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[Othius]

Is it possible we could be able to play some versions of the stages shown in the 20th anniversary release trailer? The latest beta ACZ2 we got is the 2016 version, and I've heard that CEZ2 from that trailer is an entirely different map. I think it would be quite fun to be able to play these otherwise lost levels.

 

[Othius]

Rewrote the thread so that it doesn't hurt to read

 

[Radicalicious]

I've heard that the 20th anniversary version wasn't archived. According to MascaraSnake, they only started archiving builds at the start of 2019. Though i'd love to see the early maps, we can only hope that it still exists on a STJR computer.

 

[Othius]

I definitely believe that. The build of the game itself wasn't archived, but I'm fairly sure the stages themselves were judging by the fact that we got Forest Fortress, the ACZ2 Museum, and the 2014 attempt at a DSZ1 remake.

 

[Radicalicious]

True.. didn't think of those examples.

 

[Mystic]

The actual quirk here is that 2.2's development took absurdly long, which led to multiple stages being actually completed and then rethought later. CEZ1 and ACZ2 were both actually finished in their pre-release design and replaced entirely later-on. This normally isn't the case. For instance, the version of CEZ2 from 2.2 dev was never possible to complete, has dead-ends in many locations, and has severe framerate problems. While it certainly would be neat to release some of the scrapped content, it would be a lot of work to actually make it playable without noclip.

 

[glaber]

The 2014 DSZ1 remake was released?

Edit: Wow, that was definitely different. But there is another beta level that was released too. Arid Canyon act 3!

 

[Unknownlight]

The actual quirk here is that 2.2's development took absurdly long, which led to multiple stages being actually completed and then rethought later. CEZ1 and ACZ2 were both actually finished in their pre-release design and replaced entirely later-on. This normally isn't the case. For instance, the version of CEZ2 from 2.2 dev was never possible to complete, has dead-ends in many locations, and has severe framerate problems. While it certainly would be neat to release some of the scrapped content, it would be a lot of work to actually make it playable without noclip.

In the absence of actual playable levels, do you guys have any stories of levels/concepts that you guys made that you liked and were proud of, but had to be cut because it didn't fit the new vision?