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Dummy Files

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  • Dummy files have been around for as long as optical media. They are usually included to either pad out of the disc in case the image does not meet the minimum requirements of a mastering program or push out the game data to another area of the disc. Since anything can be used as padding, it's not surprising that there's quite a few cases where game builds were used. Note: All builds listed here were present in retail games and are for the same platform as the game they were found in unless specified otherwise.

    SEGA Saturn
    Three Dirty DwarvesApril 17, 1996TDDSRC.ARJFound on the disc within a folder named SOURCE. This folder contains TDDSRC.ARJ containing source for this build.


    Nintendo Wii
    Kung Fu PandaDecember 7, 2007DUMMY.DATFound inside an archive nested inside DATA2.DAT from the Swedish PlayStation 2 release of Kung Fu Panda. Boots and is fully playable after referring to the notes from here.


    PlayStation 1
    ChillSep 30, 1997BAGS\CDFILLER.DATContains a seemingly complete source code snapshot from September 30, 1997, about three and a half months prior to the game's completion. The EXECUTE folder contains a build that can be generated into a proper disc image after using CTI\DISK1.CTI with buildcd and stripiso from the Psy-Q SDK.
    Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of DoomDec 14, 1995BUFFER\BUFF01A ZIP archive found within the December 15, 1995 build of Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom. It contains a build that is dated only one day prior.
    Twisted Metal Small BrawlSep 27, 2001TMsbDevB127.zipOne of three archives nested inside MOV\ZDUMMY.BIN from Twisted Metal Small Brawl. Internally known as build 127.
    Twisted Metal Small BrawlSep 30, 2001TMsbDevRevB200.zipOne of three archives nested inside MOV\ZDUMMY.BIN from Twisted Metal Small Brawl. Internally known as build 200.
    Twisted Metal Small BrawlOct 15, 2001TMsbPrc2CDnoMOV.zipThe last archive nested inside MOV\ZDUMMY.BIN from Twisted Metal Small Brawl. This one in particular has all of the assets necessary to burn the build onto a CD or generate a disc image. Judging by the filename, this build may have been referred to as Prerelease Candidate 2, which makes sense considering it was built only five days prior to release.


    PlayStation 2
    Arc the Lad: Twilight of the SpiritsAug 22, 2002ARC.000Nested inside several other master disc images with the same name from the Japan release of Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. However, this is the only image that is fully intact. Appears to be not a full build but rather some kind of tech demo that contains a character and stage viewer.
    Chaos WarsJul 21, 2006DUMMY1A master disc image found inside Rogue Hearts Dungeon. Only the first 1048MB was used as padding, so many files are missing and thus the build will not boot. Built two minutes after Japan final, but the executable is considerably larger. This image has been documented on The Cutting Room Floor.
    Digimon Rumble Arena 2Mar 5, 2003filler.zipNested inside ENDGAME\FILL.FIL from Digimon Rumble Arena 2. All of the files need to be put in a master image before the build can be played. Predates retail by almost a year and half and seems to be a tech demo considering you can only play as two characters. Pressing L3+Select activates a debug menu where you can access unused stages as well as view unplayable characters that were finished at the time.
    Frogger: The Great QuestOct 16, 2001buffer.bufAn image found inside Frogger: The Great Quest. Boots and is fully playable after converting the file to a proper master disc image. Turned out to be a build dated a couple of weeks before final.
    Frogger's Adventures: The RescueAug 7, 2003FROG_1G.000A master disc image found inside Frogger: The Great Quest. Very incomplete due to only the first 1048MB of the image being used as padding. The only file that ended up surviving was NIL.BIN, which was just an empty dummy file.
    Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt.Apr 25, 2002BIGOFILE.DATA master disc image found inside the BIKESVD folder from the May 10, 2002 build of Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. documented below. This build will not boot due to the image being cut off before it reached BIKESVD\RUN_PS2.DAT. However, the April 29th RUN_PS2 files seems to be at least partially compatible with this build.
    Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt.Apr 29, 2002BIGOFILE.DAT+BIGOFIL2.DATA master disc image split across two files inside the US release of Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. Boots after combining the two files. It is completely intact unlike the two other builds and is dated a little over a month before the final build. A free camera can be accessed by pressing select.
    Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt.May 10, 2002BIGOFILE.DATA master disc image that was found inside the EU release of Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. This build is very incomplete and will not boot as only the first 1048MB of the image ended up being used as padding.
    Gunslinger Girl Volume IJun 29, 2003GG.000+GG.001A master disc image split across two files from the September 29, 2003 build of Gunslinger Girl Volume I documented below. Boots and is fully playable once the files are combined.
    Gunslinger Girl Volume ISep 29, 2003GG.000+GG.001A master disc image split across two files from Gunslinger Girl Volume I. Boots and is fully playable once the files are combined.
    Harry Potter: Quidditch World CupAug 10, 2003030810_13242\030810_13242.000One of three images nested inside DATA1.DAT from Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. Boots and is fully playable after converting into a proper master image. Turned out to be a test for a demo, though it still seems to be a full build, as no limitations were implemented yet. Internally known as build 13242.
    Harry Potter: Quidditch World CupAug 10, 2003030810_13250\030810_13250.000One of three images nested inside DATA1.DAT from Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. Boots and is fully playable after converting into a proper master image. Turned out to be a test for a demo, though it still seems to be a full build, as no limitations were implemented yet. This build is from the same day as the previous one, but it was made a little over an hour afterwards. Internally known as build 13250.
    Harry Potter: Quidditch World CupAug 12, 2003030812_13307\030812_13307.000One of three images nested inside DATA1.DAT from Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. Boots and is fully playable after converting into a proper master image. Turned out to be a test for a demo, though it still seems to be a full build, as no limitations were implemented yet. Internally known as build 13307.
    JackedMay 4, 2004PADDING.000A master disc image found inside Jacked. Turned out to be a build from May 4, 2004, almost a year and half prior to the final build. Only the first 1048MB of the image was used as padding, but the only file affected was PAD2.DAT, which is just a dummy file that consists of nothing but a single repeating string.
    Kill SwitchSep 11, 2003KILLSW.000+KILLSW.001A master disc image split across two files inside Kill Switch. Only the first 2097MB of the image was used as padding, but it still boots and is playable after combining the files. Looks like the incomplete files (STARTM3.PSS, TEST.PSS, and TEST360.PSS) were unchanged in the retail version so they might be able to be added back to the image. Seems to be a release candidate considering the file timestamp and MD5 hash for SLUS_207.06 matches with retail, though there are files present that were not included in the retail release.
    Kung Fu PandaDec 7, 2007DUMMY.DATFound inside an archive nested inside DATA2.DAT from only the Swedish release of Kung Fu Panda. Appears to be fully intact, but does not boot like the Wii build that was present in the same archive. It outputs an error message to a console that says "cannot load SIO2MAN.IRX", despite that file being present and intact inside the IRX folder.
    Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingJul 11, 2002Fello711.000A master disc image used as padding inside the July 18, 2002 build of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring documented below. Dated a little over two months before the final build and is debug-enabled.
    Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingJul 18, 2002fello718.isoA master disc image used as padding inside the August 9, 2002 build of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dated about two months before the final build and is debug-enabled.
    Legaia 2: Duel SagaOct 26, 2000DMY1G.DATNested inside two other master disc images with the same name from the Japan release of Legaia 2: Duel Saga. The file cuts off, but it is still fully playable because the image just repeats itself in the dummy file after it ended. After converting it into a proper master disc image, it turned out to be a tech demo dated several months prior to release. You can access a model viewer as well as some other developer options. This file was also used as padding in Digimon World: Data Squad and Kenran Butou Sai: The Mars Daybreak.
    Makai TenshouMay 16, 2003DUMMY.DATA master disc image found inside the retail releases of Bust-A-Bloc and Bowling Xciting. The file is just a repeating burst of the beginning sectors, making it unbootable and very incomplete.
    Mike Tyson Heavyweight BoxingFeb 5, 2002Skins\skin.datAn image used as padding inside Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing. This build in particular was nested inside LUMP\LUMP.LMP, a file used by the game. Boots after extracting the file from the archive and converting it into a proper master image. It turned out to be a build of a demo with a small debug menu that can be accessed while the game is paused. According to some text that appears on the title screen, this build was internally known as MTHBV0.15PP.
    Monster HouseApr 15, 2006STREAM.DATA master disc image found inside the STREAMS folder from Monster House. Turned out to be a build dated a month and a half before final. Some developer cheats can be accessed while the game is paused.
    NHL 2003Jul 29, 2002CRP.DATA master disc image found inside NHL 2003. Only the first 1048MB of the image was used as padding, so many files are missing and it will crash while booting.
    Online Pro WrestlingOct 24, 2003DMY.DATAn image found inside Online Pro Wrestling. The file needs to be converted into a proper master disc image in order for it to boot. Turned out to be dated six months before the final build. This build requires a connection to a BB unit much like the public beta, so keep that in mind before playing.
    Online Pro WrestlingFeb 27, 2004DMY01.DATA master disc image found inside Online Pro Wrestling. Only the first 1048MB of the image was used as padding, thus the build is very incomplete and does not boot.
    Premier Manager 2003-04Oct 7, 2003PM2003X.ISOA master disc image used as padding inside Premier Manager 2003-04. Dated almost two months before the final build. Most, if not all of the cutscene images were not implemented into the game yet, so the menu background was used as a placeholder.
    Prince of Persia: Warrior WithinSep 15, 2004PRINCE01.BFA master disc image found inside the DATA folder from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Turned out to be a demo dated almost a couple of months before retail. A message that appears before the game starts mentions the Official PlayStation Magazine, so this might just be the demo that appears on there.
    Reign of FireJul 22, 2002USDEMO.ZIPAn archive used as padding in the August 12, 2002 build of Reign of Fire. Judging from the filename, it is probably just a build of the demo.
    Rugby League 2: World Cup EditionApr 23, 2008PAD1.PADA master disc image found inside the MOVIE folder from Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition. Only the first 922MB of the image was used as padding and the build will not boot due to the image cutting off before it reached DATA.PAK.
    Rugby League 2: World Cup EditionApr 24, 2008PAD2.PADAnother master disc image found inside the MOVIE folder from Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition. Only the first 922MB of the image was used as padding. The image itself is padded with zeroes much earlier than the previous prototype, so the build is missing more files and will also not boot as a result.
    Soccer Life 2Jan 31, 2006DUMMY.DATA master disc image that was found inside the Europe release of Soccer Life 2. Only the first 1048MB of the image was used as padding, however the build boots and is still playable despite several files being missing. Turned out to be a PAL localization prototype dated four months before the final build. Most of the audio and UI elements remain unchanged from the Japanese release.
    Sonic RidersNov 23, 2005sr112305.000A master disc image nested inside the archive DUFI\DUFI02.DFZ from the December 8, 2005 demo disc of Sonic Riders. Only the first 1048MB of the archive was used as padding, so the image is incomplete and will not boot. However, a restoration of the build can be found here.
    Tales of LegendiaAug 11, 2004CDVD.000A master disc image found only in the US and KOR release of Tales of Legendia. Only the first 1048MB of the image was used as padding and thus it is incomplete and will not boot as a result.
    The SufferingOct 16, 2002DUMMY.DATPerhaps one of the strangest finds mentioned in this article. This is a master disc image that was found inside Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures, an E-Rated game from the same publisher. Sadly, it is very incomplete due to only the first 1048MB of the image being used as padding. The only file that survived in the image was UNSPEA.BIN, which is ironically enough the build's dummy file.
    Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehouchou KeppuurokuFeb 18, 2004TMG2.000A master disc image found inside the March 17, 2004 build of Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehouchou Keppuuroku. It is much more complete than the other build documented below but it will still not boot due to the image cutting off before several critical game files could make it in the image.
    Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehouchou KeppuurokuMar 17, 2004DAMY2A master disc image found inside the retail release of Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Gehouchou Keppuuroku. It is very incomplete due to only the first 1048MB of the image being used padding before the data repeats itself inside the file. In fact, the only file that survived was TMG2.000.


    PlayStation Portable
    Tony Hawk's Underground 2 RemixFeb 17, 2005STRIDENT.BINA disc image used as padding inside the retail PlayStation 2 release of Shrek SuperSlam. Only the first 885MB was used, so the missing files might affect gameplay. The build itself was made two days after the final US build, so the missing data might be able to be patched back into the image. Could be a release candidate, unreleased patch, or an early localization prototype.
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