Grand Theft Auto III Pre-Release Discussion

[GTAKid667]

Grand Theft Auto III Pre-Release Discussion
Updates Coming Soon™!

 

Welcome to the Grand Theft Auto Pre-Release Discussion Topic, the place to discuss content that was speculated to be in Grand Theft Auto III prior to it's release in October 2001. The aim of this topic is to keep all Pre-Release Discussion in one place rather than creating a topic each time you find out something new, or wish to discuss about the pre-release version of Grand Theft Auto III. Within the first set of posts I will contain buckets full of information about the pre-release stages of the game, as well as posting almost every image and video related to the pre-release stages of the game. This way you can easily gain access to a wide range of Pre-Release Material, and can easily source images to back up points you may wish to discuss.

Information
Characters and Pedestrians

• Claude's appearance went through many different designs, as evident by the Pre-Release Images.
• A character named 'Curtly' was cut
• A character named 'Darkel', a terrorist, was cut.
• A character named 'Butler' was cut.
• A character named 'Little T' was cut.
• A character named 'Nick Love' was cut
• A character sharing the name of German DJ and Producer Tom Novy was meant to make an appearance in the game.
• 8-Ball's concept name was Mullan.
• Many characters had a different look in Pre-Release Images.
• Salvatore and Joey Leone's concept surname was Sorvino.
• Asuka Kasen's original name was Kemuri Kassen.
• Toni Cipriani originally wore a brown sweater.
• Catalina originally wore a skirt and leggings.
• Misty originally wore a black miniskirt, red bra and a white jacket with gold high heels.
• Buskers were meant to appear in the game, and they still remain in the game files
• Police officers originally had mustaches.
• Originally the Triads had black outfits and tattoos.
• Fire Fighters originally had yellow uniforms as seen in the earlier screenshots.
• The FBI had a different uniform.

Missions

• 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.
• In "Grand Theft Auto," two additional vehicles were planned to be stolen: the Landstalker and Banshee.

Removed 'Busy Contact' Messages

• Luigi's missions: Luigi's interviewing some new girls - Come back later!
• Joey's missions: Joey's out on the town with Misty -Drop by later!
• Toni's missions: Toni's taken his Momma to the opera -Call in some other time!
• Asuka's missions: Maria and Kemuri are all tied up at the moment - Drop by later!
• Kenji's missions: Kenji is attending a Yakuza meeting - Call by some other time!; Kenji is busy! - Call by later!
• Ray's missions: Ray has other toilets to hang around - Try again later!
• Donald's missions: Donald Love has other business to attend to - Make an appointment later!
• D-Ice's missions: The Hoods are unavailable at the moment

City

• The Old School Hall changed appearance. It previously looked newer and lit up.
• Punk Noodles was originally just with a small grass park with two statues. The statue model still exists in the game's files.
• The Callahan Bridge was originally named West Port Bridge, as referenced by a road sign in Portland.
• In a concept drawing of the city, the airport was once in Staunton Island and there are many roads in Shoreside Vale. The Callahan Bridge was also absent.
• The Subway and El Train stations previously had names.
• 8-Ball's Garage was supposedly be in the area names on the screen.
• Hepburn Heights apartments were surrounded by metal fencing.

• The trees in Hepburn Heights were absent.
• The Hope Medical College had the same size and width as the Sweeney General Hospital.
• The Center of the Liberty City Community College campus building had a different look.
• The Cochrane Dam was originally smaller.

Removed Area Names

• The Tower
• The Sewer
• Swanksville
• Luigi's Place
• Little Italy
• Industrial Park
• Projects
• Westport
• Westport Bridge
• Waterfront Promenade
• Porter Tunnel

Removed Subway Stations names

• Portland Station
• Staunton South Station
• Shoreside Terminal
• Rockford Station

Removed Portland El-Train Stations names

• Kurowski Station
• Rothwell Station
• Baillie Station

Vehicles

• All vehicles had the same wheel design.
• The headlights and grille of the Blista were different, and it lacked a badge.
• The Bobcat originally had a rollcage.
• The front-end of the Cheetah was slightly different, lacking a badge.
• The Esperanto and Idaho once had hydraulics.
• The Infernus more closely resembles a Lamborghini Diablo.
• The front-end of the Kuruma was less boxish, and its bumpers didn't stick out.
• The Patriot had a lower ground clearance.
• The Police Car and Enforcer were Blue with White Stripes.
• The Police Helicopter originally was all white.
• The Stinger's front-end was smoother and lacked a badge.
• Taxis were originally only all yellow.
• The Yardie Lobo had a blue and yellow design.
• The Mr. Whoopee was red instead of grey.
• The Police Cars were blue and white instead of black and white.
• Many vehicles were renamed and changed design slightly. You can view the Capital Auto's website to see the vehicles in Pre-Release form.

Gameplay

• Airplanes landing at Francis International Airport were destroyable with a Rocket Launcher.
• The ability to blow limbs off of non-playable characters seemed like they used to be enabled by default.This can still be activated in the PS2 version via cheat codes.
• You could originally run with the baseball bat.
• Originally, if the player picked up money, the script showed how much money was just picked up. This feature still exists in files, and it's possible to enable it.
• The Pre-Release HUD was different, early screenshots show things such as 'Life Bars' rather than percentages.

Cut Multiplayer Modes

• Deathmatch
• Deathmatch Stealth
• Team Deathmatch
• Team Deathmatch Stealth
• Stash The Cash
• Capture The Flag
• Rat Race
• Domination

Soundtrack

• 'Tom Novy - Back to The Streets' may have been included in the game but cut before release.

Cut Pager Messages

• "You drive a mean race. Drop by the payphone again and 'El Burro' may have some work for you." displayed after 'Turismo'
• "A friend said you could fix some problems I got. Get to the payphone in Trenton if you think you can help". displayed after 'Drive Misty For Me'
• "Donald Love wishes you to drop by his tea garden so you and he can talk." - after 'Evidence Dash'

Removed STATS Lines

• Hookers wasted
• Deadbeats wasted
• Airtrains gunned down

Miscellaneous

• 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" seem to imply that the game's hospitals were, originally, accessible/usable.
• The "Busted!" text and target arrows were originally red instead of blue.
• There was a bus company named Jelly Tours
• The Baseball Bat was originally red and yellow.

• The Rocket Launcher's original scope looked a lot like the one of the sniper rifle.
• The Grand Theft Auto III Logo was originally supposed to be "GRAND THEFT AUTO 3" written in white block writing on a black background with the "3" being orange in colour.
• The graphics were originally more "cartoonish"
• The radar was light blue instead of yellow.

• A text string implied the ability to name the player character, much like in Grand Theft Auto (1), was cut.
• A message reading "We thank you for your selfless actions. If you ever need help the dojo will be honoured to provide two men who will stand at your side." possibly suggests backup was available to be called in the game.
• The route of the aircraft was changed to not seem like it would pass too close to buildings
• Head Radio had a different logo.

[GTAKid667]

Images
Below is a whole collection of images that were released prior to Grand Theft Auto III's release.
Please note that not every single Pre-Release Image is going to be below as there are hundreds out there and I'm not going to be able to find them all!
Also note, some pre-release images were not chosen to be displayed as every part of the image was included in the final release of the game.
There are approximately 500 images below and due to the high amount, they have been placed in spoiler tags so they don't stretch the page and give excessive loading times.
Furthermore, I also have posted all images as small thumbnails, clicking the image of your choice will take you to the full sized image.
 

 

 

 

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited August 20, 2014 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

 

Edited May 11, 2015 by GTAKid667

[GTAKid667]

Videos

Below are various videos of Grand Theft Auto III in it's Pre-Release Stages, that I have uploaded to YouTube.

If you would wish to download one of the videos, send me a PM and I'll give you a download link!

 

 

I'm going to list the Youtube Videos as URL's due to their being a limit on how many can be contained within one post. Alongside the video, I'll give a brief description:

1.

This is a trailer for the game released prior to it's release. The first thing to note in this video comes at the 0:13 mark when we can see Claude and 8-Ball step out of a blue Enforcer, which we know that Police Vehicles were colored Blue before GTA III was released. A few seconds later we see GTA III's logo, with part of it colored red unlike the final all white iconic Grand Theft Auto Logo, but this may not have been a logo concept but simply an effect to the trailer. For the rest of the trailer, the only real pre-release elements are the cars, notice their engine sounds and designs (especially in terms of color)

 

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2.

Before the video even starts we see that colored logo from the previous trailer which may confirm that it was an old logo concept. Throuhout the video we see a lot of Pre-Release Content, such as Claude's Design, Car Designs, Police Car Colors, the Hospital and other building designs. The video is commentated by Salvatore Leone.

 

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3.

Things to note in this video are the Esparanto's Wheels, the weapon sounds and the speed of firing the weapon - All of which are changed from the release version of GTA III.

 

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4.

Notice how the 'Mafia Sentinel' is simply a black Sentinel with a Grey colored bottom. There is not a lot more to see regarding Pre-Release in this Video.

 

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5.

Things to note in this video include the Black Sentinel from the above video and the Blue Police Car

 

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6.

We see in this video the Black Sentinel and Blue Police Car from the above few videos and in addition to this the Cheetah at the beginning of the video is in an odd bright purple colour

7.

More footage from the pre-release version of the game, showing pre-release vehicles and sounds

8.

Footage showing the player breaking into an Esperanto and testing its Hydraulics

9.

Things to note in this video include the metal fencing around the Hepburn Heights Apartments.

10.

More footage from the pre-release version of the game, showing pre-release vehicles and sounds

11.

More footage from the pre-release version of the game, showing pre-release vehicles and sounds

12.

Footage showing the Blue and White Stripe Police Vehicles, and the player getting Busted (Note the difference in text colour from the final version)

13.

Footage showing Claude enter Salvatore's mansion and leaving with a Wanted Level

Edited May 11, 2015 by GTAKid667

[ChumCrumpet]

I'll start off with one of the most common alpha pictures around.

 

Details to notice: Extremely low texture detailing apart from Claude himself. If you look at his cargo pants you can see there's a very cartoony lining on it which may have been the original intent. The streets and buildings are bare and it's much lighter than the beta/final game but this may have just been because it was so early on that it wasn't added in yet. Also if you look at the guy in the bright green he has a little face hovering behind his leg. I'm not sure if this is edited in or if it's a texture placeholder/glitch. Also note the colour of the police car which was also in the beta I believe but was changed after the September 11th attacks?

[Sergiu]

@MrPeteyMax.

I agree with most of the things you've mentioned but 'streets were bare' and 'extremely low detailing'. Truth is, there were higher quality billboard/shop/pedestrian textures, as well as full mesh peds like in VC. So there have been some downgrades.

Take a look:

Alpha






Final

If anything, it's the complete way around. More shops, trees, lights, logos, posters and colour.

Edited November 6, 2014 by CasualSergiu

[Gamerjman19]

I have a bunch of pics on my computer, but here are the most notable ones.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2014 by Gamerjman19

[universetwisters]

 

Is she made out of f*cking lego bricks or what?

[ClaudX]

 

I never notived this, but it seems that the money counter was red, not blue.

[universetwisters]

I dunno if this counts, but this AK either has a folding stock or no stock.

 

[Gamerjman19]

It looks like the Claude from an early storyboard I've seen:

Edited August 16, 2015 by GTAKid667

[universetwisters]

^ Holy sh*t dude post more storyboards, or at least a bigger version. This stuff's good.

 

E. I just found all these. Holy wow, those beta houses and stadium and everything.

 

 

 

I dunno what this could be, though. Convention center or city hall or something?

Edited November 12, 2014 by universetwisters

[Moving Idiot]

Are these pictures of cars on wall available anywhere for download? I would love to see them more closely. Thanks for any help!

 

Some of them were on the Capital Autos teaser website if I recall correctly. Anyway, I did some digging and I found some of them scattered around various websites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2015 by GTAKid667

[universetwisters]

I prefer the current Manana. I dunno why, but I'm getting the feeling that the alpha Manana had no idea what it was trying to be.

[Blaze]

I dunno if this counts, but this AK either has a folding stock or no stock.

 

 

 

Is it just me or is that Dodo in the background really far down? Never seen it that far down, also looks alot brighter and has no newspaper/banner attached.

[KarimNTerr]

I want to contribute to this thread, too. So, here are some screenshots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20010611042253/www.gamespot.co.uk/stories/previews/0,2160,2056706-2,00.html

 

 

Here are some sketches, as well:

 

 

Grand Theft Auto III Original Concept Art: The Evolution of Claude:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-release logos:

 

 

Liberty City map:

 

 

 

Here are some screencaps of Grand Theft Auto III during development:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the images seen in the game's intro:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2014 by toxluv

[Gamerjman19]

One more

[savidge]

Look at the Police cars' rear wheels.

[Mr. Love]

These pictures are totally different, where were they taken?.

 

 

The first official screenshot of GTAIII, taken January 2001.