Random GTA Talk Thread

[Andrew]

Thanks for the tips, Jeffx.

ESPRESSO TO GO:
Use the Patriot - it's durable, which comes in handy when driving through Mafia territory in Portland.

Start in Shoreside Vale and finish in Portland.

When I did it I didn't use the Patriot but I did start in Shoreside Vale after scouting out all the stands in Staunton first. All of the guides suggested starting in Portland but that didn't seem to make sense. It seemed more logical to start at the second stand in Shoreside Vale, race down to Francis International Airport, go over the lift bridge, take out the five stands and cross the Callahan Bridge since one of the stands is pretty much right around the corner. Then it was just a matter of getting to St. Marks through Hepburn Heights and approaching Salvatore's mansion from the left.

I guess it would be just as easy in reverse but since Portland is smaller and a little easier to navigate it's less stressful with the timer winding down.

S.A.M.:
This is much easier if you have four bribe stars at your hideout & a police Enforcer. After you blow up the plane, go back to your Staunton hideout, lose the Wanted Level, then finish the mission.

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. The part where I get stuck the most is shooting the plane down though. I find the best method is to just race over to the airport, take out the Columbians and then blow up the plane once it lands. Unfortunately it doesn't leave much room for error and if it doesn't actually blow up before it reaches the end of the runway the mission fails. The one time I've been successful I messed up the run back to the construction site but an Enforcer might just do the trick. Thanks again.

[Jeffx]

I blow up the plane when I'm in the boat, then I head back to the Staunton dock, hop in my Enforcer, and head back to my hideout to lose the heat. The cop cars don't do much damage - they just bounce off the Enforcer.

Once the heat is gone, the mission's a snap. I just head for the airport, kill the Colombians, and collect the packages. If any are in the water, use the nearby boat to get them. It's right where the Colombian sniper stands on the corner.

[Andrew]

Would you say it's easier to blow up the plane from the boat? One of the guides from GameFAQs reckons the method of going straight to the airport is best:

In past revisions of the guide you had to get to a boat, go to a marker
buoy near the Airport, and then blast the plane from the sky. The problem
with that is the fact that it is hard to hit the plane from the boat and
from the angle you have to take with the Rocket Launcher.

What Sal suggested instead was to take a fast car, like the Yakuza Stinger
parked by the elevator where you started the mission, and drive over to the
Airport tarmac instead. Near one end of the runway are two groups of
Columbians (three men and one Cartel Cruiser per group). Keep far enough
away, exit your car, switch to your Sniper Rifle, and kill all six
Columbians. If you get too close, a couple of Columbians will enter one of
the Cruisers and confront you.

Next, drive over near one of the two Cruisers, get out, and switch to your
Rocket Launcher. Now stand to either the left or right side of the Main
Runway and aim the Launcher down the runway near the center.

When the plane lands on the runway, rocket it. In the process of destroying
the plane you get a 4-Star Wanted Rating. Get back to your car and collect
all eight packs then go between the runways and to the Predator waiting
there at the end of the path.

Take the boat and go back to Staunton Island. Get as close as you can to
the Construction Site and beach the craft. Then jack a nearby car and go to
the site. When you arrive at the site, you open the cutscene "Ransom".
Claude finds that Asuka and Miguel are dead and Maria missing. He also
finds a note.....

"I've got your precious Maria. If you don't want her face to look like
she fell out with the butcher bring $500,000 to the Villa at Cedar
Grove."

What I'm thinking of doing is simply grabbing an Enforcer (I've completed the emergency vehicle collection at the Portland docks so I can get one without much fuss) and using it instead of the Yakuza Stinger. It seems the best way to ensure the plan blows up is to stand on the runway with 100% health and armour, aim down the middle and send a few rockets as soon as you see it come down. You usually end up getting knocked back by the explosion or the plane hitting you so it's not the most skillful or graceful method but timed right it seems to work. Unfortunately I tried to get away in a Cartel Cruiser on one of my attempts and those things don't handle very well at all which proved to be my downfall.

[Jeffx]

Would you say it's easier to blow up the plane from the boat?

It's harder, but I like the challenge.

[Abctest123]

In past revisions of the guide you had to get to a boat, go to a marker
buoy near the Airport, and then blast the plane from the sky. The problem
with that is the fact that it is hard to hit the plane from the boat and
from the angle you have to take with the Rocket Launcher.

What Sal suggested instead was to take a fast car, like the Yakuza Stinger
parked by the elevator where you started the mission, and drive over to the
Airport tarmac instead. Near one end of the runway are two groups of
Columbians (three men and one Cartel Cruiser per group). Keep far enough
away, exit your car, switch to your Sniper Rifle, and kill all six
Columbians. If you get too close, a couple of Columbians will enter one of
the Cruisers and confront you.

Next, drive over near one of the two Cruisers, get out, and switch to your
Rocket Launcher. Now stand to either the left or right side of the Main
Runway and aim the Launcher down the runway near the center.

When the plane lands on the runway, rocket it. In the process of destroying
the plane you get a 4-Star Wanted Rating. Get back to your car and collect
all eight packs then go between the runways and to the Predator waiting
there at the end of the path.

Take the boat and go back to Staunton Island. Get as close as you can to
the Construction Site and beach the craft. Then jack a nearby car and go to
the site. When you arrive at the site, you open the cutscene "Ransom".
Claude finds that Asuka and Miguel are dead and Maria missing. He also
finds a note.....

"I've got your precious Maria. If you don't want her face to look like
she fell out with the butcher bring $500,000 to the Villa at Cedar
Grove."

This way would have been so much easier then actually trying to shoot that plane down on the boat...oh well, I did beat this mission after quite a few tries. On a side note, in Liberty City Stories, stupid freaking "Noodles Punk" missions, I got all the way to the final level of deliveries only to run out of time before my last delivery .

[Andrew]

I got past the "S.A.M." tonight, which means I'm up to the final story mission ("The Exchange"). I've given it a go but didn't go very far as I actually tried to take a shortcut where one didn't exist and ended up feeding the fish. Nevertheless, I think I might be able to do it with a few more attempts though I have a sinking feeling I might have to find all 100 hidden packages (thus unlocking the rocket launcher pickup at the hideout) to have a really good shot at it...unless you can pick one up during the mission?

Anyway, I finished "S.A.M." on my first attempt tonight but it was a close one. I took Jeffx's advice about the Enforcer so I grabbed one from the emergency vehicle crane in Portland and saved at Staunton so I'd have one from the start of the mission. I went straight over to the airport as usual, took out the Columbians and drove down the runway. I'd realised that in previous attempts I'd tried to destroy the plane too close to the end of the runway which would usually result in a failed mission since the plane must be destroyed before it reaches the end of the tarmac. So I sped down the runway in my Enforcer.

Things had been going too smoothly up until that point so of course I carelessly hit a barrier and flipped the Enforcer forcing me to bail out and run to safety as it exploded. Great. I couldn't stand around worrying about that though as I only had a few seconds to shoot down the plane. I stood in the middle of the runway and as soon as the plane appeared in my sights I started firing off rockets. About three or four of them connected and the plane knocked me down, which took off some armour but protected me from the blast. I quickly collected the eight packages and was ready to make my escape...in a Cartel Cruiser, with its less than stellar handling.

Somehow I managed to get back to Staunton Island and was getting close to my hideout when the Cruiser took one bump too many and caught fire. I bailed and started to make a run for it. A couple of cop cars took me out and gunfire quickly diminished my armour and health but somehow I managed to make it to my hideout where I grabbed all four police bribes to get everyone off my back. I grabbed the health and armour pickups and finally made my way over to the construction site where it was Mission Complete. All in all, not the most graceful or skillful way to complete the mission (though eluding cops with a four star wanted level on foot with no armour left and dwindling health was quite a feat if I do say so myself) but it got the job done.

I don't think I'll give "The Exchange" another shot tonight but I'll try my luck again soon. When that's done I might put GTA3 aside and see if I can finish Vice City. After that, I'll have a long way to go in San Andreas.

[Jeffx]

You can pick up an RL during 'The Exchange', Andrew. Once you climb the stairs to rescue Maria, there's an RL at the end of the platform. But you need a gun to take out the Colombians on the platform. If you don't take out that MFer with the flamethrower, mission's over. I hope you collected all the packages in Portland before the Mafia hates you. Going back to do it now is risky. One blast from that Mafia shotgun, and it's all over.

Hint: after I complete a mission I drive around the city(Liberty, Vice or SA) picking up my favorite weapons. By the time I get near the end, I'm loaded.

You'll get frustrated with some missions in VC & SA. I hate the RC & boat races in VC. In SA, it's the Woozie & Claude races and any flying mission. Flight School is a pain-in-the-ass. They take me several tries, but I get it done, without cheat codes. If an old dude like me can do it, so can you.

[Andrew]

Awesome, I'll give it a shot before I collect all the packages. I do have all the Portland packages fortunately but I've still got around 50 to go since I haven't collected many at all in Staunton or Shoreside.

I'm up to "Copland" in VC so I'm only a couple of missions away from finishing the story, then I've got all the asset missions to complete. I can't remember the name of the mission I'm up to in San Andreas but it's on the first island, the one with OG Loc's party in Grove Street (part two).

[Andrew]

Well, after four years of getting stuck and on again/off again play, I've finished "The Exchange" and with it the story missions for GTA3.

I failed on my first few attempts but took the opportunity to scout out exactly where I had to go (including the location of the shortcut the guide from GameFAQs mentioned) and the best way to get through the final shootout. Lacking the really heavy firepower in my safehouse pickups it looked as though I'd have to collect some more packages to give myself a good shot at finishing the mission. Then I noticed the guide mentioned how easy it is to finish if you have a tank.

I could have kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner. Just as completing the emergency vehicle crane boosting had allowed me to pick up a free Enforcer to attempt the previous mission, it could provide me with an unlimited supply of Rhino tanks. I headed over to Portland Docks and picked one up, took it back to the safehouse in Shoreside and saved it in the garage. Now I was ready to give "The Exchange" a serious attempt.

The first attempt with the tank didn't go to plan as I ran out of time trying to shoot down the helicopter with the tank and couldn't seem to find the rocket launcher up near Maria. I could tell it was going to be a breeze with the tank though since the Columbian's AK-47 fire didn't put a dent in its armour so I reloaded and had another attempt.

Things were going smoothly up until the Columbian with the flamethrower set the tank ablaze. In the previous attempt I'd managed to rocket him before he came close but he survived the barrage the second time around and almost blew the entire mission. Fortunately the explosion took him out without killing me as well and from there I was able to run up the stairs, take out the guards and shoot down Catalina's helicopter. I walked over to Maria then sat back and watched the cinematic. Story missions over. Admittedly it wasn't the most skillful completion of "The Exchange" but it was at least theatrical. It was legit too, since I stole the tank after getting a six star wanted level some time ago when I was trying to complete the emergency vehicle crane job and used no cheats in doing so.

I've now turned my attention back to Vice City, finishing "Cop Land" and acquiring the Car Showroom. So far I've finished the first list to spawn the Deluxo in the showroom and was working through the second list before I fell victim to an old habit; trying to do too much in between saves and of course getting busted after accidentally hitting a cop while driving around waiting for certain vehicles to spawn. I've been doing the Love Fist and Mitch Baker missions as well, only a couple of those left to complete.

[Jeffx]

Completing the Car Showroom can be tedious, but it's worth it to get my favorite car, the Hotring Racer. Accoring to the guide, it's the fastest car in VC.

[Andrew]

I reckon it's worth it too. I haven't saved up a whole lot of money through the game so far either so buying the Showroom took most of what I'd saved in the first place. If nothing else completing the lists has brought my bankroll back up again and gives me an asset property which you need to trigger the final story missions anyway.

[Andrew]

I've got six asset properties now, four of which are earning revenue. I'm stuck on the other two though, the seaplane mission (film studio) and "Checkpoint Charlie" (boatyard). Boats and planes aren't my forte so this could be a painful roadblock. Asset missions are getting a bit tedious so I might put it aside for the moment, or perhaps I'll save up and buy/complete the Malibu and Printworks mission, which will meet the requirements of opening up the final story mission strand (five asset properties generating revenue as well as the Printworks acquired and completed).

[Jeffx]

Yeah, "Dildo Dodo", "Checkpoint Charlie" and Umberto's first mission are the worst. But I'm better at those missions now than back when I first played VC.

With "Dildo", the key is not panicking if you miss a checkpoint. Don't turn sharply - go on to the next point and come back later.

[Andrew]

I guess perseverance is the key. I had enough of it last night though so I put it aside. I reckon I'll give "Dildo Dodo" a shot first since I was going better at that though I ended up hitting buildings on each attempt (and was coming close to running out of fuel on one of them anyway). Still seems more doable than "Checkpoint Charlie", but then again I hardly use boats so it's no surprise I'm struggling with it given the time limit and length of the course. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for those jumps.

[---]

man checkpoint charlie seriously probably took me about 60 goes before i pulled it off. i hated that, the annoying thing is, i stayed up all night and collected all the hidden packages + i had finished all the storymode missions and police, fire and just had ambulance an other stuff left to do but when i recently backed up my files to restore my computer the disk messed up on me... havnt touched the game since

EDIT: Anyone know if its possible to autoaim on Vice City (PC) without changing to classic controls? I guess i wanna use the mouse for aiming but also have an autoaim function

[OuT KasT]

Hey guy's I was playing San Andreas when I heard this great saxaphone solo. I think it's quite famous. If anyone knows the name of the track can they tell me.

It goes:

Chorus:

Da Deh Deh t tet tet
Da Deh Deh t tet tet
Der derr Deer Deer
Der Der Deda deda tet tet
Der derr Deer Deer
Der derr Deer Deer

[BIG GREEN]

Are you high?

[J@3]

Da deh derr tet tet

[Abctest123]

Are you high?

LOL, I fell off my chair reading this thread . This is SO going in the Best of 2006 thread .

[The Other Kevin]

Who was it that figured somthing like this out? I'm tempted to say Tony, but I just don't know.

Great thread though, see how long this goes.
Der derr Deer Deer
Der derr Deer Deer

[Andreas Dahl]

Hehe, you're not leaving a whole lot to go on. Might as well be "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"...
Now is it a song from the actual soundtrack or just a random ditty in the game?

[Fitzy]

ask someone that plays the saxamaphone

[Jugs]

I used to play the sexaphone. Some Paedophile dude who got fired from my school played the saxaphone.

I'm scared.

The teets remind me of the Leprachaun from the Simpsons "teet ttititi teet"

[BOSS]

Hey guy's I was playing San Andreas when I heard this great saxaphone solo. I think it's quite famous. If anyone knows the name of the track can they tell me.

It goes:

Chorus:

Da Deh Deh t tet tet
Da Deh Deh t tet tet
Der derr Deer Deer
Der Der Deda deda tet tet
Der derr Deer Deer
Der derr Deer Deer

Hahahaha.
Wtf.

[Fitzy]

I used to play the sexaphone. Some Paedophile dude who got fired from my school played the saxaphone.

haha, better give out kast his msn