Technology Some More Info On GTA IV

ChrisZimbo

New Member
Staff member
#1
Another magazine preview of GTA IV showed up today, this time it's the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine in the UK. The demo given to them was the same introductory preview given to previous magazines, containing an interview with Dan Houser, Vice President of Creative for Rockstar Games.

Below is a summary of new information from the article. We suggest reading the information from OPM and Game Informer first if you haven't done so yet.


* According to the magazine, GTA IV is currently 66% complete.
* When Niko pulls out a pistol, a crosshair with a simple black cross within a circle shows up on the screen. This could be an indication of manual aiming being available in the game.
* Rockstar's humorous take on the number 69 makes an appearance yet again in GTA IV, the editors of the magazine saw a sign for a "69th Street Diner". Another building called "Twitchins", the GTA version of Brooklyn's Domino's Sugar Factory, is in the game.
* Niko will be able to climb and descend exterior fire escapes and some meetings will take place high in the office buildings of skyscrapers. It's said that from on top of them you'll be able to throw people off.
* Hand to hand combat is also being reworked on for GTA IV, and will feel "much more natural" than before.
* One of the radio stations includes an "Eastern European-sounding" dancing station.
* Players will be able to change their camera views whilst in a car according to their needs. This however is said to still being experimented on, and that Rockstar want to give better control and "immediacy" to players.
* For confirmation, boats will be making a return and the handling is "really nice".
* When selecting your mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the mobile screen pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, where you can use its address book to pitch for "jobs" with gang contacts among other things.
* One of the things that makes it easier for Rockstar setting GTA in a fictional New York is that they sometimes get a call from the developers at Rockstar North in Scotland, wanting to know more about a specific building or traffic flow in a certain area, for instance, and using their in-house researchers in NYC they can easily assist the guys back at R* North.
* Dan Houser is quoted saying that the Liberty City in GTA IV is bigger than any single city they've done before, giving a more clear indication of the physical size of the game. He continues saying that the "detail" of the game is the big thing.
* He also confirms Central Park to be in the game, though it's fictional name is still unknown to us.
* Dan says that they're "certainly evolving the way the radio works". He says the same for police behaviour and their reaction to crimes. Nothing further is said about this...
* "Fun ridiculous" weapons is said to be in the game, because R* is not going too "naturalistic".


... to add to this there WILL be helicopters , even though there wont be planes

Source
http://www.gta4.net/news/3868/gta-iv-preview-in-official-xbox-magazine/
 
#3
i'm going to miss the planes for sure (flying was one of my favorite things in VC and SA), but everything else sounds great, can't wait for this
 
#5
more details

# People are reading newspapers, gesturing whilst talking on their mobile phones, people sitting on seats while talking and absent-mindedly flicking dust off their jeans. "We really know we're in Liberty City when we see an 80-year old granny staggering down the street as she takes swigs from a bottle of whiskey."
# You can feel the bass of passing cars, and hear the radio that they're listening to when it goes past.
# You can view the bus schedule at bus stops around this city, strongly encouraging the idea that players will be able to ride the bus for a small fee.
# When Niko draws a weapon, the camera will position itself over his shoulder and a crosshair will appear in the center of the screen, similar to manual aim in San Andreas. It will be possible to lock onto a target and strafe left and right to avoid any oncoming bullets.
# Grand Theft Auto will not longer be as easy as it's been in GTA IV's predecessors. You can't just jump into a car and immediately floor it. You may have to hot wire the car, or sneak up to it and break the window to enter.
# Niko will be able to climb several things such as telephone poles and fire escapes.
# You can look down into the grating of a sidewalk panel and view what's under Liberty City. Light will shine down into these places.
# Philip Glass, the composer of the trailer music, may be involved in the production of the game's soundtrack
# Driving physics have been "tirelessly tweaked and enhanced"

# On the size of GTA IV: "Dan Houser: Well, area wise, the scope is about the same as San Andreas. I don't know exactly how it compares area to area, but it's bigger then any one city we've had in a game before." Also, "If we give people exactly what they think the want then, a) we're not doing a very interesting job any more and, b) we're not going to amaze them."

# OPS asked "In terms of weaponry and vehicles you had a pretty good spread in San Andreas," to which Dan Houser replied "Yeah, I don't think we will be adding vast numbers of things there." They explain that its about honing in and tightening. "So, for example, with game in one city there are no longer planes because there's nowhere to fly to. ...you take planes to get here, and you don't take planes to get across the city."
 

Prize Gotti

Boots N Cats
Staff member
#6
"So, for example, with game in one city there are no longer planes because there's nowhere to fly to. ...you take planes to get here, and you don't take planes to get across the city."
I really used to enjoy flying planes into buildings and watching them blow up as i drifted down to earth with my parachute.
 

Latest posts

Donate

Any donations will be used to help pay for the site costs, and anything donated above will be donated to C-Dub's son on behalf of this community.

Members online

No members online now.
Top