Former GTA 3 Developer Shares How Rockstar Solved the Slow Model Loading Issue

26 April 2024

NDRoyal

Former Rockstar Games Technical Director Obbe Vermeij has posted another story about the development of the Grand Theft Auto series, this time focusing on GTA 3 and its excessively large open world.

According to Vermeij, the developers couldn't fit the entire map into the PlayStation 2's memory, so the data had to be loaded from the DVD. To speed up the loading process, models that were located close to each other in the game had to be placed closely together on the DVD itself. This trick helped accelerate model unloading.

However, that wasn't enough. Players would still see poorly detailed buildings and disappearing sections of roads, so Rockstar decided to slow down the main character. The authors changed the road routes in Portland to prevent the car from accelerating too quickly, and also increased the air resistance level in other problem areas by 5%.

Vermeij added that it was because of these asset unloading issues that the game lacks air transport. In the case of GTA Vice City, where players could fly helicopters, the developers improved the compression technology for models and textures.

Previously, Obbe Vermeij also shared how GTA 3 introduced an Easter egg with the Moon changing size and a silent protagonist.

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