Play a level with two players.
• TEST:EVENT - View cutscenes.
• DEMO:1P ONLY - Record a demo with one player. Press Start to end the recording.
• DEMO:2P - Record a demo with two players. Press Start to end the recording.
• DEMO:LOOK PREVIOUS TAKEN ONE - Replay the previously recorded demo.
• PLAY:FROM HERO - Play the story mode on the Hero story.
• PLAY:FROM DARK - Play the story mode on the Dark story.
• PLAY:FROM LAST - Play the story mode on the Last story.

The GAME and DEMO options will ask you to choose a character or character set and a level. The list of levels includes all that character's normal stages, Chao World (misspelled as CHAO WARLD) and the the test levels (BASIC TEST, SONIC TEST or KNUCKLES TEST), which do not exist and crash if you try to select them.
The Event Test not only lists all the events and allows you to view them, you can also stop cutscenes with the B button, and speed them up or slow them down with the shoulder buttons, even making them run in reverse.

The menu can be accessed in the other versions of the game too:

For the GameCube version, replace advertiseD.rel with titleD.rel or use the NTSC-US Action Replay code

7V85-EB5E-T1K7W
G1HQ-DBYC-PVZAY
3NV3-R6FU-ZPNDA

In the PC version, you can use a memory editor to go to 434687 and change CC 76 8B 00 to 98 8F 8B 00. The code to display the menu items onscreen was removed in the PC version, but it still functions.

Leftovers

In Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial, there is a debug menu that can be accessed by enabling certain flags. In the final version, this menu has been entirely removed with the exception of a few leftover features:

Free Movement

Sonic Adventure 2 includes the same free movement mode from the previous game that lets the player move a character anywhere on the map.

The controls are as follows:
Analog Stick = Move
Analog Stick + X = Move Up/Down
A = Exit Free Movement mode.
B = Go to the current character's start position.

During development all characters were able to enter this mode, but in the final game this mode only exists for Sonic-type characters (Sonic, Shadow, Amy and Metal Sonic). It can be seen by setting their Action ID to 58.

Board in Metal Harbor

In the trial, a flag can be enabled that allows Sonic to gain access to a board by pressing Y on the second controller. This flag is enabled by default in the final game, but its functionality has been removed almost entirely with Metal Harbor being the only level in the game that the feature will still work in. This was fixed in the GameCube release.

Collision display

While it can't be seen ingame normally, the only remaining part of the debug display left in the game is a mode that when activated will highlight any geometry the character is currently colliding with. This mode is still present in future releases.

(Source: Sonic Retro.)

Trial Version Leftovers

Sonic Adventure 2: Trial Version (not to be confused with Sonic Adventure 2: The Trial) was released roughly a month before the final release. As can be expected, there are leftovers of this demo still on the final game, unused. These are mostly in the form of graphics, since the game was near complete at the time of the demo and the graphics were for the demo only.

Title Screen

An image of what was the demo's title screen.

Menu Graphics

This demo only allowed the player to play Sonic's City Escape stage, Shadow's Radical Highway stage, and then a two player match between Sonic and Shadow in Green Forest. These menu icons were used in the demo, but remain in the final. It should be noted that these are separate from the unused menu graphics above.

Graphics from another demo for the press, Sonic Adventure 2 (Preview), are found on the ROM as well. This demo was released less than a month before the final release, and is pretty much complete, but it used these graphics for jumping to available levels.

Graphics

There are two full-screen graphics that were used on the demo to recognize it as a demo:

This graphic was shown before the title screen of the demo telling the player that this is just a demo, not the full version.

This graphic was shown after the demo letting the player know when the game would be released.

Unused Text

Early Level and Boss List

Located in TEXT_E.prs is an early level and boss list, missing several stages present in the final game and featuring some interesting boss names.

BASIC TEST
KNUCKLES TEST
SONIC TEST
GREEN FOREST
WHITE JUNGLE
PUMPKIN HILL
SKY RAIL
AQUATIC MINE
SECURITY HALL
PRISON LANE
METAL HARBOR
IRON GATE
WEAPONS BED
CITY ESCAPE
RADICAL HIGHWAY
WEAPONS BED
2P WILD CANYON
MISSION STREET
DRY LAGOON
SONIC VS SHADOW
TAILS VS EGGMAN
SAND OCEAN
CRAZY GADGET
HIDDEN BASE
ETERNAL ENGINE
DEATH CHAMBER
EGG QUARTERS
LOST COLONY
PYRAMID CAVE
TAILS VS EGGMAN return
NO NAME
BIG FOOT
HOT SHOT
FRYING DOG
King Boom Boo
GOLEM(an assumed name)
THE BIOHAZARD(an assumed name)
CART
EXTRA GAME:CART
CHAO GARDEN

Cannon's Core Hint Files

Knuckles and Rouge have hint files for Cannon's Core, but their contents appear to be exact copies of Wild Canyon and Dry Lagoon's Japanese hints.

Stage Text

Each stage contains a number of Japanese strings:

Japanese	Translation
むふふぅ（解説：テキストがないデアル）	Muhuhuu (Explanation: There is no text)
むふふぅ（解説：テキストがないじぇ）	Muhuhuu (Explanation: There's no text)
吹いています（未対応）	Whistling (Unsupported)
吹けません（メッセージもありません）	Can't whistle (No message)
いちどだけです（メッセージもありません）	Only once (No message)
「死」（メッセージ設定が範囲外なのだ）	"Death" (Message setting is out of range)

Regional Differences

The SEGA logo is slightly different in the Japanese version of the game. It's lighter and a few pixels higher than the one used in other versions.

Japanese	International

Anti-Piracy

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Verify this on real hardware.

The game runs a disc check to make sure it is being run from an official GD-ROM rather than a copied disc. If this check fails, Eggman will fall through the floor when he starts his section of Cannon's Core, although the level can still be completed by navigating to the end.

(Source: Dreamcast-talk)

Disc Content

If the game disc is inserted into a PC, a set of wallpapers can be found:

• 

  WALLP_CHAO

• 

  WALLP_SHADOW

• 

  WALLP_SONIC

Along with the following text files:

ABSTRACT.TXT:

< Sonic Adventure 2 >

Abstracted by none.

BIBLIOGR.TXT:

SERIES TITLE:

 SONIC the Hedgehog           ,1991
 SONIC the Hedgehog 2         ,1992
 SONIC the Hedgehog 3         ,1994
 SONIC and KNUCKLES           ,1994
 SONIC JAM                    ,1997
 SONIC Adventure (for Japan)  ,1998
 SONIC Adventure              ,1999
 SONIC Adventure International,1999
 SONIC Adventure 2 The Trial  ,2000

COPYRIGH.TXT:

SONIC ADVENTURE 2:

Original Game (C) SEGA 
(C) SONICTEAM / SEGA, 2001