I'm a sucker for Grand Theft Auto 5 visual overhaul mods, and none have captured my heart more than Jamal Rashid's Natural Vision Remastered. The result of several thousand hours of work, each update hits new levels of realism—and its latest, due to launch on Wednesday, is quite remarkable. 

"My main focus in the newest NaturalVision Remastered update was to overhaul the Cloudy weather," Rashid, aka Razed, tells me via email. "I knew that editing this particular weather would be a massive undertaking which is why I left it alone until the very end. I took it upon myself to rework each hour of the day and balance it across the timecycle."

The results are wonderful: 

Razed tells me the mod's new Cloudy weather purposefully leans into the incoming Red Dead Redemption 2's visual style, and he says he's pleased to finish the mod's latest update now so that "PC gamers around the world will have something to enjoy while everyone else is busy fiddling with their consoles" later this week.  

He adds: "Usually the timecycle is divided into two regions (City and Countryside) so you can do more specific edits, but the file that controls cloud colors/cloud lighting is universal across both regions. As a result, I ran into some issues, but thankfully everything balanced out in the end. 

"I also edited the cloud textures with some help from a friend in order to give the edges a softer look. A lot of this was inspired by the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2 which I think looks absolutely stunning. I'm hoping that game comes out on PC next year because I'd love to mod it."

Aside from these tweaks, Razed says he's made several improvements to other weather conditions, and has fixed a host of bugs. At this point, Razed has spent a whopping 4,548 hours playing GTA 5—"the majority of those were spent modding." He tells me he's a bit burnt out on Los Santos, and that this update will be NaturalVision Remastered's last. 

Razed says he's now ready to move on to something new, and I for one can't wait to see where he lands.

NaturalVision Remastered's latest update is due on Wednesday, October 24. Check out its GTA5 Mods page for more information. 

Razed clearly has a good eye for GTA mod projects, and would like to point our attention to Bison Sales' GTA 4 Visual/Texture Overhaul, Orangebrains' Graphics Project, and Vosswar's 4K Roads and Graphics.  

The PC version of Grand Theft Auto 5 came with an optional first-person perspective at launch—but using it felt odd during cutscenes. In its vanilla state, they revert to third-person view, you see, which has always impacted my concentration. Why can't I view this short through the eyes of Michael, Franklin and/or Trevor, I've often asked. MrCrazyheat's latest project answers that call. 

Aptly named 'First Person Cutscenes', MrCrazyheat's work draws inspiration from fellow GTA 5 modder person Jedijosh920's like-minded mission video. 

WARNING: Grand Theft Auto 5 mission and plot spoilers ahead.   

Here's the mod in motion, first with footage from Franklin's The Long Stretch adventure:

And again with Michael's Bury the Hatchet:

And finally with the game's 'Deathwish' ending scene: 

More information on MrCrazyheat's First Person Cutscenes can be found on its GTA 5 Mods page. I'll leave you with some more screens: 

Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive have successfully sought search and seizure orders from the Australian Federal Court in relation to alleged Grand Theft Auto 5 cheaters, Torrent Freak (via the BBC) reports. Two properties in Melbourne, Australia are said to have been entered, with five players said to have been involved with the now offline cheat software 'Infamous'.

As outlined by Kotaku Australia, 'Infamous', when active, cost around $40 USD and granted users access to a cheat menu used to generate infinite amounts of in-game cash, weapons, items, and health in Grand Theft Auto Online—and also let players teleport and instantly kill others in the same server. That can be seen in practice here.

Torrent Freak reports the Australian Federal Court has frozen the assets of the five people involved, who have not yet filed a defence. Named as Christopher Anderson, Cyrus Lesser, Sfinktah, Koroush Anderson and Koroush Jeddian, the five are prevented from creating or using game cheats, and are also currently prevented from withdrawing money from their frozen accounts—besides regular living expenses. 

Torrent Freak links to an overview of the various orders, and provides the following snapshot pertaining to the particulars of the case.

From here, it is thought Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive will seek copyright infringement-related damages.

This week, GTA Online extends its Red Dead Redemption 2-related bonuses to October 29. Which means those who've already obtained the Stone Hatchet and Double-Action Revolver can claim a minimum of $500,000 of free backdated in-game cash; while those yet to complete these missions can net up to $1 million.  

If you managed to complete all of that last week, though, this week's bonuses are Gunrunning, VIP/CEO, and stunt-focused. 

"Kingpins and their cohorts profit handily this week with Double GTA$ & RP for completing VIP/CEO Work & Challenges through October 22nd," explains this Rockstar Newswire post. "Protect your Organization leader in Executive Search or plunder a rival CEO's Super Yacht in Piracy Prevention to score double rewards."

Likewise, Gunrunning Sell Missions are subject to the same double money/experience split, and bunker research speed is boosted 25 percent to boot. Mobile Operations Centre owners can also claim the equivalent RP and GTA$ prize from completed Weaponized Vehicle Missions. 

And if daredevil-ling is more your thing, then cash in with Rockstar-created Stunt Races from now through October 22. They're also subject to the double RP-cash one-two.  

The pick of this week's vehicle discounts is a no-brainer. The Dewbauchee Vagner tops our list of the fastest cars in GTA Online, and, with 30 percent off, it's a steal at $1,074,500. 

A host of Gunrunning-themed properties and rides are also on sale this week across land, air and sea. My pick of those is Bunkers at 35 percent off—although I should say gunrunning is my least favourite way of earning big bucks in San Andreas. 

My favourite ways of making bank are of course contained within our how to make money in GTA Online guide. 

Last year, I described Jamal Rashid's NaturalVision Remastered as GTA 5's most impressive visual overhaul mod. I stand by that claim, but now reckon it's got competition. L00's PhotoRealistic San Andreas ENB is simply jaw-dropping. 

Billed as an "all-in-one and sophisticated visual enhancer", PRSA is compatible with all weather and lighting mods, and applies custom shaders to "offer the most natural and realistic visuals possible."

The results are pretty spectacular, which are of course best portrayed in pictures. 

More information on L00's PRSA GTA 5 visual overhaul mod, including installation instructions, can be found on its respective Nexus Mods and GTA5 Mods pages. 

Signing in to GTA Online this week will net you a minimum $800,000 of free in-game money. 

As announced by Rockstar, simply logging on to the multiplayer crime sim from now through October 15 will see $300,000 deposited into your Maze Bank account by October 22. 

Completing its Red Dead Redemption 2-themed Stone Hatchet and Double-Action Revolver challenges will also net you a surplus $250,000 ($250,000 paid upon completion; the same again paid next week)—while those who've already obtained both can expect two complimentary $250K instalments upon logging on in during the next seven days.Broken down, that means players can expect a minimum of $800,000 without hardly lifting a finger; and $1.3 million by completing the RDR2 tie-in challenges for the first time. 

Elsewhere this week, GTA Online introduces three new cars: the Karin Futo, Bollokan Prairie and the Imponte Ruiner. Here's those in order:

Nightclub earnings are doubled this week too, and all four recently remixed Adversary Modes are subject to double money and experience. This includes Hunting Pack, Running Back, Sumo and Trading Places—the latter of which I had fun with at launch. 

My pick of this week's vehicle discounts is the Ocelot Swinger. At 30 percent less its full price, it comes in at. Nightclub Add-Ons and Renovations for 25 percent off, on the other hand, mark my favourite property savings. You gotta hit me with those lazer beams.