GTA 4 - a fork in the road

ExOffender

Got chatting to a couple of people a short while ago about GTA 4, talking about how the graphics have not improved (in fact, I think 3 looks the best of them), and saying how there's basically a 'fork n the road' as regards the next one, which I assume will be on the PS3. So do you think Rockstar should improve the graphics, basically leave the game play as-is, with a few new features made possible by the hardware upgrade, or do you think they should only improve the graphics slightly, concentrating on making the game even more unbelieveably massive, with proper online facilities, ditch/expand the RPG elements? Probably this thread is a repost, now that I think about it. But what do you all think?

weemcd

I thinkg they need to improve both, gta sa all felt to samey to me tbh and the graphics were ok but nothing brilliant, the slowdown when alot was going on showed how the ps2 really did struggle with the game.

grimloch

Gameplay is getting a little boring at this stage I think, I never really got into SA becasue I thought it was just more of the same in a bigger level.

I'm not really pushed about the graphics, there are much more important things to consider than shiny looks.

JackKelly

The level's are getting too big with not enough detail. GTA3 was detailed down to every corner. It was dense and interesting. I found GTA:SA too big and spread out. Farily boring tbh. I think, size wise, they shouldn't go bigger again, unless they want to spend ALOT of time, detailing everything. Graphics are obviously going to improve, but they will need to spice things up.

grimloch

TimAy wrote:

The level's are getting too big with not enough detail. GTA3 was detailed down to every corner. It was dense and interesting. I found GTA:SA too big and spread out. Farily boring tbh. I think, size wise, they shouldn't go bigger again, unless they want to spend ALOT of time, detailing everything. Graphics are obviously going to improve, but they will need to spice things up.

SA was the king of wasted space. So many places would have been good to put weapons in or have missions in them. Plus it took half a bloody hour to get from one place to another.

rabbitinlights

TimAy wrote:

The level's are getting too big with not enough detail. GTA3 was detailed down to every corner. It was dense and interesting. I found GTA:SA too big and spread out. Farily boring tbh. I think, size wise, they shouldn't go bigger again, unless they want to spend ALOT of time, detailing everything. Graphics are obviously going to improve, but they will need to spice things up.

Couldnt have said it better........... Spending 10min drving across the boring country side yet again just made me wanna stop playing, it also took away from playing it with mates, you would be cruzing along going some place and you'd get bored and try and do some jump or some risky move and end up dead again.............

Quality not quantity........ its old saying but its true.

Sean.

entropi

rabbitinlights wrote:

Spending 10min drving across the boring country side yet again just made me wanna stop playing

you mean you never jacked a train !! ?? 3-4 mins from CJ's house to SA in one if you can catch one right near the Barber Shop

the_syco

It was too big. Often, on a way to a mission on the far side of the map, I'd do something stupid. Such as get in a car chase by the cops. Or do an insane jump. Why? Because it was just so boring going from A to B through the countryside.

GTA3 and GTA:VC ruled because you had the main mission and lots of smaller insane mini-missions scattered around it. I haven't found any in GTA:SA yet tho.

The one thing GTA never did was be too shiney, and I liked that. They knew that alot would happen, and too much could happen, thus by having the graphics non-uber the game would run on most people's machines.

Sand

GTA3 and GTA:VC ruled because you had the main mission and lots of smaller insane mini-missions scattered around it. I haven't found any in GTA:SA yet tho.

Mini missions like what? Do you mean stuff like that fracking Mount Chilliad Bike racing? Cos I wouldnt go looking for it. Cos then youll want to complete it for 100%, but its an exercise in utter frustration. Climb the mountain which takes about 2-3 minutes, or similar in game hours. Then run the race, but only between 700 and 1800, but it takes another 2-3 minutes to run the race, and when you lose - as you will, countless times, by literally a split second, - then you get to enjoy another 2-3 minute drive back up the mountain to retake the challenge, which given the 700-1800 time requirement means you can only take it 3 times in a row, after that you either have to head off on a cross country treak and double use a save point, then return for more of the same, or idle for about 10 minutes or so waiting for the clock to turn.

Yay, fun, fun, fun. Whilst the 8 - Track racing was another complete and utter annoyance that at the very least was down to the challenge of the mission itself, not stupid obstacles put in your way to prevent you from actually starting the mission.

In short what they need to implement in GTA4 is a quick save function for those of us who dont see the attraction in punishing ourselves. Keep it outside of missions, ensure that the save cannot be reloaded if you restart the game to keep the same save point dynamic. An auto save after mission completes wouldnt be a bad idea either.

Oh and at the option for a fixed over the shoulder camera perspective so that every time you turn a corner the camera doesnt do a 180 so you cant see whats ahead. Maybe even a FPS view for aiming weapons if theyre going to go really nuts.

dangerman

gta 4: make it so you can go into every single building, and blow every single building up. game mechanics nightmare.

Creamy Goodness

yeh they need to redefine the rule they set "you can do what you want when you want"

hmm i want to go into that building there that looks like it has a paper door, oops sorry you're not allowed in game doesn't allow it.

GTA:SA i bought on the first day and had a bit of fun milling the guy of the bmx but other than that it's too big and you get bored very easily

qz

What GTA needs is some good online play. Just think of the possibilities.

ExOffender

Exactly. I mean something that's an evolution, a 'next step' in GTA. A massive online ciuty, actual city-sized. Even in SA the cities aren't that big. Something the size of New York. Maybe you could even choose to be a cop, and that's what you do, you go around capping anyone doing something they shouldn't. Not that too many people would be up for that. But yes, if the next GTA isn't online I'll be heartbroken.

Agent Orange

For GTA4, they should have a beautiful vast countryside filled with fluffy bunnies and cute babies. And the player should be driving a steam roller.

iregk

Personally, and ive said this in other threads, i think the game engine and graphics engine needs to be taken apart. They have used the same engines for hte past 3 games so in a sence Vice and SA were just upgrades of GTA3. But to be fair thats what we wanted, more of the same please. At this point though I think they have stretched it out far enough.

For GTA4 they really need to bring the graphics up to date, its still a good game but just looks so dated now. Shrink the size of the city, its just ridiculous now and sharpen up the graphics. Also what really annoyed me was the mouse view driving the car, why not have the fixed camera like all other car games!

Retr0gamer

I think GTA desperately needs a restart mission since it is a pain driving all the way back to the start of the mission especially in the country of SA. There also needs to be a drastic overhaul of the on foot combat. It just isn't satisfying at all and plays like a bad early PS1 game.

steviec

I would have thought it goes without saying that it'll be a completely new engine and better graphics considering it'll be on a whole new machine.

What I'd like to see is more life to the cities. There's no reason with the technology they'll have not to have shopping streets in whatever city they choose as a location as busy with people as say Grafton St. or Henry St. are. There should be enough traffic for traffic jams to occur and this may force the player to rethink their escape routes. The cities need to feel like real cities, not places where you only ever see 3 or 4 cars and half a dozen people in any location.

Also I didn't have a problem with the size of SA. I wouldn't want it bigger but I don't think it needs to be made smaller. Driving on long stretches of country road listening to the radio was one of my favourite parts of SA, something that wasn't possible in the other games. It gave it a nice change of pace and a more relaxing feel at times.

Another thing I'd like to see is a return of the gang dynamics from GTA2. Or something more sophisticated. San Andreas made steps towards that but it always felt very artificial the way territory was gained.

Hercule

I think the next logical step for GTA is to take the gameplay into a MMO style game - you could take the "guild" dynamics of games like guild wars and allow players to create a street gang with other players.Then make gang spray tags,gang colours gang weapons etc.

Maybe you could even choose to be a cop, and that's what you do, you go around capping anyone doing something they shouldn't. Not that too many people would be up for that.

Thats another nice idea, id love to play a badass dirty harry detective who plays by his own rules and goes undercover in the GTA world. Id just shoot the chief if he asked me to hand in my badge

"no, it is you who is out of line"

**BANG**- hunting people is a lot more fun then escaping from people in GTA IMHO - plus, if there was 1:50 cop to criminal ratio and you could call in support and choppers that would be pretty damn exciting being feared on a server by so many people

kaimera

Am I one of the few who adores GTA_SA?

yes it has faults but so did GTA3 and VC.

yes, it is ****ing annoying to trapse halfway across the map to rob a courier because you clicked Y instead of N on a phone call not knowing it would be half way across the map.

but I am enjoying it more than the others. I'm playing it more than 3 and VC.

just finished the flying school > frustrating till a change in controls sorted it.

I do wish it was a bit more polished. VC was great in the graphics aside from the popup.

enter all buildings.
more main missions.
better driving camera.
more action on screen.
more mini games like the RC cars.
ability to get drunk in bars > have some solid knockon effects incl. missions that require you to be drunk.
heal yerself with syringes. and you can buy street meds which can make you high or summet.

Dont be at yourself

San Andreas had no character and nowhere near as much humour as Liberty City and GTAIII. The move towards gritty realism has not been for the better.

dearg_doom

I could forgive GTA alot, and there was a lot wrong with SA, but what really tipped the scales for me, and made all the forgivable(mainly hardware, of course) issues seem worse was this:


In the previous two, there was a high ratio of stuff to do per sqaure mile, which made it fun. In SA, there was feck all to do for miles and miles, which just made the game seem empty and then boring and then too big and then annoying to play.

'tis a shame really. Should be a bit better next gen tho, I reckon with all the extra power they'll be able to make a fun game.

JackKelly

another thing i didn't like about SA is the radio. The tracks are great, but what happened to the chat shows. Chatterbox was on of the best things about GTA3. Lazlow was a genius.

iregk

Lazlow and bring back Rise FM...

ExOffender

nekkidbibleman wrote:

The move towards gritty realism has not gone well.

I hear you, but the real problem was that it wasn't that gritty or real. CJ doesn't toke? C'mooon...
The whole Boyz 'N the Hood type thing was not great at all. I think they wanted a black character, firstly for a change of pace, and secondly to arget ethnic-minority groups... but in order to do that, they I guess they felt they needed to avoid any possible charge of racism or playing to prejudice. Shame, but understandable enough I guess.

djmarkus

has anyone noticed that the hand detail of the models is pathetic by todays standards? they should really re-work the models for gta4.