GTA VCS Recomp system requirements
What the native Vice City Stories port needs on Windows and Linux, how fast it runs on tested hardware, and which frame-rate, display and audio options it has.
SSE4.2 minimum · D3D11 / Vulkan 1.3 · 60–240 fps · 1x–8x resolution
GTA VCS Recomp Wiki / Requirements
Numbers on this page come from the README files and release notes of gothamor/gta-vcs-recomp (v0.2.3) and OverkillLabs3/vice-city-stories-recomp (v1.0.0). The projects do not publish a formal minimum spec; where they give tested hardware, it is quoted as tested hardware.
System requirements at a glance
| gta-vcs-recomp (PS2) | VCSNative (PSP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | 64-bit Windows; Linux x86_64 with glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Mint 21, Fedora, Arch and newer) | Windows 10/11 64-bit; macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon |
| CPU | Build targets AVX2, AVX or SSE4 to match your PC; SSE4.2 is the minimum (pre-2008 CPUs cannot run it) | AVX2, FMA, BMI1/BMI2, LZCNT, F16C, MOVBE, POPCNT (checked at start) |
| Graphics API | Direct3D 11 on Windows; Vulkan 1.3 on Linux | Vulkan 1.1 (MoltenVK on macOS) |
| GPU tested | GTX 1080 Ti (200+ fps in most of the city); Intel HD 520 laptop (locked 60 on Linux) | Developed on NVIDIA; AMD and Intel untested |
| Bottleneck | Light: well past 100 fps nearly everywhere at original resolution | CPU: about 7 ms per frame on a Ryzen 7 5800X3D |
| Download | 84.6 MB ZIP or 38.1 MB AppImage | 20.9 MB (Windows) · optional texture pack 655.8 MB |
| Build | llvm-mingw once (about 190 MB), CMake/Ninja if missing (about 55 MB), about 200 MB of generated C++ plus objects | None |
| Build time | 20–60 min first time; a few minutes after updates | None |
| Internet | First build (compiler and libraries), updates | Not needed |
| Game copy | PS2 USA .iso, SLUS-21590 | PSP game files in PSP_DATA |
Processor
gta-vcs-recomp compiles the game on your PC, so it can target your exact processor. Since v0.0.3 the build detects AVX2, AVX or SSE4 and builds for what the CPU supports, which brought Intel Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge back in. A step that fails within seconds with 0xC000001D (illegal instruction) means a build made for another CPU: build again. Processors without SSE4.2 (before 2008) cannot run the game; a request to support them is open (#77).
VCSNative is distributed pre-built, so it needs AVX2 plus FMA, BMI1/BMI2, LZCNT, F16C, MOVBE and POPCNT, and tells you at start which one is missing.
Graphics card
- Windows: Direct3D 11, so practically any GPU with a current driver.
- Linux: a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Mesa (AMD, Intel) or NVIDIA’s;
vulkaninfo --summaryshould list it. - Image quality: internal resolution 1x (640×448) to 8x or the window’s own; MSAA 2x/4x/8x; anisotropic filtering to 16x. Above 1x, car reflections are smoothed since v0.2.3.
- Widescreen: Hor+ 16:10, 16:9, 21:9, 32:9 or Match window; the HUD can stay 4:3 in the middle, move to the edges or stretch.
Frame rate
| Setting (F2 → Display) | What it does |
|---|---|
| 60 fps (default) | Frame-rate independent timing; game time follows real time |
| 100 / 120 / 144 / 165 / 240 | Fixed caps for high-refresh monitors |
| Display refresh | Matches your monitor (fixed in v0.2.1 to survive restarts) |
| Uncapped | Up to 240 fps |
| Authentic (PS2) | Original timing at 30 fps; also an original-timing 60 mode |
Vertical sync on or off, plus a tearing mode for G-Sync and FreeSync monitors. F3 shows a performance overlay and F4 records it as CSV. Frame-rate independent timing starts each frame on fresh input, so input delay stays low.
Audio
The PS2’s sound and streaming run natively and FMV movies are decoded with FFmpeg. Options: master, music, effects and movie volume; stereo, mono or swapped channels; keep running, mute or pause in the background. VCSNative fixed silent or double-speed cutscene dialogue by decoding ATRAC3+ correctly.
Disk space and build
The ZIP is 84.6 MB. The first build adds the llvm-mingw compiler (about 190 MB, into build\build-tools), possibly CMake and Ninja (about 55 MB), about 200 MB of generated C++ and the compiled objects, written as thousands of files. Your disc image is read where it is. A short local path on a drive with room is what matters; the launcher can build on another drive.
A controller for the couch
Keyboard and mouse are fully supported, but Vice City Stories was designed for a pad. Any controller SDL3 recognises works; these are the ones we point people to (see controller setup):
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Frequently asked questions
Can my PC run GTA VCS Recomp?
Very likely, if it has a 64-bit OS and a CPU from 2008 or later (SSE4.2). The README reports a locked 60 fps on a 2015 laptop with Intel HD 520 graphics on Linux, and over 200 fps in most of the city on an i7-7700K with a GTX 1080 Ti. Building needs more patience than hardware: 20–60 minutes the first time.
Does it need a powerful graphics card?
No. The game draws the PS2’s scenes with Direct3D 11 (Windows) or Vulkan 1.3 (Linux). Raising the internal resolution up to 8x, MSAA up to 8x and anisotropic filtering up to 16x is where a stronger card helps. The Widescreen, light preset is meant for older PCs and integrated graphics.
Are there problems at high frame rates?
Some PS2 code counted frames. The project put vehicle physics, mission meters and timers back on real time, and fixed bikes spinning out at 144 fps+ (v0.2.1) and falling out of the ferris wheel above 50 fps (v0.0.3). The README says some high-frame-rate behaviour is still being fixed; Authentic (PS2) returns to 30 fps.
What audio options are there?
Master, music, sound effects and movie volume; stereo, mono or swapped speakers; and whether the game keeps running, mutes or pauses in the background. Movies are decoded with FFmpeg.