Multi Theft Auto Hits Vice City Again

Chris McArthur writes "The MTA Team proudly announces the release of an updated version of Multi Theft Auto: Vice City, this time adding extensive unofficial PC multiplayer functionality to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. MTA:VC 0.3 introduces the long-anticipated walking and running animations, a refined aiming system for improved accuracy, more extensive anti-cheat / trainer prevention, numerous bug fixes including the back wheel lock and weapon sync, as well as a few changes to the stunt mode."

Comments

I really hope rock*

[cyrax777]

is listening and incorprates Multiplayer in GTA4. MultiTheft Auto is fun but being a aftermarket addon isnt the stablest of things.

Re:I really hope rock*

[ir0b0t]

GTA Vice City has cheats to make the cars fly and to play a fat guy --- now it has multiplayer. Is there a cheat or addon that lets the player save during a mission? Is that too much to ask?

Re:I really hope rock*

[damiam]

Yes, that's too much to ask. GTA is designed that way because, otherwise, it's too easy. If you want to be a cheater, there are plenty of other ways.

Re:I really hope rock*

[ir0b0t]

I don't want a cheat that makes the character invulnerable or have unlimited ammo or all the heavy weapons. Don't those cheats make the game easier than a quicksave? Being able to save a game in mid-mission hardly seems like a cheat. A quicksave is often a standard part of a game. You're right that its not easy to start the missions over and repeat all of the same parts over and over and over . . . esp. that remote control helicopter. But its not fun either.

Re:I really hope rock*

[damiam]

A quicksave is often a standard part of a game.

Yeas, but it's not part of GTA for a reason. Many missions are multipart, so saving during them makes them quite a bit easier (easier, say, than playing as a fat man or having pedestrians-on-crack would, for example). You'll notice that there is no invulnerability cheat in GTA, just health cheats (which are fairly useless if you're in a major gunfight). That's because Rockstar doesn't want the cheats to completely ruin the game, just make it easier.

As for the remote-controlled helicopter, saving during missions wouldn't help if you still had to save at a garage, because that'd take too long. If what you're talking about is a true quicksave, I doubt that's technically feasible in the GTA engine, because of the way it store games data (the cars on the street aren't the same when you resume a game, how could much else be?). It'd be much trickier to program, as well as having a huge effect on gameplay.

You are right, though, that helicopter is a dastardly mission. I spent hours on it before giving up, and going on to beat the rest of the game. I eventually came back, withh more heli experience, and used some strategy (before starting the timer by picking up a bomb, go in first and kill everyone in the building with the heli blades), and beat it.

Re:I really hope rock*

[ir0b0t]

That's a GREAT idea for the helicopter mission. I wish I'd thought of it!

small file size

[Anonymous Coward]

I love how it's less than a mb, for a full installation!

No peds, no other traffic...

[zamboni1138]

This reminds me of multi-player Midtown Madness.

Once this has pedestrians and normal city traffic my friends and I will have hours of fun killing each other (I understand they are having a sync problem because of the random method in which traffic appears in GTA:VC). But something tells me that you'll only be able to play this on a local network because of bandwidth and latency issues.

Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[Spokehedz]

It goes without saying that they (Rockstar Games) make lots of money on the franchise, due to the fact that there making more GTA games.

Having said that, lets look at the logical side of things:

1. Multiplayer is very hard to code correctly on consoles. You have to get it right the first time, or else it'll be a Really Bad Thing(TM), and you can't issue patches later to fix the games like you can on the PC--and your users will rip you a new one because of it.

2. Multiplayer is also very hard to debug, because what works for a low-latency connection does not work for a high-latency connection. This means more betatesters, as well as more time spent betatesting. This compounds with the fact that if you change the single-player game code, the code you did for the Multiplayer might not work now, and vice versa... which means more and more betatesting.

So, logically, if there already making money hand over fist with these games... then why complicate matters any more than they have to be? Its hard enough putting out a game that's changed the way society thinks about stealing cars and the simulations of them, why would they worry about a feature that maybe--just maybe--a few hundred thousand users will use.

I for one say this: Focus on making the game look good, and play good. They've done good so far, I say let them continue on this path. Don't muck about with something that's working, and all that.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[FlipmodePlaya]

Multiplayer doesn't have to be online.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[schotty]

Okay, then. Whatabout making a multi only version. Hell, why not even join the massively multiplayer online only club?

I agree with your logic, very few companies have gotten the net code right on the first release (iD and Epic are the few that come to mind). Why not make a separate entity then?

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[damiam]

Multiplayer is very hard to code correctly on consoles. You have to get it right the first time, or else it'll be a Really Bad Thing(TM)

Fuck consoles. They could at least support PC multiplayer. If the MTA guys can hack it in and have it work, it shouldn't be too hard for Rockstar to do a better implementation.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[Babbster]

Is this 2004 or 1998? Online console play has been done so many times now, and in so many genres, that it's laughable to argue that the process is too complex. If Rockstar thinks there's a market and is concerned about pushing back their main products, they could even release a multiplayer game separate from the single-player game (a la Unreal Tournament) - because of the popularity of the franchise, both games would sell well.

Online play, on PC or console, isn't the mystery it once was. Whilst I don't personally care if there's ever an online-ready GTA, there's no reason AT ALL that Rockstar couldn't do it. Oh yes, and as far as concerns about latency go, it's a simple thing indeed to restrict the game to broadband only.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[Rubbersoul]

Oh yes, and as far as concerns about latency go, it's a simple thing indeed to restrict the game to broadband only.

Agreed, in fact Xbox live is a broadband only service.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[Babbster]

Even Sony has recognized the limitations of dial-up connections by making their two biggest online titles - SoCom and SoCom II - broadband-only affairs.

Re:Lets face it: These games rock without MP.

[zero_offset]

You have to get it right the first time, or else it'll be a Really Bad Thing(TM), and you can't issue patches later to fix the games like you can on the PC

Actually, they *can* issue updates through XBOX Live...

Man, I can't wait

[Locky]

'MTA:VC 0.3 introduces the long-anticipated walking and running animations'

I certainly hope the developers come good with their promise for textured polygons in 0.4, man, that'd rock.

MTA isn't so great, honestly

[nedric]

I know YMMV, but seriously this is a poorly executed mod. The idea is great and they suceeded to a point but this is no Counterstrike. The front-end sucks almost completely, and the resulting game seems often buggy. The trigger for multiplay involved some sort of insane action sequence like getting into and out of a car or something. Until they improve their interface immensely, I recommend you don't bother.

Re:MTA isn't so great, honestly

[Anonymous Coward]

you obviously haven't played the mod in a while, they are coming along quite nicely imho

Re:MTA isn't so great, honestly

[anon*127.0.0.1]

I agree the mod still needs some work, but this is still only version 0.3. I think they're doing pretty well when you consider where they started from.

My main problem with MTA is that there just isn't that much to do. The map is huge, and it seems like I spend most of my time just driving aimlessly, looking for someone to ram or kill or whatever. I'm hoping that once the netcode is stable, we'll see them introduce some team games. A version of CTF could be a lot of fun if it's implemented right. Some sort of pursuit mode would be fun too... make one player "it", have the rest of the players pursuing.

UML Diagrams Please...

[Anonymous Coward]

I expect to see a full Rose model including (linked) use case descriptions and dialog charts at the beginning of semester 6 -- nothing less than perfection will be sufficient.

I'm surprised

[M3wThr33]

They're actually showing that GTA3 still exists. The last time /. published a GTA:VC:MTA update, the site was devoid of GTA3:MTA content.

whatever happened to single player?

[understyled]

whats the big deal with mmo games and the like? don't you people enjoy quality single player games anymore?