Development
At E3 2014, a re-release of the game was announced for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This enhanced version of the game features an increased draw distance, finer texture details, denser traffic, upgraded weather effects, and new wildlife and vegetation.[1] It runs a native 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One: the PC version is 4K resolution compatible.[2] The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released on 18 November 2014.[3] The PC version, initially scheduled for simultaneous release with the console versions,[1] was delayed to 27 January 2015. According to Rockstar, the game required extra development time for polish.[4]
Content available to players returning from the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 versions includes exclusive activities, weapons and vehicles in the enhanced version.[5] It features more than 100 new songs across the game's radio stations.[3] Players may transfer characters and progression of Grand Theft Auto Online from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 over to the new platforms. The PC version features a replay editor that lets players create video clips of their gameplay.[1] The PlayStation 4 version uses the DualShock 4's touchpad to navigate camera options and speaker to play smartphone calls.[6] The Xbox One Controller's "Impulse Triggers"[7] may rumble while players use vehicles.[8]
The enhanced version includes a new on-foot first-person view option. Animation director Rob Nelson said that a first-person option was raised during development on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but that the consoles' relatively smaller banks of memory were already being pushed, such that adding new first-person animations would have inhibited the open world render. According to Nelson, the first-person view required more development effort than simply repositioning the camera, because of the need to adapt combat to a different view. The weapons were upgraded to a higher resolution, and new animations like weapon recoil, reload and switch were added. "I think we created 3,000 animations on weapons alone", said Nelson.[9] Players may configure the camera to personal preference (for example, by making the view toggle to third-person when taking cover).[9]
There's something incredible about running around this world in first-person, glancing down at Trevor's hands, now your hands and seeing the tattoos, the dirt under his nails ... And then with a click you're in third person and there's your character again in front of you—it's a whole other new experience.
Aaron Garbut, Rockstar art director, IGN, 5 November 2014[6]
Art director Aaron Garbut said that the enhanced version's graphical upgrade came largely from the addition of first-person.[6] Remodelled cars feature interior effects like functional speedometers, fuel gauges and dashboard handbrake lights.[9][6] The team added new particle and lighting effects, "like fireflies at night in the countryside, or ambient light pollution over Los Santos at night", according to Garbut.[6] Red Dead Redemption inspired the team to add more vegetation to "break up the hard edges [and] straight lines" of the open world.[6] The original version's vegetation was replaced with more detailed equivalents in the enhanced version. An upgraded weather system lets tree branches and leaves blow realistically in the wind. The team hand placed weeds along fences and walls, and placed grass over many of the open world's terrains. They then layered flowers, plants, stones, leaves and litter over the grass. An upgraded screen space ambient occlusion system renders dynamic shadows that may cast through weather effects like volumetric fog, and particle effects like light reflections in water bodies or neon reflections in cars at night. The ambient light pollution over nighttime Los Santos may dissipate in poor weather. A dynamic depth of field system sharpens and softens images to emulate camera autofocus. Improved shaders produce new colours in skin and terrain textures.[6]
