Topic: Grand Theft Auto V - Update: FREE on Epic Store (Reply 128)

[MysterD]

NEW --> 05/14/2020:
Yep, GTA5 Premium Edition PC version is the Epic Game Store freebie.
It broke the Internet...and the Epic Game Store site:
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/gta-5-is-free-on-pc-today-but-the-epic-games-store-is-down


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OLD:

Rumor has it: GTA5 could be the next freebie for Epic Game Store starting tomorrow.
GTA Online - "Heists" Trailer -> captured on the PC.
GTA 5 PC -> 1080p60fps Trailer.
Kotaku -> What Rockstar has done to the GTA Online cheaters - this is hilarious.
Forbes -> GTA Online launched today...with problems galore (like many online games) - players stuck in server queues; players can't connect; bugs; issues; etc.
Joystiq -> GTA5 console versions pulled $800 mill USD on Day 1
OWNet -> GTA V Console Reviews - Compilation.
CinemaBlend -> GTA5 console versions have been leaked to Torrents.
GameSpot -> Rockstar is investigating that some people have got shipped GTA5 console versions EARLY from Amazon & are playing it.Youtube -> Official GamePlay Video.
Kotaku -> GTA5 Preview.
IGN -> "Everything You Missed In The New Trailers."
GTA5 - "Michael. Franklin. Trevor." (3 New Trailers).Youtube -> LEGO GTA5 Trailer.
GTA5 PC Petition is up...
GTAEngine -> Dan Houser says GTA5 PC and WiiU versions are possibly "up for consideration."
Rev3 Games -> Adam Sessler, Tara Long & Max Scoville discuss GTA5 Trailer #2.
GTA5 -> Trailer #2.
GTAEngine.com -> A bunch of details on GTA5 from GameInformer.
GameSpy -> Rockstar Has Nothing "to Share About a PC Version at This Time" in Regards to GTA V.
RUMOR - Mafia 2 Dev's [2K Czech] to help out Rockstar w/ GTA5.
PC Gamer -> GTA V - Trailer #1.
PC Gamer -> GTA V - Multiple Protagonists Theory.
GamePro - Who is GTA V's Protagonist?
IGN -> IGN's Reaction to the GTA V Trailer.
GTA V has been announced. Trailer coming 11/02/11.

[idolminds]

So why not wait until the 2nd and then announce it? Right now we have zero information. So...thanks, Rockstar. I guess.

[scottws]

I could care less. I'm pretty burned out on these games.

[K-man]

I could care less. I'm pretty burned out on these games.

I'm sort of in the same boat.  I played through IV and finished it.  It was the first GTA I've been able to complete.  Really enjoyed it, had a great time, and a good story (despite the cheeky take on the city).  That said, that game was very dense and very long, and I'm not sure if I could do it again.  Maybe with a revamped save system.  I dunno. 

[Quemaqua]

Something I wouldn't consider picking up now, but might at some point way later after it was cheap just to see the city. I don't really care about the stories at all. I just love exploring the cities.

[MysterD]

Can't wait for details on this - I love the GTA games.

Most of the numbered GTA's usually take place in Lib City. I'd really like to see them not do so, this time around.
I would love to see the next GTA go back to Vice City. I'm dying over here for Vice City 2.

I just hope for release date on the PC, if and when it comes here, they optimize the damn engine.

[Pugnate]

So why not wait until the 2nd and then announce it? Right now we have zero information. So...thanks, Rockstar. I guess.

[iPPi]

I didn't really like GTA IV all that much.  I am not interested in the next iteration of the series at all.

[sirean_syan]

So why not wait until the 2nd and then announce it? Right now we have zero information. So...thanks, Rockstar. I guess.

In Rockstar's defense, they've been pretty good about showing things that are pretty near completion. If my memory is right and they're going by usual procedure, the game could be out by spring or early summer. That's way better than pretty much everyone else who puts out big name games.

I think I could be interested in a new GTA at this point. There were lots of lessons to learn from the last game, obviously, but the series (along with Red Dead) has a certain sense of weight and meaning lacking in most other games that try to do the open world thing*. Whatever they do will at least be worth looking into.

* For example, I have almost no idea how people think Saints Row can be a proper replacement for a GTA.

[PyroMenace]

I loved GTA IV, and I still think that its DLC has the best I've ever experienced. Though I wasn't expecting another GTA till the next console generation. I'd be very interested in playing another.

[K-man]

I loved GTA IV, and I still think that its DLC has the best I've ever experienced. Though I wasn't expecting another GTA till the next console generation. I'd be very interested in playing another.

I've got the combo disc.  I've played through The Lost and the Damned (which was way better than I thought it would be).  Haven't played much of Gay Tony, but I'm sure it's equally as excellent.

[MysterD]

Ballad of Gay Tony DLC is fantastic - can't argue w/ that.

[MysterD]

* For example, I have almost no idea how people think Saints Row can be a proper replacement for a GTA.

While I really do like Saints Row 2, I think people attach to it b/c its content is 100% just EXTREMELY over-the-top is every regard and a sense of "fun."

The GTA's have gotten more grounded w/ each release since GTA3, in terms of missions and story and seriousness.
Though, Ballad of Gay Tony was a little more over-the-top than the last few GTA games - probably since GTA3.

[idolminds]

In Rockstar's defense, they've been pretty good about showing things that are pretty near completion. If my memory is right and they're going by usual procedure, the game could be out by spring or early summer. That's way better than pretty much everyone else who puts out big name games.

I'm not really faulting them for that. Just the announcement of an announcement. Its a week, you could have just dropped the bomb with the video all ready to go.

[MysterD]

Kotaku -> They think These Are The Best Cities for The Next GTA.
Kotaku -> Rumor - GTA5 to take place in L.A.

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> GTA V - Trailer.
PC Gamer -> GTA V - Multiple Protagonists Theory.
GamePro - Who is GTA V's Protagonist?
G4TV - 10 Things From the Trailer.
GTAForums -> Trailer analysis thread.

EDIT:
Looks like we're back in Cali - namely, San Andreas [L.A.].
I could've swore I saw in that video CJ, Nico, and Tommy Vercetti all in that vid.
Plus, the narrator - that sounds like actor Ray Liotta [Vercetti].

[MysterD]

GTAEngine.com -> A bunch of details on GTA5 from GameInformer.

GTA 5 “evolves nearly every mechanic” found in previous games in the series.
Features the biggest open world in the series’ history – GTA 5′s world is bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption, San Andreas and GTA IV combined.
Three playable characters who you can switch between “at nearly any time”.
Each character has their own specific abilities and story arc, with all three stories intertwined.
Camera zooms out to a “Google Earth-style” perspective when switching characters.
Character 1 – Michael, an ex-bank robber in his early 40s who retired after making a deal with the FIB. He has two teenage children and hates his wife Amanda. He’s also the narrator of the original GTA 5 trailer.
Character 2 – Trevor, a former war veteran and a “drugged out psychopath”. An experienced pilot.
Character 3 – Franklin, a repo man in his mid 20s described as a “young and ambitious hustler”.
Certain characters from GTA IV and Episodes From Liberty City will also make an appearance. Rockstar’s Dan Houser says we’ll never see characters from the PS2 era, though. “The five PS2 games are one universe, and this is the high definition universe, so they don’t co-exist,” he says.
No major actors cast as any of the main characters.
Focus on making more diverse missions.
Heists and bank robberies are a big theme to the game.
Characters will work together during missions, and you can switch between characters mid-mission to fulfill different roles. For example, during a chase sequence you can pilot the getaway helicopter as Trevor, snipe pursuing pilots as Franklin, or fire an assault rifle as Michael.
Missions will have a “very different tone depending on who’s on them, how many people are on them, and how much we’re using switches”, says Houser.
Even when you’re not controlling them, each character will still go about their own business across Los Santos. “You may be surprised by the situations they find themselves in should you switch back to check up on them,” says Game Informer.
Big advances to lighting and shader model. Greater draw distance.
Improved vehicle handling and physics – “The cars hold to the ground better… It feels more like a racing game,” Houser says.
More vehicles than in any GTA to date, including BMXs, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, cars, trucks, helicopters, planes, ATVs and Jet Skis, but vehicle manufacturers are still fictional.
Fighter jets appear to be in. One screenshot shows a fighter equipped with missiles, as a helicopter explodes in the background.
Improved shooting and melee combat. Melee combat “never going to be as big a deal as shooting,” though, warns Houser.
Pedestrians are fully mo-capped and more interactive.
You can rappel down buildings, although it’s not confirmed whether this is specific to certain missions.
Los Santos is described as a “huge and diverse city”, combining the best of Red Dead Redemption’s “large open expanses” with GTA IV’s “densely packed urban environment”.
Areas in the game world include beachfronts, mountains, the wilderness, a “Salton Sea” region, a military base and the suburbs.
GTA: San Andreas was about gang culture. GTA 5 is about capturing the “contemporary culture of LA”.
There will be a “vibrant and fun” economy, but you won’t be able to buy property.
A variety of different side missions and “more sophisticated” minigames, including yoga, triathlons, Jet Skiing, base-jumping, tennis and golf. There’s a full golf course in the game. You can go scuba diving along the coastline of Los Santos, or go to the gym on the seafront.
Each character will have unique hobbies, including “one or two key minigame activities per character”.
San Andreas’ RPG-like player customization is still absent, but you can customize the clothing of each character.
GTA IV’s romance feature has been removed.
Like in GTA IV, players can make friends and hang out with certain NPCs, including Michael’s wife Amanda and son Jimmy, Franklin’s “crazy friend” Lamar, and Trevor’s mate Ron.
GTA IV’s mobile phone returns, but a lot of its features have been altered. You can use it to access the internet.
Dynamic missions – hidden missions dotted around the game world. “Going off-road in the desert, you may come across two parked cars and a sea of dead bodies around them… Investigate if you want.”
And don’t forget, Take-Two has already promised “a lot of interesting stuff” for GTA 5′s DLC.

[MysterD]

GTA5 - "Michael. Franklin. Trevor." (3 New Trailers).

[MysterD]

Youtube -> Official GamePlay Video.

[MysterD]

CinemaBlend -> GTA5 console versions have been leaked to Torrents.
GameSpot -> Rockstar is investigating that some people have got shipped GTA5 console versions EARLY from Amazon & are playing it.

[sirean_syan]

Be nice if Amazon leaked it early to me.

[MysterD]

Grand Theft Auto V - Console Reviews

METACRITIC:
X360
PS3

Scored out of 10:
IGN -> 10
StrategyInformer -> 10
TheSixthAxis -> 10
PlayStation LifeStyle -> 10.
ThunderBolt -> 10.
OXM USA -> 10.
OXM UK -> 10
Machinima - InsideGamingDaily -> 10
Games TM -> 10
Metro UK -> 10.
Edge -> 10
God Is A Geek -> 10.
GamePlanet -> 10
GameTrailers -> 9.8
NZGamer -> 9.8
AusGamers -> 9.8
GameInformer -> 9.75
NowGamer -> 9.5
Polygon -> 9.5
GameSpot -> 9.0
GamerLimit -> 9.0
Eurogamer -> 9
Destructoid -> 9

Scored out of 100:
VentureBeat - GamesBeat -> 95.

Scored out of 5 stars:
Rev3Games -> 5 stars
GiantBomb -> 5 stars.
Guardian -> 5 stars.
Telegraph -> 5 stars.
GamesRadar -> 5 stars.
DigitalSpy -> 5 stars.
HardCoreGamer.com -> 5.
Cheat Code Central -> 4.7
USGamer -> 4 1/2 stars.
Joystiq -> 4 1/2 stars.
Escapist -> 3 1/2 stars.

[Cobra951]

A bit of a fly in the ointment here is that installing both discs to the hard drive on the 360 version will degrade performance significantly.  The system can stream data from more than one device simultaneously, and bottlenecking all 16 GB or so into the hard drive alone cramps its style.  On the other hand, I can't see having a vibrating, grindy, noisy disc spinning away for hours of play time.  That's so 2007.  The solution is a 16GB USB drive.  8 is not enough because the play disc is 7.8 GB, and no way in hell does a drive claimed to hold 8 GB give you enough for that, particularly after the Xbox formats it and gobbles up some room for its system shenanigans.  Installing the install disc to the HDD and the play disc to the USB preserves the streaming bandwidth and shuts off the optical drive (after the disc is verified as legit).

I had no idea that flash memory had gotten so cheap.  I can get a 16GB fast Kingston for less that $12.  So I guess this is what I'll be doing when I spring for the game.  I'm in no hurry, though.  I'm going through Diablo 3 right now, and a couple of other games as well.

[Quemaqua]

Damn it. I was happy to have this off my radar pretty much entirely, but now it's everywhere and it looks so damned good.

[Xessive]

It's installing on my PS3 right now. It's banned here which instantly triggered my desire to want it more.

[W7RE]

I've never really been into this series. The most I've played was a couple hours of free roam co-op with a friend in San Andreas. This one looks amazing though, and I couldn't help myself. I placed my pre-order Sunday night, and now I'm sitting here waiting for UPS.

[Quemaqua]

I've always liked the games, but they never grabbed me the way they do some. Mostly because I don't care so much about story, I want more focus on the open-world and freeform stuff. So like Saints Row III was better for me in that regard, I think, than GTAIV. But I just love the cities, exploring the landscape, and I'm really into the setting they chose for the fifth one. I spent a lot of my boyhood in those areas, or at least going through them, and it makes me feel so nostalgic. I really wish I could shell out the money for this. Or, you know, have time to play it really. But lacking time and money, I guess I'm gonna have to wait. The PS3 is now in our bedroom also, and I have zero desire to play games in there, like, ever. So that doesn't help. Doubt I'll be able to run the PC version well, so who knows.

[Cobra951]

Apparently, the digital version on the PS4 has the same issues as the 360 does with both discs installed to the same hard drive.  Texture popping and related ugliness.  Best performance depends on streaming stuff from 2 separate devices.  Just a heads up for you PS4-ers.  Stick to the disc version.

[Xessive]

Apparently, the digital version on the PS4 has the same issues as the 360 does with both discs installed to the same hard drive.  Texture popping and related ugliness.  Best performance depends on streaming stuff from 2 separate devices.  Just a heads up for you PS4-ers.  Stick to the disc version.

PS4 or PS3?

I've got the disc version and it really spins up when loading! More than any other disc on my PS3, this is the first time I've ever really heard it spin that loud.

PS3 disc version requires an install ~8-9GB anyway.

[Cobra951]

PS3.  Sorry.  Duh.  Yeah, 8-9 GB is correct, with the rest of the content streamed from the disc.  The problem is with the PSN (digital distribution) version, which all ends up on the hard drive, and all has to be streamed with the bandwidth of the HDD alone.  I suppose seeking may be an even greater issue than bandwidth.  With 2 devices, each can be queued up to a different data stream.  If it's all on a single drive, it has to seek back and forth between 2 data streams, and somehow interleave them.  Whatever the reason: split storage, good; single storage, bad.

[Xessive]

PS3.  Sorry.  Duh.  Yeah, 8-9 GB is correct, with the rest of the content streamed from the disc.  The problem is with the PSN (digital distribution) version, which all ends up on the hard drive, and all has to be streamed with the bandwidth of the HDD alone.  I suppose seeking may be an even greater issue than bandwidth.  With 2 devices, each can be queued up to a different data stream.  If it's all on a single drive, it has to seek back and forth between 2 data streams, and somehow interleave them.  Whatever the reason: split storage, good; single storage, bad.

I guess that's the downside of the console effect on data transfer architecture. I expect the next generation may address these issues but only time will tell.

[Cobra951]

It's only an issue when the program design relies on the dual streaming.  One of the Halo games has the same problem.  If there's an HDD present, it installs some data to it, then reads from both the disc and the HDD while you play.  But if you install the whole game to the one drive, it loses this advantage, and performance degrades.

The vast majority of console games benefit a great deal from getting moved to a hard drive.  This is an annoying exception.

[scottws]

So how could we expect this game to perform on a PC, which will certainly be installed on a single hard drive and not require an optical disc at all?

[MysterD]

Wow...GTA5 pulled $800 mill on Day 1:
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/18/grand-theft-auto-5-makes-off-with-over-800-million-on-day-one/

Imagine if they ALSO released a PC version on that same day...

[MysterD]

So how could we expect this game to perform on a PC, which will certainly be installed on a single hard drive and not require an optical disc at all?

I'd guess it might be easier on the PC to deal w/ this - as long as you have a high-end PC (we know Rockstar ain't known for the best PC technical ports - except Max Payne 3 PC);
AND b/c everyone on the PC will have to actually INSTALL whole entire game (you know, like every other modern-day PC game on the modern-day market).

[MysterD]

Any of you guys got X360 version of GTA5 and also have a 8 or 16 GB USB flash drive?

Digital Foundry suggests you put the "play disc" on the USB flash drive to keep disc-spinning noise, texture popping & framerate issues down:
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/17/install-gta-5-play-disc-to-usb-for-xbox-360-workaround/

[Cobra951]

So how could we expect this game to perform on a PC, which will certainly be installed on a single hard drive and not require an optical disc at all?

The PC should way outstrip the console in performance across the board.  You can get SSD's and parallel arrays, not to mention gigabytes of RAM and the possibility of not needing to stream anything.  Just load it all up into the 16X amount of RAM (maybe even 32X?).  I really don't think this is going to be an issue for PCs.  The Xbox with its 512MB RAM has to be constantly streaming textures and other data.

Any of you guys got X360 version of GTA5 and also have a 8 or 16 GB USB flash drive?

Digital Foundry suggests you put the "play disc" on the USB flash drive to keep disc-spinning noise, texture popping & framerate issues down:
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/17/install-gta-5-play-disc-to-usb-for-xbox-360-workaround/

Yeah, I talk about that above.  When I get the game, I'll be getting a 16GB USB stick along with it.

[Quemaqua]

I caved. I had the worst fucking couple of days ever, I'm sick as all hell, and I have two tests coming up. The dogs escaped, our big dude got into some important documents and shredded them (he used to do this all the time at Heather's, but he hasn't done it at our new place until now), and I had something of a confrontation with my sociology professor. I'd managed to save some money this month on various things so I said fuck it, I'm giving myself a present. I played for like 2 hours and then got so sick I couldn't move, but it was a fun 2 hours. This is basically the exact same thing GTA has been since San Andreas, just with small improvements and tightenings. Or so it seems. The formula, even with being able to switch dudes, is feeling a little stale already in some ways just because it doesn't add any unexpected spice the way Saints Row III did. But the attitude, the humor, the characters, the little touches, and the new place to explore bring back the magic. Lots of fun little diversions around too it seems, and I know there are some formula-changing things yet to come. I did just start the thing, after all. Haven't even played the third character yet other than the tutorial bit.

[gpw11]

Picked this up as well.  Actually, bought a new PS3 super slim (With Infamous 2 and GT5) at the same time to replace the Slim that was robbed when we got broken into.

1.) Like GTA5 so far, but only played an hour or so.  My first impression is that the default aiming reticule is retarded small.

2.) The new PS3 is tiny.  The build quality also seems lower, but its cheap and quiet.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, fuck that aiming reticule. Thing is impossible to see at times.

Anyway, my impressions of the game have gone way way up after another couple of hours after school today. The goofy factor went through the roof, the game seems to be taking itself way less seriously at this stage. Franklin's "comin up outta the street" thing they start off with is so fucking tired, but he really gets a chance to show some personality after a bit and the way they bring the first two characters together is hilarious. And it just gets better with the introduction of Lester. Some of the side missions have actually been funny too, a couple of which are nearly Saints Row-level goofy.

The city is great. It's making me so homesick, I think half my desire to play at this point is just to see more familiar surroundings and feel like I'm not stuck in Texas (I'm not from LA, but the countryside and a lot of the housing is distinctly Californiaish all around, and I've spent a fair amount of time down south, even if not in LA proper).

So yeah, it's surprised me a fair bit so far now that I'm getting more into it, and I like the direction I can see things headed in (having read reviews and such already, obviously).