What are your idea on how the next GTA:Online should work?

[KraZ__]

So it's fair to say that GTA:Online is awful, and I don't mean in the sense that there wasn't enough to do but more in line that the progression of a character just wasn't/isn't there. They added a lot too late, the whole CEO of business etc... it was all just late and plain wrong in my opinion. So below I have written up my own idea of how I think the next GTA:Online should work. Feel free to read my idea, or post your own, I'd be interested to read what other people think on this topic!

 

 

So first, for my idea...

I will begin with pointing out issues that I found didn't quite fit my taste in what I look for in a video game.

 

Now with previous GTA titles, the campaigns are probably some of the best of any video game franchise out there, especially GTA:Vice City, the story to that game is one of my all time favourites, however with GTA:V experimenting with multiple protagonists, I never felt like I had any type of connection to any character that I played whereas when I played as Tommy Vercetti in GTA:Vice City, I loved how I quickly became involved in the characters backstory, knowing I was about to start a life of hard crime, but not once at the beginning of that game did I think I'd be taking over the entire drugs trade of Vice City. I'm not sure what it is about that story, but it feels like it was written as a movie, whereas GTA:V just feels like it was more of a half arsed experiment that they flooded with content in hope that you didn't really care about the story.

 

So, yeah... what does this have to do with GTA:Online? Well I'll tell you. The previous GTA games had some form of culture that it was apart of, we had Claude from GTA:III, with the mafia being it's centre point around your revenge against Catalina and her drug cartel, we then had GTA:Vice City where we had Tommy Vercetti attempting to recover stolen money from his boss, later ending up taking over Vice City itself and it's drug trade, we also had GTA:San Andreas where Carl Johnson and his family are the runners of a gang, where a rival gang is suspected of killing his mother, and finally the other significant one worth noting, GTA:IV where Niko Bellic is attempting to better his life in Liberty City only to find out his cousin owes a lot of money to loan sharks.

 

You still haven't explained it. Well I guess I can't, but I'm sure for those who have played these games, you can't help but feel a passion, a sense of involvement in the story that you play. This is what GTA:Online needs to feel like. You need to start with a character that feels like your own, one you can progress, one that you feel is yours.

 

So here is my proposal, GTA has always meant to imitate a life in a real world where the choices you make have no real consequence, so let's imagine the following:

 

- you start off at the airport, your character has just landed, you get into a taxi and taken to your new home (this could be random, so different for other people across the map, with the ability to purchase a home somewhere else, maybe multiple?)

- your journey begins, you have the option of getting rich as a law abiding citizen, or by being a criminal. (You can perform criminal activities and still be a law abiding citizen, until you get a criminal record, at which point you're stuck at being a criminal)

- if you chose the path of becoming a law abiding citizen, you have to get a job in order to earn money, you may become a bus driver, a taxi driver, a police officer, paramedic, (perhaps a pilot?) essentially the bonus missions you'd get in the previous GTA titles.

- if you chose a path of becoming a criminal, you may then create drugs, smuggle weapons, assassin etc.. (however, in order to become a high rated criminal so that you can take jobs like being an assassin, you have to become well known)

 

So here is how drugs would work :

Essentially you'd have to save money to create a drugs lab, you can optionally do this as a civilian at first. The idea is that you should be able to start your drug lab at home, before progressing further into buying bigger labs etc...

Once you have a lab you'll be able to create multiple drugs, each with bonus perks such as faster regenerating health, or faster running etc... (Anyone can purchase drugs, even law abiding citizens)

 

Now at random, events will trigger called "drug busts" which will chose a random criminal player in the lobby, and one of his labs. Now the AI police won't be able to do drug busts, or anything, but player police officers can group up and take on the event. This essentially becomes a police vs criminals event, other player criminals can come and band together to help the criminal protect his drug lab, whilst other player police officers can join in on the event. If the police win, the criminal character who owns the event loses the lab and a sum of money, the police get a bonus pay for taking on the event. Now... if the criminals win, the police aren't able to raid that lab again for X amount of time. This essentially blacklists the lab from being chosen again for X amount of time. As a result of the criminals winning, the criminals involved in the event get a bonus payout, and the criminal in charge of the lab get's a production bonus, essentially creating double the drugs.

 

So here is how heists would work:

If criminals are apart of small squads, they can take on heists (similar to how you rob stores in GTA:V) however the difference is, if you rob stores, they take a couple of seconds, if you rob a bank, it takes couple of minutes and alerts every single police officer, player police officer and non-player police officers. If the criminals get away successfully, then they keep what they stole. If they die, then the police involved get a bonus payment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now... I could go on and on and on with this idea, as I have never really developed a specification for it, but this is a small insight into how I think things should work in the GTA:Online universe, with the other modes that we currently have such as races etc being outside of what we know as the "main" online.

 

 

I will possibly elaborate on this further and draft an entire specification for it if I ever find the free time, but in the mean time, what are your thoughts?

 

 

 

EDIT: (DLC)

In terms of DLC, I'm cool with online DLC being added, but they could fund this DLC by creating single player counter parts. So for example, if we had GTA:V (the original) with all the content, then let's say they added some content in terms of gangs, then they should perhaps release another GTA:V but with a different story line, and sell this off as a different game, however the Online/DLC for this is applied to all GTA:V games, that way the online can be "cross-game" so to speak. Best way to think of this is how GTA:IV was released with GTA:IV Lost And Damned and Ballard of Gay Tony.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by KraZ__
added idea

[Quinn_flower]

Never do online again. Just stick to sp r*. Cause clearly you don’t know how to do online 

[DarkReign27]

I like some of your ideas but would R* be as elaborate as your ideas there's monitization involved. The Beta of GTAV way back when was cops and robbers to make it feel more part of the city, makes me think maybe they could do what the Roleplaying servers do or a online "story" but then again Benzies is planning on that I think with his game Everywhere, R* is going the shoot anything that moves deathmatch PvP approach it seems I don't think they'd put the effort as much as you wrote.

 

Problem is too they have so much content in this game I think 6 is going to be like RDO where it lacks content I really don't see how they're going to do this unless they do something linking 5 into 6 content online I don't think even your ideas would make GTA6 online any better. I'm kinda in the same boat as Quinn making single player would be better, online as much as this is an experiment is kind of a crapshoot it's good but it's not and for them to do this again I don't know it hurts to even consider it lol. CDProjekt's Cyberpunk may make something to surpass this company with a large freeroam with life online I dunno if I'll even consider to play it. R* may not be where it is in a few years with what's coming but maybe that'll kickém in the ass to be inovative.

[Yellow Dog with Cone]

No microtransactions, period.

[Big Molio]

I already have a job in real life, I don’t want to have to do a job online as well in the name of entertainment.

 

PS It is not fair to say that GTA Online is awful as an absolute. It may be your opinion, but mine is that it remains after over five years still a very playable, if flawed, game.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Big Molio

[Covid 19]

2 hours ago, Voodoo-Hendrix said:

No microtransactions, period.

We would never have had so many dlcs without  poor idiots buying shark cards, unfortunately it’s a necessary evil...

[MostlyPonies]

Make it more like an RPG. You make a character instead of playing someone specific. You can join a gang or other criminal group, or remain independent, and your choices will affect how the story goes and what missions you get to play. You can play the story on your own or up to 3 other players can play with you, either on the same console or online. They'll control NPCs and will be friends/associates of your character. At any time, you can switch between story and online mode. You can play with other people, earn money, and unlock upgrades online, but you'll only be able to unlock guns, vehicles, and all other stuff in story mode. For example, you can do online races to unlock engine upgrades faster than if you did them in story mode, and then continue the story missions with a better engine. DLCs will be for single-player but anything you earn there can be used online as well. There won't be any online exclusive stuff except for races and other multiplayer activities.

@Lavoe787 We wouldn't have had so many free DLCs. I'd rather pay for map expansions and have a choice of what I want to add to the game.

[Sanches]

Not sure if im into Rockstar's multiplayer games from now and on.

[REXX]

Based on what you have written, everyone would become criminals purely because the income is considerably higher.

[Cigars and chill]

No rockets on any vehicle.  10 minute passive cooldown. 

[Lonely-Martin]

Things the next GTA:O must do to draw me in.

 

Session choice with full access.

Emphasis on stealing cargo, not destroying it.

Less impact on the gaming because of cards. (No constant phone calls, no research, the arena etc).

 

Trouble is, this and more so, RDRO, has shown me that I'm living in dreamland. Like others, I'm going back to story modes only unless by some miracle R* change their approach. I only still play here because I can opt to play my way freely and choose when I get involved in the bullsh*t. RDRO was abandoned pretty quickly because session choice doesn't exist, and with microtransactions in a beta before bug fixes and content was added showed just how ridiculous it is for me. Easy pass.

 

If they do though, I'm open minded as to what the potential is for the next one, this game showed some good ideas going forward, though I don't like the raiding other people's businesses idea. There's enough ways to piss in another's ear already.

[Kiethblacklion]

I think the next online version of GTA needs more thought out planning. GTAO started off one way then made a huge shift towards the meme vehicle/pvp encouraged game play that so much of the game's co-op features were reduced. Now, I have nothing against having the pvp aspects, but what I am against is having those criminal business features so tightly integrated with the free roam pvp. Rather than having to transport a car or cargo across the map and dodge other players who have more resources than myself (ie, shark card money) and can afford the higher end, more destructive vehicles, CEO missions should have been allowed to be run like standard contact missions. Those partaking in the mission were on the map by themselves and had to contend with AI enemies. 

 

The strong shift towards the sustainable income marked a distinct drop in quality of GTAO and I have the feeling that Rockstar and Take-Two didn't have a well thought out road map for GTAO that incorporated that shark card money. Vehicle prices have never been adjusted with the addition of newer vehicles, there is no reason for the Buzzard, Rhino tank, and some of the other older vehicles to still be at their original price tag. All of the weapons were unlocked way too early, especially for a game with no level cap. Rather than sustainable income, they should have focused on sustainable gameplay, then the money would naturally flow in.

 

If we ever see a GTA 6 or a newer GTAO, I hope Rockstar and Take-Two consider player feedback instead of just those who buy shark cards or stream/Youtube. I still enjoy GTAO, but I don't have the need or the desire to work hard at it like I did when I first got it. It's become more of a casual game for my occasional need of craziness and vehicular mayhem.

[Pedinhuh]

It's will probably be exactly like this game, only in a newer map with newer vehicles(with some being carried over from V).

 

Same Peer-to-peer servers BS, same PvP focus BS, same cancerous and toxic BS like Tryhards and overpowered vehicles that allows you to grief others unpunished, same microtransaction scams, same jobs that pays you pennies. 

 

At first, it will look like the game is more grounded...No memed vehicles, no overpowered tools, no tryhard content pandering...But then these will come and infest the game all over again.

 

It's the tried and tested formula that granted them billions, it's what brings them the money and makes the shareholders happy.

 

So I won't kid myself in thinking things will be different in the next installment. 

 

I held back from buying RDR2 because I feared that online mode would be the same sh*tshow that goes on this game, and I was proven right, so I guess it's safe to say that I should hold back from buying VI until the user reviews come...Not buying into any "gaming journalist" BS anymore.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Pedinhuh

[elfoam]

I've become far to aware of what gtavo is and who rockstar are over the years to bother reading the op. But I can say yes it should work. Rather than be one giant deliberte  annoyance and rat maze/trap. The problem is this company can never return to being moral and honest at this point so there can never be another gtao. This game and rdo both literally make me sick in the gut and head within 5 minutes of logging in now. The scamming is so wide spread and so obvious at this point the whole thing just disgusts me.

Edited February 6, 2019 by elfoam

[FlacidJack]

IMO We should start our online journey from inside a functional prison, nearing the end of our prison sentence. That way we can wait it out if we're noobs while getting a basic tutorial, or choose to escape from prison to avoid the wait and tutorial, so we have the chance to remain criminals from the start. Maybe even allow other players to help the noobs escape via a mission or something that's mutually agreed on. That way when friends get the game you can literally go pick them up and start playing instead of waiting for some Lamar-type douche to let them loose.

 

The prison narrative would also give R* a plausible way to wipe our money and access to our assets since they could claim our money was confiscated by authorities... which hopefully helps to fund a sixth wanted star imo.

 

The map better be ****ing massive and static / constant player blips need to change imo. Not saying they shouldn't exist, just not all the time, they need a reason to exist, it's so dumb that we all see each others exact location on the minimap and the only reason it seems ok to some people is "that's GTA". I think we can all agree now that GTA isn't limited to change, to adapt or learn from past mistakes.

Fact is the current GTAO can be played simply by staring at the mini Pacman map at the bottom of the screen, those minimap blips literally make the game a toxic litterbox of constant overpowered nonsense, constantly needing fresh overpowering droppings to keep the game from stagnating.

The solution is simple, change the static nature of those dirty stankey player blips. That would be my first priority.

[KraZ__]

11 hours ago, Big Molio said:

I already have a job in real life, I don’t want to have to do a job online as well in the name of entertainment.

 

PS It is not fair to say that GTA Online is awful as an absolute. It may be your opinion, but mine is that it remains after over five years still a very playable, if flawed, game.

I understand this, but in many private servers, I sometimes have fun becoming a bus driver, dropping over NPCs and then occasionally smashing my bus into other player's vehicles knowing full well they have to pay for the damage. I think if implemented correctly, you won't find something like this boring. The idea of these jobs would more than likely just be a start for your character to progress into more respected players.

5 hours ago, REXX said:

Based on what you have written, everyone would become criminals purely because the income is considerably higher.

What if criminals are considered "hardcore" mode, when you die, you die. Character gets deleted? again I will state, I have never really gotten into designing a specification for this as it would be pointless, I have 0 influence over Rockstar's decisions. This topic was merely to point out how different GTA:Online could be for the better, but my ideas always have room for improvement

10 hours ago, MostlyPonies said:

Make it more like an RPG. You make a character instead of playing someone specific. You can join a gang or other criminal group, or remain independent, and your choices will affect how the story goes and what missions you get to play. You can play the story on your own or up to 3 other players can play with you, either on the same console or online. They'll control NPCs and will be friends/associates of your character. At any time, you can switch between story and online mode. You can play with other people, earn money, and unlock upgrades online, but you'll only be able to unlock guns, vehicles, and all other stuff in story mode. For example, you can do online races to unlock engine upgrades faster than if you did them in story mode, and then continue the story missions with a better engine. DLCs will be for single-player but anything you earn there can be used online as well. There won't be any online exclusive stuff except for races and other multiplayer activities.

@Lavoe787 We wouldn't have had so many free DLCs. I'd rather pay for map expansions and have a choice of what I want to add to the game.

We have a similar path that we would take in terms of changing the game.

 

In terms of DLC, I have edited my original post with my opinion

[KraZ__]

20 minutes ago, FlacidJack said:

IMO We should start our online journey from inside a functional prison, nearing the end of our prison sentence. That way we can wait it out if we're noobs while getting a basic tutorial, or choose to escape from prison to avoid the wait and tutorial, so we have the chance to remain criminals from the start. Maybe even allow other players to help the noobs escape via a mission or something that's mutually agreed on. That way when friends get the game you can literally go pick them up and start playing instead of waiting for some Lamar-type douche to let them loose.

 

The prison narrative would also give R* a plausible way to wipe our money and access to our assets since they could claim our money was confiscated by authorities... which hopefully helps to fund a sixth wanted star imo.

 

The map better be ****ing massive and static / constant player blips need to change imo. Not saying they shouldn't exist, just not all the time, they need a reason to exist, it's so dumb that we all see each others exact location on the minimap and the only reason it seems ok to some people is "that's GTA". I think we can all agree now that GTA isn't limited to change, to adapt or learn from past mistakes.

Fact is the current GTAO can be played simply by staring at the mini Pacman map at the bottom of the screen, those minimap blips literally make the game a toxic litterbox of constant overpowered nonsense, constantly needing fresh overpowering droppings to keep the game from stagnating.

The solution is simple, change the static nature of those dirty stankey player blips. That would be my first priority.

 

I'm a massive fan of this idea, perhaps when you begin you choose different starting modes? If you choose ex-gang member, you have this starting mode, if you chose to come out having served your sentence, you start with 0, but perhaps have some beneficial late game mechanics such as being able to enter "gang houses" around the map.

 

If you perhaps chose to start as a law-abiding citizen just entering the city/game/map, then you start off with perhaps $20,000 but don't have these late game benefits? A lot to discuss

[Big Molio]

What R* need to do is have some form of 5 / 6 year development plan for Online V2.0 before  they release it, so that the lifespan of it progresses more organically.

 

The DLC release order in GTAO is all over the place. The Doomsday Heist and Alien content should have been the culmination of the online journey. Everything should have built naturally towards that kind of absurd / extreme content.

[White Shark]

My online wishes:

 

You don't show on radar unless you have a high mental state or certain other event features.

 

EWO can only be accessed via the start menu and has a 10 minute cool down.

 

Passive Mode can only be disabled back at your apartment.

 

KD is only a stat that is affected by death match modes.

 

Jets and weaponised vehicles indiscriminately attacking the lobby and creating mayhem are neutralised by the military.

[Big Molio]

18 minutes ago, White Shark said:

Jets and weaponised vehicles indiscriminately attacking the lobby and creating mayhem are neutralised by the military.

Only available to collect from a military base and with a limited number of rounds each spawn. So the hydra would only have 100 rounds for example, and 8 rockets.

[HamwithCheese]

I think the initial vision of GTA online but with MORE is what we need. 

[JoeFury1997]

I'd prefer it if you got broke out of prison inadvertently when a crew tries to rescue a few members of the mob. There would be a prison riot that teaches you melee mechanics and gun mechanics all in the same "tutorial" mission, maybe one of the heist crew members gets shot and you save him and drive him to a dodgy doctor. This is when you're introduced to these new online characters that teach you the basics then they provide missions and heists.

 

Then as you progress through the online story missions you eventually have to do a heist at the same prison to rescue the mob boss except the prison has increased their security ten fold. Just an idea for a story that has probably been suggested a million times but it's better than nothing.

 

Can then branch off these new characters with themed updates that add new missions and free mode content.

 

[AboveAndBeyoncé]

No microtransaction greed that is all. 

 

And tbh I don't know how the next GTA Online is gonna be.... Rockstar f*cked themselves over with all the content and businesses they gave us through DLC..... The real question is,

 

How will Rockstar make the next GTA Online/GTA 6 Online feel fresh for players?

[CarimboHanky]

1-i just want gtao 2.0 to be a less militarized stuff.

 

2-no flying cars/bikes

 

3-more diversity when it comes to businesses, not the copy/paste business model we have right now.

 

4-allow players to do business with eachother, with this i mean that if i have a warehouse but dont have to time to grind crates or any other business cargo, i could simply get in contact with some player CEO, negotiate a price and buy my stock from them, this would not only encourage players to work together but could help build business partnerships while also giving meaning to the whole "ceo" title, in the current state we are not CEOs, we are mere errant boys, always working for someone else.

 

5-supply and demand, if too many are producing and selling the same product, the value would go down. by applying the law of supply and demand, this would encourage players to try different businesses. in it current state, you have to own X Y Z business if you want to make a profit, stay away from A B C because they are not profitable. with supply and demand, this wont be a thing at all.

 

6-stock market, allow us to issue shares for our business that other players can buy, sell and transfer. market fluctuation based on performance of the company, etc etc. this goes hand in hand with #4, successful sales and profitable transactions result in a increase of the values of those shares, someone destroyed your cargo, the stock price would take a hit. they could even allow us to takeover other player businesses if we manage to buy enough shares.

 

7-auctions... allow us to sell unwanted stuff to other players, be it cars, properties, clothes or limited edition items.

 

8-have more minigames and activities.

 

etc etc i think the next gtao gonna be a hard one to make, given the fact they when too over the top, it wont be easy for them to hit the reset.

Edited February 6, 2019 by CarimboHanky

[MostlyPonies]

6 hours ago, FlacidJack said:

IMO We should start our online journey from inside a functional prison, nearing the end of our prison sentence. That way we can wait it out if we're noobs while getting a basic tutorial, or choose to escape from prison to avoid the wait and tutorial, so we have the chance to remain criminals from the start. Maybe even allow other players to help the noobs escape via a mission or something that's mutually agreed on. That way when friends get the game you can literally go pick them up and start playing instead of waiting for some Lamar-type douche to let them loose.

 

The prison narrative would also give R* a plausible way to wipe our money and access to our assets since they could claim our money was confiscated by authorities... which hopefully helps to fund a sixth wanted star imo.

 

The map better be ****ing massive and static / constant player blips need to change imo. Not saying they shouldn't exist, just not all the time, they need a reason to exist, it's so dumb that we all see each others exact location on the minimap and the only reason it seems ok to some people is "that's GTA". I think we can all agree now that GTA isn't limited to change, to adapt or learn from past mistakes.

Fact is the current GTAO can be played simply by staring at the mini Pacman map at the bottom of the screen, those minimap blips literally make the game a toxic litterbox of constant overpowered nonsense, constantly needing fresh overpowering droppings to keep the game from stagnating.

The solution is simple, change the static nature of those dirty stankey player blips. That would be my first priority.

Red Dead Online might do the proximity based blips thing. GTA adopted the parley function from RDO, so maybe it'll change the blips if RDO changes it first and it goes over well.

 

Proximity blips might be a problem in some cases. It's hard enough keeping track of Oppressors even with a radar. Hiding their blips from others only benefits them.

[Algonquin Assassin]

Revert back to the substance over style approach that made GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer so addictive and fun without all this extra bullsh*t that makes GTAO feel try hard, but it'll never happen so it's wishful thinking unfortunately.

[TheSantader25]

I'm sorry but quality Online gaming is dead in this industry. 

[Femme Fatale]

No more GTA Online, that's it.

[paulbrock]

I'm not a fan of GTAO but the problem is that it is a huge source of revenue.  There's no way that 6 will be single player only...worst case it might be *all* online.   * shudder *

 

I would like to see more of a narrative structure in there, fewer griefers/cheaters...

 

 

 

[Joaoseinha]

Bring back an online system like IV's with a bit more stuff to do and no micro transactions and it'll be perfect. I still had far more fun in IV's multiplayer than V's.