User:NeoDement/Prerelease:Creatures

This page details pre-release information and/or media for NeoDement.

This page has information gathered from several sources, and is broken up into appropriate sections.

currently only deals with the tutorial video present on the original CD releases of Creatures. It's a pretty useful resource though, being approximately 9 minutes of clear footage from an older version (or multiple older versions) of the game.

The video itself can be seen below:

TODO

(start of french youtube video)

lift, lift string and call button are completely missing

teleporter and learning computer are missing

the lower floor used to be a few pixels higher, causing the room to be less tall. the table legs used to be less tall, as did the pipe connecting the furnace to the extraction system.

the oven also used to be higher up and seemed to have some pots and pans on it.

the foreground pipe in front of the sofa featured on the upper floor is not yet present in the early image.

there is an open door leading inside the house (this door is non-existent in the final game).

the clock is positioned a little lower and further to the right on the pre-release image. the clock also appears to be very slightly larger and possibly differently colored, with a noticably longer pendulum.

• mention that the prototype ron norns are missing the angry facial expression, other emotions are missing! also the sad (with eyes closed) frames are swapped with the sad (with eyes open) frames, causing the norn to always have its eyes closed while sad, unless it is blinking, asleep, or dead. different coloured eyelids. occasional minor shading differences.
• unused code for tails!
• add angry faces for ALL BREEDS to main page!
• src code refers to shee as "side"

• unused gene extensions, gext, for pigment rotation. this is in fact a version difference and needs to be investigated as such...

• purple mountain norn eye and ear colours are inconsistent, eyes turn green when they face camera

• unused necro something gene description in .gno file

• There are possibly duplicate carrot sprites. main page.
• ADD STUFF FOUND IN KITS USING RESOURCE EDIT TO MAIN PAGE!
• ADD PRERELEASE AND RETAIL SOUND COMPARISON CLIPS!
• add info about hotairballoon. the sprites of the final object exist in the wild released as a mod, but it is unknown how the modder acquired them. it can be seen in magazines and the creatures strategy guide.
• add info about hand. it used to have a more human/photographic look and can be seen in an old french advertisement video for creatures 1, or in an old magazine in a pet's eye view window.
• add odd image of owners kit which reads "THIS IS THE TOPS!"
• add section noting the extreme size difference between grendels in the earlier versions of the game. they used to be HUGE! also female ones were present, which will need to be mentioned and linked from the main page.
• add section noting the differences between the earlier version of the sub bay. this can be seen in the portfolio of that guy who worked on the creatures background model (artificial*lens?) and in a magazine article.
• same probably applies to the beach island changes.
• older versions of the health and science kit from magazine articles. done, but there may be older...
• check over articles and advertisement videos again with a fine tooth comb.
• document the strange prototype norns seen in the creatures strategy guide.
• write some little articles about creatures 2 to get the ball rolling... early prototype purple mountain norns, standable rocks to left of incubator room/temple, etc. main page can at least mention a few unused sprites.
• is the intro video seen at the start of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YmCyRCJbak&t=64s exactly the same as the one in the final game? probably, but let's check.

a different version of the entrance to the house can be seen, with an open wooden door: https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=54

an earlier version of the hand cursor can be seen (clock may also be different?): https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=58

an earlier (broken?) version of the refridgerator can be seen, along with a lack of teleporter, lift and possibly animating fireplace. p sure the clock is larger. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=67

an earlier version of the science kit Decisions page, featuring icons that still exist in the final kits when opened with a resource editor and four N/A drives. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=95

an earlier version of some other kit page, again featuring icons that are hidden in the final kit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YmCyRCJbak&t=64s

another early kit (science kit injector?) showing a different interface with coloured circles and what looks like an early version of the injector kit icon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YmCyRCJbak&t=64s

an original working version of the blackboard object, which pre-dates the computer! an alternate version of this can also be seen in the prototype world background. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=120

a weird broken version of the fireplace anim: https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=125 https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=199 https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=256

differently sized eggs in the hatchery: https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=129

maaaybe some world background differences can be seen in the bg here: https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=145

old sub bay layout, old submarine position, norn saying Ouch! (debug mode) and another look at the old hand sprite and animations. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=155

another look at the old hand sprite, and an earlier less colourful version of the drum object. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=159

messed up body data: https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=199

a look at older lift call buttons, and the hand again. is that lift larger and not aligned correctly? maybe. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=204

radio on non-existent platform in final game. norn drawing in front of pole. https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=213

pots and pans on the stove?? https://youtu.be/2YmCyRCJbak?t=247

this footage from a different video (advertising Creatures 2) also includes some pre-release footage of Creatures 1, showing the Bed Time Bear, again on a non-existent shelf in the final game: https://youtu.be/AF-kMeB6ImA?t=5

Lighthouse Area Notes

• Flipped porthole directions inside main body of lighthouse.

• Less distance between the portholes inside the corridor leading from the lighthouse to the well.

• The entire bottom part of the scene is moved upwards, causing the lighthouse support structs to be squashed vertically.

• Differently positioned pieces of Shee statue wreckage.

• MANY color grading and lighting changes over the whole image, resulting in a much bluer sea and very different shadows and highlights.

• The glass windows on the very top floor of the lighthouse

• The mountain and trees behind the well are placed differently.

• The room beneath the well holding the treasure chest appears to be flooded!

• The lift mechanism is present.

• The moon is positioned differently.

• The pulley to the left of the image is shaded differently.

• Some changes to the walls of the main lighthouse room.

• A microscope is visible on the middle floor of the lighthouse.

...and most intriguingly of all, some prototype/placeholder norns seem to be present!

It appears that these models were used as reference for the Original Norn. A re-assembly of the original sprites positioned mostly using data from the official Ron Norns, laid over the top of this image has some striking similarities.

TODO! get images of this assembled original norn...

These were most likely for sprite size reference when laying out the images.

Header 1

Object Differences

Some of the objects seen in the video act or appear differently than they do in the finished game, and some of them aren't in the finished game at all!

• At 0:24, the helicopter toy stays sprung down for noticably longer before it springs back up.
• At 0:49, a refrigerator can be seen that is not present in the finished game at all. It is absent in some parts of the footage however, perhaps suggesting the footage wasn't all recorded on the same version. The graphics, sounds, and even scripts are still present in the finished game.

• Also at 0:49, an earlier design for the learning computer can be seen. The buttons are laid out completely differently, and aren't labelled at all. It's a pretty safe bet it was changed because it was too confusing to figure out how it worked.

Early	Final

• At 3:15, the Norn that hatches from the egg stays in the incubator for a while before the incubator opens to release it. The incubator animation continues for a bit longer too.

• At 6:55, the submarine doesn't yet have the directional buttons. It also stops moving in a much lower position than it does in the finished game.

Early	Final

• At 7:33, the Bed Time Bear can be seen. This object wasn't in the finished game, although the graphic it uses was still included. It was eventually added back to the game officially in Creatures Life Kit #1.

World Differences

Some of the static objects in the world, such as teleporters or plants are positioned differently (or possibly completely absent) in some parts of the video.

• At 0:49, carrots can be seen stacked on top of the sofa next to the computer. These are not present in the finished game, nor is the sofa set up as a shelf allowing you to recreate this.

• Also at 0:49, the teleporter usually seen to the right of the learning computer above the kitchen is absent. It exists in some parts of the footage however, perhaps suggesting the footage wasn't all recorded on the same version.

Early	Final

• At 2:02, the garden is differently arranged from how it is in the finished game. The "Gentian" flower is in front of the lemons, instead of on the other side of the bridge below the treehouse.

Early	Final

At 6:30, the hooch distillery is a bit further to the right than it is in the finished game.

Early	Final

• Also at 6:30, the raft, waterfall and harp are all absent.

Early	Final

• At 6:31, the tomato plant is absent, and the lift has stopped in a slightly lower position than it does in the finished game. It would also appear the lifts in this version of the game are slightly smaller than the ones used in the finished game.

Early	Final

• At 6:36, the wind sock and flag pole usually seen at the top of the lighthouse are absent.

Early	Final

• At 6:38, the teleporter usually seen on the canopy above the beach is absent. The platform is also extended a bit in the finished game.

Early	Final

• At 6:40, the fish bowl is slightly further to the right than it is in the finished game.

Early	Final

• At 6:58, numerous differences are visible. The lift call button and pulley mechanism is absent. The radio and umbrella are further to the left than they are in the finished game, and the trees in the background are arranged differently. It appears the entire right side of the beach was rearranged and elongated to accomodate for the lift added here in the finished game.

Early	Final

• At 8:40, a teleporter is present on the top floor of the lighthouse, to the right of the telescope. It is absent in other parts of the footage however, perhaps suggesting the footage wasn't all recorded on the same version.

Early	Final

UI Differences

• At 1:06, the "Which is my Norn" text displayed when hovering over that button instead says "Identify subject".

Early	Final

• At 1:19, the "File" dropdown menu can be seen. "Export current creature" and "Import creature" are both not yet present.

Early	Final

Owners Kit

At 5:09, an earlier version of the Owners Kit can be seen. It features several differences:

• The Kit has icons for the different tabs instead of the words "Register the birth", "Photo Album" and "Certificate".
• The "Register the birth" page is laid out differently, and again has no text next to the icons.
• The "age (hh:mm)" field is absent.

Early	Final

Early	Final

At 6:00, the "Certificate" page can be seen, with a few differences:

• The "Mother" and "Father" fields are replaced with simply "Parents".
• The "Date" field says "Today" rather than actually stating the current date.
• The "Time" field at the bottom left of the certificate isn't yet present.

Early	Final

At 6:08, the 'Photo Album" page can be seen, with a few differences:

• The "Save as", "Delete", "Take Photo", "Back" and "Next" buttons are all unlabelled and just use icons.
• The photo frame seems to be slightly wider.

Early	Final

Creature Graveyard

At 8:08, an earlier version of the Creature Graveyard can be seen. It features several differences:

• It only displayed the date the norn lived from and to, the time is absent.
• The background of the page is completely different. This version of the background was accidentally included in some versions of the game and can be seen in full on the main article.
• The layout of the page is different. The "Make Headstone" button is to the right of the text box instead of at the bottom left of the page, and the text box itself is less wide to accomodate the different background image. The text box also covers the entire plaque rather than expanding as the player types.
• The music played while the kit is open is completely different. A heart beat sound is present.

Early	Final

Performance Kit

At 8:24, an earlier version of the Performance Kit can be seen. It features several differences:

• The "Performance page" tab uses an icon instead of text, much like the Owner's Kit.
• On the "Performance page", the counter graphic seen underneath each piece of text wasn't implemented yet, and a different font was used.
• The text "Incubator Eggs" was changed to "Hatchery Eggs" in the finished version of the game.
• The scrollbar seen underneath the page of icons is absent.
• The "Breeders Score" is higher up the page and laid out differently, and is also represented with text instead of a counter graphic.

Early	Final

Health Kit

In an article Artificial-Intelligence-July-1996.pdf, an earlier version of the Health Kit can be seen. It features several differences:

• The window used to be titled "Name" instead of "Health Kit - " and then the name of the actively selected creature.
• The unnamed cover tab was explicitly labelled "Cover". This is the only tab in the final game to have an icon.
• The "Fitness page" tab used to be labelled "Fitness".
• The "Drives and needs" tab used to be labelled "State".
• The "Brain activity" tab used to be labelled "Brain".
• The "Doctor's page" tab was missing entirely.
• The brain image visible on the "Brain" tab used to be cropped differently and has some kind of pattern in the negative space of the image.
• A Help icon was present next to the Exit button, in the top right
• The Close button in the bottom right of the kit is absent.

Early	Final

Additionally, all of the the tabs have unique icons. In fact, these icons can all still be found inside the final "Health Kit.exe" included with Creatures 1: TODO: Extract and upload all the icons and put them in a table on this article and the main article.

Drives And Needs Tab

In PC_Zone_43_Creatures%20(4).pdf another version of the Health Kit can be seen, this one tuned to the "Drives and needs" tab. The following differences are present:

• Each tab is represented only by an icon, with no text being present. They are ordered the same way as the released game, except that the "Doctor's page" tab is missing entirely.
• The shading on the bar images is much flatter, and they generally lack detail.
• The cursor is represented as an ][ rather than an | type shape.

Early	Final

Science Kit

In an article Artificial-Intelligence-July-1996.pdf, an earlier version of the Science Kit can be seen. It features several differences:

• The unnamed cover tab was explicitly labelled "Cover". This is the only tab in the final game to have an icon.

• The "Biochemistry" tab used to be labelled "Monitor".

• The "Genetics" tab used to be labelled "Chromosone".

• The "Brain scanner" tab used to be labelled "Brain", and was the fourth tab, rather than the third.

• The "Injections" tab was missing entirely.

• The activity dots on the brain image seen on the "Brain" tab do not seem to be properly mapped to the image of the brain, with several of them appearing "out of bounds" in the top left of the image.

• Additionally, the brain image visible on the "Brain" tab does not yet seem to have a grid overlay.

• There is some UI present at the bottom of the "Brain" tab, including some sort of bar readout and a dropdown with the current option reading "discomfort".

Early	Final

Additionally, all of the the tabs have unique icons. In fact, these icons can all still be found inside the final "Health Kit.exe" included with Creatures 1: TODO: Extract and upload all the icons and put them in a table on this article and the main article.

Genetics Tab

In Power-of-Life-November-1997.pdf, another version of the Science Kit can be seen, this one tuned to the "Genetics" tab. The following differences are present:

• Each tab is represented only by an icon, with no text being present. They are ordered the same way as the released game.
• The entire "Genetics" tab is laid out completely differently. The Next button is not present at all.

Early	Final

Biochemistry Tab

In PC_Zone_43_Creatures%20(4).pdf another version of the Science Kit can be seen, this one tuned to the "Biochemistry" tab. The following differences are present:

• Each tab is represented only by an icon, with no text being present. They are ordered the same way as the released game.
• The buttons and dropowns are laid out differently. The "Themes" groupbox is missing entirely.
• The maximum graph value is represented as 256 rather than MAX.
• The chemical names are all represented as lower case. The final game uses proper capitalization. "nfp" has been renamed to "Need for Pleasure".

Early	Final

Creature's View

Seen in "Artificial-Intelligence-July-1996" is an earlier version of the Creature's View window.

The only difference is that the titlebar reads "Pet's Eye View" instead of "View - " and the name of your currently selected creature.

Early	Final

Sound Differences

There are numerous differences to the sounds heard in the video compared to the sounds heard in the finished game.

• Throughout the entire video, an earlier version of "Norn speak" can be heard. The sounds used here are actually still present in the finished game.
• At 0:19, an earlier Norn snoring sound can be heard.
• At 2:14, an earlier Norn shivering sound appears to be heard. The game window can't actually be seen at this point in the footage however, so it's impossible to say for certain.
• At 2:19, an earlier Norn sneezing sound appears to be heard. The game window can't actually be seen at this point in the footage however, so it's impossible to say for certain.
• At 3:23, as the Norn exits the incubator, the usual BING! sound used in the finished game is absent.
• At 3:35, a different tickling sound can be heard. It's a bit more soft sounding than the one used in the finished game.
• Also at 3:35, the Norn laughing sound seems to cut off earlier than it does in the finished game.
• At 3:40, a different smacking sound can be heard. It's a bit less soft sounding than the one used in the finished game.
• At 4:01, a different eating sound can be heard. It sounds like the creature is taking several small bites in quick succession rather than one big bite.
• At 4:20, a different sound can be heard when the teleporter is used. It's shorter and a bit differently pitched.
• At 4:26, a slightly different sound can used when the lift is used. It seems to have a droning sound played quietly beneath the sound used in the finished game, giving it a more mechanical feel.
• At 4:48, a different ambience can be heard in the underwater dome.
• At 7:21, a different sound can be heard when the learning computer is used.