TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PlayStation 2, GameCube)

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Developer: Free Radical Design Publisher: EA Games Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox Released in US: March 21, 2005 Released in EU: March 24, 2005 Released in AU: March 28, 2005 This game has unused animations. This game has unused code. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused modes / minigames. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused sounds. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article This game has a notes page

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: Lots of stuff. Document the PlayStation 2 prototype version. Look through the story document provided by a former developer at Free Radical Design. There's a lot of differences. A bunch of dialogue needs to be labelled and uploaded. Captain Ash, Jo-Beth and Anya just to name a few. There are some placeholder textures here and there. Probably a lot more, keep looking through the sounds_e.pak

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect is the latest entry in the series, and the only one to be published by EA. This entry would sprinkle in modern elements from other shooters like Halo, while still keeping its classic tropes. Unfortunately, this would end up being Free Radical Design's last entry in the series before the trifecta of Haze, the 2008 recession, and Star Wars Battlefront III's woes drove them out of business.

It's time to split!

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Notes

Unused Animations

Mary-Beth Casey Select Animations

To do: Video.

Character selection animations exist for the TimeSplitters 1 character, "Mary-Beth Casey". The lead character artist confirmed that they wished for this character to return in TimeSplitters: Future Perfect but this never happened.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Hidden Bananas

To do: See if there are any more of these.

These bananas can be found in the level Breaking and Entering. They can be located by using game modifications to enter the room in which you must defend Amy Chen before the sequence plays. If entered a certain way guards will spawn shooting at these bananas, suggesting they are used as targets for the guards to shoot during this sequence and made invisible when it begins.

Unused or Obscured Graphics

Hello Sailor

This texture is technically used in the intro cutscene, but cannot be seen.

The Impersonator

A character from TimeSplitters 1 and 2 who unfortunately failed to make the cut this time around. His sound effects and character select image are all that seem to be left of poor old Impersonator.

Unused Features

Temporal Uplink Zombie Grab

To do: Video.

Normally, the Temporal Uplink is unable to grab characters unless they have a special flag set. This flag is to only ever set on one specific enemy type in one specific level (the medibots in Something to Crow About) so is widely unused. However, the Uplink has special functionality for grabbing zombies where it will pull their head off, killing them instantly. This turns the Uplink into a very powerful "anti-zombie" weapon.

The game actually checks for the flag twice. The second check is done under conditions where all zombie characters with detachable heads would pass the check too, meaning that it's likely the Uplink was able to be used against all zombies at some point before the feature was cut.

Lights Out Minigame

The Lights Out Minigame was a cut minigame that was originally pitched to be used in place of the pipe solving minigame. Programmed by Charlie Cole, people played the prototype but it wasn't received well. This minigame was scrapped in favor of the pipe minigame after Hasit Zala (Team Leader) showed the team his first published game from a magazine which was the pipes game written in basic. This lead the team to move towards the pipe minigame over Lights Out.

There are still references left in the code for the Lights Out minigame but much of it has been stripped out. It has been left in a non-functional state and is not accessible in-game.

Unused Game Modes

Six unused game modes exist:

One on One
Flame Tag
Regeneration
Leech
Escort
Possession (game mode function no longer exists)

Unused game mode descriptions left in the game:

Regeneration. Health regenerates!
One on One (no description)
Possession (no description)
Escort. Protect the V.I.P.
Flame Tag. If you get tagged and set on fire, pass it on as fast as possible!
Leech. Health can be gained by inflicting damage on other contenders!

Out of these game modes, only Regeneration appears to work. You can apply the following GameShark / CodeBreaker code for the NTSC-U PlayStation 2 version of this game to enter the modes:

Enable Code (for console only)
90575698 0C15D54E
Unused Game Mode Enabler
D066EE82 0000FAFF
006B4E06 00000001
D066EE82 0000F9FF
006B4E06 0000000B
D066EE82 0000F3FF
006B4E06 0000000D
D066EE82 0000FBFD
006B4E06 0000000E
D066EE82 0000FBFB
006B4E06 00000011

With the above code on, press one of the following button combinations after selecting a game mode in Arcade to force the unused game mode of your choice:

• L1+L2 = One on One
• L1+R2 = Flame Tag
• L1+R1 = Regeneration
• L1+L3 = Leech
• L1+R3 = Escort

• 

  Regeneration game mode.

• 

  One on One game mode. It doesn't appear to properly function.

• 

  Leech game mode. It's unclear if this mode properly functions.

• 

  Flame tag game mode. It semi works. It has a HUD icon in the top middle of the screen when starting a match, however nobody starts out as tagged.

• 

  Escort game mode. It has no levels associated with it and the game mode doesn't appear to properly function.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Oddly enough, the final game still makes mention of One on One, with a loading screen line asking "Have you played One on One yet?", even though no one ever has.

Unused Cheats

A few unused cheats are left in the game. These cheats were once in the cheat menu from the main menu, however they are no longer a part of it:

Infinity Ammo
Invincible
Skating
(blank spot)

It appears Skating and the fourth cheat are no longer present in the game. However, the following GameShark / CodeBreaker codes can re-enable Infinity Ammo and Invincible:

Enable Infinity Ammo
20622048 00000001
Enable Invincible 
20622060 00000001

Another odd unused cheat that makes the player (and enemies) only die from pistol whips, hand-to-hand combat, or explosives can be re-enabled with this code:

Cannot Die From Bullets (including enemies)
2062206C 00000001

There are five more unused cheats. Only one of them functions, which makes the player invisible. The other four unfortunately no longer function as the game never checks the spot in RAM if the addresses are set or not. Every time a map loads they are set to zero. Enable invisibility with this code:

Enable Invisibility
2062205C 00000001

(Source: Codemaster (Invisible & Invincible cheat).)

(Source: Punk7890 (Cannot Die From Bullets, Infinity Ammo).)

Unused Audio

There are various sound files stored in the game's "sounds_e.pak" that go unused.

The Impersonator

Pain and death sounds for a character from TimeSplitters 2 called The Impersonator. Unfortunately he didn't get to appear in Future Perfect and so all that remains are his character select image and his sound files.

Mansion of Madness

Cut Scientist Dialogue

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Take this gun, I'm no good with it anyway."	Shows that the scientist was originally going to give the player a weapon. Possibly the revolver which is found in the previous room in the final game.
	"S-Stay back! Oh. Oh I thought you were one of them. Listen, we've brought the dead back to life. It was supposed to be the first step to immortality but for most of us it had the... opposite effect."	This line shows that this scientist filled the role of the removed scientist below.
	"Maybe you can do something. Take this. It's a prototype I was working on. It can help you against the zombies and maybe... other things. Good luck."	Ditto.

This dialogue would be spoken by the scientist clinging to a tree the player must save from the worm creatures. The latter two lines suggest this scientist would originally be in a different location and fill the role of the removed scientist below.

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Thank god! I thought you were one of them! Listen, there isn't much time. There's a secret research lab beneath this mansion."
	"That's where we created some of these...things. But it wasn't supposed to be like this. Then other creatures appeared from deep underground."
	"They attacked the lab and all hell broke loose! You have to go down there and destroy the facility!"
	"Seal it off so that nothing can escape. These creatures must be contained. The entrance is through the kitchen."
	"Here, take this prototype. I developed it in my spare time. It should be useful against the zombies. I'm gonna try to make it out."	Suggests there was a special weapon to use against zombies that was cut.
	"Good luck!"

This dialogue seems like it would be spoken by a scientist near the end of the level. The player was going to receive a special weapon to use against zombies here. This weapon may have been cut from the game or re-purposed as the Injector.

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Help! Help us! We're being slaughtered in here!"
	"Quick! In here! I'll hold them off! They don't like this stuff!"	Could potentially be related to the weapon that was removed from this level.
	"I dunno who you are but you shouldn't be here! If you're smart you'll get as far away from this place as you can!"
	"Not that you look particularly smart..."
	"Oh no! Empty!"

This dialogue doesn't have a clear place in the level but it's quite obvious what is going on. The "this stuff" the scientist is talking about could suggest that the weapon you were to receive in this level was the Injector.

Cut Objective

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Fire is nature's sword, it destroys the unnatural."	Seems to be hinting to the player how to kill the ghosts seen in the first area of the level. In the final game this is done by Anya.
	"There are things here which should not be. They have disturbed my rest. You must destroy them."
	"I will help you! When I can."
	"There are dead walking. Their numbers swelling. You must stop them."
	"My spirit is attached to certain objects. Return them to their resting place to give me peace."	Seems to suggest there was originally an objective involving helping this ghost.
	"Please! You must help me! Find my body! Drive out the demon that inhabits it and give me peace at last! I will guide you when I can."	Suggests that this quest was later altered from fetching objects to killing a demon, something which would fit in the game much better.
	"Please! You must help me! A demon has me prisoner! It torments my soul. Please free me! Save me from eternal suffering! I will guide you when I can but you must hurry."	Seems to be an alternate version of the previous line.
	"Beware this place. This house holds many dangers. I will give you what help I can but I am weak. In exchange, you must find my body and destroy the demon that has possessed it. Only then will I find peace and the curse of this house will be finally lifted."	Seems to be yet another, even longer variation of the two previous lines.
	"This body is mine and after your souls have danced in the fires of hell for a thousand years it will still be mine."	Dialogue for the demon the player would need to destroy in this mission.

This dialogue would appear to be related to unused objectives involving a ghost. It would appear that this was originally to bring objects to the ghost's resting place but was changed to killing a demon to free the ghost (something much more fitting for the game's gameplay). The only possible remnants of this quest in the game is the child ghost that appears in this mission who is hostile in the final game.

What Lies Below

Cortez Dialogue

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"All this meeting myself hurts my brain."

U-Genius, U-Genix

Anya

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Cortez, the disguise isn't enough on its own. You still need a security pass to open this door."	Leftover from when the ID Card was on the desk across from the uniform, would have been said by either Anya or Amy when leaving the Residential Area while in disguise. In the final game, the player gets the disguise and the pass at the same time.
	"You're going to need to take care of the mutants on those operating benches too. Rather you than me."	In the final game, the player only needs to kill the hostile mutants. Killing the mutants on the operating benches is optional.
	"There must be another way..."	Relating to the above line, this would likely play if the player opted to use the operating machine to kill the mutants.
	"This elevator won't move without the proper access codes.."	Anya originally had Amy Chen's voice actress.

These cut Anya lines suggest some minor changes that happened to the level during development.

The Hooded Man

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"We've gotta hold out till they come jump on that gun emplacement and lay down suppressing fire!"
	"Our hooded friend took out the mothership! Incredible!"	In the final game, the soldiers are not aware that you are helping them.
	"Good work Cortez! Come on man, move out!"
	"The 'splitter mothership's destroyed! That means no more enemy reinforcements! We can do this!"

All of these barring the second appear to be alternate lines for the soldiers in this mission. In the final game the soldiers just re-use dialogue from the first level.

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Home sweet home. I better find that squad."

This line seems to be spoken by the Cortez the player is controlling, something which never happens in the game.

Mars Prison

Audio File	Transcript	Notes
	"Breach the prison wall."
	"Defend the prison wall."
	"The attackers have breached the prison wall."
	"Scanning."	It's not obvious where this would be used.
	"Override security system."
	"Defend computer terminals."
	"Access granted."
	"The attackers have compromised the security system."
	"Secure the barracks."
	"Defend the barracks."
	"The attackers have occupied the barracks.."
	"Deactivate prison lockdown."
	"Maintain prison lockdown."
	"The attackers have gained access to the cells."
	"Assassinate the prisoner."
	"Defend the prisoner."

These lines are for the assault gamemode on the Mars Prison map. It seems that these announcer lines were recorded especially for it; however, in the final game the default announcer is used.

Oddities

"Mark 1 Sentinel"

The flying robot enemies seen at the end of "U-Genius, U-Genix" and throughout "Something to Crow About", while extremely similar, are in fact different enemies with different behavior and models. Interestingly, the variation used in "U-Genius, U-Genix" is actually given a name in the game's files, being labelled as the "Mark 1 Sentinel". Meanwhile, the version used in "Something to Crow About" is simply named "Flyingrobot". These names are never seen in-game as both enemies are named as "R-100 Series" fighters.

Mansion of Madness AI Navigation Oddity

In the AI navigation data for "Mansion of Madness", the first room of the level has AI navigation nodes going up and to a door to the left that's boarded up despite no AI characters ever even going up those stairs at all. This was likely where the player would have went for the alternate path when the level was more ambitious and had 2 paths the player could choose.

largedownloads.ea.com

The binary file for this game contains a series of URLs. One is: largedownloads.ea.com/pub/misc/TSFP/

It turns out that this URL pointed to a directory listing, which was active for many years. There were a series of files present:

[TXT] news_test.txt           08-Apr-2005 09:30   79   
[TXT] recc_maps.txt           08-Apr-2005 09:29  511   
[   ] test.bin                19-Jan-2005 09:43    4   
[   ] us_patch_test.bin       27-Jan-2005 12:25  3.1M  
[TXT] us_patch_test_versio..> 27-Jan-2005 11:42    3   

All of these files look like tests, and indeed include the word 'test' in their name. Recc_maps.txt seems to be related to mapmaker levels and contains strings like this:

10356
Map 1
Bob
Here is some text about map 10356.

Revisional Differences

Ghost Colours

To do: Get a picture for comparison. I think there are similar colouring differences in other places.

The PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions of the game feature white ghosts whereas the Xbox version of the game has red ghosts.

Loading Screen Effects

GameCube	PlayStation 2 and Xbox

The GameCube version of the game has a ripple effect on loading screens while the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions use much simpler waving effects.

Mansion of Madness Beetles

In the PlayStation 2 version of the game, the number of beetles you fight in Mansion of Madness is massively reduced (quartered in singleplay and halved in cooperative) for performance reasons.

Mansion of Madness Fog

To do: Pictures.

In the PlayStation 2 and Xbox releases of the game, the level Mansion of Madness has a subtle ambient fog effect. This was removed in the GameCube release.

It can be restored with an Action Replay code:

04467d1c 00000006

Update 1.1

The Xbox version of the game received a small update that would allow the player to sign into Xbox Live when playing Challenges and enable leaderboards for the Challenges.