HIVESWAP: Act 1: Kansas City Shuffle, also stylized as HIVESWAP: ACT 1, Hiveswap: Act 1, HSWAP ACT 1, Hiveswap Episode 1, and "is the Homestuck video game out yet", is the first of a series of point-and-click adventure games set in the universe of the webcomic Homestuck (or a couple of Homestuck‍ '​s universes, anyway).

Sub-Pages

Unused Graphics

For the most part, a bunch of older versions of backgrounds.

Note: As a warning, the images on this page are in total a few dozen megabytes.

Unused Captchalogue Items

Lots of unused items and abilities that refused to be ejected from the Sylladex!

Also contains the internal names of everything in the Captchalogue.

Counters

Game objects that can't wait to be a useful pile of bits all day and keep track of all these things that keep happening.

Contains many strings of hidden developer text, a few of which hint at scrapped scenes!

Unused Text

To do:

Check for more unused text. Much of the game's text is stored in the MonoBehaviour assets in sharedassets0.assets , however some level-specific text can also be found in the level* archives and the rest of the .assets files. These can be explored with UABE. There may be more unused narration for impossible item interactions!

Joey's Room - Unused Posters

Metroid Poster These are posters of all your favorite games (that you could find posters for). There's "TETRIS 2" (FUN FACT: Tetris 2 is TWICE as fun as Tetris 1, you can only assume. You haven't actually played Tetris 1.) and "SUPER METROID" (FUN FACT: you have spent approximately 1000 hours on this game, as there is something really appealing about games that let you explore new worlds and solve puzzles there.) (Also games that let you do this are fun and awesome.) Mother 2 Poster This game is only available in Japan, but there's this guy at school who says his uncle works at Nintendo, and he gets to play all sorts of secret games before they even come out here, and one time his dad brought home copies of all the games Japan has but you don't, "including Mother 2 AND Super Mario World 5, but they're not at my house because I beat them already." Tetris 2 Poster TETRIS 2 is like a puzzle that never stops adding pieces, and also the pieces disappear, and if there are too many pieces, you lose. So kind of a crummy puzzle, really. Still. You gotta respect that laserbeam focus and resolve. Neverending Story Poster These are posters for your favorite movies (that you could find posters for). Your favorite is "THE NEVERENDING STORY," a movie that made you wish you had a giant flying dog for a best friend. You guess what you're saying is, you wish your dog was huge, and that she could fly, and was not morally opposed to scaring bullies so bad that they jump into garbage. Neverending Story Poster (Duplicate) Yeah, this kid doesn't really have any applicable advice for your situation, unless you start riding around on pale white beasts and dealing with the commands of childlike empresses.

Some early narration for Joey's room posters! Super Metroid became "The Bounty Hunter", Mother 2 became "Second Mom", Tetris 2 became "Block Hustle", and The NeverEnding Story became the hilariously-titled "The Story Keeps Happening". The art assets for this version of her room are also still in the game's files, and contain other movie, TV, and game references which don't seem to have any matching leftover text.

Pale steeds, child empresses, and serpentine trinkets? You boggle vacantly at these striking parallels!

Joey's Room - Garden Window

Early Script Final Script Pile of Leaves Look Ah, simpler times. A rake. A child. A boring afternoon. That was the life. Remember when you were raking up those leaves? Your dog knocked JUDE over, and you laughed, and then everything turned to monsters. Ah, memories! Sky Look The sun has just set, making for a glorious autumn eve. As such, autumnal evening glory radiates from the heavens, kissing the clouds on its way down to Earth. The sun has just set, making for a glorious autumn eve. As such, autumnal evening glory radiates from the heavens, kissing the clouds on its way down to Earth. Stupid clouds. THEY don't have to worry about monsters. Clouds don't gotta worry about NOTHIN'. Stupid clouds, all untouchable and ephemeral and stuff. Seek Answers Who ever heard of getting answers from the SKY? Outrageous! Well, except astronomers. And astronauts. Meteorologists, too. Wait, didn't sailors use the stars to navigate? You remember that from somewhere. Doghouse Call for Help The only thing that big softie could protect you from is a rampaging bowl of kibble. She wants no part of this. Treehouse Look Your brother's still holed up in there. At least he quit blinking all the useless Morse code. You briefly muse on the metaphorical significance of the FLASHING LIGHT. What could it represent? The past? The future? AMERICA? It's your stupid brother. You need to get in touch with him. Call for help You've already got a WALKIE-TALKIE for that. Bushes Look They need a good pruning. Anything could be hiding in there waiting to jump out! Let this be a critical lesson to everyone. Keep up with your yard work, kids. You eye the bushes suspiciously, but you don't see anything else popping out of them... yet.

Some early text for the garden view from Joey's window! The number of verbs for each interactive object is higher in the earlier version - this may have been pared back in the final script to avoid a biuniversally cataclysmic game scope cascade. The text for this scene is contained within the level8 ("Landing 2") asset archive, which may suggest that you could once look out at Jude's treehouse from the window beside the serpent statue on Half-Harley Manor's stairs.

This early garden view also has a few item interactions for the treehouse, which aren't present in the final scene since the Captchalogue is unavailable while looking out the window. The first interaction was probably going to be assigned to "Pile of Leaves + Pet Treats", and the second "Treehouse + Pogs" interaction was probably intended to be for "Bushes + Pogs".

Interaction Narration Pet Treats Arrgh! You could have hidden PET TREATS in the leaf pile for your dog to find, nosing around through the leaves all adorable and such. Your determination to make this dream a reality stirs you forth. Pogs That would involve you opening the window, probably. Also, that's ridiculous. Just because Jude is in the TREEHOUSE and the POGS are his doesn't mean the two objects can interact in a meaningful way. Get your head in the game, Joey. Pogs Ah, of course! Because POGS are made of CARDBOARD and the BUSHES are, uh... leafy? Alright, you admit it. This idea doesn't make any sense at all. You put it in the TRASH, where it belongs. Byers After what he already went through getting AWAY from there? Not likely.

Early Script Final Script jude, are you there? jude, you there? are you alright? yes of course. been covertly signalling status and requesting yours. please respond. over. YES BEEN COVERTLY SIGNALLING STATUS AND REQUESTING YOURS over you mean the lantern? i don’t know morse code. you mean the lantern? i don’t know morse code. joey please. would never use such an easily decipherable code. not when theres enemy agents all over the place. over. ****SKIPPED**** JOEY PLEASE over WOULD NEVER USE SUCH EASILY DECIPHERABLE CODE over ENEMY AGENTS EVERYWHERE over wait un-over. still confirmed about your status following enemy serpent encounter. did it bite you. is that why you couldn’t respond to walkie signalling. please report bite status. how many and how gross. over. WAIT unover STILL UNCONFIRMED VIS-A-VIS YOUR CONDITION FOLLOWING ENEMY SERPENT ENCOUNTER over PLEASE REPORT BITE STATUS HOW MANY AND HOW GROSS over i'm fine. i'm fine. i'm fine. no bites, you weirdo, but thank you for asking. it was a close one. i'm fine. no bites, you weirdo, but thank you for asking. it was a close one. not great. i’m not great. a giant snake monster chased me right to my door, and i barely escaped. phew. was worried about you sis. over. GREAT WAS WORRIED over YOUR SAFETY IMPORTANT over WAS WORRIED over that reminds me, after i shut the door on it i think i heard it clomping off back down the stairs. i don’t think you should leave your treehouse anytime soon. it might be headed back your way. that reminds me, after i shut the door on it i think i heard it clomping off back down the stairs. i don’t think you should leave your treehouse anytime soon. it might be headed back your way. yard absolutely crawling with cryptid vanguard. had no plans of leaving current location unless absolutely necessary. over. NO PLANS OF LEAVING CURRENT LOCATION YARD CRAWLING WITH CRYPTID VANGUARD over wait it out, then? wait it out, then? yeah, whatever is going on, i guess we should just wait it out since we’re both safe where we are? yeah, whatever is going on, i guess we should just wait it out since we’re both safe where we are? “cryptid vanguard?” “cryptid vanguard?” “cryptid vanguard?” “cryptid vanguard?” negative. over. NEGATIVE over what? why not? what? why not? not seeing the bigger picture here, joey. over. MISSING BIG PICTURE JOEY over ok, maybe be a little less obtuse, then. ok, maybe be a little less obtuse, then. purely defensive posture unadvisable. monsters likely just a distraction. could have obscured additional agents on approach. over. PURELY DEFENSIVE POSTURE TACTICALLY SUICIDAL MONSTERS LIKELY JUST DISTRACTION COULD HAVE OBSCURED ADDITIONAL AGENTS ON APPROACH over monsters likely just a distraction. could have obscured additional agents on approach. over. do you mean, like, more monsters, or... do you mean, like, more monsters, or... can’t discuss on unsecured channel. can’t be certain whos listening. but. points to a conspiracy cascade. tau-class. big time. over. CANT DISCUSS ON UNSECURED CHANNEL CANT BE CERTAIN WHOS LISTENING BUT EVIDENCE POINTS TO ANTARES-CLASS CONSPIRACY CASCADE over what what what what uh uh... uh... uh... what. over. what. over. what. over. what. over. repeat: unsecured channel. cant get into all the extremely complicated and speculative details. over. REPEAT: UNSECURED CHANNEL CANT GET INTO DETAILS over that’s fine. i’m not leaving my room because of your dorky conspiracies. that’s fine. i’m not leaving my room because of your dorky conspiracies. can see you appreciate the gravity of a tau-class conspiracy cascade. over. i mean, who wouldn’t. that’s definitely not something you made up, just now. correct. conspiracy gradation nomenclature. been on the books for months. DID YOU FORGET OUR DISCUSSION ON CONSPIRACY GRADATION NOMENCLATURE over literally as it was happening, yes. is antares bad. REALLY BAD IN THE HEART OF THE SCORPION JOEY over i’m not surprised. i’m also not leaving my room to get killed by monsters. ok. sounds like a good reason to not leave my room and get killed by monsters. relieved youre taking this seriously. are you totally prepared to begin forward operations. over. RELIEVED YOURE TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY ARE YOU TOTALLY PREPARED TO BEGIN FORWARD OPERATIONS NO GOING BACK NOW JOEY over i was making fun of you, dingus. i’m not going anywhere. i was making fun of you, dweeb. i’m not going anywhere. need you to trust me on this one, joey. know you dont usually take my conspiracy assessments seriously but hoping that presence of monsters in yard changes equation somewhat. over. TRUST CRUCIAL ON THE BATTLEFIELD JOEY HOPING PRESENCE OF MONSTERS HAS TIPPED EQUATION AWAY FROM TYPICAL SKEPTICISM over i trust you i trust you ok, that’s...that’s fair. ok. what do I need to know. ok, that’s...that’s fair. ok. what do i need to know. trust is for chumps trust is for chumps trust is for chumps. tell me what’s going on, jude. trust is for chumps. tell me what’s going on, jude. situation is getting worse. your current position is not secure. big yard-facing windows. plus your location is compromised. they know where you are. need to get you to the attic. over. YOUR CURRENT POSITION NOT SECURE LARGE YARD-FACING WINDOWS LOCATION COMPROMISED TO ENEMY SITUATION RAPIDLY DETERIORATING MUST ABSCOND TO ATTIC JOEY over the attic? the attic? yes. the attic. strong door, well-stocked with tactical matériel. down the hall. up the stairs. highest room in the house. maybe you’ve heard of it. over. YES THE ATTIC STRONG DOOR WELL STOCKED WITH TACTICAL MATERIEL TAKE LEFT OUT OF BEDROOM GO UP STAIRS HIGHEST ROOM IN HOUSE over i know what the attic is, jude! it was just a weird suggestion! what else is new? more inscrutable rambling from my treehouse lunatic brother! DONT UNDERSTAND YOU SOUNDED CONFUSED TRYING TO HELP over alright, well, i guess that makes sense. i’ll sneak up there, lock the door, and you can...call the police, or something? look, just. shut up, ok. i’ll sneak up there, lock the door, and you can… call the cops? call the cops? call our babysitter! call our babysitter! negative. must assume local law enforcement has been compromised. over. NEGATIVE MUST ASSUME LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPROMISED oh right. 911 blocked our number after all your prank calls. oh right. 911 blocked our number after all your prank calls. those werent pranks. those were xenomorph incursion preparedness drills. which the fat cat xenomorph collaborators of the Hauntswitch PD failed MISERABLY. over. DRILLS NOT PRANKS XENOMORPH INCURSION PREPAREDNESS DRILLS look FAILED MISERABLY BY FAT CAT XENOMORPH COLLABORATORS OF HAUNTSWITCH PD jude ON OUR OWN AS A HOUSE, AS A SPECIES over TOO LATE TO REACH HER AT LAB WORKING DAY LONG DONE over so we’re on our own so we’re on our own, as usual. our babysitter doesn’t seem likely to drop by tonight. oh no, you’re right... AGREED ON BOTH COUNTS too bad. could use her help if it comes to strifing. over. BABYSITTER CAPABLE STRIFER, COULD HELP TIP SCALES MIGHT ALSO HELP CONVINCE YOU TO GET TO SAFETY yeah. alright. well. i’ll head up to the attic, I guess. jude i’m going to go to the stupid attic ok. i’m sorry for being mean. wait. speaking of strifes. still got your weapon handy i assume. over. DO YOU HAVE YOUR WEAPON over why? why? why would i need it? i thought the plan was for me to SNEAK to the attic? why would i need it? i thought the plan was for me to SNEAK to the attic? what weapon? what weapon? what weapon? you mean my OLD weapon? what for? what weapon? you mean my OLD weapon? what for? sure don’t. sure don’t. sure don’t. why would i keep THAT thing around? sure don’t. why would i keep THAT thing around? maybe you didnt notice the serpents swarming everywhere. over. SERPENTS SWARMING EVERYWHERE over you want me to fight them? with a flashlight? you want me to fight them? with a flashlight? dont blame you for being nervous with so many serpents around. have to be brave. your brother believes in you, and knows you can beat the serpents. over. DONT BLAME YOU FOR BEING NERVOUS WITH HIGH CONCENTRATION OF SERPENT PRESENCE MUST BE BRAVE YOUR BROTHER BELIEVES IN YOU AND KNOWS YOU CAN BEAT THE SERPENTS over stop saying serpents. stop saying serpents. do you remember where you left it. over. DO YOU RECALL WHERE WEAPON IS over yeah yeah. yeah. it’s in the closet. yeah. it’s in the closet. understood. all set then. over UNDERSTOOD ALL SET THEN over no, i mean the hall closet. no, i mean the hall closet. crap. over. CRAP over yeah. well, i guess i’ll have to take your word about all this. you...ARE sure about all this, right? yeah. well, i guess i’ll have to take your word about all this. you...ARE sure about all this, right? absolutely relatively certain. good luck sis. keep in touch. over. ABSOLUTELY EXTREMELY CERTAIN over over and out, squirt. over and out, squirt.

The game contains an early version of Joey Claire and Jude Harley's first walkie-talkie conversation in a script file labelled "Joey and Jude 1 (Deprecated)". Jude's quirk is very different in the unused script - he uses caps very sparingly and his manner of speech is much more similar to Joey's than in the final. This was likely changed to make it easier to distinguish the siblings. It's also worth noting that the "****SKIPPED**** JOEY PLEASE over" and "monsters likely just a distraction. could have obscured additional agents on approach. over." lines are present but unused in the final script.

Joey & Jude - Unused Conversation

Choice Script hey. you still there? hello? im here... whats your status? over 1) [just checking.] uh, just checking if this thing still worked. it better. these bad boys were the best rated talkies in the crypto world catalogue. shock resistant, water resistant, and guaranteed for 1000 hours of operation in extreme survival conditions when youre living off the grid. basically the governments worst nightmare. over the government's worst nightmare?? jude... don't you jude me joey. your hand is holding the handheld communication device of CHOICE for the worlds top covert ops agents, archaeological explorers, and paranormal investigators... end of STORY. um, over a) [gosh.] ... gosh. 2) [the power's out!] the power went out! this is just great. is that it? any change in your situation? i need the facts on the ground there... over a) [you know anything about it?] so do you actually know anything about this? this scary and terrible situation? lets not be hasty to rule out sabotage from our shady malefactors... over i didn't rule anything out! it's just real dark now. it sucks! textbook siege tactics joey... first they deploy a monster to separate us... then they overload the circuits to cut off the power. we're falling right into their trap. over who's they?? never mind. over b) [how do i fix it?] so do you have any idea how to fix this? if you want to get the power back on, youll probably have to get down to the circuit breaker to restore power. over you mean... down in the basement? yup, over so in other words, the darkest, spookiest place in the house, that is a long dark spooky ways away from here? this is what its all about joey... stealth missions, spy tactics, monster reconnaissance... serpents for days... im pretty jealous of you to be honest. over then why don't you get down here and sneak into our spooky old basement! no can do, somebodys got to stay on lookout. im your eyes in the sky sis, over argh!!! 3) [who were those weirdos outside?] jude, who WERE those weirdos? what weirdos, over some shadowy figures i saw outside! pretty far away, and only for a second... then they were gone. i cant be sure without visual confirmation but... i have a bad feeling about it joey. you dont know how deep this thing goes or how bad it stinks. even i dont know. probably no one does... over a) [how deep what goes?] how deep what goes? can you just drop the act and tell me whats going on, you big nerd! b) [oh my god.] oh my god. theres too much to explain joe. i'd need my diagrams... like, pictures, lists of names, strings of yarn connecting stuff on a bulletin board... you dont just "explain" stuff sis, thats for novices of the trade. over first things first. lets just focus on getting through this together. then we can sort it all out. ive got... theories. over get through WHAT together? whatever terrible and deadly nightmare plot is unraveling beneath our very noses. we need more intel. stay brave joey, i got your back! over 4) [what's with the mountain lion's eyes?] jude listen up! yeah joey? over just curious. do you have any idea what the deal is with this mountain lion head? which one, over a) [the freaky one on the wall!] the one in the trophy room. its eyes are missing! kinda freaky. oh. right. as a matter of fact, i do know. i took them out. for... lets say, security reasons. over is there anything you do that isn't for security reasons? you cant be too careful joey. its dog eat dog out there on the mean streets. i sleep with one eye open, and i keep it squarely pointed over my shoulder, at all times. over speaking of eyes, i'm rolling mine right now. and also speaking of eyes... can you help me with this, or not! sure can. this is like... top clearance security stuff though. i'll be sending you down a perilous road of intrigue leading to more questions than answers. over i'm letting you in on something big... a lot bigger than both of us. im trusting you with a lot here sis. over sweet jeepers bro, just help me solve this stupid cat puzzle!!! 5) [not much to report] not much to report, really. well, establishing regular routine radio contact IS good comms protocol, i guess. good to see you keeping your head in a crisis. keep me posted. over and out just tell me when the situation changes. and be careful, ok? over and out

This unused script doesn't seem to have a direct parallel in the final game! Jude's quirk had yet to be finalised here too, suggesting that this was written early on. If the script is loaded by replacing game files, some lines are too long to be fully displayed by the walkie-talkie textboxes - so perhaps the UI was different at that phase of development? Joey and Jude seem to be discussing the Mysterious Cult in the third dialogue branch, though neither of the siblings have much knowledge of their plans. The "keep me posted. over and out" line seems to be skipped over when choosing the fourth branch, though the line usage might vary based on your game progression. It seems likely that this conversation would have taken place midway through exploring Half-Harley Manor, soon after the power cut, although curiously the script is labelled "Joey and Jude 2" implying that it would be only their second conversation (hopefully from both of their perspectives, lest our sparing human intellects instantly assume the most ingratiating posture of surrender imaginable).

Unused Byers Interactions

Interact With Narration Washer That... doesn't sound like it would be very good for the pigeon. You move past this unsettling attempt. Knight Statue Nah, what he'd gain in armor class he'd lose in mobility. It's just not good optimization, you think. Mug Yeah, just dunk him in there. That's all you need on this adventure, a drunk bird. Narwhal Ah yes, the narwhal's greatest predator: a small pigeon. Hula Girls He’d probably try to use their grass skirts to make a little nest. That would be cuter if you were sure they were wearing anything under them, but “ukelele bra” doesn’t scream “modesty” to you. Laundry Not to be crass, and this is probably not the last time you’ll say this, but this stuff is dirty enough without a bird pooping all over it. Stack Of Musty Old Junk He’s a little too light to unsettle this sturdy stack. Also, isn’t he supposed to still be in the treehouse right now? Byers, you rascal. Pile of Musty Old Junk Byers gives your garbage pile the cool, appraising eye of an experienced nest-builder. He seems to indicate that it passes his personal, extremely rigorous standard for loose heaps of trash. Cooking Implements He’s probably not much of a chef, being, you know. A pigeon. It suddenly occurs to you that you have no idea what your brother feeds these things. Just like, seeds, probably? Birdseeds? Uh, birdseed. Skis And Poles Carrier pigeons like Byers fly south for the winter specifically to avoid the snow! They don’t make sport of it, with bobsleds and skis, and, wait, are carrier pigeons even migratory? You can’t remember... you guess you could ask Jude, but you don’t really care all that much. Circuit Breaker What? No, not the bird. How do you even have him down here? Are you sequence-breaking? Jeez, kids these days. You just HAVE to know! You have to know every little thing. Kitchen Window (Unbroken) Byers stares bewildered at the unbroken window, as if to ask: “how the heck did I get in here?” Fax Machine (Unpowered) Oh, BYERS! You can’t use the fax machine, because the power is out! You doofy little doofus. Also, you’re still in Jude’s treehouse. Or at least you should be. Something’s gone a little wrong. Darkness Can pigeons see in the dark? Even if they can, you don’t think he’ll be much help, especially since you aren’t even supposed to have him yet.

These lines of narration would appear if you used Byers the Pigeon on various objects in the Basement, Trophy Room, and Kitchen before restoring power to Half-Harley Manor, even though it's impossible for that to stop being a thing that couldn't happen.

Kitchen - Early Script

Early Script Final Script Magic Spice Mix Use Of course, there's no such thing as magic. It's all faked with chemicals and stuff. Everyone and the horse they rode in on knows magic is fake, whereas chemicals are real. Still, those chemicals are DELICIOUS. MAGIC SPICE MIX! Of course, everybody knows there's no such thing as magic. It's all faked with chemicals and stuff. Still, those chemicals are DELICIOUS. Dog Flap Use That sounds like an extremely good way to get your entire head bitten off at once, so... probably not. Back Door Look The BACK YARD used to be so much more awesome before the MONSTERS showed up. Yeah, yeah, you know, total yard hipster alert over here. The BACK YARD used to be so much more awesome before the MONSTERS showed up. Takeout Boxes Use OK, just as soon as you find some Chinese food that needs temporary storage, you’ll be back here with bells on, ready, willing, and eager to shovel the steaming new food into these oily, discarded boxes. Living Room Door Look You appreciate that your house, like the Tanners' house, has a KITCHEN to LIVING ROOM connection. You also appreciate that UNLIKE the Tanners' house, yours is not shelter to a voracious, wisecracking puppet. Bag Of Dog Food Look Oh, jeez. You’re even out of DOG food? You guess you can’t blame your babysitter for running off to the store for groceries at what was retroactively the worst possible time. Things really have gotten desperate. You’re even out of DOG food? Things really have gotten desperate. You guess you can’t blame your babysitter for running off to the store for groceries at what was retrospectively the worst possible time. Use You’d like to, but it’s empty! Maybe for the best. If your DOG heard the food bowl being filled and came running, she might get attacked by a monster! Oh jeez you can’t even think about that right now. It’s too awful. Trash Use It needs to go out, but if you try to do that right now you’ll need a second bag, for your monster-mangled body. Refrigerator Look You visualize all the delicious items that could be in the cool embrace of the REFRIGERATOR, but are not. You visualize all the delicious items that could be in the cool embrace of the REFRIGERATOR, but are not. Food shopping has become sporadic of late. Turns out tipsy babysitters are FAIRLY bad at responsibilities? It's empty. Food shopping has become sporadic of late. Turns out tipsy babysitters are FAIRLY bad at responsibilities? Radio Look You usually enjoy whatever's on the radio. Like that song that's real popular right now... about a lady seeing the sun, or something? You're not so great with the names. The sound you've heard since you entered the kitchen grows louder as you approach... Window (Unbroken) Look You don't see any monsters, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. There are monsters out there. Watching. Working up an appetite. Watching. Training. Working up an appetite. Well, OK, probably not training. Use With all those monsters out there? You think you’ll leave it shut. Also, you don’t actually know how to open this window. With all those monsters out there? You think you’ll leave it shut. Also, you don’t actually know how to open this window, short of breaking it. Window (Broken) Look Interesting. It’s actually more difficult to see through the window, now that it has a hole in it. It’s...well, it’s a little interesting, at least. It’s actually more difficult to see through the window, now that it has a hole in it. Use Well, it’s already pretty dang open, due to it being broken, and you sure can’t close it, due to it being broken, so there’s not a lot you can do to this window, due to it being broken. Well, it’s already pretty dang open, due to it being broken. Look It turns out that the windows are not entirely monster-proof. Maybe Jude WAS right about a few things. Napoleon Mummy Look This guy...well, you assume it’s a guy...this MUMMY, there we go, is currently blocking your access to the rest of the house. He’s usually doing that, actually, ever since your Pa left him here last time he was home. This MUMMY is currently blocking your access to the rest of the house. He has been ever since your PA left him here months ago. Use Yeah, not a lot of chance of you being able to move Pharaoh Napoleon over here. There’s no way that’s actually Napoleon, right? Napoleon was short. Wasn’t he? Was that all just a big conspiracy? Maybe the REAL Napoleon died, and they mummified his body to hide the truth, and the only guy who looked enough like him to convince his soldiers was really short, and, oh god, you sound like Jude. Yeah, not a lot of chance of you being able to move Pharaoh Napoleon over here. Kitchen Table Look Your kitchen table has the stuff you and Jude left on it still there. None of it seems particularly useful right now, though. Basement Door Look (During STRIFE?) You can look, but you sure aren't in a position to run down those stairs in abject terror. Look That's the door to the BASEMENT. Ordinarily, you'd avoid going down there. And contrary to what your brother says, it's NOT because you dislike icky spiders. And even if there was SOME truth to that claim, it's still better than the excuse others in this house seem to have, which is an aversion to doing laundry. Exit You are a silly person if you think you can make it past that awful monster. And you're NOT silly. So. QED. Or whatever. Better not tempt fate! You just BARELY escaped that serpent. You mean snake. YOU MEAN, MONSTER. It’s just a monster. Snakes don’t HAVE legs! It has a ton of legs! Way more than you, even! YOU’RE more like a snake than it is. OK. You’ve gotten away from your original point a little, which is that you’re not going back down there. Byers Look You stare deep into the pigeon's eyes. It stares back into yours. The strength of your immediate kinship ignites the air between you. You walked through this world alone. But that was before this pigeon looked at you. Another life, long forgotten. It looks like all that fracas with the monster got him pretty shook up. You might have to find something here in the kitchen you can tempt him with. What's that POUCH doing around its neck? Kitchen Walk [Play kitchen break-in cutscene] Fax Machine (Powered) Use You turn the machine on, but need something to fax. And someONE, too, technically, but that's never stopped you before! You feel quite sure you are the world's PREMIER fax-hoaxer. Fax Machine (Unpowered) Use The power's still out. You could PRETEND to fax junk to random strangers, you guess. It would still look pretty much the same on your end... no, no. Your heart's just not in it. Cabinet Look Whoever built these cabinets would shake their head and sigh if they knew how little their creation was destined to hold in this moment. These cabinets bare all. They bare their bareness. Look This cupboard is now truly bringing some Old Mother Hubbard level bareness. Look All you can raid from this meager cabinet is the stalest, tiniest, worst cracker. Perhaps later you can bury this sad, dead cracker in a tiny cracker grave. All you can raid from this meager cabinet is the stalest, tiniest, worst cracker.

The asset archive for level49 (which seems to be used for the "SERPENT S" tablet minigame in the final game) contains early script files for all the interactable items in Half-Harley Manor's kitchen. Many of these were totally rewritten or discarded in the final script. An unused ALF reference? Now we're cooking with petroleum!

Unused Stale Cracker Narration

Interact With Narration Cabinet No going back now. This sad, stale little crunchsquare is your cross to bear. Joey You're not that desperate for a snack. OK, you are, but. Maybe you'll find something better, or get eaten. Either way, eating this awful cracker would have been a real waste.

Joey can't interact with the kitchen cabinet again after plundering it of its wheaty wares, leaving the first line unused. As for the second line, the final game uses a totally different description when you abjure your meagre meal ("This stale cracker was sitting in the back of the cabinet for so long that taking it feels like robbing a museum. Still. SOMEONE might like it.")

Flashlight - Early Script

Action Early Script Final Script Acquire You go ahead and try your flashlight. Click, click... no dice. Either its flashing days are kaput, or it just needs new batteries. ...Click, click... no dice. Another battery problem? Batteries again! You guess this is just the price you pay for living in such a miraculous age of modern technology. You open it up... You open it up...Wait, there were no batteries in here at all. Just a bunch of stupid POGS! Dangit, Jude. He REALLY needs a better pog storage system. Wait, there were no batteries in here at all. Just a bunch of stupid POGS! Dang it, Jude! Look This sure takes you back. The old strifing days with your PA were pretty intense, back when he used to be around a little more often. It's as solidly built and good for boppin' heads as ever. But you wonder if it still works? You're going to need to add some D-CELL BATTERIES if you want this flashlight to serve any purpose other than emergency pog storage container and very poorly-designed paperweight. Add Batteries(?) You're glad you've got your FLASHLIGHT working again. So glad, in fact, that you're going to save the battery for when you really need it. Another electric device successfully powered through clever manipulation of resources in your immediate environment! You are on FIRE. With your FLASHLIGHT fully functional and in fit fighting form, you feel significantly better-equipped to handle most low-light environments, and also to beat the bejeezus out of any of these creeps that get too close. Although that’s a last resort, of course. Use If you run out the battery on this, you have no idea where you'd get more. Better save it for when you really need it. If you run down the battery, you have no idea where you’d get more. Better save it for when you really need it. Use (Dark Rooms) You aren't turning this off...it's WAY too dark in here for that! It's way too dark in here to turn your flashlight off.

Some early narration for the flashlight can be found within an unused MonoBehaviour file named "Flashlight Container" (rather than "Flashlight No Batt" or "FlashlightAbility", which are used). One of these scrapped lines suggests that Pa Harley wasn't always such an absent parent, although his parenting style still seems to have been negligent bordering on abusive. Forcing those under your care to engage in combat with you is grounds for STERN DISAPPROVAL of this FATHER… poor Joey!

Unused Flare Gun Abilitech Narration

Interact With Narration Joey's Window Heh, that'd be pretty funny. Just imagine the look on Joey's face if you popped one of these badboys off at her window. At any rate, she won't be able to appreciate your priceless capers if she becomes monster chow. Focus! Flare Gun You, um. How did you do this? You’re usually so careful with these…

The first bit of narration seems to have been intended to appear when you try to fire Jude's loaded Flare Gun at Joey's bedroom window while she's STRIFING with the monsters in the living room. However, clicking on any part of Half-Harley Manor with the loaded Flare Gun will make Jude distract the monsters, leaving these lines unused. The second piece of narration will appear if you somehow manage to have the Flare Gun abilitech in your sylladex before picking up the… uhm… flare gun!

Interactive Objects' Names

Most of the game's interactive objects have internal name strings associated with them which can't normally be viewed. They're largely as you'd expect them to be, but interestingly, the globe in Half-Harley Manor's Trophy Room is labelled "Globe of Alternia"! The windows in Jude's treehouse are named "North Window" and "South Window" - the south-facing window overlooks Half-Harley Manor, and the north-facing window views the mysterious mansion.

Unused Control Room Narration

Action Narration Look Well. Uh. What have we here. Coolkids? Time will tell.

This line is included among the scripts for Dammek's Control Room, but appears to be unused! It's not certain what it applies to since the object name is simply "I need a name!", but it seems likely that it's intended for the monitor displaying photos of Xefros and Dammek. The phenomenon of the coolkid is a fascinating one, I have studied it.

Unused Tablet Narration

Action Narration Look It's a tablet... Take Picture You attempt to take a picture of yourself using the tablet-thing. You try turning the device around like a camera, but it's really really awkward. Who designed this thing? You wonder what THIS little button does. You press a little button that somehow flips the camera around, and suddenly HEY! You can SEE YOURSELF! Congratulations, you just took a picture! Of yourself! By yourself! No other people involved, just you, yourself, and you! This strikes you as a completely new and fascinating thing to do and you feel like you need a new name to refer to this marvelous activity. ME-PIX? SOLOROIDS? YO! MTV SNAPS? But enough of that. Time to send this self-taken photograph of you to a self-professed alien that you met on the internet.

This unused narration is found within a MonoBehaviour file named "Ref Joey Tablet". Instead of this narration, a cutscene of Joey taking a selfie automatically plays at the end of the first dialogue with Xefros, and the view changes to Xefros.

Action Narration Look With your TABLET, you can stay in touch with COUNTLESS FRIENDS who live ALL OVER THE WORLD! But mostly just the ONE FRIEND who lives ACROSS THE STREET. Talk No response...

This early script is contained within a MonoBehaviour file named "Ref Xef Tablet". The lines were completely rewritten in the final script.

Unused Xefros Recap Narration

Narration You’re either about to see an alien, or you just failed one of Dammek’s espionage security tests. You really hope it’s...well, you’re not actually sure which you’d prefer. And then some stuff happens that we already know about. Remember? Dammek is gone, there's an alien named "Joey" wandering around his hive, Dammek's lusus is on the loose, etc. etc. Let's skip to the end then, shall we?

This script is included with the rest of the files for Xefros' hallway. It appears to be related to the leftover script for Joey's tablet selfie - maybe the game's perspective was originally going to stick with Joey until nearer the end of her adventure and then summarise events from Xefros' point of view, instead of the final game's more simultaneous structure? The script checks the value of counter 3261 "212 Arrive" before displaying: 212 is the internal scene number for Xefros' hallway, so presumably this narration would appear as Xefros leaves his respiteblock. The script also increments counter 3265 "212 Convo", so presumably there was once a tablet chat with Joey in the hall.

Unused Sloth Treats Interaction

Interact With Narration Back Door He is already plenty fed, thank you. Also, didn’t you use these up? Weird. You’re pretty sure you shouldn’t have these anymore. Oh well! Best not to dwell on it, and to try to ignore them in the future.

This line would appear if Xefros somehow managed to hold onto the Sloth Treats after feeding them to his lusus. Good sloth, best dadpet!

Unused Power Cell Narration

Action Narration Use It's off, and it'll stay that way. Look No thanks, you've heard all your brain can stand.

These lines can be found in the script for the Power Cell item. The "use" narration may have been intended to appear if Joey inspected the cell on the floor of Dammek's respiteblock, after it becomes a perfectly inert object. The "look" interaction is totally different from the one used ("You started calling this bizarre energy cube a 'POWER CELL' after deciding the word 'BATTERY' wasn't nearly cool enough.") and seems out of place considering the cell just thrums very quietly in the final game. As pure speculation: maybe Joey originally acquired the Power Cell by removing it from one of Dammek's music speakers, echoing how she acquired the D-Cell Batteries from the noisy radio on Earth?

Unused Lusus Milk Narration

Action Narration Use You don’t need to whip up any souffles right now, and you’re DEFINITELY not about to just drink this stuff, so it can stay right here in the HUNGER TRUNK.

This line seems to be intended to appear if you tried to make Xefros "use" the carton of lusus milk in his hunger trunk. The verb selection menu doesn't appear when you click on the carton though - it instead immediately displays the "look" text, leaving the above line unused.

Unused Hover Pad Interaction

Interact With Narration Pile of Guns 'N' Drums Wait...how did you get this down here without moving the pile?

This line of narration appears if - while standing on the lower floor of Dammek's respiteblock - you try to use the Hover Pad to move the giant heap of awful guns and drums blocking the stairs. Normally this is impossible, but for Joey Claire, Extraordinaire? ...uh, well, it's still impossible even for her, unless you hack the inventory.

Unused Vet Medkit Narration

Action Narration Look You see an incredible VET MEDKIT, out of your reach. Distant, yet beckoning, like the last apple on the tree, reluctant to fall. Reluctant to be baked into a perfect pie. Jeepers, you’re still hungry. Take [Dude, seriously? You were literally JUST UP THERE IN THAT EXACT LOFT SPACE like thirty seconds ago, and now you want to pick it up from THIS way less convenient location? Just take the stairs.]

These lines must be intended to appear if you tried to interact with the Vet Medkit while in the lower half of Dammek's respiteblock, but the lines go unused because the vetkit is obscured by the loft stairs. Stairs! They're something you should be wary of.

Unused Safe Note Narration

TREAD LIGHTLY: SPOILERS!

This subsection may contain minor spoilers for HIVESWAP: Act 2 and beyond.

Action Narration Look You decode the note, using your new mastery of the alien stab-alphabet. Jude leaves coded notes like these everywhere, which would be ridiculous except they're kind of fun to solve. Who's he even leaving them for? He doesn't even know you can read them. OK, they're still pretty ridiculous. ANYWAY. THIS note says that the case contains "insurance" that must be locked up "for safekeeping." The note goes on to say that it must be destroyed immediately after being read. Pretty standard covert ops-style paranoia. You can spot it a mile away, thanks to your brother. The note says to destroy it, so that's what you do. You rip it up into tiny little bits until it becomes difficult to say for sure whether it ever existed at all. Fare thee well, weird note!

This seemingly unused script for an object that's just entitled "Look" is included among the files for Dammek's respiteblock. It hints at the contents of Dammek's safe, with the word "insurance" suggesting it may contain some kind of leverage against Trizza and the Alternian Empire, or that he may be blackmailing someone.

Dammek's Hoodie

Action Narration Look If there's one thing that mustn't be forsaken on your travels in this unfamiliar land, it's COMFORT. Made from 100% CENTIPEDE WOOL, this "DAMMEK'S HOODIE" would seem to do the job nicely. Shame about the two big, deliberately made holes in the hood, though. Maybe they’ll help the fabric breathe. Wear The deercat seems pretty close to trusting you. If it saw you putting on its master’s clothes, it might think you stole them and wig the heck out! Or it might not care at all, but you don’t want to risk it just yet. Smell OK, that’s pretty weird. You aren’t sure you want to, wow, ok, you can smell it from here anyway. Very strong odor of...it kind of smells like a lawnmower that nobody has used to mow the lawn in a long time.

Some narration for a hoodie which Joey would presumably have discovered within Dammek's hive. It appears the hoodie was originally going to be a sylladex item! While this was scrapped from Act 1, she's seen wearing this hoodie as a disguise in the trailer for Hiveswap: Act 2!

Test Ability Text

Verb: Exposit It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. We had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

This excerpt from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" (which is fitting given that Hiveswap takes place within the two locales of Hauntswitch and Outglut, and also involves revolution) can be found hidden within the data for an unused test ability. You are almost certain Charles Dickens said that.

Example Scene Text

Example Assorted Pickup Example Backpack You must take that before you can put it inside of anything. That won't fit inside your backpack. That is fastened to the wall. And it wouldn't fit inside your backpack, anyway. You put the book inside your backpack. You probably shouldn't put that in your backpack. Example Backpack on Floor Example Backpack With a Book In It This is your favorite green backpack, with your book of poetry inside. It is rather heavy. It would probably pack a wallop, if you took a swing at someone with it. This is your favorite green backpack. It has a book of poetry in it. It would probably pack a wallop, if you hit somone with it. You crack the window. Oh boy are you going to get in trouble for that! You probably shouldn't swing your backpack at that. Example Book This is a green book of poetry. It matches your sofa. Proper color coordination requires that you DO judge books by their covers. You're joking, right? You should get the backpack before you try to put anything in it. You put the book inside the backpack. You can't put the book inside of that! You're joking, right? Example Book in Backpack Example Bowl Seriously, it's just a bowl. It's made of plastic. It's not very interesting. Example Kilroy Example Lamp Example Portrait Example Scene Backpack Gone Example Scene Book Gone Example Scene Bowl Gone Example Scene Examined Backpack With Book Example Scene Lamp Example Scene Left Throw Pillow Gone Example Scene Right Throw Pillow Gone Example Throw Pillow Kilroy is no longer here. Your parents would be furious if you broke the lamp! He blocks with his mighty apple face shield! That would be pointless.

Some unused narration for a test scene. It's unclear who the playable character would be here, since plural "parents" are mentioned.

(Source: Original TCRF research )

Unused Areas

To do:

Add images/footage of these areas! Maybe see if there's a way to get the first two to load? Also, compile a full list of the game's areas/warps and see if any more are unused.

# Name Notes level1 Example The level doesn't seem to load. level2 Example Scene 2 The level doesn't seem to load. Presumably this and/or the previous level slot was used for testing item interactions early in development. level16 017 House Exterior This does load successfully! It's missing a background image, but it does have collision data and even contains a few monsters and an entrance/warp that does nothing when clicked. Presumably Joey was once going to explore the outside of Half-Harley Manor. level37 219 XEF Balcony 2 This loads successfully, but doesn't load a playable character into the scene. It shows concept art of a covered balcony overlooking Dammek's hive while it's being torn apart by the Cherub Portal! Maybe this second balcony was once accessed through the blocked doorway in Xefros' hall (which the narration says leads to his lusus' sleeping area)? level38 301 This loads, but appears to be empty. level39 302 This loads successfully! It shows a rough block-out of the Alternian streets sequence from the game's ending, which may suggest it was originally intended to be a playable scene instead of a cutscene. It has a simple collision map. level40 303 This loads successfully! It's another rough block-out showing concept artwork of Joey, Xefros, and their lusii looking out over a neighbourhood that was destroyed by Trizza's imperial drone strikes - similar to the end cutscene of Act 1. Some ruined train tracks can also be seen in the artwork (these were omitted from the cutscene), which may hint at one of the settings for Act 2! It appears to reuse the collision map from the previous unused level.

Unused Music

snakebasement_FINAL_adjustedvolume ("Heavy Snaking", almost)



This track is present amongst the assets for the Strife battle in the basement, and is almost identical to the 'B-SIDE' "Heavy Snaking" on the official soundtrack album, though this version lacks a particular piano line at the beginning of the track, before the percussion kicks in. This track cannot normally be heard in-game, though could be triggered by a specific white-screen softlocking glitch at the beginning of the Strife fight, before the glitch was fixed in V1.1.

The game's composers, James Roach and Toby Fox, had the following to say about the B-SIDE "Heavy Snaking" on the soundtrack album, in part 2 of their soundtrack commentary (where the italicised and parenthesised text is written by Cohen Edenfield, the game's writer/director):

James: When we first envisioned the basement/snake strife it was gonna be really moody like the basement music. I wrote this as a joke but it worked out really well. But later we decided that scene could use a little BEEFING UP in terms of… intensity and energy? Anyway that’s how a completely finished track ended up as a b-side. Could we re-use it later? Not really it’s literally the mansion theme and table for tooth so it cant go anywhere else! (I actually thought we could use this song somewhere else but James was really insistent it be a B-Side, so I guess when the time comes when we could have used it he will have to write a whole new song. haha owned again roach) Toby: I don’t even remember if I’ve ever heard this one. It would have worked too I guess if the Snake was more chill. James: like just an unbelievably chill snake. Toby: Yeah like wearing sunglasses and its attack is to tell you to not do drugs.

(Sources: Original TCRF research , HIVESWAP: Act 1 OST commentary, Part 2)

Unused Sounds

Strife

KS_19_A



This is the sound that can be heard at the end of the Strife battle in the kitchen. However, the sound is embedded into the outro cutscene for the Strife battle, and as such this sound asset is never used.

victory_jingle



This jingle plays at the end of the Strife battles in the trophy room and in the kitchen, but as with the above is already present in the ending cutscenes for both.

Dammek's Fridge

fridge_open



fridge_close



Clicking on Dammek's fridge in the final game simply takes the player to a close-up view of it, without any animations or sounds for the opening/closing of the fridge. There are however unused animations for opening/closing the fridge from the main view of the kitchen (see the 'Unused Graphics' section), and unused sounds to accompany these animations.

(Source: Original TCRF research )

Cultist Names

The internal asset names for the mysterious cultists who can be seen from the treehouse are, from left to right: 'carnie', 'baby', 'king', 'sci', and 'fashionista'.

(Source: Original TCRF research )

Revisional Differences

V1.1 (2017-09-21)

To do:

If anyone is able to do so, go into more detail on the third, fourth, and sixth points.

Version 1.1 of HIVESWAP: ACT 1 was released on September 21, 2017, and contained the following changes:

" Cutscene playback improvements " – There had been some issues in version 1.0 with cutscenes not playing properly, and this update aimed to fix this by moving all of the game's cutscenes (and other videos) out of their specific .assets files and into the StreamingAssets subdirectory.

" – There had been some issues in version 1.0 with cutscenes not playing properly, and this update aimed to fix this by moving all of the game's cutscenes (and other videos) out of their specific files and into the StreamingAssets subdirectory. " Changes to resolution on first run of game " – As mentioned tangentially above, when version 1.0 of the game was launched for the first time, it would attempt to automatically detect the appropriate resolution to default to, based on the user's display. However, it didn't do a particularly good job of this, and would sometimes set the resolution to aspect ratios that the game was not supposed to run at, which could cause a few other bugs.

" – As mentioned tangentially above, when version 1.0 of the game was launched for the first time, it would attempt to automatically detect the appropriate resolution to default to, based on the user's display. However, it didn't do a particularly good job of this, and would sometimes set the resolution to aspect ratios that the game was not supposed to run at, which could cause a few other bugs. " More resolution options available in video dropdown "

" " Various text fixes "

" " Strife white-screen hang fixed "

" "Basement tablet interaction issues fixed"

V1.2 (2017-10-03)

To do:

Go into more detail, obviously

The official changelog for Version 1.2 of Hiveswap: Act 1, released on October 3, 2017, was:

" Fixed a bug where players were accidentally switched to incorrect characters during cutscenes or entering minigames "

" " Minor art fixes "

" " Minor text and typo fixes "

" " Added missing item interactions "

" "Minor target ID fixes"

V1.3 (2017-10-16)

To do:

Go into more detail on the typo fixes

Version 1.3 of HIVESWAP: Act 1 was released on October 16, 2017, and added Linux support for the game, along with a few bug fixes. The official changelog was:

" Linux support added "

" " In-game text will now only advance when you click the mouse, press the Enter key, or press the space bar, making it easy to take screenshots without further advancing the text "

" "Various typo fixes"

Linux Patch (2017-11-08)

This patch was only released for the Linux version of the game, and fixed a few small bugs:

" Fixed a bug related to the spice mix not appearing properly in the intro cutscene to the kitchen strife "

" "Fixed a bug that would cause Joey to appear twice during the intro cutscene to the kitchen strife"

V1.4 (2017-12-05)

To do:

What were the typos?

Version 1.4 of Hiveswap Episode 1 was released on December 5, 2017, featuring a small number of bug fixes:

" Fixed a bug where giving milk to the deercat lusus would cause it to disappear, making further progress impossible "

" "Typo fixes"

V1.5 (2018-02-01)

HSWAP ACT 1‍ '​s V1.5 was released on February 1, 2018, containing a couple of small changes: