The GTA4 thread

[hym 358]

Am I the only one that thinks the graphics don't look all that good?

[BurroDiablo 222]

The graphics are on par with most next-gen games, their certainly not mindblowing but their not bad. Besides, this is a game built for consoles... the 360 in perticular... console graphics can never compare to those on a PC (a good PC I mean ).

To be honest, I couldn't give a crap about the graphics, GTA games have never really had good graphics... playability is what you should look for.

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

Originally posted by: hym Am I the only one that thinks the graphics don't look all that good? quote>

Don't judge graphics on the pictures, for some reason, they're always very low quality compare to the actual game. Take a look at an XBOX 360 with crazy graphics that you have played, and compare it to a screenshot of it online. I'm not sure why they're usually low quality. Also, many times, you're moving fast so you don't notice the heavy details the picture shows, the glimpse of it is what impresses you usually. I also thought about this earlier today too.

[hym 358]

Well, if they've never been known for good graphics, then I guess that one could argue GTA IV has good graphics.  Personally, when I see promotional screenshots, I expect stuff that looks like this or this.

[toxicpiano 125]

Originally posted by: hym Well, if they've never been known for good graphics, then I guess that one could argue GTA IV has good graphics.  Personally, when I see promotional screenshots, I expect stuff that looks like this or this.quote>

Well it's all basically DX9 level anyway, so if you have a 1900 or 7900 (like me) it should run perfectly.

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

Have a look at one of the movies in the Rockstar website, that's how the graphics should look in the finished product

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: ilikehotdogsalot Have a look at one of the movies in the Rockstar website, that's how the graphics should look in the finished product quote>

Better, but still not worth writing about.

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: El Burro The graphics are on par with most next-gen games, their certainly not mindblowing but their not bad. Besides, this is a game built for consoles... the 360 in perticular... console graphics can never compare to those on a PC (a good PC I mean ).quote>

Actually, the Xbox 360 and PS3 can play games with graphic details that absolutely no commercially available PC in the world is capable of matching right now.   That's why it took them so long to get Halo 2 to the PC market - they needed people to start selling computers that could actually play it well.  I won't go into here, but if you'd like, I can explain to you the reason why PCs are at an immediate disadvantage to consoles when it comes to computing capabilities.

To be honest, I couldn't give a crap about the graphics, GTA games have never really had good graphics... playability is what you should look for.quote>

I haven't played the other GTA games since my 360 was my very first console, but I'm seriously thinking about getting it.  Although, I just got Assassin's Creed, so it'll be a little while before I get GTA.

[GMT 389]

as for GTA graphics and the everlasting PC vs. console, I must say that, speaking of san andreas, the point goes to PCs. But then again, it's because they changed a lot details when san andreas came to the pcs (as I said already in an earlier post here).

But, Voar is right, consoles are better when it comes to computing. And now with the next generation consoles 360 and ps3, I doubt a standard pc is able to deliver such a visual quality for that amount of money spend on it.

Just take a look at "older" games available for both pc and consoles:

If you compare the visual output of TES4: Oblivion on the ps3 and on the pc, the ps3 comes close to promotional videos' and trailers' quality (that are obviously recorded on pcs far away from what the average gamer can afford), but I've never seen private screenshots of Oblivion in many of the forums and fan pages I visit that get close to the rather impressing visual quality the ps3-version offers here.

And all this is mainly a hardware matter.

Of course, with Nvidia's pc of the month, march edition (or was it february), you can achieve a similar look, but then again, who has a mere 1500€ (2400$) left under the pillow to put them into a pc with 3 geforce 8 sli cards with 768mb each and an overclocked core 2 quad extreme? not to mention the spectacular graphics card for fx only (can't remember the name)?

EDIT: or who can afford alienware's flagship that starts at 5000€ (8000$)?

so take the 499€ the 60gb ps3 costs and buy a pc, be it a custom system or a retail pc, I doubt you get close to the graphics of the ps3.

plus, the ps3 is able to offer everything a pc offers since you're not bound to the ps3's os...

I don't know about the 360, I've never been a fan of the xbox (I just can't stand the controller's and the console's design), but I doubt there's much of a difference between the ps3 and the 360, apart from the performance limits and the design of the thing

The statement that consoles graphics can never compare to pc graphics is, with the incredible progress consoles made from the ps2/xbox to the ps3/360 era, no longer as true as it was back then (for the average gamer of course, I doubt the pcs of mr gates' children need to worry about recent consoles might be better)

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: GMTThe statement that consoles graphics can never compare to pc graphics is, with the incredible progress consoles made from the ps2/xbox to the ps3/360 era, no longer as true as it was back then (for the average gamer of course, I doubt the pcs of mr gates' children need to worry about recent consoles might be better)quote>

It'll be like that again in a year or so I can guarentee you... PC's can move on with graphics while consoles remain pretty much static untill the developers can be bothered to bring out a new system. Thats given the money however... as you said, not eveybody can afford four overclocked 8800's, a 10 Core Processor and 20GB's of RAM. I still prefer PC's though... they will always lead with the Graphics no matter how close Consoles get.

[GMT 389]

that's right, from a a certain point on, pcs will take back the pole.

Recent consoles displace pcs, but only temporarely. Nevertheless consoles get closer to pcs with every release. just a matter of time and they are technically 100% equal.

now it's exchangeable HDDs on the hardware side, tomorrow it might be exchangeable GPUs or RAM, and the day after tomorrow, the whole system might be exchangeable.

on the software side, they are already the same. hit your ps3 with win, mac or linux and off you go with a goodlooking, tv mounted pc.

and, I think this should be said aswell, you are on the safe side with a console when it comes to games. with a pc, you'll always have to bother about compatibility and might cut back visual quality to run recent games smooth.

on a console, even most recent games look good and run smooth (of course, I can bring my ps3 down far beyond 1fps if I want, I can make it crash even by just demanding to much at once, but that's nothing to do with normal usage, and further it's nothing special. If I had the chance I could bring Blue-gene to it's knees... just like everyone else would be able to do it, only that the bar is far far far higher than we as a pc user are used to, cuz no matter how good and fast the pc works, it has it's limit, and all you need to do to bring him down is to go beyond this limit, best way is complex calculations like probability calculus...)

And this will be the case for definitely more than a year.

No doubt, average pcs will have displaced consoles for a long time already when developers have to start cutting back some details, texture qualities and whatnot to run the game smooth on todays state of the art consoles.

But I guess we'll eagerly await the release of the ps4 and the xbox360² then... (what would be 2012 according to ms)

[Yeah_Right 2]

If i was to buy a ps3, this would definitely be one of the games i would buy with it.

But id rather upgrade my computer than buy a ps3

[dabadon5 295]

Originally posted by: hym Am I the only one that thinks the graphics don't look all that good? quote>

are you serious ? the graphics are awesome !  and GTa is about graphics its about blowing things up and committing crimes

GTA 4 will be the best game ever,so far, better than any simcity game or EA game all combined ! Rockstar Rules !

Combined double posts.  Please use the Edit button if you'd like to include more information, but no one has posted after you yet.--hym

[rollenkingston 0]

Originally posted by: dabadon5 GTA 4 will be the best game ever,so far, better than any simcity game or EA game all combined ! Rockstar Rules !quote>

It's completely different, I wouldn't compare the two, I get different levels of fun with both games, I mean there are similar elements. But the gameplay and depth of the game is completely different. Sim City more or less has no story, so the depth of the story goes to GTA, but as for gameplay, you really have to think for Sim City. After I got used to San Andreas for the first few missions, the game got really easy.

[toxicpiano 125]

Street map leaked:

http://kotaku.com/372415/gta-iv-street-map-leaked

[justintime 8]

Have you guys seen how detailed the bullet holes are?

Oversized image deleted.--hym

[ilikehotdogsalot 308]

Yes, we have. Can you please resize the picture to 800 x 600? Thanks.

[Wrightguy0 40]

Well trailer four comes out today Y'all excited?

[BurroDiablo 222]

Bulletholes are nothing, what amazes me is you can se the metallic sparkles in the paint of the car

Oh yeah, and I'm going mad over this new Trailer

[toxicpiano 125]

When is the trailer out? I bet it's something like MIDNIGHT MEPSTDV ATLANTIC EAST WEST PACIFIC COASTAL TIME?!

[GMT 389]

metallic flakes in the cars paint is nothing special, go check juiced 2...

as for the trailer, I guess it'll be up at 6pm east, just like all the other trailers.

but I have some more breathtaking news and pics concerning the multiplayer mode:

-number of players:

    * Deathmatch: 2-16 Players.

    * Team Deathmatch: 2-16 Players (up to 8 teams of 2 players).

    * GTA Race: 1-16 Players.

    * Mafia Work: 2-8 Players.

    * Team Mafia Work: 2-16 Players (up to 8 teams of 2 players).

    * Cops N' Crooks: 4-16 Players (in two teams).

    * Hangman's NOOSE: 2-4 Players.

    * Free Mode: 1-16 Players.

- aceessing the multiplayer mode goes via cellphone in singleplayer mode (I get the feeling that the cell replaces the menu)

- you can set up/alter:

    Time of day

    Which vehicles can be used (mainly for race modes)

    Which weapons can be used

    How much traffic will spawn

    The game location

    The weather

    If you want police to chase players or not

- customizing the character requires multiplayer game advances as in unlocking items via online sessions

- pedestrians have functions, e.g. reporters saw a guy spraying a grafitti in MP mode

- the whole city is available, the host-player sets the respawn area (it's possible to set the teams on either end of the map)

- the host can choose wether friendly fire is activated or deactivated

- the online ranking accords to the money earned in online play via killing or picking it up

- voice chat is enabled and the host can choose between:

    all hear you

    teammates hear you

    proximity chat (means only nearby persons can be heard talking

- races are not bound to vehicels unless set

- shooting while driving is pretty difficult

- cops 'n crooks mode means that all players chase one, the hunters can respawn after death, the hunted not

- free roam has no rules or cash, and the host can set the weapons (like everyone vs everyone deathmatches)

one more, according to rockstar, the online mode and perfecting it was the main reason for the  delayed release.

so, screenshots of the multiplayer mode...

awesome...

here's one:

looks like pretty much action...

then again, also a screenshot from the multiplayer, but I don't post if because of the MP but because of what it shows:

pretty much of an enormous visibility range:

feels like looking over half the city, eh?

now, it seems like the post by toxicpiano got lost above...

it seems that the GTA4 roadmap has leaked through.

I took a look at the pictures, and I see no reason why they should be fake, so here's the linkie to the pics: tadaa

what shows the map? well, parks, streets, streetnames, water, islands, st. francis intl. airport

and a spitload of sights, just the way every gta roadmap looked until now, and probably will look like in the future

... now wait a minute... streetnames? did I wrote streetnames?

YES! finally! we can name the streets we cruise. yeehaw.

not we don't have to think about hows the street called that goes from the bridge at the lighthouse to the mulhol

[GreekMan 246]

man i am ready to destroy my GTA3 game and finally play this game. it looks incredible!

I wish they could pick a different city thought. they always pick on NYC

[GMT 389]

that's what bothers me aswell.

Liberty city the... 4th... GTA, GTA:LC, GTA:LCS, GTA4...

I'd soo love to see a GTA4 like VC or even SA... maybe they go this way, like they did with GTA3... who knows...

[GreekMan 246]

I wish they could have cities like San Diego or Boston. That would be fun!

I went to the official site and it's the funnest site. Rockstar is so great and funny

I like the talk radio but it could be improved. I am going back to the site to see more stuff

The funny thing is with the sports teams. The Swingers? wow....

[toxicpiano 125]

I imagine it will be a trilogy with each place. It would make sense, the previous one was the 'GTA III trilogy' starting in Liberty city in GTA III and this will be the GTA IV trilogy of games.

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: dabadon5

Originally posted by: hym Am I the only one that thinks the graphics don't look all that good? quote>

are you serious ? the graphics are awesome !  and GTa is about graphics its about blowing things up and committing crimesquote>

Well, graphics has to be addressed on a subjective level.  I don't like the GTA graphics, but I like the graphics for Halo 3.  Someone else might not like Halo 3's graphics, but they might like the graphics for F.E.A.R. (I don't much care for the quantity of blood in some of the places, in case you were wondering.)

[GMT 389]

You can't compare GTA graphics to any other game.

GTA graphics are realistic and getting ever more realistic with the title, but what people easily forget is that GTA doesn't stand for photorealsm like other games do or try.

GTA graphics have always been kinda comic like. not in the 1:1 comic adaption like XIII with real comic looks, but...

you know... GTA tries to look realistic in it's world, with a minor but ever present and visible comic-touch.

just take a look at san andreas. the possiblities to achieve a rather photorealistic look have been already on the market for quite some time back then, and R* could have easily included them in san andreas, but no, they refused it (I can recall there've been official statements on this even)

And same happens with GTA4. They push the graphics much further foreward with the new title.

But instead to push towards photorealism, they stay with the comic-like feeling.

technically, both 360 and ps3 could easily show us the new Liberty City in a Halo3-like manner.

But that's not what GTA stands for when it comes to visual quality:

A high, according to the time rather impressive, detail packed quality, last but not least realistic in it's typical way, but without the eager longing for photorealism

EDIT: if you want it that way, GTA has grown from a pure action game to an abstraction of real life, and this abstraction reflects in the graphics aswell, an intended non-photorealism, but nevertheless realistic in it's selfmade frame.

[outriderdriver 4]

Gta4 graphics are that of the ps2! now gta never had great graphics to begin with. especially with san andreas IMO. there are still straight line curbs on the turned roads. arent those things of the past?! Im not complaining really. Saturday will proove to me what its worth.

if the Driver series has halo3 graphics when it returns to the console within the next 2 years, ummm I'll have wet pants i guess.

[toxicpiano 125]

Originally posted by: outriderdriver there are still straight line curbs on the turned roads. arent those things of the past?! quote>

FINALLY SOMEONE LIKE ME!!!!1

[GMT 389]

The trailer is online!

EDIT: I just can't find it...

nevermind. did the wrong thing... lets see whats new to show

EDIT 2:

looks way better than in the previous trailers.

a nice show off of the particle effects and interactions with the environment.