GTA 4 PC Version one year on

youcancallmeal

I never did get around to playing gta 4 and now that I have a system that should handle it, all the patches released and the advent of Windows 7 I was wondering if it is still a lost cause or should I have a go at it. I heard all sorts of horror stories about the game being buggy, glitched and just an all round hassle to get and keep running

Also are the add ons like The Ballad of Gay Tony downloadable for the pc version?

ScumLord

youcancallme>al wrote: »

I never did get around to playing gta 4 and now that I have a system that should handle it, all the patches released and the advent of Windows 7 I was wondering if it is still a lost cause or should I have a go at it. I heard all sorts of horror stories about the game being buggy, glitched and just an all round hassle to get and keep running

Also are the add ons like The Ballad of Gay Tony downloadable for the pc version?

According to this site the last patch added achievements for the lost and the damned.

GTA4 is actually a good game, I break it out every so often for a bit of fun I was playing it last night, the city is amassing it plays and looks great but there isn't a whole lot to do in the city bar missions. There are no taxi/ambulance/firetruck missions.

You do need the internet though, I wasn't able to save my progress because I had no internet access.

Agricola

Im in the same boat as you OP. Just built a pc last summer and it does justice to GTA4. (I am waiting on a new Radeon HD5850)

Its a pain in the ass installation wise. You have to load alot of bloatware and register and sign into afew things just to get underway. Its a terrible mess too untill you get the latest patch. Very bad stuttering and general memory issues. When I patched it up though it ran smooth as butter on my rig on 1900*1200 with most settings on medium/high. I owned the PS3 version last year and when you see what liberty city looks like with a real draw distance and crisp clean visuals, it is worth jumping through all those hoops in the beginning.

Get it bought i say.

youcancallmeal

Well I bit the bullet and ordered a copy online. Very cheap as well so if it doesnt work out I won't feel too bad. Agricola do you know of any online installation guides?

Agricola

This is from the Rockstar site:

"Installation Instructions for Grand Theft Auto IV PC

During the Grand Theft Auto IV installation you will be prompted to register with Games for Windows - LIVE and Rockstar Games Social Club. Please note that registration into either is not mandatory to play the single player campaign. In order to experience the maximum functionality of Grand Theft Auto IV PC, including the ability to play multiplayer, share your own user-created videos online, and compete and share stats with friends and other gamers, we highly recommend that you sign up for both.

Steps:

1. Insert the ‘Grand Theft Auto IV DVD’ (Disc 1) into your DVD-ROM drive.

2. You will first need to install the Rockstar Games Social Club application.

Please follow the on-screen directions.

The installation of Rockstar Games Social Club application is required to install
and play Grand Theft Auto IV, but you are only required to log into the Rockstar
Games Social Club website for multiplayer sessions and to upload videos.

3. Next, you will begin installation of Grand Theft Auto IV. Please follow the on-screen directions.

4. You will next be prompted to sign up for a Games for Windows - LIVE account.

If you don't already have a Games for Windows - LIVE account, you may create one now. You will need one in order to enjoy online multiplayer and other LIVE features.

5. You will next be prompted to sign up for your Rockstar Games Social Club account.

Rockstar Games Social Club is a members-only destination for leaderboards, stats, tournaments, ongoing special competitions, virtual events, MP3s and more goodies associated with Rockstar titles.

6. Continue to follow the on-screen directions to install the game.

7. After all files have been installed, you will need to connect to the internet to confirm that the release date of this software has passed.

If you fail to connect or need to perform this step from a different computer with internet access, please visit http://www.rockstargames.com/support/ or http://activate.rockstargames.com/?c=GTA4 for details.

8. The installation process is now complete.

9. In order to play Grand Theft Auto IV, make sure you have ‘Grand Theft Auto IV DVD’ (Disc 1) in your DVD drive, and then launch the Rockstar Games Social Club application.

Make sure to log into Social Club to enjoy online-enabled features. Select ‘Play’ on the main Rockstar Games Social Club application screen to launch Grand Theft Auto IV.

10. The first time you launch Grand Theft Auto IV, you will be prompted to enter your product key to perform a one-time product activation.

If you fail to connect or need to perform this step from a different computer with internet access, please visit http://www.rockstargames.com/support/ for details."

It straight forward enough. The social club thing will install with the game, so as soon at the installation is finished load the social club first and register with that. The when your logged into that, the game will load. You can then choose an offline Windows Live profile if you dont already have one, but you MUST get the 1.4 patch so its best to sign in with your live profile or create a live profile so that it will download and install the latest patches. Then your good to go.

youcancallmeal

Well I got it and installed it and I havent had any problems at all. Only thing is I'm a bit disapointed with the graphics quality. I have an Intel I5-750 and an nVidia GTX280. For example draw distance it set at 35 and if I try to raise it I get warnings that my system may not be able to handle anything higher.

suppafly

youcancallme>al wrote: »

Well I got it and installed it and I havent had any problems at all. Only thing is I'm a bit disapointed with the graphics quality. I have an Intel I5-750 and an nVidia GTX280. For example draw distance it set at 35 and if I try to raise it I get warnings that my system may not be able to handle anything higher.

Ya it does seem to be badly optimized. So disappointing when this happens as your can experience the game in full settings glory as they didn't optimize properly

yoyo

ScumLord wrote: »

You do need the internet though, I wasn't able to save my progress because I had no internet access.

In this case press the home key on your keyboard when the game menu loads and create an offline profile for games for windows live, this will let you play the game, and allow saving without the need for internet access, lots of people have this problem, and if only microsoft would actually make it easier for people who have no internet connection to know they can create an offline profile :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Nick