Super Mario Kart prototype

[van_halen]

I got this prototype of Super Mario Kart a couple of months ago from c4e's huge proto sale. It turned out to be a quite early version with many graphical and musical differences, for example a totally different Vanilla Lake soundtrack that Niels discovered the day before he would ship it out to me =). I've also noticed many gameplay differences which sometimes make it harder than the released version. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pics for those of you who might be interested.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Cart.jpg



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/1-titlescreen.jpg
Close to the Japanese title screen. From what I can see, Mario's mouth looks slightly different.



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/2-playerselect.jpg
Mario and Luigi have additional parts on the back of their karts and Bowser looks a little different.



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/3-cupselect.jpg
Cup Select screen is missing the orange border and the "cc" class chosen.



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/4-lakitu.jpg
Lakitu makes a different noise when driving in the opposite direction and the yellow flag is missing the black cross.



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/5-betacheepcheep.jpg
Beta Cheep Cheep?



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Super%20Mario%20Kart%20prototype/6-out.jpg
Sometimes it says "OUT" for some players in the bottom.



http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/7-superkoopa-1.jpg
When getting in 2nd place, a Super Koopa makes a loop and starts spinning out of the screen when it gets hit by the champagne cork. Also, there are no cups given as reward.



There are lots of other differences I've seen as well and it's seriously buggy in some places. I haven't had time to fully play it through yet, but hopefully I'll be able to do it soon.

/Johan

[Superman]

Congratulations on your find, Johan!

If I was getting a prototype, I would want something like this. I like to see the differences in games between production and release.

[badinsults]

Very cool stuff. I look forward to more of your findings.

[fpbrush]

I agree with Superman. I never get too excited about protos. But something like this I think would be fun to have...especially the changed part of the soundtrack! Seems like a true "beta".

I'm guessing with higher profile releases such as this they would go through more changes (so they can get it just right)--so maybe the protos are more interesting?

Either way, great find, thanks for giving us the rundown!

[mr obscure]

huge mario kart fan!!!!!! great to see this... congrats

would love to see the proto of mario kart 64 btw it had magic koopa

[NESaholic]

Nice snag man, alpha's and beta's just plainly rock.

[DreamTR]

van_halen, that one was definitely mine through nicola to niels,,,,

[NESaholic]

van_halen, that one was definitely mine through nicola to niels,,,,
It's a small world after all.

[van_halen]

van_halen, that one was definitely mine through nicola to niels,,,,

Yes it is for sure, but Niels told me he bought it directly from you, and Nicola said he was offered a "final version" but never bought it because of the assumption... (?)

[DreamTR]

Yes it is for sure, but Niels told me he bought it directly from you, and Nicola said he was offered a "final version" but never bought it because of the assumption... (?)


Actually, I remember what it was now, I told Nicola what the proto/cart said, but he chose not to buy it, and he was also offered the same deal with my Super Mario Bros I NES prototype (yes, I have one of those as well), but he never wanted it.

[mr obscure]

I don't care how many people had this proto,thanks again for sharing these pictures van halen.

super mario kart is 1 of my favorite games (in fact i think its the best mario kart and the serie goes down hill with every new release)

these pictures really cought my imagination.

[PACHUKA]

dump it please!

[DreamTR]

dump it please!

Offer to donate some money to the guy at least.

[PACHUKA]

Offer to donate some money to the guy at least.

Not everyone has a zillion dollars to waste. I also don't see any reason people should be begging for $$$ for a rom dump. To each their own. I've spent quite a bit of my own cash to dump my own proto garbage. However, if you need something van halen, I have an extra SNES copier I'd let go for retarded cheap. Send a msg.

[van_halen]

Not everyone has a zillion dollars to waste. I also don't see any reason people should be begging for $$$ for a rom dump. To each their own. I've spent quite a bit of my own cash to dump my own proto garbage. However, if you need something van halen, I have an extra SNES copier I'd let go for retarded cheap. Send a msg.

Not everyone wants to buy a prototype for a zillion of dollars and then drastically devalue it by letting the ROM out to a bunch of idiots who won't appreciate it anyway...

[DreamTR]

Not everyone has a zillion dollars to waste. I also don't see any reason people should be begging for $$$ for a rom dump. To each their own. I've spent quite a bit of my own cash to dump my own proto garbage. However, if you need something van halen, I have an extra SNES copier I'd let go for retarded cheap. Send a msg.


I don't have a zillion dollars to waste either, but it's responses like this that make people not want to devalue stuff they paid $$$$ for so you can play it out of the blue.

[PACHUKA]

K, gotcha. Greed = good, horde = good. Internet fame = good. Whatev. Just do yourself and everyone else a favor, at least dump it onto your own PC in case something should happen to the physical copy. I'll go back to my devalued world. Peace.

[van_halen]

K, gotcha. Greed = good, horde = good. Internet fame = good. Whatev. Just do yourself and everyone else a favor, at least dump it onto your own PC in case something should happen to the physical copy. I'll go back to my devalued world. Peace.

There isn't much fame in having a thing like this, and I don't have any interest in hoarding away game information from people that are interested. I just see it as a very bad investment to release the ROM of a prototype onto the internet, since nobody will ever want to buy the physical copy for anywhere near the former value again. You know, I've changed hobbies before, and I doubt I will have a very large interest in collecting prototypes when I'm 35 and have kids.

That said, I might try your recommendation.

[PACHUKA]

Well, I'll admit something I should have from the get. I have -zero- interest in distributing or even playing it. I'm more interested in getting it disassembled. When games are in mid-production, that is prime time to get sloppy and leave all kinds of goodies in the game. If you can find someone you trust, dump it and have them disassemble it, or at very least export the sprite data/spc data.

[van_halen]

Well, I'll admit something I should have from the get. I have -zero- interest in distributing or even playing it. I'm more interested in getting it disassembled. When games are in mid-production, that is prime time to get sloppy and leave all kinds of goodies in the game. If you can find someone you trust, dump it and have them disassemble it, or at very least export the sprite data/spc data.

I did with my SMB2 prototype. Look how that ended up...

[DreamTR]

K, gotcha. Greed = good, horde = good. Internet fame = good. Whatev. Just do yourself and everyone else a favor, at least dump it onto your own PC in case something should happen to the physical copy. I'll go back to my devalued world. Peace.


You are just as misinformed as the next person. Where do you think some of the unreleased NES protos that have been floating around came from? I'm so sick of people like you with this thinking I am "hording" attitude. I've had a ton of my stuff dumped, so learn some facts before you come in here with this babble.

Internet Fame = good? Please tell me where I am bragging about all these protos and making threads about them and websites and stuff. You really need to get your facts straight.

[PACHUKA]

I did my research. Out of the 7 people I know on this forum, 7 say you're an elitist ass.

Sorry to crap on your topic VH. Any possiblity of producing video so we can get some of these sound differences?

[mr obscure]

wow just WOW what a reactions!

you can't blame van halen for not dumping it,it would destroy the value.

I have a unreleased prototype for the nes: escape from atlantis.
It got dumped by somebody how also has a proto and the value goes down alot.
But what people forget is that not all protos are the same, my copy has some graphic and control difference with the rom.
But most people forgett this.

I think its way cool that van halen showed the differencis with pics.

[van_halen]

Any possiblity of producing video so we can get some of these sound differences?

Yeah, I might be able to try that tomorrow or someday this coming week. I think a good thing would be to make an attempt at finishing the Special Cup first, though.

[badinsults]

Oh god, here we go.

Seriously van_halen, having the screenshots and a list of changes is wonderful. For 99.9% of people, this is adequate to satisfy interest. The rom release only interests people who are jealous of not having something that someone else has. After the SMB2 debacle, I don't blame you for wanting to withold this. I say this as someone who has released many roms, including unreleased games, and will freely release any prototype roms I purchase.

[PACHUKA]

Yeah, I might be able to try that tomorrow or someday this coming week. I think a good thing would be to make an attempt at finishing the Special Cup first, though.

Are you connecting your snes via a/v cables, or coaxle? Because I actually have a extra set of snes A/V cables, and I'm not 100% sure but I might still have an extra external usb video capture device floating.

[drx]

I did my research. Out of the 7 people I know on this forum, 7 say you're an elitist ass.

Sorry to crap on your topic VH. Any possiblity of producing video so we can get some of these sound differences?

I disagree. DreamTR is one of the nicest collectors (prototype or not) I know.

Anyway, jumping on someone's topic and asking for free stuff that you don't even care about is kind of rude.

Van_halen: I'm sorry that whoever you trusted with the ROM of SMB2 turned out to be dishonest and 'leaked' them to the people who ended up releasing them. This is not the way it should have happened. I hope you understand that there are some people here who aren't ROM kiddies that just demand free stuff, that actually care about preservation of prototypes.

Anyway, sorry to derail the topic more. Good job on your score! I was thinking of buying the cart myself, but I'm not too big on SMK in the first place. It sounds like a nice proto, though.

[Volcanon]

I'd just like to see more pictures. Nice find.

[DreamTR]

[QUOTE=PACHUKA;1437820]I did my research. Out of the 7 people I know on this forum, 7 say you're an elitist ass.


You can believe what you want, but get those 7 people to post on this thread and explain how I am "elitist?" I'd love to hear this one, because if they have not met me personally, or dealt with me, then you, as someone with very few posts and is new on this forum, is extremely unaware and misinformed. Most people get the wrong impression about me because I collect for a lot of different systems, and sometimes become hostile for absolutely no reason.

Seriously, I don't even know 7 people I talk to regularly from here.

I'm glad this game turned out different for van_halen, as you just never know with protos these days.

[PACHUKA]

[QUOTE=PACHUKA;1437820]I did my research. Out of the 7 people I know on this forum, 7 say you're an elitist ass.


You can believe what you want, but get those 7 people to post on this thread and explain how I am "elitist?" I'd love to hear this one, because if they have not met me personally, or dealt with me, then you, as someone with very few posts and is new on this forum, is extremely unaware and misinformed. Most people get the wrong impression about me because I collect for a lot of different systems, and sometimes become hostile for absolutely no reason.

Seriously, I don't even know 7 people I talk to regularly from here.

I'm glad this game turned out different for van_halen, as you just never know with protos these days.

Ok, check this. I think I jumped the gun a bit and read the book by it's cover. I talked with drx, and I trust him more then I do most people, and he kinda gave me more insight. So let's just turn the clock back about 24 hours. I apologize for jumping on you right away. I just have a HUGE desire to see any and all prototypes copied in some way that the data can be investigated in the future. That's my goal, and my thing. You got a slightly different way of going about things then I. So let's stop flooding this topic with feces and let it get back to the subject at hand! =)

[DreamTR]

[QUOTE=DreamTR;1438118]

Ok, check this. I think I jumped the gun a bit and read the book by it's cover. I talked with drx, and I trust him more then I do most people, and he kinda gave me more insight. So let's just turn the clock back about 24 hours. I apologize for jumping on you right away. I just have a HUGE desire to see any and all prototypes copied in some way that the data can be investigated in the future. That's my goal, and my thing. You got a slightly different way of going about things then I. So let's stop flooding this topic with feces and let it get back to the subject at hand! =)


That's fine, I just don't like getting jumped on by people because the ones that do that really know nothing about me, it's only hearsay. I just like collecting prototypes, but I am not going to give away things for free if I pay $1000. Any way you look at it, it's just not a smart business decision unless you can recover the costs for getting the game.

[mr obscure]

uhm off topic ,i also think your a as*hole dream,don't know why but you got a bad rep. on the net.

and i don't even know ya.
Sorry man,but people talk about you : selling stuff way overpriced and hostile communication.

again i don't know you!!!!! but thats the things i heard about you second hand.
Just letting you know what i heard,thats all,why am i even posting this....

[DreamTR]

uhm off topic ,i also think your a as*hole dream,don't know why but you got a bad rep. on the net.

and i don't even know ya.
Sorry man,but people talk about you : selling stuff way overpriced and hostile communication.

again i don't know you!!!!! but thats the things i heard about you second hand.
Just letting you know what i heard,thats all,why am i even posting this....

mrobscure: I don't sell anything overpriced. Everything I sell is cheaper than everyone else. Hands down. Ask anyone on any of the forums, or check my for sale threads when I put them up, or go to the CGE, MWGC, AGEXPO and check out my stuff. I sell more stuff to resellers and people than you can imagine.

Hostile communication only in response to people that make me hold things (you making me hold Cheetahmen II sealed for 3 weeks, not paying for it, and me having to chase you down and ask you about it constantly) and not coming through.

Also mrobscure (dutch), you've got a pretty bad rep at Nintendo Age. I don't rip anyone off, and you've had some questionable stuff going on over there as of late, so like I said, usually the people that "hate" or think I am an asshole giving me a bad rep don't know me at all.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I don't know where all this stuff about DreamTR comes from, either. Not that he needs my support to make him feel better, but the guy's been collecting longer than almost everybody (period), and he's been in the community for just as long. I've been collecting for like 6 years. I've talked to him many many times, met him twice, and dealt with him on a massive ($2,000) deal.
Anybody who needs to "question" his reputation knowledge and contribution to video game collecting, in my opinion, is a wart on this community.

/end man love for DreamTR

[DreamTR]

I don't know where all this stuff about DreamTR comes from, either. Not that he needs my support to make him feel better, but the guy's been collecting longer than almost everybody (period), and he's been in the community for just as long. I've been collecting for like 6 years. I've talked to him many many times, met him twice, and dealt with him on a massive ($2,000) deal.
Anybody who needs to "question" his reputation knowledge and contribution to video game collecting, in my opinion, is a wart on this community.

/end man love for DreamTR

Thanks Jumpman =P

I don't think it's any of that, Dutch/MrObscure is just saying that apparently I am overpriced and get angry with everyone for some reason.

Honestly I think anyone that has had me pester them for information about payments that are late, doesn't understand business, or never worked in Accounts Payable/Receivable departments in their lifetimes, but it's usually people less than forthright on their payment practices or dealings with me that have these complaints...

Either that, or maybe I am the biggest asshole on DP, YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[Kid Fenris]

I heard DreamTR sucks at Mortal Kombat.

[badinsults]

I really think it is unfortunate that this thread got derailed.


I look forward to seeing more SMK Prototype goodness. If you want it posted on Snes Central, give me a shout.

[mr obscure]

Im not talking about that cm2 deal dreamtr
I didn't even knew that was you.

im not talking about my personal thing with you(i didn't even remembered)
I was talking about what people say about you in general(bad rep)

And where's smoke there is fire.(not that i don't have a shady rep,so we can shake hands)

BTW: where you that guy that chooked in a semi final of nwc

[DreamTR]

mrobscure: you can't compare the two, I have not ripped anyone off or had "shady" deals, so the two are not comparable.

And yes, I choked in the actual semifinal 1990 NWCs when I was the top scoregetter throughout the weekend in my age group at the Miami, FL location.

It's cool, I don't have any problems with you, but I am sure the people that tell you they have problems with me, there must be a reason. Two sides to every story. No one is perfect, but I don't mess around when it comes to buying/selling...

[portnoyd]

I heard DreamTR sucks.

Oh, I went there.

[NESaholic]

On topic: I want to see some more stuff also, what's taking so long? :)

Off topic: Jason is a reliable guy, never had any probs and is reasonable all the way. I dealt quite some times with him in the passed years and everything always went a-ok. Stop ranting and start gaming i would say.

[van_halen]

Sorry about that! I haven't actually had time to even look at a game for the past week, but I have recorded a quick and crappy video of it now. Shows the different Vanilla Lake 1 soundtrack and some other stuff. Personally, I'm glad they changed it. Notice the slightly different percussion beats in Koopa Troopa's character theme music as well and that the 'Replay' feature hasn't been implemented for Time Trial yet. Anyway, I may be able to snap some more in a couple of days if you want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcwheUUzHZE

Evan: Absolutely, feel free to use any pictures you want.

[mr obscure]

thanks man great stuff,i don't know what other people think BUT... i would really like to see the other podium scene with the flying koopa.
For me the weirdest change made in the game

[badinsults]

I've taken some screenshots that compare the beta and the final:

http://www.snescentral.com/article.php?id=0874

[mr obscure]

I've taken some screenshots that compare the beta and the final:

http://www.snescentral.com/article.php?id=0874

very nice work
:hail:

[murdoc rose]

very cool

[rbudrick]

Well,as long as the thread is permanently derailed anyway, I will say that DreamTR has been an incredible wealth of information on many topics and he is extremely honest and trustworthy. In my dealings with him, I trust him 150%.

Just because he is the biggest proto collector out there shouldn't make anyone jealous.

If anyone thinks he's a hoarder, just remember that if it wasn't for him, most of the protos out there would have never seen the light of day (Hell, I dumped 19 of his proto FDS disks). We all owe him a debt of gratitude as a historian of sorts.

-Rob

[OmochaoAbuser]

I would like to have some .SPCs, paticulary of Vanilla Lake.

Also, the SMB2 prototype was VERY well recieved.
http://www.underground-gamer.com/details.php?id=17615&page=0

[OmochaoAbuser]

Wanted to ask again about getting .SPCs.

[DeputyMoniker]

K, gotcha. Greed = good, horde = good. Internet fame = good. Whatev. Just do yourself and everyone else a favor, at least dump it onto your own PC in case something should happen to the physical copy. I'll go back to my devalued world. Peace.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/index.php
Maybe you'd be better off on another board. Nobody here seems to be a mood that will accommodate your FNG bull shit.

[OmochaoAbuser]

Please ignore the post above this one.

Now, about those .SPCs...

[van_halen]

Sorry for my late replies. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to dump it yet and I wouldn't know how to rip SPC's once I do, but for the time being, I could try to record mp3's of the tracks I know are different if you want.

Here's some more stuff I had forgotten to post by the way:

This "Choco Island" Battle Course #3 in the prototype was removed in favor of Battle Course #1 in the final version.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/8-battlecourse.jpg

Short video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR4uRe1Dzus


These four Flying Koopas appear when getting in third place, and the last one eventually gets shot down by the champagne cork. Sometimes the color pallettes are different during the podium sequence. I have no clue why, but I'd assume it's just a bug. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place podium music in the final version is also absent in the prototype, instead the final version's 4th place music plays everytime.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Foto104.jpg

Normal screen:

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr212/psykhospitalet/Foto107.jpg


Additionally, Rainbow Road is quite a lot narrower than in the final version, and the Bowser's Castle soundtrack is played there instead of the final Rainbow Road music. The opponent drivers keep falling into the water on Donut Plains 3 when trying to cross the broken bridge and they can't seem to stay on track for most parts of Rainbow Road, making them the two easiest courses in the prototype. Some animations (for example, the shoreline waves on Koopa Beach) aren't implemented yet as well.

Also, it's not possible to drop the green shells or shoot the banana peels, the speed boost feature from the start is absent, no real ending or credits after finishing Special Cup (from what I've seen) and hence no 150cc mode.

Anyway, I'll look for more differences as soon as I get some time.

Cheers!

[OmochaoAbuser]

As far as dumping .SPCs goes, ZSNES has it built in.

[OmochaoAbuser]

Updates?

[Cryomancer]

He'll post when he has something. You don't need to pester him so much.

[Nicola]

About DreamTR: I don't like him too, because when he offered me the proto he told me he was quite sure that it was a final version, so I didn't buy that. Now, as I watch the differences, I hate him more and more! :D

[Guy Bramsworth]

Besides the new music, I don' see anything to go nuts about here personally. So some koopas appear at the end of a course........thats so amazing :/

Just saying, hopefully no ones going to go nuts perstering the guy over something that's barely anything to begin with. Just play the one you own already :p

[DreamTR]

Besides the new music, I don' see anything to go nuts about here personally. So some koopas appear at the end of a course........thats so amazing :/

Just saying, hopefully no ones going to go nuts perstering the guy over something that's barely anything to begin with. Just play the one you own already :p

Well what are you expecting, the entire game to be completely different? It's rare than a beta has a gazillion changes to begin with. It's just neat to see the development process and what was ultimately taken out of the game before final release.

[OmochaoAbuser]

Any updates?

[van_halen]

Not much of an update really, but I recorded some sound clips of the Vanilla Lake soundtrack and DK Jr.'s theme music. I'll see about ripping SPCs the way you mentioned when I get it dumped.

Vanilla Lake soundtrack (http://www.sendspace.com/file/e0dzpg)

DK Jr.'s theme music (http://www.sendspace.com/file/yypg7t)

I've also been asked to make videos of all the 20 tracks + BM courses which I'm still working on. I can post links to them when they're finished.

[DreamTR]

I should be getting another Super Mario Kart beta in the next week or so....

[OmochaoAbuser]

Not much of an update really, but I recorded some sound clips of the Vanilla Lake soundtrack and DK Jr.'s theme music. I'll see about ripping SPCs the way you mentioned when I get it dumped.

Vanilla Lake soundtrack (http://www.sendspace.com/file/e0dzpg)

DK Jr.'s theme music (http://www.sendspace.com/file/yypg7t)

I've also been asked to make videos of all the 20 tracks + BM courses which I'm still working on. I can post links to them when they're finished.
Thanks!

[van_halen]

I should be getting another Super Mario Kart beta in the next week or so....

Very cool, make sure to post some pictures of that one when you receive it!

[FennerGuy2010]

Very cool, make sure to post some pictures of that one when you receive it!
Can I download the prototype SMK rom

[ProgrammingAce]

Can I download the prototype SMK rom

Yes.

You can download a copy here (http://buttermonster.ytmnd.com/).

[OmochaoAbuser]

I don't see it there, dumbfuck.

[OmochaoAbuser]

It just isn't there.

[InsaneDavid]

It just isn't there.

The download worked fine for me.

[ProgrammingAce]

You have to scroll down to the bottom.

[Vectorman0]

Yes.

You can download a copy here (http://buttermonster.ytmnd.com/).

Thanks for the link. I'll try this ROM out later.

[OmochaoAbuser]

I see that I have some work to do.

Hear me, oh Powers
Of Klatha and Mana!
Turn now ProgrammingAce and InsaneDavid
Into species called Rana!



Now, I would like this to get back on-topic, please.

Vectorman, it's not there, just ignore those trolls-turned-into-frogs.
If there was a hidden link, I would have found it in the source.

[ProgrammingAce]

It just isn't there.

I really wonder what this said before he edited it...

[FennerGuy2010]

You have to scroll down to the bottom.

all I see is Communism

Can you put a SMK Prototype Rom link please...and get this over with

[OmochaoAbuser]

They need to admit they were lying, and get this over with.

[badinsults]

You have to follow the buttar monster to find the rom.