Spyro: Year of the Dragon (Jul 27, 2000 prototype)
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| Download Spyro: Year of the Dragon (Jul 27, 2000 prototype) (info) |
A prototype of Spyro: Year of the Dragon for the PlayStation.
Notes
File dates and primary volume dates are unhelpful for this prototype, as with a number of Spyro: Year of the Dragon builds. The save file identifier string includes the date "7.27", suggesting a date of July 27th 2000 at the earliest for this build. This same string is also used by all but the first of the demo versions (all of which are later than this build). It is possible that the true date of this build is a bit later than this.
- Build is an NTSC-U build, but has a European license.
- Build has dongle protection that crashes the game before it reaches the title screen. It can be circumvented via either of the following methods:
- This dongle file, inserted into slot 2.
- Patching the game using this xdelta file.
- The top right corner of the screen displays three variables relating to the adaptive difficulty at all times.
- The title screen is still based on the title screen from Spyro 2. Large amounts of the model appear to be missing.
- The general text colour still matches the one used in Spyro 2.
- The HUD uses a different, slightly earlier egg sprite, which appears to have fewer animation frames. A single frame of this is used in the Atlas.
- The egg image that appears in unopened portals uses an earlier green design, also seen in the April prototype.
- On-screen notifications given when you've collected all of the gems or eggs in a level lack their grey backgrounds and appear with different timing to the final game.
- Many dragons across the game have different names and animations.
- Music assignment appears to be effectively random across most of the game. Some levels have their intended themes, in particular most of the levels that had their intended theme in the April prototype. A handful of the tracks use early arrangements, mixes, and one level - Spike's Arena - uses a theme that had not previously been heard anywhere else. Many of the tracks are ones not included in the earliest final release that were deferred to a later revision, and a handful were not included in the final game at all, but had previously been heard in other prototype and soundtrack releases.
- Skill points are absent.
- There are no trace of antipiracy checksum values in this build, suggesting this is from before the anticrack protection was implemented in any substantial state.
- Eggs don't shake when they're hatching. Further, most of the dragons are named differently and have different animations.
- The level images used in the Atlas are broadly different. Many of them use other levels' images with a negative filter applied and a large level ID number written over the top. For a handful, the images are of a much earlier design for the level, particularly from the block-out stage.
- In Sunrise Spring Home, there is an unused dialogue line for Zoe referencing an unimplemented feature that would require powerups to be activated before they could be used. This is also referenced by a number of used and unused dialogue lines in other versions of the game.
- The Enchanted Towers NPCs have a different hair colour and use a different vocal performance. These NPCs are ones that the developers were apparently asked to "tone down", according to John Fiorito in an Insomniac Live session from 2018.
- Midnight Mountain's textures are different in a number of places, and are notably bluer than the final's. The Desert Ruins portal in this level is also framed by a blue helmet instead of an orange one, and it is surrounded by a patch of sand. The layout of the level is slightly different, with the Super Bonus Round island being significantly further out. The latter is therefore only accessible with the use of a whirlwind that appears in this build when the player has collected all gems and eggs (e.g. with the use of a cheat code).
- The eggs in Desert Ruins do not have their names or dragon models yet, resulting in a very anticlimactic hatching sequence.
- The dinosaurs in Dino Mines hatch from eggs akin to the Lava Lizards in Spyro 2. These eggs are present in the final game, but they go unused and have a different texture. The egg fragments that are created from these eggs are also unused in the final game.
- An entrance to a removed sublevel is present in Dino Mines. However, like the final game, the portal trigger and visuals are slightly out of bounds, meaning this area remains inaccessible under normal means. The content of the sublevel area has not changed between this version and the release build.
- Super Bonus Round is a very unfinished level. Much of the geometry differs from the final, many passages and tunnels not yet present. No gems are present, nor any powerups or gem gates. The base of the level is a large circle of solid pink lava, instead of a void. Two sublevels are present and both are mostly non-functional:
- The submarines level just spits Spyro out underwater and an invisible exit portal is near to where he spawns. No submarines are present yet.
- The skateboarding sublevel features a completely different design to the final's. The area is in a very primitive state and no gameplay aside from free skating is present.
Screenshots
Title screen
Videos
Origin
Disc front.
