Random Stuff   <10:30 PM CST - schu>

• This is the 400th update here at GOURANGA! since the last redesign!
• I spoke with the guys at Ziff Davis again and I was told that it's unlikely that the November issue of OPM will feature a GTA3 review.  However, I was also told that it will be more than a preview, and that it will be at least eight pages long!  That issue will be out on October 9th.
• HinGTA turned up multiple E3 interviews with Rockstar's own, Dan Houser.  Check out grandtheftauto3.net for links and details.

  
Screen Shot Studies   <10:30 PM CST - schu>
This is just something I noticed from the last batch of shots posted by IGN.  There is a van-thing in this shot (below), that matches the van-thing on the wall at DMA Design:

You can see the wall-shot from DMA Design at GTA-3.com.  I think the guys over at grandtheftauto3.net were guessing that the "van-thing" is actually an ice cream van.  It almost looks like a VW Microbus to me.  Anyway, the next observation comes from Alfadog (SVT5).  Alfa was saying that the corner of the red car on the right looks like a convertible. All this from one shot :) ...

G! Exclusive - Four New GTA3 Screen Shots   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
I've been working my ass off, sending emails to just about everyone I know who has anything to do with GTA3, and it finally paid off.  Not only did I bag four new GTA3 shots, but two of them are a cut above your everyday shot.  The first of these new shots finally gives us a clear view of the Cessna, with a great view of the Liberty City skyline in the background.  That's the downtown/commercial section of town in the background.  Believe me, the screen shot does not do it justice.  After you see it for real, you won't believe how big those skyscrapers are.  The second shot is probably one of the goriest shots yet.  From what I've heard, Rockstar is going for a more comical looking type of gore, mainly to keep within the tongue in cheek attitude of the GTA series.  The comical look may sacrifice some of the realism, but it also gives them a little leeway with the censors.  The final two shots really aren't anything special.  In fact, that last shot was taken a few frames after this shot, and just barely qualifies as new :) .  I should mention that these are NOT from Rockstar, DMA, or Take2, but rather someone who works with Rockstar (not for Rockstar), and would rather remain anonymous.

PC Zone's Preview - Bikes in GTA3?   <11:50 PM CST - schu>
Rev. Ted emailed me with a link to PC Zone's Grand Theft Auto 3 preview.  The preview is mainly a rehash of everything we've heard before, however there are two very interesting comments that may give motorcycle and helicopter fans a glimmer of hope:

"Clearly setting out to better the previous games and its imitators in every possible way, the game takes place in a convincing and thriving city populated by hundreds of unique pedestrians, police, SWAT teams, army units and vehicles. As well as just jacking over 40 types of cars, bikes and trucks, you'll be able to commandeer a variety of boats and even police helicopters, each promising unique and well-refined handling characteristics, designed to capture just the right balance between realistic modeling and arcade fun."

I'm not sure why they would mention bikes being in the game unless they were.  This is the first preview to ever mention motorcycles.  This is also the first time I've ever heard anyone say that you can actually "commandeer - police helicopters."  I can't wait to see if we can actually fly the helicopters, or perhaps we may just be able to ride the back of the helicopter, possibly as a gunner or something.  The comment, "a variety of boats" also may indicate that there is more than one type of boat.  Speedboats are the obvious choice, but this opens up the possibility of other types of boats as well (tugs, yachts, etc).  I'm still taking all this new information with a grain of salt.  So far I haven't seen a motorcycle in any of the screen shots nor have I seen any evidence that may indicate the ability to pilot the helicopters.  Then again, we haven't seen any shots of the boats in GTA3, but I know for a fact that they will be in there.  In the mean time, I'm going to try to get in contact with the author of the preview to see if I can get some of this clarified.

Upcoming GTA3 Print Previews   <11:30 PM CST - schu>
I've been checking with my friends at Ziff Davis publishing and it looks like there are at least two GTA3 previews headed our way, courtesy of the Official Playstation Magazine.  Both the September & November issues will feature GTA3 content.  The September issue will feature a decent sized preview along with a four-page minifeature on Rockstar Games and their philosophy.  That issue hits the newsstand on August 14th, but should be in subscribers hands well before that.  GTA3 will also be the cover feature in the November issue.  I'm not sure if it will be an actual review at that point or another preview.  Regardless, that issue will be available on October 9th.

Regular Updater Award!   <11:30 PM CST - schu>
The Adrealizers have awarded me the "Regular Updater Award."  I have to admit that this month hasn't been the best example of that, but I do appreciate it :) .

Crazy Sh*t   <11:30 PM CST - schu>
What happens when Arnold Schwarzenegger calls Gateway and Al Pacino calls the Cracker Barrel?  Don't ask, just click!  Be forewarned that some of mp3's on this site contain profanity, especially the Joe Pesci and Al Pacino ones.

Random Stuff   <6:30 PM CST - schu>

• Well, I thought something would have turned up by now, but GTA3 news seems to be a rare commodity these days.  At least we can count on a new issue of Liberty Tree within a week or so.
• I looked around a few online retailers and five out of six of the retailers I checked were reporting an October 2nd release date for the PS2 version.  I only found one retailer offering a pre-order on the GBA version.  They were showing a November 15th release for the GBA version.  The PC version still doesn't have an official release date so I guess the current estimated release of Spring 2002 (six months after the PS2 version) for the PC version still stands.  I would imagine the XBox version will closely follow the PC version.  Still no word on whether the PC & XBox versions will be released outside of the USA.  Previously there have been rumors that the PS2 version may be the only version released outside the USA.  So, to sum up:
  • PS2 - October 2, 2001
  • PC - Spring 2002 (April 2002)
  • XBox - Spring/Summer 2002
  • Game Boy Advance - November 15, 2001
• I added a few more box shots to the GTA3 Artwork pages.  The most interesting is this one:

  

  
I Have Returned   <4:00 AM CST - schu>
Ok, I'm back in town again and I will resume updates after I get some sleep.  One quick word of warning though.  I'd highly suggest running a decent virus scanner at all times.  In the time I was gone I got around 20-30 emails that were all automatically sent by the SirCam virus.  I replied to everyone who sent an infected email to inform them about the virus.  Luckily my virus scanners caught all the infected emails, but just in case, I'm going to scan my computer to make sure its clean.

Grand Theft Australia   <8:50 PM CST - schu>
Justin has released a new mod for GTA, Grand Theft Auto: Grand Theft Australia, beta 1.1.  You can download it from www.gtaust.cjb.net.

Crazy Sh*t   <8:50 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!

Site Updates   <8:50 PM CST - schu>

• I'll be out of town from Saturday until Tuesday, so the next update will probably happen on Tuesday night or sometime on Wednesday.
• Just a quick note on yesterday's update.  None of the shots I posted yesterday was actually new.  A slightly different version of the yellow car was previously been posted at gta-3.com, a postage stamp sized version of the red car was posted on Rockstar's site awhile back, and the shot with the green car was originally posted on IGN's site.  These are just some shots I've been trying to get for awhile now, I just wanted to get "official" versions of them straight from Rockstar.  One last comment.  Alfadog (SVT5) noted that the red car may be the same car from the screen shots that looks like a Testarossa from the back.  Obviously the front has been heavily modified.  Unfortunately none of the in-game screenshots show the front of the car, just the side and the back.  Alfadog is hoping he is wrong, because it looks like they took the back of a Testarossa and jammed it onto an Americanized front end.

New UN-Watermarked GTA3 Shots   <7:20 PM CST - schu>
I finally got hold of the four new GTA3 shots, without the watermarks.  You can check those out in the last update (Sunday's update).  That's not all though.  While I was trying to get the UN-watermarked versions of the four new shots, I also got a two other shots that were previously released with watermarks.  Along with those shots I also got a red vehicle render that was previously on Rockstar's site, unfortunately, until now, it was too small to be of any use.  I also attempted to get better shots of the GTA3 development maps, but I was told that they weren't finalized and that they couldn't release any of them.  Next, I'll work on getting new shots and renders...  I doubt it will happen, but what the hell, it can't hurt to try.

GTA2 Mods & GTA2 Map Editor Bugs   <7:20 PM CST - schu>
First, the mods, then on to the bugs.  I got a few emails on some upcoming GTA2 mods.  The first is called GTA2Hull.  Not much to say, but you can find out more at www.gta2hull.f2s.com.

The second is a mod by ILLSPIRIT, Snowball City 2 - Flood City.  Flood City takes place in the old Snowball City (a GTA mod), after all the snow has melted.  Parts of the city are flooded, but you can still drive through them.  You can check out a few shots from the mod, here & here.  A preview version of the GTA2 mod is also available in the GTA2/Maps section, or, right here (236k).

Now, on to the GTA2 map editor bugs.  ILLSPIRIT has turned up a few different bugs in the GTA2 map editor while developing SC2 - Flood City.  This information may be helpful to anyone else using the editor.  Here is the email:

"Remember how I said a while back that my map editor wasn't showing tiles in the tile palette unless I clicked on it?  Well I gave up on trying to fix it it and decided to keep working on the SC2/flood map anyway.  I did some new tiles for the flooded area and in the process I figured out another bug in the map editor.  It doesn't accept style files with extra palette's in them.  In order to edit maps with custom tiles, one has to make a style using the default palettes just for editing.  Just thought I'd pass this info along.  I haven't heard of any other conversions for GTA2 going on, but it might be helpful to someone."

  
Zaibatsu: Polskie Centrum Graczy   <7:20 PM CST - schu>
Polish GTA site, Zaibatsu: Polskie Centrum Graczy, has been redesigned.  Check out the new look at gta.nano.pl

Site Updates   <7:20 PM CST - schu>

• I apologize for the lack of recent updates.  I was out of town most of the week but there really hasn't been much to update on anyway.
• In the last set of four shots, Alfadog (SVT5) commented that the position of the helicopter in the first shot is a bit worrying.  Its position and height in that shot do look a bit odd.  I think the main concern is that the helicopter AI won't be realistic.  Then again, I doubt Rockstar will release GTA3 without clearing up any problems.

Four New GTA3 Shots   <2:30 AM CST - schu>
Well I almost gave up on Monday's update due to lack of news, then I came across these shots so I figured I'd go ahead and post em now, rather than wait till Monday.  I found them stashed away on an Italian web site, PS2.it. The shots look fairly new and seem to match up well with the last batch of shots the Rockstar webmaster sent out.  In the mean time I'm trying to get some un-watermarked versions of the same shots.

GrandTheftAuto.com   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
My old URL, GrandTheftAuto.com, was set free by ASC Games just long enough to be snapped up by a domain reseller.  I went ahead and informed Rockstar Games about this and they promptly acquired the URL, hopefully with future plans for it's use.  I didn't even realize a domain reseller had it until I saw DigitalD's update on grandtheftauto3.net.

More GTA3 Car Theories   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Andy sent in his guesses on two of the cars in GTA3.  The first comparison is on this shot.  Andy is guessing the car in that shot is based on a 1968 Pontiac GTO.  Andy's second guess is on this car, which he thinks is based on a '78 Ford Thunderbird.  So far Andy's guesses look pretty solid, the GTA3 vehicles obviously aren't identical to them, but rather inspired by them, which is probably what we'll see throughout the game in order to avoid any licensing problems.

Miracle Maker 2 Update   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
The GTA2 mission script editor, Miracle Maker 2, has been updated to version 1.28b.  Actually, it was released at the end of June, but the email was sent to an older address so I didn't notice it until now.  <miracle maker> fixed a bunch of bugs with this release, he also added new program features and improvements. The big new feature on the list is the ability to add new Kill Frenzies to a map.  You can download Miracle Maker 2 from www.miraclemaker.tsx.org.

New GTA2 Map   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Gunman has released the first version of his map, The 101 Dementias (134k).  The map itself is rather small at the moment, but comes with three .SCR files.  The first SCR file has nothing in it, the second has some parked cars, and the third has parked cars, sounds, car alarms, and 51 different cars.  Currently there are no missions, but Gunman hopes to add missions that allow you work for the good guys and the bad guys.

Gfa Town   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
RipperioN recently started development on a new GTA map, Gfa Town.  More information about Gfa Town will be available soon in the Darkside section of GTA Paradise.  Currently RipperioN's team has a texture artist, a mapper, and a webmaster.  They are still looking for a skilled GTA mission coder.  If you're interested, please contact RipperioN or Jozz.

Crazy Sh*t   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!

Site Updates   <10:00 PM CST - schu>
Sorry about the lack of updates, but there really isn't much going on lately, especially on the GTA3 front.

GTA3 on IGN's Must-Have List   <12:00 AM CST - schu>
Three of Rockstar's titles have made IGN's 2001, PS2 Must-Have List.  Grand Theft Auto 3, Smuggler's Run, and State of Emergency all made the cut.  Here is a little of what they had to say:

"This remarkable game doesn't have the graphic finesse as some of the other titles in this list, but the gameplay is all gold. Grand Theft Auto 3 completely revamps the series with a seemingly endless set of cities and suburbs that live with people and traffic, and whose AI reacts to everything you do. Players can get out of the car, ride in or on the car, and they have a wide array of missions that takes them to a whole new level of gameplay. The music, the weapons, the vehicles, and the control are all superb. It's going to be quiet an amazing fall."

I bolded some of the text that Shoopz brought to my attention, where they say it's possible to "ride in or on the car".  It sounds like we'll be able to jump on top of a car and then "surf" on it.  I seem to recall someone in a previous preview saying something about this as well.  Something about sitting on top of car and sniping at people as the car drove through the city :) .  I'm not sure how difficult it will be to stay on top of a car as it drives around but it sounds like a lot of fun.  Thanks to Shoopz for his email on this.

Jozz's GTA-Rally   <12:00 AM CST - schu>
Jozz sent in the latest version of his map, GTA-Rally.  I seem to recall that there are other projects out there bearing similar names, so don't get this confused with something else.  The map is fairly large, and from what I could tell in J25 it looks rather interesting.  The central part of town has some nice looking architecture, but the outer lying regions seem to be devoid of buildings at the moment. The readme file seems to imply that it's still under construction, so hopefully Jozz plans to do add to his creation in the future.  Here is an image of the map itself, you can download GTA-Rally here (131k), or from the GTA Maps page here at GOURANGA!.  Thanks to Jozz for sending in his map.

Monster Truck?   <11:00 PM CST - schu>
I got a few emails about the monster truck ad in the last Liberty Tree.  Mainly, a lot of people are beginning to wonder if the ad implies that GTA3 will feature a monster truck.  I'm not so sure that it's anything more than a humorous ad, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too high.  After all, Liberty Tree also featured an ad for a nail gun, but so far we haven't seen any other hints that GTA3 will feature a nail gun.  I guess we'll have to wait to find out for sure.  Thanks to James and Mike for their emails on this.

New GTA Sites   <11:00 PM CST - schu>

• Whes' GTA3 Site
  grandtheftauto3world.homestead.com/gta3.html
  
• GTA Gatherup
  gta_gatherup.tripod.com/index.htm
  
• GTA Paradise
  www.gtaparadise.homestead.com/GTAParadise.html

Site Updates   <11:00 PM CST - schu>

• Well it's been rather slow lately, but I'm sure you can see that :)
• I would be remiss if I didn't mention the game I'm currently addicted to.  If you are into Bullfrog games like Dungeon Keeper and Theme Hospital, you should really check out Startopia.  It was created by ex-Bullfrog employees and bears a striking resemblance to Bullfrog's past games.  It basically takes a lot of the best elements of the Dungeon Keeper series, throws in a little Theme Hospital, and drops it into a space station.  If you're interested, check out the reviews at Gamespot & IGN.  A demo has been released for it as well.  Definitely worth the money if you like those sorts of games.

Grand Theft Auto 3 Font   <1:00 AM CST - schu>
Ray Larabie sent me the latest revision of the GTA3 font (pricedown.ttf) (16k).  This is probably the final version of the font.  Thank to Ray for all his work on this.

GTA2 Guide @ GTA Sentinel   <1:00 AM CST - schu>
Having trouble with GTA2?  Check out GTA Sentinel's newly added GTA2 guide.  The guide is a full GTA2 walkthough created by Oz.

Crazy Sh*t   <1:00 AM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just click!

Site Updates   <1:00 AM CST - schu>
Well, that last two days have been rather slow, hence the lack of updates.

Liberty Tree #6 On-line   <3:00 AM CST - schu>
Rockstar has released the July issue of Liberty Tree.  With each issue, Rockstar appears to be including more and more relevant game information.  This issue in particular drops a lot of names and insights in the Liberty City's Mafia scene.  This issue also offers five new screen shots of GTA3's various in-game cutscenes.

	This shot shows Mafia crime boss, Salvatore Leone and his son, Joey Leone.
	Inside Joey Leone's garage.
	Toni Cipriani, heir to Liberty City's best-known Italian empire, Momma's Restaurant.  Tony is a "distributor" for the Leone family.  I think the two guys in the foreground are the main character (right) and possibly a newer version of 8-Ball on the left.
	A scene outside Momma's Restaurant.  Once again, the guys in this shot are the same from the previous shot.
	Luigi Goterelli, owner of the notorious Sex Club Seven.

Sky-Scraper's New Message Board   <3:00 AM CST - schu>
ElBazo would like to invite you all to check out his new message board @ Sky-Scraper.net.  Go check it out, register, and post something :) .

Busted Goes Multilingual   <3:00 AM CST - schu>
Polish GTA site, Busted, now features a Polish and English version.  Go take a look at www.busted.nano.pl.

New GTA Sites   <3:00 AM CST - schu>

• Gonrah's Spanish GTA3 Site
  grandtheftauto.8m.com/Gta/Gta.htm

  
Site Updates   <3:00 AM CST - schu>
Just a few comments on the six new GTA3 shots I posted yesterday.  This shot shows a few more angles on the FBI sedan and this shot gives us a side view of the station wagon.  One other minor thing I noticed in the FBI sedan shot.  They actually took the time to lower the street where they put a storm drain in.  Just another example of the attention to detail.  I would really like to see rough pavement, pot holes, and other random street hazards included as well.  Construction areas with mounds of dirt to launch your car off, areas that flood during a heavy rain, and that sort of thing.  I'm not sure how far they will go, but I can't wait to find out.

New GTA3 Shots   <3:00 PM CST - schu>
Take2 Germany has released six new GTA3 screen shots.  Thanks to Gleb for emailing me about this, check out his site, GTA Zone, for more great GTA coverage.

Site Updates   <3:00 PM CST - schu>

• I've only got time for one quick update right now, I'll get to the rest of the news later today or tomorrow.
• Keep an eye on Liberty Tree for new GTA3 screens, I'd imagine Rockstar will be updating it sometime soon.