Okay, a big update here, too. Some questions from people from magazines and general gamers. It is answered by one of the guys that got to sit in with Rockstar and watch them play San Andreas at E3.
Q: You go to R* and they sit you down in a room with a pr-guy and demo version, right? Did you get to play the game yourself? If so how does it play? And if you've seen the streets could you tell me if there is more (and more varied) traffic on the street than in 3 and VC??? Did you notice any shortcomings? And finally, what impressed you the most? Also. You mention kids, were there actual kids in the game?
A: What you describe is more or less correct, but the game is not in a finished state and thus, there is nothing I can say about the actual controls and the responsiveness of the gameplay which would be representative of the final product. It all moves beautifully on screen though and I can attest to a marked improvement in the method of combat, something I have long thought is RockStar's weakest link.
As for the streets they are far more active and cluttered than anything seen in previous versions - a testament to the improved power of the GTA engine and RockStar's dedication to make each of San Andreas regions distinct. The car makes and models are updated to 90s standards, of course. and in Los Santos there were quite a few dubbed-up rides too. As for more traffic...sure it gets busy in Los Santos but head out into the countryside and you can, at times, see no other vehicle.
As for shortcomings theres nothing worth commenting on at this stage. The game I saw was not complete for starters, plus, RockStar would not have actively shown me any flaws, if there are any...
I have seen a lot of talk on this thread regarding the possibility of kids in San Andreas. I hope I wasn't too misleading. San Andreas is a living, breathing world and there is the illusion that children do exist and play within it. But at no time do I recall seeing a kid out in the streets where it could fall into harms way.
I highly doubt that even the controversy-happy lads at RockStar would allow kids to become an interactive part of the San Andreas gameplay.
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Q: Since you've seen an early GTA-SA in action maybe you can shed a light on these questions, if you don't mind:
- Do vehicles and pedestrains spawn in front of your eyes, or is the traffic already there wherever you look? In one of the movies it seems that far away traffic can be seen. Distant traffic would be nice.
- Do you by any chance know if Rockstar implemented fractal logaryhtms to GTA-SA for 'predicting' traffic and pedestrians, i.e. like in the game 'Republic - The Revolution' (D.Hassabis, Elixir Studios, 2003)? In that huge city there were no random people and traffic. People had unique names, addresses etc. and could be followed living their lives. Early kinds of algorythms like that were used in the classic game 'Elite' (Braben, Bell, Microprose, 1984) and later on in 'Frontier' (Braben, Newtek, 1992). Smart software design which made a huge and quite accurate universe possible (without loading times ;-) ) Just curious. If this technique is used in some extend, GTA-SA will even be more devestating as it promises to become already.
A: Vehicles, buildings and other props appear up to five times further than what was seen in Vice City (i.e. 5x the draw distance). However, due to the dynamic weather of San Andreas, this can alter with your location. For example, the smog in L.S reduces visibility while the mists of S.F can do the same, although the later is dependent on the time of day. There were no sudden pop-ups if that is your concern.
To answer your second question I will give an example: If you sit outside an NPCs house one day, they could come out, get in their car or walk to work and then return home that evening. The next day, the same sprite might wake up, come out and head for the shops or a gym. The next they may cruise to a café, etc
This highlights the independent brain concept which Rockstar is promoting. How many actions are in the loop, or if there is a loop at all, remains to be seen.
This does suggest, however, that yes, each NPC is a unique being. But is it just an illusion or is it actual? And what would happen when you killed that sprite. Does he re-spawn the next day, or does his house just sit empty? Can you run over a dude and then rob his empty house? Well find out
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Q: 1. I think what the previous questioner wanted to know was that if you see a car coming towards you and then you turn around and then look back again and the car's disappeared which used to happen in vice city. Did u notice anything like that or was there more continuity in this one?
2. Also, when u drive cars do you get bad dents in the car after a minor accident like a bump with another car like in GTA:VC? The car would just bump into another car and it would cause some serious dents in the car! Or were you too excited to notice any of this!
A: Unfortunately, I can't help you with your questions. I didn't notice the disappearing cars, but with the vast improvements to the game's engine, I would expect this to have been fine-tuned as well.
As for the car damage, this had not been fully implemented in the version we saw, so I can't confirm how it will turn out. One interesting point, however, was that any modifications you buy for your car can get damaged or smashed completely off, requiring you to repair them or get brand new parts.
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Q: I have two questions:
1. Is it true that you can just walk into a random house, and you can find furniture and a family (or a person)in it , simpily 'living their lives'?
2.Kan je break down walls of buildings?
With a rocket-launcher for example, or a big truck ?
A: 1. Not all houses can be broken into, but yes, those that you can enter will have families in them living their lives. It is advised that you enter at night. That way they will be sleeping and you can silently go around and kill them all in their sleep!! If they are dead they will not hear a sound and come to investigate.
2. I didn't see destruction to that extent - only trees, light poles and things like that getting munched. That doesn't mean it will not be in the final game.
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Q: I have 2 questions :
1. How many varieties of air travel did you see? Were there more ways to get around? E.g (Car, Plane, Boat etc..)
2. RockStar say things are destructable. What kind of things?
A: 1. We only controlled the one small plane (although we did see another cruise past in the distance while chillin on Mt. Chiliad). We were, however, informed that there would be a wide variety of airborne craft. Each of the three cities has an airport and you can expect there to be quite a bit of variety ripe for the jacking.
As for other options, there are many rivers traversing the San Andreas countryside that you can shred down in power-boats and the like - which sounds like a cool way to get around - and you can also catch a train. Whether you can jack the train or not has yet to be confirmed by RockStar. In San Fierro you can jack and control trams (trolleys) though.
2. I saw trees, poles, cars, glass windows and the like being destroyed. I did not see any buildings or props of that magnitude getting hammered.
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Q: how would you get lost in sa if there are (assuming there are) maps and blips (and the map in the pause menu)? and by hinting towards skateboards what do you mean? did the pr guys mention something, or d'you see something resembling a skateboard lying around (or someone riding one!!!)?
skateboards would kick ass....
A: When you're on the roads youre usually ok. There are street signs and the like when you come to intersections, directing you to civilized centres. Barney off over a fence and into farmland and things are not as easy. However, when we ventured off into this region, we received a phone-call. It was not answered but it was going to be a prompt on where we should head next.
Since you can also use the rivers to move around, if you were to say, jump off your boat in the middle of nowhere and continue and foot, you may also have similar location issues. Remember that the on-screen map only shows a few blocks worth of space - and there are not even blocks out in the wilderness plus the pause game map is bloody huge.
To put the skateboard issue to rest - it came up in conversation, the question was asked, can you jack and ride skateboards in the game? No answer (yes or no) was given, just a 'wait and see' silence....
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Q: Did you see any interactions with normal street people? If so, what did it look like and what did it look like? Did you see the rag-doll physics or anyone losing limbs?
A: I did see some basic NPC to NPC interactions. For example, in L.S we saw two groups of gang member bump into each other. They gave each other hugs and elaborate hand shakes. Just like real life.....
Sorry, I didn't see anyone's limb fly off...
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Q: Hello Chris I just want to know will there be chainsaws in grand theft auto san andreas? It is one of my favorite weapons in vice city. Is Dave Chappelle The Voice Of C.J(Carl Johnson) In San Andreas?
A: I didn't personally see any chainsaws, but it is my understanding that they will be in the game. The vocal cast has yet to be confirmed. I thought CJ sounded a bit like Snoop Dogg, but for all I know, what I heard was just a stand-in.
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Q: Did you get to see the HUD at all?
Q: Did R* tell you anything new about wanted star system?
Q: Did you get the chance to see any of the map?
A: Yes, again this wasnt finished, but it was extremely reminiscent of Vice City.
A: No, sorry
A: I did, its bloody huge and I havent seen anything on the net yet which comes close to representing it.
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There are other questions, but answers are still pending. It's all here at:
http://www.gamepro.com.au/index.php?msgid=1296810645&cid=9
j/k 
who knows....Nah probably something along the lines of a sedan.
. If you used an airplane that'd be incredibly cheap. Who uses an airplane in the gumball rally?
