Length Of Story/Number Of Missions

[gtamann123]

 

There has been a lot of talk about about the length of GTA V and the number of missions. Some people are saying it will be long and some think it will be too short. I would like to state my opinion and make a prediction based on the info we have now.

 

 

Rockstar said that the story will center around 5-6 main Heists. I will use 6 as my number. This concept reminds me of the Caligulas heist strand from San Andreas. In that strand you had to complete jobs to get the necessary equipment for the Heist and there was about 5 missions I believe. I think that this is about the same amount of preparation missions we will see in V. The earlier ones may have less and the later ones will be more complex and might have more. But I think it will average out to about 5 a Heist. So 5x6=30. So 30 preparation missions plus 6 for the Heists themselves. so our current total is at 36. This may not sound like a lot but take into account that these missions will most likely be pretty complex and longer than we previously have seen in GTA. More muti step missions and a longer average mission time than in previous games. But these wont be the only missions.

 

each character will also have their own story arch that's separate from the Heist stories. This is actually the part of the game I am more excited about because I think this is where the bulk of the plot will be.

 

 

Michael's main story arch centers around his dysfunctional family and his is likely to be the shortest (Unless there is something else we haven't been told yet) I think his main story are the Heists themselves but there will still be a few missions of him doing stuff with his family and dealing with the issues. We have seen some of these already (Mike chasing Amanda's lover out the window and most likely chasing him down and killing him, Riding bikes with Jimmy, Spying on Amanda etc.) I think most of the early game tutorial missions will actually be Michael missions. So I'm going to put his number at about 5. Since most of his missions won't be very action packed Rockstar wouldn't want to make his story drag out.

 

 

Franklin's strand is obviously going to center around his gang and his friend Lamar. We saw this in the trailer and most of the action seemed like gang wars and missions similar to the earliest part of SA. His story will probably be the middle length one because It is kind of one dimensional. There are only so many gang related missions you can do before they start to become repetitive and boring. So I am going to put his number at 10 as an estimate. Longer than Micheal's because they are much more action packed but not at Trevor's number because of the one dimensionalness of his plot line.

 

 

I personally believe Trevor's story arch will be the longest because I think his story has the most possible directions it can go in. His on going feud with the Lost will play in. His drug and gun operation will be a major player and his all out rage may create missions of their own. The countryside will be Trevor's playground so I think his missions will be used to showcase different areas in the countryside and the large area at R*s disposal leads me to believe they will take full advantage of it and lead us to a longer plot line than the other two. Its the larger amount of possibilities for Trevor's missions that will cause his strand to be longest. I am going to estimate his number at about 15.

 

Of course there may be some other missions that are not specific to either character and don't play into the Heist story. In the second trailer we saw Michael rescuing his son from a sailboat with Franklin and I';m not sure if that will be part of a Heist strand or just be an extra mission. To account for this I am going to add 5 to our total.

 

Grand Total=71 Missions

 

This bring our grand total to 71 missions. So about 30 less than San Andreas and 20 less than GTA IV. But I think the average mission length will be longer so i think the overall main story will play out to around the same length as GTA IV. Bust you also have to take into account that there are going to be a ton of side activities. Much more than GTA IV meaning that GTA V will last you longer than IV ever did. This is Rockstar's biggest game ever.

 

Thank you for reading and I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions below. I could be way over or way under in my estimates and the only way we will find out is to wait until September 17th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2013 by gtamann123

[r0eladn]

Funny how well thought over threads get less responds here than spam and troll threads.

 

OT: I think walk-in-the-marker-and-go missions will be a lot more than you say.

 

I would quickly estimate more like 120 of those.

 

And then there are the sidemissions, people you meet on the street (what was talked about in previews, the random encounters)

 

And then there is stuff like import/export assignments. Of those i expect there to be a lot more than weve seen in previous GTA's.

[arrowface10]

I honestly think this could possibly be precise, Because even though we shall have a possible lower amount of mission's, What we need to do to make the mission possible may possibly make it take longer, Such as planning a heist.

[RedDragonsBOOM]

 

Funny how well thought over threads get less responds here than spam and troll threads.

 

OT: I think walk-in-the-marker-and-go missions will be a lot more than you say.

 

I would quickly estimate more like 120 of those.

 

And then there are the sidemissions, people you meet on the street (what was talked about in previews, the random encounters)

 

And then there is stuff like import/export assignments. Of those i expect there to be a lot more than weve seen in previous GTA's.

Serious right? Like a damn post about realistic steak is still talked about on this forum and it was a dumb ass joke in the first place. 71 missions though?! Are you serious OP? Thats less than a freaking handheld game and I dont care how 'complex' these missions are. Do you forget how many side missions there are usually that have nothing really to do with the main plot of the game in a GTA? Theres at least 50 in every game.

[roebuck34]

Hm thats not that many missions tough... but as you sad these heists will probobly be very long.

[GTAfan786]

IMO, i think there is going to be maximum 120 missions. If not, it's no less than 60.

[The Made Man]

Awesome thread man.

[AuSsIeThUnDeR36]

Said it before but -

All 3 protags = 15 individual missions = 30

Heist prep missions = 4. x 6 = 24

Heists = 6

Finale involving all 3 protags = 3

Side Missions (jobs/strangers etc) = 50

Total = 113

(And the total 113 is 1+1+3=5...gta 5)

[GTAfan786]

Said it before but -

All 3 protags = 15 individual missions = 30

Heist prep missions = 4. x 6 = 24

Heists = 6

Finale involving all 3 protags = 3

Side Missions (jobs/strangers etc) = 50

Total = 113

(And the total 113 is 1+1+3=5...gta 5)

3 protags with 15 individual missions isn't 30, but 45 total. You're sure good at maths

 

 

But seriously, i doubt its gonna be like this. It's gonna be WAY longer and bigger.

[DiegoPotato]

I honestly expect more than 100 missions. I mean, it's f*cking GTA V. This game has to improve and enlarge every single aspect of the previous GTAs. If that is not the case, I will be disappointed.

[BUT THE BENZ]

The story/missions gonna be longer than IV, RDR and MP3 combined. +60 hours in total.

[gtamann123]

 

Said it before but -

All 3 protags = 15 individual missions = 30

Heist prep missions = 4. x 6 = 24

Heists = 6

Finale involving all 3 protags = 3

Side Missions (jobs/strangers etc) = 50

Total = 113

(And the total 113 is 1+1+3=5...gta 5)

I didn't include stranger side missions in this number. Just the main story missions. I think that if stranger missions are included then the number could reach 100 easily. But I personally wouldn't mind 71 main story missions because then there will be less filler missions in which GTA IV had a ton of. RDR had about 57 missions I think and that game seemed really long to some people. So I think 71 main missions is more than you may think. And of course all of the side missions/activities/exploring and multiplayer that will add to the length of time you spend with the game.

Edited May 6, 2013 by gtamann123

[wwinterj]

I think the OP isn't far from the truth. 71 story missions sounds about right as I imagine most missions that connect to the main story will be longer. I'd rather have longer missions that are great than shorter missions that are not. "Quality over quantity" as I found a lot of mission in GTA IV were just drive from point A to point B, kill some people then back to point A. Not very fun at all. There is also "mini heists" and side missions. Great topic.

Edited May 6, 2013 by wwinterj

[Grand Theft Savage]

My number is 62. Don't ask me how I got it... I actually calculated it 3 days ago.

[gtamann123]

My number is 62. Don't ask me how I got it... I actually calculated it 3 days ago.

Yeah when you actually sit down and think hard and calculate it you realize that over 100 missions is highly unlikely. GTA IV had way too many filler missions that were unnecessary. I think R* wants to make every mission count and make every mission quality in V.

[RedDragonsBOOM]

The math people are doing here based on their own theories of how many missions per character will happen is completely asinine. For one, why the hell are you just assuming you're going to play the same amount of missions on each character, wouldnt that be a bit predictable? Also, why would they try to keep it to any one particular formula since they have already shown a thousand times that this GTA is far different from any other we have played before?

[Dick Justice]

I expect a lot of the heist prep to be carried out in Free-Roam and not be missions per se. Why does going to a clothing store and buying masks have to constitute an entire mission? Why do we have to walk into a mission marker just to be told to plant a getaway vehicle somewhere else? I think it would be great if once you have a heist you're planning, you've got a checklist of objectives to complete in free-roam and once they're done the heist can commence.

[gtamann123]

I expect a lot of the heist prep to be carried out in Free-Roam and not be missions per se. Why does going to a clothing store and buying masks have to constitute an entire mission? Why do we have to walk into a mission marker just to be told to plant a getaway vehicle somewhere else? I think it would be great if once you have a heist you're planning, you've got a checklist of objectives to complete in free-roam and once they're done the heist can commence.

That's actually an excellent theory. If that is true than the number of actual missions will probably be smaller.

[Dick Valor]

I think many people are underestimating the number and balance of individual missions per protag. (I mean, the OP really thinks Michael will only have 5 individual missions besides the main heists/prep? Ridiculous!)

 

I think we're all on in agreement that the main heists and their preparation will be around 30 missions. In other words, for all 6 major heists, let's estimate there will be at least 4 preparatory missions.

 

Each individual protag will have their own story arc. Michael has three family members, a therapist, and the FIB/witness protection angle to deal with, Franklin has his repo job and gangbanging arc, and Trevor has his own sh*t with the Lost as well. Assuming these individual arcs will be slightly shorter than IV's episodes (or the time it takes CJ to leave LS and Niko to leave Hove Beach), let's conservatively estimate these will be 15 individual missions per protag, for a grand total of 45.

 

There are also mini-heists besides the six main heists, though it's unlcear whether these are part of the prep or individual missions, so let's ignore these for now.

 

Conservatively, it's safe to say we'll get at least 75 main story missions, though I expect closer to 90.

 

EDIT: Good point, man dragon. Maybe the mission count will be closer to 60 after all.

[gtamann123]

I think many people are underestimating the number and balance of individual missions per protag. (I mean, the OP really thinks Michael will only have 5 individual missions besides the main heists/prep? Ridiculous!)

 

I think we're all on in agreement that the main heists and their preparation will be around 30 missions. In other words, for all 6 major heists, let's estimate there will be at least 4 preparatory missions.

 

Each individual protag will have their own story arc. Michael has three family members, a therapist, and the FIB/witness protection angle to deal with, Franklin has his repo job and gangbanging arc, and Trevor has his own sh*t with the Lost as well. Assuming these individual arcs will be slightly shorter than IV's episodes (or the time it takes CJ to leave LS and Niko to leave Hove Beach), let's conservatively estimate these will be 15 individual missions per protag, for a grand total of 45.

 

There are also mini-heists besides the six main heists, though it's unlcear whether these are part of the prep or individual missions, so let's ignore these for now.

 

Conservatively, it's safe to say we'll get at least 75 main story missions, though I expect closer to 90.

 

EDIT: Good point, man dragon. Maybe the mission count will be closer to 60 after all.

I completely forgot about the FIB part of michaels story and the repo part of Franklins. But I doubt that there will be many missions surrounding the repo part. Maybe one or two and the other will be side activities. And I can see Michael being blackmailed by the FIB and having to do missions for them. Like SA when CJ had to do missions for CRASH and Toreno.

[Dick Justice]

I think the protagonists will have a lot of unique side-missions as well, like Franklin's repo missions and Trevor's guns/drug running. Hopefully, these distractions are diverse and entertaining enough to make the main storyline seem even longer than it really is. I know to make money at the beginning of the game I'll be doing a lot of the repo-missions, I really don't care if they're only side-missions or main storyline missions, they sound like they'll be a great time waster. I've never been one to rush through these game either. I know someone who got up to Algonquin already on IV's launch day, which seems ridiculously rushed.

[BUT THE BENZ]

basically it's 3 stories of their own woven into a big picture so naturally it will be a long story including many missions in total. imagine you do all the "personal" missions reserved for each respective protag. Imagine you'd do all of niko's, louis' and johnny's missions in one and the same game. This makes for hundreds of hours really. Some will rush through the mainmissions though and miss out on lots of stuff. They'll say that they beat the game in less than 24 hours and then call it short and not big enough or whatever. Even with a game this size and how it's apparently content-packed, people would have the audacity to say it's not long enough. And they don't waste a second overthinking how they play the game, overlooking what makes GTA so great, the details.