Pre-Alpha (October 1996)
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On October 31 2023, a prototype build of LEGO Island was leaked by YouTuber R.R. Slugger[1]. This build is dated December 1996, predating the final release by 9 months. Colloquially, this build is usually referred to as "the pre-alpha".
History
The existence of a pre-alpha build has been known for some time[2], however it had been kept private by a select few members of the community for years. It is currently not known what this release was made for, how it was acquired by the community, or how it was leaked.
Installer
The pre-alpha features a completely different installer from the final release. Comparing side-by-side, it's clear that they repurposed the same installer from Chessmaster 5000.
Autorun comparison
Directory selection comparison
Attempting to launch the installer on Windows 3.1
This installer is 16-bit only, meaning it will not work on modern 64-bit Windows systems. The installer also requires DOS mode which can cause issues in Wine, despite its ability to load 16-bit executables. As such, it's recommended to use an alternate installer for those platforms.
Launcher
The pre-alpha features a crude launcher called STARTUP.EXE which launches the available rooms:
This makes sense because MAIN.EXE does not load anything by default without command line arguments.
Build Sections
The game features incomplete but functional implementations of all four build sections from the final game (helicopter, dune buggy, race car, and jetski). Notable differences include:
- Missing parts are wireframe instead of solid.
- Coloring doesn't appear to work.
- Different music. All stages feature a crude loop of "Legomania", an ultimately unused cue composed by Lorin Nelson.
- Different sound effects.
Island
TODO
Free Fonts
The pre-alpha contains an option to "register" for an array of free fonts. The registration is obviously not possible anymore, however the fonts can be installed by running MSREG\MSFREE.EXE on the CD:
