Summary

• Memory restrictions on PlayStation 2 forced Rockstar to limit vehicle models to 8 in GTA Trilogy, causing duplications in the game.
• Wanted levels impacted vehicle spawns, affecting variation in pedestrian traffic in GTA games.
• The garage system in GTA Trilogy worked by completely removing and recreating cars once players left Pay 'n' Spray.

One of the developers of the 2000s-era GTA Trilogy) has revealed more details on how its car systems would work across the open world, with seemingly weird appearances across the map now making a lot more sense. GTA 3, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas ushered in a new age for the franchise after its earlier top-down titles by bringing it into a 3D open world, and this is a huge reason why the series is as big as it is today, however, it clearly came with plenty of experimentation to make this possible, especially with the obstacles presented on older hardware.

Rockstar's former technical director, police spawn points during the series' intense car chases among other features. A new post explained how Rockstar had to deal with the memory restrictions on the PlayStation 2 while creating the illusion of a busy city with constant traffic.

According to Vermeij's post, Rockstar had to limit the number of used vehicle models at any given time to 8 to ensure the game continued to run smoothly, which explains some of the duplications across the city. To ensure each car never felt completely out of place, however, the code was intended to pick models that were appropriate for the area, such as expensive vehicles in more well-off areas, and vice versa.

Some Elements "Threw A Spanner In The Works" For The Car System

Wanted Levels Would Impact The Types Of Vehicles Spawned

As Vermeij pointed out, there were times when core gameplay elements stood in the way of this, as some of the 8 slots would be taken up by police cars, FIB and SWAT vans, and police helicopters if players were to increase their wanted levels. This could result in far fewer types of pedestrian vehicles with Vermeij stating that at times there would only be 1 or 2 car models available for ambient traffic, with this lack of variation being particularly noticeable if the player was driving the one car that had to be used for story purposes and didn't appear as ambient traffic.

Vermeij noted that NPC models were loaded and removed in the same way, with generic-looking character models selected for each area of the map, but it just wasn’t as noticeable if the variety was lacking.

Vermeij also explained how the garage and Pay 'n' Spray system worked without disrupting this loading mechanic, with the mechanic completely removing cars from the game once the door was closed. Once the door was reopened players would be in a completely new vehicle that had been re-created in the same spot.

Considering how beloved this era of Grand Theft Auto is in particular, it's interesting to hear how Rockstar managed to overcome the limitations of its time to create such engaging open-world experiences with the GTA Trilogy. Rocksteady is gearing up for the Grand Theft Auto 6, which is due to be released in 2025 and it's clear now how far technology has progressed in the last 20 years, with its trailer showing a Vice City full of different types of vehicles and characters across its roads and beaches to create an even more realistic world than before.

Source: Obbe Vermeij/X