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.

MediEvil Rolling Demo
MediEvil Rolling Demo splash screen.png
Rolling Demo splash screen.
Developer(s) SCE Cambridge Studio
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Release date September 7, 1997[1]
Previous demo MediEvil E3 '97 Demo (trade show)
Next demo MediEvil ECTS Pre-Alpha (trade show)
MediEvil 0.32 Demo (demo disc)

Gameplay

The 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   to skip any of the demo's segments and pressing SELECT can be used to return to the demo disc's main menu.

Sequence

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 Ghost Ship
  5. The Asylum Grounds
  6. Pools Of The Ancient Dead
  7. Pumpkin Gorge
  8. The 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.

Features

Being over a year older than the final game, the MediEvil Rolling Demo resembles the arcade classic Ghosts 'n Goblins more closely than the Zeldaesque format of the final product. Elements like the Chalices of Souls, Help Gargoyles, Merchant Gargoyles, books and the inventory do not exist yet. Potentially offensive religious references are yet to be censored. Development is in full swing and most levels are only half-finished.

This is not the MediEvil you know.

Controls

The MediEvil 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.

Difficulty levels

After activating the DEBUG1 or DEBUG2 cheat, an option to adjust the difficulty level can be found in the pause menu. The default difficulty level is 1, while the full range is from 0 to 3 for a total of four difficulty levels.

The exact effects of difficulty levels on the game are unknown, but they do not seem to change the points earned for killing enemies or the amount of damage that weapons deal to them. However, the game does check the current difficulty whenever an enemy is first loaded in, so it is likely it has some effect on them.

An additional reference to "difficulty" can be found in the Title Level VLO which contains a texture featuring the word. Another texture is of the word "normal", which may be the name of the default difficulty level. Whatever the case, it is likely difficulty levels would have been adjustable from the Title Level.

Difficulty levels are not present in the final game.

Enemies

Main article: Enemies in the MediEvil Rolling Demo

Full motion videos

Although no FMVs are included with the demo, there are several references to them inside MEDIEVIL.EXE:

0x8F68C 0xAD300
10AV.STR
INTROAV.STR
TITLEAV.STR
DUMMY.STR
11V.STR
9AV.STR
8AV.STR
7AV.STR
5AV.STR
4AV.STR
3AV.STR
2AV.STR

6AV, 12AV, 13AV and 14AV do not appear in the lists, meaning they were probably not finished or planned yet.

Levels

Ten levels are shown off as part of the demo:

 

The Graveyard, The Desecrated Church, The Scarecrow Fields, The Ant Caves, Pumpkin Gorge, The Sleeping Village, Pools Of The Ancient Dead, The Asylum Grounds, The Haunted Ruins and The Ghost Ship. However, references to more levels than this can be found in the demo. Starting at offset 0x8E00C in MEDIEVIL.EXE is a numbered list of levels (left). An updated, unnumbered revision of this list also appears in later versions of the game, including the final one (right).

MediEvil Rolling Demo
0x8E00C in MEDIEVIL.EXE
MediEvil (SCUS-94227)
0xA4C94 in MEDIEVIL.EXE
*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
*Programmers's Playground
Zarok's Lair
The Lake
The Time Device
The Entrance Hall
The Ghost Ship
Hall of Heroes
The Haunted Ruins
The Gallows Gauntlet
The Enchanted Earth
Inside The Asylum
The Asylum Grounds
Pools Of The Ancient Dead
The Sleeping Village
The Pumpkin Serpent
Pumpkin Gorge
The Crystal Caves
The Ant Caves
Dan's Crypt
Scarecrow Fields
The Hilltop Mausoleum
Cemetery Hill
Return to the Graveyard
The Graveyard
*Title Level

Levels in the list that are preceded by an asterisk are unavailable to play in the MediEvil Rolling Demo. However, despite not being marked with an asterisk, The Pumpkin Serpent and The Crystal Caves are also not playable.

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.

Pick-ups

Pick-ups are items that are of use to Sir Dan on his journey. In the MediEvil Rolling Demo, pick-ups generally take on forms that are different from the ones that appear in the final game. For example, Dan's source of energy in the demo are Energy Bones rather than Health Fountains or Energy Vials.

Pick-ups are also presented differently in the heads-up display; whenever Dan is near a pick-up, a semi-trasparent version of it will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen until it is picked up or Dan gets further away from it.

Chests

Chests are containers from which pick-ups can be obtained. There are three types of chests in the MediEvil Rolling Demo:

  Normal Chests
A normal chest will always contain the same thing every playthrough. It can contain both weapons and shields. It is essentially the same in the retail game.
  Mystery Chests
A mystery chest also contains weapons and shields like a normal chest, but its contents are randomised; the contents of the chest are not guaranteed to be the same on another playthrough. The chests can be recognised by their reddish colour and question mark on the front and back. These chests do not appear in the final game.
  Skull Chests
These chests house Smart Bombs which explode to damage anyone caught in their blast, including Dan himself. Enemies killed by a bomb will not be added to the total score even if Dan is the one to trigger it. In the final game, these chests also house the Serpents.

Energy

Dan's energy is represented by glowing green bones known as Energy Bones. These were replaced by Energy Vials and Fountains of Rejuvenation in the final game, while the Energy Counter, which keeps track of the bones, was replaced by the Life Bar.

At the beginning of the game, Dan will have three Energy Bones. More Energy Bones can be found in the environment or dropped by enemies, especially the final enemy in a wave of enemies.

Losing all Energy Bones will cause Dan to lose a Life. A single Energy Bone is lost when Dan sustains damage from an enemy attack. If Dan suffers a fatal event, such as falling or drowning, then he will lose a Life and his bones will be reset to three.

The Energy Counter will display the first three bones individually. After Dan collects a fourth bone, the bones are stacked and a number will show the current amount. Although Dan can carry a large number of Energy Bones, the Counter will not update beyond the first nine, much like the Life Counter.

Lives

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

Dan begins the game with three Lives. More Lives can usually be found in areas off the beaten path within levels. If Dan loses all of his energy he will lose a Life.

Although Dan can carry a large number of Lives, the Life Counter will not update beyond the first nine.

Potions

Potions are pick-ups found throughout the levels. They are easily recognised by their shaking, releasing of steam and jumping in the air. When Dan drinks them, they cause a variety of effects:

  Dragon Potion
Although the potion has no effect in the Rolling Demo, it is likely it would have served to transform Dan into Dragon Dan. The potion cannot be found in any of the Rolling Demo's levels, but can be accessed via hacking.[2] The potion was repurposed for the Dragon Armour, but was eventually superseded by the Serpent Potion.
  Growth Potion
Upon drinking this potion, Dan begins growing in size. Once he reaches a certain height, his current weapon is changed to the Magic Sword. Afterwards he shrinks back down to his regular size. This potion cannot be found in any of the Rolling Demo's levels, but can be accessed via hacking.[2]
  Invisibility Potion
Nothing seems to happen when Dan drinks this potion in the Rolling Demo. However, given its appearance, it is likely that the potion would have made Dan invisible. This potion cannot be found in any of the Rolling Demo's levels, but can be accessed via hacking.[2] A retextured version of the potion model eventually became the Life Bottle.
  Yellow Potion
This potion cannot be found in any of the Rolling Demo's levels, but can be accessed via hacking.[2] The potion seems to have no real effect when it is picked up.
  Serpent Potion
This potion summons the powerful Serpent Lord Kul Katura to fight at Dan's side for 1 minute. Kul Katura deals 4 points of each type of damage. He was eventually moved into chests while the Serpent Potion became the design of the Dragon Potion instead.
  Shrink Potion
It is likely that this potion would have made Dan shrink. However, it appears to have no effect in the Rolling Demo and cannot be found in any of its levels.[2] Dan is shrunk by the Forest Witch in the final game.
  Shrink Enemies Potion
This potion shrinks all nearby enemies for 10 seconds. The effect is slightly delayed and kicks in roughly 2 seconds after Dan picks up the potion. There is no equivalent mechanic to this in the retail version of the game.
  Weapon Power-up Potion
Makes Dan's current weapon deal double damage for a duration of 20 seconds. Some weapons also get additional effects, such as releasing shockwaves or enveloping Dan in a protective aura. Power-up moves were incorporated as secondary attacks in the final game.

Rune Keys

Rune Keys, also known as Rune Stones or Runes, are objects that can be used to open the many doors and gates in the levels.

Functionally, Rune Keys remain unchanged in the MediEvil Rolling Demo. However, because the inventory does not exist yet, collected Rune Keys appear in their own panel instead. The panel, located in the bottom left part of the screen, shows up only when a Rune Key is collected or when Dan is near a door that requires a Rune Key.

There are no Rune Locks shaped like begging hands yet either, which is why some doors are textured to indicate which Rune Key is needed to open them, such as the ones in the Pumpkin Gorge level.

Shields

Much like in the final game, there are three types of shields: Copper, Silver and Gold. Unlike in the final game, all three types share the same model, which is like the Silver Shield in retail. There is also no HUD indicator of a shield's health in the MediEvil Rolling Demo.

Weapons

Similarly to how it works in Ghosts 'n Goblins, Dan can only carry a single weapon at a time. New weapons can be obtained from chests or found on their own in the levels. Upon picking up a new weapon the old one is discarded.

Each weapon can be powered-up using the Weapon Power-up Potion. Weapons can also be stolen by Imps, in which case Dan will tear off his own arm to defend himself. Unlike in the final game, all weapons are unlimited and cannot be used up.

There are 13 weapons in total:

Weapon Damage
       
 
Small Sword
2 2 0 0
 
Big Sword
4 4 0 0
 
Magic Sword
5 4 0 8
 
DaggerTemplate:Ref
4 0 0 0
 
AxeTemplate:Ref
4 8 0 0
 
ClubTemplate:Ref
0 16Template:Ref 0 0
 
Crossbow
8 2 0 0
 
Chick DrumstickTemplate:Ref
0 0 0 0
 
Own arm
0 3 0 0
 
LightningTemplate:Ref
0 0 0 2
 
LongbowTemplate:Ref
2 2 8 0
 
SpearTemplate:Ref
8 8 0 0
 
TridentTemplate:Ref
N/A N/A N/A N/A

[a] While powered up, a blue body shield aura forms around Dan that protects him from being hurt.
[b] While powered up, a red body shield aura forms around Dan that protects him from being hurt, but also hurts enemies.
[c] Releases a shockwave while powered up that deals 2 points of weight damage.
[d] Indirect hits only deal 2 points of weight damage.
[e] No discernible change while powered up.
[f] Inflicts a burn effect which deals 4 points of fire damage six times. When powered up, it releases a fire blast that deals 2 points of fire damage as well.
[g] Crashes the game when equipped. If worked around, has no hit detection anyway.

Points

 
Sir Dan earning 125 points for killing a zombie.

Points are awarded for picking up moneybags and dispatching enemies. The Score Counter in the top right corner of the screen keeps track of points. Points were eventually scrapped and replaced with the Chalice of Souls and Gold systems.

Dan only earns points for enemies he kills directly, i.e. enemies who die by drowning or a Smart Bomb do not award any points. Each enemy type awards a different amount of points. Awarded amounts range from 50 to 5000 points:

* This enemy cannot be encountered in the demo, but can be found in the code.

Scrollable text box

 
The scrollable text box.

By pressing R3 during gameplay, a dark blue scrollable text box will be brought up on the screen. While the box is on the screen the game is completely paused just like when accessing the pause menu.

At the top of the box is the HUD icon for Dan's lives while instructions on how to control the box appear near the bottom:   to advance,   to go back,   to exit. The following text and sprites are within the box itself:

 

Never out of print since its debut in 1818*, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel of surprising psychological depths as well as a horror masterpiece.

It has been adapted for the screen again and again - yet until now, no film version has plumbed the story's rich complexities.  
The Frankenstein story resonates anew
 
today, in our age of genetic cloning and replaceable human parts.

Press             buttons.

From the earliest days of the cinema, we have been fascinated by visitors from other worlds. Slimy, malevolent and often melodramatic, they have scrambled from their flying saucers and threatened us with their ray-guns in some of the most popular movies ever made.  

* This value shows the player's current score.

Purpose and origin

According to MediEvil's producer Chris Sorrell, the box is a display mechanism for the game's help books that he was working on at the time. The text shown in the box was chosen randomly for the purposes of testing.[3]

The first part of the text comes from the back of the book Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Classic Tale of Terror Reborn on Film while the second part is from the back of the book They Came From Outer Space: Alien Encounters in the Movies.

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.[4]

DEBUG2

"STOUT LORD"
While holding  , press  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  . New options will then appear in the pause menu. This cheat unlocks all DEBUG1 options as well.[4]

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.[5]
Pause Menu
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0000
PAUSE Reverts to the default pause menu.[6]
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0001
DEBUG1 Unlocks additional options in the pause menu.[5]
D0096864 800D
300CFCEC 0002
DEBUG2 Unlocks additional options in the pause menu (including DEBUG1 options).[5]
Control Settings
Code Name Effect
D0096864 800D
800D0818 27F8
300D4008 0000
Digital - 0 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 0.[6]
D0096864 800D
800D0818 281C
300D4008 0001
Digital - 1 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 1.[6]
D0096864 800D
800D0818 2840
300D4008 0002
Digital - 2 Sets the current control scheme to Digital - 2.[6]
D0096864 800D
300D400C 0000
Analog - 0 Sets the current control scheme to Analog - 0 (analog controller required).[6]
D0096864 800D
300D400C 0001
Analog - 1 Sets the current control scheme to Analog - 1 (analog controller required).[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
D0096864 800D
300D4024 0009
Pumpkin Gorge When picking the restart level option in the pause menu, restarts to Pumpkin Gorge. DEBUG2 must be enabled.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]
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.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Goring, Graham, ECTS - Lotta BBW's on uk.games.video.playstation. Published September 7, 1997. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Original research into unused entities and potions by SolidSnake11.
  3.   Winston1, MediEvil developers - Q&A on MediEvil Boards. Published May 7, 2013.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Original research into cheats by SolidSnake11.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 GameShark codes by Hacc.
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 GameShark codes based on research by Lazlo52.

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