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I've noticed that when I'm driving a certain car, that car spawns everywhere, presumably so that I have a replacement if I destroy the one I'm driving. I've also noticed that certain cars spawn most often if not exclusively when I'm driving a certain car, for example the M3-clone spawns quite frequently when I'm driving the Firebird clone. The Mercedes Roadster clone seems to spawn nothing good.

The questions I have are:

  • Do the cars in my parking spots have an effect on what spawns? It seems like the cars in my parking spots spawn quite often, especially around where I live.
  • What do I have to be driving/have in my spots to get a Sultan RS? I stole one, but I lost it in a freak accident/possible glitch.
  • Or am I completely off base here and suffering from observational bias?
pinckerman
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jfa
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    I'd suggest (without having played on PC) that it's due to the fact it's less intensive to reuse the same models over and over. This used to happen as far back as GTA III iirc. Find a car you like, suddenly they are everywhere!. – djsmiley2kStaysInside Jul 07 '15 at 10:07
  • @djsmiley2k That's possible, which would imply that what I have in my spots does make a difference, if I'm near the spots. I think there are a lot of subtle spawn rules though, as I'm noticing distinct patterns. The more I reload the game, for example, the worse the cars get, to where everyone's driving a jalopy, even in Albany. – jfa Jul 08 '15 at 18:49

1 Answers1

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For general traffic spawns, there's really no rules.

What you're seeing isnt completely random though. Two things skew the probability. First, the game has to economize on memory space. So it's more likely to show you a car you're driving or one quite like it, since it rendering the same model is easier. Even similar cars share some assets. Drive around in a sports car, you are more likely to see that car in traffic, or other sports cars. This kinda doubles down a bit; any car that's already nearby has the same effect, whether in traffic or parked.

Second, because the game tries to be somewhat realistic, the area you're in influences the traffic content. Limos aren't likely down by the docks, but trucks are. Rich cars show in rich areas, and so on.

None of this is a hard and fast rule, unfortunately. Only certain parked cars are consistent spawns. If you are looking for a very specific car, you need to find a parked one or trust to luck.

Radhil
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