Proto:Hi-Octane (DOS)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Hi-Octane (DOS).

Despite Hi-Octane having a tight deadline of two months to be finished in, Bullfrog found time to make a demo, and there's STILL yet more unused content in it. This demo was first released on the cover disc of the July 1995 issue of PC Gamer UK.

General

• The demo has one level, the final game's first track Amazon Delta Turnpike
• Handling feels slightly heavier than the final, however, it seems the demo was made after (and may have been the catalyst for) the drastic changes to vehicle handling demanded by Bullfrog's Peter Molyneux, as boost works as it does in the final game and cannot be indefinitely stored
• The tile slider bonus game is already implemented
• Different simplified front end menus

Build Comment

Product name     HIOCTANE
Version number   DEMO
Version date     May 23 1995 16:46:13
Supplied to      BULLFROG PRODUCTIONS LTD. (SEAN COOPER)

Based on the above date, and taking Sean Cooper's estimated development time of 6.5 weeks as gospel (and the build date of the final game executable as correct), this demo is from just over halfway through development, after a month's work on the game.

Cut Power Up

The final game has the invisiblity power up totally cut and disabled. While the demo doesn't feature the invisibility power up on the map, it's possible to hex edit it over one of the existing power ups and use it. Unlike the final game, it's not completely disabled yet, and both actually appears on the course and more importantly - works!

• 

  Approaching the hacked-in red invisibility power up

• 

  Third person mode, but no car!

Both the player and enemy cars can collect the power up, and the collector then turns invisible for approximately 25 seconds. However, once in this state there's a hint of why it may be the power up was cut. Firstly enemy cars that turn invisible can still be seen by the race position indicator indicator, making it somewhat useless. More importantly, computer controlled cars react no differently if the player is invisible and will still attempt to destroy them. As such it may be this ended up being a fun multiplayer power up, but with deadlines looming it may have been cut due to the extra work making the computer controlled opponents behave realistically to it. There's also no indicator to show when you are currently invisible, unless playing in one of the third person views.

Graphical Changes

• The bullet hole effect when being damaged by other players is not implemented yet, and instead a very different effect where the screen becomes blurred occurs. Possibly this was scrapped as it makes the game more difficult.
• The UI has no visible indication of weapon/boost upgrades yet
• The dedicated bullet impact/ricochet sprites don't exist yet, so bullets hitting surfaces use the final small explosion graphic instead.
• While the demo includes the option to run in high res mode, it doesn't actually work, and only low res mode is available.

Power Up Icons

The demo has a completely different set of power up icon art compared to the final game, and also includes one that was entirely removed from the final game.

Demo	Final	Name	Notes
		Invincible
		Invisible	This is completely prevented from spawning in the final game, despite being depicted in the manual
		Extra Shield
		Shield Full
		Double Shield
		Extra Ammo
		Ammo Full
		Double Ammo
		Extra Fuel
		Full Fuel
		Double Fuel
		Minigun Upgrade
		Missile Upgrade
		Booster Upgrade

Oddly the manual for the Sega Saturn port of the game includes screenshots of these old icons, even though the final Saturn game used the final icons.

Unused Title Screen

TITLE.DAT and TITLEPAL.DAT contain an unused title screen and its palette. It's not obvious why this wasn't used, other than possibly the fact the rest of the demo only runs in low res 320 x 200 when this picture is in high res 640 x 480. What's even odder is that this picture was otherwise relegated for use only as the box art for the console versions of the game. That's before we touch on the fact it depicts a Police car that is not in the game at all, and even weirder it's the same one heavily used to promote Syndicate Wars early on, even though it doesn't appear in that game either!

Unused 3D Models

As with the final game, there are strings suggesting there were other 3D models intended for use with the game, some of which may or may not have even been contenders for player vehicles.

POLICE-1.DAT

This turns out to be what's very likely the Police helicopter mentioned in the executable. Looking rather like the futuristic not-copter seen in Psygnosis' G-Police, it doesn't seem to have correct - or at least finished - textures. It's possible to view it in-game if one of the player car's models is replaced with its file. It's not clear if this was a cut player vehicle, or if it had some other purpose in game.

BIKE0-0.DAT and BIKE-01.DAT

An early version of the Outrider with an actual rider. This may be familiar to some - while never seen in Hi-Octane, the model was recycled briefly in the pre-alpha demo of Syndicate Wars before being redone for the final Syndicate Wars game without the rider visible. Despite there being two files with different names, these are identical and don't use different textures or anything.

TRUCK-01.DAT

An early name of the final Jugga truck. The model design seems identical to the final. If hacked into the game it loads a crude test texture and is ridiculously large. It also has some weird polygon glitches if viewed from directly behind.

The unused road sign object from the final is already here in the demo, where it is also unused. Oddly there is an identical copy of it also here, called SIGN.DAT.

Map Changes

The demo uses an early version of the first level of the final game. Its layout is seemingly identical. However, it doesn't have all the invisible barriers in place yet, making it extremely easy to get out of bounds on the level. It also uses a different map format to the final game, where each level is a fixed size of 876KBs - here the level is 1,167KBs.

Unseen Text

Some interesting strings not seen in the final executable(s) can be found at 00075B51. These seem to be names for the various weapon upgrade levels:

Minigun strings

Lead shells
Armour piercing
Self tracking twin tracers
Self tracking Internal twin imploding armour piercing

Missile strings

Semi seekers
Full heat seeking
Twin full seeking
Full seeking devastators

Boost upgrade strings

Speedsters
Economical Speedsters (NOT SUPPORTED) 
Tail target Economical Speedsters (NOT SUPPORTED) 
Boost tail