Some concerns regarding the storyline

[GTAFanLuca]

Hello there. I would like to discuss some potential inconsistencies/theories regarding some storyline/gameplay aspects of the game. Perhaps this should also help and bring more life to this board.

 

Right after completing "Soldier", there is the following news report on the radio:

Quote

Weather forecasters are predicting a stormy time ahead for Vice City as Hurricane Gordy threatens to make landfall in the South Keys. 
City officials have taken the usual precautionary measure of closing all bridges from the mainland to Ocean Beach and Vice Point; and all flights to 
and from Escobar International Airport have been halted until further notice.For more news updates, stay tuned to Vice News Network. 

According to this news report, the bridges between the various islands that make up Vice City would be closed. This happens to be true (as it is the case with all other 3D GTAs, as a measure of preventing players exploring the whole map way too early in the storyline). However, we are also made aware of another aspect: the operations of the Escobar International Airport would also be halted until further notice. 

 

However, right after completing "To Victor, the Spoils", Victor gets this pager message:

Quote

VCTN: You have a visitor waiting for you at the airport. Have a good day.

We can easily deduce that VCTN stands for "Vice City Transit/Transport Network". Therefore, Victor gets notified by an airport official about his brother having arrived there. But how could he? Weren't "all flights to and from Escobar Internal Airport halted until further notice"? Did Lance catch a flight that was somehow allowed to violate the restrictions at the time (as stupid as that may sound)? What exactly happened there?

 

 

On another note, at the start of GTA Vice City, when Lance meets up with Tommy for the first time, he claims that one of the things he wanted was "his dead brother's white lady". How could this statement be interpreted?  Was Louise actually supposed to survive the events of VCS (and the game developers could have forgotten about how Lance introduced himself to Tommy)? Would she have flown away with her baby, Lance and Victor back to their "homeland"? Was Lance just talking retrospectively about potentially having had feelings for Louise (which is not very likely, considering he did not seem particularly bothered about her death)?  Did Victor get another white girlfriend between the events of VCS and VC? There are so many possible scenarios to be discussed here.

 

 

Thirdly, a lot of players seemed rather confused as the area of "Little Haiti" maintained its name during both portrayals of Vice City. In the original game, this is obviously the case because of the Haitian gang (as it is the case with "Little Havana" due to the Cuban gang). However, after those Haitian-Cuban racism scandals, Rockstar most likely decided to completely get rid of the Haitian gang for VCS, and instead have it replaced with some Mexican gangsters. But in Vice City, aside from the Haitian gangsters, hardly any Haitian ethnics could be spotted on the streets. Vice City Stories added plenty of brown-skinned pedestrians, many of whom can be seen around Little Haiti. It can be safe to assume that the area gained its name due to its mostly Haitian inhabitants, be it gangsters or just mere civilians.

 

 

Off-topic: Would anyone happen to know how I could take proper first person screenshots while playing the game on PPSSPP? I would like to take some pictures so that I could update some articles on GTA Wikia regarding the game. They are lackluster when it comes to screenshots.

Edited September 13, 2021 by GTAFanLuca

[danielvdell]

On 9/11/2021 at 1:26 PM, GTAFanLuca said:

Right after completing "Soldier", there is the following news report on the radio:

According to this news report, the bridges between the various islands that make up Vice City would be closed. This happens to be true (as it is the case with all other 3D GTAs, as a measure of preventing players exploring the whole map way too early in the storyline). However, we are also made aware of another aspect: the operations of the Escobar International Airport would also be halted until further notice. 

 

However, right after completing "To Victor, the Spoils", Victor gets this pager message:

We can easily deduce that VCTN stands for "Vice City Transit/Transport Network". Therefore, Victor gets notified by an airport official about his brother having arrived there. But how could he? Weren't "all flights to and from Escobar Internal Airport halted until further notice"? Did Lance catch a flight that was somehow allowed to violate the restrictions at the time (as stupid as that may sound)? What exactly happened there?

 

Good catch -- I didn't even realize this while I was recently replaying the game. That's a pretty big oversight on the writers' part, haha.

 

On 9/11/2021 at 1:26 PM, GTAFanLuca said:

On another note, at the start of GTA Vice City, when Lance meets up with Tommy for the first time, he claims that one of the things he wanted was "his dead brother's white lady". How could this statement be interpreted?  Was Louise actually supposed to survive the events of VCS (and the game developers could have forgotten about how Lance introduced himself to Tommy)? Would she have flown away with her baby, Lance and Victor back to their "homeland"? Was Lance just talking retrospectively about potentially having had feelings for Louise (which is not very likely, considering he did not seem particularly bothered about her death)?  Did Victor get another white girlfriend between the events of VCS and VC? There are so many possible scenarios to be discussed here.

 

I'm pretty sure "white lady" here is referring to the coke that was stolen during the deal. Lance says he's after "your green" (Tommy/the Forellis' money) and "my dead brother's white lady" (Vic's cocaine). I don't think it has anything to do with Louise or a literal "white lady."

 

On 9/11/2021 at 1:26 PM, GTAFanLuca said:

Thirdly, a lot of players seemed rather confused as the area of "Little Haiti" maintained its name during both portrayals of Vice City. In the original game, this is obviously the case because of the Haitian gang (as it is the case with "Little Havana" due to the Cuban gang). However, after those Haitian-Cuban racism scandals, Rockstar most likely decided to completely get rid of the Haitian gang for VCS, and instead have it replaced with some Mexican gangsters. But in Vice City, aside from the Haitian gangsters, hardly any Haitian ethnics could be spotted on the streets. Vice City Stories added plenty of brown-skinned pedestrians, many of whom can be seen around Little Haiti. It can be safe to assume that the area gained its name due to its mostly Haitian inhabitants, be it gangsters or just mere civilians.

 

Yeah, maybe historically the area was home to a lot of Haitian residents and the rise of Haitian gangs in the area only occurred post-1984. Or maybe the Cholos took over the area from Haitian gangs prior to 1984, only for the latter to return to power in the area prior to 1986.

 

One big story issue I have is Diaz not recognizing Lance in Vice City after meeting him in Vice City Stories. Lance even comes up with a whole alias in Vice City ("Quentin") to avoid Diaz knowing his identity, which would only make sense if Diaz had never seen his face. But Vice City Stories establishes that they've met before. I don't find it believable that Diaz has simply forgotten who Lance is when they only met two years before.

[GTAFanLuca]

1 hour ago, danielvdell said:

 

Good catch -- I didn't even realize this while I was recently replaying the game. That's a pretty big oversight on the writers' part, haha.

 

 

I'm pretty sure "white lady" here is referring to the coke that was stolen during the deal. Lance says he's after "your green" (Tommy/the Forellis' money) and "my dead brother's white lady" (Vic's cocaine). I don't think it has anything to do with Louise or a literal "white lady."

 

 

Yeah, maybe historically the area was home to a lot of Haitian residents and the rise of Haitian gangs in the area only occurred post-1984. Or maybe the Cholos took over the area from Haitian gangs prior to 1984, only for the latter to return to power in the area prior to 1986.

 

One big story issue I have is Diaz not recognizing Lance in Vice City after meeting him in Vice City Stories. Lance even comes up with a whole alias in Vice City ("Quentin") to avoid Diaz knowing his identity, which would only make sense if Diaz had never seen his face. But Vice City Stories establishes that they've met before. I don't find it believable that Diaz has simply forgotten who Lance is when they only met two years before.

In my opinion, Lance's statement did not refer to any drugs as we can remember in the last cutscene of "Last Stand" that he got those 20ks of coke at the time. Victor was very reluctant when it came to dealing with drugs again. Nevertheless, he participated again in that business (most likely due to pressure from his immature brother). In the beginning cutscene of Vice City, Victor seems to be an expert when it comes to drugs, due to his few comments before his death. I think we are dealing with yet another oversight. Perhaps for Vice City, they built Victor as the late and skillful head of operations, before resorting to the "hero stuck in a world of crime" theme of Vice City Stories.

 

Also, Diaz and Lance are acquainted with each other. It is a detail most players miss, and for good reason. In the introductory cutscene of "Steal the Deal", Diaz calls Lance "Quentin". It is the only time he does so in VCS. In VC, Lance is implied to be ashamed of his name (Lance Vance), and that is why he changes his name in front of Diaz. In "Phnom Penh '86", it is the "first time" we see Diaz and Lance together. Diaz orders Lance to fly the helicopter from which Tommy would shoot. Is this trust earned after first meeting someone? No way. It is safe to assume that Diaz heard of the deal in the beginning of the game and simply sent his goons to ambush it (without doing any research ; he wouldn't expect his former associates there, as they were allegedly retired from the criminal underworld after the events of VCS).

 

Also, on the "closed airport theme", what about "Snitch Hitch"? Where was the "big player with the private jet" going? Did he bribe the authorities so that he could take off despite the restrictions?

Edited September 14, 2021 by GTAFanLuca

[E Revere]

On 9/11/2021 at 11:26 PM, GTAFanLuca said:

Off-topic: Would anyone happen to know how I could take proper first person screenshots while playing the game on PPSSPP? I would like to take some pictures so that I could update some articles on GTA Wikia regarding the game. They are lackluster when it comes to screenshots.

There isn't a real way as far as I know. I took the ones on this topic by turning off the HUD and running against a wall till Vic was no longer visible.

[GTAFanLuca]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:45 PM, E Revere said:

There isn't a real way as far as I know. I took the ones on this topic by turning off the HUD and running against a wall till Vic was no longer visible.

Thanks for the tip.