Rockstar Games today launched the Millionaires Club - "recognizing and celebrating all of the wealthy seven–figure Grand Theft Auto IV players at the Rockstar Games Social Club." Millionaire status is determined by totaling all of the money you've ever earned in single–player–mode from completing missions, winning races, doing vigilante side–jobs, and fortuitously picking up ‘dropped’ money in the street.
If you would like to see just how rich your fellow Millionaires are, you can mouse over each for a quick glimpse of their lifetime single–player money earned. With three leaderboards ranked by who’s become a Millionaire first, who’s done it quickest, and who is the richest in the City.
And also coming soon to Social Club... the Viral Infection "zombie feature." Sounds interesting, more info coming soon we're told.
Social Club Update - Social Club Update - The Millionaires Club Launch
GTA IV For PC Very Doubtful
Okay, who here isn’t crazy for GTA IV? Seriously. 360 fans running a muck about it and their DLC with PS3 fans going crazy over finally playing one of the most anticipated titles to date. Even the PC crowd is joining in on the action and asking about when it’s likely GTA will come for the PC (e.g. 12 months+).
We hate to ruin the party for all the PC hopefuls out there, but Rockstar’s Nick Hersh, one of the associate producers, has something to say and you might want to sit down for this:
As for GTA IV coming out on the PC, that’s very doubtful as we currently have no plans to develop for the PC. We could only focus our efforts extensively on so many consoles at once, and PC might not see the light of day.
And the music stops. The DJ’s headphones pop out at the PC party crowd as the record warps a bit back. It’s dead silent. Nobody move.
Multiplayer - Competitive Modes
DEATHMATCH
2-16 Players
It's a complete free for all! Anything goes, and you can use any tactics you like to kill off the competition. Confined to specific areas of Liberty City in order to keep the action intense.
MAFIYA WORK
2-8 Players
Working under the direction of Kenny Petrovic via. your cellphone, you will compete against other players in a series of mini-missions. You might have to pick up recruits for the firm or take out a target, or even find and then dispose of a dozen severed heads.
CAR JACK CITY
Number of players unknown
Details coming soon.
DEAL BREAKER
Number of players unknown
Details coming soon.
FREE MODE
1-16 Players
Like single-player, except playing with your friends. Complete free for all. No rules, no objectives, no score. You're free to do whatever you wish.
BOHAN - "Ripe for re-development."
Neglected and disrespected, Bohan is the closest thing to hell that you can find in the city (and that's saying something). This northernmost district of Liberty has been torn apart by decades of destructive violence. If you find yourself wandering into Bohan, don't just lock your doors -- weld them shut!
Main Features - TECHNOLOGY
Grand Theft Auto 4 runs on Rockstar's proprietary next generation game engine, R.A.G.E., allowing for an unprecedented level of realism and interactivity.
New sunlight and weather effects which give the city a whole different appearance as the time of day progresses.
New volumetric lighting effects are evident in this screenshot. Volumetric lighting effects allow sunlight to stream realistically into dusty interiors. Police spotlights will likely benefit from this effect as well when helicopters kick up debris.
Normal (bump) maps will provide much more detail in models than the underlying polygons, as well as giving materials more texture and depth.
Road and building textures are more varied than in previous GTAs. On some roads you will find potholes, metal plates (etc) where the road has been dug up.
Modern pixel shaders give water, glass, cars, etc.. more realistic reflections and shininess than the earlier games.
In cars, you can see real reflections on the rear and side-view mirrors.
There are no load times in GTA4, not even during exterior-interior transitions (and vice versa.)
GTA4 uses euphoria, a fully procedural animation package created by NaturalMotion. The core technology is the Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS) system.
Characters have the ability to hang on to the back of vehicles. Variations in the terrain are met with realistic changes in the walking animation.
Unique game moments. Animations are created on the fly, so each player's experience will be unique. Gamers are no longer subjected to pre-recorded animations.
Characters will react realisticaly to being hit with gunfire, cars, and melee weapons or fists.
Players will be able to push people out of the way, rather than "floating" past them as in older games.
Falling/thrown characters will react as in real life- They won't simply be limp, lifeless ragdolls. Nor will they use a canned "super hero" animation like before.
Characters (and players?) will be able to hang on to helicopters and trucks, which will swing them around as the vehicle moves.