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MultiTheftAuto Development Continues
MultiTheftAuto Team writes "Today, MultiTheftAuto have released the first information about their new core technology that will be deployed in future versions of MultiTheftAuto. The new core technology, codenamed 'blue', offers many of the features that have been requested by the software's users over the last year and a half, these include: Support for boats, support for firing from vehicles, support for drive-bys, and support for planes. As well as supporting all these features, the new core will introduce a revolutionary new way of writing modifications for Vice City, combining the existing methods with a fully integrated C++ add-on system, giving anyone who wishes to the ability to create complex and exciting mods, far beyond the possibilities of 'traditional' methods."
But 7 of the developers have been shot and killed, 4 more are in the hospital recovering, 12 are in jail, and 3 are missing.
I guess all we're missing now is GameSpy support.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
GTA:Vice City was one of the best game I ever played (the 80`s soundtrack is amazing :) What`s better than cruising in an old car, uzi in hand on the beat of Michael Jackson?) and I appreciate efforts that aim at extending his life.
But with GTA:San Andreas around the corner, is it worth it?
Eureka Science News - automatically updated
and goes 'wha?'
Is this a floor wax? A Dessert topping?
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
its engines like this that are the way forward - Flashpoint, GTA, 1942 etc that allow massive worlds, vehicles and lots of freedom and interaction with objects. Also some decent maps or realistic cities help (the getaway was crap to be honest), stick all that together and you can create pretty amazing games easily!
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
...the same one they use to make 'blue' movies?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
After sometime those who are funding this will deploy their resources elsewhere and then one of the developers will come out with this thing called UniTheftAuto. This will soon become very popular but will be closed source. Then someone will write its clone and release it under an open source license and the new game will be called LinTheftAuto and will challenge Microsofts flagship games and the X-Box. Yeah, trust me. Thats exactly what happened to Multics
Here is the Coral cache.
I've never been a fan of c++ add-ons. You can't build a newbie-friendly community when your mods are potentially unsafe. Unreal, for example, allows c++ add-ons but it's considered very poor form. The big MSU contest bans entries with native code. These days I don't see c++ as a pro. When I see that I think of it more as a "no scripting language" con. I'd hate to see mods begin to bundle in other software, for example. I'd just much rather keep things in a safe sandbox. I certainly don't have the time or desire to review source code before playing a mod.
I was reading through the blurb and thinking "alright schweet, they're open sourcing it!"
;)
Guess not, but, I guess i'll be the one to say it, is this not a little excessive? I mean, we seem to going more and more to the direction of Rome and gladiators with the amount of outright violence that is considered entertainment.
When did we cross the threshhold to where beating a hooker was not enough?
Error 407 - No creative sig found
I loved GTA3 and I loved GTA:VC. And I really do understand the many, many reasons to release the next one, San Andreas, on the PS2. But it should be released on the PC.
And this article is why.
Multi-theft Auto basically takes the GTA franchise "all the way." I wouldn't dare suggest that GTA:VC wasn't worth the purchase price, and the developers reasons for not finishing the multiplayer portions (they didn't think they could do it to their own satisfaction, or that of other gamers) are totally understandable.
But that's what mod communities and dedicated fan-bases are for. I loved GTA:VC and having that experience multiplayer is just exciting. I'm confident San Andreas will be fantastic, but it will never be the game GTA3 or GTA:VC have become, because there won't be a "rename the cars to their real names" mod, or a mod that adds new and interesting vehicles, or a mod that creates a multiplayer, or text files where the physics engine can be toyed with...
Yeah, I know, their target audience doesn't give two shakes for neat-o physics engines. But I am sure ten years from now, those things will allow GTA:VC to stand out as a classic while San Andreas stands as another "merely good" game.
Unless we get a PC port...!
Get a free computer. No joke.
their site isn't slashdotted, and if you're not willing to spend tim ereading the blurb,why spend it writing questions (i know why, but hey, in a perfect world...) Multitheft auto lets you play GTA:3 and Vice city with multiplayer, so you have a server (which i think can run on linux) and clients. i believe you still need a full copy of whichever flavor of GTA you're using, though.
Don't worry - its just stigmata. Pass me a napkin and don't you dare tell my mother.
plainly: multi theft auto adds multiplayer capibilities to GTA3 for pc, which doesn't support multi out of the box.
Actually the site is slashdotted, I have all the same questions and the FAQs and other information will not load fully, when they do at all.
The Crips have been offering support for drive-bys for ages.
And then reality kicked in.....Phew!
..........FULL STOP.
Didn't look like it's /.'ed to me, and I'm having problems with my Internet connection. However, in case any more newbies complain, here's the text of the link in the article:
Introducing blue
blue is the codename of the new, revolutionary, core technology from MultiTheftAuto, built from the ground up over the last year. Below, we've outlined some of the amazing new features of blue and how this will affect you. We've listened to all your suggestions, and we've tried to implement as many of them as feasible into blue. We hope you like what you see; if you have any comments, questions or suggestions please use the forum here.
We'll be using this area to keep you up-to-date on the progress of blue.
Fully Integrated
blue is fully integrated into Vice City, this means that there is no longer an external program required to launch MultiTheftAuto. MultiTheftAuto now includes an integrated server browser, allowing you to choose which server to connect to without leaving Vice City. blue also contains a fully featured console, allowing you to change settings and bind keys to any command you choose as well as executing configurations scripts on demand.
Right: blue includes an integrated server browser
Smooth Gameplay
Due to the substantially improved methods we employ in blue, your game will now run much smoother and faster, with vehicles and players moving almost as smoothly as you'd expect in single player. And unlike previous MTA versions, bullets are now fully synchronized and 100% accurate, which means even more fun!
Left: blue makes it possible to use boats
Stable
By writing blue from the ground up we've been able to eliminate the crashes and errors that occurred with the previous core technology, by eliminating the use of the scm (Vice City's mission scripting system) entirely, we've produced a core that can be easily be fixed if errors arise. blue's new netcode is considerably more reliable and secure than the previous core and is very flexible, allowing us to reduce the bandwidth required per player.
Right: Cleanly integrated cursor driven menus makes blue a breeze to use
Feature full
blue supports almost every single Vice City feature, including every weapon type (even rocket launchers and snipers), vehicle can shoot, boats, planes, synchronized pickups and drive-bys. These are the features that you've been asking for ever since version 0.1, and they're here at last!
Left: Testing out the projectiles
Fully moddable
You've been asking for it forever, at last, blue supports modifications. You can now play you favourite modifications, such as GTA: Liberty City. blue pushes the boundaries of mods by allowing you to write game modes and extra features, giving you full control over blue and vice city, all through C++. This includes the ability to use common DirectX features and call any SCM functions you wish. We'll be providing an SDK and full documentation, plus tutorials on developing addons and learning the relevant c++, when blue is released. We will also be allowing some developers pre-release access so that they can help us iron out any bugs (contact us if you wish to apply). In short, blue addons offer all the functionality of the SCM (can be as long as you like!), plus hundreds more features offering you total control over the presentation of your modification.
Right: A simple particle engine is easy to implement in an addon
Improved Server
The new server for blue, codename "spearhead" handles much more information, this is vital for server addons, that are the root of gamemodes, providing important control over the creation of vehicles and other objects as well as controlling rounds (if required) and almost anything else. Server addons, used in conjunction with blue addons give you all the power you need to produce the most complex of game modes.
Left: Part of the code from a server addon
Get In
Microsoft Word to my mother?! Not on your life buddy!!! GNU software to you, your mother and everyone else on your block!
awsome. open sores for everyone.
B)See A.
C)Not unless you saw it posted on a news site that covered the game...oh wait....
D)Its not down, and what makes you think they purchased a slashvertisement? This is a VERY grassroots project that unlocked the multiplayer code from the original games and turned them into something that EVERYBODY who played them wanted.
Stop being so negative in your comments when you don't really know anything about what your posting on.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
I still wonder why there is no existing collaborating forces to develop an open game of the same type as GTA.
The hardest and most delicate task is to build the main engine. Then everyone on the net could offer what they can to the game... models, textures, missions, whatever fits with the engine.
Except maybe slow developement, what do I forget about game developping that the FOSS community can't afford?
I don't want to assault any prostitutes. I don't want to run down taxi drivers. I'd prefer drugs be legal than remain so expensive by dint of law that people *kill* other people to get them (and the money they produce). If it weren't already true, it would seem a ludicrous contrivance ...
:)
However, I enjoy driving. So could someone please make a mod which is just fun, even if dangerous in real life, driving about?
Oh, and make it run on Linux, too.
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
"I've never heard of this" "What is this?" Do you even go online? Who wouldn't want GTA to be Multiplayer? Bunch of newbies.
Flat Screen TV for F
Because I have just noticed it (and have been playing GTA:VC for quite a while now...) and it really rocks!
Why can't we say kudos to something that is not completely OS and shareable and hackable etc... These guys did a great job, the game is rock solid, and the gameplay really rocks.
Kudos.
get a free ipod! This really works... Only 2 more GMail invites left!...
Try not coming to slashdot
It was a serious question, not a statement about gaming in general. Are the homepage preferences broken?
I guess it's cool that these guys did this, but I always saw Grand Theft Auto more as a single-player game. It's fun to go on a rampage and shoot at stuff. It's fun to drive around with the tank.
:) )
(Oh yeah. Then there were those missions you had to do. Since it was less fun than going on a rampage, I usually skipped that part
If I played over the network, I would have to deal with people who cared about winning, and practiced the game-- i.e. gamers. NOT fun.
Just my $0.02
"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental." -Slashdot
Well, except for Acclaim.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Thats just the problem with MTA: theres no objective, no scores, no goal. You just drive around doing stunts and crashing into other players until you get bored (usually withing 5 minutes). While i applaud what these guys have been able to do with GTAVC, in terms of gameplay it just lacks any purpose :-\
That is exactly how Multiplayer in GTA 1 and 2 was. And I guess that's the reason Rockstar didn't implement MP into the game (and I guess the review scores would have been lower if it had bad MP rather than no MP...).
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
This is probably going to roast my karma beyond belief, but I feel a rant coming on - Sickens you? why? was the Russian school massacre started because of a computer game? no, it was started by Al Queda encouraging Chechen forces already angry because of the brutally unfair treatment of their country by the Russian army. (for your information, far more Chechens have been killed in raids and bombings of towns and cities by the Russians than Chechens have killed in terrorist attacks - the Russians have no moral high ground in that conflict. The school massacre was organized by Al Queda using the name of Chechnya to further their murderous intent - if any Chechen leader was involved at all it will be Shamil Basayev, he has a history of violent attacks and seiges in the name of Chechnya which have more bearing on the desires of muslim extremists than the Chechen people).
So tell me, where do you get off comparing a violent video game which millions around the world have played with no significant increase in violent crime encouraged by it to the decade-long 'slaughter of innocents' on both sides of a drawn-out and brutal war? I'm sorry, it doesn't compare. You are following the media bullshit line of saying video games encourage violent behaviour, only now you're comparing it to terrorism, whereas I refuse to believe video games encourage violence at all - I have been playing violent games since I was 8 years old, I'm also a huge fan of Industrial Metal music and action/horror movies. If the world was the way the media portrays it, I would be a mass murderer by now, yet the most illegal thing I'm likely to do is download as song I shouldn't from a P2P network. I and the millions of other people that play games like GTA without as much as a spot on their real-life criminal record are living proof that the 'violent games cause real-life violence' argument is a lie. Suffering and oppression cause violence, not games - I doubt many Chechens have ever heard of Grand Theft Auto, let alone played it, and if Klebold and Harris hadn't been mercilessly bullied by their peers they wouldn't have shot anyone, reguardless of how much Doom they played. Blaming games is a hideous way to direct blame away from the real culprits, those being the problems that lie in real-life society and not on a disc you insert into your PC from time to time, but when you start comparing it to the suffering of hundreds of Russian families and the oppression of many thousands of Chechens... it just doesn't compare.
I'm yet to see proof that games encourage violence, if anything they provide a vent for inherent violent urges within a person - if I'm mad, what's better? Virtual violence or a build-up of real-life anger? From a psychological point of view violent games provide an outlet, not encouragement. Oppression and extremism encourages massacre, not the latest Rockstar release. Look for yourself and stop relying on media scapegoating and you'll see it too, but instead I expect with the little you now know about me you will sit smugly expecting me to turn up on the news having killed a few dozen chilren because I wear dark clothes and like GTA, when this is clearly not going to happen, but I'm a lone voice against the force of mass media, what can I do? I can't convince you - but please don't trivialise the Chechen conflict by using it to show how 'terrible' violent games are.
Dealing with lawyers would be a lot less tedious if they all looked like Casey Novak.
heh, in my vast ignorance of gaming, I will have to google for Battlefield 1942 as well as Interstate 1982 :) That sounds rather fun; I don't mind the occasional (simulated) highway potshot if it means a mostly-driving game, I just don't want that to be the focus.
How about a game where you gain points by scowling (some key combination could take care of this) at drivers who are talking while turned toward the backseat, applying makeup, talking on the phone while weaving around and staring into space, changing lanes without benefit of blinkers, etc.?
Tim
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Werd. Flamebait needs to die! I just played GTA and now I need to kill someone, looks like it's time to trace Flamebait to his lair under a rock and kill him!
Flat Screen TV for F
1-It may not sync very well at all if he's all the way up there. 2-His clipping plain may not see any other players high up. 3-This is just camping in an FPS, if you can't kill they camper, you suck, not them. 4-How did he get up there? You can do it too. 5-There is probably a way to be unseen by the sniper, aka, hiding.
Flat Screen TV for F
They did not unlock the multiplayer code. The multiplayer code is simply not usable.
Having been with the team way back when 0.1 was released (and barely worked) and I saw the post on BetaNews, I was in their IRC channel to learn things. It was all so ghetto back then. It just controlled 'lastcar' so your last car driven would then become owned by otherplayer.
The rest of your post is right though.
Roland Piquepaille and slashd