Proto:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)/Simon Wai Prototype/Oil Ocean Zone

This is a sub-page of Proto:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)/Simon Wai Prototype.

General Differences

Simon Wai	August 21th onward

• The stage at this point uses what would become the final Casino Night Zone 2-player theme, with the final Oil Ocean theme being used in slot $03, which is believed to be Sand Shower. This makes sense, as the final Oil Ocean theme would fit a desert pretty well.
• Oil slides don't have any effect on Sonic or Tails yet; they just act as ordinary slopes.
• The pressure machines (Or whatever they're called) are different in the Simon Wai version:

• They're usually flanked by one or two sets of spikes in later versions. This is never the case in the Simon Wai prototype.
• The fiery spikes underneath the lids are not present.
• They have no assigned sound effects.

• The ball launchers / rolling checkered balls that are unused in the final version are abundant in both acts in the Simon Wai prototype.
• The fan objects have yet to be programmed or drawn.
• The object palette for the Aquis and Octus badniks has been properly set up, but their graphics aren't loaded in VRAM, and they don't appear in either of the acts or in the edit mode list. Their behavior in the Simon Wai prototype is identical to their behavior in the Nick Arcade prototype; in other words, it's not finished.

Simon Wai prototype	August 21st onward

• The lift platforms were widened in the later versions to match the width of the elevator shafts. The original version would eventually be touched up and used in Sonic Mania Plus.

Simon Wai - September 14th	CENSOR onward

• The Simon Wai prototype is missing the oil sprites underneath the pipes of the bottommost barrels.

Graphical Differences

Simon Wai - August 21st	September 14th onward

• The background was simplified in later versions to free up space in VRAM. A few tiles were removed; The most noticeable difference are the two bending pipes on both sides.
• The background scrolls as a whole rather than using individual layers. This means the sun in the sky does not stay in the same position throughout the level like it does in the final.

Simon Wai - August 21st	September 14th onward

The oil draining from the background in the Simon Wai prototype is incorrectly colored, appearing to be sucked up from the pipes instead of spewed out.

Simon Wai - August 21st	September 14th onward

The same error can be seen in the oil slides that drain to the right.

Act 1

Full Maps

Simon Wai prototype
Beta 4

Simon Wai prototype
Beta 4

• There are ten rings here in the Simon Wai layout, and fourteen rings in Beta 4. All of the rings are in different positions.
• Two collapsing ledges were added in later versions. The first ledge replaced a normal platform, and the second ledge takes up empty space.
• The shallow pit with two oil pipes (Presumably here to teach the player how oil affects their momentum) isn't present in the Simon Wai version.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are forty-three rings in the Simon Wai version, and thirty-three rings (Counting the super ring monitor) in other versions.
• The floating platforms with the ten ring pyramid and the super ring monitor were added after the Simon Wai build.
• The rings on the collapsing ledges are closer to the edge in later versions.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Thirteen rings in the Simon Wai version, twenty-three rings in other versions.
• In general, both acts in the Simon Wai prototype are more open than in later versions, which can be a bit confusing when the player's trying to figure out where to go next. The open area to the right of the first pressure machine was closed off to make the area more linear. Since the first platform in the oil was rendered pointless, it was deleted.
• The flat ground in the upper section slopes downward in later versions of the act, leading to a quarter-pipe. The oil pipe on the right had to be moved down as a result.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There's an entire path at the top of the stage that was removed from later versions. The player's supposed to be able to get to that path using the elevator at the bottom-right, but it doesn't go high enough to reach it.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• All of the loose rings in this area were deleted from later versions. Thankfully, they added a super ring monitor on the lower left platform.
• This is an area that definitely benefited from the fans; It's pretty difficult to get out of those oil pits in-between the circular platforms.
• The large pipe block and the platform the switch is on were deleted from later versions of the act.
• The ceiling on the right is lower in later layouts.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are only seven rings here in the Simon Wai version, compared to the thirty rings of other versions.
• The previously mentioned deleted upper path continues here. One of the chunks from the upper path, seen in the upper-left corner, remains in all versions of the act.
• Walls were placed on the right edge of this area to keep the player on the path.
• This is the first appearance of the swinging platforms in the Simon Wai layout. Both of them were deleted from later layouts: The first one was replaced by two fans and a collapsing ledge, and the second one was replaced by solid ground.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Six rings in the Simon Wai prototype, twenty-eight in other versions (Counting the super ring monitor.)
• To the right of the elevator shaft in the Simon Wai layout is what is ostensibly a death pit. That empty space is now occupied by a second elevator shaft in later versions. If the player somehow manages to fall into the pit anyway, there's a fan down there to push the player back up.
• All of the other pits on the path were filled in with floor chunks and quarter-pipes.
• A super ring monitor and extra life monitor were added above the second elevator shaft, and a collapsing ledge was placed to the right of those monitors.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There's but one ring in the Simon Wai version. Twelve more rings were added in later layouts.
• The deleted upper path ends here. The bizarre pipe structure in the upper-right is supposed to have a pressure cap on it; Popping this cap would send the player flying to the right, like the pressure caps that send the player flying up in later versions of Oil Ocean.
• An invincibility monitor was hidden inside the pipes on the upper path.
• The alternate entrance to this area was added later in development.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Besides an additional platform in the upper-right and the oil pipe in the middle-left, the layouts are identical between versions.
• Other versions add two more loose rings and a super ring monitor to this area.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• The pressure cap mentioned previously would have led to the ball launcher sequence seen here. The launchers, elevator shaft, and ground around it were all removed from later versions.
• A checkpoint was placed on the square platform on the lower-left.
• Another collapsing ledge was placed in the lower-right corner.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Two rings were added to this area.
• The first oil pipe was shortened, and the second oil pipe was deleted. The platform to the right of the second oil pipe was removed as well.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Eight rings in the Simon Wai version, nineteen in other versions.
• The only level piece that's kept between both versions is the large oil slide.
• The top path is split into two sections in the Simon Wai prototype. It's just a single linear path in later versions.
• The bottom path was changed a bit, with the ground slightly higher elevated in later builds.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Four of the rings from the upper path just barely make it into this area. There are no rings here in the final version.
• The launchers are further apart in later versions, and there's an extra launcher that leads into it.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Twelve rings in the Simon Wai prototype, fourteen in later versions.
• There's no way to get to the topmost path in the Simon Wai prototype. In later versions, a ball launcher sequence will shoot the player onto that path.
• The elevator and the elevator shaft were both removed from later builds.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are thirteen rings in the Simon Wai layout and twelve in later versions.
• Both oil pipes were removed later in development.
• It's possible for the player to switch paths in the Simon Wai version. In other versions, they're separated by additional platforms.
• The ball launcher sequence at the top tries to shoot the player through a platform, but that platform is solid so they'll just land back in the cannon. This was fixed in later builds.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are no rings in the Simon Wai version of the layout.
• More solid foreground chunks were added to make this area linear. It's more of a mess of individual parts in the Simon Wai prototype.
• The ground on the top-left and the oil pipe aren't connected together in the Simon Wai version.
• There's an extra ball shooter sequence here in later versions of the act.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• To get to the end area in the Simon Wai version, the player has to go through one final ball shooter sequence. This was taken out of later versions and replaced with slightly more stable ground and a pressure machine.
• There's no signpost here in the Simon Wai version.

Act 2

Full Maps

Simon Wai prototype
Beta 4

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• The tiny platform over the gap in the middle was taken out and replaced by a collapsing ledge. Thankfully, they added some fans under there to keep it from being a death trap.
• Three more rings were added above the collapsing ledge.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• In the Simon Wai version, the player is supposed to be launched from a pressure stopper, go into a ball launcher on the right, and reach the ground in the upper-right. Unfortunately, this is another instance of the game trying to launch the player into a solid floor. It doesn't go well.

In later versions, the path to the upper-right is a simple walk leading to an elevator platform.

• The large gap in the middle-right was thankfully built over.
• The player's able to jump into the middle of a different ball launcher sequence by jumping into the launcher at the top-right. That sequence is still in later versions, but it's been condensed a bit by eliminating a few ball launchers, including the one seen here.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are six fewer rings in later versions of this area.
• The rings in the spike ring sections are right in the spikes' path in the Simon Wai version. They were moved up a bit in later builds, out of the way of those moving spikes.
• Later iterations of the layout add a ceiling to the top-right corner.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Later versions remember to put some rings here: Seven, to be exact.
• There's a yellow spring trap on the left in later builds.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• The later layouts cut out more than half of the area on the left.
• The method to get up to the higher ground changed from a pressure machine to an elevator platform.
• The ceiling on the right is lower. Does it matter? Not really.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are fourteen rings in the Simon Wai version, and twenty-one rings in other versions.
• This is a rare example of Oil Ocean being equally linear in all versions. That said, the area still changed quite a bit:

• The Simon Wai layout is pretty plain, only featuring a couple of slopes, a quarter-pipe, and a half-pipe.
• The other layouts keep the big quarter-pipe but add an oil slide, a spike ring section, and an elevator shaft.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Only thirteen rings in the Simon Wai version, as opposed to the thirty-five rings in other versions.
• The ball launcher sequence that acts as an alternate way to get to the upper path doesn't exist yet in the Simon Wai builds. There's just a pressure machine.
• The player can go back down to the bottom path in the Simon Wai prototype. In other versions, once the player reaches this path, they're pretty much stuck here.
• The oil slide at the bottom-right was removed.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• In the Simon Wai prototype, there are four rings here. In other versions, there are only three rings, but two super ring monitors.
• There's a ball launcher sequence that was cut, probably due to how easy it is to get into one of those ball launchers out of sequence.
• Two of the slides were omitted from later versions. The remaining pipe was enlarged, then moved up and to the right.
• The elevator platform at the bottom rises into the ceiling in the Simon Wai prototype. Which, you know, it's not ideal.
• There's a different way to get to the upper-right area in later versions: A red spring near the bottom-right corner.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Fifteen rings in the Simon Wai prototype, and twenty-five rings in later versions...but six of them are left over from the earlier layout and can't be collected!
• Standard change of segregating the paths in other layouts. It's just a mess of slopes and switches and checkered balls in the earlier layout.
• Both oil slides were taken out and replaced with a ball launcher sequence. This is the new way to get to the land on the far right.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are three fewer rings here in later versions.
• All of the oil slider except the first and last changed in size. The second oil slide was also moved up a tad.
• More solid blocks means more linearity.
• Adds a pressure stopper leading to the first of two ball launcher sequences that end up in around the same area.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Later versions add three more rings here, but the last six are no longer accessible.
• Remember the previously mentioned ball launcher sequences that lead to roughly the same area? They both start here in the Simon Wai version.
• The upper part of this area is harder to reach in later builds; The player has to jump off a yellow spring hidden in one of the pipes, then jump off the super sneakers monitor.
• Two elevator shifts were added in later versions.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Fifteen rings where there were no rings before.
• Ball launcher where there was no ball launcher before.
• The middle path and one of the elevator platforms were removed.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• In the Simon Wai corner, twelve loose rings. In the other corner, three loose rings and three super ring monitors. Plus, two extra lives!
• The Simon Wai version has a third short ball launcher sequence. Does it lead to the same area? Yes.
• The second of the two ball launcher sequences is here in the later versions yes.
• Someone added an oil slide to the top path...but who??

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Wai: No rings. Other: Six rings.
• Is it possible to get to the bottom path from the top in later versions? It is not.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There are twelve rings in the Simon Wai layout, twenty-six (Including the super ring monitor) in Beta 4. Three of the rings are left over from the previous layout and cannot be collected.
• The path in the middle was removed, forcing the player to enter the new ball launcher sequence.
• The oil slide on the bottom right goes on longer in the newer versions.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• There's a giant pit to the right of the final pressure machine in the Simon Wai version. The entrance to that pit was filled with solid chunks in later versions.
• The final pressure machine leads to progress in the Simon Wai prototype. In other versions, it leads to an invincibility monitor. The new elevator shaft is the new way to progress.

Simon Wai prototype	Beta 4

• Since there's no boss in the Simon Wai version, Act 2 ends early.
• Later versions add solid blocks in the top-right to keep the player moving on the oil slides.
• Later builds add four rings, a shield monitor, and a hidden invincibility monitor.