Prerelease:The Sims (Windows)/General Differences

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

Early Speech Bubble Sprites

Unsorted artworks for the Sims' bubble icons. These designs weren't implemented in the final build, and offer a glimpse into a slightly alternate visual direction. Some were ultimately abandoned, while others were refined into the polished icons we know today.

1998

(GFX Rip: The Sims Steering Committee Demo)

1999

Intriguingly, the first two icons hint at a possible war-related Sim interest, which weren't repurposed for the final product at all.

(Icon 1: Sneak-Peek Graphics Pack III (November 1999))

(Icon 2: [GameStar Preview (January 2000)])

(Icon 3: Game Manual)

(Icons 4, 5, 8: Promotional Snapshots)

(Icons 6, 7, 16: Computer Gaming World Issue 184)

(Icons 9 & 10: SimWebCam Livestream (Unknown Date))

(Icon 11: Catalogue Advertisement (Early 1999))

(Icons 12 & 13: The Sims Press Kit (April 1999))

(Icon 14: Opening Video)

(Icon 15: [GameStar Preview (May 1999)])

(Icon 17: Power Play 8/99)

Price Differences

The game manual's Buy Mode/Build Mode section contains in-game snapshots with inconsistent object arrangements across multiple revisions. This suggests potential price changes for some items, as the game lists objects by price (ascending) in the catalog.

(Manual Scans: Sketch the Cow)

(Pre-Final Snapshots: [The Sims Trailer (2000)])

Seating

Manual

Pre-Final

Final

Decorative

Pre-Final

Final

Electronics

Pre-Final

Final

Miscellaneous

Pre-Final

Final

Plant Tool

Manual

Pre-Final

Final

Living Room

Curiously, early builds assigned the dollhouse as a "Living Room" object. Coffee tables can be seen here, which weren't implemented in the final product until the Hot Date expansion pack, one year later.

Manual

Final

Wall & Fence Tool

Wall and white balustrade use an outdated thumbnail template.

Manual

Final

Wallpaper Tool

Manual

Final

Stair Tool

Manual

Final

Fireplace Tool

Manual

Final

Floor Tool

Some floors use an outdated thumbnail template.

Manual

Final

Door Tool

Manual

Final

Window Tool

Manual

Final

Sprite Differences

Rather surprisingly, a considerable number of objects already manifested themselves into the game world in their final state demanding little to no updates, unless they otherwise suffered a major redesign down the line.