Why GTAIV doesn't work

[CraZyLiLbOy69]

Just to let you know lifting weights, etc. doesn't make you look strong.

I've been learning wushu in Beijing for 5 years and I must say that wushu kung fu is one of the hardest sport. Yeah i know wushu involves wrestling but the forms comprise basic movements are stances, kicks, punches, balances, jumps, sweeps and throws. You could be a bodybuilder, weight over 700 pounds and you will see yourself on the ground trying to beat someone that knows kung fu..

[Bladerunner_UK]

I'm a 7th Dan in Origami...watch out or you will get folded!

 

Back on topic...as you can see, most people seem to agree that there is a serious problem with the coding, which has nothing whatsoever to do with how good you are at setting up your computer.

Until ATI released new drivers, a lot of ATI users who met the RECOMMENDED - (NOT Minimum!) specs couldn't even run the game. nVidia users have also had problems, but to a much lesser degree.

The majority of users seem to be using dual-core (or better) CPU's, and fairly good graphics cards.

As somebody said earlier, the AVERAGE PC today has a much better spec than an Xbox360 or a PS3, so it is absolutely normal that users should expect performance at least on a par with a console.

If, as R* claim, this was "Built for the Future", why does it not even meet CURRENT expectations of Anti-Aliasing, ragdoll physics, DX10, or even SLi/Crossfire?

 

I say it again, this is a bad port, and it needs more than a few patches to sort it out.

[Orrish]

Well i don't even have graphics card in my computer!

 

 

 

GENETICALLY DIFFERENT! Arnt i just the hardest PC'er ever.

 

Seriously like kids with f*cking Pokemon cards, grow up. No not you penis you dirty b*stard.

 

 

[stinkytaco]

In before the Lock!

 

I can see this thread going down in flames really quick.

[foyaeman]

Well i don't even have graphics card in my computer!

 

 

 

GENETICALLY DIFFERENT! Arnt i just the hardest PC'er ever.

 

Seriously like kids with f*cking Pokemon cards, grow up. No not you penis you dirty b*stard.

HEY - HEY! I can get you dissing stupid people, but POKEMON CARDS? sh*t's so cash! I swim in a pile of those mutha f*ckas

[Orrish]

 

In before the Lock!

 

I can see this thread going down in flames really quick.

In some topics ive been there to shoot topics down with a few words, oh the fun.

 

400 dorrer pokemon card

 

$6000 Pokemon card

 

I feel sick i used to have them as a kid....and they were just lost.

Edited December 12, 2008 by Orrish

[ceedj]

 

It's called a niche...

Um, no. Tell Take-Two's shareholders that "it's a niche." The idea is maximum profitability, not making the game available and working to a few select "elite users".

 

And while you keep justifying R* Toronto's iffy (at best) porting job, I'd like to point out two things:

 

1 - Bully was also ported by R* Toronto, and is generally regarded as just as bad. From what I understand, they're cutting cost corners by slugging existing code into a DX wrapper and hoping it will work. In my mind (and evidently, the minds of thousands of other users), R* Toronto is now 0-2 in terms of optimizing for PC users.

 

2 - I posted this elsewhere, but GameSpot said this on Oct 30, 2008: (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/grandtheftauto4/news.html?sid=6200321&mode=all)

 

At first glance, the game looks brighter, sharper, and more vibrant, with the development team looking to take advantage of the increased flexibility presented by the PC platform. The aim is to ensure that the game not only looks good on top-end hardware--at a maximum resolution of 2560x1600 pixels--but also runs perfectly well on three-year-old machines, according to the Rockstar staffer taking us through the demo. Recommended and minimum specifications for the game are yet to be released.

 

Perfectly well on three year old machines? It's having problems running at all on 3 MONTH old machines.

 

I think they're a decent company that is taking way too many shortcuts for the PC gamer. I don't disagree that there is more money in console development, and probably cheaper to just swap some code, but the reputation of their last two releases will eventually come back to bite them, sooner or later.

 

And on a personal note, is it really necessary to take the low road with posters that don't agree with you? I thought you were 23? And a senior member of this forum? Maybe you could act like it?

[Bladerunner_UK]

In before the Lock!

 

I can see this thread going down in flames really quick.

In some topics ive been there to shoot topics down with a few words, oh the fun.

 

400 dorrer pokemon card

 

$6000 Pokemon card

 

I feel sick i used to have them as a kid....and they were just lost.

How about a TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR card?? Some people have more money than sense!

 

 

Really!!!

[ZaCkOX]

In before the Lock!

 

I can see this thread going down in flames really quick.

Maybe we should insult Rockstar, oh wait I can make a program full of viruses too, and look it runs with the same performance as GTA 4 for PC, how wonderful!

[Orrish]

In before the Lock!

 

I can see this thread going down in flames really quick.

In some topics ive been there to shoot topics down with a few words, oh the fun.

 

400 dorrer pokemon card

 

$6000 Pokemon card

 

I feel sick i used to have them as a kid....and they were just lost.

How about a TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR card?? Some people have more money than sense!

 

 

Really!!!

I swear i used to have two of them, oh well fun times and it will be for the person that's selling them.

 

To many people with loads of money but are broke on common sence.

[LanceLongstiff]

 

i get 38fps.

 

1900x600

med textures

highest render

 

33 distance

max dist detail

max shadows

max traffic

You're full of sh*t.

 

If the game ran that well on your fairly average PC, you'd be playing it instead of spending all day picking fights with strangers in forums.

 

Get a life, troll.

[mdtajghori]

It's called a niche...

 

It's been designed with the PC gamer in mind. The PC gamer and the console gamer are two different animals.

 

The PC gamer is an enthusiast who takes pride in his rig. They buy graphics cards, and high performance memory. They overclock, and use watercooling. They run benchmarks and stress tests. They drool over things like aftermarket cooling, L2 cache, and tight RAM timings. They are the people you call to fix your PC when you f*cked it up.

 

When a game like GTAIV comes out, the PC gamer dreams of pushing it to it's limit with newer or overclocked hardware. Generally, the PC gamer has more disposable income to spend on their rig. Rockstar gets this, and so do a lot of PC game makers. They purposely make it so that you need a sick system to run their games. Then, they go a few steps further and make sure that you need a REALLY sick computer to run at MAX settings. It's a niche market.

 

The console gamer just wants to pop it in and play. He says, "I payed $300 for this thing and I should be able to play any game that they release for it!" And he is right. He should--and can--play games that are released for it. He should stick to his console.

 

Unfortunately, the console gamer also applies this philosophy to his PC. In some cases the console gamer's PC cost more than his xbox or ps3. The ways PC's are marketed, it's very easy to think you are getting a great gaming rig, when in fact you aren't. These things are best left to the PC enthusiasts.

 

So that's Rockstar's evil secret. They made a kick-ass game for all the 360 and ps3 owners. Then, they made a great game for the PC enthusiasts who have the time, money, and know-how to use the game now and eventually push it to it's limits and MAX out all settings.

 

If you fit into the category of PC enthusiast/gamer, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, then please uninstall GTAIV and fire up your console version.

 

...Me? I own an Xbox360 and the rig you see in my sig. I sold my 360 copy of GTAIV, picked up the PC version, and would never look back. For those who have the means, the PC version is the ONLY way to play GTAIV. Otherwise, stick to the console. Nothing wrong with that though. The console version still kicks ass!

 

BTW, to the people who have Anti-Rockstar signatures:

Are you seriously telling me that when the next GTA comes out for console that you won't buy it? Bullsh*t. I'll see you all at the next midnight launch!

Very well said

[TruXter]

I really think think that the people who have the "irreversable issues" are either trolls who don't even have the game. or retards who bought the parts but have no idea what to do with them. These threads come up at every gta launch for pc. Hell I have been called a troll for griping when my Xabre card flipped out and corrupted when I was in interiors and near a basketball.

 

Solution was, fix my rig.

[LanceLongstiff]

Several well-known websites have confirmed the poor performance.

 

Your opinion is now deemed null and void.

[illuminati2025]

 

I really think think that the people who have the "irreversable issues"  are either trolls who don't even have the game. or retards who bought the parts but have no idea what to do with them.  These threads come up at every gta launch for pc. Hell I have been called a troll for griping when my Xabre card flipped out and corrupted when I was in  interiors  and near a basketball.

 

Solution was, fix my rig.

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=382678&st=40

 

 

 

Why are some still in denial about this?

 

 

 

It wasn't ready to be released for another month.

[mdtajghori]

Several well-known websites have confirmed the poor performance.

 

Your opinion is now deemed null and void.

Yet they gave the game a score above 9, which means they got it to work, which means they know their way around and not like morons on this forum who don't stop complaining coz they don't know sh*t about what they are doing.

[Orrish]

 

I really think think that the people who have the "irreversable issues"  are either trolls who don't even have the game. or retards who bought the parts but have no idea what to do with them.  These threads come up at every gta launch for pc. Hell I have been called a troll for griping when my Xabre card flipped out and corrupted when I was in  interiors  and near a basketball.

 

Solution was, fix my rig.

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=382678&st=40

 

 

 

Why are some still in denial about this?

 

 

 

It wasn't ready to be released for another month.

Well what do you expect with a bunch of heretics on a game forum, they can't help but be in denial mate because to be proven wrong would be a fate worser than death for most of them, just wait a bit the sh*t will settle like an unruly turd in the toilet.

[TruXter]

 

I really think think that the people who have the "irreversable issues"  are either trolls who don't even have the game. or retards who bought the parts but have no idea what to do with them.  These threads come up at every gta launch for pc. Hell I have been called a troll for griping when my Xabre card flipped out and corrupted when I was in  interiors  and near a basketball.

 

Solution was, fix my rig.

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=382678&st=40

 

 

 

Why are some still in denial about this?

 

 

 

It wasn't ready to be released for another month.

Oh, I am sorry, that dude drew a pie chart.

Then it's official.

 

GEt real.

 

it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME

 

Just because it just happened to you, does not mean it's the first time. or the most tragic.

Edited December 12, 2008 by TruXter

[abottig]

i get 38fps.

 

1900x600

med textures

highest render

 

33 distance

max dist detail

max shadows

max traffic

You're full of sh*t.

 

If the game ran that well on your fairly average PC, you'd be playing it instead of spending all day picking fights with strangers in forums.

 

Get a life, troll.

no, i really do. and i've already played about 3 hours today.

[scratchyrice]

@CraZyLiLbOy69 - I do Kendo, Some Ju-jutsu, But mostly Escrima. Escrima IMO, is the only one worth while, as it teaches you how to actually attack and defend in a REAL combat situation, rather than how to perform mostly useless moves which just look good. Escrima is about understanding the opponent, whereas most other martial arts are about trying to get the opponent in the correct place, to perform a specific move, which is useless in the real world. I agree that strength is not everything, but since i started training with weights, ive found Escrima and Kendo a lot easier, especially in sparing . You don't wanna hit someone in the stomach with good sized tensed abs, It no longer hurts lol. Also alot of girls seem to love it

[abottig]

It's called a niche...

 

It's been designed with the PC gamer in mind. The PC gamer and the console gamer are two different animals.

 

The PC gamer is an enthusiast who takes pride in his rig. They buy graphics cards, and high performance memory. They overclock, and use watercooling. They run benchmarks and stress tests. They drool over things like aftermarket cooling, L2 cache, and tight RAM timings. They are the people you call to fix your PC when you f*cked it up.

 

When a game like GTAIV comes out, the PC gamer dreams of pushing it to it's limit with newer or overclocked hardware. Generally, the PC gamer has more disposable income to spend on their rig. Rockstar gets this, and so do a lot of PC game makers. They purposely make it so that you need a sick system to run their games. Then, they go a few steps further and make sure that you need a REALLY sick computer to run at MAX settings. It's a niche market.

 

The console gamer just wants to pop it in and play. He says, "I payed $300 for this thing and I should be able to play any game that they release for it!" And he is right. He should--and can--play games that are released for it. He should stick to his console.

 

Unfortunately, the console gamer also applies this philosophy to his PC. In some cases the console gamer's PC cost more than his xbox or ps3. The ways PC's are marketed, it's very easy to think you are getting a great gaming rig, when in fact you aren't. These things are best left to the PC enthusiasts.

 

So that's Rockstar's evil secret. They made a kick-ass game for all the 360 and ps3 owners. Then, they made a great game for the PC enthusiasts who have the time, money, and know-how to use the game now and eventually push it to it's limits and MAX out all settings.

 

If you fit into the category of PC enthusiast/gamer, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, then please uninstall GTAIV and fire up your console version.

 

...Me? I own an Xbox360 and the rig you see in my sig. I sold my 360 copy of GTAIV, picked up the PC version, and would never look back. For those who have the means, the PC version is the ONLY way to play GTAIV. Otherwise, stick to the console. Nothing wrong with that though. The console version still kicks ass!

 

BTW, to the people who have Anti-Rockstar signatures:

Are you seriously telling me that when the next GTA comes out for console that you won't buy it? Bullsh*t. I'll see you all at the next midnight launch!

Very well said

thank you sir.

[abottig]

Several well-known websites have confirmed the poor performance.

 

Your opinion is now deemed null and void.

Yet they gave the game a score above 9, which means they got it to work, which means they know their way around and not like morons on this forum who don't stop complaining coz they don't know sh*t about what they are doing.

thank you.

[Officer_Dufus]

I'll agree on the part about all those anti-rockstar whiners being here for the next GTA launch and buying it too....

 

I wish there would be SILENCE until the patch is fixed. Still people complain without even knowing what the future patch holds for them.

[bp2018]

38 fps in the benchmark perhaps...

 

Anyway people in here expecting every pc user to be tech savvy and know how to clean out drivers and update bios files etc in order to get a game to run are in the most nicest of possible ways, complete morons.

 

On the other side of the fence those that are complaining that is "isn't working out of the box" are also morons.

 

Those expecting to max the game completely and are complaining it isn't working... yep... morons.

 

The game needs fixing, this is obvious, infact 98% of all pc games released require a patch or 40, thats how it works with such a huge degree of different hardware setups.

 

Just chill out, wait for a patch or 2 and then we can tell just how demanding the engine actually is.

 

This is exactly what happened to Vista, everyone jumped on the "VISTA SUCKS! ITS A MEMORY HUG! NOTHING BUT FAIL! ALWAYS WILL BE!" what happened? oh thats right, its even faster than XP in most areas, and the "memory hogging" is a feature to use unused memory, problem was it wasn't letting go of it when needed.

 

How do we know that the odd CPU bottleneck isn't the result of the physics being calculated offscreen when it shouldn't be, or that theirs a bug causing certain objects to constantly jitter about using up the CPU, Rockstar is trying to find the problem, please give them time, as for the first patch its microsoft you should be bashing not Rockstar.

 

As for the whole Niche market thing, no one is that dumb to create a million odd dollar game port only for a select few with the money to buy it and actually use it, that would be a fast way to go bankrupt.

[abottig]

 

Um, no. Tell Take-Two's shareholders that "it's a niche." The idea is maximum profitability, not making the game available and working to a few select "elite users".

if that were the case then the term "niche market" would not exist. IV sold EXTREMELY well to the console, and now they're going after the much smaller "niche market"(PC gamers). please get over the fact that a cutting-edge game requires cutting-edge technology to go full-tilt. thank you.

 

EDIT:

Also, the "niche market" is only relatively small in this case. In fact it's a very large niche.

Edited December 12, 2008 by abottig

[bp2018]

 

Um, no. Tell Take-Two's shareholders that "it's a niche." The idea is maximum profitability, not making the game available and working to a few select "elite users".

if that were the case then the term "niche market" would not exist. IV sold EXTREMELY well to the console, and now they're going after the much smaller "niche market"(PC gamers). please get over the fact that a cutting-edge game requires cutting-edge technology to go full-tilt. thank you.

Its not a cutting edge game, it was made for the CONSOLES as you just stated, having such poor performance even on graphics not even half that of a console is a sure sign something is wrong, get over yourself and stop trying to prove a fact that doesn't exist, a niche market is a bankruptcy market when it comes to computers, if they were making it for the "niche" people they WOULD of simply emulated it and expected people with high end rigs to run it, not recode parts and increase details.

 

Take your i7 and Quad sli rig and go build a rocket or something.

 

Of course if you meant a top end machine to run the maximum graphics then I apologise, otherwise, stuff you.

 

Seriously im not abusing you, just trying to make you understand this game isn't designed for top end computers only, otherwise they wouldn't of even bothered with the minmum or recommended specs and would of simply stated "ONLY RUNS ON THIS OR BETTER!"

 

EDIT: please clarify this...

 

 

EDIT:

Also, the "niche market" is only relatively small in this case. In fact it's a very large niche.

 

So it's big AND small at the same time?

[Psycold]

Yet abottig still avoids my post because he has nothing to defend himself with against me, come on man, what happened? He's going straight for the easier targets because he knows I totally shot his ass down. So let's repost what he is avoiding.

 

 

I agree. Most of the whinning about bad performance is usually specs related. Not the game.

So why don't they whine about this with every game.

Its just that gta iv is poorly optimized and Toronto havent even checked the game properly for bugs.

Its just a shoddy game

every pc game has spec related issues. it just so happens that this is the biggest game of all time. can you imagine if halo had come out on PC? it'd be the same "mess" that everyone(n00bs) says this game is.

Besides the fact that the game doesn't work properly ON THE SPECS THAT ROCKSTAR RELEASED....anyone that has played this game on PC that has some kind of idea of how these things work, realizes that this game could easily have been optimized to run smoothly, because it does run smoothly sometimes, but the times it slows down don't make sense, the graphical settings make barely any difference to the performance, not only that but your suggestion that every game has issues is total B.S. I have never had issues like this with a game and I've been playing PC games since the black and white version of Prince of Persia came out in the 80's right up until Fallout 3 and most recently GTA4.

 

I love how you suggest that if Halo came out for PC it would have been a disaster....obviously you don't know WTF you are talking about because the game WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR PC BUT MICROSOFT BOUGHT OUT BUNGIE SOFTWARE SO THEY COULD HAVE THE GAME EXCLUSIVELY FOR XBOX UPON RELEASE. And what happened when they finally released Halo for PC? It was a sh*tty xbox port that ran horribly because just like GTA, it was poorly optimized. The worst part about reading your ridiculous rant is how you replied to yourself insulting everyone's intelligence because they were kind enough to not respond to your idiocy like I am doing, but I'm shameless and happy that way.

 

 

----------------------

 

 

this guy seriously thinks he's better than most PC gamers because he's part of the small minority of people that has the game working with apparently zero issues. If I were him and I got incredibly lucky and the game ran perfectly for me, I sure as hell wouldn't be insulting the majority of people who are having issues, telling them they didn't do enough research to be able to run the game, I would be trying to help them.

 

But that's an asshole for you.

did i say that i was better at anything? no i didn't.

 

i have been active in other threads giving advice to those who are seeking it. i don't help crybabies or those who refuse to buy another r* just because their computer sucks.

 

btw, the small(LOUD) minority are those who have problems with the game. most of us are doing just fine.

go find some statistics to prove your point, I'll find some that prove mine:

 

GTA4.net poll:

 

How smoothly does GTA IV PC run on your machine?

 

Very smoothly, no problems at all.

1816

 

Quite smoothly.

3194

 

It runs, but it runs horribly.

6023

 

It doesn't run at all. I get errors.

2022

 

I don't have GTA IV PC yet.

2483

 

I'm not getting GTA IV PC.

1792

 

Votes: 17330

 

Thats 17330 total, minus the people who arent getting it and don't have it, brings us to 13055

 

So under 14% of people have it running perfectly.

Under 24% have it running quite smoothly

61% of people either can't run it at all or are having major issues

 

I would say your math sucks or you didn't bother to look.

 

 

 

----------------------------

 

 

 

Metacritic:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/grandtheftauto4

 

a reader rating of 4.2 out of 10 with 352 votes

 

 

----------------------------------

 

IGN.com

http://pc.ign.com/objects/142/14269673.html

 

 

Reader Average: 5.0

37 reader reviews

 

-----------------------------------

 

 

Gamespot.com

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/grandthe...to4/review.html

 

User Score 7.1 with 2,104 votes

 

 

------------------------------------

 

 

So hows that foot taste?

[abottig]

Um, no. Tell Take-Two's shareholders that "it's a niche." The idea is maximum profitability, not making the game available and working to a few select "elite users".

if that were the case then the term "niche market" would not exist. IV sold EXTREMELY well to the console, and now they're going after the much smaller "niche market"(PC gamers). please get over the fact that a cutting-edge game requires cutting-edge technology to go full-tilt. thank you.

Its not a cutting edge game, it was made for the CONSOLES as you just stated, having such poor performance even on graphics not even half that of a console is a sure sign something is wrong, get over yourself and stop trying to prove a fact that doesn't exist, a niche market is a bankruptcy market when it comes to computers, if they were making it for the "niche" people they WOULD of simply emulated it and expected people with high end rigs to run it, not recode parts and increase details.

 

Take your i7 and Quad sli rig and go build a rocket or something.

 

Of course if you meant a top end machine to run the maximum graphics then I apologise, otherwise, stuff you.

 

Seriously im not abusing you, just trying to make you understand this game isn't designed for top end computers only, otherwise they wouldn't of even bothered with the minmum or recommended specs and would of simply stated "ONLY RUNS ON THIS OR BETTER!"

read my sig. i have a decent gaming rig. it's not "top-end".

 

the draw distance is better than consoles, the distance detail is better, the rendering is better, the textures are better. if you have the means to play it i suggest you do. it kicks ass.

 

the box basically does state "run this or better". isn't that what minimum requirements are? do you know what a min-i-mum is?

 

a niche market is a bankruptcy market? how big is the market for high end cpu's and graphics cards? how big is the market for watercooling? how big is the market for most aftermarket parts??? SMALL in comparison to the rest of the industry. THEY ARE NICHE MARKETS, and are not causing companies to go bankrupt. same with gtaiv for pc. it is for a niche market(pc gamers). get it?

[ceedj]

 

Um, no. Tell Take-Two's shareholders that "it's a niche." The idea is maximum profitability, not making the game available and working to a few select "elite users".

if that were the case then the term "niche market" would not exist. IV sold EXTREMELY well to the console, and now they're going after the much smaller "niche market"(PC gamers). please get over the fact that a cutting-edge game requires cutting-edge technology to go full-tilt. thank you.

 

EDIT:

Also, the "niche market" is only relatively small in this case. In fact it's a very large niche.

I'm not disputing the fact that it's a cutting edge game.

 

I AM disputing that a shoddy port is a legitimate excuse to tell people that their PC's are the problem. The fact that you call it "Rockstar's evil secret" is just laughable. Do you really think R*, or even Take-Two WANTS the bad press of a poorly ported game? Gamespot gave the game a 9.0, but even THEY called it a LAZY PORT.

 

Niche or no, it's still eating up profits by returns, bad press and patching. You think T2 is happy about paying people to work on a game that should have worked properly to begin with?

[abottig]

 

go find some statistics to prove your point, I'll find some that prove mine

 

i didn't read all of your numbers but it looked like about a 5000 to 8000 split between people who can run it, and those who cant.

 

who is more vocal? those who can run it, or those who cant? obviously those who cant. thats why i meet so much resistance on this forum.

 

i would put any amount of money on the fact that at least half of that 8000 COULD run the game but are doing something completely f*cking wrong. n00bs are everywhere.

 

so really, these numbers mean nothing.