#shadow dogs

[pickledart]

The dogs that appear when something weird is about to happen, their spirit inhabitants are the little blue spiky guys,

they know the humans love dogs and know humans smile with teeth exposed , et voila the perfect form to charm apes.

SoFlat on nujabi watercolor paper

[finsterhund]

SPRITES! At last!

So Gregory has been making lots of goodies for us HoD fans. As well as his project to reverse-engineer the engine, he’s also built the PAF decoder, and now a HoD decoder. It can rip hint screens and sprites.

The background ripping is still hit or miss with foreground items being missing, and there’s a lot of graphical problems with many sprites (the worms, the double spectres, lava, the Master. etc) so it won’t be replacing my current method for everything, but it sees into the CODE ITSELF. Which means it’s digging up unused sprites.

Remember the shadow dogs having barks and scratching themselves?

Those sprites are still in the code. There’s sprites where Andy still has his cannon where he shouldn’t, and...

you could hit that poor little shadow lizard with the plasma cannon. Even though in the final game the lizard shows up when Andy has lost the cannon.

Visibly, there doesn't seem to be any unused deaths, or “secret” sprites with blood/gore in them. So sorry to the concern trolls who claim that there’s hidden gore in the game. Nope. But there are some things that aren't accessible regularly in the game.

I’ll be sharing with you things as I find them.

[finsterhund]

Spectre dog behavior.

So the shadow dog spectres had a lot of their behaviors cut from the final game, and even though many of the sound effects and sprites were still present in the game’s code, aren’t seen when playing it. On either PC or Playstation.

So I’ve lately been studying how they behave in the Saturn prototype to give you guys a bit of insight into them and their cut animations.

Spectre dogs have running action frames and sitting action frames. All sitting actions start and end with a sitting keyframe.

Spectre dogs use breathing sounds, death sounds, running sounds, a skid sound, and others potentially as well that I have yet to individually pick out from the other sound effects. Their more easily identified sounds are the “yah yah” sound when they scratch, and the “myeeaa” and “yah” bark sounds.

spectre dog actions:

run: runs. (heavy breathing) sounds and (footstep) sounds

turn: (running action) turns when running. (skid) sound, starts running in opposite direction

sits: sits down with (skid) sound

scratch: (sitting action) when sitting down scratches ear twice with (yah yah) sound.

big bark: (sitting action) when sitting down opens mouth wide for big bark with (myeeaa) sound.

little bark: (sitting action) when sitting down opens mouth for small bark with either (myeeaa) sound or (yah) sound interchangeably.

gets up from sitting: (sitting action) gets up and runs forward (doesn't make sound)

turns when sitting: (sitting action) turns in opposite direction (skid) sound. Usually before performing action in that direction. Occasionally does so just to look back and forth.

jump: (sitting action) from a sit they perform a little hop to a sitting position a ways in front of them accompanied by (skid) sound

charge: (running action) tips head down and charges, attempting to collide with Andy's hitbox. Accompanied with "yah" sound. If successfully contacts Andy's hitbox, knocks him over or knocks him off ledge. charge animation not influenced by success of attack. After charge is completed (sits) afterwards.

death: (running action) is hit with plasma cannon beam and is blown apart with blue explosion. (bleeghh) death sound or others.

other things to note:

multiple sitting actions without getting up between them is rare but possible.

if only spectre left, will prefer to run back and forth, occasionally performing (charge) but rarely sit actions.

In final game, only (running) (sits) and (gets up from sitting) are present in-game. Most sprites and sounds from cut animations are still present in code however. Some “little bark” and “turns when sitting” sprites were cut.

[finsterhund]

so you guys might think I abandoned my project with the Sega Saturn prototype disc because I stopped talking about it. Tbh AMOC removed the download so I assumed he revoked access or something(?) but I have been messing with it, as have Gregory and some other people. We figured out where in the hex codes things are located, how much of the game was playable (level one, as assumed) and if there were any visible changes in the pre-rendered background (not really)

I was however dealing with my own problems that prevented me from having the spoons to update the post detailing my findings. Using my “adult voice” even online can be emotionally draining and I wanted that post to remain professional. But that doesn't mean we weren't making progress.

However it wouldn't play in the emulator I was using. Turns out it did run in another one. The resolution and dimensions are all off which means no high quality video or sprites or animated gifs from me until I fix it, but it means I can play through the level. (It’s a similar issue with recording the PlayStation version in emulator. It’s why I don’t do so other than emulation problems.)

And there are differences.

The biggest? SPECTRES GOT NERFED. (probably just for this disc, or maybe it’s because it’s part of the debugging?) I’m joking about how the spectres are vegan on the Sega Saturn because all they can do is knock Andy over.

The spectres (normally would “hug” or eat Andy in the final game) have unique shoving animations that are not present in any previously playable version of the game (demos, PC, PlayStation, etc) They shove him over onto his belly with a grunt or a squeal and Andy cries out. Just like he does when knocked over. Interestingly enough, he can’t fall off the canyon when this happens like in the final game. *edit* turns out Andy can technically be knocked off the canyon by the spectres, but not the shadow dogs. The only spectres who can do so in the final game. It’s only on certain screens where they gain this ability. The screen that the shadow dogs show up on in the final game, and the bone ladder bridge. Possibly more. I’m messing around deliberately to see.

The biggest noticeable change to me though, was the shadow dogs.

They have two unique unused vocalizations. A squeal, and what honestly sounds like bleating. Like a goat. Note: the manual officially calls them shadow dogs. But their charge attack combined with this noise makes sense. As well as lowering their heads when they charge Andy they also have an unused scratching behind the ears animation and a barking animation. They are so cute. Remember when I was gushing over them sitting and skidding to a halt temporarily in the official release? Why was this cut? :’(

The fact that this is a thing makes me want a “baby mode” for the remaster where the spectres can only shove you over like this. That way all the people who act like this is the hardest game ever made won’t feel left out that the game doesn't cater to them.

Once I fix the dimensions I’ll upload a full video showing off what’s different from the official release. Keep your eyes peeled for that.

[thepaganstudygrouppage]

I wondered if you may have an idea about what seeing Shadow Men and Shadow Dogs mean?

Depends on the circumstances. There is a lot of folklore in the UK about black dogs warning people about incoming death. And then there are situations where you'll see shadow peeps where it's simply some sort of spirit that hasn't fully manifested (or perhaps likes to walk around looking like a shadow). At the end of the day, not all shadow beings are malicious, and you have to consider the circumstances of each spirit when you come across them.

-Devo

[nokturnel]

Shadow dogs

There was an experience I had once that I typed up so I wouldn't forget it. I don't think I ever shared it here and I'd like to. 

It was very, very early in the morning and still very dark out, the street lights were still on. This was during the winter months and I was waiting at my bus stop to go to work. There was fresh snow on the ground but it wasn't still snowing. My tracks were the only ones yet that morning. It wasn't windy at all.

I noticed some movement to my right, on the next street corner so not very far away at all, and looked. I watched as three shadows moved towards me, very large dogs and I couldn't make out their eyes or anything at all but their shape. It was just three shadows moving towards me. At one point they stopped, it seemed like they were observing me. I didn't feel threatened at any point, nor was this a scary situation. I found it to be oddly comforting and relaxing.

I heard my bus coming so I looked away from the dogs and when I looked back they had disappeared. The bus was moving slow so I was able to look for any paw prints and there was nothing there.

Even remembering this experience is comforting and makes me smile. It was so perfect.