GTA Online Needs Quality Of Life Improvements

You may have noted that GTA Online's latest DLC, Import/Export, was released earlier this week — it's kind of a big deal. The update added a ton of content, set the stage for more and brought some new features to the table. It was an update intended to top off 2016 and bring the year to an end on a high-note, and while some are salty about the prices, overall it delivered on that.

However, the more new features are added to GTA Online, the more apparent it becomes that Rockstar ought to look back and tweak the things already in place. The most notable reminder of this is the character appearance changing feature, allowing you to recreate the physical appearance of your in-game avatar for $100,000.

This feature has been requested by players for years, and based on some hidden game files, was intended to be in the game by default, but was cut for whatever reason. While none of us see into the inner workings of Rockstar's studio, as far as my knowledge of game development allows me to guess, there was no technical obstacle preventing this from being added before.

Now it is finally in the game and the fact that it's a paid service benefits Rockstar as well (the more people spend, the likelier they are to buy Shark Cards). And yet, it took them three years to go back and implement this change.

Which brings us to a trend — maybe even issue — that we've mentioned before. Rockstar keeps pumping out DLC for GTA Online that adds new content, but they never go back to tweak, fix or change something that was put into the game previously.

Now, looking back at recent updates like Bikers, Cunning Stunts, and Further Adventures in Finance and Felony, we wouldn't see too many issues with this approach. Looking back further, though? GTA Online recently celebrated its third anniversary, and in some aspects, this shows.

There are a number of features that ought to be implemented, while some aspects of the game could use updating. Many of these proposed features wouldn't change the dynamic of the game, they would just generally improve the experience for the players.

Add Block Number for NPCs

A major improvement would be allowing players to individually set which NPC contacts are allowed to call them or send them texts. I'm pretty sure freaking LJT is pissing off everyone, constantly nagging you with his shit, while still hearing from Simeon even when you're at the level of not caring about his missions anymore is also pretty inconvenient.

Adding a "block number" feature to these contacts would be the simplest thing from a programming standpoint, it wouldn't alter any of the existing dynamics in the game, it wouldn't hurt Rockstar from a financial point of view and it would sure as hell gain them boatloads of goodwill.

Another quality of life addition, though this might ruffle some feathers, would be allowing players to sell pretty much everything they ever buy, but at a significantly decreased sell price. Make all properties, additional properties (those related to DLC such as warehouses or clubhouses), weapons and pegasus vehicles sellable.

Let Players Sell Stuff

Even if the sell-price is a tiny fraction of the purchase price, like half, or quarter, this feature would be extremely welcome simply for the sake of freeing up space and decluttering while getting back a tiny bit of cash from regrettable purchases. It would instantly solve the weapon-wheel issue in an easier way than with weapon lockers, and it would help players streamline their experience.

New Music Radio Stations

The game has also pretty much had the same music in it since launch. Adding a new radio station, or multiple, as well as ambient soundtrack additions, would do much to spice the game up and give it a new sense of freshness. Soundtracks are something we stop paying attention to once we get used to them, and changing up the tunes would certainly alleviate any sense of dullness long-time players might have.

Owning An Unlimited Number Of Properties

We've also elaborated in the past why it makes no sense to limit the number of properties that players may own. Lifting this limit would lead to wild spending on the player's part, as lacking limitations they would be motivated to own absolutely everything. Every vehicle, every property, every garage. Car-collectors would even have multiple of each vehicle to own various designs and mod-configurations.