GTAForums Weekly - Issue 10

[Flachbau]

Week of May 14th - 20th

Hello and welcome back to GTAForums Weekly! To kick off our tenth consecutive issue (crazy how far we've already come since the re-launch), let's jump right into the news. For the GTA photography crowd here in the community, GTAF Staff have set up a new event just for you! Season 1 of the GTAForums Snap Battle has begun. The rules are quite simple - post your own Snapmatic shot that aligns with the season's theme in the topic of which platform was used. The theme for Season 1 is "Action". If you're interested in participating, be quick, as the May 23rd deadline is fast approaching.. but you may be wondering, "Are there any special prizes to win?". Besides having your winning Snapmatic shot posted through GTANet's extensive social media network, you'll be awarded with a t-shirt with two designs to select from. If you have any additional questions about the event, feel free to ask away in the dedicated discussion and support thread.

In other news, it seems that the former "Announcements" sub-forum has been merged with the newer, more active "News" sub-forum. This is a welcome change as it combines all important topics, whether it be forum specific or community based series' such as GTAF Weekly, into one larger area. This week, the new, popular forum-game Weekly Vehicle Showdown has also reached it's 10th consecutive week, we would like to congratulate the host, @Mach1bud! For this week's rivalry, the Pegassi Tempesta once again is pinned against a newcomer, the Duke O'Death. The poll for this week has been made public so the staff team are able to examine results thoroughly as suspicions of foul play have popped up. Make sure to go and vote before it's too late, the clock is ticking. For those more interested in the Los Santos fashion life, @REXX, the host of the newly created Weekly Outfit Showcase has posted a new top 5 compilation, featuring "Gangsta" inspired clothing. If you'd like to participate in the themed event, look out for @REXX's new topic this coming week in the GTA Online sub-forum, where a new theme will be provided.

GTAForums currently has a total of 14,795,175 total posts (+12,767 from last week) and 704,157 total members (+444 from last week) at the time this is being posted.

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Welcome to the tenth week of the Rockstar Central! Im your host, Spider-Vice, and well be highlighting this weeks happenings in the Rockstar Universe. This weeks Rockstar Central will be in a compact format due to lack of time, as Im a little bit busy with exams and other uni stuff, so apologies for any mistakes!

Grand Theft Auto
This week, the overlords at Rockstar decided to be pretty generous again, but in the way theyre distributing the bonuses.

From now through May 25th, the citizens of the chaotic state of San Andreas can expect 25% off:
- The Hijak Ruston
- Progen GP1
- Pegassi Infernus Classic
- Grotti Turismo Classic
- Transmission upgrades
- Brakes
- Exhausts
- Spoilers
- Engine and Turbo upgrades
- Cunning Stunts clothing

Rockstar is also offering double GTA$ and RP on Resurrection, Juggernaut, Rockstar created Stunt Races and Special Vehicle Races! So if you like the content in Cunning Stunts, this week is definitely for you. Go and run before Gunrunning is announced! So you can run again.. but, with guns.. yeah.. *drops the mic and leaves*.

For the racers looking for a nice challenge, there are double Premium races and Time Trials in this event. From May 16th to May 22nd, there is a Premium Special Vehicle Race, The Loop, locked to the Rocket Voltic. The time trial is Down Chiliad. From May 23rd to May 29th, the Premium race is the Ruiner-2000 locked Steeplechase, and the time trial is Del Perro Pier.

Speculation is running wild for Gunrunning as this event is finishing on a Thursday, when theyve all been ending on Tuesdays. Along with this, the development branches at the Steam Database have moved around, and Rockstar is developing on the branch they usually use for DLC testing, so something might be in the horizon

Red Dead Redemption 2
After last weeks incident with the Wild West Online picture, despair has been running high yet again, and not only have we been having some incredible(y dreamy) analyses by Blood, but everyone has been losing their minds at the fact that there still isn't any RDR2 news. A delay in the horizon, a surprise reveal, an E3 reveal, anything could be on the table right now.

To further fuel speculation, Take-Two has pushed their May 23rd earnings call forward to the early morning of May 23rd (8 am ET) instead of the afternoon of that same day (4:30 am ET, as always). They had never done this before, and the only time they changed a conferences time or date was during Hurricane Sandy. Who knows whats going to come out of that?!

Check out the RDR2 sub-forum for more discussion!

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This segment includes coverage that continues from where last week's issue left off. As we near E3 and the four year anniversary of it's release this Summer, we'll be taking a look back at the days surrounding the initial GTA V announcement, all the way up until the release. This will be a multi-part topic that we will be covering, so be sure to stick around.

Rockstar teased a bit of a surprise towards the end of August in 2013 when they mentioned a "one-of-a-kind production" in partnership with West Coast Customs. The team at WCC would eventually build a custom Bravado Banshee for it to be included as a prize in a sweepstakes hosted by GameStop and Rockstar themselves. We'll talk about this a bit more later on down the line.

More details were also shared regarding the previously mentioned pre-order bonuses for Special and Collector's Edition variants of the game. The bonuses ranged from special outfits for all three protagonists, to custom tattoos, weapons, and exclusive vehicles for both GTA V and Online. The CarbonRS sports bike and the Hotknife were included in garages via Single Player. For GTA Online, the high-end Khamelion electric car would be available for purchase. Note that these exclusive vehicles were limited, at the time, to those who purchased the Collector's Edition of the game.

Unique outfits for Michael, Franklin, and Trevor

The high-end Khamelion electric car

The

for Grand Theft Auto V was released towards the very end of August 2013, which only meant that we were inching even closer towards the release. Compared to the other trailers shown in the past, this newer one focused a lot more on the story and cinematics. Throughout the trailer, scenes are shown with the infamous trio taking on different heists and missions, along with Michael explaining a bit of backstory prior to coming out of "retirement". Included in the trailer was "Sleepwalking", a song by The Chain Gang of 1974, which would also then appear in-game on Radio Mirror Park.

Pitchfork and Rolling Stone both posted articles previewing the sounds of GTA V. Pitchfork provided a closer look specifically at FlyLo FM, while Rolling Stone conducted an interview with Rockstar's soundtrack supervisor, Ivan Pavlovich. Included in PF's article was the full tracklist, they also noted new music from Tyler The Creator, Captain Murphy, and Flying Lotus himself, along with many more artists. Ivan Pavlovich revealed that there would be 15 radio stations included in the game, with 2 of them being talk show based. In total, the game would originally include around 240 licensed songs, along with a very large score. Ivan went on to explain that since GTA V would be based in a fictional spoof-like Los Angeles, they tried to "capture that feeling of L.A. and California". When creating the score for GTA V, Rockstar teamed up with Tangerine Dream, Gangrene (The Alchemist and Oh No), and Woody Jackson, who previously contributed to the soundtracks of Red Dead Redemption and L.A Noire.

Let's get back to that custom Banshee, shall we? Rockstar posted more details about it on the Newswire in September of 2013. The custom built car was based a modified 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10, with a modified exterior and interior to match up with the in-game counterpart. Those who were really interested in winning the Banshee would have had to enter via the GameStop PowerUp Rewards sweepstakes. On September 30th, a woman named Cheri Parker was announced to be the winner of the vehicle, although her son is the one who technically purchased the game with her credit card The last time we've heard about the vehicle was around March of 2015, when it was sold through eBay for just $80,000, around $100,000 less than what West Coast Customs estimated it was worth- but the money went to a good cause as it was used to send her son to college.

The Bravado Banshee comes to life

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News

GTAForums Weekly Outfit Showcase (Week 6)

The Weekly Vehicle Showdown (Week 10)

GTAForums Snap Battle

Snap Battle Season 1 is now open!

GTA Online

Have you been a good boy or girl?

Who edited their appearance?

Do you like clean garages?

That Crazy Chat

GTA Online -> Crews -> Events

Insaniac Gaming - Trouble in Terrorist Town

GTA Next

New setting or back to Liberty City?

Fighting Using The Environment

Should Rockstar take some ideas from different games?

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@Carrythxd (link)

 

@Boywond (link)

@_MK_ (link)

@DuduLima (link)

@Ravarta (link)

@LokDog (link)

@inbetweendays_ (link)

@gioLdk (link)

@Icebergg Slimm (link)

@the_potato (link)

(link)

@Great Britain (link)

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One of GTAF's most seasoned members, , was kind enough to let us interview him for this week's issue of GTAF Weekly.

Unbid: What brought you to GTAForums?
El Diablo: it's weird because I've been here for so long that, after a point, I completely forgot how I stumbled across this place originally. but there's this great thread in Gen Chat where people search and quote their very first post on GTAF, so I looked up my history and found my virgin post somewhere in the Vice City section. which makes sense because VC dropped in 2002. this reminds me though; I was definitely lurking the forum before I actually registered. I was already following the GTA III modding community, like the great work of Odie and illspirit.

Unbid: What inspired you to create your username?
El Diablo: other than the indisputable fact that it sounds undeniably bad ass? nothing in particular. I was young when I chose it. to be honest, I tend to use different names for different places online. El Diablo is not a gamertag and it's not a username I've had on any other forums. it just happened to be available back in the day and I jumped on it.

Unbid: What has been your favorite part about being in Leone Family Mafia?
El Diablo: the first rule of Sex Club 7 is that you don't talk about S7.

but I've never been much for rules, so I'll say this. if the OGA were a small-town high school, I feel like the Leone's are the dorks who listen to ska and who would sit in the very middle of the lunch room surrounded by - and facilitating the food fight between - all of the other distinct cliques around the room, basking in the delightful chaos. which is pretty much me IRL.

Unbid: Since you're one of Debates & Discussion regulars, what advice would you offer to those who want to join in on some discussion topics?
El Diablo: oh god, you shouldn't ask me this, because I'm not a good role model lol.

sometimes I kind of abuse the anonymity of being online, especially in the realm of ideas and debate. if we can speak in Matrix terms for a moment... the 'real world' is restricted by pleasantry and social grace. I can't just say whatever I feel all of the time or I will burn bridges left and right. we have to be polite to each other. but I'll take the chance to speak my mind when I'm plugged in here. I'll be the first to admit that it's often too crass, but every day I have to smile and respectfully nod at dumb people saying dumb things, so it can be refreshing to simply call them out. I don't have a lot of respect for opinions or beliefs that are disrespectful.

that being said? I would give the advice to NOT behave like me.

I'm just jaded lol. it's hard for me to be polite when I encounter bad ideas or a certain amount of ignorance. but even in disagreement, the discussion is always better served when all parties are respectful. we can inform people of why we disagree without labeling them (even if they really deserve the label).

Unbid: What do you think about the current condition of Debates & Discussion sub-forum post-2016 US election?
El Diablo: well that's like 2 different questions.

D&D is a great place with really interesting topics for talking about particular issues in detail. it's a nice relief from all the one-liners, .GIFs, and endless train of memes you get everywhere else. there are a few threads in D&D right now that are directly related to the US election and many more threads that are dedicated to completely different topics. thanks to excellent moderation, the D&D forum (in general) is in great condition. things can get out of hand like they could anywhere else, but the staff maintains a good atmosphere. they also seem to moderate the forum pretty well without stepping on the toes of the discussion itself; like they say in hockey "let em' fight." sometimes the referee will step back and let the fire burn for a moment in order to put off a little smoke and relieve some pressure.

like anywhere else, if you can't handle the heat then stay out of the kitchen.

if you go into a debate, be prepared to defend your position, instead of just firing off your guns and running away. people could be easily offended by some of the issues being discussed, some of which are relatively mature, so it definitely caters to a slightly older audience than other areas of GTAF.

Unbid: As an avid poster in Debates & Discussion, what is your opinion about the current state of politics both in your country and worldwide?
El Diablo: as an avid poster in D&D, people who are truly curious about my opinion are welcome to come on over and find out, since I'm never shy about voicing it. there's no need to open this can of worms during such a delightful interview.

Unbid: Considering you are very outspoken against the current administration, if you were a president for your country, what changes would you make?
El Diablo: here's the one political point I'm going to make. it's not up for debate. it's just a concept. I understand that it's not exactly a 'realistic' idea at this point in time.

but if you gave me total power over my country tomorrow? I know exactly what I would do. it's called Universal Basic Income. war on poverty. no more homeless, no more starvation, no more health care insurance industry. I'm not here to kill Capitalism, but I want to slam on the brakes. I don't want to kill rich people, but I want them to pay their fair share, because right now their wealth and tax policies are constitutionally unjust, morally bankrupt, and physically oppressive.

people and corporations should still be allowed to make as much money as they want. that's cool. but know this; no more tax havens. no more corporate loopholes. you're going to pay and the government is going to take as much money as it needs to from the highest income earners and profitable businesses until everyone is taken care of. there will be a bare minimum standard for quality of life. the government must enforce it because private individuals and corporations have already demonstrated and proven that they cannot be trusted to do what is best for the country or even what is best for their fellow human being. charity is not pulling its weight. the elite do not pull their weight. the rich hide their money overseas in offshore accounts. the corporations lobby to eliminate their income tax burden. they are traitors to the United States.

as long as a child is starving to death somewhere, you cannot buy that $25,000 handbag for your poodle, sorry. first we're going to need universal health care and everyone gets access to 3 meals a day, clothes on their back, and a place to sleep. until we've provided this, you're not allowed to buy mansions or super-cars or yachts. and rich people would still be rich. in fact they would become much wealthier than they are now because the lower and middle classes would grow and multiply again. they would spend money and go out and buy stuff. that's what they do. people would be healthy and happy and crime would plummet. one of the biggest reasons why the world appears so messed up today is directly traceable to income inequality and the lack of opportunities people have.

if only I had a magic wand..

Unbid: What's your favorite part about the forum community?
El Diablo: it's really the modding and the multiplayer community that makes this place what it is. and the people who do this tireless research into Rockstar's behavior as a corporation, the policies and tactics of it's financial division and executive leadership, because these are the things which ultimately affects the PLAYER. that's you and I. we are the people who enjoy the games produced by Rockstar (or Bioware or Ubisoft or any other). sometimes it feels like the player is becoming more and more restricted and separated from the experience of enjoying the game. but that's another story for another time. I love it whenever the gaming world has to acknowledge some great discovery made by the people here at GTAF.

Unbid: Which forum member do you feel the closest to?
El Diablo: a lover never tells... my boys know who they are.

Unbid: If you were given Admin powers for a day, what would you do?
El Diablo: uh. I dunno. like; what is there to do? ban some people? create a new sub-forum or two? I'd get bored and give the powers back lol.

Unbid: What's your favorite Rockstar Games title or series?
El Diablo: favorite Rockstar game of all time would probably have to be Red Dead.

but the Grand Theft Auto series is perhaps my favorite gaming series of any genre. the original GTA 1 and 2 are (among some of) the first video games that made me fall in love with video games as a hobby. and in general, open world / driving / shooting games are my favorite categories so GTA has always covered the bases.

Unbid: Finally, tell us more about yourself personally. Any favorite hobbies, music, etc?
El Diablo: oh that's too open-ended lol. I wouldn't know what to talk about.

instead, I'll share these pictures from our suite at the Bellagio from the Vegas strip. we're here this weekend for a wedding / short vacation. I know I just raved about how much society sucks a dick but it's also pretty fascinating to see what our engineering and technology is capable of. visiting a place like this could bum me out but in a weird way it still inspires. because you see what kind of awesome sh!t we could have if people could somehow live in peace and focus on our comfort and well-being instead of on warfare and conflict.

waking up to this for a few days


fountains at night

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Frank Ocean - Nights

Spotify Link

Nights is the ninth track of Ocean's highly praised second studio album, Blonde, released on August of 2016. The song mainly talks about a former relationship Ocean had, then later talks about the time where Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans, shifting the beat and tone of the song.

Album: Blonde

Genre: R&B

Release Date: August 20, 2016

Label: Boys Don't Cry

Writer(s): Christopher Breaux

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- Editor & Publisher, Topics/Snaps of the Week

- GTAForums News, Blast from the Past

@slohbur - Graphics Assistant

@Spider-Vice - Rockstar Central

@Testarossa - Track of the Week

@unbid - Interviewer

[Great Britain]

Lovely issue as always! Appreciate the mention.

[livejoker]

Wow, that interview was something different. Amazing to learn about sections you never visit with an insider as a tour guide. This is what an issue should be about: giving readers info they didn't know they wanted to have. Now that's not something easy to do but you guys do it time and time again. Keep it up!

Edited May 21, 2017 by livejoker

[DreamingNomad]

First Time reader and very nice.

[DimitriFaustin]

Awesome issue as always! El Diablo has a lot of really great points that I agree with.