Geist Force Dreamcast reverse engineering
This article focuses on reverse engineering a Dreamcast prototype of Geist Force, uncovering the secrets hidden within its core. It serves as a companion piece to the one dedicated to the SEGA Product Development game, which lists several known builds of Geist Force for download and documents them with testimonies from its creators: [Geist Force Dreamcast and Its Prototypes: At the Heart of the Milky Way]
A new internal development team at SEGA’s headquarters in California, known as SEGA Product Development, began working on the Dreamcast version of Geist Force (GF) in 1997, aiming for a 1999 release. GF ultimately missed its initial launch window.
A SEGA beta tester: I worked as an internal tester at SEGA, their headquarters in Redwood City, CA (we then moved to San Francisco). I tested a few new games there. When I started, the very first one game I was put on was a Dion Sanders soccer game for Saturn that ended up getting canceled. I also tested a shooter for Dreamcast called Geist, which was supposed to look like Star Fox 64 , but it was also canceled »
With development of Geist Force stalled due to technical issues, Bernie Stolar and the rest of SOA’s management decided to cancel it after 18 months of production. The Dreamcast was thus deprived of its first flagship title, which had dazzled the gaming press during its 1998 demonstration at the Tokyo Game Show.
A staff member at SOA: Geist Force has been canceled because its development took A LOT too long and was not going well. Development started long before the Dreamcast launched and was no further ahead than what we see in builds when the Dreamcast was on the verge of dying out. It's a shame because it could have been a really cool Star Fox clone. »
In this 3D Rail Shooter, the player pilots a spacecraft through alien environments, taking part in intergalactic battles. The storyline follows a human who arrives on an exotic planet and befriends a local alien. Then, a strange creature appears with the ability to transform machines into monsters. The human and the alien join forces to fight it.
A staff member at SOA: If only he hadn't had such a difficult development journey, he probably would have been a success! »
Since 2012, several prototypes of GF have been discovered. Although unfinished and in alpha versions, they hint at a game with great potential. Shoot ’Em Up fans would have been thrilled if only Geist Force had been released!
Geist Force was among the first Dreamcast games to be revealed, but ironically, also one of the first to be abandoned!
Within the core of the Geist Force Dreamcast prototype
The reverse engineering work done by Sifting on the Geist Force Dreamcast prototype is impressive. The prototype examined on this page contains the game almost in its entirety (textures, sound effects, music, animations, etc.) within its file structure, although many of these files are unused. In other words, they aren’t playable in the build and don’t appear on screen, even though they exist!
It would be conceivable, to a certain extent, to complete the development of Geist Force and port it to modern engines by assembling all the data extracted from the beta to make it playable. Implementing all the enemies and bosses with their combat mechanics—which is not currently the case—would be a major achievement.
This long and painstaking work first requires access to GF’s source code in order to proceed. And why not consult its Game Design documents as well, to stay as close as possible to the original vision of its developers…
The soundtrack: A Martian symphony
Five electro-inspired compositions make up the soundtrack of Geist Force for Dreamcast. Interestingly, the audio uses the format provided in the Saturn SDKs. This highlights the overlap in game development between the end of SEGA’s 32-bit console era and the beginning of the Dreamcast—a transition period when tools had to be rebuilt. After extracting the content from the GF Alpha version, here are its tracks:
Lines of dialogue: A galaxy in danger
All the text and audio dialogue lines intended to accompany cutscenes are included in the Geist Force Alpha. They help interpret the progression of a level and provide names for locations or planets.
For example, the STAGE 6 mission remains unfinished in the prototype. The player will simply fly through an empty environment with no objectives to achieve. The conversations between the different characters in the level provide insight into the goals to complete and the map’s storyline, as if it were finalized. Below is a brief visual and audio overview of the exchanges between GF’s protagonists for this level:
stage6,L6C1E1D1,L6C1E1.STR,アルファチーム、よくここまでたどりついた さて、偵察隊によってス・サニア星最大の衛星、ボレアスに敵の基地が存在することが確認された
stage6, L6C1E1D1, L6C1E1.STR: Alpha team, you’ve made it this far. Our reconnaissance unit has confirmed the presence of an enemy base on Boreas, the largest moon of the planet Susania.
stage6,L6C1E1D2,L6C1E1.STR,情報によれば、敵は月の内部に集結しているらしい
stage6, L6C1E1D2, L6C1E1.STR: Intelligence reports indicate that the enemy is gathering inside the moon.
stage6,L6C1E1D3,L6C1E1.STR,この第７艦隊は周辺の敵をおさえる 君たちはボレアス内部に潜入し、敵基地を襲撃せよ 健闘を祈る
stage6, L6C1E1D3, L6C1E1.STR: The Seventh Fleet will contain the enemy in the region. You must infiltrate Boreas and launch an assault on the enemy base.
stage6,L6C1E2D1,L6C1E2D1.STR,ボレアス…？母さんの月…
Stage 6, L6C1E2D1, L6C1E2D1.STR: Boreas…? Mother Moon…
stage6,L6C1E2D2,L6C1E2D2.STR,え？
stage6, L6C1E2D2, L6C1E2D2.STR: What?
stage6,L6C1E2D3,L6C1E2D3.STR,ルックも覚えてるでしょ、母さんがボレアスで遺跡の発掘をしてたって それが通信施設みたいなものだったんだけど、結局よく分かんないまんま、内戦が終わっちゃって…
stage6, L6C1E2D3, L6C1E2D3.STR: Do you remember that my mother used to explore ruins on Boreas? It was like a communication facility, but in the end… I don’t know, the civil war was over, and…
stage6,L6C1E2D4,L6C1E2D4.STR,今はどうなってるんだ、その遺跡って？
stage6, L6C1E2D4, L6C1E2D4.STR: What’s going on now, with these ruins?
stage6,L6C1E2D5,L6C1E2D5.STR,そのまま封印されて、ほったらかし 母さんは月を見るたんびに、「あとちょっとで分かったのに」って言ってるけど
stage6, L6C1E2D5, L6C1E2D5.STR: They were locked up and left alone. Every time Mom looks at the moon, she says, “I almost knew.”
You can download the Geist Force dialogue pack below:
Textures: The creatures of the universe
An icon represents the face of the character speaking during conversations. Their textures don’t appear as static images but are animated, showing the individual’s teeth, sometimes with optional overlays such as helmets or masks. Not all of these are visible in the game. Here are the illustrations of the characters from Geist Force for Dreamcast:
Throughout the six levels of the build, the player will only face a boss at the end of mission 1. Although the textures, animations, and combat mechanics of the other level bosses are present on the disc, their confrontation arenas are unfortunately empty. A boss not integrated into the game (ALIEN QUEEN STAGE 6) and its three transformation phases:
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
File comparison between the April 6, 1999 prototype and the April 23 prototype
Sifting conducted a comparison between the files of the April 6, 1999 build (which he labeled as 1999) and those of the April 23, 1999 beta (which he designated as 1998 in his comparison table). He identified 313 differences between the two prototypes. Here they are:
Binary files 1998/1ST_READ.BIN and 1999/1ST_READ.BIN differ
Only in 1998: CDWARNING.PCM
Only in 1999: LEGIT.DMMY
Binary files 1998/MIFF/FONT/KANJI.BIN and 1999/MIFF/FONT/KANJI.BIN differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/GENERAL/EFFECT/ENVMAP6.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/GENERAL/EFFECT/ENVMAP6.MIFF differ
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/OBJECT: CONSTRUCTIONDEBRIS.MIFF
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/OBJECT: REFLECTIVEBALLS.MIFF
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/PATH: DFAREA.MIFF
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/PATH: DFAREA_1.MIFF
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/PATH: DFAREA_2.MIFF
Only in 1999/MIFF/STAGE6/PATH: DFAREA_3.MIFF
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT3.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT3.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT4.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT4.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT5.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT5.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT6.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT6.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT7.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT7.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT8.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/CUT8.MIFF differ
Binary files 1998/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/SCRIPT.MIFF and 1999/MIFF/STAGE4/EVENT/SCRIPT.MIFF differ
Only in 1998/MIFF/STAGE4: LUC
You can download the 313 differences between the 2 Geist Force prototypes below:
Geist Force for Dreamcast demonstrates the importance of reverse engineering a video game to better understand it. Who holds GF’s source code to complete it?
Reverse engineering undertaken on other games:
Acknowledgements:
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xxxxxxxx, for proofreading, rewording, and correcting the text (WORK OF PROGRESS)
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xxxxxxxxxx, for reviewing and refining the English version of the article (WORK IN PROGRESS)
Similar prototypes (Unreleased): Agartha (DC) - Emulateur officiel Megadrive (DC) - Castlevania Resurrection (DC) - Half Life (DC) - Dalforce XOP (DC) - Flinstone (DC) - 4 x 4 Evolution PAL (DC) - Ring : L'Anneau des Nibelungen (DC) - Ecco 2 (DC) - Kyskrew (DC) - Propeller Arena (DC) - Geist Force (DC) - Scud Race Tech Demo Dreamcast - Shenmue 2 US (DC) - The Red Star (XBOX) - Heaven's Drive ( version japonaise de Burnout 1) pour PS2 - Jekyll and Hyde (DC) - The Grinch Jap (DC) - Worms Pinball (DC) - Quake 3 Arena version japonaise (DC) - Vectorman (PS2) - Fear Effect Inferno (PS2) - Over The Top Soccer (DC) - Fantasy Prototype (DC) - ToeJam & Earl III (DC)
Feel free to try out [The Dreamcast Unreleased Games to Download] that I found. For the more curious among you, I also wrote [The List of Cancelled Dreamcast Games], which references all of them along with information about each title.
