Archived from groups: alt.games.grand-theft-auto (More info?)
Sometime last year before the game's release, I remember reading a lot of hype
and supposedly hard 'facts' about what elements/effects would be in the final
game. These included:
Car washes
Cars rusting/getting dirty etc
Particle lighting effects
Drivers fighting back when carjacked
etc...
Now the first one, car washes we know was left out. It seemed to be a pointless
addition anyway as the average car in the game usually lasted no longer than
five minutes in real time, even if the player was careful not to scratch it
(maniac drivers on the freeways take care of that!).
Cars do pick up dirt over time, but not to the extent quoted in this article:
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/534/534690p1.html
'Cars Getting Dirty
Driving around the dusty state of San Andreas can really put the hurt on your
vehicle in terms of its cleanliness. In fact, as you drive around the various
cities, you may notice that people around here don't seem to like to wash their
cars -- the friggin' things are filthy!
Should players get their hands on a brand new spotless car, they might want to
take note that it won't stay that way for long; as consistent use of that
vehicle will begin to accumulate a whole lot of muck for it. Dirt, for instance,
will begin to appear on and around the wheel wells and impact areas brought on
by traffic accidents. Driving through parks and other sections with overhead
filth sources can move grime and dust to the surface areas of your windshield.
And unless you can find a car wash to keep your car clean and shiny, it may even
rust over time if used too much.
As an added bonus, the NPC characters of San Andreas seem to play by the same
rules you do. As not only will their cars remain dirty if left uncleaned as we
mentioned earlier, but they'll sport broken windows, loose bumpers, and
bullet-riddled doors too. If you're looking for any more proof that Rockstar is
trying to move its game into as persistent a world as possible -- this is it.'
Because the cars don't stay in memory long enough, they don't age. Instead, what
we have is the game randomly generating spotless/used cars seemingly at random,
though not with the damage mentioned in that article. Only in rare cases (small
out-of-town settlements, dirt roads and trailer parks) do we see clapped-out
bangers parked up, though I have yet to see one with bullet holes.
The lighting effects ended up being the biggest disappointment for me. I was
expecting lamp posts, cars and buildings to cast shadows and light against
neighbouring objects and surfaces. They do to a limited extent - lamp posts
reflect light off pedestrians and occasionally the road too, but if you break
one, the light spot remains where the post stood. Likewise, there are no
realtime shadows in daylight. Cars do, however manage to bounce light off walls,
other vehicles and peds, but it seems that either the Renderware engine, or the
PS2 itself just wasn't up to the task on this one.
Finally, carjacking appears to be no different from the previous games. You open
the door, drag the driver out and pull away. Yet, I thought these drivers were
supposed to resist in some way, forcing the player to use different means of
getting into the car?
I can't think of anything else at the moment - many of the other elements
promised made it into the game (basketball, gang recruitment and a half-arsed
attempt at auto-targeting that always targets innocent pedestrians and not the
f£$king b%stard trying to blow your brains out), and I can only begin to imagine
how the game would've panned out if Rockstar went for DVD9 instead of DVD5!
Paul.
Sometime last year before the game's release, I remember reading a lot of hype
and supposedly hard 'facts' about what elements/effects would be in the final
game. These included:
Car washes
Cars rusting/getting dirty etc
Particle lighting effects
Drivers fighting back when carjacked
etc...
Now the first one, car washes we know was left out. It seemed to be a pointless
addition anyway as the average car in the game usually lasted no longer than
five minutes in real time, even if the player was careful not to scratch it
(maniac drivers on the freeways take care of that!).
Cars do pick up dirt over time, but not to the extent quoted in this article:
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/534/534690p1.html
'Cars Getting Dirty
Driving around the dusty state of San Andreas can really put the hurt on your
vehicle in terms of its cleanliness. In fact, as you drive around the various
cities, you may notice that people around here don't seem to like to wash their
cars -- the friggin' things are filthy!
Should players get their hands on a brand new spotless car, they might want to
take note that it won't stay that way for long; as consistent use of that
vehicle will begin to accumulate a whole lot of muck for it. Dirt, for instance,
will begin to appear on and around the wheel wells and impact areas brought on
by traffic accidents. Driving through parks and other sections with overhead
filth sources can move grime and dust to the surface areas of your windshield.
And unless you can find a car wash to keep your car clean and shiny, it may even
rust over time if used too much.
As an added bonus, the NPC characters of San Andreas seem to play by the same
rules you do. As not only will their cars remain dirty if left uncleaned as we
mentioned earlier, but they'll sport broken windows, loose bumpers, and
bullet-riddled doors too. If you're looking for any more proof that Rockstar is
trying to move its game into as persistent a world as possible -- this is it.'
Because the cars don't stay in memory long enough, they don't age. Instead, what
we have is the game randomly generating spotless/used cars seemingly at random,
though not with the damage mentioned in that article. Only in rare cases (small
out-of-town settlements, dirt roads and trailer parks) do we see clapped-out
bangers parked up, though I have yet to see one with bullet holes.
The lighting effects ended up being the biggest disappointment for me. I was
expecting lamp posts, cars and buildings to cast shadows and light against
neighbouring objects and surfaces. They do to a limited extent - lamp posts
reflect light off pedestrians and occasionally the road too, but if you break
one, the light spot remains where the post stood. Likewise, there are no
realtime shadows in daylight. Cars do, however manage to bounce light off walls,
other vehicles and peds, but it seems that either the Renderware engine, or the
PS2 itself just wasn't up to the task on this one.
Finally, carjacking appears to be no different from the previous games. You open
the door, drag the driver out and pull away. Yet, I thought these drivers were
supposed to resist in some way, forcing the player to use different means of
getting into the car?
I can't think of anything else at the moment - many of the other elements
promised made it into the game (basketball, gang recruitment and a half-arsed
attempt at auto-targeting that always targets innocent pedestrians and not the
f£$king b%stard trying to blow your brains out), and I can only begin to imagine
how the game would've panned out if Rockstar went for DVD9 instead of DVD5!
Paul.
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