Pre-beta content
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This page's content overlaps with information found on the Mac betas page. |
Almost all available shots of pre-beta content are here, compared to final content when applicable. Most pictures are half-sized (click to enlarge).
Released levels
Syndicate Warehouse
There are 15 hidden doors there. When revealed, they turn this very linear level into a completely non-linear structure (more like a real warehouse).
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The level changed after Bungie West took a screenshot as a basis for their chapter's title screen. Many crates were added, the doors re-textured... and the forklift is higher now.
Manufacturing Plant (Musashi Manufacturing)
This one has evolved quite a lot.
| File:ManPlant11.JPG | File:ManPlant12.JPG |
| File:ManPlant10.JPG | 
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There was more conventional warehouse machinery in here back then.
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Note the door leading off the center of the foyer: there was a corridor running through the middle of the building.
| File:ManPlant3.JPG | 
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| File:ManPlant1.JPG | 
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The last picture has a very provisional-looking health bar; these are some early screenshots.
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File:ManPlant5.JPG |
| File:ManPlant6.JPG | File:ManPlant7.JPG |
| File:ManPlant8.JPG | File:ManPlant9.JPG |
The stairs lead up to the offices.
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The offices seem to be in the back of the building, on both floors, with doors and "windows" onto the "alarm console gallery".
First 4 pics: lower floor, the empty dark wall on the first is where the stairs are. Last 2 pics: upper floor.
| File:ManPlant2.JPG | File:ManPlant4.JPG |
Bio-Research Lab (Vago Biotech)
This one has kept the same basic layout, but there were a few changes. The most distinct difference is the night-time setting.
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| File:Vago3.JPG | 
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File:Vago11.JPG |
The interior is only done in one half of the lab.
There are also pillars and foyer doors missing, and extra ledges along the sides of the area where you fight Barabas.
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| File:Vago19.jpg | 
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There were stools for the scientists... apart from that that wing is pretty much final.
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The final ones are much thinner, and the layout of the stairs and catwalks is different.
Vansam Regional Airport
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This can be the "Arrivals" section (which is now completely empty).
TCTF Regional Headquarters
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File:TCTF8.JPG |
A longer car. Different transition from the parking lot to the main building.
Konoko's bike is parked nicely in that first shot, instead of laying on the floor.
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File:TCTF3.JPG |
| File:TCTF7.JPG | File:TCTF12.JPG |
The room is more than 2 times wider now. There are windows on the right and catwalks running across the far side.
The entrance door changed a lot, but the van didn't change much...
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The elevator was between the two sets of ramps. Solid floors had a tiling pattern, and ramps were transparent.
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| File:TCTF13.JPG | File:TCTF14.JPG |
| File:TCTF15.JPG | File:TCTF17.JPG |
The ramps had really nice railings (I wish they'd kept them), overall the room was much lighter (there's a light wall on the far side).
Same "V" structures at the ceiling as above: they're gone now. The layout of the rooms on either side is different, too.
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File:TCTF11.JPG |
| File:Genesis Level8 11.jpg | |
The model didn't change at all, but now it's placed at the center (floor 2/3) of a really tall, open room.
As for the terminals, there are primitives with similar looks, around Damocles and elsewhere.
Note the Marathon logo on Damocles's hull (an Easter egg).
| File:TCTF1.JPG | File:TCTF10.JPG |
| File:TCTF4.JPG | File:TCTF9.JPG |
The parking lot was more lushly lit on the outside. Now there's no light on the sidewalks.
There used to be a lot more cars in the garage, too.
| File:TCTF5.JPG | File:TCTF19.JPG |
| File:TCTF20.JPG | |
Atmospheric Conversion Center
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These shots are probably from the time when this was an electric plant. Note that the final tube (with no elevator
between it and the large building) has a floor to walk on, but no beam down the center. In the current version,
the mid-air beam is also the shaft for the fan; adding the fan was probably a hasty improvisation to make it
seem more like an ACC and less like an electric plant; but the fan shaft is still electrified!
Regional State Building
Hardy once stated that RSB was the first building that Bungie completed. Apparently that is also why it's been through so many changes.
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| File:RegionalState23.JPG | File:RegionalState1.JPG |
| File:RegionalState4.JPG | File:RegionalState6.JPG |
In the second set of pictures, you'll notice the disappearing walkways.
The last picture, as well as some below, shows that the foyer used to be fronted with just glass, no diagonal
criss-crossing framework to (kind of) prevent your escape.
Also, that version of the foyer has an extra level of stairs, and in the previous shot, the foyer seems to open directly
into the side hallways that overlook the lobby.
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File:RegionalState10.JPG |
| File:RegionalState11.JPG | File:RegionalState2.JPG |
| File:RegionalState7.JPG | File:RegionalState8.JPG |
By the time Bungie took the outside shot with the Iron Demon, they'd barred in the foyer.
Also, notice the missing wall of glass in the last set of pics. The overhang indicates that this was actually a side
entrance, although this seems an odd design choice. Could it be a pet door for the Iron Demon? Most likely the
ID was only shown in this level because it was their "test-bed" level, since it was really meant for BGI HQ, but
perhaps an initial skirmish was once planned here.
Finally, note that many of these pictures were taken in multiplayer mode. RSB was probably a test-bed for that as well.
TCTF Science Prison
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New wall textures. Looks like the scanner's textures are actually higher-res than what we have now.
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There used to be some very interesting lit walkways leading into the tower. Like Vago, this level is now set during daytime.
Syndicate Mountain Compound
Old versus new:
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| File:Compound3.JPG | File:Compound4.JPG |
The basic layout of the room is the same, but it was much more crowded with "computers" and the existing catwalks were aligned differently.
Last pic: cool gun, Konoko.
| File:Compound5.JPG | File:Compound6.JPG |
| File:Compound7.JPG | File:Compound14.JPG |
| File:Compound15.JPG | |
Apparently the Syndicate is also in league with BLAM Transport Inc. Another BGI front?
Cut levels
The names of the missing levels
Level names in Oni are stored in the global resource file known as "level0_Final", so that the out-of-game loading dialog can display them. Somewhat surprisingly, the names of missing levels are present even in the public versions of Oni. Here they are:
- 05. The Airport Part Deux
- 07. Obsolete
- 16. BGI HQ
- 30. The Arena of Pain
- 31. Crossing Zone
- 32. Pit
- 33. Crossing Zone Too
- 34. Capture
- 35. Territories
- 36. Test_Stuff
- 55. AlexTestSite
- 66. Experimental_II
- 68. MARTY'S SOUND CORRIDOR
- 71. FiringRange
- 77. One Room
- 88. One Room 2
- 99. Test Barn II
For some of those levels, there are rudimentary scripts, which can be found in the Big Blue Box Beta release. There is little information in these scripts, except in the case of BGI HQ, where parallels can be drawn between the script and some unused resources found in level0_Final (Iron Demon sounds, bomb-planting animation).
2000 demo level
The arena Steve Abeyta played in when he demoed MP in 2000 (see Multiplayer for a video of this demonstration). Possibly this is "BGI HQ".
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This is not the same side of the same room; probably both sides of that room. It is unknown what other rooms there are and where the overhead ramps are going.
The ramp has a horizontal platform halfway through the room, which in these still frames can be easily mistaken for some kind of distortion or modeling error.
Small arena
A very simple arena level, at various stages of development, or in various flavors. Possibly "The Arena of Pain".
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File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 1-8.jpg |
Sandbox level
A giant testing ground where most of the 1999 trailer gameplay was recorded. Possibly "Crossing Zone" and/or "Crossing Zone Too", because of all those big crosses.
- I talked to Alex Okita who said this level was most likely The Pit. --Jon God
Screenshots
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The first three pictures show some basic elements of the level's architecture (most notably, very steep stairs). The third picture shows Konoko knocking down an early Tanker, with what looks like a collision glitch.
The last two pictures focus less on environment and more on other elements. We can see: the Iron Demon; early versions of an Elite Striker and Ninja; some blood decals on the ground and walls; an early handgun, with less subtle wall impacts and an appearance different both from the Campbell Equalizer and Black Adder.
At some point after the last screenshot above was taken, and before the E3 of May 2000, blood was removed from publicly demoed builds. Matt Soell said that this was in order to re-work the effect. "Along with the marks left by bullets, blood will look much better than it used to." Both the blood on the floor and the burn effects on the wall are quite blocky in this screenshot, and apparently could "stack", as seen where the burn effects are darker where Konoko continues to shoot the wall, as well as in shots of the blood such as here, so likely Bungie West was attempting to use some sort of real-time shading trick and couldn't pull it off at a high-enough resolution. The system also seemed to have trouble crossing polygon boundaries, as seen on the floors of these two shots. The same dynamic shading system appears to have been used at one time to render character shadows, such as in these two shots, although the shadows in the screenshot above are the round semi-transparent textures used in retail Oni.
Trailer shapshots
| File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 2-5.jpg | File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 2-6.jpg |
| File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 2-7.jpg | File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 2-8.jpg |
| File:1999 Trailer - MP arena 2-9.jpg | 
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Another arena
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Jon God: I asked Alex about this too, it was made by Dave Dunn. Described as "Just a bunch of tubes" and "It was pretty big, lots of falling and dying, from what I remember"
Peculiar levels
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Both have furniture and the architecture looks sufficiently complex for single-player missions. However, neither of these can be seen in Oni.
The first one does not look quite at home in Oni, and perhaps it was borrowed from a parallel project like Halo. Maybe the decals in the background could be a hint as for its origin.
The second one looks not unlike the Syndicate Warehouse (CHAPTER 01 . TRIAL RUN) or Atmospheric Conversion Center (interior) (CHAPTER 08 . AN INNOCENT LIFE), but doesn't match with the current versions of either.
- Alex said the first screen was from Manufacturing Plant, but "was cut out later since there wasn't any need to go in there". --Jon God