Rockstar's Lineup   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
While I was looking for GTA3 news I came across a bunch of reports on two of Rockstar's other titles, State of Emergency and Smuggler's Run 2. Here are a few links worth checking out:

State of Emergency

• AVault's Coverage
• PS2.IGN.com's Impressions
• SOE QuickTime Vid - MPEG Vid
• SOE Screens
• Seattle Mayor Pissed About SOE

  Smuggler's Run 2

• AVault's Coverage
• PS2.IGN.com's Impressions
• SR2 QuickTime Vid - MPEG Vid
• SR2 Screens

  
More on Escape   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
Bash wrote me back about his new GTA2 map, Escape.  The map is still in development and he is hoping to finish it in a few weeks.  The current version has three missions, all of which involve killing the sh*t group, NSYNC.  It's funny that Bash's GTA2 missions mirror my real life mission of helping to rid the world of bullsh*t like NSYNC.  You can get the latest version of Escape from the GTA2 Maps section here at GOURANGA!.

GTA3 - Cops Love It   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
I've been talking with Ray Larabie about the GTA3 font and he mentioned something rather interesting.  While he was at E3 he saw two LA cops playing GTA3, but that's not all.  Apparently the cops liked GTA3 a lot and before too long they were killing tons of cops, blowing their heads off, etc.

PS2.ign.com also mentioned something similar in their GTA3 E3 impressions:

"The funniest sight of this year's E3, bar none, has to have been at the Rockstar booth, where I spotted two of Los Angeles' finest taking a break at the Grand Theft Auto 3 demo stations. Yes, there were cops playing GTA -- hey, it's one heck of a fun game."

  
Azz'z GTA2 Map Tutorial   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
Azz has posted a new GTA2 map tutorial over at GTAzz, in the GTA2 Help section.  This is the first installment of the tutorial is intended for complete beginners and doesn't cover anything more complicated than block sections and sloping.  The second part of the tutorial will be added in the near future and will cover lights, more detailed use of slopes, and getting your map to run with GTA2.  All this and more at azz.gouranga.com.

New York City to Liberty City   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
DigitalID posted a very interesting article on grandtheftauto3.net as part of GTA3 Week.  The article is a work in progress and it compares the real life NYC, to GTA3's Liberty City.  It's definitely worth a read and be sure to check out the rest of the GTA3 week coverage on grandtheftauto3.net.

Site Updates   <11:50 PM CST - schu>

• I added a new GTA2 map the GTA2 Maps section.  The map is called Escape...  More on this map when I hear back from the author.
• I spoke with Ray Larabie and he said he will work on an updated pricedown font that looks more like the GTA3 font.  Hopefully I should have the updated font in a week or so.

GTA3 Font   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
I spoke with Nick again and got the URL where you can obtain the pricedown typeface, along with Ray Larabie's other fonts.  Go to www.larabiefonts.com or you can download the font directly by clicking here.  The font doesn't appear to be an exact match, but it looks pretty close.  I'm checking with Ray to see if there is another version available.  Once again, thanks to Nick for the update.

PSE2 Scan On-Line   <6:00 PM CST - schu>
Tek scanned a copy of the July issue of PSE2 and has it posted for your perusal.  You can download the 2mb zip from GTA:GA.

GTA: Gaming Army Redesign   <6:00 PM CST - schu>
Tek has finished his redesign of GTA:GA and it looks great.  Along with the new look GTA:GA is sporting the addition of numerous new sections, mostly GTA3 based.  New sections include a revamped screen shot section, a much needed fan fiction section, and a fan based Liberty City newspaper called Liberty Review.  All in all, twenty pages of new content have been added to his already superb site.  The File Vault and Car Vault are still present, and with the help of Valdez, car reviews should appear in a flash.  Check out gta.niteshade.net for Tek's masterpiece.

GTA3 Font   <6:00 PM CST - schu>
Nick Lendon sent me an interesting bit of news.  Apparently the font that the new GTA3 logo uses is the pricedown typeface.  The font is actually by Ray Larabie, who made all the cars for GTA London.  According to Nick, Azz used to use the font on his site a long while back (when it was purple and white).  Thanks to Nick for the update.

PSE2 Covers GTA3   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Grand Theft Auto 3 is the cover story in the June issue of PSE2.  Let me just say that the cover to the June issue is amazing.  It is one of those half render, half real picture things, if you can find a copy, make sure you take a look.  Under the cover is a three page GTA3 preview with around seventeen new shots.  Most of the information in the preview is old stuff, however there are a few things worth mentioning:

• Your first contact in the game is a Mafioso named Luigi.
• The mission count has been raised to 80 main missions and 50 side missions (the old count was 50 / 50).
• Some of the new missions mentioned are, dropping off stolen goods, assassinating rival mobsters, and chasing and trailing other vehicles.
• You can use the fire escapes, seen on many of the buildings, to get a roof top view.  Building tops are also nice places to practice your sniping skills.
• A head shot while sniping will result in it being blown clean off, while blood gushes out the neck hole of your hapless victim.  Any peds who happen to be nearby will be sprayed with blood, and they will actually react by wiping the blood from their faces.
• The final build of GTA3 should run at a constant 30 fps with no pop-up or clipping.
• The boats will have their own water and wave effects.  This should make piloting the boats an entirely difference experience from driving the cars.
• Some of the screen shots show some pretty interesting scenes.  One shot has a guy holding his neck while blood sprays out of it, another has a sign in the background that reads, "24 HR Orgy, Free Buffet", another shows the player on the stairs to a subway station (hopefully indicating the possibility of other underground areas), one shot looks like it shows an awning on fire after being hit with a Molotov cocktail (it's hard to tell if it's actually on fire because the shot is so small), and the final shot worth mentioning shows your character next to a small, curbside, fruit stand.  Hopefully there will be lots of different stuff on the sidewalk for you to ram with your car (fruit stands, hot dog stands, light posts, traffic lights, trash cans, etc.).

All in all, I'd say this is one of the first previews truly worth going to the bookstore for.  Check out the GTA3 Reviews section for a full listing of GTA3 on-line and print previews.

Crazy Sh*t   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!  I've mentioned The Onion before, but never in this context.  Here are a few of my favorite stories:

• Death Star to Open Day Care Center
• Clinton Deploys Very Special Forces to Iraq
• Stephen Hawking Builds Robotic Exoskeleton
• Should the US Impose Limits on Incredibly Stupid Shit?
• Clinton Declares Self President For Life
• Disgruntled Ninja Silently Kills 12 Co-Workers
• Microsoft Patents Ones, Zeros
• Evil Genius Gates Drops Windows 98 Into NYC Water Supply
• Bill Gates Grants Self 18 Dexterity, 20 Charisma
• Fun Toy Banned Because of Three Stupid Dead Kids
• Herbert Korfeld Editorials (a must read)
• Smoove B Editorials

Take-Two Reports Record Sales   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
Take-Two recently reported record net sales and cash flow for the second quarter of 2001.  Net sales alone were up 33% from last year.  Check out the original press release and the reports at FGN and AVault for more information.  Both DMA and Rockstar Games are subsidiaries of Take-Two.  We can only hope that more money for Take-Two means more money for Rockstar and DMA, and therefore more money for GTA3 development :) ...

Grand Theft Auto Online Crime World   <11:58 PM CST - schu>
The concept of the Grand Theft Auto Online Crime World was announced way back in September of 1999, just after Take-Two acquired DMA Design.  Not much was said then and nothing new has come out since.  The only reason I mention it again (I originally reported this on September 29th, 1999) is because I found this report from back in 1999.  Most articles at the time didn't say much about the press release, but this report got the following quotes from an inside source:

“I’m not sure what this means, but I know they were talking about having servers in different parts of the world with cities on them corresponding to the area,” said the source. “New York for New York, London for London, you get the idea.”

The exact quote from the original press release is as follows, "DMA will continue to develop Grand Theft Auto titles for publication through the company's Rockstar Games division, including GTA3D and The Grand Theft Auto Online Crime World."  It remains to be seen if GTA Online is still in development or was ever anything more than a quote to improve the mood of Take-Two's stock holders.  Regardless, any online titles would probably depend on the success of GTA3, and how well the consoles' online capabilities are accepted by gamers.  I say consoles' and not PC, because that's where the money is, and sadly enough, that's probably what will drive future development.

Site Updates   <11:58 PM CST - schu>

• Today's update is what we call, stretching for news...
• While I was looking at some past press releases, I turned up the original press release for GTA on the Palm Pilot.

New GTA3 Logos   <3:15 PM CST - schu>
I received a nice e-mail today with the new GTA3 logos, screen shots, DMA's new logo, a new GTA3 fact sheet, gang logos, and vehicle renders.  I think all the web-masters who registered with Rockstar should have received this zip as well.  Everything was a repeat from what I've already posted, with the exception of the new logos and the new fact sheet.  I'm still comparing the new fact sheet to the old one, if there are any differences I'll post the new one shortly after this update.  Here are the new GTA3 logos, enjoy!

Site Updates   <3:15 PM CST - schu>

• Ok, I read the new fact sheet and there wasn't really anything new from what I posted on Monday.  They basically just rephrased a few things.
• If you hadn't noticed before, DMA's web site is under reconstruction.  You can see the new site here, or the old site here.

Sky-Scraper Open   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
Teknics is reporting that Skyscraper is back on-line @ www.sky-scraper.net.  ElBazo's latest redesign looks awesome and it brings the site up to 22 sections, with another 4 on the way.  Be sure to take a look...

GTA3 In Game Informer   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
Check out GTA Gaming Army for the latest on the Game Informer's continuing GTA3 coverage.  Tek has a few new bits of information that are definitely worth the read.  Hey, and it turns out I was right about 8-Ball after all :) .  Speaking of 8-Ball, I seem to recall Dan mentioning that State of Emergency would have a character named 8-Ball as well.  This guy looks like him, but I seem to recall that this guy is actually 8-Ball in SOE (notice the tattoo).  I'm not exactly sure what their obsession with the name 8-Ball is :) ...

Site Updates   <11:55 PM CST - schu>

• Thanks for all the great GTA3 questions...  I've been able to answer most of them, however, right now very little is known about the PC version, so the best I can do is guess.  If anyone else has any GTA3 questions, please feel free to send them in.
• I was doing some counting and I realized that I'm up to 107 GTA3 screens, 41 pieces of GTA3 artwork & development shots, and 45 movie shots.  Bringing the grand total to 193 shots.  Check em all out in the GTA3 Info section.

New GTA3 E3 Shots   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
Just before E3 began I noticed that Rockstar had updated the GTA3 section of their site.  Unfortunately all the new shots they added were the size of a postage stamp, so it wasn't really worth mentioning.  I then wrote the main web guy over at Rockstar and asked for larger versions of the shots, and that's exactly what I have for you today.  Check the seventh page of GTA3 screen shots, in my GTA3 Info section, for 20 new shots (10 of them are actually new, the other 10 are larger versions of the shots that PSX Extreme released during E3).  I was toying with the idea of watermarking the shots with gouranga.com, but then I realized how much I hate it when other sites do that, so I chose to leave them un-watermarked.  I leave it to scene to patrol itself on these matters, give credit where credit is due, that is all I ask...

Just a few comments on the shots.  From what I've read in most previews, the blood effects this point are more comical than anything.  You can sort of see what they are talking about in this shot.  One thing I just remember from the build of GTA3 I played.  The helicopter squads weren't in yet, but they had smaller planes flying overhead from time to time, mainly just for effect, and target practice :) .  You can catch a quick glimpse of the plane in this shot (in the lower left flying just above the hill in the background).  Here is a closer shot of the black FBI sedan, with it's occupants about to finish the job.  In fact, most of these shots have FBI agents and black sedans pursuing the player (they all seem to have blonde hair for some reason).  Lastly, the SWAT van.

The GTA3 Rap Sheet   <11:55 PM CST - schu>
This is the information that Rockstar released at their pre-E3 event.  I think they may have released this same information at E3 as well.  This is basically the same format as the original copy, minus a GTA3 logo at the top.  Once again, you know where you heard it first :) :

The previous incarnations of Grand Theft Auto have achieved cult status worldwide and have sold over 4.5 million units to date. Now, the third installment of Grand Theft Auto is set to hit the world stage October 2001 on Playstation2 as a ground breaking, genre busting title. Capturing the same freedom and non-linearity of the original games, Grand Theft Auto 3 now lives and breathes in a diligently reengineered, complete 3D world. The cult following that religiously played and praised the original titles will finally will be able to explore their inner criminal and immerse themselves in all the dangers, threats and possibilities of a city without end.

FEATURES:

CRIME

• Liberty City is a complete physical universe with laws, rules, standards, ethics and morals. They are yours to shatter.
• Over 80 gangland missions and loads of side missions.
• Work your way through the hierarchy of the gangs, meet bigger bosses, get better jobs.
• Multi-layered missions interweave story elements from level to level.
• Revenge plot drives the player through the game, whilst retaining non-linearity and freedom of previous games.
• Over two dozen ways to execute another character: fist fighting (punch, kick and head butt), base ball bat, handgun, Uzi, machine gun, M-16, rocket launcher, grenade, Molotov cocktail and flame thrower.
• Organized police forces including cops, SWAT Teams, FBI, and the Army works strategically to keep Liberty City properly corrupt and somewhat safe.

THE CITY

• Liberty City is divided into 3 districts: industrial zone, commercial district and suburban neighborhood. Bridges and tunnels connect these areas. Each has its own look and feel - different kinds of buildings, cars, and inhabitants. As you progress through the game, new areas will open up to you eventually allowing access to the whole city.
• The streets of Liberty City are jammed with over 50 vehicles, each with their own physics. All ripe for the plucking, cabs, sedans, family cars, mini vans, SUVs, trucks (pickups to 18 wheelers), sports cars, convertibles, buses (school buses and metro buses), fire engines, ambulances, SWAT vehicles, and even the ice cream man are on the move in fear of losing their ride. When trying to escape a jam, boats and trains help transport players from one side of the city to the next.
• Vehicles take damage on 18 different panels.
• The time of day and night affects every mission. This city is a very different place at night and some missions can only be performed at certain times of day.
• A full-weather ecosystem (including rain, fog, thunder and lightning) also affects gameplay. For example, rain makes roads slippery, fog reduces visibility, etc.
• Wave technology, a dynamic oceanic water system, reacts to weather conditions bringing new life to Liberty City’s docks and shores.
• Unpredictable pedestrian AI makes for wicked nights and strange days throughout Liberty City. Hundreds of unique pedestrians each with their own characteristics populate Grand Theft Auto 3’s intersections and alleyways. Businessmen hurry to work, gang members look for trouble, and hookers prowl for business. Each character acts and reacts to situations and the activity surrounding them in their own unique way.
• Over two hours of music make up the soundtrack for the City. An ambient, spatially aware sound system demos each track when the player enters a new vehicle. Each vehicle is tuned to its own radio station playing a combination of licensed tracks, specially created music and talk radio.

Published by Rockstar Games
Developed by DMA Design

  
Site Updates   <11:55 PM CST - schu>

• I updated the vehicle list in the GTA3 Info section with the station wagon, SWAT Van, and Cadillac.
• I don't mean to be a prick about this, I just don't like plagiarism.

Gamespot's GTA3 Coverage   <7:30 PM CST - schu>
This is the second update for today.  The next update will probably be on Monday.  Gamespot posted an article about their impressions of GTA3 at E3.  Here are a few highlights:

• They have finally added police to the latest build of GTA3.  The police will pursue you on foot, in cars, and in helicopters.  
• The police helicopters will shine their spotlights on you as they chase you through the city streets.  If you get tired of the air pigs you can always take them out with your rocket launcher.
• The targeting works ok in the current build, but the camera angle could use a little work.  If you aren't careful the cops can easily sneak up from behind and arrest you.  I'd imagine the camera control will be tweaked before release.

Gamespot also posted some screen captures from the GTA3 movie.  If you've seen the movie, you've seen all this stuff before, but they are still worth a look.

Details on GTA3's Release   <7:30 PM CST - schu>
According to FGN, GTA3 will be exclusive to PS2 everywhere outside the US.  Now before you go insane, like I did when I heard this, you have to realize that they are talking about consoles, NOT the PC.  This means that GTA3 should appear on PS2 and PC worldwide.  The US will get an XBox version in addition to the PS2 and PC versions.  I sent an e-mail off to Rockstar to see if I can get a comment on this.

IGN's QuickTime GTA3 Movie   <7:30 PM CST - schu>
The QuickTime version of the GTA3 movie at IGN is exactly the same as Gamespot's MPEG.  However, the quality of the MOV version is slightly better than the MPG.  Thanks to David Holloway's help, I was finally able to play the damn thing.  David wrote in and explained that, when you try to watch the movie it asks for the ignps2.jpg file.  When it asks for the file, just hit SEARCH, and then choose the gta3.mov file, it should work then.  Thanks to David for helping out.  You can get the QuickTime version from PS2.IGN.COM (MOV 12MB) and the MPEG version from Gamespot (zipped MPG 12MB).  If you already have the MPEG, I would really only recommend downloading it again if you are on a broadband connection.  The difference in quality really isn't worth the wait if you are on dial-up.

New GTA3 Shots @ PSX Extreme   <6:00 AM CST - schu>
More E3 goodness...  I've been searching relentlessly for GTA3 news and so far my work has been paying off.  Here is the latest...  PSX Extreme posted 10 new GTA3 shots.  For some reason the shots are smaller than the standard issue, but they are new nonetheless. Here is a small sample of the new shots, check out all of them on the seventh page of my GTA3 screen shots area.  I believe the first shot below is of the Molotov Cocktail, at least that's what it looked like when I saw it.

GTA3 On GameBoy Advance   <6:00 AM CST - schu>
Pocket.IGN.com is reporting that Destination Software will be publishing GameBoy Advance versions of Midnight Club, Smuggler's Run, and Grand Theft Auto 3.  Rebellion will be porting the first two, while DMA ports GTA3.  Currently the GBA version of GTA3 is scheduled for a Fall release alongside the PS2 version.  None of the games were playable at E3, nor were there any screens available.

IGN's GTA3 Impressions   <6:00 AM CST - schu>
PS2.IGN.com posted a brief article on their GTA3 experiences thus far.  Here are a few highlights from the article:

• Apparently reflection mapping is in the latest build of GTA3.  IGN mentioned that, "the skyline shines on roofs and side panels" of the cars.
• There are no load times whatsoever.
• It's generally easier to take your enemies out with a ranged weapon rather than go hand to hand with them, because the movement in the current build is a little imprecise. Let's hope they clear that up by the time it's released.

  
Site Updates   <6:00 AM CST - schu>

• If you haven't already, be sure to check out yesterday's update.  Tons of great new stuff.
• I got a few questions about GTA3 emailed in so if you are interested, here are two of the more interesting ones.  If anyone else has any questions, please feel free to send them in and I'll do my best to answer them.
  

  Crashton200 asks:
  "I was wondering if you are able to sell ice cream from the ice cream truck in GTA 3?  Also while you were playing GTA 3 did you run down any peds, if you did can you please tell me how the peds looked when you ran them over?"

  Reply:
  I didn't really get a chance to do anything with the ice cream truck, I just saw it when they were showing off the different cars.  I did hear them mention that they are trying to work it so you can sell ice cream from it whenever you want, instead of just during certain missions.  So I suppose that it's up in the air, but they are definitely working on it.

  Blood wasn't really quite up to snuff in build I played.  Generally, running someone down just left a body behind the car, however I've read previews that say you will leave a trail of blood behind the car after you run someone down. I'd imagine running someone down will leave a blood trail leading back to a bloody corpse behind your car, or something to that effect.  The big question right now is, how far will Sony let them go?  The PC version might end up being a little more gory than the Sony version, because it doesn't have to pass any Sony standards to appear on the PC.

  Adam asks:
  "When you're driving a car, does it go into first person mode?  Like while you're driving, can you see the steering wheel and dashboard or does it stay in 3rd person where you can only see the roof and trunk of the car?"

  Reply:
  I think it defaulted to third person, however, after you got in you could choose a back view, a left side view (looking toward the car), a right side view (looking toward the car), a view from the front (looking back on the car), or a first person view (looking through the windshield).  They didn't model the steering wheel or any sort of dash at the time.  I asked about it and they said they probably weren't going to do too much with the car interior.  It didn't look bad, but I'm hoping they decide to make the first person view a little more realistic.  I seem to recall it was more like a through the windshield view, almost like the camera was sitting on the dash on the driver's side, but not in the driver's seat (I.E. you didn't see any sort of console/speedometer).

Awesome New GTA3 Movie   <11:55 AM CST - schu>
Gamespot has posted a great new GTA3 movie. The movie is a little over a minute long and features actual gameplay with sound (not a sideshow type thing like the last one).  GET IT NOW (zipped MPG 12MB) or from PS2.IGN.COM (MOV 12MB).  You can check out stills from the movie on the second page of my GTA3 movies area.  Check Gamespot for streams of this video (it will look a hell of a lot better if you download it though).  I haven't been able to successfully download the Quicktime version because IGN is slower than sh*t right now, so I really can't say if it's superior in any way to the MPG on Gamespot.

I Have Seen The Light - GTA3 Impressions   <11:55 AM CST - schu>
In March I took a trip to San Francisco to attend Rockstar's pre-E3 event.  I have been under an NDA so I couldn't say anything until now. During the event I was permitted to view and play an early build of GTA3.  Unfortunately it was pretty buggy and kept crashing, so I was lucky to get in 5 minutes of play at any given time.  I spent most of the day there talking with Dan Houser and Terry Donovan, while groups of journalists filed in and out to see GTA3, Smuggler's Run 2, and State of Emergency. The version of GTA3 I played was pretty early, but even at that stage it was still quite amazing. Most of the stuff I saw has been in previews already but I do have a few highlights (I'm sorry if this is a little hard to read but my notes were rather difficult to follow).

• The controls were pretty much like the original Playstation version and it was really easy to pick up and play.
• I was able to drive numerous cars, but the physics needed a little tweaking.  Despite the physics issue it was still pretty damn cool.  Driving in rain at high speeds was appropriately difficult, although I hope they tweak it a little more so it isn't like driving on a sheet of ice :).  I also got to try out some stunts and during one of my longer jumps the words "Insane Stunt Bonus" popped up. Sound familiar?
• At one point I tried collecting fares with the taxi.  After you get in a taxi you can turn the taxi light on and your radar will show people looking for a ride.  You just pull up along side, they get in, and your radar will show you where they want to go.  The radar mainly looks like it will replace the arrow from the previous GTAs, with a few other enhancements thrown in.  Also while I was in the taxi I was offered a mission, it wasn't working at the time but in the final version you can then choose to accept or decline missions if your patrons choose to offer you one.
• The only mission I got a chance to play involved picking up some guy's hos and taking them to the clinic.  I met the guy on the stairs outside his "business" where the camera changed views and cutscene started.  He then told me the specifics of the mission (in the final version I'm told all the cutscenes will have full speech, lip-synched to the character).  Then I jacked a car and my radar showed me where the two hos were, so I picked them up and took them to the clinic. Nothing major, but what did you expect from an early mission :).
• The build I was playing didn't have too many peds wandering around, however I did get a few chances to try out the targeting system. It works just like the previews say, and it is very easy to use. The camera also worked great and I didn't have any trouble seeing what was going on.
• Liberty City will have an fully functional airport where planes will takeoff and land (it's not just a group of buildings with an empty runway).  That build of GTA3 had a slight bug where these 747s kept landing in the middle of the street. At one point I blew one up with the rocket launcher, but it was unknown at the time if they will allow that in the final version.  It's hard to convey how big these things were, all I can really say is they looked realistic and were in correct proportion to the cars and the peds.  I don't think you will be able to interact with them much, but it will be interesting to see what they do with it.
• The airplane that you can pilot in GTA3 is more like a car.  It's a single engine Cessna that is missing most of its wingspan.  You can only fly (jump) it for short distances, but mostly it's pretty awkward to drive.  It sounded as if it is mainly a mission specific vehicle so I'm not sure how much it will be used in the game.
• Most of the buildings cannot be destroyed, however I think there may be a mission involving some demolitions.  There are some parts of the environment you can destroy however.  While driving around I was able to knock down street lights & traffic lights with my car.  I was also able to run over just about anything I could see.
• There was only one building I found that I could walk into.  It was a garage/warehouse and when I did, it changed over to a cutscene/Q&A type thing.  I don't think there will be many buildings you can actually go inside and wander around, mainly because of the time involved modeling the inside and outside of an entire city.
• Most of my time was spent in the industrial area, but one of the guys at Rockstar flew me around the map to see the different areas.  The commercial/downtown area was simply amazing.  Skyscrapers everywhere and just as you'd expect the downtown area of a large city to look like. The suburban area also looked appropriately suburban.  I also saw a large stadium during my fly-over.  The main thing I noticed was that none of the areas repeated building types much, if at all.  All of the buildings were appropriate to their area and it never got repetitious.
• Most of the in-game sounds were just place-holders In fact, most of them were from GTA :).  I think the sounds are probably in by now because they were scheduled to being recording the week after the event.
• The weapons all work as advertised.  The rocket launcher takes you into first person mode automatically, as does the sniper rifle. When using the sniper rifle you can toggle between zoom and regular views.  For the most part, all the weapons work as you'd expect them to.  The fire effects on the flame thrower and the Molotov Cocktails looked amazing.

If you have any questions, feel free to send them in and I'll try to answer them. I'll go back through this again later and see if I missed anything, I was in sort of a hurry to get this all written.

Crazy Sh*t   <3:45 PM CST - schu>
I almost forgot about this with all the E3 stuff going on.  Ok, this week's comes with a warning.  If you are grossed out by deformed babies singing opera while various parts of the male an female anatomy fly around in the background, you might not want to click here!  Some people may find this disturbing.  If you are one of those people, DON'T FU*KING CLICK!

Site Updates   <3:45 PM CST - schu>
I'm still looking for a shot of the Rockstar booth a E3.  While I was watching Headline News I saw part of it in the background while they were covering Tony Hawk 3.  The Activision area is right by the Take2/Rockstar area apparently.  From what I could tell, they have a huge Grand Theft Auto 3 sign up.

New GTA3 Artwork   <7:15 PM CST - schu>
Take2 Germany's E3 section has been updated with three new GTA3 gang logos and some new artwork.  So far they have posted four vehicle renders (two are new), three gang logos (all new), and nine screen shots (none are new).  Here is the new stuff.

New Vehicle Renders
GTA3 Gang Logos
Uptown Yardies	Triads	Yakuza

E3 Opens   <4:00 PM CST - schu>
The E3 conferences opened today and will run through the 18th, the actual exhibition won't open till tomorrow and will run through the 19th.  Hopefully we will be able to pick up some new details and screens.

Rockstar on Nintendo   <4:00 PM CST - schu>
AVault is reporting that Take2/Rockstar will be publishing titles for Nintendo's Gamecube and GBA platforms.  The only titles announced so far are Duke Nukem Forever ports to the Cube and the GBA.  GTA3 was NOT mentioned, however this does bode well for anyone hoping for a GTA3 release on Gamecube.  At least they have some sort of publishing deal to open the door.  Check out Gamespot and Gamespot UK for more on this topic.

Douglas Adams - 1952-2001   <4:00 PM CST - schu>
The author of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy passed away last weekend after suffering a heart attack in California.  He was 49 years old.  You can read more on this at EuroGamer and at Yahoo.

More on GTA3's Competition   <4:00 PM CST - schu>
Loose Cannon finally has a publishing deal.  UbiSoft picked up Digital Anvil's castaway title and have announced an early 2002 release on PC and various next-gen consoles.  This corresponds to the current projection for GTA3's PC release date, that should make things interesting.  After taking another look at the shots I have to say that I'm not as impressed as I was when I first saw them.  I'd say the last crop of shots was below the visual quality of GTA3's shots, but I expect the visuals will improve over time.  One thing I noticed is that Loose Cannon seems to have an extensive highway system.  I'm not sure if you can actually drive on it, but it sure does look cool.  You can read more about the UbiSoft publishing deal @ AVault.  Check out PC.IGN.com for a great preview on Loose Cannon.

Another GTAesque title that I keep forgetting to mention is Mafia.  I don't really have much to say, but the concept and the visuals look great.  For more information, check out Gaming Age's latest batch of shots and for continuing coverage, check out TheShit's site, Mafia EpiCenter.

PSM's June Preview   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
The Playstation magazine, PSM, has previewed GTA3 again.  They just did a two page preview in their May issue and now their June issue features a one page preview.  The June preview has six screen shots and a few new bits of information.  All the shots are repeats, albeit recent repeats.  Here is the new information

• GTA3 will feature a drive-by camera that will let you look out your side window while performing a drive-by.
• Blood is back - When you run down a ped you might leave a blood trail behind your tires, just like in GTA.  PSM also said that DMA might have to remove that "feature" if Sony doesn't approve.  This might be why DMA is toying with the idea of releasing two versions of GTA3 (Mature and Teen versions - I.E. extra-gore and no-gore versions).
• GTA3 is currently 40% complete.

Thanks to Gary Manier for sending me a scan of the article.  Gary also highlighted the new information for me, ahh convenience. If anyone else out there spots a GTA3 print or on-line preview, please let me know so I can pass it on.

GTA3 Week   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
GrandTheftAuto3.net is kicking off their GTA3 week from May 28th to June 3rd.  The site will feature GTA3 wallpaper, a Dan Houser interview, and whatever else they can come up with.  If you would like to contribute anything, please contact HinGTA.  I should mention that I'm kicking off my GTA3 year here at GOURANGA!, where I will feature GTA3 news, information, and screen shots all year long. Wait a minute...  :)

FreeLoader Freed   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
You may recall hearing the FreeLoader.com was going off-line and taking their free versions of GTA, GTA UK and GTA2 off-line. Well, thanks to Cube8, GTA fans can continue to freeload.  Cube8 is acquiring Freeloader for $85 million.  Read the article on FGN for more information.

Genocide   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
This was probably mentioned at some point in the history of GTA2, but it might not have, so here it is...  Wagner sent in this shot from GTA2.  I'm guessing you get this when you eliminate an entire gang.

Star Trek GTA   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
The Star Trek GTA mod guys put a site on-line @ www.communityzero.com/STGTA.  They are still looking for help with the mod.  If you have any GTA editing experience and would like to help out, please visit their site and send em an e-mail. You can also download the back-up characters for the mod along with the Star Trek Away Team USS Incursion NX-74808 Senior Officer Character Pack.

Site Updates   <11:00 AM CST - schu>
Due to Internet connection problems with my ISP, Amerisuck, I was unable to upload the news yesterday.  Anyway, here is yesterday's and today's news for your viewing pleasure.

More Rockstar   <8:20 PM CST - schu>
I turned up few more previews for Rockstar's upcoming titles, State of Emergency and Smuggler's Run 2.  Enjoy.

More Competition   <8:20 PM CST - schu>
It looks like GTA3 has a little more competition.  The people who made Driver and Driver2 are developing another game between Driver2 and Driver3.  The new game is called Stuntman.  Graphically, it looks pretty cool and the premise isn't bad either, but it doesn't sound like there is much to it.  Anyway, more here and here if you are interested.  I also found another preview for The Getaway.  The Getaway sounds really cool and looks amazing.  My only concern is that I haven't heard from anyone who has actually seen the game in action, so it remains to be seen if they can can maintain an open environment and still maintain the level of detail seen in the screen shots.

Crazy Sh*t   <8:20 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!  Ok, I admit this week's link isn't funny, but is it pretty damn cool.

Calling All GTA3 Webmasters   <7:00 AM CST - schu>
Dan sent out an e-mail announcing the official Grand Theft Auto 3 web site.  He would like to include links to other GTA3 sites when it's completed.  Here are the stipulations you have to meet in order to get a link:

1. Your site must be dedicated to Grand Theft Auto 3 or the Grand Theft Auto franchise (I.E. GTA, GTA2 & GTA3).
2. Your site must not distribute pirated copies of any games in the GTA series, nor can it link or support pirated software in any way.  Dan had to say the following on this topic, "I am sure you understand why this is a big deal, but in case you don't, we have to argue with our bosses for development budgets - the bigger the budget, the better the game, I.E. - the more people who buy the game, the more money we have for sequels."

If you qualify you should send the following information to webmaster@rockstargames.com:

• URL
• Your site's name
• Webmaster's name and e-mail address
• A brief (ten words or less) description of your site.

Dan also had the following to say regarding "official fan sites" that will be featured in Rockstar's ring:

"Any questions, let me know. In terms of being 'official' or whatever, all sites in the web ring are official fan sites, most e-mails will be answered eventually, and we will do our best with assets, but are obviously very busy right now finishing this monster."

• GTA-3.com turned up an interesting Italian GTA3 preview.  It's mainly interesting because it contains a wealth of screen shots.  Make sure you also visit GTA-3.com to check out the two map development shots they have.  I've seen scans of the same shots but these are crystal clear originals.
• One more screen that I have to add to my 8-Ball argument.  If you look closely in this shot you'll see a character sketch of 8-Ball and it appears to match those seen in the screen shots.
• I took a day off yesterday so I could work on the GTA3 screen shot sections.  It turned out to be more work than I anticipated because I renamed and checked all the shots against the old ones.  I added a number of new shots and I've removed most of the IGN shots and replaced them with non-watermarked originals that I've collected for various previews, including the new Italian preview.  After the update I have 88 images on display (122 if you include all the artwork as well).

Screen Shot Studies   <9:30 AM CST - schu>
Not much going on today, at least not yet, but I did notice something interesting in a few of the GTA3 screen shots.  This has probably been mentioned before, but it looks like you can knock down the street lights and traffic lights.

• In this shot you can see the traffic light falling into the intersection on the far left of the shot.  In the previous frame you'll see where the street light was originally.  Actually, if you want to watch them in order, click 1, 2, 3.
• Here you can see what appears to be a street light laying in the street.   It's just behind the cop and the guy in the orange jumpsuit, right along the curb.
• The explosion in this shot appears to have twisted the street light on the right side of the street.
• Something else I began to notice is that different street lights emit different types of light, as seen in this shot.  It isn't anything major, but it certainly adds to the detail and realism.
• In this shot it almost looks like the banners hanging above the street are on fire.  It will be interesting to see how much of then environment we'll be able to destroy.
• After looking at all of these shots, something else occurred to me.  Prisoners wear orange jumpsuits.  8-Ball, your partner in crime, was being transferred from one prison to another when you both are freed from the same prisoner transport.  Is 8-Ball the guy who keeps appearing in all of these shots (1, 2, 3, 4).  I think this might be a close-up of his face.

• This quote should help allay our fears of GTA3 being too linear.  "As with GTA and GTA2 before it, players can take on any mission at almost any time, an element to the game that provides freedom and provokes exploration."
• Taking damage to different parts of the car causes different problems.  If the front end is rammed hard enough the engine will begin to smoke.
• "Grand Theft Auto 3 enables players to freely attack enemies, or to lock onto their opponent. By simply pressing R1, a visible target mechanism appears on screen and follows the opponent until he or she is shot dead, and by pressing another button the lock-on will automatically target the next opponent. The target is intelligently built, too, as it aims for the most powerful enemy first and then tracks the next powerful one, and so on."
• Sounds will change to reflect the environment, so there will be more reverberation in alleyways, tunnels, and other confined areas.
  

  
GTA3 Artwork & Info @ GTA-3.com   <2:20 AM CST - schu>
German GTA3 site, GTA-3.com, has posted two new pieces of GTA3 artwork and some new information in their May 6th update (the information and shots came from the May 2001 issue of PSM2).  The first shot shows some of the weapons from GTA3 and the second shot shows a render/wireframe of a yellow car.  Markus @ GTA-3.com said it would be ok if I posted a translation, so here it is:

• Crates with power-ups and multipliers will be making a comeback.  Just ram the crate of your choosing and enjoy.
• More specific names have been given to some of the weapons:
  • Colt 45 Pistol
  • Uzi 9mm SMG
  • AK47s Assault Rifle
  • Remington Pump-Action Shotgun
  • 66mm Rocket Launcher (M72 LAW)
• Newspapers and other trash in the streets will blow around in the wind.
• Pigeons will be sitting on curbs throughout the city.
• Ambulance crews will revive the injured people just like in GTA.
• There won't be any motorcycles in GTA3 because of the amount of time it takes to make the physics look believable (this is from GTA-3's news and from comments from another source).  The guys at GTA-3.com are hoping that they will add motorcycles to the PC version of the game.

Get over to GTA-3.com for the shots.  Here are a few of my comments on the new stuff.

• It will be interesting to see how they work the crates into the game while still making it believable.
• I believe that the rocket launcher in the picture is an M72 LAW (Light Antitank Weapon).  The only problem is that the M72 is a one shot, disposable weapon.  More here.  Pictures here, here, here, and here.  No I'm not in the Army, no that is not my arm.
• I read somewhere else that after ambulance crews revive your victims, they may get up and come after you again.

I'm in the process of adding all this to the GTA3 Info section.  Once again, thanks to GTA-3.com for the information.

The Yardies   <2:20 AM CST - schu>
Alfadog expanded my vocabulary today and informed me that the Yardies are in fact, a Jamaican gang.  Thanks to Alfadog for the following:

"You might be interested to know that the yardies ARE a Jamaican gang... they sell not only drugs but violence too. Thing is, as "Yank" is used for Americans, "Yardie" can also be associated with a person from Jamaica."

I've adjusted all previous updates on this topic to avoid any future confusion :) .

Rockstar's New Additions   <2:20 AM CST - schu>
I turned up some previews for two new games that Rockstar is publishing. The first is a sequel to Smuggler's Run and the second is State of Emergency. State of Emergency sounds extremely promising and looks pretty damn cool too (you can also find out more on State of Emergency at GameSpot UK).  Smuggler's Run 2 also sounds interesting and graphics look even better than the original.

New GTA3 Sites   <2:20 AM CST - schu>

• GTA3 Planet - www.gta3planet.cjb.net

  
Site Updates   <2:20 AM CST - schu>

• Thanks to all the people who sent me Birthday cards and emails.  It's still not too late, where's my damn card?!?
• The GTA3 Info section has been updated with the new information and screens from the PS2.IGN.com preview.  I also reworked a few rough parts.  I haven't worked out all the kinks so if something seems difficult to read or understand, please let me know.
• This is a request to all the webmasters out there...  If you use any of the major updates you find here, please give GOURANGA! a mention and a link.  I'd prefer just a link to my update rather than copying it straight to your site, but I'll take what I can get (the cut & paste issue doesn't include non-English sites, feel free to cut/paste/translate away)...  It might not look like much but reading, rewriting, rereading, editing, and posting new information isn't as easy as it looks.  That's not to say I'm not having fun doing it, but some updates can take a lot of time.  This isn't aimed at anyone in particular, I've just begun to notice some of my updates appearing with no credit or credit to the wrong site.

Swedish Rally   <11:59 PM CST - schu>
Artur Lion has released the full version of his Swedish Rally map for GTA.  You can find it on the GTAPL Rally2: Sweden site.

Crazy Sh*t   <11:59 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask,