Super Paper Mario/Unused & Removed Maps
Unused Maps
 | To do: Document these levels further. |
The game contains nine unused maps. In the "dan_xx" maps, there were doors that could have been reached.
To access a map through a loading zone, the address containing the map to load (offset 0x4D0C60, string of length 32 in the US version) must be changed between the time the game changes it and the loading of the maps it will intend to load. Because of the short timeframe, it is preferable to simply freeze the address. If the desired map to load is not located in the same zone of the map the player is currently in, the zone to load address (offset 0x4D0C40, string of length 32 in the US version) must be changed or frozen the same way to the corresponding zone of the desired map which is the first 3 characters of the map ID.
Additionally, it is possible to change the map to save address (offset 0x4E3F94, string of length 32 in the US version) before saving with a Save Block. This will change the map in which the player will spawn upon loading the save file from the File Select screen.
Flipside Pit of 100 Trials
dan_11
Has MapData: no
Room with 32 doors, eight pipes, and lots of "compartments" that Mario can't escape from, even in 3D, despite them appearing flat in 3D mode. The doors don't have entrances associated with them, so aren't functional.
dan_12
 | This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Are these graphics for the background and doors here and the ones in the next room used anywhere else? |
Has MapData: no
Underground map with brown walls, green background wall, and green doors. The doors don't have entrances associated with them, so aren't functional.
dan_13
Has MapData: no
Looks identical to the previous one, just with new colours.
dan_14
Has MapData: no
Like the Wracktail fight room. Has a black background.
"dos"
dos_01
Has MapData: no
Map with yellow ground and ceiling with black background. Appears to be an early or test version of Dimension D, "bos_01".
Floro Caverns
gn3_02
| To do: Document the pipe/door destinations |
Has MapData: yes
Fallback entrance: dokan_01 (right hand pipe)
Fallback coordinates: 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000
Map with two pipes, three doors, a Save Block, and some enemies. In 3D, there is a Red Floro Sapien between the Floro Cragnon and the furthest-right Spania.
Castle Bleck Inner Sanctum
ls4_02
Has MapData: yes
Fallback entrance: doa1_l (left-hand door)
Fallback coordinates: 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000
Has enemy setup: yes, version 6, no enemies
Large empty map with two doors. Appropriately for the room's numbering, the left-hand door leads to the right-hand door in ls4_01 (the first room of the level proper), and the right-hand door leads to the left-hand door in ls4_03 (the second room of the level proper).
The Whoa Zone
sp4_09
Has MapData: yes
Fallback entrance: doa1_r (only door)
Fallback coordinates: 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000
Has enemy setup: yes, version 6, no enemies
Map with grey blocks and an upside-down treasure chest containing Piccolo's card. The door leads to removed door entrance "doa2_l" in sp4_08, so entering the door just brings Mario to coordinates (0,0,0) in said room. "doa1_l" and "doa3_l" are used in that room, suggesting that this removed door entrance was in-between them.
Korean Version Maps
In the Korean version of the game, which released nearly two years after the Japanese release, there are a set of 11 unused map files not found in any other version of the game. The maps feature a completely different art style from the rest of the game and were designed for 3D exploration with a fixed camera, not the 2D view Super Paper Mario uses normally. The most unusual aspect of the maps are the inclusion of several static images of various cat characters. The texture names are mostly in Japanese, and the cats are labeled with names matching developers from Super Paper Mario.
These aspects suggest that the maps were from a prototype or proof-of-concept project by Intelligent Systems developers using the Paper Mario engine that was ultimately cancelled. Each map and character uses a different art style, but in a way that seems intentional. Based on the naming style of the textures, the maps were designed by at least four different artists. While the files have names with sequential numbers, most of the maps have no apparent connection to each other, so it is likely that the numbering simply represents the order in which they were created. Some maps also have unused meshes from earlier revisions.
kri_00
Date last modified: April 24th, 2007, 20:34:17
kri_00 is a simple map of a house by a pond and some trees. The art style is simplistic, with scribbly outlines and texturing to suggest the world is made of craft materials. The pathway and house feature red stitching, as though they were sewn together. The house does not have any interior details, not even an entrance behind the door. The collision mesh is a simple plane and does not include the house or pond. It is likely that this was intended to be the protagonist's home. The map was last updated just a few weeks after the original release of the game.
The unused meshes for this map further support the crafting theme by having some bush-like pincushions. There is also a large, oblong cylinder with no texture or color.
kri_01
Date last modified: April 24th, 2007, 16:55:59
kri_01 is a barren little island in the middle of the ocean. The ground and water use stylized hatching for details. The art style has some similarities to that of the first map, but is still unique. The collision map includes both the island and the water. This map was last updated a few hours before the previous map.
kri_02
Date last modified: April 27th, 2007, 13:15:12
kri_02 is a wavy path through a dead or wintry forest. The art style is very stark in comparison to the previous maps, with the only color coming from some simplistic flowers. The map was last updated only a few days after the first two maps.
kri_03
Date last modified: April 27th, 2007, 14:05:39
kri_03 is a modified version of kri_02, with closer trees and more flowers. The scale is also a bit larger. It is unknown whether this was meant to be a replacement for kri_02 or another scene in the same location. This map was last updated on the same day as kri_02.
kri_04
Date last modified: May 31st, 2007, 10:45:13
kri_04 is the biggest of all the maps, featuring a large, lush field with branching colorful pathways. This is the first map to feature any cat characters and to have meaningful names for its parts. It is also the first map to heavily rely on vertex coloring for complex details and shading. The pathways lead to three rose trees, as well as a pair of logs in an X shape. The far corner of the map is darker and gloomier, with dying trees and grass. The collision map blocks the player from entering the lake but does not include the river.
The unused meshes for this room are mostly clumps of grass, as well as an archway made of shrubbery. The grass doesn't match the terrain, but is roughly located in the spooky corner. The archway is located just behind the cats.
Cats
yamada_neko02
koba_neko
tuka_neko
bc_all.1
bc_tile
These cats appear as static geometry in this room and in kri_05. Each one is drawn in a different art style. The first three cats are labeled with names that seem to match the names of the three character designers for Super Paper Mario: Koichiro Yamada, Sayuri Kobayashi, and Naoko Tsukamoto. While the black cat's texture is simply named "bc" (for black cat?), the mesh is named "kawa_neko", tying it to art director Chie Kawabe.
Of these, the black cat is the most unique, and may have been the player character. It is the only cat to have a separate tail, which was designed to be able to wave around dynamically, and the center for the mesh is on the ground, rather than in the center of the plane like the others. The name of the main image also follows the naming convention for animated textures, suggesting that this was just one of the character's textures. Evidence in kri_08 further supports this idea.
kri_05
Date last modified: June 14th, 2007, 10:49:30
kri_05 is a pathway surrounded by fields and flowers. Nearly every texture has colorful splotches on it. The cats from the previous map appear again, standing on one of the paths. This is the first map to use a proper sky image instead of having the sky be part of the map geometry.
kri_06
Date last modified: June 19th, 2007, 17:51:59
kri_06 depicts a small clump of trees with directional signs, deep in a forest. The art style features a lot of light, painterly details mixed with a simplistic backdrop. The collision map for the floor extends farther out than the floor.
kri_07
Date last modified: June 27th, 2007, 10:08:06
kri_07 is a pathway leading out of (or into) a forest. It shares the same art style, and some of the same textures, as kri_06. This is the only map with a ceiling.
The unused meshes for this room are beams of light, coming down through the canopy. As usual, they do not line up with the existing layout and are too far to the right.
kri_08
Date last modified: July 5th, 2007, 10:08:06
kri_08 features bright grassy hills with rocky cliffs and sandy or stylized paths. The art style for this map uses watercolors for soft details and gentle gradients. It also uses a background sky image. This is the first map to feature the white cat character.
Named in the texture as "new_neko_18", this appears to be a redesign of the black cat character from earlier. The colors and art style are different, but the general design is the same. This time, the mesh is clearly labeled as "PLAYER" in the map data. It is unclear what "18" in the texture name means. This same cat also appears in the last two maps.
kri_09
Date last modified: July 17th, 2007, 10:27:32
kri_09 is a pond in the middle of a large field. It uses a very similar art style to kri_08 and also features the same white cat. It uses another unique background image, which it shares with kri_10. The collision mesh prevents the player from walking into the pond.
kri_10
Date last modified: July 20th, 2007, 17:15:18
kri_10 is the last map, depicting a path going over some hills. This map uses the same art style, textures, and background as kri_09, and again features the same white cat. Unlike the other maps, this one is clearly unfinished. Even when ignoring the unused meshes, the grass goes into the hill and extends far past the edge of the terrain. The vertex colors are also far simpler and unusually colored compared to those in the previous map. With the Korean localization occurring more than a year after the map was last updated, it seems the project was cancelled before this map could be finished.
The unused meshes for this map are just a bunch of grass for some completely different layout.
Removed Maps
There are some remnants of removed maps.
Enemy Setup Files
- hei_01.dat
- hei_02.dat
- iwa_01.dat
- iwa_02.dat
- iwa_03.dat
- son_02.dat
- tik_01.dat
- tik_02.dat
- tik_04.dat
- tik_05.dat
- tik_06.dat
- tik_07.dat
- tik_08.dat
- tik_10.dat
- tst_01.dat
Hardcoded Enemy Spawns
There are also some hardcoded enemy spawns for removed maps. It doesn't seem like hardcoded enemy spawns are used for used maps. In the following table "Description" is just supplementary data, not taken from the game itself.
tst_00
| ID | Description | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Green Koopa Troopa | 200 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Spiked Goomba | 280 | 0 | 0 |
hei_13
| ID | Description | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Green Paratroopa | 240 | 120 | 0 |
hit_11
| ID | Description | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Red Koopa Troopa | 200 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Green Paratroopa | 300 | 120 | 0 |
| 15 | Red Paratroopa | 400 | 120 | 0 |
| 10 | Shady Koopa | -100 | 120 | 0 |
tak_00
| ID | Description | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Invalid Goomba | -2237.5 | 100 | 0 |
MapData Entries
tst_02, tst_05, and kaw_05 have MapData entries, with init scripts in the rels.
seq_mapChangeMain
seq_mapChangeMain groups maps with the tst prefix under stg4.txt when determining the message file to use.
npcMain
npcMain checks for map names containing "min", but none of them contain that (might be an old version of the mi1-4 groups).
