European Mac releases: Difference between revisions

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The German localization of Oni for the Mac accidentally shipped with development-related files. This version was originally called "beta 5" by the community because it was thought to come after the leaked beta 4; but in fact the extra files it contains would likely have come from Oni's <u>pre</u>-beta period. It was also called the "Big Blue Box beta" or the "BBB beta" because the discovery was made in a collection of four games called The Big Blue Box which included Oni. However, not only do all German copies of Oni seem to have these files, but other localizations have them as well. For instance, the U.S. PS2 release of Oni has the cut level scripts but not the tool files; the Japanese releases for Mac and Windows have the tool files but not the cut scripts.
{{Hatnote|See [[History of Mac Oni]] for information on how the Mac game application has evolved over time.}}
The French, German, Italian and Spanish localizations of Oni for the Macintosh accidentally shipped with development-related files, namely:
*binary data for the Tool Mode editor (a set of level0_Tools.* files in [[Oni (folder)/GameDataFolder|GameDataFolder]]);
*rudimentary level logic for unreleased levels (subfolders of [[Oni (folder)/GameDataFolder/IGMD|GameDataFolder/IGMD]]).


The app's creation date is 3/13/01, well after Oni's U.S. release, which indicates that the app was produced after localization had occurred, and contains changes necessary to make it work with the extended set of characters in the German alphabet. The game app itself has the same functionality, however, as other retail releases do; its version number is 1.1, just like the English Mac build of Oni, and access to Developer Mode and many BSL functions have been removed as in the English Mac builds of Oni.
==Discovery==
[[Image:Big Blue Box.jpg|right|200px]]
When it was realized that a copy of German Mac Oni contained extra files, the community called this version "beta 5" because it was thought to come after the leaked [[Mac beta 4]]; but in fact the extra files would likely have come from Oni's <u>pre</u>-beta period. It was also called the "Big Blue Box beta" or the "BBB beta" (or "BBBB") because the copy of Oni came from a German four-game bundle called The Big Blue Box. However, all German copies of Oni for the Macintosh seem to have these files, as do the French, Italian and Spanish localizations. The U.S. release of Oni for the PS2 has the extra level scripts but not the tool files. The Japanese releases for Mac and Windows have the tool files but not the extra scripts.


However, the game data had two very unusual features: the '''[[level0_Tools|level0_Tools files]]''' and some '''extra level scripts''' not meant for release. This might mean that Oni's game data files were made available to the localization team between the Windows gold master in November 2000 and the [[History of Mac Oni|Mac gold master]] in December 2000; at least the code for the game app was supplied after the Windows gold master, since [[separate file]]s are present, as in other Mac releases. However, this does not explain why there are files from earlier in Oni's development bundled with the game.
==Tool files==
The tool files, which provide an UI for the in-game visual editor, as well as a set of "furniture" objects that can be placed arbitrarily in an empty level geometry, are discussed [[level0_Tools|HERE]].


There are actually two peculiarities about the level scripts in German Mac Oni: first, it uses the Windows versions of the familiar level scripts (the Mac scripts have a [[Windows Oni vs. Mac Oni|few small differences]]). Second are the extra level scripts within [[IGMD]]. There are three reasons these scripts are not present in retail Oni: (a) some provided the logic for test levels used by the developers, (b) some represent content that was later merged into another level, and (c) some represent actual cut content. In total there are 10 folders not present in a retail Oni installation: '''Airport_II''', '''BGI''', '''aop''', '''cap''', '''CZ''', '''CZ_II''', '''[[IGMD/global|global]]''' (empty), '''pit''', '''ats''', and '''SR'''. The missing levels that 9 of these folders refer to, and what the scripts reveal about them, are discussed on the [[Pre-beta content#Cut levels|Pre-beta content]] page.
==Extra level scripts==
There are actually two peculiarities about the level scripts in these releases: first, they're the Windows versions (the Mac scripts have [[Windows Oni vs. Mac Oni#Level logic|a few minor differences]] in the boss fight of {{C13}}). More importantly, there are scripts for additional levels not present in retail Oni: (a) test/demo levels used by the developers, (b) a level which was later merged into other levels, and (c) an actual cut level. In total there are 10 folders not present in the tidier retail installations: '''Airport_II''', '''BGI''', '''aop''', '''cap''', '''CZ''', '''CZ_II''', '''[[IGMD/global|global]]''' (empty), '''pit''', '''ats''', and '''SR'''. The missing levels which 9 of these folders refer to, and what the scripts reveal about them, are discussed at [[Pre-beta content#Cut levels]].


{{OBD}}
==Game app==
The game app's creation date is March 13th (French, German, Italian) or 14th (Spanish) in 2001, a month and a half after Oni's U.S. release date; this is because the app was built anew from the source code after localization had occurred, and contains changes necessary to make it work with the extended set of characters in these European alphabets as well as to change the hardcoded strings "Save Point" and "Syndicate Warehouse" to their localized translations. The game app itself has the same functionality, however, as other retail releases do; its version number is 1.1, just like the English Mac build of Oni, and access to Developer Mode and many BSL functions have been removed as in the English Mac builds of Oni.
 
==Conclusions==
In light of all the above, it seems that Oni's game data files were originally made available to the localization team during or before the beta period, but the source code for the game app was supplied after the Windows gold master, since [[separate file]]s are present. The localizers did not understand which files were part of Oni's development and which were intended to be bundled with the game.
 
[[Category:Oni history]]

Latest revision as of 21:12, 10 December 2023

See History of Mac Oni for information on how the Mac game application has evolved over time.

The French, German, Italian and Spanish localizations of Oni for the Macintosh accidentally shipped with development-related files, namely:

  • binary data for the Tool Mode editor (a set of level0_Tools.* files in GameDataFolder);
  • rudimentary level logic for unreleased levels (subfolders of GameDataFolder/IGMD).

Discovery

Big Blue Box.jpg

When it was realized that a copy of German Mac Oni contained extra files, the community called this version "beta 5" because it was thought to come after the leaked Mac beta 4; but in fact the extra files would likely have come from Oni's pre-beta period. It was also called the "Big Blue Box beta" or the "BBB beta" (or "BBBB") because the copy of Oni came from a German four-game bundle called The Big Blue Box. However, all German copies of Oni for the Macintosh seem to have these files, as do the French, Italian and Spanish localizations. The U.S. release of Oni for the PS2 has the extra level scripts but not the tool files. The Japanese releases for Mac and Windows have the tool files but not the extra scripts.

Tool files

The tool files, which provide an UI for the in-game visual editor, as well as a set of "furniture" objects that can be placed arbitrarily in an empty level geometry, are discussed HERE.

Extra level scripts

There are actually two peculiarities about the level scripts in these releases: first, they're the Windows versions (the Mac scripts have a few minor differences in the boss fight of CHAPTER 13 . PHOENIX RISING). More importantly, there are scripts for additional levels not present in retail Oni: (a) test/demo levels used by the developers, (b) a level which was later merged into other levels, and (c) an actual cut level. In total there are 10 folders not present in the tidier retail installations: Airport_II, BGI, aop, cap, CZ, CZ_II, global (empty), pit, ats, and SR. The missing levels which 9 of these folders refer to, and what the scripts reveal about them, are discussed at Pre-beta content#Cut levels.

Game app

The game app's creation date is March 13th (French, German, Italian) or 14th (Spanish) in 2001, a month and a half after Oni's U.S. release date; this is because the app was built anew from the source code after localization had occurred, and contains changes necessary to make it work with the extended set of characters in these European alphabets as well as to change the hardcoded strings "Save Point" and "Syndicate Warehouse" to their localized translations. The game app itself has the same functionality, however, as other retail releases do; its version number is 1.1, just like the English Mac build of Oni, and access to Developer Mode and many BSL functions have been removed as in the English Mac builds of Oni.

Conclusions

In light of all the above, it seems that Oni's game data files were originally made available to the localization team during or before the beta period, but the source code for the game app was supplied after the Windows gold master, since separate files are present. The localizers did not understand which files were part of Oni's development and which were intended to be bundled with the game.

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