GTA III SCM Differences (PS2)

[thehambone]

This topic serves a list of changes made to MAIN.SCM between the initial PAL release of GTA III (commonly referred to as the 1.40 release) and the 2nd PAL release (commonly referred to as the 1.60 release). I will refer to these as SCMv1 and SCMv2 respectively. Copies of GTA III that use SCMv1 are considered to be rare, as most copies in circulation use SCMv2. In the US, both releases (original and Greatest Hits) use SCMv2. I don't have any information on Double Pack discs, but I reckon they all use SCMv2. Most changes are subtle and appear to correct small gameplay inconsistencies. Others are quite noticeable, like the missing checkpoint sounds from the off-road missions. Save files are incompatible between games running SCMv1 and SCMv2.

 

SCM Information:

SCMv1:

Size: 605,327

Date Modified: 2001-09-24

CRC-32: 2302299E

MAIN size: 108,762

Largest mission: 25,285

 

SCMv2:

Size: 606,553

Date Modified: 2001-10-02

CRC-32: 914AA1D2

MAIN size: 108,797

Largest mission: 25,299

 

The date modified is not a super-reliable indicator of the file version, so take it with a grain of salt. For instance, MAIN.SCM on the NTSC-J (Japanese) disc is SCMv2 because it has the same size and CRC-32, but it was last modified on 2003-06-19.

 

Notes about the game version number:

I made a distinction between the version number found in SYSTEM.CNF (v1.40 and v1.60) and the script version (SCMv1 and SCMv2) because I do not believe that the version number found on disc is tied to the script version. The NTSC-U (USA) discs say 1.40 in SYSTEM.CNF despite using SCMv2. Similarly, NTSC-J (Japanese) discs say 1.03 and also use SCMv2. Therefore, the number in SYSTEM.CNF is not a reliable metric to determine the disc version without additional context.

 

Changelist:

The following is a list of changes made to SCMv1 to create SCMv2:

 1) Mission points
    a. Total number of mission points decreased from 156 to 154. It is unclear
       whether this has an effect on 100% completion (will check this soon!)
 2) Unique Stunt Jumps
    a. Callahan Bridge USJ camera coordinates changed from
       <853.8125,-927.625,34.0625> to <841.8125,-930.125,34.3125>.
    b. Delay before restoring the game speed after landing a jump changed from
       800ms to 600ms.
 3) Ray missions
    a. $1086 = 1 before starting all Ray mission threads. $1086 appears to be
       an override for the special camera that's activated when you enter the
       park restrooms. Curiously, this override is also set at the very start
       of each Ray mission thread in both the v1 and v2 scripts; it is unclear
       whether this was added to prevent some weird camera glitch during the
       cutscene, or if it's merely the result of an overly-cautious script
       programmer.
 4) Wasted help thread
    a. Can now skip the cutscene
    b. Medic actor pedtypes changed from 16 to 4
    c. Area around cutscene cleared at start and peds/cars do not spawn during
       cutscene
    d. All cars and actors are destoyed at the end of the cutscene
 5) Busted help thread
    a. Can now skip the cutscene
    b. Cop actor pedtypes changed from 6 to 4
    c. All cars and actors are destoyed at the end of the cutscene
 6) 4x4 missions
    a. A sound is now played when a checkpoint is picked up
 7) Paramedic
    a. When mission points are awarded for dropping off 35 and 70 patients,
       the code now jumps to a subroutine to award the point instead of doing it
       in-line (more on this later)
 8) The Getaway
    a. Clear area around bank: range params changed from 15,4 to 15,6
 9) Blow Fish
    a. Fade to white added after fish factory explosion cutscene
10) Bomb Da Base: Act II
    a. No mission attempt given until after player has the money
11) Turismo
    a. Next checkpoint blip size decreased slightly
12) Big'n'Veiny
    a. If Sayonara Salvatore passed, Diablos are given bats and pistols instead
       of bats and Uzis for the duration of the mission.
13) Sayonara Salvatore
    a. Fade out added to cutscene of Salvatore leaving Luigi's (unconfirmed)
14) Silence the Sneak
    a. Cop actor pedtypes changed from 6 to 4
15) Waka-Gashira Wipeout!
    a. When the mission is failed, game no longer waits until the player leaves
       the carpark rooftop before exiting the mission thread.
16) Grand Theft Aero
    a. Ensure CUTOBJ05 is available before playing construction site cutscene
       (used for the lift)
17) Toyminator
    a. Blow up RC buggy before declaring mission passed

Thanks to @GTAKid667 for playing through a v1 game and confirming many of the differences!

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by thehambone

[psxdriverplayer]

On 8/26/2018 at 3:05 AM, thehambone said:

Notes about the game version number:

I made a distinction between the version number found in SYSTEM.CNF (v1.40 and v1.60) and the script version (SCMv1 and SCMv2) because I do not believe that the version number found on disc is tied to the script version. The NTSC-U (USA) discs say 1.40 in SYSTEM.CNF despite using SCMv2. Similarly, NTSC-J (Japanese) discs say 1.03 and also use SCMv2. Therefore, the number in SYSTEM.CNF is not a reliable metric to determine the disc version without additional context.

I want to add that yes, is this way, since the version number just indicates what version of the current product code is. This is the reason that seemingly the same game can have different version numbering between releases, as sometimes different languages have technically their own product codes, a.k.a. being technically a different game - but only when this happens. With GTA III, Australian PAL game is v1.00 internally (it has English only, or so I've heard). It also has a different product code from the main PAL version.

So it should be obvious that NTSC variants just have the version number they do (it annoys me when PAL, NTSC and Japan are used while Japan also uses NTSC).

Which revision one has can be identified from the disc in PAL region, if after the product code (SLES-50330) is a hash sign (# <- that one) it's the later one despite being possibly original looking. Without one, and you got the rarro original. Things such as "/EURO" or "/UK" after the product code do not count. Only "#". Platinum owners can confirm what their disc contains, it's either "/P" or "-P" after the product code, which in this case, is also that later revision.

[Stahli]

Have point 1 and 7 on the changelist been checked in the meantime? Can you reach 100% or are you stuck at 98%?

 

As I've read in other topics, the Paramedic Mission has something to do with the 156 Mission Points. Among other things, it was assumed that if you only complete the Paramedic Mission up to level 12 once, then you can only achieve 98%. However, if you successfully complete the Paramedic mission 3 times up to level 12, the 100% would be possible. Have anyone tried this already?

Edited December 7, 2021 by Stahli

[psxdriverplayer]

2 hours ago, Stahli said:

Have point 1 and 7 on the changelist been checked in the meantime? Can you reach 100% or are you stuck at 98%?

 

As I've read in other topics, the Paramedic Mission has something to do with the 156 Mission Points. Among other things, it was assumed that if you only complete the Paramedic Mission up to level 12 once, then you can only achieve 98%. However, if you successfully complete the Paramedic mission 3 times up to level 12, the 100% would be possible. Have anyone tried this already?

Point 1 should be changed there, I did everything in v1.40 and got stuck at 98%.

Herd some people have tried to complete Ambulance repeatedly with a New Game and managed some percentage by repeating it so repeating that to get to 100% should be a thing. I don't think I'll bother with that though.

[Stahli]

I also played through version 1.40 completely and could also only reach 98%.

 

I noticed that the NPCs don't lose limbs or heads when you shoot them.

Edit: I forgot that it wasn't possible on version 1.60 either.

Edited September 28, 2022 by Stahli

[thehambone]

Thanks @Stahli and @psxdriverplayer! I've been meaning to update this list for a while. I went through both SCMs a few months ago and made a list of things to check, but other things took priority. I'll try to get back to that soon.

Thanks for confirming the 98% bug. I figured it was real but it's good to have some confirmation from actual playthroughs. It'd be nice to confirm whether 100% can be achieved by completing Paramedic two more times. I'm 98% sure (heh) this will work since this percentage exploit exists on all versions of GTA3 IIRC.  @Stahli, are you willing to share your save with me if possible?

Here's an explanation of why the 98% bug exists that I posted in another thread a while back:

On 11/2/2019 at 5:50 PM, thehambone said:

After studying the game script, I have some insights into this whole PALv1 100% thing.

tl;dr you can get 100% in the PALv1 game, but you have to complete Paramedic three times all the way thru level 12.

 

 

Now for the long, detailed explanation...

 

The PALv1 (1.40) game uses a slightly different SCM, which I call SCMv1 (all other PS2 versions use an updated SCM which I call SCMv2). Game progress in GTA games is computed with "mission points" and in GTA3, there are 154 mission points. However, in SCMv1 the total mission points was erroneously programmed in as 156. So that means you can only get 154/156=98.7% on a PALv1 game. However, there is a bug in the Paramedic mission (on all versions of GTA3) where you'll always get a mission point each time you complete it thru level 12 (thus making it possible to get above 100% in GTA3, fun fact). Basically the game doesn't check whether you've already completed Paramedic before, and just blindly gives you the mission point. Thus, you can complete Paramedic two extra times to get the total number of mission points needed for the game to say you have 100%! So, in a nutshell, there's a bug preventing you from attaining 100%, but you can get around this bug by exploiting a different bug. How convenient! Now, why was the total number of mission points coded with the wrong value in the first place? Well, I have a theory, but first we need a little context.

 

In the SCM, there's a command called PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS which grants the player one or more mission points. These are given after every mission, side mission, 10 hidden packages, etc. At the beginning of the game script (which executes before the Give Me Liberty starts), there is a command called SET_PROGRESS_TOTAL which tells the game how many mission points there are in total. Now, if you comb through the SCMv2 script code and count up the number of mission points given by PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS (just count the number of times you see the command, basically), you'll get 154, which is the correct number. You'll also see "SET_PROGRESS_TOTAL 154" in SCMv2, which is again correct. However, do the same on the SCMv1 code and you'll get 156, which is incorrect! And in SCMv1, you see "SET_PROGRESS_TOTAL 156"! So why is this? Well, there's a slight difference in the way Paramedic was coded in SCMv1 vs SCMv2, and I think this is where the miscount comes from. Just to be clear, the number of theoretically attainable mission points does not change between the two scripts (ignoring the Paramedic level 12 bug I mentioned earlier for a minute), but the number of times the PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS command is used in each script does change.

 

The Paramedic mission is a bit weird in the way it awards mission points. In Paramedic, you get one mission point for dropping off 35 patients, another for dropping off 70 patients, and a third for completing all the way thru level 12. Now, the code sets up two cases for awarding points for 35 and 70 patients: 1) you drop off the 35th or 70th patient in the middle of the current round, and 2) you drop off the 35th or 70th patient at the end of the round (triggering the next round). Unfortunately, this is poorly coded -- the same snippet of code for awarding mission points is used in two separate places, both handling basically the same event (dropping off a patient), and both snippets of code use the PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS command. In other words, PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS appears 5 times in the mission code when there are really only 3 mission points to award, it's just that there are two ways in which to get 2 of those mission points.

 

Why is this a problem? Well, from what we know about GTA3's Script Compiler, the compiler automatically totals up the number of mission points when compiling MAIN.SCM and shoves that value into the SET_PROGRESS_TOTAL parameter. In the original Paramedic code, the compiler would've counted up 5 mission points instead of 3, and boom! there's your 100% bug. Crazy how this small code flaw made it impossible for early PAL players to get 100% completion! This issue must've been discovered soon after the game's release, as it's fixed in the next release (which we all know as 1.60 or PALv2/NTSC). It was corrected by moving the duplicated PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS commands to separate subroutines in the Paramedic code, thus reducing the number of times that PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS appears by two. Both versions of the Paramedic code are shown below:

 

SCMv1 Paramedic Code Snippet:

// This code snippet appears twice in the mission
00D6: if
0018:   $total_saved_peds > 34
004D: jump_if_false @AMBULAN_5178
014D: text_pager 'PAGEB13' 140 100 1  // Health delivered to hideout
030C: progress_made += 1              // Awards mission point
...
00D6: if
0018:   $total_saved_peds > 69
004D: jump_if_false @AMBULAN_5242
014D: text_pager 'PAGEB14' 140 100 1  // Adrenaline delivered to hideout
030C: progress_made += 1              // Awards mission point

 

SCMv2 Paramedic Code Snippet:

// This code snippet appears twice in the mission
00D6: if
0018:   $total_saved_peds > 34
004D: jump_if_false @AMBULAN_11479
014D: text_pager 'PAGEB13' 140 100 1  // Health delivered to hideout
0050: gosub @AMBULAN_12428            // Awards mission point
...
00D6: if
0018:   $total_saved_peds > 69
004D: jump_if_false @AMBULAN_11546
014D: text_pager 'PAGEB14' 140 100 1  // Adrenaline delivered to hideout
0050: gosub @AMBULAN_12434            // Awards mission point

...

// This snippet appears only once
// Added to reduce the number of PLAYER_MADE_PROGRESS commands (opcode 030C) by two
:AMBULAN_12428
030C: progress_made += 1
0051: return

:AMBULAN_12434
030C: progress_made += 1
0051: return

 

  Hide contents

Wow, you made it to the bottom of my long-winded explanation of a really obscure GTA3 bug! Congrats, here's a cookie  and another fun fact: Paramedic was originally supposed to have 15 levels, as evidenced by the leaked SCM source code. Could you imagine having to collect 120 patients in order to complete that god-awful mission?

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by thehambone

[Stahli]

10 hours ago, thehambone said:

 It'd be nice to confirm whether 100% can be achieved by completing Paramedic two more times. I'm 98% sure (heh) this will work since this percentage exploit exists on all versions of GTA3 IIRC. 

I want to try that too, but so far I haven't felt like it. 

 

10 hours ago, thehambone said:

 @Stahli, are you willing to share your save with me if possible?

Yes I will send you the savegame by PM. There are two savegames in there. Once the savegame with 98% including special vehicles and once a starter savegame with 52%. Normally you can reach 53% in a Startersavegame but that was not possible in this version. Probably due to the 156 mission points. But please do not share without permission.

 

Savegame details:

Spoiler

 

		SLES-50330
		VER = 1.40
		VMODE = PAL
Region:		UK

Slot 1: 'THE EXCHANGE'
======================
- 98%
- Englisch
- Cheats: 0
- Drowned: 0
- Arrests: 0
- Hospital visits: 0

GARAGE PORTLAND
2.3. Patriot			BP and DP with Crusher Glitch

GARAGE STAUNTON ISLAND
1.6. Trashmaster with Bomb 	BP/FP
1.8. Barracks OL		BP and DP with Crusher Glitch
1.9. Bobcat			BP/EP/FP and DP with Crusher Glitch
2.0. Dark Red Cheetah		EC and DP with Crusher Glitch
2.1. Dark Red Stinger		EC and DP with Crusher Glitch
2.2. Dark Red Infernus		EC and DP with Crusher Glitch

GARAGE SHORESIDE VALE
1.0. Teal Kuruma: 		EC and DP with Crusher Glitch
1.1. Securicar: 		BP/FP 
1.2. Unique Corpse Manana
1.3. Cheetah			BP/EP/FP and DP with Crusher Glitch
1.4. Black Stretch		AP/EC 
1.7. Black Rumpo		EC and DP with Crusher Glitch




SLOT 2: "GRIPPED"
=================
- 52%
- Starter Savegame
- Englisch
- Cheats: 0
- Drowned: 0
- Arrests: 0
- Hospital visits: 0



LIST OF THINGS NEEDED TO BE DONE TO ACHIEVE 100% COMPLETION
===========================================================
- All Storyline missions
- Deliver BF Injection to Pike Creek Garage
- Deliver FBI Car, Rhino and Barracks OL to Emergency Vehicle Crane


FULL LIST OF COMPLETED SIDE MISSIONS:
=====================================

INTRODUCTION MISSIONS
---------------------
Give Me Liberty
Luigi's Girls


MISCELLANEOUS
-------------
Hidden Packages: 100/100
Rampages: 20/20
Unique Jumps: 20/20


VEHICLE MISSIONS
----------------
Paramedic
Vigilante 20/20 (Portland)|20/20 (Staunton)|20/20 (Shoreside)
Firefighter 20/20 (Portland)|20/20 (Staunton)|20/20 (Shoreside)
Taxi: 100/100


CHALLANGES
----------
Patriot Playground
A Ride In The Park
Gripped
Multistory Mayhem


TOYZ MISSIONS
-------------
Mafia Massacre
Diablo Destruction
Casino Calamity
Rumpo Rampage


PORTLAND HARBOR CRANE
---------------------
***missing***  FBI Car
***missing***  Barracks OL 	(Location: Phil's Army Surplus)
***missing***  Rhino 		(Location: Phil's Army Surplus after Final Story Mission)
Ambulance
Firetruck
Police
Enforcer


PORTLAND DOCKS IMPORT GARAGE
----------------------------
Securicar
Moonbeam
Coach
Flatbed
Linerunner
Trashmaster
Patriot
Mr. Whoopee
Blista
Mule
Yankee
Bobcat
Dodo
Bus
Rumpo
Pony


PIKE CREEK IMPORT GARAGE
------------------------
***missing***  BF Injection (Location: After Mission Sayonara Salvatore outside an apartment block in Hepburn Heights)
Sentinel
Cheetah
Banshee
Idaho
Infernus
Taxi
Kuruma
Stretch
Perennial
Stinger
Manana
Landstalker
Stallion
Cabbie
Esperanto

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Stahli

[lol232]

Fast forward to 2022, I hereby confirm that completing the paramedic missions 2 additional times on PAL 1.40 will yield you 100% completion.

With that said I think I'm the first person ever to achieve 100% on the PAL 1.40 version of the game. Ended up doing Paramedic missions 3 times (once that is required anyway and 2 additional times) so I did it once on each island.

 

Spoiler

I got a CRT TV after this picture so it of course it looks different.

Staunton was very boring and took longer than Shoreside and Portland combined but I did it on first try, Shoreside's first 3-4 levels are hard since you kinda have to guess where a patient is and if your guess is wrong it's over since you don't have enough time, later levels will be easier since there'll be a patient in every area anyway so guessworking isn't needed. Portland was the usual, higher levels get harder and you gotta haul ass more but it's the fastest one.

 

I can give out my saves immediately. I played it on the original PS2 fat softmodded to play games from a HDD via OPL. 

 

The starter save has all the possible things completed like in usual starter saves, has 53% completion, paramedic done 3 times, the perfect triple insane stunt bonus achieved, and DP teal Kuruma in Shoreside Vale garage. Just have to complete all the story and payphone missions, deliver the FBI Car, Barracks OL, Rhino and BF Injection to their respective import/export places for 100%.

 

The link to the starter save is here.

 

The 100% save is just that same save with everything else complete, all 10 Securicars delivered to the Securicar Cracker Garage and Boss criminal rating achieved, and a bunch of special vehicles acquired. And the download link for the 100% save can be found here. Never busted or wasted in either of the two saves.

 

Special vehicle list:

Spoiler

Portland: 

DP/BP Patriot

 

Staunton Island:

DP/EC Crimson Cheetah

DP/EC Crimson Infernus

DP/EC Crimson Stinger

AP Bobcat

DP/BP Barracks OL

BP/FP Trashmaster

 

Shoreside Vale:

EP/EC Black trimmed Securicar

DP/EC Teal Kuruma

AP Cheetah

AP/EC Black Stretch

DP/EC Black Rumpo

Corpse Manana

 

The PAL 1.40 gives you an additional mission attempt from the first cutscene of Bomb Da Base Act 2 so you'll always end up with 74 mission attempts instead of the usual 73. The AP Cheetah was acquired without a mission failure, meaning the total amount of failures is 5, and the final amount of mission attempts is 79.

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by lol232

[Stahli]

Congratulations.  

 

You wrote that you did the paramedic missions once on each island. Was that required or would the 100% have been possible if you had done all 3 runs on Portland?

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by Stahli

[lol232]

1 hour ago, Stahli said:

Congratulations.  

 

You wrote that you did the paramedic missions once on each island. Was that required or would the 100% have been possible if you had done all 3 runs on Portland?

 

You could do all 3 runs on Portland but that's not fun.  The real challenge was in doing it on all 3 islands for me, it made it more interesting. Do as you wish though!

[Y_ME369]

deleted

Edited October 8, 2022 by Y_ME369

[TheDoctor69]

On 12/22/2021 at 10:30 PM, Stahli said:

I noticed that the NPCs don't lose limbs or heads when you shoot them.

I just noticed this as well. Any explanation why? Is it really disabled for this early version, like hardcoded? I tried the extra gore cheat with no luck

[TheDoctor69]

On 9/27/2022 at 2:39 PM, TheDoctor69 said:

I just noticed this as well. Any explanation why? Is it really disabled for this early version, like hardcoded? I tried the extra gore cheat with no luck

The cheat code is "Square, L1, Circle, Down, L1, R1, Triangle, Right, L1, X" and it does work. I was inputting it wrong and I thought something was "wrong" with this particular copy.