User talk:Sketch

TCRF

Hey there, just a reminder that TCRF only covers unused content that can still be found inside the game code. You can read more at the rules and guidelines page. We also have some pretty stringent image guidelines you can read up on here. Finally, I saw on your user page that you aren't very confident about making pages. Our relatively new help section should teach you all you need to know. :) --GlitterBerri 19:13, 9 February 2013 (EST)

We believe the character you're looking at on the Little Mermaid screenshot is Eric. What makes you think it looks like Triton? --GlitterBerri 19:33, 9 February 2013 (EST)

This level says you're rescuing Prince Eric (If you look at the back of the box where the screenshot is). Eric did not have mermaid fins in ANY parts of the series up to the point of this game's release- and he still has not gained them to this day. Also, Eric is NOT a blonde, but the person in the photograph IS a blonde. Eric has black hair, and always has. The person in the screenshot also own a trident, just like King Triton. Only two other people in the series have ever carried a trident, namely Melody (in the second half of the game), and Morgana (in the game's video sequences taken from the movies/films). Therefore, we can conclude it is King Triton. --Sketch 19:45, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Can you find proof inside the game's code that he was programmed for that level specifically but was left out? --GlitterBerri 19:47, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Not right now, since my disc drive isn't working. If someone else could look into it and prove it, that'd be great. I know for a fact this model of him carrying the trident is still in the game but is unused. Just try looking through the game's 3D models and find it.--Sketch 19:52, 9 February 2013 (EST)

I'm not sure if anyone has time to do that right now, so I'm moving it to your user space for the moment. You can move it back when you're able to look further into the game and make some discoveries. In the future, please only create pages when you have content to put on them, rather than placeholder articles for games whose code you haven't looked through yet. You can access the page here.--GlitterBerri 19:58, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Wait a minute. Are you sure the picture of the blond guy on the back isn't just a printing error? I checked my copy (I had it handy since I was going through my collection) and it looks like an early screenshot to me. Also, I couldn't find any TIMs in the disc, so if there's a model somewhere, I can't find it. (Also: NOT ANOTHER BLITZ GAMES GAME AGH.) // Foxhack 20:04, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Nope, it's not an error. I found a screenshot of it straight from a test version of the game on the internet, and it also had blonde hair on him. Like, the version they give the press to take screencaps for their magazines and websites. Here it is:

http://psxmedia.ign.com/media/previews2/LilMermaid/lilmermaid_1_640w.gif

See that hair on him? Totally blonde, and it's straight from the game. If there's no model, check the textures... I don't remember much, I found this a few years back. --Sketch 20:40, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Websites like IGN tend to upload screenshots released by companies. They rarely take their own screenshots. As such there is no way to prove this image came from an early build of the game. Furthermore if your claim is true, this information couldn't be used in a Little Mermaid II article anyways, since an early build is not the same as a final retail release. ~M64m 21:02, 9 February 2013 (EDT)

But... that isn't blond hair. That's his face. I see he has a black head of hair, too. Also, he's got a serious trollface in that image. (Edit: And compare this to the screenshot on the back cover, it's the same image. It's not blond hair. That's a face with black hair around it. // Foxhack 21:28, 9 February 2013 (EST)

My eyesight isn't that good, so I'm just going to go with Foxhack's idea for now. But check this out; put your disc in for this game, then open mermaid.dat and go to offset 000044C70, and it starts having text for a debug mode. Anyone know if this is dummied out or not?--Sketch 22:59, 9 February 2013 (EST)

I see it. I played the game for a bit and there's no option to change the language, so it's definitely a leftover, or something from a work in progress translation. The game was released in Europe in several languages (French, English, and Italian, possibly Germany too.) The game contains English and German, I couldn't find any evidence of other languages, despite the game being built for it. And I wasn't able to find any chat code that would open up this debug mode, so yeah, it's probably hidden away somehow. That's enough for an article. Good find. // Foxhack 23:53, 9 February 2013 (EST)

Thanks... Alright, can it be moved out of userspace now? (PS: I already asked in the IRC and no one knew, but does anyone know how to extract image files that are in a .dat file on this game? They're in mermaid.dat and it's all the textures for the game.)--Sketch 23:59, 9 February 2013 (EST)

I also looked into that. I think all 2D images and some background images can be seen in GGD in 4bpp and 8bpp mode. I didn't do a full check... I'm not sure where the game stores its palettes. But the format looks pretty simple to me despite not being a programmer. // Foxhack 00:03, 10 February 2013 (EST)

Yeah, you can move it out of userspace now. Learn how here. --GlitterBerri 19:06, 12 February 2013 (EST)

I think he's gone. >_< Dangit. // Foxhack 16:12, 21 February 2013 (EST)