How to Downgrade EVERY Version of GTA Vice City
Warning
This guide IS NOT for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - The Definitive Edition which released in 2021. This guide is ONLY for the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City released in 2002.
The only reason you should downgrade GTA Vice City is if you want to mod the game, as the 1.0 version is most compatible with mods. If you're not going to mod, you should stick with the latest version of Vice City.
If you just want to restore the music that has been cut from the game, you can do this without downgrading and I have seperate guide which will help you with that.
Introduction#
Depending on the copy of Vice City you have, downgrading may be different, so this guide will be split into different sections for the Steam, Rockstar Games Launcher and DVD copies of the game. Press one of the buttons below to be taken to the section of the guide for whichever copy you have.
Downgrading the Steam Version of Vice City#
Warning
Make sure you launch Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at least once on Steam before downgrading. If you don't do a first time launch before downgrading, Steam will possibly update Vice City and undo the downgrader!
- Step 1: Download the TJGM Vice City Downgrader from either Mega or Mediafire.
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Step 2: Open your Vice City folder. You can find this by right clicking "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" in your Steam library, go to "Manage" and then click "Browse local files" from the menu. You should see the Vice City files like this.
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Step 3: Open the TJGM Vice City Downgrader archive you downloaded and place all of the files from the archive, into the Vice City folder. Replace all of the files when asked.
And that's it, the Steam version of Vice City is now downgraded.
If you have any other questions, check out the Questions & Answers section.
Tip
If Rockstar for some reason ever updates the Steam version of Vice City again, it will revert the downgrader and if you have mods installed, it will break your mods. It's very unlikely they'll update Vice City now as it's no longer for sale on Steam, but there's still a very small possibility.
So you have two options.
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Option A: You take the really small risk and continue to launch Vice City through Steam.
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Option B: You rename your Vice City folder to literally anything else so Steam will no longer detect it. The downside to this is, you won't be able to launch the game through Steam, but instead you can launch the game by clicking "gta-vc.exe".
It's up to you really. Neither will have any impact on your playing experience and this is mostly just a precaution.
Downgrading the Rockstar Games Launcher Version of Vice City#
Warning
Rockstar Games Launcher restricts your ability to modify game files without administrator approval. This is a problem because some mods will need to change files as you play, and unless you run the game as an admin, which I really wouldn't recommend, mods won't work correctly.
Along with that, Rockstar Games Launcher will also update your game anytime files are modified, undoing your changes. This will also reset permissions on the games folder even if you change it.
The best solution to these issues is to simply copy your Vice City folder, and paste it somewhere where administrator approval isn't required. This will be our first steps.
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Step 1: Open your Vice City folder. You can find this by clicking on "Settings" in the Rockstar Games Launcher, click Vice City in your installed games list, find "View installation folder" and then click "Open" next to it. You should see the Vice City files like this.
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Step 2: Click on "Rockstar Games" in the address bar to go just outisde the Vice City folder and then copy and paste your Vice City folder to another location on your PC. I'd recommend copying the game to a generic games folder outside of Program Files, or on another drive.
Warning
Make sure you copy and paste the game, don't cut and paste it. Cutting and pasting the game will carry over the restrictive permissions from Rockstar Games Launcher, which you don't want.
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Step 3: Check if you can modify the pasted game folder without admin approval. You can check this by right clicking anywhere in your game folder, go to "New" in the context menu, and if the option to create a new folder hasn't got the little shield icon next to it, you're all set to go.
If you still have the shield icon next to the new folder option, copy the game folder again and paste it somewhere else on your system that isn't as restrictive.
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Step 4: Download the TJGM Vice City Downgrader from either Mega or Mediafire.
- Step 5: Open the TJGM Vice City Downgrader archive you downloaded and place all of the files from the archive, into the Vice City folder. Replace all of the files when asked.
And that's it, your Rockstar Games Launcher copy of Vice City is now downgraded. You can launch Vice City by clicking "gta-vc.exe".
If you have any other questions, check out the Questions & Answers section.
Tip
You can delete your original Rockstar Games Launcher copy of the game to save space on your PC.
Downgrading the DVD Version of Vice City#
- Step 1: Install Vice City from the DVD onto your PC. When installing, make sure YOU DON'T install the game in Program Files, I'd recommend installing it in a generic games folder outside of Program Files, or on another drive entirely. Remember exactly where you install Vice City and when the game is installed, open the Vice City folder.
- Step 2: Download the TJGM Vice City Downgrader from either Mega or Mediafire.
- Step 3: Open the TJGM Vice City Downgrader archive you downloaded and place all of the files from the archive, into the Vice City folder. Replace all of the files when asked.
And that's it, your DVD copy of Vice City is now downgraded. After downgrading, you don't need the DVD to launch the game anymore. You can launch Vice City by clicking "gta-vc.exe".
If you have any other questions, check out the Questions & Answers section.
Questions and Answers#
How do I know if the downgrader worked?#
You can tell if the downgrader worked by starting a new game, getting into the car (Admiral) that you start next to and listening to the radio.
If you downgraded correctly, the game should automatically turn on Flash FM when you enter the car and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson should be playing. If another song is playing on Flash FM, the downgrader didn't work and you should repeat the downgrading steps listed above for your copy of the game.
What is the difference between your downgrader and others?#
Unfortunately downgraders have been a bit of a mess in the GTA community, overcomplicating the downgrading process. So I've made mine as simple as possible.
Some downgraders come as actual installers, however these often have issues on certain systems or require admin permission to work. There's also downgraders that come with mods prepacked, however this is an issue as the mods can often be outdated OR users will get these mods from these overcomplicated downgraders, not realise what they have installed, then when they mod the game themselves, they reinstall the same mods, causing issues with their game.
Lastly, a lot of downgraders simply come with the wrong .exe, as there's several 1.0 exe's from different regions. My downgrader comes with the most mod compatible .exe.
Why is this downgrader bigger than others?#
Most downgraders compress their files using 7zip or WinRAR, which shrinks the archive size down when downloading. I chose to instead pack my downgrader in a basic Windows .zip archive. This is so users don't have to download third party tools on older versions of Windows to use my downgrader, as .zip archives can be opened directly in File Explorer on all Windows versions.
The downgrader IS safe. The .zip archive simply contains 1.0 game files that have been changed in later versions. The biggest files are the audio files.
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