Lecture Notes: Issues with GTA San Andreas Remaster on Consoles

Introduction

Speaker: Badger
Topic: Problems with the HD remaster of GTA San Andreas on consoles (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, Series S, Series X)

The HD remaster on consoles is full of bugs and gives the impression that developers did not care about the quality.
The remaster is essentially a port of the mobile version of the game, which inherently has problems.
Players disliked most of the so-called enhancements.

Biking Controls: Acceleration always triggers the fastest cycling mode, no regular speed.
Autoclimb Feature: Automatically climbs when sprinting, frustrating players.
Fighting System: Holding the button down automates attacks; previously it required mashing for each hit.
Burglary Mission: Items picked up automatically, often causing glitches and player frustration.
Gym Exercises: Simplified, less interactive, with bugs allowing skinny CJ to lift heavy weights easily.
Jetpack: Exit vehicle button allows CJ to take off the jetpack mid-air.
Jumping and Vehicle Exit: Delayed reaction time, affecting gameplay negatively.
Rifle Aiming: No unique aiming mechanics anymore, identical to story mission mechanics.
Industrial Vehicles: Forklift, tow truck, etc., now have only two states (min/max) instead of fine adjustment.

Swimming Controls: Reversed diving controls leading to player confusion.
Hydra Controls: Only partially fixed; missile lock-on remains problematic.
Plants and Vegetation: Vastly reduced, making environments look empty and barren.
Idle Camera: No longer functional in the remaster.
Aggressive Drivers: Absent from the enhanced version.
Underwater Effect: Missing screen distortion when underwater.
Blur Effect: Missing when driving at high speeds or using nitro.
Heat Haze Effect: Gone around fires, thrusters, etc.
Big Clouds: Missing, affecting visual quality.
Fog and Rain Effects: Simplified and less immersive.
Night Vision and Thermal Goggles: Downgraded visuals.
Car Models: Mysteriously labeled as 'enhanced' but are bug-ridden (e.g., missing parts, holes in models).
Shadows: New dynamic shadows are glitchy, with numerous visual bugs and omissions.

Sensitivity: Overly fast or too slow depending on settings, inconsistent across different camera modes.
Flight Camera: Fixed angle, removes ability to freely look around while flying.
No Cinematic Camera: Removed from cars, still present in limited scenarios.
Other Camera Issues: Various minor but impactful downgrades in camera behavior.

Buggy Models: Issues like holes in vehicle models due to backface culling errors.
Dynamic Shadows: Less comprehensive and more prone to display issues.
Missing Environmental Elements: Plants, shadows, and various map elements missing or glitched.
Texture Issues: High-quality textures causing loading problems and visual glitches.

The remaster has numerous issues carried over from the mobile version, making it subpar for console gaming.
Some minor fixes (e.g., Hydra controls) do not compensate for the multitude of problems introduced.
Understanding it's crucial to go through the community's feedback and additional bug lists.
Future: There will be a third part in the series to explore more issues.

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