Open-Source Mod for Grand Theft Auto
“Today we are marking a new milestone in the history of Multi Theft Auto [...] we have made the decision to re-launch Multi Theft Auto as an open-source project.” The developer announcement on the Grand Theft Auto website comes just before the official release of the multiplayer mod of GTA version 1.0.
Since 2003, up to 16 developers have worked on the multiplayer-modus. Work which included not only Reverse Engineering and LUA scripting, but also manufacturer Rockstar concepted extensions for the single-player modus GTA-3, as in GTA III, GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas. Server and clients offering the original game can be found on the project website.
The announcement on the GTA page continues, "Of course, the migration to open-source is more than just slamming your undocumented source code in a zip up for anyone that is interested." The repository code has been cleaned up, accurate documentation and headers have been added and proper credits to authors noted.
The release of the source code is supposed to encourage the contribution of external developers. To this end, the bugtracker has been opened and access to the build system made available. A clean and stable multiplayer extension requires more than a memory address and offsets, say the developers.
The code can be viewed at the Google Code Repository and a detailed developer Wiki provides insights to programming and scripting.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.