Archbell

Dutch: "You shoulda stayed at home"

For an online game that is centered around a Freeroam environment it is very toxic, with GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption Freeroam was made to be a place where you could mess around with other players, killing other players wasn't encouraged but it wasn't actively discouraged like it is in GTA Online, with GTA Online Rockstar decided in their infinite wisdom to include an in-game KD Ratio which has created a breed of tryhards and KD warriors who only care about getting kills and don't play for a fair fight or the challenge of PVP. They'll kill anyone and everyone from level 1 upwards and kill themselves when their health is low, there is also an abundance of military vehicles/weapons that they can use to kill other players so skill doesn't even come into Freeroam anymore and because there's no challenge to fighting or running away there's no deterrent for mindless killing.

I agree, there were a lot of ways to make money in GTA Online Freeroam but none of them payed too much and if they did they were extremely time consuming. Rockstar did a good job with the After Hours Update though, they added random Product Crate Drops every 15 minutes which if you collect and return to your Nightclub before being killed by other players you can then sell the Product Crates for around 30K. It's quick cash that nobody has any claim to but anybody can fight for, the only problem with this and many other Freeroam Activities being the vast array of military weapons and vehicles players can use to get an advantage, I'm hoping Rockstar bulid upon the Freeroam Activities from GTA Online like the Product Crate Drops while at the same time making PVP balancing a priority. Imagine your riding around in Red Dead Online with your posse, you suddenly get alerted to the route of a train carrying cash, bonds or gold bullion which you can then attempt to steal and abscond with while avoiding any Lawmen or other players that may be persuing you. The potential for Freeroam Activities like this where your not just killing for the hell of it but killing because your fighting for something valuable (cash, bonds, gold bullion etc) that you can use however you please really appeals to me.

Your son asks a really interesting question, I'd love to say that I'm gonna be cool, calm and iron-willed like Clint Eastwood in The Man With No Name Trilogy but I'll probably end up as a mix between Emilio Estevez's portrayal of Billy The Kid in Young Guns and Jim, the "Waco Kid" in Blazing Saddles.

I like the fact that Rockstar are putting a focus on incorporating role-playing and morality but I can't lie that I had a slight chuckle when I read the IGN Q&A and saw that this was one of the things they are focusing on, I guess their not blind to the fact that they built the platform for one of the most toxic multiplayer communities to ever grace the world of gaming.

I hope we get more information soon but in the meantime I've had nothing better to do than take a closer look at the screens and information we received in the Red Dead Redemption II Frontier, Cities & Towns feature. I always miss something so feel free to post below any small details you noticed in these recent screens. I may be wrong but this is the first time to my knowledge that we've seen Arthur with a secondary holster, I wondered for a while whether dual-wielding would require two holsters because I never saw one on his person until now. Arthur looks a bit naked without his gun and gun belt, this may just be for a particular cutscene or maybe if you wanna mingle with high society you have to leave your guns behind. Mount Hagen looks amazing and I can't wait to travel through areas such as this. I'm thinking the name "Mount Hagen" might be a reference to Ross Hagen who for those who don't know was the voice actor for Landon Ricketts in Red Dead Redemption, Hagen died in 2011 nearly a year after the game's release and this seems like a nice way to honour him. We've seen Javier Escuella wearing this poncho before in the third trailer but you get a better look at it here and it looks a lot better than the ponchos we had as John Marston in Red Dead Redemption that were cut off at the shoulders, hoping to get my hands on one of these pronto. It's a tad weird to see Bill Williamson without a beard, I'm somewhat hoping this is the extent of it as I don't know if I could handle seeing Dutch clean shaven. This shot of the Arthur, Micah and Sean walking through the town of Rhodes looks great, in the back you can see a statue which I'm assuming is of Brigadier-General Sherman M. Rhodes. In Red Dead Redemption one of the many Treasure Maps you can follow will lead you to Rhodes' Gold, the description of which reads "Gold bullion given to Brigadier-General Sherman M. Rhodes". My assumption is that if your actions during the Civil War earned you a bar of gold bullion it's not that much of a stretch for someone to name a town after you. I think this shot is one of the best, the way Arthur's trousers/pants look when soaked through as well as how the two Alligators' eyes are glowing in the low light adds so much realism.

I found the opening of the Red Dead Redemption II Gameplay Trailer quite humorous, I think they'll be a fair amount of dialogue and situations that make us laugh but in my opinion Rockstar are very good at not going overboard with the humour so that the story and dialogue feels more natural and grounded in reality. Red Dead Redemption had some funny moments whether they be during side quests or the main story, they weren't too common but all felt natural and not forced in any way. 2:30 - 2:50

Those are some great screenshots, I'm more excited after seeing these screenshots than I was after seeing the gameplay trailer. Saint Denis and the Annesburg Mine look like very interesting places to explore, it's also kinda weird to see Bill Williamson without a beard.

I understand that Rockstar wanna hold their cards close to their chest and I would've been fine with not getting another gameplay video from now until release if Rockstar hadn't already shown 40+ minutes of uncut gameplay to a bunch of idiots a few months back as well as showing 20+ minutes of uncut gameplay to a bunch of turds earlier this month who had nothing better to do but complain about the pace at which the game was shown. I have no interest in the opinion's of self proclaimed "video game journalists" or the gaming websites they work for. I think Rockstar has built up enough hype, the game has been delayed by a year and we've seen less than 10 minutes of footage yet they've already sold people extra content for a game that we've barely seen. I have no doubt that Red Dead Redemption II will be a masterpiece and a strong contender for Game Of The Year but I feel Rockstar are treading a fine line between building hype and taking the piss.

Yeah, my guess is that Rockstar will go with the same system they used in GTA Online where you can only see GTA/logo icons when you aim at someone while in close proximity.

I agree, I forgot about the GT/logo icons above other player's heads in Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer because I turned them off day one as I didn't like how they looked.

In my opinion being an enforcer isn't about being unbeatable in hand to hand combat, Arthur is described as being sharp, cool-headed and ruthless which is undoubtedly the reason why he's a good enforcer. Charles on the other hand is described as quiet and reserved so I wouldn't assume him to be very capable as an enforcer in comparison to Arthur.

Ha, I'm not required to be vigilant when I'm on the shitter.

I'm at work right now, only got an hour or so to go now though. I get payed £9 and hour to stand around and stay vigilant, that's all I have to do. It's not too bad, gets a tad boring at times but that's the case with most jobs.

Across YouTube and this forum I can see that everyone has very different opinions on what Red Dead Online Freeroam should be, I'm talking in terms of how it should be set up and what playstyles it should cater to so save the micro transaction talk for another thread. I'm interested to hear what you guys think Freeroam should be like and what you would've wanted Rockstar's top priority to be when developing Red Dead Online's Freeroam so feel free to post your opinions down below.

I'm very happy that Red Dead Redemption II has a single protagonist, character switching in Grand Theft Auto V was fun but I never developed any empathy or interest in any of the three protagonists because I was constantly switching between them. I'm really excited to see Arthur Morgan's story unfold, I know a lot of people are sceptical of Arthur and unsure about whether he'll be a good protagonist but from what I've seen of Arthur so far he seems like a man who is a true product of his time and place in history which makes him a very interesting character for me. A lot of people don't seem to like how he looks but I personally think he looks fine, I see the resemblance to Nathan Fillion @YodaMan 3D pointed out but the jawline and nose look very different. Anyone else see a resemblance between the images below or am I alone on this one?

Customisation of Arthur's clothing and appearance is a given but it's unlikely that we'll see many clothing or facial hair options until we get our hands on the game, the first Red Dead Redemption was similar in that respect when it came to trailers and screenshots that were released before the game's launch. I'm hoping we get the shirt Arthur is wearing in the recent artwork, appeals more to me than the blue shirt. I also like the hat seen in this screenshot, it's just asking to get shot off.

I think being able to port your own likeness onto your Red Dead Online character would be a great feature although I think the likelihood of Rockstar implementing a feature like this is very slim, it's just not their style. But if it was on the cards I don't think they'd steer clear of it because of gun issues in the US, that's would be political correctness gone mad. Anyone who links a Western third person shooter game where you can play as a virtual version of yourself to current gun issues is a complete moron.

Yeah, you added me remember?

That's the plan, once I get through a bit of the story and have a good understanding of the game mechanics and controls I'll be jumping into Red Dead Online.

Rockstar just dropped a few new pieces of artwork depicting some of Red Dead Redemption II's supporting characters.

In Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer I would only shoot those who either shot at me, were actively killing people or had a bounty on their head. I started GTA Online with the same playstyle which worked well for the first few months after release but I quickly learnt to trust no one, shoot on sight and steal from anyone who you were not allied with because mercy and compassion will get you no where in GTA Online. Sounds harsh but it's an extremely toxic environment and you have to look out for numero uno. I'm gonna go into Red Dead Online with the same attitude and playstyle that I used in Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer, I may live to regret that decision but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

I wouldn't be too surprised if Rockstar implemented something like this in Red Dead Online, does anyone remember the GTA Online Beer Hat Crates? Everyone in the session would be killing eachother whether they were friend or foe just for the chance to grab one of those Special Crates. But like most good things it was ruined by the cries of butthurt little kids, many complained that they didn't get one so Rockstar never did Special Crate drops for rare clothing ever again.

I'd like to see an in game Posse/Gang system that is separate from the Rockstar Crews which rewards loyalty but caps the Posse/Gang player count at 16 so that you really have to think about who you want in your Gang. It'd be cool if you could acquire a hideout/camp for your Gang where you could play games, plan robberies, change clothing and weapons etc. I also think it would be cool if your hideout/camp included a safe/stash that all members can contribute to if they so choose, the cash stored can only be used on hideout/camp upgrades or purchases that the Gang have majority voted on. The likelihood of this happening is very slim but this is just what I'd want from the Online Gangs in a perfect world.