Poggy

I feel the same way. It's a game, but not a mere game. It goes beyond. It is interactive drama and an aesthetic experience. Plus, you get to blow people's heads off. Noice!

It shows how the delay-hype for the game worked. And the dribble release of info. Good marketing. But it makes the bugs and problems all the more galling, tbh. They deserve a good return for this game - it's the most fun I've had on my xbox for a long time, and I'm truly impressed by much of the game. But it's not a 10/10 - and I don't want R* to think this is ok. I don't want the money to drown out the acknowledgement of errors and the desire to quickly fix them.

Yes, I agree the game is amazing, and I think I've been very lucky that I haven't had any real issues with blur, ultimate edition DLC, game breaking bugs, or accidental bounty issues. Partly that's because I'm on xbox, partly I play very slow and careful (and save a lot), and partly I've just been fortunate. Maybe my personal expectations weren't as high as others too. But I feel for those who have had really bad early experiences of the game, and the genuine complaints, as well as some of the minor issues I have faced myself, have soured the game somewhat for me. That is a real shame, given the obviously huge potential for this game. It's galling given how hyped this game was, and as pointed out above, how delayed it has been. These issues should have been identified and addressed. The questions I ask are genuine inquiries. Just imagine how much more positive these early days would have been if these things as been dealt with prior to release. And surely they were all obvious and relatively fixable?

It seems painfully obvious after playing it a while, and reading the threads here and elsewhere, that whilst being a groundbreakingly huge and fun game, rdr2 is very glitchy and buggy, and some of the bugs are truly game breaking. The stuff on the PS is especially crazy. The special edn issues are also very worrying. additionally, there are some game systems (witnesses, bounties, some controls, cinematic mode) which are a bit broken or need tweaking, and there are complaints that the missions are structurally repetitive. All of which raises three questions for me: 1) Given the length of development time how did all of this get past QC? 2) Why did so many reviewers give it a perfect score - surely these issues drop it down to a more realistic 9/10 or less? 3) When are they going to patch? Can they fix it, or is it broken beyond repair?

Hmmm... I dunno. Although it's not like the hype, I've found the dialogue and recurring interactions give a fair illusion of people remembering you, like People have talked about things I've done with them before and folk have attacked me for wearing their hat. It's not great, but it's ok.

Instant bounty for loitering!! Which resulted in being effectively murdered. Ok, now that's messed up!

So, clear your bounties, do plenty of missions, kill all surrounding animals, clear out a gang hideout, do a couple of nearby stranger missions, and camp overnight. Then you can hunt. Fair enough .

My pig pen body disposal turned into a bit of a nightmare after I got spotted, lol. Try to be discrete when doing a Deadwood

It affects their mood (dialogue etc), and your honor. Upgrades add more concrete benefits, like improved stew, horse management from camp, more 'free' stuff, fast travel, and increased donations from others. I mostly donate trinkets and cash and get upgrades and restocks. I fence major stuff, like gold (you get more).

I've already racked up half a dozen memorable moments, a few are story spoiler related so I won't give those away. But stumbling across giant bones unexpectedly with amazing views was a good one. Being caught in a huge fire fight, struggling to survive, running and gunning then slamming some guy down and taking his head apart with a sawn off was another good one. Jack's picture bought a tear to my eye! Getting drunk in Valentine was great fun, and not what I expected The camp party was also a cool thing

It's weird, but although I still get the occasional accidental issue as noted above, I've been managing to get away with a lot of killing lately, plus looting, with no witnesses at all - right in town. There was no one obviously around, it was dusk, but two guys started a fight, they drew, they got shot to death. Not even an investigation. It really does seem to play differently to what other people are reporting. Might it have something to do with honor level? Or location? Or just pure luck?

I just ride around with my Varmint rifle always ready. Every time a rabbit or other small game pops out I take a pot shot. I managed to get the challenge this way without even really trying. I pretty much hunt on the move every time I ride anywhere. It makes travel a little slower, but not by much. You shoot a lot of rubbish, but its just a numbers game, and by the time you've ridden around for a few hours doing other stuff you'll probably get them. I've tended to notice that I get more stuff by good fortune than when I try - when I'm actively looking (rabbit and squirrel together!!) I rarely find. It's almost as if the game knows and is trolling me - so I have to catch it off guard, getting it to think I'm doing something else

Just beware of running into the person you stole the hat from. It can happen.

Absolutely! Rock solid advice that

Volcanic and Sawn Off duel wield for side arms. Varmint rifle and bow for hunting. Wide blade knife for, well, knife work. Carbine for distance baddie control. Going to likely change this up tonight, though - I've got some cash to spend!

Ah - gotcha! D'oh again!! But still useful for me

That's good to know! I need another berry type for a challenge .. Didn't think of looking in trees! D'oh!

Many times I just drink and smoke multiple items just for the RPG immersion. Especially in camp. It'd be great if this lasted longer so I didnt find myself using multiple items just for the fun. Good job cigarettes are basically free at camp

Good plan

My own tips for starting the game: 1) Get the special edition/ultimate edition so as to get the extra stuff. The guide is also very useful. 2) First thing to do is change the settings: auto-run, aim adjust, targeting, hold mechanics etc 3) Approach the game with a careful mindset. Take your time and drink it in. Play slow. 4) Long free roam play is best done when you hit chapter 3 - you'll have unlocked loads of important stuff by then. Consider all of chapters 1 and 2 prolonged tutorials. 5) Be really careful to avoid accidental crimes: walk don't run in towns; be careful to put gun away; hitch horse and don't ride fast near people; etc etc. The controls make it easy to accidentally get into a fight, and the bounty system is harsh - especially when you have little cash early in the game. 6) Play through the first parts of the game as a good guy - the law is deadly and you wont be able to afford to pay bounties. It is much, much easier to avoid trouble at first. Play smart and generally white hat until later. 7) Manually save fairly often. 8 When riding, have you varmint rifle and/or bow ready, pick off game as you ride and skin it for extra supplies and cash just as you go about your business. You will be doing a LOT of riding to start with - might as well get stuff as you go. 9) Get the Dutch and Arthur camp upgrades early. 10) Run, jump, pat horse, feed and brush horse, swim, etc as you go to build player and horse cores and bond. Don't forget to wash, eat, rest, change clothes.

Horse perma-death, while not as bad as character perma-death would be, really adds a huge layer of danger/risk to the game. This is the main reason why I'm not going to risk getting a high quality horse - just going to stick with the freebies. Then I wont feel the sting half as bad. Maybe I'll get a high quality horse last - after I've used money to get everything else possible and have nothing else to spend cash on. Brutal mechanic!!

Very good question I'm worried about that too. My only plan at the moment is to make it back safely to places where I can spend the cash - get as many upgrades, customisation options, equipment, etc as I can - at least those wont be taken from me! Edit: Can you just manually save often, and reload to a before death point?

Weird ... mine started off very dark, couldn't see it at all, had to keep adjusting until I just about saw it. Another bug???

Cool, thanks

Good to know for sure. I'm guessing there is a danger of wheel clog, then?