Long install over, but now it's late. Tomorrow.
2015.11.01
I hope this works. Click play, get product key, get bonus $500k in multiplayer - who cares. User account control steamservice, ok. Popup Social Club, you must sign in. Let's test this on the web site first. Old login works, but I have to update password. Sign back in on Steam. Now it wants to link - permanently - my Rockstar account, Steam account, and my already linked Windows Live (or whatever its become) account. As if I have a choice, OK. Activate code (its already filled in, even though I've since used my clipboard to hold passwords). Windows Firewall, Allow access. Soon I'll be (hopefully) playing in full screen, so I need to move the blogging over to the laptop.
Display calibration. Settings. Graphics settings are awful, hopefully that's just the default. Let's go for it, fullscreen, 1920x1200, turn on a few things, turn up a few things, then Run Benchmark Tests. My video ram usage is at 1.2 out of 2 mb. Test requires reboot, OK. Long load time, then it runs through some quick fly throughs, I seem to be getting 30 FPS, is that good enough? It looks blocky, and a little choppy, but its still beautiful. Watching the jet fly is like a slideshow.
It restarts, settings are default again. I'm going to just set it to 1920x1200, start Story Mode, and play with graphics later. I like this, it starts with exposition, but you have to take action to move it along. So far I really like the background music for the setup screens. Mouse Look is way to slow, its at 25%, moving it to 75%. Graphics are chunky, but acceptable.
Some things come back like instinct. Right-mouse button to aim, hold shift to run, but how to get in cover? Time to check the keyboard settings to see what does what. Take cover is Q. There are so many settings. Light and heavy melee attack? GTA has really evolved over time.
First and simplest, I update the video driver for my GTX 460. Its been a long time, like at least 2 years. Running the "NVIDIA GeForce Experience" software, it wants to scan for games, I let it. I'm sure this will all be logged in a database somewhere, but then I'm already in Steam. Let's see what this does.
So it plays smooth now, but looks worse than GTA 3. Hopefully I can tweak it up a bit. If I could get it looking at least as good as GTA 4 that would be fine. Or just get a new card. I finish one of the early missions, getting used to driving again. Alert from autosave, asking if it can overwrite; I think GTA4 had this problem. They're still using the same old convention of saving the game equals sleeping. Oh cool, Robot Princess Bubblegum is on TV.
I spend some time driving around, and walking. Time to get to know the neighborhood and the map. And also to get used to the game engine with these low settings, so I can see the difference when I start changing things. I visit an Ammu-Nation, its nice to be able to see the whole variety, even if its still locked. Nice, now there's armor variety too.
Parts of Los Santos (Los Angeles) are so familiar now. It makes sense for the GTA series return to San Andreas that we're back near the grove. The current main character, Franklin, seems like an older wiser CJ (if 25 years hadn't passed). In some ways it would be cool to have that continuity, but Rockstar seems to hate doing that. I've heard that in this mostly parallel San Andreas universe, CJ is not a factor.
Speaking of which character I am at the moment, I've already got to see a lot of character switching. I thought it was just going to be amongst the main characters, and kept separate, like a story with three acts. So far I've done a lot of team switching from minute to minute, even temporarily occupying the body of a dog. I know Rockstar is always breaking new ground, but I think they're overdoing this gimmick too much too early. If you don't have time to become your character, you're not going to care about them, let alone a whole bunch of them.
I watch the in-game TV. At least that doesn't tax my GPU.
2015.11.02
I set Resolution to 1920x1200, video ram usage increases to 1312/2047. Everything looks a whole lot better, but no major hit to speed yet. Let's drive around a bit and see what happens.
Population density and variety do what, change the quality of NPCs walking around? Searching for this yields the GeForce guide to GTA 5. I had no idea this existed - jackpot, but I'll read it later.
My new settings can't be too bad, as I enter a street race and win on the first try. A good sign.
Is this a bug? My car won't go forward. I'll walk. I acquire a bicycle, a nice compromise between walking and driving for sightseeing.
I wander alleys and rooftops - where are the secret hidden weapons and armor? I've notice those have been getting more scarce as the GTA series goes along.
I can see the old Los Santos from GTA San Andreas so clearly in my mind, but I can't use it to navigate here. I've been looking for CJ's old neighborhood, and still can't find it. I know there won't be anything there, but I still want to go.
I find a helipad but no helicopters, but there is a boat.
I drive around a lot up in the hills, not choppy at all, but the detail is poor.
I find a scrap of paper, get a 1/50. I don't want to collect collectibles just yet. Reload.
2015.11.03
If Franklin is an alternate history older and wiser CJ (GTA San Andreas), I'm guessing Michael is an older and wiser Tommy Vercetti (GTA Vice City), making whoever the third guy is an older and crazier Claude (GTA III)?
I appreciate how the plot gets retarded right off the bat. Right away your character does something and incurs a stupid 2.5 million dollar debt. Which means little in a game where you can and probably will kill every named character after working for them briefly before the inevitable betrayal. I like how this is foreshadowed by your first friend in the game. The game is reassuring us that none of this means anything, just enjoy the game. And much like the recent Mad Max 4 movie, its all about the chase, just enjoy the ride.
I try a few missions with Michael, the first two of which require Stamina so I don't do well. You used to be able to max out stats by doing certain missions (ambulance, fire, police, etc.) but now you have to more realistically earn them. I walk out the front door and just start running. I run from my house all the way down to the beach, get Stamina up to 60%. This will take a little while, but its do-able. Time to look online, see if there are more efficient ways. Not too worried about spoilers, but I'm still avoiding them if I see them.
I read some advice on how and what to do to max skills, it varies greatly throughout the forums, because most of it is guesses, lucky tries, mistakes, lies, exaggerations, stupidity, and the occasional good advice. I go to the wikia for more consistent information. Like how when you max out stamina, it will then be unlimited.
Sometimes things get a little glitchy when I'm driving fast in the daytime (all those shadows to calculate, I guess), but so far smooth enough. Let's try turning something up, like Texture from Normal to High. That maxes out video memory, it won't do it. OK, how about max Distance Scaling. No complaint.
So I finally get to meet Trevor. That's quite some intro. Not where I expected Johnny to end up, thought he had more sense. He deserves it though, if he followed his meth head girlfriend from the last game all the way out here from Liberty City. Its also another good means of Rockstar demonstrating their unsentimentality to past characters.
2015.11.04
When you load up the game in story mode, Trevor comes to on a railroad track, woken by an oncoming train. This guy could be the best character ever.
While out for a jog (to increase stamina) I run into Cletus, a walking talking cliche. Rockstar likes to lay it on with a trowel, then dump the whole cement truck on it.
I like Trevor's town - is it based on the Salton Sea? GTA calls it Sandy Shores. Oh, that's the town, I think in GTA universe its called the Alamo Sea.
Running halfway around the sea gets you a bar of stamina (20 points). Before long, stamina maxed. I hate running out of stamina during a chase, so its nice to get this out of the way.
2015.11.06
Its so good to see Rampage mode back in the game, and they even made it kinda work in the story.
GTA series has evolved so much over the years, you've played so many different characters, and now I'm playing three at a time. When will you be able to play a female character?
2015.11.07
I now have control over all three characters whenever I want. Getting back to boosting stats. Got all three maxed out on Stamina. Its a no-brainer to max out stamina, because sooner or later everyone gets into a foot race in this game. Should I keep going, maxing out stats? It is tempting. But I will be gaining stats during missions, and training opportunities continue to unlock.
Even more than running, everyone needs to be able to shoot. Time to visit the range. That was very effective. Franklin's shooting was very low, like in the teens percentile. Just running through all the challenges once got him up to 80%. Quick save, then back in to get to 100. Started working my way through the list, making sure every type was checked. Then I started working through the beginning to get everything to gold. Didn't have to even get past handgun to get to 100.
Switching over to Trevor, its always fun to see what sort of shenanigans he's up to this time, but this last one was annoying. You warp into Trevor's universe in the middle of the freeway, surrounded by cop cars, with two stars. It took forever to shake them.
Everybody has maxed out shooting skill. Now what? Back to the story.
2015.11.09
What happened to Trevor's Chinese missions? Did I not get back to it quickly enough, and lost it forever?
2015.11.11
Alien abduction, yoga, torture, family disfunction. This game is quite the emotional roller coaster.
2015.11.13
Are we setting Trevor up to be the bad guy? Maybe even the end boss? Because that's what you're doing GTA5. Trevor is no more or less a murderous sociopath than any other GTA character, but the cues are being dropped that he's a little something different. It breached the surface with the torture scene, but the way Michael is telling it, there is an inevitable reckoning coming. If Michael really did it the way he hints at it, Trevor is not exactly the bad guy.
2015.11.15
The final villain of GTA5 is Lamar. This guy just shows up out of nowhere to take a shit on Franklin's life. Just when you think he broke free of his lackluster home life and is going new places and making new friends, an old parasite floats in and reattaches itself. Is Lamar supposed to be a metaphor for the hood, that Franklin can never truly leave his origins? This metaphor worked when it was CJ and his brother in San Andreas, and if Franklin is the export of CJ, then Lamar must be his brother. Except Lamar is not his brother. He's more like the worthless crazy neighbor, who turns out to be a traitor. I only hope we get to take care of Lamar like we did Ryder.
2015.11.19
Random encounter, and you meet Sonny's daughter - Sonny from Vice City?
2015.11.20
Switching to Trevor is always a treat. Waking up drunk, in only your underwear, on an island, surrounded by dead bodies, no explanation how you got there - priceless.
2015.11.23
GTA has always had a problem reconciling the world that occurs while you are free roaming, and the world that you see in the many cutscenes that smooth out the story. It feels like the only time any character can actually die is in a cut scene, so as soon as the controls are ripped from your hands and you are force to watch the story instead of making it, you are taken to a higher level of anxiety than anything in the game.
The long truck ride conversation between Trevor and Lamar went a long way towards humanizing both of them, and making them less caricatures of themselves.
I'm getting more and more used to playing three characters, and its nice to be able to switch between them, and focus on what they do best. But while Franklin's driving speciality makes perfect sense, I'm not sure about the difference between Michael's blue bullet-time versus Trevor's orange bullet-time. I'm guessing Michael's is more about precise actions while Trevor's is more about chaotic action.
Why is there no speedometer? GTA tracks all kinds of statistics in the background, why not make it at least an option in the HUD? Maybe it can be added with a mod.
Of course Lamar is an ungrateful shit when rescued from certain death.
Switching to Trevor, its one of the longest switchovers yet. Lots of time spent in the clouds, slowly and ominously zooming back down to earth. And what's Trevor doing? He had his head in a sinkful of dirty water and dishes.
I wonder how many beers Trevor can drink at one sitting. About half a dozen, then he staggers off, won't drink more. On the way out, the gas can - that reminds me I need to try huffing it again, last time was pretty interesting. Time for a nice liesurely stroll to the local gun store. I find a shopping cart, but I can't push it, other than bump it along. I like how whoever Trevor goes near soon goes hostile, its like he has a Charisma of -4.
It would also be nice if you could display the time in the HUD, and otherwise customize it. I wonder what mouse1 is supposed to do while driving, it seems to make you go faster, but also a little out of control. Still haven't found a good one-sheet with all the controls on it, would make a nice reference on second screen.
I've been focusing on story missions only, not really doing properties or money making jobs, but I wonder what's going on in Grapeseed, near Trevor's territory. I bought the Arms Trafficking opportunity, but the map shows McKenzie Field Hangar as still being available? Though there is no price, so maybe I need to do something else to actually own it? I'll risk a spoiler. OK, I guess it means that this is an action required property, I have to come and do a mission every time I want money, it doesn't auto generate.
Quick search on mouse1 reveals holding while driving turns mouse into steering instead of looking. Yeah, that works, but seems like overkill in a car.
My favorite part of the big heist is the long drive home, listening to Hollywood Nights while driving through the Vinewood hills. That was planned, right?
Trevor could kill Michael any time, but he doesn't, he'd rather keep needling him about his past betrayal. What does Trevor want from Michael, some contrition, an apology? And if he gets it, then will it be OK to kill him? Things can never be the way they once were, but that was already true.
2015.11.25
As much fun as L.A. is, I would rather be walking around the Salton Sea.
As usual after a big job, its time to switch through everyone and restore armor and health where necessary. Speaking of big job, I thought that was going to be the endgame of this game, culminating in the big showdown between Michael and Trevor. I wasn't expecting it to be anticlimactically easy, and their arguing is more annoyance than even slow burn.
"No clothes, no car, no problem", and yet the Canis Bodhi is right there. I wonder what the real world equiavalent of that vehicle is.
Why does the billionaire want the junior gangster to off Trevor and/or Michael? Of course I choose c) deathwish. Frankling going to Lester for advice makes perfect sense, but calling Lamar?
And just like that, its over. I was around 70% completion, so I though there was a ways to go yet.
As the game goes through its end credits flyover through the world, I can't help but think they built this enourmous world of choices and yet story barely uses it. Like a marble rolling around in an empty shoe box, the container doesn't need to be this big.
The longest mission in the game is the end credits. And its the hardest, I can't pause for fear of prematurely ending it, and I need to go to the bathroom. Finally, fade to black, what's this, Client Notes. Is this to reflect the characters, or just my actions in the game? A quick message that I can view this in the Social Club, and then I'm Trevor in the Bodhi, pulling up to his trailer. I always love to see what, if anything, there is after the game is over.
Oh no, not that, I feel so bad for Trevor now. Couldn't he just grab a plane and fly it into his trailer, put everyone out of their misery?
The game offers no advice on how to find this particular quest item, so I'll risk a spoiler, it should be mostly safe now. Near Los Santos hospital, that almost makes sense. Back to base, nobody there - was there ever a Mrs. Philips?
Then suddenly switched to Franklin. Nothing going on. Switch to Michael, more nothing going on. Back to Trevor, naked and drunk behind someone's house - "where's my gnome gone"?
It would be nice if more missions cropped up from time to time, or if there was any reason to try and make more money. At 74.4% complete, there's probably not much left to do. I could play for a while longer, try out buying businesses, but nothing interesting may ever happen, so I'll just look it up online.
Let's get one thing out of the way right away, that the online component is of no interest to me. Its the one thing most places say to do after the game. There's some roadside mysteries to solve, I actually like the collection quests, but I'd have to use a guide, which I'm OK with if I find a good guide.
2015.11.27
I'm not quite done with GTA5, its still bouncing around in my head. Looking at the 100% completion guides, there's a lot of things I'm not interested in, like races, but there are some minor quests still to do. I haven't even touched GTA5's internal internet, and there are a few things you can do from there.
Its interesting to me that for 100% completion a lot of the activities don't even require you to win, just to place. I've been thinking video games are getting easier (more mass market?), but the GTA series used to have some notoriously difficult parts, even in the main story, that would require days of constant frustration to break through. GTA5 was so simple that I got this far with only keyboard and mouse, never even having to break out the joystick (or whatever its called now) to get past any tricky flying missions.
One of my impressions at the end of the story, that the story ended too soon and too abruptly, I find in comments and articles everywhere. I feel like this at the end of every GTA, that I want to keep living in this world, even if at a lower intensity level, like a bigger version of The Sims.
Time to check out the internet. So that's where the tank is in this game. I can buy it online and have it delivered for only three mill, which in GTA money is not too crazy, especially after the last heist. I like that there seems to be reviews for products, but you can't actually read them. I try to buy a sports bike, just to try it out, and it says I have nowhere to store this vehicle. Go down to garage (playing Michael now), there's a jeep and a bicycle. Move out the bike, try again, same message. Does not compute. OK, empty the garage, purchase again, still "You have nowhere to store this vehicle.".
Search says I need to purchase a garage. I read of one on Grove Street - if I buy it, does that mean the other two can't? Do we each get our own garage? As Michael I stop by Trevor's to see what happens. No Trevor, just a surly Ron in the yard. Go get some armor (again), come back, now Trevor is in the yard drinking and tossing grenades. This is more like it. Sadly, there seems to be no interaction possible.
Let's just try online and see what happens. This is my default character? There are an amazing amount of variables to decide, more than I've ever seen a game offer before. I make no choices, and take the default. Name? Molly. There's a tutorial. And its being run by Lamar. So far things seem to be very single player, which is fine by me. Obligatory race. First mission, delivering package, connection lost, kicked back to end of race. Do some stuff, get killed by another player, find out that Kiflom guy is the deity of this place. Makes sense so far. I need to learn how to avoid aggro players.
My characters has $500k in the bank, I think that came with the Steam purchase. For my first vehicle, I choose a motorcycle. I'm sent to my first job, minimum two players. I wait a while, nobody joins. I can now see a bunch of jobs on the map, see a lot more players, and hear some talking. I think now I'm out of tutorial and actually in the game. My character has the starter weapon, no armor, no skills. I also don't know how this world works. I'm a noob. I wonder if its worth investing any more time here.
2015.11.30
I tried online again and saw no one. Is this thing on?
The Epsilon missions are fun when its collecting cars, but this wearing one outfit for 10 days is a new flavor of tedium. I found a helpful guide that suggests doing the collectibles to help pass the time. A day goes by in GTA in 48 minutes real time, I guess I can just leave it on and do something else, at least some of the time. I wonder how much electricity it costs just to leave the computer running.
Note to myself: dressed, Wednesday, 08:27
Checking the collectibles on the wiki, there's more than I imagined, as I never even heard of some of these things in the game.
Friday, ~9 AM, get message that robes have been worn for 2 days.
Collected scrap, 2/50. I think I picked one up by accident at the beginning of the game.
What I like about collectibles is that it gets me to visit places I would have completely missed. This abandoned mine shift is nicely done, it looks like a place you could actually go inside. I really missed out by not doing collectibles first. I would have gotten a lot of map knowledge early, as well as practicing driving. There's no point grinding things like driving and running on nothing when you can use it on something you're going to do anyway.
Robes at 3 days.
Turned off Autosave again, it interrupts the flow. Some of the items are so far apart I take a taxi. Since there is no need to gain skills, I can find some other way to make the time go by. I'm following http://gta.wikia.com/wiki/Collectables. To make it more interesting, I read the blurbs about the various places. There's so much to see.
Park on a hill, do some real life stuff, come back, 7 days.
Reading blurbs - wait, what, you can blow open the door to that mine? I kicked it a few times and moved on. Something about needing the enhanced version - do I have the enhanced version? How do I check? The menu has a million variables, but not the version number of the software. There seem to be six different versions. Nothing comes out and just states which version the PC version is, or specifically the Steam version. I'll see if I can activate an enhanced specific mission.
I found the clue from the mission from the enhanced edition. No acknowledging sound, but I may have been here before on a previous mission. Another clue, again no sound effect. I read online, some people can't activate this mission. Getting ready to be annoyed. Maybe I have to visit at night? All the reference pictures are at night. Do I need to take a picture? All four clues, no activation. I'll try next time I restart.
2015.12.18
Haven't played or though of in a while. Popped in for a bit to try out some property purchases. I want more content, I want more things for my characters to do, even if its barely story driven.
2015.12.31
Trying out properties, may will do some collection quests. Thinking about starting over, this time making and following a guide so as not to miss anything. If I I'm going to play through all over again, I'd like to do it with my next video card, not the current barely playable one. Well, not barely playable, its quite playable, but I'm hardly taking advantage of the graphics I should be seeing.
