So is there a list of confirmed Saturn prototype games?

Well the DD2 version dates May 1997. The PSX version was released late 96/early 97. Hopefully it's playable enough and a step up from the original (lacking) Saturn game.

 

From the top of my head, I'm sure DD2 was listed in a UK magazine as having a release date of October 1997. Considering that there's usually a gap between actually completing a game and getting it on shelves, I expect this version to be quite far advanced - unless it was a direct port of the PS code that was being done in very little time at all. However, I'm remaining optimistic as this has always been one game that I would have loved to see on the Saturn. Who would ever have thought that it might happen so many years later?

 

who made the Saturn version of DD2? Psygnosis didn't make the first one did theyt? I'm sure perfect studios made it for them. It maybe time to get some new info

Yakumo

 

Destruction Derby 2 for Saturn was unreleased? Huh, I should have tried to win the auction (it was on ebay a few days ago, didn't sell for much either).

 

Psygnosis only published Destruction Derby, with the original PlayStation version developed by Reflections. Saturn porting duties were handled by Perfect Entertainment, and I presume this was also the setup employed for the sequel as well.

P.S. Fabrizo, you saw a copy of DD2 for the Saturn on eBay a few days ago? This seems very suspicious to me - perhaps somebody has already started releasing duplicates to make a quick profit in advance of a more widespreak leak?

 

No no no. I just bought it off Ebay. Most people I talked to thought it was released, so this was a bit of luck for me, as it probably would've ended higher. I might release it sometime but for the coming time, it'll be media (screens / movies) only.

 

Sorry for the misunderstanding! I'd definitely like some video footage, as this will be the best way of comparing Saturn DD2 to the PlayStation version, which is something I presume many of us are desperate to do more than anything else...

 

Yakumo, after going through my collection of SSM back issues I thought you'd like to know that Bizarre Creations never started work on a Saturn conversion of Formula One because Psygnosis had already farmed out this game to another developer:

"Formula One Is Coming To Saturn!
After months of teasing you with little snippets of rumour and speculation, SEGA SATURN MAGAZINE can finally reveal CONCRETE details about the Saturn version of Psygnosis' brilliant Formula One game! Well, for a start, it's in development now under the auspicies of Probe Software in Surrey. It's a conversion of the original PlayStation game (not the new '97 edition coming to the Sony machine later this year) and should feature just about everything from the original. The only question mark over the conversion concerns the Formula One license. FOCA, the body that licenses out the F1 name, usually supplies a window of time in which a product based upon a certain F1 season can appear. The window for the '95 season on which the game is based expired a while ago, so it's uncertain as to how Psygnosis will get the Saturn version out. Stay tuned to SSM for more details."

Taken from UK official Sega Saturn Magazine #21, July 1997 (Page 15).

P.S. Note the use of "now" to suggest that an earlier version was being handled somewhere else? The first mention of Formula One as a Saturn project was this very article, so did SSM know about its existence before? Maybe they were asked to keep the whole thing a secret until it had been moved to Probe, even? Either way, if anything was to surface from this one I'd be very interested indeed. Until then, there's always the possibility of finally getting to see if DD2 would have been any good on Sega's console...

 

Makes sense I guess. They were doing a lot of research on Saturn 3D racing engines though. I remember taking my Saturn (JPN) down to the office witha load of racing games for them to look at. Of course they were impressed by Sega Rally but from what I remember they spent most of their time playing Out Run :lol:

By the way, at that time they talked about Fur Fighters which had a different code name that I can't remember now and MSR which was called Project Gotham back then just like the Xbox and 360 games now. They even had a Dreamcast VMU when it was still called a VMS and Sega gave them a Last Bronx arcade cabinet ! The lucky buggers !!

Yakumo

 

I recall something like "Furballs" being used by SSM prior to Bizarre announcing the final name of Fur Fighters (but please don't quote me), though I had no idea Metropolis Street Racer was originally called Project Gotham. In fact, I'd always thought its working title was simply Metropolis - you really do learn something new here every day!

P.S. Is there any truth behind the rumour that Bizarre had to stick with Project Gotham for their first Xbox game's title because they ran out of development time and couldn't delay its release long enough to change all of the logo designs? Based on what you've just said, Yakumo, I think another myth has been laid to rest once and for all...

 

I'm afraid that I know nothing of their Stuff after Dreamcast since I was living in Japan by then and had lost contact with them but I'm sure there's one or two visitors to here who would know or could find out the truth.

Yakumo

 

Right, I got Destruction Derby 2 in. The discs don't seem to contain an awful lot of data, but we'll see. Testing now and hopefully media asap.

 

Nice one !! Can't wait for these. Videos ASAP please !!!

Yakumo

 

Well, everything isn't too good looking at the moment. No emulator supports it at the moment (they all hang during the intro) and my cacky PAL Saturn which is used for dodgy disc swaps died on me a while ago and I don't feel like swapping on the others, really.

So that means I'm looking for a chipped Saturn now. I was looking for one earlier but not actively. Preferably a US console.

In the mean time I CAN release some tidbits.

*The conversion was done by PROBE (who also did such games as Alien Trilogy and Die Hard trilogy for the Saturn, which were decent enough imo)

*The discs I have contain several CPK movies as well. One of them features a limo which drives towards a skyscraper, the other features a plane which crashes into the ocean and explodes. (maybe someone with the PSX version know anything about them?)

*There's several images on the disc which feature the track names and an impression picture. Much like DD1 I think. There's a couple of textures as well but nothing major.

The level screens were doubled in size because they were really small. Hey, at least it something

 

SSM actually hinted at the possibility of DD2 being the work of Probe in its Saturn guise, so clearly they were Psygnosis' developer of choice at the time (as they were also supposedly converting Formula One as well). In fact, this was actually rumoured in the same article I'd posted earlier, though I edited out that last part because I was already sure that DD2 was being handled by another group - how wrong I turned out to be!

The video sequences described in that last message sound very much like the FMV sequences from Die Hard Trilogy, and considering this DD2 build is dated May '97 then it's possible Probe were using placeholder material from their previous title, as that game was only completed on the Saturn in December '96.

Is there a lot more left, or is this all we can expect from the Saturn version of DD2? If it really was in production for the whole five months that are theoretically possible - presuming it was started immediately after work ended on DHT - then we should get to see at least some playable content.

P.S. Yakumo, when Bizarre Creations spoke to SSM regarding the "Metropolis" project, they briefly described that a Saturn racing engine was being worked on prior to Sega asking the group to join as a 1.5-party Dreamcast developer - could this be anything to do with the research you mentioned?

 

Exactly what I was thinking, didn't check that yet.

Oh and yes, there's a lot more on the disc so I daresay we'll see more.

 

Maybe but I can't say. :crying: I'm looking forward to seeing more of this Destruction Derby 2 though.

Yakumo

 

Return Fire saw a UK saturn release, I rented it from Choices Video some years back for a few days. It's supposedly really rare, but it was released in the PAL region, at least. I am certain of this fact.

 

Are you sure? I mean do you have proof? I have never seen a return fire for the saturn.

I'm not trying to doubt you..just there are a few discussions on the web about this, a few people saying they have seen it..but never any proof.

 

So many people claim to have either seen or bought Return Fire for the Saturn, but the fact remains that it was NEVER released. This game is definitely in the hands of a collector, though we'd all have known by now if it was ever officially brought out as somebody would surely have added it to the many lists you can find online. Of all my years looking in bargain bins, I have yet to see a single legitimate - or otherwise - copy of Return Fire. Until concrete evidence is discovered to prove me wrong, this remains one myth that I can't wait to see finally laid to rest... hopefully sooner rather than later!