GRAND THEFT AUTO V LOWRIDERS HIT 20 OCTOBER

[Hiro]

Now that player-owned vehicles occupy a permanent place in the world--they no longer disappear into the ether when you leave them somewhere--you can insure your fleet of cars to make sure all the money you've spent on upgrading them doesn't go to waste should you happen to encounter any wayward rockets. Things are sure to get even more interesting sometime after launch when the stock market is implemented: Instead of protecting cars, you'll be able to engage in a bit of lighthearted market manipulation by investing your money in a car manufacturer and running around town destroying every one of those models you come across. Suddenly that company is going to be pumping out a whole lot of new cars. Nice time to be a stockholder, eh?

oh my 

[Hiro]

Say you're hanging out in your high-rise apartment enjoying the view down below. You spot a flurry of red and blue lights in the distance and decide to see what's going on. So you switch on your TV, tune into the news, and suddenly you're watching your friend fleeing from the police in real-time thanks to the news helicopter flying directly above him. Beyond little touches like this, you can use your apartment for more practical uses, as well--like getting your friends together to go over the details of a heist in your planning room or keeping a watchful eye on your 10-car garage using a closed-circuit security camera feed. Hell, you can even take a shower to wash off the blood after a particularly brutal mission.

wat
WAT

[Hiro]

With each mission, you'll be racking up a form of experience called RP, or reputation points. The greater your reputation, the more characters you'll meet. The more characters you meet, the more favors you can call on. If you're fleeing from another player, you can call up a buddy to hide your radar blip. If you're looking for work, you can have them send you a list of cars to steal. And if you're truly desperate, you can call up a private security company to quite literally bring in an airstrike.

What's crazy about all this is that you can call in these favors whether you're messing around in free-roam, or competing in an organized deathmatch or race or any of the other match types.

neat

[Hiro]

The developer's online persona opens his in-game smartphone (with a 3x3 grid of 'apps', although different phones have different layouts...)

also neat

[Hiro]

Your custom cars show as markers on the map and get impounded if you leave them too long. Simply pay to retrieve them.

You can pay a personal mechanic to fix your cars automatically, or deliver them to any location.

[Hiro]

Winning the race nets a modest $80, logging your times to the Social Club and boosting your RP.

well shit, money is important in this game

[Hiro]

The long-term aim, as we understand it, is a vibrant self-sustaining community like LBP, but initially the tools will be more limited - like the mission creator in Infamous 2. You'll only be able to make races and death matches at the start, but multi-stage DIY heists should appear at some stage.

that's what I was thinking 

[Hiro]

If you get killed holding all your cash, a portion will spill onto the streets.

oh thank goodness

[Hiro]

Leslie Benzies claims that Los Santos is only the beginning. The volume of creator tools, missions and items will grow, but at some stage GTA Online will head into new locations. He suggested they were sitting on a lot of content, and it doesn't take a genius to speculate what it might be.

oh my gawd 

[ME##]

Rofl I wonder how much GTA Online will end up costing if you don't get the season pass

[Hiro]

Rofl I wonder how much GTA Online will end up costing if you don't get the season pass

i wonder if they're doing online passes even, but I can't imagine it would cost that much extra

[Hiro]

You can also insure cars now, so that - if someone steals it, or blows it up - you can get that same car back for a premium. You can also leave your cars somewhere in the world, and come back to that place and they're still there...

We don't let anyone steal your personal vehicle. If we were in a personal vehicle, and I jumped out as the owner, you could take it. But if it's locked, it's locked. You could blow it up, if you're that way (inclined), but anything that's going to annoy other players, we will punish by giving you what we call a Bad Sport stat. We store how you behave in there. If you're too bad, you will be punished.

Can other players see when someone has a Bad Sport stat?

Yeah. They'll be able to check it out, and think "I'm not playing with that guy."

So going back to the vehicles - are you almost more encouraged to buy them than to steal them?

You can buy cars, just like you can (in the real world). Or you can steal them if the mod shops are prepared to dabble with them. If they are, you can spray them and change the plates. If they're not prepared to do that, when the cops spot you in a stolen car, you'll get a Wanted level.

Is that why you'd want to employ the $50-a-day man to mod your stolen cars?

He won't deal with stolen cars. All he does is repair busted-up vehicles, and deliver your car. So, if you're out in the countryside without transport, you can give him a phone and he'll come out and drop the car off for you.

[ME##]

i wonder if they're doing online passes even, but I can't imagine it would cost that much extra

well, i mean all this content that will be added on as gta online grows and expands.  it just seems like it's built around multiplayer-centric dlc like unchart3d to maximise revenue streams

[Hiro]

there probably will be a good amount of dlc to buy, but they also seem to  be emphasizing user-generated content
i'm also guessing that things like new maps and stuff with either be included with new GTA games, or will be released rarely enough that buying them would be considered like buying a new game

[YPrrrr]

Can't wait to buy some sweet LoL skins with all the RP I earn