Support NeoGAF

[neptunes]

You can read the full story here http://psp.ign.com/articles/658/658572p1.html

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a massive game to cram onto the system. How did you get all the audio, textures and scripting onto the 1.8GB UMD?

GH: Lots of hard work and attention to detail. Every asset in the game had to be trimmed to the bare essentials. The team at Rockstar North has been involved every step of the way and they had some very clever compression techniques they'd used in Vice city and San Andreas that the team here heavily optimized for PSP in order to get all the various assets onto the disc. Without the code there would have been no way for us to get 10 full radio stations in the game with everything else.

Data streaming has long been a technique used in the Grand Theft Auto series. Were there any changes made to decrease reliance on streaming in Liberty City Stories?

GH: There were some fundamental changes to the way streaming is accomplished to minimise the reliance on the disk. With the help of Rockstar North, we painstakingly organized data on the disk such that the game can pull off information in chunks. The actual streams are pulled in bursts, allowing us to only spin up the disc occasionally.

 

[Wario64]

With the final, fully optimized streaming code, playing singleplayer in the way we know stresses the system the most, we are getting over 4 hours on a freshly charged new PSP.

 

[vatstep]

This game comes out in a week. Has there been any word on the content of the radio stations? Licensed songs, or GTA3-style?

 

[Red Blaster]

This game comes out in a week. Has there been any word on the content of the radio stations? Licensed songs, or GTA3-style?

GTA3's songs were licensed as well, just by ultra obscure artists. A group called The Scientists did the music for K-Jah, Royce Da 59 did I think two tracks on Game FM. Also a gansta rap group known as Da Shootaz did the "GTA Theme" that was on Lips.

 

[Laguna X]

Great interview. Damn, with all the good games coming out lately, I'm not gonna get anything productive done the next few months.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Holy shit I completely forgot about how soon this game is coming out! It sounds great, I'll have to force friend to purchase it.

 

[kenta]

GH: Six players seems to be the sweet spot for us. It's enough players that you can get some seriously good competition going on and split into teams that are more than just two players each. On the other hand it's also a good number for us to implement multiplayer without having to sacrifice the things that make Grand Theft Auto great: an open, living world in a city that is populated by pedestrians, traffic and other ambient life. Any more than 6 and we would have had to pull those aspects of the game, a compromise we weren't willing to make.

Wow.

 

[Jonnyram]

OMG NURBS!

 

[Red Blaster]

Shite, I thought it was gonna be a la Multi Theft Auto on the PC where the city was empty save for a few cars and the players. The fact you can wreck havok in a full city with 5 other people is SEX.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

Shite, I thought it was gonna be a la Multi Theft Auto on the PC where the city was empty save for a few cars and the players. The fact you can wreck havok in a full city with 5 other people is SEX.

Holy crap, I thought that too. Full GTA city craziness with 6 people is nuts!!!

 

[Amir0x]

Four hours of battery life for GTA:LCS would make me extremely happy. That's much more than I was willing to settle for or anticipated. Definitely happy about that. I hope that 20% more battery comes, 'cause a solid 5 hours is gold.

 

[Juice]

What I'll be more impressed with is the hackers who get the 1.8GB image down to <1GB so it can be played off a gig stick.

 

[FallenOne666]

What I'll be more impressed with is the hackers who get the 1.8GB image down to <1GB so it can be played off a gig stick.

At this point, they have two options: 1. rip all the music tracks, which should easily make it fit on a 1gig; 2. buy a 2gb stick and play the full game.

 

[Juice]

At this point, they have two options: 1. rip all the music tracks, which should easily make it fit on a 1gig; 2. buy a 2gb stick and play the full game.

I'm starting to think that even the 10 stations won't take up 800MB+.

 

[bud]

With the final, fully optimized streaming code, playing singleplayer in the way we know stresses the system the most, we are getting over 4 hours on a freshly charged new PSP.

OMGWTFBBQ

 

[Wollan]

PSP will be taking of. Oh yes indeed.

I expect it to start slowly and then faster and faster.

 

[DarienA]

IMO the best part about the fact that there is multi-player in the PSP version of GTA, is that it would be a CRIME and unholy HELL would be raised by the fans if the next CONSOLE version of GTA doesn't have online multi-player...

 

[Blackace]

Might have to break down and buy a PSP...

 

[Oni Jazar]

I just hope it doesn't have some crazy firmware check. Pls lemme keep my 1.5

 

[Razoric]

IMO the best part about the fact that there is multi-player in the PSP version of GTA, is that it would be a CRIME and unholy HELL would be raised by the fans if the next CONSOLE version of GTA doesn't have online multi-player...

Yup. I'm thinking GTA:LCS multi is a little test bed for GTA4's online mode.

 

[DarienA]

I just hope it doesn't have some crazy firmware check. Pls lemme keep my 1.5

IMO there is ZERO chance that GTA is not going to require at least the 2.00 firmware update.

 

[Mihail]

Quick question: is it known if there is any voice work in this game or if it will be all subtitles?

 

[Lord Error]

IMO there is ZERO chance that GTA is not going to require at least the 2.00 firmware update.

SSX4 also requires 2.0 on PSP, but it's really easy to circumvent. The game works fine on 1.5 machines. I think what he's asking is will GTA go a step further and actually do a firmware check by reading files from firmware, and not just checking the version number?

Quick question: is it known if there is any voice work in this game or if it will be all subtitles?

There's a very good voice work, you can hear it in the trailers.

 

[Juice]

SSX4 also requires 2.0 on PSP, but it's really easy to circumvent. The game works fine on 1.5 machines. I think what he's asking is will GTA go a step further and actually do a firmware check by reading files from firmware, and not just checking the version number?

That's exactly what he (and many others) are worried about. It seriously keeps me up at night. If I was them, I'd totally do it, but at this point you almost have to wonder if the 1.5 PSPers are gaining enough momentum thanks to the downgrade that really strictly enforcing 2.00/2.01/2.50 would actually aversely affect sales and just taunt hackers to maliciously decompile the code and rerelease it.

I would imagine Sony pushing Rockstar to include game code that reads firmware files.

I would imagine Rockstar saying, "the UMD is already packed, the code is already optimized, and at this point we've already been debugging, so we can't add anything new." Aside from the possibly affected sales of NOT supporting lower firmware models (it'll be at least minus one, as I won't buy it if it won't play on 1.5)

Regardless, that conversation had to have taken place a few weeks ago or more, as the game must have hit the presses by now if it's going to make its street date.

 

[Jacobi]

I wonder how the frameerate will be

 

[bishoptl]

Quick question: is it known if there is any voice work in this game or if it will be all subtitles?

Voice work is included. This is a fully-fledged GTA. Check out the movies on the website to see for yourself.

 

[robertsan21]

I am gettings this game on thursday

man i cant wait to kick some random guy on the street to death and steal his money!!

 

[mckmas8808]

Full GTA indeed. I will buy it on day one.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

That's exactly what he (and many others) are worried about. It seriously keeps me up at night. If I was them, I'd totally do it, but at this point you almost have to wonder if the 1.5 PSPers are gaining enough momentum thanks to the downgrade that really strictly enforcing 2.00/2.01/2.50 would actually aversely affect sales and just taunt hackers to maliciously decompile the code and rerelease it.

You're kidding right? 99% of the people who own PSP's never do any kind of homebrew stuff on them. Most don't even know that it can be done. Hanging out on GAF tends to skew our vision sometimes.

 

[DarienA]

but at this point you almost have to wonder if the 1.5 PSPers are gaining enough momentum thanks to the downgrade that really strictly enforcing 2.00/2.01/2.50 would actually aversely affect sales and just taunt hackers to maliciously decompile the code and rerelease it.

BWAHHAHAHHAHA

Uh no.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

You're kidding right? 99% of the people who own PSP's never do any kind of homebrew stuff on them.