OSDir.com: What technical limitations are there in Multi Theft Auto, for the time being?

Simon: The old core has been stretched to its limits. Right now, the gamemodes must be coded within the SCM file (GTA's mission scripting system), and the way MTA interfaces with GTA's memory is fairly unstable. Both of which are relieved by the new core.

The new core will be much more stable and will not depend on the SCM at all. We have extended the SCM functionality to the add-on DLL's interface to GTA. What this means is users can now call SCM functions from within their own DLL in a C++ syntax. (The older method of coding SCM for GTA resembled a "quasi-ASM" syntax)

The biggest technical limitation of MTA is probably related to the lack of source code. Without the source code to the original game, much of our time is spent debugging and disassembling the game. Some find this fun, which is a good thing considered the amount of work in this area that is required.

Lyons: As Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's developer, Rockstar, didn't design the game with modding (at least of the sort we're doing) or multi-player in mind, it does make developing this mod so much harder. On the other hand, part of my motivation for developing MTA is the challenge posed by this.