GamesActionGrand Theft AutoThe GTA Trilogy’s excellent SilentPatch just got a big update and went open-sourceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

GamesActionGrand Theft AutoThe GTA Trilogy’s excellent SilentPatch just got a big update and went open-sourceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Vice City promotional screenshot from 2003

You may know Silent from patches like the one thatrestores product placement and makes analog controls work properly in Crazy Taxi, or the one that restoresDeus Ex: Human Revolution’s piss filter. Perhaps even more essential is the SilentPatch for the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy, which just got a significant update and went open-source to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The GTA SilentPatch fixes numerous issues in the PC ports of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, many of which weren’t present in the console originals. It’s not a patch for the Definitive Edition rerelease, however, which is a whole different kettle of fish with its ownwell-documented problems.

Among the fixes the SilentPatch now adds for all three games are fix for the issue where cars could blow up twice if you bailed out during the explosion, a restoration of the PS2 version’s random chance that some drivers wouldn’t turn on their lights in the rain or fog, metallic vehicle extras now appearing properly shiny rather than weirdly matte, the credits scrolling at the correct speed (they used to go slower at high resolutions), and the mission completion text likewise leaving the screen at the correct speed (again, it was linked to resolution).

There are also a significant number of changes specific to individual games. For instance, the SilentPatch now gives GTA 3 proper boat-sitting and driving animations rather than having Claude simply sink through the seat, pedestrians dive away from your vehicle instead of toward it, and severed limbs use the proper model rather than being weirdly doubled up so you’d see two hands on each severed arm. Oh, and NPC drivers can turn right on one-way roads now, something they couldn’t do before.

Finally, in sunny San Andreas, CJ’s clothes now move when he’s riding the quadbike just as they do on regular bikes, and you can hover with the jetpack even if you’re using keyboard controls (it defaults to Q+E, and makes the jetpack segments way less annoying). Those weird falling black dots have also been fixed—while conspiracy theorists have long theorized they were supposed to be flying saucers, Silent looked into the code and realized they were supposed to use the textures from clouds, but were taking the wrong part of it. They now look white as they were originally intended to and clearly appear as shooting stars. Mystery solved.

You can downloadseparate versions of the SilentPatchfor each of the three Grand Theft Auto games it supports, then follow thesetup instructions. They’ll differ based on which storefront you bought the games through, or whether you have an old retail version on disc, so make sure to follow them closely.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about grand theft autoPerforming Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yetLatestHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeSee more latest►

More about grand theft autoPerforming Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yetLatestHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeSee more latest►

More about grand theft autoPerforming Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

More about grand theft auto

Performing Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakersGTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

A still from Grand Theft Hamlet.

Performing Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakers

Performing Hamlet in GTA Online felt like going back in time to the Globe Theatre where ‘people would just throw apples at you, or there were prostitutes coming and going,’ say award-winning filmmakers

Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash

GTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

GTA 6 was never going to be at The Game Awards, but it is a little surprising that we haven’t seen another trailer yet

LatestHarrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us RemakeSee more latest►

Latest

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake

The dual protagonists of Assassins Creed Shadows stand silhouetted against a setting sun.

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake

See more latest►

Most PopularThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has diedTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Most PopularThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has diedTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Most PopularThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanicsAlan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has diedTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Most Popular

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Alan Emrich, the game designer and writer who coined the term ‘4X,’ has died

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

1

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

2

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

3

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

4

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

5

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

1

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

2

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

3

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

4

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

5

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review