Stinkoman 20X6 Trivia

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Revision as of 05:15, 3 April 2021

Here is some of the trivia regarding the Stinkoman 20X6 game.

General

• This is the first time that Stinkoman's house — and by extension, any 20X6 character's house — has been seen.
• Aside from the "Kerrek" and "Trogdor" versions of the Peasant's Quest Movie Trailer on the old site, stinkogame.swf is the single largest Flash file.
• The "No Flash 7" warning box (which you also see if you attempt to flip the SWF file) reads:

      FLASH PLAYER 7
       IS REQUIRED
   TO PLAY STINKOMAN 20X6

THIS THING SAYS YOU DON'T HAS

• On the old Flash site, if the URL for version 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 was entered, for a split second the page title would say "Old Stinkoman Game Page R.I.P.", before redirecting the player to the current one.
  • The Flash version of the Scrolling Shooter Games Menu linked to the page for version 2 of the game, which is set to redirect to the current version.
• The quality of the music in Level 7 onward is higher than the other ones, resulting in sharper sound.
• The sound file for the Z Sabre's speech is called "textType_zsabre.wav". This filename was present in previous versions of the game, potentially spoiling the reveal for those who decompiled the Flash file.
• The promised Level 10 was not released after Level 9 for over fifteen years years, but a "Level 10" floppy disk does appear in sbemail 206, likely referencing its long wait. It was finally revealed to be released in 2018 in a @StrongBadActual video, but it was later delayed to 2019, as revealed in another video. It was then delayed again to 2020, when it was finally released on December 20.
• As of the Level 10 update, Stinkoman 20X6 was the first Homestar Runner content to use a new Flash player setup where the navigation bar is HTML rather than part of a Flash file. This change was applied to the entire site during the post-Flash site update days later.

Unused Content

• There are two unused levels in the game's files: Level 1.4 and 2.4. Both levels are fully playable when loaded into the game, although 2.4 starts near the end of the level and does not have an end goal.
• In the unused Level 2.4, there is a Grundy wearing sunglasses. It behaves like a regular Grundy, but it takes two hits to defeat.
• In the Flash file, there are four sprites of a rectangular gray robot.
• An object resembling the Gokul enemy can be found in the Flash file.
• An image of Bubs can be found in the Flash file. This may be left over from a Tweet showing Bubs in the game.
• In the April 17, 2008 Sketchbook entry, a drawing of an unused Level 10 robot enemy is shown alongside Val Yancey.
• On September 10, 2020, @StrongBadActual posted an unused Level 6 boss sprite, a humanoid cloud with a cannon.
• A November 29, 2020 Tweet showed sketches of alternate designs for Stobat.

Sunglasses Grundy	Unused robot	Unused Gokul
Level 10 enemy sketches	Level 6 boss	Stobat sketches

Updates

General

• The version number in the bottom right corner of the "PLAY GAME!" screen was changed multiple times.
  • In version 1, it read "V1.X EPISODES 1-3".
  • In version 2, it read "V2.0 EPISODES 1-4".
  • In version 3, it read "V3.0 EPISODES 1-5 THUS FAR".
  • In version 4, it read "V4.0 EPISODES 1-6".
  • In version 5, it read "V5.0 EPISODES 1-7".
  • In version 6, it read "V6.0 EPISODES 1-8".
  • In version 7, it read "V7.1 EPISODES 1-9".
  • In version 8, it read "V8.0 EPISODES 1-10!".
  • It currently reads "V8.0.1 EPISODES 1-10!".
• The Flash Player 7 warning in the bottom left corner was changed multiple times.
  • In versions 4 and below, it read "FLASH PLAYER 7 REQUIRED".
  • In version 5, it read "FLASH 7 VERY REQUIRED".
  • In version 6, it read "FLASH 7 REQUIRED, 8 IS COOL TOO".
  • In version 7, it read "FLASH 7 OR HIRE REQUIRED".
  • In version 8, this was removed.
• Sometime after version 6, the directions of all Poorbts were reversed. With the release of version 7.1, Poorbts were reversed back to their original directions, until they were reverted back again in 8.0.
• When Level 9 was first released, your number of shields would remain constant after losing a life. This meant that you could hoard shields if you had lives to spare, or that you could use up all your shields on one life and have none on the next. This has since been changed: after losing a life, your shield count always resets to 3.

Version 7.0 (Level 9)

• Version 7 enabled the menus to be navigated with either the mouse or keyboard.
• The level selection screen added level icons, and colors were changed.
• Stinkoman's punches changed from the usual pattern. In the original release the projectiles would only fly two to three body lengths from Stinkoman before disappearing, and would fall downward from gravity at a moderate pace. From version 7 and beyond, they travel indefinitely until hitting an enemy or traveling off screen, and fall downward much slower.
  • Because of this, you can kill the Greggo at the beginning of 1.2 by shooting repeatedly as you fall into the level. Conversely, this makes My Benj much more difficult to hit.
• The propellers were removed from the Clowders in Level 3.1.

Version 8.0 (Level 10)

Menus

• The Videlectrix logo was changed to a rotating CGI rendering, followed by a CD flying in and decapitating the Videlectrix Mascot. It flies into the logo, changing it to "VideleCDrix", before loading the new intro cinematic.
• The NavBar was replaced with an HTML version that was later implemented across the entire site.
• The menu has a different appearance. Once "PLAY GAME!" is clicked, Stinkoman's head disappears, and a description of the selected option can be seen in a box at the bottom of the screen. The buttons no longer turn gray when hovered over.
• The "New Game" option has been removed from the menu, but the player can still start a new game by selecting Level 1.1 on the level select screen.
• The "Continute" option has been replaced by the choices "Classic Mode" and "New Mode". Both of these send the player to the level select screen.
  • New Mode gives the player more energy bars, more lives, and an edge-fall respawn instead of instant death when falling down a pit. Blue checkpoint flags are placed in the middle of each stage in this mode.
  • The level select screen shows levels in an ascending order, with 1 at the top.
  • Bosses are listed on the level select screen, but the buttons display a lock symbol by default. They can be unlocked once the boss is reached.
  • A check mark is added next to completed levels.
  • The scroll buttons read "MORE".
  • A "BACK" button was added to the level select screen.
• "Read Manual" is a standard option instead of an Easter egg.
  • The manual UI has been altered, with a "<- LAST PAGE" button on the left, "BACK" in the center, and "NEXT PAGE ->" on the right, as opposed to "BACK" on the right and clicking the manual to view the next page.
• The "FLASH 7 OR HIRE REQUIRED" warning was removed.

Enemy Behavior

• The directions of all Poorbts have been reversed. This is not the first time this has happened (see above).
• The time between Protek's lightning bolt shots was extended somewhat.

Specific Levels

• The ground no longer vanishes after dying on levels 1.3 and 2.3 (bosses Tampo and Brody, respectively).
• The text at the beginning of Level 3.1 was changed from "DESTROY RAIN TO GET 20 NUGGETS!" to "PUNCH RAINDROPS TO COLLECT 20 ITEMS!"
• In New Mode, Level 3.2 places Stinkoman closer to the top of the screen, and makes bread more plentiful.
• In Level 4, the lava bubbles more frequently.
• In Level 5.2, there was an area with a capsule and a ladder that could not be reached, forcing the player to go around the more difficult route. The ladder is now lengthened, allowing the player to climb it and skip part of the level — however, an extra life was added to the skippable area, meaning the player could miss it if they choose the easy path.
• In Level 7.1, an extra platform was added to support the checkpoint flag. This platform is present in both game modes, and makes the level easier (as the lower platform leaves the player vulnerable to Ditmars).
• Two graphical changes were made to Level 9 — the only ones in the entire update. It's worth noting that in the trailer, this level had a complete graphical overhaul which is absent in the actual game.
  • Shading was added to the Broodacre.
  • The Semulade now has white pixels at the end of its tail where it's supposed to be transparent.