How to circumvent game breaking bug in GTA: San Andreas (PC)
I thought I'd give GTA: San Andreas a go, given that I haven't played it yet, and having finished GTA V, I got a copy of GTA:SA and tried to run it on my computer.
Everything seems to work fine, except for the two DDR-like missions, and in fact all the DDR-like minigames (dancing in nightclubs, etc).
The arrows slowly creep to the center (the circle) from the right, but instead of going all the way smoothly, the game seems to skip ahead at least once per second, bringing up several "missed" messages on screen. Since the arrows do not pass by the circle smoothly, the two plot-critical dance missions are not complete-able.
I have tried many different varitions on display settings, trying pretty much all available resolutuibs, with 'widescreen' on and off, 'frame limiter' on and off, and all the other settings on and off.
Nothing seems to help, though. Also, I'm kinda poking in the dark with this, because I have no idea where to even look for a solution.
Aside from this, I didn't notice any other problems with synchronization, or something.
I believe the way the arrows should be synchronized, is evident in this video:
(one of the few videos, where people don't showcase how to use a glitch to skip the mission).This is not at all what the arrows do in my case, where the whole set of arrows on screen gets replaces by a set of new arrows, and I get several "missed" messages at once on the screen (sometimes filling the whole screen with "missed" messages).
EDIT
This error was reproducible with both the installation I made from a DVD, and by getting it from Steam.
A partial improvement can be obtained by forcing the game to be started in Windowed mode. To do this, one needs to get hold of a file called d3d9.dll, I got mine from a rather dubious source (some mediafire link I've found in the description of a Youtube video). That file has something to do with older versions of DirectX, but I'm no expert on that. The file needs to be placed next to the gta_sa.exe in the directory where GTA:SA is installed.
Anyway, the game - and especially the DDR-like minigames - become playable once resolution is set to 800x600 or less in "FULLSCREEN", i.e. 4:3 aspect ratio.
It would be nice, if someone might shed some light on what this d3d9.dll file does, and a reliable - non virus infested - source for it.
Best Answer
I have never encountered the 'skipping' bug you describe, but in terms of getting 'misses' on beats, there may be another solution:
The game's timing for the rhythm sections, (especially the Lowrider challenge but also when Dancing), is off by a fair amount. Even on the old PS2 version running on a CRT (with little to no image preprocessing), the off-beat display of the buttons in the sweet spot is noticeable.
From my years of playing, the beat seems to be about 0.4 of a second off from the music in the Lowrider challenge, and closer to 0.2 off in the Dancing sections. You need to almost ignore the beat of the music, follow the incoming buttons, and press slightly after when you should.
Take this terrible MS Paint example I drew up in about 30 seconds:
Normally you would push to the beat of the music, which (ideally) would be represented by the middle of the blue circle. However, you need to hold off just slightly enough to press the button as it leaves the circle.
Personally, for years I actually muted the game during the Lowrider challenge as I found it that distracting, it took me a while to be able to pass with the music on.
As always, practice makes perfect, so save beforehand and just repeat the challenge over and over. Pattern memorisation also comes into play, as the buttons are in the same order every time. So keep at it and you'll get it eventually!
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How do you fix the glitch in GTA San Andreas?
No Traffic Glitch Sometimes, if Carl is driving or flying really fast over San Andreas and abruptly stops or lands, no cars will spawn on the road, although stationary vehicles and pedestrians do spawn. This glitch can be fixed by simply activating a sub-mission or entering an interior.How can I skip the mission in GTA San Andreas?
Using a savegame file, which can be easily found online, is one of the best ways to skip missions in GTA San Andreas on PC. These save files include missions that have already been completed as well as features that have been unlocked by other players.What is the most annoying mission in GTA San Andreas?
1) Supply Lines In Supply Lines' case, it's just an infamously annoying mission. It involves controlling an RC plane with a fuel-based time limit. It's not mandatory to do in GTA San Andreas, but its reputation still haunts some players to this day.How do you skip cutscenes in GTA San Andreas?
Bookmark this question. Show activity on this post. In GTA San Andreas for iOS, you can skip some cutscenes by pressing the arrow at the top right of the screen. But when the game is explaining something to you, it takes a long time to move on.GTA SA - Bugs that break your save game - Feat. BadgerGoodger
More answers regarding how to circumvent game breaking bug in GTA: San Andreas (PC)
Answer 2
I had the exact same problem on my laptop with the arrows jumping I had during the same dancing and lowrider games. I fixed mine by changing the compatibility mode to Windows XP Service Pack 3
Answer 3
There is a mod called SilentPatch that aims to fix a bunch of game bugs that exist since the initial release. One of the fixes is the dancing minigame timings:
Dancing minigame timings have been improved, now they do not lose accuracy over time depending on PC's uptime
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