No yellow cones!

[daldd]

I just got through rereading the kikizo or whatever the hell's website preview from july and they said that when they went to meet mcreary (the cop) he had a yellow cone over his head to indicate a mission or point him out. Now here are my thoughts, I wonder if they did this for demo purposes or if they did it because it's one of the first mission, or if it will be that way throughout the Gta4 experience. IMO it takes away from the realistic approach the R* team is going for, and here are ways around it that I HOPE are implemented.

1. Have a known location to meet a quest giver and have the NPC yell for niko, or a "hey pssst over here!"

 

2. Have a known location to meet and a pic of the NPC you're supposed to meet up with that was sent via multimedia (iwhiz) or email

 

3. Have a known location to meet and a description from whoever told you to meet him like "he'll be wearing shades and a black jumpsuit, you'll know him when you see him"

 

Thoughts?

[ishouldntbehere]

that was an earlier build of the game. it may be resolved by now.

 

 

 

 

[XMike]

It's a f*cking game, people are taking this realism aspect to an extreme.

[YourNeighborhoodKiller]

I really doubt they'll have some random cone pointing below the the person's head. because it wouldn't' make sense.

 

It will just be like, he'll/she'll tell you where they're staying at. Give the description. And maybe yell out a few words. Like "over here!" or something like that.

[OptimumPx]

It's a game, it has a HUD to let you know important things.

 

I don't see the problem.

[willgtavcs]

why do you say its the first mission

it is not

it might be but i doupt it, they did the same thing with the VCS demo and that was not the first mission

[ceedot]

Hmm.

It's not the first mission. It's one throughout the game.

The yellow cone is for mission givers. And you know who McReary is, so obviously there's no 'unrealistic approach' when having a yellow cone over his head.

Why don't we just have toilets and ageing in the game as well hey?

It's a game, we have to be pointed in the right direction sometimes.

In missions, we won't know who is who though, so IMO, get over it.

[willgtavcs]

i actually think with some things its good to keep it classic and this is one of them

[crux989]

Niko shouldnt be controlled either. You cant control people in real life using a wireless 360 or PS3 remote. Its unrealistic.

[daldd]

geez enough with the sarcasm, i was meerly pointed out something that seems a little "last gen"

[ceedot]

Niko shouldnt be controlled either. You cant control people in real life using a wireless 360 or PS3 remote. Its unrealistic.

LOL, that has to be the funniest thing I've heard in a while.

[crux989]

geez enough with the sarcasm, i was meerly pointed out something that seems a little "last gen"

Hmm...

 

Ok.

 

R* is way ahead of you. Using visual cues rather than whats on the HUD could be interesting, and it'll give you a sense of accomplishment. Sorta like figuring out a puzzle without someone over your shoulder telling you where to put the right piece.

 

But if that person werent there, and the thousand piece puzzle you're working on is of the sky, and you got a piece thats all just blue where the hell does it go? Id LOVE someone to tell me where it went so I wouldnt be so pissed off. Thats sort of how I see it.

 

[ceedot]

geez enough with the sarcasm, i was meerly pointed out something that seems a little "last gen"

That's really last gen....

I don't understand how that is last-gen. Do you know what next-gen is? It's HD gaming, better graphics, better gameplay.

How is a yellow cone on someones head last gen.

Don't be stupid.

[daldd]

lol, you guys are crazzzzzy

[crux989]

R* is way ahead of you. Using visual cues rather than whats on the HUD could be interesting, and it'll give you a sense of accomplishment. Sorta like figuring out a puzzle without someone over your shoulder telling you where to put the right piece.

 

But if that person werent there, and the thousand piece puzzle you're working on is of the sky, and you got a piece thats all just blue where the hell does it go? Id LOVE someone to tell me where it went so I wouldnt be so pissed off. Thats sort of how I see it.

I see, and I agree with your point there.

 

The visual cues part is more or less confirmed (well at least for that one mission it is). And with other missions, they could be very thorough with it, that way we don't end up ringing every guy we gotta find.

 

~~~

 

"You're looking for Larry? Well, Larry is one fat and lazy muthaf*cker who wears the same old brown suit day in and day out, and likes to frequent the Honkers strip club. He can usually be found in the back getting a lap dance."

 

"Looking for Alex, you say? That bitch works at the Bean Machine in Star Junction. He's the manager there, and is well known for his power trips, so you'll probably catch him cursing out one of his dimwit employees for not putting enough froth in the cappuccinos."

 

~~~

 

As said, they could be really thorough, well enough to safeguard against standing their with that one puzzle piece. Edit: Of course, map markers should still be there to add with the (possible) 'descriptions' we're given too.

 

We shall see, I guess.

Whatd be nice is if a marker were set on the map of the general area you need to be in. If youre new to the game theres no way youd know where Honkers or the Bean Machine was otherwise. Id imagine the GPS being used in this sort of way.

 

Youd still have your wits to figure out who needs to be offed, but youd also be getting help from good ol navigation systems.

[cshmech]

Oh please stop all the sarcasm.. the preview kikizo mentioned was in july, & its gonna get released somewhere around march-april. So i strongly belive theres no inverted cone lightning as R* has confirmned no loading time. I guess it would be like some safe houses in SA where u just bump into the doors & go to the next room.

AS for marking the person, it wouldn make it look unrealastic if there s a small inverted tri overhead. But getting the description of a person & finding it urself will be much interesting..

[CarpetDweller]

I too was disappointed when I've read mentions of "last gen" features like glowing areas or arrows. I'm not one of these people who think that everything should be exactly as in real life, but I feel that they should be trying to achieve a world that feels and looks like a real place. They should hide the game mechanics within this.

 

I feel that the phone and GPS system will be extremely useful here, but also subtle movements of the camera, costume design, characters waving & calling to you will also place a part. We don't need big bouncing cones to tell us what to do.

 

Example:

 

Niko has arranged to meet Mr X in Misty's Bar located on Hudson Street.

Niko can find Hudson Street by looking it up on a map, but I think we should still have a direction indicator in a radar hud.

If Niko gets in a car then the GPS / SatNav system will automatically direct him along the best route.

When he gets there he will still have some indication of which direction Misty's is from the radar (and the map on his phone if he looks), but he should be able to spot a Bar with a "Misty's" sign by now. He enter the bar where there are 20 ordinary looking people sitting around. When Niko gets a certain distance from Mr X the camera repositions for a few seconds, dramaticall swinging round so that Mr X's head and shoulders are in close-up while Niko can be seen in the background.

 

Once Niko gets within a closer radius to Mr X they begin a scripted conversation and there is no doubt who he is anymore.

If Niko goes more than 3-5 minutes of being close to Mr X without approaching him then -

 

A. He get a call from Mr X asking where he is. Niko can see the guy with the phone doing this and the camera movement highlights him again.

B. Niko calls him and we see who answers.

C. Mr X will either call, wave or approach us.

[if the meeting was not arranged directly with Mr X, then someone like Roman could call seeing what you're doing and starting the camera highlight scene again]

 

If Mr X was a target to be followed or killed then we would have to rely on them being pointed out by how the camera is positioned or knowing some kind of visual description. Having them perform an action which is a bit more interesting than a standard ped action is another way to draw attention.

 

I think it is all about subtle indicators. We don't need Neon arrows above people's heads anymore. We have all grown up in a mass media age and instinctively know the tricks, gestures, cliches and conventions used in movies all the time to guide our eyes in particular parts of the screen. I think it can all be achieved without any unreal elements being used.

 

The only problem I see is if it doesn't work as intended. If bugs occur and the camera doesn't move as expected or the shot is blocked by a random ped. If we miss the moment where we are given the hint then we have to wait until the next hint.

But I do think if the game is designed well then we will just have a feel for what we are supposed to do.

--

 

I remember listening to the commentary for Portal where they talk about the level design and game testing. The player usually doesn't notice just how many clues they are given. Almost in a subconsious way. The surface textures, lighting, colours and layout all give huge hints on how to solve the puzzles without actually spelling it out for us.

 

The one thing I really love about GTA is the immersibility of the world. The less distractions that remind me it's not real make it better in my opinion.

[Gouveia]

No, it's been solved. You'll have to know the person, like in a mission where you have to call the guy to know who he is, so you can go next to him and pop him in the f*cking head!

[Jobbie]

 

It's a f*cking game, people are taking this realism aspect to an extreme.

 

 

R* did say that there would be no yellow cones or obvious indications about missions or peds ect, like in one mission you had they guys mobile num so you could phone him and pick him out of the crowd.

 

i think this what this thread is about.

 

ps I am against the ultra realism ppl who think R* should code in niko needing a sh*t or piss in the game but the cone thing was stated by R*

Edited January 16, 2008 by Jobbie

[Spazifool]

Niko shouldnt be controlled either. You cant control people in real life using a wireless 360 or PS3 remote. Its unrealistic.

 

Haha, good one.

[Zombified Jake]

I would like the cones to be taken out, but if they are still there, I'm not gonna break down into tears and not buy the game. Face it, everyone who complains at these little "errors?" are gonna buy the game anyway.

 

A way of getting around the cones could simply be an option in the pause menu, "turn HUD/markers/arrows" off or whatever. Also with the use of mobile phones/internet we could be using them for information as well.

[Nineteen71]

There is no "little yellow cone" anymore, that preview you read didn't come from Kikizo cause I read the entire thing, and the only thing they mentioned was that there wasn't one.

 

Like the mission where you have to call the guys cell phone to figure out who it is you have to kill by seeing who answers. A Yellow cone would render this mission futile.

[Gooners-jay-and-scott]

It will not bother me if he as a cone on his head, pointing out who it is.

 

It is a game afterall

[Darrel]

First of all who said it appeared over his head? They actually said Niko stepped into a yellow cone marker to activate a cut scene and that's fine by me.

[Hobo-Lord]

 

-whateva

-I wouldnt really care if they dont have yellow cones in the game, i wouldnt add to the fun, just add to the loading time

-Also, im kinda worryed that rockstar is OVERdoing it, with the realism

-And how is having a floating cone on your head have to do with realism?

Edited January 17, 2008 by Hobo-Lord

[ceedot]

If we don't know the person, then there will be no yellow indicator or anything, but I still see it on people we do know, cause from being in these forums for a while, I've seen some pretty stupid people come and go.

[willgtavcs]

If we don't know the person, then there will be no yellow indicator or anything, but I still see it on people we do know, cause from being in these forums for a while, I've seen some pretty stupid people come and go.

just make it like previous gta's except with a smaller arrow

[Darrel]

For the last time the yellow marker wasn't over his head, it was most probably near him. Because Niko stepped into it.

[Zombified Jake]

 

For the last time the yellow marker wasn't over his head, it was most probably near him. Because Niko stepped into it.

Ah ok thanks, though I'd still like any traces of anything similar to the cone/circle to be removed, but not worry. I'm sure that will be the last thing on my mind when I'm drooling as I play GTA IV for the 1st time.

[Darrel]

For the last time the yellow marker wasn't over his head, it was most probably near him. Because Niko stepped into it.

Ah ok thanks, though I'd still like any traces of anything similar to the cone/circle to be removed, but not worry. I'm sure that will be the last thing on my mind when I'm drooling as I play GTA IV for the 1st time.

Me too.