GTA Hawaii Star Search <11:50 PM CST - schu>
Bramus sent word that Johan Brodd is the new sound man on their project but they are still looking for texture makes.  If you think you'd like to make some new textures and help out on GTA Hawaii then send Bramus an email.  He also mentioned that if you have a car you'd like to appear in GTA Hawaii you can be recognized as a team contributor.  If you have any files you'd like to appear in GTA Hawaii, send em to Bramus, send then in via the uploads@gta-hawaii.f2s.com email address.  For all the latest news on GTA Hawaii, check the site at www.gta-hawaii.f2s.com.

Tiffany Updates The Shrine <11:50 PM CST - schu>
Tiff has updated her Unofficial GTA Shrine with Micro Machines 2 and Monkey Magic mugshots.  The mugs were sent in by SEKTOR.

New GTA2 Map <11:50 PM CST - schu>
kap posted a new GTA2 map he created over on his site Wankers on Duty.  While you are there be sure and check out the new car he recently posted.

New GTA Sites <11:50 PM CST - schu>

• Die Deutsche GTA-3D Fanpage

Bitch'n Bulletin Board <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Benjamin and TheShit opened a new forum... You can check it out at forum.gtaplus.com. Here is the announcement on its opening:

"Me (Benjamin) and TheShit has opened a new forum at forum.gtaplus.com and it is named Bitch'n Bulletin Board. We also host forum on the board, so if you need a good and fast forum, then please visit. So come take a look (And post) on the Bitch'n Bad Forums!"

Evil Evil Thursdays <11:00 PM CST - schu>
Alastair over at AAGTA sent in this bit on Thursdays and how they are inherently evil:

"There is something wrong with Thursdays, what is it?  Can anybody offer an answer?  It was even stated in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy that Thursday are hard to get a hang of.
 
I checked my counter to see how many people visit on a Thursday in comparison to the rest of the week, only 11% (the smallest amount), it had also clocked 666 people there.  The number of the devil.  So, the big question is, what has GTA got against Thursday?
 
I might run a poll, I might not."

  
Star Wars GTA <11:00 PM CST - schu>
Its been a long while since I've heard anything about the Star Wars GTA project but it seems to be back in action.  stu has given the Star Wars GTA site a complete overhaul and is not looking for help with the project.  Here is stu's announcement:

"I NEED SOME HELP WITH STAR WARS GTA!, if anybody can help me with Star Wars Gta then head on over to my site at
www.gta-arena.8m.com and read the information. Any help at all would be appreciated.

My site has been completely redesigned, and I am now quite sure that my site has more gta files than any other. If anybody has any files that they could submit, please go to my site, as I want to keep it as having the biggest file collection on the net."

   
GXTed v1.2 and STYed v1.4 Now Available <11:00 PM CST - schu>
Ringo sent word that new versions of GXTed and STYed have been released over at Gain Software.  The latest version of GXTed fixes "a very small and very annoying bug which" any GXTed users should be quite familiar.  STYed v1.4 "fixes an annoying delta-loading bug from last time around, and allows adding/removing/editing of doors!"  You can get the latest information and news on GXTed, STYed and all of Ringo's other great programs over at Gain Software.

Tiffany's Shrine Hits 80k <11:00 PM CST - schu>
Tiffany asked that I post this thank you note to all her visitors:

"Tiffany's Unofficial Grand Theft Auto Shrine just served visitor #80,000! Thanx 4 all your support! =-)"

Congrats to Tiff.

Announcements <11:00 PM CST - schu>

• Graham has updated GTA World 2000 with a few new sections.  One of the new sections is dedicated to GTA2 and has reviews of the DC, Playstation, and PC versions of GTA2.  While you're there check out the screen shots and cheats for each of the accompanying reviews.
• TeknoGTA is back online after disappearing for awhile.  It specializes in GTA and GTA2 and can be found at http://www.geocities.com/teknogta.

GTA Hawaii In Danger <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Graham is still looking for help with GTA Hawaii.  He asked that I post this "Urgent Message":

"Urgent Message!

Please we need your help! If you wanna see GTA Hawaii By the earliest possible date , then I suggest some get their ass moving and volunteer to help with either Textures or Sounds! If not,you could probably expect this by the end of September! The choice is yours!

GTA World 2000 has been update. Added some screenshots for GTA Hawaii and updated the projects section"

If you think you can help Graham out, send him an email or check out the
GTA World 2000 site and contact him through there.

Tiffany Updates The Shrine <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Tiffany has updated her Unofficial GTA Shrine, check it out:

I have changed the outlook of The Shrine! I've removed the Frames version, and now everything is easily accessible from the index page. I wanted a new outlook, but didn't know what to do, so Dark Forsaken showed me some of his other sites that he redid for an idea, and I liked them, so I used a similar style.  Tell me what you think! I like it!

  
"GTA Future" Update <8:00 PM CST - schu>
Ben sent in the latest report on his "GTA Future" project:

• Liberty city map has been completed, mission.ini for it is under
  construction.
• FXT file is being produced currently.
• First major mission almost complete.
• Structure of cities and chapters decided - Each modified city will have two new chapters, with vice cities being cop missions.
• The boat has been fixed so it doesn't squeak.
• Greg Harrison has agreed to join the project and will be making Future San
  Andreas' chapters and the map.
• Greg will also be doing the main work on the cars, while I will be doing
  mainly missions. This will help the project move faster.
• Hopefully the entire thing will not be enormous and should be available (estimated at the current speed of progression) by September, but don't count on it.
• One single detail will slip about our missions, they WILL be hard... they
  should keep you going for a while... e.g. run into certain areas shooting at
  random peds, then wonder why you are running from machine gun fire.
• If you are interested in this project, I will be running a site dedicated to
  it soon.

  
MoonMonkeys <8:00 PM CST - schu>
The people behind a new English/German GTA2 site sent in the following announcement about their grand opening in early June:

"Our new website is going online on the 6.6.2000!  We inform over GTA2 and in the future also over other games.  Also with great Downloads and Links. The Site is in English AND German!  At the moment you can see a small Flash Preview at www.moonmonkeys.de!!!"

  
Site Updates <8:00 PM CST - schu>
This is a real Cut & Paste™ day, but like I said before, you can blame it on that horrible movie.

Site Updates <9:30 PM CST - schu>
Yet another Thursday passes with nothing going on.  One side note is this bit of news Kenny sent in.  Its about an upcoming movie called "Gone in 60 Seconds".  I've seen the preview for it and I wasn't quite sure what to think of it... Anyway, Kenny sent in his thoughts on it, and I have to admit that it does sound like a GTA mission :) :

"I just saw a movie preview that left me thinking, why did they choose that title? Nick Cage plays a retired car thief who is put back in the mix when his brother is kidnapped by a gang. To get his brother back, the gang gives Cage a job that he can't refuse: Steal 50 cars and he gets his brother back. Hmm, doesn't that sound familiar? But what gets me is, why would they choose "Gone in 60 Seconds" as a title? Maybe the guys who name these movies need to get a taste of a little game called GTA."

The only problem is that there is already a movie named Grand Theft Auto that was made in 1977.

GTA Future <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Ben sent in the following announcement about a new set of maps he is working on for GTA:

"I am announcing a new series of 1 confirmed, possibly 3 new unofficial maps for GTA. Entitled GTA Future, the three maps are modified from the originals with new missions and sprites. This may take some time, but expect it by Xmas. Also expect 1 GTA style chapter and 1 cop chapter for each level."

• Liberty City is currently under construction
• Broken bridge has been fixed
• New starting place
• Long missions with plot twists
• Kill frenzies all around
• Tanks
• Boats and harbors added
• Much much more

GTA2 / SB Live 3D Sound Problems <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Alastair Grant sent in this interesting tidbit.  If you have been having experiencing a crash bug in GTA2, have a Sound Blaster Live sound card, and have 3D sound enabled you'll want to check this out:

"I don't know if you are aware of this problem, but GTA2 allows people with 3D hardware support to play the game with 3D effects on the audio (e.g. 4 point surround sound).  The problem was with those people who had one of the Creative Sound Blaster Live series.  The game would crash just at that all important time and leaving your crying, well, a bit pissed off.
 
I have recently updated my drivers and stuff and it no longer appears to be a problem, I am going to continue running some tests and try to get the game to fall over, but so far, so good."

You can get more details on the bug at Alastair's site AAGTA and you can get the latest SB Live drivers from Creative Lab's web site.
 
GTA Ireland Reappears <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Stephen has decided to finish one part of the GTA Ireland TC and he is looking for help, here is his request for assistance:

"I've decided to finish the map of Derry that was going to be in the GTA Ireland TC. If anyone wants to help with textures, missions or cars please contact me at stephen_neary@hotmail.com"
 

WAP GTA News <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Harry has updated his WAP GTA News site and his gateway page Electricweb has a new URL, here is the latest from Harry:

WAP GTA News:

• WAP GTA News is back after a (very) extended Easter break (due mostly to coursework).
• It now has its own address @ go.to/gtanews
• I think it is worth pointing out to the GTA playing public that GTA News and WAP GTA News are completely different sites run by completely different people.

New Electricweb Addresses:

Site	E-mail	Address
Electricweb	webmaster@electricweb.freeserve.co.uk	go.to/electricweb
GTA Tanks	gtatanks@hotmail.com	go.to/gtatanks
WAP GTA News	gtanews@hotmail.com	go.to/gtanews

  
Site Updates <10:00 PM CST - schu>

• I drove back to my home town this weekend (125 miles away) to meet up with a friend of mine who was visiting for the weekend.  She didn't end up leaving until today so I skipped Monday's update to stay over an extra day.  This update covers both Monday's and Tuesday's news.
• I've been scouring over all the E3 reports to see if there was any sign of a GTA title at this year's convention but alas no.  Most reports that mention the Rockstar Games booth make no mention of GTA at all.  So I guess I'll hold out hope for ECTS or maybe next year's E3.  I doubt they will do much at the TGS or the GDC.

Site Updates <7:30 PM CST - schu>
Nothing to see here... Move along... But if you are looking for something to do you should get over to GTAzz and see all the cool stuff he has posted for his birthday blowout. By the way, if I haven't said it already, Happy Birthday Azz...

• GTA World 2000 / GTA News
  "I have done it again. I have created my second GTA site. The site is called GTA News. The url is gtanew.tripod.com . Don't add the s. that is the official url. I am still doin my other site."

  
Project News <10:45 PM CST - schu>

• GTA Hawaii
  Bramus sent in the latest on the GTA Hawaii project and site:
  

  "The GTA-Hawaii site has been updated! 8 new screenshots of cars, the map and some other stuff.
   
  Also, we are still in need of a texture maker and a realistic sound maker."

  Bramus!
  webmaster@gta-hawaii.f2s.com
  http://www.gta-hawaii.f2s.com 

  
Site Updates <10:45 PM CST - schu>
I heard back from former DMA Dundess programmer Brian Baird on his recent move to Dallas.  He will be working for Paradigm Interactive Entertainment developing console based titles.  Paradigm is probably best known for their work on PilotWings 64.

Die Hard - A New Map For GTA2 <8:30 PM CST - schu>
chriZ over at GTA Zone has released his GTA2 single player map entitled,
Die Hard (301k).  According to chriZ, "its a small stunt course with some mini missions."  The zip contains both English and German versions of the map with a separate readme file for each language.  I just got the file so I haven't tried it out yet but it should be pretty good, GTA Zone typically turns out quality stuff.  Thanks to chriZ and GTA Zone for this update.

Vote GTA2 @ PlayNOW <8:30 PM CST - schu>
S3KT0R sent word that PlayNOW is currently taking votes for its Gamer's Choice Awards.  GTA2 PSX has received nominations in the Best Action Game 1999 and Best Driving Game 1999 categories.  The only catch is that you have to be an Australian resident to vote, at least that's what they say :).  I just became a resident of the GOURANGA suburb in the 666 postcode :).  Thanks to S3KT0R for this update.

I did a quick search on Game Shopper over at Gamecenter and found GTA2 Dreamcast listed among the titles.  Currently it looks like you can get for around $38, not including shipping.  Strangely enough I also found a preorder for GTA 2.5 Miami on buygames.com.  From what I understand that project went on hold when DMA Dundee was shut down.

GTA For $10 <8:30 PM CST - schu>
While I was searching around for GTA2 DC availability I also found the original
GTA for $10 on www.ebworld.com.  After another quick search I found an even better deal.  GTA Director's Cut for only $10!  Just in case you weren't aware of it, the GTA Director's Cut is the original GTA and GTA London all in one box.  You might be able to find a better price if you search around, but I doubt it.  Most other places are still selling the Director's Cut for $30.

Announcements <8:30 PM CST - schu>

• TheShit redesigned the God of GTA site and he has added a new message board.  I also noticed that his site just passed the 5000 hit mark a few days ago...  Check it out at godofgta.niteshade.net.
• digitalfl would like to remind GTA2 multiplayer fans about his GTA2 Multiplayer site @ clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/GTA2multiplayer.  He is currently requesting links from anyone who runs a GTA site.
   

GTA Tanks <8:30 PM CST - schu>
Harry sent in the latest update from his site, GTA Tanks:

"Yey! I passed the 2000 mark today and my page now has a new, Java-enhanced look. It looks really cool, check it out @ http://go.to/gtatanks
 
REMINDERS:

• You can make suggestions for my webpage in the suggestions section.
• Tankwatch has expanded its search to the unofficial addons for the GTA games.
• I am still looking for the other four wang cars.

On my site you can find: Tanks, Hints and Tips, Maps, Cheats and Links for every game in the GTA series. You can also find out about my WAP GTA News site, get all nostalgic in the News Archive, get rid of those frames in the No Frames index and make Suggestions for the site."

   
Site Updates <8:30 PM CST - schu>
Woo... I graduated yesterday at 3pm, well actually I walked in the official ceremony, I won't receive my diploma for six more weeks after all my grades clear.  Now the only problem is that I have to actually find a job :).

DEAD <9:30 PM CST - schu>
Still not much going on, aside from MM2 of course... Aren't these updates about nothing just great :) ... At least its my birthday.. I guess that's a good thing, free money for living another year is rarely a bad thing...

Azz has posted a case study on his AR2 and you can also check out how the GTAZZ redesign is coming over at azz.gouranga.com.

My radio show went pretty well, although we had some problems with the server that I didn't notice until I was 30 minutes into the show (the server is in a completely different room). Currently we are still experimenting with the different encoding options so we may end up going with Shoutcast in the end. Real Media seems pretty unlikely because they charge out the ass for a decent server.

"I was kind of bored the yother day and I threw together a really basic gta clone with click and create... its still got some bugs in  it, but maybe someone else with more time might be able to do something with it...  I remember seeing something about someone working on a gta clone.  So far all I have is a basic dummy car routine, a player ped, and a sketchy car jacking action... It also has semi-decent car physics, tire marks and a speedometer... Its a 422kb d/l and if you play it... Its set up for joystick/gamepad only.... button 1 is the brakes, up and down move, enter key gets in a car, space bar exits car."

Make sure you take note of the fact that you need a gamepad to play it.

Ill's GTA Clone (422k)
 

Show Tomorrow <9:30 PM CST - schu>
Just a quick reminder that I'll be doing my weekly radio show for KCOU tomorrow from 11am to 1pm CST.  For more details check out the update I did on this last week.  The show time and day may be changing for the summer semester, but I'll post something if and when that happens.

"Busted! is no more.

You can read more about it in the site itself. From now on, I will also be a lot less 'Active' in the gta scene/community/whatever, as I have much real life stuff to attend to.  Mostly to study and I'm getting a little job as well.  Now I have only 2 major things left to do, and then we'll see..."

  
Rage <8:05 PM CST - schu>
I spoke with Colin Macdonald again and it seems as if a lot of the GTA2 team has stuck together after DMA Dundee was shut down.  Most of them are now working for a subsidiary of Rage that Dave Jones recently formed.  The subsidiary will be operating out of studios in Dundee and Edinburgh.  I found an article on the Rage site that has some more details on the deal.  I'd highly suggest keeping an eye on Rage, hopefully we will be seeing more great games from the GTA2 team released under the Rage label.  I'm not sure yet if the GTA2 team will be working on other games by Rage or if they will be developing separate titles of their own but I'll see what I can find out.  On a side note, I also heard that Brian Baird is moving to Dallas to work for a game company there.  Brian had been with DMA Dundee for quite sometime before they were shut down and was always very helpful in supporting the GTA scene.

Dodge Durango Challenge <8:05 PM CST - schu>
The LingSter has a challenge for all the car makers out there.  Create the best Dodge Durango you can and win a never before seen car by The LingSter. Check the contest page and the following update for details:

"Here is the official opening of the Durango Challenge!
 
All you have to do is submit your version of this truck.  Check out the official homepage for the challenge!
 
lingster.gtaxtreme.net/challenge
 
and check out my page for the Durango I own:

home.rochester.rr.com/lingster
 
The winner receives a special never before seen car for GTA that I've created.  And they get an award for display on their web site."

 
Seek & Destroy <8:05 PM CST - schu>
HinGTA is back after dealing with some system problems and he is updating GTA2: Seek & Destroy on a regular basis once again:

"GTA2: Seek & Destroy is back up to frequent updates again after recent system difficulties. It has been brought back to life with a new design and more changes are going to be happening. Its great to be back updating again as one of the oldest GTA2 sites around being over 6 months old (yes thats longer than GTA2 has been released)."
 

Site Updates <8:05 PM CST - schu>
Due to some problems with my computer on Friday and most of the weekend I didn't update on Friday.  Everything seems to be cleared up now and my computer seems to be doing ok.  I'll probably end up doing a reinstall sometime soon so Windows will stop puking so much.  At least I've finally got that 40 gig drive and a UDMA66 card installed, that should clear up all my space problems for the foreseeable future :).