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GTA: San Andreas - 4 Star Survival Guide (construction)
- Thread starter Orion_SR
- 140 comments
- 35,666 views
I added a few things to the 1st page of this topic.
A link was added to bamspeedy1298's Stat FAQ. There is a great deal of information in his FAQ that is useful for 4 star survival, and creating Master Save Files.
The notes I posted for padding respect while building weapon skill were copied to their own post.
I typed up a few notes on collecting rare vehicles to store in beginning save garages. I've notice people often tend to collect vehicles useful for import/export, but I find it an interesting challenge to collect vehicles only found in other areas, and try to get them safely back to LS (or Doherty).
I understand. It can take a long time to properly edit a video. I just wanted you to know that I was curious to see what you came up with.
I think all of the 4 Star Survival videos are still available in Italy, so I suppose this discussion might be a little off topic. However, I don't think it is necessary to create a new topic on impostors. When I'm not sure if my comments are in the appropriate forum, I frequently disguise them with comments that are on topic (see notes above).
You are currently only able to see some of my videos in Italy. Each of the videos listed by Orion57 is restricted in Italy and can not be viewed inside of that country. This is an option provided to people that host videos on Google Video. All of my videos that are not listed are still available. I suspect this will sound petty (trite, childish), but this is my way of embarrassing Orion57 for claiming that the videos belong to him. Judging by the new comments today, it seems that I have made my point.
If there is a video that you would like to view I will change the restriction right away. Otherwise, wait until this weekend and everything should be back to normal. Also, thank you for confirming that the restriction policy works.
A link was added to bamspeedy1298's Stat FAQ. There is a great deal of information in his FAQ that is useful for 4 star survival, and creating Master Save Files.
The notes I posted for padding respect while building weapon skill were copied to their own post.
I typed up a few notes on collecting rare vehicles to store in beginning save garages. I've notice people often tend to collect vehicles useful for import/export, but I find it an interesting challenge to collect vehicles only found in other areas, and try to get them safely back to LS (or Doherty).
I understand. It can take a long time to properly edit a video. I just wanted you to know that I was curious to see what you came up with.
I think all of the 4 Star Survival videos are still available in Italy, so I suppose this discussion might be a little off topic. However, I don't think it is necessary to create a new topic on impostors. When I'm not sure if my comments are in the appropriate forum, I frequently disguise them with comments that are on topic (see notes above).
You are currently only able to see some of my videos in Italy. Each of the videos listed by Orion57 is restricted in Italy and can not be viewed inside of that country. This is an option provided to people that host videos on Google Video. All of my videos that are not listed are still available. I suspect this will sound petty (trite, childish), but this is my way of embarrassing Orion57 for claiming that the videos belong to him. Judging by the new comments today, it seems that I have made my point.
If there is a video that you would like to view I will change the restriction right away. Otherwise, wait until this weekend and everything should be back to normal. Also, thank you for confirming that the restriction policy works.
4 Star San Andreas Videos by rubregg
Just to be clear, these are not my videos, the were created by rubregg. Apperently rubregg is working on a similar guide, I'll post more information when it becomes available.
I particularly like The NRG Jump into LV. I wish I had thought of that jump. You may also notice that rubregg's Burger Shot video pre-dates the one I posted.
GTA SA - Early LV / The NRG Jump
GTA SA - 4star Burger Courier
GTA SA - Early Miniguns
GTA SA - 4star NRG Challenge
GTA SA - 4star Chiliad Challenge (rogue method)
GTA SA - Tutorial - Jetmaxing To LS
GTA SA - Early LV / Stadium
GTA SA - Early LV / Burger Shot
Just to be clear, these are not my videos, the were created by rubregg. Apperently rubregg is working on a similar guide, I'll post more information when it becomes available.
I particularly like The NRG Jump into LV. I wish I had thought of that jump. You may also notice that rubregg's Burger Shot video pre-dates the one I posted.
GTA SA - Early LV / The NRG Jump GTA SA - 4star Burger Courier GTA SA - Early Miniguns GTA SA - 4star NRG Challenge GTA SA - 4star Chiliad Challenge (rogue method) GTA SA - Tutorial - Jetmaxing To LS GTA SA - Early LV / Stadium GTA SA - Early LV / Burger Shot
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Nice videos. The second one is very similar to Burgershok - Universal Cut. Are there the rubregg videos, videos that help you like I have said previously?
- 148
I have edit the previous message.
I do not understand this question. I don't think your meaning was translated properly. However, I will try to answer as best I can.
I don't know rubregg. He is a user on gtaforums.com, and I don't have an account at that site. He is a frequent participant in their Chain Game (currently in round 14). A Chain Game is a topic where someone posts an initial game save and invites other people to complete the next mission and then pass the save on to someone else. I helped create the 1st Chain Game on GameFAQs.com, and JJung (a.k.a. JAJ) brought the idea to GTAForums. The game has evolved quite a bit. They use custom v2 gamesaves with extra pickups and spawns, and have mod scripts so v1 players can use the same saves by running a simple command. Maybe you can bring the idea to Italy. Do you know enough people who might be willing to play?
So anyway, I heard about rubregg from JJung. He was passing on a request from rubregg to include me as a reference in a proposed 4 Star FAQ, and provided a link to his videos. I was really impressed by his NRG jump into Los Venturas, and finally learned how to climb the scaffolding at the construction site from his Mini-gun video. I was surprised to learn that he had posted his Burger Shot video before I did. I like this video. He demonstrates the proper caution that should be used while driving a scooter with a 4 star wanted level. So I did a site search on GTAForums and found a few messages where rubregg is discussing 4 star strategies. It appears that he is aware of many of my 4 Star explorations, and has been adding a few tricks of his own.
And that's just about everything I know about rubregg. We don't hang out at the same sites, so we never have a chance to chat. Hopefully he'll stop by and notice his name and catch this hint on how to get the Sandking over the rail of the bridge from LV: You need one with hydraulics. Toggle them to full extension before driving over the rail. I posted some notes on other collectible vehicles on the first page.
Early Vigilante with the Cop Bike
Lots of bike skill helps, but isn't completely necessary if you are experienced and careful. Still, I wouldn't recommend starting the vigilante mission without at least 50% bike skill.
Vigilante level 12 can be completed with around 2000 rounds of ammo for the SMG; I recommend collecting 2500, just to be safe. SMG skill doesn't make a difference for drive-bys, and the skill will probably be maxed by level 10 or 11.
The HPV-1000 (cop bike) is the best vehicle available early in the game. Since the targets shoot back, it's pretty darn difficult to complete the mission by doing drive-bys with the 4-wheeled vehicles. (GTA_Pheak mentioned that he almost pulled it off once; he had a bunch of homies with SMGs along for the ride.)
Each level completed will boost the health of the vehicle a small amount, and you can't get a flat while driving a vigilante vehicle during the mission, so if you are careful with the cop bike early in the mission, it will survive well beyond level 12 (we can only measure this up to 400%, but it seems to build even higher). More vehicle health is granted for finishing the level while driving the vehicle than while on foot. Plan on finishing the mission with the same bike that you started with, even if you are shooting for level 55.
I never paint the bike during vigilante, all star management is done with bribes. It's difficult to avoid earning a wanted level during the mission. Blowing up vehicles is more likely to trigger the wanted level, but I usually lay as much ammo into the vehicle as I can and hope the explosion takes out all targets. Plan on running with a 2 star wanted level through level 9 (the strategy changes for the final level). Get a map if necessary, and track the bribes (and armor) so you know when you can reuse them. Avoid 3 or more stars if possible because cop bikes and road blocks appear, and these can cause a great deal of damage to the bike.
I prefer to complete vigilante in badlands north of LS (the country side of SF must be the worst place for this mission). There are plenty of bribes, and very few foot cop or bike cop spawns to worry about. I find vigilante much easier in no-ped zones. The are plenty of shortcuts; the game seems to calculate the time allowed for each level based on how far the targets spawn from CJ, and it uses standard bot paths to figure this out, so the shortcuts across a field can save a lot of time.
Level 1 - 8 or 9: The goal is to build a large time buffer, about 8 or 9 minutes, so you have time to break off attacks to refill armor and health, and clear the stars if necessary. Since I know how you are about the races, I would recommend the same dedication to this mission - it's really fun once you get the hang of it. Practice this first part until you can clear the target quickly and efficiently, and the 2 star wanted level becomes simple background noise.
I can't think of many practical suggestions for destroying the cars. Vehicles seem take more damage to their sides than the rear, but I find it safer to stay behind them in order to hide from the return fire. If you aren't in one of the towns, or haven't fallen recently, it's usually fairly safe stop behind the damaged vehicles as the targets bail and finish it off before they can escape from the explosion. Once they are clear from the vehicle, I charge the most dangerous target (shotgun, AK) and pepper them to prevent return fire while I run them over. Then I continue until I'm just out of range of their weapons before I turn make another charge. I prefer to take out the last vehicle and work my way forward one at a time. This tends to keep the other targets grouped together.
The place I usually look to save the most time is during the pursuit. I often find it helpful to mark the position of the targets when they spawn in, and then watch to make sure I know which direction they are head. I want to avoid racing to where they were and then chasing them down to where they went, and instead anticipate where they are going and meet them there.
Level 9 or 10 -12: The strategy changes, and it can be difficult to make the transition. You should have a large time buffer to work with, so don't get in a hurry and die with several minutes on the clock. Clear the wanted level, and get some food and armor. If you take a lot of damage, break off the attack and go get some armor and a snack. You really don't want to be anywhere close to the range of a shotgun, especially if your armor is already half gone.
If you are still having difficulty, then consider using some of that valuable mini-gun ammo. Figure out where the targets are headed, and ambush them at the end of the road. This is much easier with the long roads outside of the cities. If planned well, you should be able to be aimed at the spot where they will first appear, and be able to destroy the vehicles long before they get off a shot. BTW, the mini-gun range is extremely long. With the mouse aim ability on the PC, I can hit anything I can see. For example, from the hill to the east of area 69, I can hit vehicles on the road on the west side of the base.
BTW, mini-gun strategy is a lot of fun for vigilante with the SWAT Van after you finish the game and have unlimited ammo. The SWAT is really slow, and can't even chase down a Washington if it's on an open road. So I almost always need to use a cut-off route, or at least parallel them when I'm far enough away that it doesn't trigger their spook-o-meter.
And if you continue with vigilante past level 12, the mission gets a little easier. It's a lot harder to earn a wanted level after level 12. Sometimes it's impossible to raise the wanted level, even if you want to. I was doing a 6 star vigilante mission with the Rhino, and accidentally ran over a bribe I didn't know was hidden in Foster Valley, and no matter how hard I tried, could not get that 6th star back. Also, the weapons of the targets seems to be fairly random after level 12. You might run into a shotgun or AK once in a while, but generally they aren't the severe threat of the targets on levels 10 - 12.
Lots of bike skill helps, but isn't completely necessary if you are experienced and careful. Still, I wouldn't recommend starting the vigilante mission without at least 50% bike skill.
Vigilante level 12 can be completed with around 2000 rounds of ammo for the SMG; I recommend collecting 2500, just to be safe. SMG skill doesn't make a difference for drive-bys, and the skill will probably be maxed by level 10 or 11.
The HPV-1000 (cop bike) is the best vehicle available early in the game. Since the targets shoot back, it's pretty darn difficult to complete the mission by doing drive-bys with the 4-wheeled vehicles. (GTA_Pheak mentioned that he almost pulled it off once; he had a bunch of homies with SMGs along for the ride.)
Each level completed will boost the health of the vehicle a small amount, and you can't get a flat while driving a vigilante vehicle during the mission, so if you are careful with the cop bike early in the mission, it will survive well beyond level 12 (we can only measure this up to 400%, but it seems to build even higher). More vehicle health is granted for finishing the level while driving the vehicle than while on foot. Plan on finishing the mission with the same bike that you started with, even if you are shooting for level 55.
I never paint the bike during vigilante, all star management is done with bribes. It's difficult to avoid earning a wanted level during the mission. Blowing up vehicles is more likely to trigger the wanted level, but I usually lay as much ammo into the vehicle as I can and hope the explosion takes out all targets. Plan on running with a 2 star wanted level through level 9 (the strategy changes for the final level). Get a map if necessary, and track the bribes (and armor) so you know when you can reuse them. Avoid 3 or more stars if possible because cop bikes and road blocks appear, and these can cause a great deal of damage to the bike.
I prefer to complete vigilante in badlands north of LS (the country side of SF must be the worst place for this mission). There are plenty of bribes, and very few foot cop or bike cop spawns to worry about. I find vigilante much easier in no-ped zones. The are plenty of shortcuts; the game seems to calculate the time allowed for each level based on how far the targets spawn from CJ, and it uses standard bot paths to figure this out, so the shortcuts across a field can save a lot of time.
Level 1 - 8 or 9: The goal is to build a large time buffer, about 8 or 9 minutes, so you have time to break off attacks to refill armor and health, and clear the stars if necessary. Since I know how you are about the races, I would recommend the same dedication to this mission - it's really fun once you get the hang of it. Practice this first part until you can clear the target quickly and efficiently, and the 2 star wanted level becomes simple background noise.
I can't think of many practical suggestions for destroying the cars. Vehicles seem take more damage to their sides than the rear, but I find it safer to stay behind them in order to hide from the return fire. If you aren't in one of the towns, or haven't fallen recently, it's usually fairly safe stop behind the damaged vehicles as the targets bail and finish it off before they can escape from the explosion. Once they are clear from the vehicle, I charge the most dangerous target (shotgun, AK) and pepper them to prevent return fire while I run them over. Then I continue until I'm just out of range of their weapons before I turn make another charge. I prefer to take out the last vehicle and work my way forward one at a time. This tends to keep the other targets grouped together.
The place I usually look to save the most time is during the pursuit. I often find it helpful to mark the position of the targets when they spawn in, and then watch to make sure I know which direction they are head. I want to avoid racing to where they were and then chasing them down to where they went, and instead anticipate where they are going and meet them there.
Level 9 or 10 -12: The strategy changes, and it can be difficult to make the transition. You should have a large time buffer to work with, so don't get in a hurry and die with several minutes on the clock. Clear the wanted level, and get some food and armor. If you take a lot of damage, break off the attack and go get some armor and a snack. You really don't want to be anywhere close to the range of a shotgun, especially if your armor is already half gone.
If you are still having difficulty, then consider using some of that valuable mini-gun ammo. Figure out where the targets are headed, and ambush them at the end of the road. This is much easier with the long roads outside of the cities. If planned well, you should be able to be aimed at the spot where they will first appear, and be able to destroy the vehicles long before they get off a shot. BTW, the mini-gun range is extremely long. With the mouse aim ability on the PC, I can hit anything I can see. For example, from the hill to the east of area 69, I can hit vehicles on the road on the west side of the base.
BTW, mini-gun strategy is a lot of fun for vigilante with the SWAT Van after you finish the game and have unlimited ammo. The SWAT is really slow, and can't even chase down a Washington if it's on an open road. So I almost always need to use a cut-off route, or at least parallel them when I'm far enough away that it doesn't trigger their spook-o-meter.
And if you continue with vigilante past level 12, the mission gets a little easier. It's a lot harder to earn a wanted level after level 12. Sometimes it's impossible to raise the wanted level, even if you want to. I was doing a 6 star vigilante mission with the Rhino, and accidentally ran over a bribe I didn't know was hidden in Foster Valley, and no matter how hard I tried, could not get that 6th star back. Also, the weapons of the targets seems to be fairly random after level 12. You might run into a shotgun or AK once in a while, but generally they aren't the severe threat of the targets on levels 10 - 12.
Please help me refine the vigilante post, I want to move a copy to the first page. Maybe I'll do a vigilante video this summer. I made one for Liberty City Stories. The pursuit strategy is basically the same, but the radar is too small to be useful for figuring out what's going on. Since I was recording, I avoided checking the map - not the best example. There's one point where I stop and wait to see which way the dots are moving, but since the chases are spend up to 3X normal speed (IIRC) it might be difficult to pick up many clues.
Anyway, that mission took something like 20 minutes to complete, but I wanted to get something below 15 minutes for a final video. I made a lot more progress in finding better routes and worked harder to keep the targets together, and got pretty close to 15 minutes. It wasn't until I started using what I consider to be very reckless strategies that I finally got the mission down to 12:05. But I didn't want to release a reckless video; what would be the point? To show off my score? - not my style. So the draft is as far as I got for the LCS vigilante video.
Anyway, that mission took something like 20 minutes to complete, but I wanted to get something below 15 minutes for a final video. I made a lot more progress in finding better routes and worked harder to keep the targets together, and got pretty close to 15 minutes. It wasn't until I started using what I consider to be very reckless strategies that I finally got the mission down to 12:05. But I didn't want to release a reckless video; what would be the point? To show off my score? - not my style. So the draft is as far as I got for the LCS vigilante video.
Well, I *finally* made it to register here (1st posting), so a big
Hello
to everyone and especially to Orion_SR and JJung
Great topic and fantastic videos !!
Thanks a lot for linking to my guide at gtaforums.com and for featuring my videos so prominently here. Thanks also to StefanofromRome, Dr Who (love that show!) and atwyatt for the friendly comments
A bit of background...
Back at gtaforums.com it was pdescobar who first brought up the idea of doing a 4star survival guide. While I worked on it, JAJ / JJung pointed me towards Orion_SR's similar project. Back then I only had a brief look at that (later at this guide here) because I wanted to avoid too much copying, even if subconscious. Still, JJung kept me up-to-date with a few of the more important issues. Everything about the AT-400, for example, came to me via that pipe. Later, Orion_SR informed me that credits for this are passed on to GTA_Phreak. And while we're talking credits, I din't find the NRG-Jump into LV myself, that one was shown to me by Kusak.
Anyway, in the end I finally got my guide released, and after JJung had introduced us, Orion_SR registered at gtaforums.com (OrionSR there) and we've been talking quite a bit over there recently. Once I get to brush up my guide, I will certainly add some of the things we've been discussing. Thanks again for the tips
Hello
to everyone and especially to Orion_SR and JJung
Great topic and fantastic videos !!
Thanks a lot for linking to my guide at gtaforums.com and for featuring my videos so prominently here. Thanks also to StefanofromRome, Dr Who (love that show!) and atwyatt for the friendly comments
A bit of background...
Back at gtaforums.com it was pdescobar who first brought up the idea of doing a 4star survival guide. While I worked on it, JAJ / JJung pointed me towards Orion_SR's similar project. Back then I only had a brief look at that (later at this guide here) because I wanted to avoid too much copying, even if subconscious. Still, JJung kept me up-to-date with a few of the more important issues. Everything about the AT-400, for example, came to me via that pipe. Later, Orion_SR informed me that credits for this are passed on to GTA_Phreak. And while we're talking credits, I din't find the NRG-Jump into LV myself, that one was shown to me by Kusak.
Anyway, in the end I finally got my guide released, and after JJung had introduced us, Orion_SR registered at gtaforums.com (OrionSR there) and we've been talking quite a bit over there recently. Once I get to brush up my guide, I will certainly add some of the things we've been discussing. Thanks again for the tips
- 6,546
- matthewjlcoleman
Welcome to GTP, rubregg!
I'm quite glad that people from GTAForums are taking a look around at our forum, too.
I'm quite glad that people from GTAForums are taking a look around at our forum, too.
- 1,382
- New Jersey
I liked looking at the vendor booths map. I want to go around to all of them and eat some food than blow them up
.
.I just saw your videos tomorrow. Very nice and funny method to gather ammo and sow the police.
I look Purpose Maps too, since I don't see any videos, I think I can achieve a program of "Purpose Maps" completely with videos that will be posted in this topic by Orion_SR permission.
See you soon.
I look Purpose Maps too, since I don't see any videos, I think I can achieve a program of "Purpose Maps" completely with videos that will be posted in this topic by Orion_SR permission.
See you soon.
- 240
- GTA Phreak
Almost forgot about this thread.
Anyway here's a video I made of how to escape 4* territory and clearing wanted level in an aircraft (GTAF users might have seen it before).
Collecting 4 bribes is overdoing it a bit, 2 or 3 should be enough.
With the Skimmer you could collect 2 bribes by air and land in the Glen Park pond and collect 1 bribe on foot (the final * will go away pretty quickly once you're out of the aircraft) and still have the Skimmer available (for collecting the far away oysters)
Anyway here's a video I made of how to escape 4* territory and clearing wanted level in an aircraft (GTAF users might have seen it before).
Collecting 4 bribes is overdoing it a bit, 2 or 3 should be enough.
With the Skimmer you could collect 2 bribes by air and land in the Glen Park pond and collect 1 bribe on foot (the final * will go away pretty quickly once you're out of the aircraft) and still have the Skimmer available (for collecting the far away oysters)
SA Restricted Area Map
Seemann managed to dig the restricted area coordinates out of the executable, and pdescobar used this information to create a map of the 4 and 5 star restricted areas of San Andreas. The only detail that seems just a tad off, is that the gap to cross the bay is on the LV side of the Amphibious Assault Ship, even though it looks like there is more room on the other side. <Reference Link>
70 out of 70 Jump Completed
If someone really wanted to score all 70 jumps on a master save, it should be possible by script switching and alternate executables. The idea is that v2 doesn't see v1 barriers, and the other way around. So, someone with access to v1 and v2 or v3 executables could swaps the scripts appropriately to complete the Gant Bridge jump that is blocked by an invisible barrier.
Seemann managed to dig the restricted area coordinates out of the executable, and pdescobar used this information to create a map of the 4 and 5 star restricted areas of San Andreas. The only detail that seems just a tad off, is that the gap to cross the bay is on the LV side of the Amphibious Assault Ship, even though it looks like there is more room on the other side. <Reference Link>
70 out of 70 Jump Completed
If someone really wanted to score all 70 jumps on a master save, it should be possible by script switching and alternate executables. The idea is that v2 doesn't see v1 barriers, and the other way around. So, someone with access to v1 and v2 or v3 executables could swaps the scripts appropriately to complete the Gant Bridge jump that is blocked by an invisible barrier.
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