When most of us had given-up...

[CharmingCharlie]

I understand where you are coming from Gronf, GTA_Godfather and tripmills. I mean technically if you think about it I should feel MAJORLY f*cked off. I blew £200 on a console because I started to think GTA 4 wasn't going to hit the PC.

 

To me GTA 4 was always more than about "getting it on the PC", it has become a measure of the PC gaming market. Day in and Day out we are bombarded with news like "PC is dead", "PC gaming heading for the rocks" and "Consoles pummel the PC". Now GTA 4 is THE title, it is the biggest gaming franchise on the planet and it wasn't appearing on the PC. That was my main worry, I really did fear that the PC was not going to get GTA 4 and if the PC couldn't support a title financially like GTA 4 then it really was bad news.

 

But that was then and this is now, we are getting GTA 4 and the future looks a lot lot brighter. I don't think there will be any question as to whether the next GTA will on the PC. The game engine has been ported so that will never have to be done again. I don't even think we need to worry about the "backroom" deals anymore, it is clear GTA doesn't have the pulling power it once had on the consoles and I can't see MS or Sony forking out $50 million again for a franchise that doesn't move their toys.

 

So yes you have every right to be bitter and angry still about the fact we have had to wait. But there is every reason for us to be fantastically optimistic for the future. After all we can't change the past but we can change the future by getting behind Rockstar and supporting them financially.

 

Think of it like your first true love that dumped you and went off with a guy that beat her up. If she comes crying back to you then surely you would want to show her what it was like when you were together so this time she might stay

[maf]

Yep exactly GTA3Freak-2001 there was an awful lot of uncertainty around the PC getting GTA this time around. I think it is important we don't forget that. I even gave up and gave into getting a console and I have been a loyal PC gamer since the Pentium 1 days (still am a loyal PC gamer I can't stand my xbox).

 

However when you look at the situation we had the worry of hot coffee, perceived low sales of GTA SA, rumours of piracy, the non-existence of any new Rockstar games on the PC, lack of conversions for LCS and VCS and just the general media atmosphere that the PC is dead as a dodo. It is no wonder a great deal of people had grave concerns about GTA 4 on the PC.

 

I am obviously deliriously happy that the PC is now getting GTA 4 but I think we should all remember we are NOT out of the woods yet. We need to show Rockstar that the PC is just as viable as every other platform which means BUYING the game. If you want the next GTA on the PC it is of utmost urgency that you BUY this gta.

Yes, that was my feeling about the whole GTA IV PC situation. Now that the controversy surrounding San Andreas has gone away, Rockstar can finally bring this one out of the stable

 

I'll definitely need a major system upgrade to run this one, though. GTA SA was the last recent game I bothered to make hardware changes for.

[GTA_Godfather]

Charlie,

 

I'm ALL with you on players actually buying the game. We need to show R* we are for real. But, it is a two-way street. Don't take my arguments as "bashing". My arguments have a legitimate basis, unlike many I have seen from console fan boys (for example, when they bash anyone who disagrees with a perfect 10 score for the game).

 

I don't want anyone to think that I don't love the game, because I wholeheartedly do. But, my grievance is with R*'s actions. Yes, some have not-so-legally acquired previous GTAs, but that doesn't give R* the right to treat us the way they have. Shall I count the number of ways R* has put PC gaming/gamers down? I'm not going to be submissive on this. If anything, R* is the submissive one for allowing themselves to be shafted by MS/Sony into dicking over PC gamers. Yes, R* deserves some blame too. I don't have ANY good reason to get on my hands and knees for R*. Yes, they need to change and this announcement which I expected anyway doesn't change my point of view a whole lot.

 

Now, if you are happy with they way they have operated, then I understand your stance. Personally, I'm not in the least bit. Why take a submissive stance? It's not in my makeup. IF R* thinks we will settle, what's next? A 1 year delay? They have chipped away enough from PC gaming as it is. Obviously, I'm happy for the PC announcement, but it's not really an improvement over previous announcements.

 

Having read your posts since page 150 or so of the original PC thread I would have to say your opinion has changed (if your stance is that all is honkey-dorey now). Is there a reason for this? Don't mean to put you on the spot here. I'm just trying to understand your position and you know I respect you (BTW, all that console stuff was in jest. I hold no bitterness.). Playing through it on the console and having the story spoiled is enough penance as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

 

[CharmingCharlie]

I guess you could probably attribute my change in tone down to the fact I am so relieved that all the second guessing, doubt and uncertainty is finally OVER. Not just for GTA 4 but for the franchise at least for this generation of consoles (after all why just port the engine for one game). Yes I did play GTA 4 on the 360 and you know I didn't think much to it on the console, but I am still fairly highly hyped for the PC version. I will finally get my GTA fix and get to experience GTA 4 how it is meant to be played.

 

Now I had grave doubts about GTA this time around on the PC, even when we saw the emails DML managed to erm "acquire" I still couldn't shake that little voice inside me that said "the pc is screwed". Naturally as we got closer and closer to September and there was no announcement I begain to start thinking all manner of things, stuff like "was Rita pulling our leg" and "has the port been canned". So it was with great relief that I saw that annoucement last week.

 

I am not too chuffed that we got put through all this with Rockstar and yes Rockstar still shouldn't be given too much of a parade just because they have announced the game. However I always feel there is something we can do about it. I have always believed if the PC could match the sales that the consoles do we wouldn't have to put up with this crap. Yes I know the PC is disadvantaged with the consoles having a 6 month head start and the consoles being more heavily promoted but if PC gamers care about the format they MUST buy this game. I spent £200 on a 360, I don't really need the PC version to be honest, but I am going to buy it because the more people that buy it the more chance Rockstar will wake up and smell the coffee.

 

To me there were always bigger issues aside from just "gta4 on the pc", as I said no gta on the pc showed that maybe the PC format was beyond repair. So not only did the announcement make me go "yeah GTA 4 on PC" it also relieved some worries I have about the PC format as a gaming format.

 

Now I personally feel the wait we had whilst unfair and just plain wrong, it does not serve to dwell on it. Yes it happened it was damn disrespectful and they shouldn't have done it. But I like to look to the future, we now have the RAGE engine fully ported to the PC, we can clearly see that GTA is not the console shifter MS think it is all we need now is some record sales on the PC and I believe we may not have that 6 month wait again.

 

I of course could be wrong and with the next GTA we could get the whole crap again, but that is for the future and if after getting record sales they still pull the 6 month wait crap I will be re-evaluating things. But for now what is done is done, we should never forget Rockstar's transgression but we should be the bigger party here and say "fine we are going to show you that you are wrong to do what you did" in a positive manner.

 

(btw I know all the console stuff was in jest but rest assured I still beat myself up daily for being such a bloody idiot for buying one )

[mkey82]

 

I actually feel stupid for calling them console whores 

And now - "Rockstar is proud to announce GTA IV for PC" 

 

Sorry Rockstar 

Sorry for what?

 

They have forced people into buying consoles they don't want to buy/own/play/see etc. They force a rather large PC fan base to wait. They know the game has been spoiled for most of us and they don't care.

 

They did this intentionally and they are console whores.

 

 

To Rockstar...

Come on, grow a pair already. You have the leverage with the GTA franchise alone to DICTATE the terms of how you want to develop/release your games. There surely is no reason to be beholden to Sony or Microsoft by now. If other developers (many of which are smaller) can do it, you can to!

 

Who's with me on this?

I am...

 

... wait, are we talking about the possibility R* will grow some balls? Then, no, IMO they will not. They are what they are and a possible solution for their spineless mindset is if GTA becomes less popular and offstream. Or if consoles suffer a miserable death and disappear. Or if the world comes to an end, then it wont matter. Any of these things is more probable to happen then for R* management to say "No, thanks!" to some easy bribe money.

 

They like the easy way out, it's been almost a decade. And if Playstation boys thought they were special, now they have been proven wrong. Because MS took charge and secured some ground with the precious DLC. And, if the theory about cut content is correct, they manged to ruin GTA by pulling stuff out of it just to make it ready for additional later release.

 

Said it once, I'll say it again - shameful business.

[GTA_Godfather]

Charlie,

 

I am all with you on buying the game and showing that the PC contingent is strong. I think everyone here is happy for the announcement. I am most definitely. The point I'm trying make is that R* is still on the hook. I want a quality GTA IV and you and I know what that means. No need to go into details. I will give them their due and praise the game if it is so worthy.

 

I am not one to hold grudges (I really hate to complain, but it's out of my desire for the game), but that doesn't mean I will forget everything they've done just because they've announced the PC version. I haven't let the news suspend my reasoning ability or judgment however. The announcement itself indicates absolutely nothing in the way of Rockstar "turning a new leaf" in regards to the PC community. For the sake of GTA, I WANT to see that. In fact, it's my strong interest in the game that wants me to see the best possible PC GTA on the shelves for everyone to enjoy.

 

I'm not going to keep harping on them. They now what they need to do. They can look to companies like Valve and 2K Czech as models on how to please everyone, not just the console gamers. Again, it's my deep interest in the game that wants to see it taken to new heights on the most capable platform on the planet (the PC, of course). I hate to settle.

 

The message I want to PC gamers to send to R* is that the PC community is alive and strong AND we deserve better treatment. While I'm very eager to see GTA IV stretch out its legs, I'm not kosher with the 6 mo. delay, nor all the other stuff that I've discussed before.

 

I really think we are mostly on the same page. We're both excited at the thought of the release and we're happy for the announcement. However, I'm more insistent on wanting to more in the way of rapport building with PC gamers by way of concrete positive actions. So, as of right now, my intention is to buy the game. R* has a great opportunity to really make it special for PC gamers and the community. Let's see if they come through. Fair enough? I will talk no more about this issue. My intention is not to discredit them, but to push them to greater heights. Only they can take initiative. I will do my part by obtaining it through legal channels. They are not on my favorite developers list for all the b.s. though. I really want them off it. I'm pulling for them.

 

I never for once thought it wasn't coming. This is R* we are talking about. They still are money-grubbing bastards (not a bad thing when it comes to them wanting to get the PC version out. I just wish it were grubbier in getting it out sooner and I'm not cool with their console favoritism.).

 

By the way, for the record, I would not take that ex-girlfriend back after she dumped me. She made her bed and she can lie in it. What am I? A fallback? I think not. I'm not for sloppy seconds anyway.

 

 

 

[El_Venezolano]

Heh... I never thought this thread would get filled with such long posts, lol.

 

Well, theres many new points to treat here so Ill try goingthrough them all quickly.

 

 

PS: Please excuse any language errors...

Are you kidding me? I'm going to rape you if I find any grammatical errors.

Lmao, but I do get mixedup some times and give ideas I didn't want to give, thats why I warn a bit on that front.

 

 

I remember the old PC thread, I remember that after being away from the GTA comunity for a while, I came back to that thread after I learned GTA4 was coming. I remember some (lets politly call them) morons that went to the point of insulting any one who stated why they think there will be a PC launch eventually. I remember the hard ware issue factor was one of the main points treated, which eventually got cleared up.

 

I can't say Imm too happy with the way R* treats the PC realeases of GTAs, it's always the same thing, a PC release would come later than a console release. How ever, in this case, there was enough things that could make you think a PC release wouldn't come... (hotcoffe, the relative silence about a PC version from R*[it was like the taboo question during interviews] and even the intoxicating fact that this GTA was going to be a lot more epic than the last ones)

 

So, Im just grateful they didn't let us down (atleast it's coming to the PC after all).

 

As for emotional, yes, you could say that...

Im just very happy for us (the GTA comunity), the modders and the PC gamers... etc...

 

The GTA community is kinda sacret to me... it's the place where I landed almost by accident a long time ago and discovered the world of game modding, it opened my eyes to the gaming world like never before, I wouln't be 1/4 of the gamer I am today is it werent for these forums. If I wouldn't have found game modding, I wouldn't have gotten interested in modding on Valve's Source Engine, then I wouldn't have taken that crappy job to get the cash to buy games from steam and if I had not taken that job, I wouldn't have ever met my girlfriend.

 

GTA has helped shape my life.

[crackdawg]

I agree, a thread displaying the names of all the people who insinuated there would be no PC version would be funny. But probably in the context that someone went through the trouble of making one.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there an answer in one of the Q&As that clearly stated there would be no PC version? I'm sure you guys are enlightened and all, but it's kind of idiotic to patronize people who made responses bases on official information.

Be careful what you wish for crackdawg . Your name cropped up in the thread and you said :-

 

 

I have a AM2 athlon 64 x2 6000+, 2GB PC5800, and a Geforce 7900. I also do professional 3D work with blender 3D, CS3, and CS3 Nvidia plugins. The normal mapping, shaders, and physics alone would bottleneck my system like crazy. Also look at all the people ignoring the repeated "There will be no PC version" statement by the CEO and the Hosts.

I even remember having heated debates with you in IRC with you stating a PC could not run GTA 4. I assume you have changed your opinion now . Still intending to do a name and shame section but not had much time so far. I am up to page 234 but it is tough going.

You quoted me stating real technical limitations. Quote me "stating a PC could not run GTA 4."

 

Also the few times I've been on IRC and discussed this, it was under the exact same context as that post.

 

Also the predicted specs people are posting actually coincide with my statements on the technical limitations.

 

GTA IV will easily bottle neck most modern 8086 hardware. Prove me wrong on that..

[CharmingCharlie]

 

GTA IV will easily bottle neck most modern 8086 hardware. Prove me wrong on that..

No it's okay I will let Rockstar do that for me. It obviously can be run on modern x86 hardware otherwise they wouldn't be porting the game now would they.

[crackdawg]

 

GTA IV will easily bottle neck most modern 8086 hardware. Prove me wrong on that..

No it's okay I will let Rockstar do that for me. It obviously can be run on modern x86 hardware otherwise they wouldn't be porting the game now would they.

Yeah when it runs on a SM 3.0 card at 18FPS+ with less than 700Mhz core clock I'll admit I'm wrong, and you're not an illiterate moron.

[CharmingCharlie]

So you go from this :-

 

GTA IV will easily bottle neck most modern 8086 hardware. Prove me wrong on that..

to this :-

 

Yeah when it runs on a SM 3.0 card at 18FPS+ with less than 700Mhz core clock I'll admit I'm wrong, and you're not an illiterate moron.

I wouldn't call a SM 3.0 card "modern" myself I would call it old. But hey whatever makes you sleep well at night. I know both my PC's will be able to handle GTA 4 because they both play console ports BETTER than the consoles themselves. I don't see why GTA 4 should be any different. I guess we will have to wait and see what we shall see

[Smiler-Online]

 

So you go from this :-

 

GTA IV will easily bottle neck most modern 8086 hardware. Prove me wrong on that..

to this :-

 

Yeah when it runs on a SM 3.0 card at 18FPS+ with less than 700Mhz core clock I'll admit I'm wrong, and you're not an illiterate moron.

I wouldn't call a SM 3.0 card "modern" myself I would call it old. But hey whatever makes you sleep well at night. I know both my PC's will be able to handle GTA 4 because they both play console ports BETTER than the consoles themselves. I don't see why GTA 4 should be any different. I guess we will have to wait and see what we shall see

 

Agreed.. Lol

 

I have to say me and CC pretty much never agreed on anything in the old "will it happen" topic

 

but looking back now I cant help but laugh at the debates we were having just to fill the pages upto the 400 page mark and higher lol

 

 

 

as for what I thought about GTAIV PC release, Well between march to may I believed that it would be released for PC around October the 19th, and then, after no announcement I decided to give up on waiting by the middle of june

but I still kept on checking up on the forums here and there!!

 

But 99% of the time I just checked GTAGaming.com for the news updates, because I didn't want to get annoyed every 3 mins by seeing the topic get locked... lol

[[email protected]]

I am guessing R* where working on GTA:IV PC for as almost as long as the console versions. I doubt they could fully port a game over to PC with additional features in a couple of months, hence why i am saying i think it would of at least taken a year, probably start making it middle of last year before the console delay.

 

Their doing their normal hype buildup as usual, but instead of years between PC ports its only a couple of months which i am very happy about.

 

If would of been more reassuring of R* to annouce the PC version at the same time as the console versions, just been released later, but knowing their cheeky marketing staff it would of dampened sales for the console version, hence R* quietly working away on a PC version without announcing it for months possibly years.

 

Which brings me back to saying, thank you to everyone who showed their interest in GTA:IV PC you have made a lot of peoples dream come true so thank you so much.

 

Last thing i can think of saying is that the PC version of GTA:IV will not feel like a port like 3 and VC but more like GTA:SA in very similar ways.

 

Better visuals: draw distance,effects and model/texture detail

sound: EAX/OAL environment ect.

controls: actually possible to shoot a gun without auto target

even gameplay has been given a lift with the mysterious 'Expanded Multiplayer' which at least will end up having a larger player cap, dedicated servers and hopefully more modes and bugfixes.

 

Lets be honest, ever since GTA went to console's exclusively we always knew it would come crawling back to pc, at least i did.

[GTA_Godfather]

 

Last thing i can think of saying is that the PC version of GTA:IV will not feel like a port like 3 and VC but more like GTA:SA in very similar ways.

 

 

Actually, I HOPE it is more like III in terms of ports - which IMO it was the best port. I know that's not saying much, because it was a bare-bones port.

 

Go back and look at or play III (...assuming you don't have Vista. If anyone knows how to get it to run on Vista let me know. VC doesn't work either.). III was a much purer port. Yeah it was very console-like with the animations and with the fact that no features were added. However, it ran much smoother (better frame rates), especially when compared to San Andreas. It didn't have the massive motion blur that SA had. Oh...and the sounds....the best of bunch by far (clear and realistic, esp. weapons). Weird I know. SA's sounds couldn't hold a candle to III's.

 

In this way, III was allowed to be more unrestricted and more PC-like. I feel that R*, starting with VC, tried to reign in the PC version a bit by adding the frame rate limiter and keeping the same console motion blur mechanism. Obviously, there's no reason to force that onto the PC version. Even when you modded the draw distance file in SA, you got blue artifacts when looking far off. Often times this would cause the game to crash (Go to the top of Mount Chilliad or fly around in a jetpack and you'll find out.)

 

This is just another way R* can improve things with the PC version and with PC gamers. The big question is, "will they?" Or, will they continue to pander to console gamers/MS/Sony and actively diminish the PC version? It will only be as good as R* wants it to be.

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2008 by GTA_Godfather

[Smiler-Online]

I've got it working from the off in vista x64...

 

if yours is playing up then make sure that you go into your documents then GTAIII/VCs user files and delete GTA.dat

 

and that'll reset its settings (I think its always required when you upgrade your hardware or OS)

 

*EDIT*

 

you can turn the blur effects off in VC and SA doesn't have them, and if you suffer from artifacts then that'll be something to do with you graphics card (and definately if you've overclocked it too far)

Edited August 14, 2008 by smiler_16