Joshimuz's VCS FAQ

Joshimuz's VCS FAQ

Contents (CTRL+F to find)
Q1: Wot dis?
Q2: Wot u playin' dis on?
Q2.1: Why not PSP!?!
Q2.2: Why not PS2/3/4!?!
Q2.3: Why not PPSSPP/PCSX2?!?
Q2.4: Did u no about da SA VCS MOD!?!
Q3: But why da bad grafhacs, r u on a calculator lololol?
Q4: Wot r dupes?
Q4.1: y u do same mission 5 times!?!
Q5: How did u buy dis, it ain't on da store no mores?
Q6: when sa!?
Q6.1: when t100%+


Q1: Wot dis?

Short A: VCS is a PSP prequel to Vice City.

Long A: Vice City STORIES is a Rockstar game released in 2006 for PSP (and later PS2). It is a completely different game to Vice City, the 2002 PS2 (and later PC) game; it is however a prequel to Vice City (set 2 years before) and plays on the same map with only some minor changes, however everything else is completely different (story, gameplay, missions, physics, etc).



Q2: Wot u playin' dis on?

Short A: PSTV.

Long A: I'm playing the game on a PSTV which is a non-hand-held version of a PS Vita that plugs into a TV and uses a PS3/PS4 controller. Other than having no inputs, cameras or screen it is essentially just a Vita. While I could use a regular Vita, unlike PSPs, Vitas do not have a native TV output port. It would require some crazy ridiculous hardware mods in order for me to capture the game and record/stream it (https://www.3dsvideocapture.com/product-list/6) and in doing so all I would achieve is basically making it into a PSTV and wasting a lot of money. PSTV just uses nice simple, clean, easy to capture, high quality HDMI.



Q2.1: Why not PSP!?!

Short A: It's slower and the controls and video quality are worse.

Long A: The reason I'm using a PSTV/Vita instead of a PSP is because it has access to the Playstation Store, on which you can buy digital versions of some PSP games. As with most console speedruns, using a later console's backwards compatibility is often the fastest way to run a game, be it because of better load times, frame rates, controls, stability or new/different glitches. In this case it's for better load times and controls (I can use a PS3/PS4 controller instead of a PSP). Unfortunately it seems Sony did a good job with their PSP emulator and the frame rate, stability and glitches all seem to be accurate to a real PSP. Also PSP outputs best with a component output, which is worse than HDMI.



Q2.2: Why not PS2/3/4!?!

Short A: Route is different, it's probably slower and I don't own a PS3/PS4.

Long A: While the game does have a PS2 port (and therefore a version on PS3 and PS4) which others higher resolution (but worse performance and load times (yes even with a HDD/network PS2)), some additional content (some useful in speedruns, some not), better controls, etc, it is *PROBABLY* not the better version to speedrun. This is due to a few factors, but mostly it comes down to almost all previous research, routing and runs being done on the PSP version. The PS2 port is actually different in lots of small ways for the speedrun route (different dupes crash, different glitches, etc). Also since all previous runs were done on the PSP version (including mine) I'd rather just compete in this version. A few people are running the PS3(?) version currently so this may change in the future (someone buy me a PS4 XD <3 lol).



Q2.3: Why not PPSSPP/PCSX2?!?

Short A: Emulators are bad.

Long A: PCSX2 is SUUUUPPPPPEEERR bad and should never be used for speedruns. It's just completely and totally inaccurate in so many respects (loading times, glitches, etc) and it's also a really terrible user experience. I think PPSSPP is better (I've never used it) but it still has inaccuracies and is currently separated on the leaderboards from the "real" versions (with rules like: Don't use glitches you can't use in the "real" versions). As with all speedruns it's better to just play on real hardware with the real software. For casual play I would recommend PPSSPP though for better controls and resolution (I think there is even a 60FPS patch or something).



Q2.4: Did u no about da SA VCS MOD!?!

Short A: Yes, it's very unfinished.

Long A: Yes, a lot more than most people since I actually played it! When I played it, it was completely unfinished (only half the map available, about 5 missions, countless bugs) and obviously not an official version so speedrunning it would be... weird. Development stalled after 2013 and the mod was not updated for ages (which is the version I must've played) however the latest update seems to be from 2018 (on the forums, not MODDB) so hopefully this can one day be finished!



Q3: But why da bad grafhacs?

Short A: It's a PSP game.

Long A: Being a PSP game (A hand-held console released in 2004 with a 480x272 screen) the resolution is quite low, as is the general graphical quality. I am however doing my utmost to make the video quality as good as possible. The reason it looks so bad is because you're probably watching it on a 1080p (8 times larger than 272p!) display over 10 years after it was released. Emulators and/or PS2 can increase the resolution, but I do not want to use those (as explained elsewhere).



Q4: Wot r dupes?

Short A: Doing the same mission twice (or more) skips missions.

Long A:



Q4.1: y u do same mission 5 times!?!

Short A: To skip 4 missions.

Long A:



Q5: How did u buy dis, it ain't on da store no mores?

Short A: Buy it in the GTA Handheld bundle with LCS and CW.

Long A:



Q6: when sa!?

Short A: Earliest is probably after ESA Winter (February), reality is who knows.

Long A:



Q6.1: when t100%+

Short A: I tweet updates, I give updates no where else.

Long A: