Removed Features

Since the beginning of development, some features have been removed from the game, having been replaced or deemed unsuitable for the game at its current state. Most of these features were removed before Early Access release on Steam.

## Ghosts

General
* For a short while after the game's release on Steam, one type of ghost event was to mimic player models who were either alive but outside the building or dead, and walk towards a particular player before vanishing. Phantoms performing this event would also show putrefied skin on the player model.[*verification needed*] This type of ghost event was removed at an unknown time soon after.

Jinn
* Jinns were able to affect the weather. This was replaced by a chasing speed that depended on whether the player was running, which itself was later replaced with its current ability of having a higher speed if its target is further away.

Mare
* Mares had the ability to cause hallucinations, which would drop a player's sanity, and could be stopped by toggling one's flashlight. This was replaced with the current light-based hunt sanity threshold.
	+ The old journal description of this ability was once accidentally added in 0.3.1.0, and reverted in a same-version hotfix.

## Evidence

* **Bile:** replaced with Ghost Particles, which are now known as Ghost Orbs.
* **Blood:** replaced with EMF Level 5.
* **Bug** (insects): replaced with various other evidences.
* **Dirty Water:** replaced with Ghost Writing, but still exists as a photo reward.
* **Ectoplasm:** replaced with Spirit Box.
* **Handprints:** originally found on walls, instead of certain objects that the ghost interacted with. This is now known as Fingerprints.
* **Wall Scratches**
* **Fingerprints:** Replaced with Ultraviolet. Fingerprints only included finger or handprints left by the ghost when interacting with applicable surfaces or items, such as doors, keyboards, and light switches (though these evidences still count as Ultraviolet). Footprints were not an evidence but a Photo Reward, and every ghost except the Wraith could create them.

## Hunts

*Main article: Hunt*
* A ghost was able to teleport if it could not find a target during hunts. Currently, there is no ghost that can teleport *during* a hunt, though the Wraith can teleport randomly to a player outside of hunts, and certain phases (e.g. manifestation ghost event, end of a hunt) require the ghost to teleport.

## Gameplay

* On some maps, garage and basement doors required keys that could be found within the map. The ghost could also occasionally lock these doors. The door locking feature was removed before the game's initial release on Steam, while these keys were removed later on. Only three keys currently exist: one for unlocking the (main) entrance door, one for turning off the car alarm on certain maps, and one for the cabin in Maple Lodge Campsite (the ghost cannot lock this door).
* Until 0.4.0, a random assortment of three to five maps would be given to the host of the lobby to select from for the next mission. If the maps given by the system were undesirable, either one of the maps would have to be loaded then immediately left; or in multiplayer the host would have to leave the lobby, thereby promoting another player in the lobby as host to see which range of maps they were given.
	+ For a short time after release, the difficulty of these contracts were also random, further necessitating such measures to try and play the desired maps and/or difficulties.
* Until 0.3.0.4, it was possible to interact with equipment that was on the floor or even held by other players. This was removed to prevent trolling during hunts as electronic equipment held by players now attracted the ghost.
* Footsteps from an idling ghost could be periodically heard without the aid of any equipment, which could be reliably used to narrow down its location. Since 0.3.0, ghost footsteps can only be heard when using a Parabolic Microphone or when the ghost has walked through salt.
* Players used to have to search for the ghost's name around the map instead of being already provided with it. This feature was removed early on in development as it was deemed too difficult on larger maps. The toggleable computer monitor found on 6 Tanglewood Drive displaying "Thomas Wilson", as well as the name "Nancy" above the crib in the Nursery, are remnants of this feature.
* Players with low sanity would start to hear auditory hallucinations that would increase in frequency as their sanity decayed. This was removed shortly before the early access release of the game.
* Prior to 0.9.0, seeing freezing breath was a conclusive indicator of Freezing Temperatures without having to use a Thermometer.
* Prior to 0.9.0, training took place at 6 Tanglewood Drive as a modified Amateur contract with no secondary objectives or rewards. A ghost was haunting the location, its type was randomly selected, it provided evidence as normal, but it could not hunt. A short slideshow displayed on the TV in the living room detailed each evidence and how to spot them.

## Equipment

* Infrared Light Sensors emitted light when a player or ghost walked past. This feature was merged into the current Motion Sensor.

## Maps

* 6 Tanglewood Drive used to have skeletons scattered around the house which could only be seen by dead players. This was removed shortly after the Steam Early Access release of the game.
* Asylum was the first large map added to the game. This map was notable for both its immense size, with over 200 distinct rooms, as well as its confusing maze-like layout, earning a reputation of being a notoriously difficult and frustrating map even for more seasoned players. This map was replaced with the smaller and much more intuitive Sunny Meadows Mental Institution.
* Before the introduction of Cursed Possessions, the Ouija Board was a special standalone item which had a 50% chance per contract of spawning at one of several set locations on a given map. Moreover, questions asked to the Ouija Board had a chance to fail and would induce a severe sanity loss. It would go through several changes before becoming part of the Cursed Possessions collection.
* Both Farmhouses (Grafton and Bleasdale), as well as 13 Willow Street, had a few decorative voodoo doll props scattered around the location, which could be photographed for a Photo Reward. These voodoo dolls had no additional functionality nor effect on the ghost, though there were many rumors abound that throwing them could force the ghost to perform an interaction or that they would always point towards the ghost room when they landed on the ground. These voodoo doll props were removed with the introduction of Cursed Possessions in 0.5.0.
* Maple Lodge Campsite was originally released with an entirely different layout. The initial iteration was significantly more open, featuring very large outdoor spaces and scant hiding spots. The vast open spaces notably caused performance issues with line of sight calculation, and made it difficult for players to escape a chasing ghost. The map was almost entirely changed with the 0.9.1.0 update for optimization and balance; the only unchanged sections of the original map are the Cabin and the Pier.

## References

1. ↑ https://discord.com/channels/435431947963990026/661365069006897154
2. ↑ https://youtu.be/QL3\_gLmeMVI?t=13845