Client Manual

Introduction

Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas is the latest in a series of fan-created multiplayer modifications for the Grand Theft Auto games (PC versions only). For the GTA3 and Vice City versions that run on the old core, visit http://www.multitheftauto.com. This mod is not endorsed by Rockstar Games or Take 2 Interactive.

Please note that MTA:SA Deathmatch is a beta, which means it could crash or cause unexpected results.

Before you start

Before you install Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas, first make sure that there are no modifications to GTA:SA installed. These will conflict with MTA. If you would like to keep your single player mods, you can create two installations by reinstalling San Andreas to a second folder on your hard drive.

Also make sure that you are running Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 and that your machine is capable of running the game in single player. Note that if you are running single player on the absolute minimum requirements, you will experience slowdowns in MTA as it takes up extra processing power.

Note: MTA:SA will only work on GTA:SA v1.0. If you bought the game recently, it is likely that you have a later version.

Make sure you head over to the Known Issues page if you have issues, or join us on IRC @ irc://irc.multitheftauto.com/mta

System requirements

The minimum system requirements for Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas are slightly higher than the original minimum requirements for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

• Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP
• 512MB DDR RAM
• Clean installation of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, version 1.0 or 1.1 (American or European)
• 3.7GB of free hard disk space (3.6GB for a minimum Grand Theft Auto installation)
• nVidia GeForce 4 series or ATI Radeon 8xxx series (64MB RAM and DirectX 9.0 compatible)
• DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card
• Keyboard and mouse
• Broadband internet access (for smooth online play)

For extra features, a pixel shader 2.0 compatible videocard (nVidia GeForce FX series or higher, ATI Radeon 9xxx series or higher) is recommended.

For extra loading performance, more RAM is recommended.

Installing the game

This section will need to be updated when we get an installer

1. If you haven’t already, go to http://www.mtabeta.com register and download the MTA:SA client.
2. Run the installer. You will be given an introductory dialog, then presented with the End User License Agreement (EULA). You must agree to this in order to continue installation.
3. You will be presented with three (3) options where your able to create an account, use one your already have, or don't use an account - In this case select option Two (2)

Option One Selected
Proceed to create a new account at MTABeta.com, once complete enter your login details into the installer
Option Two Selected
Proceed to entering your account details into the installer

1. You will then be asked which components to install.
   • Client interfaces with the game and is a required component.
   • MTA Server enables you to host your own home-brew server
   • MTA Server > Editor is used to create new maps, this is an optional component
2. You are then asked for a folder in which to install the mod. You must set this to the same folder that San Andreas is installed in. The default location is: C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\GTA San Andreas\. Click the Install button to commence installation.
3. When it finishes installing, you will be given the option to start MTA: San Andreas straight away. Choose your option and then press Finish.
4. You will be able to launch MTA:DM from your Start Menu if you wish to play.

Running the game

1. Start Multi Theft Auto by clicking the icon located in your Start Menu under MTA:San Andreas.
2. GTA: San Andreas will start and once it is loaded, you will be presented with the MTA:SA main menu. Here you will find several options:

	Quick connect – this allows you to connect to a server that you already know the IP address or URL and port of. This is useful if you know precisely which server you want to join so that you don’t need to scroll through the whole server list.
	Browse servers – this allows you to receive a list of available servers to play on.
	Settings – this allows you to change your in-game nickname, customize controls and adjust display settings.
	About – this gives you a list of contributors to the project.
	Map editor – this allows you to create your own maps, complete with checkpoints, ramps, pickups and other objects. These can then be uploaded onto a server so that you can play them with other people.
	Quit – this returns you back to your Windows desktop.

The easiest way to play the game is to click Browse Servers on the menu. A new window will appear:

Will need to be updated

If servers have not appeared already, press the Refresh button and MTA will scan for servers, displaying them as a list.

• Under the Name tab, each server's name is displayed.
• Under the Players tab, the number of players and the maximum capacity of the server is displayed, in the format of [Used Slots] / [Maximum Slots].
• The Ping tab displays the ping, or latency, between your machine and the server. Ping is a measure of the time it takes for "packets" of data to be received back from the server after sending them, so a higher ping means that you will experience more lag on that particular server. Generally, servers closest to your location should have the lowest pings.
• The Host is the IP address of the server. You can use this address in future to connect to the same server via the Quick Connect option on the main menu.

Each tab can be clicked to arrange the respective column in ascending or descending order.

For optimal performance and gameplay, look for the best balance between players and ping.

Once you have picked a server, select it and click the Connect button in the top right-hand corner of the dialog. If all goes well, you should connect to the server and automatically join the game.

Running the game from ASE (The All-Seeing Eye)

If you are not satisfied with the in-game server browser of MTA:San Andreas, you might want to check out The All-Seeing Eye, which allows you to browse the server list out of the game, and can apply custom filters. This tutorial will help with the setup of ASE, and show how to make join on double-click work.

1. Download ASE from http://videogames.yahoo.com/multiplayer , and install.
2. This applies to MTA:SA up to version 1.0 dp2, and will probably be fixed in a later version
   Download ASELauncher and extract ASELauncher.exe to your MTA directory (default C:\Program Files\MTA San Andreas). This tiny program converts the ASE command-line to a format MTA can understand.
3. Now add MTA:SA to your ASE games list:
   • In ASE, click Tools -> Options, and select the tab Games
   • Open the category Not installed and select Multi Theft Auto in the list
   • Check Visible in filter list, click Browse and select ASELauncher.exe in your MTA San Andreas directory
   • Leave the field Player name empty, and close the dialog with OK
4. A new game Multi Theft Auto has appeared. When you click Refresh in the toolbar, you will see all servers for all versions of MTA. Now add a modifier to only show the current version, 1.0 dp2
   • Right-click Multi Theft Auto and select New...
   • In the lower-left, select Modifier and replace MYMOD by MTADP2
   • Enter a name for the modifier in the Name field, e.g. MTA:SA 1.0 dp2
   • Insert the following filter code (with the line number):
     1 if version != "1.0dp2" remove
   • Click OK
   • Your new modifier is shown under My filters
5. All done! Now activate your modifier to only show your game version, select the game Multi Theft Auto, and double-click any server to play.

How to Play

MTA:SA offers a comprehensive scripting system that allows map creators to customize many elements of the game in order to create their own innovative game modes. The game incorporates as many single player elements as possible but some aspects are different.

There are no pedestrians and no AI traffic on the road. The only other people on the map are your opponents, or allies if it is a team game. You can talk with them using the chatbox located in the left-hand corner of the screen by pressing T. To chat only to your team members, press Y.

MTA's map editor allows map creators to add various GTA objects to their maps including roads, exploding barrels, ramps, buildings, hills and more. Not only this, but the objects can be scripted to move, change model and disappear. This offers a great deal of fun and variation to the gameplay.

Holding Tab will display the scoreboard. By default, only names and pings are displayed, but scripts can add extra columns that are specific to the particular gamemode being played. For example, a deathmatch game mode would definitely have a column listing total kills, but the map creator may choose to add extra columns for the number of deaths you have and how long you have been playing for, in order to put your score into perspective.

Controls

In-Game Keys

• F8 (or Tilde Key) - Console
• F9 - In-game help
• F11 - Show SA map
• F12 - Take a screenshot
• T - Chat
• Y - Team Chat
• TAB - Player List (if Scoreboard resource is running on the server)

Console Commands

bind defaults Binds control defaults in the settings menu

Press ~ (tilde) or F8 to access the console, then type a command followed by any neccessary parameters (if applicable) then press Enter.

maps

This displays a list of all maps available on the server.

nick [nickname]

This changes your nickname whilst in-game to whatever you specify in the parameters.

msg [nickname] [message] or pm [nickname] [message]

This sends a private message to the person you specify in the [nickname] parameter. Only the person you specify can see the message. Both msg and pm perform the same function.

quit or exit

This disconnects you from the server and returns you to the Windows desktop. Performs the same function as the Quit button on the main menu.

ver

This displays the version number and copyright information for the software.

time

This displays the current time.

disconnect

This disconnects you from the server and returns you to the main menu.

say [text]

This enables you to continue talking to people in the chat box whilst the console is open.

ignore [nickname]

This will not display any text typed by the player you wish to ignore. To stop ignoring a player, type ignore [nickname] again.

Tip: You can use these commands in the chatbox by putting a / (forward slash) in front of them.

A list of console commands can be seen by typing help into the console and pressing Enter. The current map may also have extra commands which can be accessed by typing commands into the console.

Error codes and their meanings

Download errors
0: UNKNOWN_ERROR
1: INVALID_FILE_DESCRIPTORS
2: INVALID_MAX_FILE_DESCRIPTOR
3: INVALID_SELECT_RETURN
4: INVALID_INITIAL_MULTI_PERFORM
5: INVALID_MULTI_PERFORM_CODE
6: INVALID_MULTI_PERFORM_CODE_NEW_DOWNLOADS
7: UNEXPECTED_CURL_MESSAGE
8: UNABLE_TO_CONNECT
9: UNABLE_TO_DOWNLOAD_FILE
10: FAILED_TO_INITIALIZE_DOWNLOAD

Fatal errors
1: no local player model on ingame event
2: no local player on ingame event
3: server downloads disabled
4: no local player model on player-list packet
5: no local player on player-list packet
6: invalid custom data length on entity-add packet
7: invalid bitstream data on entity-add packet
8: system entity on entity-add packet
9: failed to create object on entity-add packet
10: failed to create pickup on entity-add packet
11: failed to create vehicle on entity-add packet
12: invalid team-name length on entity-add packet
13: invalid lua-event name length in lua-event packet
14: invalid resource name length in resource-start packet