Beta Releases in GTA San Andreas

This article lists Beta content in Grand Theft Auto: 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 didn't wear a hat, exposing his shaved head.
 * In the Strategy Guide, Jethro is seen in the mission Riot, suggesting that 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 had a different model.
 * Cesar Vialpando originally wore a black bandana and black pants.
 * Big Bear had a different model such as wearing the same clothes and much fatter.
 * Carl Johnson has a different face like Jay Z

Pedestrians

 * Many 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 for a cut taxi driver. His model and quotes still exist in the game and can be readded.
 * There was originally going to be a female valet. Judging from the low-resolution textures of the valet, she was cut in the early stages of development.
 * An unused black female pedestrian was cut. Judging by her low-quality textures, she was also cut early into development.
 * There was a psycho ped dressed in a green sleeve jacket and camo pants who was cut.
 * The rich Hispanic woman (marked HFYRI) originally wore black sunglasses and wore a revealing striped dress, which can be seen in pre-release screenshots.
 * An oriental San Fierro woman (marked SOFYRI) originally wore sunglasses as seen in her textures.
 * Originally, the Hispanic prostitute with a braid had short hair.
 * A female pedestrian who wore a pink tracksuit and would spawn in Las Venturas (marked VHFYST) was cut. Her textures can be found in the files.
 * 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.
 * A female cop pedestrian (marked as WFYCLPD) was cut. Judging by her textures, she seems to have been completed but has no quotes.
 * Two prostitutes, a white female (marked as cspro1) and a black female (marked as csho) were both cut. Both of them are cutscene-only models.
 * The Hispanic prostitute seen in Los Santos originally had an afro.

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 didn't 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 have 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 whole of Portland Island (a winter snowy version) was going to appear in the mission Saint Mark's Bistro to serve as a scenario for a vehicle persecution. A portion of it is still present in the game's Hidden Interiors Universe.

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. It is primarily a melee weapon but also a vehicle. And was intended to be unlocked in Madd Dogg's Rhymes.
 * The Micro SMG known from GTA VC was also removed, but can be seen in several early screenshots.
 * The Later Mini-Uzi based Micro-SMG was originally more detailed.
 * The MP5-K exists within the game files. It lacks a texture.
 * The Parachute was smaller and blue. It can be seen in the mission A Home on the Hills and the Parachute demonstration in the flight school.
 * The Machete, Meat Cleaver, Hammer and Screwdriver exist within default.ide.
 * The Stubby Shotgun from Vice City has an omitted line in default.ide, however a model for it does not exist within the files and it seems to just have been a leftover from Vice City. It was replaced by the Sawn-off Shotgun.
 * The Nail Bat exists in the files, Interesting enough there are no textures in the files, however the Nail Bat uses the texture mapping from the cut Manhunt Nailbat.
 * The PSG-1 was cut, strangely the in-game HUD for the Sniper Rifle resembles the PSG-1.
 * The M-60 has an omitted line within default.ide. It was most likely a left over from Vice City.
 * The M16 was intended to appear, possibly as an Army exclusive weapon (As the M16 is the US Army's official Assault Rifle). Despite not having a texture in the files, it is mapped to use the M16 textures from Manhunt.
 * An unused Second Dildo and Vibrator exist, it is possible to spawn these using trainers.
 * The Python from Vice City exists within the game files, its model is used for the Ammunation in Market.
 * The MAC-10 was at one point, planned to appear (as mentioned by Sweet in Nines and AK's)
 * The Spray Can used a different 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

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.
 * Dashound

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.
 * FBI Car

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

A two-door sedan appeared in all other 3D Universe games, was cut. This is evidenced in the handling file, and it had no more leftover files (however it can be spawned by a mod).
 * Idaho

The Stinger from GTA: Vice City was meant to appear but was replaced by the ZR-350.
 * Stinger

The Deluxo was cut, only handling remains. However it can still be spawned by a mod and it appears as the Trip Skip icon.
 * Deluxo

The red taxi from GTA III was removed, possibly due to the presence of mod garages (CJ can spray a normal Cabbie into a red-paintjob one) in the game. The handling still exists inside the game files and it can be spawned by a mod.
 * Borgnine

Unused
An unused freight car, which was intended to be pulled by the Freight. It can be spawned through the use of trainers, but it will not automatically attach to the rails and thus will be useless. It is still possible to utilize the vehicle as a carriage through modifications. Another way to make it appear on the tracks is to switch its ID number with the Flatbed's in the vehicles.ide file.
 * Boxcar

An APC that was cut before the game's release.
 * FBI Truck

A variant of the regular Rancher that is essentially identical in appearance, performance and functionality except that it has black-tinted windows. It supposedly was going to be used in the mission Lure, although the regular Rancher is used in the final game.
 * Lure Rancher

A "remote controlled" vehicle that is disguised as a pot. It is never used in the game, is rideable and can support two people. However, the name suggests that CJ drives the RC Cam when the player uses first-person view. It is possible that this was used in a mission for Zero, controlling the RC vehicle disguised as a plant.
 * RC Cam

Appears only during Zero's cutscene in mission Wear Flowers in Your Hair. It does not appear anywhere else, but can be spawned via trainers. Additional modifications are needed to control the helicopter. A trailer that can be attached to Utility Van. It is unknown why it does not appear in regular game.
 * RC Raider
 * Utility Trailer

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 protagonist's gang, Grove Street Families, was called Orange Grove Families and wore orange instead of green. This was changed during the two later months of development, so strong vestiges of this model can be found in the final version, including:
 * orange cars and bikes in the artworks
 * the artwork of OG Loc (who may be not actually OG Loc) wearing a orange jacket
 * "OG", while meaning "original gangster", could also be a play with "Orange Grove"
 * a pedestrian wearing an orange "12" jumper who says "come on, man. Ain't we the same set?" if threatened or car-jacked
 * "OGF" graffitti in Los Santos
 * 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 until GTA IV.
 * 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.
 * As introduced in Impounded, 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.
 * 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.
 * The Shady Creeks Cabin and Mount Chiliad Cabin originally had more decorative objects.
 * Originally Farms were shown to have proper crops and fields, along with hay bales.