As complex as Rockstar’s open-world titles have been through the years, it’s easy to overlook one core system that governs so much: The day/night cycle. Obviously, it returns in Grand Theft Auto 6, but you’ll probably notice both can feel substantially longer in modern-day Vice City.
Which is completely intentional. Rockstar co-studio head Rob Nelson told Edge Magazine (via GamesRadar) that the studio originally implemented the same timings as Grand Theft Auto 5. The results were less than stellar, as “everything felt too fast.”
“As the resolution of the worlds goes up, I think there are things you can’t get away with in the same way.” He notes how NPCs can react if you hold a weapon as another example. “If you want a pedestrian population to behave believably, and you can stand in front of them and produce an automatic shotgun out of nowhere and they don’t react, then that doesn’t work.
“That barely held in GTA 5, where you could literally produce one of those weapons in front of somebody and they would not react unless you aimed it at them. Only then would they run. To me, that was already showing its age in GTA 5 at that level of resolution.”
Of course, you don’t necessarily need a weapon to provoke a reaction. When co-studio head Aaron Garbut played the game and stared at an NPC as Jason for too long, they became agitated enough to get up close and unleash their dog.
Interestingly, that level of fidelity also impacts the police. They won’t immediately hound you depending on your actions. Even before the wanted stage, you can drop your weapon and maybe let cooler heads prevail. Again, this won’t always be the case with everyone – several NPCs are armed and will be more than happy to show it.
Still, it’s another system that makes Grand Theft Auto 6 feel that much more realistic and worth immersing yourself in when it lands on November 19th. In the meantime, head here to learn new details about the weather or how its landmass compares to previous titles.
