User:Addy1124/WIP-SimpsonsHit&Run-MainPage/Demo Builds

This is a sub-page of User:Addy1124/WIP-SimpsonsHit&Run-MainPage.

There are two known demos for The Simpsons: Hit & Run.

To do: Screenshots/videos. Exact list of unused files. Explore more out-of-bounds if possible in PS2 demo.

Windows The Sun Demo

This demo was included with an issue of the The Sun magazine, and refers to itself as a "special edition". The date of release is not known, however the game contents reflect the final Windows release.

Download link.

Differences

• The Main Menu is skipped, following the licence screen and logo movies.
• Level 1 is the only accessible level.
  • It can be explored and interacted with in its entirety.
  • Only Story Missions 0-3 are playable; completing Mission 3 loops back around to Mission 0.
  • The Street Races and Wager Race are playable; the Bonus Mission is not.
• On aquisition of all Collector Cards in Level 1, the congratulatory message omits mention of the unlocked Bonus Game track, as it is inaccessible.
• The Pause Menu options "SAVE GAME" and "QUIT TO MAIN MENU" are disabled.

Oddities

• All cheat codes are present and functional.
• Some files are left over from the full game that go unused in the demo.
• The ambience track "burns_mansion_interior_loop" is not present in the demo, however the trigger for it is large enough that the game tries to start the track when the player gets to the top level of the mansion's back garden. As such, the game will lock up and repeatedly throw a "FILE NOT FOUND" error message box. This renders two Buzz Cola Crates unreachable.

PlayStation 2 OPS2M Demo

This demo was included with issue 41 of the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine. The game content reflects the final PlayStation 2 release.

Download link.

Differences

• Logos and the Main Menu are skipped, following the licence screen.
• Level 1 is the only accessible level.
  • Only some of the map can be explored and interacted with in its entirety: from the Community Centre area through to the Wiggums' house.
  • Missions 0 and 1 are playable; completing Mission 1 shows a black splash screen with the game's title written in white, and then exits the demo.
  • The one accessible Street Race within the limited map space is not playable.
  • The Wager Race is accessible, however to account for the limited map space, it has been changed so that it goes in the opposite direction, and ends at the Wiggums' house.
• Functionality is limited:
  • Attempting to drive beyond the allowed map space will respawn the player nearby (like a death trigger), before showing a box popup informing them that the content is unavailable.
  • Attempting to use a Phone Booth also shows a popup box.
  • Attempting to use a Clothing Shop also shows a popup box.
• Limited dialogue is included to conserve space; as such, the doorbells inside Springfield Elementary School and at Lard Lad's (featuring Skinner and Wiggum's voices respectively) are silent when interacted with. As a side-effect of this, and because of how switch/doorbell dialogue is programmed, Homer says a "switch interaction" line when this occurs.
  • In all builds of the game, doorbells, like switches, trigger "switch interaction" dialogue. However, in most scenarios, the "switch interaction" line is immediately overwritten by the "doorbell response" line in the dialogue queue, "resolving" the issue. The "switch interaction" dialogue can still be heard if the doorbell has no assigned/played dialogue, or if the player interacts with the doorbell just as one of its lines finishes.
• The Pause Menu "SAVE GAME" option is disabled.

Oddities

• All cheat codes are present and functional.
• Some files are left over from the full game that go unused in the demo.
• The demo's root folder contains an interesting text file named "COMMAND.txt"; it reads "skipfe skipmemcheck L1 M0".
• Usage of the "Unlock All Cameras" cheat's Debug Cam reveals that:
  • Level NPCs still spawn out-of-bounds in inaccessible areas.
  • Some textures are removed in loaded-bur-inaccessible areas, leading to a default white texture being applied.