THPS3 Pre-release

THPS3 Pre-Release[]

This page serves to talk about the THPS3 Pre-release build on the PS2 3 months before it was released to the public, or any 6th gen pre-release content, such as E3 gameplay differences.

Skaters[]

Bam Margera's shirt was a white CKY2K shirt, instead of a black HIM shirt (similar to the PS1 version)
Chad Muska looked almost the same as in the PS1 version, only difference being his jeans were blue.
Chad Muska's outfit was originally changeable.
Geoff Rowley shared the same look in the PS1 version. It also features his white Vans shoe model instead of the black brandless shoe model in the final build.
Tony Hawk's shorts were originally khaki.
Steve Caballero's shoes are a slightly different color and have the Vans logo on the sole. His shoe selection is also incorrectly labeled as Adio instead of Vans.
Eric Koston's outfit was a turqoise shirt with black shoes.
Bucky Lasek originally wore blue jeans as well.
The texture for Bucky's shoes worn in the PSX/N64 version are leftover in the files for THPS3.
Jamie Thomas was missing from the E3 build.
Every skater shared the same 2 idles, with it being either left handed or right handed.
Skaters could interchange each others clothing, (such as Geoff Rowley wearing Hawk's shoes and Bam Margera wearing Kareem Campbell's jeans.)
In the leaked PS2 build, you can modify any pro skater's weight.
Street skaters had the Japan grab instead of One Foot Japan/Crossbone.
All skaters had the Cannonball grab, like in the PS1 version.

Levels[]

Note: Most levels are not featured in the level list, as they were most likely under major re-development. This is also due to the fact that the only playable/viewable levels on Pre-release builds were Canada, Suburbia, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

Foundry[]

Canada[]

There originally was a pipe, seen in a screenshot with Eric Koston.
"Bury that Bully!" was originally "Stop that Bully!".
"Melon over the Blade" was named "Slice a Melon over the Blade".
There were more hecklers surrounding Chuck.

Rio[]

The small area where a half pipe is located below a billboard in the PSX/N64 version was removed, with the "area" remaining behind a wall in the final version.
- Doing a Boneless into a Wallride and Wallieing off the nearby building's wall over the gray brick wall will lead you to a fully solid area, with another solid wall behind it, which is where the halfpipe would have been located.

Suburbia[]

The Ice Cream truck had different music.
The Jeeps parked near the 2 houses were originally a Station wagon and a Hippie van.^[1]
Originally, the gap named "Between the ramps" was called the "Skinnerd Gap".
You could grind the curb surrounding the culdesac.
"Help the Thin Man" originally took longer to complete.
- The axe was originally was stuck on the ramp on top of the house with a pool in its backyard, where the 2 guys are having a barbecue.
- The axe also had a blood dripping particle effect, visible from the front of the house.
- When giving the Thin Man the axe, it didn't lock you into a cutscene, which allowed you to move around while he chops the boards.

Airport[]

The "Stop the Pickpockets" goal was originally about stopping terrorists. They would have originally wielded guns, as the animation file for them holding up the money is referred to as "gun_run" (or something like that). This was confirmed to be hastily amended for sensitivity reasons in light of the September 11, 2001 attacks prior to the game's release.

Skater Island[]

Los Angeles[]

You originally had to do an Impossible over the "Arco" gaps. In the final game, you have to do a varial kickflip over the "Tower rails" gaps.^[2]
"Free Ballin" was originally named "Scratch the Balls."
The car chase originally started off at the liquor store, instead of nearby where you first start in-game. However, they still "spawn" where they do in the final game.
The fountain originally had the "Double Ascension" statue.
Originally, in "Stop the Car Chase" you also had to grind down the sign that swings after the car falls, which would crush the van. It would have awarded a gap called "Droppin' The Hammer".
The 2 arguing guys were originally a Canadian and the bearded ped instead of a unique Beach pedestrian and the Black ped.

Tokyo[]

Skaters you were playing as were referred to on the competition scores as "PLAYER1," and competing skaters as "COMPUTER" 1, 2, and 3.
There was a different gap at the start, originally named "All Your Gap..." (a reference to the "All your base are belong to us" quote from 2D shooter Zero Wing)
The train bells were different.
You originally had to Wallride the big sign instead of grinding its supports.
Originally there were 2 cameramen near the "Bento box" gap, one next to it and one on the elevated walkway.
When winning a medal, some words/names are spelled wrong, or different.
- IE: Eric Koston is referred to as "Erik Koston" and Bam Margera as "Jackass Margera."
- Winning second is referred to as "Seconds Place".

Cruise Ship[]

Other levels[]

Oil Rig[]

Most likely under construction for the XBOX release.

Paris[]

Most likely dropped sometime before this build.

Foo[]

Used during the development to test animations and other things.

Skate Shop[]

Completely finished.

Other Differences[]

Combos and Tricks[]

The Combo counter was slightly different.
Specials had no golden color in their name.
Rotation counters were in red.
Manuals worked like special manuals, giving you extremely high amounts of points allowing you to score big easily.
Special tricks had low point bonuses due to manuals allowing to easily get high scores.
Wrap-around was originally named Saranwrap.
The special meter only filled up after ending a combo, similar to in THPS1/2.
A leftover Body Varial trick animation is present in this build, removed from final release.

Special Tricks[]

Shove-It Rewind was due to return.
Salute!!! was due to return.
Somi Spin was due to return.
Only a bare minimum of the trick assignment option has been implemented and is not functioning. However, all skaters are assigned all special tricks with combinations primarily using the Square button.
FS 540 is animated similar to the THPS2 version, with the skater's hand clipping through the board.
Kickflip Backflip was slower.
Only 3 grinds are in-game. (Coffin, Fandangle, and Crail Slide.)
Only 2 special lips are in-game, similar to the PSX/N64 version. (Dark Disaster, and Bigspin Flip to Tail.)
Many specials from the previous game are leftover in the files.
- Rocket Tailslide, Hospital Flip, Heelflip Darkslide, Heelflip to Bluntslide, The Well Hardflip, Yeee-haw Frontflip; Etc, Etc.

Sponsors and Decks[]

Toy Machine, Flip, and Vans are the only missing sponsors in THPS3, with Flip and Vans being cut out almost entirely.
- Flip is only seen on a rack of shirts in the Skateshop. The reason why the decks are missing from the final build is currently unknown.
- Vans are seen nowhere in the final game, only in the beta build. This is due to Sony Computer Entertainment having an exclusive licensing deal with Vans for that year, which forced Activision to remove or blur any in-game branding.
- In the leaked PS2 build, Elissa has clones of an unknown deck. During the game's development, Elissa left the Toy Machine skate team. She eventually joined the Bootleg Skateboards team, but by then, it was too late to be included in-game.
THPS3 Tech Decks reveals many cut/early decks, along with an entire section of cut Toy Machine decks.
- The Elissa Steamer pro video awarded for all Gold medals reveals that Elissa rides her "Dead Monster" deck from THPS2.^[3]
Some skaters decks weren't created yet, so some skaters had placeholder THPS3 decks or cloned versions of their decks.
- Certain skaters were possibly going through deck revisions (such as Elissa Steamer, as she had left Toy Machine.)

Unused griptapes exist, such as early versions of Tony's Birdhouse griptape, and an unused grip tape texture for Geoff Rowley with a massive cross on it.

Non-Playable Characters[]

Rastapopolous has not been added in yet, with the generic bearded NPC being the placeholder.
The generic black NPC who wears a yellow jersey originally had a blue jersey instead.
Originally the bearded NPC with a green shirt and shorts wore a pink one.
The Thin man was originally much older, with a balding head, a white beard and a deep voice.
- He originally burst into red flames when finished chopping open the hallway, which further proves a theory about the Demoness and the opening door in Suburbia.

In-game[]

In one version of this build, the OOB teleporter isn't functioning, which allows players to go out of bounds and discover things out of bounds, or get stuck.
Originally, game objectives were numbered.
All sound effects had more of a high pitch, such as the metal rail grind sound and the Special sound (similar to the PS1 version.)
Most in-game background sounds (such as the generator in Canada and the crowd cheers/boos in Tokyo) are so loud that they sometimes deafen the soundtrack.

Oddities[]

There is no landing message for "Clean" landings. A sketchy landing message is in-game, but no points are removed from the combo, unlike in THPS2.
There is no option for a "New Game." This is the only game where you must delete old data if you wish to replay the game again.
Los Angeles still has the small spot on a skyscraper which served as the hidden deck location in the PSX/N64 version. It can be reached, however it will bail you as it is part of the "Get off my SET!" boundaries.
The balls rolling in Pershing Square still references the old goal name, as the bonus for planting off of a rolling one is "Scratching the Ball!"
The door for the original fenced in Skater Island secret area still remains, except it is replace with the Pirate Ship area in the 6th gen release.
Tokyo still features the cameramen appearing with the group of judges when winning a medal, despite being removed entirely from the map.
2 vehicles can be seen driving through the half pipe on the left of the starting point in Tokyo, every time you restart a run.
Chad Muska has a texture for his torso tattoo, despite being unable to have his clothing changed to be able to see him shirtless.
A massive gap in the scenery of the Tokyo level exists, next to a skyscraper.
Toy Machine was almost entirely cut from the game, except that it still remains in-game through logos on clothing, and the skate park in Rio.^[4] Despite this, there is only 1 deck in-game, for the Custom Skater has 1 singular Toy Machine deck, the one that is found in Tokyo.
Geoff Rowley has a very visible modelling gap in his character model between his neck and head.
The small black bit of railing still remains in the LA level, despite the need for grinding down the sign being removed.
The pool where the pipe was located in Canada was never fixed so players aligned when getting air in the corner part of the pool.
FS 540 is animated differently on the PC version of THPS3, quite similar to the original THPS2/beta version, however the hand does not clip through the board. It is also quick enough to be triggered off of a small ramp/kicker, such as the lifted part of the sprinklers in the Cruise Ship's garden area.
- FS 540 Heelflip is animated like the final version of FS 540 on PS2/Xbox, however.

Later Games[]

The sign in THUG 2 is lowered significantly more than in THPS3, to the point where the small black railing on the car wash will launch you up and allow you to grind a small portion of the sign, despite the sign being unable to be knocked down. This may be because of how Neversoft used an early version of LA.
An earlier version of Canada may have been used for THUG 2, as the trees are significantly greener, similar to the footage of Canada from a early 2001 commercial.