For years, players of the iconic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have been captivated by the game’s quirky incidents and urban legends. From unexplained plane crashes to peculiar NPC behavior, these occurrences have fueled countless discussions and speculations within the gaming community. Now, nearly two decades after the game’s release, a former developer at Rockstar North has come forward to unveil the underlying reasons behind some of San Andreas’ most puzzling phenomena.
Obbe Vermeij, a developer who worked on the Grand Theft Auto franchise for over a decade, recently took to social media to share insights into the development process and unintended consequences that gave rise to two of San Andreas’ most notorious myths.
The first, and perhaps the most widely recognized, is the inexplicable crashing of small planes near the player’s location. Vermeij explained that the developers had implemented a system to periodically spawn planes flying overhead, aiming to add a touch of realism to the game’s vast open world. However, due to limitations in the code’s collision detection, these planes would sometimes spawn on ill-fated flight paths, leading to their untimely demise.
In GTA San Andreas, small planes are periodically created near the player to perform a fly-by.
Sometimes they crash.Before creating the plane, my code looks for obstacles in its path.
It scans a number of lines in the forward direction of the plane. These scans are slow so I… pic.twitter.com/8uUQcmU958— Obbe Vermeij (@ObbeVermeij) April 2, 2024
“Before creating the plane, my code looks for obstacles in its path,” Vermeij revealed. “It scans a number of lines in the forward direction of the plane. These scans are slow, so I used the absolute minimum. This is why thin obstacles are sometimes not detected.”
Compounding the issue were factors such as incorrect initial speeds, which occasionally caused planes to lose altitude upon spawning, and delays in loading map models, resulting in planes being generated in areas where obstacles had not yet rendered.
While Vermeij admitted to briefly considering removing the fly-by plane feature altogether, he ultimately decided to leave it intact – a decision that has since provided countless moments of unintentional hilarity for players across the globe.
The second myth addressed by Vermeij involves a peculiar NPC behavior that has long puzzled San Andreas enthusiasts. In certain coastal areas, players have reported encountering an NPC who would take a photograph and then inexplicably walk off a nearby cliff, plunging to their death in the waters below.
Vermeij attributes this eerie occurrence to the game’s use of “attractors” – in-game objects or locations that NPCs would navigate towards upon completing a scripted action. In the case of the suicidal photographer, the nearest attractor may have been across the water, prompting the NPC to embark on a fatal path.
“What’s likely happening here is the NPC takes a photo, and, having finished that ‘action,’ looks for a nearby attractor or path to an attractor, and heads that way,” Vermeij explained.
While these incidents were unintentional byproducts of the game’s coding, they have become an integral part of the San Andreas experience, adding to the game’s enduring charm and replayability. Vermeij’s revelations not only provide closure for long-standing mysteries but also offer a fascinating glimpse into the intricate world of game development, where even the smallest oversights can lead to unforgettable gaming moments.
As players continue to revisit the beloved San Andreas, Vermeij’s insights serve as a reminder of the game’s enduring legacy and the indelible mark it has left on gaming culture.
