Grand Theft Auto Grieving Thread - Yep, I've been drinkin' again...

[The Last Stand]

From the comments on that video:


It really seems like you're up a creek if you want to play IV on the PC. It's a shame too, because it has a great atmosphere that doesn't get as cartoonish as V. Hard to put my finger on why I don't like V as much, even with first-person driving. I tried to play it again on PC but now they want a social club login and I just want to play offline. Publishers have a shitty habit of adding launchers to games after the fact, rockstar isn't the only one.

PC players, does anti piracy actually help with piracy? I'd figured it's more bloated ware for your PC.

Also. What's the benefit of having your games segregated to different launchers?

 

[Super Hans]

PC players, does anti piracy actually help with piracy? I'd figured it's more bloated ware for your PC.

Also. What's the benefit of having your games segregated to different launchers?

Very rarely do anti-piracy measures actually do anything worthwhile. When Denuvo was still a hot new thing, it would take months even for a popular game to get cracked. I remember Dragon Age: Inquisition took a very long time. But now that it's been out for a while the crackers know how to work around it, and it's just another waste of money that investors insist spending on because doing nothing is unacceptable to them.

And the launcher itself isn't what the devs/pubs want you on, it's their storefront, but you're less likely to buy from their store if you never interact with it, which the launcher tries to force you to do.

 

[Pissmaster]

PC players, does anti piracy actually help with piracy? I'd figured it's more bloated ware for your PC.

Also. What's the benefit of having your games segregated to different launchers?

As for anti-piracy, think about this: gog.com is the only other widely respected PC game platform other than Steam, because they offer games with no DRM and offline installers. They've been very successful, despite how trivial it is to pass around their installers and pirate whatever they sell. They more or less prove the notion that pirates weren't your paying customers in the first place.

Copy protection has always been a hassle. Go down the rabbit hole and you'll find stories of rootkits and other insane security flaws, all the way up to Denuvo making games run like shit on perfectly adequate hardware due to how your computer is constantly decrypting files mid-game.

 

[The Last Stand]

Copy protection has always been a hassle. Go down the rabbit hole and you'll find stories of rootkits and other insane security flaws, all the way up to Denuvo making games run like shit on perfectly adequate hardware due to how your computer is constantly decrypting files mid-game.

I heard that DRM protection like Denovo can be invasive to other files on your computer. Even if it does nothing to the game itself. Or that it screws with your antivirus software.

Back to GTA: my favorite feature in the GTA 3D era were the Rampages. They would be scattered around the world, usually in alleys or behind buildings, and would task you to kill X people in a set amount of time using Y weapon.

In GTA 2, they were called Kill Frenzy.

GTA 3 had the hardest Rampages, particularly ones that requires headshots. If you remember, GTA 3 had horrible, sensitive free aim on consoles. Sometimes, enemies wouldn't spawn in time either. Still, they were fun diversions.

IRC, San Andreas or IV did not have them.

 

[vertexwindi]

San Andreas did have that Gang Territory mechanic which was kinda similar.

 

[The Last Stand]

San Andreas did have that Gang Territory mechanic which was kinda similar.

Vice City Stories brought that back loosely with the Empire building feature.

A nice metagame that blends with the story. It was annoying that one business would be taken over on the other end of the map while you're doing other stuff.

At least Vice City is smaller than San Andreas.

 

[Anachronistic]

Vice City Stories brought that back loosely with the Empire building feature.

A nice metagame that blends with the story. It was annoying that one business would be taken over on the other end of the map while you're doing other stuff.

At least Vice City is smaller than San Andreas.

One trick I discovered through my years playing it was that reloading your game stopped the gangs from attacking your businesses. Pretty handy since I think gangs never stopped attacking businesses even if you owned 100% of the map. Weird thing was that if a business was damaged on one save file, it would carry over to other saves.

 

[The Last Stand]

Weird thing was that if a business was damaged on one save file, it would carry over to other saves.

Reminds me of the GTA 3 Purple Nines glitch where if you complete all the Red Jacks missions in Shoreside Vale, no more Purple Jack's would spawn.

It would retroactively affect all saves underneath the original.

Another save glitch was in Vice City to where when you buy the Cherry Poppers ice cream property, your save file could corrupt. On the PS2 version.

 

[The Last Stand]

Weird nitpick I have about GTA IV.

Niko is an immigrant just arriving in Liberty City. So the city is brand new to him, even blocked off for a portion of the game. In the beginning, Roman tries to explain to Niko where his cab depot is by giving his street names for directions. But Niko is new, he even tries to explain to Roman that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

A couple missions onward, his bosses describe streets to him and suddenly, he knows exactly where that location is. Did he study the whole map in his free time?

Another nitpick with the GTA series. Up until V, certain parts of the city are blocked off. You come back to the city or just arrived, then all of a sudden, you're segmented in one part of the city for superficial reasons. In a couple cases, your character arrives via airplane and now you're blocked off.

How can a city operate like that?

 

[John Merston]

Another nitpick with the GTA series. Up until V, certain parts of the city are blocked off. You come back to the city or just arrived, then all of a sudden, you're segmented in one part of the city for superficial reasons. In a couple cases, your character arrives via airplane and now you're blocked off.

How can a city operate like that?

In IV, the reason why the starting portion of the city is cordoned off from the rest is because of a terrorist scare.

 

[The Last Stand]

In IV, the reason why the starting portion of the city is cordoned off from the rest is because of a terrorist scare.

Even so, in the episodes, the bridges are reopened as it nothing happened. Although in The Ballad of Gay Tony, it takes place after the Three Leaf Clover mission, which the bridges reopen, so it makes sense. In The Lost and Damned, some events intertwine during Niko's initial missions. BEFORE the bridges open up.

For Vice City and Vice City Stories, it's because of hurricanes. For III and Liberty City Stories, it's because the bridge is damaged. San Andreas, you got me.

 

[Cod of War]

In IV, the reason why the starting portion of the city is cordoned off from the rest is because of a terrorist scare.

There are reasons gor every game but they all kinda dumb. Only one that made since was the bridge connecting Staunton and Portland in GTA 3 since it was damaged in the assult on the police convoy.

 

[The Last Stand]

There are reasons gor every game but they all kinda dumb. Only one that made since was the bridge connecting Staunton and Portland in GTA 3 since it was damaged in the assult on the police convoy.

From a gameplay perspective, I see where they're going from. You don't want to open up the whole world while the character is just starting out.

From an open world perspective, when part of the world is segmented off, the world already feels smaller.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Does anyone here read the GTA strategy guides from time to time?
I missed out on the Vice City/San Andreas ones, so instead I bought the IV and V ones, and the more I look back on them, they’re very detailed.

 

[Nathan Higgers]

Even so, in the episodes, the bridges are reopened as it nothing happened. Although in The Ballad of Gay Tony, it takes place after the Three Leaf Clover mission, which the bridges reopen, so it makes sense. In The Lost and Damned, some events intertwine during Niko's initial missions. BEFORE the bridges open up.

For Vice City and Vice City Stories, it's because of hurricanes. For III and Liberty City Stories, it's because the bridge is damaged. San Andreas, you got me.

Best part about San Andreas bridges being closed was how you'd see the famous 'big smoke train' just fucking pass through the barricades like a fucking ghost, but you'd have to wait 10 more fucking missions till you could access San Fierro.

 

[Cod of War]

Best part about San Andreas bridges being closed was how you'd see the famous 'big smoke train' just fucking pass through the barricades like a fucking ghost, but you'd have to wait 10 more fucking missions till you could access San Fierro.

Now that I thinking of it, I don't remember hearing the reason why the bridges were closed in SA.

 

[The Last Stand]

Now that I thinking of it, I don't remember hearing the reason why the bridges were closed in SA.

Moreover, how did CJ and the taxi get through?

SA's map was TOO DAMN BIG to enjoy. Too much dead space with the desert and countryside and poorly placed roadways.

But this is GTA, I'm using too much logic in this. Still a fun discussion.

GTA V was the first to have its map open from the start. Given the size of it, that's a surprise.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

SA's map was TOO DAMN BIG to enjoy. Too much dead space with the desert and countryside and poorly placed roadways.

This was a big reason I gave up once Toreno's missions were introduced, because now you had to travel between San Fierro and the middle of the desert for different missions. There was just too much dead air and it made me wish for a fast travel system. It's impressive they were able to fit such a gigantic map onto the PS2, but in practical terms it means that traveling between locations is a total slog.

Toreno's missions were also total bullshit which was another big reason I quit. Seriously, fuck the plane controls.

 

[The Last Stand]

Toreno's missions were also total bullshit which was another big reason I quit. Seriously, fuck the plane controls.

Another thing about Flying School. Toreno tells you to buy an abandoned airstrip, "offer them a dollar, if they refuse, kill them." But you had to buy it anyway.

I was stuck at that point as a kid, trying to figure out how to just take it. I guess R* couldn't be bothered to change that line or add that option.

 

[White Devil]

Weird nitpick I have about GTA IV.

Niko is an immigrant just arriving in Liberty City. So the city is brand new to him, even blocked off for a portion of the game. In the beginning, Roman tries to explain to Niko where his cab depot is by giving his street names for directions. But Niko is new, he even tries to explain to Roman that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

A couple missions onward, his bosses describe streets to him and suddenly, he knows exactly where that location is. Did he study the whole map in his free time?

Liberty City is mostly based on NYC. NYC has city maps everywhere.