PC Gamer talks to Rockstar North about GTA V PC with some Q&A

[WelshDdraig]

Original Article: http://www.pcgamer.com/rockstar-talk-4k-pc-performance-and-more

 

Recently, I posted an article about Gamespot asking some questions to Rockstar concerning GTA V PC, You can find that article HERE,

and now PCGamer has done the same, so I thought I would share this conversation.

 

First off, both news sites have been talking to the same people over at Rockstar North,

Director of technology Phil Hooker, Director of engineering Klaas Schilstra and Technical director Adam Fowler.

 

These have been paraphrased by me to also include my opinions on the answer that Rockstar has given.

 

Question 1: Information on the team working on GTA V PC. How long have they worked for Rockstar and what have they done in the past?

Answer:

Most of the original GTA Team directed by those who specialize in PC dev. They have worked on games such as,

• Max Payne 3 - (From what I have heard, this was a great port.)
  
• LA Noire - (A great game and a fair port, minus the 30fps cap)
  
• GTA IV - (Oh god, lets hope they have improved since that port)
  

Since the "next gen" console are similar to PC hardware, the same team has also worked on the PC version of the game.

 

Question 2:  When did you decide GTA V was coming to PC and when did you start to work on it.

Answer:

We were always going to bring GTA V to PC from day 1. While we were developing the PC version, we focused on the Xbox 360/PS3. This then let us focus on the "next gen" consoles to help ramp up development on the PC version

(My thought - seems fair to me, using the next gen consoles to help with developing for the PC since they are sharing architecture.)

 

Question 3: How did the process of bringing GTA 5 to PC compare to previous Rockstar games on PC, like GTA 4, LA Noire and Max Payne 3? Was there anything different this time around?

Answer:

President of Rockstar Toronto: The process of bringing GTA 5 to PC was most similar to our last PC title, Max Payne 3....We knew that we would eventually create a PC version so early development was done in parallel with the console versions. In fact, some of the early preparations we made for PC, like 64 bit & DX11 support, paid off very handsomely when the PS4 and Xbox One architectures were announced...The artists also prepared for PC by authoring their source art at PC-ready resolutions, even though we had to use massively reduced versions for the PS3 and XB360.

(My thoughts - If I'm understanding this right, If they weren't already developing for PC, they would have had to create the new assets for the "next gen" consoles, so PC helped its console counter-part?

 

Question 4: The minimum and recommended specs for recent AAA PC-titles for many modern games are much more demanding, yet the specs for GTA 5 are quite low in comparison. Which resolution and frame rate are the recommended specs based on? Are the recommended specs for playing it in 1080p / 60 fps? Which specs do you need to play it in 4k resolution and 30/60 fps, and what is the optimal way to run the game? (That is a lot of questions in one, fair play PC gamer)

Answer:

 One of the lessons we have learned over the years through Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 on PC was that people want the freedom to configure their system to suit their preferences.

(mentioning GTA IV, I hope that's not the only lessons you have learned...)

To Run at 4K@30fps You will need an HD 7870 or GTX 760 with 2GB VRAM

(Seems fairly low, but who wants to run at 30fps/hz)

To run the game at 4K@60fps you will need a high end SLI or Crossfire set-up

(I'm not too sure on this one. With optimization through drivers, you might be able to get away with it on a single card, but not limited at 60fps, but above 30fps, my thoughts of course)

 

Question 5: Does 60fps make a difference in-game?

Answer:

paraphrased: of course.

(moving on.)

 

Question 6: Will the game be locked at 60fps?

Answer:

paraphrased: The target is 60fps, but if your monitor and computer supports it, you may run at higher frame rates.

(My thoughts - Seems adequate. But some thing I'm not sure on, in LA Noire, that game was locked to 30fps due to the motion cap, will that be the same case here in cut scenes?)

 

Question 7: PC supports 4K, how much of a difference does that make?

Answer:

When you see it for the first time, 4k is an eye opener.

 

Question 7: Can you talk about the range of PC-specific visual options in GTA 5? In the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions I was blown away by the environmental detail and water effects – how far can players push those options on high-end PCs?

Answer:

I'm not going to put this in, as the graphical options have already been leaked, you can view them in this post provided by @Victorious Secret HERE 

 

Question 8: Can you talk about the development of the Rockstar Video Editor for GTA 5? What are the differences between the version for GTA 4 and this one?

Answer:

Again, I'm not going to post this here as there is an article by @TwistedDictator outlining the new Video Editor such as Directors mode. You can view that article HERE 

 

That was a lot of typing.

My overall thoughts.

This interview, if it can be called that, was a lot more in-depth compared to the one done by Gamespot, as it covered many more questions and questions we wanted to hear, such as it the game limited to x amounts of FPS?. As I said, I have paraphrased most, if not all of the questions and answers, so there is some information missing. I highly recommend you read this article on PCGamers website.

 

Your Thoughts, please leave them down below!

Edited April 12, 2015 by Alexp10v2

[Thebman712]

i has a feeling this is a retoast, brb

 

nope, lol i just read it a few mins ago on twitter

[Speedyv]

Nice formatting

[WolfDeville]

"We were always going to bring GTA V to PC from day 1."

 

Go and get fucked.

[OfficialJsP]

"We were always going to bring GTA V to PC from day 1."

 

Go and get fucked.

 

lol calm down it was pretty obvious in the first place tbh

[FakezZ]

lol calm down it was pretty obvious in the first place tbh

And it took them 2 years to PORT a game to PC? Oh please, this is ridiculous.

[OfficialJsP]

And it took them 2 years to PORT a game to PC? Oh please, this is ridiculous.

 

right ok no one was talking about how long it took dont take it out on me lol

[FakezZ]

right ok no one was talking about how long it took dont take it out on me lol

Yeah I am not angry, but let's be honest, they did not plan to release on PC since the beginning, they just saw the backlash and the missed opportunity for even more profit and finally decided to port it... Even small development companies, let alone multibillion dollar ones, don't need that much time to port a game to another platform...

[OfficialJsP]

Yeah I am not angry, but let's be honest, they did not plan to release on PC since the beginning, they just saw the backlash and the missed opportunity for even more profit and finally decided to port it... Even small development companies, let alone multibillion dollar ones, don't need that much time to port a game to another platform...

 

no ofc they did they have released all of the big gta games on pc plus its not like its the exact same game it has a lot more features than the xbox one version 

[FakezZ]

no ofc they did they have released all of the big gta games on pc plus its not like its the exact same game it has a lot more features than the xbox one version 

So you tell me that you think a multibillion dollar company took 2 years to port a game to PC and add some features? Really?

[OfficialJsP]

So you tell me that you think a multibillion dollar company took 2 years to port a game to PC and add some features? Really?

 

i didn't mention a single think about how long it took did i.......

[FakezZ]

i didn't mention a single think about how long it took did i.......

When you said "ofc they did" what were you referring to? Because this must be a misunderstanding

[Monarch]

 

Yeah I am not angry, but let's be honest, they did not plan to release on PC since the beginning, they just saw the backlash and the missed opportunity for even more profit and finally decided to port it... Even small development companies, let alone multibillion dollar ones, don't need that much time to port a game to another platform...

 

I believe them they intended to release it for PC all along. They probably figured they can triple their profit by first releasing GTA V for previous gen consoles, then releasing an enhanced version for current gen, and then ultimately releasing the most advanced version - the PC version.

[OfficialJsP]

When you said "ofc they did" what were you referring to? Because this must be a misunderstanding

 

what i mean is that i also don't agree with how long it took but i do believe that they were working on it since day one 

[othertomperson]

It took them nearly half a year longer to port to PC than it did to port to x86-based consoles. Just saying.

[Snadzies]

Of course they meant to bring it to PC from day one, they just had no intention of releasing it in a timely manner so they can get people to buy the game multiple times.

The longer the wait the more people they can get to double dip.

[Snickerzz]

I have the video basically saying the same thing in this thread http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/345826-mini-news-to-drive-gta5-at-4k-30fps-it-only-takes-a-7870760/

[Sauron]

I don't get what's all the fluff about the fact that it "supports 4k!", as if that wasn't true for almost any game that was coded correctly... maybe they refer to UI scaling?

 

Either way it looks good enough, I may start to consider forgiving them for taking 20 months to re-release a finished game...

[Sauron]

Of course they meant to bring it to PC from day one, they just had no intention of releasing it in a timely manner so they can get people to buy the game multiple times.

The longer the wait the more people they can get to double dip.

 

 

 

You sir, you get it.

 

[othertomperson]

I don't get what's all the fluff about the fact that it "supports 4k!", as if that wasn't true for almost any game that was coded correctly... maybe they refer to UI scaling?

 

Either way it looks good enough, I may start to consider forgiving them for taking 20 months to re-release a finished game...

 

Possibly they might be talking about very high resolution textures? Shadow of Mordor-style 4K support, with a hefty vram-requirement if you're going to use? 

[Sauron]

Possibly they might be talking about very high resolution textures? Shadow of Mordor-style 4K support, with a hefty vram-requirement if you're going to use? 

 

It's possible, but they should have the highest quality texture possible even at 1080p...

[JcGross]

Why does nobody ask them if there will be a user radio station like Independence FM???

[Admire]

"We were always going to bring GTA V to PC from day 1."

 

Go and get fucked.

 

So the entitled teenagers have arrived in the thread I see......

 

 

And it took them 2 years to PORT a game to PC? Oh please, this is ridiculous.

 

Its six months since the PS4 release...And there are substantial improvements over those versions....What the hell is your problem?=

 

It took them nearly half a year longer to port to PC than it did to port to x86-based consoles. Just saying.

 

Which seems rather understandable from my point of view.

[FakezZ]

 

Its six months since the PS4 release...And there are substantial improvements over those versions....What the hell is your problem?=

The improvements were not that substantial so as to justify 2 years of porting. And who cares about the next gen release? It does not change the fact that they claim it took them 2 years to port the game, which is pure bs.

[FakezZ]

what i mean is that i also don't agree with how long it took but i do believe that they were working on it since day one 

So it means you agree they have been working on it for 2 years. Which I honestly think is absolute bullshit.