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Pre-Alpha (October 1996): Difference between revisions
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On October 31, 2023, a prototype build of ''[[LEGO Island]]'' was leaked by YouTuber '''R.R. Slugger'''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7eALXaHbw</ref> Colloquially, this build is usually referred to as "'''the pre-alpha'''". | |||
== History == | |||
The existence of a pre-alpha build has been known for some time,<ref>https://twitter.com/BenDaviesOrg/status/1239248521968132097</ref> however it had been kept private by a select few members of the community for years. It is currently not known what this release was made for, how it was acquired by the community, or how it was leaked. | |||
The | The build files are dated between October and November 1996, predating the final release by roughly 11 months. | ||
== Installer == | == Installer == | ||
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</center> | </center> | ||
This installer is 16-bit only, meaning it will not work on modern 64-bit Windows systems. The installer also requires DOS mode which can cause issues in Wine, despite its ability to load 16-bit executables. As such, it's recommended to use an alternate installer for those platforms. | This installer is 16-bit only, meaning it will not work on modern 64-bit Windows systems. The installer also requires DOS mode which can cause issues in Wine, despite its ability to load 16-bit executables. As such, it's recommended to use an [https://github.com/Ramen2X/adventures-installer alternate installer] for those platforms. | ||
== Launcher == | == Launcher == | ||
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[[CONFIG.EXE]] exists as an MFC dialog, much like the final release, however no work has been done on it: | [[CONFIG.EXE]] exists as an MFC dialog, much like the final release, however no work has been done on it: | ||
<center>[[File:Dec96config.png]]</center> | <center>[[File:Dec96config.png|alt=A window titled "Configure LEGO Island". On the left, there is text stating "TODO: Place 3D configuration here". The right side has two buttons labeled "OK" and "Cancel" respectively.]]</center> | ||
Instead, a limited subset of graphics settings are located in the [[#Launcher|launcher]]. | |||
== Build Sections == | == Build Sections == | ||
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If you use [[MAIN.EXE]] to load <code>build.si</code> and load the <code>StartUp</code> action, you can find the following screen: | If you use [[MAIN.EXE]] to load <code>build.si</code> and load the <code>StartUp</code> action, you can find the following screen: | ||
<center>[[File:Dec96buildscreen.png]]</center> | <center>[[File:Dec96buildscreen.png|320px|alt=A screen with text describing the purpose of itself. The text explains the screen will not appear in the program, and that this screen is for the demo. The purpose of the screen appears to be a menu for demonstrating each of the building sections. The screen has several graphics. In the middle, there is a graphic depicting a square green brick with three smaller four by two pieces. The small pieces are colored yellow, red and blue. The yellow brick is upside down, the red brick is up right, and the blue brick is positioned vertically. The text flows around this graphic. Under the graphic is a collage of characters. Only six of these characters are visible with some being obscured by the graphic. On the bottom of the screen are four buttons. The buttons include symbols related to their destination.]]</center> | ||
The buttons are functional and indeed jump to each build section. | The buttons are functional and indeed jump to each build section. | ||
=== Glitches === | |||
Likely the reason these buttons weren't used (and the above [[#Launcher|launcher]] was created instead) is because the buttons frequently have a habit of persisting after loading a new section. Clicking them further can lead to two or more build sections being inexplicably merged, and often causes crashes: | |||
<center>[[File:Dec96btnglitch.mp4|320px]]</center> | |||
== Island == | == Island == | ||
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<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:Dec96isle1.png | File:Dec96isle1.png | ||
File:Dec96isle2.png | File:Dec96isle2.png| | ||
File:Dec96isle3.png | File:Dec96isle3.png|Full island shot | ||
File:Dec96hiddenracetrack.mp4|Sections of the race track can be seen at some perspectives | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
</center> | </center> | ||
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Turning is noticeably jerky in this version, always turning by a minimum of several degrees at a time. This too is tied to the frame rate and runs too fast on modern computers. | Turning is noticeably jerky in this version, always turning by a minimum of several degrees at a time. This too is tied to the frame rate and runs too fast on modern computers. | ||
The disc contains both release and debug versions of multiple executables, including [[LEGO1.DLL]]. It '''does not''' however contain symbols. The [[Microsoft Visual C++]] compiler places symbols in sidecar PDB files, not in the executable itself, and no PDB files are present on the disc. That being said, the debug binaries contain much less optimized code and retain debugging features like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assertion_(software_development) assertions] which may help significantly in the [[decompilation]] effort. | |||
== Free Fonts == | == Free Fonts == | ||
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The pre-alpha contains an option to "register" for an array of free fonts. The registration is obviously not possible anymore, however the fonts can be installed by running <code>MSREG\MSFREE.EXE</code> on the CD: | The pre-alpha contains an option to "register" for an array of free fonts. The registration is obviously not possible anymore, however the fonts can be installed by running <code>MSREG\MSFREE.EXE</code> on the CD: | ||
<center>[[File:Freefonts.png]]</center> | <center>[[File:Freefonts.png|alt=A window titled "Free Fonts". On the left side is a list of font names. Above the list is the text "Select the fonts to install:". Below the list are the number of fonts selected and drive space status. The user has selected all 36 fonts which will use an estimated storage space of {{formatnum:2375}} kilobytes. The right is displaying the letter M for the Antique font. The letter has an imperfect appearance as the lines are slightly jagged. Below the display are buttons labeled "OK", "Cancel" and "Options...".]]</center> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
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* [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IpbBqWDVnAYz0VIb-JeDD1lLvzWrauq8 Download from Google Drive] | * [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IpbBqWDVnAYz0VIb-JeDD1lLvzWrauq8 Download from Google Drive] | ||
* [https://archive.org/details/lego-island-alpha Download from Internet Archive] | * [https://archive.org/details/lego-island-alpha Download from Internet Archive] | ||
* [https://github.com/Ramen2X/adventures-installer Alternate Installer for Wine and 64-bit Windows] | |||