MediEvil Rolling Demo

The MediEvil Rolling Demo is a version of MediEvil that is 400 days older than the final version of the game. The demo was released on two PAL region demo discs in late 1997 – Winter Releases '97 demo 01 and Registered Users Demo 02 – the former of which was given out at the European Computer Trade Show.[1] Files on the discs suggest that the demo finished development around August 14, 1997.

Rolling Demo splash screen.

Gameplay

The whole demo as recorded by EnergeticLute33.

As the name suggests, the demo is largely non-interactive and cannot be properly played without cheating or hacking. However, the player can use the   button to skip any of the demo's segments and pressing SELECT can be used to return to the demo disc's main menu.

The demo lasts just over 10 minutes (loading included) and is made up of 17 segments which show off 10 unique levels. The whole sequence is as follows:

  1. The Graveyard
  2. The Desecrated Church
  3. The Ant Caves
  4. The Asylum Grounds
  5. The Ghost Ship
  6. Pools of the Ancient Dead
  7. Pumpkin Gorge
  8. Scarecrow Fields
  9. The Ant Caves
  10. Pumpkin Gorge
  11. The Ghost Ship
  12. The Graveyard
  13. The Asylum Grounds
  14. The Haunted Ruins
  15. Pools of the Ancient Dead
  16. Pumpkin Gorge
  17. The Sleeping Village

After the final segment the player is sent back to the main menu of the demo disc.

Differences from the retail version

Controls

The Rolling Demo features a vastly different control scheme. Most notable are the tank controls when moving Dan around without the analog stick. Dan is also capable of sneaking and quickly turning around 180°, both moves that were removed before release.

Digital

Action Digital - 0 Digital - 1 Digital - 2
Attack (hold for continuous attack)      
Jump (hold for higher jump)      
Turn around      
Block      
Walk      
Walk backwards      
Turn left      
Turn right      
Sneak   +       +  
Run   +  /L3  /L3   +  /L3
Jump left     +    
Jump right     +    
Open scrollable text box R3 R3 R3
Change camera mode SELECT SELECT SELECT
Open pause menu START START START

Analog - 0

The general button layout will be identical to whichever digital mode was last active. With this setting, Dan does not turn around when the analog stick is moved in the opposite direction of where he is facing; he walks backwards instead. If the analog stick is tilted only slightly, Dan will sneak.

Analog - 1

The general button layout will be identical to whichever digital mode was last active. With this setting, Dan turns to face the direction of the analog stick and walks in that direction without exception. If the analog stick is tilted only slightly, Dan will sneak.

FMVs

Although no full motion videos are included with the demo, there are several references to them inside MEDIEVIL.EXE. Starting at offset 0x8F68C:

10AV.STR
INTROAV.STR
TITLEAV.STR
DUMMY.STR

Further references occur at offset 0xAD300:

11V.STR
9AV.STR
8AV.STR
7AV.STR
5AV.STR
4AV.STR
3AV.STR
2AV.STR

6AV, 12AV, 13AV and 14AV are not mentioned, meaning they were probably not finished yet.

Gameplay

Lives

Dan's lives are represented by his skull instead of Life Bottles, both in the HUD and within the game's levels themselves.

Energy

Dan's energy is represented by glowing green bones. These were replaced by Energy Vials and Fountains of Rejuvenation.

Levels

Starting at offset 0x8E00C in MEDIEVIL.EXE is the following numbered list of levels:

*X.Programmers's Playground
*30.Zarok's Lair
*29.The Lake
*28.The Time Device
*27.The Great Machine
*26.The Hub
*25.The Halls Of Illusion
*24.The Entrance Hall
23.The Ghost Ship
*22.The Silver Wood
*21.Circle Of Shadows
20.The Haunted Ruins
*19.The Gallows Gauntlet
*18.The Enchanted Earth
*17.Inside The Asylum
16.The Asylum Grounds
*15.The Mud Slide
*14.The Muddy Riverbank
*13.The River
12.Pools Of The Ancient Dead
11.The Sleeping Village
10.The Pumpkin Serpent
9.Pumpkin Gorge
8.The Crystal Caves
7.The Ant Caves
*6.The Fields Of Dust
5.The Scarecrow Fields
4.The Desecrated Church
*3.Cemetery Hill
*2.The Coffin Vaults
1.The Graveyard
*X.Title Level

Levels preceded by an asterisk are completely unavailable in the MediEvil Rolling Demo. Notably, ten levels on the list did not make it into the final version of the game: The Coffin Vaults, The Fields Of Dust, The River, The Muddy Riverbank, The Mud Slide, Circle of Shadows, The Silver Wood, The Halls Of Illusion, The Hub and The Great Machine. The list also does not include Dan's Crypt, Return to the Graveyard or the Hall of Heroes, suggesting that these levels were conceptualised at a later date.

Pause Menu

The pause menu featured in this demo is completely different from the retail one, both in terms of how it looks as well as its available options. Additional options can be unlocked using the DEBUG1 and DEBUG2 cheats.

RESUME X to continue.
RESTART** X to restart.
EXIT X to exit.
FX VOLUME: L/R to change.
MUSIC VOLUME: L/R to change.
CONTROL SETTINGS: X to continue.
SPEED RELATIVE TURN:* On/Off X to toggle.
ALLOW DEMO RECORD:** Not available X to toggle.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:* 0-3 L/R to change.
LIVES:* 1-9 L/R to change.
ENERGY:*
1-99

Invulnerable

L/R to change.
WEAPON:*
None

Small Sword
Big Sword
Magic Sword
Dagger
Axe
Club
Crossbow
Chick Drumstick
Own arm
Lightning
Longbow
Spear
Trident

L/R to change.
WEAPON POWER-UP:* On/Off X to toggle.
SHIELD:*
None

Copper
Silver
Gold

L/R to change.
LIMITED RUN:* On/Off X to toggle.
DAN MODE:* Not implemented L/R to change.
RUNE KEYS:*
Chaos - No/Yes

Earth - No/Yes
Moon - No/Yes
Star - No/Yes
Time - No/Yes

X/L/R to change.
FEET GRIP:* Not activated X to toggle. L/R to change.
GROUND FRIC:* Not activated X to toggle. L/R to change.
KINETIC FRIC:* Not activated X to toggle. L/R to change.
JUST DAN:** On/Off X toggles (must restart).
TESTCARD:** On/Off X to toggle.
MATRICES:** Not available X to toggle.
TERRAIN MODE:* Not available X to toggle.
GATSO:** On/Off X to toggle.
MAPVIEW DISPLAY:* Not available X to toggle.
ACTIVE MAPVIEW* X to enter.
CAMERA MODE:**
Spline

Spline Z (Abs)
Spline Z (Rel)
Spline Z (Lim)
Overhead
Chase
Head-set
Free
Free (sus)
Fixed

L/R to change.
SUPER CHEAT* X to set.
SOUND TEST* X to enter.
PLACE ENTITY:** Not available L/R, O + L/R, X to place.
SHOW VRAM** X to enter.
SHOW MEM STATUS** X to enter.
GRAB SCREEN** X to enter.

* Unlocked with DEBUG1 or DEBUG2 cheat.
** Unlocked with DEBUG2 cheat only.

Cheats

Main article: Cheats in MediEvil

The following cheats will only work after Dan has been made controllable.

DEBUG1

"LOST TROLL"
While holding  , press  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  . New options will then appear in the pause menu.[2]

DEBUG2

"STOUT LORD"
While holding  , press  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  . New options will then appear in the pause menu. This cheat unlocks all DEBUG1 options as well.[2]

GameShark codes

The following codes are compatible with both releases of the demo:

Demo Mode
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
300D4490 0000
Player Controlled Lets the player control Dan.[3]
D0096864 800D
300D4490 0040
Demo Ready Signals that demo mode is ready (can cause strange behaviour).[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4490 00C0
Demo Playing Demo mode plays (can cause strange behaviour).[4]
Pause Menu
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0000
PAUSE Reverts to the default pause menu.[4]
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0001
DEBUG1 Unlocks additional options in the pause menu.[3]
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0002
DEBUG2 Unlocks additional options in the pause menu (including DEBUG1 options).[3]
Control Settings
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
800D0818 27F8
300D4008 0000
Digital - 0 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 0.[4]
D0096864 800D
800D0818 281C
300D4008 0001
Digital - 1 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 1.[4]
D0096864 800D
800D0818 2840
300D4008 0002
Digital - 2 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 2.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D400C 0000
Analog - 0 Sets the current control scheme to Analog - 0 (analog controller required).[4]
D0096864 800D
300D400C 0001
Analog - 1 Sets the current control scheme to Analog - 1 (analog controller required).[4]
Restart Level
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0001
The Graveyard When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Graveyard. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0004
The Desecrated Church When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Desecrated Church. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0005
Scarecrow Fields When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to the Scarecrow Fields. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0007
The Ant Caves When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Ant Caves. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0009
Pumpkin Gorge When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to Pumpkin Gorge. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 000B
The Sleeping Village When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Sleeping Village. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 000C
Pools of the Ancient Dead When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to Pools of the Ancient Dead. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0010
The Asylum Grounds When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Asylum Grounds. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0014
The Haunted Ruins When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Haunted Ruins. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0017
The Ghost Ship When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to The Ghost Ship. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[4]

See also

References

  1. Goring, Graham, ECTS - Lotta BBW's on uk.games.video.playstation. Published September 7, 1997. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Original research by SolidSnake11.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Codes by Hacc.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 Codes by Lazlo52.

External links

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