"If you've been over to my message board then you'll have heard about this, but I'm hoping to get everyone involved in making a Community Map.  What do I mean?

Well the basic premise is that we're going to make a map for GTA. And when I say we, I mean us, as a community (well, all those who want to get involved, which should be most). The idea is simple Everyone makes a building, I stick em all on a map and we have something that no other online community has.. a community created mod!

Sounds simple, and it is really. If you're interested bob over to the Community Map website and see what's going on."
 

Terror In Tiny Town! <9:30 PM CST - schu>
This kicks ass!  Get it now!  You need more?  Well if you are looking for a quick action fix, this is it!  pid has taken the popular Tiny Town multiplayer GTA2 level and set it up for single player.  If you can't tell by the name, Tiny Town is, well, a tiny town with tons of peds and enough weaponry to make the people of Tiny Town a little uneasy, especially since they all seem to clump together into groups that make sidewalk surfing all that much more enjoyable.  All ya do is download this zip (729 bytes), unzip the file, and copy it to the GTA2\DATA directory, but for Christ's sake BACK THE ORIGINAL UP FIRST.  Then you just run the game as normal and there you are.  Thanks to pid (GTA2 Wipeout) for making all this possible.  If you still aren't sure you haven't got the bandwidth and time to download all 729 bytes of it (yup, its not even 1k - that equates to a 0.0000001 second download on even the shittiest cup and string connection), check out this screenshot (which takes even longer to download than the file itself!).

Linux GTA2 - Make it Happen <9:30 PM CST - schu>
You want your favorite games to appear on a Linux box near you but your voice isn't being heard; so what do you do?  Bitch and moan?  Hell no, you get over to Tux Games and sign one of their petitions which will hopefully show a publisher that Bill Gates crap OS isn't the only one out there.  There are multiple petitions including GTA2, check it out at www.tuxgames.com/petitions. Thanks to Klamy for this bit of info.

Zloty / Kovaski <9:30 PM CST - schu>
J. Sun wrote me about the name of the Russian Mafia in GTA2.  According to him the name Zloty is just the name of one of the Russians you contact and that Kovaski is actually a word for restaurant.   I hadn't even heard of the GTA2 Russian Mafia being called Kovaski before, but I do currently have the Russian gang listed as the Zloty in the GTA2 info section and I'm pretty sure I got that from an email from Rockstar or from a preview, either way it appears to be incorrect.  To tell you the truth I had all but forgotten about the Russian Mafia even having a name until now.  Thanks to J. Sun for clearing that up...

Announcements <9:30 PM CST - schu>

• Aqutiv (creator of the GTA2-Workshop) has published his own website, BUSTED!.  You can find his site at drop.to/busted.  It features regular updates and all the latest on the GTA2-Workshop.  Currently Aqutiv would like to create a GTA2 cars section as well so if you have anything to donate, why not drop by and send it in?

 
Community News <9:30 PM CST - schu>

• The GTA2 Attack Shack
  New Stuff
  There have been major updates at the GTA 2 Attack Shack.
  The Attack Shack now has a classified ads page. Here you can put all your TC/PC or mod requests, there is also a new poll and a GTA 2 mailing list where you can receive updates from the Attack Shack. If you have a GTA 2 site then add it to the links page, hopefully this will build into the largest selection of GTA 2 links. If you don't like any of those you could even join in our voice chat sessions."

• GTA2 Planet
  High Score Competition
  "Hey cop killaz!!! It's ZMan. I just wanted to update you all since my site wasn't...I haven't been able to update my site cause of some 'technical difficulties' with the site builder. I still haven't received any highscores.  Please send them with a pic for proof. If you can't get a pic, e-mail me for  an alternative!!! Also e-mail me with POLL ideas. See-ya cop killas!!!"
   

New GTA Sites <9:30 PM CST - schu>

• BUSTED!
  

Rockstar's Racers <5:00 PM CST - schu>
DailyRadar had another dose of Rockstar today reporting further details on Rockstar's two upcoming racing games for PS2.  The games are both being developed by Angel Studios and will be published by Rockstar Games.  The more I read about them the less they sound GTA influenced though.  Gamespot UK also gave the projects a mention but it was pretty much a rehash of AGN3Ds update yesterday.  While you're there you might as well check out the DC WildMetal preview, a DMA/Rockstar game.

GTA Linux? <5:00 PM CST - schu>
Avault is reporting that Take2 (Rockstar Games' parent company) has begun releasing games for Linux.  The main group of games sounds just like some budget games cd, but they also make mention of at least two original products for Linux.  The question is, will GTA or GTA2 ever make it to Linux?  No mention was made of GTA at all but if Take2 is sucessful with their Linux ventures then perhaps GTA will have a future on Klamy's favorite OS.  Currently this is just me spreading rumors, nothing official behind it, but with news lagging off my mind begins to wander :).

TownFIVE! PreRelease <5:00 PM CST - schu>
GTA seems repleate with vaporware, but that seems to be pretty common with most games with any sort of mod community.  Anyway I began wondering what ever happend to GTA Jedi's Town Five and just about that time I got this message (You can get TownFive at GTA: Section 487):

"Ok, long time no see.  I have a motto of not updating til there's something to update, so I got bored, so I made something to update about.  I've had a pre-release candidate 2 of TownFive for GTA on my harddrive for a while so I decided to upload it. :o)  Its good IMHO take a look, not many missions but its not too bad........

Give me some nice feedback and I might finish."

San Andreas 2 v1.0 <5:00 PM CST - schu>
Following BulbaMaster's San Andreas mod, GrandTheftAce sent in his take on San Andreas with his creation, San Andreas 2 v1.0 (159k).  Strangly enough, just like BulbaMaster, GrandTheftAce is also working on an updated version, here is the message he sent in with the file:

"I have created an improved the San Adreas map. It's called SA 2. Here some of  its features:

• Prison
• Hovercrafts you can actually ride in
• A1 Tourist Agency
• Full parking lots with bumps
• Remastered Fire Department (in Atlantic Heights)
• Improved police car impound lot
• "Car Wasters" (Used to be cranes)
• Construction place (in Sunview)
• Sand that drowns you!

This is a version 1.0 But currently I am working on version 2.0 which will probably include gas stations, park with benches and pedestrians in North West Atlantic Heights (originally it is like a forest with nobody inside it),  emergency lanes on high way, etc."
 

Community News <5:00 PM CST - schu>

• Tiffany's Unofficial GTA Shrine
  "Every car creator kept asking, begging and pleading, so I finally caved in. Tiffany's Unofficial Grand Theft Auto Shrine now has car ratings. Don't anyone get offended over low scores, because it's just my personal preference. I have strange tastes. *giggle*

  But anyways, after re-uploading the site, and updating everything, my Car Depot is much easier to scroll through. I used many ideas that were used on other car sites, and fit it all into a neat little package. So visit the shrine... oh, yeah, there's a few more new cars on there too!"

• The GTA Store
  "The GTA Store is updated! We got an own domain: www.theGTAstore.de.  Many changes, deleted dead-links, new vote-buttons, no advertising anymore, some new cars for Grand Theft Auto, and new files for GTA2"

Brak For President! <5:00 PM CST - schu>

I just saw the commertial on Cartoon Network and I couldn't resist.

Paid for by the citizens who support Brak for president.


   

Rockstar on PS2 <8:30 PM CST - schu>
AGN3D posted a short update on two games that Rockstar is planning on bringing to Playstation2.  The games are titled, Midnight Club: Street Racing and Getaway and they both seem to be along the same sort of lines as GTA although a little more specific.  Midnight Club sounds like a mad race through cities, hopefully allowing you to run down pedestrians and such.  Getaway sounds a little closer to GTA as you are commissioned to smuggle goods around the city.  These titles are NOT being developed by DMA Design and are NOT GTA related.

G! Jive <8:30 PM CST - schu>
A friend of mine sent me this.  A site called The Dialectizer allows you to enter an URL and have the site of your choice reworked in the dialect of your choice (Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, Moron, or Pig Latin).  Anyway, go here and click the button to see G! in Jive.  Its not great, but its sort of entertaining, some of its choices are a little odd, but for the most part its pretty cool.

Site Updates <8:30 PM CST - schu>
Here are a few links that are totally GTA unrelated but are pretty cool sites/utilities.  The first is Napster, if you are into MP3's, and especially if you have a good connection, this a great way to find and share MP3s.  Another great MP3 tool is Sonique, personally I've come to prefer it over WinAMP, but I guess its just a matter of opinion.  Last is BidXS, this site will allow you to search multiple auction sites by doing one quick search.  Like I said, totally unrelated to GTA but they are just a few sites I seem to be using lately, and no I wasn't paid to mention them here.

DMA Design have just posted the documents detailing *exactly* the format for the style files & the map files. 

On www.dma-design.com, 

• go to the audioclips page
• go to the "all files in mp3 format" line
• move the mouse carefully along to the right
• there's a small greyish dot - nearly invisible - which contains the link to the file, OR, www.dma-design.com/gta2/gta2formats.zip

Reopen the SACI? <8:30 PM CST - schu>
Valdez is looking for opinions on whether he should reopen the SACI.  What do you think?  Yes or No?  He is currently working on SACI2 and reopening the SACI might delay it a little, but with SACI2 a little ways off a reopening might spur further interest, here is Valdez' original message:

People, should I bring the SACI back as it was tomorrow?  I have been looking at it and I am starting to get back into the GTA scene again.  SACI2 is quite a way from completion and I was wondering if you people would like me to start updating SACI1 again?

Give me a mail (saci@valdez.co.uk) telling me if I should or not - If I get a positive response then I will bring it back, can't say fairer that that now can I? 
 

grandtheftau.to Domain Up For Sale <8:30 PM CST - schu>
It seems that raphael gerber is rather busy lately and is looking to sell off the grandtheftau.to domain name, interested?  Read on:

www.grandtheftau.to, the probably most unique domain in the gta world is for sale!!!

with more than 300 visitors per day, its well-known name for great quality and content and the free e-mail service with over 400 members it's a damn good investment.

note: the design and the contents are not for sale! you will need some server space in order to use this domain. however, it can point to your tripod/geocities/whatever homepage.

why do i sell www.grandtheftau.to??? well, there are different reasons for this (not easy) decision:

• i don't have that much time to update regularly anymore. besides my job as a webpublisher for the swiss federal railways, i'd like to concentrate more on my own company plumps dot com (plumps.com).
   
• over the past nine months i collected tons of gta files (approx.80mb) which i stored at xoom. unfortunately, xoom deleted my account for unknown reasons and without any warning or notice. i don't have the time and motivation to search for all those files   again.
   
• i simply lost the interest in gta.

so, head over to www.grandtheftau.to for more information and to place your offer. whoever makes the best and most interesting offer, gets the domain.

i also would like to take the chance to thank all the great guys in the gta community: schu, azz, valdez, adam jordan, no fear, gleb, chriz, erix, kain etc.

best regards from switzerland
raphael
 
 

Project News <8:30 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Aus Canceled?
  Byron has decided to cancel his GTAus project.  Its been hanging in limbo and recent strife on the X-Com front and the loss of the mission.ini'er pretty much put the last few nails in the coffin so to speak.  But all is not lost, Byron may still yet release a car pack that will include all the cars that would have appeared in GTA Aus, here is the latest from Byron:

  "I haven't had a chance to work on GTA AUS lately - been VERRRRRRRY busy with XCommand (you may've heard that XCom Genesis has probably been canned - the entire team sacked).

  I'm not going to finish GTA AUS, as our mission programmer has officially went AWOL, and I don't have time to do anymore work on it, I just want to concentrate on XCommand.

  Although I never finished the project totally, I did finish MOST of the cars. So, I'll be releasing a carpack (zipped bmps and car replacement data info) or a style file in the near future. That way, part of the project will be released and enjoyed. The map was nearly done, but it's really useless without the missions, so I doubt I'll release it.

  Thanks for keeping the community updated on this project, schu, and thanks to the fans of GTA out there for being interested in this project."
   

• Wild Wild West - Update
  X-Mail sent in another update on Wild Wild West and he also mentioned that the demo should be available any day now, the only thing holding it back is some problems with sending the attachment:

  News:
  Yeah, a few minutes ago I made the big bridge.  It's.......well, it's brown. At 0:00 it happened, I made a new fastest car, here is a screenshot of the new fastest car. The thing I still have to make is the Motorcycle, for other things I don't have any time

  Info:
  Wild Wild West will support:
   
  - 3Dfx
  - 24-Bit (Windows)
  - German
  - English
   
  I made a small banner for WWW (below)
  

  Files:
  A screenshot of the new fastest car in WWW...

  E-Mail:
  Gregor-Kurczyk@gmx.de
    

Community News <8:30 PM CST - schu>

• Dark Side Auto
  Long Time No See
  Sorry I've been gone so long (my last update was last summer before I went on vacation) but I haven't had any time to play GTA at all, let alone edit it. So, I'm now releasing cars I was set to release last August. They're World War II cars that were sent to me by Christopher Edgcumbe to put into GTA for a project he was working on. A World War II Jeep, German Truck and Halftrack.
    
    
  I've also added a bunch of new radio tracks (WWF and Twisted Metal 2) so stop on by Dark Side Auto!

• GTA2 ND
  Free Email
  GTA 2 ND is offering free e-mail addresses.  The address will be @gta2mail.zzn.com.  I also have added many links to my site and made some sections look better.  To get a free e-mail address come to gta2nd.tripod.com ...

moving shadow <8:30 PM CST - schu>
You may have heard about the moving shadow / GTA2 cd that was released awhile back, the only problem is no one has been able to find it.  I still don't know where anyone can pick one up but I did find a page on moving shadow's site about the CD set, check it out here.  Keep in mind you need Flash to view the page.  You can also find this page if you just go to movingshadow.com and click on Albums.  I also found this announcement, a little too late I might add, about a tour featuring Rob Playford and presented by moving shadow, GTA2, and diesel.

GTA2 Editing / The Car Garage <8:30 PM CST - schu>
Stephen has set up his site to distribute his GTA2 utils.  Currently his utils include the GTA2 File Editor.  He also mentions that version 1.2 of his file editor will include a new feature called The Car Garage used for distributing GTA2 cars.  Find out more about his stuff at www.users.totalise.co.uk/~stephen-d/.

San Andreas 1.2 <8:30 PM CST - schu>
BulbaMaster decided to make some modifications on the original San Andreas level from GTA and dubbed it San Andreas 1.2 (110k).  He has made numerous modifications explained in his message below as well as some things he has planned for version 1.3:

A while ago I finished a San Andreas map that contained extra cars in it.  Here are the extra features:

• Trams
• A parking spot with all the small cars in SA below your starting spot
• A small area with about 4 cop cars, 2 trams, and a Monster Truck (not a kill frenzy)
• More trams
• A parking spot with the big vehicles
• Boats next to the water that you can ride on
• Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars next to some stations  

Coming in version 1.3:
 
Note: The features with the * next to them are ones that I'm not sure about

• A helicopter as your starting vehicle*
• An improved impound yard
• Mew missions*
• More violent special.fxt
• More trams and Monster Bugs
  

I am also making another new map but I need other people help me make some of the textures and cars.  If your interested in this please e-mail me at zipki@ihug.co.nz

New GTA Sites <8:30 PM CST - schu>

• Marc's GTA2 Site

Everybody:
It's obvious that I can't keep up with the GTA news often enough, and I simply don't get time any more to create and edit GTA News. Therefore this is the last issue that I am releasing.

Want to Help Keep GTA News going?
I have a few people that take priority if they want to maintain the GTA News. But if anybody else wants to help keep the GTA News going, email gtanews@svenlat.screaming.net and tell me what you'd like to do.

Where am I going?
Well, I have tons of college work, 4 A Levels, my own site SVENlat is being redesigned (svenlat.tsx.org is a provisional page) - and I have a radio show! Saturdays at 9pm GMT. You'll need Winamp to connect to alienwebshop.com:8000 to listen, and more details are on svenlat.tsx.org.  I'll still try to keep up with GTA and maybe you'll see me around. But not now. I have a lot of work to do :)
 
Thanks to Rich, Paul Wright, Adam, Hughesie, schu, Erix, and everybody else over the past few years.

  
GTA2 Editing <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Nope, no editors just yet but I'm going to check into it again and see if I can get some more info on their status.  But until then you can check out some of Teknics findings with Paint Shop Pro:

 
It's teknics again for his weekly input from "http://www.niteshade.net ~ Gamers Army" last night I came upon some interesting things while hacking through GTA2. I was able to load up all the .gmp's into Paint Shop Pro 6 (www.jasc.com) as .raw file's. I then cropped, swore a lot, and filter even more. I was able to make quite a lot of things. I have included a .zip which hold's the following (all of which are black and white):
 
bilsoftened.jpg
bilsharper.jpg
stesoftened.jpg
stesharper.jpg
wilsoftened.jpg
wilsharper.jpg
wil-multisoftened.jpg
wil-multisharper.jpg
 
"But that's not all Johnny, show him what's behind curtain #2" And now back to realistic voice also enclosed within the Zip is a file called gta3dpremap.jpg Thug was sent this image by someone who says they are a disgruntled ex-DMA employee who got fired about 2 weeks ago. It is what looks to be an amazing Map done in full 3D. We are as of yet still unsure to whether or not it is legit. But I believe it is as everything seems to be cubed except the road surface (nice to see curvy roads). This was sent to Thug in black and white as well. I posted all this up at Gamers Army already so feel free to post whenever.

  
Community News <10:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA2 More Extreme
  GTA2 News site "GTA2 More Extreme" has finally opened up a message board. Yeah I know what your thinking, oh no not another one, but I felt it was necessary for those who do need support from me or other people. So I really hope the board is going to be used. If you didn't know this, there's a very good Problems help section and a Q&A section, and a thing that I'm pretty proud of is the Multiplayer guide, its a guide that helps you step by step how to start or join a Multiplayer game. I'm doing the best I can to support everybody, if you have any new idea's that can help the GTA2 fans I would like to know. Just drop by GTA2 More Extreme and contact me... thanks!

• GTA2Mods
  Just thought I'd mention that they've been various changes to GTA2Mods this weekend.

  Firstly, I'd like to welcome Neo to the GTA2Mods group - he's been appointed official car dealer of GTA2Mods, so if you have a car for GTA2, please send it to him here. He's already got to work, with 8 more car reviews and downloads for your viewing pleasure.

  Secondly, GTA2Mods has got a brand spanking new flash introduction, that's to the brilliant Martin from GTA2World. You can get out this audio and visual treat here. This is the first steps in our two websites, GTA2Mods and GTA2World, become strong affiliates.

  Last, and most certainly not least, is the new G2M Message Board. Sick and tired of the old one, I've got a complete new board, with individual forums for specific GTA2 Editing sections. If you have any questions, queries, ideas or general topics of discussion, you can visit it here.

• EGP4
  Hello there, this is ERiX from EGP4, come.to/egp4
  EGP4:s new design will soon be online, and this new version will also include a "cars" section, so I am just announcing that you can send all your GTA 2 cars, old aswell as new ones to: egp4@hotmail.com with your attachments. It would be great if the cars section wont be empty at start but have like 10-15 cars on it. My page has got more than 100 visitors per day, so your cars will most probably be on many computers around the world soon! Again, I would be very grateful and glad if you could send me your cars, I will rate them, mention the author, and write some comments!
   
  If you run a GTA 2 website, I would be very grateful if you could post the message above on your news site (maybe not all the text, just a message to car makers)

  
New GTA Sites <10:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTaZONE

New GTA2 Review <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Avault's GTA2 review has been posted.  They seem to be little behind on reviews considering how long GTA2 has been out, but overall the review is pretty good.

Project News <8:00 PM CST - schu>

• Wild Wild West
  X-Mail sent in the latest on WWW:

  News:
  Well, I'm just making many new cars at the moment, when I've done about 25 cars, I will make the other buildings. I don't want to edit the fxts, it's so boring, I hate it, but I must do it. I think that Wild Wild West will be done in March 2000. Wild Wild West will not support French and Italian language, because I don't know any words in these languages.

  Statistics:
  Cars: 22/35
  Buildings: 1/16
  Sounds: 15/22
  Fxts: 1/2
  Weapons: 2/4
  Total: 49,36%

  Files:
  Three new screen shots (1, 2, 3)

  Thanks:
  ROB MELSOM - 2 Cars - the second one also didn't work with the game

• Mapo, Orminge, and Race
  Black Adder who ran a site by the name of Kill Frenzy awhile back is planning on porting his maps: Mapo, Orminge, and Race maps to GTA2 after some editors are released.  He also plans on reopening Kill Frenzy at some point as well
   
  

Community News <8:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA2 Planet
  I am starting a contest for the GTA2 highscores.  I will need the persons name and a pic of the score (the pic is for proof and will not be displayed on the site).  I am gonna add a highscores page to my site and I need some scores!  Sorry, no prizes, but the person with the highest score will get bragging rights! :-)  I will also post the new high score person in the NEWS section.  Each time someone scores a new high score I will credit them in the news!!!  Remember that you need to have a pic for proof!!

Dear Sir / Madam,

Please take a minute to click on the link below and vote for the Rockstar Games site in the Online news and Information Section on the VOTING page. It would be very much appreciated. Not only is this a great example of democracy in action 'on the web', it's also an even better example of attempted vote rigging in action 'on the web.' 

Thanks,

Dan

"Rockstar is up for one of the most prestigious multimedia awards, The Milia D'Or. Its a people's award, so people vote online.

www.milia.com/events/peoplechoice.shtml - There in you will find
Rockstar games - click on voting, and then scroll down to Online News and Information section, click the check box, and press submit at the bottom of the page.

Its simple, the more votes it gets, the more likely it is to win...... so
please vote, and get everyone you know to vote too."
 

GTA Place Closing Down <10:45 PM CST - schu>
Matt has decided to close down his site, The GTA Place after losing interest in GTA.  I wish Matt the best in all his future endeavors, here is the announcement he sent out on leaving the scene and possibly transferring his site to another webmaster:

Thanks to everyone who has helped me throughout my four years as a GTA webmaster. I regret to inform you that I am closing down my site (for good this time).  I have lost interest in updating the site and playing GTA, so I have decided to give up the running the site. I am however accepting applications to take over the running of The GTA Place. If you are interested I will need examples of your work and a description of what you expect to do to the site. Then once you have this information goto www.theGTAplace.co.uk/Apply.html and fill out the form.
 
Thanks to all,
                          
Matt Inglis
webmaster theGTAplace
 

Wild Wild West Update <10:45 PM CST - schu>
X-Mail has decided to go against his recent statement and sent in a few updates on the progress of Wild Wild West along with a few screenshots of the biggest (116k) and fastest (109k) car in WWW:

News:
Ok, I've decided to post more news about WWW, because I don't wanna make WWW to much of a secret.  In my Update (coming at the end of January) will be much more than 7 cars, I will make about 20 new Cars, it will be a very big patch.

Statistics:
Cars = 16 (Ambulance done)
Buildings = 1
Weapons = 1 (Thx to GRAHAM)
Other things didn't change extremly

Cars:
Do you remember these three ugly cars in Wild Wild West:

I replaced them with these ones:

Everyday I make at least one new car, when I release the Update, it could include all new cars, don't know.

Help:
Please send in some tank-IDEAS, you don't need make a full tank-replacement, just an idea or an image, PLEASE!

Thanks to:
schu - Program Links
GRAHAM - (1)Weapon
Wez Green - Program Help
ROB MELSON - (1)Car (this car didn't work with the game)
Johan - Music (not needed)

Aloha schu. Thought any budding GTA2 scripting types might be interested in the thread currently gestating at BBZilla - I actively encourage the use of complicated language that nobody can understand, bar those funny types who understand complex, um, C++... er, stuff.
 
Look, I'm not very good at this kind of thing. If you're interested in GTA2 scripting, go there and be interested some more. Nuff said. (Phew).
 

New GTA Theme <6:45 PM CST - schu>
Suzie B has created a new GTA theme (793k) for Windows.  The theme includes icons, sounds, pointers, wallpaper, screensaver, etc.  Here is the message that Suzie sent along with the theme:

This is my desktop theme created entirely by me. The cursors, icons and sounds were taken from the game using GTACars and GTA Wave.  The background was created using images collected from various web sites.
 

Site Updates <6:45 PM CST - schu>

• Are you into OSes other than Windows?  You might be interested to hear that BeOS5 will be free for personal use, check out the announcement on be.com.
  
• Not much else going on, I'm just watching my inbox for more news on GTA2 editors...

GTA2 Workshop Update <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Aqutiv has released BETA version 1.3 of his Text Imager (131k), part of his GTA2 Workshop project, here is the list of changes for version 1.3 from the readme:

• Keyboard input
• Larger textscreen
• The ability to print the artwork straight from the program
• Preview window (of what's in the clipboard)
• A different layout for the fonts frame
• Properties frame. (Which currently only includes the ability to change distances between chars)
• Textscreen automatically resizes itself to best fit the screen
• Added the GTA2-Workshop's Manual
• More cars

Keyboard input is a nice addition so now you can type directly on the keyboard instead of clicking on each letter with your mouse.
 

BIG BANG Explodes! <8:00 PM CST - schu>
YAKUZA and GTAPL are teaming up for the Big Bang competition.  Yakuza is handling the GTA2 side of things while GTAPL handles GTA and GTA London, here is the update from Artur: 

"Do the biggest bang in GTA1 or GTA LONDON and win advertisements for your site on GTAPL (big and small banners for a month...).  Go for it!  I'm waiting for your screen shots till end of January.  Please keep the screen shot sizes under 100k.

You can find out more about the competition from YAKUZA's last update.
 

Community News <8:00 PM CST - schu>

• grandtheftau.to
  "Hi this is raphael gerber from www.grandtheftau.to.  The fourth generation of my main site, plumps dot com, is now online.  Finally, after three beta versions, I finished the whole re-design.  I now focus on promoting me and my work.

  The site can be found at http://plumps.com and contains nine different parts:

  news, portfolio (sites, tattoos and logos I created), digital art (pictures and experiments), resumé, personal (what I do and like), bookmarks (my favorite sites), guestbook, contact and mailing list (please sign up). 

  There's even a special goodie for every gta and car fan!  If you ever wondered what our grand parents did with their cars back in the forties and fifties, you should check out [ :: jesus built my hotrod || car crash :: ] which can be launched by clicking the second thumbnail in my digital art section.

  I really hope you like it. any feedback and guestbook entries are much appreciated."

• Tiffany's Unofficial GTA Shrine
  "Hi-o! It's Hippie Tiff with news for all who still love GTA1: Since the last time I checked in with G!, I've added 20+ cars to the site, and in my opinion, a lot of them are absolutely awesome! So come on down to Tiffany's Unofficial Grand Theft Auto Shrine at www.hippietiff.com and remember to bookmark it! =-) "
   
• The GTA Place
  "The GTA Place has yet again been updated, with the LARGEST collection of links to GTA sites ever! Also a "submit link" page has been added to allow all you webmasters to add your site to the greatest links list in GTA History. Thanks to everyone who sent there links to me! I will update again soon but in the mean time why not check out the list www.theGTAplace.co.uk"
   

New GTA Sites <8:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA2 Planet

Announcements <7:30 PM CST - schu>

• Little Don sent word that JH4C is leaving the GTA scene, no reasons were mentioned for why he is leaving, but whatever they are I wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
• GTA2World is online, but its actual launch has been delayed until February so everything can be updated.

Project News <7:30 PM CST - schu>

• Wild Wild West
  X-Mail still hasn't found any help but he is moving on with WWW nonetheless, here is his latest update:
  

  "Wow, I can't believe it.  Everyday Wild Wild West gets at least two new cars, but the problem is they're all made by me.  Yes, no one wants to help me, so I must make everything myself, Cars, Textures, Buildings, Photos, Weapons and Sounds, everything.  I got three machine guns from Graham (GTA Hawaii) but they don't look very good in the game.  No more updates or screen shots will be release until I release the update at the end of the month."  

  
Community News <7:30 PM CST - schu>

• Yakuza
  Competition: "The Big Bang"
  On Yakuza - the polish official site, there is a competition for THE biggest eXplosion in GTA2.  Who wants to send me screen shot, do IT! - gta2@strefa.com.  In reward for the best sshot You can advertise your site on Yakuza > 3 banners (400x50) and 2 small banners on main page.

• EGP4
  Here are the results from my latest poll. As you can see, the Japanese are at the top! BTW, EGP will soon be 2 years old (around January 20) hipp hipp hurray!

  Yakuza (12) 24%
  Zaibatsu (16) 31%
  Loonies (8) 16%
  Scientists (5) 10%
  Hare Krishna (3) 6%
  Rednecks (4) 8%
  The Zloty (3) 6%

  Total Votes: 51
  

New GTA Sites <7:30 PM CST - schu>

• GTA News Network
  

• GTA2Mods
  "GTA2Mods is back online! Yep, your favorite GTA2 editing resource is back with a slick new design and a heap of new content. You can check it out at the new URL www.quidproquo.co.uk/gta2mods. The old one (www.gta2mods.co.uk) will soon redirect.

  All the old information is being reformed and uploaded, along with loads of new features including reviews and previews of GTA2 modifications and software, editing information and tutorials, and GTA2 car reviews.

  For all you GTA2Mods fans out there (heh) don't worry - GTA2Mods will still be regularly updated, and will have all the charm and wit that it's former incarnation was blessed (Hmm - Ed.). So point your browser to GTA2Mods. NOW!"

• GTA2 Wipeout
  "Gta2wipeout is holding a competition for the best GTA2 artwork. This can consist of a banner, poster, anything you like, you don't need to be a great artist! It is an open competition so entries will be judged, by you lot, as and when there are enough.

  You can catch my entry, a sorta small .gif movie at GTA2 Wipeout.

  Get drawing!"

New GTA Sites <7:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA2 Players Helpsite
  Well its not exactly new, but I've never posted anything about it before, so its new to me :).

Wild Wild West <8:00 PM CST - schu>
I posted and update on Wild Wild West yesterday, however I left out X-Mail's email address.  If you can help X-Mail out, email him at
Gregor-Kurczyk@gmx.de.  Check out yesterday's update for more information on Wild Wild West.

Two New Missions From Aqutiv <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Aqutiv, creator of the GTA2 Workshop, gave the GTA2 Scripting Tool a try and made two new missions for GTA2 (76k), here is the latest from Aqutiv:

I tried my skill at the GTA2 Scripting tool, and succeded making 2 new missions. They are in the Industrial District (third level) of GTA2 and replace both Zaibatsu easy missions (the green phones).  I also suggest all the GTA2 fans out there to try their own at mission scripting, it's not THAT hard.

Just a quick recap on the scripting tool... You can get it from DMA's site, here is the original update from Brian @ DMA on how to get the scripting tool for GTA2:

• Go to www.dma-design.com (or www.dma.co.uk).
• Select 'gta 2' from 'out now' from 'games' in the navigation panel on the left-hand side.
• Select the highlighted text 'Features: behind-the-scenes' in the
  second bullet point under 'infodump'.
• Beneath the GTa2 logo in the top right-hand corner there's a small key...
• Use your left-hand mouse button to grab the key and drag it down to the bottom of the page (you may need to drop the key in order to scroll down).
• Insert the key into the bottom (fourth) bullet under 'extra material' at the bottom of the page to download the file gta2script.zip.

GTA2 Clan <8:00 PM CST - schu>
DEVI@NT is looking for members to join his GTA2 clan.  If you'd like to join you need to contact DEVI@NT.  After that you will be entered into some deathmatches and depending on your performance, will be accepted into the clan.  The clan plans on offering competitions with prizes, GTA2 leagues, and scheduled GTA2 matches.  You can ICQ DEVI@NT at 55404419 or email him at cheatmaster@cheatworld.fsnet.co.uk.

What's new in 1.2?

• You can now change the background color.
• You can now add the X-Taxi to your artwork.
• Some bug fixes. including: a. Fixed color problem. b. numbers 7 and 8 are no longer misplaced.

As you may recall, the GTA2 Workshop can be used to make a variety of titles and such using the GTA2 font, cars, etc.  Its part of a larger program that Aqutiv is working on and is currently in beta.  Below is a graphic I put together in about 1 minute using GTA2 Workshop :).

GTA3D <9:00 PM CST - schu>
What is it?  When is it coming out?  Does it even exist?  Hell if I know... GTA3D was briefly mentioned in one of Take2's press releases just before GTA2 came out, however DMA reported that it was hype to encourage stockholders rather than anything based in truth.  The question is, are they downplaying the announcement because it genuinely is just a plan on the table and isn't even in development or is a project that is well underway that they are trying to keep quiet until it pans out?  Since nothing else has been released everyone is still in the dark on it.  Anyway, DMA released a parody screen shot of GTA3D on their web site that I posted not long ago and Johan decided to put together his own version (115k).  Keep in mind THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL SCREEN SHOT OF GTA3D, it is what Johan thinks it will look like.

Personally I think GTA3D, if its made, will end up looking closer to a mix of GTA and Driver, Loose Cannon, or Midtown Madness than a direct translation of GTA to 3D, but that's just an opinion.
 

Announcements <9:00 PM CST - schu>

• Johan is still looking for a simple mission.ini if anyone can help him, the full update on this was posted back on December 16th if you care to read it again.  He is still continuing work on his Custom Workshop project, you can find out more about all of Johan's projects at www.crosswinds.net/~gtacmc
• GTA2World went live today, just as expected, check it out at www.gta2world.co.uk.

  
Project News <9:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Car Wars (Help Wanted)
  Jordan is going to bring back GTA Car Wars, check out his update:
  

  "I am working on bringing back GTA Car wars for GTA2. The switch added lots of work so I will be needing lots of help. I will need mission makers, map makers, a web master, graphic producers, and just some other misc. people that would like to help for jobs that don't fit those categories or just want to help out in other categories.  I really need help so give me a shout at jordan@stomped.com"

• Wild Wild West (Help Wanted)
  X-Mail is here with a few screen shots (1, 2, 3) and updates on his Wild Wild West project for GTA:

  "Can someone send in a cool Machine-gun, please?  My Guns make me suck. They're not nice. I only like my Colt (the GTA-Weapon, not my other colt).
   
  Following will be in the next update:

  • New Machine-gun,Bazooka and Flame-thrower
  • 10 New Cars (7 are finished)
  • Edited german.fxt and english.fxt (German One is finished)
  • Sounds for Machine-gun,Bazooka and Flame-thrower (Flame-thrower Sound is finished)
  • New Wall-Textures
  • New Building Textures (one building is finished)
  • Sheriff-Skin (Finished)
  • A new Motorcycle

  
  Yesterday I made the 7 Cars and now I'm going to make the Buildings (yeah, finally).  Sorry but its not possible to make a new Monster-Bug, but I think it isn't that bad, there is only one Monster-Bug in San Andreas Map.  The new Motorcycle is still in progress (I still don't have a Sheriff-Car).  Tomorrow you'll get more news. Please release them on your fantastic site (its really fantastic!)

  Lastly, I need 8 Photos for the Front End!Please send in some cool Wild West Persons (Cowboys, Barkeepers etc.)I can't do it myself, you saw them already and you surely don't like them ,too.  Please send in some Photos made by yourselves.  If I don't get some Photos, I won't change the bad photos I made. Please send in one or two or maybe eight photos."

• GTA Hawaii (Help Wanted)
  Graham is going to stick with GTA Hawaii, read on:
  

  "I got an e-mail saying that if I was nicer then more people would help me. I have decided that I am not gonna cancel gta Hawaii. I have found a new car maker and possibly a textures maker. They have saved gta Hawaii! They call them selves El Diablo and Slater. As you may know Slater left the gta scene last year. Now he is gonna renter the scene doin textures.(Not for sure). I still would like someone to help me with the map. Please do not e-mail about beta testers or the e-mail list.

  I am not gonna close down my site after all. I f anyone has any project news I would love to post it at my site. Or just any news about GTA. Another thing. Here is a pic of a ferry that will be in gta Hawaii. If anyone can make it please make it and send it to me! You will get full credit! If you do make it then change the name from BC ferries to Hawaiian Ferries. Thank you whoever makes it.

  The person doing the cars is having trouble making the ferry. If anyone would like to help me out by making the ferry and sending it to me by e-mail, e-mail me! My e-mail is gta_hawaii@hotmail.com.  And then I will send you a picture of the ferry.  I will give whoever does it full credit."
   

Community News <9:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Plus
  "GTA Plus is back online and better than ever! It will soon have loads of features, a LOT better Top 100, Bigger link directory, and more! As some may have discovered, the loading time of GTA Plus was really screwed up, I fixed all that now it loads pretty fast.

  Also, the site isn't all set up, but almost, I still need to add a few things and link each section, but believe me, it's well worth the wait :) I also have about 1,000 cars to post (sarcastically speaking).

  Please visit GTA Plus at gta.stomped.com and be sure to vote on the poll and use the message board. I downgraded message boards because it seems to me like the old school boards get the best responses. 

  I have a new stomped mail address. Please start  sending everything to Jordan@stomped.com to make sure that I will get it. If you send it to gtaplus@hotmail.com, I won't see it for a while because I don't that one often anymore.  So please/thanks."

• HyperTony
  "Seems that the GTA/GTA2 news has died down; nothing to update on my GTA2 web site (www.hypertony.co.uk/gta2). Or no one bothered to e-mail me any news?

  So, if you have any exciting news like new/updated GTA tools, new web site, anything that are related to GTA/GTA2, I want to hear from you (Tony@hypertony.co.uk) and I will add it to my GTA News page."

• GTA IAT / GTA 2 ND
  "Since I screwed up GTA IAT majorly, I made a whole new site with a different layout and content.  GTA 2 ND is up.  I have most content up except for screen shots (coming Jan. 13th).  There are cars, cheats, files, links, chat, message board and more."
   
  
• The GTA Place
  "The GTA Place has been updated again! the latest offering from your most dedicated web master is a GTA2 No-CD patch. Also the results of the GTA2 Poll have been returned and are stated below:

  Is GTA2 as good as Gta? 
  

  Yes -  66%
  Maybe -  12%
  No -  22%

Pretty conclusive results I think! the latest poll is on whether online gaming should be taxed by the government so goto the site and cast your vote! I would also like to call on all GTA site web masters to email me a link to your site so I can add it to the largest collection of GTA links in the world EVER! I am also struggling to think of new things to do to the site Ideas on a postcard, or you could just email me at matt@theGTAplace.co.uk"

Gameboy Cheats <9:00 PM CST - schu>
I got a few emails on the Gameboy GTA cheats I posted yesterday, and no one can seem to get the all levels cheat to work, I'm not why its not working, but its not all that hard to unlock all the levels using a little trick sW posted on his site anyway (check his Friday, December 3rd update).  Other than that, the other cheat that adds new characters is just plain goofy, but it does work :)

GTA2 In PC Gamer <9:00 PM CST - schu>

PC Gamer (US) has a GTA2 strategy guide covering the residential and industrial sectors.  The guide is a few pages long and starts on page 181 of the February 2000 issue.  This is actually part 2 of the guide so I'm guessing part 1 was in the January 2000 issue.

Announcements <9:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA2WORLD is a new GTA2 site that will be going live this coming Monday, January 10th.  You'll be able to find the site at www.gta2world.co.uk.
• The Grand Tuckman Association has been redesigned for the next millennium, take a look.
  
• ERiX has established a GTA2 webring that anyone with a GTA2 site can join.  You can sign up at EGP4.  I should probably also mention that you can join the GTA Webring regardless of if your site has GTA, GTA2, or GTA London content, however Klamy and I can both be rather picky :)
   

Site Updates <9:00 PM CST - schu>
Well I called numerous people at ASC today only to find that most all of them had been let go, definitely not a good sign.  I ended up leaving a message on the CEO's voice mail since I couldn't get hold of anyone else except the secretary.  Nothing much else going on today, I had a rather quick conversation with Dan but he is holding back on any new GTA2 information until everything gets hammered out, as usual he is extremely busy.  On a side note I'll be moving back to my apartment this weekend, but it shouldn't affect Monday's update.

ASC Games On The Way Out? <7:30 PM CST - schu>
I've heard some further rumors from some rather reliable sources that ASC Games will be shutting down soon.  I haven't heard anything from ASC just yet, but I'm looking into it.  On the GTA front, this shouldn't affect too much.  ASC has exclusive rights to publish the PC version of GTA in North America, so Take2 cannot publish a standalone PC GTA product in North America.  However Take2 can publish GTA in the Director's Cut edition along with GTA London, this may mean that you'll only be able to find the Director's Cut in North America before too long, not a big deal since its so cheap anyway.  This might also mean that Take2 will just take back the PC publishing rights and put GTA back on the shelf under their name.

Site Updates <7:30 PM CST - schu>
Tomorrow is the last day at my summer internship, I start classes again on Monday.  Believe it or not, this is a good thing.  Just the fact that I don't have to wake up at 6am makes me happy :), not to mention ADSL, I'm suffering from bandwidth withdrawal right now.

Community News <7:00 PM CST - schu>

• Tiffany's Unofficial GTA Shrine
  If you decided to change your bookmarks to Tiffany's Unofficial Grand Theft Auto Shrine from underworld.fortunecity.com/grandtheft/321/ you will be kicking yourselves now, as that will always be the home of my site. However, now it can be reached from this easy to remember link, www.HippieTiff.com! So, with that in mind, do not change your bookmarks to tiff.penguinpowered.com for my GTA site, as that URL will become something different soon.  Aiee...  sorry for babbling on. Anyways, everything is back to the way it was before I ran out of space, because I've been upgraded to more space for my site, and now everything seems to be in order again, and if you find any errors, don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanx 4 all your support!

• Planet GTA
  Told you I'd be back :) Just registered www.PlanetGTA.co.uk but there's nothing up at the moment. I'm looking to host a whole heap of stuff, mainly conversions, utils, cars etc etc. If anyone has an idea, get them to email me @ hq@planetgta.co.uk I just want all the smaller sites to be able to come together under a more recognizable name.
   
• GTA2 More Extreme
  GTA2 More Extreme has gone Millennium on the first day of the year 2000, and to celebrate this I have changed the site to a completely slick outfit, and added new sections, which are:

• Hints and Tricks
• Problems Q&A (Questions and Answers)
• The BEST Multiplayer Guide on the Web, it will guide you step by step on how to start or join a network game of any types.
• What is What? is a section which got all the items/weapons/vehicle weapons/gang recognitions
  

All very interesting, I've already had some very good comments about the site, if you've never heard of GTA2 More Extreme its one of the best GTA2 news sites out there with daily updates. Lots and lots of information about GTA2. So hopefully I'll be seeing you on GTA2 More Extreme some day. 

   
Site Updates <7:00 PM CST - schu>
Another day devoid of news, well not devoid, but not overflowing either.  The grandtheftauto.com problem has been tracked down to an unpaid bill that was sent by email to an individual that no longer works for ASC.  Hopefully by this time tomorrow everything will be worked out, although I'm not sure how long it takes for the domain name to become active after that.  I guess I'll find out soon.  Anyway, GOURANGA! is still very much alive, its just unreachable at the moment, hopefully it will be back online by this weekend.

GTA2 Workshop <7:30 PM CST - schu>
Aqutiv has created a nifty util (61k) you can use to create titles using the GTA2 fonts.  Its currently in its beta stage and is just a small part of a larger project Aqutiv is working on.

I made this in just under two minutes :)

Miracle Maker 1.42 / Miracle Maker 2  <7:30 PM CST - schu>
<miracle maker> has released version 1.42 of his mission.ini editor.  He also announced that he is working on Miracle Maker 2 (working title) for GTA2, you can find out more about his projects at www.angelfire.com/yt/gta

Site Updates <7:30 PM CST - schu>
That's pretty much the extent of it for today, however I recently spoke with Dan over at Rockstar Games and he assured me that some BIG GTA2 announcements are on the way.  He couldn't say much about it yet, but hopefully I'll be able to bring you some exclusives in the coming weeks.  Check back tomorrow for the latest on GTA community and project developments.

GOURANGA! <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Teknics extracted tiles for the GOURANGA! banner in GTA2 and sent in it.  Thanks Teknics!   Check out Teknics' site, Gamer's Army, for over 100 files.  It also features news on GTA, GTA2, Quake3 arena, and hosts tons of great GTA sites.

SETI @ SACI <8:00 PM CST - schu>
If you are participating in the SETI@Home program you might want to sign on to the GTA SETI team.  If you aren't familiar with the SETI@Home program you can you find out more on their site.  Its basically a way to put your computer's off time to some good use, this works best if you leave your computer on all the time, but even if you don't it can be set up to kick in like a screen saver whenever you step away from your computer.  If you want to join the team you can find out more at www.valdez.co.uk/seti.

Valdez also added this cryptic SACI2 announcement to his last email:

"Cheers mate - oh and SACI2 - it's coming.  And just to keep you interested, let me mention one word - "ForceFed" - confused?  All WILL be revealed."
 

GTA2 = GBH <8:00 PM CST - schu>
A few weeks back I motioned that Valdez had confirmed earlier suspicions that GTA2 was in fact developed under the name GBH.  GBH was later changed to GTA2 to appeal to a wider range of fans and to make use of the GTA name.  Since that time, Exc0r5 has found further evidence of this, here is the message he sent in:

• If you turn on the 'Track Changes' part of Word with the "GTA2 Scripting.doc" file, you can see that the heading at the top originally said "GBHscript", and was changed about 3 hours before it was released.  It also says "Doors in GBH are one way...", with GBH later replaced by GTA2, and a comment in a deleted example reads:
  // there should only ever be one 'level_start .... Level_end' loop in the scriptfile, and GBH will 
  // automatically start the program from this line.
• Selecting 'Properties' shows that the Title is 'GBHscript' (actually, Respray found this out - not me...)
• The mp*.scr files mention "c:\GBH\GBH\data"
• 3dfx.dll and d3ddll.dll have about 40 functions beginning "GBH_" and mention "GBH.dll".
• polygon.dll mentions "c:\source\3dmaGBH\3dma\polygon\"
• GTA2 Manager.exe mentions "GBH_ACTIVATE_MESSAGE", "GBH_QUIT_MESSAGE", and loads more similar things.
• gta2.icd mentions "C:\gbh\coop96release\Release\gta2.pdb"
  

"I think this is fairly definitive proof that it was originally going to be GBH :-)

And in the GTA2 Scripting.doc file, the 'electro baton' labels for collectable items were removed -- the weapon never made it into the final game, but it's still possible to use it in the game just by adding a line to any of the missions..."

If you are looking for more GTA2 editing goodness then you should check out Exc0r5's site, the GTA2 Editing Compendium.

Announcements <8:00 PM CST - schu>
ERiX sent me the latest poll results from his site, EGP4 and as expected, the overwhelming majority are looking forward to a forthcoming GTA2 map editor.  ERiX also sent out the third GTA2 Newsletter, if you'd like to get GTA2 news in your inbox from ERiX you can sign up at EGP4.  Other EGP4 highlights include a spiffy message forum, a GTA2 quiz, and loads of updates.

Project News <8:00 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Hawaii Needs Your Help!
  Graham is still looking for help with GTA Hawaii, and apparently Mark Stanley (his car maker) hasn't returned his emails, this of course pissed Graham off as you'll see I the following update:
  

"Help!

I desperately need people to do cars, maps, and textures! Please e-mail me at gta_hawaii@hotmail.com. The person doin the cars was mark stanley! He won't talk to me! He is an asshole!  Please don't be nice to him! He does not deserve it! If I do not receive nay e-mails for people doin these jobs then GTA Hawaii will be canceled! Deadline is January 15th. The e-mail list is done! It ended at 40. I have 4 beta testers."

• Chengdu & GTA2 Wipeout
  pid sent in the latest on Chendu and his site, GTA2 Wipeout:
  

  "Chengdu is almost finished and the missions are in progress. The missions will be designed for cooperative multiplayer play, for more information visit the site.

  A whole new screens shots section has been added to GTA2 Wipeout, all the screen shots are new. Please send in any you would like to add."

 
Community News

• Tiffany's Unofficial GTA Shrine
  "I've added a bunch of new cars to my car depot, but my site can't be accessed at all. Not by FTP, not by http, nuthin'. So anyone I've told about adding cars will not be seeing anything until next year. (January's first few weeks) Sorry."

 
Site Updates <8:00 PM CST - schu>
New Years in New York was great, although I must admit that it was trying at times.  I went with a friend of mine and stood in Times Square for about ten hours straight which put us about 2-3 blocks away from the ball.  Up until the end I was wondering if it was worth it but after the ball dropped an everyone went nuts it was all worth while (its amazing how well you can get to know complete strangers after standing around them for ten hours).  I was suppose to meet up with Dan and Sam Houser from Rockstar Games at some point, but unfortunately things didn't work out as planned and I just spoke with them over the phone.  Hopefully I'll be able plan a future trip to New York so I can check out Rockstar's HQ.  All in all New Years was great, but I wouldn't suggest trying to get a good nights sleep in one of the chairs at Laguardia Airport, I should have just slept on the floor.