Sly 2: Band of Thieves/Altered content

This is a list of content that was either removed or altered in the final version of Sly 2: Band of Thieves.

The Black Chateau

 * Several jobs from this episode were cut from, or altered in, the final game.
 * There was originally a job requiring Sly to ride the skids of a helicopter around Paris in order to drop into and unlock the courtyard behind the Dimitri's nightclub. In the final game, the courtyard's gate cannot be opened.
 * Originally, during the job "Silence the Alarms," guards would continue to appear infinitely, even after alarms were destroyed.
 * In the job now known as "Disco Demolitions," the pillars that Bentley needed to bomb were marked with icons instead of waypoints.
 * During the job "Follow Dimitri," Dimitri was able to see Sly when he was on top of a tightrope during the demos, which would fail the job. Dimitri also had no dialogue during this moment. Also, the player was initially required to be very close to Dimitri when he typed in the password, and also, there was no keypad during the demo. When the job was completed, Sly was not automatically taken back to the safe house.
 * The job that is now called "Waterpump Destruction" had a very different design than in the final version of the game. The ice cubes that Murray threw in that job were originally used to put out a fire instead of shutting down the laser control modules. The fire was completely removed in the final version of the game.
 * Originally, the "Moonlight Rendezvous" job involved the player chasing Neyla back to the start of the mission to gain insider knowledge about Dimitri, which would unlock the cut helicopter mission. Instead, Neyla just leads you to the nightclub's back entrance.
 * Dimitri's boss fight in "Operation: Thunder Beak" originally took place on the upper levels of the printing press room, which also had a removed pipe leading up to the second level and operational elevators. These elevators still function in the final game.
 * In the demo, Bentley and Murray had different lines of dialogue during the binocucom discussion in the "Silence the Alarms" mission.
 * Murray: Hey, Bentley, you don't have to talk to me like I'm a child.
 * Bentley: Well, I'm just trying to make it crystal clear for you.
 * Murray: What's clear to me is that you're not sure I can pull this off. Look, if I'm the guy for the job - then I'm the guy!... don't worry, The Murray will lay waste to these alarms and emerge triumphant.
 * A yacht appeared in an early version of Paris, though it is not known what purpose it would have served.
 * As mentioned by Bentley in the demo disc for Sly 2, some flashlight guards in specific missions (such as "Theater Pickpocketing") would have red flashlights instead of yellow. These guards would all be in radio contact with one another, so being seen by one would alert all of them.
 * In an early trailer for the game, Sly can be seen collecting a treasure (presumably the Gold Painting) in the backstage area of the theater, with the sleeping guard. Treasures found inside areas do not exist in the final release with one exception, the aforementioned Gold Painting in "Bug Dimitri's Office."
 * Both the warthogs and rats had different texturing. Warthogs had brown faces, with yellow eyes and blue and purple suits. This early version can be seen in the E3 demo of Sly 2. The rats, on the other hand, had a pink bandana instead of a red one; this design is only seen in pictures.
 * The sewer manhole near the Paris safe house used to be bigger. It also had road barriers surrounding it. The barriers were used in Murray's tutorial during the beta, but it remains unknown if the barriers were also supposed to be part of a mission in Paris.
 * Sly's stealth auras were missing from everywhere in this level.
 * The money suitcases from the areas around the nightclub were originally crates.
 * During the demos, the first room in the wine cellar featured a stealth mission instead of a guard brawl that Sly and Murray took part in. The transition from the first room in the wine cellar to the second room also featured a single laser trap instead of the current three.
 * Dimitri's nightclub had tougher security than in the final version. It also featured a safe, similar to the clue safes from Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.
 * Graffiti (with corrupted textures) was spread throughout the interior of the nightclub.
 * In the job that is now known as "Satellite Sabotage," there were four satellite dishes instead of three. One of the satellites was also in an alternate spot. Originally, redirecting them was required after the player hacked the control module for whatever satellite they were about to redirect.
 * Dimitri originally did not have his own introduction screen and sound effect after he emerged from his boat.
 * The rooftop guards inside Dimitri's nightclub used to be the normal rats instead of the current janitor rat guards. The guards inside the nightclub also had increased jump heights.
 * Treasures could only be found inside the nightclub. In the final version of the game, they are all located outdoors, just like in every other episode.
 * The piano inside the nightclub originally had potted plants next to it instead of the current poster with comedy and tragedy masks on it.
 * The pictures of Dimitri that surrounded the vault in Paris were absent during demos.
 * The spotlights in Dimitri's nightclub originally had blue lights coming from them despite the bulbs being illuminated with yellow light.
 * The rat guards in the job, which is now called "Operation: Thunder Break," were placed in slightly different positions in the demo than in the final version of the game.
 * The truck's health bar from this job was more complex in the demo.

A Starry Eyed Encounter

 * There was no vault in Rajan's palace during the demos.
 * At Rajan's palace, the lighting featured different contrast amounts. Some structures even appeared darker.
 * The cobra statue at the exterior of Rajan's palace originally featured a pedestal where a treasure could be placed.
 * Although the fire pit outside Rajan's palace was the same size in demos as it was in the final game, the fire was considerably smaller.
 * The cobras originally were able to respawn, even after Sly defeated them.
 * One of the rhino guards had his flashlight set up the wrong way in some of the demos.
 * The floor from the ballroom originally had lots of colors.
 * The job "Recon the Ballroom" had some differences in the demos:
 * The curtains did not disappear when using the binocucom, though taking a picture "through" a curtain still worked.
 * The player was not required to take photos of the guests; only Rajan, the Clockwerk wings and the mechanical winch.
 * Dimitri appeared in the job instead of Jean Bison.
 * Carmelita was not animated during the job and also wore her regular attire, as seen in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.
 * Attacking the guards in the job "Lower the Drawbridge" would fail the job in the demos, even if Sly had already pickpocketed their keys.
 * Rajan was always wearing the vest that can only be seen in cinematic cutscenes during the final game.
 * The job "Battle the Chopper" originally did not feature the lever that Murray needed to pull. The helicopter's health meter in that job also was missing.
 * The doorman from the jobs "Ballroom Dance Party" and "Steal a Tuxedo" did not have a black background surrounding his eyes.
 * During the demos, in order to enter rooms during the job "Steal a Tuxedo," the player needed to use balconies marked with waypoints instead of the front doors.
 * In the same job, the icon representing the tux parts was a flower in the demos.
 * The job also featured a different collection screen. Some of the tux parts had a different appearance in the E2 demo. The owners of the pieces were displayed after it was collected:
 * The bow tie belonged to Arpeggio.
 * The gloves belonged to Carmelita.
 * The dance shoes belonged to Rajan.
 * The shirt belonged to the Contessa.
 * The tuxedo jacket belonged to Jean Bison.
 * Neyla and Carmelita never wore their formal wear during Rajan's ball in the demo (except in dancing segments).
 * The gems in the job "Elephant Rampage" were originally emeralds instead of rubies.
 * The jobs in "A Starry Eyed Encounter" were not all unlocked in order; some of them were unlocked together.
 * In the demo, Murray was not carrying the Clockwerk wings during the job "Clear the Way for Murray."

The Predator Awakes

 * Early in the game's production, the map of Rajan's spice temple had lighting features that made it brighter. The skybox was also missing in the demo.
 * The elephant mouth in the spice temple originally contained a doorway, but it was removed during the final release.
 * The pipe in Rajan's spice temple did not have the grate blocking its opening in the demos.
 * The cricket chirp sounds that can be heard in the final game were missing in the demo.
 * The ruby buyers originally wore different-looking clothes.
 * One of Rajan's shoes is untextured during the demos.
 * The Cherry Bomb 500 did not have visible TNT early in production.
 * In the job "Operation: Wet Tiger," Bentley needed to shoot parachuting baboon guards instead of bombs.
 * The ruby from what is now the job "Rip-off the Ruby" was visible even after the job was completed.
 * The boss fight from the job "Showdown with Rajan" had many differences in demos:
 * There was no electric fence.
 * When Rajan was unconscious, Murray needed to throw him into a pipe.
 * The guards continuously respawned after they were defeated.

A Tangled Web

 * A few early images show there was originally going to be snow falling in this level, just like at the Contessa's prison.
 * The abandoned bank that Neyla takes over originally had wooden boards nailed to the door.

General

 * There was going to be a ninth episode that would take place in Monaco. A mission was also detailed as having Bentley hijack a yacht and crash it into the docks. It is assumed that this was going to be a second Dimitri Lousteau episode, as he has only one, and he is in Monaco in The Adventures of Sly Cooper, Issue 1.
 * An early version of the game originally featured maps. In the PAL instruction manual, there is a brief conversation between Bentley and Sly, in which they refer to them as a method for locating waypoint beacons.
 * Keys in some missions would be replaced by keycards.
 * Pickpocketing was also originally supposed to be a job-specific technique; loot that would later be able to be sold on ThiefNet was not initially implemented into the game. Pickpocket collection screens were also absent during the demos.
 * It originally took three hits from Murray to kill a rooftop guard. It originally took two slam moves to defeat rooftop guards, while three were required to finish off flashlight guards.
 * In the demo, coins would appear in larger amounts.
 * The coin counter HUD element featured a 3D spinning coin instead of a stationary 2D coin.
 * Clue bottles initially did not exist in the demo. When they were introduced to the game, however, they did not make a sound until very late into development.
 * Some characters were originally supposed to have different names:
 * Neyla's name was originally spelled "Neela."
 * The Contessa was originally named "the Countessa."
 * Jean Bison was originally called "Jean Cretin."
 * Rajan was originally written to be Neyla's father, but this was changed to simplify the plotline.
 * The splash intro from Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus with the Sucker Punch logo was a placeholder in some demos.
 * Many jobs contained different names:
 * "Satellite Sabotage" was called "Breaking and Entering," a name that would later be used for the wine cellar job.
 * "Bug Dimitri's Office" was called "Bugging Dimitri."
 * "Waterpump Destruction" was called "Waterpump Brawl."
 * "Theater Pickpocketing" was called "Pickpocket."
 * "Disco Demolitions" was called "Disco Destruction."
 * "Operation: Thunder Beak" was called "Dimitri Heist."
 * "Boardroom Brawl" was called "Protect Bentley."
 * "Rip-Off the Ruby" was called "Steal the Ruby."
 * "Spice Grinder Destruction" was called "TNT Barrel."
 * Murray had a different voice for the demo; whether this was doing another voice or a different voice actor entirely is unknown.
 * The cinematic cutscenes for the game were originally animated like they were in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. The introduction cinematic of "The Black Chateau" also had a placeholder voice actor, instead of.
 * The lighting values for the game were drastically different, the most notable difference being that Paris (as seen in "The Black Chateau") was much darker.
 * The safehouses had many differences:
 * The table in each of them was glass-topped and rectangular.
 * Bentley was always typing on the laptop where ThiefNet is accessed instead of crunching numbers on a calculator. This would most likely be due to the fact that there was no ThiefNet earlier on in the game's production stage.
 * The chairs in each safehouse were all two cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another.
 * While standing idle in the safehouse, Sly was not animated.
 * The safehouse in Paris had different windows on the roof.
 * The waypoint beacons originally could only be seen through a character's binocucom instead of being able to ping them with.
 * The "meter" part of all Thief Meters had the same design as the ones used for Bentley's RC chopper. Sly's Thief Meter also did not have the black outline on it.
 * Players could originally spam the use of Bentley's sleep darts.
 * Murray was originally not animated while he was holding something that he picked up with his "Stomp" move.
 * The only submenu of the game that initially worked was "Sound options," and it would also freeze the game if the player tried to close out.
 * A mechanic that was cut from the final game involved the player holding down the button. This would focus the camera on the nearest waypoint or guard.
 * When the player was being sneaky, the Thief Meters would not emit yellow rings. The original counterpart to this was an exclamation point being shown above the avatar's head.
 * The guards in the game originally dealt twice the damage than they currently do from their attacks.
 * If the player pressed and then  repeatedly, Sly could fly.
 * The Cooper Van was nowhere near both the Paris safe house and India safehouse (near Rajan's palace) in the early demos.
 * Slideshows did not exist in demos.
 * Markers for some of the jobs were in different locations than in the final version.
 * During binocucuom chats, the waypoints were originally always yellow and really simple instead of the way they would normally be represented.
 * The "Job Complete" screens were very different. Tasks from those jobs were shown above a character's head, then checked off.
 * Bentley lacked his gloves when his "job complete" screen was shown.
 * "Job Failed" screens looked very different than in the final version of the game.
 * All of the vaults in the game were originally designed to look like bank vaults instead of safes.
 * Neyla's model depicted her as being very chubby in the demos.
 * In demos, Thief Meters for bosses looked similar to the ones in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.
 * During the demos, spoken dialogue was only used in binocucom chats. All other times, text boxes were used.
 * Bentley had a decreased jump height in the demos.
 * Murray's jump height was increased in the demos.
 * Sly's paraglider was originally striped, but in the final game, it has his symbol on it.
 * In the E2 demo, the paraglider was available as early as "The Black Chateau." while in the final game, it is available as early as "A Tangled Web".
 * When guards were alerted, the symbol on a character's Thief Meter would not repeatedly pulse red, but there would rather be a red exclamation point in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
 * There were three scrapped villains - a pirate-themed gorilla, an Aztec panther and a western-themed bull.