GTA 5 Patch Partially Fixes Graphics Downgrade

Grand Theft Auto 5 has received a new patch on consoles. Patch 1.09 (called Patch 1.23 on PS3 and Xbox 360) makes a wide range of bug fixes while also tweaking online heists slightly.

Heist matchmaking should be faster once you've downloaded the update. You'll also be have a couple of new options for the lobby that determine whether strangers can join your heists and whether players you've invited are allowed to then invite their friends.

The patch notes also mention that Rockstar fixed a bug "where vehicle frames were not visually displaying damage correctly." Less detailed vehicle damage was one of the visual downgrades that PS4 and Xbox One owners noticed after the last update to the game.

"We are aware of some graphical issues on the Xbox One and PS4 versions of GTAV after the most recent Title Update, and we are investigating a fix now," Rockstar said earlier in the week.

Vehicle damage hasn't been completely restored to normal by Patch 1.09, though. Car doors and roofs can be damaged somewhat but don't seem to dent at all. Here's a picture from a Reddit user that shows a cop car hit by a tank. The front and back are beaten to hell but the middle of the car looks absolutely fine:

Other graphics issues, like lower draw-distance, weren't mentioned in the patch notes. I suppose GTA 5 players will need to wait for a later update to get those fixes.

The patch also had an unexpected side effect. Players are reporting that their GTA Online characters' appearances are being abruptly changed since the update. Rockstar said this morning that they're currently investigating the problem but don't have a timeline for a fix. Try not to be too upset if your character swaps genders in the meantime.

Here are the full patch notes for Patch 1.09/1.23:

New Features and Updates

• Changes have been made to the matchmaking options and UI. This affects:
• Heist Planning Board
• A new option has been added to the Heist Planning Board that will allow you to press Left on the D-pad to quickly join a Heist as a crew member. You must have an active Heist in order to access this feature.
• Heist Lobby
• A “Matchmaking” option has been added to Heist lobbies that allows the Host to quickly change whether matchmaking is open or closed. When set to “Closed”, only invited players can connect with the Heist lobby. This option is “Closed” by default, which means only players you invite can join the session.
• The “Client Invites” option has been reinstated for the host of the lobby that is “On” by default. This allows players that have joined the Heist to invite their friends. If you only want the host to be able to send invites, “Client Invites” should be set to “Off”.
• Improvements to the “Auto-Invite” matchmaking option to help fill lobbies faster
• Improvements to matchmaking for Heists to fill lobbies faster

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Fixed a minor animation issue when throwing grenades while aiming on the PS4
• Fixed an issue where the Bad Sport flag was not correctly being removed from certain players’ accounts
• Fixed an issue where vehicle frames were not visually displaying damage correctly when heavily damaged
• Fixed an issue where a black screen was appearing when PSN was down
• Fixed an issue where the “Looking for job” display was being removed after accessing the Internet from the in-game phone, even though matchmaking was still in progress
• Fixed an issue where the player could lose control of character after backing out of hacking the vault in one of the Heists
• Fixed a rare issue where the player could get stuck on a cutscene if launching a certain Heist while in Ron’s Survival introduction
• Fixed an issue where Criminal Mastermind progression was occasionally not tracking properly
• Fixed an issue where players could spawn multiple parachutes
• Fixed an issue with the time of day on one of the Heists
• Fixed a possible crash when a One on One Deathmatch was initiated around the same time as a Heist invite
• Fixed an issue where a Kraken could be replaced by a Dinghy after receiving a Title Update
• Fixed an issue where a previous fix for character appearance changes was not applied correctly if the player was wearing a mask
• Fixed a rare issue where players could get stuck on a black screen when trying to enter GTA Online
• Fixed an issue where the objective could display incorrectly after evidence was picked up in one of the missions
• Fixed a rare issue with lost player control after accepting a cross-session invite
• Fix for issue where some players were experiencing freezing when trying to use the in-game cell phone in Story Mode
• Fixed miscellaneous recent exploits
• Other minor fixes for GTA Online and Story Mode to improve general stability