Cave Story Pre-release versions thread

UPDATE 03/10/2024: Added 6 more versions provided by LemmR

Thanks to the efforts by the Development Room Pixel Discord server, two real pre-release versions were found and preserved, given by @znsYC47Jl54LgW4 on Twitter, dated December 5th 2004 and December 16th 2004 respectively.


Additionally, 2 days later, @LemmR on Twitter provided 8 more versions, 7 of which are new, including version 1.0.0.0 after all these years. 0.9.0.6 is the oldest version available now.

If you want to download them and comb through the various minor differences, here they are, as mirrored on the tribute site (thanks andwhy!)

Spoiler: Downloads

zns' builds
0908: https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/Doukutsu_0_9_0_8.zip
0908 exe patch: https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/Doukutsu_0908_patch.exe
0913: https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/Doukutsu_0_9_1_3.zip
0913 patch: https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/Doukutsu_0913_patched.exe (these are so you can run the game outside of the initial trial time limit)

Lemm's builds
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0906.zip
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0908.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0909.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0911.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0912.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0914.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_0915.lzh
https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/dou_1000.lzh

Autopatcher by patapancakes: DoDefuse (Drag Doukutsu.exe onto it to automatically remove time restriction)
^This gets falsely picked up by antimalware sometimes but its safe!

In the weeks leading up to this discovery, Rain did most of the research about these pre-release versions, including finding an old thread on 2channel discussing the playtesting versions and describing version differences. Later he searched for mentions of the playtester builds on Twitter and found a few tweets, but most were old, except for one as recent as 2020. Him and I attempted to contact the playtester under the old tweet, to no response, until DrippingYellow asked about it under their most recent tweet at the time and got a reply.

Spoiler: insanity

Spoiler: announcements

The original Twitter threads with the playtesters can be found here and here, these discoveries are all thanks to znsYC47Jl54LgW4 and LemmR for their excellent file preservation over the past near 20 years.

Spoiler: legend

 

Oh my god this is happening. I'm just as excited as...

Hidden text highlight (or click) to view:

Misery's fourth facepic.

 

Dang, there's more to these versions than I thought there would be. Jack's face sprite is DISGUSTING.

 

Wow, this is unexpected to find an old build sitting around all these years later. Kudos to this guy for hanging onto it. I'll be intrigued to see what all the differences are between these early builds and the finished product that we're all used to playing.

 

Anyone know why they have time/date restrictions if Cave Story was released as free software?

 

Anyone know why they have time/date restrictions if Cave Story was released as free software?

these versions were only playtesting versions, and internally it has a disclaimer asking not to redistribute (its almost 2 decades later, he doesnt mind right?), so I presume its so that the versions stay as early testing versions that people are more likely to delete later after the game was officially released

 

long live japanese

 

whey they no working

 

whey they no working

You'll need to put the patched executables in the directory, they're made to bypass the date limit set on them.

 

Logging into this site for like the first time in years so I can say this lol

Holy shit, new pre-release content huh?
I hope people document the changes (in code and in stuff in the data folder) and that all that info doesn't get stuck on random Discords

Not expecting much but considering how many things changed last minute (only noticed bc of this thread lol) I wouldn't expect some changes in the TSC or subtle tweaks in the audiovisual side of things
(Edit : Alula told me there's not much of interest in here. I haven't looked through all of the PBMs but if anyone could document this stuff it'd help, I'm too lazy to use CMD right now)

 

I hope people document the changes (in code and in stuff in the data folder) and that all that info doesn't get stuck on random Discords

We've documented a lot of stuff in the Discord server, and we're working on putting everything on TCRF. Never thought we'd ever have to make a Proto:Cave Story page...

 

Spoiler: more

update: there's more (I hope this is significant enough to warrant a double post)
will update original post once they're archived on the main site as well, but for now you can access them at https://filebin.net/y5gr67vlzabkoibg

 

To think we finally have 1.0.0.0 as well. Before 1.0.0.4 too, of all versions. That playtester is truly a blessing to the community.

 

That playtester is truly a blessing to the community.

It's a different playtester this time actually, going under the more easily pronounceable handle @LemmR, we thank both of them for their contributions
https://twitter.com/LemmR/status/1766634269529821490

 

such a great discovery, really

 

we're working on putting everything on TCRF

Thank god
I don't really wanna join any servers, I've just been playing a game of telephone with Alula while I work on other stuff. Watched her play through one of the protos up to labyrinth.

Balrog's old design is so cursed.

I was told that the scene at the end of Sand Zone plays out differently but I couldn't really tell any differences, is it just the TSC? Or is it the actual dialogue?
Edit : Just read through the proto pages on TCRF. "The clock room sign instead reads "`04.12". ("December 2004"?)"
04.12 is the time on the clock too, not a date

 

Balrog's old design is so cursed.

Oh god you're right. I take one peek at his sprites and *HURRRGH*

 

I was told that the scene at the end of Sand Zone plays out differently but I couldn't really tell any differences, is it just the TSC? Or is it the actual dialogue?

Spoiler

quote just stands there while watching his friends die
this is intentional, there is a <MYB when king appears at the door

 

Quote was looking at his phone, this is what Pixel intended, Quote was playing Flappy Bird

 

Jokes aside it was probably supposed to be that Quote was intimidated, after all he's only fought one of the villains by this point and now all 3 of them are in the same room alone, it would've been a curbstomp.
I assume it was changed because 'cmon the red flowers are right there a single fireball would have done the job