Solving Common Technical Issues

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a buggy game, even for its time. Since its initial release in early 2003, there have been no updates to help future-proof the game, and no fixes have been released to remove the game's biggest problems.

However, all of the most common problems people run into are solved very easily. This guide will describe all the most common issues and show you how to fix them.

This guide is applicable to both Steam and retail (DVD) releases of the game.

Most Problems

Description
If you are having issues with your game, the first step should always be to remove any mods you have installed, if any. Mods can cause a wide range of unpredictable problems, and it's best to get rid of all your mods before asking for help, just so you know whether or not the problem is the mods or something else.

Solution
Reinstall the game or verify game cache.

"Grand Theft Auto VC requires at least DirectX version 8.1"

Description
When you try to launch the game, sometimes you will be greeted with this error message. This occurs because you're running on a modern OS, and DirectPlay is disabled. DirectPlay is a part of DirectX, however it is old and deprecated, so a modern OS will typically have it disabled by default, which causes this problem.

Solution

1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run... menu
   
2. Type OptionalFeatures.exe and hit enter
   
3. In the window that opens, find Legacy Components and expand it (+)
   
4. Under Legacy Components, tick DirectPlay
   
5. Click OK

If DirectPlay isn't listed under Legacy Components, tick the entire Legacy Components folder, which should have the same effect. If you do this, make sure the box contains a tick, and not a square.

If you can't enable DirectPlay due to an error occuring whenever you try to enable it, enable .NET Framework 3.5 (at the top of the list of features). You may have to restart your computer after doing this. Once it's enabled, you should also be able to enable DirectPlay.

After performing the steps described above, your game should launch correctly.

"Cannot find 640x480 video mode"

Description
This issue only occurs on Windows 10 as far as I know, it usually happens when your game doesn't have a settings file already or the current one is corrupted due to the game being closed unexpectedly. e.g. game crash, bluescreen, Alt+F4, killing the game's process, etc. It can also happen when playing with different versions. For example, you have a chance of running into this problem if you downgrade after playing with the Steam version, or vice-versa.

Solution

1. Find your game install location. This can be done with the following steps: Open the Steam® client and click on your library. Look for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, right click it and click "properties", then go into the "Local files" tab on the top and click on "Browse local files".
   
2. Look for "gta-vc" or "gta-vc.exe", right click and click "properties", then go into the "Compatibility" tab on the top, "Compatibility mode" should be near the top, tick "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and then out of the options select "Windows 8".
   
3. Click OK.

After performing the steps described above, your game should launch correctly.

Physics act broken / Cutscenes cause crashes / Can't reverse

Description
The game is designed to run at 30 FPS. As the frame-rate increases, the game will experience more and more bugs, seemingly unrelated to frame-rate.

Solution
To fix this problem, enable the frame limiter in the game settings. This will cap your frame-rate to 30.
If you really can't put up with the low frame-rate, I recommend enabling VSync in your graphics control panel.

Downloaded save file loads new game / Doesn't work / Crashes the game

Description
Many of the save files on the internet for GTA: Vice City are for the retail DVD copy or the old steam version, they will not work as it is different version of the game and will either crash the game on save load or will just load a new game and vise versa for different versions. Fortunately, there is a solution for this.

Converting save files from Steam (Old) & Retail to Steam (New):

1. Go to gtasnp.com.
   
2. Upload your downloaded save file.
   
3. Open modification tab and find "Release Version" and select "Steam (Windows)"
   
4. Select your slot of choice and download.
   
5. Move the file to your GTA Vice City User Files. (Usually C\Users\<Your User>\Documents\GTA Vice City User Files)

Converting saves from Steam (New) to Retail:

1. Go to gtasnp.com.
   
2. Upload your downloaded save file.
   
3. Open modification tab and find "Release Version" and select "Retail (Windows)"
   
4. Select your slot of choice and download.
   
5. Move the file to your GTA Vice City User Files. (Usually C\Users\<Your User>\Documents\GTA Vice City User Files)

[G7]

Even tho I've turned on the frame limiter, the game still crashes during the final cutscene of demolition man, and I've tried many ways to fix it but to no avail

[ucbaladu]

My game can't even start :(

[Wally]

I don't have possibility to turn of the features

[doge]

do anyone knows a way to fix that problem : ( ? ) when i try to save the game,it says me an error (PD : i didnt used cheats or mods )

[Billy Bob the Second]

thx for the help :D

[Golt]

You have to unlock islands to get 5 or 6 stars ( You need to do main missions )

[what'sawingedhorse]

For some reason I can't see more than 4 stars wanted level. This same problem is on GTA3, even unmodded.

[metafish]

So I made the changes and it starts and I can hear the audio from the game play but no picture shows up and then my computer crashes. Running windows 10, any suggestions?

[weg]

Ok I didn’t want to get into an argument. Good guide anyway! Thanks (silent patch configs and fixes the game)

[Hex: Self Care]

SilentPatch is still a mod.