Talk:Spybot: The Nightfall Incident

Various Discoveries

This item is found after the other two tile entities under the game's tiles directory, located immediately after the credit and data item tiles. Based on a script found under misc by the name of item_data, which describes an unused item by the name of "MAX CREDIT", this image corresponds to such an item. It would have been worth 10x as much as a normal credit item.

There is an unused script under the Internal directory named "buySpyBot", which details being able to purchase new Spybots from the SMART node. Likely a leftover from when the spybots were usable in combat.

There are still plenty of unused graphics to document that I've yet to rip, such as targetLock and various alternate range icons (likely for use with targetLock or auras) as well as a wealth of additional scripts to dive into, especially now that it's possible to convert Shockwave .dcr files into editable .dir files. It doesn't have to stop here either, as there are still plenty of things we could document on pages for Junkbot, both World Builders, as well as almost any other Shockwave game. GameBoyTM101 (talk) 22:18, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

As it turns out, "cool_credit1" is actually used. It momentarily pops up for a fraction of a second whenever credits are collected in databattles, but it's only really discernible if you're able to slow the game down. Should it be removed from the page? GameBoyTM101 (talk) 18:16, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

Hi, glad to see more people interested in this game. I've been meaning to add more to the page, but have been lacking time to do so.

Things on my backlog include:

• A few unused graphics (such as the Max Credit item)
• Unused text
• Test maps
• Debug buttons (Win/Lose Databattle, Level Editor)
• Missing battle music (managed to restore a few files from my web cache)
• Several oddities in the map/text files (including hints for an early world map)
• AI behavior (Remember enemy units getting stuck/Mandelbugs moving away rather than attacking? It's all due to a consistent behavior)

I haven't had much of a look at the game's code. ProjectorRays was still new at the time, although I did recently run the Spybotics dcr through it and had a look at the randomized credit values. There's probably more to uncover as well.

There's even more leftovers regarding the purchasable Spybots, you can take a look at:

• Dialogue in data/node_1_dialogue
• The SMART node text in worldMap/spybot_name_list (other _list files are dynamically used for the Warez stores)
• SMART HQ being listed in misc/ch_names (character names)

Nice discovery with cool_credit1, I remember there being a white flash when picking up the credits but never looked much into it. Did slow down the game using Cheat Engine and it indeed briefly appears.

Think it's fine to keep, considering we also document Hammer Mario's sliding sprite or Sonic 2's balancing frame as this only appears for a split second.

I'll look into updating the article, might be nice to have a slowed down gif/video of the effect.

As for the other Gamelab games, I've had a look at the World Builders and plan to get to them eventually.

There's some interesting stuff, particularly in the Demo of the first one, as it contains cut units (such as the Bluebird and the Helicopter from the title screen) and a hidden credits page, whereas 2 has some leftover animations of the Scorpion Monster (which was otherwise cut entirely) and frozen graphics for the other Monsters (Gator, Scorpion, T-Rex) the Gator can be seen by sequence breaking a specific level (unlikely to occur during regular gameplay though)

Haven't had a look at Junkbot but there's probably a test level or two in there as well.

When checking Wayback captures of the LEGO website I came across a banner mentioning a Beta of Junkbot Undercover exclusive to Club Members, so there's perhaps some leftover files from that.

--R543 (talk) 00:09, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

The missing director cast files pose some problems when using Flashpoint's SPR.exe. If running SPR.exe on a local (non-URL) file, the game attempts to load sound_level_1.cst etc. from C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\SPYBOTS\CODE\phase_6_GOLD_FINAL\807\, and fails if any of the files do not exist or are not in proper director format. However they still appear to be unused, as the game loads properly if they are replaced with any properly formatted dummy .cst files. Perhaps we could make note of that directory here, since it shows some information about the game's development. It's also interesting that these files don't pose any issues if they are missing when using Projector.exe; there must be some kind of development hook that only enforces loading them in a development context.

Regarding the anti-war policy to-do item, I found some references here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_and_Lego. I have not seen any direct public communication from LEGO regarding this policy, the closest being a quote from an email between a LEGO brand manager and an Atlantic reporter. The references to LEGO's anti-war policy in this article as cause for game design choices seems very speculative. --Rtburns (talk) 18:06, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

Flashpoint's copy of Spybotics includes dummy cast files, as long as those are present in the same folder as the main .dcr the game will load fine, even when running SPR on a local file.

Director keeps track of the folder that the game was exported to and will check that location if the files aren't present, think we can note the path down as that's already been done for World Builder & Junkbot, two other Shockwave games also developed by Gamelab.

As for the files being unused, I used to think so myself, until I managed to recover some files from the web cache of an old computer.

The game requests further files (snd_netload_1.cct to snd_netload_5.cct) when entering a databattle, those files contain additional battle music as well as certain sound effects.

Said sound effects are also present in the MSN demo of the game, confirming that those files were indeed for Spybotics and not just some random game.

Further discussion in the Shockwave Discord revealed that Director doesn't have a built-in way to load additional casts at runtime, a workaround for this is to use dummy files and change the source file of an existing cast, which is most likely what was done here.

(This is further backed up by Motorbike Blast, another GameLAB game which used the same system, Wayback has captures of the sound_level_X.cct files for that game and they're indeed just dummy files)

Unfortunately I'm still missing Spybotics' snd_netload_1.cct & snd_netload_4.cct

Regarding the anti-war policy, pretty much every LEGO community will tell you that the LEGO Group doesn't produce products depicting or promoting war, with the only exception being historical weapons such as swords,(cross)bows, pistols/rifles and cannons found in medieval/western/pirate themes, as well as fictional themes.

Even the Wikipedia article you linked, which mostly focuses on criticism, mentions the following:

The Lego Group has maintained its long-standing policy of avoiding the manufacture of realistic modern weaponry. In a 2010 Lego report, the company stated, "The basic aim is to avoid realistic weapons and military equipment that children may recognize from hot spots around the world and to refrain from showing violent or frightening situations when communicating about LEGO products. At the same time, the purpose is for the LEGO brand not to be associated with issues that glorify conflicts and unethical or harmful behavior"

Which is why I added that, even if seems to be some kind of unwritten rule with little public information.

We do have some news since I wrote the article, in form of the official statement of the cancellation of the 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey:

"The LEGO Technic Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was designed to highlight the important role the aircraft plays in search and rescue efforts.

"While the set clearly depicts how a rescue version of the plane might look, the aircraft is only used by the military. We have a long-standing policy not to create sets which feature real military vehicles, so it has been decided not to proceed with the launch of this product.

"We appreciate that some fans who were looking forward to this set may be disappointed, but we believe it’s important to ensure that we uphold our brand values."

Although many, myself included, like to believe that this was partially due to it's faulty gearbox design, resulting in damaged parts after just a few minutes of use.

I'd also like to mention that they're a bit inconsistent on enforcing this, mostly regarding licensed themes.

2006 saw the introduction of a tommy gun and short barreled pistol as part of the Batman theme, the following year the Star Wars theme got a much more gun like blaster, replacing the previous design used since 1999 which had a reverse megaphone, usually with a translucent round stud attached to the end of it. In 2008, Lego's own Agents theme seems to have intended to feature the same short barreled Batman pistols, as indicated by some early set pictures and certain scenes of the Agents Mission: X flash game, yet the final sets ended up with a more universal hose nozzle, previously used in firefighter sets, and more fictional looking weapons, leaving those pieces mostly for licensed themes.

All in all, I wouldn't call this "very speculative" as a policy like this definitely seems to exist.

--R543 (talk) 14:43, 11 October 2023 (UTC)