Windows 11 24H2 update reveals bug in GTA: San Andreas that previous OS versions have been hiding for 20 years

The Windows 11 24H2 update unexpectedly “resurrected” a 20-year-old error in the legendary open-world action game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Due to changes in the memory of the new version of the OS, the Skimmer seaplane disappeared from the game without a trace. As it turned out, the bug had existed since the release of the project, but all this time it remained unnoticed.

The disappearance of Skimmer was noticed by a GitHub user under the nickname hiddenmask58. He noticed the problem after updating his device to Windows 11 24H2. Independent developer Adrian, known for his SilentPatch mod for old games, including GTA: San Andreas, joined the search for the seaplane. As it turned out, the bug was related to the configuration file vehicles.ide.

Adrian explained on his blog that the Skimmer was a boat in GTA: Vice City, but was converted into a plane in San Andreas by forgetting to add four parameters to vehicles.ide. However, until now, Windows has been substituted values ​​from adjacent lines, masking a bug that has been present in the game since its original release in 2004.

In earlier OSes (from Windows 98 to Windows 11 version 23H2), the system took the scale of the wheels from the previous vehicle’s data. But in 24H2, the memory handling mechanism changed, and the game applied incorrect values, turning the Skimmer into a giant object that could not be displayed. If the player did get into the seaplane, their character instantly flew to an altitude of 1.087 quadrillion light years – essentially into outer space.

Interestingly, the bug wasn’t random. All boats in GTA: San Andreas were missing the last four parameters in vehicles.ide. But since the Skimmer was the only seaplane, its incorrect configuration wasn’t noticeable.

Adrian released a fix in less than a day that can be applied manually. To do this, simply open the vehicles.ide file in the data folder and add the missing parameters (-1, 0.7, 0.7, -1) to line number 460, which is responsible for the Skimmer. An update to SilentPatch is also expected — the mod will not only return the seaplane to GTA: San Andreas, but will also fix other long-standing shortcomings of the game.