Content Changes

Revision as of 00:43, 5 May 2009 by gtw>BloodyGTA (Adding another hidden BETA.)

Before the release of any Grand Theft Auto game, there were features that were removed from the final product. These changes range from deleted vehicles and player skins to the removal of entire characters and mission strands.

Grand Theft Auto 2

  • The vehicles in the beta version looked vastly different, and were more detailed. Several cars also never appeared in the final version.[1]

Grand Theft Auto III

File:GTAIII cop cars.jpg
The original GTA III police cars (top), and the police cars from the released game (bottom).

Characters

  • Claude's appearance went through many different designs. Some screenshots show a poorly detailed Claude, who looks completely different from the final version. Other pictures show a more final Claude with different hair and a more "chubbier" appearance.
  • Curtly was removed from the final version.
  • The character of Darkel, a revolutionary domestic terrorist, was cut.
  • Novy was cut as the game's protagonist.

Peds

  • Certain player skins, accessible with cheat codes, were removed.
  • Elderly pedestrians with walkers were removed.
  • Children were cut.

Vehicles

  • The LCPD Police and the Enforcer vehicle liveries were changed from then-current NYPD blue with white stripes to LAPD-style black and white.
  • Army Helicopter was cut.
  • Driveable School Buses were cut.
  • The Dodo's wings were cut down - They probably made this change to fit the vehicle into the Import/Export garage in Portland.
  • The Esperanto (and probably the Idaho too) had hydraulics.
  • There were many vehicles on the Capital Autos website that were changed or did not make it in the final game.[2]
  • The Manana was called Ariant.
  • The Moonbeam was called Aster.
  • The Sentinel was called Beamer.
  • The Infernus was called Dyablo.
  • The Esperanto was called Esparanto.
  • The Idaho was called Hachura.
  • The Patriot was called Hum Vee.
  • A box van similar to the the Mule, called Luton was cut.
  • The Perennial was called Maurice.
  • The Panto was cut.
  • The Cheetah was called Rocket.
  • The Kuruma was called Sentinal.
  • The Stinger was called Shark.
  • The Blista was called Space.
  • An unknown vehicle that appears in green on a picture was cut from the game.

Missions

  • Some, but not all, of Darkel's missions were subsequently given to other characters.
  • A mission that involved flying the Dodo was cut.
  • Originally, when doing Vigilante, Paramedic, or Firefighter missions, the vehicles radio could go out of range - requiring the player to drive closer to the nearest police station/hospital/fire station.

City

  • The Old School Hall changed appearance. It previously looked newer and lit up.
  • Punk Noodles was originally replaced with a small grass park with two statues. The statue model still exists in the game's files.

Others

  • The giant airplane landing at Francis International Airport was destroyable with a Rocket Launcher.
  • The ability to blow limbs off of non-playable characters was cut, but only from the PS2 version of the game.[[1]]
  • Online multiplayer was cut.
  • Originally, police officers and gang members would crouch. Probably, the protagonist could do the same.
  • The graphics were originally cartoonish.[[2]]
  • A very early HUD was very different.
  • The radar was light blue instead of yellow.
  • One of the missions was marked with a head on the radar.[3]
  • The ability to name the character, much like in Grand Theft Auto, was cut. An unused line of text reads "[DEFNAM] Claude----------------------" - interestingly, this confirms that the protagonist’s name is Claude.
  • Unused lines of text within the game's text files contain phrases, such as "You're perfectly healthy, get out of here!" and "I'll just fix you up". These lines of text seem to imply that the game's hospitals were, originally, accessible/useable.
  • The "Busted!" text and target arrows were originally red instead of blue.
  • Grand Theft Auto III was originally going to be released for GameCube.

Some of these changes are thought to have been as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, although others were made well before that time.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Characters

Vehicles

  • The Blista Compact originally looked almost identical to the Honda CRX, it even featured the letters 'GPX' on the back. [6]
  • The Infernus had thin rectangles for its headlights and taillights. [7]
  • The Moonbeam was originally, implied, to have sliding rear doors. [8]
  • The police cars were originally white with red and blue stripes, similiar to early Miami police cars. [9]
  • The Sentinel originally had different rear styling. [10]
  • The Virgo originally had a different look. Its beta model is still inside Vice City's files, named "Cougar", implying that the beta Virgo was named the Cougar. [11][12]
  • The Washington originally had different frontal styling. [13]

Missions

  • Pastor Richards would originally give Tommy a mission but when the voice actor for Pastor Richards died they took out the mission.
  • It is believed by some fans that trash collecting missions based on the Paramedic missions were in the beta.

City

  • Fort Baxter Air Base originally included an air traffic control tower and a runway. The runway is totally absent, but the tower can still be seen in the distance from Vice Beach.
  • There was no stadium in the beta.
  • The northeast part of the beach didn't exist in the beta.
  • Some roads didn't exist in the beta version.
  • There were bus shelters around the city. The bus shelter model, bustopm.dff, is still inside Vice City's file. [14][15]

Weapons

  • Grenade Launcher weapons were cut.
  • The beta MP5 looked shorter and very different.
  • The PSG-1 didn't have a silencer in the beta.
  • It is believed by some fans that there was a Tazer, a Nailgun and Landmines in the beta version.

Others

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Characters

  • Characters including Officer Carver, Larry and Poncho were removed.
  • Both Sweet and Big Smoke originally looked different. Sweet was originally dressed in black and wore a black beanie. Big Smoke wore a white jersey and did not wear a hat, exposing his shaved head.
  • Gang members looked different and wore different clothing.

Vehicles

Missions

City

  • Originally, if Carl Johnson killed a pedestrian, a news van would arrive and the crew would report on the event.
  • If Carl crashed into a lamp post a mechanic would arrive to fix it. If the player killed the mechanic the lamp post would remain broken for a time, even if the player left the immediate area.
  • The Mulholland Safehouse seemed to have a full interior that can be seen from the outside.[22]
  • Donut shops such as Rusty Brown's Ring Donuts were places Carl Johnson could eat.

Weapons

Others

  • Animals that would roam the rural areas were cut.
  • The ability to create and run your own casino was taken out of the alpha version.
  • Carwashes, similar to those in GTA IV, were cut.
  • The ability to ride the Trollies in San Fierro was cut.
  • The ability to smoke weed and drink beer was cut from the alpha version.
  • The mobster who Carl kills in Saint Mark's was originally going to be called Marco Forelli but due to deleted audio, his name was never mentioned in the final version.
  • The Grove Street Families were originally going to be called The Orange Grove Families.
  • Homies would walk into accessible places like safehouses, stores, etc.
  • Pool tables were originally going to be colored green instead of blue.

Grand Theft Auto Advance

  • The Barrel was cut in the alpha version.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

File:AvengerLCS.jpg
The orange Landstalker behind Toni's Avenger

Characters

Vehicles

  • The police cars were originally blue before being changed to the same black-and-white design seen in GTA III.
  • There was a golden PCJ-600 that was cut.
  • There was an orange Landstalker that was removed.
  • There was a blue Perennial in the BETA.

Others

  • The Liberty News cutscenes were cut.
  • Toni's casual clothes were a purple shirt with a green vest.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Characters

Vehicles

Mission

  • According to screenshots, there was going to be a mission where Bryan and Vic were attacked by the Mendez Cartel.
  • In the mission, Last Stand, there was an additional man that Vic had to kill other than Martinez and Diego Mendez. It is widely believed that the 3rd man is Armando Mendez.

Others

  • The Casual clothes were originally yellow.
  • The Control Tower in Fort Baxter Air Base was cut again. As in Vice City, it can be seen from Vice Beach.
  • Tattoo Parlors, similar of those in San Andreas, were cut.
  • The Army Fatigues originally had USMC on the shirt, suggesting that Vic would join the Marines instead of the army.
  • The Fort Baxter Air Base said "Sempter F1" on one of the building.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Vehicles

  • Players were originally able to use buses as a form of public transportation, much like taxis.
  • The Coach was cut from the final version, although it can be seen briefly in the commercial for Higgins Helitours.
  • Taxis were going to be black, as seen in Vlad's video.
  • The Enforcer was originally a Boxville.
  • The Merit had a different grill.
  • The Annihilator was missing its yellow stripe.
  • The Helitours Maverick was originally replaced by normal Mavericks.

Peds

  • There were originaly women police officers.

Characters

Clothing

  • Niko would originally wear fingerless gloves.
  • Binco was going to be the first clothing store.

Weapons

Others

  • Niko originally had a buzz cut.
  • Pedestrians would carry planks.
  • There was once a ferry at the Ferry Terminal.
  • According to previews, Niko could climb telephone poles.
  • Niko would have been able to get limo rides just like taxi rides. The player would also be able to watch TV in the limo.
  • Niko would originally bring prostitutes to his home.

The Lost and Damned

  • The Tampa was originally supposed to spawn around Liberty City. Now, it is limited to the beginning cutscene.
  • Content from the mission Politics was cut.
  • A Game Informer preview states Johnny could originally change outfits.
  • According to previews, Johnny had the access to date girlfriends.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

  • According to rumors, a tank that could drive through water called the "Sea Dragon" was going to be included in the game.

References

  1. GTA 2 Beta Vehicles
  2. Capital Autos
  3. Beta Radar Icon
  4. text\american.gxt>MAIN>MOB13_B>Mr. Moffat? How's family life?
  5. Tommy Vercetti
  6. Blista Compact
  7. Infernus
  8. Moonbeam
  9. Police Car
  10. Sentinel
  11. Virgo
  12. models\gta3.img>cougar.dff
  13. Washington
  14. Bus Shelter
  15. Bus Shelter Mod
  16. text\american.gxt>MAIN>MOB54_A-MOB59_F
  17. text\american.gxt>MAIN>TYRESLA>Tires slashed with a blade
  18. Bullet
  19. Clover
  20. Savanna
  21. text\american.gxt>CASIN10>CAS11BA>This is private flight CJ101 on approach to Liberty, over.
  22. Mulholland Safehouse