Fortnite (partially found unreleased/lost builds of the massively multiplayer online game; 2011-present)

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This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of organization and potential for expansion and clarity..


Fortnite2012.jpg

Image of Fortnite from 2012-2013.

Status: Partially Found

Anyone who wants to provide information or anything related to this or just to see the discoveries faster, can join our public Discord server dedicated to the search for the Online Tests: https://discord.gg/wpYPdK2AFj

Fortnite is an online video game developed by Epic Games created with the purpose of being a cooperative hybrid-third-person looter shooter tower defense sandbox survival video game (Now called "Fortnite: Save the World") and then in 2017 releasing and beeing now too a free mode of the game itself called "Fortnite: Battle Royale" being a cooperative survival game with the construction elements from the original mode. being thanks to this last mode that the game obtained great popularity and public awareness of the existence of the game.

The game has been in development since 2011, being the reason for its creation for a private Epic Games gamejam, and as the game has gone through several stages and with more than a decade of existence, unfortunately, many versions have been lost from the different stages that it has had the game.

The stages of the game are as follows:

[Pre Alpha] 2011-2012 | Project Fortress era:

Project Fortress menu.

In 2022, a build of the game from 2012 was found under the name of "Project Fortress." The build is from the first concept of the game that never became public[1], the build was created in Unreal Engine 3 and is not public (An anonymous user provided us with information and media of this build, so technically this version is still lost and the user will probably never release the build sadly).

You can see two gameplays of this build here and here.

Here is some information about this version of the game:

Limbo:

The design document states that periodically, non-player-created buildings in the world would be enveloped in a mist creature storm. When this happens, all players in the building are killed, and when the storm finally passes, the building will be replaced with a brand new building (thus keeping a steady stream of new loot opportunities introduced into the map)

The Limbo: In this build, Limbo's home to the mist creatures. Players could enter under certain conditions. Rare minable resources are found everywhere, and a giant center obelisk fuels the gate to Earth. Closing the gate is the endgame.
Stronghold: These great structures were called Strongholds. Strongholds were massive mist monster fortresses that represented one of the major challenges for players to work towards conquering. Players who managed to retake all 3 Strongholds in the game world would "beat" the game.

However, if the players place their power generator in the building before it's consumed by the storm, then all the players inside the building instead get transported to Limbo, the mist creature's home world.

Because it's nighttime when this happens, Limbo is mostly empty of monster creatures so that the players can explore and mine unique resources from Limbo. There is a giant obelisk at the center of Limbo which is the gateway between their world and our world. The player's ultimate goal in the game is to destroy or "plug up" the obelisk.

Players are eventually pulled out of Limbo and kicked back into the real world. If they happen to be inside another "sucked into Limbo" human building, then they ride that building back into the real world and end up in a completely different map in the human world. In this way, Limbo serves as a sort of hub allowing players to transfer between different human world maps.

Fortnight logo.

The original name of the game:

In the "Project Fortress" build of the anonymous user an early version of the Fortnite VGA trailer from 2011 was found. You can watch the video of the early version of the trailer here.

At the end of this version of the trailer, instead of "Fortnite" appearing, "Fortnight" appears, which was probably the original name of the game, now a curious fact if you search for "fortnight.com" it will redirect you to "fortnite.com".

Project Fortress EXE icon.

The music in the "Project Fortress" era:

The tracks used in the "Project Fortress" build of the anonymous user have been found, they are the following:

  • Breathing Trouble
  • Death by Drowning
  • Descent
  • Eon
  • Gas
  • Low Flow
  • Luma
  • New Combat ("Or" in Spotify)
  • Torul
  • Unlighted

All the tracks have been compiled into this Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5hq37IvKnK5hA57KVj5jzt?si=e84c47abbfa5459f

Project Fortress era builds:

Project Fortress versions (Not real build names) Differences Engine version Build date

(yyyy/mm/dd)

Platforms on which it was available Status
"Internal gamejam"[2] The first Fortnite build of all, there is not much information other than the first two Fortnite screenshots of the entire story (sec. 2:32[3]). Unknown

(UE3)

2011 Windows Lost
"Billy Bramer build 1"[4] This build presented at the 2013 GDC has the minimap already showing the roads and has an extra object whose functionality is unknown (a teddy bear), plus some icons are different, in addition, the construction system is different. Unknown

(UE3)

Unknown Windows Lost
"Billy Bramer build 2"[5] In this build the inventory bar was introduced. Unknown

(UE3)

Unknown Windows Lost
"Billy Bramer build 3"[6] In this build you can see that the minimap is not finished, and the icons of the structures to build are different. Unknown

(UE3)

Unknown Windows Lost
"Anonymous user"[7] We got to know much more about this era of the game thanks to this build, apparently this build has several things that were not yet finished, such as the minimap, in addition, the font of the letters is different from the other builds. 3.9.8-1298812

(UE3)

2012-06-03 (Probably) Windows Lost
"Early Prototype Trailer"[8] This build is probably the most finished of all of the PF era, we think so since the bars in the upper right corner do work (the health bar of the generator seems to work in this build). Unknown

(UE3)

2012 Windows Lost
"Anonymous user 2"[9] This build is just a test using the UE4 engine in the game and has less stuff than previous versions, it's just a port to test the UE4. Unknown

(UE4)

2012 Windows Lost

Due to the paucity of information on this era, this is the best we could do to try to figure out which build was before or after another.


[Pre Alpha] 2013-2014 | Closed Tests era:

Ticket delivered at a conference to test a Closed Test for a few hours.

Not much is known about the Closed Tests era, it is only known that it was a transition stage between the original concept of the game (Project Fortress) to what Save the World was in the Online Tests, in addition to having some closed tests at certain conferences or private events called "Storm Chasers", the guests were able to try for a few hours some demo versions so to speak, those who were able to try were also able to take screenshots and some have been revealed over the years.

Closed Tests era builds:

Version name Engine version Build date

(yyyy/mm/dd)

Platforms on which it was available Status
Ver-1858850-1185495905d443c6a876d08798ba2cf9-fsfoec[10] Unknown

(UE4)

2013-??-?? Windows Lost
Ver-1880695-1185495905d443c6a876d08798ba2cf9-fsfoec[11] Unknown

(UE4)

2013-??-?? Windows Lost
"Storm Chasers event"[12] Unknown

(UE4)

2014-??-?? Windows Lost


[Alpha] 2014-2017 | Online Tests era:

Fortnite Alpha splash (Found in Online Test 6.5).

The Online Test versions are the earliest publicly released builds of Fortnite. In order to participate in one, you had to receive an invitation or redeem a code, however either way they were completely free.

The players who participated in these versions received exclusive banners within the game. In addition, many players have confirmed that they had direct contact with the developers to give them feedback.

Fortnite inventory (Online Test 6.5).
The PvP Tests image (AKA Weather The Storm).

The original Fortnite PvP mode:

In these versions (Online Tests) there was no "Battle Royale" mode, so everything was about the original game mode, which was later renamed to "Save the World." In these versions, a PvP mode was being developed, and some tests were done with players[13][14], the name of this mode is "Weather The Storm".

Currently, only OT6.5 has been fully found[15], along with a portion of OT10, included in the files for OT6.5.

The difficulty of finding an Online Test:

The vast majority of users who played in the Online Tests have not saved images, videos or files of the versions, making it very difficult to find someone that still has Online Test files. People have tried to contact users with the role "Alpha Explorers" on the official Fortnite Discord server, but all those contacted have already said that they no longer have any files of any Online Test.

There is little knowledge of these versions and little information on the internet, as players were required to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) to participate in the Online Tests.

To find an Online Test the best way to do it would be to spread the word that these versions are lost, so we will attract more people interested in contributing to the search or find some old alpha player who has not been contacted yet.

Online Tests era builds:

Version name Important changes Engine version Build release date

(yyyy/mm/dd)

Build end date

(yyyy/mm/dd)

Platforms on which it was available Status
Online Test 1[16] Beginning of the era of Online Tests. Unknown

(UE4)

2014-12-02 2014-12-19[17] Windows Lost
Online Test 2[18] Supply Drop (the first gadget) and the dance function were added. 4.7.0-2479600

(UE4)

2015-03-24 2015-04-14[19] Windows Lost
Online Test 3[20] Was added the feature to invite a friend to your game, the world map, being able to select the hero you want to use in the mission lobby, the daily reward system, the personality and bonus of survivors and several new weapons. 4.8.0-2604755

(UE4)

2015-06-29 2015-07-21[21] Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 4[22] Launch the rocket and Retrieve the data missions, Encampments Anomaly and Siphon, BluGlo, more privacy settings, more new hero models (Jess and Kyle), F.O.R.T. stats and more gadgets were added. 4.9.0-2671876

(UE4)

2015-08-24 Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 5[23] Power the reactor (Refuel the homebase) mission, new HUD, llamas, v-bucks, new hero model (Ramirez), the shield function, patrols and gnomes were added.

The first PvP test was made.

4.9.0-2682676

(UE4)

2015-09-29 2015-11-10 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 5.5[24] Health trap and instructions on loading screen were added.

The second PvP test was made.

4.9.0-2760281

(UE4)

2015-11-10 Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 6[25] Outposts (Storm Shields), new tutorial, over 50 buildings/landscapes, new art for survivors and Bull Rush, T.E.D.D.Y., Phase Shift, Shockwave and Goin’ Commando abilities were added. 4.11.0-2801990

(UE4)

2015-12-09 2016-12-15 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 6.1[26] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2016-12-15 2016-12-15 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 6.2[27] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2016-12-15 2016-01-26 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 6.5[28] Added Deliver the goods mission and a new hero model (Penny). 4.12.0-2870186

(UE4)

2016-01-26 2016-03-01 Windows and Mac Found (Windows)
Online Test 6.6[29] Upgrades to Power the reactor mission and visual effects for elemental ranged weapons were added. 4.12.0-2898795

(UE4)

2016-03-01 2016-03-22 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 6.7[30] When you die your items no longer drop to the ground, new hero model (A.C.), grass and legal screen in options menu were added. 4.12.0-2919741

(UE4)

2016-03-22 Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 7[31] New hero model (Sarah), survivors on missions, survivors squads, hero perks, Launch the balloon mission, and new melee weapons were added and changed the name of the mission "Close the gate" to "Fight the storm". 4.12.0-3012530

(UE4)

2016-06-14 Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 8[32] Defenders, wind and cinematic introductions for enemies were added and all hero cards now have a unique appearance. 4.13.0-3062755

(UE4)

2016-07-25 2016-09-06 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 8.1[33] Upgrades to the husk texture and new explosion VFX were added. 4.13.0-3114236

(UE4)

2016-09-06 2016-09-28 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 8.2[34] Destroy the encampments and Rescue the survivors missions and new character (Lars) were added and changed the name of the mission "Launch the balloon" to "Ride the lightning". 4.13.0-3151232

(UE4)

2016-09-28 Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 9[35] Night of the Jack-O-Launcher event, Spooky Scary Sad Llama, new heroes for the event, Jack-o-launcher and Grave digger weapons, head with pumpkin in husks and new survivors for the event were added. 4.13.0-3169630

(UE4)

2016-10-19 2016-11-08[36] Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 10[37] Unknown, release notes are lost. 4.14.0-3234896

(UE4)

2016-12-22 2017-02-09

(Probably)

Windows and Mac Partially found (Windows)
Online Test 10.1[38] Unknown, release notes are lost. 4.14.0-3240987

(UE4)

2017-02-09

(Probably)

Unknown Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 11[39] Changed the entire UI of the game and Collection book, Expeditions, Repair the shelter and Evacuate the shelter missions and Decoy, War Cry and Crescent Kick abilities were added, and was replaced the "Deliver the goods" for "Deliver the bomb" mission. 4.16.0-3472679

(UE4)

2017-05-24 2017-06-02 Windows and Mac Lost
Online Test 11.0.3.1[40] Bug fixes. 4.16.0-3481499

(UE4)

2017-06-02 2017-06-22 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Probably found (Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One)
Online Test 11.0.5[41] Unknown, release notes are lost. 4.16.0-3484806

(UE4)

2017-06-22 2017-07-07 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
Online Test 11.1.0[42] Unknown, release notes are lost. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-07-07 2017-07-15 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost

In case you want to see the websites of the alpha era of the game but since the Wayback Machine takes a long time to load them, you can see them in this Google Drive that includes the release notes of the Online Tests and important websites, including the Online Test 11 release notes! (these were not saved in the Wayback Machine but we were able to recreate the release notes!):

Fortnite Alpha Websites

The Online Test 11.0.3.1:

Some time ago we found files related to the Online Tests era of the game on the physical discs sold in 2017 (Mostly they are from Ps4 and Xbox One but there are some from Windows), we managed to obtain the discs from the three mentioned platforms but we did not we know which version they are (we only know that they are the same version on all three platforms) and since the creation date of the files is "06/07/2017" (dd/mm/yyyy) we assume that they are from the Online Test 11.0.3.1 and the fact that the duration of this Online Test was from 02/06/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) to 22/06/2017 (dd/mm/yyyy) we have put the version as "Probably found" since we are not 100% sure, also that the files are compressed and we have not been able to decompress them all.

Official Fortnite Online Tests streams:

The official Fortnite Twitch account streamed Online Tests 2-10, you can watch the streams with these links:

[Early Access] 2017 | Post Release era:

This era is somewhat short and mostly with bug fixes from the game, the duration time is short since the "Battle Royale" games began to become popular and that later made the game have its own mode and that it is free-to-play.

Post Release era builds:

Version name Important changes Engine version Build release date

(yyyy/mm/dd)

Platforms on which it was available Status
1.3.0 No patch notes for this build exist but it is probable that they existed in the forums, since the previous version is 1.2 it is impossible that they would have skipped a number. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-07-25 (Probably) Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Existence Unconfirmed
1.4.0[43] New HUD visibility settings, Storm Shield permissions are now in the main menu and bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-03 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.1[44] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-08 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.2[45] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-10 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.3[46] Added the option to toggle Hero accessories on Xbox One and PS4 and bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-11 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.4[47] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-12 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.5[48] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-14 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.6[49] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-16 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.7[50] Changes in the balance of some things in the game and bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-17 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.8[51] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-23 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.4.9[52] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-25 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.5.0[53] Survive the storm mode, mutant storms and new weapons and heroes and defenders were added, and some bug fixes too. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-08-28 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.5.3[54] Bug fixes. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-09-01 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost
1.5.4[55] Bug fixes, but the weight of the update was a bit big and it is the version before 1.6 that is the one that released the Battle Royale mode so this version contains an early version of the Battle Royale island. Unknown

(UE4)

2017-09-17 Windows, Mac, Ps4 and Xbox One Lost


[Early Access] 2017-2019 | Post Battle Royale era:

Coming soon.

Videos:

Fortnite Welcome to Online Test 2!

Fortnite Early Prototype Trailer (2011).

Fortnite Interview - Gamescom 2014.

Fortnite - Preview from GameSpot.


References:

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GSfjeYVpkQ
  2. ↑ https://youtu.be/x2rS_ltmJ0Q?t=1102
  3. ↑ https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024936/Developing-the-Art-of-Fortnite
  4. ↑ https://youtu.be/tnORBw4WiSs?t=119
  5. ↑ https://youtu.be/x2rS_ltmJ0Q?t=1528
  6. ↑ https://youtu.be/x2rS_ltmJ0Q?t=1554
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPB-41-ceWY
  8. ↑ https://youtu.be/4d84PFrjq9s?t=106
  9. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/982589500909817897/989913870355284028/FV_kktFXoAAE_w_.jpg
  10. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/982589500909817897/982791283590451201/unknown.png
  11. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/982589500909817897/1004556503300194315/3.png
  12. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/4s1kTIH
  13. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20160402082202/https://www.fortnite.com/blog/first-pvp-test
  14. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20160402032525/https://www.fortnite.com/blog/pvp-test-two
  15. ↑ https://github.com/notsamicc/Fortnite-Builds
  16. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/alpha-is-here
  17. ↑ https://polygon.com/2014/12/1/7316937/fortnite-alpha-sign-ups-epic-games
  18. ↑ https://youtu.be/IbVprGIfMO0&t
  19. ↑ https://reddit.com/r/FORTnITE/comments/2zhnme/fortnite_alpha_online_test_2_giveaway/
  20. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013054339/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot3-release-notes
  21. ↑ https://reddit.com/r/FORTnITE/comments/3bin63/fortnite_alpha_online_test_3_giveaway/
  22. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072948/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot4-release-notes
  23. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013051645/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot5-release-notes
  24. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/ot55-release-notes
  25. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072932/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot6-release-notes
  26. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/VGWiIK2
  27. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/NyfQdUy
  28. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170606013540/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot65-release-notes
  29. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013015856/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot66-release-notes
  30. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013012704/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot67-release-notes
  31. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013072941/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot7-release-notes
  32. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161013133127/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot8-release-notes
  33. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161011204754/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot81-release-notes
  34. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20161011224957/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot82-release-notes
  35. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170115230705/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot9-release-notes
  36. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170115230705/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/blog/fortnite-ot9-release-notes
  37. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170128213638/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
  38. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170209023107/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
  39. ↑ http://web-old.archive.org/web/20170524052603/https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/
  40. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/7nHoy3U
  41. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/bf21VoO
  42. ↑ https://imgur.com/a/77WIzjY
  43. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4
  44. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-1
  45. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-2
  46. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-3
  47. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-4
  48. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-5
  49. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-6
  50. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-7
  51. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-8
  52. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/ea-patch-notes-1-4-9
  53. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/survive-the-storm---release-notes
  54. ↑ https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/v-1-5-3-patch-notes
  55. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/FORTnITE/comments/6yos54/v154_patch_notes/
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