Proto:Painkiller: Black Edition/PC Gamer Build

This is a sub-page of Proto:Painkiller: Black Edition.

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.

The PC Gamer Build was released as a demo in a PC Gamer magazine. There are plenty of interesting finds within this build.

General Differences

Level Arrangement

The PC Gamer build features two levels taking place in the 3rd chapter: City on Water as level 3 and the Ruins boss level as level 5. However, this is not reflective of the retail build at all. The Ruins level takes place in chapter 3, level 4 (C3L4) while City on Water takes place on chapter 5, level 1 (C5L1). It's possible that the unusual level arrangement in the build is for the sake of the demo however.

Level Design

City on Water has a few differences compared to its retail release. Upon entering the level, you only have the Minigun/Rocket Launcher and Painkiller weapons equipped. You do not start with any other weapons. In retail, you start with every weapon in this level. Despite this, you can still find numerous Stake ammo pickups around the level but there are no Shuriken or Electricity ammo pickups available. The second notable difference is the lack of a second encounter in the stairwell. In retail, upon entering the stairwell, a battle commences. Then you travel to the next arena, fight there, then go back into the stairwell and have another battle. This second battle is missing in the PC Gamer build. Lastly, the Stakegun is given halfway into the level in the arena which has the fountain. Retail Painkiller has you starting with the Stakegun in this level.

Though some of these changes can be attributed to the level being used as a demo such as the Stakegun being found midway through or the lack of other weapons, the missing encounter in the stairwell is evidently a level difference.

Menus

You cannot select the Save/Load button at all, meaning you can't even save while playing. Multiplayer is also disabled and cannot be accessed. You are also unable to select the Trauma difficulty. Despite claims from hovering over the difficulty, you cannot choose the difficulty even after beating the demo in Nightmare difficulty. You are also unable to use the Tarot Card Black Board as well and its textures are nowhere to be found in the game files.

Unused Weapons

Rifle/Grenade Launcher

The Rifle/Grenade Launcher, as suggested by its name, is a fully automatic assault rifle with a mounted grenade launcher. This weapon was ultimately cut from the retail release, leaving very little trace of its existence aside from an audio file which still exists in Painkiller: Black Edition. The weapon has many of its sounds and animations present in the PC Gamer build. However, the weapon is completely inaccessible in the regular demo. Utilizing the “giveall” console command, the Rifle/GL is capable of being held, but using it results in a crash. The weapon has an unused ammo box which was eventually re-purposed to be used as the SMG's ammo box in the Battle out of Hell expansion

Electrodriver

The amazing gun that "shoots shurikens and lightning" is completely unused in the demo as well. Despite this, the shuriken and shuriken disc projectiles are present in the game and the weapon is fully usable if given using the “giveall” command. When using the lightning weapon however, the lightning is offset from the player by a certain degree and if latched onto an enemy, will continue to deal damage even if the player moves beyond its range, effectively allowing the player to continuously deal damage without being anywhere near the enemy.

Shotgun

The shotgun is not obtainable in the demo. Though its sounds, model, and texture are not present, it is fully usable by using the “giveall” command, allowing the player to shoot its shells and freeze enemies with ease.

Music

City on Water

City on Water features an earlier version of the Docks battle music as opposed to the battle music featured in the Prison level and City on Water. The tune is a remnant of Painkiller's original idea for its battle themes, which featured heavy metal without the electronic touch used in retail's battle themes. Only one other tune from this stage in development has been found intact, which is the Monastery battle theme used in Painkiller: Redemption.

PC Gamer	Retail

Ruins

The Ruins music is identical to the retail's music, however the demo's is 1 whole second longer and sports a slightly larger file size.