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Prerelease:A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X)/2014

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This is a sub-page of Prerelease:A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X).

January 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease QuickDodgeBadge.jpg
On January 2 2014, Jonas posted screenshot of Hat Kid wearing the scrapped Quick Dodge Badge on his Tumblr.[1] Hat Kid also appears to be wearing the raincoat, even though the version of Mafia Town depicted behind her isn't Rainy Mafia Town.

On January 8 2014,[2] Jonas uploaded a brief demonstration video of a windy leaf particle effect he created. He stated that the effect would likely go unused unless the team made an autumn-themed level, which did not come to pass. This particle effect can still be found in the final game's Modding Tools, but its multi-color effect has long since been broken due to material changes.

The scene takes place in the alleyway just beyond the bell tower, and compared to the Alpha builds, there's a few minor differences.

  • The wood supports don't have black and yellow caution tape on them, yet.
  • A tree was added near the bell tower.
  • The banner hanging on the back wall changed texture.
  • Several posters were added onto the wall left of the door under the wooden supports, and the door itself was barricaded.
  • The doors don't have the number signs next to them yet.
  • A rope was added that connects two buildings beneath the bridge to Thor's workshop.
  • The door on the back wall was moved closer to the crates further down the path.


AHatIntime Prerelease HatAdultConceptArt.jpg
In celebration of the release of the Beta builds in March of 2015, Luigi Lucarelli released some concept art he did for the game, including art of Hat Adult, which is dated January 8 2014.[3]

On January 10 2014, eight new screenshots of Mafia Town were added to the game's website:[4]

AHatIntime Prerelease mafia 4.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid on the beach. The buoys and palm trees that appeared in the Alpha builds are present, but the slides are still using their Prototype designs.

AHatIntime Prerelease mafia 6.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid jumping on the newly-added grey pipe in the construction area. The observatory is still using its Prototype design.

AHatIntime Prerelease mafia 7.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid standing near the start of the level.

AHatIntime Prerelease mafia 9.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid running away from the rolling meat mafia.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownDocks.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid standing on a wooden post on the docks.

AHatIntime Prerelease kitchen1.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid in the Mafia HQ kitchen.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaHQ1.png
Hat Kid performing the scrapped air attack move in the Mafia HQ entrance area.

AHatIntime Prerelease mafia 3.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid jumping on the cargo ship. The rapping mafia and his audience are still present, and were completely removed by the Alpha builds and replaced with the black market tent.


AHatIntime Prerelease train 1.jpg
Another screenshot from January 10, depicting the machine room in Train Rush. A Science Owl can be seen behind Hat Kid, marking its first public in-game appearance. The Science Owl appears in a panicked run state because the Science Owl enemy model did not yet have an idle animation.

AHatIntime Prerelease manor1.png
Yet another screenshot from January 10. It's a screenshot of Hat Kid in the attic of Vanessa's Manor.


AHatIntime Prerelease WebsiteWP.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid climbing a ladder underneath Thor's workshop, dated no later than January 17 2014 due to the slides still using their Prototype designs. This screenshot was posted on Vincent's website in 2014.[5]


AHatIntime Prerelease cave guards.jpg
On January 26 2014, Jonas posted this screenshot of two mafia guarding the doors to the caves of Mafia Town.[6]

On January 28 2014, Gears For Breakfast posted a backers-only Kickstarter update[7] that explained that there were issues out of their control at the moment regarding the release of the Alpha build that might delay the release.

February 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease blues penguin.jpg
Luigi Lucarelli concept art for the game that he released,[8] depicting the Moon Penguins. The art itself is dated February 5 2014.

AHatIntime Prerelease VanessaManorHiding.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid hiding under a piano in Vanessa's Manor, dated no later than February 13 2014.[9]

On February 16 2014, Gears For Breakfast posted another backers-only Kickstarter update[10] that provided an update on the Alpha release delay issue. The team was still uncertain if the Alpha build release date (February 20 2014) would be met.

On February 19 2014, Gears For Breakfast posted yet another backers-only Kickstarter update[11] that provided another update on the Alpha release delay issue. The developers explained that the release would come down to the wire, but that they see a chance to meet the release date. It's unknown if the builds were in fact released on time.

On February 20 2014, the first Alpha build of the game was released to the Kickstarter Backers. Before the end of the day, the build received a patch to correct a few bugs and update some assets.

The Alpha builds had five achievements, but only four could reportedly be unlocked: 'Put A Badge On It!', 'Sequence Break', '4th Wall', and 'Partners'.

Alpha/Beta Final
AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaPutABadgeOnItAchievement.jpg
AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaSequenceBreakAchievement.png
AHatIntime Prerelease Alpha4thWallAchievement.png
AHatintime Prerelease FinalAchievementPutABadgeOnIt.jpg
AHatIntime Prerelease FinalAchievementSeqeuenceBreak.jpg
AHatIntime Prerelease FinalAchievement4thWall.png

The designs of all of the achievements changed for the final game. The prerelease ones were drawn by Shane Frost, as they appear in his art style, while the final's have a completely different style to them. Note that the '4th Wall' achievement was scrapped shortly before the final game, but its icon appeared briefly in a Steam update for the game a little less than two months from the final release in 2017.[12] The description for the achievement was "You found us!", and could be gotten by looking in first-person on the 2nd floor of Vanessa's Manor to see the developer pictures hanging on a wall that is normally invisible to the player.

AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaPartnersAchievement.png
A unique achievement to the Alpha and Beta builds, called 'Partners'. Its description was "Friendships last forever". This was given to the player upon saving Mustache Girl from the Mafia at the Barrel Battle arena.


AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaRivalryAchievement.png
The fifth achievement, called 'Rivaly', was reportedly unobtainable in the Alpha builds. Its description was "Things were said". Its icon was just a cropped version of the Prototype's logo for Mafia Town.


AHatIntime Prerelease LargeBadgeAchievement.jpg
A higher-resolution version of the 'Put A Badge On It!' achievement's icon was later posted on the game's Facebook page in 2014.


AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaAlley.pngAHatIntime Prerelease MoonPenguinMafiaTown.png
These two screenshots were also posted on the game's Facebook page around the time of the release of the Alpha, but their exact dates are unknown. They depict Hat Kid standing by a Mafia and a Moon Penguin. Moon Penguins don't appear in Mafia Town in the final game, but do appear in the Alpha and Beta builds.

On February 22 2014, the first update to the Alpha was released.[13]

On February 27 2014, the second update to the Alpha was released.[14]

March 2014

On March 5 2014, the third update to the Alpha was released.[15]

On March 8 2014, the fourth update to the Alpha was released.[16]

On March 26 2014, the fifth and final update to the Alpha was released.[17]


April 2014

A Hat in Time was featured at Pax East 2014, and a build of the Alpha was playable that contained a few additional features compared to Alpha Update 5. The builds featured an early version of Coop, along with numerous other little differences. Not much media from this event of the game survived or was known to exist.

AHatIntime Prerelease PAX2014 1.jpgAHatIntime Prerelease PAX2014 2.png
Two shots of the booth that the game was featured at.


An interview was conducted with Jonas at the event, with him explaining some aspects about the game and build available to play on the floor. Points of interest include:

  • The plot for Trainwreck of Science is once again stated to be the train traveling the moon.
  • Jonas states that the development team has recently finished the models for The Moon. While it's true that the basic building models were done by this point, the level completely lacked any distinct decorations, shown in a single screenshot below.
  • Jonas stated that only the Fox Mask would have functionality as a 'separate hat'. All other hats that Hat Kid could get would be purely cosmetic.
  • Jonas talks about programming and implementing Coop and suggests that with Coop mode, the game would actually adjust its difficulty balance to accommodate two players. This ended up not being the case in the final game except for a few specific mechanics, and boss fights.
  • Jonas suggested the idea that the Beta build would be released in 2014. The Beta build ended up being released in early 2015.




AHatIntime Prerelease EarlyMoon.jpg
Hat Kid standing in an early version of The Moon. Note the way the level curves, something that was brought up a couple times by Jonas and Habboi after the game was released; the level originally had a post processing effect that made the level curve in the same style of Animal Crossing: Wild World. It was ultimately scrapped due to players feeling nausea when playing it.






Footage captured of the Pax East 2014 Alpha build, showcasing Vanessa's Manor. The level appears to match its appearance in Alpha Update 5, but the spooky Hat Kid painting in the playroom on the 2nd floor has been added by this point.






AHatIntime Prerelease HatKidSpookyPainting.png
A screenshot of this painting was actually posted on the game's Facebook page prior to the event, but the exact date of the screenshot is not known.


AHatIntime Prerelease HabboiTrainRushDoodles.jpg
On April 22 2014, Habboi tweeted out a page of doodle concept art that appears to show ideas for Train Rush.[18] A flaming hoop can be seen, the platforms inside the train that are suspended on ropes appear here, and a curved pipe with flame coming out of it appears on the right, which also appears in other concept art.

AHatIntime Prerelease HabboiMafiaTownNotes.png
On April 23 2014, Habboi tweeted a picture of his personal Mafia Town notes.[19] It's difficult to make things out in the picture, but some design concepts can be seen.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownInspirationConstruction.jpg
On April 26 2014, Habboi tweeted out a picture of the construction area of Mafia Town, likely showing the inspiration for that area of the level.[20]

AHatIntime Prerelease Polaroids2.pngAHatIntime Prerelease Polaroids1.jpg
On April 27 2014, Jonas tweeted out[21][22] a screenshot of him testing the scrapped community polaroid system. The system, as Habboi described it in his 2018 developer playthrough of the game, was one where the player could take picture of the adventure throughout the game and post their picture on a wall somewhere for other players to read in their playthrough. On April 29, Jonas tweeted out another screenshot of the system, with the polaroids now displaying an actual image on them. The second screenshot is dated the same day as the first one, which is the 27th.

AHatInTime Prerelease noir crow.jpg
A menacing screenshot of a Crow Agent in Murder on the Science Express, dated April 30, 2014.[21]

May 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease EarlyMurderHatKid.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid holding the scrapped magnifying glass weapon, dated May 1 2014.[21]

AHatIntime Prerelease BookstoreInspiration.png
On May 3 2014, Habboi tweeted out some inspiration for the design of some of the buildings in the winter bookstore level.[23]



On May 4 2014, a beefy trailer for the game released, called the 'Alpha Release Trailer'.[24] It features content that the Kickstarter backers got to experience in the Alpha builds as well as some new areas that weren't featured in the Alphas, such as Subcon Forest, Subcon Caves (Well), and Mafia HQ. The trailer was made by Pascal, the composer for the game, and features unique music that wasn't used anywhere in the game, but was released as part of the game's B-Side Soundtrack in 2018.

  • The logo for Gears For Breakfast featured at the start of the video is the same one from the Alpha builds, being radically different than the one used in the Betas and final game.
  • The first shot is a circular panning shot around Hat Kid depicting her in Subcon Forest with pink cherry blossoms falling around her. In the final game (until they were removed from the level), the cherry blossoms only appeared in Dweller Spheres, while here they are plainly visible to Hat Kid without her having the Dweller Mask on. Moonjumper can be seen in the background alongside some of the Secret Level decor that went unused in the Prototypes. The giant blue mushroom in the forest has been replaced by the tall oak tree, sporting its early design that can still be found in the final game's Modding Tools.
  • The next shot is of Hat Kid platforming in Subcon Village. A pink fog can be seen around the area and the water in the lake is green.
  • The third shot depicts Hat Kid swinging from hookshot lanterns in the trees of Subcon Forest.
  • The shot immediately after that shows Hat Kid walking around the start of the level, near the big oak tree. Something to note is that the lantern hookshots don't seem to swing back and forth yet, and have a fire particle inside of them that would be present in the Beta builds, but disabled in the final game. The water around the big oak is green, and there is no pathway to Snatcher's home inside the tree, as it didn't exist yet. Dweller butterflies can be seen flying around the water, which again are revealed without Hat Kid needing to use the Dweller Mask. For a brief moment, right when Hat Kid is doing a dive boost, an interaction cursor appears in midair for seemingly no reason. It's likely that this is Tim's Friend, who was seen at the start of the level in the Prototype version and is a flat, 2D character who only renders from one side. A little bit further along the path ahead, 2D Snatcher can be seen on a rock wall.
  • The shot after this shows Hat Kid approaching the 2D Fire Spirits at their bonfire within a circle of trees, which is still just a basic particle at this point. Before she can reach them, however, a forest trap activates, sending her into a mini enemy battle with some Light Plants.
  • The next shot shifts over to Mafia Town, showing Hat Kid and Mustache Girl diving over a gap in unison. The two pipes of the right side of the construction are have been made green and blue. In the Alpha builds, both were grey.
  • The next Mafia Town shot is down at the docks, showing Hat Kid fleeing from some Mafia.
  • The next shot is at the Barrel Battle area, and a Mafia Robo enemy is shown, which didn't exist at all in the Alpha builds. It can be seen floating over the blue tent, the same spot it can be found in the Beta builds.
  • The shot after that shows Hat Kid dodging the meat-rolling Mafia by using the scrapped Quick Dodge Badge.
  • It then cuts back to Hat Kid battling the Mafia down at the docks before quickly switching over to showing Hat Kid hookshotting under a banner over the water at the docks. The hookshot was not an available upgrade in the Alpha builds. It then cuts to Hat Kid belly-sliding down a ramp near the docks and then cuts to her swimming underwater near some fish. It then cuts to footage of Hat Kid platforming in a Secret Level for a couple seconds before showing Coop mode in Mafia HQ.
  • In the Coop Mafia HQ footage, Cooking Cat is nowhere to be seen up above the wooden beams.
  • The next bit of footage moves back to Subcon Forest, and focuses on Vanessa's Manor for the rest of the video. The first bit of fotoage shows Hat Kid walking in the icy alleyway that leads up to the manor, showing that no puzzles or platforming of any kind existed on this pathway at this point.
  • It then cuts briefly to Subcon Caves, showing Hat Kid walking up to the wooden chest that contains the hookshot in the Beta builds and the hookshot Badge in the final game. The room appears largely the same as it does in the beta, only with the giant ice structure that encases the chest missing.
  • It then cuts back to Hat Kid approaching the manor, with either the lights turning on as she approaches or the models loading in. Either way, this doesn't happen in the final game. The rest of the footage of the manor appears to be the same as it was in the Alpha builds.
  • The video ends off with a spiraling upwards and outwards shot of Hat Kid standing on a post at the docks of Mafia Town. This cinematic still exists in the final game, unused.


Alongside the video, several new screenshots were shared:[25]


AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownWindTurbines.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid down at the Barrel Battle area, with new wind turbines seen in the background.

AHatIntime Prerelease BarrelBattleCombat.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid battling some Mafia at Barrel Battle.

AHatIntime Prerelease Coop1.png
A screenshot of Coop mode active in Mafia HQ.

AHatIntime Prerelease forest31.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid in Subcon Forest with the Dweller Mask on, with unique blue cherry blossom particles never seen in any other media for the game.

AHatIntime Prerelease cave.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid standing in the entrance room to Subcon Caves.

AHatIntime Prerelease HookshotSubconCaves.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid using the hookshot in Subcon Caves.

AHatIntime Prerelease Coop2.png
A screenshot of Coop mode active in Train Rush, with one player wearing both the raincoat and detective hat at the same time.

AHatIntime Prerelease space 03.png
A screenshot of a lengthy Secret Level, likely an early version of Beta Hero's Challenge.


AHatIntime Prerelease SandNSailsAirMobile.jpg
For the final update of May 4, a screenshot of the airmobile in Sand 'n Sails was shown[26], marking the first time Sand 'n Sails was shown publicly. This screenshot was also shown in the June 2 Kickstarter Backer-only update and on the game's Facebook page.


AHatIntime Prerelease BeachTV.gif
On May 17 2014, Habboi revealed that the TV on the beach of Mafia Town was originally going to play a part in a reveal trailer. This GIF was posted in the tweet.[27]


AHatIntime Prerelease ShadySunburntPreview.jpg
On May 19 2014, Shane Frost shared this image of a Shady Sunburnt in Sand 'n Sails.[28] This image was also shared on the game's Facebook page and the June 2 2014 Kickstarter Backer-only update.

AHatIntime Prerelease SubconHookSwing.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid hookshotting in Subcon Forest, dated May 22 2014.[29] It appears very similar to a shot in the Alpha Release Trailer.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaBully.jpg
A screenshot of the Coffee Clerk getting bullied in Mafia Town, also dated May 22.[29]


AHatIntime Prerelease SodOffSignInspiration.jpg
On May 24 2014, Habboi tweeted a comparison picture that explains the inspiration for the 'sod off sign's in Mafia Town.[30]






On May 31 2014, Habboi recorded and uploaded a playthrough of Train Rush at this point in development, and kept the video unlisted until late 2017/early 2018. The video shows a vast amount of differences for the level, even when compared to its appearance in the Beta builds.

  • The first shot features the level's mission intro camera. It appears to match the Beta and final, although the train whistle is completely different from the Beta's, being much louder. The train's wheels are the early wheels that can still be found in the final game's Modding Tools. The large canyon seen from the Beta builds onward is not yet present, instead being a mostly flat basic desert with small boulders along the sides.
  • Before the timer starts, a radio-filtered version of Rainy Mafia Town's theme can be heard playing, which wasn't present in any known public build.
  • The scenario with the Conductor barricading your entrance has been implemented at this point, replacing the leftover localization found in the Alpha builds that depicted an earlier version of the scene. His dialogue is slightly different, however:
Developer Video Beta
Eh he he! Where ya think yer going young lady?
No girls allowed! We had a lil' intruder with a wee mustache, and she gone caused trouble! I an't allowing no trouble on my train.
I see it in your eyes, you're a lass up to no good in my book! If ye ain't a lass, ya gotta prove it.
Gimme a sketch of how manly ye are! Show me ya an't no lass!
Ehhhh ba ba bab! Where do ya think yer going lass?
No girls allowed! We had a lil' intruder with a wee mustache, and she gone 'n caused trouble! I will nae allow trouble on me train.
I see it in your eyes, you're a lass up to no good in my book! If ye ain't, ya gotta prove it.
Gimme a sketch of how manly ye are! Show me ya an't no lass!
  • Either the sketching mechanic wasn't implemented yet, or it's skipped for debug/developer purposes. After the conversation ends, Hat Kid is allowed to walk right in.
  • Train Rush also begins as soon as Hat Kid enters the train. In the Beta, the machine room is in-between the actual level and the outside. The walls of the first room are very different, being LED lights of "GO" signs. In the Beta, there would appear on monitors attached to the walls in this room. The green goo pits are missing particle effects. Additional decorative machinery was added to this room by the Beta. On the far end wall of the room, a goo container attached to the wall was replaced by a sphere machine that glows blue. The TV mounted on the wall above the door at the end of the room displays a default texture instead of the Train Operator. The floor panel in this room that unlocks the door glows red in the video once activated, but blue in the Beta. The 'bombguy' balls in this version are all the same color. By the Beta, the ones with the creepy toothy smile would be colored purple instead of deep violet. The original version of the texture was actually posted on the game's Facebook page before it was re-imported with the aforementioned changes:

AHatIntime Prerelease BombGuyAlphaTexture.png
The texture appears to be slightly further along than the texture used in the actual level, however. The mouth has more colors and details, the eyes are rings instead of solid circles, and there's more shading effects around and between the eyes.

AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaTrainRushBombGuys.png
A screenshot of what seems to be this version of the level was posted on the game's Facebook page, as well.

  • Moving on to the second room, the room lacks quite a lot of detail at this point that it would receive by the Beta. The floor is also completely different, having a grey and orange color scheme. The floor in the Beta would have a blue and red color scheme with animating arrows pointing ahead. The Science Owl enemies still do not have an idle animation by this point. Two wall-mounted monitors showing the Train Operator were added to the far end wall of this room by the Beta. The box that the trio of cannons near the end of the room retreat into upon approaching does not yet have a fake hole at the top. Instead, they just sink into the crate.
  • In the third area, the one that takes place outside, the Pons at the start are far less plentiful and are in different positions. Again, plenty of detail present in the Beta builds is missing in this section. Saw blades do not yet tear apart the train cabin. Instead, it just falls apart. There is a birthday candle flamethrower just after the three balloons. In the Beta, this was removed and replaced with some large crates. There are three speed booster items just after the two trolleys. These were removed in the Beta. Furthermore, this section was extended a bit in the Beta. An additional train cabin gets sliced by saw blades and Hat Kid must hookshot across. The springboard that takes the player up on top of the train is just a mushroom at this point. There is also no Science Owl enemy standing next to it.
  • Up on top of the trains now, things get pretty different here. Instead of there being a large rock the player jumps up on and hookshots across through some platforming, some seemingly random platforms fly in using default textures and the player must awkwardly navigate to the right of the train tracks on these platforms while avoiding a Laser Science Owl's laser. Some remnants of this platforming section can be found Hidden in the Beta builds, and slightly less in the final game. Near the end of this platforming segment, the player must bounce on clouds and dodge random windmill blades that pop up from below.
  • The section after this is much more like the Beta. Although there are no Pons yet leading up to it like in the Beta, a large floor panel puzzle must be solved to progress. The panels light up as yellow instead of green, and there's another Laser Science Owl that the player must dodge in this section that was removed by the Beta. The hookpoints after the puzzle use their 2D sprites instead of appearing as Thor hookpoints.
  • Upon breaking into the next room, a removed cracked wall is present that the player must launch a dynamic cake into to destroy. This wall can still be found in the Beta builds, Hidden. The suspended platforms in the room are the placeholder version that can still be found in the final game's Modding Tools. The furnace in the room has a slightly different design, where its pipes do not extend all the way up to the ceiling. It also does not shoot fire in this version. Upon arriving at the first floor panel puzzle in this room, the player only gets two Pons. In the Beta, they get four. Extra Pons were added after the second floor panel puzzle in this room. There is no arrow of Pons pointing to the room's exit door at the end.

June 2014

On June 2 2014, Gears For Breakfast posted a backers-only Kickstarter update[31] that served as an update round-up of sorts. Screenshots of Trainwreck of Science and Sand 'n Sails were shown:

AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaTrainRushLava.pngAHatIntime Prerelease TrainRushDynamiteCake.png
Two screenshots of Train Rush, showing a lava platforming section and a Dynamite Cake in front of a scrapped cracked wall. These screenshots were also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease PoolHouse.png
On June 3 2014, Habboi tweeted out a screenshot and talked about the changes made to the Mafia Town pool house.[32]

AHatIntime Prerelease SunsetScienceExpress.jpg
A screenshot of Murder on the Science Express, dated June 13 2014.[33][34]


AHatIntime Prerelease FrozenDwellerStudy.png
Around the time the above Science Express screenshot was posted, this screenshot of the study of Vanessa's Manor was posted on the game's Facebook page, showing that Vanessa freezing her victims instead of turning them to stone was changed at this point. There are no additional icy crystals around the Forest Dweller, and the walls of the room are still using their Alpha designs. Also note that the Pons are still those of the Alpha and Prototype builds as well.

AHatIntime Prerelease Luigi oasis concept.jpg
In celebration of the Beta builds releasing in 2015, Luigi Lucarelli released some concept art for the game, which also included this concept art for the Sand 'n Sails Oasis.[35] This concept art is dated June 15 2014.

Luigi also released this concept art:[36]

AHatIntime Prerelease SpaceshipMachineRoomConceptArt.jpg
It depicts the machine room of the spaceship, and is dated June 30 2014.


July 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease BedroomConceptArt.jpg
In celebration of the Beta builds releasing in 2015, Luigi Lucarelli released some concept art for the game, which also included this concept art for the Spaceship Hub's bedroom.[37] This concept art is dated July 2 2014.

AHatIntime Prerelease Spaceship kitchen sketch.jpg
Luigi also released this concept art for the Spaceship Hub's kitchen[38], which is dated July 16 2014.

On July 31 2014, Gears For Breakfast posted a backers-only Kickstarter update[39] that provided a comparison screenshot between the Prototype builds and current version of the game at this point. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease BetaComparison.jpg
Compared to Alpha Update 5, the scene isn't too different. The swinging pirate ship is already submerged in the ocean, the Mafia Robo enemy is still sitting on top of the blue tent, the roof of the blue building matches the Beta builds and final game, and the Pons have been updated to their Beta designs. Compared to the Beta builds, the leader of the spinning Mafia on the ledge below is still visible; in the Beta builds, he is Hidden normally.

AHatIntime Prerelease NewPonDesign.png
A screenshot with an unknown date was also posted on the game's Facebook page earlier, showing the Pons in the middle of their transition to their new designs. The green Pons still have hearts inside of them, suggesting that their functionality hadn't yet changed at this point.

August 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease HatKidDeadSubcon.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid "dead" in Subcon Forest, dated no later than August 6 2014.[40][41] A Fire Spirit 'bonfire' can be seen, but the spirits themselves appear to be oddly absent. This screenshot was posted on Twitter and the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownStart.jpg
On August 13 2014, Jonas posted this screenshot of the starting area of Mafia Town on his Tumblr,[42] stating that it will be one-to-one how Mafia Town will appear in the Beta builds. ...This didn't end up entirely being the case. There are less Pons here in than in the Beta, although Mustache Girl might've collected a few in the screenshot. The rope on the left is perfectly straight instead of sagging a little, and there's very little Depth Of Field present in the level, if any at all. The lighting emitting from the torches would also be intensified slightly. Pons were added to each corner of the square building in the back on the left on top of the gutter. There is also no Pon on top of the parasol on the top left.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownTopDown.jpg
On August 23 2014, Jonas posted a top-down screenshot of Mafia Town on his Tumblr, essentially showing almost the entire level at this stage in development![43] Numerous interesting tidbits can be seen:

  • The swinging pirate ship is above water, even though a previous shot showed it already being submerged. It's possible that this picture was taken in-editor.
  • The wind gusts behind Thor's Workshop seen in Alpha Update 5 are still present.
  • The beach has been updated to its finalized texture.
  • A tiny white light can be seen next to the observatory. This is the leftover Time Piece from the Prototype version of Heating Up Mafia Town.
  • Balloon locations are different, and there's still a rainbow hot air balloon near the pool.
  • The physics-based plugs around the construction area are still present in the level at this point.
  • Another Mafia Robo enemy can be seen next to the stairs that rise up below the market area, just as it is in the Beta builds.
  • The glowing light from the leftover Prototype Time Piece from Time Thief can be seen, and it's still Hidden in the Beta builds.


AHatIntime Prerelease HatKidWaveHIMafiaTown.jpg
On August 31 2014, Jonas posted a screenshot of Hat Kid 'waving hi' in Mafia Town on his Tumblr.[44] There appears to be a filter over the screenshot, which may be due to the camera item. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease UI Loadout.jpgAHatIntime Prerelease UI Loadout Single.jpg
In celebration of the Beta builds releasing in 2015, Luigi Lucarelli released some concept art for the game, including this concept art of loadout UI.[45] This concept art is dated August 31 2014.

September 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease HatKidSneakigManor.jpg
On September 1 2014, Jonas posted a screenshot of Hat Kid sneaking in Vanessa's Manor.[46] The level appears to match its design seen in the Beta builds. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaHQBathroom.jpg
On September 2 2014, Jonas posted a screenshot of Hat Kid in a Mafia HQ bathroom stall.[47] Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease RainyMafiaHQ.png
An outside screenshot of Mafia HQ at night. Was posted on the game's Facebook page sometime after the previous screenshot, but before the next screenshot below.

AHatIntime Prerelease hatkid purple splash.jpg
On September 14 2014, Jonas posted a screenshot of Hat Kid falling into water in the Subcon Caves.[48] The screenshot once again appears to have a camera filter over it. There are no Pons floating over the mushroom in the background.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaTownDocksLate2014.jpg
Also September 14, Jonas posted a wide screenshot of Mafia Town docks.[49] The only apparent difference compared to the Beta builds is the lack of a decorative paper particle near the bridge.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaBeachBBQ.png
Sometime before the screenshot below and after the previous screenshot, this one of Hat Kid standing next to a BBQ on the beach in Mafia Town was posted on the game's Facebook page.



On September 19 2014[50], Habboi recorded and uploaded another developer playthrough of a level, this time the Twilight Dungeon from Sand 'n Sails. This video is the only known public media showing the level in action. This video was shown in a Discord server at the end of October 2017, and was made unlisted a year later.

The level is radically different from its Alpine Skyline counterpart, with the only similarity in gameplay being that Dweller abilities are involved. Shown in the video are the scrapped starcore Actors, which originally operated on a different layer of Dweller, one which the player's Dweller could not interact with. The scrapped Phantomhead enemies can be seen in action here, as well. The life HUD is in the middle of undergoing a visual overhaul throughout most of the video, but by the end, during the demonstration of the revisions/extra areas, the life HUD matches the Beta builds/final game.

All of the assets for this level shown in the video can be found leftover in the final game's Modding Tools.







AHatIntime Prerelease hatkid docks2.jpg
On September 20 2014, Jonas posted a screenshot of Hat Kid walking at Mafia Town docks.[51]

October 2014

AHatInTime Prerelease loadout menu.jpg
A loadout menu screenshot in Trainwreck of Science, dated October 22 2014.[52] The design of the menu appears to match the Beta builds and the (initial release) final game exactly. Hat Kid has the Frozen Solid Badge, which is impossible to obtain in the Beta builds without using the developer console.

AHatIntime Prerelease HalloweenSubconForest.png
On October 30 2014, a Halloween screenshot of Subcon Forest was tweeted out.[53][54] Hat Kid is wearing the Witch Hat, and she has the Snatcher's Realm and Frozen Solid Badges equipped. The giant oak tree can be seen in the background. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

November 2014

AHatIntime Prerelease SettingsMenu.jpg
Dated no later than November 6, a screenshot of settings menu. Its design matches the Beta builds and (initial release) final game exactly. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.[55]

AHatIntime Prerelease DisplaySettings.png
Also shown were display settings, which also match their appearance in the Beta builds.

AHatIntime Prerelease tourist colors.jpg
In celebration of the Beta builds releasing in 2015, Luigi Lucarelli released some concept art for the game, which also included this concept art for the Tourist.[8] This concept art is dated November 9 2014.

On December 14 2014, a new developer blog post was added to the game's website, discussing the design choice of Badges.[52] Alongside the discussion, a screenshot of Hat Kid in Subcon Forest was posted, which is dated November 6 2014:

AHatIntime Prerelease BadgePreview.jpg
This was also posted on the game's Facebook page.

December 2014

Three new screenshots were added to the game's website's media page by December 11 2014, with all of the images dated December 6 2014:[56]

AHatIntime Prerelease SubconCavesTreasureChest.jpg
A screenshot of a nervous-looking Hat Kid standing next to the treasure chest in Subcon Caves.

AHatIntime Prerelease RainyMafiaTownNight.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid walking next to a Mafia in Rainy Mafia Town. Hat Kid is noticeably not wearing the rain coat. Also posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease HatKidWitchHatVanessa.jpg
A screenshot of Hat Kid peeking out of a door while wearing the Witch Hat in Vanessa's Manor.

Also on December 11, another Kickstarter Backers-only post was made,[57] which served as another 'update roundup'. A few screenshots were shown, two of which have been shown before but don't have known dates:

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaHQSlots.png
A screenshot of Hat Kid walking by the slot machines in Mafia HQ.

AHatIntime Prerelease MafiaBossThrone.png
A screenshot of Mafia Boss sitting on his throne.


AHatIntime Prerelease AlphaActSelect.png
A screenshot of an early version of the game's Act Select menu, dated December 16 2014. This screenshot was posted on the game's Facebook page.

AHatIntime Prerelease StylizedPlanetWindow.png
Another screenshot of this planet was posted earlier in the year on the game's Facebook page, but the date for it is not known. It depicts Hat Kid standing in the Spaceship with this planet in the background. The Spaceship also had windows by this point.


AHatIntime Prerelease LuigiFireSpiritArea.jpg
Luigi Lucarelli concept art for the game that he released,[58] depicting a 'Fire Spirit Area' of Subcon Forest. The art itself is dated December 29 2014.


References

  1. Jonas Tumblr Quick Dodge Badge Screenshot
  2. Jonas Tumblr Autumn Leaves Post ReBlog
  3. Luigi's DeviantArt Hat Kid Designs, March 9th, 2015
  4. Hat Website Media Archive Feb. 19th, 2014
  5. Vincent Website Dec. 27th, 2014 Archive
  6. Jonas Tumblr Cave Mafia Screenshot
  7. Kickstarter Update 36
  8. 8.0 8.1 Luigi's DeviantArt, March 9th, 2015
  9. Habboi Kinja Post Feb. 13th, 2014
  10. Kickstarter Update 37
  11. Kickstarter Update 38
  12. Twitter Achievement Update Post, Aug. 19th, 2017
  13. Hat Website Alpha Update 1 Post
  14. Hat Website Alpha Update 2 Post
  15. Hat Website Alpha Update 3 Post
  16. Hat Website Alpha Update 4 Post
  17. Hat Website Alpha Update 5 Post
  18. Habboi Tweet Apr. 22nd, 2014
  19. Habboi Tweet Apr. 23rd, 2014
  20. Habboi Tweet Apr. 26th, 2014
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Habboi Kinja Post May 1st, 2014
  22. Reddit Post Apr. 28th, 2014
  23. Habboi Tweet May 3rd, 2014
  24. Alpha Release Trailer Archive
  25. Habboi Kinja Post May 4th, 2014
  26. Initial Sand N Sails Retweet
  27. Habboi Tweet May 17th, 2014
  28. Shane Frost Newgrounds Post May 19th, 2014
  29. 29.0 29.1 Interview Zelda Universe May 25th, 2014
  30. Habboi Tweet May 24th, 2014
  31. Kickstarter Update 39
  32. Habboi Tweet Jun. 3rd, 2014
  33. Hat Twitter Science Express TweetedAt Date
  34. Luigi's ArtStation Art, March 2015
  35. Luigi's DeviantArt Machine Room Spaceship Design, March 9th, 2015
  36. Luigi's DeviantArt Bedroom Design, March 9th, 2015
  37. Luigi's DeviantArt, March 9th, 2015
  38. Kickstarter Update 40
  39. Habboi Kinja Post Aug. 6th, 2014
  40. Tumblr Post Aug. 6th, 2014
  41. Jonas Tumblr Post Aug. 13th, 2014
  42. Jonas Tumblr Post Aug. 23rd, 2014
  43. Jonas Tumblr Post Aug. 31st, 2014
  44. Luigi's DeviantArt, March 10th, 2015
  45. Jonas Tumblr Post Sept. 1st, 2014
  46. Jonas Tumblr Post Sept. 2nd, 2014
  47. Jonas Tumblr Post Sept. 14th, 2014
  48. Jonas Tumblr Post Sept. 14th, 2014
  49. Archive of Habboi Twilight Dungeon Video
  50. Jonas Tumblr Post Sept. 20th, 2014
  51. 52.0 52.1 Hat Website Design Choice: Badges Nov. 14th, 2014
  52. [https://web.archive.org/web/20141104200455/https://tay.kotaku.com/the-great-tay-pumpkin-carve-off-2014-1652762513 Kotaku Halloween Screenshot Page
  53. A Hat in Time Fan Tumblr Settings Menu Screenshot Post
  54. Hat Website Media Page Dec. 11th, 2014
  55. Kickstarter Update 41
  56. Luigi's ArtStation, 2017