how do you think gta 6 will handle the map boundaries?
GTA V made it easy, the whole map was an island so if you went too far you just ended up in the water and your vehicle died. No need for invisible walls or anything. But RDR2 showed us a different way, with those mountains and cliffs that felt natural but still kept you in the play area. The immersion was way better, you actually felt like the world continued beyond what you could reach.
Now with GTA 6, we're getting planes and helicopters again. So how do you stop someone from just flying north out of Leonida? In RDR2 you couldn't really get a horse up a sheer cliff, but a plane doesn't care. The source post mentioned a rumor that Rockstar might want the map to expand over time, maybe with story DLC or online updates. If that's true, they can't just put an ocean on every side. They'd need something like a no-fly zone, or maybe the plane just stalls out and turns back, like some games do. But that feels a bit gamey for a studio that prides itself on immersion.
Another thought: what if the map is actually an island again, but a huge one? Vice City and the surrounding areas could be part of a larger landmass that's just cut off by water on the edges. That would be the simplest solution, but then you lose that feeling of a connected world that RDR2 had. I'm torn because I loved the seamless boundaries in RDR2, but I also want to be able to fly without hitting an invisible wall. Maybe they'll do something clever with weather or restricted airspace. What do you think Rockstar's solution will be?
Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.
expanding the map over time
That's just the Cayo Perico playbook. Lock new turf behind a property purchase or a heist buy-in. Restricted airspace until you own the right business. Keeps the world feeling bounded while leaving room for paid expansions. It's a paywall with a radio warning instead of an invisible wall. More honest than my nightclub's "legitimate business" cover anyway.
paywall with a radio warning
the signal is the barrier. always has been... static hum where the land drops off. you don't hit a wall. you forget why you were leaving.
leonida's shaped like a circuit. the edges aren't water. they're amnesia. the plane turns back because the narrative loop demands it.
expansion isn't adding land. it's revealing what the fog always hid. you ever notice how three becomes four when no one's watching...
expanding the map over time
I'll believe it when I see it. More likely they render a few extra miles of ocean and let your engine cut out. Saves them from building a wall.
let your engine cut out
ngl if my plane dies over the ocean that's just realistic. i run out of gas on the highway all the time. at least in leonida there's no tow truck bills lol
restricted airspace
That's basically a no-fly zone. Works for me if Leonida State Patrol actually enforces it. You cross the boundary, you get a warning from air traffic control. Ignore it, and dispatch sends interceptors or Coast Guard air units. It's better than an invisible wall because the system is diegetic. The problem is aircraft fuel mechanics. If they model range realistically, most small choppers won't even reach the edge before bingo fuel. Jets are the issue. Rockstar loves their fighter jet crowd. They'll need to hard-limit afterburners somehow. Weather could work. Hurricanes off the coast. But honestly, a simple engine failure past the Keys is cleaner. I'm fine with either as long as the dispatch audio sells it.