Recently, the life simulation strategy game Spore was remembered again. The Hidden Palace, a group of enthusiasts who preserve old games, has published a pre-release version of the game online.
This build of Spore dates back to February 19, 2008, the full release of the game took place six months later.
The development team had different visions for the game: some wanted to make it cute, while others wanted to focus on scientific realism. The final version became a compromise between these approaches.
The Hidden Palace talked about the differences between the early version of Spore and the release version: it features cut creatures and functions, such as the landscape, planet, and flora editor.
A Spore fan with the nickname MedicInDisquise noted:
So many little changes that we've only seen before in blurry press photos and code remnants. An early and raw version of the space stage. A HUGE AMOUNT of debug menus. I can't overstate how insane this find is. Whoever the anonymous donor [who published the build] is - I take my hat off.