The poster child for 6DOF combat got a console port a year after its PC debut, introducing coloured lighting effects, a remixed soundtrack from the Mac version, and some deliciously cheesy pre-rendered FMV sequences that would be also reused for both Descent II (the DOS version being released a day after this port came out) and Descent Maximum. There are also five additional exclusive multiplayer maps that were recently made available to play on PC in September 2022. It's also well known that this game and Descent Maximum are known to suffer from slowdown and choppy frame rate.
Unused Graphics#
Each level has its own texture set, stored in a .pst file. The .pst file includes a table mapping Descent's texture ids to regions of the Playstation's VRAM, as well as including blocks of graphical data to load into VRAM. Most .pst files have some garbage data and a few unused textures left over from other levels, but all of the .pst files have the following unused graphics.
The error texture is present, but never normally appears.
The cut afterburner gauge is also packed in, as unused as ever.
Key gauges and the energy bar for the status bar view are present, but the status bar itself is not.
FPS Display#
Use the following code to display a FPS counter.
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(Source: Original TCRF research)
Unused Text#
descent.tex is the game's main text repository file, and can be found within DESCENT.HOG. Within it, there are several unused strings:
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Seems to refer to an early version of the game. |
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Refers to a mode from the DOS release of the game which is not present here. |
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Regional Differences#
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To do: |
Title Screen#
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The title screen in the Japanese version is slightly brighter compared to the American and European releases. Additionally, there's no copyright text in the main menu.
In-Game#
Weapon Names#
JP |
JP Translation |
US/EU |
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レーザー |
Laser |
Laser Cannon |
クワトロレーザー |
Quattro Laser |
Quad Laser |
バルカン砲 |
Vulcan Cannon |
Vulcan Cannon |
拡散砲 |
Spread Cannon |
Spreadfire Cannon |
プラズマ砲 |
Plasma Cannon |
Plasma Cannon |
核融合砲 |
Nuclear Fusion Cannon |
Fusion Cannon |
Sub Weapon Names#
JP |
JP Translation |
US/EU |
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ショックミサイル |
Shock Missile |
Concussion Missile |
追尾ミサイル |
Homing Missile |
Homing Missile |
爆弾 |
Bomb |
Proximity Bomb |
拡散爆弾 |
Spread Bomb |
Smart Missile |
メガミサイル |
Mega Missile |
Mega Missile |
Stage Names#
The European release fixes a typo in the fifth Total Chaos stage's name.
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EU |
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Bushwacker's Paradis |
Bushwacker's Paradise |
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The Descent series | |
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DOS, Mac OS Classic |
Descent (Shareware) • Descent II (Prototype) |
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PlayStation |
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