Olbap

Olbaps were animals kept as pets by Space Pirates along with Gronkats. All specimens within the Phazon Mines were force-terminated after they suffered negative effects from Phazon Fever. Since these creatures have not been directly encountered by Samus Aran, there is no further canonical information known about the species; however, a substantial amount of unused content indicates that they were intended for use as enemies until they were cut from the game.
==Central Dynamo Scan==
"The keeping of pets has been suspended until further notice. Domestic beasts have been deemed highly susceptible to Phazon madness, and are thereby a hazard to personnel. All Gronkats and Olbaps must be disposed of immediately. Failure to comply will result in the loss of pay for a cycle and reduced rations."
==Development notes==
Originally going by the name "Sova", Olbaps were some of the earliest designs seen in Metroid Prime's development, with concept artwork of the creatures being shown before any gameplay footage of Prime was released.Behind the Visor - IGN A scannable Sova corpse was present in Biohazard Containment in demo versions of Prime, confirming that the creatures were fully modeled. Also present in the demo's files are a set of sound effects, which can be heard here, and gameplay code for the Sova enemy type, apparently derived from the same "WallCrawlerSwarm" behavior used by Parasites and Scarabs. Like many other enemies in Prime, these creatures were later renamed to differentiate them from the enemies seen in the 2D Metroid games.
In the final game, most of the data related to Olbaps was removed; however, a few scraps still remain. The scan image used in the demo survived into the final game's concept art, along with a few other Olbap scan images not seen in the demo. 4 of the 17 sound effects from the demo are also still present in the game's data. Most notably, models of exploded Olbap chunks are among the files for the Chozo Ruins, and are loaded (but never spawned) in the room Dynamo. Despite these traces, no evidence of Olbaps is seen in-game, excluding their brief mention in scan data.
The concept art in the infobox at the top of this article was leaked to IGN by one or more anonymous Retro Studios developers.IGN Staff. Behind the Visor. IGN. August 15, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2024. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/15/behind-the-visor
The release of Metroid Prime Remastered contained several unused scans in its data, which indicate that Olbaps were meant to be encountered as an enemy in Magmoor Caverns, with behavior similar to the Pillbugs encountered in Echoes. Filename hashes associated with these scans match up directly with files from early demos of Prime, confirming that Olbap was in fact the final name for the Sova enemy type.
===Unused scans===
==Trivia==
* Unspecified Pirate pets were referenced in Another Side Story, possibly referring to Olbaps.
* The name of this creature, if spelled backwards, is "Pablo."
==Gallery==
Metroidscans 103102 25-461831.jpg|"Sova" scan in demo version of Metroid Prime
BetaSova3.jpg|Front view
SovaTexture1.png|Olbap texture from Metroid Prime
SovaTexture2.png|Second texture
File:Sova MP1 model.PNG|Model
UnusedSovaScans.png|Unused scan images seen in concept art
IGN Unplugged Issue 15 2002-08 IGN.com US 0007.jpg|IGN Unplugged issue #15, which includes information about the Sova in Prime
==References==
Category:Tallon IV
Category:Species
Category:Magmoor Caverns
Category:Unused Bosses and Species
Category:Pets