You know what I'd love to see out of a GTA game? 1930s Chicago. That would be awesome.
I think it would be cool to see an older era kind of style. Like GTA: London. I've loved all the GTA games, and I'm sure this one will rock too. Can't wait to see the trailer.
Maybe they will do a future GTA. With hover cars, and laser guns. Highly unlikely. But it would be interesting.
I think all the numbered GTA games (i.e. GTA 1, 2, 3) been "modern setting and timeframe" upon their release, pretty much.
I think all the "spin-off" GTA games have been labeled using a "colon" --- i.e. GTA: London, GTA: Vice City (80's), GTA: SA (90's).
I think it would be cool to see an older era kind of style. Like GTA: London. I've loved all the GTA games, and I'm sure this one will rock too. Can't wait to see the trailer.
Maybe they will do a future GTA. With hover cars, and laser guns. Highly unlikely. But it would be interesting.
Futuristic GTA is pretty much gonna be like Crackdown.
What is with you and in game ads all of a sudden D?Sorrie, the GTA: Futuristic idea someone came up w/ made me think of BF 2142; heh.
Has there been talk of them being in the next GTA?No, I'm just being a wise-ass.
I liked Vice City, but I thought the city was too restricted and hampered the car chases. I've never played SA, but GTA3 is still awesome. If it had the upgrades that VC had, it would be better than VC.I totally agree with you. I loved the 80's cheese, but the city was horrible.
I totally agree with you. I loved the 80's cheese, but the city was horrible.
Nick, check out the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City mod. I gave it a spin a few days ago. Its pretty much a port of GTA3 to the Vice City engine. Works quite well, just a few things missing.
I wasn't too bothered about the gangsta theme but I hated how the mission structure would force you into buying that airport then you had to learn to fly - which I found bloody hard to do.
Trailer (http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/trailer_splash.html)
Looks like it's back in modern Liberty City. Well New York. :P
October 16 of this year? You gotta give Rockstar credit for consistantly waiting to show off their products until they're really not too far off. They've always waited to show them so that you can actively wait for the game without burning yourself out.Sooner it gets out for consoles, sooner I can be ready for GTA 4 PC!!!
And dude, do you get to be that Russian guy speaking? I'm down with that. Not all of us are as lucky to have Cool's lineage.I hope we get to play as the Russian guy -- that'd be damn cool, if you ask me.
October 16 of this year? You gotta give Rockstar credit for consistantly waiting to show off their products until they're really not too far off. They've always waited to show them so that you can actively wait for the game without burning yourself out.
And dude, do you get to be that Russian guy speaking? I'm down with that. Not all of us are as lucky to have Cool's lineage.
Did anyone elese notice the building with the logo "Get-a-life" funny.
Grand Theft Auto IV First LookOkay.
We sneak a look at the next much-anticipated entry in Rockstar's GTA series.
By Ricardo Torres, GameSpot
Posted May 24, 2007 10:24 am PT
You'd be hard pressed to find a more anticipated, or scrutinized title than Rockstar's upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV. The release of the game's trailer in March saw the fifty odd seconds of teaser footage scrutinized like evidence in a CSI episode with fans (ourselves included) rabidly dissecting it frame by frame. To further stoke the fires of anticipation, Rockstar Games recently hit town and did the previously unthinkable: they gave us a look at a work in progress version of the Xbox 360 game. Whereas years past have seen us getting access to GTA games when they were much farther along in development, Rockstar, confident in how development is going, actually raised the kilt and let us get a look at GTA IV months before it hits. Our guided demo of the title showed off a tiny bit of the city and gave us a taste of what Rockstar is cooking up for what is arguably the most anticipated game of 2007.
The demo opened up with the game's Russian hero Niko Bellic standing in a building, the offices of the taxi service to be exact. As our demoer guided him around the interior we were given a rundown of his story. The eastern European immigrant will come to Liberty City at the request of his cousin, Roman. The trip seems like a smart move for Niko who's had a rather rough life so far. The picture of life in Liberty City painted by his cousin is that of an opulent life with easy money. Upon arriving Niko gets a reality check. Roman is living around the poverty line and drives a cab. Once that realization hits, Niko realizes he's got to find a way to eke out a living, which is where the story begins. Given what was shown and implied in the trailer we expect Niko's career search to take some interesting, and probably violent turns. Rockstar reps noted that Niko's path through the game isn't going to tell a stereotypical "rags to riches" story but will instead offer a grittier tale that's about survival, "rags to slightly better rags" to be exact.Okay then.
Once we got the rundown of the story our demoer took Niko out for a stroll in the city. As the tour started we got another quick primer on the city. The Liberty City in GTA IV is a modern day metropolis that's a bit different than the one we know. The city is obviously based on New York, though there's no version of Staten Island in the game. For fans at home already working on their maps, the borough of Broker is based on Brooklyn, Dukes is based on Queens, Bohan is based on The Bronx, Algonquin is based on Manhattan, and Alderney is based on New Jersey. Our tour took us on a run through some of the neighborhoods in Broker, underneath the Algonquin bridge overpass and eventually out to the docks to look out on the city proper. The environment had a lived-in look that featured pedestrians, homeless, trash, steaming manholes, traffic, and an impressive array of little touches used to set the scene. But, while we expected all that, the demo showed off a new wrinkle to the densely packed environments: height. Though "verticality" has turned into one of the newest buzz words for new games, it's still an interesting feature to see. From the sound of it, GTA IV is going to let you go up or down buildings in the game as needed. Our demo simply showed Niko climb a power pole and have a look around at the environment- highlighting the impressive draw distance. But we also noticed that the dense city environment, which is roughly the same size as San Andreas, will be a layered locale with things to see and do at different heights. If it works the way we're hoping, it might offer some additional options when avoiding the police."Verticality", eh?
But avoiding police, like much of GTA IV's gameplay is something that Rockstar wasn't going into too much detail on. There was no talk of the upcoming downloadable content or exclusive material for the PlayStation or Xbox 360. What was shared was that the role-playing elements are being dialed back so Niko won't be morphing into a superman by the end of the game.Hmmm....not sure if this is a good idea or not.
Car jacking is being tweaked, so you can now break windows and jack parked cars. You'll be able to call people via cell phone and help move the story along, offering you more control over how the story will progress. Though you won't be able to fly planes, you should be able to fly helicopters. One of our big questions, what kind of online multiplayer the game will offer, was just met with a coy assertion that the team wants the multiplayer to rival the single player experience. Reps did note that it will not be an MMO-style persistent city. Other details, such as the game's HUD, are still being ironed out. We did see a menu system that had all the expected options, we're just curious as to how it will be implemented. The driving force behind the game is its story according to the team. So, to that end, the gameplay experience must be seamless. We're pleased to see the lengths they're going to make this happen already. Moving in and out of buildings is seamless and you'll have ample places to go in and out of though not every building in the game is explorable.Okie dokie.
The visuals in the game come courtesy of Rockstar's proprietary RAGE engine and offer a comfortable compliment to the game's new look. The city area we were shown had all the real world elements that are key to a GTA game's atmosphere: pedestrians, traffic, and a lived-in look. The key difference, as you can see in the trailer, is the level of detail and the art style. The expected bump in graphics seems to be agreeing with the team's ambitious tendencies, resulting in a dense city with rich lighting populated by a diverse group of people. The little touches that were wrung out of the last generation of hardware are now fully realized with proper lighting, particle effects, and shadowing being used to highlight the distressed city streets, old buildings, dusty windows, and vast panoramic views of Liberty City.Sweet.
As for the residents, our tour of the city gave us a look at a sampling of some work-in-progress models that are set to be used for the non-player characters you'll meet. The models sported a higher level of detail, obviously, and looked good, albeit nondescript like any good NPC. Niko is obviously the star of the game, with a character model that reflects his mental baggage. The detailed model has a decidedly gritty look that makes it pretty clear he's been around the block a few times, maybe even hit by some cars. Animation was early but seemed to be coming along fine. His gait when walking was deliberate and was on its way towards adding to his world weary vibe. Our demo also focused on showcasing a number of subtle touches being worked into GTA IV. The standouts were Niko leaning in a direction as he runs and, most awesomely, his breaking windows on parked cars so he could jack them. Though we just saw a small slice of what to expect from the game's visuals we have to say we're impressed by the restraint we're seeing. In a time when so many games on PS3 and Xbox 360 are going all out with the special effects and a generally glossy look, GTA IV seems to be drawing on the effects and tech it needs to establish a convincingly rundown look. While it may not bowl you over with blinding use of light blooming and other stereotypical "next-gen" effects, although we've seen most of them used in subtle ways, the game is focused on its realistic look and we're pleased by what we're seeing.Okay.
Audio was far from finished as Rockstar reps were quick to point out what we heard in the demo was very placeholder, with a fraction of the audio that will be in the final game peppered through it. It seems as though the plan is to expand on the concepts used in the previous games so you'll hear tons of ambient chatter, and city sounds designed to sell you on the game's virtual world. Finer elements such as voice acting and the ever popular radio stations are still being ironed out. The team is still mulling over the direction of where to go with the radio stations, given the tone of the game. There will still be plenty of variety in music, but what it is remains to be seen. The voice acting in the game is in a similar state of reevaluation. The team is thinking on what would best serve the story in terms of the talent used and the direction. As with the previous entries in the series, Rockstar is competing with the standards set by GTA IV's predecessors which all featured great voice acting. As it stood, what we heard of the audio was coming along fine and, finished or not, we liked where it was headed.Cool beans.
Ultimately our demo of the game was a pretty controlled experience and was more about showing off the world and the possibilities of what could be done inside it than showing off specific gameplay features. That said, even this modest look at a fraction of the city shows a whole lot of potential. The nuanced story, greater interactivity with the world, a densely packed, vertical environment, an ambitious scope, and even more freedom seem like the right ingredients to have in play for such an anticipated sequel. Factor in the mysterious online multiplayer and downloadable content and you have about as fully loaded a sequel as you could ask for. Grand Theft Auto IV is currently slated to ship this October for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Look for more on the game in the coming months.I wonder when the PC will gets its port of this thing.
It needs to start feeling like a modern version of Elder Scrolls. Not just clones walking the streets, but actual people with problems that you could help with.
GTA IV Delayed Until 2008
[Ure "Vader" Paul] 02:34 am EDT @ August 03rd, 2007
Take-Two confirmed that Grand Theft Auto IV, the next installment in Rockstar's popular and highly controversial series, has been pushed back from its original October 2007 release date into fiscal 2008.
Apparently, the "delay was essential to ensure the quality of GTA IV."
They also added: "We owe it to our millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience and is an experience that takes maximum advantage of next-generation technology."
Okay, so this game will probably be out by the time you've finished playing BioShock, Crysis, Mass Effect and Halo 3. So, it's okay, don't sweat it.
I didn't realize Bioshock, Crysis, and Mass Effect were that close to release.
GTA is not a series known for its multiplayer, having ditched the premise after GTA II, but it looks like Rockstar is giving it another go. According to GamingExcellence, the company said at a Sony event that they are aiming for 16-person multiplayer that's richer than simple deathmatch gameplay (here's hoping for a hot coffee mode at Starbucks). We assume that this mode will apply to both 360 and PS3 versions of the game.
Another interesting tidbit? The entire world may be unlocked from the start. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Will gamers lose incentive to keep playing? Thoughts?
As an added twist, GTA IV gives you occasional morality choices. There are people that you don't have to kill in a mission and you can decide whether or not to waste a bullet. These events don't change the plot or open new missions later on. Occasionally it affects dialogue, but more often it is simply the game asking what kind of person you are. And there are some gut-wrenching decisions you make at points that create an emotional response I never imagined I would get from a Grand Theft Auto title. There is one significant choice you make towards the end of the game that opens a new path and an alternate ending. There are two worthwhile endings to uncover and are incentive for playing through a second time just to see how much more depressing life in Liberty City can get.
* Utterly stunning in every resepct. [May 2008, p.79]
* I could go on and on about why Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen and why even folks who are easily offended should play it, but that would be pointless. The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period.
* Expectations were so high for Grand Theft Auto IV that one of the biggest surprises is that it's managed to meet them. That it's also gone on to confound these is truly a marvel, and the game's Liberty City is nothing less than one of the greatest videogame worlds yet conceived.
* Rockstar have surpassed themselves, delivering unquestionably the definitive GTA and perhaps the greatest videogame of all time. [June 2008]
The ability to take taxi cabs everywhere might be the most important innovation of all, as it drastically cuts down on the amount of time you'll have to spend driving from one area to another.Oh, there's fast-traveling in GTA4! Nice!
Quite a lot.Well, that's crappy then.
The only reason I can see for this is Microsoft paying for exclusivity.That would not surprise me.
I obviously don't have the first clue if that's the case, but I can't see any other reason barring some technical limitation, almost any of which I will immediately call bullshit without some pretty sincerely convincing evidence to the contrary.The PS3 might be tough to work around b/c of its hardware and its structure, but I very highly doubt it's *that* tough to add new DLC Content for; especially since everybody has a HD on the PS3.
You're wrong. Shivering Isles was released for PS3 as a standalone download on PSN, and it was included as part of the GOTY edition of the game if I'm not mistaken.Thanks for the correction, bro.
Gamespot just gave it a 10. (http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/grandtheftauto4/review.html?tag=topslot;title;1&om_act=convert&om_clk=topslot)
Gamespot just gave it a 10. (http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/grandtheftauto4/review.html?tag=topslot;title;1&om_act=convert&om_clk=topslot)How can it get a 10 if it has some stuff (minor as it is) listed in "The Bad?" It should be like a 9.9 or something.
The scores are ultimately for publicity anyways. They are meaningless without the actual review. They serve for word of mouth or to put on game boxes. That's why those average scores are ridiculous - two different scores can be based upon completely different criteria.
Midnight GTAIV sales see stabbing, mugging
Police say one man apparently waiting in line attacked a passerby, while a teenager elsewhere was beaten up for his copy of the game.
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Apr 29, 2008 11:03 am PT
Midnight launches aren't always the gaming industry's proudest moments. The PlayStation 3 release in particular was riddled with launch-related crimes, including a mugging, a store robbery, a launch line hold-up, and a shooting.
Grand Theft Auto IV went on sale in stores around the world at 12:01 a.m. this morning, and already reports of criminal midnight launch madness are starting to filter in. BBC News is reporting on a pair of incidents, with news of a stabbing outside a Gamestation in Croydon and a mugging by another game store in Lancashire.
According to the news service, a 23-year-old man was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant as he passed a line outside the Gamestation. The victim was treated for several stab wounds and has since been released. The attacker, who police said appeared to be waiting in the line of about 50 to 100 people, was not apprehended.
In the mugging, an 18-year-old was robbed of his copy of the game and beaten as he walked home from the store with a friend. The victim was taken to the hospital with a broken jaw and a broken nose.
Police are asking for witnesses in both cases to step forward.
I don't think they're ridiculous. If there are oblique motives for some of the scores, then the results are all over the map across reviews. But when every review hovers around a certain mark, aside from some possible "me too" cases, they share a common push. Also, everyone now knows that the scores are going to be converted to a percentage scale and averaged. Even before that, the subjective scale has always tended to coincide with the traditional school grading system, where really only the top 40% or so matters. Everything below that is too shitty to dwell on. A 3/5 is bad. A 6/10 is bad. A 60 is bad.
How the scores are arrived at is another question. If the process is bullshit, so is the score. Hopefully, that all comes out in the wash with the metascores. If not, well, why bother with the gaming press at all? Let's just read the glossy ad copy and watch some videos to get a general idea. We'll have to play the games to figure the rest out for ourselves. If we have the money and the time, that's probably the best approach. Else, we have to invest some trust in the press.
Yea I did also noticed the blurriness of the distance, I wasnt going to say anything cause I wanted to know if the big TV just accentuated it more and to see if anyone else would say anything. Probably not as sharp as I thought it would be, but its not that glaring.
What do you guys think of the driving physics? One of the main complaints was how cars realistically give out more easily on higher speed turns, I personally dont mind and actually kind of like it, it requires some extra skill to the car chase parts but makes it feel more alive.
I also found out that instead of having collectible hidden items to find, there is hidden pigeons and rats to shoot, kinda funny but cool.
Oh also, did anybody else get really fucking dizzy when getting Niko wasted? Holy crap the circling camera motion makes me nauseous.
Anyway, my console froze once on the opening cinematic, but a reboot and it played fine.
You know, sometimes, I just turn it on and let it sit there.(Damn freeze-bug must be annoying)
Just cause I can.
You know, sometimes, I just turn it on and let it sit there.
Just cause I can.
Edit 2: Let the fanboy wars begin! (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/ps3-grand-theft-auto-iv-is-640p-nobody-cares/) :D
How dare you.
You know, sometimes, I just turn it on and let it sit there.
Just cause I can.
Someone mentioned also seeing an old woman checking under the hood of her stalled car. He honked the horn at her which made her jump and hit her head on the hood which then fell down on her head. Gold.
Cobra, do *all* calls get turned off when you turn off the cell phone? I've done it a few times and got no calls, but it says something about story calls, so I wasn't sure if it meant all or just some. Worth a shot if you haven't tried it yet, though. Also, do you think you could just turn Roman down and then call him up to do something else instead? Like if he wants to play darts, decline, then call him up and ask him if he wants to get food intead?
Anyway, I'm just loving the hell out of this game. Little John and Badman crack me the hell up. Think I'm going to start doing some of the freelance jobs for LJ and some of the rides for Roman just to make a little extra money. Got to see the strip club tonight, which would be almost startling if it weren't for the still very low poly models. Got to check out the in-game internet too, which has some hilarious stuff on it. This thing is a total time sink. It's after 1 already, damn it.
Fix for GTA IV Soon
[Ure "Vader" Paul]
10:02 am EDT @ May 01st, 2008
Filed under: GTA IV, GRAND THEFT AUTO IV, ROCKSTAR
Seriously, fishing for news not related to GTA IV right now is an exercise in futility.
Anyway, those problems some players had with both PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA IV will, evidently, be resolved by Rockstar soon. In fact, the latest word from Rockstar Support is that the fix could arrive in minutes or days (that's what they said).
Also, here's a few things you should check if you've been experiencing problems during the game:
Did my harddrive have enough space?
Do I have the latest firmware?
Is my screen saver turned off?
Is vibration turned off?
Are my video settings turned to 720?
Is Autosave off?
We didn't have any problems, luckily. Those who are having these issues, should know that Rockstar is "working around the clock" to fix this.
'F*** casual gaming,' says Rockstar boss
News by Ellie Gibson
Today 15:58
Rockstar Games boss Dan Houser has declared he's no fan of casual gaming - in no uncertain terms.
"F*** all this stuff about casual gaming," he told the New York Metro.
"I think people still want games that are groundbreaking. The Wii is doing something totally different, which is fantastic. We're hopefully going to prove that there's also a very big audience for people who want entertainment in another form, who think of games as being a narrative device that can challenge movies."
According to Houser, too many developers make games about the same old themes - "orcs and elves, or monsters, or space". In contrast, Rockstar prefers to make games "about something we could actually relate to. Or aspire to".
As for the issue of whether there's too much violence in GTA IV: "If you don't like any violent content in your entertainment, then I apologise because I do. And I've unfortunately been exposed to it my entire life. If we equally got rid of a lot of books that talk about violence, okay."
Houser went on to question why it seems to be okay for violent content to feature in films and TV programmes, but not games. "What you're saying is you don't like the medium because we don't have a George Clooney type sticking his face in front of the camera. There is nothing in the game you would not see in a TV show, or a movie a hundred times over, so I don't understand what the conversation is about."
For more from Houser, including some stuff about, you know, how they made the game and everything, read the full interview. (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/05/rockstar_games_dan_houser.html)
In contrast, Rockstar prefers to make games "about something we could actually relate to. Or aspire to".
Yeah, that statement seems rather inappropriate. Nobody should aspire to that kind of shit and nobody ever should.What he should've said was, "I'm into stuff that is more reality-based and way less fictitious."
It's actually interesting, I've been writing a little sort of dissertation on my thoughts on GTA and game violence, not to mention other themes and such. I wonder if anyone would be interested in me posting it here? It's about 8 pages now.Can you link it up on these boards?
You know, depending on how you want to define "casual game", GTA is pretty damn casual. EVERYONE plays it, you can go in and just fuck around for entertainment.
As far as calling GTAIV a casual game... I don't think that quite holds up. It's accessible, but it isn't casual. This isn't Peggle. It's just a game that happens to be accessible. I wouldn't call Halo a casual game either, even though I think it's overly simplistic and repetitive... it's just accessible. It isn't hardcore like Ikaruga or something ridiculous like that, but I still think it's a far cry from what we normally think of as casual.
JNR is completely my favorite. I just wish there were more songs on it. When I first played the original GTA on PC, I'd switch out the CD and pop in Dave Brubeck's Time Out album. For some reason jazz just always seemed to fit for me despite the craziness of the game. Jazz is city music, and the GTA games are all about the cities (which is why I love them... I could care less about the crime drama themes).
But yeah, some good music on this one. Fusion is pretty sweet, Journey is a fun experience (best DJ evar). I want to like Tuff Gong, but it just doesn't quite hit the spot. Some of it is cool, but come on... I like Bob Marley as much as the next guy, but there's more music out there in the world.
As far as calling GTAIV a casual game... I don't think that quite holds up. It's accessible, but it isn't casual. This isn't Peggle. It's just a game that happens to be accessible. I wouldn't call Halo a casual game either, even though I think it's overly simplistic and repetitive... it's just accessible. It isn't hardcore like Ikaruga or something ridiculous like that, but I still think it's a far cry from what we normally think of as casual.
And while it's true that the console crowds are growing a bit more adult in their tastes (is it right to use the word "mature" when discussing a game about killing cops and prostitutes?), there's definitely a huge group of players on the PC who are hungry for this kind of grown-up experience.
And if that's not enough stupid GTA-related crap for you, here's a mostly worthless article from IGN about the possibility of GTA4 seeing a PC release, and on the PC sales of the other GTA games.I don't think it's *that* worthless. But, I think what's important to note is the sales of the PC version declining w/ each iteration. I'll get to why later.
Here's some background information. Grand Theft Auto began on the PC, but the series didn't really explode until Grand Theft Auto III, which introduced a new 3D engine that brought you into the game rather than give you a top-down, bird's-eye view like the previous two games. GTA III shipped on PS2 on October 22, 2001.Here's why I think it's important, Que. This is a trend that is growing, Que -- more and more PC game developers that start off supporting the PC, then they eventually decide "We'll do a console version first for our franchise PC brand, make tons of money -- oh, and then we'll port it later to the PC."
The PC version was announced on March 25, 2002, and shipped two months later on May 21 and according to NPD, sold more than 400,000 copies.Which probably has Rockstar and Take-Two (their publisher) thinking, "Do we really need to port the next GTA to the PC? I think many console gamers already have this game."
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City launched on PS2 on October 22, 2002. The PC version was revealed on February 14, 2003, and shipped on May 12, 2003 (The Xbox version shipped November 4, 2003 as part of a Double Pack with GTA III). NPD says Vice City sold more than 300,000 copies on PC, a slight decline.
Finally, there's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which shipped for PS2 shipped on October 26, 2004. The PC game was confirmed on September 9, 2004 (before the PS2 game shipped). It came out on June 7, 2005. This was the most infamous entry in the series, as it introduced the "Hot Coffee" scandal, which forced Rockstar to withdraw all copies on the shelves and publish a new version that had the controversial material removed. San Andreas sold almost 250,000 copies on PC. These are NPD numbers for North America.Which probably also has Rockstar thinking again, "Do we really need to port the next GTA to the PC? I think many console gamers already have this one."
I'm with you on the PC not getting enough support.Agreed.
But here the argument is more or less irrelevant. Rockstar *is* a console developer and has been. Yes, the first two games were for PC, but that was 10 years ago. Every GTA from 3 and beyond was either completely console focused or never even got a PC port (see: the PSP/PS2 games). We already know developers are switching, but Rockstar hardly qualifies as a big deal as they never gave the PC much attention beyond their very earliest years in the first place.Bully and The Warriors were never brought to the PC, either.
And I can see why their PC sales would decline: the PC ports of the GTA games all completely fucking suck, at least in my experience. Fine for some, perhaps, but I've had huge problems with 3, VC, and SA on PC, and on multiple rigs at that. Maybe IV will be better, but I'm not holding my breath.Yes, numerous people have had issues w/ their games on the PC. GTA3 was a disaster for many on the PC. I never had many issues w/ it (luckily), though Patch 1.01 did fix a good deal of issues.
Entirely a question of whether or not the money is worth it them. But I'm quite sure GTA4 will see a PC port. There's zero reason not to do one.I also do think so, as well.
The game has scored all but perfectly everywhere, and is sure to sell a lot of copies even if VC or SA didn't sell as much.I sure hope so. I like seeing GTA's ported to the PC.
D... why the fuck wont you just buy a console, jesus christ.Many of the games I'm interested in are PC exclusives.
I want to type a response, but I'm afraid it'll just get another response in kind. D, dude, it's a lot easier to port a game to another system than develop a whole new game, and it costs probably a jillionth as much.Point taken.
I'm sure there will be a PC port. Every GTA game barring the handheld ones has gotten one, I see no reason to believe this will be any different, especially with the much increased expectation of money (and the addition of multiplayer, which is always big on the PC front).Interesting you mention handheld-to-PC ports; dunno' if I seen any, in recent years.
Now stop responding. Now. Stop. We've beaten this topic to death.
The 360 version’s loading and streaming is entirely dependent on the quality of your hardware’s DVD drive. On one system, I had no problems, the loading seemed perfectly snappy, and it generally wasn’t a thing. On the Xbox 360 Elite I have at home, though, I could hear the disc thrashing about as it tried to load, and occasionally objects and roads would appear a second or two too late, causing me to ram my car into invisible objects, in one case. Thankfully, I had another 360 at my disposal, but if your drive is already a little iffy, just know that you might run into some occasional streaming issues.[End edit]
Who relates / aspires to stealing cars and killing people? Is this guy nuts?
My favorite part was when the game locked up and then when I restarted the 360 I got the RROD.
My favorite part was when the game locked up and then when I restarted the 360 I got the RROD.Hell, Mass Effect PC will have something (somewhat) similar to let the game lock up...it's called SecuROM. :PThat was my favorite part of Mass Effect. :P
...Idol, you just beat me to it. I think it may be just what Que needs. His lockup is supposed to be internet-related
EDIT - So I think I'm starting to get a little sick of this game. It isn't really because I'm tired of it, it's more that... I guess that I don't feel like this is a pick up and play game for me at all. I find when I only have a couple of hours, I just don't want to even get invested. It's only when I've got like 4 hours of solid time at least that I actually want to boot it up. I'm not entirely sure why that is. I mean, games in general tend to be that way for me, but usually I don't need quite such a big block of time in order to want to make the effort.I think that's b/c of the way GTA Series is designed.
I think this is partially a problem with how many really good portable games I've been playing. I don't really *ever* have to leave off with those. I just pick them up, play a little while, and even if I have to go to bed in an hour, I can play the thing on my way to work in the morning, on my breaks, whatever. But for something like this, I have to abandon it entirely for a fairly substantial period, and for some reason that throws me when I'm playing a game in which my primary consideration is to be immersed. A couple hours just doesn't cut it.No, I don't think it's neurotic. I just think that GTA is a game series w/ the way it's designed; this is really not something designed for you play for say 20 mins. It's an addictive time sink that goes on for hours before you decide to shut it down, most of the time.
So yeah, I guess I'm just entirely neurotic. Oh well.
*sigh* More GTA frustration.
Well I finished the game... after the final mission I get a call from Roman... oh wait... I was getting in my car while he was calling! Oops... guess ill never get to find out what a crucial character is going to tell me about the final events in the game...
The game, at least, has one nice feature that some may not notice up front: when you fail a mission and retry it (retry, not load a save), if you're driving from the start point with a character to another place, any conversation they have will vary. In other words, if you start a mission, hop in a car, and drive with some dude to another location while having a conversation, then get to the location and die, if you retry the mission you'll find that the conversation in the car will be different from what it was the first time. I'm pretty sure I heard up to three different conversations when repeating one mission, and after that nobody talked anymore... they just shut up and we listened to the radio instead. It's a pretty nice touch, and it just goes to show the sheer ridiculous volume of recorded dialogue that's in this game. It's pretty amazing.
Edit: ZP GTA IV review. Not too funny this time, because he actually likes it. His negatives I generally agree with. In particular, the social outing crap gets very tedious if you're in this for the long haul.LOL @ the remark of Niko looking like he was one of the characters in Half-Life 2.
Well done with exception of the PS3 control bashing. I still like the PS3 controls better (and all the sixaxis stuff is completely optional... it's even turned off by default), plus the streaming is supposed to be superior thanks to the install to the hard drive. And the multiplayer is free, though he didn't even mention the multiplayer, which seems like an odd oversight. I can think of any number of things he could have bitched about there (though I do enjoy it immensely, there are some areas it could use some work).I watched a bunch of Yahtzee reviews I never bothered watching before and in the Medal of Honor: Airborne one he says that he doesn't play multiplayer.
GTAIV album announced
DJ Green Lantern to release 16-track compilation of tunes from and inspired by the game, coming May 20.
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
Posted May 16, 2008 4:18 am PT
Of the many neat little touches to Rockstar's action adventure Grand Theft Auto IV, the mind-boggling array of different radio stations to choose from while driving around Liberty City proved to be a big favourite with fans.
The stations have some 200 songs on rotation, spanning a wide range of genres, and include The Beat 102.7 (hip hop), Electrochoc (dance/electronica), Jazz Nation Radio 108.5 (jazz), and Vladivostok FM (Eastern European).
DJ Green Lantern, also known as The Evil Genius, who presents The Beat radio station, has announced a soundtrack album that includes eight tracks pulled from his in-game setlist, and eight more exclusive songs inspired by GTAIV. It will be different from The Music Of Grand Theft Auto IV which was included with the Special Edition.
The album--Liberty City Invasion: Music From and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV--will span hip-hop, reggae, and R&B, with featured performers including Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, and Fabolous. It will be available to download from "all major digital retailers" on May 20, with a retail release is planned soon after.
The full tracklisting is as follows:
Styles P--"What's the Problem"
Busta Rhymes--"Where's My Money"
Wyclef, Uncle Murda & Mavado--"Informer"
Joell Ortiz & Dante Hawkins--"Alone"
Jim Jones & Juelz Santana--"Bustin' Shots"
Maino--"Get Away Driver"
Uncle Murda--"Anybody Can Get It"
Fabolous & Fat Joe--"I'm So Fly"
Qadir--"Nickname"
38 Special, Fever & Dwayne--"Streets Raised Me"
Clipse feat. Re-Up Gang--"9mm"
Heltah Skeltah feat. Buckshot--"Can't Trust Em"
Red Cafe--"Stick'm"
Immortal Technique--"Parole"
Tru Life--"Wet Em Up"
Johnny Polygon--"Price On Your Head"
GTA4 Voice Actors Complain of Union Follies
Niko, Roman wish they were seeing some extra scratch.
By Steve Watts, 05/21/2008
Grand Theft Auto IV is making obscene gobs of cash for Rockstar Games and Take-Two, but some of the people invested in bringing the project to life feel a little left out of the cash flow. The New York Times reports that Michael Hollick, who voiced Niko Bellic, isn't quite rolling in the dough like his videogame counterpart.
And while Niko would just take the money through a series of murders and thefts, Hollick is a bit more polite, casually commenting on the sometimes-unfortunate circumstances of showbiz. Rockstar paid him a total of about $100,000 for 15 months of voice and motion-capture work, with no royalties or residuals based on the success of the game. As it turns out, the Screen Actors Guild contract doesn't make provisions for electronic media, including videogames. Negotiations are coming this summer to determine how the guild will deal with electronic media in the future, but of course any contract revisions won't be applied retroactively, so Hollick's GTA4 pay won't be increased.
"Obviously, I'm incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity," said Hollick. "But it's tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they're making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don't see any of it." But he goes on: "I don't blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies."
Even in promotion for the title, Hollick sees chinks in the union agreements. "The first GTA4 trailer generated something like 40 million hits online, and that's my voice all over it, and I get nothing. If that were a radio spot, I would have," he said. "Same thing for the TV ads. I recorded those lines for the game, but now they're all over television. It's another gray area."
But Hollick isn't the only one who feels the system is out of whack. Last week, Jason Zumwalt, voice of Niko's cousin Roman, came out with a more humorous take on the subject, claiming his lack of residuals is forcing him to rent himself out.
Though it's probably too late for the actors of Grand Theft Auto IV to receive extra compensation, these efforts may raise public awareness before the upcoming union negotiations. The recent Hollywood writer negotiations that resulted in a massive strike had electronic media at the root as well, so we're seeing unions slowly adapt to the changing face of the media. We'll see what happens in the SAG negotiations later this year.
Except no one buys a videogame because of the voice actor. They buy it for whatever the programmer is making the game do.But, if it's an excellent well-known voice-actor, it can help seal the deal even more so.
It'll be kind of funny if this stuff all changes. Lots of game still have no voice acting, with everything in text. VA fees too high? Screw it.I think you can get away w/ no voice-acting OVER using a poor voice-actor, in some instances -- especially in a HUGE-sized game. In a huge-sized game like a RPG like say the NWN series proved. NWN proved you can have all of the main quests very well voice-acted using unique actors for main-quest NPC's, but have no voice-acting for the side quests -- then, nobody will really complain. I think it would've helped Gothic 2, to have followed *that* philosophy as too many of the main characters have the same voice-actors as other main characters and side characters in the game.
Though it won't ever get that far. As a young VA that wants to get their name out there, what better place than something like GTA? Big name stars wont take $100,000 with no royalties for what is sure to be a huge blockbuster, but some no-name will jump at that gig.I think w/ so much emphasis on Roman and Nico in the game; from their voice-acting and motion-capture -- which you will notice from the commercials, trailers, and any other ads for the game -- yeah, their likeness will probably grow on you. So, in a sense, even if they ain't well known now, everybody's now gonna know who these two voice-actors are; these are basically the two faces (and voices) of the game, anyways.
Got my 360 back yesterday and played another hour or so. Many the early missions are mind-numbingly boring, aren't they?
I did find a Coquette and had some fun with that though.
Except no one buys a videogame because of the voice actor. They buy it for whatever the programmer is making the game do.
It'll be kind of funny if this stuff all changes. Lots of game still have no voice acting, with everything in text. VA fees too high? Screw it.
Though it won't ever get that far. As a young VA that wants to get their name out there, what better place than something like GTA? Big name stars wont take $100,000 with no royalties for what is sure to be a huge blockbuster, but some no-name will jump at that gig.
Not sure how it works on PS3, but on the 360 if you only hold the lock-on trigger halfway, it gives you the crosshair but doesn't lock on to anyone. The manual also says the same thing about the right trigger, but I'm used to the left so I haven't tried that.
That said, I know there's an option to make the text bigger on the cell phone. The phone isn't any bigger and there's only like three words on the screen per time when you turn the option on, but it's there. Go through the options on the actual cell phone and you'll find it.Can you describe the location for this option? I looked last night and could not find it. I just found options to change the ring type, the ring tone, keypad tone, and turn on sleep mode.
Well I have a 56" HDTV and I dont know how many of you have played this mission so I'll spoiler tag it, but its one I found really fucking annoying.(click to show/hide)
But yea, I agree some of those HUD details can be hard to see as well.
(http://shackpics.com/files/phone_hzxhbdm7zlrzeiklloq7.jpg)I'm wondering if it's an HD only setting. I definitely do not have the option as I just checked again. Plus, I only have two settings per screen, not three like yours shows. Maybe it is already large text by default on SD.
Crappy picture but you get the idea. Just go to phone options and scroll down a little.
PC version to release Nov 21 (http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=54059)I knew that was coming eventually!
Sweet! Now I'm glad I didn't pick it up for my PS3 :) (it was a toss up between GTA4 and MGS4).
I hope the new multiplayer features will stand out.
It's my general feeling on how the GTAs (and most games recently) have been ported to PC. Things just usually seem pretty lazy in general.
Not necessarily. Maybe we'll have less AAA-exclusives, but so what? Frankly, most of the AAA games are starting to piss me off because a lot of them end up being derivative graphics-fests, and I can do without that.I have no problem w/ companies -- like Rockstar making GTA series; UbiSoft w/ AC; Lionhead with Fable; Bioware with KOTOR, Jade Empire and Mass Effect; etc etc -- making their games for consoles to make tons of the money so that they decide to then port it over the PC, as long as we keep getting our PC ports. Usually, when this occurs, things can be added and fixed for the PC version -- like extra content, new game features, better graphical enhancements, some gameplay issues fixed, etc etc.
I'll take an Aquaria over a Crysis any day (and don't take that as an in-depth review of Crysis, because I haven't even played it, and I'm sure it's not a bad game... but you see what I'm saying).As good as Far Cry was, it was NOT Crysis. Crysis is just superior to FC in so many ways -- zero gravity levels in Crysis are awesome, the frozen levels rocked, much better voice-acting, and better presentation. I think Crysis was more "artsy" than FC, myself -- see the alien levels in zero gravity and the frozen levels. FC wasn't too artsy in regards to the way the enemies looked; it just looked great, technically. Crysis just needs some performance improvements, whereas FC (still) needs a freakin' better save-system.
Even though I hold a certain affinity for PC gaming, you can't really blame them. All the money is in the console games. Many of the games are clearly made with a console-oriented affiliation in mind, GTA4 included.WoW would prove otherwise that NOT ALL the money is in console games.
Speaking of which, you can't really expect great things out of driving with a kb/mouse. I played GTA:SA on PC and it was glaring how bad the driving controls were with the combo. But then again, all shooting aspects were really easy. There's a pretty big differential between the two.GTA: SA's driving with KB/mouse is fine, if you ask me; it was designed fine, since the camera's are less wonkier than they are in the past when using the KB/mouse. Really, though -- gamers respond quicker w/ the control pad for driving elements, in general, anyways.
No, clearly the money is not all in consoles because then we wouldn't see any PC games.I don't think that's a great PC vs. console argument anymore. Excluding Nintendo games, how many single-console-exclusive AAA games are there? There is certainly a decline in that number in comparison to five years ago as well.
But just look at the decline in the number of AAA PC-exclusive titles.
Something's gonna give. It has to.
I don't think that's a great PC vs. console argument anymore. Excluding Nintendo games, how many single-console-exclusive AAA games are there? There is certainly a decline in that number in comparison to five years ago as well.
Well, I'm a bit confused then, because I thought the gist of his comment was that, yes, there are still PC games, but look at the decline of big money focused on them. If you consider the Xbox 360 and the PS3 as a single platform ("the console market") then it is getting the up-front exclusivity, with PC ports following months later, if ever.
RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP SP2
Processor: Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
RAM: 2GB
Hard Drive: 18GB free hard disk space
Video Card: 512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader
Drive: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
I think that I played too much San Andreas before picking this up, because I haven't played it much at all. Maybe 10-15 hours or so. I dunno why, but I haven't felt compelled to play it much. It's just one of those games where, once I start playing it, I'll be really into it for a week or so and beat it. But I haven't gotten there yet. Part of the problem is that I haven't really gotten into the story.
Out of curiosity, who finished the game and who didn't?
I have about 30 to 35 hours and 70ish missions completed but I haven't touched the game in a month and don't plan on going back for the forseeable future.
Too much too the same.
Got hooked on just being there.
Yeah, that'll never happen. But I can dream...
GTA 4 PC Named Games for Windows Live Exclusive
by Nick Breckon Sep 22, 2008 10:55pm CST tags: Grand Theft Auto 4
Microsoft today announced that the PC port of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV will exclusively use Games for Windows Live for its multiplayer component when it is released on November 18.
"As we work toward the release of the PC version, Games for Windows Live affords us the opportunity to seamlessly translate the multiplayer console experience for PC gamers," said Rockstar founder Sam Houser. "The service is a natural fit for the platform and we strongly believe it will help in building a strong online community around GTA IV PC."
At least it is free now.
GFWL doesn't support LAN?????????
GTA IV PC Delayed to December
Rockstar releases official PC system requirements.
by Jimmy Thang
US, October 30, 2008 - Rockstar has delayed the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV to December 2. Even though the console versions of the critically-acclaimed shooter were released back in April, the PC version was originally set for a November launch.
While Rockstar did not give any reasons for the delay, GTA IV for the PC will feature new enhancements and additions over its console counterparts. Not only has the game been configured for the mouse and keyboard controls, but the PC version will allow players to turn the city's traffic density up, and will feature graphical updates like better draw distances.
To take advantage of these new visual upgrades, Rockstar has released the official system requirements for the game. The Games for Windows web site previously posted technical specifications for the game back in September, but they were later removed. The previously posted requirements share a lot in common with the recommended system requirements. Specifications are posted below:
Minimum System Requirements
* OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / Windows XP - Service Pack 3
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4Ghz
* Memory: 1.5GB, 16GB Free Hard Drive Space
* Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900
Recommended System Requirements
* OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / Windows XP - Service Pack 3
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1Ghz
* Memory: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista)
* 18 GB Free Hard Drive Space
* Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870
IGN did a recent preview of the game; to see how the PC version of GTA IV is shaping up, click here.
Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870
I don't understand why they are making us jump through three hoops here.
They can't be serious... they want me to sign up with that club???? I don't understand why they are making us jump through three hoops here.
Or just get the console version and be done with it.
Developers and distributors bitch about the PC market woes, and then they drive people away with shit like this. Too funny.
Let's analyze this all.
Double-core processor required -- not everybody has this kind of processor.
Now why didn't I think of every single thought in your post before I made mine?
Well, you can't really blame this on the developers entirely. But yeah, I agree 100% with everything else you've said. I'm kind of in a weird place in that I'm actually considering getting it off of STEAM just because it'd be less of a bitch to deal with, and I don't really want to. How many people here are actually planning on getting this for PC by the way?
Now why didn't I think of every single thought in your post before I made mine?
Well, you can't really blame this on the developers entirely. But yeah, I agree 100% with everything else you've said. I'm kind of in a weird place in that I'm actually considering getting it off of STEAM just because it'd be less of a bitch to deal with, and I don't really want to. How many people here are actually planning on getting this for PC by the way?Only annoyance with buying it from STEAM is if you get the STEAM Edition, you'd have one more processes running in the background than the retail -- so, you'd then have Steam, G4WL, Rockstar Social Club, and those Securom drivers running all at once.
But on other levels, it hasn't a clue. Like the vast majority of PC games, it auto-calculates its graphic settings. Unlike the vast majority of PC games, its auto-calculation is more than a little optimistic, generally underestimating what your PC can manage for the logical reason that a less-attractive game is less annoying than a less-playable one. I had to knock down the default graphic options quite a bit on my PC (dual-core 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 640MB GeForce 8800) until I got an acceptable rate, and even then there was the occasional really nasty drop. While my experience was more pronounced than most, speaking to other reviewers via the secret review-grapevine lead to confirmation that fiddling to get it playable was universal.
...
Any untotalling of the win happens outside the system. There's quite a lot of hoops you need to jump through outside the game. To play multiplayer, you have to have a (free, I stress) Games for Windows account plus another one for the Rockstar Social Club. You can skip the login of the latter (if you don't want multiplayer or uploading videos), but it does have to be running in the background. For Steam users, it's three processes in the background. It's not a lot of hassle, certainly, but it is a bit of hassle, and worth knowing if you're the sort who get angry when talking about DRM. While we're talking about that, there's online activation too.
You know, I am so sick of PC games getting extra non-necessary bullshit attached with them -- G4WL required on some games; Valve games require Steam; some games got nasty DRM; some games got install limits; some digitally distributed games extra-DRM on top of their digital distribution protection (Sacred 2 on Impulse has its Securom install limits with revokes allowed imposed on it (http://www.impulsedriven.com/sacred2), Crysis Warhead has install limits over Steam); etc etc.Install limits for a Steam game? Why? I thought Steam was supposed to be sort of the end all, be all online store where you had the one account that everything was tied to (for better or for worse) so you make one purchase and it follows you forever? Why put install limits on a Steam game? Clearly it is legitimately purchased! I know Steam games can and have been hacked, but if it's a hacked game then there are no install limits so what is the point?! This has got to end.
Holy shit, that is a huge resource hog.Like most Rockstar PC versions.
It's like ever article I come across makes me not want to pay for this more.I will either wait until it gets cheaper ($10) and/or when I buy a new PC first.
This is getting out of hand. Next we'll need an internet connection to play singleplayer games--No wait that's already happened. We're beyond fucked at this point.HL2 made that popular -- thanks, Valve! :(
There are still a few beacons of hope scattered throughout the dark mist of DRM. I don't want to jinx them just yet.I thought (Stardock's) Impulse would be one of them, until I saw Sacred 2's install limits (Securom Internet Version WITH Revokes) are imposed over the Impulse edition of that game -- which is basically what Steam does with many 3rd party games.
OK, reality check. Who here doesn't own either a 360 or a PS3?Me.
Because this game was made for these suckers, then ported to the PC. The control devices of choice are dual analog sticks, 2 analog triggers and a slew of buttons, not KB + mouse.I have the X360 Control Pad -- which plugs right into my PC USB port.
I'm all for PC gaming's advantages where they count.I bet the Video Suite for the GTA4 PC will be cool.
They don't here. Add to that the obstacle course being laid out in front of prospective PC players, and I can only come to one conclusion.I think there's a lot of hurdles and annoyances here for the PC version -- which is why I posted what y'all gamers who are thinking of getting GTA4 PC might want to weigh the options on if you want to deal w/ all of these hurdles. I can't run this game anyways, so I'll sit and wait on it for it to get cheaper.
I was thinking about getting it for PC in the hope that the controls will be more to my liking, but it sounds like way too much of a hassle. I'll just suck it up and give it another go on the PS3.I run a lot of games w/ XFire running in the background, these days -- so I can do screenies and add them directly to my profile without much hassle at all.
OK, reality check. Who here doesn't own either a 360 or a PS3? Because this game was made for these suckers, then ported to the PC. The control devices of choice are dual analog sticks, 2 analog triggers and a slew of buttons, not KB + mouse. I'm all for PC gaming's advantages where they count. They don't here. Add to that the obstacle course being laid out in front of prospective PC players, and I can only come to one conclusion.
Grand Theft Auto IV PC Installation Notes & Tray App Memory UsageFirst off -- why would you buy it off D2D, anyways?
Dec 02, 2008 at 3:30 AM - Andrew Burnes - 38 Comments
Just got done installing Grand Theft Auto IV PC following a 13.8GB .zip download, a twelve-minute extraction process and a twenty-minute 14.9GB installation. Installation would have been far speedier were it not for the file corruption caused by WinRAR. Turns out, you see, that Direct2Drive hold onto this ridiculous notion of using WinZip. Failing to follow their demands (hidden in support pages), causes one or more files to be corrupted, at which time I was required to download WinZip, re-extract the necessary file, and continue installation. Once the main files are installed you're unable to opt out of Virtual Studio installs and all kinds of other crap (I'm a good boy, I keep my software up-to-date at all times).
With the installation complete, I was directed to Rockstar's Social Club to tie my account to my Games For Windows info. With that done, I was allowed to boot up the actual tray app. This uses around 60MB of RAM at load, and 1-3% CPU on a Quad Core Q6600 clocked to 3GHz. Sending the app to the tray pushes RAM to 8-12MB (it bounces around randomly) and stops the CPU usage, though it does occasionally use a burst of processing power. It also adds an entry to your Windows Startup file, silently.
Inside the app, required to play GTA4 MP, there are basic pictures linked to Rockstar's Social Club, Social TV site, and the game itself. A news page notes that a Games For Windows update (22MB) is required and that it should be installed outside of the game. Turns out this is the update installed several weeks ago by Fallout 3.
With all hoops jumped, I was finally ready to play! Oh, perhaps not. Activation is required, though this is a painless key entry, done entirely over the net. Yes, now, finally, I can play!
Right, it loads fine, but I can't set texture quality to maximum because the game is mis-reporting the amount of memory on my GeForce 9800 GTX+. Render Quality is on Highest, but no combination of slider tweaking or option gimping enables High Resolution Textures. Running a benchmark, built in to the Graphics menu, returns the following results:
CPU Usage: 32%
System memory usage: 56%
Video memory usage: 59%
What gives? Do I have to suffer with the Xbox 360 textures until a patch? Shame on you, Rockstar. Ah, a Command Line to set textures to maximum! Hmm, that resets all my options to minimum - I do love PC gaming so very much. What's this, another problem? Yes! I can't use Rockstar Social Club TV (the snazzy video editor) because I have Flash 10 and not Flash 9, even though a competently developed application should support Flash 10 automatically, as it's the latest, released, stable Flash client, and is also required for professional Flash tools I use daily.
What's that Lassie? You're getting a whiff of Mad Doc Software (Rockstar New England) portolitis?!
Fuck this shit. Not buying the PC version, and no 360 or PS3 so....too bad for Rockstar.
Arrrr, matey!
Fuck this shit. Not buying the PC version, and no 360 or PS3 so....too bad for Rockstar.
Most users using current PC hardware as of December 2008 are advised to use medium graphics settings. Higher settings are provided for future generations of PCs with higher specifications than are currently widely available.From what I've read, dual core systems are struggling, and quad core doesn't even run it all that hot. Do they really expect people to be playing this game when they can eventually max it out? Won't they have GTA5 by then and games that look/perform even better? It just seems silly to pull the "this game is made to look better in the future"....fuck that. Make it look good and run well NOW, when its still relevant. If its good, I'll be playing it still in a few years. And if its good enough for that, then I won't give a shit that the visuals have aged slightly.
Does anyone even know if these games will work in a couple years with all this DRM crap on there? I mean we already saw what happened with Starforce-protected games when Vista came out.
Dunno. Will I even care then?If it's a great game and I saw it cheap, for $5 -- I'd say, "Why not?"
Will the stupid shit be patched out by then?Who knows. That would be nice, though.
Maybe I'll have a PS3 and just play it on there.That's one solution, sure. :)
From some readme file on Rockstars site: From what I've read, dual core systems are struggling, and quad core doesn't even run it all that hot. Do they really expect people to be playing this game when they can eventually max it out?Numerous years down the line, if you see GTA4 PC for $5 and have a bad-ass that can run it, you're good to go to run it on its maxed-out settings. :)
Won't they have GTA5 by then and games that look/perform even better?Probably -- that or one of those non-numered GTA games; those side GTA games that don't take place in Liberty City.
It just seems silly to pull the "this game is made to look better in the future"....fuck that. Make it look good and run well NOW, when its still relevant.I have no problem w/ them keeping those settings intact -- it just shouldn't be named as such. It should be like Doom 3 -- those setting we can't currently run should be titled like "Ultra." I mean, who in there right mind ran "Ultra" when Doom 3 came out?
If its good, I'll be playing it still in a few years. And if its good enough for that, then I won't give a shit that the visuals have aged slightly.Good point.
Does anyone even know if these games will work in a couple years with all this DRM crap on there? I mean we already saw what happened with Starforce-protected games when Vista came out.
Nope, everyone just assumes they will. Or that they will all get patched to remove the stuff. We have yet to see any of that happen.People are also still waiting on Spore to get that revoke feature it was planned to get.
And if anyone points at Bioshock as having the DRM removed, you can punch them in the balls for being easily mislead. The online check is still there, the DRM is still there, the only change is they stopped caring how many machines you install it on. Which doesn't solve jack shit.Bioshock PC was unofficially cracked, a long time ago.
And D, the DRM was already cracked out of the games...which is the other problem. Why even bother when it doesn't even do what its supposed to?About dev's including DRM -- yeah, no real need for it, since they always get cracked. I don't know how much these companies spend on DRM for one game, but I think it's a waste of money.
GTA4 is on torrent sites already, and the cracks are already coming out.No surprise.
I'm just wondering about something... I just saw in the FC2 thread where Ubisoft said they intend to support the game forever to make sure it will always work. Companies are going to have to spend resources on making sure this DRM bullshit works on future operating systems and with future patches and service packs to existing operating systems.They'll do two things -- remove the DRM or not remove it.
Is it going to end up costing them more in terms of lost consumers and support than if they had never done it at all, saving money on the support end and in licensing costs for the DRM schemes, and letting the pirates have their way? It would be interesting if there could be a real answer to that question and I would not be surprised if the bottom line looks similar either way.You know what they'll do?
Roman's car sucks. Wait till you find the good sports cars if you want decent handling. The Ferrari clone is easy to find too.Yeah, I've tried out a bunch but for the sake of comparison between the controls I was amazed at how well I was doing with Roman's car on the PC.
I just tried out GTAIV on PC! It seemed to be running fine until I realized how limited the settings are. Basically it gauges how much video memory you've got and it restricts all of your options to it. I mean you can't even put the resolution you want. It just sort of automatically does what it wants and gives you minor control over some of the options. The system I tried it on had a 22" widescreen (native res 1680x1050) and a GeForce 8800 GTS 320mb (just like mine), it wouldn't even let me choose 1280x800! It autimatically chose 800x600 with texture settings on Medium and Render on Medium. It would not allow me to raise anything at all. So I lowered texture to Low and that allowed me to raise the res to 1024x768. The framerate was not bad but it looked pretty crap; I know the system could handle a lot more.
Beside all that you have Rockstar Games Social Club (RGSC) running, which you have to sign into, GFWL running in-game, and if you have the Steam version you've got that going too. It's overkill for any game. Personally I think they should have gone with either RGSC or GFWL, not both.
Comparing the PC to the PS3 version, for some reason I'm a better driver. I tried an X360 pad and a the keyboard and I did a lot better with both on PC than the PS3 version. Not sure what it is exactly but I know I can't steer for shit when it comes to turning in the PS3 version, it's like the car refuses to make hard turns. I was comparing all the driving with Roman's car.
Anyway, I think a patch will hopefully resolve most of the issues.
Is it accurately reporting your video memory? People on SA.com were complaining that it wasn't for them and limiting their option to that far below what they could actually use.Yep, it's reporting it inaccurately. The number changes each time but the last time I checked it said it only has about 243mb (the card actually has 320mb). If it said 315 or 300 I'd understand but over 50mb is a significant chunk knocked down.
Grand Theft Auto 4 PC Patch Incoming
List of bug-fixes doesn't include missing textures, framerate hiccups.
By Steve Watts, 12/08/2008
The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV is getting a much-needed patch, according to Voodoo Extreme. Rockstar says that the patch is in the process of Microsoft certification and should be coming out soon. The press release outlines the fixes:
* A fix to the crash after legal screen that some German customers were reporting.
* Numerous improvements to the video editor: Smarter naming of videos, improved rendering quality, better FX during replays
* Fix to bowling while using certain sensitive mice
* Fix for ATI 1900 shadows
* Overall savings to memory
* Graphic improvements to particle systems and mirrors
* Multiplayer character settings are preserved
* Support for DirectInput controllers. Note: The current hack way of supporting these controllers may not work with the improved functionality. So we recommend you remove the hack before upgrading to the patch.
The report also states that issues with power management software and the Rockstar Social Club have been fixed.
Nvidia has released a new driver to improve performance, and ATI will be releasing Catalyst 8.12 on Wednesday as well.
Though any fix is welcome, the list doesn't seem to address a few of the larger complaints from the community, like framerate and texture problems. We've contacted Rockstar to see if fixes are on the way for those issues as well, so we'll keep you posted as we hear more.
Version 1.0.2.0
GRAPHICS FIXES / ADDITIONS:
* Graphics Menu:
o Added "Water Quality", "Shadow Quality" and "Reflection Resolution" sliders in graphics menu.
o Added "Definition" and "VSync" toggles in graphics menu.
* Rendering optimizations.
* VSync optimizations.
* Nvidia 7000 series
o Mirrors fixed
PATCH 1 FIXES:
* Direct input device support is now disabled by default and can only be enabled with the commandline: "-usedirectinput"
* Supported Controllers:
o Logitech Dual Action
o Logitech RumblePad 2
o Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2
o Saitek P2500
* Supported Wheels:
* Note: Controls are unmapped, user must map controls using Manufacturer's mapping software.
o Logitech G25 Racing Wheel
o Logitech Wingman Formula GP Wheel
o Logitech MOMO Racing
o MOMO Force
o Driving Force Pro
o Driving Force
o Formula Force
* Added Commandline "-notimefix" which will help some users who are experiencing the fast/slow gameplay issue after patch 1 was applied.
* Fixed a bug that caused some users to experience endless looping audio effects after Patch 1 was applied.
* Benchmark was disabling sounds after Patch 1 was applied, this is now fixed.
CRASH FIXES:
* Unable to load game fixed - For some users, a DOS window would open and close immediately upon Game Launch, GTA IV would never launch.
* Hang on Initial Game Loading Screen fixed - Some users experienced Character Art Loading screens in an endless loop.
* Certain causes of the RESC10 error have been fixed (Alt-Tab, change resolution). If you experience an RESC10 error, you must restart.
* Certain Instances of the "GRAND THEFT AUTO IV has encountered a problem and needs to close" error have been fixed.
VIDEO EDITOR:
* Naming clips is now mandatory on Export
MULTIPLAYER:
* Legitimate players being kicked from Multiplayer matches has been fixed.
GENERAL ADDITIONS / FIXES:
* Wireless 360 controllers not functioning - Triggers were full on/off, fixed.
* In the Options menu accessed from the Title Screen a “Game” section has been added with the ability to turn Clip capture on/off.
Yeah. With all the work they seem to be putting into it you'd think they'd skip the whole exclusive thing. Hopefully that'll happen later.
With a fulsome single-player campaign that will soak up somewhere in the region of fifteen hours of your time while threading in a genuinely memorable story, and a pile of new distractions, there's no question that Rockstar has raised the bar on what players should expect from downloadable content. This isn't the short burst of simulated history that Operation: Anchorage offered Fallout 3 fans, or the quirky asides of Fable II's Knothole Island. Instead, it's approaching the kind of package most developers would have few qualms about boxing up and selling to you full-price as an entirely new game.
Released tomorrow via Xbox Live, The Lost and Damned is an impressive and ferocious expansion to Grand Theft Auto IV, coming good on its claim to be around one-third the size of GTA IV - it took us 11 hours to complete the main story, which once again only represents about 60-70% of overall completion based on all the other side missions and bonuses that you can get to achieve 100%.
While expansion packs that include significant single-player and multiplayer additions are old practice on PC, robust post-market content is virtually unheard of on consoles. Without question The Lost & Damned, a $20 Xbox 360 exclusive, is the meatiest DLC to date. Not only do you get a significant single-player campaign, but L&D includes 54 new music tracks, 20 new vehicles, a half-dozen new weapons, new side missions, new TV shows and new multiplayer modes. That's quite a deal when you consider the three-hour experience provided by Fallout 3's recent Operation: Anchorage DLC cost ten bucks. So rather than bother asking if it's worth it, let's just focus on how the experience stacks up against GTA IV.
...
The campaign, which can be beaten in 8-10 hours, is not one of Rockstar's stronger offerings.
...
Outside of the campaign, there's plenty to do. Getting 100% in L&D will take a good amount of time. There are 25 gang wars to be won across Liberty City, a dozen new bike races, new bike theft missions, several odd jobs to tackle for various miscreants, 50 seagulls to find and kill, a new comedy show to enjoy, some new mini-games to try once and then ignore, and full frontal nudity. Make that male full frontal nudity. That's right, Rockstar brings you Xbox 360's first downloadable dong.
Grand Theft Auto 4 PC Patch #3 Released
by Maarten Goldstein Mar 21, 2009 11:16am CST tags: Grand Theft Auto 4
Update 1.0.3 brings improved graphics and physics performance, greater user control over graphic settings, and the elimination of remapping restrictions for keyboard and mouse.
Full change notes follow
Version 1.0.3.0 - March 19, 2009
GRAPHICS:
* Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards:
o All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
o ALT-TAB fixed
* Graphics Settings:
o Added menu option " OFF " for Reflection quality
o Added menu option " OFF " for Shadow quality
PERFORMANCE:
* Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
* Graphical Performance Optimizations
MULTIPLAYER:
* NAT Type detection
o Detect if user has a " strict " NAT and displays message for user
* Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off
CONTROLS:
* Keyboard / Mouse
o Remapping restrictions removed
o Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
o Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
* Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
o Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
o If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting.
* Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
o Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device.
* Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
o Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
o Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
o Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad
SECURITY:
* Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
o Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
o Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress
VIDEO EDITOR:
* Scroll Bar improved response
o Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
* Sped up load times for users with many clips
TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:
* Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
o Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world.
* Scrolling signboards
o Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
* ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
o Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync.
GENERAL ADDITIONS / FIXES:
* Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
o Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
* 360 Controller Texture
o Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen
Second GTA 4 Expansion Tells 'The Ballad of Gay Tony'
by Nick Breckon May 26, 2009 3:06pm CST tags: Grand Theft Auto 4
Rockstar today announced "The Ballad of Gay Tony," the second expansion for the fabulous Grand Theft Auto IV.
"The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime," says Rockstar of the title.
"As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price."
Version 1.0.4.0 - June 19, 2009
Maintenance Update:
* -Resource management adjustments based on the operating system detected.
GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony Hands-On
There's no problem high explosives can't solve.
by Hilary Goldstein
September 16, 2009 - Ten minutes into my first experience with the second (and final) GTA IV downloadable episode, I hijacked a train by carrying it to an empty ballfield via helicopter. That was shortly after leaping from an overpass onto the moving train, crawling along the top and blowing a dozen pursuing attack choppers to bits. Yeah, The Ballad of Gay Tony is a little over-the-top. For those who missed the outlandishness of GTA: San Andreas, rejoice. Every mission I played from the newest episode ratchets up the ridiculousness. It's a damned good time.
GTA doesn't need to be an annualised franchise - Take Two
Take Two has said that Grand Theft Auto doesn't need to be an annualised franchise in order to best benefit the company.
"We don't feel that GTA ought to be an annualised franchise," Take Two chairman Strauss Zelnick told investors during an earnings call.
"There's a balance between how long it takes to develop such an incredible title... and how long you wait for the [customer's] appetite to be both satisfied and whetted for the next title. That's something I think the company has done well."
Take Two is pleased with the results of bringing GTA to new platforms, he added. "By bringing the title to handheld we achieved the highest Metacritic score ever for DS and PSP for that title. I applaud the team for doing that."
In order to optimise its release schedule over the next three years, it was confirmed that one unannounced, triple A title originally planned for next year would be moved out of the 2010 fiscal year.
"We determined we needed to make this adjustment," said Zelnick, adding that, like all of the company's triple A games, it was an important title.
In other words: "We saw the total sales for each iteration trending downwards and decided to take a break so we don't completely ruin the franchise."That too - hehe.
GTA4 DLC Sold "Less than Expected"
Take-Two attributes underwhelming sales to a lack of "initial launch fervor."
By Kris Pigna, 12/19/2009
Ballad of Gay Tony
Grand Theft Auto 4 was one of the biggest games of the decade, so why, then, is Take-Two interactive not experiencing the same runaway sales success with the game's two downloadable episodes, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony? According to CEO Ben Feder, it may be a matter of timing -- and a huge loss of marketing momentum.
"Both we and Microsoft believe there was a big market for GTA 4 episodic content," said Feder during an investors conference call (via Kotaku). "And some factors have affected their performance. Both were released significantly after the core unit ... GTA 4, which was launched in April of 2008 and therefore weren't able to leverage GTA 4's initial marketing campaign and initial launch fervor."
While sales figures for the episodes -- which were released first as separate $20 downloads and later packaged together on a disc as "Episodes of Liberty City" -- haven't been divulged, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimated sales for the disc were around 100,000 in the U.S. "Episodes From Liberty City seems to have been most appealing to those who have finished GTA 4 and wanted more story and gameplay," Feder said. "Which is a smaller market than initially expected."
Let us recall that Microsoft paid a whopping $50 million to keep the GTA 4 episodic content exclusive to the Xbox 360. With that taken into account, would the "smaller than expected" market be considered a tremendous failure? Not necessarily, as Feder said the episodes were already profitable (for Take-Two, anyway), and they expect sales to continue for some time.
"There's very little precedent for this type of episodic content at the price point that we offered it. And so we're confident that these titles will continue to have a long life, just as we've seen a long life from all of our other prior GTA releases."
Good, I hope they fail miserably. Fucking exclusive DLC can kiss my ass. Rot in hell, Take 2.
Yay, so we get to play the DLC years after it came out. Who fucking cares? I mean, I have no interest in GTAIV anymore anyway, and got really bored with it before the end of the stock game. I just think this exclusivity shit is shady and shouldn't be happening.It's about time PC version is getting the DLC - we don't deserve to be left out of the mix. Sure, it's way late - but at least we're getting it. I'm tired of PC versions getting screwed out of DLC and not getting DLC period.
I just think this exclusivity shit is shady and shouldn't be happening.Oh, I agree w/ that 100%.
DLC packs to be released on PC and PS3 in March. (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62151)
Does anyone really care at this point?Me.
If they were to add more city or more *detail* to the original city... that would be worth noting.That'd be cool, too. :)
Grand Theft Auto 4 PC Patch Improves Shadows, Removes Social Club App
by Alice O'Connor Apr 13, 2010 1:00pm
CST tags: Grand Theft Auto 4
Coinciding with the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV's downloadable content 'The Ballad of Gay Tony' and 'The Lost and Damned' on PC today, Rockstar has released a new patch for the open-world murder simulator available in a 104MB download on FileShack.
The patch brings better-looking shadows as well as performance optimisations and bug fixes, and finally removes the need to run that irksome Rockstar Games Social Club application before you can play the game. The full changelog follows below.
GTA IV Title Update 1.0.6.0 \ 1.0.5.1 \ 1.0.4.2 (Patch 6)
* Rockstar Games Social Club
o Remove Rockstar Games Social Club application
o Separate RGSC application no longer required to launch game
o Social Club login now occurs during the launch process
* Shadows
o A new, less memory-intensive, and better-looking scalable shadow solution has been implemented
o Enhanced Night Shadows added with user-selectable level of detail (replaces Shadow Density)
* Performance
o Rendering optimizations have been made to improve performance, particularly when enabling shadows
o User-configurable graphics settings have been added for shadow control
o Improved memory management
* Multiplayer
o Enhanced security to isolate users from cheaters and hackers
* Episodic Content
o Provide in-game support to purchase "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" (Not available in Russian/Japanese Versions)
* Bug Fixes
o Vehicle shadows re-enabled between 8pm and 6am
o Fix floating street textures
o Pedestrians in vehicles appear further out from the player to allow for long range sniping
o The Moon has been implemented with simulated lunar phases
o Fixed garbled text in Japanese Multiplayer menus
o "RESC 10" error fix for specific hardware configuration
I'm waiting until it's $7-10 again.It's easily worth that, from what I've played, so far.
Episodes From Liberty City
v. 1.1.2.0
* fixed a bug causing tree leaves to look transparent
* fixed a bug that prevented uploading of rendered videos to Social Club when attaching music tracks from The Ballad of Gay Tony
* fixed for clip capture "OFF" slowdowns occurring when near water's edge
* fixed for slowdown occurring when getting in a boat during "Sexy Time" mission in The Ballad of Gay Tony
* exposed "detonate" in custom key mapping options menu for Lost and Damned so users can remap "down" arrow key
* EFLC now has it's own settings file called "SETTINGS_EFLC.CFG" to avoid possible conflicts with GTA IV installation
Grand Theft Auto IV
v. 1.0.7.0 / 1.0.6.1 (Russian) / 1.0.5.2 (Japanese)
* fixed a bug causing tree leaves to look transparent
* fixed a bug that prevented uploading of rendered videos to Social Club when attaching certain music tracks
* fixed for clip capture "OFF" slowdowns occurring when near water's edge
* exposed "detonate" in custom key mapping options menu for Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned so users can remap "down" arrow key.
Good thing I waited.
I still want to play Ballad of Gay Tony. I like coming back to GTA4 after prolonged periods of having not played the game. It still looks good and nobody still hasn't made a open world game as good as Liberty City. Lost and the Damned was totally awesome too, probably the best DLC to come out for a game.
I still want to play Ballad of Gay Tony. I like coming back to GTA4 after prolonged periods of having not played the game. It still looks good and nobody still hasn't made a open world game as good as Liberty City. Lost and the Damned was totally awesome too, probably the best DLC to come out for a game.
Removed how? If I have a game on my system, especially one that old, it takes action from me for anything to happen to it. Does Steam regularly reach in and delete stuff from your hard drive?