[Tutorial] [SA:MP] Installing & Using SA-MP 0.3a Client

[Foxtrot]

In this tutorial, I will show you how to download, install and use San Andreas Multiplayer's client to play others' servers. Yes, it looks very heavy on the eyes, but I tried to be as specific as possible. I hope that I succeeded. Good luck.

Also, please note that this tutorial contains hyperlinks and images and is meant to be read by a browser that supports said elements.

Contents
Step 1 - American and European compatibility
Step 2 - More version/compatibility issues
Step 3 - Downloading the client
Step 4 - Installing the client
Step 5 - Client interface and adding a server to favourites
Step 6a - Determining whether a server is online/exists
Step 6b - The "Internet" tab
Step 7 - Connecting to a server

Step 1
First of all, please be aware that San Andreas Multiplayer is a San Andreas modification - it modifies San Andreas to add multiplayer capabilities. This means that the program will not run alone - you need to have Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas already installed and working on your PC in order to run San Andreas Multiplayer. Also note that San Andreas multiplayer requires an American or European version of San Andreas. If you live outside of America or Europe and you bought the game from a retail store, it is more than likely that you will not be able to run San Andreas Multiplayer.

Step 2
If you have a recent or patched copy of San Andreas, then it is more than likely that you have a version of San Andreas higher than version 1.00. San Andreas Multiplayer will only run with San Andreas version 1.00 installed - if you have version 2.00 installed (I had version 2.00 after buying the game from a store, and I'm in England), then you can use

You must be registered to see links

to downgrade your copy of San Andreas to version 1.00 - if you don't downgrade and try to run SA:MP on a non-version 1.00 copy, you will get two blank white screens upon loading the game, and then it will crash. If you have doubts about the differences between versions, then remember that you can always uninstall and reinstall San Andreas from the disc for your default version - but again, you won't be able to play San Andreas Multiplayer. Oh, also, San Andreas Multiplayer won't work for the Steam or Direct2Drive versions of the game.

So, in short, and as put by the SA-MP website:
- SA-MP requires GTA:SA (DVD game for PC) v1.00 US/EU.
- Version 2.00 of the DVD version can be downgraded to 1.00 using a

You must be registered to see links

.
- The Steam and Direct2Drive versions of GTA:SA are not currently supported and cannot be downgraded.

Step 3
After you have made sure that you have an American or European version 1.00 non-Steam/Direct2Drive copy of GTA: San Andreas installed onto your PC, head to the San Andreas Multiplayer website's

You must be registered to see links

. In the window with the heading "SA-MP 0.3a Client Download", click one of the links next to the bullet points - they are the same thing, just on different servers (I find

You must be registered to see links

to have faster download speeds most of the time).

Step 4
Once the file has been downloaded, run it. Wait for the "San Andreas Multiplayer 0.3a Setup" window to appear, and then hit "I Agree" (to the license agreement). Next, make sure that your destination folder is "C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\GTA San Andreas\". After that, hit "Install" and wait for it to finish. Once it has finished, hit "Finish". The San Andreas Multiplayer client is installed.

Step 5
Next, run San Andreas Multiplayer. You can execute the program from "C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\GTA San Andreas\samp.exe" or from a shortcut on your desktop or start menu, if they were installed. Once the program has opened up, you should see something extremely similiar to this (minus the "Server Info" section, that's leftover on my client from where I deleted all my favourited servers for this tutorial).

Okay, so this is the favourites tab. It's the most useful tab for connecting to specific servers - for example, a server you find advertised on a forum. For example, let's say we come across

You must be registered to see links

(shameless plug, eh?). We want to connect to it. To do this, we find the the server "HOSTORT". This is an IP address (for example, 75.231.122.281 or if masked, blabla.blablabla.com) and a port (usually a 1 to 5 digit long number) seperated by a colon ). So, in the sample thread, it is shown 71.40.223.80:6000 (IP address is 71.40.223.80 and port is 6000).

Now, to add the server to our favourites list, thus allowing us to connect easily. Hit the orange tick button (

) - this is the "Add Server" button. Upon hitting it, a window will pop up and ask you to enter the "HOSTORT" (in this case 71.40.223.80:6000). By default, the text box contains your clipboard (so if you had "lol" copied from somewhere, it'd appear by default in the HOSTORT box - just delete it if it's irrelevant). So put in the HOSTORT, and hit "OK".

Step 6a
If the row on the server list you just added constantly reads "(Retrieving info...)", then the server is offline or doesn't exist. If server details pop up, then you have successfully recieved a response from the server and it is ready to connect to.

Step 6b
As well as adding a server directly to your favourites, you can browse the "Internet" tab and see all servers that were configured to be listed on that tab. It's always useful to use the Filter tool at the bottom of the client window, and check "Not Full", "No Password" and "Not Empty".

Step 7
Once you have your desired server selected, hit the green arrow button (

) - this only needs to be pressed once, and shortly after it is, San Andreas will launch and you will connect to your desired server.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful, and thank you very much for reading.
// <3Foxtrot

 

[Tyrant In Black]

hmmm. this is a very good tutorial , thanks mate for the help

 

[Foxtrot]

hmmm. this is a very good tutorial , thanks mate for the help

You're very welcome. :

 

[Johacami]

Very nice.
And easy to follow/Neat.

 

[ILitex]

Good Tut. Would Expect Nothing less.

 

[Fbrugs]

Nice! It Worked I Only Needed To Downgrade To V1 And Then Done!