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A forced tutorial (formerly multiplayer only) which crashes or times out almost every time...

Inability to play with your friends until you have completed this nigh-impossible-to-activate tutorial...

Apparently non-existent cloud servers which store all our online character data (no way to access this offline apparently)...

People unable to save their progress...

Characters appearing in mid-air and plummeting to Earth - apparently inspired by the opening credits of Mr Bean...

Open flamewars on the Rockstar forums...

One-hour call queues to Rockstar tech support...

While the Rockstar fanboys have showed out in tremendous force, laughing at the very good points made by the "whiners" - for example, we have paid up to £60 for this game and the offline game is superbly thought-out, so why has the online side been such a disaster? Who thought a forced tutorial which disallows play with your friends is what GTA fans want or expect? Who the hell wants to race Lamar when they could be getting chases across the mountains with their mates? Why do we apparently lose our online characters (horrible, HORRIBLE character creation system which was designed by Nurgle) and our progress on the rare occasions we can actually get into the online world?

Apparently it will be 2-3 days before the online game actually becomes playable but this was for PS3 players and there's no word on the XBox version. It seems the PS3 players were even worse affected than the XBox contingent.

Worse, the Rockstar forums are plagued by Playstation fanboys ripping into XBox gamers for no apparent reason, and they've have now started quoting PS4 sales figures as if they're relevant.

I know it's early days, I know we were prepared for it to be hard to get online given the ridiculous sales figures, but the online game itself is broken and poorly-thought-out, you can't blame it all on the lack of servers.

What does everyone else think?

How can you quote sales figures for a console that isn't out?

Also, it's slightly annoying that it isn't online but it is hardly the end of the world.

They did warn that it'd be a bumpy start. And, to be fair, I can understand. GTA V is an extremely popular game, the amount of people trying to get online and play is going to cause a lot of stress on Rockstar's servers.

I'd say give it a few days before judging it, let them try to sort things out. It should be much smoother all around, then.

It seems obvious now that you are both right - it's not the end of the world and it was always going to be problematic.

I think I lost perspective because I've paid my money and found that the finished product (even after all this mess is over) might not be able to offer me what I wanted or expected. In fact it isn't even this that annoyed me.

I got mad because of how poorly thought out the online element seems to be, with mandatory tutorials (fair enough it's only one easy mission, but still!) and the game making it ridiculously hard to play against your friends, even if you can get online.

It seems like two separate companies worked on the offline and online elements. The offline team did a sensational job, putting heart and soul into a game so impressive it has actually renewed my interest in gaming. The online team worked 9-5 Monday to Friday for minimum wage and didn't really talk to the people responsible for anything else.

EDIT: Having people making fun of the XBox also wound me up. I could list a dozen reasons why I use my XBox 360 in preference to my PS3, even though I do like the PS3 a lot. I could list reasons why I will always choose XBox over Playstation from now on. But I wouldn't ever sneer at PS3 fans the way they seem to sneer at us.

I've had all told ~3 hours of proper game out of it so far. Probably about 2 hours in total looking at various forms of Loading/crashed screens. The fact the only thing that has reliably saved is my dwindling virtual bank balance is another annoyance. The 3000 i spent on a new bike and the 25000 i spent on a garage have disappeared but my bike and garage are nowhere to be found. Also thanks to a non-functioning 'Passive mode' my medical bills have accounted for around 35,000 despite only once actively engaging in PvP with another player outside of Matches.

As i said before i will forgive it as when it's been working it's been fun (apart from being constantly mowed down despite checking the box that should prohibit it.) and GTA V has already provided it's value in entertainment.

whats that you say? An online game that has problems in the first few days?!

Youre bitching about one of the most popular games in history, having a rocky start with an online service? Really?

According to after the launch of GTA Online, 4 hours later.

Everybody wants their money back and said this is the worst game of the year after they just said its the best game of the year before the launch of GTA online.

Bravo gamers of humanity. Bravo.

 Sharps wrote:
According to after the launch of GTA Online, 4 hours later.

Everybody wants their money back and said this is the worst game of the year after they just said its the best game of the year before the launch of GTA online.

Bravo gamers of humanity. Bravo.

Hey now, no need to make a huge generalisation like that. The players who are saying that sort of stuff are probably a vocal minority. I imagine that most are either frustrated but still enjoyed what they player, or understand that it was very likely going to a bumpy start.

 Medium of Death wrote:

Also, it's slightly annoying that it isn't online but it is hardly the end of the world.

Exactly, I hate how angry people get about this. It's a multiplayer launch they never work well! Get the feth over it it's a single-player game anyway!

I think people need to understand that GTA V is very large, ambitious, and hugely successful game. There are bound to be teething problems, and not just little ones either. Fact is, the multiplayer mode is impossible to test properly before release. The first few days, maybe even weeks, is the testing phase, effectively. This is not unusual, it's not worthy of derision, it should be understandable and simply deserving of patience and perseverance.

Are you really surprised that console fanboys are being idiots? These are the guys that threaten to stab you if you say anything even remotely bad about their system.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
Are you really surprised that console fanboys are being idiots? These are the guys that threaten to stab you if you say anything even remotely bad about their system.

I'm just saying PC has better graphics than Xbox 360
"SAY IT ONE MORE TIME YOU GRAPHICS WHORE I'LL fething STAB YOU, YOU LYING BITCH"

True story,

The problem is, we knew there would be teething troubles with the servers, but the whole structure of the online game is just... bad. In fact Marneus Calgar might describe it as a "load of old fethery", and I might use it in my Marneus Calgar's Barmy Army 2013 Christmas special, if you'll pardon the self-promotion.

Even those who have been able to play online have found a million faults, and my entire point was that the offline game is so well thought-out, so how did they bugger up the online game? (I'm talking about gameplay and missions rather than non-existent servers.)

I personally don't play online RPGs and would normally avoid launch days like the plague. This whole thing has brought out the worst in people. I guess that's ironic, given that Grand Theft Auto is all about horrible people doing terrible things to obnoxious people against a backdrop of narcisism, racism, gender-hate, race-hate, dodgy sex, violence, theft and guns

As a member of the Glorious PC Master Race, I feel compelled to point out that this phenomenon sadly seems to apply to the vocal majority of all gamers anywhere, regardless of system. Just look at the people trying to sue Bioware because they didn't like the ME3 ending. The haters who give MWO 1.0 ratings on Metacritics because they're butthurt about delays in development. The eternal crowd of forumites flaming support agents and threatening to cancel their subscriptions or never buying anything again every single time a weekly maintenance isn't completed on time. The list goes on. I don't even get all the hate on the new Sim City, and that one at least has some reason for criticism (more an issue of bad PR rather than the game itself imho, though).

Unfortunately, neither of these people follow through with their grandiloquent statements but keep playing and flaming rather than just leaving for supposedly "better" games, thus polluting the atmosphere of what would otherwise be much better places for the community to hang out. Sigh.

Entitlement issues and lack of patience - but I suppose it could be argued that those are merely a result of greater issues in society.

Welp, the Online is getting a bit fixed, but still glitched to hell.

Manage to get passed the "Cant join host" thing with a few crashes after a mission or two.

Btw anybody wanna ride in my HOT invisible car?

If blizzard can't get an online launch to go smoothly when online games are their thing what makes you think rockstar could? I don't blame them. There are obviously a huge multitude of logistical issues with creating an online game, especially am online game with millions of players. If it's not up in a week then I'll start to get my panties in a bunch. Honestly though it's an amazing game they've made, I cut them a bit of slack

The one thing I want to pick people up on is their use of the word "entitled" - people have paid for the game and waited til the due date, they are "entitled" to get what they are paying for. Oh and don't forget the XBox live subscription rate that probably just went through the roof. And the days off work that many people have apparently taken.

If I buy a car, I am entitled to be able to drive it away, not wait several days (at least) while Peugeot Sport come over from France and install another engine without telling me what they're doing, with nothing to address my concerns other than "Eengleesh buffeune, you do not know WHAT eet ees to drive a CAAR."

I definitely think the concerns of paying customers are being brushed aside; let's hope the game really is fixed in the next day or two.

We were told that online would be delayed a couple weeks after release. We knew to expect further delays. If you did not expect it, then you were acting foolish.

They will deliver a working product. Patience is a virtue.

Can people refrain from calling names, it's really getting on my tits. You're not an extra from Kindergarten Cop, don't act six years old.

I am happy to wait a while for GTA Online to be fixed, however nobody ever seems able to respond to the "I've paid, why can't I play" without resorting to insults (trolling).

It almost worked for me there, and first time too. I'd imagine they'll have this sorted by Tomorrow or Saturday.

I'd maybe plan to do something different if your hoping to play this weekend, as while I'm hopeful it will be fixed there's no point in setting yourself up for rage.

Go forth to thine pub and enjoy merriment.

Quite shocked a few of my friends still find it unplayable and apologies to those who still cant get on too, but do not lose faith brothers, for gta online is the most fun game I have ever played in my life and I am being serious, once you get on, its magic, pure utter magic. Not once have I been bored, taking in the game world, messing about with mates, robbing stores and having shootouts with random players, the physics engine, nothing is boring in the game.

Hold faith and see selves rewarded with pure enjoyment.

I cant wait for proper heists to be released, only just managed to buy a garage but now I can cruise in style baby, without the fear of someone in a lorry obliterating my modded car which I have done to others so many times. I just cant resist, its GTA after all.

Shock horror! People complaining about the first online in a GTA game, in the first few days of release!

Seriously. This is the first GTA multiplayer we've had. Give it time for them to work out the kinks.

I just had the taste of the Online a few hours ago.

I just find this all weird, since I've been playing GTA IV online for 2-3 years and its really, REALLY changed a lot.

I just can't IMAGINE the things you can do now. It just feels like you are really the 4th character because there are barely any restrictions in the game since there are even pretty much more activities.

Plus I can flip off and smoke.

Also met some funny people on the way. A grandma jacked my personal car and finished me off.

Got Online, love it. That is all.

Btw isn't there a mode that can't let you kill players or be killed by them, BUT kill the enemy AI like in GTA IV? Not passive mode, I just want to run in and team up with some guys instead of instantly shooting me which all players I met have, because they WANT MY MONEY.

I need insurance, fast.

I think passive mode should be taken off, everyone plays a criminal in GTA, people should expect everyone to kill them haha.

This isn't the first gta multiplayer . GTA 1 had multiplayer in it. I remember those days.

 thedarkavenger wrote:
Shock horror! People complaining about the first online in a GTA game, in the first few days of release!

Seriously. This is the first GTA multiplayer we've had. Give it time for them to work out the kinks.

 NoPoet wrote:
If I buy a car, I am entitled to be able to drive it away, not wait several days (at least) while Peugeot Sport come over from France and install another engine without telling me what they're doing, with nothing to address my concerns other than "Eengleesh buffeune, you do not know WHAT eet ees to drive a CAAR."

Can't tell if trolling or not because that's an awful analogy. GTA V is all about single-player, this is like having to replace your CD player after buying your car because there was a problem with the manufacturing. It's a privilege not a right get over it.

Heh, a privilege not a right, did I illegally download the game for free or something?

Anyway a couple of my friends have been able to play against each other on their XBoxes, hopefully it'll all be up and running properly for tomorrow.