Grand Theft Auto 5

[Tales]

I wouldnt expect either of them for a while though if they are low level. Dont heists unlock at level 12?

 

Shouldn't take long to get there from level 1. An hour, maybe two.

[Emasher]

So far the PC version is looking like a pretty decent port. The options menu is quite extensive and allows you to customize nearly everything. A few exceptions being you can't manually re-map the game-pad controls (although there are more presets than you see in most games, including one that maps the shooting controls properly for a dualshock), and as far as I can tell there's no option to disable god-rays. Switching between a controller and mouse and keyboard is seamless, and I've been doing everything in first person and using a controller for driving (for analog controls), and keyboard and mouse for on foot. It's a little tough to shoot while driving with a controller though, so I've been using the mouse and keyboard when I've had to do that.

 

Now more importantly, performance. My setup is an i7 4790k with a super clocked GTX 970 and 8GB RAM. I've been playing the game so far at 1080p on maximum settings except I've disabled motion blur, depth of field and I've set my anti-aliasing settings to 2x MSAA, with TXAA and FXAA both off. I've tried to override that in the Nvidia control panel with MFAA, but I'm not sure it's working as there's no option to use MFAA directly in the game, and I haven't seen any noticeable performance improvements since turning it on. Reflection MFAA is also turned off. The frame rates I'm getting with these settings a pretty inconsistent. In the city, I tend to get 60 frames per second while on foot, but then it drops to about 50 when driving, and 45 when accelerating from stopping. If I look towards a setting or rising sun, the frame rate drops to about 30. Out in the rural areas, my frame rate drops to about 35-47, but during scenes with lots of action, I've seen it drop to 25, and once, even as low as 16.

 

After writing that first part, I used Nvidia's utility to 'optimize' my settings (although, I did change it to use MFAA over FXAA, and I can definitely see the MFAA working now). Performance seems to have improved slightly, but it's very inconsistent. Once when looking at the sunset from a particular spot, my frame rate was dropping to a consistent 30, but then as I gradually turned around performance increased until I got a solid 60 when facing the sunset. I tried changing a number of different settings, but none of them seemed to fix the issue. When the sun finished setting, I loaded my save game from right before it, and the issue seemed to be gone (all of the settings I turned down I had turned back up at this point). Because it was always exactly 30 when facing the sunset, I'm wondering the issue was related to v-sync.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've never done any online stuff in this game and have only actually put a few hours into the game. I'll be on it properly soon, I'mma get Bloodborne out of the way first.

[Emasher]

I played for several more hours using the optimized (save anti aliasing and depth of field) settings, and didn't come across the sunset slowdown issue again. The frame rate was still pretty inconsistent ranging from about 40 to 60, but I never saw it drop below 35 for more than a fraction of a second. I'm almost wondering now if Steam stealthily installed a patch while I was finishing my last post.

[bob]

I'm wondering if my laptop will run this...other than heists and messing about, is there any other co-op elements to this?

[Emasher]

I'm wondering if my laptop will run this...other than heists and messing about, is there any other co-op elements to this?

 

Multiplayer is strictly part of GTA Online. The story mode is single player only. GTA Online has many different mission types besides heists (the heists are actually relatively new). Some of these are co-op, some are versus.

 

As far as running it on your laptop goes, the game requires a 64-bit version of Windows (Vista or later), and a 2.4 GHz quad core CPU, 4GB RAM, and a 1GB graphics card (the 9800 GT and HD 4870 are listed as the weakest cards supported). You probably won't have a good time if your specs are only slightly above this, but a reasonably recent laptop with a 'proper' GPU should be able to run it on lower settings. Keep in mind that laptop GPUs are weaker than the desktop equivalents with the same name (and minimum specs are always based on the desktop GPUs).

[bob]

Hmm, I can't remember what my GPU is, but I know it's 2gb. I think I should be OK then, at least on lowish settings. I might consider it when it comes down in price a bit, and there are some fantastic mods for it.

[Jimbob]

Gotta get myself a high-end apartment to get heists as well. May be sometime.

[Emasher]

Playing around with the settings further, I turned off all of the "Advanced Graphics" options and switched back from MFAA to MSAA x2, which allowed me to maintain a pretty much constant 60 frames per second. I was even able to maintain that with TXAA turned on, but I don't really like TXAA because it makes textures look muddy in my opinion, so I turned it back off. I'm still getting the weird 30 FPS slowdown during sunrise and sunset sometimes though. I'd really like to figure that one out.

 

I think the culprit may have been Nvidia PCSS, but I'm still not 100% sure. I haven't seen the issue since turning that off, but it's not always consistent.

[RedShell]

GTA 5 on Oculus:

 

0:38 gave me a chuckle... "you smell like shit"

Probably does after running around like that for hours.

 

Can't believe these VR treadmills are actually a thing now. So damn funny.

The way people move on them reminds me of this:

[Tales]

Ok i'll start mentioning people in this thread who I assume have the game on PS4, try and get some numbers and maybe sort out some nights to do heists!

 

Let me know if you are interested in PS4 heists.

 

@Cookyman

@Tales

@DriftKaiser

@Eddage

@bryanee

@somme

@drahkon

@Fierce_LiNk

 

...probably missing a load more so if you know anyone else then please direct them back to this thread.

So how about it everyone? :p

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've decided to restart this game as I did very little on it last time around before putting it aside to play other games.

 

I love that prologue! Great introduction to the game.

[Cookyman]

This looks awesome - I just hope that now we have more users we get some online playtime together. Online Heists on here got about as much attention as a nuns fanny.

 

 

FREEMODE EVENTS ARE GTA ONLINE’S BIGGEST CHANGE SINCE HEISTS

 

Sayonara long loading times, hello fast cash and RP.

 

Like all brilliant Grand Theft Auto moments, the one that sticks out while recently playing the upcoming Freemode events coming to Online wasn’t scripted, it was just a perfect coincidence.

 

We were playing Hunt the Beast, a new mode in which players team up to track and kill ‘the beast’, a randomly-selected player who is blessed with super strength and speed for the duration of the round. (They also look a whole lot like Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf, covered in fur and wearing a red varsity jacket.) The beast’s aim is to get to 10 checkpoints scattered around Los Santos within a specified time limit. However, because the beast is invisible to other players, on the mini-map at least, trying to track down a single person among thousands is no easy feat, and so the hunt begins.

 

 

As a hunter, it’s possible to hear the growl of the beast if you’re close enough, but really your only chance of tracking it down is when it appears on the map for a few seconds after reaching a checkpoint. What follows is a mad dash to the beast’s last known location – during our playthrough, helicopters, super cars and jets all closed in on the port of Los Santos, desperate to snare the target. But our beast was smart – it knew that if it behaved erratically it’d be easy to spot, so instead climbed inside a garbage truck and casually drove off, making sure to stop at red lights so as not to draw attention. It worked, and while the pack of hunters raced in one direction, the beast made off the other way.

 

The ruse didn’t last though. The moment the beast checked in at the second location one of my team-mates closed in, and over the headset announced the beast was in a green garbage truck. Seconds later, a lorry matching that description sped through a red light at the intersection ahead and the net closed in. The beast eventually took a wrong turn and backed into a car park, before half a dozen hunters piled in and filled it with bullets.

 

It’s a thrilling game of cat and mouse, and one that’s spread across the entire map. Having played just a single game, I only had a glimpse of the potential on offer, but it’s immediately apparent there are many ways to play as the beast, from making the most of its super powers and going on foot through the city’s back alleys to avoid detection, to taking a more direct approach and punching through the waves of hunters.

 

Hunt the Beast is just one of many Freemode events coming to Grand Theft Auto Online on 15 September. It’s the biggest content drop since Heists earlier this year and the most important takeaway is you’ll be able to participate in challenges without ever having to set foot in a waiting lobby, and therefore avoid lengthy loading times.

 

Freemode events take place every 12 minutes and you have the choice to either take part in them, ignore completely or, if you so choose, spectate. Some of the events – such as the high-speed challenge – are ‘ambient’, meaning you can take part no matter where you are on the map. Others require you to drive to a specific area on the map before the challenge kicks off.

 

Naturally, cash and RP rewards are given to the best players, but interestingly you can join forces with other players to increase your chances of winning – although the spoils you reap are split between the players on your team.

 

We got to play five Freemode events – I’ve already gone into detail about Hunt the Beast, so here’s the lowdown on the others.

 

FASTEST SPEED CHALLENGE

Pretty obvious, but you have three minutes to clock up the fastest speed possible, using a land vehicle. I opted for the Zentorno and picked the freeway heading north out of Los Santos, because it provided a long stretch of road and also because it’s party downhill, and every little helps, right? Other challengers headed for the LS airport and floored it down the runway, but wherever you choose to drive, the only thing that counts is speed.

 

 

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Whoever causes the most damage, wins. Simple. Or at least it is if you pick the right spot, such as a busy downtown intersection where cars stack up, or down at the airport where expensive jets are easy targets. But get stuck out in the middle of nowhere and pickings are slim. Call in your own super car or chopper and blow it up to give you a boost up the leaderboard, but remember you’ll end up fronting the insurance costs.

 

PENNED IN

Another favourite, this free-for-all has a dozen cars all battling to stay within an ever-decreasing dome as it moves slowly around the map. At first it’s a cinch with plenty of room for everyone, but soon space becomes tight and obstacles on the map begin to play a part. The dome’s movement is unpredictable, so while you think you’re on the right course when you duck down alley to get ahead of the rest of the pack, when it suddenly takes a sharp turn you can very quickly be left out of the hot zone – and if you don’t get back inside within the nine-second time limit you’re toast.

 

 

KILL LIST COMPETITIVE

Two teams of four each climb inside a Valkyrie helicopter – a pilot, one on the front gun and two on the side miniguns. The objective is to take down as many Merriweather mercs as possible, who attack in other choppers as well as from the ground, firing missiles that’ll keep even the most adept pilot on their toes. The twist is both teams are targeting the same mercs, so it quickly turns into a race to take down choppers and armoured vehicles first. And with two heavy gunships flying in the same airspace, a mid-air collision is a very distinct – and ultimately lethal – possibility.

 

Two new adversary modes are also being added as part of the Freemode event update. Like regular Adversary Mode events, they’re triggered through a lobby and both are for two teams of four, with seven variants of each mode.

 

HUNTING PACK

Hunting Pack is a cross between Speed and Mad Max, with the team of defenders – three in high-performance cars and one in the VIP vehicle, which explodes if it reaches a standstill – tasked with getting their precious cargo to the target destination in one piece. Four attackers are hot on their tail, aiming to stop the VIP vehicle any way possible. We played it twice – the first time the VIP vehicle was a fire engine, the second a flatbed truck, and bringing these heavyweight beasts to a stop in no easy feat. They’re capable of shunting attacking cars into walls and oncoming traffic, so the only way to take them down is to team up and run them off the road.

 

CROSS THE LINE

Two teams face each other, starting behind their line, and must cross the battlefield and get all four team-mates behind the enemy’s line to win. But this being GTA, everyone’s geared up with an assault rifle, shotgun and a single grenade, so it turns nasty quickly. Communication is key, to either stem an enemy’s assault if they try to sneak around the side, or to plan your own attack.

 

 

Heists have been a firm favourite at IGN for a long time, but one criticism that’s consistently raised are the wait times between playing. Freemode events finally address the issue, giving players plenty of ways to spend time in the game –and importantly earn cash and RP at the same time – without ever having to go into a lobby. At long last, there’s more to do in the open world than gun down whoever’s nearest, and it’s a much welcome addition.

 

Grand Theft Auto Online’s Freemode events are coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC on 15 September. You can find out more about the future of GTA Online with our exclusive interview with the game’s Director of Design.

[Cookyman]

Anybody trying the new freemode events later tonight?

[S.C.G]

I don't know if I'll be on tonight but I do love the timing of this, either it's clever scheduling by Rockstar or the BBC but there is a programme on about the story of GTA at 9PM tonight which I was planning on watching so I'll almost certainly be interested in playing GTA V again soon thanks to the programme.

 

Also I must say that these new online modes look like a huge amount of fun, especially Hunt the Beast which sounds hilarious.

[bob]

Penned in sounds like Micro Machines! Brill!

[Fierce_LiNk]

My god, the plane controls in this game are dire.

[Magnus]

I thought they were fine. What's dire about them?

[Goafer]

Seem fine to me (plus I'm awesome):

 

[Happenstance]

[Happenstance]

Hey guys. On the 14th of November a group of us will be doing Extra Life again. @Goafer and I were planning on trying to get a load of the heists (maybe all) done and wanted to see if there was any interest in joining us. This could either be joining us for the whole run or maybe having people tag in and out. Once we know more on who wants to join in then we could figure out times etc.

[Cookyman]

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've been playing through this a lot more and have to say how completely awesome it is. The world is beautiful/ugly/scenic to look at in all of the right ways and places. I'm loving the humour and interplay between all of the main characters.

 

Hats off to the character swapping mechanic. This is my first reeeeal GTA and I've never touched any of the others besides the original, so I don't know if this mechanic is in the other games. But, it works fantastically well here.

 

I did one of the heists yesterday where you have to steal the sub and then sink that ship. That switching between Franklin and Michael was great. It was even better in the Heists afterwards where you rob that armoured vehicle.

 

 

Fantastic game! : peace:

[Happenstance]

I know I've tried this before and it didnt seem to work so well but why not try again :p

 

@Goafer and I were playing some of the custom made playlists last night with all the stupid jumps and ramps etc and we had a pretty good time. I think it would be good if we could get a group of NE people to start playing the game again every now and again to do a load of playlists or even the heists like we spoke about before. Anyone who is interested then let me know and we'll try and sort out sometime to play.

[Tales]

Just say the time. I will be there.