Rockstar Newswire

As we're busy working on Grand Theft Auto V, we'd like to take this opportunity to ask all of you for your feedback, input and ideas for features you'd like to see created for Crews in the game.

Whether it's suggestions for competitive in-game Crew features in Multiplayer, new ways to manage and recruit, ideas for enhancing Social Club Crew pages and leaderboards, things you did and didn't like about Crews in Max Payne 3, or any thoughts at all related to Crews really that you'd like to share - we're all ears. We'd especially love to hear from current Crew members and leaders so that we can continue making our unique approach to persistent team based Multiplayer as fun as it can be in GTAV.

The place to have your voice heard is via email to GTAVCrewFeedback@rockstargames.com. Please note that while you are welcome to share your thoughts with one another in our comments section here, the only place where you can be sure our development team will be looking at input is via the above email address. Thank you all for your support and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

This Friday's Social Club multiplayer event kicks off an explosive Max Payne 3 TRIPLE XP Weekend. Join us from 4-7pm EDT / 9pm-12am BST across all three platforms (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) and earn three times the multiplayer XP across all game modes straight on through until Monday morning.

OFFICIAL ROCKSTAR IDs
Participating official in-game Rockstar names will be:

• MaxPayneDev1 (PC)
• MaxPayneDev2 (Xbox 360)
• MaxPayneDev4 (PSN)
• MaxPayneDev3 (PC on Twitch)

COUNTDOWN
If you're unsure of when the event will begin in your time zone, have a look at the countdown on the Social Club multiplayer events page.

HOW TO FIND US
When the event starts up on Friday, enter Max Payne 3 multiplayer and select the Social Club Multiplayer Event playlist. We'll play Free Aim 100% of the time on PC, and a mix of Soft Lock and Free Aim on PSN and Xbox LIVE, so look for the names listed above.

FUTURE PLAYSESSIONS
If you want more time to play our games with us, your best bet is to follow us at our official Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Steam pages so you can get the word when we're going online for some impromptu multiplayer...

Some French GTA fans have been having fun carrying the torch of the Liberty Tree with the publication of an unofficial fan-fiction version at liberty-tree.net.

In our latest look around the world of Rockstar game fansites at large, here's a round up a few quite cool recent bits we've found out there - including a deep analysis of HEALTH's Max Payne 3 original score and soundtrack, some nifty homebrewed Social Club ID cards, and more...

• While we imagine the real Liberty Tree continues to publish Yesterday's News Today dutifully in Liberty City to this day, the last time readers in our own universe could peruse this News Organ was about 11 years ago this month. Thanks to some French GTA fans however, publication has resumed in an unofficial fan-fiction capacity and in the French language over at liberty-tree.net. With stories that date all the way back to 2001, and a newly emboldened editorial staff picking up the pace here in 2012, our kudos to writers Dr Emixam, MisterRed, QTquentin, NelsoN and civic666 who've been reporting on everything from fatal shootings at Maisonette 9 to national interest stories happening across the coast such as the gang troubles plaguing Los Santos and a bloody murder shaking up the small town of Angel Pine.
   
• Longtime Max Payne fansite, PayneReactor.com goes deep, deep, deep into a study of HEALTH's Max Payne 3 original score and soundtrack with some very interesting analysis of how it was created and speculation behind the inspiration and methodology behind some particular pieces. To the author (Cypress) and all others that loved the Max soundtrack, we may release a special Behind the Scenes video to shed some official light on the process that went into the making-of. Also keep an eye out for HEALTH's official music video for "TEARS" coming soon, as the boys continue touring throughout the fall.

• On the heels of our recent official Social Club Friend Compare feature update for Max Payne 3, AJ over at RockstarNexus.com (aka Gamerzworld here at Social Club) has put together an impressive homebrewed Social Club card generator that can display an image of your stats for either Red Dead Redemption or Max Payne 3. As long as you have your profile set to public, you can render out one of these little png images that will show your current stats at that time. The image will even update the stats shown every few hours - pretty cool to be able to proudly display game stats as a message board avatar or on your own website or blog. You can create your own at http://rockstarnexus.com/cards/ - let us know if you guys would be interested in a dynamic version of this and perhaps it's something we'll look to create as an upcoming Social Club feature.
   

Thanks as always to all the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and other Rockstar-centric fansites that have shown us so much support over the years. If you've published something interesting or have seen something that you think we should let fans know about in a future roundup, give us a shout at mouthoff@rockstargames.com.

Previously:
Rockstar Fansites Roundup: NightFall Video, Sticker Bombing, GTAIV Machinima, Red Dead in Liberty City Mod & GTA Fan Art

Since the launch of Max Payne 3 we've been sharing multiplayer strategies and Loadouts favored by some of the best players in our development studios as part of the game tips series here on the Newswire. For this week's edition, we've reached out to another set of elite soldiers: the players residing near the top of the individual leaderboards at Rockstar Social Club. Here's a look at what a few of these leaderboard legends had to share with us...

abrokian, member of Pro and Deadly Crew, 3rd on overall PC leaderboards

This prolific Crew teamed together and sent over a rather large document filled with game tips, our favorite of which is this breakdown of Bursts detailing when to use them for maximum effectiveness.

Slippery Character is best used when you’re using a medium or heavy Loadout and need the extra endurance to move quickly and get out of the line of fire.

Deadly Force increases the damage of whichever weapon you are carrying, and is great in one-on-one situations where you want to take out an enemy before they kill you. It can be the deciding factor in settling Feuds

Big Dog is extremely useful in crisis situations, where you and your teammates are in need of emergency treatment, and it can also act as a layer of armor if you activate it just before entering hostile territory.

Intuition is best used when the enemy is smaller in numbers, like towards the end of a round of ‘Last Man Standing’ or ‘Survivor’. Try to resist using it at the beginning of the round, and save it for when knowledge of the enemies’ positions is invaluable.

Paranoia should be deployed mid-round when the enemies have dispersed. In ‘Takedown’, it can disorientate the opposition and make them reluctant to open fire for fear of betraying the friendly target.

Sneaky makes you appear friendly to an enemy, so therefore you should act like one and only open fire if you are sure of completing the kill. Try circumventing objective locations and cut-off enemy defenses from where they least expect.

Fresh Blood can be a game changer – use it to turn a difficult situation to your team’s favor, powering your respawns and spending more time on the battlefield.

Weapon Dealer is for those times when you’re attacking from the front and can make the best use of unlimited ammo; just bear in mind the effect doesn’t apply to missile-based weapons.

Burst Bubble can hamper the other team’s progress when they’re trying to complete a Gang Wars objective by reducing their ability to use Bursts of their own.

Weapon Double Dealer has two important uses: limit the opposition to one clip of ammunition when they are attacking from long range and, when they are gathered together in a confined space, unleash level three and pick up multiple kills from dropped grenades.

Hit the jump below for tips from KLC_DUKES, leader of Underworld Mob Kings Crew...

Last month, we continued the Fall program of Social Club Multiplayer Events with visits to GTA IV's Liberty City and Max Payne's haunts of Hoboken and Sao Paulo - streaming live on the Rockstar Games' Twitch.tv channel and on the Social Club Multiplayer Events page for both events. Thanks as always to everyone who participated, and without further ado, here's all the gory details....

During our Max Payne 3 event on Sept. 21st, MaxPayneDev4 flagged emKultra reppin for The Patient Crew as one particularly tough opponent on PS3. emKultra won two games on the trot playing alongside our Dev: first a Deathmatch in Branco Headquarters followed by a Last Team Standing on the rooftops. Soon after, MaxPayneDev4 entered a Team Deathmatch in the Hoboken Alleys mid-game to find the team he had been placed on were already down 20 kills at the halfway point. Showing courage in the face of adversity, Dev4 went on an incredible run with the G6 Commando, finishing with 30 kills to 4 deaths, helping to pull his team into first place for a fantastic comeback.

Thanks once again to Shenmue Saga for uploading the full video of MaxPayneDev2's Event gameplay.

Hit the jump for more from our Max Payne 3 event, as well a rundown of our September 27th GTA IV event and more...

As a bonus for all Social Club members, and as promised earlier this week, we've just released the shiny, badass new Chrome Weapons unlock for Max Payne 3 Multiplayer.

All members of Social Club can now jump into the in-game Loadout menu, equip and tote chrome variations for all guns that they have unlocked.

To access the chrome options, head into the Arsenal section of the Max Payne 3 multiplayer menus, and Modify one of your Loadouts. While hovering over one of your selected weapons, hit the button for Attachments where you'll be able to upgrade your weapon with all manner of handy add-ons. Select 'Chrome' and roll on out into the battle grounds, knowing that the highly reflective glint will be the last thing your enemies will see before succumbing to a vicious melee attack. 

Stay tuned for additional special bonus upgrades coming soon - along with more information on the Max Payne 3 DLC Packs coming this fall.

In this special edition of the Crew Cut - after witnessing some intense en masse elite Crew showings in the Max Payne 3 Social Club Multiplayer Events playlist last week and after studying the squads that are occupying the #1 positions on the recently revamped tiered Crew leaderboards - the Rockstar Dev Crew of internal ringers from our various studios would like to throw out a challenge.

We're calling all top Crews to name the time and place, and we will do our best to accommodate a Crew vs Crew battle online in the coming weeks ahead - some of our best guys Crewed up against any of yours. So that the result cannot be in doubt, we'll also look to stream the action from these sessions live via the Rockstar Twitch.tv page. If you're the leader or an active member of an elite Crew occupying a top spot on one of the tiered boards (you don't have to be the #1 spot, but do try and impress us with your standing), confer with some of your fellow soldiers, and give us a shout to mouthoff@rockstargames.com to propose a date and time for a throwdown against us, any particular modes, and letting us know your online IDs so we can send out invites accordingly when the time is right. We will be standing by, locked and loaded. With that, here's a lineup of some of the current #1 Crews that we are hoping to hear from - if they dare.

LXG Crew, at the top of the 101-300 tier on Xbox 360, were the first Crew our Dev team came up against in a recent MP3 Xbox event and their proficiency is well documented in our Crew Cuts. Less well known are the U Got Smacked Clan who top out the 1-5 headcount stratum. There's a lot we could say about this German fivesome, but this video from the U Got Smacked YouTube channel of Crew leader UGotSmacked dual-wielding 1911s around the Imperial Hotel in Free Aim tells you everything you need to know:

Murders Death Kill have been quick to point out to us in previous Crew Cut comments sections their achievement of placing top of the 6-20 tier. However, they were modest enough to forget to shout out their other number one placing on the Hardcore Gang Wars leaderboard. An intimidating prospect - but we're up for it. Red Dead Soldiers rep hard on the 21-50 tier, and a look at their Crew Feud stats shows why: not a single Crew has managed to best them in terms of Feuds won, or in terms of kills made during Feuds. Let's see what we can do about that... Finally, not only are Killer Smoking Aces the best Crew in the 51-100 tier, they are also the third best private Crew in all of Social Club, holding their own against Crews with triple the number of members.

Over on PS3, the Ganja Outlaws continue to reign supreme at the top of the 101-300 boards. Further down the membership strata, X-Justice For All-X call the shots in 1st place of all 51-100 Crews. Interestingly, they are only two members over the threshold to take them into a lower tier. Although kicking out some dead weight wouldn't actually do them any favors seeing as they would fall into second in the 21-50 tier behind Death Bringers, who with just 43 members, have nearly 30M more XP. The 5 members of crybaby killers1 maintain an astonishing 95% win percentage for Feuds at the top of the 1-5 member tier on PS3, having played nearly 800 Feuds. Their Crew leader Ego-Smasher is quick to fire up his minions with regular ALL CAPS pep rallies on the Crew's profile page. Soul Crushers hold a slightly more modest 51% Feud win percentage, but nonetheless hold pole position on the 6-20 echelon of PlayStation 3 Crews. They're also partial to CAPS emphasis, as shown in their clear and direct motto: Inflict PAIN No FEAR No REGRETS Leave Nothing BEHIND.

When they're not eating pizza or fighting Shredder, the five members of TMHT - DVD 5 Crew are riding high on the 1-5 member leaderboard for PC players. This is their first shout on the Crew Cut; we look forward to facing off against a relatively unknown quantity. By contrast, Pest Control, Pro And Deadly, Illuminati and The Gallant Psychos are PC Crews we know well, and do hope to take on in a live battle. With more than 5,000 Feuds played between the four Crews, these guys are well versed in the guts and glory of Max Payne 3 Multiplayer, and should be well up for a chance to prove themselves against our Devs.

Having assessed 15 of the top Crews we hope will accept our challenge, none of them look like they'll be giving our Dev Crew an easy ride. We'll also be sending Crew leaders a message directly to get in touch - otherwise, if you're the head of an elite Crew or an active member who wants to round up some fellow warriors to accept the Rockstar challenge - get at us. If you're a highly-skilled Max player otherwise who wants in for some Rockstar blood, either motivate your Crew to keep rising to the top - or align yourself with one of these squads to get in on it. You can also stay apprised of who and when we're battling in the comments section here, where we'll drop an update or via Twitter where we'll also give a shout...

It's time to tell your loudmouthed friends and crew mates to quit their wild braggadocio, because this week we've got a great new tool on Social Club to ensure a quick and indisputable end to any and all Max Payne 3 verbal one-upmanship from those who can't back it up. The Friend Compare system is available now at the Max Payne 3 section of the Social Club so you can investigate how you size up against your nearest and dearest, in a wide range of stats across both Single Player and Multiplayer. 

Convinced that you rep the G6 Commando the hardest or always Bring The Payne when playing as Max or Passos in Payne Killer? Want to know for sure that you have the best Consecutive Hit Streak on Chapter IV of Story mode? Now prove it by lining up against up to five of your friends and Crewmates at a time and really finding out who's the boss (it is worth mentioning that you can only see the stats of those friends who have the appropriate privacy settings).

To access this useful tool just head over to the Max Payne 3 area of the Social Club and hit the Friend Compare button on the right hand side of the navigation bar in either Single Player or in Multiplayer. From here, you can scroll through your friends list, and any of your Crews' rosters to select those players you want to check your stats against, and find out where you need to pick up the pace.

Keep an eye out on Social Club for more new features in the coming weeks.