Modders show how GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition should have been made

The GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition is one of Rockstar Games' most controversial projects, and fans continue to criticize it even after two years of its release. Despite the faults, independent modders tried to fix various graphical issues with the game. A video shared by a popular YouTuber NikTek (X/@NikTekOfficial) demonstrated how the actual remastered version should have looked.

The modded gameplay video of San Andreas showed various advanced features such as high-definition textures and ray tracing.

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Fans recreate GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition with mods

On December 18, 2023, NikTek shared the above video by Immersive Street, where the 3D Universe San Andreas was seen in a new makeover. The first scene of the video showed Carl “CJ” Johnson, the popular GTA protagonist, inside a convenience store.

In the original game, the store interiors have closed textures that block outside view. However, in the modded remastered version, the store has transparent glasses showing real-time visuals of the outside world. Moreover, you can see the sunlight coming inside the area, creating a global illumination effect.

CJ also had a ray-traced shadow in the video. According to NikTek, the modders used the Nvidia RTX Remix technology to implement real-time path tracing in the game.

Another thing to note is that the in-game character could enter and exit the convenience store directly without any unnecessary loading screens. While this feature is common in the latest titles, the 3D Universe GTA series games were notorious for putting excessive loading screens.

A screenshot from the modded San Andreas gameplay (Image via YouTube/Immersive Street || Rockstar Games)

The second part of the video showed CJ inside a building interior with the sun shining above. While the sun is not directly visible, you can see its lights entering realistically through the glass panels above.

According to the YouTuber, Rockstar should have implemented such changes and features in the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Definitive Edition.

The PC, PlayStation, and Xbox versions of the game have many flaws that disappoint fans. Lighting is one of the major faults that makes all three titles look cartoonish.

However, the GTA Trilogy Netflix Edition seems to have addressed this issue in the mobile version. PC and console fans are still waiting for Rockstar to fix the original remastered version.