For all the hundreds of millions Rockstar pours into their games, they feel surprisingly dead somehow
I can excuse the early GTAs but IV and V and RDR2 feel so bad in this regard because the cities are effectively dead, basically nothing is ever happening outside of missions and even those feel like they aren't actually a part of a larger world
A tiny game like Stardew Valley manages to feel more alive and immersive simply for having persistent npcs you can talk to outside of missions and a changing calendar with appropriate event celebrations that you can attend, this is also what makes Bully more immersive than any other Rockstar game
I wonder if they'll change anything in their approach for VI or just quadruple down on pouring the budget into even more detailed concrete textures and street trash doodads
 Tip Your Landlord Shirt $21.68 |
 |
Tip Your Landlord Shirt $21.68 |
RDR2 is crammed full of events and unique NPC interactions that are completely removed from missions, you're crazy
You can tell when an npc has a mission for you from a mile away. The map might as well be an empty void like Shadow of the Colossus.
They keep making games where only 10% of the map is utilized in all of the missions.
i agree with gta 5 but only 5
>A tiny game like Stardew Valley manages to feel more alive and immersive simply for having persistent NPCs you can talk to outside of missions and a changing calendar with appropriate event celebrations that you can attend, this is also what makes Bully more immersive than any other Rockstar game
That shit doesn't do anything for me, IV and V is way better in how npcs react to how you drive near them, honk, move to close to them, point guns at them etc
I love how the NPCs react. When you finally get that first good vehicle and a random NPC comments as you drive past, "nice car". Damn right it's nice, thank you for noticing.
That's all great but the world at large still feels static and lifeless like it's stuck in groundhog day, nothing ever changes without your influence in missions, unfinished buildings are never finished, there are never any holiday events, things to look forward to or anticipate or prepare for, no new movies or stand up comedian premieres, no seasons that require you to dress appropriately, not even weekday stuff like "oh it's Friday night that bar is packed maybe relevant NPC is there now" or "it's the weekend finally the horse races are on so I can go bet".
The default state of the world is the most diluted status quo they could think of, every single day, probably on purpose.
>"it's the weekend finally the horse races are on so I can go bet"
why do you want to have to wait to bet on horses?
That's just a random example, locking stuff behind appropriate circumstances makes the world feel more real than being able to do anything at any time. The core gameplay stuff should be available always but the fluff like horse races could easily be locked e.g. only to weekdays.
Bully doesn't let you do anything at any time, hell it doesn't let you stay up past 2AM, and the world feels super immersive for it. GTA doesn't need *that* amount of simulating a specific experience, but just taking the existing stuff and cleverly spreading it over the game would also work wonders, for example the best car could be locked at the start of the game and only unlocked ~50 days in, through a side event that you can attend, that the game doesn't explicitly tell you about but you can see the ads in print, on TV, on your phone etc. So even if you didn't pick up on the fact the car reveal is happening that day, if you drive by the event on reveal day you can see hubbub at the place of reveal and check what's it about.
You said it right the first time: the lack of calendar events. The only time things get exciting in GTA Online is when Rockstar does certain things during the holiday season (added snow and costumes). But 'sporadic' stuff hardly ever happens. I'd love to see the police chasing down random NP C's. And ambulances going to random areas to take them to the hospital. And random riots, and places being robbed and cop cars racing down the street to go to the area, even the FIB and helicopters, just to add to the excitement. GTA 5 online is mostly a dead city like in Infamous Second Son.
The one game that got this somewhat right was Watch Dogs 2.
Dead compared to what?
witcher 3
Starfield
Cyberpunk NPCs are more dynamic especially since the 2.0 update where cops and npcs will do their own fricking thing without your intervention.
I have around 1k hours is that beautiful game but no. You're overselling it.
have you seen the 2.0 mods? they're fricking insane now with the scripting you can do to AI. GTA and RDR mods dont come close because of their inherent engine limitations.
I've been waiting for the core mods to be updated. Guess it's time to check back. It would be nice to see more NPC interactions and behaviors. Actually somewhat excited, you better not be lying.
>A tiny game like Stardew Valley
>comparing a fricking retro pixel game with a AAA mega game that aims realism
Are you clinically moronic?
That's the point of the thread
The whole point OP is making is that the world feels fixed/static and isn't lived in. He wants some timed events to make it feel like the world persists when he isn't influencing it. Which is fair. With how much gachashit has taken off since GTAV's debut he may get that monkey paws wish. Especially since Rockstar realized how much they can milk people for GTA Online.
>have a whole military base, jet planes, tanks, etc in this game
>they only do shit if YOU cause trouble
>this base is mostly there for decoration if you do nothing wrong
rockstar games aren't about having an immersive world
they're about providing an immersive cinematic campaign experience
if you're playing the games outside the campaign, you shouldn't expect immersion
Then all the locations that aren't campaign relevant can just be untextured polygons? Because we shouldn't expect immersion
dude it's a rockstar movie game
shallow open world and on the rails campaign is what you get
this isn't an RPG
Bully proves you wrong
What alternative is there that can provide immersion
Read the thread
Already did, there's nothing there