Monster: Ancient Cline

Prerelease Info

Debug Mode#

A debug mode can be enabled by turning on the 「ダイレクトロード」 ("direct load") option in the 「アーケード」 ("arcade") tab of the config program. When enabled, the game bypasses the normal loading process and instead loads a file named "directload.txt" to determine what mode to boot in. It's possible to activate hidden/disabled modes and disabled characters who aren't otherwise selectable. This file is a single-row CSV file with six values. The order is:

1P character,2P character,system switch,stage,1P colour,2P colour

For example, to launch training mode with Katze vs Katze, you'd use: 1,1,64,32,0,0

Character values:

Stage values:

System switches that can be enabled:

Unused Graphics#

In addition to the unused characters, this build is a goldmine of unused graphics with some content going back to the very start of development.

Early Loading Sprites#

While the final game's pre-match screens use the 2D portrait art, leftover data from earlier in development shows an earlier concept that would have used prerendered 3D art. Copies are present for six characters in the sprites_loading_ folders, including five returning characters (Delga, Katze, Maya, Orju, and Othello) and one new one (Origa). Origa's seem to have been the first to be finished and are dated December 18, 2008; the others are dated January 21, 2009. Since four of these characters (Katze, Maya, Othello, and Orju) had been playable at the Amusement Machine Show demo in September, and Origa was the first new character to be revealed, it's likely that these six characters were the first to be finished.

These sprites come in three sets:

• MainCut, a 512×256 still depicting the character looking to the right in a profile view
• SubCut, a 512×256 animation in three frames depicting the character striking towards the camera
• FinalCut, a 256×256 animation in five frames depicting the character striking towards the camera

Origa's sprites are still referenced by the loading files for Efleet and "reserved", an unused loading screen that takes up the otherwise-unoccupied 17th character slot. (Origa's sprites are often used as a default by characters who don't have their own yet.) They can't be encountered in-game, since Efleet can't be selected and never appears as an opponent. While they can be enabled by modifying the game to load either of those files instead of another character's, there's no longer any associated logic to play back the animations and it's not clear how they would have actually looked.

Origa#

Origa is the only character to still have a FinalCut animation. It's located in a subfolder named old inside the sprites_loading_othello folder.

Delga#

Katze#

In addition to the other files, Katze has one extra animation no other character has. This 256×128 14-frame animation is found in Origa's sprites_loading_origa folder and is dated January 16, 2009. It depicts him punching towards the screen in more detail than the loading animations. Since it has its own background and no transparency, it may have been intended for something other than the pre-fight screens.

Maya#

Orju#

Othello#

Player Select#

The player select folder has a surprising amount of unused graphics.

While two characters are disabled in this build, and their portraits in the list are greyed out, there's a copy of the graphic with all characters enabled.

CharacterSelect.psd#

Alongside the in-game files is a PhotoShop document used to mock up the character select screen during dev. It looks like this file was iterated on over the course of development, as its various layers are a mixture of designs from the final game and elements that go back to the very start of development. It includes character art, a variety of UI elements (some from the first game, some that would be used in this game), and character portraits.

The first few layers are a sort of inspo folder, containing character selects from other games that were being used as visual reference for Monster's. It includes Touhou Hisouten: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, and The Last Blade 2.

Character Portraits

Among the UI layers used to mock up player select options are copies of the key art for every character except Efleet. These are higher-resolution and higher-quality than the versions used in-game. They extend past the 640×480 canvas size; when expanded to their full size, some layers include details that aren't normally visible in-game. Notably, Ysengrin's full uncropped art reveals that the scythe visible next to him on the character select screen is actually being held by an entire second character. A few of these portraits are present in a few sizes to experiment with different visual approaches - there's a mirrored copy of Katze and two zoom level variants of Delga and Siely. It appears the art was colour-corrected within the 640×480 canvas, so expanding to the full size exposes colouring errors on some characters.

Mockup Player Selects

The layer labelled "Set 1" contains a very early character select that appears to come from near the start of development. While there's space for 15 characters, Oomizuao is the only new character present and the rest are all silhouettes. Oomizuao is also using the same render from the game's original announcement; his model received a number of refinements over the course of development. None of this character art appears in the final game but large-size, full-body versions of four of these renders were used as character select screen art in a September, 2008 trade show demo. Also notable is that a large space is devoted to Efleet, the boss, in the centre; he would be left off the final game's character select screen. There's also an earlier revision named "Set 1 copy", with characters in different positions and a simpler design for Efleet's space.

The "Set 2" layer is meant to be combined with this one and contains some decorative elements. These match the later "Set 1" layer better than the older one.

Set 1 layer with Set 2 layer underneath	Set 1 copy layer with Set 2 layer underneath

Set 1 layer alone	Set 1 copy layer alone	Set 2 layer alone

Characters#

Rail Forld#

Rail is one of a few characters to have a leftover "sample" sprite. This seems to have been a test render before the rest of his sprites were complete. It's dated March 31, 2009, while the rest of his sprites are dated May 10. While this resembles individual frames from a few of his animations, he never actually uses this exact pose anywhere.

In the original Monster Rail's spirit companion, Sylph, has three alternate forms it switches between when activating a shift. While this mechanic is missing from Ancient Cline, there are placeholder sprites for all three transformations which suggests they were meant to return. All of these placeholders are dated before Ancient Cline's development began and seem to be recycled verbatim from the original game. Salamander (the Monster form) is set up with proper transparency for use in-game, while Gnome (Defender) and Undine (Freedom) don't seem to be. Unfortunately, the only footage of Rail at the location test doesn't show any shifts, so it's not clear if these sprites were used or replaced later.

Alto Agrippa#

Like Rail, Alto has what looks like a placeholder test render. It's dated March 22, 2009, while the rest of his sprites are dated between April and July. It resembles frames from some of his animations, but this exact sprite is never used.

Alto also has a second unused sprite that seems to have been a test for one of his alternate colour schemes. It's a copy of the seventh frame of his idle animation with an alternate palette pre-applied. This file is dated April 10, the day after the frame it's based on.

Ysengrin Loupgarou#

Technically all of Ysengrin's sprites are unused, since he's not selectable outside of debug mode, but his sample sprites are doubly unused since they're never used even when playing as him. Unlike Rail's or Alto's, his sample sprites don't even try to simulate an in-game animation and instead shows him in a neutral pose directly facing the camera. He also has a second copy of the same render with an alternate palette pre-applied. The primary sample sprite is dated March 22, 2009, and the alternate palette is dated April 10. The rest of his sprites are dated between April 9 and October 17.

Unused Stages#

There are three unused stages in the game's files. Two are accessible via the debug mode, while one can only be enabled by editing the game data.

The most interesting is what appears to be a test for 3D stages instead of the 2D backgrounds used by the final game. At this point it's using only extremely simple geometry, with a tiling image of one of the existing stages as a texture. This stage isn't referenced anywhere in the game data, but can be enabled by replacing one of the other stage files with stage_3D.cdf.

The stage_forest.cdf and stage_forest_fall.cdf stages are taken directly from the original Monster without changes. Like in the original game, it's a forest stage with two palette variations. While it's not in the arcade mode stage rotation, it can be enabled by setting the stage ID in direct load mode to 60 (forest) or 59 (forest_fall). They were most likely disabled since Ancient Cline has a new, much more graphically involved forest stage. The green variation of the stage appeared in early press screenshots from July, 2008.

Unused Cutscenes#

There are two unused cutscenes: a story-based arcade attract sequence, and a short cutscene featuring Origa.

The unused attract sequence may have been intended as a second attract sequence which would alternate with the only one that normally plays in this build, or it may simply have been an earlier scrapped idea. It focuses on Origa, opening with a dramatic monochrome portrait of her and then transitioning to an animated profile view over a vignetted version of one of the backgrounds. This sequence is visibly unfinished: the transparency cutout on the animated sprite is rough, suggesting this was simply an early draft, and the repeated cuts between this single animation look like a placeholder for what would probably have included artwork of several different characters. The assets were last updated on September 8, 2009, but the vignetted background and the animation of Origa are earlier and date to December 12, 2008.

This capture may not be 100% accurate. This sequence only plays back properly if the other attract sequence is also loaded so in order to avoid graphical clashes some of the graphics intended for the other sequence have been disabled. If they were also intended to be shown in this animation, they may be missing from places they should be visible. It's also possible that some graphics intended for this sequence no longer exist in this build.

This page or section needs more videos. There's a whole lotta words or pictures here, but not enough videos. Please fix this. Specifically: Capture footage of this cutscene

The second cutscene features the same portrait of Origa and the same vignetted stage background. When played, Origa's animation slowly moves from right to left across the screen as the game displays a series of lines of dialogue. The file modification dates suggest that this cutscene was last edited between December 12 and 15, 2008, so it was likely abandoned midway through development. Its filename, dr_11_origa.cdf, and sprite folder name, sprites_demoreel_origa, suggests that there would have been similar cutscenes featuring other characters. It may have been intended as a character-specific intro story sequence, a cutscene that displayed before fighting a midboss, or even an ending.

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

もっとも古い歴史を持つ種族、
———アールヴ;            Subtitle    000
しかし　彼ら古代の民でさえ
神の名を知る者はいなかった…;     Subtitle    001
人の伝承に伝わる神は　彼ら人間を
幾度となく消滅の危機にさらしてきた;  Subtitle    002
ただひたすら人間だけを滅ぼす神;        Subtitle    003
真実を探る彼らは　神がいつどうして
生まれたかを知った;          Subtitle    004
自分たちの存在の誇りを引き裂く真実;  Subtitle    005
アールヴたちは伝承していた;      Subtitle    006
彼らの罪が自分たちを作り出したことを; Subtitle    007
そして　人を守ることこそが
円環を断ち切るためのすべてなのだと;  Subtitle    008
「神よ、人を許したまえ。
　その加護より人を解き放ちたまえ…」; Subtitle    009

The text in this cutscene is the longest and most in-depth anywhere in the game and provides some hints as to its intended storyline.

Unused Characters#

The character select screen shows 15 characters (the original game's nine, and six new characters). Two of them are disabled in both this release and the location test footage, but they exist in the game data and can be enabled via the debug mode. The non-playable boss can also be enabled.

Efleet#

Efleet was the boss for the original game's (unfinished) single-player mode, and was also playable in its 1.0 release. It appears he was planned as the boss for this game as well. Although he's not present on the character select screen, there are unused portrait and name tile sprites for him. The character select art reveals that, like in the original game, he would have been a possessed version of playable character Rail who fought with the flames that were engulfing him.

Efleet has no sprites of his own and no moveset. It appears that no work had been done on him other than his key art. He does have a lifebar portrait and name sprite, which are intended to be displayed at the top of the screen during gameplay, but they aren't used when he's selected in debug mode. Instead, he uses Origa's portrait and no name sprite.

Jeel#

Jeel is the less complete of the two disabled playable characters. His gameplay definition file is dated September 1, 2009, suggesting he was a relatively recent addition who had only seen a little bit of work before being set aside. He has no sprites of his own, and uses Origa's sprites when selected, but does have a moveset at this point. That moveset is fairly rough and feels more like an early sketch/experiment than a complete design. While his character select screen and in-game portrait/name graphics are present, they're not used. These sprites are all dated between August 10 and September 29, 2009. He uses Origa's portrait (misaligned on the screen) and no name graphic. He also has a full set of unused voices, dated July 2009.

Moves#

Jeel has a complete set of normals, a single special move, and a partial set of supers. He has voices for three specials, so it's possible there was more planned for him that hadn't yet made it in-game. At this point, his gameplay is based entirely around projectiles - he has no melee attacks, and all of his normals launch projectiles. His one special move allows him to slow down projectiles that travel through it, giving him some interesting trap possibilities.

Normals:

• Stand A: launches two knives forward, one angled slightly up and one angled slightly down
• Stand B: moves slightly forward; launches three evenly-spaced knives, two angled up and one angled down
• Stand C: moves forward; launches five evenly-spaced knives, four angled up and one angled down
• Crouch A: launches three knives in a row, angled down
• Crouch B: moves slightly forward; launches four closely-spaced knives forward
• Crouch C: moves forward; launches a large number of closely-spaced knives forward
• Jump A: launches three evenly-spaced knives
• Jump B: launches five evenly-spaced knives
• Jump C: launches a large number of knives
• No running normals

Special move:

• qcf+A: places a black field in front of him; any of his projectiles travelling through that field slow down

Supers:

• Bash combo: dashes forward and performs three identical physical attacks. Seems to be a placeholder based on Katze's; Ysengrin has the same placeholder move.
• Monster combo: seems to be a placeholder; suspends a large number of daggers in place at his position

Voices#

Despite being so unfinished, Jeel has a complete set of voices. They aren't used by the game yet, and his character definition file is coded to reference Katze's voices instead.

'...But what does it mean?' This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Ysengrin Loupgarou#

Ysengrin is more complete than the other two disabled characters. He actually has sprites of his own, and his moves are hooked up to the correct animations. He doesn't seem to have a full set of sprites yet - a number of his attacks involve striking the opponent with invisible hitboxes. Judging from his many gesturing/pointing animations, and his concept art that features a second character standing behind him, he may have been a summon/pet-type character and the invisible hitboxes correspond to a second character whose sprites hadn't been created yet. His sprites and move definition files are mostly dated between April and October 2009, with one file edited only four days before the build was created, so he was likely under active development at the time. Since he wasn't playable in the game's location test two months later, it's unclear how much more work he got before the game was cancelled.

Unlike Efleet and Jeel, his in-game lifebar portrait and nameplate graphics are used when he's selected.

Despite being the only substantially complete unused character, Ysengrin has no voices. His character definition file references Katze's voices instead.

Moves#

As mentioned above, Ysengrin seems to be a summon-based character. While he attacks the enemy directly with his normals, his special moves all revolve around gestures calling a second character to attack at a distance. Despite the invisible hitboxes, he's largely playable at this point and has a mostly-complete moveset.

Normals:

• Stand A: points forward; range is shorter than the sprite suggests
• Stand B: kicks upward
• Stand C: crouches while yelling; attacks a distance from him. The awkwardness of the sprite and motion suggests this was a placeholder.
• Crouch A: same animation as stand C; attacks low, like a low kick
• Crouch B: same animation as stand C; moves forward, attacks low
• Crouch C: same animation as stand C; moves forward, attacks low + knocks down
• Jump A: somewhat glitchy animation, possibly intended for an airthrow
• Jump B: kicks outward
• Jump C: flops onto his back to attack below him

Unlike Jeel, he has a set of running normals. These all use the animations from his non-running versions.

Special moves:

• qcf+A: points forward; several invisible strikes at a distance from him
• qcf+B: points forward twice; one strong strike at a distance from him, knocks opponent upward
• qcb+A: crouches and holds his arms out backward; no apparent effect (can be used jumping)
• qbc+B: same as qcb+A, but stays in position longer (can be used jumping)
• down, down+A/B: same animation as qcb+A/B (can be used jumping)

Supers:

• Bash combo: same placeholder as Jeel's
• Monster combo: steps forward and performs a grab animation (not a grapple); summons large number of glitchy versions of his sprite

"Reserved"#

There are only 16 characters, but there's a leftover loading screen with the character ID 17 and the filename load_17_Reserved.cdf. It has no original content; it's just a placeholder using a copy of Origa's unused loading screen, dated December 24, 2008. The configuration file that tells the game what CDF files to load references some other slot 17 files that no longer exist along with one file for a slot 18, also named "reserved". It's not clear who or what would have occupied these slots, or if there actually was any concrete plan for them.

References#