GTA San Andreas Beautification Project

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Beautification Project 3.13
by Tore Andersen

The GTA San Andreas Beautification Project is a small enhancement guide with step-by-step instructions for modding the 7th Grand Theft Auto game. It will significantly improve both graphics & effects, and optionally add some new content. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is not designed to be modified, but it's still possible with the use of some editing tools. The game was released in 2005, and the graphics are very far from current GTA games. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes place in the same fictional area as GTA V, but has significantly less detail. With this modification guide, San Andreas will get better graphics & effects. It won't bring it near the graphical sophistication of GTA V, but it will definitely make the game more immersive for a re-play.

1: Preparation
2: Mods
3: Screenshots
4: Game Art

1 - Preparation
Before installing the mods, a few things needs to be setup

As Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was not designed to use mods, I highly recommend backing up the game before starting. That way, if something goes wrong, or if you want to tryout different renders, then you don't need to install the entire game again.
Also, the game uses an old DirectX technology that is not installed on newer versions of Windows by default. This will cause a crash on startup, unless fixed. The game even got an update very late, but it didn't fix any important issues, like startup crashes, it only made the game more difficult to modify. Because of this, the game has to be downgraded to the more stable version 1.0

1: Backup (Optional)
Make a backup. Create another folder and copy all files from within the San Andreas game-folder to it.

2: Loading Fix
If the game loads without crashing, just skip this part. If the game crashes on launch, which is most likely to happen on Windows 10, then you need to install the now outdated DirectPlay component of DirectX.
Open "Programs and Features" from the control panel, and click "Turn Windows features on or off".

Check "Legacy Components" and "DirectPlay" inside. Click OK.

San Andreas will startup just fine.

3: Downgrade to US version 1.0 (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the San Andreas game folder. Overwrite.
The game is now downgraded to US version 1.0, which is more stable and has less restrictions.
*If you have the Steam version, you definitely need to apply this patch, as the game will come already updated.
*If you have the US CD version, just don't update the game to latest version.

2 - The G.S.B.P. Mod-List

The following mods need to be installed one by one, in the order they are listed. This is important, as some mods overwrite files from others.

Mods 1: Game Fixs & Tools

Cleo 4.3 (LINK)
Download the file for GTA SA to any folder.
Run the exe file and install into the San Andreas game-folder.
*Without this tool, GTA San Andreas will not be able to load scripted mods at all.

Texture Stream Fix (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*This will fix the games texture streaming technology to handle bigger textures.

60 FPS Frame limiter (LINK)
Before downloading & installing this mod, start the game and make sure that "Frame Limiter" is set to "On".
Now download and unpack into the game-folder.
*Unfortunately some of the animations in the game are tied to the frames, so the Frame Limiter HAS to be set On for the game to work properly. With or without mods. The frame limiter is set ridiculously low, even for 2005 standards (25fps). This mod changes it to 60fps, so it doesn't ruin the game. Why RockStar thought that limiting their game to 25fps, no one will ever know. It's as mysterious as the game's lack of support for 16:9 aspect ration. (Which will be fixed later)

Flickering Fix (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*This will fix some scenarios with flickering shadows.

Mod Loader (LINK)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*This is a tool that makes it possible to copy mod files into a certain folder, instead of overwriting game-files. Making it significantly easier to install/remove mods.

Widescreen Fix (LINK)
Download both "GTASA.WidescreenFix.zip" and "wshps.asi".
Move "wshps.asi" into the game-folder.
Unpack "GTASA.WidescreenFix.zip" to a temporary folder, then move the "scripts" folder into the game-folder. Don't move "vorbisFile.dll".
*This need if you use ANY other aspect ration than 4:3, and don't like the picture to by stretched-out and flat.

Silent Patch SA (LINK)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*This patch fixes a lot of smaller issues. It's not absolutely necessary, but recommended to install.

Silent Patch SA - Better Ini File (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.

Windowed Mode (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move the "III.VC.SA.WindowedMode.asi" into the "scripts" folder inside the San Andreas game-folder. Don't copy any other files.

Mods 2: Textures Fixes

HD Loading Screens (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Open the San Andreas game-folder and create the following two folders inside the "modloader" folder: "\models\txd\"
Move "LOADSCS.txd" into "\modloader\models\txd\"

Rhino Tank LOD Fix (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move the "gta3.img" folder into "\modloader\models\"

Mods 3: Game-play Changes

First Person V3 (DOWNLOAD) *This is a repack for easy installation
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*If you want to install the original file instead (LINK), be aware that you need DON'T overwrite any of the dll's, and that you copy the files to the right place.
*If you don't care for first-person perspective, skip this mod.

Increased Population (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*I increased the population about 4 times.

Hot Coffee (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Open the San Andreas game-folder and create the following two folders inside the "modloader" folder: "\hotcoffee\data\script\"
Move "main.scm" & "script.img" into: "\modloader\hotcoffee\data\script\"
*Unfortunately this mod is not compatible with old safe-games. Don't install if you don't want to start a new game. The game WILL crash if an old save-game is being used.

Mods 4: HD Textures

GTA SA IV Los Santos Re-Textured Ciy (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\"

GTA V Textures for GTA SA V3 Final (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

HD-Real Texture 1.1 for GTA San Andreas (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files from the "To import to gta3.img" folder into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Don't copy any other files.
Overwrite existing files.

SF Farm Retextured (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files from the "gta3img" folder into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Don't copy any other files.
Overwrite existing files.

SRt3 - 2014 (LINK)
Download and install to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

SRt3 - 2014 Update 1.01 (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

SAUR - San-Andreas Ultimate Re-Texture (LINK)
Download, unpack and install to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

Rosa Project (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

Brazilian S Shop Final (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move "cj_sex.txd", "genintintsex.txd" and "rc_shop_figure.txd" into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Don't copy any other files.
Overwrite existing files.

HQ San Andreas Radar Icons (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move "hud.txd" into: "\modloader\models\". Don't copy any other files.

Better Wheels (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder.

Mount Chiliad Retexture (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

Street Poles Retexture (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files from the "gta3.img" folder into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Don't copy any other files.
Overwrite existing files.

Insanity Vegetation (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all texture files from within "INSANITY Vegetation Aero" into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

Insanity Vegetation Update (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.

Charra Wall Poster Mural (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder. Overwrite existing files.

Mods 5: Skins

Skin Pack (LINK)
Download and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move all files from the "273 Skin Mods" folder into: "\modloader\models\gta3.img\". Overwrite existing files.
Open the "CJ Skin Mod" folder, and move the "models" folder into: "\modloader\", then move the "gta3.img" into: "\modloader\models\". Overwrite existing files.

Mods 6: Render & Effects

Overdose Effects (DOWNLOAD) *This is a repack for easy installation
Download and unpack into the game-folder.
*If you want to install the original file instead (LINK), only copy the needed files, and copy the files to the right folders.

Better Effects for Overdose Effects (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder. Overwrite existing files.

Boris ENB (LINK)
Download version 3.13 and unpack to a temporary folder.
Move the content of the "WrapperVersion" folder into the game-folder.
*Download mirror, in case the ENB site is down: (DOWNLOAD)

GTA San Andreas Beautification Project ENB 3.13 (DOWNLOAD)
Download and unpack into the game-folder. Overwrite existing files.
*These are the custom ENB settings.

Note for Windows 10 users:
The Creators update for Windows 10 introduced a wide variety of problems, especially for games with custom renders like ENB or ReShade. If the game refuses to launch with ENB enabled, then follow the steps in number 4 here: (LINK)

Mods 7: New Cars

There are literally thousands of car replacement mods for GTA San Andreas. (LINK) or (LINK)
Replace as many or as few as you like. Follow installation instructions for each mod.

Just don't install this car package (LINK)
It looks great, and it sounds easy to replace all cars in one simple file. BUT, the cars are poorly made, and the mod also install scripts for hangers and other things that actually messes up the game. Some missions will be broken because of new lengths, plus the mod also replaces menu's images and art with a bunch of low quality mess. The worst part is, that the creators made the mod overwrite the existing game-files, without backup. So, when uninstalling the mod, those files are just deleted, without replacing them with the original files again. Half the game-folder will be gone, and you are forced to delete everything and reinstall the game. Extremely unprofessional.

End of Mod-List

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is ready for launch
*If the game crashes on the very first launch, don't worry. CTDs sometimes happen at the very first launch after file changes. Start the game again, and everything will be fine.

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For more game modification projects and guides, please visit the main page. New and old games are added regularly

3 - GSBP 3.13 Screenshots

Original Game Screenshots (For comparison)

4 - GTA San Andreas Art

Fan Artwork

Brief info about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an open world action game from RockStar Gaming. The games is made from with the same style and game-play as the previous GTA3 games. It's played in third-person with focus on shooting and driving. The open world environment is based on the real world Los Angeles area, but with all fictional names like in a parallel universe. The main story-line is linear, but the player can roam around freely at any time, and there are plenty of side quests and mini-games around the world. The graphics and style of San Andreas is very similar to GTA 3 and GTA 3: Vice City. San Andreas just don't have loading-time in between areas, which makes it more immersive. However, the biggest difference between the previous GTA games, is that it doesn't revolve around stylish Italian gangsters, but instead follows a mediocre guy with poor speech-skills. Disappointing at first, but with RockStars amazing storytelling abilities and flair for making up crazy personalities, it actually makes for a lot of funny moments.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Map

GTA San Andreas area is based on the real world's Southern California, mainly Los Angeles, and parts of Nevada around Las Vegas. It shares Los Angeles with GTA V, and some of the beach and country side, but GTA V focus on the Palm Springs area instead of Las Vegas, Nevada.