GTA 4 / PC

[dmitri 0]

Been busy and haven't been able to play this for a few days..but after being away from the game, I don't feel much desire to resume it. Missions feel stale. I'm sure I will return for the occasional cop killing spree or coop though.

They forgot about Vice City and San Andreas and simply remade GTA 3. I miss the variety of San Andreas terrain, the hick towns and rural areas, and some of the over the top missions that IV seems to lack.

Should never have included graphics options that could so easily cripple FPS on current systems. That's where most of performance complaints are coming from. PC users want to push their graphics settings, developer's shouldn't have included settings their engine couldn't cope with. Poorly optimised. I'm not sure all of it is down to this being a PC port, heard about stutters on the console versions too.

That said, on a quad core, 8800gtx, gazillion gigs of ram, performance is fine on high textures and high rendering (these needed to be forced via cmd switches since my system was deemed not high spec enough).

You need only play IV on medium to high settings, then load a "tech demo" game like Crysis..and have Crysis run much, much smoother to know something is off.

Still, the gun play is much improved in IV. First time I've ever tolerated a cover system, works well in a game that attempts "everything", where most of the individual parts are simplified to begin with. The cars look great, driving reminds me of that great old-ish car game "Driver". Mattresses on wheels, bouncy bouncy. I like.

[Supernova 0]

Well the fact remains that even with a i7 cpu such as the 920 you will not be able to max out the game at higher resolutions , lower resolutions closer to it yes. Rockstart admitted that to be able to run everything on maximum settings and high resolutions you would need hardware that doesn't exist today. Something this makes me think of the i7 Nehalem scheduled for 2009. GTA IV has actually earned the unofficial nickname of the Crysis of 2008 . I'm waiting for them to release the patch and see how they have improved crossfireX or tri-sli scaling. Actually thinking of whether to pick up 2 4850 X2's or go quad-sli with the GTX 295.

[dmitri 0]

GTA IV has actually earned the unofficial nickname of the Crysis of 2008

That must be sarcasm. From a technical standpoint, the only thing it has in common with Crysis is poor performance on midrange systems. Throwing money at this engine is a waste.

[echo1 0]

Well the fact remains that even with a i7 cpu such as the 920 you will not be able to max out the game at higher resolutions , lower resolutions closer to it yes.

Considering that game performance is almost exclusively graphics card based, I doubt it. If Rockstar thinks that we need non-existent PC parts to play a PS3 game, I think they need to spend more time working on their PC ports... It's people who go around telling people to buy €1,000 CPUs to make it run faster that allow companies to get away with making bad software.

[thepiespy 2]

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....081.png

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http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....b2b.png

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....6f1.png

my game hasnt preformed too horribly, although i always enjoyed GTA more on the consoles, alas i don't own a 360 or a PS3. Rockstar screwed this port up pretty bad though, install was a nightmare, MP didn't work for the first few days. I still can't play it with teamspeak running or my audio gets screwy.

[MehMan 0]

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....081.png

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....31c.png

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....b2b.png

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screens....6f1.png

my game hasnt preformed too horribly, although i always enjoyed GTA more on the consoles, alas i don't own a 360 or a PS3. Rockstar screwed this port up pretty bad though, install was a nightmare, MP didn't work for the first few days. I still can't play it with teamspeak running or my audio gets screwy.

you seem to have some problems with the shadows too.

[m@ster 0]

New 60 Screenshots http://screenshots.ofp2-arma2.com/#1.184

[Infam0us 10]

Well the fact remains that even with a i7 cpu such as the 920 you will not be able to max out the game at higher resolutions , lower resolutions closer to it yes. Rockstart admitted that to be able to run everything on maximum settings and high resolutions you would need hardware that doesn't exist today. Something this makes me think of the i7 Nehalem scheduled for 2009. GTA IV has actually earned the unofficial nickname of the Crysis of 2008 . I'm waiting for them to release the patch and see how they have improved crossfireX or tri-sli scaling. Actually thinking of whether to pick up 2 4850 X2's or go quad-sli with the GTX 295.

Yes, and do you actually believe them when they say that? I have seen at least one person who maxed out GTA4 on the OC Forums I go on and he posted a screenshot to prove it, so he must have been to the future to get his PC's parts no?

[Deadfast 43]

Maxing means nothing.

Basically everybody can max out the game once they disable the restrictions, it's just how it will run

[belgerot 33]

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of the game, especially from experienced gamers saying how much of a drag it was on their PC, even with exceptional hardware installed.

It makes me hesitant when it comes to purchasing it, because from what I've been hearing it's almost as if Rockstar released an unfinished product (that probably won't do too well during the holidays anyway).

Has anyone had any success with the recent patch?

What chances are there that this won't be a restrictive game when it comes to modding? I remember for the second release of San Andreas (without that Hot Coffee crap) they tried to restrict any changes to anything.

[sparks50 0]

Its no doubt a great game, (IMHO) if you can look away from the performance issues and have a decent computer.

I have been having a lot of fun with it, and I haven't even gotten to the multi player part yet!

The game is packed down with features like a Christmas tree. They seem to have been tinkering and fiddling with it forever.

Which makes it all the stranger why they would just trow a unfinished port out like that.

About modds:

http://www.thegtaplace.com/

Quote[/b] ]First GTA IV mods appearing online

Posted at 16:59 GMT by Chris :: Category: GTA IV :: Comments: 11

Less than one week after it's release, some people have already been successful in modding Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC. Some files in GTA IV are hash protected - a tactic employed by many games companies to prevent people from modifying the games, this probably has something to do with the Hot Coffee fiasco, but there are some workarounds already out there.

First GTA IV mods

IPB ImageI did only say 'some' files though, some which aren't hashed include the language (.gxt) files. The first GTA IV mod uploaded to our downloads database is in fact a modification of american.gxt. Bobster has decided to rename all the vehicles in the game to match those of their real life counterparts, something which proved popular when San Andreas was released. You can check out his real vehicle names mod here. I've tested it myself and can verify it works. Bobster provides simple instructions in the readme on how to get this working, and he also provides a full list of what he renamed each vehicle to.

File modding patches

A couple of users over at GTAForums have been successful in modifying handling and weapons configuration files. Two experimental methods are currently available for allowing people to mod GTA IV.

* opium_addict's GTAIV Launcher injector - He demonstrates this by modifying the Glock to shoot rockets, another example is DuKtape's drift mod

* aru's File Modding Ability patch

http://www.thegtaplace.com/

[belgerot 33]

Thanks for posting! As far as I know San Andreas is still a popular modding platform, with plenty of cars/weapons/mods released each month. I hope the same holds true with GTA IV in the near future.

I cannot complain about the quality of the vehicles in game, but there are a few out there I wouldn't mind replacing them with  

[m@ster 0]

Update 130 new screenshots (Over 380 Hi-Screenshots)

http://screenshots.ofp2-arma2.com/#1.324

[Supernova 0]

Wow. I love playing GTA IV on this brand new i7 system. It barely breaks a sweat but the memory usage is just crazy. I love the intro movie where Niko peeks in and gets called away.

[BLSmith2112 0]

Pfft my video thread on this game gets locked because this supposedly is "the" Gta4 thread, when it blatenly says "screenshots" in the subtitle.. therefore, this is the screenshot thread and not "the" GTA thread... :/

Then if it was in the media thread it'd probably be deleted because its supposed to be in this supposed "GTA thread" (which doesn't even exist)... and I wondered why I don't visit these forums as much as I used to.

I honestly don't get whats the big deal about having a few threads about whatever off topic thing we wish to discuss. Out of the 6 major forums I visit this is the only one that locks all discussion to one single thread.

Stupid

[Maddmatt 1]

...

You can just post the video here or in the video thread. What's the big deal?  

[Heatseeker 0]

I love it very much .

Ok, the game has many problems, extreme system requirements and need some serious optimisation blah blah but the game itself... is a fantastic production (i didnt play the console version, just wanted the PC version).

I havent really started the story mode because of free mode online, its really fun to race, fight or just explore Liberty city with other players, 100% fun.

And GFWL is not the devil i expected it to be, it works really well, the netcode is very smooth, you dont even need a dedi to play and it runs great.

And so far the city, the physics, the characters, the radio stations (music + satiric humour), the TV (republican space rangers lol), the gameplay, its top notch entertainment.

I really like IV, SA was big (and ugly) and there was alot to it but IV is quality VS quantity. The game is getting alot of crap thrown at it because there are many disapointed people that cant run it or have problems, i think people give up too soon.

I really hope R* will improve it with future patches, the game is so damn nice it deserves to be played as well as possible.

[Supernova 0]

Quote[/b] ]

Ok, the game has many problems, extreme system requirements and need some serious optimisation blah blah but the game itself... is a fantastic production (i didnt play the console version, just wanted the PC version).

I havent really started the story mode because of free mode online, its really fun to race, fight or just explore Liberty city with other players, 100% fun.

And GFWL is not the devil i expected it to be, it works really well, the netcode is very smooth, you dont even need a dedi to play and it runs great.

And so far the city, the physics, the characters, the radio stations (music + satiric humour), the TV (republican space rangers lol), the gameplay, its top notch entertainment.

I really like IV, SA was big (and ugly) and there was alot to it but IV is quality VS quantity. The game is getting alot of crap thrown at it because there are many disapointed people that cant run it or have problems, i think people give up too soon.

I really hope R* will improve it with future patches, the game is so damn nice it deserves to be played as well as possible.

Actually I have experienced few problems with the game. I had a rare graphics glitch and a crash [game is patched as well] (out of video memory with 2 4850 X2's in CrossfireX) but other than that it is pretty flawless.

[echo1 0]

(out of video memory with 2 4850 X2's in CrossfireX) but other than that it is pretty flawless.

Great for you, but I think he was talking about those of us who have normal PCs who make up the majority of the people buying the game.

[Heatseeker 0]

(out of video memory with 2 4850 X2's in CrossfireX) but other than that it is pretty flawless.

Great for you, but I think he was talking about those of us who have normal PCs who make up the majority of the people buying the game.

Yes, he has a new rig with one of those i7 monsters.

You lucky bastard, give it to me .

I have stuttering, experienced 2 ctd's in MP (no errors, just stoped responding) and one time my textures went away.

I dont know if this is because of my specs or the games fault, i dont think this game should require a high end quad, phenom or i7 cpu.

I think the game needs further optimisation and memory use tweakage or something.

But... the game is still my fav GTA so far, just needs a few patches .

[thepiespy 2]

i found that setting my resolution to 1024x768 seems to give better performance, it doesn't look the greatest but it works. The free play MP mode is also very fun, just doing stunts and shootouts with the cops with friends is a blast. my windows LIVE screename is: ThePieSpy

[sparks50 0]

This is a tweak I use to be able to have all settings to highest+ 1680x1050 on my mid-range 8800GTX system, without any slowdowns:

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=384473&st=0

On my 768mb card I use 650mb in the options and use -availablevidmem 0.84 with a resolution of 800x600 in options.

But I cant seem to play multi player, every time I join a room, It tells me I have been removed from the game.

[Supernova 0]

Quote[/b] ]This is a tweak I use to be able to have all settings to highest+ 1680x1050 on my mid-range 8800GTX system, without any slowdowns:

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=384473&st=0

On my 768mb card I use 650mb in the options and use -availablevidmem 0.84 with a resolution of 800x600 in options.

But I cant seem to play multi player, every time I join a room, It tells me I have been removed from the game.

These tweaks are useless and not needed. I mean who needs to lower their monitor resolution down to such low levels. My fps in GTA IV is always high and by that I mean 60+.

[Maddmatt 1]

These tweaks are useless and not needed. I mean who needs to lower their monitor resolution down to such low levels. My fps in GTA IV is always high and by that I mean 60+.

Well obviously you don't need them because you have a high spec PC. They are aimed at those of us with lower end hardware  

And if you actually read it you will see that the monitor is not running at that resolution. It only tricks the game into thinking that because of the stupid decision by the developers to tie some graphics options to the resolution.

[sparks50 0]

Correct. Its doing wonders to my mid-end computer too.