Previously this week, aboriginal improvement footage of the adjacent Grand Theft Auto game, assumed to beryllium Grand Theft Auto VI, leaked each implicit the internet. You astir apt already cognize astir each that. Since then, it’s go harder to find the leaked footage, and sites—including Kotaku—aren’t capable to showcase footage oregon screenshots from the leaks. But that hasn’t stopped a dedicated radical of GTA fans from coming unneurotic successful assorted places successful an effort to representation retired arsenic overmuch of the caller Vice City and its surroundings arsenic they tin utilizing math, MS Paint, Google Earth, and teamwork.

Back successful November 2011, Rockstar Games released the archetypal trailer for the then-unreleased GTA V. The hype astir the crippled exploded and the precise adjacent day, users connected GTA Forums began combing done that trailer successful an effort to representation retired the game’s virtual world. Over the adjacent 2 years—as Rockstar released much screenshots, trailers, previews, and more—the fans continued to walk hours and hours each time researching and compiling data. And arsenic it turned out, the last representation they each created earlier the crippled was officially released astir perfectly matched the existent in-game satellite of GTA V. Impressive stuff! And now, a decennary later, fans are coming unneurotic to erstwhile again representation retired the adjacent Grand Theft Auto satellite earlier it’s officially released. However, things are antithetic this clip around.

Before, fans utilized authoritative trailers and screenshots to assistance them portion unneurotic parts of Los Santos. This time, each of the contented fans are poring implicit to representation retired this caller instrumentality connected Vice City comes from a leak that Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive are actively trying to suppress utilizing ineligible actions and DMCA takedowns. This has made things tricky and created a caller occupation for the enthusiastic cartographers: How bash you collaborate and representation retired a virtual satellite if cipher tin stock images of that virtual satellite online? GTA fans are a crafty and dedicated bunch, however, and they’ve travel up with a fewer solutions.

The archetypal and astir basal method is to wholly debar incorporating the leaks into their work. Instead, over connected the GTA Forums, users are utilizing Google Earth images arsenic substitutes for screenshots. And to assistance supply discourse for immoderate of these photos, a fewer users person adjacent started opening up Microsoft Paint to draw retired crude but useable recreations of moments seen successful the leaked GTA VI footage. So far, that seems to beryllium allowed by the admins successful the GTA Forums, wherever immoderate of this collaboration is taking place. (Previously, a thread trying to representation retired Vice City was unopen down aft it included images from the leaked gameplay.)

However, this regulation has frustrated immoderate dedicated mappers who privation to beryllium arsenic close and precise arsenic imaginable successful their efforts. And others conscionable find it annoying having to creation astir contented restrictions. So galore person leaped to backstage Discord servers wherever they tin freely stock leaked screenshots and footage. This wasn’t adjacent an enactment backmost successful 2011 with GTA V because Discord wasn’t a thing.

In 1 of the astir fashionable mapping Discord servers, folks are already making large progress. The leaked footage contains galore pieces of utile data, similar in-game coordinates, which has greatly helped mappers fig retired where assorted locations are successful narration to each other.

We’re conscionable a fewer days retired from the leak and we already look to person a reasonably solid, if somewhat empty, mentation of what Vice City mightiness look similar successful the last game. This latest representation was created by the idiosyncratic Church of GTA with the assistance of implicit 100 different users. It uses GTA V and Rockstar’s ain motor measurements to assistance fig retired the standard compared to Los Santos. So far, it seems similar this could extremity up being a precise ample map.

All the folks connected the Discord server and connected the GTA Forums supply antithetic pieces of feedback and information. Some hunt for landmarks successful the leaked contented and past effort to triangulate their determination based connected different pieces of leaked footage and math. Meanwhile, immoderate users comb done each framework of leaked footage, ripping retired the in-game mini-map to assistance make pieces of the representation that tin past beryllium connected together. And different GTA fans are utilizing their actual, real-world cognition of Florida and Miami to assistance capable successful gaps, providing accusation connected highways and aged buildings oregon demolished roads.

Church of GTA jokingly told maine they were excited that I would beryllium sharing the latest mentation of their representation arsenic it mightiness assistance marque each the hours spent connected it “worth it.” Jokes aside, each this detective enactment isn’t easy. In fact, it takes a batch of clip and effort, with immoderate radical already claiming to person spent hours and hours connected conscionable tracking down 1 portion of graffiti oregon a azygous landmark. But for galore of these folks, it’s a blast to representation retired what could extremity up being a virtual satellite they walk years successful erstwhile GTA VI is yet released.

Of course, it’s present that I’ll notation that each of this leaked contented is from a still-in-development mentation of GTA VI and truthful it’s each taxable to change. In fact, that was thing that happened during the past effort to representation Los Santos. Minor tweaks to the satellite during improvement would sometimes beryllium spotted by users, forcing them to change their ain maps successful the lead-up to the game’s merchandise successful 2012. It’s apt the aforesaid happening volition hap here.

But for now, these players are giving america our archetypal existent look astatine what could extremity up being Vice City and the adjacent areas. And considering however adjacent they each got past time, I’m excited to spot what they extremity up piecing unneurotic betwixt present and GTA VI’s launch.