[Magic_Al]

The GTA IV episodes give a bit of a clue how long it takes to develop the "content" of a GTA game once the "city" is done. It was 18 months till both episodes were released, with a total number of missions roughly a third to a half of a "full" GTA game, depending which one we compare to. Note the development team was probably smaller than for GTA IV because add-ons would be predicted to sell less.

Another clue is Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. VCS came out a year after LCS, again being able to follow the template of taking an existing GTA and putting a different story in it. Unlike the GTA IV episodes, the Stories games are equal or greater in length to the original games they're based on. The graphical detail is obviously lower, but the cities had to be modified more in some ways because the Stories games are both set a couple years before the originals.

[jnzooger]

QUOTE (Magic_Al @ Saturday, Apr 14 2012, 23:35)

The GTA IV episodes give a bit of a clue how long it takes to develop the "content" of a GTA game once the "city" is done. It was 18 months till both episodes were released, with a total number of missions roughly a third to a half of a "full" GTA game, depending which one we compare to. Note the development team was probably smaller than for GTA IV because add-ons would be predicted to sell less. Another clue is Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. VCS came out a year after LCS, again being able to follow the template of taking an existing GTA and putting a different story in it. Unlike the GTA IV episodes, the Stories games are equal or greater in length to the original games they're based on. The graphical detail is obviously lower, but the cities had to be modified more in some ways because the Stories games are both set a couple years before the originals.

The also had to be put on a new engine based on VC's Renderware version because they didn't have the rights to Renderware anymore. That is why LCS has some VC features like the $50 good citizen bonus.

QUOTE (http://psp.ign.com/articles/649/649953p1.html)

Rockstar dropped Renderware in favor of a brand new in-house engine to best utilize the resolution, texture density and particle effects of the PSP.

As far as I know they haven't announced the true engine name, but there is speculation that it was a minimal version of RAGE.

[JigglyAss]

While i would be slightly upset if R* did not upgrade some of the visual aspects of the game this time around, i rather have bigger map and more gameplay.

[mkey82]

GTA was never about graphics nor effects, it's always been a bit over the top and mostly about fun. People always said it looked rather lame and in comparison to some games of the age and it did. But when it came to gameplay, it was the brightest bulb around. I consider this to be true for all GTA titles up to the latest installment.

With GTAIV they started to peddle the graphics aspect of the game, which imo was nothing that spectacular and definitively shouldn't be a selling point for a game of this nature. OK, the average gamer has changed quite a lot in the past decade so selling points shifted as well, but when you consider the nature of a typical GTA game "cartoony" graphics makes sense from more then then one standpoints.

I personally consider animation and environment interaction a lot more important then any of the other technical aspects of the game.

To say something on topic, I don't think any of the previous release dates can provide for that much accurate predictions as various teams worked on various titles, probably with different priorities.

[MyCousin]

QUOTE (Miamivicecity @ Friday, Apr 13 2012, 09:18)

I'm not convinced R* have been working on it continuously since 2008. RDR and LA Noire themselves took a long time to develop and while I have no doubt North in particular had plans in 2008 I reckon the real development on GTA V didn't start until some time in 2010 IMO.

This.

R star probably worked on GTA 3/Vice City/San An at basically the same time and right after one another.

GTA IV was followed by LA Noire and RDR, specifically RDR, which by this time table would have been GTA V. Thats all.

[Magic_Al]

Even if Rockstar North was seriously diverted by assisting with Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire, the time between L.A. Noire being done and the first GTA V trailer seems sufficient to have got a lot done.

It seems that work on the GTA V map could have begun while the programmers were busy elsewhere. I compared the credits of GTA IV and L.A. Noire. There are 28 credited map artists on GTA IV and only one of those people (Alastair McLauchlan) is credited on L.A. Noire (as Lead Audio Programmer). None of GTA IV's map artists are credited for Red Dead Redemption. Each studio handles it own map building workload then.

Within Rockstar North, 12 of the 28 map artists from GTA IV are also credited for GTA SA. Construction of the GTA V map may been started by the same people soon after GTA IV, while programming to bring GTA V to life may have begun as recently as a year ago. How much work was done on Agent before GTA V came to fore is an unknown factor.

[BaldadigeAnton]

Rockstar North has been known for developing the GTA series, but they also worked on other games. By the way, the Episodes from Liberty City did take some time, however it is not very realistic that they worked on each DLC for about a year. So they probably had a part of the team working on tweaking the RAGE engine for GTA V and making models for the game.

Now somebody said the trailer looked two years old. I think there are two possibilities.

1. The trailer is two years old and the game is almost finished which results in me playing the game Q3 this year.
2. The trailer is .5 or one year old. But if this is right, I fear it will take another year for launching the game, so maybe a Q3 2013 release date. Why? Well, did you see the AI driving (begin of the trailer and the part where the "jobless" are waiting for a pickup) and lack of damage models (car chase where the blue car crashed into the red car). Maybe these are just the physx not enabled yet or something, but it concerns me that we will not be served this game this year.


And don't get your hopes up, I think we will just get what was stated by Rockstar. While it would be epic if they trolled us and give us more. Then I'd be their bitch.


Night night

[HeNDo6750]

QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 21:45)

Rockstar North has been known for developing the GTA series, but they also worked on other games. By the way, the Episodes from Liberty City did take some time, however it is not very realistic that they worked on each DLC for about a year. So they probably had a part of the team working on tweaking the RAGE engine for GTA V and making models for the game. Now somebody said the trailer looked two years old. I think there are two possibilities. 1. The trailer is two years old and the game is almost finished which results in me playing the game Q3 this year. 2. The trailer is .5 or one year old. But if this is right, I fear it will take another year for launching the game, so maybe a Q3 2013 release date. Why? Well, did you see the AI driving (begin of the trailer and the part where the "jobless" are waiting for a pickup) and lack of damage models (car chase where the blue car crashed into the red car). Maybe these are just the physx not enabled yet or something, but it concerns me that we will not be served this game this year. And don't get your hopes up, I think we will just get what was stated by Rockstar. While it would be epic if they trolled us and give us more. Then I'd be their bitch. Night night

It was actually me who said that the trailer was about 2 years old at least

[BaldadigeAnton]

QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 22:51)

QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 21:45)   It was actually me who said that the trailer was about 2 years old at least

Yes it was you. But why would they release a trailer that is two years old? It makes no sense because they could have done it better. I fear for option 2, they just started full time work on GTA V, and a part of the team was already working on it for half a year or a year tops.

Anyway, towards the topic starter. Numerous people already said it, but Rockstar North cooperated on various games, made the episodes and also Agent is in the make (or not).

And about Magic_Al his map'thoughts', that would be awesome if they worked for that long on the map. Maybe they have a surprise for us after all.

[canttakemyid]

At first, it may have seemed distasteful to see similarities to IV in trailer; but am I the only one who sees this as a good thing now?

*It likely means that they have been spending 4+ years on additional features to make an amazing game while just 'tacking on' to some existing aspects of IV.

[locolow2011]

Whatever it is they're hiding, its definitely something BIG, its so big that if they reveal it before Max Paynes 3 release, it would divert all attention from MP to V, therefore R* would be shooting themselves in their own foot.

[John The Grudge]

Well I suspect that they always planned for GTA V to be the last of this generation. With that in mind, had it come out two years earlier Rockstar North would be left with lots of time on their hands before they could realistically start work on a next generation title.

After GTA V is released though, I imagine that they'll have an idea of the specification of the next generation of consoles and can begin work immediately on GTA VI. So I think they'll have used that extra time to make GTA V an even better game, and to lend a hand with other Rockstar projects.

Just my opinion.

[rodneythesavior]

QUOTE (John The Grudge @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 23:20)

Well I suspect that they always planned for GTA V to be the last of this generation. With that in mind, had it come out two years earlier Rockstar North would be left with lots of time on their hands before they could realistically start work on a next generation title. After GTA V is released though, I imagine that they'll have an idea of the specification of the next generation of consoles and can begin work immediately on GTA VI. So I think they'll have used that extra time to make GTA V an even better game, and to lend a hand with other Rockstar projects. Just my opinion.

Exactly. I also think that this explanation goes hand in hand with the belief that GTA V will be on Xbox360 and PS3 and will be released this year.
Nextgen's are rumored to start hitting shelves by winter next year (I think I read in GI that Devkits have been sent out, but don't quote me on that.) If the rumors about PS4 not supporting BC are true, and GTA V is a current gen title, it would pretty much kill PS4's sales if GTA V was released just months before the console arrives.

[HeNDo6750]

QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 05:50)

QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 22:51) QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 21:45)   It was actually me who said that the trailer was about 2 years old at least Yes it was you. But why would they release a trailer that is two years old? It makes no sense because they could have done it better. I fear for option 2, they just started full time work on GTA V, and a part of the team was already working on it for half a year or a year tops. Anyway, towards the topic starter. Numerous people already said it, but Rockstar North cooperated on various games, made the episodes and also Agent is in the make (or not). And about Magic_Al his map'thoughts', that would be awesome if they worked for that long on the map. Maybe they have a surprise for us after all.

To see the different development stages of the game, and when people buy the game they get blown away from the outstanding graphics, gameplay, story and content of the game. Also not giving away too much info of the game itself like before with GTA III to GTA IV.

For example GTA IV trailer 2 and trailer 3. As there was a huge difference in the graphics of both trailers like the hair, clothes, vehicles etc. So that is why i think that GTA V's trailer was recorded back in 2009 at most, as when either Dan or Sam houser said about GTA V (not giving too much info) in an interview, and just saying it's in full development in Nov 2009

If i'm not too mistaken

[illegal_luggage]

QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 07:46)

For example GTA IV trailer 2 and trailer 3. As there was a huge difference in the graphics of both trailers like the hair, clothes, vehicles etc. So that is why i think that GTA V's trailer was recorded back in 2009 at most, as when either Dan or Sam houser said about GTA V (not giving too much info) in an interview, and just saying it's in full development in Nov 2009 If i'm not too mistaken

It doesn't take long to edit the timecyc and other files which effect the graphics. The difference is vehicles wasn't anything major, just maybe few facelifts and wheel and texture changes. I believe these trailers they show are only a few months old at most. Why would they show footage that is two years old? The game would likely look pretty basic and things would change quite a bit in two years. GTA V wasn't announced by R* in 2009.

GTA IV beta mod:
http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=390598

[TheJustinAllenK]

I'm glad they're taking their time with things. I want the most polished, and fun game as possible; like with Red Dead Redemption. Even though that took nearly six years to make, it was an amazing game.

[HeNDo6750]

QUOTE (illegal_luggage @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 08:49)

QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 07:46) For example GTA IV trailer 2 and trailer 3. As there was a huge difference in the graphics of both trailers like the hair, clothes, vehicles etc. So that is why i think that GTA V's trailer was recorded back in 2009 at most, as when either Dan or Sam houser said about GTA V (not giving too much info) in an interview, and just saying it's in full development in Nov 2009 If i'm not too mistaken It doesn't take long to edit the timecyc and other files which effect the graphics. The difference is vehicles wasn't anything major, just maybe few facelifts and wheel and texture changes. I believe these trailers they show are only a few months old at most. Why would they show footage that is two years old? The game would likely look pretty basic and things would change quite a bit in two years. GTA V wasn't announced by R* in 2009. GTA IV beta mod: http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=390598

No, all they said was that GTA V was in development back in Nov 2009, and didn't give any info only a hint about GTA V thats all

[Jemoni2012]

I bet they already made Max Payne 4 and another game in the Red Dead series.

[HeNDo6750]

Something has caught my attention and it might be nothing, but R* newswire with the twitter comments from 1 day and 13 hours ago is this "Tomorrow is the deadline to pre-order Max Payne 3 and get early access to the Pill bottle multiplayer item" and from R* themselves on twitter. And that has got me thinking why have that, maybe GTA V info is around the corner?, but not sure

[Magic_Al]

QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 01:46)

QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Monday, Apr 16 2012, 05:50) QUOTE (HeNDo6750 @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 22:51) QUOTE (BaldadigeAnton @ Sunday, Apr 15 2012, 21:45)   It was actually me who said that the trailer was about 2 years old at least Yes it was you. But why would they release a trailer that is two years old? It makes no sense because they could have done it better. I fear for option 2, they just started full time work on GTA V, and a part of the team was already working on it for half a year or a year tops. Anyway, towards the topic starter. Numerous people already said it, but Rockstar North cooperated on various games, made the episodes and also Agent is in the make (or not). And about Magic_Al his map'thoughts', that would be awesome if they worked for that long on the map. Maybe they have a surprise for us after all. To see the different development stages of the game, and when people buy the game they get blown away from the outstanding graphics, gameplay, story and content of the game. Also not giving away too much info of the game itself like before with GTA III to GTA IV. For example GTA IV trailer 2 and trailer 3. As there was a huge difference in the graphics of both trailers like the hair, clothes, vehicles etc. So that is why i think that GTA V's trailer was recorded back in 2009 at most, as when either Dan or Sam houser said about GTA V (not giving too much info) in an interview, and just saying it's in full development in Nov 2009 If i'm not too mistaken

Sorry, I can't make sense of this. Rockstar is not out to misrepresent what they're doing. First, they wouldn't intentionally want game development to drag out long enough that a trailer could BE two years old. A game has to be mostly done for it to be possible to make a proper in-engine trailer. The "old trailer" theory would require later stages of development to be dragging out much longer than it should, very expensively. Second, game development can be unpredictable. Preparing a trailer then not releasing it means the trailer will become too obsolete to ever show. The game will change and the trailer will become unrepresentative of it. This doesn't necessarily mean the game will look in all ways better than the out-of-date trailer. The first GTA IV trailers had a ferry and flying birds that weren't in the game. A GTA San Andreas trailer showed a nice interior in a house that, in the game, ended up having 2D painted windows. These were things that were in the game when the trailers were made but then changed in the natural course of development. Intentionally releasing a trailer after they know it's out of date would be a deceptive trade practice.