Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Beta 1.00g (OEM)

[Jazz]

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Beta 1.00g (OEM version)​

The Jazz Jackrabbit 2 1.00g beta version of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 originated in June 1997 while Jazz 2 was still in development. This was a result of a deal between Epic and Intel, this beta version was distributed along with Intel’s hardware – hence why its known as the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version. The 1.00g OEM version of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 was released the same day the complete final game was published, causing confusion at the time, as everyone who acquired the 1.00g OEM version assumed it was the final retail version of the game.

A counterpart to this version Jazz Jackrabbit 2 beta 1.00h also exists, 1.00g was the more common version found online, presumably this was the version spread online by Warez groups in the 90s.

The most obvious difference from the final retail version is no online multiplayer exists in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Beta 1.00g, however a community compiled list of differences can be found below.



Technical differences

• The level/tileset format is different. Instead of .J2L and .J2T files, levels and their tilesets are together in form of .LEV files.
• The game doesn’t support .J2B files. Instead, the original music in the form of .S3M and .IT files are used.
• The physics are different. Weapons don’t fly faster when one shoots while running (aside from Water Shield‘s Whammo Ammo), they vanish more quickly, and Bouncers’ durability increases as they bounce. The collision detection also seems different – it’s impossible to wallclimb or to shoot Bouncers or Water Shield’s Whammo Ammo through the wall.
• The last two weapons (#8 and #9) are different. Instead of being Pepper Spray and Electroblaster, they’re now respectively Fireball and Blade Gun. Aside from different sprites and Fireball’s ability to come through objects, they behave pretty much like the Blaster.
• There’s no Multiplayer option aside from Splitscreen. Also, CTF mode isn’t implemented.
• There’s no 16-bit colour mode. There are no advanced video options like Low Detail, and no windowed mode.
• Buttstomping in battle games does 1 damage, sidekicking does 2. However, sidekick roasts don’t count towards the player’s roast count.
• Players drop all the ammo of the weapon they were using before they died (as CliffyB once put it, “you can share (sort of) the weapons with the other players”).
• The range of textured background’s fading is much smaller.
• The screen doesn’t shake upon activating a Rotating Rock.
• The alpha translucency is glitchy.
• The smoke ring effect is different. The layers don’t spin around and the palette doesn’t change. The background changes its centerpoint and begins spinning fast.
• The water effect works differently.
• The layers in the menu rotate much faster.
• There’s no glow effect below the options in menus.
• The invincibility effect looks different.
• The event responsible for activating the snow isn’t there – the first Inferno level (A Cold Day In Heck) uses tile-based snow in a scrolling foreground layer instead.
• The pinball paddles‘ collision detection is buggy. Also, the right paddle tends to bump the player downwards rather than upwards.
• The bridges are glitchy. The object always appears several tiles below the actual event.
• Objects can’t be pushed while they’re frozen.
• The game doesn’t crash after freezing a Gem Ring. Instead, a vast area around the event turns blue (see screenshots).
• The bosses work differently. More boulders fall as the Queen stomps, that also hurt on contact. The Tuf Boss walks back and forth between flailerang attacks instead of always heading toward the nearest player. Uterus doesn’t open his shell. Bolly Boss wasn’t finished and so wasn’t put in the official levels. Devil Devan Boss doesn’t have the first battle phase (running around and shooting) coded. Instead, he fights in his devil form alone.
• The game gets an Access Violation once the player buttstomps one of Uterus’ spike balls.
• The bosses are activated upon entering their field of view (31-tile radius from the event), rather than by touching the Activate Boss event.

Non-technical differences

• The level order is different. After playing the Colon levels, the Beach levels (with the second level being called Generic Water Level rather than Marinated Rabbit) come next, followed by Psych.
• The Carrotus levels have their tilesets switched. Tossed Salad uses the night set instead of the day one, and vice versa.
• The second Colonius level (Colonial Chaos) uses the unused Medivo music.
• The Colonius levels don’t have their background layers textured.
• The Shareware Demo levels can’t be accessed without modifying the .J2E files.
• There are numerous significant differences in the Shareware Demo levels. Also, the Labrat level is named No Name Yet, and the following two levels (Psych and Diamondus) are called Funky Grooveathon and Fourteen Carrot respectively (like the official levels the layers were taken from).
• The witch‘s dying animation is different.
• There’s no boss in the second Medivo level (Hare Scare), and the secret level in the first (Medieval Kineval) doesn’t exist.
• Several sounds (like Spaz’s while kicking, or Copters’) aren’t coded in. Also, collecting a carrot makes the same sound as collecting a gem.
• The gems use a different sprite. Also, the animations library contains rectangular gem sprites.
• The Soda Pop and Soft Drink food pickups use different sprites. Soda Pop’s can has Coca Cola’s logo on it, and Soft Drink’s has Pepsi’s logo.
• The Jungle tileset uses different layers – three layers of tall trees.
• There is no music for boss battles and Sugar Rushes.
• There are two levels which were eventually excluded – battle4.lev and race4.lev, both of which were made by Jeh and suffer from gameplay issues.
• The game comes only with the Epic’s logo beginning cutscene.
• The menu looks different. The textures are purple instead of blue.
• The logo is different.
• The loading screen is different.

Beta Download:

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Beta 1.00g Download

Full Game:

Enjoyed this beta? get the full final game by purchasing Jazz Jackrabbit 2 from GoG - you will be supporting game preservation done correctly.