Spirit of Speed Dreamcast prototype
Have you ever wondered what it was like to drive the huge racing cars from the very beginning of motorsport? Rumble around the steep circuits of Brooklands or Monza, clinging to a steering wheel three feet in diameter, on solid tires less than 15 centimeters thick! And the brakes! The brakes? What brakes?
The challenge of driving the cars of the 1920s and 1930s is incomparable with that of today's Formula 1 cars. The men and women who drove these cars are still considered some of the greatest pioneers and heroes of their time.
Motor racing at the turn of the century was a hobby, which for many became an obsession, an addiction to speed. Fortunes have been won and lost, along with many lives.
Without the slightest concern for safety, with a poor seat belt and a leather helmet, the aces of the road had in their hands cars that could reach 200 km/h.
Spirit of Speed takes the player back to 1937 when cars were starting to get powerful. It was also the last year that all the stables were united. A time when you had to have a strong heart to compete in real rolling coffins.
The player can choose from 12 cars (Bentley Blower, Bugatti, Mercedes) and prove their driving skills on 9 prestigious circuits, such as Montlhéry or Tripoli.
The specifics in the menus:
To analyze the differences, I chose the build of March 3rd, the oldest.
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This prototype of Spirit of Speed Dreamcast launches directly to the main screen of the game. The language selection screen, the license copyright screen, the intro scene, the title screen etc. are non-existent
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No game logo on the VMU is implemented yet.
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Once at the main screen, there is no music or sound. It will be the same once in-game.
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There is no game loading progress bar.
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The prototype is unstable, and not optimized. Don't be surprised if the game crashes. Be patient when changing menus, there is a form of latency.
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In this prototype version, the game is darker than it is in the menus or even in the full game.
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No explanatory text for navigating the menu is present, only the icon for the buttons. "START" does not flash, it is represented in yellow and not in white, with a different font and size.
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It is possible to navigate in the menus with the joystick. In the final version, only the directional pad allows you to do this. There is a kind of latency when navigating the main screen and in the different game modes; be patient.
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"PLAYER" menu, "MEMORY" menu (it should be called "VMU OPTION"), "SOUND" menu and "RACE TYPE" menu have no logo presentation.
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When entering the "MEMORY" menu by selecting a VMU, the game crashes. The backup system must not be functional.
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In the choice of the circuit, the scrolling order of the different tracks to run is different. For example, after "DONINGTON" the race "MONTANA" should be the next one and not "AVUS", as in this prototype.
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The "HEAD TO HEAD" mode in "RACE TYPE" may be build specific. (to confirm).
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The presentation of the various menus has many differences (fonts, colors, location of the menu title, missing annotations in the menus, etc.). Here they are in images, as it's simpler than words :
Prototype
Final version
Prototype
Final version
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The Mercedes Benz 154 and 125 are simply called Mercedes 154 and 125 in this beta version.
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In the "SINGLE RACE" mode, once the game mode has been selected, you should see the starting grid of the cars entered. It is not there. On the left, we can choose from 3 options; there should only be 2. "Race" is extra.
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Scenario, Championship, and Head to Head mode don't seem to work. I feel like no matter what we choose, it's always Quick or Single Race. (to confirm)
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Whether you choose Automatic or Manual, nothing changes; you will still have to shift gears manually. (to confirm)
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Once in game, the controller in hand, it is impossible to pause the game, as the "START" button does not work.
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There aren't yet the different views, like cockpit or hood for example. Only the rear view of the vehicle is available.
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The circuits are not finished. It lacks elements of decor such as the trees in the middle of the Avus track, for example. The details are mostly the elements that are missing. It's up to you to find other differences: all the tracks have them practically like the missing audience at the start of Pau, on the right.
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The steering, especially to turn, reacts more slowly than in the final. (to confirm).
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You can download the Spirit of Speed build Dreamcast below
The other normal Spirit of Speed Dreamcast prototypes:
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Dreamcast builds of incomplete Spirit of Speed (Katana development kit format)
These 2 Dreamcast builds are incomplete. They are in Katana development kit format, that is to say in HCD file. There may be a possibility to repair them.
Other prototypes or demos for PC:
spirit of speed demo (undated, PC prototype
spirit of speed (Version 1.0.14 PC prototype)
spirit (Sep 27, 1999 Demo Build PC)
test300999 (Sep 30, 1999 Test Build V PC)
testspirit (not working, for PC)
These 5 different builds come from a single archive. The prototypes and demos cannot be separated. "Testspirit" does not work for me, maybe for you the game will launch. Spirit of Speed 1937 on PC was published by "Hasbro Interactive" unlike "Acclaim" for the Dreamcast. The final version is numbered 1.0.13 except error. Version 1.0.14 may be a revision of the commercial version.
You can download 5 build pack of Spirit of Speed PC below
Acclaim Prototype from the " Duff'y Dreamcast Collection " Project: Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX - Dead or Alive 2 - Ducati World Racing Challenge - ECW Hardcore Revolution - F355 Challenge - Fur Figthers - NFL Quarterback Club 2000 - Re-Volt - South Park: Chef's Luv Shack -South Park Rally - Spirit of Speed 1937 - Vanishing Point
Acclaim prototype of the project "Duffy's Collection Part 2" : Shadowman (Unreleased) PC - Shadowman Ps1 - South Park Rally Ps1 - South Park Rally PC - Re-Volt Ps1 - The Red Star (Unreleased) Xbox - NFL Quarterback Club 2002 Ps2 - NFL Quarterback Club 2002 Gc - Heaven's Drive (Unreleased) Ps2 - Crazy Taxi Gc - Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. Ps1 - Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix Ps1 - Forsaken PC - Machines PC - 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Gc - All-Star Baseball 2003 featuring Derek Jeter Gc - Aggressive Inline Ps2 - Jeremy McGrath Supercross World 2002 Ps2 - XGIII: Extreme G Racing Ps2 - XGIII: Extreme G Racing Gc
More than 200 prototypes, documents, press kit have been dumped or scanned, you will find them in free download in the "Releases de prototypes et documents"