What did GTA III and GTA VC do better than GTA SA?

[KingAJ032304]

On 8/19/2021 at 6:00 AM, The Tracker said:

III > SA

 

-Weapon sounds

-Reflections

-Rampages

 

VC > SA

 

-Weapon sounds

-Reflections

-Interior variety

-NPC variety

-Races

-Rampages

-Properties

 

That's all I can think about right now. 

Don't know if I agree with these two.

[The Tracker]

Just now, KingAJ032304 said:

Don't know if I agree with these two.

 

I mean, VC had less copypasted interiors than SA, its small map size just favoured it more in this regard, SA has more unique interiors, but not necessarily more variety.

 

With the NPCs is kinda hard to tell, but I always felt the models used to repeat themselves more in SA than VC.

[KingAJ032304]

On 9/16/2021 at 8:37 PM, sefus said:

I like how the cars in GTA 3-VC actually ran over people and didn't stop like they were made out of concrete like in GTA SA

sh*t's not even funny how you can be going over 80 mph and be slowed to less than 20 after hitting peds and lightposts. Like TF???

11 minutes ago, The Tracker said:

 

I mean, VC had less copypasted interiors than SA, its small map size just favoured it more in this regard, SA has more unique interiors, but not necessarily more variety.

 

With the NPCs is kinda hard to tell, but I always felt the models used to repeat themselves more in SA than VC.

I like to think of it as even if you removed all the copy and pasted interiors, SA still has VC up on variety, its just that it has SOOO many more interiors, you remember SA for having less variety. Really VC only has more variety in the sense that you ask which game has the lowest percent of copy and pasted interiors if you include them all of each game. Does that make sense? It's kind of really hard to word for me.

 

This one is kind of similar in a way, it's possible that a single city in SA will have less ped variety than all of GTA VC but if you add them up, SA definitely has WAY more.

Edited September 20, 2021 by KingAJ032304

[KingAJ032304]

I'm surprise that no one said the blood/rain effects, robbing stores, and the enemy ai of gta 3 especially

Edited September 20, 2021 by KingAJ032304

[The Tracker]

13 minutes ago, KingAJ032304 said:

Really VC only has more variety in the sense that you ask which game has the lowest percent of copy and pasted interiors if you include them all of each game. Does that make sense? It's kind of really hard to word for me.

 

Yeah, it makes sense, but that kinda makes up for it IMO, when you had a lot of the same thing everywhere (SA interiors) it's fair to say it has less variety, than something that tends to be more unique whenever its placed (VC interiors).

 

The same thing applies to the NPCs, that while theres more models than VC, they tend to repeat themselves more within their regions, I mean, as 3D era cities, just compare Los Santos NPCs with Vice City NPCs. 

[.Ryan.]

1 hour ago, The Tracker said:

 

I mean, VC had less copypasted interiors than SA, its small map size just favoured it more in this regard, SA has more unique interiors, but not necessarily more variety.

 

I just like that the interiors in Vice City feel like proper "interiors".  Whenever I go into the Ocean View Hotel I like I can look outside and still see cars, NPCs. I already said this in that interiors thread in the San Andreas forum a while back, but I dislike how going into any interior in San Andreas feels like you're going into a box completely disconnected from the outside world. 

 

[KingAJ032304]

10 hours ago, MiamiViceCity1986 said:

 

I just like that the interiors in Vice City feel like proper "interiors".  Whenever I go into the Ocean View Hotel I like I can look outside and still see cars, NPCs. I already said this in that interiors thread in the San Andreas forum a while back, but I dislike how going into any interior in San Andreas feels like you're going into a box completely disconnected from the outside world. 

 

I can't stand how much of a straight up death sentence it is if you enter a building with low health with the cops on you then if you exit, they'll be blasting on you before you can move.

[.Ryan.]

This applies to both GTA III and Vice City, but being able to select a different controller layout.

 

I play these games on PlayStation consoles (always have) so with GTA III and Vice City I like to play with the setup that allows for acceleration to be used with the thumb stick.

 

The fact San Andreas lacks this at all has always bothered me. The upcoming trilogy remaster needs to ensure customisable controller parity across all three games IMO. If I want a different setup give me the option like GTA III and Vice City.

 

I’m guessing this isn’t much of a problem on PC, but I don’t play on PC so as a console gamer this is a big deal to me.

 

[NightmanCometh96]

On 10/19/2021 at 6:33 AM, MiamiViceCity1986 said:

This applies to both GTA III and Vice City, but being able to select a different controller layout.

 

I play these games on PlayStation consoles (always have) so with GTA III and Vice City I like to play with the setup that allows for acceleration to be used with the thumb stick.

 

The fact San Andreas lacks this at all has always bothered me. The upcoming trilogy remaster needs to ensure customisable controller parity across all three games IMO. If I want a different setup give me the option like GTA III and Vice City.

 

I’m guessing this isn’t much of a problem on PC, but I don’t play on PC so as a console gamer this is a big deal to me.

 

It's even worse with the OG Xbox port of SA. III and VC both defaulted to a more modern control scheme with the triggers being used for driving and gunplay, but still gave you the option to use the classic layout. SA does not have this option, so you're stuck a control scheme that's a bit unintuitive if you're using an original Xbox controller; you have to turn planes/helicopters with the black and white buttons, for instance (although it's a little better on 360 controllers, where black and white are mapped to RB/LB respectively).

 

Interestingly enough, this is one of the very few things that I think the mobile port improves on, as it lets you switch between the PS2 and Xbox control schemes. Of course, being a lazy mobile port, War Drum Studios couldn't be bothered to make the triggers pressure sensitive with the Xbox layout (IIRC, each button is literally mapped to an invisible "on-screen button" that is meant to mimic pressing a touch screen).

Edited February 3, 2022 by NightmanCometh96

[lefantome]

Nothing.

[Jimmy Muffins]

VC had a better sountrack and setting/theme. SA had some great songs but VC had the advantage of being set in the 80's which was the best decade for music and it's just full of hits. I didn't mind the whole 90's LA gangster setting but I definitely prefer 80's Miami. The map itself isn't as good as SA objectively speaking but the theme is perfecto.

 

III was just dripping in atmosphere. That's the only thing I can think of as SA was better in pretty much every other way.

[Dragomazing]

VC definitely have much better effects and sounds but less than SA. SA have much more vehicles and features. There is still so many less known features in SA, such as ATM, train spawn glitch, unfinished driving on water cheat, ability to edit literally any vehicle in tuning or spray garages etc.

[Pootispowse]

On 8/27/2021 at 6:01 PM, H-G said:

Little environmental details in GTA3 and VC such as the cotton candy-like clouds, newspapers and leaves flying around with the wind, ability to rob street criminals who pickpocketed someone, peds seeking shelter during rain, unused "use ATM or line-up and wait to use if already occupied" and "window shopping" ped attractor types for map objects (which work real perfectly and can be restored in a single click) and fun scripted EXE and SCM features like the $50 Good Citizen Bonus, the $5 bus fare bonus and the Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball minigame make the games feel very lively and a lot more atmospheric compared to SA which seems overdone and riddled with so-called hollow excuses for "RPG elements" and supposed "fun" side activities. SA is great too but GTA3 and VC both have so much seamlessly heart-winning stuff integrated into their cores that doesn't need to tell us that it's supposed to be "awesome".

Do you know how we would go about restoring the ped attractor types you refer to here for VC? Thanks a lot. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Pootispowse said:

Do you know how we would go about restoring the ped attractor types you refer to here for VC? Thanks a lot. 

For the Good Citizen Bonus go here, for the cut $5 bus fare bonus you can use my mod.

 

And the "window shopping" and "use ATM" ped attractors already exist in the final game, but you have to look for them. The window shopping one can be found across the street from behind Ryder's house, and the ATM one is here in Las Venturas:

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by H-G

[Pootispowse]

1 minute ago, H-G said:

For the Good Citizen Bonus go here, for the cut $5 bus far bonus you can use my mod.

 

And the "window shopping" and "use ATM" ped attractors already exist in the final game, but you have to look for them. The window shopping one can be found across the street from behind Ryder's house, and the ATM one is here in Las Venturas:

 

Thank you so much for your response, but actually I was asking if it was possible to restore the ped attractors in VC rather than SA. I know it's possible to use them in VC by editing the map IDEs, but not sure which ones to edit or how. Any ideas? Thanks again.

[Guest]

Just now, Pootispowse said:

Thank you so much for your response, but actually I was asking if it was possible to restore the ped attractors in VC rather than SA. I know it's possible to use them in VC by editing the map IDEs, but not sure which ones to edit or how. Any ideas? Thanks again.

I'll PM you with the details if I get enough free time. In the meantime, I recommend studying this.

[EkaSwede]

Can't believe anyone's said it but hear me out:

 

III and VC had the ability to turn the cannon on the Rhino backwards without having to constantly look behind you.

 

Still don't understand why they changed that in SA. Always ever so much fun to gun boost with the Rhino.

[GrudgefromSanAndreas]

You forgot that fenders fall off, smh

[WedaSan]

Airtrains landing/taking off in both III & VC airports (also in their own Stories counterparts LCS & VCS) while SA airports kinda feels empty even though it has more "playable" planes.

 

Claude/Tommy looks back when using rear view camera, unless if he is sprinting. While CJ never looks back.

 

I prefer Mr Whoopie's jingle in III/VC over SA.

 

III/VC ambulances have their own siren sound while SA ambulances share the same sound as police cars.

Edited March 18 by WedaSan

[cant remember]

2 hours ago, WedaSan said:

While CJ never looks back.

Damn CJ sounds cold

 

Some technical things I think are better in 3/VC is:

- car textures, SA car surfaces seems to be too smooth, like you could almost use the bucket tool in paint and recolor in a single click

- There aren't any roads on the map where they try to have the cars go at crazy speeds

- Car damage, it's very subtle but I think it looks a little worse in SA.

- Animations of people getting shot, maybe it's just me but it looks like they fall very fast with very few frames of animation in SA. Ped animations overall, like the handwaving they do when they "talk".

 

Mostly very little things, the cars driving like nuts on highways really is the only thing that drives me nuts in SA

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

Not a feature per-se, but overall I prefer the general clunkiness of III and VC over SA. The archaic controls and unpredictable AI adds a level of fun that San Andreas loses by being so refined.

[Lock n' Stock]

I always felt that III and VC had several, like better weapon sounds, tighter driving handling/physics, higher-res blood spurts, more realistic death animations (that front-falling one in SA is hilarious but looks retarded) and cosier atmosphere (whether it's dark and gloomy LC or vibrant sunny VC). Mostly cosmetic stuff really, and the gameplay improvements in SA more than make up for it.

Edited March 19 by Lock n' Stock

[WedaSan]

11 hours ago, HOW'S ANNIE? said:

Not a feature per-se, but overall I prefer the general clunkiness of III and VC over SA. The archaic controls and unpredictable AI adds a level of fun that San Andreas loses by being so refined.

I'm not fan of RPG stats in SA. Leveling a lot of skills by doing certain things feels like playing Rune Factory. Also CJ dying by hunger is just... ridiculous compared to Claude/Tommy dying by drowning.

 

Claude/Tommy can also jump to the side if you press jump button when he is about to be hit by a traffic vehicle. Some pedestrians also do that if you're driving a vehicle try to ram them, especially those who's trying to kill you.

 

Of course CJ cannot even do that.

Edited March 19 by WedaSan

[Lock n' Stock]

Maybe the colour filters (especially on PS2) have something to do with it, but I also kind of felt the maps of III and VC had a bit more "detail" to them than SA did. The smaller and more focused landmass probably helped in that regard.

[WedaSan]

12 minutes ago, Lock n' Stock said:

Maybe the colour filters (especially on PS2) have something to do with it, but I also kind of felt the maps of III and VC had a bit more "detail" to them than SA did. The smaller and more focused landmass probably helped in that regard.

SA map may be huge, however it has a lot of empty areas. Collecting hidden packages would feel like a nightmare compared to in Liberty City and Vice City. Not to mention there are some new collectibles as well in SA like spraying graffiti.

[Nico]

GTA III had a bone-crunching sound when you ran over pedestrians. Perhaps more silly than actually gruesome, but something that did not return afterwards.

 

In Vice City you could get a but and pick up passengers at bus stops. You would get very little money doing this lol, but it was somewhat interesting. Also the buses have a defined route and you will see them on the city doing their routes. Buses controlled by the script will stay forever on the map unlike most vehicles. III and SA have buses and bus stops too but none of this particularity that is unique to VC.

 

Also, I have to be honest, even if SA has more interiors, there's something nice to the interiors of III and (especially) Vice City being much more connected to the outside world. Few interiors in SA are like that, like the Atrium of Los Santos.

[WedaSan]

43 minutes ago, Nico said:

GTA III had a bone-crunching sound when you ran over pedestrians. Perhaps more silly than actually gruesome, but something that did not return afterwards.

 

In Vice City you could get a but and pick up passengers at bus stops. You would get very little money doing this lol, but it was somewhat interesting. Also the buses have a defined route and you will see them on the city doing their routes. Buses controlled by the script will stay forever on the map unlike most vehicles. III and SA have buses and bus stops too but none of this particularity that is unique to VC.

 

Also, I have to be honest, even if SA has more interiors, there's something nice to the interiors of III and (especially) Vice City being much more connected to the outside world. Few interiors in SA are like that, like the Atrium of Los Santos.

 

No loading time either when you enter interiord in Vice City since it's connected to the outside world instead of closed door with just a marker like in SA. Interiors like pizza shop and tool shop.

 

And you can even bring a bike to interior in North Point Mall in Vice City if you're lazy to go around the mall on foot. Maybe to interior of Diaz Mansion/Vercetti Estate too (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

Even Ammunations in III/Vice City are also connected to the outside world.

 

Also, inside the bathroom in III where you accept missions from Ray Machowski. Even in GTA LC (GTA III in VC engine) you can even bring a bike inside that bathroom. 

 

[Nico]

2 minutes ago, WedaSan said:

And you can even bring a bike to interior in North Point Mall in Vice City if you're lazy to go around the mall on foot.

In my experience, you can't bring motorcycles to the North Point Mall interior, Tommy will just spawn on foot upon entering. And the Infernus prize car on the mall can't be brought outside so it's rather pointless.

 

Other interiors are accesible with vehicles though. The mansion's main entrance is big enough that most cars do fit through the entrance and they won't despawn upon entering.

[WedaSan]

On 3/20/2025 at 10:38 AM, Nico said:

In my experience, you can't bring motorcycles to the North Point Mall interior, Tommy will just spawn on foot upon entering. And the Infernus prize car on the mall can't be brought outside so it's rather pointless.

 

Other interiors are accesible with vehicles though. The mansion's main entrance is big enough that most cars do fit through the entrance and they won't despawn upon entering.

Really? I can bring my bike to inside the mall.

Much better than walking.

[Nico]

4 hours ago, WedaSan said:

Really? I can bring my bike to inside the mall.

Much better than walking.

Damn, you're right. I was reciprocating my old, old experiences with the game. Never noticed that something (SilentPatch I guess?) fixed this.