Playing GTA San Andreas, tips tricks etc.

[Skanky Burns]

w3rd

[Space05us]

How do you get girlfriends? I'm only on like the 5th or 6th mission. Does it come later?

its part of one of the missions, then there are other women throughout the land for you to find and woo.


I just found out you can steal the trains

[Adagio]

But how can you play a game like GTA on a gamepad? I tried this game (GTA SA) for about an hour (just driving around, not doing any missions), and was really getting pissed at that gamepad

[Space05us]

But how can you play a game like GTA on a gamepad?

Easily. I played GTA3 on PS2, I played GTA:VC on PS2, and now I play GTA:SA on PS2. Besides it wasnt meant to be played on a computer.

You get used to the controls after playing for awhile, you dont just magicly pick up the controller and drive as good as your friend who has playedGTA for 2+ hours a day ever since GTA3 was released.

[bipolarbear]

But how can you play a game like GTA on a gamepad? I tried this game (GTA SA) for about an hour (just driving around, not doing any missions), and was really getting pissed at that gamepad

IMHO, you have to do some of the missions and stuff before you can fully enjoy just roaming and shooting stuff in the game. You have to get your weapon skill, health muscle, stamina etc. ratings up before it can be cool.

[quote]How do you get girlfriends? I'm only on like the 5th or 6th mission. Does it come later?[/qote]
you rescue this worthless chick from a burning building. The thing that was weird to me is she hails from Grove street but was hanging out in balla territory. WTF? The Families and the Ballas are mortal enemies.

A word of advice, control is more important than speed.

So I have found. Slow and steady wins the race. However the nitro comes in handy on the long stretches when you need to catch up.

BTW, when you "Pimp your ride" and you get nitro and it says "Nitro 2x, Nitro 5x, and Nitro 10x" does that stand for how powerful it is, or how many blasts you get?

[Adagio]

Originally posted by bipolarbear
IMHO, you have to do some of the missions and stuff before you can fully enjoy just roaming and shooting stuff in the game. You have to get your weapon skill, health muscle, stamina etc. ratings up before it can be cool.

I never found any weapons, so I didn't get to shoot at all, but it was the most basic controls that annoyed me... could someone tell me the logic in using the button that kinda reminds of the 'up' button on the keyboard to enter/exit the car, while the 'left' button is reverse, the 'down' button is forward?
I was busted many times by the police because of this, since instead of driving away from the police, he got out of the car

[Space05us]

Adagio, you are strange. Either you use your thumbs on the keyboard or you lay your controller out flat and push buttons with your index fingers, either way you have it all wrong.

You have to do a few missions before weapons are provided for you, or you can run around and find the hidden weapons. Just in the Grove Street culdesac there are brass knuckles and a pistol. The brass knuckles are under the bridge, and the pistol is snugged next to the fence and wall behind Sweet's house.


Now back to my discoveries that I feel like sharing:
There's a parachute in this game and you can jump out of the airplanes at high altitude.

Also up on the top of Mt. Chiliad* (name might be wrong here) there is a "ramp" provided for you, you can haul ass off it with a bike and try to land it. So far its ended in a bloody mess for me (5 times).

*the top of the mountain is freakin' high.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Space05us
Adagio, you are strange. Either you use your thumbs on the keyboard or you lay your controller out flat and push buttons with your index fingers, either way you have it all wrong.

None of those

I use the keyboard as it's supposed to be used, and I'm a very good driver in GTA, but the controls for the game on a PS2 is just plain weird, you have to stop using logic if you want to be any good at it...

[FrustratedPoet]

???

Have you ever played a console game before, Adagio?

Can you suggest any alternative way the controls for the game could have been set up to make it logical? What is the most "logical" button to press for car-jacking somebody?

I'm confused...

[FrustratedPoet]

And why is (for example) the the "Q" key on the keyboard a better option for looking behind you while driving a car than the R2 button on a joypad? I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

[Skanky Burns]

I find the default keyboard layout for GTA3 and Vice City to be badly set out too. I reconfigure all the keys before playing. After that, I can drive the car left or right-handed.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
???

Have you ever played a console game before, Adagio?

Can you suggest any alternative way the controls for the game could have been set up to make it logical? What is the most "logical" button to press for car-jacking somebody?

I'm confused...

I haven't played much consoles (never owned one, never will), but I've played a few PS games at my friends place some years ago, mostly fighting games though...



Here you see a almost realistic picture of a PS joypad:



The numbers are help for showing what the controls are now and what I'd like them to be... I know they have some signs (like one of them is a circle), but I don't remember what is what, so numbers are easier

This is the current controls for GTA SA:
1) Enter/Exit vehicle
2) Reverse
3) Jump? Not sure, never used it
4) forward
And then there's this "joystick" on the other side, which is only used for left/right...

This is what I want them to be:
1) Forward
2) Enter/Exit
3) Jump (or whatever)
4) Reverse
And the "joystick" part should just stay as it is...


This is much more logic IMHO, since in all driving games for the PC (that I've tried) has the 'up'* key as forward and the 'down' key as brake/reverse, and basicly the setup on the keypad looks like those keys...
Ok, there's also a left/right on they keyboard, but the "same" buttons of the joypad wouldn't make it better...



* In case you're not sure what keys I'm talking about, it's these:

[Adagio]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
And why is (for example) the the "Q" key on the keyboard a better option for looking behind you while driving a car than the R2 button on a joypad? I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

I haven't complained about those controls... it was only the most basic driving controls I've complained about...

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
I find the default keyboard layout for GTA3 and Vice City to be badly set out too. I reconfigure all the keys before playing. After that, I can drive the car left or right-handed.

I haven't had any problems with the default keyboard layout IIRC (I don't remember changing them at least... but on the other hand, most people around here know how bad my memory is), but I could still drive nomatter what hand I used... Of course I drove better with my right hand, but I could still escape the police with my left...

[Skanky Burns]

I have wadx as one set of car controls, the numpad as a second set of car controls. I can change hands while driving around the streets, even in the middle of a turn. Tis nifty.