Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Discover Devious Dev Trick Used For Infamous Air Balloon Mission

Red Dead Redemption 2 is hailed as one of the greatest games ever made and proof of Rockstar’s mastery when it comes to open-worlds.

However you may be surprised to hear that even the mighty Rockstar has to cut corners every now and then, and the way it tricked players in the game’s infamous hot air balloon mission is genuinely inspiring.

Red Dead Redemption 2’s Hot Air Balloon Mission Proves GTA 6 Is In The Best Hands

Rockstar Games is renowned for pushing the envelope when it comes to its open-worlds, with Grand Theft Auto VI being one of the most heavily-anticipated games of all time. Though at the time of writing it’s facing a severe amount of backlash over its physical edition.

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It’s got a leg up over Red Dead Redemption 2 as it’s being made for new-gen consoles but for a game released on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 the Red Dead sequel is still a technological marvel, largely due to development tricks like what you’ll see below.

When Arthur Morgan crosses paths with a hot air balloon it’s an exciting moment for the player, as who wouldn’t want to see this gorgeous depiction of the United States from high in the sky?

As you ascend you get a lovely view of the map below before the clouds get too thick and visibility is obscured. It turns out Rockstar Games pulled a fast one here so it didn’t need to expand the game’s sky box.

Instead of pushing Arthur and the hot air balloon up, the game actually drags the clouds down to give the illusion of altitude.

This was spotted and shared by TectonicTechnomancer on Reddit who said once you’ve reached the “highest” point of the map, the game’s clouds “sit at ground level.”

Before anyone throws a fit this isn’t laziness on Rockstar’s part, it’s just good game design. Why go to the trouble of expanding the boundaries of the map just for one side-mission?

Despite this the mission still works as intended. You get the thrill of riding in a hot air balloon, a stunning view to take lots of photos of, and Arthur gets another entry in his journal.

GTA VI likely won’t use the same trickery we see here as unlike Red Dead Redemption 2 there are a lot of Grand Theft Auto vehicles that can zoom off into the sky. If the clouds are as gorgeous in that game as they were in the previous one, that’ll be a real treat.

It’s also worth pointing out that Rockstar Games isn’t the only developer using tricks like this. Game developers have been using hacks like this for years and there are YouTube channels out there that are dedicated to shining a light on them. They’re worth checking out if you’re curious or are seeking a career in game development.

With GTA VI launching on November 19 we’ll be interested to see what magic spell Rockstar cast to make it run so well, if it does at all that is.