Previous reports have indicated that turning off the HUD in Red Dead Redemption 2 would change AI behavior, but according to journalist Alanah Pearce, these claims are false. Outlets indicated that if players preferred to play without a HUD, NPCs would respond by giving out more directions, but this appears to be false.
Pearce, in a series of tweets, detailed her hands-on experience with the game, stating that “[she] went in with the highest possible expectations, and [the game] still managed to blow [her] mind.” Despite her hype, she was quick to downplay the claims regarding the scale of AI responsiveness in Red Dead Redemption 2, in a tweet embedded below:
Also, got some clarification: the articles circling saying that if you remove your HUD in the game NPCs will give you more directions are false. They’ll always give you directions, people likely just noticed them more when their HUD was off.
— Alanah Pearce (@Charalanahzard) October 10, 2018
During play, people players meet on their travels will offer advice, such as points of interest, directions, and commentary on events that have taken place. Rockstar has made a concerted effort to push the NPC AI in-game, yet reports of AI being aware of the player’s HUD preferences seemed incredible.
Much has been made about Red Dead Redemption 2’s realism, with its visuals pushing to native 4K on Xbox One X. With its first-person mode confirmed, as well as a responsive array of wildlife and Frontier communities, the game looks to push the open-world genre to its limits. Red Dead Redemption 2 will still offer unparalleled AI behavior, just don’t expect NPCs to be aware of your HUD. When the game looks this beautiful, though, who on Earth will be playing Red Dead Redemption 2 with a HUD on?
