The skepticism around that beach shot is giving me major Red Dead 2 flashbacks
I keep seeing people pick apart that one shot from the trailer, the one with the absolutely packed beach. "No way it'll look like that on launch," "crowd density's getting nerfed for sure," all that. And every time I read it, I'm right back in 2017 when the RDR2 marketing was ramping up.
Back then, folks were convinced the game couldn't possibly run that well on a base PS4. The lighting, the NPC routines, the mud physics, all of it was supposedly too good to be true. Then the game dropped and it looked better than the trailers. I played it on a launch PS4 and my jaw was on the floor. Rockstar didn't just meet the hype, they stomped on it.
Now we're doing the same dance with GTA 6. I get the skepticism with most devs, but Rockstar's been doing this for decades. They set the bar with every release and then casually vault over it. The hardware gap alone makes the GTA 5 comparisons pointless. That game was squeezing blood from a PS3 stone. The Series X and PS5 are in a completely different league, and Rockstar's got some new crowd tech they've hinted at. They're not gonna show us a Miami-inspired Vice City with sparse beaches. That'd be like making a racing game with no cars.
I'm not saying the company's perfect, their post-launch monetization gives me hives, but when it comes to the single-player world they build? I stopped doubting them after RDR2. They'll deliver something that makes the trailers look modest. Mark my words, a year from now we'll be laughing at all the "downgrade" threads.
What's the one thing from the trailers you think people are most wrong about doubting right now?
Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.
People treating crowd density like it's just cosmetic.
crowd density's getting nerfed for sure
They're not thinking about the job. Dense beaches mean cover, slower response times, and chaotic escape routes.
If the AI routines hold up like they did in RDR2, current hardware can handle it. Downgrade panic is noise. Plan for the crowd being there.