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Dusk commencing over Blackfield, about two hours after sunset.
Weather is a fundamental aspect that has existed throughout most of the GTA games. Grand Theft Auto III was the first to have multiple weather changes viewed in a 3-dimensional form. It plays a crucial role by complementing to the vibes and atmosphere of the game such as a pink setting sky to suit the Vice City's 80's vibe and a dull, plain sky to suit the Liberty City atmosphere. The weather in the game is controlled by a time cycle which controls certain weather types to occur at a particular time. Anonymous types of weather occur at rarer times than others. In places such as San Andreas, a certain type of weather only occurs in a particular climate or area such as sandstorms in the desert of Bone County and Las Venturas. Thus, some time cycles of weather are included exclusively for a Grand Theft Auto game depending on the area's real-life climate. The games can also simulate transitions between weather types. For example; it may be cloudy, then a slight drizzle may fall, followed by rain and then a thunderstorm. This is a perfect example of the wide varieties of weather mixtures the game is capable of doing. Thus only the main core, standalone weather types are listed below rather than 30 different combinations. The games can also simulate wind, which can realistically result in trees swaying back and forth and turbulence while flying aircraft.
Rain beats down in Whetstone, accompanied by thunder.
Rain occurs in most GTA games every three to five days, though this can vary depending on the climate. For example, in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, rain may occur in Los Santos, San Fierro, and in the countryside, but never in Las Venturas and the desert. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City first introduced realistic rain drops forming on the player's screen as if they were literally in the protagonist's shoes. The 3D Universe first introduced car's headlights reflecting the rain on the road which instantly resulted in senses of realism, making the game more "alive" and increasing the atmosphere. The rainfall can vary depending on how clear the skies are. Heavy rainfall results in occasional thunder and lightning, causing the console version's controller to vibrate rapidly, again as a sense of realism. Rain also affects the performance of many road vehicles, and can degrade handling and braking power due to slippery roads. In Grand Theft Auto V, different intensity of rainfall is featured, ranging from drizzle and sun-showers, to torrential downpours and thunderstorms. Grand Theft Auto V also including lightning bolts during thunderstorms, as opposed to the sky simply "lighting up" in previous games.
Sunny/clear
A sunny morning awaits in San Fierro.
Sunny weather occurs quite often in most cities, usually appearing every two to four days in the 3D Universe. The 3D Univerese first introduced players to visual heatwaves when the sun reaches blazing heats, though this does not affect the player's health in any way. Sunny weather creates a "cheerful" atmosphere, especially in locations such as Vice City and most areas in San Andreas. The sun causes short shadows to appear behind objects such as lampposts and buildings. A clear sky implements a similar reaction. Sunny weather also appears commonly in Grand Theft Auto IV's rendition of Liberty City and Alderney and Grand Theft Auto V's rendition of Los Santos and Blaine County.
Fog/Mist
Fog and mist is common in both renditions of Liberty City and the countryside of San Andreas. Foggy/misty weather creates an "eerie" atmosphere, especially in locations such as the San Andreas countryside.
Cloudy
A cloudy night in Los Santos.
Cloudy weather is probably the most common weather state in GTA, and it has featured in every game of the franchise. Cloudy weather does not create a particular atmosphere and is described as a "default" weather state due to how often it occurs. Cloudy weather can be seen pretty much everyday at some point, except in some places such as the desert, where overcast conditions may never take place. Cloudy weather does not have much of a visual difference, as the sky is still brightly lit during daytime, unlike foggy or rainy conditions, and visibility is still high.
Sandstorm
A sandstorm is a unique weather pattern available in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. They arise when a gust front blows loose sand and dust from a dry surface. It occurs regularly only in the desert or near Las Venturas as it suits the climate. When sandstorms occur, visibility is severely restricted. Clouds of dust can be seen blowing and the sky's color changes to a dull brown. Sandstorms also have a physical impact on flying vehicles (such as fixed-wing aircraft), blowing them fiercely in random directions, which can make flying treacherous.
Sunset/sunrise
Sunset comparison between Los Santos (left), Vice City (middle), and San Fierro (right).
Watching the sunset or sunrise in GTA is one of the most beautiful experiences in the game. The colour of the sun when it sets or rises depends on the city. In places such as San Andreas and Liberty City, the sun varies from orange, yellow and red whilst Vice City's sky is usually pink or purple to suit the 1980s atmosphere. The colours of the sky also play a vital role in bringing up the atmosphere of a city and are different for each location, such as a deep, orange sky in Los Santos or a plain blue and yellow sky in San Fierro. The shadows of objects and pedestrians become longer.
Sunset looming over Las Venturas
To add realism, the lens glare at sunrise usually results in an orangy glow emitting off buildings and such, hindering the player's visibility when facing the sun.
Smog is present in GTA San Andreas, in Los Santos. Radio stations based in that city, like K-DST and Radio Los Santos, will have DJs comment about the smog. It is also present in GTA V. It can normally occur in Los Santos and will not last the entire day. The presence of smog within the city suggests that Los Santos is very polluted.
Trivia
Broadcasters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV in some Radio Stations announce the weather forecasts in the local area. The Internet in Grand Theft Auto IV also announces weather forecasts.
Since the introduction of a weather system in Grand Theft Auto III, the game engine can realistically simulate weather transitions. For example, it may go from sunny to cloudy to rainy and then back to cloudy, rather than rain starting to fall from a clear sky, which looks more realistic.
There is a glitch in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which Tierra Robada uses the countryside's weather patterns, despite being a semi-arid region. Thus, it may rain but sandstorms would never occur.
Mods and cheats are available to tweak the weather time cycle.
Foggy weather is included in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City but is extremely rare. In most occasions, players would have to resort to cheats to enable fog/mist.
Rain was noticeably rare in the original PlayStation Portable release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Rain/storms generally occurred less often than they did in preceding games, and clouds were less commonly seen. This was rectified in the PlayStation 2 port; rain and storms occurred more regularly, and clouds were also seen more often in the sky, making the weather more similar to past games in the series.
The water levels rise in stormy conditions on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories to such an extent, that low surfaces such as jetties can become slightly submerged and sometimes force Vic into the swimming animation by just standing on them. A minor glitch causes the sea to rise through some roads in this weather.
Rain can significantly affect the frame rate of the game, especially in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV, sometimes making it very low. File:BeautifulSunset-GTAV.jpg
Sunset in Grand Theft Auto V.
Due to the outdated GPU on the PlayStation 2, the timecycle on the PlayStation 2 version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is rendered differently than that of other versions. This results in a "better"-looking and unique (but not necessarily realistic) timecycle. For example, midday skies on the PlayStation 2 are often greenish-blue, while on the PC and Xbox versions they are sky-blue.
In Grand Theft Auto IV, the rain may appear even the player is in the tunnel or the interior.
In The Lost and Damned, the sky in the daytime is always a light or dark orange, and in the nightime, is dark blue. Using cheats cannot change the weather to a "perfect" sunny day as seen in Grand Theft Auto IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony. This is also a reference to the events in the storyline and missions, where many of the events that befall Johnny Klebitz and The Lost MC are tragic and dark in their own right, in contrast to the other two, which have more positive mission endings with more rewards.
