Moon Patrol 166-06

 

This is the most interesting Moon Patrol proto of the set.  This prototype proves that GCC was attempting to make the rover look like the arcade version but was having trouble getting it to look right.  Also in this version are the missing rolling boulders, which appear after the third checkpoint.  GCC may have been having trouble with these as well, because for some strange reason though they appear to bounce instead of roll.  This is probably why they were removed from the final version (they just didn't look right).

One other interesting thing about this version is the music (if you can call it that).  GCC attempted to simulate the background beat from the arcade game.  The result is a very loud annoying beat that almost drowns out the regular music.  To add insult to injury, you can't even turn it off with the difficulty switches as you can in the later versions.  Ack!

 

Prototype Differences
There is no sound
Your Rover is shaped differently. It kind of looks like a cross between a tank and a tractor. The result is a really large block with a tread. The picture next to the lives counter also looks like this.
The rover is actually longer than in the final version so it's harder to jump over things
Staring at the fourth checkpoint you encounter rolling boulders which sort of bounce (quite badly) across the screen. These were removed from the final version (why?).
The music is slightly different towards the end (no syncopation), and there's a messed up attempt to do a background drum beat.
You cannot turn the music off with the difficulty switch (they have no function).
The demo is slightly buggy.  The rover will move over two holes at the beginning and then jump afterwards (slightly too late).  This is due to the timing of the demo being off.
The letters E and H for easy and hard on the difficulty selections are much smaller than the M for medium (which is the normal size).
Instead of showing 1P and 2P for one or two players, this version displays one tank or two tank symbols (same freaky design).
The word BONUS that is displayed after each round is smaller and positioned off to the right instead of being centered. There is also no NO BONUS displayed when you don't beat the timer (it doesn't say anything).

 

That's one funky looking rover...

Here's the demo glitch.  Notice the rover is in the hole!

Here's that damn bouncing boulder

BONUS! (A bit off center)

No Bonus, no message

Notice the tank symbol and how big the M is.

Little tiny H

Little tiny E (teddy bear included)

 

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