Buggy GTA IV PC release frustrates gamers (including us)

Posted Dec 3rd 2008 9:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Patches, Action, Sandbox

The highly anticipated release of the PC port of Grand Theft Auto IV has been met with frustration by many gamers who have bought the title starting today. Gamers, especially those who have downloaded the open world action game via Valve's Steam service, have reported a number of bugs and crashes.

Big Download, in trying to review the game for the site, has come across one of the errors mentioned in a Steam forum post (thanks Shacknews): MMA10, which crashes the game to desktop after seeing the title's copyright screen. The temporary solution is not to sign onto the game's Rockstar Social Club online service. The catch is that while you can play the game in single player it deprives you of its multiplayer features.

Other errors we have seen include missing textures which seem to be solved if you don't have the game at super high (1900x1600) resolutions. Another game-loading error, RMN40, seems to be solved in Windows XP if you update the OS to the recent Service Pack 3 upgrade. Big Download has contacted Rockstar Games' PR folks to get a status report on the publisher's plans to resolve these many issues.

Gallery: Grand Theft Auto IV

Tags: grand-theft-auto-iv, grand-theft-auto-iv-pc, grand-theft-auto-iv-pc-bugs, rockstar, rockstar-games, rockstar-social-club

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Its not just Steam there are also the same problems with the Direct2Drive and retail versions of the game. Even some better than mid-range computers are having problems with low fps and shadow problems.Posted at 10:30PM on Dec 3rd 2008 by Phillip

yea i can play Crysis on 1280x1024 with max settings (dx9) and easily get 30-50 FPS.

GTA4: 1280x1024, MEDIUM settings and sliders all the way down. 5-15 FPS.

And apparently it uses video ram for 90% of the game which kills you unless you have a 1GB card.Posted at 11:43PM on Dec 3rd 2008 by NeoK-182

Rockstar dropped the ball on this one. I guess they wanted to rush it out for the holiday shopping period.Posted at 2:48AM on Dec 4th 2008 by Einhanderkiller

I have a new GTX 260 and this game runs like trash. When weather effects such as fog or rain kick in it becomes a slide-show. Add in the unbelievable "Social club" AND Windows Live bullshit you have to deal with, the immediate crash to desktop and the inexcusable chase camera and you have yourselves a waste of $50. Rockstar needs to release a patch ASAP. I can't believe almost none of the professional reviews have addressed these serious issues. Posted at 9:00AM on Dec 4th 2008 by Mike

Well I guess I should be glad that SecuROM talked me out of buying this. My new policy is that I won't spend more than $20-$30 on a DRM infested game. By the time GTA4 drops to that price it should be well patched up.

As a side note, these problems sound quite minor compared to the broken piece of S.H.I.T. that was Bully for the PC. And I mean literally broken. The game gets stuck in a infinite loading screen not 5 minutes into the game, every single time. Before that point the missing textures are so bad that there are areas missing floors, ceilings, and walls! I'm currently fighting to get my money back. Rockstar is QUICKLY tarnishing their reputation.

...bysmittyPosted at 10:01AM on Dec 4th 2008 by bysmitty

What kills me is that some of the MS installer files could have included in the install package itself. The game is 2 DVDs, so you would think you could squeeze a couple more EXE/CAB/ZIP/MISC files onto them.

This is still sitting on my desk, unopened. I got it yesterday, but I am NOT THRILLED AT ALL at the issues I am reading about.

The only upside is that I recently upgraded to 1GB 9400 Nvidia card, so hopefully the graphics will not be an issue for me.

XBox 360 - The biggest thing keeping me from opening my copy is the fact you HAVE to use Rockstar Social Club. WHY?
Posted at 10:19AM on Dec 4th 2008 by SidearmS

Aside from software issues as such, the game will only save if you are a social club member and windows live member and logged on.

So to play an online game (and be able to save which is essential in this kind of game) I need to be constantly online????

Come on

Have a look at the reviews in Amazon!Posted at 3:51PM on Dec 4th 2008 by James

Playable on my machine,using 180.84 beta drivers 8800GT

Average FPS: 49.24
Duration: 37.12 sec
CPU Usage: 52%
System memory usage: 83%
Video memory usage: 98%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 1024 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: Medium
Render Quality: High
View Distance: 25
Detail Distance: 37

Hardware
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Service Pack 3
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Video Driver version: 180.84
Audio Adapter: Delta 66 1/2
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz

File ID: Benchmark.cliPosted at 4:20AM on Dec 8th 2008 by Dobbin

I don't know much about computers, but my processor is Inter Core 2 Duo (2x 2.2GHz) and I have 2GB ram memory. "System type: 32bit.."

This game works like shit.
I downloaded Sp1 for my Vista and everything. When started to play it gave me 800x480 resolution (I have 20" screen with 1650x1050 max resolution) and didn't let me to change it higher because it said that my system doesn't have enough "power" to run it in higher options and the game lagged like hell.

I hope that this fixes with the patch but I don't still feel good about this.

Sorry for my bad English...
Posted at 7:49AM on Dec 9th 2008 by Finnish ,,

Hey can someone tell me when do they release the patch?Posted at 7:19AM on Dec 10th 2008 by Finnish