GTA VI: General Discussion

[MOPARbarrett5]

I still don't believe this in the slightest but an NBA 2K content creator would have nothing to gain lying about GTA6 so...

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Release date seems plausible but there is an entire industry of GTA VI fake news...so...

 

[McLaren]

Well, if we follow IV & V's timeline, our first official acknowledgement would be later this year.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Major news about Rockstar and GTA VI

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...kstar-cleans-up-image-after-employee-backlash

I recommend reading the whole article, but here are some excerpts



GTA VI

Rockstar’s next game, Grand Theft Auto VI, will include a playable female protagonist for the first time, according to people familiar with the game. The woman, who is Latina, will be one of a pair of leading characters in a story influenced by the bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, the people said. Developers are also being cautious not to “punch down” by making jokes about marginalized groups, the people said, in contrast to previous games.

[...]

Sticking to that pledge has already prompted changes to the game. Original plans for the title, which is code-named Project Americas, were for it to be more vast than any Grand Theft Auto game to date. Early designs called for the inclusion of territories modeled after large swaths of North and South America, according to people familiar with the plans. But the company reeled in those ambitions and cut the main map down to a fictional version of Miami and its surrounding areas.

Rockstar’s plan is now to continually update the game over time, adding new missions and cities on a regular basis, which the leadership hopes will lead to less crunch during the game’s final months. Still, the game’s world remains large, with more interior locations than previous Grand Theft Auto games, impacting the timeline.

[...]

Industry analysts anticipate that the next Grand Theft Auto will be out sometime in Take-Two’s 2024 fiscal year, which runs from April 2023 through March 2024, but developers are skeptical. The game has been in development in some form since 2014. Although there are loose schedules in place, people interviewed for this article said they didn’t know of any firm release date and that they expect the game to be at least two years away. Earlier this year, a group of designers quit Rockstar’s Edinburgh office, telling colleagues they were sick of the lack of progress.

Rockstar culture changes

Grand Theft Auto V was a nihilistic parody that threw insults at everything, from right-wing radio hosts to liberal politicians. Inside the company, the tone wasn’t much different. Rockstar employees described a workplace culture full of drinking, brawling and excursions to strip clubs. The company was an early symbol of an industry-wide problem of long hours at the office, known as crunch, in which staff were expected to be at their desks many nights and weekends in order to keep a game on schedule.

It also led to burnout, attrition and a public controversy in 2018 that prompted hundreds of Rockstar employees to speak out about the difficult work environment.

Since that outcry, Rockstar has attempted to reinvent itself as a more progressive and compassionate workplace, according to interviews with more than 20 people who work there or left recently, all of whom requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. One employee described it as “a boys’ club transformed into a real company.” A spokesman for Rockstar declined to comment.

Can a kinder, gentler Rockstar still produce the chart-topping caliber of game the studio has become known for? Some employees aren’t sure. Morale across the company is higher than it’s ever been, according to many staffers. But the development of Grand Theft Auto VI has been slower than impatient fans and even longtime employees have expected.

Much of that has to do with the pandemic, but the delay is also due to some of the changes that the company implemented in an effort to improve working conditions, such as a restructuring of the design department and a pledge to keep overtime under control. Some workers say they’re still trying to figure out how to make games at this new iteration of Rockstar and wonder even what a Grand Theft Auto game looks like in today’s environment. Besides, several Rockstar employees pointed out that you can't really satirize today's America — it's already a satire of itself.

The studio was built on a culture of seven-day work weeks, said Jamie King, a founder who left after eight years. But, he said, that sort of culture is “unsustainable.” Games like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 required what some employees referred to as “death marches”—months of mandatory 14-hour days and weekends that took a toll on employees’ lives, mental health and sometimes marriages.

In October 2018, shortly before the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, Houser, one of Rockstar’s founders, said his team had been working “100-hour weeks” to finish the game. The comments, which Houser later walked back, were the tipping point for many employees.

[...]

The transformation of Rockstar includes changes to scheduling, converting contractors to full-time employees and the ouster of several managers that employees saw as abusive or difficult to work with. When the pandemic started, workers received care packages, cloth masks and surprise bonuses. During the protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by police officers, the company said it would match donations to Black Lives Matter charities. Employees have been given new mental health and leave benefits. A new policy called “flexitime” allows staff to immediately take time off for every extra hour they work. And for the past four years, management has promised that excessive overtime won’t be required for Grand Theft Auto VI, one of the most-highly anticipated games by fans and investors on the planet.

[...]

To help avoid overtime, Rockstar has also added more producers to keep track of schedules, a move that’s mostly been positive, developers said, but one that has also caused bottlenecks. Some employees said they found themselves waiting around to communicate through middlemen or that it felt like multiple people were in charge, leaving them unsure of who should make the final call.

GTA V cancelled game mode

In the summer of 2020, after a police officer killed George Floyd, Rockstar Games quietly shelved a mode of play it had planned to release for its Grand Theft Auto Online game.

Called Cops ‘n’ Crooks, the mode was a twist on the children’s game where players organize into teams of good guys and bad guys, but seemed especially tone-deaf during the global reckoning over police violence. Senior executives at the company, concerned about how the narrative might be interpreted during a time of heightened skepticism and mistrust of American police, put it aside. They still haven’t made plans to bring it back, according to people familiar with development.

I've actually applied to Rockstar Games. Hoping it goes well lol

 

[HarVee]

I'll wait and see for the final product, but if it's anything like the new Saints Row, Rockstar could then take their game and shove it somewhere dark and moist.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I trust that Bloomberg has reputable sources with some kind of verification so I'm inclined to believe it. Miami and surrounding areas sounds right although I don't think a setting in present day Miami is as compelling as the 80s setting was in VC. I suppose if they leaned into influencer peddling there is some potential for contemporary commentary but I'm so sick of that I don't think I can even handle it being satirized.

I have a suspicion that GTA VI is going to be heavily watered down, particularly without Leslie & Dan. I hope it's good.

 

[FoxMulder]

I trust that Bloomberg has reputable sources with some kind of verification so I'm inclined to believe it. Miami and surrounding areas sounds right although I don't think a setting in present day Miami is as compelling as the 80s setting was in VC. I suppose if they leaned into influencer peddling there is some potential for contemporary commentary but I'm so sick of that I don't think I can even handle it being satirized.

I have a suspicion that GTA VI is going to be heavily watered down, particularly without Leslie & Dan. I hope it's good.

Surely GTA VI is being built around the GTA Online cash machine first anyways. It’ll be done without the talent that ran the franchise and any story will be corporate safe and watered down just to check boxes.

They might as well get PR credit for having a female protagonist and how their culture is changing while selling those shark cards.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Rockstar’s plan is now to continually update the game over time, adding new missions and cities on a regular basis,

That sounds...not ideal. When the game comes out will the story not be complete?

 

[FoxMulder]

That sounds...not ideal. When the game comes out will the story not be complete?

That just sounds like GaaS seasons for online.

 

[CodeRedR51]

GTA V cancelled game mode

That's fine, the RP community is more entertaining anyway.

 

[Darla Starch]

Purported leaked footage of the game

 

[ICEYOU3]

Shame they couldn't come up with a completely new city, I'll pass up on this one.

 

[McLaren]

Purported leaked footage of the game

Already removed. I assume Rockstar is going into overtime to issue takedowns.

Shame they couldn't come up with a completely new city, I'll pass up on this one.

It's literally a new city w/ only the same name & real world-based location of Miami carried over.

People have already found one of the buildings in the leaks based off a real building possibly means we'll be far outside the Miami district.


This building exists in Homestead, Florida, about an hour outside the main Miami area.

 

[ICEYOU3]

I know the map is going to be rebuilt from the ground up, it's just I've played so many games in my day that have been set in Miami or based on Miami. I was hoping the Chicago rumors were going to be true.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

The leak was originally posted on GTA Forums by a user who claims to be the same person who recently hacked Uber. They say they got the clips from the company Slack. I assume they social engineered their way into someone's account, similarly to the Uber hack.

The hacker also has access to the GTA V source code and was posting screenshots in the thread, including screenshots related to a federal court case when asked by the defendant.



The hacker is also allegedly selling the source code and trying to bargain with Rockstar to not leak the game.

The journalist who wrote the Bloomberg article has confirmed from Rockstar sources that the leak is indeed real



We'll have to wait until tomorrow when the work week begins to see what Rockstar / Take 2 decides to do. But we've already seen they've taken down some of the clips on Youtube

 

[GTboyz]

This is huge. Insane.

Part of me is excited that it looks like a lot of RDR2 features will be implemented in the game.
Another part of me is worried about the story after reading the rumors.

Bonnie and Clyde protagonists seems really cool though.

 

[FT-1]

I'm a fan of dialogue options being a thing in VI, I hope they end up playing a significant role in how the story pans out based on your choices.

Other than that, the overall aesthetic reminds me of Watch Dogs 2. I'm aware it is in very early development, but I reckon the art direction is already on the right path.

 

[Liquid]

It looks like a very early build with the sloppiness of the framerate and detail but it's nice to actually see something. Of course it was going to be Vice City; the 3D era had Liberty, San Andreas and Vice to the HD era is replicating that.

The only thing I am hazardous of is that this game is set in Vice City but it isn't Vice City. It's not an 80s-themed game and everyone knows how much love GTA:VC gets so it'll be interesting to see a take on a Miami of the 2020s instead of a Miami of the 1980s.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

I just watched all 90 clips. It seems like the title of the clip is the true timestamp (timezone unknown) of when the clip was uploaded to Slack. The oldest clip is from March 3rd, 2021 at 10:55:27 and the newest clip is from September 13th, 2022 at 19:08:17.

Some things I noticed from the videos:

Spoiler

Most of the clips show bugs where the developer shows parameters and then demonstrates the bug. Early on, there's a good amount of animation issues.

It seems like a low fidelity version of the world was done by early last year. There were over 1300 missions and random ambient world events by March 2022 with names. There are some very small clips of mission gameplay. By August 2022, most of the world environment seems to be at a pretty high fidelity, except for NPC models. By July / August 2022, missions had dialogue with voice acting, including a fast food restaurant robbery, strip club, and a redneck's backyard at a trailer park (?) as locations. There was a conversation about Jay Norris still being alive and that Finland doesn't exist.

There seems to be two main characters, Lucia, the girl that was mentioned in the Bloomberg article, and Jason, a white guy. Perhaps the rumors of it being based on Bonnie and Clyde are true?

There are clips of a new weapon wheel that seems to be similar to RDR2. In addition, when carrying a larger weapon, like a rifle, it is slung on your back, like RDR2.

There are some new cars, including what looks like a current gen Honda Accord. There's also clips of an interior of a 4-door Pegassi with moveable sunvisors, rear view mirror, pedals, and driver seat. The interior looks like a modern JLR product with multiple screens and two climate control knobs. There is a cheap hatchback that sort of looks like a Mitsubishi Mirage, Honda Fit, or Chevy Sonic. There's also a hovercraft. Some cars make a come back like the Baller, Futo, commercial vans, and the Vapid police car.

I think the game is currently in a really good state. There's probably another year of mission scripting and then another year of polishing. I think there could be a trailer or announcement next year.

 

[Famine]

The wider internet is going nuts over how great GTA6 is going to be... based on how good it's looking in these leaks...


Was GTAV's problem ever that it looked bad?

 

[Tornado]

I think the game is currently in a really good state. There's probably another year of mission scripting and then another year of polishing. I think there could be a trailer or announcement next year.

Well, realistically it's probably been delayed another year because of this leak, so nobody should hold their breath waiting for it.

 

[GTboyz]

The wider internet is going nuts over how great GTA6 is going to be... based on how good it's looking in these leaks...


Was GTAV's problem ever that it looked bad?

IMO, GTA V at some areas it looks like it's worse than GTA IV, like the graphic felt cartoonish even though it's more detailed than the previous ones.

From what I see on the leaks, the character models looks like RDR2 quality so that's great.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

IMO, at some areas it looks like it's worse than GTA IV, like the graphic felt cartoonish even though it's more detailed than the previous ones.

That's just what the game looks like white it's in development. It doesn't have all of the fancy graphics effects enabled.

 

[GTboyz]

That's just what the game looks like white it's in development. It doesn't have all of the fancy graphics effects enabled.

No, I meant GTA V looked cartoonish in some parts when I played it in PS3 compared to IV.

 

[Famine]

IMO, GTA V at some areas it looks like it's worse than GTA IV, like the graphic felt cartoonish even though it's more detailed than the previous ones.

Sure, but that wasn't the question.

GTAV's issue was never how it looked, on any of the three console generations it was on. It was that it was a tedious, sprawling, joyless mess which mistook the fun of earlier games for endless penis and semen jokes constantly being thrown at your face. In fact even that one would be too subtle for GTAV.

Well, that and the fact they made billions off GTAO microtransactions, giving them money for nothing for the past decade.


It was never a question that GTA6 would look great, so I'm not totally sure what's so exciting about these videos showing it looks great; I get the hype angle but we knew it'd probably look great and, look, it does.

I'm sure it'll be no less successful regardless of what I think of how successively dreary the series has got over the past three releases, but I want to see if it's more than just better graphics, another "bigger is better" approach to the map, and penis and semen gags instead of humour, innovation, interesting missions, and a good story.

 

[GTboyz]

Sure, but that wasn't the question.

GTAV's issue was never how it looked, on any of the three console generations it was on. It was that it was a tedious, sprawling, joyless mess which mistook the fun of earlier games for endless penis and semen jokes constantly being thrown at your face. In fact even that one would be too subtle for GTAV.

Well, that and the fact they made billions off GTAO microtransactions, giving them money for nothing for the past decade.


It was never a question that GTA6 would look great, so I'm not totally sure what's so exciting about these videos showing it looks great; I get the hype angle but we knew it'd probably look great and, look, it does.

I'm sure it'll be no less successful regardless of what I think of how successively dreary the series has got over the past three releases, but I want to see if it's more than just better graphics, another "bigger is better" approach to the map, and penis and semen gags instead of humour, innovation, interesting missions, and a good story.

Ah I see, I think I share the same sentiment as you on these.

Personally, I do still have doubts about how immersive it would be, if it's as good as RDR2, then it would be great. The map needs to be filled with a lot of stuff to discover, GTA V didn't managed to IMO.

The story and missions though, that's where I'm really worried, the OG guys are all gone now. I'm worried they're going to be even more ridiculous now instead of the grounded, subtle approach to stuff.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

The show must go on

 

[Liquid]

At least we know it's real and we know they're not re-releasing the last one again.

But wait!

GTA V Part II: Vice City DLC

 

[m76]

The leaks gave me TBGT vibes, which is the best GTA, and the only one I liked the protagonist in. So this actually makes me slightly excited for GTA VI, while up till now I was strictly in the let's wait and see camp.

 

[05XR8]

Definitely agree about TBGT. So much to do in that game. The stories in IV & TBGT made me enjoy the characters. Mix it with San Andreas character growth and it'd be amazing.