Project: UnLockRay ( ULR / REL )

[Master]

Well, he did release some tools, they might help in your texture ripping: viewtopic.php?p=744661#p744661
However, it does seem to me that he had grander plans, perhaps we ought to see if we can find a means of contacting him again.

[GOT4N]

Well, he did release some tools, they might help in your texture ripping: viewtopic.php?p=744661#p744661
However, it does seem to me that he had grander plans, perhaps we ought to see if we can find a means of contacting him again.

Actually, that's the software we use for textures .
I would like contacting him in FB but I don't have FB lol

[PluMGMK]

BUMP: I've been looking through the Rayman 2 map files, and I've decided to post the filenames of the maps and the levels to which they correspond. I couldn't think of a better topic in which to post this:

Code: Select all

Menu = self-explanatory!
Jail_10 = Opening
Jail_20 = Rayman meets Globox
Learn_10 = The Woods of Light
Mapmonde= Hall of Doors
Learn_30 = The Fairy Glade part 1
Learn_31 = The Fairy Glade part 2/revisited
Bast_20 = The Fairy Glade part 3
Bast_22 = The Fairy Glade part 4
Learn_60 = The Fairy Glade part 5
Raycap = The "Score" Screen (?)
Bonux = Bonus Level
Ski_10 = The Marshes of Awakening part 1
Ski_60 = The Marshes of Awakening part 2
Batam_10 = Meanwhile on the Pirate Prison-Ship
Chase_10 = The Bayou part 1
Chase_22 = The Bayou part 2
Ly_10 = The Walk of Life
Nego_10 = Council Chamber of the Teensies
Water_10 = The Sanctuary of Water and Ice part 1
Water_20 = The Sanctuary of Water and Ice part 2
Poloc_10 = First Mask is given to Polokus
Rodeo_10 = The Menhir Hills part 1
Rodeo_40 = The Menhir Hills part 2
Rodeo_60 = The Menhir Hills part 3
Vulca_10 = The Cave of Bad Dreams part 1
Vulca_20 = The Cave of Bad Dreams part 2
GLob_30 = The Canopy part 1
GLob_10 = The Canopy part 2
GLob_20 = The Canopy part 3
Whale_00 = Whale Bay part 1
Whale_05 = Whale Bay part 2
Whale_10 = Whale Bay part 3
Plum_00 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire part 1
Plum_20 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire optional part
Plum_10 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire part 2
Poloc_20 = Second Mask is given to Polokus
Bast_09 = The Echoing Caves opening cutscene
Bast_10 = The Echoing Caves part 1
Cask_10 = The Echoing Caves part 2
Cask_30 = The Echoing Caves part 3
Nave_10 = The Precipice part 1
Nave_15 = The Precipice part 2
Nave_20 = The Precipice part 3
Seat_10 = The Top of the World part 1
Seat_11 = The Top of the World part 2
Earth_10 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 1
Earth_20 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 2
Earth_30 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 3
Helic_10 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 1
Helic_20 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 2
Helic_30 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 3
Poloc_30 = Third Mask is given to Polokus
Morb_00 = Tomb of the Ancients part 1
Morb_10 = Tomb of the Ancients part 2
Morb_20 = Tomb of the Ancients part 3
Learn_40 = The Iron Mountains part 1
Ball = The Iron Mountains balloon flight
Ile_10 = The Iron Mountains part 2 (The Gloomy Island)
Mine_10 = The Iron Mountains part 3 (The Pirate Mines)
Poloc_40 = Fourth Mask is given to Polokus
Batam_20 = Razorbeard buys the Grolgoth
Boat01 = The Prison Ship part 1
Boat02 = The Prison Ship part 2
Astro_00 = The Prison Ship part 3
Astro_10 = The Prison Ship part 4
Rhop_10 = The Crow's Nest
End_10 = Rayman's funeral/return
Staff_10 = Credits

Interesting observations:
Some of the names are fairly self-explanatory, but others leave you scratching your head.
"Learn" and "Bast(ion)" levels are fairly scattered.
None of the Iron Mountains maps have the same codename, suggesting (as I have suspected before) that it was more of a montage of what was left over when they were finished making the other levels.
Two of the Sanctuaries are named after their elements in English - Water and Earth. This further complicates the Fire vs. Earth issue (which has been discussed on the Wiki before).

[Shrooblord]

Equally interesting are the names for the Cave of Bad Dreams levels: Vulca. Does this mean the Cave was originally going to reside in a volcano? Moreover, thinking of how the Echoing Caves naturally ties in to the Fairy Glade with that secret passage and seeing how they share the same name in certain areas of the levels, does that mean, you think, that at some point in production, these areas were all actually one level? I'm starting to see similarities in the design ideas between the areas of the levels and seeing how that 'secret passage' could at one point have been simply an 'obvious passage' inside one and the same levelspace.

How this piques my interest and makes me excited about R2 even more!
Thanks, PluM!

[PluMGMK]

Moreover, thinking of how the Echoing Caves naturally ties in to the Fairy Glade with that secret passage and seeing how they share the same name in certain areas of the levels, does that mean, you think, that at some point in production, these areas were all actually one level? I'm starting to see similarities in the design ideas between the areas of the levels and seeing how that 'secret passage' could at one point have been simply an 'obvious passage' inside one and the same levelspace.

That does work better than my own awkward theory about Tomb of the Ancients.

[Shrooblord]

But think about it: try to piece together the Bast levels sequentially and you get a level that coherently works. Moreover, this creates two levels with the Barrel mechanic, with one returning later on in the game, and makes the somewhat secret Barrel Cage in the Menhir Hills follow on logically after having already seen a Barrel in the Fairy Glade, so that you needn't backtrack at all to learn how to use it to get to the Cage.

Also, the water, floating platforms over cliffs and the watermill fit together real well with the sites seen in the last areas of the Fairy Glade. I like how well it fits, even if it's all being pieced together after the fact.

I can see how it works from a design perspective in the early development, but in the end, I am much more glad how it turned out in the final game. All these themes returning across seperate levels as opposed to all levels having one distinct theme exclusively made the game more interesting.

PS
What's also neat to note is that there's a distinct skip in numbers; most numbers begin at _10, but the very first Bast level is Bast_09, indicating, perhaps, that there were at some point 9 additional segments to each of the other levels too that got scrapped or merged into others during development.
What a treasure to uncover! ~excitement~

[Master]

Huh, so the Echoing Caves cutscene is its own map, eh? That explains why there's two load screens.

So, there's a bit of mishing and mashing, so what happens if we put the levels together by map name?

Code: Select all

Jail_10 = Opening
Jail_20 = Rayman meets Globox

Learn_10 = The Woods of Light
Learn_30 = The Fairy Glade part 1
Learn_31 = The Fairy Glade part 2/revisited
Learn_40 = The Iron Mountains part 1
Learn_60 = The Fairy Glade part 5

Bast_09 = The Echoing Caves opening cutscene
Bast_10 = The Echoing Caves part 1
Bast_20 = The Fairy Glade part 3
Bast_22 = The Fairy Glade part 4

Ski_10 = The Marshes of Awakening part 1
Ski_60 = The Marshes of Awakening part 2

Chase_10 = The Bayou part 1
Chase_22 = The Bayou part 2

Water_10 = The Sanctuary of Water and Ice part 1
Water_20 = The Sanctuary of Water and Ice part 2

Rodeo_10 = The Menhir Hills part 1
Rodeo_40 = The Menhir Hills part 2
Rodeo_60 = The Menhir Hills part 3

Vulca_10 = The Cave of Bad Dreams part 1
Vulca_20 = The Cave of Bad Dreams part 2

GLob_10 = The Canopy part 2
GLob_20 = The Canopy part 3
GLob_30 = The Canopy part 1

Whale_00 = Whale Bay part 1
Whale_05 = Whale Bay part 2
Whale_10 = Whale Bay part 3

Plum_00 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire part 1
Plum_20 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire optional part
Plum_10 = The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire part 2

Cask_10 = The Echoing Caves part 2
Cask_30 = The Echoing Caves part 3

Nave_10 = The Precipice part 1
Nave_15 = The Precipice part 2
Nave_20 = The Precipice part 3

Seat_10 = The Top of the World part 1
Seat_11 = The Top of the World part 2

Earth_10 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 1
Earth_20 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 2
Earth_30 = The Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 3

Helic_10 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 1
Helic_20 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 2
Helic_30 = Beneath the Sanctuary of Rock and Lava part 3

Morb_00 = Tomb of the Ancients part 1
Morb_10 = Tomb of the Ancients part 2
Morb_20 = Tomb of the Ancients part 3

Ball = The Iron Mountains balloon flight
Ile_10 = The Iron Mountains part 2 (The Gloomy Island)
Mine_10 = The Iron Mountains part 3 (The Pirate Mines)

Boat01 = The Prison Ship part 1
Boat02 = The Prison Ship part 2
Astro_00 = The Prison Ship part 3
Astro_10 = The Prison Ship part 4

Rhop_10 = The Crow's Nest

Ly_10 = The Walk of Life
Ly_20 = The Walk of Power

Menu = self-explanatory!
Mapmonde= Hall of Doors
Raycap = The "Score" Screen (?)
Bonux = Bonus Level

Batam_10 = Meanwhile on the Pirate Prison-Ship
Batam_20 = Razorbeard buys the Grolgoth

Nego_10 = Council Chamber of the Teensies

Poloc_10 = First Mask is given to Polokus
Poloc_20 = Second Mask is given to Polokus
Poloc_30 = Third Mask is given to Polokus
Poloc_40 = Fourth Mask is given to Polokus

End_10 = Rayman's funeral/return
Staff_10 = Credits

The ordering of some of these numbers is pretty curious, for instance, the number for the first part of the Canopy is greater than that of the next two parts, could this mean perhaps that either the level with the spider was a later addition, or was it intended to be the last section?
Then there's the Walk of Power, where is it? Never mind, found it.

[Shrooblord]

Hrm, seeing the Canopy patched together like that makes me think it's not level order that these numbers deal in, but perhaps, rather, production order. They didn't really know how the Canopy was going to start, but they had the ending and midsection pretty much sketched out, so they added the beginning in later on (which could explain why it's so small compared to the other sections). Same goes for other levels, I guess.

Still, the Iron Mountains being partly 'Learn' bogs my mind. Perhaps the enormous amount of Purple Lums was at some point supposed to help the player learn about how to use them...? The laser section following that doesn't make sense then, though, and neither does the balloon section following that. It's all, naturally, far more complicated than it would first appear!

[Master]

Indeed, it all boggles the mind heavily, though the theories we've got here are pretty cool.

[GOT4N]

btw, we also did this long time ago with Droolie, forgot if it's complete

Code: Select all

sk8_X = Skate levels
roadrun = Mad Trax
roadrun_4 = Wheelis
BonusTXT = bonus menu (with preloaded room) (this is just an empty black room) 
toudi_10 = 2D Nightmare
toudi_00 = 2D Madness
endgame = just the menu you get at the end (revisit menu)
staff = lums race code & credits
crush = the Crush minigame
ballmap = the Balloons minigame
commando = Commando! How original.
lept_15 = the shooting part of the final boss
menu_XX = the doctors’ offices at the end of each world
menumap = Main Menu
raz_map = Razoff Circus(?)
snipe_00 = Missile Command(?)
fact_XX = Hoodlums Headquarters
Intro_XX= council
Sentinel = the mini game
mount_xx = The Summit Beyond The Clouds
Swamp_XX = The Bog of Murk
ten_map = Racket Jump (Tennis)
flash_xx = The Longest Shortcut
test_map = Corrupted, but for Mad Trax / Wheelie.

[stan423321]

Still, the Iron Mountains being partly 'Learn' bogs my mind. Perhaps the enormous amount of Purple Lums was at some point supposed to help the player learn about how to use them...? The laser section following that doesn't make sense then, though, and neither does the balloon section following that. It's all, naturally, far more complicated than it would first appear!

Nah, not really, though it indeed points that the beginning purple lums probably were initially a tutorial. I think that both Learn_50 and Learn_60 got started as these tutorials and nothing more, and then got additional sections, either by improvement or by merging with different "working levels". Hard to say which one without knowledge of tools devs used; modern developers would almost assuredly create loads of little parts and then link them, but who knows what was possible by the time of R2 development.

Learn_50 is more interesting than Learn_60, in fact. We can all see a level where you have to jump from lum to lum... doesn't sound too good, and isn't really that needed. But as of Learn_50, what could be tutored here? We can assume that it's the second part that was a tutorial - the first one fits "Bast_" aesthetic better, and there isn't much to know about falling in R2. The second section features primarily whirlwinds. Were whirlwinds planned as a major part of R2?

Maybe. And if so, devs probably found the section to great to outright delete (especially the ending). So they put it here. Also note that hanging between walls is in WoL despite being almost unused later. Perhaps another artifact of early plans.

[GOT4N]

I wished to do that on Rayman 2 Revolution but I'm too lazy as it contains so many maps files XD

[Shrooblord]

Wall hanging did come back a fair share of times across the game. It's not quite as frequent as some other mechanics such as using the Helicopter or flying a Barrel, but far more frequent than instances such as the flying chair or even the whirlwinds.

But I find it nicer having only few sections where certain powers/abilites are used - that makes those areas stand out more and makes you wonder more about why they're there. Especially the whirlwind area at the end of the Fairy Glade always struck me as very atmospheric and calming, though inexplicably unique - but that made it better.

[PluMGMK]

But think about it: try to piece together the Bast levels sequentially and you get a level that coherently works. Moreover, this creates two levels with the Barrel mechanic, with one returning later on in the game, and makes the somewhat secret Barrel Cage in the Menhir Hills follow on logically after having already seen a Barrel in the Fairy Glade, so that you needn't backtrack at all to learn how to use it to get to the Cage.

Actually, the Bast levels strung together make more sense than what we have in the Echoing Caves. We go in a door, but fall down through a hole in the roof; a pirate is also seen going in that door, but he's nowhere to be found in the next part.
Also, on a somewhat related note, Bast_10 contains four Super Yellow Lums, which seem to have been a last-minute addition. The two Cask maps then had to have many of the yellow lums in their cages replaced with red lums to keep the total at 50.

[Shrooblord]

? But the Bast levels being strung together and making more sense that way is basically what I said, is it not?

[Master]

Interesting, I was going through the R2 textures again, but I couldn't find the textures for the Cave of Bad Dreams, yet, I did find like textures in "textures_volcan," they're the wrong colour, but undeniably the same in look from the Cave's. Also, that folder has the textures for the green stuff you slide down during the Jano chase, which seems to be named after crystals. What's interesting, is that some of these textures are used in the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, but not all of them (I don't think there's textures for the climbable bones used in the Sanctuary, yet that texture is present and coloured for it, even though it's actually used in the Cave).

Couple that in with the Mini-Jano appearing in the first phase of the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, and I think this Volcano of Bad Dreams idea is beginning to make some sense.

[PluMGMK]

? But the Bast levels being strung together and making more sense that way is basically what I said, is it not?

Oh, I thought you meant it would just make sense, not necessarily more. Sorry.

[Shrooblord]

Couple that in with the Mini-Jano appearing in the first phase of the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire, and I think this Volcano of Bad Dreams idea is beginning to make some sense.

Mind=blown

I hadn't even realised the Jano in tSoSaF could mean anything. Wow. Now I have to start speculating which parts of the Sanctuary and the Cave would actually have tied in together. Imagine the size of the level if they were all one piece!

Perhaps there would have been a secret entrance to the Cave within the Sanctuary? This is all starting to freak me out a bit.

[Master]

Indeed, it's amazing to see what we've learnt just from the act of poking through Rayman 2's textures and world data. Speaking of which, did you ever get a chance to poke through Rayman 2's textures yourself?

[Shrooblord]

No... I still don't really have a place to game on, unfortunately. All I get is a bit of Minecraft and a card-creating program that allows me to create Magic cards. xP