GTAIV Optimization and Modification

[Roxstein]

We all remember San Andreas, weighing in at about 4GB... sometimes it was the biggest game on your HD, dwarfing the other little 1 or 2GB video games with it's massive IMG archives and map data files.

So, the topic, who thinks that 4 should to be optimized, and do you think that the format should be changed so it takes up less space?

edit: poll added.

[Slim Trashman]

Well it hasn't actually been announced for PC yet, be we all know it'll come. I say modding should be easy.

[Olin]

I think it should allow modding. I like customizing my game just a little.

Beforehand. We won't know how it's going to work. We can be pretty damn sure it's not going to be nearly the same, but we won't be able to figure out whether or not it's going to be open for modification by just discussing it.

edit: Forgot to add. The way the game's data will be set up won't necessarily determine if it'll save space or even prevent the user from modifying its contents.

[.:nemesis:.]

I would like it to be moddable, but it's around a year to early to speculate about PC version.

[Roxstein]

FYI, the console and PC version don't differ very much at all as far the data goes, so we should (i'm not sure about the new discs on the 360 and PS3) be able to find out when the console version is released by popping it in our PC dvd drives.

[Xeroer]

4?

Who said the new GTA is GTA4?
Last I chcked, it was GTA IV.

And I prefer optimization. If you're modding a game, you generally know what your doing, and I don't think they'd make it any harder than that anyway.

[Slim Trashman]

Uh.. yeah 4, IV = roman numeral 4, so it's 4.. lol what?

[ballabeata]

No, with the hard drives available now. There will probably not be optimization. This way Sony can sell hard drives too. I can see it now...GTA "IV" takes up 15 Gigs, Processor must be atleast 2.8 GHz, Videocard must be atleast 1024 MB, and not to mention the 4 Gig of RAM. LOL, this would be hilarious.

[Xeroer]

I'm sure the modding community has been remembered as Rockstar developed the game.
I mean, it is quite a large community.

Then again, look where the modding community got them last time.

Coffee, anyone?

[Slim Trashman]

Just not the look of the roman numerals coughtheeffectsontheIVmeannothing

Now you've just really got me wondering :P

Edit: Xeroer, you edited your post?

I understand what you're saying about the hot coffee thing, but it really was their fault for leaving that sort of content on the game. Modders and any fans of modifications shouldn't be punished by a fault on Rockstar's part. However, after this incident, Rockstar stopped listing fan sites in the game manuals. Was this because of hot coffee, or simply because the stories' weren't as big?

[ballabeata]

lol. IV with effects means that R* is keeping you busy until March 29.

[Huey_Pilot]

I hope its possible to modify it, if you can't then I probably won't buy it. Unless it has some really amazing cars, land, and other cool stuff.

[Xeroer]

Rockstar Leeds wrote the manuals, I believe.
They aren't as huge on PR as Rockstar North is.

Also, the "stories" series wasn't so big, as you said. This was evident on a lot of GTA websites.
So, if the PSP games (and the PS2 converts) weren't doing so good online, I guess they didn't want to give webmasters a favour there.

[Slim Trashman]

Ah, I see. How do you know all this info though? (R* Leeds wrote the manuals; the IV may mean more than just a number)

[Xan]

I don't care, i'm gonna get a Bluray or HDDVD burner or reader some day anyway. I don't want the graphics of a
hawk shit and prerecorded cutscenes. Give me the raw pure graphics.

Though modding will stay the same in concept i think

[Xeroer]

Ah, I see. How do you know all this info though? (R* Leeds wrote the manuals; the IV may mean more than just a number)

I didn't say I know that it means more than a number.
Just some speculation.


And it is NOT because of the style of the logo. The logo looks normal to me. I don't understand the fuss other people make from it.

[Pivac]

I hope modding support will be better than it used to be. Now, when guys from Rockstar have their own engine, they should be able to release some useful tools as well.
Lots of developers do this, and I'm sure that modding affects sales.

So, it's either gonna be harder or easier to mod the game. Probably easier, because we all understand how important it is.


Personally, I would love to see some kind of map editor and easier mission scripting (or some tool where you could script missions in 3D enviroment).

[Xan]

Rockstar always had there own Engine for GTA. Just the fact they didn't expect modding and etc to get so big

I' still expect no tools or etc whatsoever from them. People won't expect something like CryEngine 2 editor anyway

[Xeroer]

Rockstar has far more control over their RAGE engine, compared to the RenderWare SDK they used for the GTAIII generation games.

[Slim Trashman]

I didn't say I know that it means more than a number.
Just some speculation.


And it is NOT because of the style of the logo. The logo looks normal to me. I don't understand the fuss other people make from it.

Well I meant more of the "Leeds wrote the manual" :P

And yes, very much agree with you about the logo.

[Xeroer]

Just thought I'd point that out.

Not really much more to say about the manual, though.

[Pivac]

Rockstar always had there own Engine for GTA.

That one (Renderware) isn't really their engine and many other developers use it. :)

[the punisher]

Modding should be allowed. But does anyone think the game will be down-sized because of the X360's DVD drive low storage capacity? I mean, not all X360 owners have an HD-DVD drive so they cant release it on it, so it will be stricted to 4.7GB which would suck for PS3 and 360 owners alike, as the two versions are the same, thus R* wouldn't be benefitting from the stanard Blu-Ray drive in the PS3. But that's just my opinion.

[Xeroer]

You mean it would be restricted to about 9.2GB.
And now days, Rockstar can squash a lot onto that size disc.


Really, I don't think Rockstar could have used 52.3GB or whatever it is for Blu-Ray.

[Slim Trashman]

I'm sure no game at this time could take up that much space, but very well could happen in the future.

[Xeroer]

Usually game developers do fill up quite a large space that they don't need.
It is to give the piracy group a struggle to rip it and upload it.

Of course, the space they fill up, they just use "dummy" files, and most of the time the pirates do remove them. It just hinders the process of getting "0-day" launches.

[Xan]

Yeah I'm having my doubts about filling all that space, no matter how amazing the game might be.

But thinking on that maybe in 1year time the Bluray or HDDVD burners/readers might not be so popular yet they just might compress into a Dual Layer DVD like posted above or 2 DVD's maybe.

It'd get Decompressed on your PC anyway, and I've seen 2GB game go to 385MB so I'm just hopping no need to spend money on a new drive

[Xeroer]

In a few years from now.. say roughly 5 years maybe?
When HD-DVD is emerging on PCROM, and games ship with this format - what do they do?
By then, they'll of course still be using DVD as well. Just as it happened with DVD and CD.

After some time, when games use all the space on DVD, they ship with two or three DVDs, or even four.
In this case, the same game will be available on one HD disc.

You really won't be needing a HD drive for a long time.
And by then, it will be as cheap as DVD, if not cheaper.