Years before GTA V had mods, San Andreas established the fundamentals of GTA modding. We explore those early years here.
Foundational reading for the GTA 5 custom maps history.
2005-2006: The PC port and early tooling
GTA San Andreas released for PC in June 2005. Tools to modify the game followed within months: SAMI, San Andreas Mod Installer, and a wave of texture and vehicle replacement mods. The IMG file format was reverse-engineered shortly after.
Map editing was more difficult. The ".ipl" files (placement of items) and ".ide" files (item definitions) needed to be manually edited. This was okay for dropping existing objects in new places; it didn't allow for true custom buildings.
2006-2010: SA-MP and total conversions
SA-MP, short for San Andreas Multiplayer, was the first truly popular GTA multiplayer mod. It allowed users to run custom servers with custom rules. Some servers even included sizeable custom locations.
Total conversions boomed too - Liberty City Stories Beta for PC, full real-city swaps, GTA Underground later on. SA's pipeline was small but steady.
2010-2015: MTA and the modern editor
MTA: SA - Multi Theft Auto - came with a scripting framework more capable than SA-MP's. Custom MTA maps ran on top of full Lua scripting. The scene grew up.
Map Editor mods got better. Tools such as Mod Loader (later Modloader) helped with clean installation of mods.
What SA's scene taught us
Tools take priority. Multiplayer creates map demand. Total conversions take years of commitment. RP servers start popping up during this generation. Most of the patterns that would become staples of GTA V's scene stem from this age.
For how it carried on into GTA V, see the GTA 5 custom maps history.