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Games Entertainment

GTA3 Multiplayer 128

Kent767 writes "I'm on the development team for a GTA3 mod, called multi-theft auto. This mod makes GTA3 multiplayer over LAN or internet. Very shortly version 0.3b will be released (this is our first version which supports over 2 players). Dedicated Servers can run on Win32 machines, and a Linux version is in production. 2 of the game modes supported will be DM (Deathmatch) and CTW (Capture the Whoopie) which is a lot like capture the flag, only with a Mr. Whoopie truck." Making a great game even better! Hooray!
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GTA3 Multiplayer

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  • by The J Kid ( 266953 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:16AM (#5768384) Homepage Journal
    But anyway the main info you'll want is:

    MTA Progress (0.3b)
    Gameplay 95%
    Client/Server Comm. 95%
    GUI (interface) 100%
    Memory coding 90%
    • by The J Kid ( 266953 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:19AM (#5768391) Homepage Journal
      Oh and (maybe) the

      0.2 download page: http://www.multitheftauto.com/downloads.php?file_i d=1

      and the Readme: (from http://www.multitheftauto.com/readme02a.html)

      GTA3:Multi Theft Auto v0.2a
      www.gta3mta.tk

      This is the second alpha version of the first Multiplayer Mod for Grand Theft Auto III. GTA3:MTA lets you play GTA3 thru LAN or an Internet connection with somebody else. Currently only duel-play (2 players) is supported, but we're working very hard to get at least (probably) 8 players to play with and alot of other features. This Alpha version is not a stable release yet, so there could be some problems with it, but far less than the earlier version 0.1a. The pedestrian-method is replaced to the next version (sorry, we won't move it to 0.4, i'm sure it will be included in 0.3), so we're still using the previous car-method in this version :()

      Here's a list of features after v0.1:
      - bugs fixed (for example: xp 'out of memory' bug, etc.)
      - far more improved layout and GUI (quick hideout warps, connection details, etc.)
      - added serverbrowsing support thru IRC
      - ingame chat added (not totally bug free yet)
      - outgame chat added
      - most unused code is deleted
      - added port 2004 for ingame/outgame chat
      - some other small improvents not mentioned here

      Here's a list of probably added features in v0.3:
      - pedestrian method added! (sure)
      - data streaming compression, to compress the netcode, faster games! (sure)
      - more players
      - better synchronisation
      - less bugs
      - etc.

      Instructions:

      MULTIPLAYER GAME OVER LAN
      To make a multiplayer game over lan, uncheck the Internet Game setting and let the server click Host Game. Let the client fill in the network ip of the server and let him click Join Game. There should be standing Connected To.. now on the client (and Connected to (IP) both on client and server). For both client and server: Start GTA3, go to the place where you want to start (for example Shoreside Vale) by using a savegame there or using the Quick Hideout Warps in GTA3:MTA if you haven't got savegames there. Walk to a car (doesn't matter what type, for example Banshee) and enter the vehicle. Then exit the vehile you've just entered. Walk to another car (also doesn't matter what type, for example Stinger), enter the vehicle and stay in it. Now, if the client and server have done this above, one of them (for example only the server) must press ALT+F12. The system that pressed ALT+F12 should be displaying "Multiplayer Initialised" now and the other system should be displaying "Server pressed ALT+F12". The first car you've entered (in our example the Banshee) is moving now like the car on the other system. Your multiplayer game has begun! (Crashing and bumping into each other could cause a crash of GTA3)

      CHATTING INGAME/OUTGAME
      - To use outgame chat, connect and type your message in the textbox below. Use enter to send the message.
      - To use ingame chat, make sure you've started a multiplayer game (as described above), then press SHIFT+Z to enable chat and SHIFT+X to disable the chat. When you've pressed SHIFT+X, you just have to type the message you want and press TAB to send this message. You can see your messages, the messages of the other player and what your typing in the corner at topleft.

      SERVERBROWSING
      - When you've selected Internet Game and you want to host a game, click Host Game and let the TIL (TermNL IRC Listserver) connect to the irc-server. This can take up to 90 seconds to connect. When it's connected it will send your IP to the irc-server, and your ip will be listed in the serverlist. Then other people can join your server. If you close your server, your IP will be removed.
      - When you've selected Internet Game and you want to join a game, look at Serverlist. It should display [BEGIN] and [END], and if there are servers running, there should be some IP's between [BEGIN] and [END]. If you want to join a server, select an ip from the list by holding your mousebutton, select it, copy it, and paste it into the IP-textbox. Then click Join Game to join the server and begin playing!

      We hope you enjoy playing GTA3:Multi Theft Auto v0.2a!
      The GTA3:MTA Team
    • And Megatokyo seems to have more on this story too:

      GTMT [megatokyo.com]
    • About a month ago a friend of mine told me about another multiplayer GTA: called GDE GTA3 Multiplayer [guardians.ch] (called GGM)

      I haven't tried this Multi-Theft Auto nor have I tried the other one, but this is what one guy said on the GGM website [guardians.ch] (so uh.. it might be biased):

      MTA is good but it is SO far behind GGM. It crashes LOADS, has much slower net code, the interface is big, "clunky and under simplify's everything! I have a LAN every 4-8 weeks where somwhere in the region of 60 people come, using MTA last time.

  • by WegianWarrior ( 649800 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:19AM (#5768392) Journal

    Great idea and all that (even if they could have more info on their website), but is this strickly speaking legal? While tinkering with old games like Doom is all fine and dandy (didn't Id release the code for that?), we're talkign about a game thats still is selling, ain't we? What if the original developers left the multiplayer hooks in the codebase (as the site says they did), in order to be able to sell multiplayer GTA as an add-on later - earning even more of our hard earned cash?

    ps; no, it's not trolling - I probaly could have phrased the wquestion better, but I'm genuinly curious and a bit stumped.

    • by Spunky_Monkey ( 657923 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:22AM (#5768401) Homepage
      The game has been out for over a year, and a semi-sequel (in the form of Vice City) is going to be released next month. Any official multiplayer patch would have been released long ago. The multiplayer code in GTA3 was unfinished and left out due to time constraints IIRC.
    • by Azmodie ( 533657 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:24AM (#5768406) Homepage
      some of the multiplayer hooks were left in because there was origionaly a multiplayer option in the beta relese. due to a security issue it was disabled on final release.

      i was talking to the main coder for the pc versions and she says a multiplayer option would not be implimentet by DMA in anyway.

      ( /me still waiting for my beta copy of vice city !! )
    • It varies (Score:2, Funny)

      by k-hell ( 458178 )
      I'm not entirely sure, but some companies, such as id with Quake III [idsoftware.com], have released SDK (Software Development Kit) in order to help players create their own maps and stuff (see e.g. this Linux Quake III SDK [tucows.com]). But other companies, such as EA with Battlefield 1942 [eagames.com], haven't released any SDK for their game engine. But many mods have been created for BF1942 without an SDK: Desert Combat [desertcombat.com], Black Hawk Down [bhdmod.com], Soldier9's Realism Mod [nucleardays.com], and others [google.com].

      If you do a search on Google for 'battlefield 1942 mod' [google.com], the first thing
      • Erm.. that should read "(...) search on Google for 'battlefield 1942 sdk' (...)"

        Sorry about that.
      • But there is a difference, is there not, between making new maps and such and this; GTA for multiplayer is in many ways a 'new' game, not a 'new look' on an old game. Besides, it is reasonable safe to assume that if the company in question hasn't released a SDK for the game in question, then you are not really allowed (by them) to tinker with it?

        Or am I completly off the wall here?

        I'm not saying that modding and tinkering with games are a bad idea, I'm just wondering about the legality of such a major t

        • In a nut shell, Its rockstar's fault.
          If they didn't want someone finding the multi player code, then they could of stripped it out, instead of letting it be there.

          Also, a quick look at the PC version of Vice city site doesn't show any sign of multi player.
          I think rockstar has dumped the idea.

          ---rant---
          Personally, I feel its like microsoft's stance on software "we collect 10000 dollars from you, you can't touch our code"
          do game makers work in the same way?

          I personally feels mods benefits them.
          My roomate d
    • by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:55AM (#5768460)
      Many games these days are DESIGNED to be modified by users. Like UnrealTournament 2003 for example. It comes with a full featured scripting language (C basically), a kick ass map editor, and a copy of Maya PLE.

      All in all, I think companies are happy to have fans extend their games for them. After all, it just makes more people want to play them (and makes them more money). I've never liked Quake for what it is but I owned Quake 1 and 2 because of mods for them.

      While not all companies go through the trouble of releasing tools to help fans mod their games (it is a pian since internal dev tools often aren't suitable for release) I can't recall any cases of them getting mad because fans were smart enough to do it themselves.
      • Unreal and all of its cousins and siblings are built around a Java-like language.
      • Exactly, reading this makes me want to go buy another copy of GTA3. I already have GTA3:VC for my PS2 but I gave my dad my original copy for the PC. So not only would I get to support one of the best game companies in existence I get to check out multi player canage. But does it show all the peds in multiplayer? Can you watch other people run over innocent peds randomly? That would be entertaining even in spectator mode.

        Imagine sitting at a bus stop somewhere in Vice City just watching the chaos that
      • I just looked at Postal 2, for example, and it say quite clearly that any unauthorized level creation for the game is strictly prohibited.

        For a game based on an Unreal engine, it's hard to believe they're being so short-sighted .... but I guess they figure the entire "value" in their product is in the creative way they changed the characters and gameplay.
      • It comes with a full featured scripting language (C basically)...

        Uhm, no, it's not like C. It has C-like syntax, but so do 10 or 12 other programming languages. UnrealScript is more like Java than anything else around, it's object oriented nature more conducive to game content creation. Every try doing a mod in C before? If you've ever taken a decent look at the code for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, I think you'll readily agree how difficult and undesirable it is to create mods or even total convers
    • As other posters have said, a lot of todays games are designed to be easily modified, or to have maps/weapons/models added. Game companies realize that a vibrant mod community is very helplful to continued sales of a game.... see "Life, Half".

      Generally, there is something in the License agreement (or there's a seperate agreement altogether) stating what can be modded and the legal status therof. I remember an Id agreement from a few years back that you could mod anything you wanted and release it for f
    • I can see why the developers might not like people modding their games, but that by itself doesn't make it illegal. Once you've bought the game, you can more or less do what you like with it, and if that interferes with the developers' money-making plans, bad luck to them.

      I think, in these days of EULAs, DMCAs and WIPOs, it's important to keep in mind that intellectial property rights aren't a blank cheque to make money. Merely interfering with software (or music, or whatever) isn't copyright infringement.
    • Well, the modding side of GTA3 has been going fairly strong since it's release. In fact since before, since the original versions could also be modded to some extent (adding missions etc.).

      People have been making new cars and missions for ages, as well as semi-conversions. I looked at it to use as an engine for a TC I wanted to make, but given the tools for it it just wasn't going to happen.

      People in the mod community have known about the leftover MP code in it since about a month after it's release, I rem

  • What about spank? Can we all score the spank? That's gotta be the best part of the game.

  • Also... (Score:4, Informative)

    by D4M4DH477X0R ( 548464 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:22AM (#5768402)
    Another Multiplayer version-thing... [guardians.ch]
    Not sure if it's related?
    • Re:Also... (Score:2, Informative)

      by Dthoma ( 593797 )
      No, it's not related. One of the developers made a comment on the multi-theft auto forums that he wished people wouldn't post comments about "GGM vs. MTA" and that GGM will probably simply be a competitor to them. The GGM project looks a little inactive, but it's probably not dead since their last release was only about a month ago.
  • Real nice (Score:4, Insightful)

    by b3h ( 663941 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:23AM (#5768404)
    Gone are the days that a few maps were released and it was considered a mod. Modders these days are releasing really useful features, and in some cases entire new games. Nice work, guys!
  • by WIAKywbfatw ( 307557 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:24AM (#5768405) Journal
    Just drop a nice weapon in a wide open space and pick off the other players with your sniper rifle when they go after it...
  • by MoeMoe ( 659154 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:43AM (#5768440)
    GTA3, the gift that keeps on giving (blood), and giving (car jacking), and giving (hookers), and...

    Now share your joy of giving with friends and family by kicking the crap out of each other online!
  • by Alien54 ( 180860 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @09:50AM (#5768454) Journal
    of course, for maximum performance in a wireless gaming environment, you just need Wifi Speed Spray [j-walk.com]

    ;-)

  • new vehicles? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Bogatyr ( 69476 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @10:38AM (#5768591) Homepage
    I'd play this even in single-player mode if I can have new vehicles added. No, I don't mean sportscars as tough as tanks or any "cheat" kind of vehicles, I have several friends who are vintage car fans, and it'd be cool to play GTA3 the day of a classic car convention in the game, and have 1937 Hudson Terraplanes, the old Mini-Coopers, '40s and '50s Cadillacs, hearses, etc.
    • Thought about checking out the game Mafia? Similar to GTA3, yet a bit more structured, but set in like a 1930's type Chicago mafia setting. Lots of old cars (not all with the 'real' names, but the actual looks of them). Plus in Freeride Extreme (a mini-game unlocked when you finish the main game) you can get some serious kick butt hot rods.

      Mafia's a great game, but like everything else, has a few problems. All in all definately fun to play tho.
    • Yeah, but would you want to destroy all those cool vintage cars in GTA3? But picking up a hooker in a Mini would be kind of cool.
    • Oh my, i've just had a vision of people driving around in wheel barrows, bicycles, shopping trolleys and other equally ridiculous things.

      It would be called "GTA3: Surreal add-on pack". Now *that* would be cool.
    • Don't forget to add in a Cannonball Run mode like the 1st GTA had. Everybody grab a fast car and race around the city. Easily the most underrated, overlooked, part of the game. I'm sure you could imagine how fun it is.
    • "I'd play this even in single-player mode if I can have new vehicles added. No, I don't mean sportscars as tough as tanks or any "cheat" kind of vehicles, I have several friends who are vintage car fans, and it'd be cool to play GTA3 the day of a classic car convention in the game, and have 1937 Hudson Terraplanes, the old Mini-Coopers, '40s and '50s Cadillacs, hearses, etc. "

      Screw that. I want the Knight Rider car (with all features enabled), the Gadget Mobile (with all features enabled), and Bumblebee (
    • 's been done...you can drive the Mach 5, that's the funky, curved white cartoon one and theres even the TMNTurtles van! :)
  • Slash-Vertize.
    or how about:
    Ad-dot.

    Note: I'm not really complaining, I just think its interesting....after all there have been a lot of people tuting there own horn as of late. I don't mind cause most of the stuff on the main page is still worth a quick click and a read....

    its just odd.
    • by TheKey ( 465831 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @12:04PM (#5768893) Journal
      Uhm. It's not like this mod is a commercial product. It's free. They're just getting the word out about a great project.
    • I'm not really complaining, I just think its interesting....after all there have been a lot of people tuting there own horn as of late. I don't mind cause most of the stuff on the main page is still worth a quick click and a read....

      Well, I for one am not complaining. Isn't the point of /. to promote things that we, the Geeks, will find interesting/fun? As long as it fits those criteria, does it really matter if the creator of said material is the one who submits it?
  • by itallushrt ( 148885 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @12:16PM (#5768946) Homepage
    I've often wanted to experience the feel and exhiliration of car jacking someone, and now I'll have the chance to do it to a real person without all those minor details like cops, court proceedings, and prison time. Yeeeehawwwwwwww!
    • Well, both GTA and GTA2 were multiplayer, so I guess you could just take the easy route and find one of those. Damn designed-for-consoles GTA3 BS.
    • GTA3: Courtroom.

      All the fun of being stuck in court for speeding and carjacking, without the speeding and carjacking, with all case results being sent to the Office of Homeland Security to be added to your permanent record.
  • Mafia needs multiplayer. Too bad they're never going to develop something like that (even though there was heavy demand for it). http://www.mafia-game.com/
  • Ahh... Deathmatch (Score:2, Interesting)

    by oaf357 ( 661305 )
    It's about time someone brought this aspect of the first GTA back. Now all these bored college students will have another game to play.
  • by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Sunday April 20, 2003 @04:49PM (#5769988) Homepage Journal
    ... is a massively multi-player online game. Imagine a huge city where people can log in and out and wander around the simulation of a city. With all the rules that Vice City has, just the human intelligence behind some of the characters would make this game live forever.

    Now that I think about it, being a cop would be fun. "Where the F did that cop get a rocket launcher?" hehe. I'd be happy to pay $10 a month for that, especially if it guaranteed high-bandwidth servers.

    Man, I hope that's next in the pipe-line.

    • The only problem with this is that everybody will be a vigilante blowing everybody else up. No one will want to do something as boring as live a normal life in a virtual world (they can do that at their very own home) that the virtual people do so very well. I think stepping outside and getting blown away by six rocket launchers with screams of "DIE N00B!" would not be very fun at all.

      The only way to make this work is to make running a more or less normal life atractive (Sims anyone?) or at least create a
  • Everquest/The Sims (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Imagine if GTA3 began to spawn entire persistent communities of crime. You could have ACTUAL (not just plot device) crime-syndicate infrastructures rise up... the potential is intriguing and disturbing.

    Clans become families, n00bs work to get made... sounds like fun.

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