Since it seems like it will be a while before I can update my old notes, I'll just post them here for reference. This should give you a rough idea of where I'm headed. I've learned a lot since I wrote these notes - last modification was 8/20/2005). To catch up on what's been going on recently, check these topics on the PC Board and PS2 Board on GameFAQs. These notes were taken from a topic in response to the Ultimate Beginning Saves I posted for download for the PC version of San Andreas. These saves are included in my Critical Saves Package for GTASA-PC v1.x in slot 1 and slot 2.
These saves are from my second attempt to complete these missions and collections without triggering any of the story. I had the experience gained from several 100% games (ps2 and pc) and know the map and missions quite well. I was looking for a challenge and decided to try to complete these missions because I heard somewhere it could be done, and that gamesaves were available. I didnt know at the time that cheats were used, and tried to do the mission legitimately.
Tags: Check the maps for specific locations of items, weapons and spawns. I collected the can near the Tec9+Armor and SMG in north LS to avoid getting too close to CJ's house while collecting the can on top of the store. (I have avoiding triggering CJs audio when entering Grove Street for the first time.)
Oysters: Much of the bay around the boat school is safe from stars. Far more oysters can be collected safely than expected. I have not found a way to travel by boat through the entire bay, but both ends can be accessed safely. CJ does not earn stars while swimming. The oysters in the rivers of SF and the coast of LV can be accessed by swimming from a boat floating off the coast. Unfortunately, the boats will un-spawn if CJ swims too far away, so it ends up being easier to rampage several of the inland oysters anyway. The 3 oysters near the navy base will only earn 4 stars instead of the usual 5. Also, I couldn't get the oyster near the second ship (dark52 #32) without triggering a wanted level. Be careful when swimming in shallow water. If CJ stands on a rock (or jumps up out of the water) the wanted level will be triggered. Collecting Oysters took two saves. I drowned on my first attempt while collecting the deep Oyster under the ship, my 47th - so close.
Snapshots: There are cameras all over SF. When I made my recent Ultimate Save, I arrived without a camera and collected all 50 Snapshots as a single mission.
Horseshoes are really tricky without a jetpack and with a Hydra hunting anything that flies; they took 3 saves.
Ill include more details on surviving missions and collections with 4 stars in a later message. However, the most valuable experience is learned from the Hippy Shopper and Burger Shot Assets. Once I learned the trick to passing these missions, surviving with a wanted level became a lot easier. Slow down, never fall off the bike, paint frequently, turn at every intersection, look for and avoid roadblocks, and dont stay in the same neighborhood for very long.
The safest ways I found to enter locked territory are;
Parachute to a known vehicle spawn.
The Jetmax in LV territory (north of Palomino Creek, next to armor) is in safe territory. Jump a vehicle into the water from the grass west of the creek to spawn the Jetmax (usually). Dock at the NRG-Challenge for the bike or Roadtrain (also near Bullet spawn).
The Unique Jump into the SF airport (dark52 #35) can be landed with an NRG-500. This is a dramatic way to begin the SF Jump challenge (+39 thru 52).
The safest ways I found to exit locked territory are;
LV: Jetmax north of Palomino to Blueberry bribes.
SF: Squalo under the Kincaid train bridge to Blueberry Bribes.
SF Alternate: Dinghy with armor to Squalo to Blueberry.
Boat Note: Out run the police boats; try to stay out of range and near a safe shore without turning.
Either: Enter a passenger train with full health and armor, run when exiting the train with stars. Or jack a train and ram it though the barrier at high speed. The train will get stuck, but CJ won't have to swim to LS.
Surviving with a 4 Star Wanted Level
There are several things to keep track of all at once, it takes a lot of practice, and Im having difficulty prioritizing my thoughts on the matter; please forgive me if I tend to jump around during the explanation. To start with, it really helps to have full bike skill, stamina, max health and 150 armor. High skill is recommended with the Desert Eagle for one shot bike grabs, SMG or Machine Pistol (a matter of preference, both have advantages) for the main running weapon, and the M4 for acquiring undamaged Enforcers. However, very little shooting should occur if you are managing things properly. Shooting is helpful when CJ falls from the bike, needs to jack a new vehicle, or is running through the cops to the armor just ahead, and, is usually an indication that something has gone wrong.
The AI-Police are not very cleaver and easy to manage if you pay attention to their behavior and react in a way they are not program to handle. You can rub them off on the same tree, wall, sign, or river over and over; theyll never learn. Most of the cars are programmed to either PIT or ram CJs vehicle as it races away at full speed. Driving a slow vehicle such as the one used in the Burger Shot asset, or a Pizzaboy, will reveal how to easily manage the cops. Slow down, and never fall off the bike. The cops will race pass at full speed, hit the brakes as they go by, and spin out into a barrier. Trap Cops (cars that spawn when triggered by driving through a section of street timed impacts) will spawn ahead and safely in view when traveling at a slow or moderate speed. If CJ does get hit, he isnt as likely to spin or fall off the bike at slow speeds. Cops approaching for an impact from ahead can be deceived into making a false turn with a well timed weave across lanes.
It is possible to have some control over how the cops are spawned. As long as CJ remains in a vehicle (or a no ped zone), very few foot cops will spawn. Take advantage of the shoulders, grass, dirt paths, and shortcuts without any cops whenever possible. Roadblocks seem more likely if CJ is traveling straight along the same city street, or hanging out in the same neighborhood too long. When trying to collect a difficult snapshot, horseshoe, or jump, it is often better to leave the area and return after completing another collection, than to keep trying different things in the same area.
I prefer to use a bike when rampaging with 4 stars. The bikes are less likely to roll on uneven terrain, can fit through much narrower openings and shortcuts, and can make very fast changes in direction. I also found that the bikes can be navigated safely through the cities by turning frequently and taking the inside path for the turn. For example; from the left sidewalk, make a sharp left turn to left sidewalk, cross with caution near the center of the block to right sidewalk, and E-brake right to the right sidewalk. CJ is much less likely to have an accident if he avoids the center of intersections. However, it is also a good idea to look for roadblocks before turning, especially in San Fierro.
Several heavy vehicles are excellent choices for managing the cops. Check the locations for the Firetruck, Barracks, Roadtrain and Packer, they are especially durable. The Sandking, Dune, and Monster are also good choices for off road escapes. Still, Id trade any of them for a bike if I thought it was safe to exit the vehicle.
The other major trick for keeping CJ alive with a 4 star wanted level is managing his health and armor. CJs health is especially difficult to replenish, so the priority is on keeping the armor full to protect the health. Use a map if necessary to locate as much armor as possible and keep track of which have been used and when they are likely to re-spawn. Also, because of the fixed 4 star wanted level, the swat cops are constantly bringing CJ new armor. Learn to coax a single enforcer to a no ped/no car zone off the side of the road and capture it cleanly.
Replenishing health usually requires at least two armors and must be done at vending machines since the restaurants opened during a mission. The 24/7s usually have vending machines which are safer to snack at until the health is full than machines out in the open. If the armor was full when entering the store and CJ has planned an escape from the foot cops spawned while exiting the store, then he is still likely to have a little armor protecting his health. Find a second armor before continuing the rampage.
Aircraft are risky to use due to the Hydras which seem to be able to spawn in anywhere in the sky, usually from behind, with a missile lock the perfect first shot. When flying into locked areas from LS, I like to fly around the coast and enter the area at the point with the shortest distance to the destination. High altitudes will allow for severe evasive maneuvers and safe parachuting to most locations. At fist I thought is would be impossible to fly anywhere with the Hydras attacking, but I finally found a method to evade the missiles long enough to collect several of the difficult Horseshoes and the Oyster of the upper dam.
The trick to flying helicopters is to hug the ground, water, cliffs, hills, mountains, trees and building as closely as possible. Besides making the helicopter more difficult to target and blocking most of the missiles, the AI-pilots are not very good at recognizing obstacles and will frequently slam into something and blow themselves up. However, this does tend to spawn another Hydra with another perfect shot. For practice, try flying the Maverick from the SF airport along a route similar to the Barn Storming air race except skip Angle Pine and head toward Palomino Creek instead. I found 15 bridges to hide under along that route (a few of them are land bridges). At first the goal was to see if I could fly under the bridges safely, but soon I learned it was risky to leave the shelter they provide.
Now that Ive covered survival techniques, I can be a little more specific on the missions. Stadium Events are the same as normal once inside the stadium. This is also true for the Chiliad Challenges until arriving at the finish line. The Courier Assets are difficult, but a little easier than Vigilante in LS with a cop bike. The NRG-500 is definitely more difficult with a couple of cop cars, or even an Enforcer in the bowl.
Snapshots (Horseshoes and Oysters) are difficult to collect in the order shown by many maps. The need to avoid spending too much time in any neighborhood make is easier to take the pictures by crisscrossing the map until the area for a photo-op is relatively free of police, hop off the bike and quickly take the picture, and quickly leave to a different area for the next snapshot. However, several snapshots can be taken from no-ped/no-car zones (like on the train bridge, or under the freeway), the no-star safety of an off-shore boat, or the hill overlooking the airport.
Oysters: There are only a few that require rampage strategies; none of them are particularly difficult. I like to use the Sea Sparrow by the dam to access the upper reservoir. (The AI-pilots dont seem to know the water level is higher on the north side of the dam. Sometimes they spawn in underwater and dont die until they reach the surface.)
Horseshoes collection is the most difficult mission to complete because so many of them are in locations that are difficult to reach without a jetpack. I made some preliminary tests to determine which horseshoes could not be collected from the ground, and which would be difficult to access - even with a helicopter. Then I parachuted into an isolated horseshoe, collected many of the others with a Sea Sparrow, and grabbed some low-level horseshoes on the way back to the Jetmax to make an escape and save.
It is possible to get Katie, Barbara and Michelle as girlfriends, but after all oysters are collected, they are anxious to go on dates and will occasionally call, even if CJ is out of town. CJ has had no luck dating the girlfriends with 4 stars; they always want to go home immediately after getting in the car. I suspect the dates are automatically failed if the wanted level is too high.
There! Did I answer your question? I think I covered the all the basics anyway. I could offer more details, but I suspect this topic will die quickly if I dont bump it occasionally.
The gym at the beach is available for workouts. To avoid possibly triggering a gym glitch, I made regular trips to the Roboi Food Mart for a few snacks. By entering and exiting the 24/7, I could reset the exercise timer of the outdoor gym and allow CJ to put on a new skin if needed.
It is possible to gain fat by snacking at vending machines, but it takes several snacks to gain just a slight tick. I found it useful to program a button on my gamepad to press and not release the "eat" button. The snacks from vending machines don't seem to be subject to puking restrictions. BTW, the Chili Dog, Mr. Whoopie, and Noodle stands are a good way to top off a little heath lost by falls or crashes because the animation is short and CJ can keep moving while eating.
It is possible to meet the girlfriends without the added incentive provided by collecting all 50 oysters. If CJ satisfies the physical requirements specified in the GF FAQ, and can arrive in a high sex appeal car with very little damage, they will give out their numbers and the associated GF benefits are gained.
Oh yeah, programming buttons might count as a trick as well. I also found it useful to temporarily assign a button to press and not release the left rudder button so CJ would fly in circles over LS while building enough experience for a pilot's license, and avoid triggering the territory glitch of adding new turfs by flying far out to sea.
I also programmed a turbo button for super-sprint so CJ wouldn't drown again while collecting that one really deep oyster under the ship. I just can't seem to manually press the button fast enough to get the extra speed underwater.
A little extra sex appeal can be gained by loading up on expensive tattoos at the shop in Los Venturas (on the north end of the Strip; near Millies favorite novelty store). I was surprised to find it opened. I checked the Unmarked Barber; it was closed, so I never could find any place open for haircuts.
The garage is San Fierro opens and saves vehicles. I kept a few extra bikes available for quick changes by making sure the garage wasnt full.
None of the aircraft have parachutes inside them this early in the game, so be sure to pick up a new one if you plan to do any flying. I frequently bailed over water to save the parachute until it was needed. This is especially a concern when collecting the high level horseshoes.
The problem with parachuting onto a horseshoe is that CJ will be on foot, so he will be under fire from foot cops and in need of a vehicle that can be used for armor and transportation to a preferred vehicle spawn without it being destroyed. I found the freeways around Los Venturas to be a great place to look for good vehicle. Foot cops dont spawn on the freeways, and cops arriving by car have a very difficult time surviving in the traffic jam caused by dancing in the road (there is some danger of being crushed to death).
Satchel bombs can be placed on CJs vehicle in no-ped/no-car zones with a little over head cover (Rhino hanger, LV airport, many multi-story garages, PaynSprays, etc). When it becomes necessary for CJ to abandon the vehicle, the bombs can be detonated, providing some distraction while he tries to jack a new vehicle. Swapping vehicles is risky. It is usually worth the trouble to paint a good bike or heavy vehicle to keep it alive as long as possible.
If you want to fly the Maverick out of the SF airport, its a good idea to approach it by taking a trip around the back of the hangers. This will dump any chasers into the water, causing more cops to spawn on the hill behind CJ - on the road above the airport. These cops frequently fall in the water giving CJ enough time to get airborne before any more cops can spawn on the tarmac. (Note the inconsistent NRG-500 spawn behind the hangars.)
The 4 Star Wanted Level stays the same for restricted territories as the game progresses and new areas of the map are unlocked. Returning from LV is pretty easy once CJ can buy the house in Palomino Creek; just Jetmax across the canal and dash into the wardrobe to clear the stars.
In order to raise the $120,000 needed to buy the house in Mulholland, I did the Taxi, Paramedic, Firetruck, and Pimping missions as a single save. CJ is at some risk of starving during the taxi mission. But when I tried the order of Paramedic, Firetruck, Taxi, and Pimping, I ran into the Taxi Glitch.
