New details of the GTA Online multiplayer mode

Here is an amazing interview with Leslie Benzies, director of Rockstar North. He provides some details of what GTA Online will include.

• The camera will zoom out and pan away to your online character seamlessly. During the animation, a matchmaking process will be in progress.
• Matchmaking will depend on which friends are playing, and what people have ranks near yours.
• You can do almost anything you can do in single player in GTA Online.
• Each mission requires a rank depending on difficulty and complexity. The bigger your rank, the more difficult the missions will be.
• There are around 700 missions in GTA Online.
• Missions will be ordered randomly as you play Online.
• For certain heists you might need certain weapons, vehicles or characters such as a sniper or a driver. This will also depend on the mission creator if you download the mission from the Social Club.
• Some missions are so complex they need plenty of good communication.
• There will be descriptions to help each character on its heist function.
• You can change weather, time of day, time you want it to rain or to be a certain weather state, radio station to be tuned at the start of the race or mission in the Content Creator.
• There is something called “team lives”. If you have 4 team lives and 4 people, if everyone dies there will be 0 lives left, or if you die 4 times, the team will have 0 lives left, which means if anyone dies, it’s mission failed.

Here is the full interview from 3D Juegos (credit to GTAForums.com):

A Grand Theft Auto online with cooperative missions, persistent world multiplayer events. Seems like a dream, but Rockstar Games is behind him. GTA Online is a good demonstration of this, the online aspect of GTA V that, in fact, is a new game in itself. We spoke with Leslie Benzies, director of Rockstar North, to learn all about your new baby.

In Rockstar Games do things differently, even when the goal is to show their creations to the media. The company’s R and star treats every game as a child, taking care from creation to the time when they show the world for the first time. And of course, as often conceived titles, strive to publicize them in the best way possible.In our editorial we were very surprised when Leslie Benzies, one of the most important figures of Rockstar North, would sit with us over half an hour. It is not usual in this type of events, but it is clear that this company thinks differently. No hurry, taking time from the serenity of your armchair, the creative forward answer each of the questions that we formulated on GTA Online, the new creature. And he did it without egocentrism, knowing that the more the group company has the reputation of a single developer. In fact, I struggle to find creative photographs of the Internet. Rockstar Games is a company in which the stars are the games, as it should be.”We are here because we can not do anything or otherwise””We are here because we can not do anything or otherwise,” he sentenced the producer, summing up the extra effort that goes into every game that comes out of there. A philosophy which is broadcast in the corridors of the building in which they work, which has gone through the last Grand Theft Auto, but Manhunt, Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire and Max Payne 3. Now it’s the turn of an online project, very ambitious, which is a game in itself and in fact could become in a few years the first MMO GTA series. We talked to a key figure in the gaming industry to discover how far he can get GTA Online.

3DJuegos: Why did you decide to create GTA Online and multiplayer classic that both are used?
Leslie Benzies: There was a time, I can not remember exactly when, which while working in the online think it must be something more than the typical online content. Then Thomsons should operate as a separate unit. Since we always wanted to converge the worlds “single player” and multiplayer. Propose all those things you could do alone, now with friends. It has been one of our dreams for a long time, particularly since GTA III. And now it is here.

3DJ: To create GTA V and GTA Online, Did you have to split the team into two parts?
L. B. Most of the work for GTA is in the artists, programmers, animators, sound responsible … But then we have workers who are
responsible for the story in the campaign, “scripters” (writers), who speak in a special language invented to make games. So, we have 30 or 40 writers for the single player campaign and another 30 or 40 dedicated to the online. They are the ones who have worked specifically on each of the parties. The rest has been involved in both aspects: individual and multiplayer.

3DJ: GTA Online is a separate unit of GTA V, but also integrated into their world. Could you explain how to access the GTA Online?
L. B. During the game appears a wheel on the bottom of the screen that lets you select protagonist. There are three spaces to the side “single player” and, on the underside, there is another room for your character in multiplayer. If you select it, the camera pulls back and goes straight to your character online, letting us play from that point.

3DJ: Once you’re inside GTA Online, will any player can join your game?
L. B. As the camera moves the game gets you into a multiplayer session in which they are your friends, members of your group and, finally, other players of similar rank to yours. It is a transparent process. We see only, for example, the camera moves from Trevor to our character online, but actually undergoing a process “matchmaking”. It is exactly the same as when we change character in single player campaign.

3DJ: Can you play with anyone? How does the system “matchmaking”?
L. B. We have taken great care in the system “matchmaking” so you end up connected to the people you love, your friends or gang. So the first thing you do when searching for a match, is take a look to see if any of your friends are playing at the time, then check if any of the members of your group and finally, search for users who are at a similar level to yours, with similar range.

3DJ: Can you confirm if GTA Online can make anything available in single player campaign?
L. B. Mainly yes. Anything possible in single player campaign can also make it in the online. The missions in the individual aspect are very complex. The multiplayer is very similar in that regard.

3DJ: We know that we can make your character evolve in GTA Online. We need a certain range to access certain missions?
L. B. In the same way that the campaign has a flow, the multiplayer has its own. When you access Online GTA for the first time, you know a character you enter in this online world. As you progress, there are more individuals to help and offer missions in a similar way as is done in the individual part of the game. As you grow and your rank rises, jobs are becoming larger. When you create a game “deathmatch”, you can even decide if you want to play only 50 players range. So every mission requires a range to access it.

3DJ: You said that characters with whom we interact. Does that mean that there will be a story to connect the missions in GTA Online?
L. B. A little is not as intense as in the single player campaign. There is a flow of characters that you know.

3DJ: How many missions have in GTA Online?
L. B. I think they are about 700 missions at this time. We hope you have a 500 always available, and are renewed continuously. You can also go to the Rockstar Social Club and get off more missions. So you can connect and download any player missions to populate your world online, both from friends and from other users.

3DJ: Missions will be in specific parts of the map?
L. B. We will automatically jump missions while playing, something that happens randomly. We can get that kind of tasks when exploring the world, or to receive a phone call from some NPC. We GTA Online characters that are also part of the single player campaign. You can call and ask us to help carry out some odd jobs. These are essentially the ways to find missions: through mapping or guests by telephone. And if you want to take action in a more traditional or fast, it is also possible to open a menu and access to an extensive list of jobs.

3DJ: Speaking of missions, the “hits” they look sensational, as we have shown in the demo. Are there many in GTA Online?
L. B. Right now we are working on missions, and yesterday I could taste exactly a really epic consisting of five parts. So the shots are going to be large and complex. That you cite, Steal Titan is a good example of the kind of missions that we will provide. There are no limitations in this regard with respect to the single player campaign. Absolutely everything you can do in GTA V can also be done in GTA Online.

3DJ: In the single player campaign of GTA V and saw that the “hits” will require a strong preparation. Will the same happen in these “hits” online?
L. B. Depending on the beat, you will need certain weapons, vehicles, or special characters, such as a sniper or a specific driver. Who will provide the mission will provide all these details. You can do whatever you want, of course, but they will tell you the best way to get everything right.

3DJ: Communication seems to be an important part of GTA Online. We have seen that we can communicate by voice chat and even by gestures by our character “in-game”. How important is this for you?

L. B. We have great confidence that people use voice communication, we believe it is better for the experience. If not, we also provide the opportunity to chat via text messages on mobile phone. However, some missions are so complex that they require a smooth exchange of information, so the microphone is always the best option. But if we consider that, despite being in the same mission as our peers, tasks may be different. Luckily, we have added descriptions to know what to do each in every moment. So nothing will be confusing.

3DJ: Is it possible to create our own missions and share them?
L. B. We started with the opportunity to create your own races and deathmatch games. From there, we evolved to offer a huge amount of possibilities. We want people to start, however, making things less complex, so that learning is gradual. We can start by creating both a career, something that is achieved getting into a car and pressing a button to set the start and end points.Then you can also send the event to the Rockstar Social Club server so it is available for anyone who wants to play. All this can be done in a minute, is very simple. Our intention is to introduce this idea of ??users generate their own content. We start with simple things. In the future, we make plans related to believe whatever they want.

3DJ: Like a mission with different objectives?
L. B. Anything.

3DJuegos: We know we have the opportunity to choose different conditions for missions such as weather or time of day. What are the chances of the Creator, the tool to design missions?
L. B. The Creator almost no limitations. You can customize almost everything.

3DJ: Also the difficulty?
L. B. Yes, the difficulty, the time of day … Even in the race editor you can determine when it rains, the type of cars involved, etc.. For example, we can establish that the event will occur at 12:00 noon and determined sounding radio station. In essence, all you see changing in the game can also be configured from the Creator, including in this case the presence of police or traffic density.

3DJ: A concept that is not very well understood in the demo was “team lives” (life of equipment). Are lives are shared when we play in the company during a certain mission?
L. B. Yes, they share. If you’re in a four-player cooperative mission, and you have four lives in total, that means everyone can die once, or die four times a user, for example. But it all depends on the mission. A “deathmatch” has a timer or based on the total number of deaths. Perhaps the only missions that have this type of approach, based on the “team lives”, are cooperatives. Even there are some in which there is this concept: have one life and if you lose you go into spectator mode, seeing what your peers do. So it all depends on the mission you’re playing.

3DJ: Can we do other activities in GTA Online, style take a game of tennis and the like?
L. B. All activities can be performed on the fly. You can rob a gas station, enjoy a game of tennis, play golf, go skydiving … All you can do on the side “single player” exists in the online aspect. You can customize your car, cut your hair, get a tattoo, etc..

3DJ: What other interesting things we can do in GTA Online? In the demo we saw, for example, a player turned on the TV and saw on the news the police chase of a friend on the road …
L. B. We have that option you mention, use the television to see the pursuit of a live friend. But we have other alternatives, like watching a game deathmatch or even a career, whenever we leave its participants. We can see the surveillance cameras in the garage, for example. Then we also have the opportunity to gain skills, given by the characters that we meet. Through these contacts, we can hire mercenaries, get weapons in exchange for money, ask for an airstrike or ask them to come themselves if we are surrounded by enemies.All these things still work well if we are in a game “deathmatch”, there are no limitations, yet still possible to perform actions such as calling a taxi or ask for help from a couple of thugs. We do not limit anything despite find yourself in a certain way. Everything is available.

3DJ: The presentation that you offered was very focused on online co-op campaign. But we’d like to know if you plan to include in Online GTA classic modes like “cops versus robbers” and classic modes such.
L. B. Yes, we have a handful of additional game modes in the style of “capture the flag”. They will be there, as well as methods that have already been made classic.

3DJuegos: In GTA IV had already some of these modalities, and were very interesting. Are they back? For example, the Guild Wars
.L. B. Yes, we intend to do something similar, related to the taking and possession of territories, but now we can not talk about it. Come next year.

3DJ: How does the economic system? We have seen that we can save our money in banks and also buy properties …
L. B. As in the single player campaign, you work, earn money and acquire new equipment. When you buy something, that usually helps you get even more funds. As we have shown in the demo is possible to have access to a helicopter. And if we succeed, we may even be invited to more missions for other players. Users can see what possessions they have the other players. So, if we see someone with a helicopter, we invite you to our departure. The same if you are a good driver. Everything has an effect on the game. The more you have, the more attractive you become. We even have masks to hide before the police. Everything that exists in the game has a reason or meaning. They are not mere ornaments.

3DJ: Another aspect that we have seen in the game is that you can determine the amount of money to share with your classmates, but not always …
L. B. Depends on the type of job. For jobs that meet on the map, you can escape with the money, but in the case of the quests given by contacts, the money is divided equally. However, impacts, for example, will have the opportunity to establish percentages. So the option is there.

3DJ: What chance do we have to create our own character in GTA Online?
L. B. We want character creation does not resemble anything seen in other games. We expect that the results you get are real, not based on fantasy elements, like orcs.

3DJ: individual campaign saw a few months ago. And now, looking at the multiplayer, it seems that the visual differences will be minimal. Is there really any difference to note in terms of graphics?
L. B. There are few differences, is exactly the same visuals. We have made a different treatment on the vehicles, modeled in different resolutions. Normally we have to cut back on certain aspects, not this time. I do not know how they did it, but they have succeeded.

3DJ: How complicated is to make a multiplayer like this in the current generation of consoles? What are the limitations you encountered?L. B. I think the main complication is given by the amount of memory you can use. Every single person in the game has their own clothing and vehicles, so there is a lot of data to be stored simultaneously, since there may be up to 16 players in the same game. That was the biggest factor. Had we not had that limitation would have been possible items of 32 players or more. Although there are other no less important: time. We have so many ideas that do not have enough time to integrate. So we conceived GTA Online as a separate entity.

3DJ: A detail we see in the demo is that we have a number of missions for players: two, four, and so on. What is the maximum number of players allowed?L. B. 16 users. Established a minimum number of players for each mission, but if you want to perform a particular task for yourself, or carry out work to four players with only two, not will any limitation. Yes, it will be more complicated.3DJ: Is it difficult to move an entire online world like Los Santos? Are you going to use dedicated servers or any particular technology to achieve this?
L. B. We’ll use the Rockstar Social Club servers to create our “cloud”, which control everything. We have servers spread across several of our offices, like New York or San Diego, who are responsible for managing information generated persistent GTA Online. How driving is, however, different from other similar games, less problematic. But yes, it is a traditional server based on the “cloud”.

3DJ: Within the single player campaign, each mission has its own music. Will something similar happen in the missions of the multiplayer aspect?
L. B. When you’re in the missions, you can listen to the radio in the car. And when you generate a mission or a game “deathmatch” for example, you can determine the style of music you are playing. The user has full control over the issues that sound. He decides.

3DJ: So there is music for every moment …
L. B. The game features interactive music, so he decides the “tempo” suitable for every moment. There is a rate for each particular mission.

3DJ: We assume that with that you try also maintain a certain style of filmmaking, as in the single player campaign …
L. B. It is the first time we create a specific soundtrack for a GTA. I have thought and it was weird not having music. It is impossible to think of a movie that does not have a soundtrack, so consider adding a could make a difference.

3DJ: How will you take advantage of the Rockstar Social Club GTA Online?
L. B. Basically, everything you do in the game is reflected in the Rockstar Social Club, so that you can know what missions you played and when, among other issues. All information is there for you to compare with your friends. The same applies if you play alone in the campaign. Record the time you spend, for example, to complete a stroke. I checked everything, and it is stored in the “cloud”. This information is important because it will help to know what missions are downloaded more that are successful and popular. This system gives the player tools that allow users to determine which missions they want to be part of your gaming experience.

3DJ: The online experiences are often open to suggestions from users, useful for improvement. Have you intend to support with a dedication GTA Online Periodical: updates, events, missions …?
L. B. We have designed it so that the game itself is updated. It is not necessary that we put missions, races or events “deathmatch”. Do not have to put anything. The “cloud” is responsible for collecting missions and arranged by popularity. Constantly receive these missions both users and ourselves that there is a continuous flow, so that the most popular missions are on all consoles when lit. The missions are updated every time we start our machine. Of course, that does not mean we do not have DLCs with new clothes, vehicles and weapons that will be.

3DJ: GTA Online are made available to users a few weeks after GTA V has been released and will be available for free for those who have purchased. But we wonder if you have plans to add some kind of microtransactions in the future …
L. B. We DLCs. Right now we are working on the economic aspect in the game, so that there is a balance as in the single player campaign.

3DJ: GTA Online seems to go far beyond traditional multiplayer experiences. How do you rate the way you have given from GTA IV so far?
L. B. I think GTA IV had a simple concept traditional multiplayer with races and “deathmatchs”. We see an aura Online GTA MMO. It’s not, but it has that essence. We want people to live and exist in this world, not between just to get a career. It’s persistent, you have a character evolves, acquiring skills and who should care. It is a more MMO. We will continue working in this direction to get a real representation of life out there.

3DJ: Does that mean that GTA Online could be the beginning of something bigger, like an MMO?
L. B. That’s where we try to reach. We have plans to GTA Online to become a persistent world with millions of people to coexist. We will be adding new things. Yes, that’s where we expect to arrive.

3DJ: One thing that strikes us is that you have decided to call it GTA V GTA Online and Online. What is the reason? Do you plan to have a continuity product in the future?
L. B. We see GTA Online as something born of his father and his mother, which are GTA V. Become independent and live their own lives, away from their parents to form an entity in itself. We can not keep GTA Online joined with his father and his mother for too long, so the plans we have is to continue its path to become a great MMO style game.

3DJ: A few months ago we had the opportunity to check how is the single player campaign of GTA V. It was demonstrated that goes a step beyond what has been seen in open world games to date. Do you think GTA Online will be another step forward, in this case for multiplayer experience?
L. B. We think so. It will be something that will take time to find out, but we consider that it feels like something different. No other games we are trying to do something like this. We hope it is the start of a new type of video game.

3DJ: You are known to give their best in every game. Each production has its own personality. You offer great original content and mechanical, in this case with the system of three characters. Now also proclaim GTA Online, a massive multiplayer experience. How difficult and stressful it is to try to always give the best of yourselves in each title?
L. B. I think we have no other way to be. To all the people love what we do, and all of us here we like to create games. We always give the best. There is nothing worse for us to purchase a game, turn on your console and you realize that what you just bought is crap. We want to give people something special, dreams locked in a disc.So strive, because we enjoy both playing and creating video games. If we make ourselves happy, other people will also be happy. And if you ever stop striving, then find another job. I think everyone here is happy with what he does, and is interested in that perfect. Never launch a product until well. It’s not something that we dictate. The game is the speaker, not businessmen. And GTA speaks volumes …

• You can watch races and deathmatches on your apartment TV.
• There are masks to hide from the cops.
• The Online will be run on the Social Club servers, data will be stored on the cloud. There are datacenters from NY to San Diego, and more Rockstar studios.