GTA IV Latest News
Friday, June 19th, 2009
GTA IV PC patch 1.0.4.0 released
Looks like Rockstar have released a small game update for the PC version of GTA IV. Next time you log on to Games for Windows LIVE you'll be prompted to download it. The update includes everything from the previous patches, so if you don't already have the 1.0.3.0 patch you'll only need to install this one, not all of them.
Rockstar haven't yet added this to the official site yet, so we're not sure of the exact details of what it does. However, some players are reporting performance increases with an extra 5 fps, sometimes even more. Guess it all depends on your setup. Let us know in the comments how the patch effects your game. We'll post full details of the changelog once Rockstar put it up.
UPDATE: It's simply a maintenance update:
As an aside: Both ATi and nVidia this week released updates to their graphics card drivers. These can of course also help give you better performing games, so it's recommended you upgrade these as well.
Links: ATi Catalyst 9.6 or nVidia 186.18 for the latest drivers.
Rockstar haven't yet added this to the official site yet, so we're not sure of the exact details of what it does. However, some players are reporting performance increases with an extra 5 fps, sometimes even more. Guess it all depends on your setup. Let us know in the comments how the patch effects your game. We'll post full details of the changelog once Rockstar put it up.
UPDATE: It's simply a maintenance update:
Maintenance Update:
* -Resource management adjustments based on the operating system detected.
* -Resource management adjustments based on the operating system detected.
As an aside: Both ATi and nVidia this week released updates to their graphics card drivers. These can of course also help give you better performing games, so it's recommended you upgrade these as well.
Links: ATi Catalyst 9.6 or nVidia 186.18 for the latest drivers.
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
Play TLAD with Busta Rhymes
Following on from the previous announcement about The Lost and Damned weekend, Rockstar have also announced that you also have the chance to play a session of TLAD with rapper Busta Rhymes. Tomorrow night (2nd June) from 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST, if you're online, look out for the gamer tag BustaRhymes GWF.
Source: Official GTA IV website
Log on to Xbox LIVE® on Tuesday June 2nd from 7:00 until 9:00 PM EST with your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned to take part in a special Game With Fame event featuring the one and only Busta Rhymes. The electrifying rapper will be taking on all comers who dare to challenge him at The Lost and Damned's online multiplayer gameplay modes. Just log on at the date and time listed above, and look for the gamertag BustaRhymes GWF (*note space between BustaRhymes and GwF) to find him online and throw down the gauntlet.
Busta appears in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on radio station The Beat 102.7; you can hear him phone in as a special guest caller on Funkmaster Flex's in-game radio show, and hear Flex spin his new single "Respect My Conglomerate." Busta also appears on DJ Green Lantern's in-game radio show with his original song produced exclusively for Grand Theft Auto IV, "Where's My Money."
Busta appears in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on radio station The Beat 102.7; you can hear him phone in as a special guest caller on Funkmaster Flex's in-game radio show, and hear Flex spin his new single "Respect My Conglomerate." Busta also appears on DJ Green Lantern's in-game radio show with his original song produced exclusively for Grand Theft Auto IV, "Where's My Money."
Source: Official GTA IV website
The Lost And Damned Xbox Live Weekend
Rockstar have announced an upcoming weekend of festivities for The Lost and Damned. From the 5th to the 7th June anyone who downloads a TLAD gamer picture and then either plays a GTA IV multiplayer game or downloads TLAD itself will be entered to win some great prizes, as detailed below.
Source: Official GTA IV website
All weekend, from Friday June 5th through Sunday June 7th - anyone who downloads the free "Lost and Damned Registration Gamer Picture" and then either plays a Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer session or downloads the Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned game add-on content on Xbox LIVE® will be automatically entered to win a Grand Prize entertainment system worth over $3,100 or a range of other prizes including Best Buy gift cards, Microsoft Points and free Xbox LIVE Subscriptions. See official rules here.
Full range of sweepstakes prizing as follows:
1 Grand Prize
A Samsung - 52" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Model: LN52A580 | SKU: 8794049)
B&W Panorama Sound Bar
Monster Cable - Ultra Series 1000 4' HDMI A/V Cable (Model: U3 V1000 HDMI-4 | SKU: 8473546)
3 First Runners-Up
$1000 Best Buy gift card
6 Second Runners-Up
$500 Best Buy gift card
4000 Microsoft Points
12 Third Runners-Up
12 Month Xbox LIVE Subscription
Full range of sweepstakes prizing as follows:
1 Grand Prize
A Samsung - 52" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Model: LN52A580 | SKU: 8794049)
B&W Panorama Sound Bar
Monster Cable - Ultra Series 1000 4' HDMI A/V Cable (Model: U3 V1000 HDMI-4 | SKU: 8473546)
3 First Runners-Up
$1000 Best Buy gift card
6 Second Runners-Up
$500 Best Buy gift card
4000 Microsoft Points
12 Third Runners-Up
12 Month Xbox LIVE Subscription
Source: Official GTA IV website
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Second DLC: The Ballad of Gay Tony announced
Rockstar have finally announced details of the second episode of downloadable content exclusive to the Xbox 360, The Ballad of Gay Tony, in which as many of us imagined, we will play as Luis Lopez.Additionally, a disc containing both episodes entitled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will be released and will retail for $39.99.
From the press release:
Rockstar Games is proud to announce the fall release of both the second episode of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony - exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network, and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. "Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we've created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode's focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities." Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.
Like the first one, this episode will cost $19.99 (1600 MS points). If you're planning on buying the disc version with both episodes, you'll be pleased to know that it will not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV.
We've opened a new subforum for discussion of episode two, though you can use this news post to discuss the announcement.
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Details on 2nd episode of GTAIV DLC coming soon
This is the latest Twitter post by Rockstar. A lot of rumours have been flying around about the next GTAIV DLC lately, including this not-very-believable-story at GameSpot rumour control - according to that the title of episode two will be Blood And A Four Leaf Clover, though I wouldn't believe anything you read regarding the DLC unless it's coming directly from R* or Microsoft.
Keep an eye on the website as we'll have whatever details are released very soon.
Keep an eye on the website as we'll have whatever details are released very soon.
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
GTA IV PC patch 1.0.3.0 available!
Rockstar Toronto have confirmed that patch 1.0.3.0 is now available for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV. To download, sign into Windows LIVE next time you play the game and you'll be prompted to download. Manual install links will be up shortly. Below is a summary of what the patch includes.
You may have spotted that R* has now added detection for modders in multiplayer, hopefully this should provide massive improvements for those of you affected by people cheating their way through multiplayer matches.
Link: Patch 1.0.3.0, Download mirror
GRAPHICS:
Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards
- All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
- ALT-TAB fixed
Graphics Settings
- Added menu option "OFF" for Reflection quality
- Added menu option "OFF" for Shadow quality
PERFORMANCE:
- Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
- Graphical Performance Optimizations
MULTIPLAYER:
NAT Type detection
- Detect if user has a "strict" NAT and displays message for user
Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off
CONTROLS:
Keyboard/Mouse
- Remapping restrictions removed
- Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
- Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
- Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
- If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting
Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
- Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device
Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
- Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
- Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
- Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad
SECURITY:
Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
- Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
- Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress
VIDEO EDITOR:
Scroll Bar improved response
- Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
Sped up load times for users with many clips
TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:
Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
- Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world
Scrolling signboards
- Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
- Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync
GENERAL ADDITIONS/FIXES:
Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
- Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
360 Controller Texture
- Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen
Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards
- All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
- ALT-TAB fixed
Graphics Settings
- Added menu option "OFF" for Reflection quality
- Added menu option "OFF" for Shadow quality
PERFORMANCE:
- Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
- Graphical Performance Optimizations
MULTIPLAYER:
NAT Type detection
- Detect if user has a "strict" NAT and displays message for user
Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off
CONTROLS:
Keyboard/Mouse
- Remapping restrictions removed
- Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
- Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
- Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
- If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting
Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
- Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device
Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
- Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
- Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
- Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad
SECURITY:
Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
- Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
- Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress
VIDEO EDITOR:
Scroll Bar improved response
- Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
Sped up load times for users with many clips
TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:
Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
- Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world
Scrolling signboards
- Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
- Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync
GENERAL ADDITIONS/FIXES:
Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
- Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
360 Controller Texture
- Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen
You may have spotted that R* has now added detection for modders in multiplayer, hopefully this should provide massive improvements for those of you affected by people cheating their way through multiplayer matches.
Link: Patch 1.0.3.0, Download mirror
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
The Lost and Damned 100% checklist
Today I have uploaded a 100% checklist for The Lost and Damned. An HTML version is viewable on the website for those of you just wanting a quick look to see what you've got left to do, a printable .pdf is also available for those of you who want to print it out and tick off everything you've done so far. We believe the checklist is entirely accurate and will guarantee you 100% completion, additionally, there are no actions that can prevent you from getting 100 percent, even cheating won't mess up your stats. However, if you do think there are any mistakes anywhere, please point them out to us so we can fix them. Hope you find it useful!
Links: The Lost and Damned 100% Checklist and printable .pdf version
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Last few days of TLAD Live week
Rockstar just emailed us to give us all a heads up about the final three days of Xbox 360's Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Xbox LIVE Week.
Hey guys,
Just wanted to give you a heads up to remind you that this weekend is the final three days of Xbox 360's Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Xbox LIVE Week. This weekend's events include the opportunity to play with some of the crew from Rockstar North tonight from 5-9 PM EST, and the chance to play with soundtrack artist and Beat 102.7 DJ Statik Selektah and guests on Sunday from 4-7 PM EST.
I hope you are all enjoying the game so far and we look forward to seeing you online this weekend.
Cheers,
Webmaster@R*
Game with Rockstar Gamertags
RstarGames01, RstarGames02, RstarGames03, RstarGames04, RstarGames05, RstarGames06, RstarGames07, RstarGames08, RstarGames09, RstarGames10, RstarGames11, RstarGames12, RstarGames13, RstarGames14, RstarGames15, RstarGames16, RstarGames17, RstarGames18, RstarGames19, RstarGames20
Game with Fame Gamertags
RstarStatik, RstarSaigon, RstarSkyzoo, RstrTermanology
Visit http://www.xbox.com/lostanddamnedliveweek/ for more details.
Just wanted to give you a heads up to remind you that this weekend is the final three days of Xbox 360's Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned Xbox LIVE Week. This weekend's events include the opportunity to play with some of the crew from Rockstar North tonight from 5-9 PM EST, and the chance to play with soundtrack artist and Beat 102.7 DJ Statik Selektah and guests on Sunday from 4-7 PM EST.
I hope you are all enjoying the game so far and we look forward to seeing you online this weekend.
Cheers,
Webmaster@R*
Game with Rockstar Gamertags
RstarGames01, RstarGames02, RstarGames03, RstarGames04, RstarGames05, RstarGames06, RstarGames07, RstarGames08, RstarGames09, RstarGames10, RstarGames11, RstarGames12, RstarGames13, RstarGames14, RstarGames15, RstarGames16, RstarGames17, RstarGames18, RstarGames19, RstarGames20
Game with Fame Gamertags
RstarStatik, RstarSaigon, RstarSkyzoo, RstrTermanology
Visit http://www.xbox.com/lostanddamnedliveweek/ for more details.
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
The Lost and Damned now in the Marketplace
Just a quick heads up to everyone to say that you should now be able to find The Lost and Damned in the Xbox 360 Marketplace. The download is 1600 MS Points and is actually a whopping 1.78GB, unlike some reviews told us.
Find it in the new arrivals section of the game marketplace, or if it's not there just browse through All Games -> G -> GTA IV and find it there.
Alternatively, the download queue link should be up on xbox.com fairly soon, clicking that will add it to your 360's download queue and automatically start downloading next time you turn it on.
Find it in the new arrivals section of the game marketplace, or if it's not there just browse through All Games -> G -> GTA IV and find it there.
Alternatively, the download queue link should be up on xbox.com fairly soon, clicking that will add it to your 360's download queue and automatically start downloading next time you turn it on.
Monday, February 16th, 2009
New fansite exclusive TLAD screenshot
Rockstar have just sent the fansites an exclusive Lost and Damned screenshot of Johnny and the gang. Take a look in full by clicking on the thumbnail below, you may notice a familiar face in the background.
