Proto:Unreal/September 1995 Monster Tech Demo

This is a sub-page of Proto:Unreal.

To do: There needs to be some details on how to run the prototype because, even if installed, it crashes upon attempting to start it up, especially when attempting to run them via compatibility adjustments.

The Unreal September 1995 Monster Preview Tech Demo is an early prototype of Unreal made about two and a half years before the final game came out. Needless to say, there is an enormous difference between this and the final version. In fact, nearly everything in this prototype did not appear in the final version with the exception of the editor's 3d view. The “gameplay” in this prototype is nearly non-existent; all you can do is walk around a single level.

This prototype seems to be designed purely around a fantasy theme, as there are no futuristic textures anywhere in it.

General Differences

• The console is separate from the rest of the "game" and for the moment there doesn't seem to be any way to type even a single command in it.

• The engine uses a special format, .unr, for levels and graphics. This format cannot be read by any of the final's tools.

• There is no HUD or weapons. There's three NPCs: the woman, the dragon and the gargoyle but they don't attempt to attack the player.

• The editor is most likely built into the game's .exe, like in Unreal Tournament 3.

• The .exe uses an icon that is much different from the final's icon. It's a mere blue square.

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  Unreal September 1995 icon.

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  Final icon

• There is unique water-ripple effect used on water surfaces. This does not appear in the final game.

Characters

This demo contains the characters mentioned in the help file of the December 1995 demo, meaning the woman, the dragon and the gargoyle on the map. It also contains the wizard but its animations are broken and all you can see is a glimpse of him. However this requires a trick: approach the wizard, then switch to UnrealServer window and choose Window >> New Camera. Using the '[' or ']' keys switch to the wizard and start moving. In the "TestLev / Camera" window, if you're lucky, you'll see the model.

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  The woman.

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  The woman.

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  The gargoyle.

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  The gargoyle.

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  The dragon.

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  The dragon.

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  The oddity (?).

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  The wizard.

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  The wizard.

Graphics

Textures used in levels are stored in their UNR files. The GRAPHICS.UNR file contains default texture, fonts and icons. There is one graphic, the skybox texture, that can be accessed easily.

Skybox Texture Oddity

The skybox texture is a bit weird; when viewed outside the game, it is purple tinted, but when you see it in the game, it is a light-blue tint, identical to the December 1995 tech demo.

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  The skybox graphic.

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  The skybox graphic in-game.

Levels

There is only one level in the prototype and it can be fully seen in the Characters gallery above.

Music

There is no music present in the demo.