Rayman 1

[RayCarrot]

sos404 documented a bunch which I used as reference. There's still missing documentation on a bunch of things though, like how to deal with background images, palette changing, events etc.

[Hunchman801]

So far I've managed to extract the maps for every level including their collision properties. You can see some examples on my Twitter.

Sounds great! Once you've sorted out the issues with the palette, we could replace the old maps we currently have on the wiki. Well, maybe we'd have to add the events first, but at least we could start with the missing maps (Betilla levels, boss battles, etc.).

[RayCarrot]

I was actually considering working towards that. The events can in worst case be edited in manually, but I might be able to add it in dynamically too.
As for boss levels, they don't have any level textures as they're all just a background. The Betilla levels on the other hand are just like normal levels.
How do you prefer I deal with the background? Keep it transparent or use a single color? The in-game background is just a static image, so it won't fill the entire level.

[Hunchman801]

Maybe transparent would be better? We can always try both and pick the one we like best.

[Steo]

I'm sure someone else must have seen this happen before, especially since people speedrun the game. I was playing the NTSC version of Rayman on PS1, I got to Allegro Presto part 1, then as I had to turn left and slide down a slope, I held down to duck. As I was going back up a slope while ducking, I fell through the platform and landed way below near the end of the level.

[RayCarrot]

I know there are multiple glitches where you fall through the slopes in Band Land, but I didn't know of one there. That's cool!

[Steo]

I always thought you needed the running power to reach that one cage on Twilight Gulch, at least on the PS1 version. On the Saturn version, I just stood on the next platform to the right from the one I normally run from and you can reach the flying ring without needing to run. If the PS1 version is the same, I'm very surprised I never noticed that, considering I played it so many times.

[RayCarrot]

On PC it's possible, but I could never do it on PS1.

[Steo]

I did have the speed fist too if that makes a difference, but I recall it being impossible on PS1 without the running power, so maybe Saturn is different then.

[dr_st]

Yes, on the PC it's definitely possible (and you must have the speed first); never played the PS1 version, so don't know if it's possible there or not (slight timing variations can make all the difference). I would assume it was intended to be impossible, as the designers of the game wanted to set up some cages to require backtracking.

[Steo]

I wanted to replace a RayWiki screenshot of the two moons from Rayman on Saturn. When I got to the end of the game, it turned out the smaller moon wasn't visible in the NTSC version of the game. It seems to only be there in the PAL version, so it must be PAL exclusive for some reason.

UPDATE: It is indeed PAL exclusive, the NTSC (US and JP) versions of the game will only reveal the larger of the two moons.

As for the Twilight Gulch ring, it seems it's placed differently in the NTSC Saturn version; it's actually down lower and slightly to the left, making it easy to reach without the running power. In the PAL version, it's in the same place as PS1, where you need to be able to run to reach it.

PAL is on the left, NTSC is on the right:

[Hunchman801]

Great find, Steo! It feels amazing that twenty-five years later, we still learn about the games.

[PluMGMK]

The question is, who bothered to make that change, and why?

[Steo]

Maybe a dev couldn't reach the ring, so they just moved it.

It's strange though, I think that's the same placement as Jaguar and PC, since you can also reach it without running on both platforms.

[PluMGMK]

Possibly. Maybe they were testing a cage placement or something, and couldn't be bothered to load a save with the running power. If their own tools were anything like Designer (and why wouldn't they be?) then moving the ring wouldn't even involve restarting the level!

[Steo]

The other weird thing is that those four Tings that form the rest of the arrow aren't there either in the version that has the easier ring placement. The Tings are also placed differently actually, and in a slightly different pattern.

[Hunchman801]

Well, the moon is missing from the NTSC version simply because the screen is shorter compared to the PAL version (224 pixels vs. 256).

As for the flying ring, it was probably just a last-minute tweak!

[RayCarrot]

Well, the moon is missing from the NTSC version simply because the screen is shorter compared to the PAL version (224 pixels vs. 256).

Actually no. If you compare them closely you'll see that the bottom of the moon should still be visible. So for some reason they actually used different background renders between the versions.

[Steo]

Yeah I thought the same thing about the screen height at first myself, but even the stars are in a different place through the skylight in the NTSC version.

[Hunchman801]

Actually no. If you compare them closely you'll see that the bottom of the moon should still be visible. So for some reason they actually used different background renders between the versions.

That's right! Maybe they thought a tiny bit of moon looked bad?