GTA: The Wanted System Comparison...

[Lethal Vaccine]

I notice a lot of praise that is going toward San Andreas. Why wouldn't it? It's an amazing game, and probably the best in the series. However, I have been playing it the past few days and before that, I was playing GTA IV. Then I remembered the people on this forum complaining over GTA V's wanted system and police spawning in front of you, ramming your vehicle with a magic "speed boost."

 

I've been interested in really discovering how the police Al works in GTA games since GTA III and came to the conclusion that V is actually NO different than GTA IV and San Andreas dealing with cops spawning in front of you and ramming the sh*t out of your car. They did this in San Andreas and they did this in IV. So why is people actually complaining over V when this has been going on since at LEAST 2004 (San Andreas)?

 

Just a little while ago I was driving around in my SWAT Tank and AP (All Proof - Bullet, Fire, Explosion, Damage Proof) Admiral in San Andreas and upon reaching 5 stars, I noticed the FBI Rancher does everything in it's power to ram the sh*t out of you causing your car to flip over and catch fire. They also magically appear in front of you, behind you, all over. On 6 stars, it's no different. You got the Barracks and Rhino Tank banging into you from all angles and spawning in front of you. Don't believe me? Try it yourself. Go on a long strip of road in SA with a 5 and 6 star wanted level. You'll clearly see that every 25-50 feet, FBI Ranchers, Barracks, and Rhino Tanks will spawn. Once you "escape" the area of the first two Tanks and Barracks, another set of them spawn. There is simply no getting away from them.

 

Now to GTA IV's system. Well can you guess? It's no different. However, in GTA IV, you got a lot of right angle, 90 degree roads which come frequently, so you can constantly keep turning to get away from the police and eventually get out of the search zone. On 5 and 6 stars, it's pretty challenging nevertheless. Also, if you try and go on a straight road that is decently long in distance you can clearly look at your map in the bottom left hand corner and watch as the red dots (police) spawn directly in front of you OR on a side road coming directly at you on a road up ahead of you. So by the time you get to that road, that police car will already be on the road you're traveling on.

 

I've yet to check into III and Vice City, but I will in the coming days. All I know is people give all this praise to IV and San Andreas and think the cop system is light years better than V's but at the end of the day, I am seeing a lot of similarities in the wanted system than people are mentioning on this forum. I also realize V's cops shoot to kill no matter what and have 99% accuracy. I realize that IV's cops don't have great accuracy and it takes less than 10 seconds to lose the cops once out of the search zone circle. And I realize San Andreas cops aren't that tough either.

 

However in SA, IV and V, the cops are all relentless ramming your car, getting these magic speed boosts and spawning in front of you. What do you guys think or observed?

Edited March 27, 2014 by Militia

[D3ADSH0T]

I was playing gta 4 a few weeks ago and noticed it too. However, in gta 4 u lose the cops in 5 seconds after escaping the search zone. In gta v it depends on the wanted level and if you escaped them, a timer runs. If they spot you again, the timer pauses and they chase you. If u lose them again in the same pursuit, the timer resumes. I noticed this timer thing when I lost a 4 star wanted level in 10 seconds after hiding in a bush.

[Legit Complainer]

simple answer. because gta 5 was expected to IMPROVE upon the mistakes that were made in gta 4 and san andreas, which it didnt. this also correlates to how the stealth should have also been improved, but did not either. and im sure that less people would complain if the cops werent so aggressive and annoying in the first place. it was never an issue in san andreas because it was an arcadey and classic game in which you could put turbo on cars and zip away at full speeds, etc. in gta 4 it didnt matter because it was such a leap forward in police AI and realism that complaining about that would be nitpicking it. plus i dont remember the ramming being an issue in 4 like it is in 5. gta 5 should have made things better, but seems to have made them worse. cops in real life value their lives annd safety over the elimination of a criminal. so it just makes no sense that in this game they ram into you or get in your way to make you ram into them as if they dont care about their lives. it feels as if they know that theyre just video game NPCs. in san andreas it didnt matter since it wasnt too realistic, but since gta 5 is more realistic and modern, it's simply inexcusable and plain frustrating. this includes their accuracy too.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Legit Complainer

[Vanzant]

I don't see a difference between GTA4 and GTA5. I believe people think GTA4 is easier to escape police is due to the fact they have spent years playing that game on that specific map.

[BLOOD]

the HD Era took the wanted system to the next level (and a realistic one for that matter,with the Red and Blue wanted radius and in V's case the Cones of Detention) but I have to say Chinatown Wars (2009) had the best wanted system (and evade system) in the Franchise,you have to smash the cop cars to lose them in fact Sleeping Dogs copied (adopted) Chinatown Wars' wanted system,but with next-gen i am sure the wanted system will become more advanced and evolved in GTA....btw Great Thread OP

Edited March 27, 2014 by Blood-Is-in-Diamond

[Vec]

Today I escaped a 3 star chase with a stock Peyote I stole from the street...so I don't see the problem...In fact, the LSPD should be ashamed for letting a person in a Peyote escape

[BLOOD]

Lol this music video :

Edited March 27, 2014 by Blood-Is-in-Diamond

[GrandMaster Smith]

I feel the system's really improved, cops actually can't see you if you're hiding behind a little hill.. their line of sight is a lot better. IDK about you guys but I feel it's pretty easy escaping police in V for the most part.

 

 

I feel they're so aggressive online just to act as something to stop players from constantly killing eachother. You kill a player you usually get a star. You either have to die or try and run. Keep the killing to DM, freemode is to f*ck around in. Hence why the have the bad sport lobby, aggressive police, insurance bills ect

[El Zodape]

In III and VC its actually worse. They have the same mentality as SA's cops. The reason why it's worse is because of The different driving physics: cars have greater acceleration, handlin and ramming power. All of them. It's pretty fun, but with 3 stars or more you'll find yourself getting rammend and almost literally bouncing all over the place like a pinball.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Zodape

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

I feel the system's really improved, cops actually can't see you if you're hiding behind a little hill.. their line of sight is a lot better. IDK about you guys but I feel it's pretty easy escaping police in V for the most part.

 

Agreed.

 

I feel that GTA IV had the worst wanted level system in the entire series since they had x-ray vision and the game was scripted so you could not escape a 3+ star wanted level with a helicopter, I think it is extremely hypocritical that a lot of GTA IV fans complain about the cops in GTA V being too hard while the cops in GTA IV had the problems I just mentioned.

[98 in 1]

 

I feel the system's really improved, cops actually can't see you if you're hiding behind a little hill.. their line of sight is a lot better. IDK about you guys but I feel it's pretty easy escaping police in V for the most part.

 

Agreed.

 

I feel that GTA IV had the worst wanted level system in the entire series since they had x-ray vision and the game was scripted so you could not escape a 3+ star wanted level with a helicopter, I think it is extremely hypocritical that a lot of GTA IV fans complain about the cops in GTA V being too hard while the cops in GTA IV had the problems I just mentioned.

 

They still have X-ray vision in V. In fact, they've always had X-ray vision.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Ermac.

[BLOOD]

@Ermac

That why every LSPD cops have a Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of Detection bro

 

side note:I have lose 5 star wanted level by hiding under bridges and bushes

Edited March 27, 2014 by Blood-Is-in-Diamond

[98 in 1]

@Ermac

That why every LSPD cops have a Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of Detection bro

 

side note:I have lose 5 star wanted level by hiding under bridges and bushes

The Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of Detection is just a facade to cover up the fact that they still always know where you are bro

 

Ever wondered how they always know that it was you who destroyed a vehicle out in bumf*ck nowhere, or shot a lone hiker on a deserted trail? It's because they're omniscient. I'll give R* props for being able to get them to feign "searching" for you for a few seconds before they "stumble" across you, but the fact of the matter is they always know where you are. To be completely honest, I don't even know if we'll get non super cops in the next GTA. I'm no coder, but it seems like striking a balance between all knowing and stupid AI is kinda difficult.

 

Fun fact: The Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of detection was present in IV as well, sans the cone itself. When the wanted stars were grayed out whilst you were inside the search radius, that meant the police didn't have your current whereabouts i.e. couldn't see you. This allowed you to switch vehicles which made for easier escapes on higher wanted levels.

[Choco Taco]

I just played IV with a 6 star wanted level and the cops do not have that magic speed boost that they have in V. They could not catch me from behind while I was driving a Comet.

 

In V, they can easily catch up to and ram you in a fully modded Entity or Adder. Plus, when they do hit you from behind, the game forces your front wheels to turn to make you lose control. It's total bullsh!t.

[oCrapaCreeper]

IV still had some pretty bullsh*t things going on with its wanted system. Like the fact that the search area always followed you when you are in a helicopter at 3+ stars no matter what, even with no police helicopters present.

 

 

 

@Ermac

That why every LSPD cops have a Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of Detection bro

 

side note:I have lose 5 star wanted level by hiding under bridges and bushes

 

Fun fact: The Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of detection was present in IV as well, sans the cone itself. When the wanted stars were grayed out whilst you were inside the search radius, that meant the police didn't have your current whereabouts i.e. couldn't see you. This allowed you to switch vehicles which made for easier escapes on higher wanted levels.

 

This is in V as well in a different form. If you switch cars out of sight, you are marked grey on the minimap, and you can be in the direct line of sight of a cop and they will drive right by you unless you are at an obvious distance from them. This actually causes some faster getaways as cops will go to the last vehicle you ditched, and you'll hear "Vehicle was found, but no sign of the suspect" on the scanner and instantly lose the wanted level within seconds. This also happens when you stand in something like a bush.

 

Also, of course the cops will always know where you are, it's an AI. The only thing that can be done is feign that fact.

Edited March 27, 2014 by oCrapaCreeper

[98 in 1]

 

 

@Ermac

That why every LSPD cops have a Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of Detection bro

 

side note:I have lose 5 star wanted level by hiding under bridges and bushes

 

 

Fun fact: The Line (cone) of Detection...Line (cone) of detection was present in IV as well, sans the cone itself. When the wanted stars were grayed out whilst you were inside the search radius, that meant the police didn't have your current whereabouts i.e. couldn't see you. This allowed you to switch vehicles which made for easier escapes on higher wanted levels.

 

This is in V as well. If you switch cars out of sight, you are marked grey on the minimap, and you can be in the direct line of sight of a cop and they will drive right by you unless you are at an obvious distance from them. This actually causes some faster getaways as cops will go to your last vehicle you ditched, and you'll hear "Vehicle was found, but no sign of the suspect" and instantly lose the wanted level within seconds. This also happens when you stand in something like a bush.

 

Also, of course the cops will always know where you are on a technical level. It's an AI, the only thing that can be done is feign the the fact.

 

Never said it wasn't in V, and "To be completely honest, I don't even know if we'll get non super cops in the next GTA. I'm no coder, but it seems like striking a balance between all knowing and stupid AI is kinda difficult."

[BLOOD]

@Ermac

Yeah but in IV you couldnt hide in an underground tunnel or Bridge and Loose a common 3-stars wanted level unlike V (although IV's Proximity Radius-Wanted System was great).GTA is the #1 Crime Game Franchise and

the "Most Controversial Game Series in History" so running around and mowing down peds or causing mayhem is unrealistic and too violent so making the Cops so omnipotent was the way to go lol

 

(Sorry bro i am at the point of dizzing off so i dont know what i am typing lol).

Edited March 27, 2014 by Blood-Is-in-Diamond

[Tikhung]

Jesus, wanted system in GTA V is a joke. Yesterday, i was stealing a car, and then i got 1 star. I used that car to run away from the cops, then i got 2 stars (?). I swear, they spawned everywhere, i had to use lots sticky bombs, then from 2 stars to 3 stars.

Seriously, 3 stars just for stealing a car?

[oCrapaCreeper]

Jesus, wanted system in GTA V is a joke. Yesterday, i was stealing a car, and then i got 1 star. I used that car to run away from the cops, then i got 2 stars (?). I swear, they spawned everywhere, i had to use lots sticky bombs, then from 2 stars to 3 stars.

Seriously, 3 stars just for stealing a car?

1 star automatically raises to 2 if you resist arrest (Either by running away for a long period of time while in line of sight, or being found by the cops again if you lost their line of sight previously). Obviously using sticky bombs in going to further increase your level. GTA has always been famous for having the entire police force in the state on your ass for doing something simple.

Edited March 27, 2014 by oCrapaCreeper

[BLOOD]

Jesus, wanted system in GTA V is a joke. Yesterday, i was stealing a car, and then i got 1 star. I used that car to run away from the cops, then i got 2 stars (?). I swear, they spawned everywhere, i had to use lots sticky bombs, then from 2 stars to 3 stars.

Seriously, 3 stars just for stealing a car?

note the NPCs (Peds) calls the cops on you whenever you are doing any criminal activity,lol what do you think you were grand thefting lol

 

i am done here for now...see you all later

[Ben73]

V's system is not bad.

I find it reasonably easy to get away in the city. But in the countryside I have trouble.

Cops appear absolutely everywhere and there is not as many roads to drive down to ditch them. Every road you drive down has a cop on it.

 

Going offroad doesn't seam to help much either. They manage to follow you even if you are in a offroad vehicle.,

[Harwood Butch3r]

 

I feel the system's really improved, cops actually can't see you if you're hiding behind a little hill.. their line of sight is a lot better. IDK about you guys but I feel it's pretty easy escaping police in V for the most part.

Agreed.

 

I feel that GTA IV had the worst wanted level system in the entire series since they had x-ray vision and the game was scripted so you could not escape a 3+ star wanted level with a helicopter, I think it is extremely hypocritical that a lot of GTA IV fans complain about the cops in GTA V being too hard while the cops in GTA IV had the problems I just mentioned.

 

I know your GTA V bias is pretty bad, but this takes the cake. So GTA IV's system is the worst because of x-ray vision? Yeah because I mean the 3D era cops were just so smart that they couldn't see through walls lol.

 

GTA V isn't much better buddy ole pal. I've had times where I've hidden behind walls and they still know where I am. One time I was on a roof with Franklin and the cops searching the street below just "knew" I was on the roof. I admit it's better in ways, but it's still pretty f*cked. The ridiculous rubberbanding and the sense to still hear a suppressed gun shot out in the country with no one around can't be ignored.

 

Please take off your rose tinted glasses and accept it's still flawed. Also you're not doing yourself any favours calling people hypocrites when you're being one yourself.

Edited March 27, 2014 by SonOfLiberty

[Vec]

Jesus, wanted system in GTA V is a joke. Yesterday, i was stealing a car, and then i got 1 star. I used that car to run away from the cops, then i got 2 stars (?). I swear, they spawned everywhere, i had to use lots sticky bombs, then from 2 stars to 3 stars.

Seriously, 3 stars just for stealing a car?

 

-You stole a car and someone must have snitched you: 1 star

 

-You escape resisting arrest. Pursuit begins: 2 stars

 

-You throw sticky bombs and you must have hit at least one car: 3 stars

 

Keep killing cops and you'll eventually reach 5

[D3ADSH0T]

Dp. Cell is having a stroke again!

Edited March 27, 2014 by D3ADSH0T

[Lethal Vaccine]

I've read all the comments. You all bring up good points, and I am glad there isn't any arguing or name calling for the most part in this topic. Thanks for the replies and the debate.

I just played IV with a 6 star wanted level and the cops do not have that magic speed boost that they have in V. They could not catch me from behind while I was driving a Comet.

 

In V, they can easily catch up to and ram you in a fully modded Entity or Adder. Plus, when they do hit you from behind, the game forces your front wheels to turn to make you lose control. It's total bullsh!t.

 

You're...Kinda right. But only 50%. Sure you can escape the cops tailing you in an Infernus, Super GT, Turismo, Banshee, Sultan RS, Sentinel XS, Comet, Coquette, Feltzer, etc...But once you drive ahead a little bit, more cops will spawn in front of you, thus "still" being on you. The only way to escape 5 and 6 stars (as 1-4 stars is cake, imo) is simply by turning down every road very quickly and driving like a bat out of hell, until you escape the search zone represented by that big red/blue circle on the map. However it's SIMPLE to escape 5 and 6 stars if you just take your car into the subway and drive down the tracks as cops won't spawn down there and within 10 seconds, you literally escape the stars. I've managed to get a map location of where an opening from the road is with orange construction colored equipment is placed in front of a small opening to the tracks are, and that is what I memorized and go to for every 5 and 6 star chase. I've only escaped a 5 star chase one time by NOT going into the subway, and never have I escaped 6 stars unless going into the subway tunnels. 1-4 stars have been escaped numerous times and is very easy.

[universetwisters]

I think V's wanted system was kinda easier. When you get out of the sight of the cops, they're still looking for you, but you can go off and hide, or switch your vehicle and drive right by them to freedom. In the III-era games, the cops were pretty much psychic as far as where you were at all times, even when you were outside of their line of sight.

 

Except, of course, you put on a fresh T shirt or change the color of your car.

 

[Lethal Vaccine]

In III, you could just drive to your safehouse in Portland, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale and drive or walk into the police bribe icons to remove 1 through 6 stars. Granted, this wasn't ALWAYS there, only after 100% completion, or after you progressed so far in the game. I forget, as its been ages since when I 100%'ed GTA III, VC, and SA. But I still have my gamesaves and play the games. I have been playing them more than V, actually. Same with IV, I been playing IV more than I ever did. V gets boring to me, but when I give it a break and come back to it every week or two, it feels great again.

 

I do like V's Wanted System and have 0 trouble and problems with it, I just know a lot of people complain over it, hence making this topic and letting people know the cops aren't much different in V compared to past games.

[CantThinkOfOne2013]

 

 

I feel the system's really improved, cops actually can't see you if you're hiding behind a little hill.. their line of sight is a lot better. IDK about you guys but I feel it's pretty easy escaping police in V for the most part.

Agreed. I feel that GTA IV had the worst wanted level system in the entire series since they had x-ray vision and the game was scripted so you could not escape a 3+ star wanted level with a helicopter, I think it is extremely hypocritical that a lot of GTA IV fans complain about the cops in GTA V being too hard while the cops in GTA IV had the problems I just mentioned.

I know your GTA V bias is pretty bad, but this takes the cake. So GTA IV's system is the worst because of x-ray vision? Yeah because I mean the 3D era cops were just so smart that they couldn't see through walls lol.GTA V isn't much better buddy ole pal. I've had times where I've hidden behind walls and they still know where I am. One time I was on a roof with Franklin and the cops searching the street below just "knew" I was on the roof. I admit it's better in ways, but it's still pretty f*cked. The ridiculous rubberbanding and the sense to still hear a suppressed gun shot out in the country with no one around can't be ignored.Please take off your rose tinted glasses and accept it's still flawed. Also you're not doing yourself any favours calling people hypocrites when you're being one yourself.I don't think it's fair that you accuse me of having a bad GTA V bias when you and other GTA IV fans have a horrible GTA IV bias, I don't want to start any serious arguments but things seem to be heading that way.

GTA IV's wanted system isn't just the worse because of x-ray vision but also for the fact that the game was scripted so you couldn't escape a 3+ star wanted level with a helicopter.

I don't know why your having problems because I can hide behind walls and not get busted and less than an hour ago, I shot a guy at the Grapeseed airstrip (which is near a road) and didn't get a wanted level l.

Lastly, can you please provide an example of when I have been hypocritical?

[B Dawg]

I've been interested in really discovering how the police Al works in GTA games since GTA III and came to the conclusion that V is actually NO different than GTA IV and San Andreas dealing with cops spawning in front of you and ramming the sh*t out of your car.

What the hell? IV and V ARE different than SA, because police cars don't spawn RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU like past GTA games.

 

Example: III/VC/SA 'Hmm *looks back at police cars chasing me* *looks in front only to see police cars in front of you spawned*

 

IV and V on the other hand, you can look anywhere you want without them magically appearing right in front of you, they spawn dozen blocks away on top of that, they're all shown on the minimap. Cops aren't as magic as they used to be.

[na89340qv0n34b09q340]

I think V's system is a lot more realistic, but IV's is a lot more fun and intuitive. Is that he right word for IV's system? I mean that it's easy to understand how it works, not easy to game, but easy enough to get a general idea of the best ways to escape and where police tend to spawn, and it's mechanical (I think I'm gonna stick with that word instead.) Can't say anything about San Andreas' system since I never really payed much attention to it; I always either died or used a safehouse or clothing store, since they're practically everywhere.

 

In V pedestrians are pretty good about reporting crime, so wanted levels are common enough to be annoying. The police are tactical about searching, and they're really good at spreading out when it's time for that. In IV all the police really did was hide behind their cars and if you were behind cover they'd all line up and do their best to charge in for a kill, so it was easy to sit there and rack up kills until they stopped spawning. In V if you're in decent cover they're not going to be able to find you. If, by some miracle, they do find you then you need to move or else police will come in and do what they can to surround you.

 

V's police are stupid at searching because they hang to the streets and then go really slow when they're looking in alleyways, yards, etc. IV's police seem to be drawn toward wherever you're hiding, but they don't start shooting until they actually see you; so you could be hiding on the fourth floor of a parking garage and the stars could be flashing but then officer dickhead might mosey on up to the fourth floor with his gun pointed at you and the entire chase would start over again.

 

Car chases seem pretty much the same; the only real difference I noticed is that in V the police are a lot better about ramming you and seem to rubber-band a lot more, which is really annoying if you're in anything slower than a sports car. They also don't seem to be as obsessive about shooting out your tires, which is nice.