No, we’re not dead. Due to some lovely catastrophic disk failure our work has been slowed down, but we’re still moving forward. Here’s what’s coming up shortly:
- Ecco II Prototype 0429 (April 29, 1994), complete with a ROM and full documentation, same as we gave build X11
- Ecco I Revision 01, with ROM and documentation– this improved version of Ecco I from Novotrade improves on Ecco I’s US/EU release but predates the Japanese release. It’s in English and so far as we know, was never released in Genesis cartridge format. It was also the basis for various ports/emulated versions of Ecco I for more modern consoles.
- The new and improved Ecco Remixes section, with all the old content and some exclusive new additions from some very talented artists including RushJet1, Illusen and more.
- Ecco Dreamcast Prototypes and LOADS of prototype development material from Appaloosa — We’re still building up funds to release these, so any donations will help speed that process up.
Stay tuned, DARK SEA is going big places. 
We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks to your donations we’ve been able to snag one Ecco: Defender of the Future prototype, which we’re now working on ripping and posting for you all to enjoy. However, some much bigger news has surfaced.
We now have within our grasp SEVERAL Ecco Dreamcast prototypes, which may even include the unreleased title Ecco II: Sentinels of the Universe. These are stored on official development GD-Rs from Appaloosa’s former development location in Hungary. However, in order to get these, we will need donations. Due to my current investment in a car and apartment, I can only donate about $100 to the endeavor at this time, and to purchase them we will most likely need $500-$1000 USD.
Every little bit counts in making sure these artifacts of Ecco history aren’t lost to time. With your help we can immortalize these prototypes on Dark Sea and Hidden Palace for all to enjoy.
If you’d like to make a donation, please send to thedrx@gmail.com (via Paypal) and note the Ecco DC prototypes in the Subject/Message of your donation.
Thanks very much to the Ecco community and their generosity!
More updates to come shortly as I transition to some non-cell phone-based internet service.
Epicenter out.
I’ve been quiet for a while and there’s good reason– I’m in the middle of moving from Japan to New Jersey. I should be situated within a month or two, and then we can see some real progress. Right now my main computers are packed up and en route to my new home, so my capabilities are limited.
Here’s what’s planned once I’m no longer in limbo:
- Ecco II prototype build “0429″– documentation and ROM release, in partnership with Hidden Palace. Our coverage of this build is about 70% complete already; thanks especially to help from Tails151 and Moduvator.
This is a damned interesting build and I think you’ll all get a kick out of it. I know I am.
- Revamping the Ecco remixes and arrangements music section, to include all the old tracks and some interesting new ones from some very creative artists.
- I’ll be adding the videos section and promotional videos as flash-based FLV, so they can be viewed directly on the site and not just downloaded.
- Music section will support playing tracks directly from the site (streaming-based) so there’s no need to download. You’ll still be able to snag the tracks in MP3 and FLAC for your own personal use.
- Renovation of the Ecco 2 “playable preview” prototype build section. This’ll include comparisons of stages in that build to Ecco 1 for Sega/Mega CD, and later builds (X11, 0429, etc.)
- Documentation and ROM release, in partnership with Hidden Palace, of the Ecco I “Revision 01″, an official english-language enhancement of Ecco I for Genesis/MegaDrive by Novotrade, which sits between the US Rev00 and Japanese version. Never before seen and quite interesting.
- And much more– stay tuned. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions or ideas. Epicenter out.
We’re currently hard at work on documentation of the next known Ecco II prototype, dated April 29, 1994, at which point there will be another joint release in partnership with Hidden Palace. In the meantime I have some surprises that I will continue to bring the Ecco crowd.
After some friendly correspondance from Hauke (formerly PsySonic) of Caverns of Hope, I’ve launched the beginnings of ECCO Portal– DARK SEA’s index of Ecco related resources on the Internet. Included are links to CoH, The Atlantis, and Ultimate Arkonviox.com. I expect this list to grow substantially in the near future, and currently have about 100 items to add to it. The goal, for anyone who hasn’t heard it yet, is an index of all Ecco-related resources on the internet, however big or small– as well as information on how to contact major players in the Ecco community. Feel free to leave any links/contact info you desire in the comments section of that page. Henceforth it is available under the left sidebar, in the “Interactive” section.
That’s it for this weekend; expect more from me this week! Epicenter out.
Sorry for the delay; it’s been a busy week. Today I’m bringing you guys Claire Turner’s amazing Split the Stream of Time arrangement album of nearly every song in Ecco I/II using modern-day synthesizers. It sounds absolutely remarkable and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Also new is an Interview with David Brin from J.C Denton! It’s right over here.
Stay tuned for more updates in the next couple days!
It’s taken much blood, sweat and beer, but the godawful Game Gear version of Ecco II is finally documented. This 4-page behemoth contains screenshots of the entirety of the game’s stages, comparison to prototype Genesis/MD version, never-before seen easter eggs, and will save you the trouble of playing the actual game. It’s right over here.
Tomorrow, expect another update featuring some amazing new Ecco arrangements and more! And now I must go pass out. Catch you on the flip side. I think that means tomorrow.
This is the first new post to DARK SEA with the live newpost system. Now, adding news to this page is an automated process and can be performed by myself, or by other major contributors to the site. Note the icon to the left as well as the signature to see who is making what updates. In addition, now you can leave comments on news posts! Click the title of the post (above) and then contribute whatever you like.
Coming this weekend– a full run-through/review of Ecco 2 for Game Gear and some more updates to round out the new site design. Hope you like.
- Epicenter
DARK SEA Administrator