Rockstar Newswire

Sun-kissed beaches, glamorous night spots, sprawling mansions, squalid ghettos and the various vehicles you use to traverse them...
Creating the world of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City called for tireless and meticulous City Design in making its ambitious level of architecture, locations and modes of transport possible. Today's concluding Part 3 of "The Lab" - a rare behind the scenes look at the design of Vice City through interactive displays originally produced nearly a decade ago for an exhibit at London's Design Museum - has some very special glimpses of the modeling, interior design, and 3D rendering that brought Vice City to life. 

• “Buildings”- Rare rendering videos that show the Cherry Poppers ice cream factory, the Malibu Club, and the Diaz Mansion from wireframes through to 3D models and fully rendered locations in the game world.
   
• “Interiors” - 360-degree video tours of the inside of the Ocean Apartments lobby and dining room, the Malibu Club's dance floor, and Ken Rosenberg's stately office.
   
• "City Wireframe”- Focused around the city's Downtown area with its hi-rises and landmark Hyman Stadium, see the city come alive from wireframes to final city render with a view to the south.
   
• "City Renders" - Render images of various parts about the city both interior and exterior - living spaces, work spaces, playtime and outside vistas.
   
• "Vehicle Design" - 3D models, wireframes, final renders and damage models for a variety of vehicle types in the game - the Box Ville truck, the Faggio scooter, Squalo speedboat, Sandking rover, Hermes vintage sedan, and the Maverick chopper.

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Previously:
Part One: Animation | Part Two: Sound

Part two in of our special three-part series in honor of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's 10th anniversary, "The Lab" - a set of interactive tours through the game's design elements that originally appeared nearly a decade ago as part of an installation recognizing Vice City at London's Design Museum - focuses on the painstaking work poured into the game's sound design.

From the attention paid to the Vice City radio dial which hosted an unprecedented soundtrack of licensed music from the 80s plus original 'talk radio' stations, to the intensive sound design that helped make the game's open world come alive, today's edition of The Lab has some glimpses behind the scenes that have never been published online til today:

• “Radio Stations”- Tune in to audio from all 9 original radio stations from the Vice City radio dial: Fever 105 (soul hosted by Oliver "Ladykiller" Biscuit), Radio Espantoso (latin hosted by Pepe), Emotion 98.3 (ballads hosted by Fernando Martinez), Wave 103 (new wave hosted by Adam First), Wildstyle Pirate Radio (rap hosted by Super Rockin' Mr. Magic), V-Rock (rock hosted by Lazlow), Flash FM (pop hosted by Toni) and talk stations K-Chat and VCPR. For the 7 music stations, you can hear snippet mixes of selected excerpts whilst for the 2 talk radio stations, "The Lab" contains the station audio in its entirety for a full streaming listen.
   
• “SoundFX” - A special breakdown of just one small element of Vice City's sound design - helicopter sound effects. As the section explains, the total amount of space available at the time for sound effects would hold less than 12 seconds of music from a CD, therefore all of the sounds created for the city needed to be very short. Each sound has to be produced in isolation so that it can be controlled independently depending on how the player interacts with the game. Listen to the various individual sounds used and then check out a video demo of the final product in action as Tommy Vercetti lifts off in the chopper.
   
• "Pedestrians”- Wherever you go in the streets of Vice City - from the beach to the shopping mall to the airport - you're sure to overhear tons of colorful dialogue from the city's resident peds. Strutting playboys, lecherous pervs, blue collar slobs, glamorous fly girls, and more - have a look and listen to a sampling of the vast audio recorded in populating Vice City's ambient world.

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Previously:
The Lab Part 1: Animation

Here’s a special treat from the archives. Nearly ten years ago, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was honored by London’s Design Museum as an annual design award nominee recognizing the ‘biggest contribution to design in 2002’ alongside such other newfangled technology as Apple’s iPod. Part of the award festivities included a special installation at the museum for which we produced an exclusive set of interactive kiosks to give visitors a glimpse of how Vice City was created – specifically focused on the game’s Animation, Sound, and City Design architecture. In honor of Vice City's 10th anniversary and release for Android and iOS, we’ve dug up the original files from this digital display not seen since the original museum exhibition and for the first time are publishing the entire three-part series online – starting with today’s Animation chapter seen above. Enjoy rare footage and sketches including:

• “Motion Capture”- a rare video showing a cutscene between Kent Paul and Tommy Vercetti going from motion-capture through to 3D model wireframe to finished product.
   
• “Sketch Book” - a progression of original character sketches through to final models and now-iconic illustrations of such folks as Lance Vance, Avery Carrington, Ken Rosenberg and more. 
   
• “Tommy Moves”- a set of clips showing the genesis of Tommy’s animations whether jumping into a Comet sports car, dive kicking a biker off his chopper or running with a chainsaw...

Embed code is provided below for anyone who’d like to re-post – and be on the lookout for Parts Two and Three quite soon.

Since last month's release of the second Grand Theft Auto V trailer, we've seen all sorts of fun original creations, analysis and other GTA-inspired madness popping up on the web and reliably featured by the faithful ring of dedicated fansites out there. Here's a roundup of just a few goodies worth checking out...
 

• The same day as the Official Trailer that Wednesday the 14th, quite talented fan artist Ferino Design from deviantART posted the above impressive motion graphics piece, "Grand Theft Auto V: Art in Motion" - which takes an assortment of GTAV illustrations and brings them to life over a nice vibey dusted out mélange of Gil Scott Heron and Ghostface Killah. Can't argue with that. Kudos to Ferino and special shout to the folks at GTAGaming for being amongst the first to bring it to our attention.
   
• A loyal attendee of our Social Club multiplayer events and longtime fansite community member, GermanScientist of RockstarBase.com created this sweet gallery of animated GIFs culling fan-favorite moments from Trailer 2. You can dial through them all at http://www.rockstarbase.com/grand-theft-auto-v-gifs to grab clips perfectly suited for Tumblr or forum use including such shots as the Three Wise Monkeys sequence, a slo-mo rendering of Trevor's brush on the railways, and the airborne bailout over Los Santos.

Via Rockstar24.eu, Grand Theft Auto V at the top, and 2004's GTA: San Andreas at the bottom.

• Polish fansite Rockstar24.eu recently showcased a fairly comprehensive comparison gallery of Los Santos pitting the city as it appeared in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas against screenshots from Grand Theft Auto V that originally appeared on GTAForums. Strong work rounding up such spot on compositions in San Andreas. Have a look at the entire gallery at http://rockstar24.eu/portal/?p=255.
   
• Your reactions, commentary, analysis and speculation in the wake of Trailer 2 kicked off within moments of its release and are still ongoing whether on YouTube, here at the Newswire, or at fan forums around the web. Massive, massive thanks to GTA fans everywhere for the love you've shown for the trailer and for the awesome excitement and anticipation you've shown for the game this spring - believe that we're just as excited to get GTAV in your hands. Stay tuned for lots more to see and hear about the game in the new year, but of course also expect that as always we'll be keeping a good bit of info back as things for you to discover for yourself by experiencing them firsthand when GTAV comes out. In the meantime, here's some speculative fan recaps and analysis posts you can dive into at Rockstar Network, GTA Warehouse, the ongoing 'Mapping Los Santos' project at GTAForums and in polish at Rockstar24.eu. Feel free to share other cool ones in comments below.

Toronto's Brandon Arseneault recreated two of Vice City's most iconic ladies with a provocative pin-up girl twist.

• Brandon Arseneault on deviantART recently painted these striking homages to the ladies of Vice City below - namely the iconic Martini Girl complete with brilliant diamond shaped earrings and pink bikini, and adult film superstar Candy Suxxx in her signature patriotic swimwear - giving the original character concepts a provocative pin up girl twist.


• Ubiquitious Social Club member and avid YouTube broadcaster GTALAD4EVA aka Lewis recently put together a sweetly sentimental tribute to GTAIV that he calls Grand Theft Auto IV -  Goodbye Liberty City (Get Ready for GTA V). Nice one, Lewis - although of course there's still much action still to be had in the streets of Liberty.
   

• This one caught our eye a couple weeks back on YouTube. An impressively made live-action GTA fan film from director Gevorg Karensky.
  "Grand Theft Auto: RISE is about the birth of an underground hero. He is not the hero that we are used to seeing. He is submerged in his own internal darkness. He is a protagonist. People will fall, things will break, he will be left standing alone in a tunnel with no light at the end.
  This is a different take on the live action version of the world famous Grand Theft Auto IV."
  There's also a short 'making of' video showing some behind the scenes footage of how it all came together, and another clip posted showing a glimpse of the visual effects trickery used in post-production. Cheers once again to GTAGaming for being amongst the first to send it our way.

• Last but not least, and also in the vein of the throwback GTA comparison shot gallery mentioned above, this clever fan-created video above is an attempt at recreating GTAV Trailer 2 shot-for-shot using mimicked footage taken from Grand Theft Auto IV in Liberty City. Amazingly, the clip was completed in just three days, having been uploaded on November 17th. A shout to Social Club members d10nislaw, phaedra90731, KillerAssassin16, RamzHBK and zigeclolek - just a few of the fans who shared it here in the Trailer 2 Newswire comments.

Thanks once again to the entire GTA fan community for your amazing support and excitement. Stay tuned for more and of course if you've seen something great at the fansites or around the community worth sharing, or if you've created something you'd like to let us know about, we'd love to check it out - just drop us a line at mouthoff@rockstargames.com.

Update: The event has ended, but Triple XP is on all weekend long. Enjoy!

We're kicking off our winter slate of Social Club Multiplayer Events Friday December 7th with a Red Dead Redemption Triple XP throwdown across both platforms. Join us in Free Roam on the Red Dead multiplayer frontier at 4pm EST / 9pm GMT with your favorite mount as we'll be playing through all of the game's mutliplayer modes including a few rounds of Undead Overrun from the Undead Nightmare expansion. We'll be online until 7pm EST / 12am GMT, but the Triple XP will be live all weekend long, even after the event comes to its conclusion.

OFFICIAL ROCKSTAR IDs

• RedDeadDev3 (Xbox 360)
• RedDeadDev4 (PS3)
• RedDeadDev5 (Xbox 360 on Twitch)
• RedDeadDev6 (PS3)

HOW TO FIND US
We'll invite some players during the event, but please keep in mind that we might not necessarily be able to get you in right at the beginning. Lot of players often attempt to send over friend requests and messages simultaneously, and we try to give priority to those asking in a respectful manner via chat or in comments... please don't spam!

To get started, select Multiplayer from the main menu, and choose Normal from the list of difficulties. We'll hop into some Hardcore matches during the day for sure, but we generally like to get started with Normal difficulty.

ADDITIONAL TIPS

• Want to earn Triple XP, and fast? First lead your posse to Warthington's Ranch, then head to Pike's Basin, a Gang Hideout between Armadillo and MacFarlane's Ranch. Have a look at the in-game map, as both locations are marked in big letters. We recommend doing this with three or more players in a posse. Twin Rocks is another possibility, located northwest of Armadillo, but it doesn't reward as much XP as Pike's Basin does.
• If you're having issues finding us or getting an invite, watch one of the video streams. Take note of the mode we're playing, and you might be able to join us by selecting that same mode in your game.
• Submit your Gamertag or ID once in the comments section for this article about an hour before the multiplayer event begins. Let us know whether you're on PS3 or Xbox 360, and we'll be able to get you on our list and invited to the next available game.

Feel free to drop your own tips in the comments below in advance of Friday's festivities...

Previously:
Recap, Video & Screens from the Red Dead Redemption Social Club Multiplayer Event on September 13
Recapping the July 27th Red Dead Redemption PSN Social Club Multiplayer Event
Red Dead Redemption PSN Social Club Multiplayer Event Recap Featuring Contest Winners and Fan Videos

Update: The event had ended. Thanks to everyone that joined in to watch, play, chat and to enter to win prizes.

Play Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer, enter to win cool prizes, watch Rockstar play the game and chat with other Social Club members Thursday November 29th from 4-7pm EST / 9pm-12am GMT. We'll be playing both GTAIV and Episodes from Liberty City on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, switching to The Lost and Damned for the middle hour and finishing with The Ballad of Gay Tony for the finale.

Five nifty prize packs will be given away. Each one includes a Rockstar Machine Tee, GTAIV license plate, a bonus Max Payne 3 t-shirt and a bunch of stickers. All you need to do to enter is give us some information so we know, should you win, where to send the package. All the details stay with us. We don't give them out to anyone that's going to spam you with emails or whatever.

If you want to go in fully prepped and ready to go, we recommend doing the following:

• Head in-game before things begin Thursday to prepare your multiplayer avatar's look. Gotta look sharp for the video streams on the Social Club multiplayer event page and Twitch.
• Be sure to hit up your friends ahead of time so you can get together in Party Mode to strategize for Team Deathmatch. Rallying points, places to avoid, body armor spots, etc.
• Take a few practice runs at the tracks in GTA Race so you're solid on the shortcuts and weapon pickups.
• Enter a few Deathmatch games to warm up on your shooting and aiming skills. Quick, efficient kills.
• And most importantly, be sure you've got the discs nearby and the games and patches installed. Game installation is optional on 360.

ROCKSTAR DEV ACCOUNTS

• GwRockstar3 (Xbox LIVE)
• PlayRockstar (PSN)
• GwRockstar1 (PC & streamed on our Twitch TV channel)
• GwRockstar4 (Xbox LIVE)
• GwRockstar2 (PC)

Only add one of our devs to your friends list to play. We will clear each account's friend list at the start of the event and accept as many invites as we can. We recommend playing with Social Club members, as getting in a game with a dev is not a guarantee. It is, though, something we attempt to do for everyone each time we host a multiplayer event.

FINDING US IN-GAME
Pay attention to the live chat on the Social Club multiplayer event page. We'll announce where we're at in there. We'll begin in Grand Theft Auto IV in GTA Race, and later progress to The Lost and Damned in the second hour and The Ballad of Gay Tony in the final hour. Use the in-game cellphone to select the mode we're playing during the event.

NEED A PARTNER?
For team-based modes such as Team Deathmatch, gather your friends using Party Mode. You can also hit up the chat during the event or just post your PSN ID/Gamertag in the Comments section below.

ABOUT PARTY MODE
Party Mode is an easy way to get your group together and find matches.  Here are the three quick and easy steps to get you up and running:

• Save your current game. To get started, fire up the in-game mobile phone by pressing "Up" on the d-pad. Select Multiplayer > Party Mode > Yes.
• Next, open up your phone again and select the Friends option to invite at least one person into your Party Mode game.
• Once your team is ready to roll, open up the in-game phone again and select Games > GTA Race.

Announcing the Winter Calendar lineup of official Rockstar Social Club Multiplayer Events with action lined up across Red Dead (including Undead Nightmare and the Complete Edition), Grand Theft Auto IV (including the Episodes modes) and Max Payne 3 (including all the latest and greatest DLC modes). A whole new slate of opportunities to prove your mettle online against your fellow sharpshooters of Social Club, as well as taking on our Rockstar Devs in all of your favorite game modes. The Social Club multiplayer events page will be fired up with a hearth of live streaming action for each event and exclusive prize pack sweepstake gifts - not to mention event leaderboards, live Rockstar-hosted chat and bonus XP de rigueur. Also keep an eye out for chances to unlock new and exclusive Social Club avatar items for your Max Payne 3 Loadouts - we'll of course announce specific details along those lines about unlocks, prizing, special guest players and more in the days leading up to each event. 

Here are the Winter Calendar dates:

• Friday, December 7th
  Red Dead Redemption (including Undead Nightmare)
  PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  4-7pm EST / 9pm-12am GMT


• Saturday, December 15th
  Max Payne 3
  PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  11am-2pm EST / 4-7pm GMT


• Friday, January 11th
  Max Payne 3
  PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  4-7pm EST / 9pm-12am GMT


• Friday, January 25th
  Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes from Liberty City
  PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  11am-2pm EST / 4-7pm GMT


• Thursday, February 7th
  Max Payne 3
  PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  12-3pm EST / 4-7pm GMT
  
  Red Dead Redemption (including Undead Nightmare)
  PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  4-7pm EST / 9pm-12am GMT
   
• Saturday, February 23rd
  Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes from Liberty City
  PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
  11am-2pm EST / 4-7pm GMT

Events will always include:

• Chances to Play with/against Rockstar. Some of the very folks who helped create your favorite Rockstar multiplayer games jump online in these sessions to play with fans across Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Network and on PC.
   
• Exclusive Prize Packs. Enter on the day of each event to have your name drawn to win gear in each of the six events - some of these will definitely include chances to score Grand Theft Auto V gear. Prizing also includes official t-shirts and special collectibles such as Rockstar keychains, Red Dead playing cards and GTAIV license plates, as well as Rockstar stickers and more.


• Live Video Streams. Flip between two live high resolution video streams on our events page, each showing the in-game view of a Rockstar dev player. We're also on our Twitch page with another stream, showing the stream of a third Rockstar player. Listen in as Rockstar devs often coordinate over headset to dominate the competition.


• Leaderboards and Unlocks. Participate with us in Max Payne 3 multiplayer during the dates listed above to compete in the leaderboards and for your chance to receive new unlocks. Back in October we gave away some new Max Payne 3 skull masks, and we have a few more we're lining up to give away during the winter.


• Bonus XP. More weeknights and weekends of bonus XP are coming for Red Dead and Max Payne 3.


• Live Chat. We'll have two Rockstar-hosted chatrooms running during the day, the first being on the events page and the second on Twitch.

We're also known to jump online to play completely unscheduled and unannounced, just throwing out an impromptu word via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Steam (for PC matches) when we feel like a bit of multiplayer mayhem. So do make sure you're following us at any or all of those places to get that word as it happens...
 

One of the earliest Vice stunt videos was Losing Control: Rise of the Stunts. Seminal!

Long before the days of Social Club TV and e-z video editor tools, the O.G.s of the Grand Theft Auto fan community were shocking and awe'ing with amazing homemade compilations of GTA stunt videos - a craze that really kicked off with the addition of motorcycles to the fleet of available transportation in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and all the nutty tricks you could do with them. Pretty slick especially for the time, we've been having fun taking a look back at some of the best ones still available for viewing out there thanks to YouTube - outlandish death-defying (most of the time) vehicle tricks across Vice City with taxis, speedboats, yachts, sportscars and of course lots of two-wheeled action. As part of our celebration of the 10th anniversary of Vice City this season, enjoy a few of these vintage highlight reels...

Vice City: Miss This

Decan's Auto Stunt Reel was one of the very first Vice City stunt videos released, and contains a bunch of stunts that might seem tame by today's standards, but certainly helped to lay the groundwork for Vice City stuntin'. GrinDSouL's Extreme Cabbing is another original from 2003, as was James Gunn's and The Cube's Losing Control: Rise of the Stunts. As an idea of how different things were in making these videos just ten years ago (still a couple years before YouTube launched and before digital cameras were commonplace), we found one by Stoudimaire and Sphinxvc ViceX Stunt Video that was captured and edited together using VHS recordings of PS2 gameplay. Old world craftsmanship!

Vice City Tribute. (Warning: Some story spoilers are shown in this video.)

This might look easy, but give it a try and see if you have what it takes to get up on the billboard using a PCJ-600. No mods!