🧭 SECRET AREA: DEVELOPER TEST AREA

 

Although the Developer Test Area was not intended to be accessed during normal gameplay, an unpatched buffer overflow error allows players to access this area in the Version 1.0 release. Simply cast Song & Dance at the Mulch Enclosure and make as many inputs as you can. If you can register at least 101 single-button inputs in under 60 seconds without any multipressing, the Mulch Enclosure will immediately unload from memory and get replaced by the Developer Test Area.

Used to fine-tune Arborism mechanics during the final stages of beta testing, the Developer Test Area provides unlimited stacks of MULCH and LOOSE WOOD. While clearly unbalanced and not Intended Play, accessing the Developer Test Area is nevertheless a valid glitch to use in Version 1.0 Speedrunning, and is an invaluable element for Arborist Runners in that category.

Traveling to the Developer Test Area is a one-way trip. To return to a valid map location, you will need to have discovered an appropriate Song & Dance recipe (list on p. 91). Do not visit the Developer Test Area before doing so, or you will soft lock your run.

A buffer overflow exploit relies on putting more data into a memory address than has been reserved for that input. In this case, Song & Dance can only accept 100 inputs, resetting every 60 seconds. When the 101st input is entered, the data representing that input is written into a neighboring memory address that controls loading and unloading the current area. Such an input is recognized as illegal, and that memory adress is automatically reset to all zeroes to avoid crashing the game. This aborts the area reload in almost all map locations. However, at the Mulch Enclosure, the mulch pile is a terrain asset, and when it is loaded in memory, setting the address to zero takes players to the Developer Test Area, which received the designation of being "area zero" at the start of development.