Cutscene Differences

This is a sub-page of Proto:The Simpsons: Hit & Run/July 3, 2003.

To do: Image comparisons of differently-timed or removed shots would help.

Many of the cutscenes are finalized, but have more than a fair amount of differences compared to the final.

Some of them have appeared in prerelease media, identical to as seen in this build, but it gives a further insight to what they were like during that game's development phase.

General Differences#

• Most of the character models are completely different, reminiscent of those used in Road Rage. The shadows in environmental details also reflect the characters.
  • Kang and Kodos had a different color scheme, appearing more turquoise than lime green.
  • The only unchanged models are Kent Brockman, Mayor Quimby (albeit slightly altered) and all the other Springfieldians in the Level 1 Movie.
• The characters have much more cartoony and exaggerated movements, which was likely lessened to be more in line with the show's animation.
• Some of the cutscenes are longer in comparison to the final, with some unused lines from the October 30, 2002 script found in the source code leak.

Game Introduction (intro.rmv)#

• The animation of the wasp cameras swarming out of the beam is slightly different, with some of them passing very close to the camera.
• The logo has different lettering as opposed to the final which resembles the one used on the show. The trademark symbol was swapped for a copyright.
• The family's models are very similar to their appearances in the cutscenes from The Simpsons: Road Rage, rather than the softer renditions seen in the final game.
• There is a sound effect for Marge opening the front door.
• Homer gasps before destroying the wasp camera, and takes slightly longer to do so.
• The wasp camera has additional sound effects on its demise.

Level 1 Introduction (fmv1.rmv)#

• There is no music cue when Homer looks at the Buzz Cola coin.
• The audio sounds more clean, lacking the TV-type voice filter.
• Krusty acts a lot more expressive with the Buzz Cola can as opposed to just showing it off in the final.
• There is an extra shot where Krusty drinks the cola before he says "And this one isn't poisonous to anybody!".
• The "That we know of" line is much quieter.
• The person in a Buzz Cola costume has a TV thrown at them, before rolling off the stage and into the audience.
• There is an extra splash screen at the end of the commercial, with text saying "Collect BUZZ Cola Coins to get Cool Prizes".
• Homer gets off the couch in a "floaty" fashion, while in the final he just regularly gets off the couch.
• There is a deleted shot at the end of Homer leaving the house with Marge standing at the edge of the driveway, serving as a transition to Level 1.

Level 1 Movie (fmv2.rmv)#

• The audio sounds more clean, lacking the TV-type voice filter.
• Homer is seen eating a donut he reached from his back, whereas in the final version he is sitting still and drinking a Duff Beer can. Interestingly, the finalized cutscene still keeps the sound Homer makes when eating the donut.
• The TV is zoomed in much like in the show, as opposed to the final in which the knobs and grill are also visible.
• The illustrations Brockman is describing are slightly different, featuring additional elements and different gradients.
• The crowd attending Mayor Quimby's speech is much quieter in the early version.
• Mayor Quimby has some additional animations not seen in the final, such as making a slightly more exaggerated pointing animation when he exclaims where the "sexy footage" is.
• The "exclusive footage" of the Black Van outside the Simpsons House were removed along with the robot being eaten by an alligator.
• A jazzy music cue plays when Marge tells Homer he "is sexy" (when he's paranoid). Said stinger is also used as one of Lisa's on-foot cues in Level 3.

Level 2 Movie (fmv3.rmv)#

• The music is quieter and is also timed differently.
• There is an extra shot of the Truckasaurus just before it begins roaring.
• The Truckasaurus roars when Bart escapes, rather than breathing fire in the final.
• The music cue that plays when the UFO is present is slightly different.

Level 4 Movie (fmv4.rmv)#

• No music plays.
• There are no ambient cricket noises.
• Grandpa Simpson appears in the cornfields during the flashback.
• There is a slight extra shot of Marge’s hand picking up a Buzz Cola can before the flashback ends.

Level 5 Movie (fmv5.rmv)#

This cutscene has a lot of differences.

• No music plays.
• In the first shot, there is no pumping mechanism visible on top of the meteor above the skeletal dinosaur.
• The timing of the first few lines are arranged differently;

• The Buzz Cola pipe connected to the meteor dripping onto the skeletal dinosaur doesn't have the logo on it.
• The skeletal dinosaur roaring sounds different.
• There is a removed shot of Bart's shocked face when he sees the skeletal dinosaur come to life.
• The shot of Bart and Apu going through the room to look at the vent is slightly longer. In addition, a shot of them walking towards the vent is removed in the final.
• There is no room echo filter for Kang and Kodos’ voices.
• Much of Kang and Kodos' lines are also differently timed or cut, with the first being a removed line for Kodos;

• There is no TV audio filter for Groundskeeper Willie.
• There is another removed exchange for Kodos before cutting to Apu spying on them by the vent.

• An additional shot of Bart and Apu shocked by Kang and Kodos' plan was cut.
• The timing of Kang and Kodos' plan was different, with the "I like it" line not being repeated unlike the final, verbatim. Additionally, the scene also goes dark with the Rigellians holding flashlights for comedic effect.

• The exchange between Bart and Apu after hearing Kang and Kodos' plan was slightly longer, with the removed lines at the beginning.

Level 6 Movie (fmv6.rmv)#

• The Duff Beer signage isn't blurred, and the Duff Blimp says Duff Beer.
• Different vehicle sound effects.
• The "Fools!" part was removed in the final.

• The stinger at the end after Bart exclaiming about "zombies eating brains" was removed.

Level 7 Movie (fmv7.rmv)#

This cutscene appears to have been slightly redone later in development, due to Kang and Kodos being fully present in the scene than being obscured by UFO wreckage with their singular shrivelled tentacles. Said idea seemed to have lasted as late as around March 28, 2003, according to the PR Disc.

• No music plays.
• There is more environmental shading, specifically in the shot where Homer notices his third arm where the spaceship has more shadows.
• The spaceship looks more damaged compared to the final.
• There is a removed exchange which happens after Kang and Kodos' last words;

• There is a cut shot of Kang and Kodos dying and the zombies fading away.
• The newspaper before the wraparound has a slightly different design, being called The Galactic Variety than Space Variety and resembles that of the Springfield Shopper in Level loading screens. The headline also simply says "Foolish Earthlings is #1"
• The Rigellians in front of the Simpson House are different, lacking the glass helmets and having accessories. They also make louder chanting "Homer!" sounds.
• Kang and Kodos are floating in mid-air while in heaven than sitting on a cloud.
• The Simpsons: Hit & Run Logo at the end is different, resembling that seen in the E3 2003 prerelease.

Bonus Movie (500 Yard Gash) (fmv8.rmv)#

The bonus cutscene is very unfinished overall.

• There is no unique title or ending screen, just having "500 Yard Gash" and "the end" in lowercase Impact font.
• The entire cutscene has no audio.
• There is no confetti at the beginning.
• The "STEROIDS" text on the syringe is not outlined.
• The animation shows it's incompleteness starting from the shot where Itchy tosses the syringe, where models lack the cel-shaded look and with visible text and Maya axis on the bottom parts.
• There is no close-up shot of the syringe being inserted into Scratchy.
• The crowd disappears after Scratchy notices the steroids side-effects.
• The shot of Scratchy running all over Earth is shortened, and doesn't show visible dash effects, only represented as footprints.
• There are model particles present in the shot where Itchy reaches the finish line.

Larry Looter (loot.rmv)#

• Different point sound effects.