GTA 4 PC Patch Now Being Certified By Microsoft

[Steppzor]

I cant play the game at all.. computer locksup some minutes into the game.. so COME ONE MS

[dirty-dog]

I think some people are expecting miracles 

All they need to do is figure out how to get the engine out of XBox 360/PlayStation 3 mode with its use of the CPU. Although, with Rockstar, that probably would be a miracle.

So true. This patch won't fix "lag" issues. Just lower the CPU Usages, fix shadows e.t.c.

Why do you think it will lower CPU usage?

[MMhardKy]

You honestly don't believe a release date would not be given (at least like "next week" or something) if the patch really would be already at Microsoft. I don't believe R* would have a problem to get a date from Microsoft when the issue is this important. They are bullsh*tting us. I have seen this too many times.

[Jeff Nyman]

Why is it taking so long for them to certify it?!?

In general, in response to the original question, it can take a long time or a short time depending on the details of what the process are. As an example, see this article:

 

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3813...e_xna_game_.php

 

While that isn't based on Games for Windows Live, it is based on the general concept of certification that Microsoft is using in general and gives you at least some insight into the context by which this certification takes place.

 

On the general issue, I work in the quality assurance and test discipline as part of the IT industry (including for some game companies, although not Rockstar) and have done so for about fifteen years now. As such, I can say that I definitely agree with having a certification process based on some standards. However, there's always a question of what the standards actually are and then how rigorously they are applied. (For example, Microsoft is not going to do near the level of configuration testing that Rockstar has done -- or at least should have done.)

 

So what it boils down to is: whose level of quality are we going for? Rockstar's or Microsoft's? The answer is clearly: Both. But the answer is nuanced by the fact that the level to which Microsoft considers "quality" issues in certification differs from what Rockstar considers quality.

 

The dynamic is interesting, though. What's clear is that a lot of fans are really pissed off. Microsoft is no doubt aware of this. Now, remember, certification is a stamp of approval of sorts, at least in people's perception. So Microsoft is going to be careful about how much or how little they certify since the idea of "quality" since, in this case, GTA4 is now somewhat tied in with Microsoft, even though, of course, Microsoft is not responsible for full "quality assurance" of the game.

 

[Stewerd]

Patch patch patch!

 

[dirty-dog]

I think some people are expecting miracles 

All they need to do is figure out how to get the engine out of XBox 360/PlayStation 3 mode with its use of the CPU. Although, with Rockstar, that probably would be a miracle.

So true. This patch won't fix "lag" issues. Just lower the CPU Usages, fix shadows e.t.c.

Why do you think it will lower CPU usage?

I heared it somewhere on the forums, I'm wrong, aren't I?

I don't know if you are wrong but it's the first I've heard of it.

[NTxC]

It'll take some time for Microsoft to verify that patch.

 

I'm installing IV now

[GTA_XP]

I want that motherf*cking piece of sh*tting patch now!!!!!

Maybe thoses M$ assholes plays gta4 with that patch instead preparing it for the release

Damn those greedy bastards to the hell

[eagle016]

We'll get it tomorrow...

[foxfire29]

why rockstar had to involve ms i will never know, more complete idiocy

[free_to_view]

why rockstar had to involve ms i will never know, more complete idiocy

Because the game is under GAMES FOR WINDOWS which is owned by MICROSOFT... I know it sucks

[Jeff Nyman]

why rockstar had to involve ms i will never know, more complete idiocy

If you mean why did they have to involve Microsoft with the patch, that's because it's required for game companies if they use "Games for Windows Live." If you mean why did Rockstar bother to use "Games for Windows Live" in the first place ... yeah, that's a good question. It clearly depends on whose viewpoint you want to look at it from. From a game developer perspective, there are certain perks. From a game player perspective, those perks are largely irrelevant in many cases.

 

As a general note, maybe relevant to the thread as a whole, the main thing to keep in mind is that none of this is Microsoft's fault. Rockstar is the one that chose to go with "Games for Windows Live" platform. Further, Rockstar is the one that introduced so many bugs that required a patch which then was required to go through Microsoft. Further, Rockstar isn't the only thing that Microsoft deals with so there is no impetus for them to treat their stuff any quicker or with more priority than anyone else's.

[Snypr18]

Im looking forward to "improved memory usage."

 

Anything better than what it is now is welcome. Im sick of crashing after GTA4 overloads my RAM and page file.

[foxfire29]

Yeah Jeff, construtive answer there and good points. Also out of the issues you pointed at ; it was this one:

 

 

If you mean why did Rockstar bother to use "Games for Windows Live" in the first place

 

I appreciated what you said about the fact it has perks and fo companies but the way I see it , this setup is 100% one sided, gamers dont benefit at all if we are looking at the big picture, small gain maybe occasionally which is overshadowed by massive restrictions impinging on fair use, personally I take offence at bloatware and it destroys my enjoyment of a product. Heck I am using vista here for DX 10 but it really pisses me off how they are using so much resources because of the fact vista is very heavy on resources, I digress though, the point is the initial issue discussed well I aint going to list the pros and cons as its just common sense and I refuse to believe players , at least to themselves cant see whats happening. I may get slandered by some but I in the past literally adored gaming but I am actually starting to get a hatred for many sections of gaming now owing to the fact its all one sided but I will not go into all this.

 

In short and to stay on topic, I really hope rockstar doesnt end up like EA , it seems every company once they have a bit success get cocky and start scewing gamers up the backside. (Once again big picture referance and tust me you dont want me to start expanding on all off this, because lets just end by saying "NO fair use" and no ethical policy .......if this isnt the case, you could have fooled me!) Heres hoping the patch makes a decent differance but I have seen releases like GTA 4 and usually at this point if the optimissation and lighting algorithms are really badly done and doverly resourse intensive well I dont think we will see much of a differance in a patch, if at all, especially if what many players think in regards to the game port being rushed turns out to be true

 

Apologies about the spelling, been at Uni today and I am very tired and cant be bothered changing it, plus I have nothing to prove with my grammar, I can write well when I can be arsed lol(Its all typos anyway)

Edited December 9, 2008 by foxfire29

[punisher.ita]

We don't even have an official release date... so, people, it is not coming but, anyway, do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

[3brothersofshave]

it MUST!!

[Kurgen]

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

[punisher.ita]

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

They will release it the 10th!

[motari]

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

They will release it the 10th!

Says who?

[commanderz]

hi...i having this werid problem.....my game run prefect and not a single crash when starting the game.........but after 5-1X min...the game starting lag + stuttering like sh*t......especially when driving around....it really super unplayable at all.....any advice??tryed every setting......and getting the same result....btw here my Benchmark Results

Statistics

Average FPS: 34.65

Duration: 37.28 sec

CPU Usage: 82%

System memory usage: 95%

Video memory usage: 62%

 

Graphics Settings

Video Mode: 1280 x 1024 (60 Hz)

Texture Quality: Medium

Render Quality: Very High

View Distance: 20

Detail Distance: 70

 

Hardware

Microsoft?Windows Vista" Ultimate

Service Pack 1

Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX

Video Driver version: 180.84

Audio Adapter: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)

Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz

[punisher.ita]

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

They will release it the 10th!

Says who?

It was a joke... the 10th days after he has bought it, so he couldn't return!

[motari]

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

They will release it the 10th!

Says who?

It was a joke... the 10th days after he has bought it, so he couldn't return!

Hehe got it now

[certainkindofo]

"none of this is Microsoft's fault."

 

Lets not get ahead of ourselves here. If Microsoft would concern themselves with actually putting out a functional and quality OS, and less on intrusive and PC crippling digital copyright implementation. I'm sure game developers(including Rockstar) would have an easier time of it. As that day will never happen. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that id's tech 5 engine goes mainstream and developers will be able to seamlessly integrate PC compatibility in all their games.

[Kurgen]

 

They will release it the 10th!

 

Probably.

 

[certainkindofo]

 

.but after 5-1X min...the game starting lag + stuttering like sh*t......especially when driving around....it really super unplayable at all.....any advice?

 

I had the same problem. Download RivaTuner and change your max prerender frames ahead setting to 2. It helped for me. Get a good 2 hours of play before the frame buffer issues start to catch up to me. Other than that, check your system usage and see if there is anything hogging your system ram. Defrag might help too. G'luck

[A.I.R]

where is the patch????//

 

Its been few days and no one know what happend???

[Kurgen]

where is the patch????//

 

Its been few days and no one know what happend???

Yes... We now know that MS still have it. Possible scenarios? :

 

1 - We'll see it in a few days, after the final "OK" from Massa Gates.

 

2 - We'll see it after it's gone back to R* for a rework, and then returned to MS for secondary QA, i.e. in a few weeks.

 

 

[Jeff Nyman]

If Microsoft would concern themselves with actually putting out a functional and quality OS, and less on intrusive and PC crippling digital copyright implementation. I'm sure game developers(including Rockstar) would have an easier time of it. As that day will never happen. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that id's tech 5 engine goes mainstream and developers will be able to seamlessly integrate PC compatibility in all their games.

Actually, Microsoft does put out a functional operating system. I assume many people are posting here via a Windows operating system, be that XP or Vista. So they do have a functional operating system. Quality? Well, that's often in the eye of the beholder. Does Windows have problems? Yes, sometimes. So does the MacOS and so do Linux OS's. (I switch between Vista and Linux so I use both about equally and I use Mac's for testing all the time.) Does Windows have more problems than the others? It depends on how you look at it. Windows gets much more developed for it (both in terms of drivers, hardware, and software) so it's likely that there will be more problems.

 

As far as "PC crippling digital copyright implementations," I'm not sure if you're referring to SecuROM. This isn't something that Microsoft made, however. So I'm not sure how that's their fault, either in terms of how it works or the fact that Rockstar chose to use it. Further, I have, at current count, four games that use SecuROM and have never had a problem with it, at least in terms of functionality. (I do agree with those, however, who don't like that it just installs itself and doesn't remove itself. But those are different issues then saying it "cripples" the PC.)

 

As far as the issues of Rockstar having an easier time of it, keep in mind that in many cases it has to do with the implementations of hardware drivers (either sound or video). That's not always the fault of Microsoft either. NVIDIA and ATI have released their share of buggy drivers. Creative has done likewise with their sound drivers. This isn't to say that Microsoft does everything right in this context. They too make mistakes or have issues, such as not exposing the API in an easy way or such as using COM surrogates. But that's my point: it's the complexity of the systems that have emerged as the years have gone on and it's actually getting harder to place the "blame."

 

So just understand that I'm not dismissing your points necessarily. But I'm not sure why people are so quick to leap on Microsoft here when I've seen little evidence (in fact, almost none) that anything having to do with GTA4 is the fault of the operating system or with any other ancillary Microsoft products (like "Games for Windows Live"). I'm willing to stand corrected, though.

[PuffMaN]

 

...do you really think it will resolve our performance problem?

On reading the (brief) patch description, probably not. I certainly hope it will, as it will determine whether I keep the game or return it to the shop. I have another 9 days left to decide.

They will release it the 10th!

Says who?

says Murphy's Law

 

evil murphy!

 

edit:

 

I assume many people are posting here via a Windows operating system, be that XP or Vista.

not me.. Linux!

Edited December 9, 2008 by PuffMaN

[disposeablehero]

"none of this is Microsoft's fault."

 

Lets not get ahead of ourselves here. If Microsoft would concern themselves with actually putting out a functional and quality OS, and less on intrusive and PC crippling digital copyright implementation. I'm sure game developers(including Rockstar) would have an easier time of it. As that day will never happen. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that id's tech 5 engine goes mainstream and developers will be able to seamlessly integrate PC compatibility in all their games.

Total BS, other devs have no issue, Vista is already fully functional and works fine, unless your misinformed like yourself.