DKC Atlas Forum

[Qyzbud]

Okay, so here I will list differences between the two prototypes of Diddy Kong Pilot (2000/2001). I felt it was better to split this into a different topic as this is about the two different prototypes of Diddy Kong Pilot rather than the ROM release of the latter build.

Personally, I think a single topic is fine; this topic is for DKP discussion in general — not just the ROM release.

[Gaz]

DKP Font.png (3.85 KiB) Viewed 56307 times

In the image above, I ripped the primary font for Diddy Kong Pilot (2001) so others may use it. It could be submitted to The Spriter's Resource, but I plan to leave it here. You could take it there, but please notify or ask me first. The letters Q, V, X, and Z are unused, only numbers zero through five exist, European characters too found in the ROM, and the only thing in "OTHER" that is used is the dash (used in the options menu).

Enjoy .

Qyzbud
Mattrizzle
Blaziken257

[Mattrizzle]

Found these Nintendo and Rareware splash screen graphics in the ROM:

rareware_splash.png (10.02 KiB) Viewed 56255 times

nintendo_splash.png (4.19 KiB) Viewed 56255 times

I'm not sure if code to make them display exists in this version, though.

[Nintando]

Great Rips Mattrizzle, Good job and Nice Work.

[Gaz]

Hooray for Mattrizzle's new and amazing finds! I was wondering where those screens were... I also found a hard-to-find video related to Diddy Kong Pilot on PocketMovies IGN (with the help of the Internet Archive):

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/4zxm1nzks64obbm/DKP.zip
And for the link itself: http://pocketmovies.ign.com/media/e32001/movies/diddykongpilot.mov

EDIT: Look at the differences between the Clock Race screen option:

2013-06-18 09 30 17.png (80.8 KiB) Viewed 56230 times

Diddy Kong Pilot 2001 (Pre-Alpha)_01.png (29.88 KiB) Viewed 56230 times

This build seems to be similar to the Spaceworld 2000 build in that RareWare Central video, except a bit further I think. As aforementioned, the logo is smaller and different, Diddy and the plane is positioned differently and higher up, the Rareware logo at the bottom-right is missing, and the font has black outlining. This may just be the build where that Redneck Kong SELECT CHARACTER screen was from.

Notably, the clock icon is different and has eyes, the DK in the clock is removed, and the clock numbers are in a different design.

Qyzbud
Mattrizzle
Blaziken257
Kiddy14

[Nintando]

Many differences in the game Diddy Kong Pilot: 2001. also, congratulations Gaz! I did not know the clock was in Diddy Kong Pilot spaceworld.

[Gaz]

You're welcome . I'll try to compare all the revisions I can. I try to gain all the DKP facts possible out there. Please let me know if you find any differences in that video.

[Mattrizzle]

This may just be the build where that Redneck Kong SELECT CHARACTER screen was from.

The fact that every racer is either Diddy or Donkey suggests otherwise...

...This could be an earlier version than the one from Spaceworld 2000!

[Gaz]

But it was presented at Spaceworld 2001 on August 23 or 24th of 2001. I would've thought it was a later build because of the lack of debug stars, a more advanced clock race icon, and GBAs on the Battle screen option (GBAs existed in 2001, not a majority of 2000).

EDIT: Ignore the striked out part. I think Mattrizzle is correct.

Here's some lost footage of Diddy Kong Pilot from E3 Nintendo's 2001 version of their site (not on Web Archive...): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFDrSiauYHI. It's slightly different footage than what I aforementioned in my previous post. Wait a sec... Racing is called Tournament again... It might just be the Earliest known build of Diddy Kong Pilot. Bounty Beach (or a beach level) looks very incomplete and undetailed too. Also, I compared the two screens, and:

2013-06-18 14 40 08.png (81.68 KiB) Viewed 56174 times

No differences. None at all. I'm siding with Mattrizzle on his theory now.

EDIT EDIT: Here's three impressions and a preview on Diddy Kong Pilot at Nintendo World Report:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/3509
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/2577
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/2672
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/2686

Qyzbud
geno

[Gaz]

Spoiler for mentioning another site. It has a lot of external links which could help this topic's Diddy Kong Pilot fact list. It's also slightly based off this forum topic:

Spoiler!

Quite pointless, but I have taken all the knowledge I could about Diddy Kong Pilot 2001 and listed most of the facts individually in this article:
http://mariopedia.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Diddy_Kong_Pilot_(2001_version)

It's incomplete, but I hope I am not making a pointless post. If so, then check out the icon for the Battle mode below and compare it to retail:

2013-06-21 15 40 38.png (72.38 KiB) Viewed 56143 times

Diddy Kong Pilot 2001 (Pre-Alpha).png (21.78 KiB) Viewed 56143 times

The menu screen differences were mentioned already, and the text differences. Take a look at the icon in the E3 2001 version! That's right, it appears four red Game Boy Advances are linked up together from a GBA Link Cable. There wasn't a red regular GBA back then, I think Target only released a special red edition a year later or something. I wonder what's with the pre-alpha's icon... I like E3's better. It has a ghost from that ghost-collecting minigame, a weird green thing with one eye that looks like B.O.B. from Monsters vs. Aliens (that's where B.O.B. is from...), an egg from Hatch Match (also seen as one of the E3 2001 images, though only one's shown), and a weird yellow tube...

Qyzbud
Mattrizzle
Blaziken257
geno
Super Luigi!

[Nintando]

Wow! this is great!!! Have 4 Gameboys on Battle mode of Diddy Kong Pilot. Another Great Work Gaz. Well done.

[Gaz]

Thanks again. I also notice that a weird non-existent link cable hooks up the GBAs and randomly has wires come out... Just dedicated to DKP 2001 is all.

[InkaDinkaDoo]

Hey, is there any way to convert the .elf file to a .gba file? I'd love to know!

[Mattrizzle]

Hey, is there any way to convert the .elf file to a .gba file? I'd love to know!

Blaziken257 describes how to do it in one of this topic's posts. Look at the first page...

...here.

[InkaDinkaDoo]

Hey, is there any way to convert the .elf file to a .gba file? I'd love to know!

Blaziken257 describes how to do it in one of this topic's posts. Look at the first page...

...here.

I have a Mac and most of the things that Blaziken talks about is not on VBA for Mac. Can somebody give me a download link of DKP 2001 on a gba file? Thanks.

[Mattrizzle]

I don't believe this forum's rules will allow that...

[InkaDinkaDoo]

Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, if anybody knows how I can do this on a Mac, please tell me. Thanks!

[Blaziken257]

I know I'm very late to post this, but I do find it odd that the .elf file is perfectly acceptable to link to, but the .gba file isn't. This seems rather inconsistent and arbitrary... Naturally, I won't give a .gba link just to be safe, but I still feel the need to mention this...

[Qyzbud]

As a game that wasn't (and likely will not be) officially released, I don't think there'd be a problem with a .gba link. That said, I've not looked into any legal intricacies on the subject yet. Does anyone have a clue what the legal stance is on such a thing?

[TheRetromancer]

As the game was not released or sold in this form, and it has been now thirteen years from this build, it falls under the heading of abandonware. Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive page on this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonwar ... _copyright

For those interested in the short version, here it is:

Although the game was unreleased as DKP, it still falls under copyright protection. However, it has been noted that abandonware IP owners very rarely have any inclination to prosecute or pursue any form of legal ramification against those distributing builds of their property. It's not profitable, and usually if they have a problem, they'll send a C&D letter.

The big thing to note is that, as the game was not released as DKP, even if Rare and Nintendo wanted to raise a stink about it, they cannot claim any loss of profits or revenue, as they failed to make this available commercially...notwithstanding the fact that more than a decade has passed between a reasonable potential commercial release date and a potential release of this Alpha build. Also, both Rare and Nintendo are fairly well-known for being pretty lenient on people who muck about with their old stuff - in fact, Nintendo even PROFITS from this...or have you not heard of the impending MarioMaker release? Nostalgia is a huge part of Nintendo's bottom line, thanks to Virtual Console.

I don't foresee anything worse than a rather unlikely C&D ketter,

[Kottonmouthklla]

If anybody could upload or send me a link to a .gba download that would be fantastic. I've tried to do this myself but i cant get it to work. Even if somebody could upload it and give me a hint as where to find it that would be great. I'm extremely new (made an account to post this comment) so i apologize ahead of time if i am breaking any rules thanks to anybody who can help me

[Gaz]

Don't worry. I PM'd him about it & handled it. I linked to the beta GBA Rareware ROMs as a whole. I just hope I don't get in trouble, because they are unreleased & they are hard-to-find. Plus, they were privately shared.

Qyzbud