Cheating in GTA:VC can effect game?
 

was using some of the weapons codes
and when one time when I tried to save a message
popped up saying that cheats have been detected and
that it may effect the game and adviced me not to save
anyone else ran into this?

I know cheating caused a problem in GTA3. I've heard that VC is the same way. Score another one for those of us that don't cheat.

Weapons codes probably won't hurt, but some of the other codes that effect the crowds and the way cars handle can mess you up later.

How will they mess you up? Will you not be able to beat the game?

I always make sure I beat a game before cheating or using a walkthrough (unless it's completely necessary to use a walkthrough)... otherwise, I spent 50 bucks for nothin. Then after finishing the game, I go back and try to get a perfect score or try a more difficult level. Then after I'm sick of the game and have beaten it every which way, then I might play around with the cheats... it adds new fun to the game. If you start out using cheats, then you ruin regular play of the game for yourself. I never used cheats for GTA3 and probably won't with Vice City - it's one of those games that I can spend hundreds of hours on and never get tired of it enough to want to play with the cheat codes as a novelty.

Rockstar seems to share this belief and so that's probably why they made it so that if you save after using cheats, it'll mess up your game. I'd just make 2 saves - one for your regular game and another for your cheating. That or I just wouldn't cheat. To each his own though I guess.

Though I never use cheat codes in a game before beating it, GTA:VC is slightly different. Because there is so much you can do outside of the missions (ie mess around for the fun of it), I find using codes such as all weapons and health make the game fun for me when I'm just messing around. Of course I never use the codes when I'm actually progressing in the game during missions, but I am glad to use them to enhance the fun level of the "messing around" times.

Yes, using cheats will screw your game up. In GTA3 I didn't use cheats. However, when I took my PS2 to a friends house and we had a huge group playing GTA3, we were playing on my save game, and I was pretty far into it. For fun a friend turned on a whole bunch of cheats, including All People Hate You and Pedestrians Have Guns. Of course, later on when they got cars they wanted to keep, they saved. When I tried finishing the game later, it was impossible. I couldn't stay alive for more than a minute. I would spawn at the hospital, and everyone on the street would immediately starting shooting Uzis, lobbing grenades, and shooting RPG's at me. I ended up starting a whole new game after that.
I stick to not using cheats in GTA. I find it to be more fun without them.

It was mentioned above, but if you turn on cheats that cause the cars to handle weird or the crowds to hate you, etc, etc, it can mess you up big time when you are trying to do later missions.

I wouldn't worry about the weapons and health codes, but I would stay away from anything else unless you are just doing it for fun and you don't overwrite your main save.

yeah I agree, I'm only using health and weapons cheats
shouldn't really effect the game

Cheats can affect your score on the stats screen, but only if you use them during a mission. Use a health cheat all you want outside of a mission... no problem. Use it during a mission, and your score plummets into the negative range.

Personally, I love the weapons cheats. Like Caiman, I don't use them when I'm on a mission... the only time I use them is when I want to go on a rampage. IMO, it makes rooftop sniper sprees more fun when you don't have to stop after a minute or two when you run out of ammo. Wanted level cheats don't screw up your game, either.

I also didn't really want to bother with the vigilante mode this time around, but I wanted the armor boost. I kind of enjoyed it last time, but getting up to level 12 was kind of annoying and tedious... I just didn't want to do it again. I found out a cheat for the vigilante mode last time, so I used it this time. Here's how it works:

Steal a police car. Start the vigilante mode. Drive your police car into one of your garages, and get out, letting the garage door shut. You have a minute to re-enter a police vehicle, but that's no problem. Enter the "Blow up all vehicles code." This destroys every vehicle in the city, including the ones the criminals are in. Your police car is fine, since it's in your garage and is automatically repaired. Walk back into the garage, and get in the car. Repeat.

The only problem is, you end up getting a lot of unearned money this way. I just made it a point to not spend any of that money... I had like $4000 before hand, and $84,000 afterwards. I just pretended that I still only had $4000 (so I had to wait until I earned another $6000 before I could buy something that cost $10,000).

I wish there was someway to easily do the hospital missions. I want the infinite run, but if it's like last time, I'll never be able to get up to level 12.

How's everybody doing on the game so far? I'm about 25% complete, and these missions are getting harder and harder. I never really played GTA 3, so I didn't know how hard this game would be. It's really suprised me though the difficulty of some of these missions. Some of them I've had to repeat 10 times!!

I'm stuck on Death Row right now after five failed attempts and I've only done 24 missions. The missions on GTA III were just as difficult though. I just don't see beating this game without using at least the health cheat. However, some people have the patience to redo a mission 50 times if thats what it takes to get it right. Me, I would rather do it once and move on. I will be cheating like hell to finish the missions on this game. :D

I'm stuck on death row also.....Do you have any suggestions? I've tried this mission about 15 times now, and still can't seem to get to the rescue.

Use an uzi to kill most, if not all, of the guys in the junk yard. Then get Lance, hop in a car, and make your getaway. The drive to the hospital might take a few tries. Sometimes Diaz's drivers can box you in real good.

Yeah, I got stuck on the way to the hospital several times. The guys in the junk yard were hard enough to get rid of. Does anybody know how many total missions there are in this game?