You can check it from the file sizes:
http://gtaforums.com/topic/735786-r...-for-san-andreas-steam/page-4#entry1066434042
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BEWARE THE LATEST GTA SAN ANDREAS STEAM UPDATE !!!11!!
- Thread starter willooi
- Start date
You can check it from the file sizes:
http://gtaforums.com/topic/735786-r...-for-san-andreas-steam/page-4#entry1066434042
Cizeta-Moroder
Banned
Another reason why Steam should give you the option to disable automatic updates (as a general rule. I know you can limit speed, hours, and disable game by game).
biggersmaller
Banned
R* either can't renew the music licenses as the owners don't want their content in GTA any longer or they don't want to pay what they're asking. Don't be surprised when similar licensing issues arise with all games years down the road.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Yeah at the request of his estate.
Of course if you have the mobile version of the sequel (oh yeah, only version) you been putting up with some real auto-update bullshit.
Steam is just more like mobile now. Yay.
Visualante2
Member
Was hoping they would release a new build without the new songs for future owners. Guess with all the extra work they put in it did not make sense. For shame.
That's not the issue, it's the removal of content that was bought and paid for years ago. If I go play SA on PS2, I still have these songs. The PC release should be no different.
I guess they can't afford more than that, GTA games simply don't seem to sell enough copies.
But seriously - how does this even work out? Do they license some tracks for 10 years and some other for 15 years? So in 5 years GTA:SA on Steam will lose all the music? Maybe Rockstar licensed Phil Collins for Vice City only for 20 years, so when that passed will they remove all references of him too? Even if that's not the case, what about that music?
Are there movies out there, that get part of their soundtrack removed after some years? How does it work out for those? I guess noone would accept some BluRay player updating itself to disable the soundtrack of certain BluRays.
Huevos de Oro
Member
I am hugging my retail multidisc triology GTA pack right now.
"Shhh, I won't let anything bad happen to you"
"Shhh, I won't let anything bad happen to you"
zephervack
Member
Man, I don't have the game installed, im screwed, right? Is there anyway to get a disc or pirated version and make steam believe it's the version I bought?
davepoobond
you can't put a price on sparks
Damn. It's not installed. Oh well... I still have the ps2 disc
Me too but there is no fucking way I could ever play the ps2 versions again after playing on PC. PC version is a generation ahead.
Kabuki Quantum Lover
Member
*whispers sweet nothings at pre-Hot Coffee PS2 disc*
I hope the PS3 Classic version isn't affected. That's what I'm using for my sporadic playthrough.
I hope the PS3 Classic version isn't affected. That's what I'm using for my sporadic playthrough.
zer0blivion
Member
Which file keeps track of the songs? Is there a guide somewhere? I have the 1.0 disc version and would like to restore the missing tracks.
Other tracks can be licensed indefinitely. Hard to say since nobody really talks.
This only affects digital copies, since physical copies can't be controlled, but they aren't allowed to manufacture more copies.
Movies & TV-series have similar problems with DVD/Bluray releases, where it was not part of original agreement.
Assuming movies have timed licenses, I'd expect those to removed from digital services in similar way.
But then why wasn't the PS2 Classic version on PSN modified?
Maybe it's just a matter of time.
Wasn't it removed? They don't have to remove from existing (already sold) copies.
As mentioned multiple times in the thread, it is very rare for labels to license for perpetuity regardless of the situation.
It's basically taking a legal/rights framework that (barely) made sense decades ago and applying it to mediums (games) and platforms (digital) that didn't even exist back then.
In many ways, this conundrum is also reflective by the very recent problems LA and AFM have in securing orchestra recording contracts with video game companies. No sane game company is going to agree to a contract where you only get to use the recordings for a single product and marketing regarding it, not when you have the possibility of considering sequels, remakes, rereleases, ports, HELL EVEN DLC as separate 'products' which then accrue secondary payments.
Thankfully, unlike pop music where it's essentially take-it-or-leave-it since for example MJ is unique and irreplaceable (and R* among others decides to 'take it') orchestral recordings for game soundtracks have the option of simply turning AFM down and going to Prague, London, or even other parts of the US where the business and contracts are actually conducive to the medium. (Complete buyout of rights)
d00d3n
Member
Can someone else confirm that reviews are now no longer available in the San Andreas community hub on steam? I can still access my review, even through outside links, but clicking on the reviews section in the community hub just gives an empty page with the message "No more content. So sad.". Rockstar protecting themselves against a chain reaction of negative reviews?
Dorsal Axe
Member
Heebie Jeebies
Banned
They're gone on the main gamepage.
Crimsonclaw111
Member
That's fucking sketchy.
Really building that PC community trust there, Rockstar.
zer0blivion
Member
Thank you sir. I don't know how I missed that.
d00d3n
Member
Yep, although understandable. Video game companies seem to think that these kind of metrics are important. Maybe someone's yearly bonus was on the line ...
what the fuck are you doing Rockstar
Windom Earle
Member
This inspired me to install my disc version and install the silent mod + Ginput. Damn, this game is still fucking sweet at 4k and with Xbox 360 controller support and GUI. Also no more 24fps, yay.
They could simply relicense it now for another 10 years.
So the owner of the rights wants a bit more because they know that you make a fortune? So give it to them. Where is the problem? I mean Rockstar is still making a fortune selling those games (even the older ones) and that will continue on.
They could have already released a native PS3 version with trophies and shit and it would sell ... again ... a crapload of copies. Could have released a trilogy on Wii as well. But it seems Rockstar doesn't even give a shit about making money in that case. Maybe it's just not enough money compared to GTA V. Instead they screw over customers.
Ah man, so jealous! I gotta track down the trilogy on pc and do the same.
Are you seriously comparing the initial sale spike a game like GTA has vs whatever leftover trickle the games generate now a decade later, existence mobile port or not?
Rockstar as a business isn't stupid. Someone obviously calculated the cost of relicensing vs a procjetion of the number of copies whatever ports/releases could sell extra (important distinction - since the game still exists without) based on the continued inclusion of these certain songs, and decided it wasn't worth it.
What monetary value you can assign to the cost in customer goodwill, of course, is something not as tangible and honestly despite the vitriol in this thread (including from me) isn't all that clear-cut.
edit: And of course, for what it's worth, I'm still agreeing that this should have affected only new copies, a-la how Vice City branched.
Heebie Jeebies
Banned
Maybe they have an intent to update the game with a better patch so have hidden the reviews because of their reactionary nature for now. Anything less would be incredibly shady and something you would see from a rogue 'indie' dev, not a AAA one like R*
BlackRainbowFT
Member
I bought the game a long time ago... why would they take those songs away? I could sort of understand removing them for new customers... but still. this is unacceptable.
I'm not so sure about that. Fans wanted a PS3 port of the PS2 games for ages. Nothing happened at all. A Wii port would have been easy, because the engine was already running on Wii. Do you really want to tell me, that a PS2 trilogy on Wii would have sold just a few copies back then when the Wii was hot?
And now they finally release San Andreas natively on 360 for a few bucks only, because it's an effectively broken and crappy port of the mobile version.
All of that sounds pretty stupid to me. Of course compared to GTA V sales, that would still have been "peanuts". But then they could simply remove the game from Steam and not re-release it anywhere anymore. Their actions (or lack of actions) don't make sense.
I'm pretty sure that this someone was also responsible for fucking over existing customers on Steam, that had already bought the game years ago and are now getting content removed from their copies.
Let's see - "having 2 versions of the game on Steam vs. only 1 version on Steam with all sorts of content removed and all sorts of angry customers. 1 version sounds like a great idea. Costs less and we just have to release an "update" that cripples the game for everyone. Let's go with that.". Doesn't sound that smart either.
I mean let's assume that someone calculated that not many copies would get sold anymore in the next 10 years and that relicensing wouldn't be worth it. Then why would they a) sell a crappy port on 360 now, b) "update" the game on Steam and c) even release it on mobile? None of that would make sense, unless they still make quite a bit of money on it. Why not remove it from Steam and keep the original version up for existing customers in that case without fucking them over? Maybe even announce "we will remove GTA: San Andreas from Steam for purchase because of music licensing issues, buy it now. You have 1 month to do so". Would have made them a quite a bit of money and noone would be pissed.
Anyway - in a sense that someone is even right. Even if 500.000 customers are going to be really pissed, what does it matter, when your latest game sold way way way way more than that on consoles and not on the platform, where the pissed customers are.
You could also look at it that way. Rockstar has treated PC gamers as second class citizens for quite some time now. Even if they would piss off every single PC gamer, what effect would that have on the console sales? Maybe not much.
zer0blivion
Member
There's a newer version of the Silent patch that actually fixes 1080p support.
http://gtaforums.com/topic/669045-iiivcsaasi-silentpatch/page-74#entry1066438957
Edit: Newer still
http://gtaforums.com/topic/669045-iiivcsaasi-silentpatch/page-74#entry1066438957
Edit: Newer still
As I've explained more than a few times now, the music changes applying to everybody is not exactly an example of "something something digital future".
Fact: Vice City was in this same situation
Fact: R* went to the effort of pulling the game and making new packages so people like myself still have the original, intended music selection
Fact: R* didn't do the same thing here for no practical reason
Fact: You can point to this and say "Lazy devs!"
Here's a crash course in Why SA Owners Are Being Fucked Over for No Reason.
Edit: I apologise for the snarky tone.
Fact: Vice City was in this same situation
Fact: R* went to the effort of pulling the game and making new packages so people like myself still have the original, intended music selection
Fact: R* didn't do the same thing here for no practical reason
Fact: You can point to this and say "Lazy devs!"
Here's a crash course in Why SA Owners Are Being Fucked Over for No Reason.
Edit: I apologise for the snarky tone.
I agree with the first 3 facts, but the last fact may actually be:
Fact: Idiotic bean counter working at Rockstar doesn't know what he/she was doing and hopefully will get fired for this mess.
Unless R*'/Take-Two is feeling charitable, it's too late for reversions.
Ya, the trilogy is crazy expensive. So, picked up SA pc on Amazon. Excited to mod it to the high heavens!
Green Yoshi
Member
Update has killed my savegame and runs like crap. I wanted to cancel it, but you can only choose "Update always" or "Update when starting". Never played it for a long time on PC, so I'm not so pissed as people that played 50 hours and have now a useless savegame.
Update when starting is the same as not letting it auto update. They just renamed it for some reason.
Green Yoshi
Member
Yes, but when I start the game it starts the update and says something like "Playable in 20 minutes".
Exploratory
Banned
Oh fuck that. Leave Radio Los Santos alone.
zer0blivion
Member
There's an unofficial patch that fixes widescreen support and loads old saves.
http://gtaforums.com/topic/669045-iiivcsaasi-silentpatch/page-74#entry1066438957
https://steamdb.info/depot/12113/
FUUUUUUUU
If they fuck with VC now too...sigh
I'd demand a refund, but I doubt Steam would do shit about it, as they would likely claim TOS and just /shrug.
As for R*, straight up: I won't buy another product of theirs digitally. Hell, I hesitate to buy it physically as well(nothing stopping them from deploying a patch for console users to remove songs/etc).
Pretty shitty thing to do, especially since I didn't have it installed prior to this, and now I'm forced to resort to piracy to get the full experience I rightfully paid for.
Even worse is the removal of certain widescreen support and saved games(I know these are community patched now, but still). Who thought this was a good idea?
FUUUUUUUU
If they fuck with VC now too...sigh
I'd demand a refund, but I doubt Steam would do shit about it, as they would likely claim TOS and just /shrug.
As for R*, straight up: I won't buy another product of theirs digitally. Hell, I hesitate to buy it physically as well(nothing stopping them from deploying a patch for console users to remove songs/etc).
Pretty shitty thing to do, especially since I didn't have it installed prior to this, and now I'm forced to resort to piracy to get the full experience I rightfully paid for.
Even worse is the removal of certain widescreen support and saved games(I know these are community patched now, but still). Who thought this was a good idea?
zer0blivion
Member
I'm making a backup of my VC folder now. Unlike San Andreas, I don't have a physical copy to restore from.
ThatsMytrunks
Member
I'd love the updated version of GTA3 from phones, but I imagine it'd destroy all previous mods for it. :|