Grand Theft Auto Tweak Guide

While porting the biggest smash from the PS2 to the PC would seem to make economical sense, it does not guarantee a smooth transition. There is only one piece of hardware and only one version of firmware to deal with on the console unlike PCs which come in many different forms. This game definitely has some problems, the game is unplayable on my PC in it's clean install state. This guide, which will remain a work in progress, should help you get the game working at something resembling a frame rate, helping you start your very own crime spree.

Initial Preparation

Make sure you PC is running fine! Sounds obvious, but if you have a flaky OS, putting a brand new game that uses all the hardware you can throw at it is hardly likely to improve matters. Things to check are:

• Motherboard Drivers. Ensure you have the current version. See VIA Hardware or Intel which ought to cover most motherboards. Failing that, go to you manufacturers web site. If you don't know, have a look at your motherboard, it should be printed on it or watch the post screens when booting for clues. Do a search for the serial number that flashes up (press pause/break to read it).
• Graphics Card Drivers. Once again, download the most up-to-date, preferable non-beta drivers you can find. You should obtain then from either your board manufacturer if you graphics card has some funky custom features, or get the reference drivers from the chip manufacturers. The most common ones are here:
  • nVidia - TNT, GForce 2/3/4.

  If the game looks like you are playing in the middle of the worst Fog bank ever your should try this:

  Right Click on Desktop
  Left Click on Properties
  Select Settings Tab
  Select Advanced Properties
  Select GeForce Tab
  Select Additional Properties
  Select Direct3D Setting Tab
  Tick "Enable Fog Table Emulation"
  Select Apply
  OK then exit

  A helpful snippet from Amnesia

  I was trying to install GTA3 for PC last night and kept on coming up with a d3d8.dll error as soon as I launched the game from "Start New Game" i.e. when the in-game graphics kicked in. I thought wtf since this the only mention of a d3d8.dll error was reported on your site as perhaps a WinXP problem when I'm running WinME.

  In the end through trial and error I found that GTA3 for PC did not like the latest official release 23.82 Nvidia drivers on my GF3 but was perfectly happy giving good framerates when I reverted to the MS WHQL-certified 21.83 drivers which are currently only found in archive on the nvidia site (or here). This is going to defeat people who don't know too much about bug hunting since GTA3 has a problem with the drivers that are listed as the "up to date" ones on www.nvidia.com - not beta but official.

  Seahorse - I am running 41.09 for WinXP out of interest. They work just fine.
  

  • ATI - Radeon.

  • Voodoo 3/4/5 (even supporting WinXP!). If you have a 16MB or higher Voodoo make sure your hardware acceleration is set to 'full'. Some cards may use part of its RAM reducing available memory to approx 15.5MB and the game the fails to run.

• Soundcard Drivers. Fairly straight forward here, get the latest, does anyone have anything other than a Soundblaster?
• Clean Out your Registry. There are many tools out there that claim to do this or that. Use whatever you feel comfortable with. I recommend Microsoft's very own, and very free Regclean, old and effective, just like me ;)
• Defrag. The game may have trouble retrieving data at a fast enough rate from your hard disk if it is in need of a defrag. This is indicated by GTA3 showing short, periodic slowdowns while driving.
• DirectX 8.1. Make sure you are running DX8.1.
• WinXP Users. Despite WinXP actually being supplied with DX8.1 in-game menus are likely to be screwed up unless you download & install this file from the MS Knowledgebase which fixes a couple of DX files and a smattering of others. Make sure you are logged in as an administrator.
• Win2K Users. Top tip from Boudewyn. Make sure you are running the current Service Pack, SP2. The Express Installer (571kb) only adds files you require across the internet. The Network Install is a scary 101MB. This seems to cure crashes if you are using Win2K & SP1.
• Dual Monitor Setups. Forget it. Disable second monitor and/or graphics card.

• Close Other Applications. There is no sense in running you virus checker, firewall and so on when running this game at the same time. Particularly if you don't have an Über PC with a lot of RAM. Shut them down and do a quick Ctrl-Alt-Del and see what is still running in the task manager. Unless you have some freaky hardware attached or Force Feedback controllers, you should see little more than Explorer & systray.
• Desktop Settings. Talonsoft recommend a 16 bit desktop, not 24/32. Right click on the Desktop, select setting and change the colour quality setting to 16bit. They also suggest 1024 x 768 as a maximum.

Once you have been through that lot, let's move onto the games own options which should get us on the right path to gaming goodness...

Next...