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the GTA clone is back in the news and no
I am not talking about Paradise it’s 171
the Brazilian GTA that’s just got a new
release date The Game’s been MIA from
the market since its last update a few
months back and to be honest people were
worried that the devs had bolted after
raking millions in Brazilian Reas which
they raised from not one but two huge
Kickstarter campaigns over the years for
those who have absolutely no idea what I
am talking about here let me give you a
quick background of this GTA clone so
171 is basically a GTA Style open world
action adventure game that’s being
developed by a very small team of seven
and apparently nonprofessional video
game developers based in Brazil who
decided that their very first game would
be a competitor to the world’s most
popular video game of all time and
probably the most expensive video game
in the history of mankind GTA 6 yeah
that pretty much sums up the guys behind
171 beta games group but before you guys
run off to call this game absolute
[ __ ] this game is actually legit in
fact you can play this game now as it’s
already out on Steam and Early Access
and well I played this game almost 2
years ago when it first came out and to
be honest it was actually pretty fun
sure it was bugged up and nowhere near a
finished product but it was playable
however a lot of people had their doubts
about the game from the very beginning
many even called it a total scam an
asset flip claiming the developers were
just out to grab donations without
delivering anything real and to be
honest they had their reasons for that
because apparently most if not all of
the game was made using pre-made assets
that the developers bought from the
unreal Marketplace we’re talking
Vehicles character animations and
walking systems weapons animals and even
the vegetation which leaves well just
the map now as someone who knows a bit
about game development I could tell you
there’s nothing wrong with using
pre-made assets especially for a small
or micro Studio like BGG but that’s not
really the problem here it’s the fact
that nowhere in their crowdfunding
kickstarters did they make it clear to
the backers that they were just going to
purchase the assets instead of making
the game mechanics from scratch which
was heavily implied in their goals
because if you look at the amount of
money they raised in their first
Kickstarter campaign that started back
in 2018 it comes to almost
$1,969 for
$111,000 their goal was to create a map
character movement and driving system
some clothing customizations 10 cars a
couple of weapons NPC interaction system
and the cops of course but even at that
time many of these goals were either
already fulfilled like the character
movement system for which they used
unreal’s very own Locomotion system the
driving mechanics and they also had most
of the map ready that we now see in the
Early Access version if we take a closer
look at the second tier of their goals
they included a day and night system
along with a few other features and for
this they were asking for an additional
$5,100 but in reality they just bought
the ultra dnamic Sky asset from the
unreal Marketplace for $40 a tool that
already handles day night Cy Les clouds
and even rain naturally this didn’t sit
well with many fans and backers but
that’s just one side of the story the
bad side because there’s a good side to
it too and let me tell you how BGG is in
a big game studio in fact they are just
seven game developers with very very
high Ambitions who’ve been grinding hard
for the last decade or so and unlike
Rockstar they are not sitting on
billions of dollars and even if we take
all that amount they’ve raised through
their two Kickstarter campaigns which is
roughly $50,000
that’s nowhere near enough to fairly
compensate seven people who’ve been
working on this game for years they’re
still learning the ins and outs of game
development putting in who knows how
many hours a day figuring things out as
they go should they have been more
transparent with their backers
absolutely but it seems like people are
willing to give them a second chance and
honestly so am I especially now that
they’ve announced that the final version
of the game is expected to come out next
year they’ve also decided to Port the
whole game over to Unreal Engine 5 to
make it future proof and be able to meet
the high expectations that the fans have
already set especially since 171 is
trying to portray itself as GTA’s
competitor this means most of what we
see in the Early Access version
available on Steam is going to be
completely revamped they’ve promised to
add way more content to make the game
feel worth it including a central
campaign with a proper story more side
missions random events and way better
gameplay mechanics and to be more
transparent after the whole asset flip
drama they’re trying to be more
forthcoming with their fans they’ve even
shared with us some images directly from
the final version of the game and they
look really good I mean we already know
what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of so it
doesn’t surprise me that much but if
that’s how the game is going to end up
looking I will surely be surprised each
of these images seem to be inspired by
some famous landmark in Brazil like this
one here it looks very similar to the
independence Museum in sou Paulo but the
detail here is insane sure the
vegetation could use a bit more polish
but the building itself the flection in
water and judging by those NPCs up there
on the stairs it might even be possible
to get inside the building you might
have already noticed that Chopper in the
air it could mean we’ll see police or
news Choppers flying around as well now
look at this next image guys it’s got me
really excited because back when I
played the game a couple of years ago I
never saw anything like this it’s a
whole new area packed with Wilderness
and mountains and it looks stunning you
can see these tracks through the
mountains a train traveling on the
railway track and there’s a bridge
crossing over that train and looking at
that train I can’t help but think about
smoke yelling in my ear all we had to do
was follow the damn train CJ maybe we
could see some similar missions in 171
after all GTA is a huge inspiration for
this game so why not but guys if we
believe these images really show the
final game we are looking at totally
different biomes and settings that is
sure to make the map more diverse and
pretty huge in size we can even spot
Wildlife there which I’m almost certain
they’ll include otherwise it would just
feel like an empty space the whole area
closely resembles the coastal regions of
Salo speaking of which they’ve even
added this beach to the game just look
at the level of detail you can see
people chatting a guy walking his dog
vendors running small stalls likely
selling snacks and of course people
lounging on the beach in sunbathing one
thing worth noting is that every
character looks unique some are tall
some short some skinny and others chubby
this level of NPC diversity is something
fans have been hoping to see in GT a for
a long time if you look closely you can
spot seagulls or maybe pigeons on the
ground suggesting they might actually
wander around instead of just hovering
in the sky like in most games there’s
even a boat in the background which we
might actually get to ride the beach
itself is scattered with bits of trash
and empty bottles adding a realistic
Touch of course we can’t expect
everything to look exactly like this in
the final version but these images
clearly highlight what the devs are
aiming for with this game we also saw
another Museum in the images shared by
the devs surrounded by Lush vegetation
and Street facing security cameras this
one is inspired by a real world landmark
in Brazil the Sal Pala Museum of Art
whether or not these buildings will be
explorable remains to be seen But even
if they’re not pulling off this level of
detail is a huge accomplishment for a
small Studio like this based on what
I’ve seen in these images and during my
Early Access playthrough it’s clear the
devs are expanding the world of 171
Beyond just Urban environments they’re
adding underdeveloped neighborhoods
Scenic mountain ranges and relaxing
Beachside locations which all signal
real progress that said let’s not get
two carried away just yet even the
biggest Studios have been known to
overpromise and underd deliver leaving
us with buggy glitch filled messes
instead of the polished experiences they
hyped speaking of Studio size the devs
have also said that they aim to expand
not just the content in 171 but the
whole studio itself they are hiring more
people setting a legal team expanding
their internal operations and investing
in some high-tech Enterprise tools that
will allow them to keep the game
optimized and even let them roll out
DLCs and updates more efficiently after
the launch it looks like they’ve
realized that in order to really deliver
the product they’ve been promising
players for years now they need to step
up and get more help from other
professionals and honestly that’s great
news for us Gamers because more
competition in the industry is always a
win for us I’m sure you’re just as
excited as I am and probably have just
as many questions and concerns but the
good news is we have to wait too long
the developers have announced a release
window for this game which is 2025 now I
know what you’re thinking releasing in
the same year as GTA 6 sounds like a
risky move almost like a death wish but
hear me out if they manage to release
171 before GTA 6 I’m confident it’ll
grab massive attention and draw players
in the GTA hype is already through the
roof and curiosity alone could push fans
to check out this game while they wait
of course this is an ambitious project
and delays are always possible but in
this case timing will be everything if
the game launches after GTA 6 it risks
being completely overshadowed buried
like so many other games that dared to
share a release window with Rockstar’s
next big title so the stakes couldn’t be
higher the devs have definitely made
their fair share of mistakes but they’re
working hard to rebuild trust with their
fans by being more transparent and
showcasing the progress they’ve made it
seems like people are willing to give
them a second chance and many are
genuinely excited to play this game
ahead of GTA 6’s release there’s no
doubt the game has potential if those
images are anything to go by we could be
looking at a solid action adventure game
that stands out on its own not just as a
GTA clone or Brazilian GTA but as a game
with its own unique identity and an
original story what do you think about
this game personally I feel if they
manage to release it in the next few
months or even in the first half of 2025
it could grab a lot of attention but
also face a fair share of criticism
either way I’m excited to see how 171
continues to evolve and I’ll be sure to
keep you updated

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwJrsB1l6L0