On January 20, two early builds of Liberty City Stories leaked on 4chan. This is a prequel to GTA 3, which was released on October 25, 2005 on PlayStation Portable. We have studied them and are eager to share information about what the game was like at various stages of development.
What is a game build
The word "build" has several meanings. In this case, it refers to an early version of the game, which may not match what we see on release. They give an idea of the original and intermediate plans of the developers. The most interesting differences seem to be the builds from what we saw in the end. This is what our article is dedicated to.
Build from July 26, 2005
Unfortunately, you won't be able to run this build as a separate game. However, you can analyze the files and identify the differences. Here are the main ones:
The splash screen completely coincided with the GTA 3 intro,
but the sequence of Rockstar logos is different;
The loading screens are completely different;
Only three radio waves work — Head Radio, Lips 106 and LCFR;
Some sounds are different, for example, the melody that
sounds immediately after completing the mission and there is no
background noise during the Biker Heat mission;
A number of in-game files were copied from the third part.
Later, separate models will be drawn for them;
The map is noticeably simplified and less detailed than the
one we were offered in the final version of the game. For
example, there are no secondary roads, industrial and port areas
on Staunton Island look schematic.
Most likely, this build was needed to check the basic functionality of the game. During August, it underwent a number of cosmetic changes, minor details appeared, which ultimately added uniqueness to Liberty City Stories compared to the third GTA.
Build from September 1, 2005
You can run this version of the game yourself. Moreover, the build includes a debug menu, which was used by the developers to test various functions. The main differences between the build and the final version of Liberty City Stories:
Different version of the introductory video;
Different interface and fonts;
The sound of picking up weapons and items is taken from GTA:
Vice City;
Compared to the July build, the map turned out to be more
detailed and closer to the final version of the game;
There is a sign above Toni Cipriani's mom's restaurant, and
Big Shot Casino has a simpler one and there is no sign above the
front door;
The Manchez motorbike has only one type of paint, which is
not in the final version of the game;
The V8 Ghost car is different from what we saw at the
release;
The Bullion car is present in the build, but it was cut from
the final version of Liberty City Stories. However, the model has
an incorrect landing and headlights;
The loading screens are different;
The cutscenes that pop up during the island change are
slightly different from the release version of the game;
The final mission, called "The Sicilian Gambit", has many
differences. Among them, there is no cap on the wanted level at
zero, yellow Stinger cars for the mafiosi instead of blue ones,
two additional enemies on the island, and Molotov cocktails as
the main weapon of the last enemy;
The music during the credits is completely different.
The first cutscene in the mission Snuff is much shorter than
in the final version of the game;
The Shop 'til You Strop mission has a different alarm sound;
In the mission Ho, Selecta! there are two more girls that can
be picked up and delivered to the protesters. One of them is
sitting in a police car behind the station, along with three
cops. To rescue her, you will have to eliminate the officers of
the law. You will find the second night butterfly in the Red
Light District with a client. For some reason, he will want to
join the event and will follow your car. This is a completely
unique action for an NPC that did not make it into the final
version of the game;
In the mission Contra-Banned, the cutscene at the docks looks
unfinished;
In the mission Dead Reckoning, the last cutscene is
different. This is noticeable in the final frame;
The Stop the Press mission uses a mechanic that is not
present in the release version of Liberty City Stories. After you
scare Ned, you will be given two wanted stars. You need to
continue threatening the guy. If the fear meter drops to zero, he
will run, and your character will get another star. When you aim
your sights at Ned, he will continue to follow you again.
The game has an alternative model for Liberty City Mayor
Roger S. Hole, which is not used in any way;
An early version of Tony's suit was almost indistinguishable
from Tommy Vercetti's striped jacket and trousers from GTA: Vice
City;
Cipriani also had other outfits — brown pants with a green
vest, which can be seen in early commercials, and a blue robber's
jumpsuit with a black mask. Both sets of clothes were cut from
the final version of the game;
The first model of Don Salvatore also appeared in screenshots
from the first promotional materials;
Avery Carrington was originally planned to be older. This is
logical, because the action of Liberty City Stories takes place
12 years after the story of Tommy Vercetti, where we met him for
the first time. However, in the end, the character model has
hardly changed compared to Vice City;
Mickey Hamfists in the build was also noticeably different
from the image we saw in GTA 3. But the developers decided to
keep the heroes recognizable, so they did not change them too
much;
In the early versions of Massimo Torrini and Joseph Daniel
O'Toole, there are different heads;
Maria Latore's model in the build is slightly different from
the one we saw on release;
Kazuki Kasen's appearance is completely different. It turned
out to be too similar to Kassen's brother. Apparently, they
decided to redraw the face to avoid confusion between the
characters;
8-Ball's outfit in the build was different from what was in
the game. Initially, he wore a sweatshirt with the inscription
Eightballs Autoyard;
Miguel's model was the same as the hero's appearance in GTA
3. In the final version of Liberty City Stories, it was
redesigned;
Among the NPCs, one can note changes in the appearance of
prison guards, avenging angels, police officers, special forces,
feds, military, Jamaican bandits and pedestrian businessmen.
The debug menu is used to work with the USJ section and view all characters. However, when it is active, crashes may begin.
What are Liberty City Stories builds for?
Builds allow you to understand what decisions Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North made during the development of the game. Of course, such details are of interest, first of all, to fans and those who are interested in the history of the industry. 20 years ago, programmers faced a difficult task — to optimize the RenderWare engine for the capabilities of the pocket PSP. Let us recall that it was initially developed for the much more powerful PlayStation 2 hardware.
Sometimes builds motivate modders to return cut content. In this case, we are talking about some types of transport and character models. For example, if Avery Carrington turns out to be a gray-haired old man, as in the September build of Liberty City Stories, thenwhat happened to him will sparkle in different colors. And Donald Love will probably seem even more disgusting to you. *** Are you interested in early builds of your favorite games? Or is the end result important to you? Share your opinions in the comments!