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As for Shore: Pretty sure it is only mention as an area name. I also doubt they would have one level with most puzzles in the whole game.

We also have one really early max scene screenshot from the Next Generation magazine from November 1997 showing parts of Plains but not part of Lab, so I doubt they were ever in the same level.

tatu wrote:As for Shore: Pretty sure it is only mention as an area name. I also doubt they would have one level with most puzzles in the whole game.

Well...

TerrainCreator.ms wrote: GameAreaPositions = #([-1792,-768,0], [-1792,0,0], [-1024,256,0], [0,512,0], [0,-256,0], [256,-768,0], [768,1024,0], [768,1024,0], [1792,0,0], [1024, 512, 0])

local DefaultArea = 4
local debug = false

DropDownList GameArea "Game Area:" items:#("Beach", "Jungle Road", "Platation House", "Industrial Jungle", "InGEN Town", "Plains", "PineValley", "Shore", "*InGEN Lab", "Ascent", "Summit") selection:DefaultArea

AssetSubmission.ms wrote: DropDownList Area items: #("Beach", "Jungle Road", "Platation House", "Industrial Jungle", "InGEN Town", "Plains", "PineValley", "Shore", "InGEN Lab", "Ascent", "Summit", "Gun", "Animal", "Jungle Vegetation", "Pine Vegetation", "Plains Vegetation", "Mountain Vegetation", "Rocks & Boulders", " ") selection:19 height:15

AssetSubmission.ms wrote: -- What Area?
if Area.selection == 1 then GameArea = "Beach"
if Area.selection == 2 then GameArea = "Jungle Road"
if Area.selection == 3 then GameArea = "Plantation House"
if Area.selection == 4 then GameArea = "Industrial Jungle"
if Area.selection == 5 then GameArea = "InGEN Town"
if Area.selection == 6 then GameArea = "Plains"
if Area.selection == 7 then GameArea = "Pine Valley"
if Area.selection == 8 then GameArea = "Shore"
if Area.selection == 9 then GameArea = "InGEN Lab"
if Area.selection == 10 then GameArea = "Ascent"
if Area.selection == 11 then GameArea = "Summit"
if Area.selection == 12 then GameArea = "Gun"
if Area.selection == 13 then GameArea = "Animal"
if Area.selection == 14 then GameArea = "Jungle Vegetation"
if Area.selection == 15 then GameArea = "Pine Vegetation"
if Area.selection == 16 then GameArea = "Plains Vegetation"
if Area.selection == 17 then GameArea = "Mountain Vegetation"
if Area.selection == 18 then GameArea = "Rocks & Boulders"

DetailReduction.ms wrote: dropDownList GameArea "Game Area Lighting:" items:#("Beach", "Jungle Road", "Platation House", "Industrial Jungle", "InGEN Town", "Plains", "PineValley", "Shore", "InGEN Lab", "Ascent", "Summit") selection:2 height:12

DetRedBatch.ms wrote: dropDownList GameArea "Game Area Lighting:" items:#("Beach", "Jungle Road", "Platation House", "Industrial Jungle", "InGEN Town", "Plains", "PineValley", "Shore", "InGEN Lab", "Ascent", "Summit") selection:2 height:12

There are more, but that's enough...


It was dropped in the Terrain Exporter script, though...

TerrainExporter.ms wrote: GameAreaPositions = #([-1792,-768,0], [-1792,0,0], [-1024,256,0], [0,512,0], [0,-256,0], [256,-768,0], [768,1024,0], [768,1024,0], [1792,0,0], [1280, 0, 0])

dropdownlist ExportResolution "Export Resolution:" items:#("1/4 Meter", "1/2 Meter", "1 Meter", "2 Meter", "4 Meter", "8 Meter", "16 Meter") selection:1
dropdownlist ExportArea "Game Area:" items:#("Beach", "Jungle Road", "Plantation House", "Industrial Jungle", "InGEN Town", "Plains", "Pine Valley","InGEN Lab", "Ascent", "Summit", "<< undefined >>", "") selection:12 height:12

I'm the one that took the screenshot in the original Post. And the reason why I know the pink lines are supposed to be streambeds is because the model viewer I was using said so when I clicked on them. The objects are all named already. Though some have vague names compared to others. Also, it was noticed that when you match the map up, the direction of the riverbeds match IJ's while they don't IT's. These riverbeds run through a number of the levels so the fact that the Town kinda leaves a gap there is just....weird.

I'm not really sure why they changed the direction, but I'd assume it had something to do with the merger of the plains level.

As for Shore there's no proof it existed ever ingame in its original form. Chances are the team saw that it might not be the best idea to make the level so puzzle heavy, so they split it in half. One half went to Pine Valley while the other half went to the Lab. (and the Pine Valley half would would ultimately be dropped sadly) Besides, if you ask me, shore doesn't exactly ring "exciting level name" like the others do.

I'm the one that took the screenshot in the original Post. And the reason why I know the pink lines are supposed to be streambeds is because the model viewer I was using said so when I clicked on them. The objects are all named already. Though some have vague names compared to others. Also, it was noticed that when you match the map up, the direction of the riverbeds match IJ's while they don't IT's. These riverbeds run through a number of the levels so the fact that the Town kinda leaves a gap there is just....weird.

I took a quick look and I'm still not sure which riverbeds in IJ you're talking about...the only riverbed in IJ I know of is the main one through IJ1, and it certainly doesn't match up with the PL streams as it ends at PH.

glitchhunter09 wrote: As for Shore there's no proof it existed ever ingame in its original form. Chances are the team saw that it might not be the best idea to make the level so puzzle heavy, so they split it in half. One half went to Pine Valley while the other half went to the Lab. (and the Pine Valley half would would ultimately be dropped sadly)

It's likely it existed as a 3DS MAX level, the same as Plains, but never made it into a playable version of the game, unlike Plantation House.

Besides, if you ask me, shore doesn't exactly ring "exciting level name" like the others do.

Yeah, like "Beach"...

Haha.
TI, there is a river bed intertwining with the dirt road in IJ3.

Draconisaurus wrote:Haha.
TI, there is a river bed intertwining with the dirt road in IJ3.

Hmm. I still don't see the comparison, though. The IJ3 riverbed leads into the Town and ends. I don't get how the PL streams match up with IJ3 at all.

I highlighted a depression leading away from the dam and weaving around the stegosaurus. The beginning of the depression is lined up with the spill way, however the flood gates are definitely not present. Even with the stegosaur in the way you should still be able to see part of them between his plates. Theidiot how does this compare to the area you've created, is the stream there?

And I just now noticed the bridge over the spillway is also missing. Now I'm starting to think this is just a staged pic and has nothing to do with the actual level.

MinePass wrote:Now I'm starting to think this is just a staged pic and has nothing to do with the actual level.

Always appeared to me as if the steg was just pasted in the image.

Hilwo wrote:

MinePass wrote:Now I'm starting to think this is just a staged pic and has nothing to do with the actual level.

Always appeared to me as if the steg was just pasted in the image.

We do know that in a lot of early images the raptors were cut and paste into the pictures, as the same pose is used on several. Also looking at that one, the top of the Stegosaurus looks so copied from another picture.

However, I do believe the image itself is not staged, but they always used staged dinosaurs because they couldn't get them to behave like in the images.

They weren't actually cut and paste. Static models were put into the levels in set poses so they could get nice screenshots for publication. Anyway, the dinosaurs aren't the focus of the images really atm. That dam picture looks like it might be using the game engine. It may be the only existing ingame picture of the Plains level that we know of. I have a feeling they did try to put PL ingame but once they figured out that it was too framerate intensive it was dropped. I don't think it was ingame for very long. Probably why there's a lack of screenshots. Though to be fair, there weren't a whole lot of PH screenshots either really so it could just be they didn't take as many screenshots or didn't give out as many builds with PL as they did with other levels.


You have to realize, some of the screenshots we have were done by game magazines and sites. DWI probably sent them some prototypes to showcase. I don't think Plains was ever in a stable version for gaming magazines and sites to look at. That could be why it lacks screenshots.

Also, theidiot, we've said this before. The direction of the riverbeds in Ingen town were changed for some weird reason. Hell the direction of the whole town was for that matter.

Theidiot how does this compare to the area you've created, is the stream there?

No, it wouldn't be because I just used the area from retail IT. None of the PL streambeds come anywhere near such a thing either. I think that this scene may have been taken outside of the game engine, perhaps in its own Max scene.

Always appeared to me as if the steg was just pasted in the image.

We do know that in a lot of early images the raptors were cut and paste into the pictures, as the same pose is used on several. Also looking at that one, the top of the Stegosaurus looks so copied from another picture.

However, I do believe the image itself is not staged, but they always used staged dinosaurs because they couldn't get them to behave like in the images.

I think what happened with these dinosaur models are they just had the static models of the dinosaurs and imported them into these scenes. The weird black lines on the stegosaurus tatu noted seem to just be errors in the transparency of the textures themselves.

They weren't actually cut and paste. Static models were put into the levels in set poses so they could get nice screenshots for publication. Anyway, the dinosaurs aren't the focus of the images really atm. That dam picture looks like it might be using the game engine. It may be the only existing ingame picture of the Plains level that we know of. I have a feeling they did try to put PL ingame but once they figured out that it was too framerate intensive it was dropped. I don't think it was ingame for very long. Probably why there's a lack of screenshots. Though to be fair, there weren't a whole lot of PH screenshots either really so it could just be they didn't take as many screenshots or didn't give out as many builds with PL as they did with other levels.

I really don't think that Dam image was taken in game. First off, there are no shadows on the terrain, which would likely have shown up in the game engine. There are also a TON of plants, which I highly doubt was ever the case in any of the levels. To me, this just looks like a scene rendered in Max, likely done the same way they did it with the actual levels.

Also, theidiot, we've said this before. The direction of the riverbeds in Ingen town were changed for some weird reason. Hell the direction of the whole town was for that matter.

I need to see proof of this, though. This really doesn't seem to be the case. Nowhere have I ever seen anything that might indicate IT being in the opposite direction...even the early walkthrough places the town in the same orientation. I find it hard to believe that they would have created that whole area and then rotated it.
And again, there aren't any riverbeds in IT...do you mean the ones in IJ? If so, how could they have been flipped? The entire island would get messed up if this were the case.

TheIdiot wrote: I think what happened with these dinosaur models are they just had the static models of the dinosaurs and imported them into these scenes. The weird black lines on the stegosaurus tatu noted seem to just be errors in the transparency of the textures themselves.

They weren't actually cut and paste. Static models were put into the levels in set poses so they could get nice screenshots for publication. Anyway, the dinosaurs aren't the focus of the images really atm. That dam picture looks like it might be using the game engine. It may be the only existing ingame picture of the Plains level that we know of. I have a feeling they did try to put PL ingame but once they figured out that it was too framerate intensive it was dropped. I don't think it was ingame for very long. Probably why there's a lack of screenshots. Though to be fair, there weren't a whole lot of PH screenshots either really so it could just be they didn't take as many screenshots or didn't give out as many builds with PL as they did with other levels.

I really don't think that Dam image was taken in game. First off, there are no shadows on the terrain, which would likely have shown up in the game engine. There are also a TON of plants, which I highly doubt was ever the case in any of the levels. To me, this just looks like a scene rendered in Max, likely done the same way they did it with the actual levels.

There are one or two more pictures from the plains level. How do I know? Because of the plants that are unique to that level. That tree to the right of the Stegosaur... it can't be found anywhere else, the mesh is present (textureless) in the PLAINS.MAX file. Let me look and I'll find those other screenshots which feature those trees.

EDIT: Oh, yes, these are the ones:





The Stegs use the same texture, too...

machf, I really don't think those images were actually from the level itself, they seem more like concept art to me. The terrain looks nothing like anything in any other screenshots of the game. They might have just imported some game objects to a MAX scene and went from there. It's also somewhat difficult to tell if those are exactly the same stegosaur models as used in other pre-release screenshots because their pose is different and you can't see them close enough to determine if the polycount is roughly the same.

Yeah, I would say they are not from an in-game engine, as the terrain looks really smooth comparing to how it looks in-game.

If you look at the raptors in the second image, you can see the raptors being in their "default" position, and they look more like the long clawed mesh.

I like the Para skins.