Sup everyone,
 
     I just got GTA4 on the pc and its been a huge disappointment.  I spent an hour jumping through hoops just to play the game and it won't even let me pick the graphics settings I want. It runs just fine, but it looks like pure T &%$#.   Anyone have some info or a link on how to be able to get past the graphics restrictions? 
 
     I don't understand the logic behind restricting the settings anyway.  Its just wrong and aggravating. 

I can run the game on highest settings just fine, but maybe you Card's can't handle the load of full graphics? What settings are you using / attempting to use?

Trrible pc port. Game looks like complete crap when it's not crashing. I sold mine. **** them.

bri2u2002


Trrible pc port. Game looks like complete crap when it's not crashing. I sold mine. **** them.

dont what your smoking but graphics are pretty good even if there is no AA, i ahve a q6600 like u but at 3.4ghz and a single gtx 284 and i run in maxxed out everything at 100 at 1920x1200 and get 53 fps in the benchmark and around 30 fps avg in real gameplay

you can't max out inless you have 2gigs memory on board the 8800gt is pushing it even my sons 9800gx2 look ok but better than hes 8800gtx. my 280 sli can only use 1024 looks good but the max is 2 gigs. you can load up on the eye candy but you start to loose depth. l could not imagine what 284 looks like.with 2gig you get the full depth with eye candy and frame rate.

hey Drobomb how did u do push pull with your corec ontact freezer

I know how to trick the game into running all maxed out even if you dont have 2gb of vram... What you do is max everything out but keep the view distance as low as you need to get all max settings to apply... Then when your ingame max out your view distance.. It's works because view distance is one of the only settings that don't need a restart to apply.. It works and runs perfact on my 295. It works so well that i have no idea why they even capped it...Have fun with it

I max out GTA4 Just fine at 1920*`1200  with 1 GTX280 and an I7 920.

It's 20 times better then the console.

Is there a server list when you join on multiplayer on PC? I hate the fact that it's random join on console.

becareful when using the norestrictions command switch, last time I used it textures and objects and stuff was popping in and out in the distance because it exceeds the video cards memory. I don't recommend using it.

I can max out at 1920x1080 but with only 22% view distance because of lack of video ram. my framerate is anywhere from 35fps in heavy rain storms to as high as 160fps in booth tunnel with no cars around. I mostly stay between 50 - 100

wutsup


hey Drobomb how did u do push pull with your corec ontact freezer

Hey,  sorry man just realized you asked that twice.    I crammed all my stuff into a gutted mid tower, Aopen Valtec case.  The rear exhaust fan is so close to the CPU cooler I just taped printing paper in-between them to duct the air.  So, sorry I don't have any fan mounting solutions.
 
I've been using the tricks you guys have been leaving and its helped alot with the visual aspect of the game,  especially since I have to run a resolution of 1280X720, but I have to say the gameplay really takes over and I don't notice the lack of AA most of the time.  I'm about 48% though the game and I can tell all the little things they did to make this game great.   Crappy port, great game though.

Drobomb


Sup everyone,
 
     I just got GTA4 on the pc and its been a huge disappointment.  I spent an hour jumping through hoops just to play the game and it won't even let me pick the graphics settings I want. It runs just fine, but it looks like pure T &%$#.   Anyone have some info or a link on how to be able to get past the graphics restrictions? 
 
     I don't understand the logic behind restricting the settings anyway.  Its just wrong and aggravating. 

 

The game is not restrictive.

You are blaming Rockstar for your system not being adequate enough to run the game. You need a 2GB of memory on your GPU to max the graphics. 

Your GPU doesn't have the necessary amount of memory to max out the settings. Its the same with any game.  The only difference is that rockstar put a number on the amount of memory needed to use the settings. Its a first as far as i know. 

edit: spelling  

An 8800 GT is far too small of a card to even attempt maxing the graphics in GTA IV. The game is not a direct port either. Your system is just not fast enough and the game realized that and limited you.

GTA 4 isn't a crappy port, its just an example of how console games are written to take better advantage of multi-core processors.  You really need a fast Quad core to run GTA4 well and as others mentioned, at least 1GB of VRAM to run higher resolutions and increase graphical settings.  GTA4's graphics engine is a bit suspect though as its use of deferred rendering and post processing prevents the use of traditional MSAA and also requires additional data buffers that all scale accordingly to increases in resolution and settings.

You can get AA in GTA4 though using the ENB Series mod.  Basically this enables SSAA via downsampling, where the game engine internally renders at double the resolution, then downsamples that to your native resolution.  So basically the game would render 3840x2400 then downsample that to a native 1920x1200 monitor which would give you 2x2 Super Sampling AA. 

While GTA4 isn't particularly graphics intensive (its much more CPU and VRAM constrained), doubling resolution can cut your FPS significantly because you're rendering 4x as many pixels and also increases VRAM requirements in a game that is already very dependent on VRAM in terms of performance.  You can read more about the mod here, along with some comparison screenshots.  The difference in aliasing should be very apparent.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,702785/GTA-4-with-realistic-graphics-mod-the-better-way-Update-More-shots-and-HD-video/Practice/

Really the only noticeable problem in GTA4 is certain parts have flashing textures that pop in and out sometimes but other than that its not really a bad Game Port. I completed all the storyline and side missions 100% no major bugs at all. The Multiplayer is really weak is my only complaint, not enough ranked game servers, mostly player matches.

Can someone help me install this ENB Series mod? I did everything it said but my game keeps crashing during the intro now. Im using the Steam version.

XXChronicXX


Can someone help me install this ENB Series mod? I did everything it said but my game keeps crashing during the intro now. Im using the Steam version.

I don't know for sure if Steam version is compatible, as one of Steam's DRM measures is random file checks, so if you alter .dlls and game files you can run into problems.  For me, I had to disable both FRAPs and Precision (even Stealth mode crashes) as it seems the custom DX9.dll used conflict with other overlay programs.  Both work fine with ENB mod.   SSAA isn't really playable for me tho, as it simply requires too much VRAM at 1920x1200 (3840x2400). 

chizow

XXChronicXX


Can someone help me install this ENB Series mod? I did everything it said but my game keeps crashing during the intro now. Im using the Steam version.

I don't know for sure if Steam version is compatible, as one of Steam's DRM measures is random file checks, so if you alter .dlls and game files you can run into problems.  For me, I had to disable both FRAPs and Precision (even Stealth mode crashes) as it seems the custom DX9.dll used conflict with other overlay programs.  Both work fine with ENB mod.   SSAA isn't really playable for me tho, as it simply requires too much VRAM at 1920x1200 (3840x2400). 

ENB series will work fine on it I have the steam version, (steam doesn't even have to be running either to play it as you can load the game through the Social Club System Trey app) it won't alter any of the original game files, all it does is add a few files to the main directory where the EXE is and the game automaticly detects it. and yes be sure to disable any in game API programs like Steam In Game, Xfire In Game, etc, the only program I could use to hook into it was Fraps.

The improvements the enb makes to the game is amazing but just isn't playable for me on my setup, I get into the 20fps range in the day time, and its even worse when it rains. (I will try it again when I go SLI on my GTX 260 or get a 300 series card later)

here is a few screens I took at the time I had it installed.

as long as you are fully patched i think they removed the restrictions. my specs allow me to max the game either way with no FPS hit.

I've been tweaking GTA IV for a while now and finally got it running smooth by capping the FPS at 30. However, I'm still getting a few graphical glitches here and there, with most of them not being specific to the PC version. However, one annoying glitch that I'm seeing has to do with the water. Whenever I'm flying really high in a helicopter and I look down (like an overhead view) I see random black boxes that flicker on and off on the water. It's very annoying, and I've tried all sorts of different settings and drivers but this glitch is always there.

Does anyone else see this using GT200 hardware on windows 7 x64 or vista x64? Do you see any artifacts or glitching in the water of any kind? I tried both of my GTX 280's independently and this glitch appears regardless.

slamscaper945


I've been tweaking GTA IV for a while now and finally got it running smooth by capping the FPS at 30. However, I'm still getting a few graphical glitches here and there, with most of them not being specific to the PC version. However, one annoying glitch that I'm seeing has to do with the water. Whenever I'm flying really high in a helicopter and I look down (like an overhead view) I see random black boxes that flicker on and off on the water. It's very annoying, and I've tried all sorts of different settings and drivers but this glitch is always there.

Does anyone else see this using GT200 hardware on windows 7 x64 or vista x64? Do you see any artifacts or glitching in the water of any kind? I tried both of my GTX 280's independently and this glitch appears regardless.

Do you have the latest GTA4 patch installed?

I don't get any black boxes anywhere but I do see flashing along the island edges thats about it (screenshots won't show it, have to be in game to see the flashing). this is while running a single GTX 260 on windows 7 ultimate 64 bit and using 196.21drivers.









These are the settings I use in game

what I find odd though is the game lets me max out to 938 resource usage without even using the -norestrictions command switch and my card only has 896MB

Thanks for the quick reply _nite_, and yes I do know exactly what you're talking about regarding the flashing water at the edge of land. I get that same effect to, and I can cope with that but these black boxes that flicker on and off are just too much for me. Sometimes they are half the screen in width. I find it strange that you're not getting this effect.

Can you try something for me? Fly out far away from any land and then position your camera so you're looking strait down onto the water like a true overhead view. Zoom out a bit even. After that, spin the camera around changing from clockwise to counter-clockwise. This always amplifies the effect for me, with black boxes flashing all over the place. It only happens over water for me and not land.

By the way, I have the Steam version and it's fully updated. Tried the 196.21 drivers, along with 195.62 and 191.07. This happens to me in both Vista x64 and Win 7 x64.

ok I will try what you said, mine is the steam version too.

edit: same deal, nothing happens for me, though I picked up a plane reflection if that counts 

wait a second it just did it on mine I wasn't out far enough here is some screen caps.







this is how far out I was

Well, at least I now know it's nothing on my end. Explains why NOTHING I've tried has worked. I do see these boxes every now and then even when I'm flying low or just on foot near the water, but they aren't as frequent. Kind of ruins the experience for me a bit.

I can't recreate this glitch in the PS3 version, so this is definitely specific to the PC. Probably an Nvidia issue I'm guessing. I'd like to solve this as it's the last thing that's bothering me about this game. Not considering these graphical issues, it's a lot better than the console version.

I bet you'll notice this glitch a bit more now when playing, lol. Sorry, didn't mean to tarnish the game for you.....

Thanks for testing.

Looking at your screen caps it seems sections of the water are completely disappearing. These sections are always rectangular and are also always touching the edge of the screen. Weird.

LOL no problem I was just bored anyway and helped a fellow friend :)

I remember having this same problem in GTASA too, I actually found certain parts of the map in that game where thier was no water and just a box, and it allowed me to parachute down and walk under water some glitches are just bonus fun in games.

I should explore the edges of the map in GTA4 to see if I can do a simalar thing.

The draw distance is WAY better on the PC which sucks since I own it on the console and I love sniping.