[johnfrum]

CrisGer,

Don't get me wrong -- LA Noire is the best thing I've ever seen in computer games. If it had the modification potential of MSTS (I assume it doesn't) it would be perfect.

And I agree with you completely on all of the VR detailing. I get mesmerized by it and maybe it overwhelms the storyline for me. "Hey, let's forget about that murder scene and just drive around for awhile or walk through some neighbourhoods."

I was just a wee lad in 1948 so I can't say for certain, but I suspect the dialogue has too much "modern" profanity and too few racial epithets to be true to the era. (I'd rather do without either of those details anyway)

Also: if it's "Noire" it needs a femme fatale and it doesn't have one. The nightclub singer's no femme fatale -- she's too nice of a person!

But these are small criticisms compared with the overall quality. I've gotten my money's worth and I still immerse myself in it and get a great kick out of it.

By the way: Great screenshots! When I hit PrtScn and paste I just get a solid black image. Same thing if I do a screen capture in Paint Shop Pro or Irfanview.

-JF-

[thegrindre]

There's another 3rd party screen grab that I've been using for years, it's called, Gadwin PrintScreen. It might work for you.
http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/

:oldstry:

[CrisGer]

Good points John, tho that case where the one Jewish guy does in the other guy over ethnic issues was a surprise. I dont expect they could get a totally realistic language version past the censors :oldstry:..... and i havent been thru all the cases yet, re the Noire and the Femmme Fatale issue, i am guessing they had to cover a lot of potential audiences with a game like this from young kids to older types like us.... one thing that i do think is quite remarkable is the "distance" and the impersonality of life that is conveyed, things were not soft back then, there were not so many easy landings for events and people who had been thru the war were still feeling it a lot... that issue is one that has deeply affected our society and few historians or social studies types have realized the deep impact of that war on millions of people and how it caused deep ripples for generations after.

Thanks for that suggestion about the screen grabber, what i do to get the Print Screen to work is i have Photo shop open in the background, as soon as i hit Print Screen i Alt Tab out and go to PS and Open a new page, once it is open, i hit paste, and the image shows up, and i save it. Not sure if it will work in Paint but it may.

I actually think the feel of the cases is intended to be like the Detective stories and books from that era, there was a HUGE amount of such stories in magazines, serials, books, and movies, and it was a lot of it like the cases in this sim, sort of deadpan, and not as emotive and as "realistic" as modern such, and that is part of how the game is really quite remarkable in conveying a different time and style. Life back then was quite different in how people treated each other, people had more respect and there were stronger walls between different classes of people and everyone did not treat each other the same, or even try to or think it was right, some were upper and some were lower or other, and those divisions created a lot of the issues that are showed in this sim too. So I do think it is very realistic for its time and place. Times have changed...i am not saying that was better but it was different. And most modern people have forgotten or never knew this, so I think they really researched and thought a lot this and managed to convey it in many ways.

[timmuir]

 CrisGer, on 24 June 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

no you can play with an Offline profile, and i can walk you thru it if you want to try it.

here are some more pics:

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/9881/onthestreetinla1947.jpg
1948 Nash 600

Close up to a Streetcar..i got honked at a lot taking this one..

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/2267/closeuptoastreetcar.jpg

Tim or any other PE experts how accurate is this texture?

One thing I love about this game is the HUGE assortment of drivable vehicles. That two-tone green 48 Nash 600 (in your top shot) is exactly like the one I used to own, right down to the sun visor and wide white walls, so I grab it when ever it presents itself. I've played the game to the very end, so now (when I play it-it's been a few months) I can spend hours just driving or walking around looking at everything. There are many things wrong, but hey, it's more right than naught. It's total immersion into a different world and time, even if it isn't totally correct. It's a game, after all, not a time machine, so the anomalies are forgivable. But one thing that really sticks in my craw is the lack of the Los Angeles Railway, the more prominent transit system seen on the city streets in those days. There's only one nod to that once great system in the one car that is being used as a hot dog stand set on the ground in Pershing Square.

Also missing are PE's famous and proliferate "Hollywood" class, more numerous than the PCCs and pretty much the "trade mark" of PE everywhere, whereas the PCC's were mostly used on the Glendale-Burbank line, not all over town as is portrayed in the game. I am somewhat confused as to why Team Bondi went with the PCC's instead of the Hollywoods.

There are other minor boo-boos and gaffs that I wont go into (some have been mentioned here already), but to answer your question, Chris, on the PCC color scheme. It is fairly accurate, although the black roof section wasn't applied till after 1949. It was meant to cover the grease splatters caused by the trolley shoes sliding over the lubricated trolley wires. Also, the words PACIFIC ELECTRIC were a pre-war feature (and much too large on the models). In the 1949 era the game is supposed to be set in (which really is more like 1945 to 1952 in my opinion), the PE medallion and road numbers (erroneous as Andrew points out) were placed along the sides:



One thing I have to mention about LA Noire is the sound effects. I love them! When you're driving along, pay attention to the sounds of the tires over hot pavement, or when you pull to a stop and get out, walk up to the front of the car and put your virtual ear near the hood. You can hear the sound of cooling metal parts. The PCC's seem loud, but then I've never heard one so don't know. However their traction motor sounds are great as are sparking trolley shoes.

PE's Main Street station is represented as well as the elevated section behind. Also Hill Street Station and the Subway, which you can walk through, or if crazy enough, drive through, but watch out for the PCC's coming and going! The subway has a couple of secret exits and a prize. The other PE cars seen parked around are a strange hybrid 100-class/1001 class and some work cars. The carbarn is totally wrong, but oh well.

Playing at night is fantastic. The automobile lights look very realistic as do reflections on the cars. Drive through some of the tunnels and watch the lighting effects, just amazing. There are only a couple of instances of rain and smoggy weather, though and is mostly clear and sunny. The store window displays are fantastic too. It's fun to walk downtown and do some window shopping. Then go to a car lot and test drive some different cars. I wish Angle's Flight functioned :oldstry:

About the X-Box game, I bought it when it first came out. The 3 discs are very thin and all three have cracked due to the extreme heat caused by the game's intense demands on the X-box console. I have since put a small fan over the console to help reduce the heating issues. Only two discs will play, now, so all I can do is play the explore modes or cases on those two CDs. Still a lot to do even on just two discs. Rock Star wanted me to send them a check for $15 plus the cracked discs to receive replacements, which I thought was a bunch of barn apples, so I'll wait for the game to drop to $10 before replacing. I haven't played it in months anyways. Or MSTS the last few weeks, either, for that matter.

[CrisGer]

thanks Tim that was what i hoped to find out. I found the PE main line cars at the rail yard very bizarre, and the 100s likewise. I did not know about the streetcars problems, that is great news about the Main Line station tho i will go looking for it. I have hoped it was there but so many games just dont have that kind of detail i was afraid to look.

i love the sound effects too, i have heard cars driving by and heard the radio playing and it is always something new, and have heard people talking all over the place saying unique things. i love that kind of detail...it is dear to the heart of a 3D world researcher....and a great thing to see. I have seen planes flying up in the sky but not gotten close enough to see what they are, but i think i saw a Connie once, and i did see two stewardesses in a bar downtown so i wonder if the airport is in here. I saw the oil wells were here in a promo screenshot so i am looking forward to seeing that, and am hopeful some of Venice or the beach is here. Maybe one of the piers. Speaking of which i am hopeful you may sneak a pier into PE West.

Sorry to hear about customer service wanting to charge you for shipping that is not right. well price is coming down, i paid a fairly decent price buying used on Amazon. Just had to re install the game five times to get it to have all the file, it is BIG.

thanks again for the info i will post some detail shots next, i love the stores and the accuracy of some of the products, i remember the last of much of that era, as it lingered in San Diego as the city has always been about 10 years behind the times, and i got to see much that was common in the late 40s, i agree i think it covers up to about 1954 or 1955 but i did see at least they got Cola into the signs and the drink machines, if not Coke, and some of the texture problems may be fixable if the game is modable, i have not reviewed the EULA yet or had an answer from Rockstar who i have asked if we are permitted to make mods yet.

I did drive thru one of the tunnels by mistake, but i didnt get hit. I saw Angels Flight as i drove by that was cool that they put it in, i wonder if we can walk up, as i think there were steps along side the cog line.

Union Station was pretty detailed...and the track annoucements are dynamic and very detailed, which was fun to listen to.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1057/unionstation.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/4889/atunionstation.jpg

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/9259/unionstatoinwiatingroom.jpg

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/650/traindepartingfromunion.jpg

[timmuir]

This is helpful for finding certain items like bonus cars (1948 Tucker, 1932 High Boy, Bughatti Royale, etc.), film cans, street crimes, badges, etc. LA Noire Map

You can walk all the stairs. Everything goes somewhere, as long as it's not on the edges of the 8 square miles of the map. One of the cases involves a chase down an alley that goes under the Angles Flight tracks. Sorry, no Venice or anything close to the beach. Mostly Downtown LA, Wilshire and Hollywood. I was disappointed that they did not include the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It would have made an interesting feature. But anywho, it's a fun game and a huge world to explore.

Don't get your hopes up about Rock Star giving access to it's files.

[CrisGer]

kk thanks Tim. that map will be a big help! it is hard to navigate when you have to focus on driving in traffic and your partner may or may not feel like giving a direction...esp if you go "off road" which i have had to do to avoid hitting people and stuff, some of those pedstrians are VERY SLOW getting across the street.... i am sorry to say i have run down a few but i think they were still moving when i drove away... :shock6:

so much for my fast promotion..... i did find Detective Cole's house well, i found out where they ARE havent been there yet.

Ya, well they did say something during installation about having a feature we sign up for that allows new cases to be added and custom things to be designed by players but i expect you are right re modding, but hey, never hurts to ask...

bummer about Venice but the maps is HUGE so i do see a lot of fun things to explore.

[Noisemaker]

Great shots Chris! Just looks phenomenal. Beyond the movie Chinatown! But interesting about some of the scenario's you mention in it as well. Yes, that was a 'heady and violent' time. And yes, Hollywood and the print media may have taken liberty to exploit and sell it that much more at the time. But to point out the fact that Barney Lipschitz ices Abdul Hussein - that's a sticky one, even for today. I think it's a bit much that movie studios now have to run apologetic disclaimers ahead of all their old cartoon series for the way they portrayed ethnicity. Stereotypical, yes. Demeaning, no. Everyone was a character, good vs. evil, silly for sillyness sake's (not to sound like Sylvester) Although the 'war propaganda' ones went out of their way to demean Germans and Japanese relentlessly. But with this LA Noire - that would be like interjecting those propaganda depictions of Hitler and Hirohito into 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' and 'Looney Toons: Back In Action' to satiate die hard fans and nitpickers.

LA Noire is HIGHLY detailed, but does it have to be THAT detailed? To hear a character say "I like the cut of your jib Rabinowitz" and the other character "I says pardon?" and open fire. That to me is worse than Elmer Fudd falling down a chimney and coming out staggering as Al Jolson in black face at the bottom. Misconstrued racial humor or slant met with glorified violence in a video game, or outright caricatures of all walks out to get that crazy rabbit and/or duck? Just amazing how movies IN that time have to apologize to everyone today. While movies and games OF that time today can get away with increased violence, language, nudity, and 'racial profiling/exploiting' without apology claiming realism and authenticity. As Arte Johnson would say (dressed as a Nazi soldier no less....) 'veewy intewesting......' :shock6:

[Andrew]

I didn't understand that, Noisemaker, at all! I'm calling :shock6: on that one.

[CrisGer]

I think he is discussing social relevance and modern apologism, my original point was mostly a sort of academic one, back then, the world was quite differnt from what it is now, and so differnt in some ways that modern people may just not understand or know about a lot of things. I grew up reading very old mysteries in the family library, many from the 1920s and 1930s so i kind of knew that world, and it was second nature to me. Hence my interest in how the developers of some of the sims actually try to place the story BACK in that older time frame.... movies dont usually do it anymore, because of the social appologism. but for me as a social historian, it is quite intriging, a form of Role Play in historical terms.

I am going to collect some of the period elements in pictures as i study the sim.

and as the topic starter i dont mind off topic really it makes things fun.