the cutting room mirror

Unused Graphics

This is a sub-page of The Beginner's Guide.

There are quite a large number of unused textures in the game's files, ranging from textures that were directly replaced with others to completely unused textures to a relatively large number of textures from The Stanley Parable and other Source games.

To do:

  • I've probably missed quite a number of miscellaneous textures which aren't used in-game.
  • There are some texture files with '.pwl' added before the file extension; possibly unused. One which might be of particular interest is materials/models/trainstation/ts_centerclock_d.pwl.vtf.
  • There are black and white versions of every chapter icon (in materials/vgui); are they used?
  • Compare one of the old loading screens with the corresponding in-game one.

Replaced Textures#

There are a few textures which were directly replaced with updated versions in the final game. Some of these are fairly obviously placeholders which were never supposed to be used.

Backwards#

Unused

Used

TBG-author-backward-BW_A.png
TBG-author-backward-BW_B.png
TBG-author-backward-BW_C.png



Within materials/author/backward are older versions of the text on the walls in Backwards. The final versions are found in materials/aa_backward.

Entering/Exiting#

Unused

Used

Unused

Used

Earlier, less realistic signs.

Notes#

Unused

Used

Lecture#

Unused

Used

The head of the lecturer NPC.

Mobius#

Unused

Used

An earlier version of the name of the SS Whisper seen at the back of the bridge.

Tower#

The textures used for Coda's letter at the end of this level contain unused text and older versions of the text used in-game. Specifically, none of the yellow text is used, and some of the white text isn't, either.

Miscellaneous#

Placeholder Listen/Speak Head#

Unused

Used

Hole Test#

holetest

hole

TBG-decals-hole1.png
TBG-decals-hole2.png
TBG-decals-hole3.png
TBG-decals-hole4.png

Old Loading Screens#

Within materials/maps are older versions of the in-game loading screens. In addition to the 16 loading screens for chapters which are present in the final game, there is also a loading screen for the cut chapter Mom, named "find_mom". They are identical to the older versions of the loading screen for Puzzle, located in the same directory, with the same date.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Textures#

Down#

A version of the café sign in Down with the entire name of the café on one line is present in materials/author/signage.

Lecture#

An unused layer of the black hole.

Theater#

Engage#

A texture ominously named "gunfire".

Backgrounds#

Tower#

warningsigns

warnings2

warnings3

It would seem that at some point, there were warnings in the level that claimed that finishing the level would reformat the player's hard drive. There is no arch at the end of the level, red, green, or otherwise. Note also the 'secret message' in these textures, likely placed here to use up remaining space in the texture, and which would likely not have been visible in-game even if this texture had been used: "SECRET MESSAGE: BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS BUTTS FARTS".

Mom#

A texture located in both materials/author/signage and materials/signage.

Rotation#

Head textures which would have been used for the 'builder' NPCs in Rotation.

Miscellaneous#

Jack Parsons#

Jack Parsons, the Lead Artist on The Beginner's Guide, seems to have left quite a few textures from their earlier projects in the files of The Beginner's Guide, perhaps most notably the entirity of the folder author/city; only a handful of the textures contained within are used in The Beginner's Guide. The files pictured above are only a very small selection of all of the unused ones.

Mr Tippy#

TBG-models-characters-mrtippy.png TBG-render-mrtippy.png

Located in materials/models/characters. The areas with the hearts do not appear on the model. Furthermore, neither the model nor texture appear in-game.

Half-Life 2 NPC#

Within materials/models/humans/Female are the textures of a female NPC from Half-Life 2. A model and corresponding animations can also be found in models/humans, as can the above image; a heavily-JPEG-artifacted preview image. The reason for the NPC's presence in The Beginner's Guide's files isn't apparent, though it's worth noting that the NPC isn't present in the files of The Stanley Parable.

portal2_product#

Present in materials/console are these textures. There are also textures in the same folder called portal2_product_2 and portal2_product_2_widescreen, which are identical to the first two.

Loading#

Also in materials/console is this texture.

Davey Making Maps#

A photo of a distressed Davey Wreden apparently making maps. Located in materials/vgui. This was used as a placeholder chapter preview image.

"REMOVE THIS" and "TAKE IT AWAY"#


These two files are located in materials/signage.

Test Cubemap#

The file test.vtf within materials/cubemap consists of, unsurprisingly, a cubemap used for testing.

Temporary Skybox#

A skybox named "sky_temp01".

(Source: Original TCRF research)

The Stanley Parable Textures#

To do:

  • Also:
    • The contents of materials/dev; only a couple of them are used in this game (in Tower).
    • materials/effects
    • materials/particles

There are quite a few textures leftover from The Stanley Parable, and which are not used in this game.

Mariella#

The textures used for Mariella in her ending of The Stanley Parable. Located in materials/models/characters/woman. All three textures have the text "Copyright aXYZ design 2006 - Metropoly 2 - MeAp0001" in them.

Circle#

A texture used in The Stanley Parable's Confusion Ending.

Construction Markings#

Used in various places in The Stanley Parable.

Start#

Half-Life 2 Combine Interface#

Within materials/models/props_combine are most of the textures for a Combine interface. Whilst this is originally from Half-Life 2, it is present in the game files due to its use in The Stanley Parable.

1980's Computer#

This texture of a dated computer can be found in materials/models/props_office.

Splash Screens#

Present in materials/splashtext are the eight Galactic Cafe splash screens used in The Stanley Parable.

4:3 aspect ratio
16:9 aspect ratio

The background of The Stanley Parable's main menu. It would be stretched in-game to fit the screen resolution.

No Saved Game#

This texture is present in materials/vgui as both new_save_game.vtf and no_save_game.vtf; the files are identical.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Half-Life 2, Portal, and Portal 2 Textures#

To do:

  • Also:
    • materials/decals and its subdirectories
    • materials/effects
    • materials/particles
  • Verify that the tile debris is actually from Portal 2.
  • Which specific games are the HUD icons from?

HEV Suit Hand#

The textures for the hand of the HEV suit from Half-Life 2 can be found in materials/models/Weapons/V_hand.

SMG Crosshairs#

TBG-models-Weapons-V_smg1-texture5.png
TBG-models-Weapons-W_smg1-smg_crosshair.png

These crosshair textures can be found in materials/models/Weapons/V_smg1 and materials/models/Weapons/W_smg1 respectively.

Portals#

Present in materials/models/portals are the textures used for the portals in Portal 2, including the above three 'dummy' images. The models are also present in the respective location.

Tile Debris#

Portal 2 Loading Screen Elements#

TBG-vgui-loadbar_dots.png
TBG-vgui-spinner.png

Found within materials/vgui.

HUD Icons#

Located in materials/vgui/hud.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Sad Girl#

TBG-render-sadgirl.png TBG-models-characters-sadgirl_d.png

The texture used for the girl at the end of Island, located in materials/models/characters. Whilst this texture is used, it is impossible to get close enough to the girl to see her clearly.

(Source: Original TCRF research)