Thread: Grand Theft Auto 3 and damage proof stretch

HOW TO GET THE DAMAGE PROOF STRETCH IN GRAND THEFT AUTO 3

Since people pop into the forum all the time from various search engines, and because no one (from what I've seen) has posted fully complete instructions on how to get the damage proof, bullet proof, (basically everything proof) stretch (limo) in GTA3, I'll do so here.

A few codes are needed in order to accomplish this, and I'll post the ones for both the PlayStation 2 and the PC; please note that I've only tested this on the PS2 but it should work just as well on the PC.

Improved vehicle handling:
[PS2]: R1, L1, R2, L1, LEFT, R1, R1, TRIANGLE
[PC]: CORNERSLIKEMAD

Flying vehicles/low gravity:
[PS2]: RIGHT, R2, CIRCLE, R1, L2, DOWN, L1, R1
[PC]: CHITTYCHITTYBB

Blow up all vehicles:
[PS2]: L2, R2, L1, R1, L2, R2, TRIANGLE, SQUARE, CIRCLE, TRIANGLE, L2, L1
[PC]: BANGBANGBANG

Speed up game play:
[PS2]: TRIANGLE, UP, RIGHT, DOWN, SQUARE, L1, L2
[PC]: TIMEFLIESWHENYOU

Slow down game play:
[PS2]: TRIANGLE, UP, RIGHT, DOWN, SQUARE, R1, R2
[PC]: BOOOOORING

Full armour:
[PS2]: R2, R2, L1, L2, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP
[PC]: TURTOISE


There are a few walkthroughs out there on how to attain various bullet proof (hence explosion proof) vehicles, however, those vehicles are not actually damage proof (i.e. as you crash into things your vehicle will sustain damage and eventually blow up). There is ONE vehicle in the game that legitimately exists (for a very brief period) that you are not supposed to ever attain. Well actually, you ARE supposed to get the vehicle, but as soon as you get it it loses its ability to withstand damage. There are some tutorials that cover how to get this damage proof stretch, but they don't seem to fully explain it quite enough. This vehicle is a little tricky to attain, but it is absolutely worth it and comes in handy all over the place. Anyway, here we go...

In order to get this vehicle you must be on the "Salvatore Called a Meeting" mission, given by Toni Cipriani on Portland Island (Toni is the third guy you start working for, after you complete a few of Luigi's and Joey's missions). If you have already passed this mission, then you're plum out of luck and will need to restart the game; this mission is only about 10 or so missions into the game and you can probably get there within an hour or two of straight playing.

The mission essentially consists of you heading over to Joey's garage, and there Joey will instruct you to pick up some of the other mafia bosses with his limo (which is stored in his garage). As soon as you talk to Joey the stretch will lose its damage proof ability though, plus it either does not exist at all in the garage before you start Toni's mission, or it simply doesn't have the damage proof ability yet (I didn't test that part). As to why this limo has the damage proof ability when it's sitting idle in the garage at the start of this mission is beyond me, but perhaps it has to do with preventing it from catching fire if you explode other cars outside of the garage door.

If you think it sounds strange that the garage has a "real interior," you need to realize that some of the scenes in the game are filmed in "real time"; i.e. the sets actually exist (which makes it a little easier, because you just throw some objects in there and have them interact with the game's engine, rather than designing a whole separate movie). Perhaps you've heard of the hollow "ghost town" that you can visit by flying through some mountains somewhere; it's just the set that was designed to "film" the opening bank robbery. Anyway, the garage's interior is very real (but everything in it other than the stretch is hollow, including some of the walls).

Getting through the garage door

Getting into the garage is kind of tricky. First and foremost, once you start Toni's mission, you need to completely avoid the little blue halo thing outside of Joey's garage (because that will start the cut scene, and by then it's too late to get the damage proof stretch and you'll instead have a regular stretch). I can almost guarantee that you're going to accidentally enter that blue halo thing multiple times while trying this, so be prepared to restart your game over and over. Anyway, to the right of the blue halo you'll see a blue garage door (ignore the other garage door that is to the left of the blue halo). To get that limo, you have to walk through that garage door! Some of you may have already noticed that every now and then you can accidentally "walk" through a wall, which is fairly common actually in many games simply because sometimes it's tricky to perfectly define where something is solid and where it is not.

There are a couple things you can do to make walking through that garage door easier. First of all, get a vehicle and park the front of it so that it is touching the garage door, and the back of it so it is just slightly away from the door (i.e. create a small pie slice). Park it in such a way so that the front of the vehicle is aimed towards the blue halo, but keep it relatively away from the halo itself; that's so you can charge back and forth at the door and the vehicle will help prevent you from running into the blue halo. Unfortunately, though, as you move back and forth alongside the garage door you'll eventually push the vehicle out of the way, so you'll need to reposition it (or you'll accidentally enter the halo).

You can also try entering the "Speed up game play" cheat once or twice while trying to get through the door; I succeeded at getting through the door with and without that code, so I don't think it's necessary; remember to restore the game play to normal by using the "Slow down game play" cheat the same number of times you sped it up. Just a note that it'll make it even more difficult to prevent yourself from flying right into the blue halo if you use the speed up cheat.

Alright, so you've got your vehicle parked very close to the door, with the front pointing towards the blue halo, and you've sped up the game play (or left it at regular speed). Now you just have to walk through that wall! I've tried all sorts of different strategies (running, walking, jumping, different angles) and I wasn't able to determine a sure-fire method of immediately achieving our objective. I probably got into that garage about 7 times, so I can guarantee this is a repeatable phenomenon; I was never successful with jumping, however, so I'd suggest avoiding that. Anyway, just keep pressing that up button to walk forward into the door, and move left and right, left and right, left and right, ad nauseam. Sometimes try running, sometimes walk. Sometimes try right at the tip where your vehicle touches the door, other times try other areas of the door. One thing to note is that you'll never be "almost" through the door. You'll notice as you try that various parts of your body will momentarily disappear behind the door (simply because the door is accidentally rendered on top of them) but that doesn't mean you're almost through; getting through the door is completely sudden. You'll be furiously moving left and right while walking forward and suddenly BAM the scene will change and you'll be in the garage. There's also no discernible rhyme or reason in regards to how long it takes...sometimes I got in within 30 seconds, sometimes it took 5 minutes or more. Just keep trying, and remember also to try the time cheat if you're not having any luck...I promise you this is very possible.

Once you finally get in there, be careful what you do! It's perfectly fine to explore, and you'll notice right away you can walk through the weird buggy-car and the stairs and everything else in there...beware of the walls though, because they are not all solid and you could accidentally walk through them (thus exiting the garage). You'll of course immediately notice the sleek, shiny black stretch waiting in there for you; you cannot drive it out of the garage door (because that remains solid), however, the wall behind it is completely hollow. Thus, hop in the limo and throw it in reverse! There'll be a somewhat alarming "falling" scene for a moment (and your limo will probably do a flip) but afterwards it will slam down on to the ground, right-side up and ready to roll!

You're not quite done though...now you have to figure out how to keep it! Before we cross that bridge (uh, quite literally actually) you may want to test out your new damage proof and everything proof limo. Be very careful with your testing though because if you flip that thing, it still blows up like everything else in the game! Since you haven't saved it yet, that would be rather bad and would involve you starting over again to get it again. Once you're convinced that it's damage proof, it's time to figure out how to save it. You'll probably immediately realize that it's just a little too long to save in your Portland hideout's garage. "WHAT NOW?!" you ask? Well, as it just so happens, your garage in your Staunton Island hideout is long enough for the stretch...of course, the bridge to Staunton island isn't open yet in the game, so we need to find a way over there. That's where the "improved vehicle handling" and "flying vehicles" cheats come in.

Flying over the bridge

Tap in the improved vehicle handling and flying cheat codes, and get ready for quite a ride. I found this part to be the most difficult actually, and this is why I ended up getting into the garage 7 times (I kept crashing into the water). Even though there are barricades at the beginning of the bridge, you can wedge your car between them and the side of the bridge. Next, start driving from the very base of the bridge and build up as much speed as you can. Once you begin to approach the rift in the bridge, you need to press the L3 button on the PS2 controller to get your vehicle to jump; follow that immediately by pressing UP on the controller to keep your stretch off the ground, and then use the directional keys to steer. Unfortunately for me I didn't know about pressing UP the first few times I did this, which is why I had so much trouble. Regardless, timing the jump is rather tricky and it's very easy to do it too soon or too late, but I've done it and I guarantee it's possible.

Saving your new found toy

Your hideout will not be identified on the map because 1. you're actually still on a mission (remember?) and 2. you're not even supposed to have progressed to this island anyway! Once off the bridge, take your 2nd right (there are two streets very close to each other here). You'll notice a big park to your left after you turn, and just keep following alongside that park. You'll then pass an intersection where the park ends, but don't turn; your hideout is just ahead. Shortly after that intersection you'll notice a small alleyway again on the left. Cruise down that alley and you'll find a large blue garage door...approach it, and it'll open for you! Throw your vehicle in there, and you're ALMOST done. ALMOST! Remember, you're still on a mission and you can't save during a mission. NOW WHAT?! Well, we have to find a way to fail that mission so that it ends, and that involves blowing up our practically indestructible new car (don't worry, if you have it fully parked in the garage it will be reincarnated once the door closes and opens again). Fortunately, the stretch is not impervious to the "blow up all vehicles" cheat, so with the garage door still open (I haven't tested this but I think the garage door must remain open while entering this code...you can try with it closed), throw that code in! NOTE though: unfortunately the bloody code to blow up the car involves the TRIANGLE button, so of course you're going to start running towards the car to hop in while you're attempting to blow it up (because you'll be close to it to prevent the garage from closing). I didn't check the controller configuration options but if you can change the vehicle entry button to something not in the blow up code, do so. Otherwise, pop in the "slow down game play" code 2 or 3 times and also the full armour code, then punch in the blow up code so you'll only sustain a little bit of damage from the limo exploding.

Anyway, once you manage to blow up the stretch a message informing you of your mission's failure will appear. Next, allow the garage door to close and then reopen (to restore your car to its original form) and then hop into the elevator to the right of the garage and save your game! I'd suggest using a different saved game here just in case something went wrong.

Using the damage proof stretch

Keep in mind again that your limo is not impervious to flipping over; if it does, it blows up. Otherwise, this thing is completely invincible and comes in handy all over the place. If a mission involves you using a different vehicle, though (such as a boat, or a Cartel Cruiser, etc.) you'll lose whatever vehicle you start out with (i.e. leave your limo in the garage for these missions, or drive back to your garage and drop it off before starting); for instance, when you actually do Toni's "Salvatore Called a Meeting" mission, do not bring your damage proof stretch because you have to drive the stretch that is in Joey's garage (yes, it rematerializes there). It's a good idea to have several saved games, in case you accidentally lose your limo. If you follow those simple guidelines, you can keep it throughout the entire game. You can even take it to the Pay 'n Spray and change its colour, without affecting its impervious nature!

But anyway, you have to get back over to Portland Island to finish the missions there (and you may want to save over there so you can wrap them up without flying back and forth over the bridge; just so long as your limo is safely in the garage in Staunton Island, its presence will be preserved when you save elsewhere). Grab a fast car when going over the bridge again (with the flying & improved driving cheats) and it should be easier; if you can't find one, there should be a Banshee in the parking lot behind the casino.


Good luck & enjoy!