Grand Theft Auto IV

[Brandwin]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Now we're going to have all of the posters who dont read my second post and say

OmFG!1!#! YOU GoTZ dA GmAe eARlY?

LOL!

[Spectre]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

WTF is back in form

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

The Closest You'll Get To Playing The Game...For Now:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/435844

[Flawless]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Grand Theft Auto IV's Aaron Garbut: Part 1

Eurogamer: Living next to the sea myself, my very first impression of GTA IV was that you had captured the character of water under sun, metal and glass - the range of colours and their interaction with dynamic surroundings. Can you tell us a little bit about that process?

Aaron Garbut: A large part of this is down to programmers with a great eye. Most of what is going on with the water is very clever and creative code. The only influence we have as artists is obviously creating the world that's being reflected and then setting the lighting up to get this looking as nice as possible.

There are some lovely things going on in the water FX. From the way it reflects the surroundings and distorts that reflection, to the real-time physics on the surface (drop a car into the water and actual waves will distort the surface, which will affect nearby boats). There's even foam wherever the water gets shallower and simulations of viscosity around the edge. It's an insane level of detail, but you can see this when the water laps up and down a wooden post or jetties. All that is done in the FX code.

On top of that, we have global control for each time of day and each weather type to alter the way it fades with depth, which can help to make it look really murky. We can tint it subtly, but mainly it's the time of days, sunlight and sky colouring that has the biggest effect. But as artists we're just tweaking what is already at its base level a bloody nice effect.

Eurogamer: Are there any other effects in the game of which you're particularly proud, or which threw up particular design challenges that you feel others have yet to overcome?

Aaron Garbut: I think the lighting system in general is pretty amazing. There are no hard limitations on the number of active dynamic lights around the player. The real-time shadows are working across every object and surface in the game with everything self-shadowing and casting onto everything else, there's ambient occlusion and emissive lighting on top of that. And then your standard next-gen shenanigans - light shafts, bloom, depth of field and motion blur, and of course it goes without saying everything's rendered with HDR.

The net result is a fully dynamic, real-time lighting system that is consistent across every surface in the game and has the subtlety and solidity of prebaked lighting. We've always had to make compromises in GTA's lighting because we had dynamic time of day. You make a trade-off with this essentially between variety and quality. There's a lot of stuff you simply can't do because the lighting needs to gradually fade between hours and weather types. With the system we have now though, there really aren't the same trade-offs. We get amazing almost prebaked quality combined with a constantly changing world. Where you can stand at the same spot and the combination of weather and moving time will mean you will probably never see it look the same twice.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

^Wow. Again...

[Brandwin]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

I want some more reviews...

7 days 13 hours and 8 minutes!

[Tomba]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

The Closest You'll Get To Playing The Game...For Now:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/435844

HOLY #@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tomba]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Hmmm midnight release. i did one for madden 08 and played the game for about 4 days straight convincing myself it was better than any last gen madden's. i was an oaf.

I would rather go out at midnght come back at 1am and THEN be able to just sleep knowin i got it .

i also have it pre ordered online through gamestop but don't know itf i 'd get it on the 29th early with overnight?

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

I want some more reviews...

7 days 13 hours and 8 minutes!

Expect some more new reviews on Wednesday

[Tomba]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

OK. I wanted to clarify things for you guys that might've pre ordered online with gamestop/Ebgames..

They've told me that if you get overnight shipping you get the game ON the 29th via UPS. and depending on what time UPS delivers n your area thats when you'd get it. SO if you know you get UPS deliveries around 9-11 you'll get it then IF you know that in your area you get UPS around 4pm then you get it then. kind of depends on how your area gets UPS fast or later in the day. it's achance for some but me havin to be somewhere later on in the day i can't say that I'd wanna be waiting all that time...

[WTF]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Blah.. this sucks. Now I'm getting excited for the game. Should have never started looking at the thread... lol.

Good thing I have to work the next few days... or else I'd be hoosier-like.

Dook, you getting the 360 version? I'm assuming anyway.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Luckily I work the next 3 days so that should make this week go by alot quicker like the last 2 months have been

[Pared]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

Hmm... CC it is then. $10 GC is always nice. I was going to pick up the game anyway.

[Brandwin]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

I should buy it from Circuit City and take that copy back to Gamestop so I can get the $10 GC.

[Pared]

Re: Let's talk about... Grand Theft Auto 4

...but... but... you pre-ordered!