Thought I had one.
You know. That huge 4-jet-engine plane that flies over LS and appears in
the Stowaway mission at Verdant Meadows.
Here's what I did. I was messing with Stowaway. As soon as I was on the
bike, ready for the run at the ramp in the back of the plane, I entered the
Destroy All Vehicles cheat. All vehicles on the runway -- including the
Andromeda -- blow (and so does the bike that CJ's on, but it doesn't kill
him). Then I killed the remaining guys who came after CJ and ran up to
examine the carcass of the Andromeda. I thought, "Hmm. I sure would like
an UNexploded Andromeda. If I could stuff it into a garage, perhaps it
would "heal" like other vehicles do. Oh wait. I HAVE a "garage" -- just a
few dozen yards down the runaway -- a big one!" So I cheat-spawned a Tank
and pushed the carcass to the hangar. Oops. Won't fit. The wingspan is
just too long. My brother was watching and suggested angling it in: turn it
sideways, push in a wing, then pivot the nose in. I had it more than
halfway in the hangar, then POOF! Gone. Because it had taken several
minutes to do this whole stunt, I figured that maybe the program had decided
it was time to remove it anyway -- whether or not CJ was looking at it.
(That happens with any vehicle "carcasses" eventually.) Unfortunately,
apparently not. I tried it several more times. Each time, as soon as the
bulk of the plane was inside, poof.
Bastards! I deserve my Andromeda! It seems they coded for that NOT to be
possible.
I wanted to see if it's possible to FLY it. (It explodes like a regular
plane. They fly over LS. Perhaps it can be boarded and flown like another
plane, too.)
If you want to try it yourself, here's a hint. Use some satchels to blow
those damned barrels off the runway. It's MUCH easier to push the jet to
the hangar if there aren't any barrels in the way. And by the way. The
mission doesn't end in failure when you blow the plane. There's a yellow
marker on the map near the plane, as if you're supposed to go to it to
continue the mission. It must be the guide marker for the ramp. But,
nothing happens when you go there. The mission simply remains active. You
have to die or reload to escape it.
Oh. And try to keep the carcass in sight at all times. It loves to vanish
when you're not looking, of course, just as with other destroyed vehicles.
Please DO somebody else try it. Maybe I just got incredibly unlucky
concerning the plane's vanishing act just as I was on the verge of success.
This is my second encounter with a CARCASS. I just can't get my hands on a
working one.
What was the other encounter? Save on Grove Street. When you load and come
out of the house, there's almost always a plane or copter passing
overhead -- usually an Andromeda. So, do this. Load. Enter all commands
to Destroy All Vehicles except the last button press. Go outside. Press
the last button. Quickly cheat-spawn a jetpack and try to chase down the
carcass of the dead Andromeda in the sky. It doesn't fall, it just slowly
drifts. If you can get to it fast enough, it won't immediately vanish, and
you can follow it for a long way. Tough to do, but keep trying. You'll get
it.
What a game. Three years later, and I still haven't exhausted it. There's
forever something new to try.
--cleve
Rob White - 15 Dec 2007 09:32 GMT
> Thought I had one.
A while ago I managed to get CJ in to one!
Start the "Stowaway" mission and watch the opening cutscene. Enter the
'blow up all cars' cheat just after Toreno is done talking to CJ and
when you gain control the Andromeda will be sitting on the airstrip
runway with no enemies around it.
You can hop in, but it won't budge. Using the R3 button moves the back
loading ramp up and down but the plane was not meant to fly without a
cheat device.
Considering it was based on a Lockheed Galaxy C-5, it is actually
smaller than the 747 jet you can get in the game (AT-400)! It
definitely won't fit in the hangar :o(
Cheers,
Rob

Signature
.__ __ |__ |__ .|__ __ | Rob White, Half Man Half Biscuit.
| / \| \ | | || ||| /__\ | robthemod@googlemail.com
| \__/|__/ |_|_|| |||__\___ | Wimbledon, London, England.
"Do sugar cubes have dots or is that a dice I just put in my tea?"
To the world you are somebody, but to somebody you are the world.
Cleve - 15 Dec 2007 17:07 GMT
> A while ago I managed to get CJ in to one!
>
> Start the "Stowaway" mission and watch the opening cutscene. Enter the
> 'blow up all cars' cheat just after Toreno is done talking to CJ and
> when you gain control the Andromeda will be sitting on the airstrip
> runway with no enemies around it.
You mean DURING the cut-scene? Forgot you can sometimes do that.
(Sometimes, I pop CJ into a jetpack during a cut-scene.)
Hmm. Must try.
> It definitely won't fit in the hangar :o(
I angled it in pretty well. It might "hang out" a little, but I've saved
vehicles before that don't quite fit.
--cleve
GTA_Phreak - 15 Dec 2007 16:23 GMT
You don't need cheats to destroy the Andromeda in Stowaway, - just jump of
the bike and hose it with a minigun.
You can even continue the mission after you've blown up the Andromeda, by
riding a vehicle up to the ramp (or where the ramp was in case the wreck
unspawned). The trigger point usually isn't the same spot as the marker!
That method is useful to complete the mission for pc players with low end
PC's (lagging makes it difficult to catch up).
There'll also be a couple of "men in black" sitting around in the Bobcat's,
which you can take for a ride (they'll stay in the car).
If you can get your hands on an Andromeda, - then it's fully pilotable (and
you can operate the ramp).
Only odd thing is the animation when CJ gets in.
Cleve - 15 Dec 2007 17:07 GMT
> If you can get your hands on an Andromeda, - then it's fully pilotable
> (and you can operate the ramp).
> Only odd thing is the animation when CJ gets in.
You've FLOWN one?
How'd you get an undestroyed one, by the way? Same as Rob?
--cleve
GTA_Phreak - 15 Dec 2007 18:19 GMT
> You've FLOWN one?
>
> How'd you get an undestroyed one, by the way? Same as Rob?
Yeah I've flown one, - haven't recovered the one in Stowaway though.
If you're on PC you can use a vehicle spawner or get a tweaked savegame
where it spawns. Game code need not be modified, so if you manage to recover
the Stowaway Andromeda it should handle the same way.
The tweaked chaingame saves on GTAF has one spawning at LS airport:
http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=301556
Cleve - 16 Dec 2007 05:27 GMT
> If you're on PC you can use a vehicle spawner or get a tweaked savegame
> where it spawns. Game code need not be modified, so if you manage to
> recover the Stowaway Andromeda it should handle the same way.
> The tweaked chaingame saves on GTAF has one spawning at LS airport:
> http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=301556
Wow. Nice.
I may go PC, next time. No way I'm shelling out for a PS3 unless they hack
a huge piece off the price tag. (No, Sony, we won't just pay ANYTHING for
your latest-greatest. How'd you ever get that idea?)
--cleve
Rob White - 16 Dec 2007 10:53 GMT
> I may go PC, next time. No way I'm shelling out for a PS3 unless they hack
> a huge piece off the price tag. (No, Sony, we won't just pay ANYTHING for
> your latest-greatest. How'd you ever get that idea?)
I concur. In the past the deciding factor has always been 'Does it have
enough good games/games I'd enjoy to justify the expense?' and at the
time I had more interest in Nintendo's Gamecube.
I really, really want GTAIV, but three hundred plus pounds is extortion.
Cheers,
Rob

Signature
.__ __ |__ |__ .|__ __ | Rob White, Half Man Half Biscuit.
| / \| \ | | || ||| /__\ | robthemod@googlemail.com
| \__/|__/ |_|_|| |||__\___ | Wimbledon, London, England.
"Do sugar cubes have dots or is that a dice I just put in my tea?"
To the world you are somebody, but to somebody you are the world.