How would you "fix" a GTA game without remaking it as such?

[Thomas Vercetti Esq]

I haven't played the updated (or whatever they're called, "definitive") editions of the earlier games, because a) I heard they were a buggy mess even now, and b) the originals are fun enough, for the most part.

However, to strike a balance, I think it would be good if you could update certain aspects while leaving the essence of the games more or less untouched.

 

This idea came to me while I was playing San Andreas, on an iPad. The fight school helicopter mission called "destroy the targets" is so hard to 100% that I'm basically going to give up trying and because I've been absolutely raging at it for the last hour. I already passed it with a score annoying close to 100%, but the last few percentage points is just sending my blood pressure through the roof and the only reason I'd want to get 100% is for the attack helicopter which makes the vigilante missions easier. So I can live without that.

 

So personally I'd re-do the controls so that flight school doesn't feel like you're piloting the plane / helicopter while drunk and stoned at the same time.

 

What aspects would you change (and of which game?) Things like weapons / combat, etc., or anything else.

[ilyove6]

Both the mobile ports of the Trilogy and the Definitive Editions were made by the same studio. Just like you said, the Definitive Editions are a buggy mess—and so are the mobile ports. Another studio could have implemented the flying controls better, like Lucid Games, who did a great job porting GTA LCS.

 

As for things I’d like to fix, one of my biggest complaints is the side mission rewards in GTA San Andreas. Unlike the other 3D-era games, there are no special cars (or clothes) as rewards for side mission compared to Borgnine, Bickle '76, Zebra Cab, or Deluxo. It would have been much better if we could earn special vehicles through side missions.

 

 

[Ehrmantraut]

I'd make the controls and camera identical to the HD era games (the games would all become infinitely easier though).

[AlexandriaAT2001]

This is how I'd fix things. Some of these would expand the world, which counts as a fix because they could've been done better. If they were, the world would've therefore been expanded on. Also, some of these are series staples that were removed despite not needing to be, so having them return would be a fix in its own right.

 

GTA 3:

 

- Add the ability to swim. You get wanted if you try to reach an island early.

- Add the ability to climb.

- Decrease gang hostility by 50% and replace all gang weapons with pistols.

- Add the ability to bail out of vehicles.

- Increase max vehicle health to that of such in GTA San Andreas.

- Add flyable aircraft. The Dodo is given GTA San Andreas flying mechanics, flyable Mavericks spawn on Kenji's Casino after unlocking Shoreside Vale and at the SFIA.

- Add a pause menu map.

- Make the areas on the map that show the tunnels grey instead of the confusing black.

- Make sure no gang has a weapon higher in class than an UZI.

- Add 20 seconds to all mission timers.

- Pedestrians no longer dive towards your car.

- Rotating camera.

 

GTA Vice City:

 

- Add the ability to swim. You get wanted if you try to reach an island early.

- Add the ability to climb.

- Make it more challenging to get a wanted level higher than three stars.

- Add 20 seconds to all mission timers.

- Pedestrians no longer dive towards your car.

- The police officer outfit allows you to attack up to 5 pedestrians or steal 10 cars in a singular area without getting wanted. However, attacking law enforcement officers will always get you wanted.

- Soldiers only shoot you if you step foot into Fort Baxter.

- Re-license all removed songs.

- Remove all songs released after the game's setting year of 1986.

- Rotating camera.

 

GTA 4:

 

- Easier motorcycle handling.

- Add mission checkpoints.

- More realistic skybox with volumetric clouds.

- Make trees more detailed/better looking.

- Re-license all removed songs and take the post-2008 songs off Vladivostok FM.

- Add Pop and Pop Punk stations.

 

GTA 5:

 

- Add more enterable interiors: Restaurants, mission interiors, the observatory, and the airport.

- Volumetric clouds.

- Bring back the Vigilante, Firefighter, and Paramedic side missions.

- Bring back the sixth star in the wanted level rating.

- All GTA Online radio stations are made exclusive to GTA Online (due to them having post-2013 songs in a game set in 2013) and all base-game radio songs released after the base game's setting year of 2013 are removed.

- Represent early 2010s music better on the radio, since the game is, of course, set then. Add some Pop with Rap elements, Poppy Progressive House, Pop with EDM influences, and Indie Pop songs from the early 10s, and more songs from the game's setting year of 2013, especially, to Non-Stop Pop FM. Add a radio station dedicated to Festival Progressive House and Bigroom, and another dedicated to Brostep/Dubstep.

[cant remember]

I like keeping them mostly vanilla, my wishlist is as such. I put the ones in bold that I wish for the most

 

All games:

- All songs present, including the one in Vice City and opera song in GTA3 that were removed very early on.

- No more same car everywhere phenomenon

 

3D era games, new ports based on original PS2 versions, to automatically fix all the little things they broke in the original PC ports

- GTA3: Original blue cop cars

- Ability to pan around camera while in a car in GTA3/VC, maybe also while on foot (instead of the first person look thing)

- Progressive throttle/breaking with triggers. Try as I might in PCSX2 I can't manage to make use of the hi/low button presses that the original controller had.

- San Andreas: Fixed highway traff!c! This is a very important one for me, it borderline ruins the game all the chaos of cars going at lightspeed

- San Andreas: Other misc. fixes, game becoming unstable after many hours on save, flying to LC corrupts turfs, wrong dumbbell texture, disappearing basketball and "you already worked out too much" bug

 

HD era games:

- GTA4: Re-add the lighting things from the console versions to PC, the suit, and gun recoil

- GTA4: Improve the Z fighting on distant buildings/terrain