Stunt Gallery

As promised last week, we have added videos of all the main storyline missions to our gallery (please note that due to copyright issues, the videos don't contain any music or cutscenes). In addition, we have also added videos showing how to complete each of the 50 stunt jumps in GTA IV, which together contribute 2.5% towards 100% completion. We plan to add more videos in the future, so be sure to check back on a regular basis.

And on behalf of everyone at GTANET I'd like to wish all our visitors a happy new year!

Link: Grand Theft Auto IV Video Gallery.

aru has released a new version of his SparkIV tool, which enables GTA IV IMG/RPF archives to be imported and exported. The major feature in this new release is basic texture importing with full MipMap generation support. Here is the full list of new features:

• Support for Texture File editing with Import (replace only) functionality.
• Support for viewing Texture mipmaps and viewing colour channels seperately
• Support for showing most of the filenames in Audio RPF (v3) files.
• Support for launching external registered editors based on extension.
• Fixed some bugs with IMG file saving.

And here's what some of our crazy modders have been doing with it so far...

Texture replacement in GTA IV (PC) using SparkIV's new import feature.

Related Link: GTAForums Topic (download link is in the first post)

This Christmas just keeps getting better and better! Using aru's SparkIV tool, various members at our forums have managed to unlock the fingerless gloves (a set of cool gloves omitted from the final version of the game despite featuring in most of the pre-release screenshots. There was much outrage because of this.)

Forum member Indi. has posted a nice set of instructions to show you exactly how to unlock them:

1. Using SparkIV, open up playerped.rpf (located in Grand Theft Auto IV/pc/models/cdimages/).
2. Backup the default hand textures by exporting hand_000_r.wdr and hand_diff_000_a_whi.wtd. Save them somewhere safe incase you ever want to revert.
3. Export hand_001_r.wdr and hand_diff_001_a_whi.wtd, and then change the 001 in both file names to 000.
4. Now re-import the files you have just re-named.
5. Press save!

And voila, the result...

Fingerless gloves! It's like Christmas and Birthday rolled into one.

Back in May we recorded videos of all the main storyline missions in GTA IV, which we were planning (at some point) to put on the site. However, due to various factors this became delayed, and we have only now managed to get around to doing it. The videos can be viewed here in our gallery. At the present moment roughly 75% of the missions are available, and over the next few days we plan to add the rest, along with videos of all 50 unique stunt jumps. All videos were recorded on the Xbox 360 version of the game and uploaded in HD. Enjoy.

Link: Grand Theft Auto IV Mission Videos

I know a lot of PC gamers are eagerly awaiting news on how well GTA 4 is selling on the PC. Unfortunately according to the latest NPD weekly charts not all that well in the US. It appears that GTA 4 in the US has only debuted at number 7 in the charts :-:

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Blizzard

2. Spore - EA Maxis

3. The Sims 2 Deluxe - EA Maxis

4. Call Of Duty: World At War - Treyarch

5. Fallout 3 - Bethesda

6. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack - EA Maxis

7. Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games

8. Left 4 Dead - Valve

9. Far Cry 2 - Ubisoft Montreal

10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Exp. - EA Maxis

It is important to remember that this is for the US only and does not include sales made from other channels such as steam or D2D

Source : Actiontrip.com.

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UPDATE :- Some more charts are trickling in here GTA 4 for the PC is Number 3 in the steam charts only beaten by the Almighty Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 (which is currently available for $10). So a pretty strong presence from GTA 4 on steam. Then we just need to look at the D2D charts and GTA 4 is Numero Uno, that's right it is Number One on D2D. This is inspite of it being a fairly hefty download (14gbs) and it is yet a further indication of the direction that the PC market is heading. So not all doom and gloom as the NPD would indicate. Many thanks to Adriaan at grandtheftauto.ign.com for finding these updated charts.

Source

Rockstar has launched a new section on their website dedicated to GTA IV: The Lost and Damned, the first part of two downloadable episodes available exclusively on the Xbox 360. The site contains the debut trailer (which was revealed yesterday on Spike TV) along with eight never-before-seen screenshots. Check them out:

More Grand Theft Auto IV Screenshots...

Link: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned

The official trailer for GTA IV: The Lost and Damned was today unveiled on Spike TV. This content is the first part of two exclusive episodes available on the Xbox 360 console, and is set to be released in February.

Some users are experiencing a "spinning camera" issue after installing the new GTA IV PC patch. Rockstar Games has apologised for this, and provided a temporary solution at our forums:

To fix the issue:

A1) Unplug any DirectInput controllers (gamepads, joysticks etc..)
A2) Reboot your computer
A3) Launch GTA IV

If the issue persists, the following instructions are provided as a guide to assist you in deleting the conflicting DirectInput drivers:

B1) Exit game
B2) Go to Start->Control Panel->System->Hardware Tab->Device Manager->Human Interface Devices
B3) Locate drivers for devices
B4) Delete drivers for devices
B5) Launch GTA IV

**Some users are able to reinstall the drivers for their DirectInput devices, with the device attached, and have found that it will work in game. If you do attempt to reinstall your device and the problem resurfaces, please follow steps B1-B5 again.

Related Link: Grand Theft Auto IV PC Troubleshooting Forum

The patch promised by Rockstar Games last Saturday is now available. Start your game and connect to LIVE to trigger the download. The patch is 32.6MB, takes a few minutes to install, and contains a variety of fixes including the following:

• A fix to the crash after legal screen that some German customers were reporting.
• Numerous improvements to the video editor: Smarter naming of videos, improved rendering quality, better fx during replays.
• Fix to bowling while using certain sensitive mice.
• Fix for ATI 1900 shadows.
• Overall savings to memory.
• Graphic improvements to particle systems and mirrors.
• Multiplayer character settings are preserved.
• Support for DirectInput controllers.

Rockstar have stated on our forum that they are "going to keep supporting GTA IV PC for a long time," and that we can "expect additional fixes/improvements in the future."

Related Link: GTAForums.com: Patch Released.

(UPDATE) Some users are experiencing an issue with the patch that causes the camera to spin or get stuck. Click here for details of a temporary solution.

ATI has now released the Catalyst 8.12 driver, as promised recently on our forum by Rockstar Games. The new driver provides significant performance improvements for ATI Grand Theft Auto IV PC users. Remember to uninstall any previous drivers before installing the new ones.

Download it here: Catalyst 8.12

According to the guys at Kotaku, Rockstar Games' latest work, the downloadable content GTA: Lost and Damned is to be shown during a TV airing on Spike TV during the 2008 Video Game Awards, at around 9pm ET on December 14th on the run up to its release on Xbox Live on February 17th. Little more information is known about what this will entail, but it is probable that it will (much like Trailer #2 for GTA:IV) give us a much greater understanding of what to expect in 2 months time.

Rockstar Games are now officially giving support at our forums in order to help resolve the issues with Grand Theft Auto IV PC. To keep things organised, we have created a new sub-forum called PC Version Support, where specific troubleshooting issues can be posted for Rockstar to investigate. The main thread remains open for more general/less specific issues.

Before posting an issue, please check to see whether it has already been posted, and please remember to include as much information about your issue as possible (e.g. your PC configuration, where/when the issue occurs, your operating system, and which version of the game you have). Please try to be patient also, as there are a lot of issues to get through.

Rockstar have just revealed on our forum that a patch for GTA IV PC is due to be made available in the next few days. Here is what they had to say:

Driver News

We’re pleased to announce that in co-operation with Nvidia a new driver has been released that improves performance and fixes a major issue with 7900 series cards. If you haven’t gotten the driver yet download it here: http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_gtaiv_downloads.html

ATI has also agreed to officially release Catalyst 8.12 which will release on Dec 10th from http://game.amd.com. Expect significant performance improvements when using this new driver.

Patch Is On The Way

We are working on making a patch available in the next few days. Since Grand Theft Auto IV is a Games For Windows – Live game the patch must be certified by Microsoft before release. The patch is already at Microsoft and we expect a speedy approval. The patch contains a variety of fixes including:

• A fix to the crash after legal screen that some German customers were reporting.
• Numerous improvements to the video editor: Smarter naming of videos, improved rendering quality, better fx during replays
• Fix to bowling while using certain sensitive mice
• Fix for ATI 1900 shadows
• Overall savings to memory
• Graphic improvements to particle systems and mirrors
• Multiplayer character settings are preserved
• Support for DirectInput controllers. Note: The current hack way of supporting these controllers may not work with the improved functionality. So we recommend you remove the hack before upgrading to the patch.

Issues with power management software have also been fixed (slow speed, double speed issues). Even after the patch comes out setting power management software to maximum performance is recommended. We’ve seen cases where power management software does not detect the game is running and puts the CPU in green mode.

Besides the patch we’ve also improved the way the Social Club handles data this should have greatly reduced or eliminated the Mma10 error. If you are still receiving this error after logging in and out of Social Club we would like to know as much info as you can about it.

Link: GTAForums Topic.

NVIDIA have released a new driver which they are encouraging users to install in order to give them the best experience with Grand Theft Auto IV. The new GeForce v180.84 driver can be downloaded at nZone:

• Download GeForce Driver 180.84 (Win XP)
• Download GeForce Driver 180.84 (Win XP 64-bit)
• Download GeForce Driver 180.84 (Vista)
• Download GeForce Driver 180.84 (Vista 64-bit)

Please note however that the driver is still beta, and has not yet passed Microsoft testing and approval, and should therefore be used at your own risk.

Some NVIDIA users at our forum are reporting improvements of up to 10 fps, while some users are reporting no change at all. See the related topic here.

Today Rockstar Games got in touch with us, and they would like to assure fans that they are working to help solve the issues with GTA IV PC as quickly as possible. They advise anyone that is encountering difficulties to contact their local technical support helpline for advice and recommendations. These telephone numbers can be found in the game’s manual. You can also refer to Rockstar's support site, which provides regularly updated technical information and solutions to common problems, including a complete list of error codes, and some advice on how to use the graphics settings.

If you experience the following error when trying to run Grand Theft Auto IV on the PC...

...then sign out of Rockstar Social Club to get rid of it. This means you won't have access to multiplayer or Social Club TV, but it will allow you to play single player until R* corrects the issue.

UPDATE: A complete list of error codes can be found here.

Rockstar Games today announced three special online events happening this month in honour of Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club Los Angeles:

1. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV, GAMES FOR WINDOWS LIVE EVENT - Next Saturday, December 13th.

   Jump into Games for Windows LIVE® next Saturday, December 13th from noon until 4 PM EST for your chance to mess with the best. Representatives from Rockstar North, Rockstar Toronto, and Rockstar Games NYC will be online - with automatic weaponry drawn - ready to take you on in all of Grand Theft Auto IV's multiplayer modes. Remember, the PC version supports up to 32-person multiplayer - ie. 128 limbs. Full list of Gamertags to be announced next week.

2. ROCKSTAR GAMES SOCIAL CLUB - Weekend Announcement December 12th-14th.

   For players of both Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club Los Angeles - Social Club is opening its doors. Game with Rockstars across all platforms on both titles. Log in to Social Club to be entered into hourly and daily sweepstakes. Be among the first to participate in Midnight Club Los Angeles online race Tournaments. Upload your Midnight Club Los Angeles Rate My Ride cars to be judged by Rockstar for special prizing. Upload your Grand Theft Auto IV PC Video Editor clips for the chance to be Rockstar's featured Video of the Week. Full details and schedule to be announced next week.

3. SOCIAL CLUB TV VIDEO EDITOR - Videogame Journalist All-Star Competition Event.

   Vote and rate your favorite user-created clips posted by writers and editors from IGN, GameTrailers and other gaming sites. At the end of the event period on December 12th, only one journalist's clip will be crowned king. Check out www.rockstargames.com/socialclub/tv/journalist-event for more info and look for clips to be posted there starting this week.

I'd like to point everyone in the direction of our Grand Theft Auto IV forums at GTAForums.com. There is a specific forum for the PC version, and a Troubleshooting forum which you can refer to if you happen to encounter any problems. There are also forums for gameplay, general discussion, mission help, multiplayer and cheats and tricks. With over 229,000 registered members, and several hundred of those on at one time, you can be assured that your question will be answered quickly.

Grand Theft Auto IV is now officially available in North America on the PC platform. If you haven't preordered the game, stop by a local retailer, pick up a copy of the game and come to our forums to share your first impressions. For those of you in Europe in Australia, the game will be coming out tomorrow, so you only have 24 more hours to wait.

Here are some new screenshots of the PC version to whet your appetite. They appeared online this evening at GameStar.de (12), PCGamesHardware.com (13) and 3DJuegos.com (15):

GTA IV PC Screenshots (13) at PCGamesHardware.com
GTA IV PC Screenshots (12) at GameStar.de
GTA IV PC Screenshots (15) at 3DJuegos.com
GTA IV PC Screenshots (100) at Cynamite.de

Thanks to Freezer89 for the heads up!

Update: Games site Cynamite.de posted a massive gallery of 100 hi-res screenshots as well.

This should hopefully get you in the mood for tomorrow - A member at our forums called LkS has posted a tribute video to celebrate 11 years of Grand Theft Auto on the PC. Check it out:

The first online review of the PC version has just hit the net. A site called Eurogamer has posted a review detailing the PC version in intimate detail. This is how the reviewer summed up the game :-

"But seriously: a genuinely ground-breaking blockbuster in videogame history. There were moments playing GTA IV that I thought back to my initial experiences with games, and realised exactly how far we've come. There's never been anything quite like GTA IV in the world. That there makes me genuinely happy to be a gamer."

The site gave the pc version a handsome 9 out 10. You can find the review by clicking here

Source :- Eurogamer

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