the cutting room mirror

Alien Shooter (PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita)

Unsurprisingly, you happen to shoot a lot of Aliens in this game.

Note: While the Vita and PS3 versions share a nearly-identical codebase, most of the unused content is exclusive to the Vita version unless otherwise noted.

Windows Executable#

Alien_Shooter_vita_exe_launcher.PNG

In a particularly brazen case of leaving leftover developer tools in by mistake, a fully playable (albeit with no audio and no ability to save) Windows executable exists in the data.

Vita

PS3

It supports two window resolutions intended to mimic the default screen sizes for both the Vita (960×544) and PS3 (1280×720) respectively, is entirely in Russian due to the dev team originating there, and automatically generates a log file every time it is run.

The settings bar (which is only accessible by pressing Alt) is rather barren and useless. "Options" is ironically blank, and "File" contains non-working options to saving, loading, "About", and quitting the game. With a set of F(number) keys tied to them that also don't work.

Log Files#

Related to the unused executable is a series of leftover log files previously created during testing, spanning from August 1, 2014 to March 13, 2015.

Download Alien Shooter (.log files)

File: Alien Shooter Vita logs.zip (1.12 MB) (info)

Leftover .bat files#

Furthering the theme of leftover dev content, a set of .bat files intended for conversions also lurks in the data.

convert_ps3.bat#

A tool intended for converting .wav files into Sony's proprietary Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding format, this file still exists in the PS3 version.

c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 end.wav end.at3
c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 menu_mus.wav menu_mus.at3
c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 mus00.wav mus00.at3
c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 mus01.wav mus01.at3
c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 mus02.wav mus02.at3
c:\usr\local\cell\Tools\Sound_Tools\PS3at3tool\tool\PS3at3tool.exe -e -br 320 wind.wav wind.at3
pause

make_gtx.bat#

More conversion content, this one converts standard textures into .gxt files. Also exists in the PS3 version.

rem echo off
rem echo %1
for %%i in (*.tga) do "c:\Program Files (x86)\SCE\PSP2 SDKs\3.100\host_tools\bin\psp2gxt.exe" -i %%i -o  %%~ni.gxt
pause

!MAKERES.BAT#

Something that's not directly related to the Sony porting process for once. ".res" files were also used in the original PC Version, and this generates them.

ini2res
del objects.res
ini2res objects.ini objects.res
ini2res weapon.ini objects.res
ini2res const.ini objects.res
ini2res wav.ini objects.res
move objects.res ..\game.res

lgd_generator.bat#

This one has its own internal executable file (which still exists in the data). It appears to be some sort of tool for converting scripts?

lgd_generator.exe all
@pause
exit

Temp Graphics#

AlienShooter_Panel_test_Vita.png

A leftover AlienShooter_Panel_test.png image that happens to be the only thing stored in the temp folder. Looks to be an example image for designing the UI.

ICON0_Alien_Shooter_Vita.PNG

A placeholder PS3 save data icon labeled as "MONG" also gets it own pair of folders solely containing it, DATA and Save_PS3. This in particular is a direct leftover from the PS3 SDK.

Other PC Leftovers#

Some other unusual leftovers that don't fit the other categories.

  • A pair of "cursores" labeled as arrow.ani (which might be corrupted?) and attack.ani respectively, the latter is actually used in the PC executable, and they still exist in the PS3 version's files for whatever reason.
  • The PC version's Map Editor, including the executable and all related files. This doesn't seem to have any notable differences.
  • An installer for the Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (Version 11.0.61030).
  • Several of the game's assets are stored for three different screen resolutions: 720×480, 852×480, and 1024×768. Only one of these resolution filesets are actually used.