San Andreas (PC)

[Erkki]

I was looking for it in the store a couple of days ago, but didn't see it. Then I noticed some kids were looking for some game too and though: what else are they looking for than GTA, everybody is playing GTA. I followed them as they were going to ask a salesperson, and there it was, hidden in a corner, away from the the rest of the games. I think I'm going to buy it today, as it's payday.

[miffy495]

I don't get why everyone wants to complain so much about the controls for flying the RC plane (or, in Vice City's case, 'copter) in the GTA games. They're really not as bad as they could be. The flight school took no time at all, Zero's mission with the RC plane was pretty simple (got it on the second try) and in Vice, "Demolition Man" was really not a problem. If you want to see truly borked flight controls, there are much better options available. Anyone else tried to play "Secret Weapons Over Normandy" on a PC with keyboard, Joystick, OR gamepad? You can't even bank properly! All you do is jam to the side and the game gives you an automatic amount of roll. Props to Rockstar for actually giving you decent flight controls despite the fact that flight is really a minor part of the game.

Personally, the most frustrating moment in any of the Grand Theft Auto games was either in GTAIII trying to do the ambulance missions with all of Portland wanting me dead or that f*cking timed blitz from one end of Fierro to the other that they use as the final part of the driving school. Goddammit I played through that race about 25 times before I finally got it. On the upside, I have a REALLY good knowledge of that city now.

As this is my only post so far in this thread that has been going for a while, one more thing: Why does everyone want their character to look like Mr. T? While I understand the awesome of it, doesn't having every single person on this forum using the same character kind of take away from the personalization element that SA give you? Personally, I just went with the most expensive clothes I could find up until I got the Gimp Suit, as well as the haircut deemed most likely to get me a good sex apeal boost. (Now all the women on the street make passes at me, which serves mostly to point out how pathetic I am in real life...) It wasn't until I was well into Venturas that I noticed how strikingly similar my version of CJ looked to Sean Combs. Creepy. Still, a defining moment in random character development that the thousands of Mr. T's won't experience. Sad, in a way...

...and yes, a bus-load of gangsters would be F*ckin' sweet.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

You have to fly low enough that the sams wont shoot... like hover at top of fence level.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

The flight school took no time at all

...and yes, a bus-load of gangsters would be F*ckin' sweet.

You're speaking from personal expieriance... it took me forever to beat that freaking school.

[ysbreker]

You have to fly low enough that the sams wont shoot... like hover at top of fence level.

Or use the coutnermeasures. drop them with your left alt key

[MrHoatzin]

Damn straight. You're an idiot if you try to beat all the cop (vigilante) missions without the tank. Also, I stole the truck called "Barracks" from the "Restricted Area" military base by the air strip - I haven't had a chance to test this out, but given the name, could it possibly be the one vehicle you could use to house your personal 7-person gang/posse?

I used the apache chopper, the hunter or whatever it is called. Very neato.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

I can never get the Apache off the ground... as soon as I get in it the feds show up and i blow up. The roters take too long to get going.

[MrHoatzin]

I can never get the Apache off the ground... as soon as I get in it the feds show up and i blow up. The roters take too long to get going.

I got gold at the flight school and presto, you get an apache of your own.

[ysbreker]

gold at the flight school...

I was somewhat good at it, but gold? o.O

[miffy495]

Thanks, now I have to work my ass off to get gold on every flight mission. Bye bye countless hours of precious life...

[MrChlorophyll]

Looking back now, I'm really, really glad I took the impatient route and just got the thing for PS2. While the RC controls were a little wonky, normal planes and choppers were a breeze. 2 tries tops for all golds in flight school.

[miffy495]

Well, for the flying and copters, I have a PS2 pad right next to my keyboard that works just fine with the game. All I gotta do is switch over and life is sweet. Damned if I can get that last Gold in flight school though. After an hour of play, I got everything except for

that one where you need to destroy 3 trucks and 2 moving cars with an Apache.

Any tips?

Edit: By the way: Snubs, the link in your signature is broken, eh? WHAT DOES THE MONKEY SAY??? It's keeping me awake at night...

[MrHoatzin]

gold at the flight school...

I was somewhat good at it, but gold? o.O

Oh, I haven't played the PC version, I am talking about the PS one. I take it the flying controlls are ass on the PC. I never got anything more than bronze in the auto school.

[miffy495]

Success!!

Holy crap. 1 hour for gold on everything but "Destroy Targets," 1 and a half for "Destroy Targets" itself. Drove me f*cking crazy, but I now have an apache. Huzzah!

... and on the PC version, too.

[Erkki]

Well, for the flying and copters, I have a PS2 pad right next to my keyboard that works just fine with the game. All I gotta do is switch over and life is sweet.

I think that's what I'm going to do as well (if I can get and adapter for the PS2 controller) -- I really hated the constant keyboard tapping required when flying in Vice City.

[miffy495]

Yeah, I got the pad specifically for Psychonauts (I don't have a PS2, just a controller...), but it's really made the helicopters so much better. While I did manage to master the keyboard controls for Vice, the camera in SA seems kind of borked, and the methods that served me well two years ago proved themselves inneffective. Also, as the Playstation controller was originally just an SNES controller with extra (and uncomfortable) shoulder buttons, your NES and SNES original ROMs (Like the amazing "Johnny the Homicidal Mario." Seriously. Check it out if you like JCV at all) all control beautifully true to how they would on the real system. A-yup. I'd get one. Hell, I did...

[Marek]

Any tips?

For the first 3 trucks, just make sure you go forward in a straight line, tilt the helicopter forward a bit and keep firing those rockets. It's guaranteed to hit all of them as long as you lay down a straight line of rockets. As for the moving trucks, I had to use a cheat to slow down the game

Edit: whoops that's irrelevant now.

[dyurth]

Well, I had a Mr T'ish CJ, though now mine looks more like Charlie Chaplin or Avenger John Steed (tweed costume, derby hat and cane) Darn, those clothes cost a lot... Tea, anyone?

I think it's kinda funny... the precise aiming/sniping missions are waaayyy toooooo easy for someone using mouse&keyboard (and used to playing shooters). They are probably a huge challenge for anyone using the analog stick but with a mouse it's a matter of seconds. What did Rockstar do to preserve the balance in gameplay? Not too much, I guess.

[MrChlorophyll]

I'll have to get me one 'o them PS2-PC controllers. Probably my favorite controller. Just can't beat the 4 shoulder buttons.

And thank you for pointing out the broken link Miffy. For some reason, clicking it doesn't work. Just copy the link location and you should be golden.

[miffy495]

Yeah, but the wavebird is just so goddamned comfortable.

With that helicopter thing, my problem wasn't with the aiming or destroying of the actual cars (big explosions just come naturally to me, I guess) but with the fact that I had to land the helicopter just friggin' PERFECTLY afterwards and still be within the time limit. I had the destruction thing down after a couple of tries, but it took an hour and a half to actually get a landing that the game didn't call "95%"

*mumble* stupid nazi game */mumble*

Now I'm working on aqquiring every gang territory in LS, because I'm sick of those "Our hood is under attack!" notices, and figure that if there aren't any opponents left, my "hoods" will probably remain safe. I'm at about 40% right now, with the Vagos holding on to their last territory and, I imagine, crying just a little bit. The Ballas still have quite a bit, but I'm saving their tears for last, as they will undoubtedly be the sweetest.

Grove 4 Life, yee-ah! Or, you know, whatever the suburban white-boy equivalent would be...

[nickcabo]

Stowaway - I found almost impossible to jump on the plane with my bike. I tried 40-50 times but everytime I couldn't reach it. Eventually, I succeeded but I didn't know how (maybe it depends also on your bike ability)

N.O.E. mssion is relatively simple if you decide to fly all around the island passing from the northwest point of the map (you do not have to pass through bridges, trees...). You can finish it with 4 minutes remaining

Black project - To enter the building, just kill everyone with the sniper rifle (and do not care about the alarm)

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

Yeah, but the wavebird is just so goddamned comfortable.

With that helicopter thing, my problem wasn't with the aiming or destroying of the actual cars (big explosions just come naturally to me, I guess) but with the fact that I had to land the helicopter just friggin' PERFECTLY afterwards and still be within the time limit. I had the destruction thing down after a couple of tries, but it took an hour and a half to actually get a landing that the game didn't call "95%"

*mumble* stupid nazi game */mumble*

Now I'm working on aqquiring every gang territory in LS, because I'm sick of those "Our hood is under attack!" notices, and figure that if there aren't any opponents left, my "hoods" will probably remain safe. I'm at about 40% right now, with the Vagos holding on to their last territory and, I imagine, crying just a little bit. The Ballas still have quite a bit, but I'm saving their tears for last, as they will undoubtedly be the sweetest.

Grove 4 Life, yee-ah! Or, you know, whatever the suburban white-boy equivalent would be...

Every time you get an attack notice, save the game at a safe house and the problem goes away.

[Jaero]

Hmmm, I never did try getting gold at any of the schools - I just wanted to pass and get them over with - kinda like normal school, come to think of it. Didn't know you get an apache though at gold - that must be what goes in the second copter slot at the airstrip, ye? Wonder what you get when you get gold at the other schools (motorcycle, boating, and driving)...

I've found that stealing a jet from the military base is rather easy. Take your jetpack and as soon as you get past the edge of the fence and inside, land - SAMS hurt! (You could also fly above it and parachute down - providing you are high up enough). Explosives will take care of those, and you can take a jet out. Snagging a HUMMER or Barracks isn't as easy - certainly not as easy as a tank, but it's just a hop skip and a jump away to safety.

Also, I just did the VIGILANTE missions. Do them in the tank. Once you get to Level 12, you get 150% body armor capacity, which kinda blows as a reward for that. I thought for some reason you'd get more, so on I went in my beautiful little tank, to Level 52, thinking I'd get a better reward. Nope. Got a shitload of money, but no better reward.

Also, I've never managed to get that 6th and last star - what the fuck do you have to do/kill to get full stars?

Motorcycle school was a breeze for me, because I made a point of driving them exclusively, when I could - I just love me some fucking motorcycles in that game. I got max skill before I even finished the story of the game. The best/fastest one can always be found in San Fierro, at the docks. It's next to the freighter (left side), in a big boat-house (which is empty, and kinda like a half-pipe. It's in the left corner closest to the city, in front of a large box. When you get on it, you get to do a "get all the rings in X seconds" mission, which I have yet to complete. I wonder what you get at the end of it...

So, at the end of the taxi missions, all the cabs have nitrus. You get more max health (I believe) after ambulence missions. More armor after vigilante missions. Trucking gives you some cash each time, no levels. Pimping I haven't tried, but I heard it's just monetary rewards - what else for missions that aren't related to the story?

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

I know you get the Bullet for beating car school with gold.... can't be found anywhere else in the game... very fast. But I have full motorcycles.... so I'm not even gonna try... I'm happy with my gold in cycles. As to boats, I don't remember, but it's prolly very fast. Pretty much every side thing you can do gets you something extra.

[General Fuzzy McBitty]

pimping the hookers pay you when you have sex with them. Valet eventually turns the hotel into an asset, and Firefighter makes you fireproof, I think.