Blast Chamber (PlayStation)

Blast Chamber
Also known as: Kyuu Bakku: Ningen Bakudan Sports (JP) Developer: Attention To Detail Publisher: Activision Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: December 27, 1996 Released in US: September 30, 1996 Released in EU: November 15, 1996 This game has unused areas. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused text. This game has regional differences. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

Blast Chamber is a 3D puzzle action game where up to four players are trapped in a rotatable cube-shaped chamber, fighting each other in order to survive (or just die the least times) using the environment's numerous traps and powerups to their advantage.

You have a timebomb strapped to your chest. The clock is ticking. Your goal is to survive.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Unused Levels

The AIMAPS, BINARYM2 and BINARYM3 directories contain files for three multiplayer chambers that were axed late during development.

Cover Up

"Cover Up" (CUBE05M) features, per face, a single pit door and platform that covers the reactor once stepped on. Available powerups include Mercuries and Crystal Bombs. The A.I. is mostly functional, but are unable to jump and trigger the platform.

Use the following GameShark code to restore "Cover Up" (replaces "Hang Time"):

North America	Europe	Japan
8001158F 3530 30011CE3 0032 80011CE9 3530	80013DD3 3530 30011A27 0032 80011A2D 3530	80013D9F 3530 30011A0F 0032 80011A15 3530

Elevators

"Elevators" (CUBE11M) features a pair of four-spike groups on either the upper or lower corners of each face, along with a platform the player must step on in order to be elevated and reach the reactor. Available powerups include Hi-Jumps and Timebombs. The A.I. once again struggles with platforms, this time trying to jump on the elevators from the front, hitting the goal's platform from below in the process.

Use the following GameShark code to restore "Elevators" (replaces "Revolution"):

North America	Europe	Japan
8001154F 3131 30011C93 0032 80011C99 3131	80013D93 3131 300119D7 0032 800119DD 3131	80013D5F 3131 300119BF 0032 800119C5 3131

Lava Leap

"Lava Leap" (CUBE26M) features a pair of spikes on the upper corners of the face, a small lava pit and a trigger-controlled platform above it where the crystal spawns. Available powerups include Crystal Magnets, Paralyzers and Psy-bombs. The A.I. does not attempt to use the platforms, but may pick up Crystal Magnets to obtain the crystal.

Use the following GameShark code to restore "Lava Leap" (replaces "Wind of Death"):

North America	Europe	Japan
8001151F 3632 30011C57 0033 80011C5D 3632	80013D63 3632 3001199B 0033 800119A1 3632	80013D2F 3632 30011983 0033 80011989 3632

Unused Menu Text

Found in TEXT.ENG is a number of text strings that aren't used anywhere in the game's menus:

WELL DONE !
TIME'S UP
PAUSE
ƒ - CONTINUE
RESTART CHAMBER
 LIVES LEFT
PRESS START TO CONTINUE
YOU MADE IT... YOU'RE ALIVE
YOU CHEATED... YOU'RE OUTTA HERE
PICK A COLOUR TO BURN IN
WHO ELSE LIKES IT HOT
READY
WELL?
PRESS ƒ TO JOIN
UNUSED PRESS …
UNUSED PRESS ‚
DRAW GAME
MOST ROUNDS WON:
LEAST DEATHS, ENTIRE TOURNAMENT
PLAY AGAIN?
AVERYLONGCUBENAMEINDEED

Debug Messages

Messages presumed to be displayed on a debug console can be found scattered at the beginning of the main executable (specifically, at 0x800):

Starting Main Loop
%d
Freed Active list 
%d
Freed DataStart list 
%d
No Memory For PauseTGA
1:%d
InitPlayer 1:%d
InitPlayer 2:%d
InitPlayer 3:%d
Players Inited:%d
Crystal Created and Inited:%d
Crystal Shadow Created and Inited:%d
Crystal Setup Complete:%d
PowerUps Inited:%d
Timers Created and Inited:%d
Timers Positioned:%d
Mobiles Unpacked:%d
Platforms initialised:%d
Switches initialised:%d
Fire Trails initialised:%d
Fire Lengths calculated:%d
Crumblies inited:%d
Fans inited:%d
Cages inited:%d
Object Size:%d
Free Memory:%d
Players Unlinked:%d
Restarting CD track:%d
Invalid Path, references point:%d
  Oops
No such Button, num:%d
More than 8 stood on:%d
Not Enough Crumbly space
Adding Crumbly:%d
More than 8 stood on:%d
LoopCount:%d
To Many Front Walls
%d 
Frags:%d 
Too Many Sidewalls
UnFiddled:%d,
Fiddled:%d,
Error Score:%d
Error Cube:%d
Error Lives:%d
Invalid CheckSum:%d
Invalid LastBits:%d
To high a level, error in password:%d
To high a Score, error in password:%d
Invalid Level Number:%d
SetViewFrame failed
RHS=%d
x=%d
minentry=%d
topentry=%d
Rentry=%d
Lentry=%d
fentry=%d
bentry=%d
ªª
Generating Stair Lookup Table:%d
Invalid parent number
Not Enough Cage slots
Too Many Cage Components
Added Cage:%d
To many Powerups
PowerUp without Type
Stopped Getting Powerup Cos Dead:%d
No Such Powerup:default
To Many Transmitters for Swap Function
NumAlive:%d,   player:%d
Time:%d
opts.winner:%d
Wid:%d Dep:%d
Quit calc3dzaptar ABNORMALLY
No Points Used
Controller Removed!%d
LangFileName:%s
filename = %s
close failed:%d
open failed, fd = %d
file creation failed:%d
Open failed, filename = %s
read failed, %d
checksum failed, %d
Memory For DataBlock:%d
*
Unformatted card on OverwriteBCBlock:%d
File Saved Successfully:%d
Unformatted card on readMCdata:%d
No Memory for ReadMCData malloc
Error Reading:%d
Error in data i:%d  MCData:%d  PSXData:%d
Error Reading for load config:%d
Error Reading for Save config%:d
Error Writing for save config:%d
Error Reading for high score merge:%d
Error Writing for merge hiscores:%d
Error Reading for Stat merge:%d
Error Writing for merge stats%:d
Error Reading for loadpslevel:%d
No Data There:%d
SAVED GAME %d
Error Reading for saveSPlevel:%d
Error Writing for splevel:%d
Error Reading for deleteSPlevel:%d
Red :%d  Green :%d  Blue :%d
Size of Bmp Header:%d
bad ASCII code 0x%x
Called MoveToKickPlate!%d
AIHeader Malloc Failed!
AIPaths Malloc Failed!
%03hd: 
Called Sensible in MoveToSurface%d
#%3d : (%3d, %3d)-
(%3d, %3d), %3d: 
obj : %p
AIHeader at %p
AIPaths at %p
Green  Zone : %d
Blue	Zone : %d
Red	 Zone : %d
Yellow Zone : %d
Maximum Surfaces = %d
	  Clockwise %2d : 
(%3d, %3d, %3d)
Anti-Clockwise %2d : 
	 One-Eighty %2d : 
	 Switch %2d : 
 %3d
p[%3d]=%3d : 
%s
f[%3d]=%3d : 
Done...
%5d:%14s: 
%d:%02d
%7d
Winner Green:%d
Winner Blue:%d
Winner Red:%d
Winner Yellow:%d
%2d

Regional Differences

Title Screen

In Japan, Blast Chamber was marketed under the title Kyuu Bakku: Ningen Bakudan Sports, with the title screen following suit:

North America & Europe	Japan

Options Menu

The North American version of the game includes a trailer for Time Commando on the Options menu. Since that game wasn't published by Activision in Europe and Japan, this is absent from those versions.

North America	Europe & Japan