Late 2003

This is a sub-page of Prerelease:The Sims 2 (Windows).

October#

To do: Cover Computer bild spiele magazine, October 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20040302092349/http://www.simforum.de/ Lost worldsims.org gameplay footage, Oct 8 http://worldsims.org/new-secret-gameplay-footage/981/ PLEASE replace video with a .mp4 variant to avoid it getting inevitably taken down on Youtube...

Early October Build#

Watch on YouTubeTwo images of the "twins" were posted on October 4, 2003, at the German fansite Simzone.de¹. From the date, they all appear to be from that same build from early October, despite images of that same location and Sims, and even a video coming out much later in October 25, 2003 (As Welcome To The Sims! Part 8²) and November 28, 2003 (was uploaded on November 8, 2003 on Simzone.de³) respectively. The video would be used in the LidRock commercial⁴ for the game's promotional disc.

• This build is notably the last appearance of rain.
• The song that plays through the video appears in the final.
• The First Kiss cinematic was a lot shorter.
• The red X over the thought bubble now matches that of the final.

Simszone.de has an image of the "twins" from the video, dated October 4, 2003. The "Twins" video would not be uploaded until later in November. The last two images is from an unknown source.

Screenshots#

• The "Meaning Of Fruit" painting not only uses it's The Sims: Vacation boxart texture, but it also had unique gold corners that would be removed in the final.

Later or Earlier Build?#

Yet ANOTHER image posted in November 8⁵, showing off all single-bed fabrics seem to be in the same house from the early October build, except that the furniture is arranged differently.

10/9/03 Chat#

A chat was held on October 9, 2003 at TheSims.com.

• It is confirmed that the Sim household limit is 8.
• Community Lots are confirmed.
• Burglar NPCs can be interacted with.
• When asked if the Vibromatic Love Bed from Livin' Large was returning, they said they will have some of the expansion objects and many of the new objects. Notoriously, a similar object called More Romantic than You Double Bed would not be introduced until all the way until Apartment Life.
• The Grim Reaper is confirmed to return.
• It is confirmed that the Tragic Clown won't return.
• When asked about the game's soundtrack, it was mentioned that it would have a "lot of violins". This could likely be referring to the earlier music pieces that were composed by Jerry Martin, which may have been still used at this point of development.
• Double relationship bars from Hot Date are confirmed.
• It was mentioned that Betty Newbie would return, but she appears as a dead Sim in the final.

Simsnetwork Preview#

A slightly later image of Create-A-Sim was posted.

• Create-A-Sim is starting to take the form of the final, albeit in a very rough state.
• Font from SimCity 4 can be seen at the "Build Sims" and "Create Parts" section.

Later October Images (circa. v1.0.0.515)#

Images that seem to date around late October are listed here for consistency. The latter two images were taken from Designer Diary #4 interview, posted on October 23, 2004⁶ while the first was taken from The Sims 2 Development Bloopers and the fourth is from PC Games January 2004⁷.

This is also the very first set of images to show a visible version number, only seen in-game with the boolprop testingcheatsenabled true cheat.

• A version number titling v1.0.0.515 can be seen at the top-right corner. This doesn't match up with some of the later images because they were likely built on an older version of the DirectX engine.
• The Live Mode icon represented stick figures representing all Life Stages rather than three character silhouettes.
• The floor changing icon were temporarily changed to generic arrows before it would be eventually reverted back.
• Sims' mugshots were originally inside boxes.

Sims 2 Excel File#

This Excel file of furniture dating as late as October 29, 2003 was released by Cheryl Platz recalling their memory as working for a writer for The Sims 2.

• There is a scrapped chair tentatively called the Contradictions Chair.

November#

Early November Image#

New image posted on November 1, 2003.⁸

Chat With Jean-Luc Barthelet About Bella Goth and Sims 2#

Held on November 6, 2003.

• Jean-Luc mentions that Cassandra is a teenager. In the final game, she is an adult.
• Infamously, the quote mentions that Bella Goth would appear, but in fact does not in the final, only appearing in Strangetown.
• It was stated that a pregnant Sim would have triplets, but they only give birth to twins in the final. Triplets would appear in The Sims 3.
• When asked about a laundry feature, Luc said that it wouldn't appear.
• It was mentioned that Sims could be attracted to one another (bringing up "fit" Sims as an example), based on their personality. This is likely an early version of the Chemistry System introduced in Nightlife.
• The interview mentions that Servo would not return in The Sims 2, but they would appear in the Open For Business expansion.
• It was mentioned that male Sims could grow bald in their transition to the Elder Life Stage but it doesn't happen in the final, because they always carry over the same hairstyle from previous stages.
• Seven expansion packs were planned for The Sims 2 at that moment, but eight were released in the end.
• Though Weather was planning to appear in the base game, Seasons would not appear.
• 3 Neighborhoods were planned to be in the game with 50 houses, 60 would appear in the final.
• When asked if a Vanity Mirror was going to appear, Jean-Luc mentioned that it would appear in an expansion pack. This would eventually ring true as it would first appear in University.
• Sims could originally visit other households, like in console versions of The Sims: Bustin' Out. That feature would not appear until The Sims 3.
• The Social Worker is confirmed to be in the game.
• Sims could originally give up children for adoption.
• When asked if ownable cars were going to appear, it hadn't been planned as of that stage.

The Sims 2 University#

On November 20, 12 Simmers were selected to look at an early build of the game.

Later November Images#

https://www.simsnetwork.com/news/2003/11/23/new-screenshots Posted on November 23, 2003.

SimsNetwork Interview#

Thanksgiving 2003 Image#

An image was posted on November 27, 2003 to celebrate Thanksgiving in America. A lot of subtle differences can be found in the image;

• The girl's ginger-coloured hairstyle does not appear in the final.

December#

This period notably has darker shadows on Sims and objects themselves.

PC Powerplay Issue 94#

https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-094-2003-XMAS/page/n37

The Sims 2: Designer Diary #5#

A fifth Designer Diary showed the neighborhood for the first time, as Riverside. On December 4.

Quite possibly the most interesting that was shown was Riverside, a neighborhood that does not appear in the final game. The interview itself mentions that the player "might want to build a a European village, a desert community, or your own little suburban utopia", hinting at three neighborhoods.

• Most of all, this is the first time the finalized and iconic ITC Benguiat Gothic font is used.
• Neighborhood originally showed a population number.
• The Options and Exit were two separate buttons.
• There's a third, yet unknown greyed out button.
• There was no camera or video button.

• A mailbox can be seen in the community lots, likely because they weren't fully implemented yet.
• Vans from SimCity 4 could be seen in the neighborhood screen.
• The "modern art print" painting makes its last appearance here.
• The counters in the clothing store have what could possibly be racks for buying unused base game jewelry.

Flythrough#

To do: Find a version with audio, as mp4.

Watch on YouTubeA flythrough video of the neighborhood was released sometime later, on December 12, 2003.

New Screenshot#

Posted on December 6, 2003.⁹

• The animation of the male adult Sim resting on the sofa isn't in the final game.

Welcome To The Sims 2 Part 12#

Posted on December 13, 2003.

Double Bed Styles#

Posted on December 19, 2003.

Development Blooper#

An image of The Sims 2 Bloopers, dating around mid-December judging from the UI and semi-final appearance of front-facing mugshots.

• The font that appears in the final game is now used for all menus.
• Wants and Fears seem to have been implemented at this stage, judging from the thought bubble cloud under the Motives.
• The menu for the motives was changed from an unfitting light-blue color.
• The Mood of the Sim is now curved.
• The Wall views were moved to a singular button rather than taking up space on the UI.
• The icon of the closed book was changed to an open one.

New Screenshots#

New images were posted exclusively to several video game sites from December 20-28, but all of them will be covered here. A few extra were posted to WorthPlaying.com in January 2004, but they will be listed here due to being taken around the same time.¹⁰

• Shadows were originally much darker on the outside.
• Houses could originally have different sidewalk textures, which was likely disabled later in development without the moveobjects_on cheat.
• Outside square grass tiles reminiscent of the ones from Build/Buy Mode could be seen in the fourth image, likely as a sort of debug, except that they didn't have spaced markings in the middle.
• Sim Mugshots now have different angles just like in the final, rather than being stuck in a T-pose stance.
• Relationship increase/decrease icons now match that of the final.
• The picture frame in the fifth image isn't present in the final game.
• Memories above Sims' heads did not have an outline.
• Neighborhoods originally showed the number of Sims that lived there.
• The fabled Waterside neighborhood can be seen.
• Need icons in thought bubbles were still reused from The Sims.

The Sims 2 Chat With Senior Producer, Tim LeTourneau!!#

Held on December 18, 2003.

• It is confirmed that Ghosts cannot be married.
• Sims can change their appearance at a "vanity table", but that function was expanded to mirrors in the final.
• Design Mode is confirmed to be in the game at this point, therefore leaving the "furniture refurbishment" scrapped.
• When asked about the possibilities of Hospitals, LeTourneau mentioned that the pregnancy would be "like real life, except a little shorter".
• Teen Jobs are confirmed to be in the game.
• Interactable Service Sims (Maid, Gardener, etc.) are confirmed for the game.
• Live aging is not in the game, meaning that Sims will have to be aged manually.
• It was mentioned that children would be able to inherit Skills from their parents as part of their DNA, but no such thing happens in the final.
• Teenagers running away from parents are confirmed to be in the game.
• There was originally an "enagagement event" planned, separate from Wedding Events. It's possible it could be referring to the scrapped Engagement Scenario.
• It was stated that pregnancies last for 3 days (72 hours), and was still being tuned at that point of development. In the final, they last for 75 hours.

SimsNetwork Images#

Posted on December 24, 2003.

• The Photo feature appears, though at a very early state.
• The text font from the final game is now used.
• A cabinet at the corner of the dining table does not appear in the final.

Lidrock Images#

Images from the Lidrock prerelease later on, internally dated December 24, 2003.

Unsorted#

From Sims Express.

• There is a scrapped See 'N Say toy for Toddlers in the image, which is very likely an early version of the Rip. Co Wobbly Wabbit Head, as it makes sounds similar to the aforementioned toy.

References#