The Simpsons: Hit & Run

The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Developer: Radical Entertainment Publishers: Vivendi Universal Games (US), Sierra Entertainment (EU/AU), Microsoft Game Studios (JP), Sono Kong (KR) Platforms: Windows, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox Released in JP: December 25, 2003 (Xbox) Released in US: September 16, 2003 (GCN/PS2/Xbox), November 13, 2003 (Windows) Released in EU: September 16, 2003 (GCN/PS2/Xbox), November 21, 2003 (Windows) Released in AU: 2003 Released in KR: December 8, 2003 (Xbox), March 3, 2004 (Windows) This game has unused areas. This game has unused objects. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has revisional differences. This game has a development article This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article This game has a bugs page

To do: See if there's anything else missing here. Source code leaked August 21, 2021, look at it (has several prototypes but only has executables with little data). The PR disc contains more than just story data - document all the early screenshots and concept art. Hidden Speed/Acceleration/Handling/Weight data for unobtainable vehicles outside of cheats.

If The Simpsons and Grand Theft Auto had a love child, the result would most likely be The Simpsons: Hit & Run. Surprisingly, the end result is a pretty solid clone and what many consider to be the best Simpsons game. Not only that, but there's a lot of interesting unused content lurking inside, and we're not kidding when we say a lot.

I wish I had a dog with a saddle.

Sub-Pages

Development Info

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Bugs

Resources

Unused Voice Clips The characters had a lot more to say.

Unused Sounds and Music There's plenty of tracks 'n sounds that were cut.

Unused Stage Messages You were meant to race the Curator?

Unused Script Code Radical commented out quite a lot of stuff here.

Unused Vehicles The number of vehicles was supposed to be higher.

Unused Models Look at these 'beautiful' unused models!

Unused Graphics Graphics found in the game's files that have no purpose or use.

Oddities Many pre-release remnants still exist within the final game.

Game Demos Perhaps more interesting than the prototype!.

Unused Scripts E3 scripts?

Placeholder Folders/Files

The "\scripts\missions" directory contains two empty folders labelled level08 and level09, and the "\art\missions" directory contains a level08 folder too. Inside of the second "level08" folder are two unfinished P3D files with vehicle data (which is used in missions to determine where the vehicles are positioned along with some other miscellaneous information). It's worth noting that it contains eight different start points when the game can only handle four vehicles at once. These were confirmed to be placeholders by a former Radical Entertainment employee.

m1.p3d

carstart3	X:4	Y:5	Z:28	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart0	X:-4	Y:5	Z:18	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart1	X:-4	Y:5	Z:28	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart2	X:4	Y:5	Z:18	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart4	X:12	Y:5	Z:18	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart5	X:12	Y:5	Z:28	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart6	X:0	Y:5	Z:-10	Y ROT:0	Free:False	Parked:False
carstart7	X:10	Y:5	Z:0	Y ROT:0 Free:False	Parked:False

chkpts.p3d

c3		X:-668.9247	Y:0.000001180172	Z:-717.7559	Event:2	Paramater:0
startclock	X:-1.2223	Y:0.00000001315275	Z:-15.35557	Event:2 Paramater:0
c0		X:-0.2845159	Y:-4.338178		Z:-357.6468	Event:2 Paramater:0
c1		X:27.84901	Y:0.000002095469	Z:-750.5784	Event:2 Paramater:0
c2		X:-348.2025	Y:1.838596		Z:-722.4449	Event:2	Paramater:0
c4		X:-675.4891	Y:18.23899		Z:-394.2204	Event:2 Paramater:0
c5		X:-686.7426	Y:-0.1231864		Z:20.28023	Event:2 Paramater:0
c6		X:-336.0113	Y:24.99377		Z:5.275681	Event:2	Paramater:0
finish		X:-20.91577	Y:0.3072172		Z:5.275681	Event:2	Paramater:0

Leftover Development Content

Error logs

The PC version has some temp.err files in many directories with content. The said files refer to using a development script to clean source assets before release.

'cleanup.bat' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

Scrooby2 Directory

To do: Try diffing the text files to see if anything's interesting.

The entire directory in art/frontend was copied over on the disc and never gets used by the game. It contains uncompiled project, screen and page files from Scrooby early from development, a proprietary screen editor of Radical, named after Scooby Doo for some reason. It also two uncompiled localization files for the base game text (in all languages) and the credits, also localized from that said tool. The images in it suggest the content was from the PS2 release.

Download The Simpsons: Hit and Run Scrooby2 Directory File: SHAR_Scrooby2DevDirectory.zip (874 KB) (info)

Unused Areas

To do: Get more images of the areas in fuller detail.

Level 1 - Mr. Burns' Mansion interior

Inside the Mansion.

The interior and front garden of Mr. Burns' Mansion are modelled and present in Level 1, and can be entered through hacks or with cheat code/bug exploits. The mansion is almost identical to the Level 4 counterpart, with a few changes. The front/back doors are closed, there is an invisible wall present around the middle chunk of the garden, the interior Krusty Glass doesn't always load, no road nodes exist, all props are missing and the interact spot/moving set pieces in the office don't exist (the walls act as though they have been flipped and there's a hole in the floor where the table would be).

Level 7 - 939 Area/"Rich Side"

The 939 Area, accessed using cheats.

Due to time constraints and to make the artists' workload more manageable (as confirmed by a former designer on the Donut Team forums), the Rich Side/Springfield Nuclear Power Plant interior areas had to be cut from Level 7. If the player manages to get out of bounds to the Rich Side, however, plenty of leftovers can be found:

• The bridge leading to the area is broken. The sand underneath the bridge is covered in water, and the surrounding area is blocked off by military equipment. A spawn point on the bridge as well as some collision for the ground and death/sound triggers in the water remain.
• Some collision-less map remains. This includes some low detail houses and a road.
• A few tree props are placed upon what's left of the map. These work as normal.
• Springfield Gasoline signs exist roughly around where the Gas Station there is placed in Levels 1 and 4. There are two of them, whereas only one is see-able from the bridge and placed in Levels 1 and 4. This is likely the result of an attempt to add more to the area to make it seem more complete to players from the block-off point; one sign would have been accidentally put in the wrong spot by a map editor and was quickly copy-pasted to a place of visibility.
• A road node/vehicle reset point exists on the map remains (although this appears to be console only).
• The jump camera for the roof ramp shortcut is still present (Level 7 uses Levels 1 and 4's jump camera file, hence why it is here).
• The unused stone_cutter_spoof music track was never removed from Level 7, so it can still be heard if the player goes to where the StoneCutters' building is.
• The unused organ_music can be heard if the player goes to where the StoneCutters' Hidden Tunnel is.
• Textures for a miniature Springfield Prison and odd yellow/red object are placed under the map. This is also consistent with Levels 1 and 4.
• Close to the location where Burns' manor would be are triggers for audio files called piggy_02 and ghost_kids_10, the first audio file is a bunch of pigs screaming, which doesn't quite fit the theme of Burns' mansion, the latter one is a "ghost" Jimbo saying "You better run!". Due to a wrong filepath in the level7.spt script, the game fails to load the audio files and crashes (The files are located in a filepath sound/soundfx/positional, but the Burns' Mansion trigger reads the path as sound/soundfx/collect_soundfx, needless to say, there are no ghost_kids_10 or piggy_02 inside that folder).

(Source: Noviwan, Donut Team Community)

Level 7 - Springfield Nuclear Power Plant interior

Behind the mysterious door. Spooky!

Just like the Rich Side, the Nuclear Plant in Level 7 is blocked off, but can still be accessed via hacks/exploits. There are no map leftovers, however. The sound triggers for the spinning wheel room and nuclear waste tunnel are leftover and functional.

Teleport Menu

The menu in Level 1.

An unused teleport menu that was probably used to test the game can be accessed in the Windows version by changing byte [[[6C894C]+2c]+CC]+2DC4 to 1 (per level load) and pressing F2 at the Phone Booth menu. It replaces the normally used cheat code "all vehicles" Phone Booth sub-menu, so access to that is also required. The menu allows one to warp between various level locations that are preset via the level's "level.mfk" file (scripts\missions\level0X). There are some related bugs, however: loop scrolling to the left in the menu doesn't work, the camera can be buggy when teleporting and triggers to change ambient audio, ambient light and pedestrian groups are skipped if this is used.

Development Oversights

Springfield Elementary HUD Icon

The HUD Icon for Springfield Elementary's playground lacks the broken-down bus but features the unused roundabout gag. This matches up with the Scrapbook image of Level 7, which features the bus at the front of the school rather than at the back. The roundabout gag's coordinates are actually set at the playground near 742 Evergreen Terrace rather than Springfield Elementary, suggesting that there were originally two roundabout gags.

In addition, Level 7's cutscene lacks the bus as well.

Phone Booth Transparency Error

For some reason, the phone booth textures in levels 3 and 6 aren't transparent.

Levels 1, 2, 4, 5, 7	Levels 3 and 6

Phone Booth Destroyed Vehicle Oddity

The menu for the phone booth uses pre-rendered images of the vehicles within the game. Of these renders, the render of the husk, which is what remains after a vehicle is destroyed, looks quite different in the phone booth than it does in the actual game. It resembles the kiddie-ride gag in Level 2 after it blows up.

Early Husk	Final Husk

70s Sports Car Oddities

The damage textures for the 70's Sports Car depict an earlier design of the car with different headlights, a different front grille, a brighter shade of green, and a license plate in the rear. Whenever the car becomes damaged enough, it reverts to this earlier design. The car also has the aforementioned license plate and a slightly different taillight design lacking reverse lights and turn signals in the Level 6 movie.

Normal	Damaged

Scrapbook Oversights

• Some of the scrapbook photos for the mission selection were taken from an earlier version of the game with some minor differences.
  • One of the scrapbook pictures for Level 7 shows the spinning billboard for the Kwik-E-Mart calling it the "SPOOK-E-Mart". While the SPOOK-E-Mart textures are used for the Kwik-E-Mart's signs in Level 7, it is not used on the spinning billboard. This is unusual because not a single trace of the rotating "SPOOK-E-Mart" sign remains in the game aside from this image; it's unknown why the sign was completely removed from the files. This is likely an oversight by the developers.

Scrapbook	In-Game

• Level 3 Mission 3's image portrays Kamp Krusty with a blue texture (possibly water) inside the hoop of rocks.

Springfield Gasoline signs

Levels 3 and 6 in the PlayStation 2, Windows and Xbox versions use an misspelled variation of the Springfield Gasoline signage, erroneously spelling it as Springfeild. The signage for Springfield Gasoline in Levels 1, 4 and 7 use a texture with the correct spelling, but it is significantly more compressed. A high-quality version of the logo with the correct spelling is found in the source code files, but is not found in-game. This oversight does not occur in the GameCube version, which uses the compressed texture with the proper spelling in every level, likely due to disc space limitations.

Level 1	Level 3

Unused Gags

This page or section has one or more broken YouTube links. Please find an archived version of the video(s) or a suitable replacement. Specifically: The video showing these gags in-game does not appear to exist anymore.

In the files, by using text editing programs, the player can find three unused gags all meant for Evergreen Terrace (Levels 1, 4 and 7) and one for the Springfield Squidport (levels 3 and 6). These gags do not have a set place for where they appear, or have been commented out, making them unused. Setting a place for them in the game will allow them to spawn.

• There was originally supposed to be a red and blue merry-go-round that was intended for both the playground near the Springfield Elementary School and in Evergreen Terrace. When the player clicks on the gag, it would spin around. The Gag can be seen in the HUD Icon for the Springfield Elementary School playground.
• In Levels 1 and 4, near the Tomacco field, there was supposed to be a flock of crows that flew away if the player got near them. The animation is glitched and incomplete, with the crows left hovering in the air afterwards. A developer comment is present in the code for this Gag, which states that it was commented out due to memory issues.
• In the Android's Dungeon, there was supposed to be a blow-up doll that blew up. It would produce an inflating and deflating sound when activated. The model for the Gag, gag_doll.p3d, alongside its textures, still exists in the game's files, but the model itself doesn't appear when the Gag is re-activated, possibly due to a bug. The sounds are still produced. It was likely cut to avoid a higher age rating.
• There was supposed to be a bat gag for Level 7 which would've functioned like Level 1's crow gag. The bats are seen flying around the Evergreen Terrace playground.
• At Planet Hype, there was supposed to be a gag for Level 3 where Moleman was stuck in his pink car. The gag can be seen on a picture in the scrapbook for Level 3. The model of Moleman for this gag still exists in the final game under the filename "gag_mole.p3d". Said model is rather large. Strangely, the string of code that controls what sound the Gag produces must be left commented out in order to get this Gag to re-appear, otherwise it throws an error, which prevents this Gag, along with most of the other Gags in the level, from loading if it is left in.
• Inside of the Kwik-E-Mart Interior in Levels 1, 4, and 7, there is an unused Gag where Nelson punches Milhouse. It is a slightly edited version of a used Gag in the same area, the differences being that in the unused variant, the animation is set to loop and that Milhouse and Nelson stand in different positions.

(Source: level.mfk files)

Misplaced Objects

By using cheats or mods to go out-of-bounds in the level maps, the player can see some unused objects that are either erroneously misplaced or some leftovers that seemed to be from earlier in development.

In Level 1, there are two portraits that appear to be Simpson-styled versions of the painting "American Gothic". These were most likely intended for an earlier revision of the Stonecutter's Tunnel.

In Level 1, Level 4, and Level 7, there is a mis-spawned washing machine found. This is the same model as the washing machines found outside the Muntz's House. Strangely, there is a cow's head placed next to the washing machine in Level 1.

Collision Debug

By using a cheat code in the in-game options menu, one can toggle a debugging tool for collision. The area where the player's character or car is marked red, while the areas that aren't are white. It continuously changes as you drive along, the areas shown being the closest to you.

To access this in the GameCube and Xbox versions, head to the Options menu, hold L + R, and press B, A, B, Y. To access this in the PlayStation 2 version, head to the Options menu, hold L1 + R1, and press ○, ✕, ○, △. To access this in the Windows version, head to the Options menu, hold F1, and press Down, Up, Down, Right.

Fair warning: on original hardware, this function is known to cause slowdowns.

Version	Action Replay Code
US (GameCube)	040F2AA8 38600001 0411D4DC 38600001

(Source: Ralf@gc-forever (Action Replay Code)

Unused Cheat Code Entries

To do: "Unknown" isn't going to cut it. Investigate further.

The game's cheat code index contains entries for several effects with no assigned button code, hence they go unused. Most are currently unknown.

• 0: Effect unknown.
• 2: Makes all costumes free to purchase.
• 3: Unlocks all levels and missions.
• 4: Effect unknown.
• 10: Effect unknown.
• 12: Effect unknown.
• 13: Effect unknown.
• 15: Effect unknown.
• 17: Effect unknown.

Internal Project Name

To do: Check other files as more can mention the IP name.

The game's text file name is SRR2, definitely being Simpsons Road Rage 2.

Revisional Differences

Each platform on which the game was released received a slightly different revision, as opposed to just general platform changes. In addition to this, the Windows version got a re-release later. Some of these changes were hardware related, others not so.

General

Progressive Scan Mode (480p)

All console versions of the game are capable of displaying in Progressive Scan (480p). The procedure for activating this display mode varies by console. Despite the similarity that all console ports can display in Progressive Scan, the confirmation screen actually looks different between the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions. The steps for those consoles are listed below their respective screenshots. As for the Xbox version, connect the console to the TV using a device that enables the console to output HD resolutions. Then, while on the Xbox Dashboard, verify that the 480p option in Video is enabled and insert the game to start playing.

PlayStation 2	GameCube
Press and hold ✕ and △ while on the PlayStation 2 logo screen. Keep the buttons held until this screen appears. If you are not using the official YPbPr component cable to connect your PlayStation 2 (or backward-compatible PlayStation 3) to your TV, selecting “Yes” is NOT recommended.	If you are using the official GameCube Component Cable, press and hold the B button while on the GameCube logo screen. Keep B held until this screen appears. If you are playing on a Nintendo Wii (model RVL-001) that is already outputting 480p, pressing and holding B while the game is loading is not necessary, as it should appear on its own.

Audio Differences

There are three variations of the game's audio.

• The Xbox version has the highest quality audio, as minimal compression was needed due to disc size. It also supports Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.
• Audio in the PlayStation 2/Windows releases is slightly lower quality than in the Xbox version. The PlayStation 2 version runs in stereo while the Windows version goes up to 7.1 surround sound.
• GameCube has the lowest quality audio, with notable compression and being mono-only with one audio channel missing. This leads to some sounds being absent.

Textures/HUD

• Windows has the highest quality graphics, with one mission icon (Snake behind bars) notably redrawn and different to the other releases.
• PlayStation 2/Xbox use slightly lower quality versions.
• GameCube uses smaller and more compressed versions of the PlayStation 2/Xbox HUD images because of space limitations.

Console	Windows

GameCube	PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows

Console to PC Changes

• Being a PC game, a launcher was added, in addition to extra in-game settings (which forced some setting removals and menu tweaks).
• A lemonade stand prop was added to Level 1, in the park by the Simpsons' house. It rewards five coins when destroyed and remains in this state permanently on the save file.

PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube	Windows

• Level 1 has a Buzz Cola vending machine, placed at a shack by the tyre fire, which was removed in the Windows version.

PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube	Windows

• The console versions feature a lens flare effect in Levels 1 and 3. The Windows version lacks this, assumedly due to (at the time) limitations of DirectX.

PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube	Windows

• On Windows, entering a cheat code in the main menu's options menu will crash the game, forcing usage of the pause menu's options menu. Because of this, two cheat-code related sound effects exclusive to the main menu go unused for this release.
• The console versions contain a road node/vehicle reset point just beyond the blocked off bridge in Level 7, allowing a correctly positioned reset to place the player slightly out of bounds.
• As a result of what appears to be an oversight or bug, vehicle steering animations do not occur on Windows.
• An incorrectly exported data chunk removes any texture randomization for two signs in Levels 1, 4 and 7 (outside of the Springfield Elementary School and by the Community Centre) on Windows, leaving them stuck with the same texture each time the area is loaded.
• For whatever reason, the console releases have more colours that traffic vehicles can randomly use at load.
• The tutorial messages after starting the game for the first time lack the voice clips spoken by Bart.

Differences Between Console Versions

• Early copies of the console versions contain a bug where Level 7's bonus mission (Flaming Tires) can be replayed up until the area where Smithers spawns is unloaded. Oddly, the exclamation mark doesn't appear but the blue glow beneath his feet does.
• The PlayStation 2 versions runs at a lower framerate (sometimes below 30) and this can slightly mess with the physics. Despite this, not all of the console's processing power is used, so it might be a case of inexperienced developers.
• A cheat code to blur the screen can be input and accepted as valid on all releases, but only actually has an effect on the PlayStation 2 release.
• The Xbox release contains an exclusive option for widescreen.
• A bug in the Xbox release sometimes prevents certain music events from playing (level loading screen, vehicle exit, mission completion).
• The PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions include slightly different Save Game menu logic. The GameCube version has an added screen after selecting "Yes" to overwrite existing save data, in which the player is again told that save data will be overwritten; the only selectable option is "Save". Additionally, the GameCube version will not ask the player if they would like to save if they manually save their game using the "Save Game" option before selecting "Quit Game", whilst the PlayStation 2 version does.

Hover Car

The refraction effect used by the Hover Car is different across all versions.

• In the GameCube version, the effect seems to take the currently rendered frame and offset it, then render the offset version through the vehicle.
• The PS2/Xbox version is more complex and distorts the image in relation to each face of the model.
• The PC version does not feature the refraction effect at all, and instead just makes the Hover Car slightly translucent. It is unknown why this change was made, as the original effect can still be restored by modding. It is possible the developers just didn't have enough time/knowledge of the system to port the effect across.

Additionally, the transparency effect doesn't appear to work properly on GameCube, causing the windows on the car to not be transparent. This may be a result of a technical limitation with the refraction effect, as the windows actually do use a shader that supports transparency.

GameCube	Playstation 2 and Xbox	Windows

'Best Sellers' Revision

To do: Get a screenshot of the newspaper change. Find out what changes were made to the executable and srr2.p3d.

The 'Best Sellers' re-release of the PC version features some very minor differences to the regular PC version.

• The executable file was edited in some way.
  • It's possible that it was just recompiled, as opposed to any of the code being edited.
• A typo was fixed in the French version of Level 2's newspaper where an Á was used instead of an À.
• Similarly to the international version of the game, the mission objective text box is stretched slightly.
• The file srr2.p3d was edited in some way. This is the file that contains all of the game's text.

Regional Differences

PAL Version

The PAL version of the game features numerous changes to allow for different languages to be supported.

• The mission title on the mission briefing screen is in sentence case, instead of entirely capitalised.

NTSC	PAL

• The mission objective text box is stretched vertically slightly to account for different languages taking up more space in the text box.

NTSC	PAL

Australian Release

The Australian version removed the line "Don't come in here, we're making... sausages. Man sausages!" due to censorship reasons.