Gameplay Graphics

This is a sub-page of Proto:Meteos (Nintendo DS)/Kiosk Demo.

Aliens#

The Firim alien has an unknown difference in its animations.
The Oleana alien uses a different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Freaze alien only has a single color. It also has a different idle animation which resembles the Hotted alien's.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Hevendor sage still plays its gameplay launch animation, in which it summons two asteroids and launches them, on the results screen, should this planet win a match. The final game uses an altered version which removes this meteor.
The Florias alien uses a different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

Unseen#

The Forte alien uses a different palette, and also has different, less polished animations.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Cavious alien uses a different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Suburbion alien uses a different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Megadom alien uses a slightly different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Thirnova alien uses a much more desaturated color palette. Additionally, its idle animation does not loop correctly.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The Vubble alien uses a different palette, and its bubbles are not transparent.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

(Source: tikal.)

Planets#

Practically all of the planets use different sprites, even some that had unchanged designs between this prototype and the final game. Among these differences, a couple common observations have been noticed:

The planet icons seem to have been resampled from the original images using an interpolation method, making the color transitions appear smooth. The final game, however, simply resizes them, making the colors appear sharp.
The planet sprites appear to have sharp borders, due to them not having colors smoothing out the transition to transparency (black). While this still happens in some of the final game's planet sprites (e.g. Geolyte), many now have dithering or smoothing colors.

	Jan 19 Demo	Final	Comment
Geolyte			Geolyte's planet sprite is smaller, and its design is much darker, making it clearer that it's a modified version of the Blue Marble. In addition, its icon is also much darker, matching the design seen in the game's first prerelease screenshots.
Bavoom			Bavoom's design is completely tinted blue in the prototype, and lacks a ridge in the bottom right part. Its portrait picture background is also different, though it was reused for Freaze in the final game.
Firim			Firim's design is completely different in the prototype, being a red-tinted version of a picture of Venus from the Magellan mission, rather than an S-shaped shining asteroid. Its portrait picture background is also unique, not shared with any other planet in both the prototype and the final game.
Jeljel			Jeljel's planet sprite is bigger, and its design has more green tones.
Oleana			Oleana's planet design is completely different, being spherical instead of shaped like a bone. Its icon uses much more muted colors than the planet sprite and portrait, matching what is seen in the E3 2005 press kit.
Freaze			Freaze's planet design has harder shading, and its color is closer to emerald than cyan. The portrait also uses a unique background which shows it orbiting around a larger planet, which is not seen in the final game at all. Curiously, the final portrait still uses the old planet design.
Anasaze			Anasaze's planet design in the prototype is a representation of Jupiter. Its sprite is slightly bigger than the final game's, and the background in its portrait is shared with Geolyte and Vubble, whereas the final game uses an unique background.
Forte			Forte's planet design is completely different, being that of a pink circular planet with a large ravine at the north pole. Its icon also lacks shading.
Cavious			Cavious' planet design was originally brown rather than teal. Its sprite is also smaller than the final game's.
Grannest			Grannest's planet design is spherical rather than a concave cylinder.
Mekks			Mekks' planet design is completely different, being that of a dark green and yellow sphere with no spikes at the poles and no top.
Suburbion			A highlight of this prototype is Suburbion's planet design, which was not seen in any of the game's prerelease material. It resembles a thin, cylindrical satellite with three solar panels spread like a prism, rather than a dome.
Gravitas			Gravitas' planet design is spherical and has more vibrant colors; the texture used for the surface is still used in the final design. Additionally, its icon lacks shading.
Layazero			Layazero's sprites have stronger shading, though its icon lacks it. The background in its portrait is also different, though it's used by Lastar in the final game.
Boggob			Boggob's sprites are just slightly darker.
Wuud			Wuud's sprites are tilted differently, and its design has bigger ridges.
Megadom			Megadom's sprites are orange instead of lime, making it clearer that it's a representation of Saturn.
Dawndus			Dawndus' design has much stronger shading. The main planet is also larger.
Thirnova			Thirnova lacks its glow. Its icon also has slightly more muted colors.
Gigagush			While the concept of Gigagush being a vortex remains the same, its design is completely different from the final game, being colored crimson instead of purple, and the center being black rather than white.
Hevendor			While Hevendor's design is essentially the same in both versions, the icon and planet sprites received touchups. The planet portrait was not changed at all.
Brabbit			Brabbit's center region originally had shades of orange to white, rather than the many colors seen in the final design.
Yooj			While Yooj still looks like a mass of clouds, its design is completely different from the final game, looking much smaller and using more muted colors.
Hotted			Hotted's design is not as vibrant as the final game. Its planet sprite is also smaller.
Vubble			While Vubble's planet design in the prototype looks viscous (like a bubble), it is not see-through (like a bubble).
Wiral			Wiral looks slightly darker.
Florias			Notably, Florias lacks its rings.
Globin			Globin's shading is slightly weaker, and its sprites are smaller than the final game.
Starrii			Starrii's planet sprite is slightly larger than the final game; its design is also a little brighter.
Lastar			Lastar's planet design is completely different from the final game, being that of a glowing cyan sphere. If one looks a little closer, the texture used for the surface is the same as Florias' surface. A unique background is also used for the portrait picture.
Luna=Luna			Both of Luna=Luna's moons have no color difference between them, and the further moon is slightly smaller. Its icon also depicts only one moon, rather than both.
Meteo			While its icon is the same, and its planet sprite would be reused for the Star Trip variations of the planet, Meteo's portrait is completely different, using an unique background which resembles its appearance in the True Meteo grouping, rather than a cutscene still.

(Source: Just A Dataminer, tikal.)

Blocks#

Several of the game's block sets contain differences, mainly relating to their color palettes.

	Jan 19 Demo	Final
bl_com_anim_inseki08_15.bnm (Grannest, Hotted)
bl_com_anim_inseki08_15.bnm (Grannest, Hotted)	The Soil Meteo uses a darker shade of orange for its surface in the prototype. Similarly, the Zap Meteo uses a brighter shade of yellow.
bl_com_anim_inseki09_15.bnm (Firim, Hevendor)
bl_com_anim_inseki09_15.bnm (Firim, Hevendor)	The Fire Meteo's palette uses brighter colors, including a shade of purple, while the Soil Meteo's palette cycle is slower. The Iron, Zap, Herb, Zoo, Glow, and Dark Meteos have a greater contrast between its brightest and darkest colors.
bl_com_inseki05_15.bnm (Anasaze)
bl_com_inseki05_15.bnm (Anasaze)	The Fire, Soil, and Dark Meteos use more muted colors, while Iron, Herb, Zoo and Glow use brighter ones.
bl_com_inseki06_15.bnm (Oleana, Suburbion)
bl_com_inseki06_15.bnm (Oleana, Suburbion)	The Fire, Iron, Herb and Glow Meteos use much brighter colors, while Soil uses darker ones. The Zoo Meteo's palette is also not as smooth as the final game's.
bl_com_inseki19_15.bnm (Forte, Gravitas)
bl_com_inseki19_15.bnm (Forte, Gravitas)	All Meteo types, save for Burnt, contain noticeable differences, from the completely different gravures in the Air, H2O, Soil, Zap, Zoo, and Glow Meteos to color adjustments in Fire, Iron, and Herb. The borders in the Dark Meteo were also originally smooth.
bl_com_inseki20_15.bnm (Megadom, Vubble)
bl_com_inseki20_15.bnm (Megadom, Vubble)	The Fire, H2O, Soil, Zoo, Glow, and Burnt Meteos use darker colors. The Dark Meteo is also colored violet rather than dark blue.

Unused#

There are also several block sets that go completely unused; most of them are leftovers from early stages of Meteos' development.

	Tiles
bl_com_inseki00.bnm	An early version of what became Anasaze's block tiles. These are slightly different from bl_com_inseki.bnm, which can also be found unused in the final game, as each of the blocks use separate, 16-color palettes, rather than a single, shared 256-color palette.
bl_com_inseki01.bnm	A tileset with no final equivalent. Some of the blocks here were seen in the Meteos website's Secret Report Page.
bl_com_inseki02.bnm	An early version of what became Oleana and Suburbion's block tiles. These can be seen in several of the game's first prerelease screenshots.
bl_com_inseki03.bnm	A tileset with no final equivalent. These can be seen in several of the game's first prerelease screenshots.
bl_com_inseki04.bnm	A tileset with no final equivalent. Some of the blocks here were seen in the Meteos website's Secret Report Page.
bl_com_inseki05.bnm	A tileset with no final equivalent.
bl_com_inseki06.bnm	Another tileset with no final equivalent.
bl_com_inseki07.bnm	A tileset slightly reminiscent of bl_com_inseki04. Possibly became the tileset used in Cavious and Dawndus.
bl_com_inseki08.bnm	An early version of what became the tileset used in Jeljel and Wuud. These can be seen in several of the game's first prerelease screenshots.
bl_com_inseki09.bnm	Seen in a picture from the game's second batch of screenshots. A similar, albeit larger tileset can still be found unused in the final version.
bl_com_inseki10.bnm	A tileset with no final equivalent.
bl_com_inseki11.bnm	Another tileset with no final equivalent. It is very reminiscent of bl_com_inseki10's design.
bl_com_inseki10_22.bnm	The only tileset consisting of 22x22 blocks. Seems to be a placeholder.
bl_com_inseki13_15.bnm	A placeholder set for 15x15 blocks. Notably absent from the final build.

(Source: tikal.)

Items#

The Heavy Weight and Super Eraser items use different icons in the prototype.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

The thunderbolts and flashes created by the the Fury Hammer item are much brighter in the prototype.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

Unused#

Within the game's data, there are several files that contain images related to unused items:

bl_ic_item_12.bnm contains item graphics which have the old 12x11 blocks in mind. This set seems to be later than the one in bl_ic_item.bnm, which can also be found unused in the final game. More details about the items that don't have final matches can be seen below.

Within bl_ic_item_15.bnm, which is the used item graphic repository, are several tiles that are never called by the game. Some of which are reminiscent of the old 12x11 items seen above:

A capsule item of sorts, which has an unknown function.

The Drill Bomb item, which is used by the final game. However, it has a slightly different appearance in this prototype, lacking the red region in the middle.

A grimacing, evil face. According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon is of "Fake Meteos".

A gadget of sorts. According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Freezer" item.

The Rocket item, which is used by the final game. However, its appearance is drastically different from the final game.

What seems to be a battery. According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Rocket Fuel" item.

According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Semi-Gravity Zone" item.

According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Super Gravity Zone" item.

A bunch of bars. According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Polarization Zone" item.

A lock. According to Fusion Room graphics found unused within this prototype, this icon belongs to a "Click Lock" item, which would eventually be reformulated into the Speeder Lock item the final game has.

What seems to be a graffiti can. Possibly an earlier version of the Smoke Line item.

What seems to be a box. Belongs to an unknown item.

bl_ic_item_22.bnm contains larger items meant for a scrapped playfield. However, many of them are duplicates of the bomb item.

The files itemgimick.bnm and itemgimick22.bnm contain the graphics for the Heavy Weight and Smoke Screen items' effects, meant to be used with 12x11 and 22x22 blocks. However, the only noticeable difference is in the graphic of the Heavy Weight.

(Source: tikal.)

Other Unused Graphics#

Early HUD Element#

Alongside bg_com_cons_00.bnm, which can still be found unused in the final game, and bg_com_cons_01.bnm, which can be found unused in the Download Play Demo, is bg_com_num.bnm, which contains the numbers which were meant to be displayed in the counters.

12 and 22-Size Minimaps#

Minimap images for these playfields can also be found within the game's data, at files subliverep_bg.bnm and subliverep_bg22.bnm. The former contains minimaps for planets from 5 to 13 columns, while the latter only contains an image for planets with 7 columns.

File: subliverep_bg.bnm

File: subliverep_bg22.bnm

5/6-Column Minimaps#

Like with the final game, minimap graphics for planets with 5 and 6 columns can be found within subliverep_bg15.bnm, but are unused by normal means.

12 and 22-Size Playfields#

Playfield grid images for 12-sized and 22-sized blocks. The former were used in builds prior to the Nintendo World event, but the larger variant remains a mystery.

File: bg_com_grid12.bnm

File: bg_com_grid22.bnm

Gameplay Effects#

Multiple graphics meant to be displayed alongside the 12-sized and 22-sized playfields.

File: bl_com_atomsphere.bnm

File: bl_com_flash00.bnm

File: bl_com_jet00.bnm

File: bl_com_rk00.bnm

File: bl_com_shoot.bnm

File: bl_com_shot00.bnm

File: bl_com_tyk00.bnm

Game Over#

An unused Game Over graphic can be found within bg_gameover_h_[001~004].nbfc. It can possibly be a leftover from early stages of Meteos' development.

VS Mode Menu#

netsearch_ue_ok_h.bnm and netsearch_ue_wave_h.bnm are two unused graphics related to an early version of the VS Mode menu.

Fireworks#

File: fireworks.bnm

Fireworks of unknown use. While only one palette can be seen here, there are actually 11 different ones.

Early Explosion?#

Found at ef_baku.bnm is a simple explosion graphic that doesn't seem to fit the game's aesthetic.

Earlier Aliens#

File: ch_u01_b01_[01~06]_h.yicg / ch_u01_e01_01_h.yicg / ch_u01_h01_01_h.yicg

An even earlier design for a Megadom alien. While it has the same body color as the variation seen in this build, it noticeably lacks a separate palette for its eyes.

File: ucyu_ani_[1~4]_h.nbfc

Sprites that feature an early design for a Geolyte alien. While the design matches the first prerelease screenshots, the sprites themselves don't match what is seen.

Backup Error Screens#

backup_error1.bnm and backup_error2.bnm are both placeholders in this build.

(Source: tikal.)