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

[Verdun_Salient]

Vadim M released a 70 minute video talking about why the planes seem to constantly crash in GTA:SA

 

[The Last Stand]

Vadim M released a 70 minute video talking about why the planes seem to constantly crash in GTA:SA

I've never experienced random plane crashes when playing San Andreas. Or, haven't noticed it.

TLDW (this may not be accurate, as I don't understand code and I'm typing as I'm listening):

• The plane's flight path is called a fly-by.
• Small planes and big planes have different parameters for their spawning and flight paths.
• Fly-bys has checks in place regarding CJ's location, camera placement and possible collisions around the world.
• Planes can "spawn" around CJ's "sphere of view" to give immersion that San Andreas is a living world.
• The collision checks are determined by the planes' stats. Slower the plane, the more precise it COULD detect collisions and correct course.
• There is a height ceiling of around 800m because the interiors are placed above the ceiling.
• There is an altitude limit for planes, even during spawn.
• Big planes fly higher and away from city zones, obviously because of 9/11. However, if you enter and leave an interior, there's a chance that a plane could spawn around CJ's sphere upon leaving the interior.
• Helicopters and planes share the same code. There's a condition where small planes and helicopters would "fly through" tall trees.
• Weather conditions could affect the planes' fly-by through wind conditions.
• There are conditions where planes would not spawn if you are flying a plane or helicopter. Six missions that involve flying have those special parameters in place.
• You can "despawn" planes by looking down with your camera.
• GTA V has that same code but unused. I think planes move slower and the collision tracking is from the center path, not distance.

 

[TheArtilleryman]

Second, I heavily disagree, auto-aim GTA is garbage and it absolutely detracts from the experience. Only way to play the game is with free mouse look, which is only available on PC this generation. That's aside from all the boons the PC version gets. Console babbies really have no arguments other than "muh nostalgia", as if that matters for a game that has a dozen better ways to play it now in 2025.

We got the ability to free aim all weapons on PS2 with San Andreas and it was dreadful. It just didn't work well on controller, auto-aim was needed. They finally figured out good shooting controls on console for GTAIV yet still made auto-aim the default, probably because they knew that millions of literal kids with bad co-ordination and patience would still be playing. It wasn't that bad in IV, but it really started to piss me off in V and GTAO because the guns were so damn accurate and fast to kill, you didn't even need to look at what you were doing. Just take cover and keep tapping L2 then R2 until the camera stops moving. This persisted in to GTAO then, where you would often get 1 tapped by a noob with an assault rifle as you speed past him at 120mph, he just L2 snaps his laser accuracy at you and fires without thought. Close range gunfights were a pathetic dance of both players doing slow combat rolls trying to break their opponents lock on and use their own. They were that adverse to free aiming. That game made me despise auto-aim, the first thing I did in RDR2 was switch it off.

My point before the rambling was that the 3D era GTA games absolutely needed auto aim and it worked well, it was come GTAV that it became a plague. Free aim wouldn't work for the 3D era on controller because the engine was too fast and chaotic, the controller too shitty and Resi 4 had yet to come along and establish the standard over the shoulder shooting seen everywhere thereafter.


Also, what is this, 2007? You can have the games on both PS2 and PC, you mongs

 

[Slav Power]

You can have the games on both PS2 and PC

PS2? Why?

Yeah okay GTA looks like shit on PCSX2 since it still has unresolved visual bugs but the point still stands, you have emulation and mods on PC, it's the ultimate platform. You want to play PS2 GTA? Emulate it. You want PS2 controls on the PC version? Install GInput. You'll be better off with the latter since you'll be able to patch your whole game up to look, run and work better than the OG PS2 releases ever did.

 

[30+GameOvers]

We got the ability to free aim all weapons on PS2 with San Andreas and it was dreadful. It just didn't work well on controller, auto-aim was needed.

Precisely my point, if you play with auto-aim on you might as well have played with cheats and never played the game proper. If you did play with free aim on console, you will find it horrible and switch back to auto-aim. Therefore, PC version is superior, other factors don't matter. You will be shooting dudes for a good portion of the game, if the shooting isn't satisfying or even fun, then there is no point in playing the game.

 

[The Last Stand]

We got the ability to free aim all weapons on PS2 with San Andreas and it was dreadful. It just didn't work well on controller, auto-aim was needed.

Auto aim wasn't the greatest, but the worse offender has to be the inverted controls for free aiming with snipers and rocket launchers. Forget about making precise adjustments since you're unable to adjust the sensitivity. Bomb da Base: Act II was hell on PS2 because of it.

 

[TheArtilleryman]

PS2? Why?
View attachment 7151276
Yeah okay GTA looks like shit on PCSX2 since it still has unresolved visual bugs but the point still stands, you have emulation and mods on PC, it's the ultimate platform. You want to play PS2 GTA? Emulate it. You want PS2 controls on the PC version? Install GInput. You'll be better off with the latter since you'll be able to patch your whole game up to look, run and work better than the OG PS2 releases ever did.

Nostalgia I suppose, it's fun to hook up the PS2 sometimes if you still have it.

Precisely my point, if you play with auto-aim on you might as well have played with cheats and never played the game proper.

It wasn't so easy as to compare it to using cheats, not in the 3D games. GTAV was when the shooting became almost no-effort. GTASA was jankier and still presented difficulty even with auto-aim. Getting around the jank was fun in it's own way, like thinking to place strategic sticky bombs before a cutscene, or finding a good sniping spot instead of taking the usual route for a combat section. (Remember when you had the freedom to approach missions your own unique way like that?)

 

[30+GameOvers]

It wasn't so easy as to compare it to using cheats, not in the 3D games. GTAV was when the shooting became almost no-effort. GTASA was jankier and still presented difficulty even with auto-aim. Getting around the jank was fun in it's own way, like thinking to place strategic sticky bombs before a cutscene, or finding a good sniping spot instead of taking the usual route for a combat section. (Remember when you had the freedom to approach missions your own unique way like that?)

I played 3, VC and SA on PC before I tried them out on consoles, and let me tell you having an aimbot does make the game quite easy. It is also annoying as it will sometimes shoot towards NPCs you don't want to kill, throwing your aim off. With mouse look, there is total freedom and a modicum of skill needed, not to mention that the mouse controls much better in the rare times when you need free-aim(like when using a sniper rifle) than the analog stick.

 

[The Last Stand]

I played 3, VC and SA on PC before I tried them out on consoles, and let me tell you having an aimbot does make the game quite easy. It is also annoying as it will sometimes shoot towards NPCs you don't want to kill, throwing your aim off. With mouse look, there is total freedom and a modicum of skill needed, not to mention that the mouse controls much better in the rare times when you need free-aim(like when using a sniper rifle) than the analog stick.

I'd like to argue that PC aiming with M+KB "makes the game quite easy." AFAIK, guns have no recoil when free aiming. Take into consideration as well that these games were designed on console before PC.

With mouse look, there is total freedom and a modicum of skill needed, not to mention that the mouse controls much better in the rare times when you need free-aim(like when using a sniper rifle) than the analog stick.

Correct. If you've never used M+KB before, you may have a learning curve ahead of you. I guess it's subjective.

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

vadim m also announced he's retiring. you can read the retiring post here, but to spoil it: i dont really see why he's doing so. the only reason i understand is burnout, but he also says his channel's dying which is blatantly untrue

I'm concerned about Rockstar asking writers to be "less crude towards minorities." It should make fun of everyone equally

this video literally starts with explaining the lore reasons why you get a wanted level in GTA IV (which everyone knows) just to go on a "GTA was always political you hate women" rant

 

[30+GameOvers]

vadim m also announced he's retiring. you can read the retiring post here, but to spoil it: i dont really see why he's doing so. the only reason i understand is burnout, but he also says his channel's dying which is blatantly untrue

That's a shame, he made good videos
Still, it's better he stops when he's actually liked and makes content people want to see, rather than to end up another sellout with no good content like Stipo360 ended up for the Dead Rising community.

 

[The Last Stand]

Leslie Benzies' company, Build a Rocket Boy, has announced a release window for their linear, action-adventure sci-fi title, MindsEye. Summer of 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series and Steam.

Looks like a mix of Cyberpunk 2077 and Remedy style games with a hint of GTA. Oh, and Mafia III actor, Alex Hernandez, has a leading role.

 

[30+GameOvers]

Leslie Benzies' company, Build a Rocket Boy, has announced a release window for their linear, action-adventure sci-fi title, MindsEye. Summer of 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series and Steam.

Looks like a mix of Cyberpunk 2077 and Remedy style games with a hint of GTA. Oh, and Mafia III actor, Alex Hernandez, has a leading role.

So that game is made by Leslie's company, huh? I am actually not surprised, it does look a lot like a GTA game, altho more of a Cyberpunk than a GTA clone maybe.
I wonder if there was anyone frustrated at R* that they couldn't make more out-there games at the studio, like a futuristic take on GTA(which already exists in the form of GTA2). This might be the result of that frustration.

 

[The Last Stand]

I wonder if there was anyone frustrated at R* that they couldn't make more out-there games at the studio, like a futuristic take on GTA(which already exists in the form of GTA2). This might be the result of that frustration.

I wouldn't be surprised since almost all of the R* studios are all hands on deck for GTA Online AND GTA 6.

So that game is made by Leslie's company, huh? I am actually not surprised, it does look a lot like a GTA game, altho more of a Cyberpunk than a GTA clone maybe.

It's single player only, so that's a good thing. Maybe it could be a game where you could have an interactive TV show experience after a long day. I'm surprised the pre-order price is $60, since the industry pricing standard now is $70.

 

[Rudolf's Friend]

vadim m also announced he's retiring. you can read the retiring post here, but to spoil it: i dont really see why he's doing so. the only reason i understand is burnout, but he also says his channel's dying which is blatantly untrue

To be honest I find it hard for me to sympathize with him when he writes about this. If you're making YouTube videos for money and not for fun, then i'd say it's not really worth it. Then again I don't make YouTube videos so it's a different world for me.

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

Leslie Benzies' company, Build a Rocket Boy, has announced a release window for their linear, action-adventure sci-fi title, MindsEye. Summer of 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series and Steam.

Looks like a mix of Cyberpunk 2077 and Remedy style games with a hint of GTA. Oh, and Mafia III actor, Alex Hernandez, has a leading role.

also it's being published by IO Interactive, makers of the Hitman series. You could crosspost this to the IO Interactive general thread which has been barren due to Project 007 being in dev hell

 

[The Last Stand]

also it's being published by IO Interactive, makers of the Hitman series. You could crosspost this to the IO Interactive general thread which has been barren due to Project 007 being in dev hell

Done.

Dumb question, I'm guessing the developer makes games, while the publisher markets games? Like set the price, make the trailers, print the copies?

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

Done.

Dumb question, I'm guessing the developer makes games, while the publisher markets games? Like set the price, make the trailers, print the copies?

yea think of it like a book company: the publisher is responsible for distribution of the game, while the dev is sort of like the author. the publisher can control the content to an extent but that's more the dev's responsibility

with IOI they were always beholden to the Eidos, then Squeenix, then WB, before self-publishing. IOI probably picked this game to publish because of the Leslie Benzies pedigree, if it's successful it's vindicating that he's the genius that made GTA what it is, but also because not to be harsh on it but it kinda looks like what the Hitman series goes for: niche AA gaming. Whether it's good or not is another thing, the Hitman series is one of the few good AA games of the modern era, but this looks kinda store brand but we'll see

With Rockstar Games my understanding is they are publishers and developers with Rockstar North, San Diego etc. developing them but then the parent Rockstar brand marketing them. I could be wrong tho, but my impression is while Rockstar Games is owned by Take Two that's a case of a publisher owning a publisher and that R* and 2K games both are fairly autonomous when it comes to marketing and publishing decisions, with specific exceptions like T2 setting release dates and deciding when to release trailers for GTA V, but I could've sworn that with GTA V's development as well as RDR2's Take Two was pretty hands off

 

[The Last Stand]

with IOI they were always beholden to the Eidos, then Squeenix, then WB, before self-publishing. IOI probably picked this game to publish because of the Leslie Benzies pedigree, if it's successful it's vindicating that he's the genius that made GTA what it is,

I cannot see Build a Rocket Boy being direct rivals with R* yet. Maybe their upcoming EVERYWHERE MMO game creation title would give them a run for their money on open-world innovation.

 

[BetterFuckChuck]

I cannot see Build a Rocket Boy being direct rivals with R* yet. Maybe their upcoming EVERYWHERE MMO game creation title would give them a run for their money on open-world innovation.

Yknow i forgot theyre doing EVERYWHERE too, i thought that became Mindseye but i think they showed it off somewhere. Dan Houser has his own company right? or is he doing Build a Rocket Boy too?