Police car models (Patrol/Cruiser) switch each ~7 minutes, which doesn't reset if you simply restart the game via Pause - New Game. It is preserved in savefiles and is also set to the start of Patrol if you enter and exit Benchmark before the run.
Enforcer/FIB Buffalo cycle mystery is unknown but I've been told that not restarting the game for a while eventually leads to constant FIB.
https://www.gta4.net/map/ might be useful to know some of these pickups (Alderney health pack between Rodney and Marty, and the one before Noel; Armor pickups after Leo, before Simon, before Harrison (with and without airdrop).
Routes
Kand jump: cruiser on low speed works well, patrol only works on high speed and inconsistent overall (high speed = bad landing usually)
Leo jump: start climbing and keep holding W until Niko moves left leg, released too late = ragdoll and death, too early = no vault, in which case use fire escape. Aim and do the combat roll halfway down for consistency.
Simon route (also drives past the armor):
https://www.twitch.tv/sneedrun/clip/SpinelessProtectiveTermiteKevinTurtle-JZRmcDd69g8pEzAc
https://www.twitch.tv/xartacer/clip/TiredMotionlessCasetteTBTacoRight-_pt7LfWDgnrTRc5k
Slow down before that curb but not while hitting it. Left side seems to not randomly rotate the car into a barrel role. I also let off the accel when the car is airborne + hold lean back
Searching closer to that trailer (where you'd normally park the car) probably still won't spook or softlock the target.
Covey comparisons: NRG not worth it, bowling alley is worth it if there's a decent placebo to prevent cop spwns on that narrow road, like holding look backwards.
Noel variations allow a more peaceful drive-by, health grab and just helps keeping the car alive. Credits to me and ADx9928
...but beware of this pillar collision
Harrison (drop comparison isn't the best, might be a few seconds worth)
Needless to say that many of the tricks above may screw you if tires aren't intact.
FPS vs Most Wanted:
Aim bug (deadzone when moving mouse diagonally) exists on any FPS, but becomes worse the higher FPS is.
Suspension boosts (curb/brake/wiggle boosts or just driving on uneven surfaces) are more effective on higher FPS.
Use low FPS to avoid Niko stumbling when entering cars, eating food etc.
Search time research by Artacer:
"After some testing I believe FPS does impact the police computer search time. I have tested 50 searches each on 3 different FPS values. While tricky to get a confirmed answer the averages and peak/minimum lead me to assume that it is indeed impacted by the in game clock."
All search times are randomized in the 2.5 to 6s range, this sample size might be small so it's up to you to believe if it's connected to game time (low fps = game time runs faster) or not.
Artacer has discovered that cop cars involved in a 2 stars+ chase have increased handling, body roll and brakes. You just need to be in the car as they follow you, and the effect can also apply to any other vehicle they'll borrow to chase you (used in Races IL).
In MW, this can be used to try and get a buffed car before Antonio/Bert or by calling Backup anywhere else (for example, after Leo) if replacement is needed.
Such "buffed" cars also start benefiting from "wiggle boosts", another tech found by Artacer.
Other fun facts.
Video setting bars (view/detail/vd) aren't set properly after launching IV/EFLC until you open Graphic settings (just opening once is enough). View distance set on 1 avoids many parked car spawns but also leads to pedestrians appearing closer to you.
On an Xbox, external keyboard can be used for typing names. For more console strats, search from:mury in:gta4 in the GTA Speedrnning Discord.
You can spam F while jumping on Bert stairs to avoid "niko climbing stairs", but it's risky on stairs like Harrison.
https://www.twitch.tv/samkmc/clip/SmoothExcitedAardvarkMau5-czS9VeLwrsSTviDn
Marty has an unlimited amount of 1 shot RPGs that he can keep pulling out.
It's common for the game to stutter near the bridges.
Entering police computer in very specific areas can freeze the game.
2 pickups are bugged and never spawn (checked 1.0.4.0/CE/EfLC): Combat Sniper inside If the Price Is Right Boathouse (1 floor below Grenade) and a healthpack inside Mr. Fuk's Restaurant (to the left of stairs), might have something to do with them being at the end of the lists in initial.sco. Also, both Sniper pickups in Broker-Dukes only appear after Deconstruction for Beginners is unlocked (laterweapons.sco).
Some maps like gta4.net have them but they're slightly misleading, so anything that's not on We's or this map https://ehgames.com/gta/map/0v785jsi379 is probably that or a mission pickup (but still worth checking!).
EFLC should have all the same pickups, except that both Broker-Dukes Snipers just never spawn at all, and TBoGT doesn't have a Grenade on the Bang Bang construction site in Algonquin.
Summary:
initial.sco (pickups created right after starting new game in GTA IV, TLaD, TBoGT):
- 11 Baseball Bats
- 11 Knifes
- 15 Pistols
- 7 Combat Pistols
- 6 Pump Shotguns
- 8 Combat Shotguns
- 10 Micro SMGs
- 9 SMGs
- 5 Assault Rifles
- 6 Carbine Rifles
- 1 Sniper Rifle
- 3 Combat Snipers (and 1 bugged)
- 4 RPGs
- 14 Grenades
- 9 Molotovs
- 56 Health Packs (and 1 bugged)
- 40 Armors
happytshirt.sco (exists only in GTA IV right from the start):
- 1 sweatshirt
laterweapons.sco (exists only in GTA IV, activated after Deconstruction for Beginners is available):
- 2 Snipers in Broker-Dukes
https://ehgames.com/gta/map/ph29ojtybtb another map with some unused locations
Yeah internet archive helped in this case (pic is a different example but that's how it looks when someone mass deletes their runs, there's nothing that i could use to identify them if i open Run Updated tab) and sorry for that last bit about the website.
And perhaps the drop down arrow could be just moved the left, right next to the last main category.
Recently we've had a runner in our community, who claimed to be hacked and lost all his runs. Audit log didn't keep anything, no links (which didn't matter cuz VODS were gone too) or times to restore on the LB. This is a very important issue IMO, because that means we have to back everything up somewhere else just in case, and what is the puprose of this website then?
Plan for Friends Activities:
- Darts - Eating - Show - Air Hockey
- Drinking - Strip Club
- Hang Out: grab Auto Pistol, win Pool and Arm Wrestling (optional), then die or vidwarp. Zone which blocks Hang Out call is quite huge (like 5 blocks around clubhouse); go for it later to refill more ammo.
Call Terry for Air Hockey after those missions while on bike:
- Action/Reaction
- All Gang Wars
- Heavy Toll (or Bohan GW if it's close)
- Malc 1 (or Middle Park GW?)
- End of Chapter
- Bad Standing
- Dave (or South Alg. GW/CI but not the other way around cuz Dave despawns any vehicle)
- Was It Worth It
- Get Lost
- When the Blue Chips Are Down
- Possibly last race on each island (order will get screwed but you can start and cancel the Job to move it closer to you (it moves 4 times when you end any mission/GW/Job then freezes).
Before entering bike/cab (can skip the call by pressing F/Q but it will still cost some menuing time):
- This Shit's Cursed (probably delays the call)
- Marta Full of Grace (or GW - quickcall Angus and then call Clay for a bike, while arriving to the mission end)
- Diamonds in the Rough (or South Alg. GW - taxi to further location first, then use Backup bike)
- Roman's Holiday
- Collector's Item (doorless cab can be utilized for WIWI and seagulls instead)
- Angus/Stubbs Jobs
Keep calling until you get best location for either Air Hockey or Strip Club. You can drive through the door and then kill any friend to pass Strip Club. You can start the call immediately as soon as the dialogue ends, unlike Job.
SMS shouldn't get delayed (except Terry race text) but Jim text for WIWI will most likely softlock until you complete the activity (or kill Jim during an activity).
Cancel the bad activity during a mission/job or before GW (it won't cancel if friend is too close).
Deadline is Collector's Item (to utilize the doorless cab for WIWI; Hang Out is also unavailable after WIWI).
High Dive Armando Warp Comparison
~40s drive or less = not worth it even with a cab in front of you and no extra setup also kinda depends on how close Armando is to destination
Chinese Takeout drive is ~50s (time from fade in to fade out) + would require double mission fail like on This Ain't Checkers, no chance it's worth considering
Departure Time ~60s drive from fade in to hitting the marker but you won't setup the Broker warp from Ladies Half Price end so extra taxi fare + that location is pretty far away
You can also warp to cleaning platforms like that 5s + 3 loads slower (loads are removed in the video)
Entering a computer doesn't seem to teleport the player, just opens internet as if you used a trainer to open it anywhere. ATM machines also don't teleport you but they softlock the camera like a wardrobe glitch, seemingly without any good effect. Camera can be fixed by entering a cab or forcing some non cinematic mission cutscene, like a mission fail or the one at the start of Frosting on the Cake. It also seems to change the game color or contrast.
no it's not allowed, and there's literally no reason to use anything other than xliveless
dxvk will make your loads 25 min long; it's "not disallowed" since it's technically "not a mod" (?)
the recommended downgrader is pinned in gta4 channel in discord, using the one from modding sites might lead to more mods in your installation, such as xliveless asi version which crashes the game when vidwarping
idk what you mean by "the other stuff"
https://ehgames.com/gta/map/o50snykp8l6
all possible spawns for Clay/Terry/Jim when you call then for activities (hand-made)
some "too close" distance memes are probably involved idk
