News on Cancelled Video Games & Lost Media

Finally! Finally, finally finally finally! XD Finally after a year or 4 (I think?) I found the time and will to upgrade the site LOL! There is still a lot that has to happen but I have everything ready so it can be used! :D Most of the things I still need to do are especially background stuffs though so yeah you won’t be seeing much of those :3

As you can see the layout is updated to fit today’s techs :D The new and fresh layout is also ‘responsive’ meaning you can view the site on any device! The site will adapt itself to the device you are viewing it on. Ranging from phones, 3ds, vitas, tablets, tv’s and what not! You should try it yourself, it’s a llot of fun! :D

We also have a new Forum now! Finally we can discus our favorite unseen and released/upcoming games again! :D Also the “Off [Beta] Topic and Spam” section is back for some fun :) The forum works as it should completely but me and mono still have to add some stickies to it. Expect them to come soon! There are just two things you need to know, and that is that there is no possibility to PM stuff and you cannot preview posts but you can still edit them though. This due to some technical limitations.

Your profile is also different now. Instead of having to go to a special login page you can now directly login on the main site! Next to the traditional way of registering for U64 you can now also login with your favorite social network! Just click one of the icons under the login form to login with one of those and BAM! you can comment and participate in the forum! :D If you are logged in you can click on your name in the YOUR ACCOUNT block to edit your profile and upload your custom avatar and edit your signature and all. You also only need one account from now on for everything! No more different accounts for the site and forums and etc.

A last thing is that we also want to interact more on social networks! As you can see there are buttons to share posts and articles you like instantly on you Facebook, Twitter or G+. If you follow us on either Facebook or Twitter we will also auto-post an announcement with a link of every new article from now on so you will always be updated!

That’s it for now. If you have something to say about the new Unseen64, please leave your message in the comment box below (which also supports threaded comments from now on LOL)! I hope you will enjoy the new Unseen64 V4! :D

Others, PC / MAC

MySims Social [Cancelled – PC / Facebook]

U64 Staff & Contributors

27-06-2013

3 Comments

After the release of MySims Skyheros, EA started to ponder what the next step for the MySims series, a spinoff the sims sims series for children, would go next. EA started development of MySims Social, which was to be released part of the Social series, which also contains The Sims Social and Simcity Social. While The Sims Social and Simcity social released, MySims Social was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Only a few screenshots of this game still exist that show preserves its existence:

It is unknown why it was cancelled, however it would appear that the last screenshot shown is an ingame shot.

Thanks to a user on BeyondSims for the contribution.

Microsoft, Others, PC / MAC, Xbox 360

Retribution [XBOX 360 / PC – Cancelled]

monokoma

27-06-2013

No Comments

Retribuition is an early XBOX 360 & PC first person / third person shooter, that was in development in 2005 / 2006 by U-235 Studios. It was planned for the “XBOX 2” even before the final spechs of the console and it would have been created thanks to the “Reality Engine” developed by Artificial Studios. The player would have been able to hire a crew to help in battles, and they would had learned to fight depending on the action they saw, or the training they have been placed in. Also, it would have been possible to buy, hijack, steal or ransack boats, to go aroung the sea or to sell them for cash. Sadly U-235 Studios never found a publisher interested in the project and Retribution was then cancelled.

[spoiler /Click here to read the original Press Release/ /Hide the Press Release/]Retribution uses Artificial Studio’s advanced game engine – Reality. It is a FPS or 3rd person shooter (your choice) with a movie like script. A large variety of photo realistic scenes to explore as you work your way through the game ensure that you never feel the game is repetitive. Featuring open play which enables you to hire and improve your crew members and their abilities, build an arsenal of weapons, acquire a range of equipment, and complete numerous mercenary tasks for cash. Attempt the main storyline missions at your leisure.

Primary Objective- Take retribution on your parents’ murderer.
Sounds – Simple
Difficulty – Hard
Problem – Finding him
Problem – Women…well…one woman
Problem – Your target commands a navy vessel and has a trained army at his disposal

Intense action, coupled with the most intelligent team management seen to date, artistic diversity rarely seen in a computer game, and a script that reads like a movie. Plus the advanced features of the Reality engine which utilises the latest in artistic techniques. At U-235 Studios just having the ability to do something isn’t enough, we set out to fully utilise and exploit every new technique. It’s not good enough to have an advanced physics system, but each object in Retribution is carefully modelled to our ‘game standard’ so interactivity is realistic.

Couple this with a multiplayer element across 11 unique scenes, each very different and so well crafted you’ll forget you’re playing the same game.

Key Features
Scenery: 11 unique land-based scenes, ranging from your tropical beach hideout, a marine corps camp, a drug lords compound, the port area of Miami and more.
Ocean: Realistic water techniques never achieved before in real time in a computer game.
AI: Elaborate and intelligent AI which makes you re-think the way you play computer games – without taking away the joy of beating impossible odds.
Damage System: A unique damage system devised in conjunction with gamers to enable enjoyable game play, visual effects, and a realism level that doesn’t detract from the fun.
Crew Advancement: Once you hire your crew members they begin to advance depending on the action they see, or the training they have been placed in.
Crew Battle Management: Unique battle management techniques to interact with your crew that are sure to become standards once other companies see what we’ve come up with.
Interaction: A detailed level of interaction between characters including realistic cause and effect. The days of ‘3 phrase characters’ are officially over.
Transport: Buy, hijack, steal or ransack boats in the Caribbean. Clean them up and sell them for cash. All attacks on vessels are done in FPS/3rdPS mode, use your brain as well as brawn to make your attacks as clean as possible.
FPS or 3rdPS: Play in first person or 3rd person modes (switch at any time) throughout the game.
Hostages: Take hostages from a battle, be it an attack on a vessel in the Caribbean you have coordinated, or a mercenary task. Manage your hostage negotiations and build up your cash, but be careful not to attract too much attention.
Environment: Realistic day/night cycles and advanced world time system which ties into various elements such as crew advancement, financial management etc.
Time warp: Retribution is played over a large geographical area, however, a unique time warp system ensures you won’t waste time waiting while travelling.
Multi-Player: Death match, team death match, cooperative and team cooperative modes.[/spoiler]

Images:

Video (Reality Engine Tech Demo):

Others, PC / MAC

The Sims 2 [Beta – PC/MAC]

U64 Staff & Contributors

25-06-2013

2 Comments

In 2001 Maxis began development of a successor to The Sims, due to the massive success of the game. The game had 2 development versions. Not many people know, but according to many users on “Mod The Sims” forums, almost all the games development data was lost during a small office server room fire, that resulted in most of the game being developed again from scratch (In addition to this, Maxis also at the time revealed that source codes for many other titles were also lost, such as the console games for example). Many things that were planned were cut due to that reason, such as weather in the base game, and scenarios (an early trailer actually shows that during a storm, the power can go out and you must fix it by pulling a breaker). Additionally, the beta basements were originally intended, but lost during the re-development.

The graphics in the original version look more like graphics seen in “The Urbz” and “The Sims Bustin Out”, which makes it possible the early version may of been using the same engine as those 2 titles, as they were pretty advanced for being console games.

Although the game went into redevelopment, alot of features from the lost build was restored, such as most of the furniture shown in the images and videos of the lost build, music and sounds. Additionally, Weather features like rain, was present in the lost build, but not in the final build. This feature was later restored in The Sims 2 Seasons.

The game was initially confirmed to release in early 2004. But due to the redevelopment the date was delayed until September 2004, which ea called “Final Touches”.

Images of the beta can be seen here:

Notice the Beta UI and logo.

In this screen, notice the beta baby and some other beta looking animations.

Animations, character design and talking in beta phase.

Notice the massive amount of sims in the small house.

Notice the Rain and Lightning death.

Beta Genetics.

Another shot of the beta, showing the popups.

Beta animations.

Beta CAS.

In the video below, many things are noted to be different. Music from “The Sims Bustin Out” is present, character voices are completely different, and a few other interesting things are shown. Also, a more in depth create a sim was present, that even allowed you to fully and 3D rotate sims heads.

Others, PC / MAC

Simcity 3000 [Beta – PC / Mac/ Linux]

U64 Staff & Contributors

24-06-2013

1 Comment

In 1997 Maxis announced Simcity 3000 and had a full trailer. The trailer was rendered full in game using the game engine. The trailer was not well received due to fan concerns that the game would be too powerful for then current gen hardware. Maxis later announced that the spring 1998 release would be pushed to Spring 1999. In under a course of 1 year, Maxis redeveloped the game from scratch, which turned out to be the game we got today. The full 3D aspect Maxis wanted for the simcity series finally returned 10 years later in the 2007 game, Simcity Societies.

The video below is the exact trailer shown at E3 1997:

The official reason for the delay and redevelopment was:

Originally, Maxis planned to make SimCity 3000 a full 3D game. Although employees thought the idea was impractical, the management pushed the idea. After a year of development, the game was graphically on par with SimCopterand Streets of SimCity. The game was displayed at the 1997 E3; the experience is still considered an embarrassment and the game was expected to fail at the time.
Later, in 1997, EA acquired Maxis. Luc Barthelet was assigned as general producer to Maxis. He decided that 3D graphics weren’t viable and brought Lucy Bradshaw to lead the project. The 3D graphics were scrapped in favor of sprite-based graphics. Instead of focusing on 3D, they expanded the core gameplay. This version of the game did better at the 1998 E3 and was well-received upon release.

The game that was scrapped would of featured a sim mode and drive mode, which were not present in the final build. However, they were restored in Simcity 4. The full 3D aspect returned in the 2007 game, Simcity Societies.

More photos of the scrapped build can be seen below: