<s>
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
(	O
MTA	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
modification	O
for	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
version	O
of	O
Rockstar	O
North	O
games	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
:	I-Application
Vice	I-Application
City	I-Application
and	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
:	I-Application
San	I-Application
Andreas	I-Application
that	O
adds	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
:	I-Application
San	I-Application
Andreas	I-Application
,	O
the	O
mod	O
also	O
serves	O
as	O
a	O
derivative	O
engine	O
to	O
Rockstar	O
's	O
interpretation	O
of	O
RenderWare	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
of	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
a	O
critically	O
acclaimed	O
sandbox-style	O
action-adventure	O
computer	O
and	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
DMA	O
Design	O
(	O
now	O
Rockstar	O
North	O
)	O
represented	O
the	O
first	O
3D	O
title	O
in	O
the	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
(	O
GTA	O
)	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
success	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
game	I-Application
to	O
ship	O
without	O
the	O
network	O
multiplayer	O
gameplay	O
features	O
that	O
were	O
present	O
in	O
earlier	O
titles	O
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
players	O
to	O
connect	O
through	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
and	O
play	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
,	O
dubbed	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	O
Alternative	O
Multiplayer	O
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
fill	O
in	O
this	O
gap	O
by	O
extending	O
an	O
already	O
existing	O
cheating	O
tool	O
with	O
functionality	O
that	O
allowed	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
with	O
a	O
very	O
crude	O
form	O
of	O
two-player	O
racing	O
over	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
purely	O
as	O
a	O
proof	O
of	O
concept	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
how	O
the	O
now-defunct	O
XBAND	B-Application
service	O
worked	O
by	O
manipulating	O
game	O
memory	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
add	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newer	O
versions	O
of	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
with	O
increasingly	O
better	O
gameplay	O
and	O
other	O
improvements	O
were	O
released	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
concept	O
of	O
game	O
manipulation	O
,	O
by	O
a	O
small	O
team	O
of	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
successor	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
:	I-Application
Vice	I-Application
City	I-Application
,	O
it	O
became	O
clear	O
that	O
this	O
computer	O
game	O
title	O
also	O
lacked	O
any	O
form	O
of	O
network	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
software	O
was	O
subsequently	O
extended	O
to	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
this	O
title	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
shifted	O
its	O
entire	O
focus	O
towards	O
this	O
title	O
and	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
software	B-Architecture
framework	I-Architecture
dubbed	O
Blue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
original	O
concept	O
(	O
of	O
game	O
manipulation	O
by	O
memory	O
)	O
was	O
prone	O
to	O
various	O
problems	O
with	O
performance	O
and	O
stability	O
that	O
often	O
resulted	O
in	O
application	B-General_Concept
crashes	I-General_Concept
,	O
this	O
new	O
framework	O
was	O
created	O
as	O
a	O
successor	O
and	O
laid	O
the	O
foundation	O
of	O
all	O
future	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
version	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
code	O
injection	O
and	O
hooking	O
techniques	O
whereby	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
manipulated	O
without	O
altering	O
any	O
original	O
files	O
supplied	O
with	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
functions	O
as	O
a	O
game	O
engine	O
that	O
installs	O
itself	O
as	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
adding	O
core	O
functionality	O
such	O
as	O
networking	B-Architecture
and	O
GUI	B-Application
rendering	I-Application
while	O
exposing	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
's	O
engine	O
functionality	O
through	O
a	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
:	I-Language
San	I-Language
Andreas	I-Language
project	O
was	O
revised	O
and	O
relaunched	O
as	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
project	O
,	O
leaving	O
all	O
prior	O
versions	O
behind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
GPLv3	O
license	O
and	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
's	O
latest	O
release	O
is	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
:	I-Application
San	I-Application
Andreas	I-Application
and	O
is	O
built	O
upon	O
a	O
now	O
open	O
source	O
game	O
engine	O
that	O
has	O
been	O
in	O
development	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
and	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
project	O
that	O
is	O
still	O
actively	O
maintained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
engine	O
provides	O
users	O
with	O
all	O
the	O
necessary	O
tools	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
create	O
their	O
own	O
game	O
modes	O
and	O
maps	O
by	O
exposing	O
a	O
large	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
functionality	O
through	O
a	O
Lua	B-Language
scripting	I-Language
machine	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advanced	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
engine	O
's	O
early	O
incarnation	O
allowed	O
the	O
developers	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
sophisticated	O
integrated	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
editor	I-Application
for	O
adding	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
checkpoints	O
,	O
spawn	O
points	O
,	O
power-ups	O
and	O
various	O
objects	O
ranging	O
from	O
ramps	O
to	O
exploding	O
barrels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
several	O
on-line	O
facilities	O
were	O
introduced	O
during	O
the	O
development	O
phase	O
to	O
allow	O
visitors	O
to	O
track	O
the	O
development	O
process	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
as	O
changes	O
were	O
made	O
to	O
the	O
code	B-General_Concept
repository	I-General_Concept
,	O
illustrating	O
any	O
notable	O
updates	O
to	O
the	O
progress	O
of	O
the	O
modification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
second	O
"	O
Developer	O
Preview	O
"	O
that	O
introduced	O
several	O
new	O
features	O
and	O
fixes	O
and	O
was	O
subsequently	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
major	O
code	O
restructuring	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
open-source	B-Application
relaunch	O
on	O
Friday	O
,	O
21	O
November	O
2008	O
under	O
the	O
GPLv3	O
License	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Saturday	O
,	O
22	O
August	O
,	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
:	I-Language
San	I-Language
Andreas	I-Language
v1.0	O
was	O
officially	O
distributed	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
open	O
source	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gameplay	O
functionality	O
is	O
solely	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
so	O
users	O
can	O
choose	O
or	O
develop	O
their	O
own	O
combination	O
of	O
scripts	B-Language
and	O
other	O
contents	O
to	O
customize	O
and	O
host	O
their	O
own	O
type	O
of	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third	O
party	O
content	O
is	O
made	O
possible	O
through	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
the	O
Lua	B-Language
scripting	I-Language
language	I-Language
in	O
both	O
the	O
server	O
hosting	O
the	O
game	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Different	O
scripts	B-Language
can	O
then	O
be	O
run	O
in	O
parallel	O
on	O
either	O
of	O
these	O
,	O
communicating	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
events	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
package-based	B-Application
system	I-Application
that	O
packs	O
all	O
script	O
files	O
,	O
custom	O
content	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
images	O
,	O
3D	O
models	O
,	O
textures	O
and	O
collision	O
files	O
)	O
and	O
metadata	O
files	O
inside	O
a	O
single	O
archive	B-Application
or	O
directory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specific	O
content	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
marked	O
to	O
be	O
uploaded	O
to	O
every	O
connected	O
player	O
,	O
to	O
enable	O
client-side	B-Operating_System
execution	O
of	O
Lua	B-Language
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
uses	O
a	O
modular	B-Architecture
platform	I-Architecture
to	O
separate	O
several	O
facilities	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
GUI	B-Application
,	O
network	O
,	O
game	O
and	O
scripting	O
code	O
and	O
loads	O
these	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
instead	O
of	O
injecting	O
code	O
into	O
its	O
memory	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Uses	O
the	O
freeware	O
CEGUI	B-Language
system	O
,	O
replacing	O
the	O
original	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
GUI	B-Application
,	O
allowing	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
to	O
draw	O
its	O
own	O
widgets	O
for	O
any	O
in-game	O
user	O
interaction	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
server-browser	O
and	O
allows	O
scripting	O
from	O
any	O
third-party	O
resource	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
building	O
upon	O
Grand	B-Application
Theft	I-Application
Auto	I-Application
's	O
own	O
class-based	O
design	O
,	O
implementing	O
this	O
into	O
the	O
client	O
and	O
server	O
and	O
synchronizing	O
between	O
these	O
two	O
,	O
a	O
third-party	O
developer	O
can	O
control	O
almost	O
any	O
aspect	O
of	O
every	O
player	O
's	O
game	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
the	O
Lua	B-Language
scripting	I-Language
language	I-Language
:	O
native	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
animations	O
,	O
explosions	O
,	O
particles	O
,	O
skins	O
,	O
weapons	O
,	O
vehicles	O
,	O
objects	O
and	O
players	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
new	O
elements	O
such	O
as	O
custom	O
3D	O
models	O
are	O
controllable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
online	O
servers	O
contain	O
custom	O
game	O
modes	O
which	O
use	O
the	O
scripting	B-Language
engine	I-Language
supplied	O
with	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
modes	O
also	O
indicates	O
how	O
many	O
game	O
modes	O
and	O
scripts	B-Language
are	O
possible	O
to	O
create	O
on	O
the	O
MTA	O
scripting	B-Language
engine	I-Language
,	O
with	O
endless	O
possibilities	O
and	O
variation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
the	O
average	O
amount	O
of	O
game	O
servers	O
the	O
San	O
Andreas	O
version	O
of	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
(	O
MTA:SA	O
)	O
contains	O
,	O
is	O
3000	O
to	O
4000	O
servers	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
600,000	O
players	O
monthly	O
,	O
spread	O
over	O
the	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
project	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
the	O
subject	O
in	O
multiple	O
articles	O
in	O
different	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
