The content below is placed into a structured context that is designed for players of the server to read over and gain a clear idea of what is glitching and what is ACCEPTABLE and what is UNACCEPTABLE.
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Lately, myself and other admins have seen players ingame (new and experienced) using various glitches ingame. Some players realise that what they are doing is glitching where as some other players do not. This topic is intended to highlight the various commonly used glitches ingame, aswell as giving a DEFINITION of each glitch explaining WHY it is a glitch and HOW you can avoid doing such glitches.
What is a glitch?
A "glitch" or a "bug" is a vulnerability in the game mechanics which was not originally intended by Rockstar. Some of these glitches/bugs are very minor where as other ones are more severe and can be exploited to gain an advantage over another player in some shape or form. Throughout the VC-MP community some of these glitches are generally accepted by all players such as the "switch glitch" that many players do not even realise is actually a glitch (even though it says it in the name). Why is it a glitch? Because when the player fires the shotgun and switches to the next weapon the sprinting animation has no acceleration in speed there is no build up of speed from standing still > jogging > sprinting at max speed instead it is standing still > sprinting at max speed. Other glitches are even considered by many as "techniques".
An example of a minor glitch would be the auto-reloading of weapons without having to watch the animation. For example take a weapon with a clip such as an Ingrams or M4. Fire the weapon till the clip is almost empty and switch to another weapon then back to the weapon you were firing. The clip will then be full again. The normal proper way would be to empty the clip til it reaches 0, which would be followed by the reload animation. This is not frowned upon however as it is not noticible by other players, and pretty much impossible to administrate such minor problems like such. To make matters worse, many of these glitches have various different names assigned to them which causes confusion when it come's to naming them. aswell as that, explaining these various glitches in detail can be quite confusing... but I will try my best.
Many of these glitches originated from the PC port from Rockstar as added in mouse functionality made these easier to replicate. as an end result, I believe that due to a lack of testing of the PC port many of these bug's still exist and weren't properly patched.
Switch-Glitching
What is it?: This is a generally accepted glitch that has been accepted throughout VC-MP since 0.1a. This glitch allows the player to fire a weapon then quickly move into sprinting movement. This allows for fluid switching between weapons and means that the players movements are not slowed down. This was blocked in 0.3a and 0.3x meaning that the player could not do this without using another similiar glitch. Due to popular demand this was then unblocked in 0.3z which allows the player to do it again with ease.
Why is it a glitch?: As explained above, the switching between weapons after firing does not include any "acceleration" in movement the top speed that the player can reach while sprinting is gained instantaneously.
Allowed ingame?: Yes, it is not against the rules to do this.
Crouch-Switch-Glitching
What is it?: Crouch Switch Glitching better known in short as "Crouch Glitching" is when a player crouches with any firearm, fires the weapon then switches weapon into a sprinting position. This is a very similiar glitch to to "Switch-Glitching" with the difference being that the player is crouched when doing so. This can also be confused with "Rapid-Firing" which is covered below later on.
Why is it a glitch?: When performing the traditional "Switch-Glitch" there is roughly a 0.5-1.0 second delay that the player must wait before being able to move from a stationary position into a sprinting position. With Crouch Glitching however, this does not apply. The player can move instantly after they fire and the no "acceleration" in the movement also applies here aswell. This allows for players to quickly spam lot's of shots quickly creating a mess similiar to "Spraying and Praying".
Allowed ingame: No, do not do this.
Wall-Glitching
What is it?: Wall-Glitching occurs due to poor a collision system. This occurs when the player's model is standing close to a thin object such as a "wall" (hence the name "Wall-Glitching" and fires through) This results in the player model clipping the weapon through the wall and firing out of the other side (as if magically placing the weapon through through a hole in the wall that cannot be seen). From the other side of the object that is being shot through a player cannot retaliate. Any bullets that are fired back at the opposing player shooting through do not penetrate the solid object nor reach the hitbox of the player model sticking out and are briefly stopped. In order for a wall glitcher to return fire at another wall glitcher both must be wall-glitching.
Many players also do this while crouching behind vehicles. Players think that by crouching behind vehicles they are in "cover". Yes they are in cover but by also firing back they are also wall glitching. I would rather call this something else though such as "collision glitching" as the side of a car isn't a wall. This also depends on where the player is crouched behind the vehicle. For example: If a player is crouched behind a the center-side of a Cheetah they will be wall glitching. Whereas if they are crouched near the front end of the vehicle where there body is covered but head is exposed they are not glitching.
Why is it a glitch?: Self-explanatory Rockstar obviously did not intend for players to be able to put weapons through solid objects and fire through the other side.
Allowed ingame: No, do not do this, if you want to shoot from behind a vehicle do it standing up so that you are clearly shooting over the top of the vehicles roof or near the front end of a vehicle that has a low bonnet.
Wall-Glitching/Collision Glitching from a roof
What is it?: This happens when another player is standing on top of a roof firing at another player below. The shots from the weapon glitch through the edge of the roof hitting the player below. As a result of this players on roofs are able to kill players below them however it's not possible for the player to damage the player on the roof back from that angle.
Why is it a glitch?: The rounds from the person on the roofs weapon glitch through the solid edge of the roof. The player on top can see the player on the bottom however the player at the bottom can not see the player on the top clearly. The reason for this I am uncertain I believe it has something to do with the positioning of Vice City's camera in 3rd person and perhaps the height of reticle being higher than the actual player model combined with a "If you can aim at it with the cursor you can hit it" system ingame.
Allowed ingame: No, do not do this. However, this can be easily done by mistake in a fast paced situation. Instinct tells the player that if they are standing too close to the edge of the roof and are being shot at from below too move back away from the edge. Some players may not even realise they are doing this therefore admins should be more forgiving when a player does this.
Rapid-Firing / Fast-Shoot
What is it?: This glitch only applies to the Stubby shotgun. When a player is crouched with this weapon and fires the firing rate is accelerated to roughly 2 or 3 times the normal firing rate when stood up, meaning a player can deal more damage quickly. If a player gets knocked over with this and the player continues to take hits on the ground it is unlikely they will survive.
Why is it a glitch?: Self-explanatory again, the firing rate of the weapon is increased from the normal rate. Why this occurs I have no idea as it does not occur in singleplayer, only vc-mp. If anyone knows why this happens I would be interested to know. It seems that the animation itself is somehow flinching causing the weapon to instantly fire.
Allowed ingame: No, do not do this.
