Prolific YouTuber MrBossFTW aka Ross walks us through Grand Theft Auto 5 or GTA 5's graphics/visual comparison between the pre-released version of 2010 and the Remastered edition of 2016, in his latest gameplay video for GTA Online.
As Ross explains in his video, the pre-released graphics rendering was released by Graphics Design Artist Jonathan Gwyn when GTA 5 was still being developed by Rockstar in 2010. If you are curious, the old images with bare-bone details of the in-game map are still accessible on Gwyn's website.
On the contrary, the Remastered Edition brings up much finer details such as the trees, barriers and the graffiti on the in-game objects. Ross also points out a similar creation by an earlier Graphics Artist named Darren Charles Hatton who worked at Rockstar Games in 2009 to 2010.
Ross then compares the two older versions of the game with the enhanced version of 2015, which was recently posted on YouTube by GTA expert.
Hatton has stated on his website that these are small samples of environment artwork that he took ownership of during the making of GTA 5. He also adds that he had access to "two blocks to take from the grey box through to Textured Polish."
"Unlike other companies I have worked for I had ownership of those two blocks. Everything in these areas I controlled. From the way building sat and interacted with the empty space, asset creating, UV and texture, dirt blending between buildings and environment floor, and gameplay design to a point. I transferred from Rockstar North to 2K Australia before the completion of this project due to my Australian wife's family health scare," explains the prolific design artist in his personal blog.
One glance at the images in the video reveals that Hatton was working on some apartment complex, a store-front and a few other buildings. You could check out the visual and graphics comparison between Hatton's beta version and the final version shared by GTA expert in Ross's newest gameplay video for GTA 5.
Some of the noteworthy changes and improvements ported into the enhanced or Remastered version include changes to the logos and placeholder names, besides a bunch of modifications to the texture details and objects such as trees or bushes.
Given the storage constraints on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Rockstar seems to have chopped down the texture and object across the game world. However, the advent of PS4 and Xbox One with powerful hardware enabled the game maker to upgrade the graphics and visual content in the game to an imposing level.
Consequently, gamers can now enjoy the intrinsic details in the game such as the power lines attached to a building, the fine lines drawn on the asphalt across the side-roads that designate the parking area as well as the cosmetic finishes to the interiors of major buildings in Los Santos and Blaine County.
The Remastered or the enhanced version of GTA 5 finally portrays some incredible fine details and graphics enhancements in 2016, given the massive effort (lasting over a year) put in by a bunch of artwork designers over several years into the game. So, it is anybody's guess why Rockstar's GTA sequels take at least four to five years in their development stage, before the public release.
