The fans asked and once again Rockstar Games is answering. This edition of
Asked & Answered is about
L.A. Noire,
Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and even some insight into the
next Grand Theft Auto game...
"As we gear up for a fall and winter season that will bring you L.A. Noire for PC, Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and Max Payne for mobile devices – and of course a spring 2012 that will herald Max Payne’s long-awaited return in Max Payne 3 – we’ve seen no shortage of burning fan questions from inquiring minds.
We’re pumped that you guys are as excited about what’s next as we are – so read on for some related official answers to questions about our games on the horizon. As always, if you’ve got another question to ask, drop it in comments below (here or in related news story posts), shoot us a tweet, or email us at [email protected] and we will answer as best we can. Again – we cannot / will not answer everything, for all kinds of reasons, but we really appreciate people taking the time to write and apologize if our answers aren’t what you are looking for! "
“WoW!! [Max Payne 3] looks incredible!! @R* Games -- Is this using the R.A.G.E. engine?” -
FugetSudo_Jr
“Will Max Payne 3 utilize the Euphoria physics engine? #MaxPayne3” -
received via Twitter
Yes – to clarify, Max Payne 3 is powered by our new updated version of RAGE which includes our updated physics engine and graphics engine – while Euphoria is its behavior system. We’ve worked together with Natural Motion to build on behaviors used in GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption and then have further expanded on them specifically for Max Payne 3 with new behaviors like Shootdodge. This specially customized version of Euphoria’s behavior system works in close conjunction with our RAGE engine and is a huge part of Max Payne 3’s gameplay technology. The results are really amazing and build on Max Payne’s tradition of spectacular, balletic gun play.
“Sweet [Max Payne 3] trailer R*, any plans to do a gameplay series of videos like L.A. Noire and Red Dead Redemption?” -
Brucieno1
“When is trailer 2 coming?” -
Thisis50
Thank you! Expect another all-new Max Payne 3 video this month. We’ve got so much more that we’re excited to show you from that game, including a first glimpse at multiplayer, but we are not sure exactly what form the videos will take yet…
“The [Max Payne 3] artwork is amazing, who makes these for you guys…? Looks insane, can't wait.” -
barfon
“Nice Rockstar, will there be more artwork images for Max Payne 3?” -
Liberty_King
Praise is due to our awesome team of in-house Rockstar illustrators who collaborate to create the original imagery you see in our games’ official concept art and covers. We think the guys once again did a bang-up job with the Max Payne 3 art to capture the spirit of a tortured Max at his breaking point, facing vicious gangs, and his own demons, in a torrid São Paulo. We’ll have plenty more original Max Payne 3 art releases here at the Newswire throughout the lead-up to the game’s release next spring.
“I have no doubts in R*’s ability to deliver engaging gameplay and nail the core mechanics of the series.
But the setting showed in the trailer doesn't "feel" like "Max Payne". The dark and menacing version of New York City (Noir York City) was as important a character as Payne himself in [the original] games. It was the signature atmosphere of those games that made them so unique, along with introduction of Bullet Time. Replacing nighttime NYC with sunny São Paulo, Brazil gives the game a completely different "feel" from the unique experience of the first two games.
I hope not the whole game takes place in Sãu Paolo and looking forward to seeing more coverage of the game. Regards to Max Payne/R* fans from Russia.” -
10038482
“Will you take a lot of inspiration from Max Payne 1 & 2 when creating the 3rd one? I mean with the monologues + Bullet Time?” -
received via Twitter
Trust that the streets of São Paulo will be plenty dark and dangerous – we’re being very faithful to the heritage of Max Payne, who is still the same gritty hard-boiled NYC cop now off the force, at his lowest point and plunged into peril in a foreign land. And yes, Max’s signature monologues and Bullet Time® abilities will be back in full effect.
To us, and especially after such a long absence since Max Payne 2, to simply continue Max’s story in New York City was nowhere near as interesting a challenge as taking that same character and pushing him to his absolute breaking point in a very dangerous and exotic locale many, many miles from home. There was simply nowhere for Max to go in New York after Max Payne 2.
Also – we are a little confused by the idea that noir is a New York genre. If anything, it was originally a Los Angeles genre, but to us, ‘noir’ means a range of narrative themes and a certain visual style and we believe Max Payne 3 certainly embodies noir. We hope you will too when you see more and play it.
“Will I understand the story if I didn't play the other Max Paynes?” -
received via Twitter
Absolutely. We would say it’s not entirely necessary to have played the first two games – obviously you would know more about Max as a character if you had done, but it is no way obligatory.
That said, we’d definitely recommend playing those original titles if you never have before, not only to familiarize yourself with the character and legacy of Max Payne, but because we (and others) think they’re excellent videogame experiences in their own right. You can still find Xbox and PS2 copies of those original titles at the
Rockstar Warehouse – and also as full game downloads on
Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PC download via
Steam and
Direct2Drive.
“I have another question R*... Will Max Payne 3 be a sandbox genre like GTA or more like L.A. Noire?” -
VaroSpain
“Max Payne 3 will be open world game or not?” -
dethsot
No, your best reference point for the gameplay structure of Max Payne 3 is really the original Max Payne titles. As you know, Max Payne has never been an open-world game, it’s a more linear story-driven action shooter experience. Expect Max Payne 3 to continue this tradition but of course with lots of new bells and whistles and a massive array of technical advancements that bring a bunch of innovations to third person shooters - plus the advent of Max Payne multiplayer! Stay tuned for lots more info...
“Just saw the Max Payne 3 trailer, looking good. But why did he shave his thick luxurious hair?!?!?” - recei
ved via Twitter
Ha, Max isn’t much of a narcissist but we think he’d be flattered that people are so fond of his locks.
By the time Max Payne 3 takes place, Max has really found himself fallen on hard times and in a very tough spot in a distant, unforgiving place. He’s tried to escape the demons he left behind in New York by taking up an opportunity to start over with a security gig far away in São Paulo, Brazil – but as you’ll see when you play the game for yourself next spring, between an unforeseen turn of events with some quite nasty associates, and Max’s proclivity for the bottle - things don’t quite go as smoothly as hoped, taking Max to a torturous breaking point...
“I have a question R*… will Max Payne 3 have the same soundtrack it had in 1 and 2 or will it have a new soundtrack? I loved that main menu song. At least if you guys make a new sound track it would be sweet if you keep the main menu song.” -
makdady12
As hopefully you’ve heard for yourself by now right in the first few moments of the first Max Payne 3 trailer, yes that classic Max Payne theme is back. You can definitely expect to hear it in the game itself. Beyond that, we don’t have too much else to say at the moment regarding the game’s soundtrack and/or score as that’s something we’ll cover a bit closer to release.
“Only a note, considering the 2 trailers [including the First Trailer: Pop-Up Edition] available, I'm afraid that you have confused São Paulo with Rio de Janeiro. We have ‘favelas’ here, but not so much like Rio and you didn't show our city, buildings, skyscrapers, avenues, etc. The game will explore only the ‘favela’ side?” -
AndPersil
Thanks for the question – we’re excited to be making our first game world foray into South America for sure. As Rockstar fans know, when we have games set in real world locations, we take great pains to ensure authenticity. You may have noticed that we jumped to correct some slight informational errors about São Paulo in our Pop-Up Trailer post recently. While the world of Max Payne 3 won’t be a literal recreation of São Paulo, we’re still making sure it’s got all the right inspirational touch points. And not to worry, throughout the story of Max Payne 3, you’ll see not only the favelas but certainly the more glamorous and prestigious areas of the city as well. The contrast between rich and poor was very important to us. As was the rain…
“Are you guys getting rid of the graphic novel scenes In Max Payne 3?” -
JayPhx9
The graphic novel cut-scenes will indeed make a return in Max Payne 3 with a new, unique spin to turn things up a bit. We go into a bit more detail about that in this week’s exclusive interview with IGN which you can read here.
“Stunning trailer @R* but plz can u clarify one thing : A ROCKSTAR STUDIOS PRODUCTION - so can u plz say which studios are involved with the development???” -
emmi18176860
Thank you! To be honest, pretty much all Rockstar Studios are involved in this game’s development to some extent. While the bulk of work is being handled by Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar Toronto and Rockstar London, there are also key artists, programmers and other development resources from other studios including Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar North, Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar New England, with Rockstar New York working on motion capture and audio assets, as usual. All are contributing to ensure the return of Max Payne will be the epic and blockbuster experience that fans have been waiting for. In actuality, none of our recent games (including L.A. Noire) have been made exclusively by one studio. We are very proud of the way the entire Rockstar team contributes to the games.
“When is info for [L.A. Noire] PC version coming?” -
RockstarGamesPC
“Wow, great news R*. Thanks a lot, as a PC only gamer I really appreciate this!
Will the DLCs be included?” -
Tommy_Thompson
“GFWL or SteamWorks for L.A. Noire on PC?” -
k177sh0t
Glad you guys are looking forward to the PC release of L.A. Noire. All your questions have been answered in last week’s official announcement – the game is coming November 8th in North America and November 11th in Europe. You can read all the other details including distribution platform info and system specs
here.
“@RockstarGames Is L.A. Noire [for PC] going to be a steamworks game?” -
received via Twitter
“@RockstarGames Will [L.A. Noire for PC] need Games for Windows Live?” -
received via Twitter
“What happens with people who want to play with / for achievements but bought it from retail?” -
Rafioso
“Hi, I was wondering when I would be able to preorder L.A Noire on Steam?” -
received via Mouthoff
We’re happy to help with all the questions that followed our announcement last week about the PC release of L.A. Noire. L.A. Noire for PC will not require Games for Windows LIVE. You’ll be able to get all the Achievements via Social Club, and if you buy the game through Steam, you can also get them via Steamworks. Sorry but no details at the moment regarding preorder availability with Steam or OnLive.
“R*, CAN WE GET ANY OF THESE IN THE PC VERSION [of L.A. Noire]????
‘Chicago Lightning’ Detective Suit, ‘Chicago Piano’ Machine Gun, The Badge Pursuit Challenge, ‘The Broderick’ Detective Suit, ‘The Sharpshooter’ Detective Suit” -
bone.country
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. The PC version of L.A. Noire will come with all of the above plus everything shown
here.
“Are dlc [bonus cases such as “The Naked City” and “Reefer Madness”] in the game separate? Or do we have to complete the game first and then play the [bonus cases]?” -
art1373
Once you’ve fully installed the game, you’ll be able to access all the bonus cases via the game’s main menu – so you can choose to play them really at any time.
“Amazing news, I'm buying L.A. Noire [for PC] day one! But why no plans for Red Dead Redemption? I would buy that too… and I have a looot of friends who would do the same!” -
Andysk8
“Has Rockstar abandoned the PC platform???” -
Simbala
We hope that with the announcement that L.A. Noire is coming to PC this fall, and the knowledge that our next big game Max Payne 3 will have a PC release (plus that we’ve released both Grand Theft Auto IV and the Episodes from Liberty City for PC), we can finally put to rest any misconceptions that we’ve ‘abandoned the PC platform’. We do know that, yes, there is just one title absent from our PC release plans – that game of course being Red Dead Redemption, and of course we’re well aware that some fans have been asking for it. All we can say is that whenever it is viable (technically, developmentally and business-wise) for us to release a game for PC (or any other particular platform) – we will and we usually do; unfortunately, that is just not the case 100% of the time for all platforms. To PC gamers, we hope that between the Grand Theft Auto titles, and the forthcoming L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3, you’ll have plenty of great Rockstar action to enjoy.
“R*, are there any plans to release these L.A. Noire short stories in book form? You know, the type I can hold in my hand?” -
Martin_Brody
Actually, a physical print edition of L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories is something we’re actively looking into right now. We can’t confirm it for sure, but it might be something we do to commemorate L.A. Noire’s PC release later this fall – if it comes to pass, we’ll definitely let you know right here at the Newswire.
“Hey R*, I bought the official strategy guide for L.A. Noire and it says I could come to the website to get free walkthroughs for add-ons? How do I go about doing that?” -
mcluchey
Yes, just hit up the Downloads page of the
L.A. Noire official website and scroll down for those DLC strategy guide chapter PDFs. Fair warning of course that those are, by definition, seriously spoilerific – so do not download, open and read if you don’t want the case stories and/or gameplay spoiled for you.
“Are you guys releasing a Red Dead Redemption GOTY strategy guide?” -
bigkingbud
Yes, one is in the works via Brady Games. Look for it to come out around the release of the GOTY edition itself next week.
“What the hell R*!?!? No Herbert Moon [in the free Red Dead Redemption Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack DLC] !?!... I waited this long saying ‘oh well R* tries, and since it’s free, I guess it’s worth the wait’ but is this REALLY the best you can come up with? This DLC is disappointing. And why only people from [the game’s single player] campaign? u couldn’t have added at least ONE cowboy from a movie or something? This is an atrocity, this is one person who definitely isn’t playing RDR again.” -
10927254
We do have to say that it seems a little bit extreme anyone referring to our completely FREE multiplayer map locations and character update pack as an atrocity. We hope that most Red Dead fans can enjoy and appreciate the Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack for exactly what we said it would be ages ago - new map locations and characters from the single-player campaign as a token of appreciation to our multiplayer fans – and it’s free! We are truly sorry if the modes you like or the characters you like were not included – and sorry to have upset anyone, but not sure what we can do differently other than pick characters we think people like and maps we think could be fun.
“R* does the Solomon’s Folly hideout with the challenges also come with the [originally] PS3-exclusive Walton’s Gang outfit for Xbox [360] in GOTY? Thanks btw for the great game!” -
dynam1ght
Yes, the Solomon’s Folly hideout for single-player will be available in the Red Dead Redemption GOTY release for Xbox 360, and it will include the unlockable Walton’s Gang Outfit. To clarify though, there were not challenges (other than the outfit) associated with Solomon’s Folly.
“Will there be more paid for DLC like Undead Nightmare free roam or other DLC that greatly expands the game? Thanks.” -
14478170
Apart from the free fan appreciation Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack mentioned above, there are no plans right now for any other Red Dead Redemption DLC. The team at Rockstar San Diego are otherwise busy working on other projects...
“@RockstarGames is there a reason Xbox LIVE gets the majority of the [Red Dead Redemption] Triple XP Events?” -
received via Twitter
Actually every time we turn on Red Dead Redemption Triple XP, we make sure it’s active for both consoles – never just one. Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for the word on when the next round of Triple XP action will be.
“Hypocritical of you to praise someone for using GTA4 Mods when you patched the game to prevent such creativity!” -
Drekkthar
Interesting theory, but that is certainly and categorically not the case. The latest GTAIV PC title update is not intended to nullify user-created mods – but sometimes the changes applied in title updates may impact them. The work that the iCEnhancer folks and others in the modding community are doing is very cool and definitely impressive.
“Why has Take Two trademarked Rockstarfilms.com and .net?” -
ILikeVideo-Games
These are old trademarks that we have held for years and will continue to hold for the foreseeable future, but we have no active plans for them at the moment.
“@RockstarGames missed the GTAIV MP event, any other one planned? =[“ -
received via Twitter
Yes indeed – check out the October through December 2011 calendar of events
here. Some special GTA multiplayer events planned in there – mark your calendar!
“@RockstarGames now that you have covered 1911, 1947, 1986, 1987, 1992 and the present... Do you plan on doing a game set in the future?” -
received via Twitter
Great question. We have actually done some games set in the future, although not in quite awhile. There was Oni, and Wild Metal, and GTA2 was set in a dystopian vision of “three weeks into the future” (incidentally, you can download Wild Metal and GTA2 on PC for free at
www.rockstargames.com/classics if you’ve never checked them out). Since then and over the past decade though, you’re right in that we’ve been more interested in setting games in contemporary, nostalgic or historic settings. No particular reason why, it’s just what we have felt like making. If we think of a great idea for a game world in the future which we think is interesting and original, then there is no reason why not.
“Hello, I just want to know if Claude Speed (GTA 2) and Claude (GTA III) are the same person. So, are they the same person? Anyway, thanks for all fun you guys are giving me with these games, I'm a BIG FAN of the Grand Theft Auto series and Red Dead Redemption!” - rece
ived via Mouthoff
Probably. It seems very likely but it’s also possible that there are just a lot of angry silent car thieves called Claude out there.
“When are we going to see a new GTA????? #bestgameever” -
received via Twitter
“When's the new grand theft auto coming out?” -
received via Twitter
Big, big shout to all Grand Theft Auto fans worldwide who we know are anxious to hear about what’s next for the franchise but we don’t have any news at this time.
All we can say is, right now, we’re focused on our next upcoming releases which are Max Payne 3 as well as L.A. Noire for PC, Red Dead Redemption Game of the Year Edition and Max Payne for mobile devices. When and if we have anything to report regarding the Grand Theft Auto franchise, you know that we’ll do so here at the Newswire.
“Grand Theft Auto III ten years! How does that sound? You should be proud of yourselves. Any special events?” -
received via Mouthoff
Thank you. We’re more proud of you long-standing Grand Theft Auto fans who’ve been there since the release of GTAIII and before – and truly helped make that series what it is with your amazing support. We may have a couple things lined up to commemorate the occasion – we have recently announced that we’ll be doing an official Social Club GTA multiplayer play session (of GTAIV: Complete Edition) on the weekend of Grand Theft Auto III’s ten year anniversary with some special giveaways. And we might have one or two other little things lined up.
Hmmm..... Sounds like we could be in for some Grand Theft Auto surprises in the near future. Could the third generation GTA's make their way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? Will we get
San Andreas Stories on a portable? We'll have to wait and see! Stay tuned and join the fun at the
Grand Theft Auto V forums!