Grand Theft Auto V

chaosmos wrote:

So does anybody have any idea how the "friend" system is going to work in GTA Online when it launches?

Will it operate from your list of console friends, or will you have to make friends via the Rockstar Social Club to hook up with people in-game?

Also the "Crew" that has been started: is that just for PS folks, or is it for both consoles?

Both consoles. Send me a PM with your Social Club name and I will invite you.

TheHipGamer wrote:

I'm playing on the downloaded PSN version, on the PS3 -- no framerate issues at all, here. Weird. I also have the auto-aim completely disabled, and am playing with the Complex crosshairs, which makes a huge difference.

Have you been under water yet? That's where it is by far the worst, to the point of unplayable. That said, I played on the disc version. Hard to borrow the digital

TheHipGamer wrote:
chaosmos wrote:

So does anybody have any idea how the "friend" system is going to work in GTA Online when it launches?

Will it operate from your list of console friends, or will you have to make friends via the Rockstar Social Club to hook up with people in-game?

Also the "Crew" that has been started: is that just for PS folks, or is it for both consoles?

Both consoles. Send me a PM with your Social Club name and I will invite you.

Should xboxers pm too?

chaosmos wrote:

So does anybody have any idea how the "friend" system is going to work in GTA Online when it launches?

Will it operate from your list of console friends, or will you have to make friends via the Rockstar Social Club to hook up with people in-game?

Also the "Crew" that has been started: is that just for PS folks, or is it for both consoles?

My understanding is that when you go into multiplayer, you will be matched up with people based on your friends list, your crew list, and similar levels - I suspect in that priority (friends first, crew second, level third). Crews can be cross-platform, absolutely. Beyond that, it's all conjecture. Its also worth noting that you can join multiple crews, but you can only be active in one at any given time. In Max Payne 3 it was pretty easy to change crews, but you couldn't do it while in an multiplayer session.

What do the complex crosshairs do, actually, besides make the reticule bigger? Also, for me the "quick switching target with the right stick" eludes me. Does my shooting skill have to be higher or something?

Was forced to purchase a new PS3 thanks to sudden hardware failure, so I swallowed my PC-Snob pride and got the GTAV bundle. It took a little while to get back into the swing of things with a controller instead of a mouse for aiming, and I'm still not sure I've found the sweet-spot for the settings, but I've basically killed my entire weekend playing this thing and having a good time.

Papageno wrote:

What do the complex crosshairs do, actually, besides make the reticule bigger? Also, for me the "quick switching target with the right stick" eludes me. Does my shooting skill have to be higher or something?

It places a ring around the dot, which helps with visibility. I think the ring is also an indicator of how accurate you are - I thought it grew in diameter when I was laying down automatic fire.

Yes, quick switching is tied to your shooting skill. Go complete the firing range training. It'll raise your skill, and if you complete the courses on each weapon you'll also get a discount at all gun stores. The higher your scores on the challenges, the higher the discount.

Papageno wrote:

Also, for me the "quick switching target with the right stick" eludes me.

What this thing? Is there a particular aiming setting it needs to be on to get this as an option? (And how does one do it?)

Tach wrote:
Papageno wrote:

Also, for me the "quick switching target with the right stick" eludes me.

What this thing? Is there a particular aiming setting it needs to be on to get this as an option? (And how does one do it?)

I never changed the targeting options, since they worked fine for me. I couldn't imagine playing the game without knowing about quick switching. Flick the right stick to switch between targets quickly, though keep in mind this only works when holding LT.

mateofalcone wrote:
Tach wrote:
Papageno wrote:

Also, for me the "quick switching target with the right stick" eludes me.

What this thing? Is there a particular aiming setting it needs to be on to get this as an option? (And how does one do it?)

I never changed the targeting options, since they worked fine for me. I couldn't imagine playing the game without knowing about quick switching. Flick the right stick to switch between targets quickly, though keep in mind this only works when holding LT.

Great googley moogley, this might be what I'm missing!

My technique on using/abusing Rockstar's quick-lock system is to release and immediately pull the LT to switch to a new target after each enemy dies. If the RS method is even faster than that ...

* Meaning, if I'm facing a group of enemies with an automatic weapon, I'm basically holding RT down the whole time and releasing the LT between enemy deaths.

Having recently finished GTA4 I've realized I'm completely ignoring the contacts that are added to my cellphone(s). Probably to the detriment of gameplay/money making opportunities. I don't know what I would do if Ron called up randomly to complain that we never hang out anymore. Something horrible I would imagine.

IUMogg wrote:
Rykin wrote:

The thing that is bugging me the most is that often times when I want to go save and quit there is an unavoidable mission waiting at the save spots.

There is a quick save on your phone. You don't have to go back to a safe house.

So I take it they last between reboots? I have seen it both ways so didn't want to risk it.

Met Trevor today. Oh, this guy's gonna be fun.

Though the one thing that bothered me about his intro bit...

Spoiler:

...was after that first mission, when you are back in his "house", he takes a leak. And doesn't wash his hands.

That's the least of his problems.

Speaking of which, I switched to Trevor while playing the other day and it zoomed into him riding a scooter on the freeway, chasing another guy on a scooter while yelling "hey scooter brother! Where we going today scooter brother?!" I nearly rolled out of my seat.

Rykin wrote:
IUMogg wrote:
Rykin wrote:

The thing that is bugging me the most is that often times when I want to go save and quit there is an unavoidable mission waiting at the save spots.

There is a quick save on your phone. You don't have to go back to a safe house.

So I take it they last between reboots? I have seen it both ways so didn't want to risk it.

I've never saved at a safe house.

Some of you guys must be burning through the story missions. I've over 20 hours in and would guess I'm about halfway through. I probably only average 1 or 2 quests per hour of play. I like do a lot of the side stuff. When I got my first big payment, I have Trevor buy the airfield and the ground and air gun running missions are great.

Check out this review, there are a few minor early game spoilers. It's some of the best writing about this game I've read:

http://killscreendaily.com/articles/...

I find that a lot of my side missions end with, "And then he annoyed me so I beat him to death."

Snagged my first tank! "Okay. Okay... don't go nuts. First let's save this badboy."
....
....
"Where the hell can I save this badboy?!"
Drove it from the middle of nowheristan to the specially marked garage each player has. No joy. Some frantic googling later it looked like maybe tanks could be stored in Hangars. Great! So I carefully drove the tank back out to nowheristan. Nudged the plane blocking my hangar door out of the way and parked the tank near the back. Then I jumped into the plane just to see if it would.... 'disappear?!' The tank disappeared. No indication that it was saved. Just gone.
I bit my tongue and consoled myself by playing recklessly with a grenade launcher. A couple dozen K of hospital bills later and I think I'm over it. Easy come, easy go nuts and use the damn thing before it goes.

Nicholaas wrote:

Met Trevor today. Oh, this guy's gonna be fun.

Though the one thing that bothered me about his intro bit...

Spoiler:

...was after that first mission, when you are back in his "house", he takes a leak. And doesn't wash his hands.

[spoiler]What bothered me about first meeting Trevor was that he killed Johnny K. Well actually R* made ME make Trevor kill Johnny. Then R* had to go and break my heart by turning ALL of the surviving TLMC characters into total losers. That was seriously depressing. But in the long run it made it easier to take them all out, though.

Still. When I saw Johnny K show up I got really happy... For a minute anyway.

Oy, the helicopters in this game! Even worse than I remember from my days of broadsiding the skyscrapers of Liberty City.

Anybody have any tips on avoiding the spinning, wobbling aerial disaster?

chaosmos wrote:

Oy, the helicopters in this game! Even worse than I remember from my days of broadsiding the skyscrapers of Liberty City.

Anybody have any tips on avoiding the spinning, wobbling aerial disaster?

The higher your flying stat, the easier to fly. It usually doesn't bother me, until I have to make a precision landing.

chaosmos wrote:

Oy, the helicopters in this game! Even worse than I remember from my days of broadsiding the skyscrapers of Liberty City.

Anybody have any tips on avoiding the spinning, wobbling aerial disaster?

With planes and helicopters, turning with the bumpers is key. You can turn and still stay level

I actually really like Trevor. He is a sociopath but in such a fun way. I've taken to almost role-playing him. I try to drive good and not hit stuff as Michael and Franklin but with Trevor I drive like a maniac all the time and beat the crap out of anyone who says anything to me while walking down the street. Also I love how I got into a car that had one of the pop stations selected and he started talking about how terrible the music was.

Has anyone located any non-story auto theft missions? I miss those.
My favorite moment so far happened while my wife was watching me drive recklessly through the mountains evading some cops. Right as I broke line of sight I managed to hit a stone outcropping that flung me out over a cliff and started careening downhill bouncing off rocks, flipping and twisting. My wife gasps and starts chanting 'oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t.' I started laughing a bit because normally she doesn't get worked up about in-game events, (but surround sound plus big screen made the falling off a mountain scene pretty epic) but as soon as she stopped Michael started chanting 'oh sh*t oh sh*t oh sh*t' right as the car hits another dropoff. It was magic and it took us a while to stop laughing.
The car 'survived.' And I took a few pics at the bottom of the mountain.

Rezzy wrote:

Has anyone located any non-story auto theft missions? I miss those.

Michael eventually has a few of those if you follow the

Spoiler:

epsilon cult side quest line (go visit their webpage and take the quiz to start it)

Has anyone at all here personally done the "Trevor falls from a great height but survives thanks to his special power" trick? I can't activate the power in mid-fall at all, but I've seen videos of it done.

Loving the game so far, it improves on GTA IV in every way possible. I laughed my ass off at the Fame or Shame episode with that dude singing 'This Is Not A Power Ballad' the lyrics were hilariously cliche & the axel rose swagger was just the icing on the cake. The first heist mission was epic & in general the world is just so damn interesting & a joy to cruise around in. All the characters are interesting with Trevor being unpredictable & funny to take the edge of his cruelty, Franklin the reliable, down to earth, do you a favour dude who's driving mechanic is genius & Mr Mid Life Crisis Michael with his crazy family (J Dog has some gaming skills) & glorious mansion.

Right up there with The Last Of Us & Bioshock Infinite as one of the best games in the last decade.

juv3nal wrote:
Rezzy wrote:

Has anyone located any non-story auto theft missions? I miss those.

Michael eventually has a few of those if you follow the

Spoiler:

epsilon cult side quest line (go visit their webpage and take the quiz to start it)

Interesting. Are there other quests that can be missed or hidden? (I'm not counting random events) I've found some quest that don't open up until I buy certain properties.

IUMogg wrote:

Interesting. Are there other quests that can be missed or hidden? (I'm not counting random events) I've found some quest that don't open up until I buy certain properties.

There are also missions that only open if you call certain contacts. The contact will usually text you and ask to call them back when the mission is available though, so it's not especially "hidden" unless you ignore your phone.

The best Trevor transition I've gotten has been:

Spoiler:

he's tossing a guy off the overpass, shouting something to the effect of "I don't have time to highlight all the fallacies in your racist ideology!"