WebGL GTA

This experiment parses the game files (in their original format) and builds the maps and some of the game objects from the game through WebGL. Some very basic game mechanics and physics are implemented, but there isn't really anything else than pedestrian movement possible in this version.

The game files used are from the original GTA game's demo from 1997, freely available for download here. The full version is also available for free from Rockstar Games or for purchase at Steam store.

Browser support & Issues

Currently only works on Google Chrome/Firefox and requires a half decent graphics card. There are a number of graphical glitches present, such as problems with palette transparency and some slopes applied with wrong angle. This implementation parses the game files as they were used in the original games, and as such they are far from an optimal format used in this experiment, and especially the sprites and color palettes require far more computing that would be necessary with a more optimal format.

Future plans

I created this experiment just for the purpose of testing some aspects of WebGL and to see how well larger static environments perform and currently have no plans of continuing developing this any further in the near future. It currently parses most files used by the game (including maps, sprites, game objects, spawn points, missions, etc. ) but only uses a small portion of that data in its current implementation.

Homepage: experiments.hertzen.com
Try it (warning: takes a while to load and may use a lot of system resources)
Source code: github.com

It was all, like, excitement she wrote, when we saw the Edge Online headline. GTA? At the V&A? We imagined an interactive full 3D room at the new Dundee V&A HQ, but it turns out that it’ll be part of a video at the London V&A celebrating British Design from 1948-2012.

Tickets are a recession-proof £13.50 and alongside GTA, you can enjoy the iMac, trimphone, Twiggy on a scooter and Jeremy Clarkson’s skull, peeled, boiled and mounted on a stick.

Via: scottishgames.net
Source: vam.ac.uk

Link: gtaforums topic

So a couple of years back the old museum in Dundee closed to get a well needed refurbishment, and while shut it got in touch with Realtime Worlds and asked for everything DMA that we could get our hands on. Now the museum is open again and it has a section based on local history, and a selection of the DMA stuff has been put on display. It's very odd seeing something that I've been intimately involved with appear in a museum! Particularly as (last time I checked), I'm not dead yet!

Houser says that surviving in an environment in which large numbers of powerful people want to put you out of business for their own political or economic capital has been the biggest challenge of his career.

Full interview: mcvuk.com

In May 1996, Rory Cellan-Jones took a tour of the Dundee office where the first version of Grand Theft Auto was being developed.

1996 video tour of DMA Design - news.bbc.co.uk

collegehumor.com original video

The video is obviously a joke but there is an unofficial clone of GTA being made for NES. GrandTheftendo.com hasn't been updated in a long time but I still have hope.

2007-10-06 - Rockstar not happy with Simpsons game content
Normally, it's Rockstar that has to deal with complaints about their game content but in this case, Rockstar is doing the complaining. Apparently they have demanded that content parodying GTA be removed from EA's new Simpsons game. It is likely that Rockstar's lawyers are just trying to protect their property but it still seems like a very hypocritical move, considering that all of Rockstar's GTA games contain many parodies of movies and even some games.
Link: kotaku.com

2007-09-07 - The IT Crowd Anti Piracy Ad parody

2007-09-06 - MTASA deathmatch video
MTASA deathmatch video

2007-08-31 - SA-MP v0.2.2 R2 client released
"Due to some bugs/crashes/problems that were not found during beta testing of 0.2.2, we're releasing the 0.2.2 R2 client. Please update to this version. This is a client only update. The 0.2.2 server does not need to be updated.

This update fixes the following issues:

• Some crashes related to models/pickups.
• Collision processing issues (may fall through the ground).
• Chat window wrapping server messages.
• Texture rendering if your graphics card uses a custom d3dx9_25.dll.

There may be another 0.2.2 bugfix release before we start work on SA-MP 0.3."
Link: sa-mp.com

2007-08-30 - SA-MP v0.2.2 released
San Andreas Multiplayer v0.2.2 has been released. It includes the following changes:

• Chat window is now scrollable with upto 5 pages of text (50 lines).
• Chat window now wraps text properly over multiple lines.
• Chat entry improved, it allows upto 128 character messages, supports selection, copy and paste etc.
• All text rendering has been heavily optimised. Chat text now has no noticable impact on framerate.
• Name tags cannot be seen through walls/objects.
• A car mod shop crash applying certain car mods has been fixed.
• Pickup limit increased to 400.
• The server can now disable all interior entrances/exits.
• Native sqlite database support for pawn. Sqlite is a lightweight alternative to the mysql plugin.
• The name tag drawing distance can be set from the server.
• Insane stunt bonuses can be toggled on/off by the server.
• Various netcode security updates.
• 0.2.2 will use the second major version of SAC.
• Player head movement sync added. Player's characters will look in the direction their camera is looking.
• A new cellphone action enables players to hold a cellphone and look like they're on a call (useful for pen1 based scripts).
• New usable skins; Tenpenny, Pulaski, Hernandez, Ryder, Smoke, Sweet, Mafia Boss.
• Bandwidth and ped sync improvements. 0.2.2 will consume less server bandwidth than 0.2.1.
• Fixed bug with setting player colors of players 100,101,102.
• Increased timeouts to prevent connection loss.
• Decreased CPU time required to process vehicles on the client.
• Fixed animation problem with fire hydrant and spray can.
• Fixed nametags with no player issue.
• Fixed an issue where the client wasn't displaying "You are banned", "Server is full." messages.

Link: sa-mp.com

2007-08-24 - GTA2 multiplayer map - Block Fort
Block_Fort.zip - 67KB (6 players) - "Loosely based off the Mario Kart 64 arena of the same name. This map has a team mode with up to three players per team. The smaller version is idea for a frantic match of tag, since it is symmetrical. The larger version provides a more traditional gta2 experience, complimenting the small arena with an outer ring of weapons and car equipment shops. The full version differs from the teams version only in having 4 tanks. The team version has 3 race cars at each base in place of the tanks." - Wario5

2007-08-03 - GTA IV delayed
Sadly, GTA IV release date has been delayed from October 2007 to fiscal 2008 (sometime in Feb, March or April) due to additional development time required to complete the title.
Take2 press release

2007-07-14 - We Know The Truth
If you are over 18 and can call a US phone number, you have a chance to get your voice on the radio of GTA IV or a future Rockstar game. Check the links below for more information.
WKTTRADIO.com
youtube.com WKTTRADIO message recording (thanks to Jordon from planetgta.com)

2007-07-12 - GTA IV multiplayer
A short comment on GTA IV multiplayer was posted in an xbox.com news article.
"In addition to the exclusive content for Xbox 360, GTA IV will feature a multiplayer mode on Xbox LIVE that will match the drama and intensity of Niko's solo mission."

2007-07-11 - GTA IV trailer remade in San Andreas
Check out this fan made recreaction of the the GTA IV trailer in the San Andreas engine.

2007-06-29 - GTA IV trailer "Looking for that special someone"
The 2nd GTA IV trailer is up on yahoo.com, rockstargames.com and even XBOX 360 Media Marketplace.

2007-06-24 - SA-MP v0.2.1 released
"Due to some crashes in the SA-MP server and some minor bugs with the in-game weather, we have decided to release SA-MP server and client version 0.2.1." Link: sa-mp.com

2007-06-21 - SA-MP v0.2 released
This is a multiplayer mod for the PC version of San Andreas. This version includes:
"Tanks, sniper rifles, trains, trams, gang zones, bug fixes and more..."
Links: gtanet.com sa-mp.com

2007-05-12 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.4821 (compulsory update)
You must update to this version. Old versions will no longer work. I don't normally force updates but I've been allowing old versions to connect for a long time and it's just much easier to support if everyone is using the latest and greatest. If you preferred another version or have a problem with this version then contact me.

• Added country flag images in the country columns
• Country name is displayed as a tooltip when you move the mouse over flag in the CC column
• Added an arrow image to show which column is being used to sort and which direction the sort is going
• Sort preferences are saved
• /nick works again
• IRC password is now displayed as asterisks. It's still saved in the registry as plain text.
• Fixed Overflow 330 message when staying connected to GH for a long time
• Changed "Your game lasted for" message colour to purple
• Fixed the tab indexes on the settings screen
• Removed frosties.de.eu.gtanet.com and replaced it with letterbox.nl.eu.gtanet.com

Download from the GTA2 page

2007-05-10 - GTA2 maps: Wario Town and Suburban Anarchy
Wario5 updated Wario Town to work with the current version of Game Hunter and he made a new map with bots, called Suburban Anarchy.
Download from the GTA2 map page

2007-05-09 - GTA2: Endgame
DON_AWI, Cuban Pete, Bit and others are creating a short movie using the GTA2 engine. They want ideas for a story and any help they can get. Read this GTA2.info forum post for more information.

2007-05-01 - Grand Theft Arlen
Fox recently aired an episode of "King of the Hill" titled "Grand Theft Arlen". It featured a Grand Theft Auto style game called "Pro-Pain". I've never been a fan of King of the Hill and I can't believe it lasted this long but for gamers and GTA fans, this episode is actually worth checking out.

A detailed description of the episode can be found at pressthebuttons.com

2007-04-17 - Open GTA update
"It took a while, parts of it are still incomplete and slightly bug-prone. You can shoot peds that are walking around randomly. See 'readme.txt' for all functions & keys." - tok

Extract to your gta\gtadata folder and run "viewer.exe -c 1". You can't drive cars yet.
Push F4 to spawn the player.
i,j,k,l : move player-char
left-shift : toggle walking/running
0 : unselect weapon / unarmed
1,2,3,4 : select weapon (only switches graphic)
left-ctrl : fire weapon
F7 : draw explosion at player pos (graphical effect)
F8 : create random-walker ped at player-pos
Source code, Windows binary and Linux binary can be downloaded from ogta.fifengine.de

2007-04-08 - SA-MP 0.2 Public Beta Test
edit: Test is now over

forum.sa-mp.com

2007-04-07 - Top Down City - Explosion testing video
Top Down City is a GTA clone being developed by Jernej L. This video demonstrates explosions, shock waves and explosion jumping.

2007-03-29 - GTA IV trailer released

"Life is complicated. I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different."

2007-03-24 - HSBC advert based on GTA

2007-03-20 - GTA2 gameplay movie
"Tricky-Master Movie" by DON_AWI and Cuban_Pete

2007-03-18 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.481 beta

• Added ping column to the player list (players are only pinged if they join after you or if they host a game, many will block pings, so you get no reply)
• The player section width is now resizable (drag the vertical divider left or right)
• Window size/state settings are saved for the GH Create Game window
• Fixed Error while trying to join: Index out of bounds - Line: 50
• Fixed a display problem on Windows 98 (carriage return was not being added to the end of messages)
• Fixed /quit command, it hasn't been sending quit messages or disconnecting since 1.479
• Changed whois reply colour to purple
• Chat message box no longer highlights a blank space at startup (no more little black square)

2007-03-03 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.48 beta

• Switched from vbalEdit.ocx to the standard RichTextBox control (this should make GH compatible with Windows Vista but it has not been tested)
• When trying to join a game, GH was sending the comment from the most recently hosted game to mpaddon. This would show the wrong comment if the game you tried to join was not the most recently hosted game. It now uses the comment from the game you tried to join.
• When you click on a name in the player list, the player list is disabled and focus is given to the chat window. The player list is enabled again as soon as you you type a character but the chat Window will keep the focus.
• A space was added to the end of "/msg " (the command automatically filled in after you send a private message)
• /wii is now an alias for /whois
• If you try to join a Hamachi game, there were sometimes multiple popups saying click OK. Hopefully that's gone now but it's not fully tested.
• Possibly fixed "processing error: Index out of bounds - Line: 3190" when trying to join a password protected game that was removed during join
• Added some new bugs
• Bug: Now it displays "Error while trying to join: Index out of bounds - Line: 50"
• Bug: Broke the hyperlinks in the topic. They still work in the chat history. It will be fixed.
• Bug: Windows 98 doesn't add carriage returns to the end of lines in this version.

2007-03-02 - Countdown to GTA IV trailer

Rockstar Games site has been updated with a counter to the release of the first Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. The trailer will be released on the 29th of March.

2007-02-19 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.479

• mpaddon update by JernejL - Now works if your GTA2 language is not set to English (should no longer shrink your GTA2 window)
• Pinging each user who joins or hosts is now optional
• Games will now be added to the list even if GH is unable to resolve the IP
• Fixed "Error while trying to join: Index out of bounds - Line: 60", error with trying to join a game at the same time the host quit
• Possibly fixed "processing error: Index out of bounds - Line: 3170", error with joining password protected games that had no version number
• Fixed a rare error when launching GTA2 in singleplayer "1p error: Overflow Line: 360".
• Fixed the tab index order on the settings screen
• Improved the code that processes / commands
• Changed /help text colour to purple
• Added /dns host command
• "Click OK when Hamachi has finished loading and logging." changed to "Click OK when Hamachi has finished loading and logging in."
• Added a Settings button (I'll change to a toolbar eventually)

2007-02-17 - Open GTA status update
"No new features, in fact several things are still broken; yet the much needed rewrite of some classes is nearly complete. I see little reason of a full release at this time; however, the cvs is (for once) nearly identical to my latest version." - ZeroXP
Open GTA

2007-02-14 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.4781 problems
Some of your Windows may shrink to a tiny size if your GTA2 language is not set to English and you have "Enhance GTA2 network screen" option enabled. I recommend you set your GTA2 language to English or untick "Enhance GTA2 network screen" in the settings. I will try to fix it in the next version.

2007-02-10 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.4781

• Fixed a major bug that prevented users from hosting if they had less than 95 MMP files and data\tempMMP folder didn't exist
• Typing /wi or /whois without a name will no longer trigger an "Invalid procedure call or argument"
• If you are using the enhanced GTA2 network screen, alt + c will no longer be sent. The button is pushed using a more reliable method.

2007-02-06 - GTA2 Game Hunter v1.477

• The GTA2 network screen has received a face lift (Thanks to JernejL)
• If a host had not selected a country and their hostname ended in .com, .net or .org, then two characters would be missing from the MMP name. This prevented people from joining their game. Joiners would receive a message saying they didn't have the map since it was looking for a map with two letters missing.
• Maximum game comment length increased from 20 to 60 characters
• You can try to join a game by clicking anywhere on the row (FullRowSelect). Previously you had to click in the Game column.
• The map list is scrolled to the previously selected map (EnsureVisible)
• Map selection screen is resizable, full row selectable and grid line enabled
• If you have less than 100 MMP files then your custom MMPs will no longer be moved.
• IRC name is displayed in titlebar instead of a label.
• The message "If it is your nick, type /msg NickServ IDENTIFY password" is now hidden. You don't need to type that command, it is sent automatically.
• GTA2 can now be launched from a network path (UNC path). Previously it had to be installed on a local drive.

2007-01-21 - MADtv parody: GTA Kansas
I saw this on MADtv a few weeks ago. It's worth a look for a laugh: youtube video: Grand Theft Auto Kansas

2007-01-15 - Open GTA
ZeroXP is creating an open source GTA engine: Open GTA. It's not a playable game yet but he has been working on it for a while. Currently it can open the GTA1 map and graphics files and allows you to scroll around the city. There is a preview available for Windows and Linux. It should be fairly easy to port to other systems, provided they have the required libs.