Setup
Install VC:MP and join a server
The client needs to see the original game files. Pointing it at a Definitive Edition folder is the mistake this page is here to prevent.
By GTA Vice City Online Editorial Desk · Method and limits
I did not click through a live server on this pass. I followed the features page and the wiki’s join outline, then marked the wiki as stale because the project itself calls that wiki a 2020 backup. Where the two differ, I stay with vc-mp.org.
Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive. No game files are hosted here.
Steps
- Install the original Vice City PC game and launch it once so the folder exists.
- Download the client from vc-mp.org.
- In the client settings, select that original game directory. Do not select the Definitive Edition trilogy folder.
- Open the server browser, pick a server, and join. Names and populations change, so this page does not rank servers.
- If the client rejects the folder, stop and re-read which PC build you installed.
Check the folder and join the same server
- Find the original PC game's executable, gta-vc.exe, inside the folder you can launch successfully. A remaster or trilogy launcher folder is not evidence of the supported original executable.
- In the VC:MP client's game-directory setting, browse to that original game folder. Labels can differ by client build; this guide has not captured a clean Windows installation.
- Set a player nickname, refresh the server browser, and agree the same server address with your friend. Matching a name in two different lists does not ensure the same host.
- A successful join should load the server's game session rather than the normal single-player story. If the client reports an unsupported game or missing path, recheck retail 1.0 / Steam-original support instead of downloading a random replacement EXE.
- If the list is empty or the server rejects you, check the project's help and that server's rules. Do not disable antivirus or share a Social Club password with a server operator.
These are documented setup checks, not an end-to-end Windows or live-server test. See safety before using a mirror or an unknown launcher.


About version numbers
A Liberty City file page listed client 0.4.7.1, uploaded 16 November 2025, at about 974 KB. That is a mirror note, not a command to download from the mirror. Use the file vc-mp.org offers on the day you install.
Questions
Where do I download the client?
From vc-mp.org. Treat other file hosts as mirrors and check the version number against the official page.
How do I know the folder is the original?
The original is the 2003 PC game, retail 1.0 or the delisted Steam original. The 2021 Definitive Edition installs as part of the trilogy and is not the folder VC:MP documents.
Continue:VC:MP overview · PC builds · Fixes
Sources
Checked 24 October 2026. Page updated 2026-10-24. Prices and store listings can change by region.