The Vortex is a hovercraft in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Design
The Vortex is a single-seat hovercraft, distinguished by its unique large fan and an air cushion below its main hull. The vehicle uses a steering wheel that is connected to two rudders located on the back, giving the steering ability on it. The engine uses two exhaust pipes that seem to have no extra fixing point, therefore the player can see them wobbling while driving the vehicle.
Like some of the vehicles in the Grand Theft Auto series, the Vortex is probably an original concept from Rockstar Games. The Vortex may spawn with a two-tone paint scheme, with the secondary one as a wide stripe on the middle, as well as the large fan case and the rudders.
Performance
Being an amphibious vehicle, is capable of moving both on land and water. The vehicle has extremely poor handling, and often slides off roads. Its acceleration and top speed are mediocre, but workable. Due to being a hovercraft, it has no grip, and it will eventually slide off an angled surface if allowed enough time at idle power. Using the handbrake allows the rudder of the Vortex to deflect beyond normal limits, sacrificing speed for extremely powerful turn forces, which allow the vehicle to rapidly rotate. The "brakes" of the vehicle (which can be assumed to be reverse thrust from the fan) are extremely weak, and at top speed, it is often more efficient to rotate the Vortex 180 degrees using the handbrake key, and to begin accelerating forward. The Vortex appears to be powered by a twin-cylinder engine.
It has a top speed of 55 mph on level ground, which, unlike other vehicles, is not affected by ground type (asphalt, grass, railroad, etc.) due to the fact that it simply floats over the ground. It has a speed hardcap at 99 mph, which is extremely difficult to achieve, normally only achievable by dropping the vehicle from an extremely high place.
The Vortex is also capable of gliding for short distances if the player sends the vehicle flying off a high location, leading to behavior similar to controlling an airborne car. With some effort, it is possible to 'fly' the Vortex from the summit of Mount Chiliad to Whetstone and beyond.
The rear fan of the Vortex can be damaged by a ram to the rear end, which can potentially reduce the overall performance of the vehicle greatly if the damage is great enough. The motor will also begin generating a trail of black smoke that is much thicker and more opaque than the engine smoke of a normal car.
Overview
| Acceleration (0-60mph / 0-100km/h) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh / knots) |
Engine (Inboard / Outboard) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 93 / 150 / 81 | Petrol | 1900 / 4189 |
| N/A | N/A | Parallel-Twin (In-game model) | Cannot be observed |
Variants
- Three Vortexes with unique color schemes can be found during the mission Cut Throat Business. Two of them, which are used by Carl Johnson and Madd Dogg to chase OG Loc, are all-white, while the third Vortex driven by OG Loc is black with a white stripe. The player can only store any Vortex in a garage by failing the mission, as the Vortexes are eventually switched for Karts at a pier, forcing the player to abandon the hovercrafts. In addition, while it is possible for the player to use any of the hovercrafts to chase OG Loc while he is on a Kart, the player will ultimately lose the vehicle upon completion of the mission.
The two special Vortexes from Cut Throat Business; the white Vortex is driven by the player and Madd Dogg, while the black-and-white Vortex is driven by OG Loc. (Rear quarter view of the black and white variant)
(Rear quarter view of the white variant)
Locations
- It is available for importing at the Easter Basin docks after the completion of the third list for $20,800 on Sundays.
- The vehicle can also be spawned using a cheat code.
Like the Kart, the Vortex will only spawn in specific locations after the mission Cut Throat Business, appearing in the following locations:
- One is placed in a shed in the northern part of The Panopticon, north-west Red County.
- One is placed on a pier at the end of a short river in Marina, Los Santos (beside a gang tag).
- One is parked at the Pirates In Men's Pants complex, The Strip, Las Venturas. It is specifically located on a small beach at the foot of the hotel.
- One appears on a beach in Bayside, and it is known as the 'Ghost Vortex', because it seemingly moves by itself off the beach and into the water. In fact, the Vortex spawns on an inclined angle on the beach, so it will slide down due to gravity.
- One is placed on the Valle Ocultado Wharf (near a unique stunt jump).
- One is placed on the lower deck of the aircraft carrier at the Easter Basin Naval Base. It is very difficult to obtain as entering this area will trigger a five-star wanted level.
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay
- The Vortex makes an appearance in the mission Cut Throat Business, where OG Loc attempts to escape from Carl Johnson and Madd Dogg by using one of these. Following this, Carl and Madd Dogg also uses two Vortexes to chase OG Loc.
- The Vortex is also used for two tests at the Boat School, although in the latter, the player cannot exit the vehicle.
Radio Stations
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Vortex plays Radio X.
Specifications
Model
| Model name | Texture name | Handling name | Text label name | In-game name | Swankness | Flags | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA San Andreas | vortex
|
vortex
|
VORTEX
|
VORTEX
|
Vortex | N/A |
|
Traffic Default Colors
| GTA San Andreas | PrimaryPrimaryPrimary color (1) | SecondarySecondarySecondary color (2) | TertiaryTertiaryTertiary color (3) | QuaternaryQuaternaryQuaternary color (4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96 Silver Poly | 67 Med Regatta Blue Poly | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 86 Green | 70 Elec.Currant Red Poly | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 79 Ultra Blue Poly | 74 Med.Cabernet Solid | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 70 Elec.Currant Red Poly | 86 Green | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 61 Race Yellow Solid | 98 Malachite Poly | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 75 Twilight Blue Poly | 75 Twilight Blue Poly | 0 Black | 0 Black | |
| 75 Twilight Blue Poly | 91 Steel Blue Poly | 0 Black | 0 Black |
Trivia
- The Vortex is one of six amphibious ground-based vehicles in the Grand Theft Auto series, the other five being the APC, the Blazer Aqua, the Bovver'64, the Splitz-6 ATV and the Technical Aqua.
- According to the game files, the Vortex is considered an aircraft rather than a boat or a car. Because of this, a moving Vortex will not experience motion blurring and when it is about to explode, it will first become engulfed in black smoke, and the resulting explosion will be significantly stronger and larger, like an aircraft. Furthermore, if the player deliberately destroys a Vortex by damaging it until it explodes, they receive a two-star wanted level, like with aircraft. In addition, enemy Hydras and Predators will attempt to shoot the player down at higher wanted levels and Police Mavericks will not engage the player. Strangely enough, the player will not attract missiles if the Vortex is driven into or around Area 69 or the Easter Basin Naval Station.
- In the PS2 version, exiting a Vortex while going at high speed may freeze the game. This may be explained by either the lack of code for the "exiting animation while running at high speed", or by how the game handles the Vortex (it is considered to be an aircraft). The game may also freeze if a Vortex is exited after getting it repaired. This was fixed in subsequent platform releases.
- If the rear end of a Vortex is rammed hard enough, the fan may begin spewing thick black smoke and will lose performance accordingly to the damage taken. If the damage is bad enough, the fan blades may even begin occasionally flipping into reverse briefly, and only in the most extreme cases, this can prevent the vehicle from even accelerating, as it flips forward and backwards almost randomly. This kind of modular engine damage is seen only on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas aircraft, and no other surface vehicle in the 3D Universe can have its engine malfunction in this way.
- This, along with the mediocre top speed, makes it a poor choice for highway travel, as the highways of San Andreas are notorious for bad drivers who ram stopped or slow vehicles at dangerously high speeds.
- A Vortex left floating on the water may suddenly sink when out of the player's camera view.
- There may be a glitch in which the sound effects of the Vortex will change for a different (and strange) sound effect.
- The Vortex at the Easter Basin Naval Base cannot be driven out of the lower deck of the aircraft carrier as it is too large to be driven through the doors. Additionally, entering the base will give the player an instant five-star wanted level, spawning a high amount of SFPD officers inside the ship, making acquiring it nearly impossible without cheats/mods.
- If an unaware player hovers the Vortex from land to water and attempts to take a corner in the process, the vehicle can be seen flipped and it instantly despawns before it completely flips over, killing the player inside.
- Despite the fact that the Vortex lacks a horn, pedestrians will still react when the player presses the horn button.
- On the PC version, if the "Fly with mouse" feature is enabled, the player will be able to steer the Vortex while it is in the air, due to its aircraft coding.
- Interestingly, despite being coded as an aircraft, a Vortex in mint condition will never immediately explode on high-speed impact with a wall, in the manner that fixed-wing aircraft do.
See Also
- Bovver'64 – Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories equivalent.