Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories — re3 Edition

This guide will show you how to run Liberty City Stories on PC with no emulators, using reLCS, the latest project from re3.

Information about reLCS

Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were two GTA games to be released on PS2 but not on PC. These are prequels to GTA III and VC that until recently could be seen on PC only as emulations or modded conversions of other GTA games. ReLCS, not to be confused with a total conversion mod for VC by Ryadica926, was the latest project of re3 that aimed to bring one of the prequels, LCS, to PC by reverse-engineering its engine.

Unfortunately, reLCS was still in an unfinished state when Take Two took down re3 GitHub repository. Luckily, the repository is easily available through Wayback Machine, including reLCS (lcs branch[web.archive.org]). You can also access this read-only fork[github.com] on GitHub, which is identical to the latest repository archived by Wayback Machine. Other links that are needed for reLCS are also up. I will provide every possible link needed to run this project.

Is it worth to run it? Although there are plenty of bugs, none of them seem game-breaking so far (although I didn’t finish the game, so can’t be sure). You still get to see ‘98 Liberty City on PC, which is something that Rockstar can’t do for 15 years. Given the lengthy litigation of Take Two against re3[www.courtlistener.com], it might be the only chance for a long time to actually run LCS, including re3 features!

Disclaimer. This guide requires you to have a disk copy of GTA LCS for PS2. The guide won’t provide a copy of the game needed for reLCS. I’m also not the author of the project and I'm not affiliated with it in any way. I’m not responsible for any bugs or crashes.

Installation process

1. To begin, you need to create directory with any name you like somewhere on your PC. I will call it the game folder later on. (No, you can't have that name on Windows).
   
   Now you will need this file: lcs_dist.7z[gta.rockstarvision.com]. Download it and have the files extracted to the game folder.
   
   
2. (Optional) If you want to have high res textures for the font, HUD and some other stuff, download lcs_dist_hires.7z[gta.rockstarvision.com] and extract the files to the "models" folder of the game. Replace all.
   
   
3. For the next step you will need audio files from PS2 disk of GTA LCS. ReLCS won’t start without them! Also, PSP version of the game won’t help as reLCS uses VB, PS2 audio format. Go to the "AUDIO" directory of the PS2 game, copy all the folders and paste them into audio folder of the game.
   
   
4. For this step, you will need a compiled executable of reLCS. Compilation is optional, so if you'd rather have a compiled version right away, go to the last paragraph of this step.
   
   To compile, install Git[git-scm.com] and Visual Studio 2019[www.techspot.com]. When installing VS, don’t forget to select "Desktop development with C++" package.
   
   Now, copy the archived repository by writing

   git clone --recursive -b lcs https://github.com/td512/re3.git reLCS

   in a command line (this way you download not only the fork, which is identical to the latest re3 GitHub saved by WaybackMachine, but also code dependencies that are needed for compilation). Move to the project directory, "reLCS", and execute "premake-vs2019.cmd" script to generate VS solution. Move into "build" folder and open "reLCS.sln" file in VS.
   
   Choose the version you want to compile and whether it will be Release or Debug. In this guide we’re going with win-x86-librw-d3d9-mss and Release. I tried many versions and this one seems to be the most functional. So select that and press F7 to compile.
   
   You might need to do extra steps if you’re going with other versions. If confused, check re3 wiki[web.archive.org], especially this page[web.archive.org]. In short, you now have fully working reLCS code, have fun with it!
   
   As for the executable, go to folder "bin" of the project, then to "win-x86-librw-d3d9-mss" and "Release". Copy the file and paste it into the game folder. You will also need the files from "gamefiles" folder of the project. Copy them and paste into the game folder, replacing all.
   
   Alternatively, follow this Dropbox link for the compiled executable with gamefiles: win-x86-librw_d3d9-mss.7z[www.dropbox.com]. You will find all you need in "Release" folder of the archive. Paste that into the game folder and replace all. Regardless of whether you compiled executable or just downloaded it, the end result will be the same.
   
   
5. Finally, we’re using the version with audio done by MSS as it is done in vanilla PC port of GTA VC. So, we will need to copy some files from that game.
   
   Open your VC directory.
   
   Copy "Mss32.dll" and "mss" folder from that directory. Paste the copied files into the game folder.
   
   Also, copy "vbdec.asi" file from the main directory and paste it to "mss" folder of the game.
   
   Now you have working reLCS that starts with "reLCS.exe". Mission passed!
   
   
6. (Optional) If you wish to run it from Steam, add reLCS executable to your library as a non-Steam game. Add custom artwork for your taste from SteamGridDB[www.steamgriddb.com].
   
   Linux users. Right-click on the game you just added, go to Properties, then to Compatibility and force it to use Proton 6.3-8 (the latest one at the moment of writing the guide). Launch the game and it will start in a few moments. If you prefer to launch the game outside of Steam, you can still do that with enough Wine.
   
   I also add here a link for native Linux executable if needed: linux-amd64-librw_gl3_glfw-oal.7z[www.dropbox.com]. You can use that if having performance issues, just keep in mind that the game will crash during story missions, excluding introductory one. I’m no expert but probably audio issue.

Noticeable features and bugs

Once in the main menu, go to the Options if you have any settings to adjust. For example, in Graphics Setup you will find the same settings you would expect in re3 or reVC, although some of the text might be missing.

As for controls, you might notice later that default Standard Controls are a bit buggy. Playing character will still go straight forward when player tries to go left or right. You will have to enable Free Cam in Display Setup as a workaround. Alternatively, go with Classic Controls in Controller Setup as they appear to be free from the bug.

If you are using gamepad, be aware that enabling vibration in Gamepad Settings will turn off the controller each time vibration happens (at least, it was my experience). If you use keyboard and mouse, you will probably need to redefine some controls to your preference.

In case game crashes when you try to apply some settings, you can still change them by editing "reLCS.ini" file in the game folder.

Now, start the game. You will have debug menu ingame that you can access by pressing CTRL + M. There is also debug camera. You can activate it with CTRL + B and go around the city with arrow keys.

Apart from activating cheats, you can also teleport to any point in Liberty City with debug menu. Open the map and put a point.

Now go to Game section of debug menu and press Teleport to map waypoint.

As you can see, it still has Vice City map, so you are going in blind here.

There might be other bugs. For instance, kicking people to the ground with bare hands will crash the game. Flying a helicopter will crash the game. So save a lot and don’t expect the bugs to be fixed any time soon, but you’re welcome to try and fix them yourself. Luckily, you can with the source available.

Thank you for reading the guide!

If you find any mistakes, feel free to correct me. Also feel free to share the guide, repost it and change any part of it. Experiment with the code as you like. The code is free[en.wikipedia.org].

[jhj22]

I don't know why, but reLCS's audio options are unavailable for me. It writes in the bottom right corner that no audio devices detected. (Playing it on a 64-bit Windows OS)

[IvanLozebin]

Пояснение к комментарию ниже (разбил на два, так как стим жаловался на количество символов): Автор гайда был прав, при запуске через нативный лаунчер сразу по приезду к дому Тони игра гарантированно вылетает.
Долго была и проблема с тем, что Win версия через протон отказывалась доходить до геймплея, и не мог понять в чем же проблема. И, почему то, именно после описанных мною ниже действий, игра стала нормально работать.
btw Автору гайда безумный респект за все необходимые файлы и детальное описание действий

[IvanLozebin]

Вкратце, кто собирается играть на линуксе и на Steam Deck - после последнего шага установки, когда уже все файлы добавили куда надо, перебросьте файл из папки "data" в "DATA", и тогда игра win версия будет работать нормально. БЕЗ ЭТОГО ДЕЙСТВИЯ (лично у меня) игра после загрузочного экрана не начинала игру ни в какую, и вдруг кто тоже встретится с этой проблемой.

Ну и я лично запускаю ее теперь не на стимовском протоне, а через Lutris и общий префикс wine-ge 8.26

[essentiality]

After finding a workaround for the Katana animation thing (basically just holding W while you have it out, it's a lot less likely to crash), I managed to beat Crazy '69'. It took around 45 minutes, because one wrong movement causes a crash.

Someone else with more knowledge with the re3 source code should probably look at it and figure out why the pointers get corrupted. But sadly that won't happen... :(

[essentiality]

I've been playing around with this, trying out different things for different crashes, and looked at the game with a debugger

So far what I've figured out is:
- Cam-Pain worked fine for me? I didn't do anything special tbh
- Snappy Dresser crashes because the audio library (mss) is trying to divide by zero, but only when outside interiors (wtf?).
Easy fix is to switch to the RSX 3D Audio, as that won't crash, you can switch back after snapping your pic.
- Whole 9 Yardies seems to crash due to either a bug in the mission script, or in the code. It's easy to change two lines, rebuild and will work, but don't think you can bypass it without rebuilding the executable yourself.
- The katana itself seems broken as shit, seems to be due to some animation shenanigans. I'm currently trying to figure out what to change for it to "function" well enough.

I haven't done Avenging Angels yet, so I don't know what happens there.

[William The Sometimes Chill]

Pretty fucking dope!

[Zopheir]

Played it a long time ago and had to stop because it kept crashing on "Driving Mr Leone".I decided to just play the mobile version.

[Mykola1453]

I've finished the game. Most of the missions work just fine, but some are bugged and a few even crash the game.

From main story-line, those missions will just crash the game: Cam-Pain and The Whole 9 Yardies. Side missions, I didn't try them all, but at least one mission, Avenging Angels, does the same. Right after The Whole 9 Yardies there is Crazy '69' mission, which starts fine, but requires to use Katana, and that leads to crash. Earlier, Snappy Dresser requires to use camera, also crash. There are a few other missions that might crash mid-mission if you're unlucky - like Cash in Kazuki's Chips, but it's quite rare and it's still possible to complete them. And final mission, The Sicilian Gambit, it feels harder than it should be, as if it is also bugged. Other bugs I remember are just visual glitches in late game, nothing too serious.

All together, it would be great port, it's a shame it wasn't finished, but I'm grateful I managed to complete the game as it is.

[Mykola1453]

Hi, sorry for the late answer. Yes, I did face some issues.

I started my save quite a while ago, so I don't remember specifics, but there was something crashing (sound related, maybe) in the first few missions. I also managed to complete those by mixing saves from Linux native version and from Windows one, they are interchangeable. Past that, the game with Proton was mostly stable, only native one crashed often during missions. The only thing I had on both versions was a crash when I tried to take photos within specific mission, but somehow passed that as well.

Mind that I take it slow, so I still didn't move past the first district. If nothing works I think you can just skip buggy mission through debug menu, by choosing the next one. I also have some save files saved, can share if it would help.

P.S. Although I don't remember a black screen, I just had crashes to desktop.

[headlesscyborg]

Hi, thank you very much for this guide. I keep facing an issue though - every time I start a new game, I only get a black screen after the second intro movie (before Tony gets to the car). That's when using Proton or Wine. And I also tried using a save file from the native Linux version which I somehow managed to get to the point after the first mission (it usually crashes so it's a miracle for me) with the Windows executable and it crashes right after loading (https://abload.de/img/beznzvu8pk78.png) . So far nothing I tried (turning off mangohud, switching from Nvidia to integrated Intel graphics, different Wine and Proton versions...) helped. Did you by any chance experience such a thing?