Former Technical Director reveals how GTA San Andreas mirrors were created

A former GTA San Andreas developer has revealed an interesting method using which Rockstar Games created the title's mirrors. Former Technical Director at Rockstar North, Obbe Vermeij, who previously disclosed behind-the-scenes details about the classic Grand Theft Auto 3D Universe titles, has revealed new information.

Implementing proper mirror reflections in a PS2 game in 2004 would have been nearly impossible. Despite this, Rockstar created an illusion of a working mirror in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Recently, Obbe Vermeij has explained how the mirrors worked in the game and why it led to several bizarre but hilarious glitches.

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Former GTA San Andreas developer explains the game's mirrors

Please note that this particular trick was exclusively used for the console version of PlayStation 2. It is not confirmed whether the mobile versions, which can be obtained via a GTA San Andreas APK, employ the same technique or not

In an X post, Vermeij explains why the mirrors in GTA San Andreas were glitching so often. He mentioned there wasn't enough video memory to render them properly on the PS2. Thus, the developers decided to render a mirrored version of the scene and the original simultaneously. The method had its drawbacks, including the need to place mirrors on the exterior walls of the room and the occasional occurrence of reflected characters and items extending beyond the boundaries of the mirror.

Some objects would also be reflected incorrectly, such as the shelf and the stereo, as seen in the embedded screenshot. Regardless, the strategy worked brilliantly, and this workaround was better than having mirrorless barbershops. Vermeij then explained:

"The usual way to render mirrors is to render the scene twice. The first time from the point of view of the mirrored camera. The resulting image would then be used as a texture for the mirror when rendering the scene itself. This method requires video memory to store the first render. We simply didn’t have that spare video memory in SA."

A user embedded a video in response to his post that showed how CJ can fire rockets through the mirror in his house. However, the developer clarified that this doesn't imply that mirrors in GTA San Andreas lacked collision. If that were the case, the player would fall through it.

Instead, the rocket is being fired from inside the mirror after the RPG crossed its collision barrier. In response to popular modder Silent (@__silent_), Vermeij explained that video memory was not an issue on PC, so they used the usual method of rendering the scene twice.

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Meanwhile, fans have decoded the GTA 6 trailer 2 release date.

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