Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair (GameCube)

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair
Also known as: Dragon's Lair 3D: Special Edition (EU) Developer: Dragonstone Publishers: Encore Software, Inc. (US), THQ (EU) Platform: GameCube Released in US: December 22, 2002 Released in EU: March 26, 2004 This game has unused animations. This game has hidden developer credits. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused models. This game has a hidden level select.

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

The classic 2D-animated, quick time event-based arcade game gets reimagined as a 3D action-adventure platformer. It works better than you'd think.

Level Select

Action Replay code CJ84-YJ24-RNRAT EKGW-6EXN-MYV0J will enable a level select in the PAL version, accessible by choosing "Gallery" in the main menu.

To do: Codes for NTSC-U version.

Unused Models

To do: Pictures/GIFs.

Included in the game's "Actors" folder is dema.act, one of the premade actors that comes with the Genesis3D engine.

Developer's Notes

Several of the game's .ini files contain notes from the developers.

Credits/Legal Info

Most of the .ini files have messages like this one at the beginning.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// message.ini
// File containing strings for the user to read
// Written by Eugene Foss, August 2000
//
// This unpublished source code contains trade secrets and copyrighted materials which are the
// property of Dragonstone Software Inc. (http://www.dragonstone.com).  Unauthorized use, copying or
// distribution without the expressed written permission of Dragonstone Software Inc. is a
// violation of U.S. and international laws and is strictly prohibited.
//
// Copyright (C) 2000 Dragonstone Software Inc.
//
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

bitmap.ini

//
// syntax:
// list <TEXTURE ALIAS> string { <RGB TEXTURE NAME>, <ALPHA TEXTURE NAME>, <TEXTURE CLAMPING>, <GAMECUBE TEXTURE FORMAT>}
//
// Texture Clamping value can be TRUE or leave empty if you don't want texture to be clamped.
//
// GameCube Texture format field can be CMPR, RGB5A3, RGBA8. If there is no any problem with the texture quality
// on the GC then it should be CMPR. RGB5A3 and especialy RGBA8 texture formats should be used very carefully.
// You can use these formats only if CMPR format doesn't satisfy visual quality. If you planning to use
// RGBA8 texture format for some reason please first talk with Eugene or me.
//

Notes about texture compression. While "Eugene" obviously refers to the aforementioned Eugene Foss, it is unknown who the other developer is.

sound.ini

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//  LevelSounds                                                        //
//                                                                     //
//  This part of the file gives sound files a "name" so they can be    //
//  played from triggers within a level.  When a level loads, its      //
//  "PlaySound" messages are searched for these sounds, and they are   //
//  pre-loaded.                                                        //
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A message explaining the "LevelSounds" section.

list Providers string { "Creative Labs EAX (TM)",
                        "Aureal A3D 2.0 (TM)",
                        "Aureal A3D Interactive (TM)",
                        "DirectSound3D Hardware Support",
//                        "RAD Game Tools RSX 3D Audio",
                        "Miles Fast 2D Positional Audio"
//                        "DirectSound3D 7+ Software - Full HRTF",
//                        "DirectSound3D 7+ Software - Light HRTF",
//                        "DirectSound3D 7+ Software - Pan and Volume",
//                        "Dolby Surround"
 }

Credits for the audio codecs.

Test Message

message.ini contains this silly string under the heading "R&D Medallion Test":

Wuzzz Uppp!!!

SDK Leftovers

The "axdemo" folder from the GameCube SDK is leftover in the game's files. Said folder also contains subfolders titled "compressor" and "dpl2", which seem to be for texture compression and audio, respectively.

The default SDK MIDIs are also present.