This article lists all features that existed in a beta version of games in The Sims series and features that were planned and showed in concept art but got cut later in development.
Multiple games[]
Sam Micelli concept art[]
In late December 2023, the portfolio of Sam Micelli was discovered, containing various screenshots and sketches from The Sims 2, 3, and 4. Most of them, including all from after World Adventures, did eventually make it into the game somehow, but a fair few before that didn't.
The Sims[]
Base game[]
Concept of foundations and diagonal windows.[1]
Another render of the same idea.[1]
- Several objects seen in pre-release media were cut from the game, including a shelving unit, ownable cars, a thick white balustrade fence, and more.
- House11 is seen in various pre-release screenshots of the game. It still exists in the retail game but is inaccessible without cheats. The lot is completely empty, missing even portals, mailboxes, and trashcan.
- A coffee table appears in various screenshots but not in the retail game. Coffee tables were eventually introduced in Hot Date, with the beta coffee table appearing as one such object.
- The game code still contains references to several cut skills: cleaning (used by some NPCs), gardening, music, and literacy.
- An unused sting for when ghosts appear can be found in the sound files. It is similar to the other two stings that do play in the game.
- Time of days and years were going to be used to show the current date and time in the game's interface but never seen the light of day (Begins in 1997 or on some lots 1996).[3]
- Birthdays and sim ages were going to be the main feature (27 for adults and 9 for children) and (Birth Day, Birth Month, Birth Year, and even Birth Hour and Birth Minute) but was scrapped.[3]
- There is an unfinished feature to receive investment opportunities over the telephone.
- Foundations were planned for the game but were scrapped. The idea was later implemented in The Sims 2.
- Diagonal stairs, windows, and doors were conceptualized but were scrapped before release.
- AM and PM were going to be used for the time but was scrapped but the AM and PM came back in the next installments.
Livin' Large[]
- An early version of the Koala Kola Vending Machine can be seen in a Livin' Large screenshot. The item was ultimately cut before release and eventually appeared in The Sims Online.
Hot Date[]
- Several trees and plants were cut from Hot Date and reused for The Sims Online: Pinkuredi Cherry Tree, Joshua Tree, Agave, Prickly Pear, Saguaro Cactus, and Cholla. Graphics are missing but other data still exists in the files.
- Vault Door was cut from Hot Date and reused in The Sims Online. It exists in complete form in the expansion's files but lacks a build mode catalog entry.
- Weapons Wallhanging was also cut from Hot Date and reused in The Sims Online, though few remnants exist in the files.
- Several buyable skins do not appear due to spelling errors in the filenames of the textures and CMX files.
- An unfinished feature can be found in code to hire a limousine instead of a regular cab.
- Inside the Downtown Controller's code are apparently a unused closure line, that all of Downtown will close at 2 AM but since AM and PM doesn't exist in The Sims it never seen the light of day. The lines reads:
- "All right people, you know the drill. This town has a strict 2 AM curfew and don't pretend like you don't know. Move it!"
- "OK, OK, let's go people! It's 2 AM. Some people need to get up in the morning. Everyone go home. Now...I mean it."
- "Don't you people ever sleep? Perhaps you just moved here, so I'll go light this time. Downtown closes at 2 AM. Now let's move, nothing to see down here, go home now."
Vacation[]
- A pickpocket NPC was planned for Vacation but only textures remain. He was supposed to resemble the burglar but with a unique face with a five-o-clock shadow. The concept was eventually realized in The Sims 2: Bon Voyage with the Unsavory Charlatan NPC.
- Minigolf courses are seen in various promotional renders and concept art for Vacation but are curiously absent from the expansion pack. They were eventually included with Makin' Magic.
- An interaction to hug pine and palm trees exists in Vacation but is disabled.
Unleashed[]
- A tileable bridge object was planned for the game and can be seen in developer screenshots, but was ultimately not included.
- The Pet Trainer contains leftover code for an interaction allowing a litter of kittens or puppies to be sold. Developer notes associated with unused dialogue for the feature indicate that it was intentionally cut before release.
Superstar[]
- An unused Information Kiosk object exists in the Superstar files, but is missing data required to make it show in the buy mode catalog.
- The doors for Superstar and Makin' Magic contain unfinished code for interactions to manually lock and unlock them. Lockable doors would eventually appear in The Sims 2: Open for Business.
- Unused stings exist for joining the Fame career and gaining promotions. The retail game uses regular career stings instead.
- Awards for poor performance in the Fame career were planned and references can be found in code. The retail game only has awards for an excellent performance.
Makin' Magic[]
- A Makin' Magic head (c209ma_tattooman) does not appear in the game due to spelling errors in the filenames of its textures.
- Several unused skins exist for additional Gypsy NPCs with a more stereotypical "carnie" look, suggesting that NPCs may have originally manned the funhouse rides.
- An interaction with animations for children to kiss toads exists but is disabled. The BHAV contains a routine to specifically block Toad Sweat from being generated when child Sim kisses a toad.
The Urbz: Sims in the City[]
The Robot Street Performer was explained in the Prima official game guide, but has not been known to appear in the released game, meaning he was likely cut very late in development.
The Sims 2[]
Base game[]
Weather[]
Early beta footage of The Sims 2 reveals that there was precipitation in the form of rain and lightning planned for the base game. It was also shown that Sims could die from lightning strikes whilst in hot tubs during thunderstorms. It was cut from the original 2004 release because the rain effects leaked into the indoors.
The weather feature was later included in The Sims 2: Seasons.
Power Outage Scenario[]
Due to the fact that weather was cut from the final game, the power outage scenario was cut too. Apparently when there is a thunderstorm your Sims' power will go out and you must keep their fun up similar to throwing a party. when you win the scenario you will be rewarded with a wind turbine (wind turbines came back in Garden and Mansion stuff pack). The text file still have a functional data but it is unknown of how to trigger it, it also has the wind turbine meshes (the Blades and the Pole) in the objects file. Here is the text string in all its glory:
The SimCity Power Company is experiencing problems in your service area, and we're hoping to have your power back on in about 7 hours. In the meantime, during this crisis, would you like to try to keep your family in a decent mood?
- Feelin' Great
- Not Too Shabby
- Okay
- Lame
- Grrr… Argh…
- Crashing and Burning
If you win the scenario your Sims' power goes back on and you will get a wind turbine that will prevent the power from going out during a thunderstorm, you will also get a notification, it reads: "Congratulations! You won the Power Outage Scenario. Power or no, you've got that special spark."
If you lose the scenario your Sims' power will still goes back on but your Sim's family, friends or roommates might get their relationship with your Sim will drop. You will get a notification, it reads: "You've lost the Power Outage Scenario. Your family's miserable, and at this point, turning the lights back on will hardly help. Oh, well. Keep the candles burning…"
Big Boss Scenario[]
According to strings viewed in SimPE, the Big Boss NPC was planned to be added to the game alongside his own scenario, similar to the Headmaster, where Sims would've invited him for dinner and given him a tour of their house.
Engagement Scenario[]
In this Scenario you must build up a romantic relationship with your Sims and judging by the ending it's possible that your Sim will propose at the end of the Scenario and will play the proposal (accept and reject) cinematics depending on the score. This was cut from the game possibly to avoid it from getting too repetitive. Somehow the score name can still be found in the game's files, here is the score names:
- Hot! Hot! Hot!
- Getting Warmer
- Tepid
- Sprung a Leak?
- S.O.S.
- Abandon Ship!
If your Sim wins the scenario a notification will appear, it reads: "Congratulations! There are wedding bells in your future. You won the Engagement Scenario!"
If your Sim loses the scenario a notification will appear, it reads: "You lost the Engagement Scenario. Oh, well. The single life's not so bad."
Memories System[]
Inside the "Live Text" package file, there is an unused system for memories that will affects the Sims well being by their mood and memories. This system was going to cellulated the mood and memories' intensities, Here is the system in its text form:
Give your Sims memories to keep them happy throughout their lifetime. Memories and Needs are combined to calculate a Sim's mood.
- The memories' has an original and current strength.
- The Great Memory is the powerful positive memory that might keep your Sims' moods up for a long time and fades out slower: "This is a great memory and it's keeping your mood up, but you shouldn't let yourself forget it. Find someone and take the time to to share it with them it will build its strength back up. Make sure your tale doesn’t fall on uncaring ears, though; an unreceptive audience can hasten a weak memory's demise."
- The Nice Memory is weaker than the great memory and might keep your Sims' moods up for a while but and fades out faster: "This is a nice memory, but don’t dwell on just one happy moment. You have weaker memories that you should be more concerned about."
- The Forgettable Memory is a weak negative and will fades out faster: "This memory is something you'd much rather forget, and it's bringing down your mood. Don’t bottle it up inside, vent about it! The more you talk about it, the sooner you can move on. Try to pick someone who cares, however, as you can do more harm than good if no one wants to listen."
- The Awful Memory is the powerful negative memory and might lowers your Sims' mood for a long time and will fades out slower: "It's awful to live in the past, but unfortunately you have some stronger bad memories dragging you down; maybe you should try to work through those first."
The Sims 3[]
Base game[]
Clothing store[]
There was a clothing store rabbithole planned for The Sims 3, where Sims probably were able to purchase clothes like in The Sims 2. It was shown in some early screenshots and trailers of The Sims 3. It got cut because all the CAS clothes were already unlocked in the beginning of The Sims 3.[4] The model of the rabbit hole resembles that of the spa rabbithole of the final version.
Shopping for clothes was later included in The Sims 3: Into the Future through the EP-XI Imports Gallery.
Beta UI[]
A pre-release photo from October 2008 showed a UI markedly different from the one in the finished release, with the live mode UI split into a bottom left and a bottom right section. The clock was in the upper left, and most of the shades of blue were darker. The mood meter and wish systems ended up being especially much changed in the released version.
An entire tutorial had already been made for the UI by the time the UI was completely replaced, as can be seen in the gallery below:
Early alpha logo[]
A file called logo in FullBuild0.package, shows a very early The Sims 3 logo that is more wavy and blue, where the blue wave contains silhouettes of buildings.
Alpha loading screen[]
A file called LoaderBackground in FullBuild0.package, indicates that the base game loading screen was supposed to show the Sunset Valley shopping promenade in the background, instead of the gradiated blue background in the released version.
Early designs of 28 Hour Wellness Gym and 24 Sim Lane[]
On the Work Out channel on TVs in the released version, one can see parts of 28 Hour Wellness Gym, but the façade looks a bit differently painted, and there seems to be some kind of fountain on the right of the entrance, that had been replaced with parking spots and bushes in the released version. A nearby lamppost was moved further up the street in the released version.
Additionally, 24 Sim Lane is shown with a fireplace pipe that it didn't have in the released version.
Early design of bistro[]
A promo image from December 2008 showed a slightly different bistro than that in the released game, mostly that the walls were more brown and grey.
Expansion packs in general[]
Apparent 2010 EA release schedule[]
What appears to be a 1-page document detailing EA Sims release plans for 2010, was dug up at some point in January or February 2010, and which mentions several game names that were never released.
Its validity was heavily questioned at the time, but it's perfectly fair to presume that e.g. "The Sims 3: Hobbies & Professions" did in fact make it to stores as The Sims 3: Ambitions.
If the document was indeed valid, this means that at least 3 games or packs were cancelled before release: The Sims 3: Beach Party Stuff, MySims University, and a PC/Mac version of MySims Sky Heroes.
Beach Party Stuff in particular was allegedly listed on the British official Sims 3 website for a very short while in mid-May 2010,[5] before being delisted mere days or hours later. No surviving footage is known to exist of the listing; the two source pages used for it on Wikipedia, were resurrected by EA 4 months later and was by then changed to be about The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff.
World Adventures[]
Ruins of Karnak[]
The Ruins of Karnak only contains a single tiny room below the lot despite being a landmark tomb. If the lot is edited, however, a series of empty rooms with tomb markers can be viewed. Originally a tomb known as the 'Treasure Halls of Karnak' was to exist here, with a questline tasking the player to retrieve a Special Relic for a random Sim. The relic was to be housed in a hidden part of the tomb that could only be unlocked with the now-unused 'Key to Karnak' keystone. The key would have been given to the player upon accepting the opportunity. Additionally, two unused Sigil objects exist in the game files that lack names and descriptions. It's possible that one or both of them would have been intended to represent this cut tomb.
Maxis eventually uploaded a version of the Ruins of Karnak with a proper tomb to the official exchange, known as the Tomb of Tolhar the Peaceful. However, this version of the lot has no connection to the cut questline, and instead revolves around awakening and defeating an ancient evil known as Tolhar the Destroyer.
Cut locations[]
China[]
There are two lots for Shang Simla that are referenced in the expansion pack's text strings but do not exist in the final release:
- Camp Azelea [sic] (most likely intended to be located at 30 North Waterfall Hills due to the lot's extremely tiny size)
- The Emperor's Park
Egypt[]
Although not strictly cut, Al Simhara features a hidden tomb lot called Small Oasis which is completely empty and serves absolutely no purpose within the game. Given its lot designation and the fact it's locked for editing (without the use of cheats), it's likely that this lot was originally intended to serve as a point of interest of some kind.
Additionally, one lot is referenced in the expansion pack's text strings but does not exist in the final release:
- Fallen Rock Gorge
France[]
The world of Champs Les Sims originally had a completely different design representing Paris and featured the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe as central landmarks that could be visited and interacted with. The world was also planned to contain a functioning flower shop and large hedge maze. Ultimately, the world was completely redesigned from scratch as a village outside of Paris. However, the two landmarks are still usable objects that can be found in debug mode.
The Eiffel Tower shell was planned to be a bistro rabbithole, according to various files in GameplayData.package. This was to include options to go to the tower's top by elevator and/or stairs, and to WooHoo inside. Some mods recognize the shell as a rabbithole despite it having no entrance doors.
Additionally, two locations are referenced in the expansion pack's text strings but do not exist in the final release:
- Champs Les Sims Town Square (a central plaza lot exists in the town, but actually goes unnamed in-game)
- Eastern Watch
Supernatural[]
The Vault of Antiquity was planned to have 11 occult topics instead of 5, but the remainder were deprecated and are not selected by the game without mods. A mod exists to restore them, though only one of the restored topics (Genie) had been given proper text by the game developers.
University Life[]
Sports bar[]
There was a sports bar lot planned for The Sims 3: University Life. It probably was a hangout for jock type Sims. It can be seen in concept art for University Life.
Into the Future[]
Oasis Landing early design or concept art[]
What appears to be concept art of Oasis Landing, is found as StatueImage in DeltaBuild0.package. The downtown peninsula had far more lakes, ZEPHYR appeared to be a physical monorail line, and the north bank villa district is almost unrecognizable.
4th and 5th future scenarios[]
Bits of info (Mostly deprecated moodlets) spread around in .package files, indicate at least a 4th, likely also a 5th future scenario for Oasis Landing were planned very early on. Very little is known about them.
- One involved an apocalyptic scenario that went further than the Dystopian Future, where meteors were hammering Oasis Landing (and possibly the planet), with the player Sim being instructed to travel back home post-haste and sort things out. The moodlet hinting at it is called It's the End of the World.
- Another moodlet, called Traumatized by Trash, has a description that would've suited the Dystopian Future well, but which cannot be triggered naturally in the Dystopian Future.
Random time warps[]
The Unexpected Vacation moodlet, which cannot be obtained naturally under any circumstances, mentions "sudden temporal adventure[s]" that took the affected Sim by surprise.
3DS Edition[]
The UI for the Sims 3's 3DS edition originally featured a style similar to The Sims 2 Pets for PSP
The karma powers button also resembled a Yin-Yang but now features a magic wand.
The Sims 4[]
Get Together[]
Harvest stands[]
Harvest stands can be seen on the early concept art of The Sims 4: Get Together. Sims could probably purchase and/or sell harvestables using these stands. They were instead later included in The Sims 4: City Living and The Sims 4: Cottage Living. The one in City Living only allows Sims to buy produce, and the one in Cottage Living allows Sims to buy and sell produce.
City Living[]
Unreleased families[]
Three unused families intended for San Myshuno exist in the game files. Pond, consisting of Jimmy and his daughter Alaina. Powers, consisting of Randy, Patricia, and their son Kennedy. Riviera, consisting of Rita Riviera, and her boyfriend Memphis Waters. There is also an unused test household, consisting of Andy Campbells, Iko Yono, and Joel Meadows.
MySims[]
Princess Butter was originally planned to have considerably blonder hair and more pale skin than in the released product.
Sources[]
- The Cutting Room Floor - The Sims For Windows
- The Cutting Room Floor - The Sims 2 For Windows
- The Cutting Room Floor - The Sims 3 For Windows
- The Cutting Room Floor - The Sims 4