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Demo Disc Memories

Nostalgia for PC gaming magazine demo discs, particularly the timed GTA demo with exploits to maximize the ten-minute limit and reach one million dollars

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Nostalgic gamers fondly recall the time-limited Grand Theft Auto demo found on early PC magazine discs, which sparked intense sessions of creative play despite a strict ten-minute countdown. Rather than being deterred by the timer, players developed elaborate exploits to reach a million dollars, such as using car bombs to strategically lure and defeat groups of enemies. The community also shared a unique joy in breaking the game's boundaries, discovering ways to crawl under fences with heavy vehicles, survive electrified train tracks, and explore the city’s hidden underside. These memories highlight how the limitations of early demos fostered a sense of discovery as players mastered every glitch to maximize their brief window of gameplay.

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I remember the DOS (?) GTA demo that came on a PC Gaming magazine demo disk. I think it had a ten minute time limit? Tons of fun on a friends dark green Acer Aspire.
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And you could reach 1 million $ on those 10 mins, just had to put a bomb car south to the start point, get the orange guys to follow you, get inside the car, trigger the bomb and wait for detonation inside the car. Additionally, you could go under the fences if you parked a heavy vehicle next to them and crawled below it. Don't forget walking below the city entering the spot where the water was solid on northwest pier. And finally, if you left the train in the precise spot, you could exit the train on top of the (eletrified) tracks and would not die.