Beta Releases in GTA San Andreas

Before the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there were features that were removed from the final product. These changes range from deleted vehicles and player skins to the removal of entire characters and mission strands.

Characters

 * Characters including Officer Carver, Larry and Poncho were removed.


 * Both Sweet and Big Smoke had their appearances changed. Sweet was originally dressed in black and wore a black skully, Big Smoke wore a white Saints jersey and did not wear a hat, exposing his shaved head.


 * In the Strategy Guide, Jethro is seen in the mission Riot, suggesting he had a larger role.


 * Su Xi Mu has a second less-detailed character model.


 * Kendl Johnson's facial model and clothing were altered.


 * Mike Toreno has a different model.


 * Cesar Vialpando originally wore a black bandana and black pants.


 * Big Bear has a different model such as wearing the same clothes and much fatter.

Pedestrians

 * Gang members looked different and wore different clothing.


 * Each city had their own unique motor officers, however the final version of the game uses the same model for each city. These beta officers still remain in the game files and can be spawned with trainers.


 * In gta3.img there are files foransed ped (likely taxi driver) and a female valet. Judging from the bad details of the valet, she was cut in the early stages of development.


 * There were also a psycho ped dressed in green sleeve jacket and camo pants. Even, there is a psycho person statistic in the game files with this name: STAT_PSYCHO.


 * Originally, the prostitute with a braid had short hair.


 * A female pedestrian was cut.


 * There were many pedestrians cut from the game. Some still exist in version 1.


 * In the game audio files, there was originally going to be a fourth Da Nang Boys member in the game, but he was cut and his quotes is merged to the second gang member in traditional robes.

Missions

 * There are many deleted missions which include Impounded, Tanked Up, Roadside Assistance, The Truth is Out There, Looking for Big Smoke or missions which were changed with different objectives include Doberman, Photo Opportunity, Beat Down on B Dup, Holed Up and Fish in a Barrel.


 * Pulaski originally drove a Sentinel in High Noon instead of a Buffalo.


 * In the mission Doberman, Carl was supposedly prevent Poncho from being arrested, kill Officer Carver and grab the "evidence" before the police collects it.


 * Fish in a Barrel was supposedly an actual mission instead of a more cutscene.


 * In Sweet's Girl, originally Sweet did not have a gun, so CJ escorted him out.


 * In Photo Opportunity, unused text implies that CJ hijacked and used a helicopter.


 * There was going to be a mission involving a search for Big Smoke.


 * In the Beat Down on B Dup, Carl would originally drive Big Bear to rehab.


 * There was going to be a different race in the Los Santos Stadium.


 * Catalina had audio dialogue of which she would say during Farewell, My Love... to possibly make CJ jealous or could've been used for one of her post-mission phone calls.


 * There were San Fierro Rifa gang tags. The texture is still in the game files.


 * Ryder was supposed to be killed on the pier, and T-Bone Mendez was supposed to escape on the boat but it was changed into the final version.


 * The locations for the snapshot icons (San Fierro collectible) and the horseshoes (Las Venturas collectible) were different in the beta version in comparison to the released version. This came from the original PS2 version of the Strategy Guide, which still used the original beta locations. However, this was changed for the Xbox and PC versions later on.

City

 * The Mulholland Safehouse seemed to have a full interior that can be seen from the outside. The change on final version causes a glitch which allows the player to go through the wall.


 * Donut shops such as Rusty Brown's Ring Donuts were places where Carl Johnson could eat.


 * San Fierro in the beta had very few docks and more parks. The beta map of San Fierro was very detailed and can be seen in Driving School.


 * There were cars driving around the car parks and may park there in San Fierro. (Along the Valet car park)


 * The construction yard near the hospital in Downtown Los Santos had a usable crane.


 * The Easter Basin Naval Base had a different outline, it had a dock and the ship is missing.


 * San Andreas was different and had several different land masses, such as a different San Fierro (which resembled San Francisco more closely) with more parks and less docks. A full beta map of San Andreas can be found on a wall in the Lil' Probe'Inn.


 * Santa Flora Medical Center had two helipads on its roof. These pads were most likely meant for the Maverick and Raindance that spawn there in the alpha. Oddly enough, these helipads were absent in the alpha, so the choppers simply spawned on the roof.


 * The Clown's Pocket casino was originally called The Ringmaster, its original name can still be seen on the paper map included inside the game box.


 * The village of Bayside didn't exist in the beta version.


 * The village of Dillimore was smaller in the beta version.


 * The Hunter Quarry was smaller in the beta version.




 * According to the beta map, there was a small island in San Fierro Bay which was most likely based on Alcatraz.


 * The landing area of Easter Bay International Airport was smaller.


 * The parking lot of Vank Hoff Hotel had an additional underground level.

Weapons

 * The Skateboard was cut.




 * The Parachute was originally smaller and blue. It can be seen in the demonstration video in Flight School showing how to control parachute and later in the mission A Home in the Hills used by San Fierro Triads


 * According to early previews of the game, 150 weapons were originally included in-game but there is only 42 weapons in the final version.


 * The Micro-SMG was removed, it can be seen in early screenshots of the game.


 * The Micro-Uzi was originally more detailed.


 * The Hammer, Machete, Meat Cleaver and Sledgehammer were cut.


 * Many weapon icons were less detailed, as seen in the Strategy Guide.


 * The Jetpack and the cell phone originally had icons on the HUD like the other weapons.


 * As seen in the cutscene of the mission High Noon, the Shovel was going to be wooden and shorter.


 * The Camera was supposed to be white and slightly bigger, as seen in The Green Sabre.


 * An M16 was planned at one stage, it can be seen in the first Stowaway cutscene, it uses the dirt64b instead of an actual weapon texture, like the PSG-1 and MP-5k.


 * The Nail Bat, M47 Dragon, PSG1, OA93, M72 LAW, M82 and MP5-K were cut.


 * An MP5SD and a weapon resembling one of the 7.62mm NATO Rifles were cut.


 * The Spray Can had another texture.

Vehicles
Many previews published before the game's release told of about 425 vehicles included in-game. The plane previously seen in Vice City and Liberty City was replaced by the AT-400. Model, texture, in-game text and handling still exist.
 * Airtrain

Another Bloodring Banger was planned to appear in GTA San Andreas. Only the "bloodra" (based on the Glendale) is featured, but the model, texture, handling and in-game text of the "bloodrb" (based on the GTA Vice City Glendale) remains, although the model is highly corrupt. The "bloodrb" in San Andreas, however, does not appear to resemble an Oceanic, but rather a Glendale, like the "bloodra". It can be used with modifications.
 * Bloodring Banger


 * Dashound



Found in files as "dach.txd". It had GTA III truck wheels, different lights and a California number plate. It is unknown if this was going to be an actual vehicle (possibly a bus, since "Dashhound" is a misspelling of "Dachshund", parodying the Greyhound bus and it shares the same textures as Bus) or just a map object resembling one. The vehicle could also have been a dog catcher truck since "Dachshund" is a breed of dog, very similar in pronunciation to "Dash-hound" and the texture represents a dog and an ID number. It returns in GTA V as a coach.


 * FBI Car

The FBI Car was cut. It was similar in design to the Las Venturas police car, but had a different grille. The model was to be featured in an unused cutscene. The model and a low quality texture still exists in the game and can be turned into a drivable vehicle via use of modifications.

A totally new vehicle. Despite its name, it does not seem to be a boat. Judging by its handling file, it appears to be either a parade float or a train.
 * Float

The Coastguard Maverick's handling files exists in the Handling.CFG file.
 * Coastguard Maverick

Found in the game's files as 'rdtraint.dff and rdtraint.txd', this is a beta truck trailer. It had GTA III truck wheels and a green body color. The trailer was planned to be pulled by a Roadtrain, as its name suggests. This trailer is also similar to the Articulated Trailer (artict3), although this trailer is shorter.
 * Roadtrain Trailer

The famous boat from Vice City was meant to come back in San Andreas. Apart from the handling and text, nothing is left over.
 * Rio

Another new vehicle. Nothing is known about it but its handling. It appears to be either a road roller or perhaps a set of rollerskates that function as a vehicle. A GXT entry for the Roller exists.
 * Roller

A cut vehicle/weapon in GTA: San Andreas. It was cut during the development of the game and was planned to be introduced in the mission Madd Dogg's Rhymes. On the PS2 version of the game, only the HUD icon remains. As the skateboard is listed as a weapon in the game's internal files, it functions as one, and it can only be found in one of the game's beta interiors on the PC version. It is possible that it was going to be some sort of pickup-type vehicle (similar to the Jetpack), but it was cut during development due to time constraints or problems with programming its handling. Nonetheless, the weapon will only appear if it is enabled in the game's files. If it isn't enabled, it will be a Knife.
 * Skateboard

The Sabre Turbo was cut for unknown reasons.
 * Sabre Turbo

The Fenton is a beta vehicle that was scheduled to be in the final version of the game. It was cut for an unknown reason. Its name is probably a play on Ponton, a classic car made by Mercedes-Benz, hinting that it could have been a Mercedes-based vehicle. It was cut again in GTA IV.
 * Fenton

It may have been a variant of the Dune or it could be the beta name of the existing Dune. Textures can be found in gta3.img (dune.txd).
 * Dunemaster

Others

 * Usable car-washes, similar to those in GTA IV, were cut.


 * The ability to ride the trolleys in San Fierro was cut.


 * Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was originally supposed to be on 2 DVDs.


 * It was possible to hear many vague sounds from your car if it was broken. These sounds can be heard from Rockstar Games's beta gameplay video or some of the trailers.


 * You can also hear many minor sounds included in beta release which are useless in the final game, but these files are still in GENRL file and can be enabled with mod tools.


 * The mobster who Carl kills in Saint Mark's was originally going to be called Marco Forelli but due to deleted audio, his name was never mentioned in the final version.


 * The Grove Street Families were originally going to be called Orange Grove Families as seen on the tags in GSF's territory.


 * The Ballas were originally going to be called The Flats.


 * Pedestrians would walk into and out of accessible places like stores, clubs, etc. and GSF members would walk into and out of / hang out in your safehouses.


 * There was meant to be a trailer for the Roadtrain which was capable of pulling more trailers. The old model still exists in the game files and there's even a newer version under the name of 'artic3' however this is un capable of pulling other trailers.


 * Pool tables were originally going to be colored green instead of blue.


 * Carl Johnson was able to use drugs, which would make the camera wobble around making it more difficult to control CJ.


 * The ability to drink beer was cut from the final version.


 * Through the hidden interiors universe, unused brothels can be found, these were most likely to be placed on top of Strip Clubs.


 * Pre-release magazine articles showed that stealing cars was to be much more difficult. In early screen shots, car jacking was shown to involve smashing the car's window and then hot wiring it. This was all removed, possibly due to the limitations posed by the PS2. A similar system is present in HD Universe games.


 * Accorded to a strategy guide, adrenaline pills from previous GTA games were in the beta version. However their effect can still be activate with a cheat code. Model and textures for the pill can still be found in the game files.


 * According to a picture from the strategy guide, there was originally a pool table inside Madd Dogg's Mansion.


 * According to american.gxt, there were several phone calls and lines which were cut.


 * According to gta3.img, there are several more items of clothing available at the clothes stores, including t-shirts, trousers, caps and more - these were all in the game but not used.


 * There was a Boxcar that the Freight would presumably have pulled instead of, or in addition to the flatcars present in the final version. These still exist in the game, and can be modded onto a train with relative ease.


 * A path file exists for the railroad track into Easter Basin, suggesting that it was to feature at some point. This can be utilized through modifications.


 * When the player got busted in the last vehicle they drove, it could be stolen back from the Impound.


 * Spike Strips was supposed to be in the game, but it can be see in the Driving School and mission Puncture Wounds.


 * The Tattoo shop had a different menu.


 * The Xoomer petroleum company was originally called Xenon. This can be seen in the game's internal files. Additionally, an LOD Xenon billboard can be seen in San Fierro, but it is only visible while the game's graphics are loading.


 * The early reviews state that Flash FM and Hit Radio was planned to be in the game but was dropped during the development of the game.


 * Several beta screenshots show CJ wearing a blue hoodie. This was presumably replaced by the green hoodie at Binco. A trailer for the game suggests this would've been the default outfit.