[Dakar the Fourth]

The time is almost upon us for this gaming rapture.
I start this thread for us (360 and PS3 owners alike) to share our stories and organize meet-ups.

In the meantime, we can only sate (or enhance) our anticipation by registering at Rockstar's Social Club (Opens Tuesday), and reminisce about past adventures.

We can also keep track of days remaining on our trusty Macs.

I look forward to car-jacking all of you.

[klb5090]

The Dakar offical GTA thread, i'm here and ready

[Dakar the Fourth]

No, the word official and name Dakar are notably absent, as I am humbled by the greatness of Rockstar and the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

[klb5090]

i see, interesting, well i expect the same shenanigans from that "other" thread that i believe was more 'official' and 'Dakar'

[Dakar the Fourth]

GTA IV Multiplayer Hands-On

n open areas, things do get a bit more hectic. Especially when vehicles get in the mix. My favorite is holding tight to Davey Clay on the back of a motorcycle. You get a clear view of all enemies and you're free to fire while your partner drives. Headshotting a would-be assassin while popping a wheelie: priceless.

As with many of the other modes, there are a lot of options to suit your personal tastes. This includes altering the weapon layout. A game of shotty? Done. All heavy weapons? Bingo. Rockets only? Hell yes. You really can never go wrong with rocket launchers. Especially since you can blindfire with an RPG. Blindfiring an RPG into someone's face as he turns the corner is what professionals call, "givin' him da bid'ness." I quickly discovered that I'm not impervious to my own rocket fire. However, with friendly fire off, I take no damage if an ally shoots a rocket at my feet to launch me in the air and onto a roof. Call it co-op rocket jumps. The only caution is that no one is immune to gravity. Jump over a building (instead of onto it) and the landing could kill you.

The Hang Man's Noose is the closest thing we've seen to the single player GTA storyline being played by multiple people. The protect-and-extract mission gets right to the point with an all-out gun battle on an air strip. On the hardest difficulty setting the game throws an impressive number of NPCs at you.

In a few of the videos on our site you can see quick examples of how enemies move in GTA but it takes hands-on time to appreciate how the SWAT Team flanks, advances, and dives for cover. And when you have more than one police chopper and a sea of squad behind your getaway vehicle team tactics are required. The best part about the large scale fight was how it exemplified how much action can take place on the screen at once in multiplayer without any technical snags.

[::maroma::]

Well I will definitely be getting this game. But I will be at a slight disadvantage (banter-wise) as I haven't played a GTA game seriously at all. I have played a little here and there, but never got into it seriously.

But sometimes I'm a quick learner so I expect to catch up pretty quickly.

So what's this I hear about an Amazon.com music store tie in with this game? Something about hearing music in the game, and being able to purchase the songs off of Amazon's music store? That sounds pretty cool. Too bad I'm an iTunes whore.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by ::maroma:: 

But sometimes I'm a quick learner so I expect to catch up pretty quickly.

I've never considered this a game that had much of a learning curve. Anyway, with the next-gen overhaul I imagine we'll be pretty close to equal footing to start.

[Mac User #001]

I'm still holding strong to the wait for some PC love...

[boy8cookie]

Traded in bioshock, mass effect, and army of two and bought GTA IV. Can't wait!

[Peter]

I can't wait.
mere weeks till launch!

[Mrjinglesusa]

Looking forward to it! I have had it preordered from Amazon since before Christmas. Hope they don't forget about my order. LOL

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Mac User #001 

I'm still holding strong to the wait for some PC love...

That may be a while

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa 

Looking forward to it! I have had it preordered from Amazon since before Christmas. Hope they don't forget about my order. LOL

I think I did mine in late February/early March.

[Mac User #001]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

That may be a while

Oh I know it'll be a while. But there are plenty of other games to keep me busy 'till then.

[klb5090]

IGN: IGN Presents: The History of Grand Theft Auto
Bored in between class today, i read through some of this article, its pretty good and has made the wait seem even longer

[Dakar the Fourth]

Trust me, if I could I'd pull a Cartman and freeze myself so I don't have to wait the final two weeks.

[jokell82]

So anyone else find themselves not really caring about the release? I'm sure I'll eventually get the game, but I'm so consumed with Rock Band and TF2 right now that I don't think I'll be getting GTA IV anytime soon. I'm sure it'll be awesome, though.

[Dakar the Fourth]

This just means you're not as big of a GTA fan.

I mean, seriously, those games have been out forever.
Anyway, you can't be that consumed, your last seen doesn't update that frequently.

[klb5090]

When GTA III came out, i basically held off because i was so consumed with other games on my PS2 until one day a friend of mine was playing it and i had to give it a shot, from then on i've been addicted. Maybe its not everyones cup of tea but the gameplay is so open that even WITHOUT the missions, you could play any game in that series for hours upon hours. After that GTAIII experience i've waited anxiously for both Vice City and SA. Please rockstar dont disappoint (i know you won't)

[Dakar the Fourth]

I never even considered it until a friend kept raving about it. So I picked it up and became addicted. Now I won't shut up about the franchise, and he won't even touch it.

[klb5090]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

I never even considered it until a friend kept raving about it. So I picked it up and became addicted. Now I won't shut up about the franchise, and he won't even touch it.

Its one of the ONLY if not the sole franchise i would purchase just because its released, i'm such a IGN/metacritic whore that i have to see numerous reviews before i make my decision but Rockstar has proven themselves to me (like Bungie did with H2) that they will not disappoint, but i am anxious to see what the critics have to say.
BTW Dakar, i'm digging the sig

[Dakar the Fourth]

It's an old sig, but a good one.

To open the topic to a little more convo, any particular personal wishes/expectations for this itineration you'd care to share.

The biggest thing for me is traffic persistence. In San Andreas I could be doing ... an indeterminate speed ... on the highway, look in the rear view mirror, see three cars, look forward, then back again and different cars would be there. Annoying. Also made discerning car-jacking difficult as you could pass a car, turn around and it'd already be gone.

Speaking of indeterminate speed, a speedometer would be nice. I've never understood why the cars were lacking them in the HUD, other than to prevent us from being able to demonstrably prove which cars were best.

Edit: Oh, I expect a Claude cameo as he was sitting atop Liberty City when we last left it.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

This just means you're not as big of a GTA fan.

I mean, seriously, those games have been out forever.
Anyway, you can't be that consumed, your last seen doesn't update that frequently.

Last seen? Not sure what you mean.

I'm a pretty big fan of GTA (been a fan since the original on the PC - used to play it during Computer Graphics class). I dunno, I'm just not getting hyped up for this one.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Last seen? Not sure what you mean.

XBOX Live gamertag

Originally Posted by jokell82 

I'm a pretty big fan of GTA (been a fan since the original on the PC - used to play it during Computer Graphics class). I dunno, I'm just not getting hyped up for this one.

Weird. I can kind of understand the "more of the same 'ol" feeling, but I'd think that'd apply more to San Andreas than the first next-gen release.

Admittedly, I'm far, far, more interested in the multi-player. I'm actually a little apprehensive about the fact that you will be forced to fail missions and not be able to repeat others if you fail.

[klb5090]

i don't know what to expect for a next gen release, what i am excited for is some good racing missions. Hopefully your safe house(s) will have a large garage area like others because for some reason i must be able to collect the cars. The thing that i'm fearful of is the multiplayer, it could be so awesome or it could fail terribly, i have trust they know what there doing but with such an open world with so many variables i hope its well rounded and focused at some points.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Oh yeah, I'd love it if you could choose what car spawns in front of your safe house (selection limited to only cars you've jacked).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

So has anyone heard of any graphical or audio differences between the 360 and PS3 version? I know the 360 will have downloadable levels but I don't want to have to pay for xbox Gold just to play with other when I can do it for free on the PS3.

[Dakar the Fourth]

They've been very quiet on that front.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

XBOX Live gamertag

Weird. I can kind of understand the "more of the same 'ol" feeling, but I'd think that'd apply more to San Andreas than the first next-gen release.

Admittedly, I'm far, far, more interested in the multi-player. I'm actually a little apprehensive about the fact that you will be forced to fail missions and not be able to repeat others if you fail.

Yeah I really don't know what it is. Normally I'd be all over it, but I'm just not excited. Although that may change once I play it at a friend's house.

As for the gamertag updates, that's probably because I play TF2 on the PC a hell of a lot. The XBox took a backseat there for a while, but I'm starting to mix Rock Band back into it.

[Dakar the Fourth]

[@pplejaxkz]

I am super stoked for this game. Liberty City was my favorite, so this is perfect!

[sek929]

Between Condemned 2, RSV2, and the Legendary Map pack I'm not sure if I can justify yet another video-game expenditure.

Of course that would mean I'd be left out of the loop...and I'd hate to see all the fun going on in this thread without me.

<sigh> I guess I'll get another 60 bucks ready...

[Dakar the Fourth]

BTW, I finally saw a commercial for Condemned. You are nuts.

Seriously, you know we won't be touching Halo for at least a month, maybe two, after GTA comes out.

[sek929]

The commercial really doesn't do the game justice. I haven't beat it yet because, in all honesty, it takes to much out of me when I play it. I prefer the mindless shooting of Rainbow Six.

[Dakar the Fourth]

That's what I'm saying. I'd need a crowbar to be able to take a **** after playing that game.

[::maroma::]

What's the Social Club all about?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Leather Chairs, Cigars & Elitism.

[Dakar the Fourth]

• LCPD Police Blotter — A virtual map and tracker of single-player criminal activity logged in Liberty City from the aggregated data of millions of connected players - showing the most dangerous areas of town, most commonly used weapons and more.

• The Story Gang — This special single-player leaderboard recognizes players who complete Niko Bellic's main story arc of Grand Theft Auto IV - The leaderboard ranks players according to the total amount of playing time it's taken to complete the story, as well as a historical rank by who has completed it first. Members of this club will receive special online widgets and merit badges marking all of their in-game accomplishments.

• The 100% Club — Watch to see who will be the first to complete 100% of the game. The first ten people to be identified on the Social Club as reaching 100% will be sent an ultra-rare commemorative 'key to the city' to mark their accomplishment. In the future, the 100% Club will then carry a historical leaderboard showing rankings of who has completed 100% of a game in the shortest span of playing hours.

• The Hall of Fame — This area will dynamically recognize those singularly elite players who have reached the top of the hill on various statistical leaderboards, and will also contain a personal awards display of special in-game landmarks and successes in Social Club competitions.

• The Liberty City Marathon — A ranking of special physical milestones achieved in the game - from the amount of miles walked, driven, or swam - to the number of bullets fired and stunt-jumps jumped. There will be additional special marathon-based competitions in the future from this area as well.

The Rockstar Social Club doesn't stop there. With special competitions, leaderboards and challenges rolling out regularly in the weeks and months following the game's release, this is just the beginning of an on-going Liberty City experience and is a small taste of what's to come from Rockstar Games for GTAIV and beyond...

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

The biggest thing for me is traffic persistence. In San Andreas I could be doing ... an indeterminate speed ... on the highway, look in the rear view mirror, see three cars, look forward, then back again and different cars would be there. Annoying. Also made discerning car-jacking difficult as you could pass a car, turn around and it'd already be gone.

Looks like I'm out of luck:

You'll likely notice the same graphical "quirks" that the series has dealt with since the jump to 3D. The same filmlike, grainy framerate exists and usually holds steady, but it can momentarily dip when things get frantic. There's some long-distance graphical fade-in as well as some street-level hazards that appear only after you hit them. Traffic will be nonexistent one second, then three cars deep when you rotate the camera back around, and then completely disappear when your wanted level gets to two or three stars (which is oh-so-fun when you desperately need a getaway vehicle)

[Dakar the Fourth]

Your Radio Stations:

• WKTT - We Know The Truth
(right wing talk radio)

• San Juan Sounds
(latin)

• Integrity 2.0
(speech, hosted by Lazlow)

• Liberty City Hardcore
(punk/hardcore)

• Liberty Rock Radio 97.8
(classic rock)

• The Vibe 98.8
(soul/R'n'B)

• PLR - Public Liberty Radio
(call-in speech)

• The Classics 104.1
(old-skool hip-hop)

• Jazz Nation Radio 108.5
(jazz)

• Vladivostok FM
(eastern european)

• Radio Broker
(alt rock)

• Tuff Gong Radio
(reggae/dub)

• Electro Choc
(dance)

• Massive B Soundsystem 96.9
(dance hall)

• IF99 - International Funk
(funk)

• The Beat 102.7
(contemporary hip-hop)

• K109 The Studio
(disco)

• Fusion FM

• The Journey
(ambient/chillout)

[Dakar the Fourth]

One last update for the day.

"A Rockstar PR guy started walking Niko through the city while he spoke to me about various features in the game...more music than ever...lots of Eastern European music that hasn't been released in America...very cool stuff. But perhaps the coolest thing I saw while he was playing was when he stopped touching the controller. Niko stood still while Steve was occupied with something and right there, a taxi got rear-ended by another car. What followed was pure magic."

"The cabbie and the guy who hit the taxi jumped out of their cars and approached each other. Once they got in to each others' face the fists started flying. Meanwhile, cars are honking for the two vehicles to get out of the way. The two keep slugging away and a cop pulls up. He jumps out with his pistol drawn and both men throw their hands to the sky, surrendering. The cop then drags the cabbie away (he punched first), puts him in the backseat of the cop car and drives off. The other driver returns to his car, gets in and pulls away."

Oh, and I want this:

[Mac User #001]

You know he's right. That is pure magic...

About the persistent traffic though... I've only ever played GTA:SA on the PC, and I've never noticed any problems. I've seen a car drive off beyond my viewing distance and could then drive forward, catch up and he would still be there. I've certainly never seen myself looking at a different amount of cars when only moving the view.

Hey, quick question. Do consoles lag when things get heavy? Or do developers usually make sure the console can take that stress? Meaning like, if you were playing C&C 3 and built an unusually large amount of units. Is it going to lag? I must assume so, as its a computer like any other.

[Peter]

I've always noticed the persistent traffic issue. Wish they could have fixed it. That and the "pop-up" always spoilt GTA.
Couldnt build a huge pile up as you turn away and everything magically vanishes.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Mac User #001 

I've seen a car drive off beyond my viewing distance and could then drive forward, catch up and he would still be there.

I never encountered problems with that either. But if I were to, say, pass a car, if I check my rear-view mirror a few seconds later a lot of times they'd already have disappeared.

I wish I knew what would help the issue (RAM, processing), because maybe I could point to the PC be superior for that.

The only real time I encountered stuttering was during massive explosions and occasionally while approaching highly populated areas.

[Mac User #001]

Originally Posted by Peter 

I've always noticed the persistent traffic issue. Wish they could have fixed it. That and the "pop-up" always spoilt GTA.
Couldnt build a huge pile up as you turn away and everything magically vanishes.

I'm not sure I know what you mean about the "pop-up" issue. My guess is you mean things randomly popping up around you?

As for huge pile-ups disappearing, I can't say I've had that happen either. I mean, most of the time, huge pile-ups tend to be burning and have blown-up, so they eventually disappear as they normally would, but never all at once and because I looked away.

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

I never encountered problems with that either. But if I were to, say, pass a car, if I check my rear-view mirror a few seconds later a lot of times they'd already have disappeared.

I wish I knew what would help the issue (RAM, processing), because maybe I could point to the PC be superior for that.

The only real time I encountered stuttering was during massive explosions and occasionally while approaching highly populated areas.

I'll make note of checking that problem, but I'm pretty positive that doesn't happen when I'm playing.

I don't think it would be the lack of processing or RAM, but maybe they fixed this issue when they ported it to the PC and never gave this update to the original. I won't deny that the PC is superior though

Oh, I wasn't just talking about just GTA. Any game. I realize GTA is probably a little light on the GPU, and stresses more on the CPU, so what about a more balanced game on the newer consoles? Do they ever stutter?
Oh, and sorry about the slight sidetrack of your thread...

[Peter]

You'll likely notice the same graphical "quirks" that the series has dealt with since the jump to 3D. The same filmlike, grainy framerate exists and usually holds steady, but it can momentarily dip when things get frantic. There's some long-distance graphical fade-in as well as some street-level hazards that appear only after you hit them. Traffic will be nonexistent one second, then three cars deep when you rotate the camera back around, and then completely disappear when your wanted level gets to two or three stars (which is oh-so-fun when you desperately need a getaway vehicle). But even these problems have been "upgraded" in a sense for GTA4: An artistic application of filters hides some of the uglier character models, there's more types of cars to choose from, and overall, the feel of the city trumps any of the shortcomings we're familiar with by now. But you'll be able to see that in the screenshots and eventual videos.

Grand Theft Auto IV PS3 Preview, Grand Theft Auto IV Playstation 3 Preview

The same filmlike, grainy framerate exists and usually holds steady, but it can momentarily dip when things get frantic

is that marketing speak for there is a frame-rate lag?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Social Club came a day late from its two-day push back -- nothing to see after you register. They've kept the game areas locked up until release. Jerks.

[klb5090]

i just registered for social club and i'm getting very anxious, i pre-ordered my copy today on my way home from class... 7 days 2 hrs remaining...

[Peter]

preordered mine from amazon.
THey have a launch thingy at blockbuster at midnight ... hmm ...

[klb5090]

IGN: Grand Theft Auto IV Preview Multiplayer

This article is bringing me to my knees...this is going to be a long 7 days.
16 player free for all multiplayer....

"Create your own game modes, hunt for Easter eggs, work together to survive a six-star wanted level -- if you can dream it, there's probably a way to do it."
-IGN

[Dakar the Fourth]

Shot that encompasses the sheer awesomeness of the game

In multiplayer, you can use your phone to dial and have private conversations with members of your own team or of the opposing team.

Nice.

As with the other MP modes, the host has plenty of options to customize the experience, from setting the level of traffic, to turning cops on or off, to the time of day, to weapons available and so much more. This also includes setting a time limit if you don't want Free Mode to last forever.

Oh. My. God.
The carnage, oh the carnage...