GTA3: San Andreas - Joypad OR Keys + mouse

[Gourangamania]

GTA3: San Andreas

Joypad OR Keys + mouse

GTA1, 2 and 3 veterans know, control is everything. This means fully functional Joypad + Keyboard + Mouse.

GTA3SA has all these capabilities like every game before, but some wise knob thought why not limit their ability to work together, because of course, as we all know, everyone loves limits.

When i run Joypad, my mouse does not aim, shoot, look while running, or do anything my right arm wants fine-control of. When i select Keys + Mouse, i get these capacities but suddenly my general purpose aim shoot look while running on the joypad (right thumb stick) does not function as it just previously did, leaving me to scream: why doesn't the camera just follow me? When i turn around, i see my face and not where i am going, on what planet would this be useful? How can you run in keys and mouse mode, with auto camera follow, and if not how can you run at all? To control a game you must have all the controls available and or a camera that follows you. - I will not adapt to this programmed paralysis.

These limits are all very basic controls within the program itself. I retool this sort of stuff in other formats and languages daily for other poorly coded purposes, but here i'm useless. Some one with the skills to retool this non-option, please take the time to make a "GTA3SA full-control mod: joypad + keys + mouse". We will all look for it. I'm not alone, and I'm not going to play another minute of this until someone fixes it. there could be no point. the world is full of better controlled games. control is everything. without it what do we have?

[Bustago]

You realise the game series is GTA not GTA3, It's GTA (Grand Theft Auto) San Andreas, Not GTA3 San Andreas.

[BlackListedB]

Hey man, a series is more then one game... Logical, eh?! Anywho, I am a console gamer at the core, but I started on Apple with keyboard, NO MOUSE. We used keys in directional placement as most are still at times. However, it was the infancy of gaming and most were text driven interpreters or letter keys short for the meaningful WORD they represented C for Conversation, in an adventure RPG style game? Anywho, I use USB controllers like those for PS3 found to work on PC, or Microsoft's driver tool for it's own 360 controllers, however, prior to this gen, I was using PSX from Radio Shack to allow PS2 gaming controller to work on PC. It's often how I play GTA on PC still. Balancing a controller, mouse, keyboard, it's all a bit TOO MUCH.

My first memories of GTA VICE on PC I thought the camera did allow 360 views, then as I got my own copy much later, I realized analog control via adapter doesn't allow it, only moving the mouse around offered the complete 360 virtual views, which is severely limiting, but everything that hampers control in prior GTAs is what adds to the lack of graphic prowess of the team, in those early outings

My viewpoint has always been, GTA gets exceptionally better as the franchise matures. It's often thought of in it's own defining role...but more to the point, read the old PC reviews, it did not get high marks for the control and aiming! haha It's reflective of how a great premise was still pretty rough and needed more finesse

Edited August 21, 2012 by BlackListedB

[Gourangamania]

[bustago]

You are likely correct, but because there are multiple GTA San Andreas games in this searchable world, adding the game generation title 3 distinguishes this third generation from those before after and yet to come.

[blacklistedB]

I use just a normal PS2 clone, called snakebyte Final fantasy controller, 12 buttons, 2 mini-joysticks one d-pad, and keyboard L-ALT to creep, with... the reliance of a completely incompetent, PS2 derived GTA auto targeting system that leaves me time-and-again in the middle of the street, surrounded by cops and gangsters - deserving the best of thrashings - and me toggling through locked on passers-by walking along the sidewalk, while they swiss-my-cheese, as each new retargeting fails to find the priority target, or worse fails, then leaves me spun in a direction that i've never even seen, forcing my to navigate back to my original course by the bullet trails through my blood stained corpse.

Had i had a simple mouse, point and click solution, to augment my direction, as we all used for GTA3 LC and VC, this otherwise stunning game would be superb, but now its like an alphabet with no vowels. this auto targeting system is like playing the old game wearing welding gloves - no feel for the fray. Should I play as a pacifist, or not at all.

To bad Rockstar had to favor the mouseless PS2 market, this might have been the greatest game ever made. Guess us PC'ers didn't matter at this time. Seems like the only question left is did they continue in this vain, is it divided controls and effectively mouseless from SA on through 4s and 5, is GTA dead to me? or can someone take the time to build a proper patch that I might be allowed to play this game as the NVIDIA splash screen claims, "the way it is meant to be played."

[MrLlamaLlama]

I have no real idea what you're actually after, wading through the verbosity of this topic is giving me a headache and made me not wanna respond; but I'm gonna go ahead and recommend a program called xpadder. Basically, Xpadder lets you map a controller to perform keypresses as they would happen directly from a keyboard or mouse. That way you can keep the game's keyboard + mouse option turned on so you can... move with the left half of your controller and aim with your mouse? (is this what you're trying to do? what if you have to jump / get in a car?)

[Gourangamania]

Looks perfect, and $9.99 exactly how much has been rotting in my paypal account. Thanks, you win! every other forum failed to answer this question, you are king of today.

www.xpadder.com/

:::UPDATE:::

Most of this entire questions salvation. www.xpadder.com, a nifty little program, only $9.99 through paypal or cc, that allows you to operate your keyboard (for anything) through your joystick. So, with relation to this game, I found that if I set GTA3SA to keyboard and mouse, then set xpadder to emulate my keyboard through my gamepad, by using this program to map each key to a gamepad button, I was able to operate GTA3SA with gamepad AND keyboard and mouse all at the same time, with the same gamepad feel and operation as before, but now with all three controls functioning at once. And, if that weren't enough, as though a divine gift from the great god, Donkey Kong, if i hold down my right mouse button while running, it allows me to freely target and shoot without the PS2 auto targeting getting in the way.

Mind you, I still haven't found the no rain button, or the button where the cars don't drive like they are riding on top of beachballs, or the button where delivery trucks handle based on the center of actual mass, not the center of their visual mass, or the button where that nasty prossie gets slightly better looking, or the button where i can stop listening to the same stupid street comments over and over and over. Or the button that lifts the camera to a height where i can see where i am going, or the button that makes 4 garages actually hold 4 cars... But... I can live with this, and hope the rest of us controller freaks benefit as well. www.xpadder.com click it, but it, smile.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Gourangamania

[MrLlamaLlama]

I'm glad to be of service. Since you're on the PC, I'd advise maybe getting into modding to fix the other gripes you had with the game.

Stuff like disabling rain has probably already been done, vehicle settings can be altered in notepad (including centre of gravity) the hookers.... I dunno. The street comments are likely easily 'fixable' aswell. Camhack is widely known and used as a way to move the camera to your heart's content, and the garages... if I remember correctly from my many years posting here, one gent found out this was hard coded right into the game, and without serious tinkering would pretty much never be achieved.

TO THE GOOGLE-MOBILE!

http://www.thegtaplace.com/downloads/f3540-no-rain-mod

http://www.thegtaplace.com/downloads/f647-san-andreas-camera-hack-v12

http://www.thegtaplace.com/downloads/f522-sa-handling-editor

That should get you started if it's your thing. If you're feeling brave maybe have a look at http://cleo.sannybuilder.com/ -> this is CLEO, it's a method of modding san andreas that uses scripts, it's incredibly flexible and very powerful, but requires a bit more input and dedication from the user. Have fun.