Lecture Notes on Modding Older GTA Games

Introduction

• Common issue with older GTA games when installing high-quality textures.
• Problem: Game lacks memory for streaming, resulting in LOD models appearing instead of high-quality models.
• Solution: Use mods to increase memory for streaming.

Understanding Streaming Memory

• Older GTA games (e.g., San Andreas, GTA III, Vice City) are 32-bit applications.
• Default memory usage: 2GB of system memory (RAM).
• Only a portion of this RAM is allocated for streaming:
  • Default for San Andreas: 64MB for streaming.
  • This is very limited when using texture mods (e.g., ROSA texture archive ~28MB).

Increasing Streaming Memory

• Use mods like Open Limit Adjuster to tweak streaming memory limits.
• Example adjustment: Increase RAM for streaming to 500MB.
• Initial memory usage with heavy mods can reach 350MB quickly.
• Streaming memory will not decrease until the set limit is reached.
• Potential for stuttering on slower systems; Improved Streaming mod can help.

RAM Usage Overview

• Game uses RAM for other tasks aside from streaming (viewable in Task Manager).
• Maximum streaming memory limit is 2GB, but setting this can lead to game issues:
  • E.g., pause menu textures not loading, eventual crashes.
• LargeAddress patch: Enables 32-bit applications to utilize more RAM:
  • On 64-bit systems: Up to 4GB.
  • On 32-bit systems: Up to 3GB (requires enabling 3GB switch).

Recommendations for Streaming Memory Limit

1. Always use LargeAddress for increased RAM accessibility.
2. If you have 8GB of RAM: Set streaming limit to 1GB.
3. If you have less than 8GB of RAM: Set streaming limit to 500MB.
4. Gradually increase limit if low-quality models or textures appear; decrease limit if experiencing crashes or texture loading issues.
5. For San Andreas, installing Improved Streaming mod is beneficial for reducing stutters and optimizing RAM usage.

Conclusion

• Recent videos have slowed down; a new modding guide for San Andreas is in progress.
• Check community posts for updates on the guide and channel content.
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