Sam & Max Hit the Road

Sam & Max Hit the Road
Developer: LucasArts Publisher: LucasArts Platforms: DOS, Mac OS Classic, Windows Released in US: November 1993 Released in EU: 1994 This game has unused code. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has a hidden level select. This game has revisional differences. This game has anti-piracy features. This game has a prototype article

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a classic LucasArts adventure game based on Steve Purcell's madcap Sam & Max: Freelance Police comics. Notable for ditching the "bottom half of screen filled with various verbs to click on" interface seen in previous LucasArts games in favor of a more minimalist, icon based system.

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Prototype Info

Debug Mode

Like many other games on the SCUMM Engine, Sam & Max has a built-in debug mode. However, the variable to enable it has been disabled.

It can be re-enabled by opening samnmax.001 in a hex editor and changing the sequence of bytes starting at 0x3995 from 0C692622 to 06696969. This bypasses the need for a debug password completely, and debug mode can be enabled after booting up the game simply by pressing Ctrl and D together. This edit has a minor side effect of replacing the word OK in the Save menu with ''. This edit has only been tested on the CD version of the game. It won't work in ScummVM, only in the original DOS interpreter.

(Source: NeoDement)

At any time during gameplay, press one of the following keys/key combinations:

Key(s)	Action
Ctrl + E	Examine/Change a SCUMM variable. First specify the variable, then the value.
Ctrl + F	Fast mode.
Ctrl + G	Go to a room. First specify the room, then the X position.
Ctrl + O	Pick up an object. First specify the object number, then the room.
Ctrl + L	Enter in a Boot Parameter. (A list of valid Boot Parameters can be found here.)
Alt	Hold for fast mode.

(Source: Endy/Ender, bgbennyboy)

If you're curious what these debug options look like and don't want to crack open a hex editor to see them, here's a video showing them all:

Unused Scripts

To do: If there are more, find them.

There are a bunch of unused scripts which are mainly storyboard placeholders. These scripts are being parsed here in a readable fashion, while removing non-interesting junk and throwing in some insight. You can access them in ScummVM by entering debug mode, teleporting into the appropriate room and hitting script x run.

Local Script 205 in Room 7

Although the majority of the script is used, one message in the answering machine remains unused for whatever reason.

If var230 is set to 1:
 Get random number from 1 to 3
 If number is 1:
  //Used message.
 If number is 2:
  //Used message.
 If number is 3:
 //Used message.
 If number is 4:
  //Notice how numbers 1 to 3 get randomized and used but not 4.
  Print "<beep> Snork! <Grunt> SQUEEEE!!!! <Scronk> Yib! <Click>" using color 4

Local Script 204 in Room 9

This seems like an early cut-scene on the way to implementation, as it was left alone for quite a long time. Since Sam and Max's dialogue are legal say-line events, they have corresponding voice clips.

Set box 13 to 0 
  //Box 13 leads to Bosco, and it's being disabled for whatever reason
Walk Sam to 418,100
If Max is free, walk him to 418,100
Set object #90 state to 0 
  //This proves it was planned to be a door of some kind and it's being closed
Sam says "We'd like some fine Bavarian food sprinkled with umlauts, please."
Print "No shoes, no shirt, no service." using color 9 at 160,40 of current camera
Max says "That's okay, we don't want service.
	  We just want a few schnitzels and some other things that begin with 'schnitz.'"
Print "OUT!" using color 9 at 160,40 of current camera 
Set object #90 state to 1
Walk Sam to 380,125
Walk Max to 417,126
Set box 13 to 128
Sam says "What a sourpuss."
Max says "I think he just needs a hug.  Or a sharp blow to the head."
  //Prototype didn't mention any blows to the head, yet the scene was already unused!

And here are the unused pieces of dialogue associated with the above script:

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	We'd like some fine Bavarian food sprinkled with umlauts, please.
Max	That's okay, we don't want service. We just want a few schnitzels and some other things that begin with 'schnitz.'
Sam	What a sourpuss.
Max	I think he just needs a hug. Or a sharp blow to the head.

Local Script 207 in Room 59

Early versions of the T-Rex's Mouth script switched to this one when trying to use Twine on it. It also features some unused dialogue which was a pretty straight hint on what to do. In the finished game, you're given hints more gradually.

Print "Sam goes into cool lassoing animation." using color 4
Print "Which fails to snag a tooth." using color 4
Sam says "Dang.  I can't hook anything with the mouth closed like that."

And here is the unused dialogue associated with the above script:

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	Dang. I can't hook anything with the mouth closed like that.

Local Script 203 in Room 62

Another placeholder from when bungee jumping animations weren't done yet.

  //Yadda yadda
Print "Sam does cool animation with retriever, and gets a lump of tar!" using color 4
  //Some more yadda

Unused Graphics

Early Bigfoot Disguises

Some very strange, unfinished graphics of what appears to be early versions of the Bigfoot Disguise can be found stored near the final Bigfoot Disguise graphics. Only a forward facing graphic appears for each of these.

Graphic	Description
	Frame 0. This most likely represents the first phase of the disguise, when it's just a basic Stiltwalker's Costume.
	Frame 1. This appears to be close to the final phase of the disguise except it's missing the Toupee.
	Frame 2. This graphic is very similar to the one above except Max's face is gone. Only pupils and one of his ears, now at a 90 degree angle, remain.
	Frame 3. This most likely represents the second phase of the disguise, when it's a Stiltwalker's Costume covered in tar.
	Frame 4. This graphic is very similar to the one above except Max's face is visible again, as in the ones at the top of the list.

Bernard from Day of the Tentacle!

To do: Extract all the animations instead of just the first frame of the talking animations. I'll get round to it.

Oddly enough, a few animations of Bernard from Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle appear in the files of this game right next to the previously mentioned Early Bigfoot Disguise graphics. They go completely unused, although of course Bernard was used as a base for the Snuckey's Employees (which are not stored anywhere near the Bernard graphics).

The sprites and their Day of the Tentacle counterparts are shown here side by side. The only difference is that the palette is noticeably broken in the Sam & Max copy.

Graphic (S&M)	Graphic (DOTT)	Description
		Talking facing forward
		Talking facing backward
		Talking facing right

Placeholder Icon

This peculiar STOP icon was used in early versions of the game to interrupt conversations, or as a placeholder icon for inventory items. Interestingly, it is not by any means a default graphic for missing icons, it must instead be willingly programmed into an object's pickup script. Owning any object with no pickup programming will just glitch your inventory.

Placeholder Conversation Dash?

This image, stored amongst the inventory icons, appears to be a crop of one of the internal sprite sheets used when developing the game. It contains versions of some of the game's inventory icons without the bright red border, which is usually removed by replacing the color with a script at run time. It also seems to contain an earlier version of the Day Pass icon, which is straightened out rather than being at a bit of a tilt. Oddly enough, the used tilted version (sans red border) can also be seen in the top right.

The image also includes some notes written by the developers. The top ones aren't possible to read, but the ones at the bottom seem to say !/?, and are next to the Exclamation Mark and Question Mark dialogue choices.

The image's dimensions match up perfectly with the interface seen at the bottom of the screen during conversations, and the object this image is assigned to is named "dashj", so it's most likely just a random piece of placeholder art hidden at run time used to help position the icons correctly.

Incorrectly Cropped Icon(s)

Odd icon	Mammoth Fur icon

This odd icon, which is likely just an incorrect crop of an internal sprite sheet used when developing the game, shows half of the Tar icon and half of the Mammoth Fur icon. The Mammoth Fur icon seen here seems to be a little different from the one actually used in the game, having some greyish pixels in the top right that aren't present in the used icon. It shows up in the game's files three times, and is actually stored just before the rest of the inventory icons, amongst the conversation icons.

Disabled Objects

To do: If there are more, find them.

Objects are static elements in SCUMM the player interacts with. Some times objects are just coordinates with no graphic, sometimes they do have some graphics to display on top of the background. Each object can have a name, a code header and a script to run when it's been poked by the player.

Apartment Exterior

In this room's case, we have a total of three objects with no graphics, which are completely disabled by the coding.

Object 90 - street-diner-door

Dialogue for looking at the Diner Door.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	The finest in Bavarian cuisine.

Object 93 - road kill

Dialogue for looking at the Road Kill.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	Another senseless victim of America's love affair with the automobile.

Dialogue for picking up the Road Kill.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	I'd rather leave it in its natural state.

Some idea of what the Road Kill may have looked like can be found in the original background illustration of this room, found in Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts.

Object 94 - dead guy

Dialogue for looking at the Dead Guy.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	That'll teach him to break our antenna.

Dialogue for picking up the Dead Guy.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	I don't think he's gonna move until we get our DeSoto off of him.

It's interesting to note that the "Antenna" Sam is referring to is exactly the one in your office. If you go into Room 7 and pick up Object 67 using debug mode in ScummVM it will display a STOP icon in your inventory, further proving it was once an obtainable object.

Unused Dialogue

To do: There's probably more than this, check monster.sou.

These are voice clips that are supposed to be called by in-game scripts, except they never are because the conditions to do so just can't be met. There are some recordings using what appears to be leftover dialogue from the Computer Entertainment Show (CES) prototype, and basically any obsolete, even development-related SCUMM say-line event has its own vocal counterpart.

All subtitles have been copied directly from the game's scripts, except where noted.

Early Antenna look at Dialogue

Dialogue that would once have been triggered by looking at the Antenna.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	Rabbit ears?

Video Game Carousel

Used when looking at the merchandise with var240 set to 1.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	It's a carousel of bootleg Max vs. The Robots games.

Alphabet Soup Carousel

Used when looking at the merchandise with var240 set to 6.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	It's a carousel of bootleg Sam and Max Alphabet Soup Games.

Asking Max about Snuckey's Video Game

A short conversation that would have been used for asking Max about either of the Snuckey's Video Games.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	What do you think of this handheld video game?
Max	I think it's a fiendish device that's secretly controlling our minds.
Sam	Probably, but it's a pretty color.
Max	Agreed.

CES Dialogue for Interacting with Snuckey's Merchandise

This dialogue isn't referenced in the game's scripts anymore, for obvious reasons. The subtitle has been transcribed manually.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	(It's not pretty enough for CES.)

Flip Book Carousel

Used when looking at the merchandise with var240 set to 3.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	It's a carousel of bootleg Sam and Max Flipbooks.

Asking Max about Snuckey's Flip Book

Dialogue that would have been used for asking Max about the Snuckey's Flip Books. The response given by Max would be the same as the one used for the Paper Dolls, "I say we go down to the scummy side of town and give a bunch of hoods some paper cuts."

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	What do you think we should do with this flip book?

Unused Dialogue for Snuckey's Employee

This was possibly an unused opening dialogue.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	Who's responsible for this rattrap?
Snuckey's Employee	My manager, but he's spending a week in Snuckey U., learning how to make a Moebius Burger. So, what can I do for you?

Unused Dialogue for Snuckey's Employee

It's not immediately clear how this would have been triggered.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	Tell me what I want to know, or I'll tell all your friends where you work.
Max	And I'll tell your girlfriend.
Snuckey's Employee	Well, what do you want?

Placeholder Dialogue for Snuckey's Merchandise

Used when trying to pick up merchandise with var239 set to 0.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Sam	I'd better not... it's not wired in yet.

Placeholder Dialogue for Snuckey's Merchandise

Used when trying to ask Snuckey's Employee about merchandise he doesn't have dialogue for.

Character	Subtitle	Dialogue
Snuckey's Employee	I'm not sure what it is, but it must be fun!

Unused Room

Room 19

Unused Room 19	Used Room 18

Room 19 is a copy of Room 18, the Wak-A-Rat minigame. It seems to be used to store some of the images seen in the actual Wak-A-Rat minigame, such as bonking Max on the head with the hammer. For some reason, it contains a unique background image which is exactly the same as the used one, except it's missing the score counter in the top left. It also seems to house the conversation for riding the Tunnel Of Love again.

Unseen Object Names

Most objects in the game have appropriately uninteresting names such as "office-window" or "twine-tram-platform", but a few near the start of the game have names like the sort seen in other adventure games by Lucasarts. Other object names seem to have been written by someone who was hopelessly bored, with names like "ugh" and "bite me!"

Room 1, the room which contains the logo seen right at the start of the game, contains some amusingly named objects: "our-sainted-logo", which appropriately enough, is the Lucasarts logo, and "max-the-object", which is the shortcut to use Max stored in your inventory.

Room 7, Sam and Max's Office, the first non-cutscene room of the game has a few self-explanatory object names that can't be seen: "office phone", "door", "roach farm", "antenna" and "roach food" (the sandwich).

Room 8, Apartment Hallway, has a door called... "door".

Room 9, Apartment Exterior, has some more self-explanatory object names: "liquor store", "beat up DeSoto", "pile of mail", "road kill" and "dead guy". The latter two are both disabled by game's scripts, and are documented in the Disabled Objects section.

Room 10, Map Of The USA, has 12 objects called "ugh".

Room 26, Golfing at Gator Golf, has an object called "gamera".

Room 42, Bumpusville Exterior, has an object called "ajshd".

Room 43, Bumpusville Main Hallway, has an object called "bite me!". Rude.

Room 50, Brain Of Bumpusville Robot, has 5 wires all called "s".

Room 70, Sam and Max Dress-Up Book, has many objects called "asd".

Room 83, Gathered Bigfoots, has an object called "not-needed".

Room 94, the room used to store the inventory, names the background "dsf".

Version Differences

Floppy	"Talkie" CD

There are two versions of the game, a floppy release which does not feature voices except for the intro, and a "talkie" CD version which is fully voice acted.

The floppy version also features a copy protection where you have to match Sam or Max's doll clothing as seen in some manual pics. If you fail twice you get booted to the DOS prompt. This check was removed in the CD version, although data for it still exists. Some kind of sound loading screen is instead put in its place.

During the section where you have to steal Conroy Bumpus' toupee, the floppy version has a regular style animation that looks like all other animations in the game. In the CD release, the scene is completely redone as a full screen animation.

Floppy	CD

The CD version also included a handy menu wizard for various configurations, starting a Rebel Assault demo or listening to some digital audio tracks.