GTA - San Andreas!!

[Morty]

GTAGaming has got some new screenshots, scanned from The Official UK Playstation 2 Magazine.

[GtaDriv3r]

chill out dude, the forums are fine... this thread isnt huge because info about SA doesnt come in every day... geez

but do tell me where people post mainly...i wanna know !

[KekumRulez]

just open a forum and you'll see some (new posts...)
The more (new posts...), the more the particular forum is used

[GtaDriv3r]

thanks for the scans Morty!

[StreekG]

i cant wait for the game to come out, i decided to laybuy a ps2 a few weeks ago, and i finish paying it off on wednesday, so i finally get to play all the good racing games, namely the GT series and Colin Mcrae 04 and GTA... I've always been a fan of the GTA series, only one thing bugs me, they should've converted to Gamecube also, that would have put sales up heaps too, having a gamecube myself is why i say that.... but meh, im getting a ps2 so it wont matter

[Morty]

I don't know if i should have started a new topic on this, but I'm gonna post it in here.
I was surfing around a Norwegian GTA Forum, and found more info from the Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK. It takes a little while to read, but I think it's worth it. If you want to be surprised tho, I suggest you skip it, as some of the missions are mentioned at the end. Enjoy the reading

The state of San Andreas contains three cities and miles and miles of interstates, valleys, freeways, deserts, coastline, and badlands - all of which you can explore. The game is five times the size of Vice City, more populated, more detailed, has more cars, weapons, challenges, characters, secrets, music, and more storyline than Vice City. Each of the three cities - Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturra - have their own individual style. Examples are architectural style, vehicle population, mission types, character?s accents, and the actions of pedestrians.

The countryside will be far from boring. There are new vehicles that can?t even be used in a town, such as a quad bike, that you can race in the country. The driving physics have been worked on and although GTA is not a racing game, it feels like a chasing game. The countryside racing feels super quick and a lot of fun.

In the country you will also have inbreds and degenerates who give you missions reflecting their environment. The countryside is very refreshing to drive through. It has rolling fields, farms, rivers, forests, deserts, and hills. There is also a legendary mountain - it is nearly a half mile tall, takes a minute to fly from the base to the top in a helicopter, and much longer to ride down with a bicycle. The grass and plants have new techniques to really bring the countryside to life like no game ever before. San Fierro is very hilly and there is a big emphasis on driving in this part of the game.

Swimming was added because Rockstar knew about the constant request and was tired of being told it couldn?t be done. Now when you drive off a bridge, you will not drown. But that being said, it is not a swimming game. The way swimming will work is this: When your car hits the water you have two choices. The first is to climb out the window of the car. If you choose not to get out, you will sink with the car, and you will have a certain amount of stamina which you can build up. There are some missions that have swimming in them, but this won?t be a swimming action adventure game. The feature is there for playability.

In addition to eating, getting fat, and working out at the gym, another stat feature is cutting your hair. You can go to the barber and get your haircut how you want. If you have a bad haircut, pedestrians make fun of you and call you stupid. If you have a good one they are impressed.

The LA vibe is there with the smog, crystalline light, the thud of a basketball off in a court, the air filled with hip hop, the blazing sun, the light reflecting off low riders. The right analog stick will allow you to bounce your car. In missions, all of the familiar details are there like the yellow arrow above objectives, the blue type on the screen giving mission outlines, and the little music after a successful mission.
Immense effort has gone in to individualize each player?s experience and make the game as non-linear as possible. At times you?ll be following the storyline, but then the game will stop and open up, allowing you to do anything you want. Then the story continues, then it opens up, and it follows this pattern nicely for the best experience.

The engine has been rewritten. Now there are details like never before, such as tumbleweeds in the desert and other organic things. The map is much more densely populated than Vice City, even in the countryside. There are mirrors and real time reflections. The draw distance is now twice as much as Vice City in the urban environments and four times as much in the countryside. The lighting system has been improved to include separate models for daytime and nighttime. CJ can stand and sway slightly, with his jaw moving in a slow circular motion as he chews gum. The character models are much more detailed than previously.

Improvements have been made on the lighting to make neon spill onto the streets, streetlights light up buildings, and shadows from the sun fade to moonlight. Compression techniques have been used to detail all of the models - from the map to the cars to the pedestrians. The game is now more sharp, with weather effects and more crammed special touches than thought possible. Rockstar has borrowed a bit from Manhunt with the new lighting. Now you can see gang members in dark alleys and you can use the shadows yourself to hide under a bridge, watch an enemy run past, then leap out and jump him. Even with one star you will have to worry about the police, but hiding in shadows can help out. On missions you can do them Rambo style or you can sneak around and pick them off one by one. This means actual stealth techniques which adds a lot more variety to missions than before.

San Andreas returns with the Rockstar humor we love. The satire will be directed at American consumerism, action movies, weirdness, and pop culture of the time. The characters will be more serious but the game will still be hilarious.
Every part of the game has been aimed at making it feel like a living, fully realistic world. Each city as well as the districts in them will feel unique. Instead of adding content to GTA III or Vice City, Rockstar wanted to make this game so you could climb onto a roof and know your location. The amount of exploring in San Andreas has extreme depth, and it is not to be raced through because it is all unique and interactive. All the missions, even the most outlandish, are all designed to make use of the vehicles and to explore the map. Tons of work has gone into making the countryside look organic, the cities not looking square, and overall the game feeling real. The map is so big even Rockstar becomes lost in it from time to time. The population is more dense and more active than ever before. The city has been given life. Each pedestrian has his own actions and animations based on where they live, and where they are at in the city or the country.

One of the biggest challenges is compressing the massive detail in this game. Rockstar has loads of content and continues to add more. The only loading times in San Andreas are slight pauses when entering buildings. They have already packed the DVD and will be having to use dual layer. Although the game is very broad, all the missions, gameplay elements, and events will tie together and feel part of the same game thanks to the controls, art, and atmosphere. There are some parts where the game is in first person. There are also ties to the past games for hardcore fans. All of these things, even the most outlandish of missions, will make sense to you when you are playing.

You have new fist fighting techniques and the gun fighting has been overhauled. The physics of the gun fighting has been rebuilt from the ground up and now it is very elegant and easy to control. When you target someone green will be displayed if they have full health, yellow at half, and red if they can be killed in another shot. The auto targeting will also make much better choices based on threat level.
Working with your gang the Orange Grove Families, you can take over areas of the map. Controlling territories and personalizing the map is like personalizing your character. You can make money off your property if look after it. Some parts of the game you can take it over yourself, and for other parts you will need your gang. Car jacking has an even more threatening and sinister vibe than before, because now your gang is involved. By the way, being a gangster is 15% of the total game.
In the first mission Carl is picked up from the airport by the two corrupt cops. They don?t take him home, they drop him off in rival gang territory. You have to get out quick, so the first thing you do is steal a BMX. You rapidly hit X to pedal and CJ sways from side to side to pick up momentum. This is one of the stunningly realistic animations. You complete the mission when you reach the area where CJ grew up and where his gang lives.

One mission involves you meeting up with your old friend Ryder, who is a loose cannon and is very passionate about the Orange Grove Families. Your chat takes place in front of the Badfellas poster (which fans will recognize). The owner of a pizza store has erased the OGF tag from his walls, and Ryder wants you to join him in teaching the owner a lesson. You hop in a pickup and head to the pizzeria. Once you arrive but before you enter the pizzeria, you will be given the opportunity to give CJ a new haircut.

This is an example of many side tasks available during missions. Rockstar really wants to blur the line between on a mission and off a mission so you will see this a lot. You hop in the barber?s chair and he cuts your hair while you watch. You receive a new haircut which you can see in the mirror, and you choose to accept it or get a new style. Once you leave the barber Ryder will make a comment about your new hairstyle depending on what you chose. Now in the extremely detailed pizzeria you have even more choices. There are three different sized meals with prices based on size. You order the largest meal to distract the pizza boy for Ryder. But Ryder cannot be calmed and to his surprise as he becomes more irate, the pizza boy fires off a 12-gauge shotgun. You and Ryder run out to the pickup and drive back home.

Yet another mission has you driving a four person drive-by as your gang wants to hit the local gang The Ballas. As your roll by The Ballas, Sweet, Smoke, and Ryder all take aim and open fire. Your job is to move the car back and forth to dodge the returning fire. The four person drive by is amazingly real. As you drive by the three gang members adjust their aims. When you pass The Ballas, your guys will lean out the windows backwards and one will get up through the roof. After taking out this group, you go after another group of Balla members. But the cops have started chasing and you must take a detour into a Pay ?n? Spray. The mudded car actually becomes cleaned off, the cops stop chasing, and you go home. The Orange Grove Families are back in business, but every time you enter Balla territory, be ready for hostile activity.

The mission Reuniting the Families is about the heads of all the local gangs sitting down to talk and avoid a war. When you arrive at the hotel which is the meeting place, Sweet is the OGF representative. Suddenly a police chopper appears over the car park and cops start pouring out with guns blazing. The other members of the OGF run for their own safety, and leave you alone in the hotel to save Sweet yourself. As you march through the hotel with your shotgun you will see police flowing in from all directions and off balconies with their semi-automatics lit up. A nice shot from your shotgun will kill a cop, and the more you kill, the better your accuracy becomes (as displayed in a percentage in the top left). You can also strafe for cover now. Eventually you find a dying gangster who points you to Sweet.

The two of you escape to Smoke driving a car, who takes down the helicopter with a shotgun then speeds off. Following this is an intense car chase with Smoke driving and you shooting police cars in first person view. You can align the crosshair on the speeding cars and shoot out the tires to take them out. Suddenly a cop jumps right onto the back of the car, and you are forced to shoot him at point blank. Then another one leaps onto the front. Smoke turns down an alley and finds another helicopter in the way, with its rotors pointing at the ground. Smoke speeds up, then at the last second both of you bail out. The last image you see is the cop holding onto the front being shredded up by the spinning metal rotors.

- All of this information was summarized from the Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK July 2004 Issue.

[KekumRulez]

HI Morty, it was fun reading this article. But the game will be HUGE, if they gonna use double layer dvd for it. But, large game or not, I still cant wait for GTA SA to come out. Now I'm even more curious after reading the info then I allready was.

[Morty]

Yeah, me too... I just hope the PC version will be out soon... Or as soon as possible. It sounds a little too good to believe, but if half of this is true, the game will be awesome. And considering this is from an official magazine, then it should all be true, right? Man, the wait will be long...

[KekumRulez]

(...) It sounds a little too good to believe, but if half of this is true, the game will be awesome. And considering this is from an official magazine, then it should all be true, right? Man, the wait will be long (...)

You're right, DJ Morty, You're right

[++eddie++]

So er... when does it come out? november? and what double dvd layeers? so when does it come out for computer? I'd hope it's no more than 4 Cdscause it'll be real expensivce if it was!

[Morty]

Well, I'm not really sure about the release dates, I haven't been searching for news on it for a while, but if the PS2 version comes in October/November (which is what some rumours have been telling), then the PC version will probably not be out until May 2005, if R* does the same as with VC. I hope they speed it up a little this time, but I'm sure it's worth the waiting...

I don't think SA will come on CDs, since it's estimated 4 to 6 times bigger than VC, and VC was 2 discs, then we would be facing about 10 discs. So my guess is that the PC version will be on DVD as well.

I surfed into GTA-Action again, and they've found a new interview about SA. I'm sure you all know who Dan Houser is (one of the main guys behind GTA), and he's given a huge interview to UK’s Official PlayStation 2 magazine. Visit Eurogamer.net and check it out. I haven't read it yet, but I will right after I've posted this

[Just Me]

Don't bother because he doesn't say anything new.

But since the PS2 has the exlusive launch off the GTA series, I think May 05 is an acurate date on the PC release.

I'll be surprised if they release the PC version this year ore early 2005

[Morty]

Well, he doesn't say anything new, that's true. But he goes more in detail on the stuff we already know. And he talks about how they actually try to make the game better... So I recommend reading it, but of course, if you're not a hardcore GTA fan, then maybe it'll be a waste of time...

[++eddie++]

10 Cds? Oh gosh! good thing I'm buying a DVD writer included with my new com! and I wouldn't reccomend the GTA gaming site too! it's got alot of mods and other stuffs!

[Morty]

GTA-Action still posts news about GTA:SA, and this time they've found some news from Play Magazine. It's in German, but I'll translate what I find most important:

Es gibt zwei Dörfer auf dem Land, eines mit dem Namen Dillamore, das andere heißt Angel Pine

Auf dem Land gibt es einen Unterschlupf, in dem sich eine weibliche Verbündete aufhält, deren Namen noch nicht bekannt ist. Diese Bekannte ist angeblich schon in früheren Gtateilen vorgekommen.

Eine Mission verwickelt Carl und seine weibliche Kumpanin in einen Überfall auf die "Dillamore gas station" (=Tankstelle), da der Versuch das Büro zu überfallen an schussicherem Glas scheitert stehlen die zwei stattdessen einen Öltanklaster der vor der Tankstelle parkt. Das erste Problem ist, dass der Anhänger noch nicht mit dem Zugwagen verkuppelt ist, also muss Carl das erst vor der Abfahrt erledigen. Wenn Carl endlich geflohen ist muss er aufpassen mit dem großen Lastwagen nicht von der kurvigen Landstrasse abzukommen während ihn die Besitzer der Tankstelle in ihren Autos verfolgen.

Je länger man R1 beim Zielen gedrückt hält um so wahrscheinlicher wird die Möglichkeit einen Headshot zu machen. Beim Zielen bewegt sich die Kamera außerdem langsam über CJ's Schulter um ein realistisches Zielen zu gewährleisten

Die Sicht wird in der Stadt 2 mal so weit sein wie in Vice City, am Land sogar 4 mal so hoch

Angeblich werden die Strassen deutlich dichter befahren sein als in Vice City. Angeblich wird es einen "endless stream of cars" geben, der CJ das Autostehlen leicht macht.

Der inzwischen schon legendäre Berg wird den Namen "Mount Chiliaid" tragen. Die Bachläufe, seine Höhe von mehr als einer halben Meile und die Bergstrassen machen ihn zum größten Objekt das es in Gta jemals gab.

Beim Mostertruck gibts keine Handbremse, R1 schaltet jedoch den Vierradantrieb ein

Der Spieler wird die von den Scans schon bekannten Erntemaschienen genauso wie ein Auto stehlen und fahren können

Es gibt einen Hot-Dog-Van, derzeit ist aber noch keine Mission mit diesem angekündigt.

Der Polizeihubschrauber hat einen Suchscheinwerfer den die Polizei bei Verfolgungsjagden einsetzt

veränderte Versionen des Walton, Sabre, Voodoo, Patriot, Sanchez und Linerunner (vielleicht sogar mit Anhänger) werden verfügbar sein

Es wird 4x4 Fahrzeuge geben (Allradantrieb), mit denen man sich leicht am Land fortbewegen kann.

Ok... The most important things:
-2 smaller towns outside of the big city (Dillamore and Angel Pine)
-One of your old friends hide on the countryside (from GTA3 or GTA:VC)
-A mission on the Dillamore gas station where you have to connect a trailer to get an Oil Tank out of there
-You can see 2 times longer in the city than in VC, and 4 times higher on the countryside
-A lot more traffic (which I really look forward to)
-The already known mountain is called "Mount Chiliaid", and is the biggest object in the GTA series so far
-Monstertruck has no handbrake, but you can change it between 2WD 4WD
-You will be able to steal and drive harvesting machines (my guess is there will be some missions attached to those)
-The police helicopter uses a searchlight in pursuits
-Changed versions of Walton, Sabre, Voodoo, Patriot, Sanchez and Linerunner (maybe with trailer) are available
-4x4 vehicles, for fast driving on the countryside

Thanks to KekumRulez for some of the translations

[KekumRulez]

Yoo, Morty! Thanks for the info! and a good translation too
I especially like the linerunner with trailer and monstertruck without handbrake!

[ptkclan]

hehhe

[SuperRacer]

hehhe

Stop replying with "hehhe," or like you did in another post, "hh." That gets you banned.

[TheStig]

SUper you beat me this time....

I was just checking this out.

Good Modding

[Morty]

I could tell you to visit gta-action every day, and I think I did (if not I do now), but I'm still gonna post some news I found there.

First of all, there were some more news yesterday, but for some reason, I missed them... To sum them up:
- The character changes thru the game, and learns new skills as the game passes (old news, really)
- The mountain has got a tunnel
- You can shoot the searchlight on the police helicopter
- Wild animals

I also found some new news (from PSM Italy and PlayStation 2 magazine Italy), still from gta-action (originally from gtagaming.com):
- You will maybe be able to change CJ's clothes and tattoos
- All pedestrians have "brains", so they react better than they did in previous GTA games
- According to Dan Houser, there is no way you can finish the game in less than 150 hours
- San Andreas will be huge (old news), Los Santos alone will be at the same size as the entire Vice City, and is only 1/4 of the San Andreas map (which means SA will be 4 times bigger than VC)

And speaking of maps, a fan-made map was also included. It's very unofficial, but it looks good... Here it is

[KekumRulez]

The map sure looks good, MOrty!!

[Morty]

Yeah, it does
But I wonder how the official map will be... Will be fun to see how close that guy came...

[KekumRulez]

Well, we just have to wait till that. But you keep us (me...) informed, right?

[Morty]

Well, we just have to wait till that. But you keep us (me...) informed, right?

Well, I'll try my best

As usual, I dropped by gta-action to see if they've found anything new while I was on a holiday trip, and they had

The German PS magazine Play the Playstation has got these news (translated from German by me):
- CJ is not any good at swimming to begin with, but the more he swims, the better he does it.
- You have to tap the X button to make the bicycle move. If you keep it pushed in, it moves slow, and the faster you tap, the faster it moves.
- You can recognize the gang members by the color on their clothes. The Orange Grove family use green, the Ballas use purple.
- The camera can turn 360° around the car.
- The character has got 50% more polygons.
- There are hair styles between Afrolook and skinhead, and you can also grow a beard that can be trimmed at the hair dresser.

The magazine also includes a 6 page report on NFSU2 and a video of it...

[^Sparco^]

skinhead! will be there skinhead/anarch groups?? It would be funny!