GTA San Andreas - tips for improving gfx/sound

monomaniac

Copy of a post i wrote on planetgta - thought people might be interested as I know there's a lot of problems with sound in San Andreas. Hopefully Rockstar will have a patch out ASAP;

Just thought I'd post a summary of the tips I've picked up on this forum. Like everyone else I've been having all the same problems but after reading all the posts on this forum the game is now running fantastically.

1. Despite the claims in the manual do not turn on Frame Limiter unless you have a specific problem that it fixes.

2. I turned the advanced settings down to low - I can't really see much difference and as a result I could bump AA up to x2.

3. Sound - I was having the problem of sound dropping out. From dxdiag turn your hardware acceleration to BASIC not "no acceleration" as has been reported - otherwise you may encounter a problem were the cut scenes are out of sync.

The game has crashed a couple of times to the desktop but this seems completely random - in fact it's usually the first time I play the game after tunring PC on. Have been playing solidly without a crash.

Amd 2400+ (running at 1600Mhz for colling purposes),Radeon 9700Pro, 1Gb RAM.
Running game at 1152x864 with 2xAA. Getting good frames - 30 - 60 FPS.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Interesting about the sound... I've had the sound cut out on me just now, only the radio works... going to reboot now.
First time this has happened, so fingers crossed
Also I've had that crashing-to-desktop problem a few times... seems pretty random alright.... you best believe I is savin' like a mothafuka now homie.
Dem RockStar bustahs betta get dey patch on like rai now.

Zapho

Anyone else have a problem whereby there is no sound in the cutscenes? I've got an audigy 2 sound card. The rest of the sound is perfect except I've got no radio either.

Kazaanova

I've had a sound problem in the cut scene where the sound is either ahead of the video or behind it. Seems to only happen if you play for a long time.

Also just got a crash now, I was doing that bike mission, the one you do to get the 24-7. Was delivering my last package.

monomaniac

I had all the sound problems you all mention but by going to Start | Run | Dxdiag and lowering the hardware acceleration to basic it fixed them all.

Stephen

The only problem I've had is the occasional freeze-up, but if I wait a few seconds the ATI drivers "VPU recover" feature kicks in and the game picks up from where it froze.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Faulting application gta_sa.exe, version 0.0.0.0, faulting module gta_sa.exe, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x00133ea9.

Hmmm
I'll probably have completed the game by the time they patch this up.
Booo.

Stephen

Anyone got to las venturas yet? I got to san fierro pretty quick - compared to the ages it took on the playstation.

keyboard + mouse > poxy joypads

quarryman

yeah i've been eating through the missions. I'm further into the game now than i was after 2 weeks of playing on the PS2.

JCDenton

It's a bit off-topic, but does anyone know how to use the parachutes?

I drove to the top of Mt. Chiliad and jumped off but couldn't open it!!

quarryman

you have to equip it (middle mouse button roller thingy) and then LMB i think.

amp

Oh ffs, when was this released for the PC? Here's me patiently waiting for it to finish being pimped on the consoles WHEN IT WAS OUT ALL THE TIME??!1?1ZERO

yawn

came out last week

the sound problem almost every1 seems to have and rockstar are aware of this but they have yet to release a patch


i'm wondering how game developers get away with stuff like this
.I mean they would have encountered the same problems that alot of people are having yet they still went and released the game. they get a way with this stuff because we just accept it and expect a patch to be released. People should stop accepting this poor quality (and yes if it's a sound problem that so many people are having, afaik i know 2/3 people experience this problem). If people refused to accept it and demanded a game of high quality with the technology we have today, then they'd buck up about it.

Imo any games company who make a game half assed and then don't fix it, should be banned from trading in this country. rockstar have released multiple versions of gta on the pc and they have all had flaws within them but we all still buy the product. I know this is off topic but i just had to rant about it

quarryman

that's true but they also know that millions will buy the game regardless of the stability of the release. Its a brand-name comfort they can enjoy.

It still suprises me though how issues as widespread as the audio problem seems to be, can escape testing before release. How limited is the testing process? One computer?

It can only be assumed that they see these bugs in the game, shrug their shoulders and say "ah, we'll fix it later".

Stephen

I haven't experienced this sound problem, but have any of you that have experienced it tried updating your soundcard's drivers to the latest versions?

DonkeyStyle \o/

Stephen wrote:

I haven't experienced this sound problem, but have any of you that have experienced it tried updating your soundcard's drivers to the latest versions?

The latest drivers for my soundcard are from 2003... it hasn't been hard to keep them updated really.
tbh I'm more concerned about this crashing.

Does anyone else have problems getting their 'gallery' photos to save?
I took a load of pics with the camera, and yet I've only got two of them in my docs.... although it could be all the crashing I'm getting... maybe it only generates them when you quit GTA properly

tman

having problems with it restarting my machine after an hour or so of play
prolly a gfx driver issue though. i had the same problem with hl2 which was resolved by installing different cats...
too ****ing lazy to try to figure out which ones i used though

Makaveli

Well it's crashed the entire pc on me twice so far and that was during the opening cut scene and the cut scene after you're first mission type dealy where you are chased on the bike.
Updating graphics drivers now hopefully it will solve it. Also I'm getting a sound problem on cut scenes where the sound hangs and then grinds like it has been synthesised. Dunno what that's all about.
Probably just my crap PC, I just about cover min spec (Geforce 3 Ti 200 ).

murfie

Can anyone help with this; alot of the poeple on the streets are appearing not fully formed and sometimes see through. I have updated the graphics drivers and messed around with the display settings in the game but nothing is correcting the problem. Otherwise the game is running ok, but any tips for improving it would be great, thanks!!

philologos

the sound on mine skips and jumps all over the place

philologos

Makaveli wrote:

Well it's crashed the entire pc on me twice so far and that was during the opening cut scene and the cut scene after you're first mission type dealy where you are chased on the bike.
Updating graphics drivers now hopefully it will solve it. Also I'm getting a sound problem on cut scenes where the sound hangs and then grinds like it has been synthesised. Dunno what that's all about.
Probably just my crap PC, I just about cover min spec (Geforce 3 Ti 200 ).

btw i have the same graphix chip and it does me fine. but i need to open my dell up and change everything

Matt Simis

I run it on Windows x64 with the 64Bit Audigy2 Beta drivers and the beta SLI drivers for my 2x 6800GTs and seems 99% fine to me. The only problem I have noticed is when SLI is set to Split Rendering half the screen of Video sequence (intro only) is missing. Setting to AFR (or AFR2) seems fine, though I wonder if SLI makes this any faster.


Matt

AdMMM

Woah, this seems to be a helluva bugged game! I didnt even know it came out

Is it much better than the PS2 version guys and what are the graphics like in comparison?

Lex_Diamonds

Matt Simis wrote:

I run it on Windows x64 with the 64Bit Audigy2 Beta drivers and the beta SLI drivers for my 2x 6800GTs and seems 99% fine to me. The only problem I have noticed is when SLI is set to Split Rendering half the screen of Video sequence (intro only) is missing. Setting to AFR (or AFR2) seems fine, though I wonder if SLI makes this any faster.


Matt

LEGEND PC MATT YOU ARE THE BEST.

Makaveli

Jakkass wrote:

btw i have the same graphix chip and it does me fine.

Yeah, the driver update fixed most things. Sound still garbles on the radio every now and then and it drops randomly when playing. They would want to release a patch to sort the sound out.

yawn

adam the pc game is geared to be the best version if they had fixed all the problems.

most porblems are not that common but the sound problem was the worst one to come out. I won't be buying it untill they start releasing a few patches

stevenmu

tbh I haven't had any sound issues with an audigy 2 and fairly old drivers, early 2004 I think.

Mr E

I've been playing since Friday and haven't had one crash or sound issue. In fact, the only issue I have is playing any other games afterwards (I always get a black screen, no matter what the game it). But my SA experience has been fine so far (great bloody game).

Makaveli

I did as said by the op and changed the sound settings in dxdiag. No more dropped sound in the game, but the radio still garbles the sound every now and then, I think my disc is just faulty. Makes no impact on the game so I'm not bothered.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Guh, wouldn't dropping off the hardware accel on your soundcard completely rape your cpu? ... I've noticed it crawling today, so the accel is going back on full.

Also, a question for other peeps playing... do any of you have weapons in your 'safe house'?
I was talking to my bro about it today, and he was saying on the PS2 version he had weapons in his safe house living room... and as you sprayed more gang tags, you got weapons... just like collecting packages in the previous games.
But I've sprayed over 50 gang logos so far and I haven't gotten a single item delivered, nor any on screen messages or anything... I might aswell not have bothered my arse.
Is this normal for the PC version? or just another bug? anyone else getting this? or not?

Mr E

You need all tags to get the weapons. They're only in Los Santos.

Stephen

Argh!!
Here come the spoiler tags for those who don't want to know

I'm at the bit after you complete san fierro, out in the desert having just bought the aircraft graveyard place, where that toreno bastard makes you learn to fly. I can't finish the flight school missions
I've resorted to plugging in a joystick just to get past this. Its helped a bit but I still can't beat the training levels... I've gotten as far as the one where you've to blow up a few cars and trucks with the helicopter and then land it but I never score high enough, and I fly like a drunk. Is there any easy/cheaty way to skip this flying ****e

DonkeyStyle \o/

TmB wrote:

You need all tags to get the weapons. They're only in Los Santos.

?!
That's some crazy sheet ese.

Makaveli

100 tags in Los Santos, bah I have about 12 so far. Also Los Santos feels bigger than Vice City in its entirety. Is it? I haven't a clue where I'm going half of the time.

quarryman

do any of the sub-missions disappear when you do all of the main storyline missions? I'm out in SAn Fiero at the moment. I haven't done any of the low-rider missions or races etc, so was wondering if they will all be available.

DonkeyStyle \o/

Gah 66 tags so far and still nothing... that's so fuking useless.
For the amount of time it takes to find them all, I could have beaten up and robbed enough people to afford to buy everything in Ammunation... or just run over some gang members and take their weapons.
It boggles my mind that this isn't a bug... it just doesn't make sense.
I can't be arsed trying to find them all, because I just know once I reach 99 - I'll never find the last one... it's just like the packages in the previous games, once I reach the 90's I give up due to boredom.
By the time I'm bored enough to go looking for the remaining tags, I'll have completed all the story-line missions and won't be at all bothered weapons at the safe house.

tman

tman wrote:

having problems with it restarting my machine after an hour or so of play
prolly a gfx driver issue though. i had the same problem with hl2 which was resolved by installing different cats...
too ****ing lazy to try to figure out which ones i used though

considering most of my job involves troubleshooting, i'm surprisingly crap at it
seems to be a problem with my onboard sound drivers (nforce 2)
updated just them and could play away happily for 4 hours solid last night

Mr E

There are maps of the tag locations available on the net. You can systematically go through them all pretty easily.

Anima

This game took ages to come out and now its full of bugs. What the **** Rockstar.

rabbitinlights

Mine kept crashing just after the intro, I installed it again doing a full install (with the music) and it ran fine? Kinda wierd?


S.

Zapho

Ok I've fixed the sound problem with my audigy 2 by reducing the acceleration to basic.
I can't figure out how to lock on to a target though. I can aim using the cross hairs but I cant get him to lock on. Any ideas? I haven't changed the key configuration at all.

stevenmu

There's no auto-aim in the PC version.

tman

stevenmu wrote:

There's no auto-aim in the PC version.

i find the shooting to be a hell of a lot easier though. it's actually possible to get headshots instead of pissing ammo away on targets

Mr E

stevenmu wrote:

There's no auto-aim in the PC version.

Pity they didn't change the text during the tutorial with Emmet then, isn't it? I got peed off trying to figure out how to target and just did it manually..... (Its easier anyway).

stevenmu

I agree, altough it made Zero's mission where you have to shoot down the planes laughably easy, other than that it's a big improvement.

DonkeyStyle \o/

TmB wrote:

There are maps of the tag locations available on the net. You can systematically go through them all pretty easily.

I never liked the idea of doing that though, it seems like cheating to me.

Zapho

All the time I spent trying to lock onto it and it turns out that you can't?! I've wasted my life.....

Stephen

Yeah, you can't lock on to things in the PC version but you can target them (right mouse button by default) - when they're targetted you'll see a triangle over their head. A few of the missions require you to "lock on"/target people without shooting them so it might come in handy.
So easy to get headshots in the Pc version if you've any experiences with fps games at all

stevenmu

Just came across a mod to increase the max draw distance, you can download it here . It's a batch file that overwrites your timecyc.dat so back that up first, run drawdistance /? to get help on using it or just edit the file (the help text is at the top). You can also change the stream.ini to increase the max amount of vehicles which'll spawn so you'll be able to see them further out. Haven't tried these yet but the screen shots look good.

Also the guy who created it has a page at http://www.maxbot.com/gta/sapc.htm with all the cheats and a few other tweaks

tuxy

how do you disable cheats?
i was just driving around on a bike hitting w,a,s,d and many a few other keys , when cheat enabled came up on screen

also i was doing a mission where you have to follow the croupier, and a plane fell out of the sky and killed her :eek:

kaimera

tuxy wrote:

how do you disable cheats?
i was just driving around on a bike hitting w,a,s,d and many a few other keys , when cheat enabled came up on screen

also i was doing a mission where you have to follow the croupier, and a plane fell out of the sky and killed her :eek:

*snigger*