5 Inaccuracies In Red Dead Online

 

Rockstar seem to think that this is all just some kind of game.


Article by: Niall Cawley  



The world of Red Dead is well known for its incredible detail and factual accuracy. However, many articles already exist that praise the painstakingly realistic approach taken by Rockstar and I felt this time around I would pick at the inconsistencies instead. I do appreciate this is a game first and foremost and not a 19th century simulator. I imagine Rockstar knew about these inaccuracies and changed what they did for creative purposes.
 

 
1) Semi-Auto Shotgun
First on our list is the Brun et Fabre Semi-Auto Shotgun. The weapons existence is not so much an error, as its design based upon the real-world Browning Auto-5. No, the issue is the weapons anachronistic inclusion. Red Dead Online takes place in 1898, however Browning's Auto-5 would not be produced until 1903. The Auto-5 is no doubt iconic, being the first commercially successful self-loading shotgun and it does appear close enough to Red Dead's time period that the average gamer would know no different. This makes its incorporation a logical one as it helps with gameplay variety.
 


 
2) Store Pricing
The next item on the list is another subtle stretching of the facts. The issue is with the costs of goods. The Mauser pistol for instance, based directly on the real C96 pistol, costs $600 in stores. This is a staggering amount of money as, in reality, the handgun only realistically cost between $20 - $40 around this time. 

It can also be seen with food, as some canned food can be several dollars per can. This inflation is purely to help compensate gameplay though. It counteracts the fact that making money is relatively simple and stops players easily amassing too many goods.
 


 
3) Snake Oil
Another oddity of the Wild West. Traditionally, snake oil was a remedy utilised by Chinese railroad workers, in America, during the late 19th Century. This was an age where affordable medical care simply did not exist, so people would instead look towards homebrew cure-alls as an alternative. The idea that snake oil could cure everything that ailed you was an attractive prospect and snake oil, as an idea, flourished in the harsh Western environment.
 

Unfortunately public healthcare, welfare and advertising agencies did not yet exist, meaning many con artists notoriously took advantage of people through the trade of snake oil. It had no definitive recipe and would be put together and marketed differently from seller to seller. Senior Lecturer of American History David Silkenat at the University of Edinburgh, elaborated on my research. He stated that snake oil could sometimes contain nothing blander than mineral oils, but other times would contain addictive substances like opium or cocaine.
 

What remained the same between salesmen though, were the vastly exaggerated benefits. Outlandish claims were often attested to the rather useless and sometimes even dangerous concoctions.

The bleakness of the real-life snake oil aside, in Red Dead it actually works. Able to completely refill your Dead Eye meter after only a single swig.
 


 
4) Carcano Rifle
Another weapon on the list, and one that is more out of place than the last, is the Carcano rifle. The game features the 1938 model (M91/38) Carcano rifle, when it should instead feature the original 1891 model (M91) rifle. Are you with me so far? Read Dead Online has a weapon available for purchase, thirty-nine years before it existed.

Even though the entire Carcano family shares many similarities, the M91 and M91/38 are noticeably different. Why this was done exactly, I am not sure, but this is the same issue shared with the first Red Dead Redemption. The whole Carcano series of rifles are indeed quirky, both aesthetically and mechanically, but an obscure Italian military rifle appearing in the Wild West - four decades before its invention - is an odd stylistic choice. Its entire implementation is simply a head-scratcher.
 
Bottom: Original M91 (1891 6.5mm) Carcano. The rifle that should have featured in-game.

 

5) The Map
The final noticeable inaccuracy is the map. The game contains a few different States and all of them are indeed based on real life places. However, they are nothing more than stereotypes, as none of the States included in game are genuine. Red Dead's Lemoyne and New Austin are, for example, similar to our Louisiana and Texas respectively. 

Rockstar cleverly combined elements of reality with our expectation of the Wild West to craft one beautiful albeit fake world. 

Interestingly enough, they didn't completely remove the game from its geographical inspiration, as major events that had or were happening in the U.S. during the 19th Century are mentioned frequently.


 

So there we have it, five inaccuracies from Red Dead Online. Are there anymore that you can think of? If so let me know in the comments.

 
A final big thank you to both David Silkenat, American History professor at the university of Edinburgh and Christian Wellard, firearms curator at the National Firearms Museum in Leeds for their participation in this article.



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all images ©Rockstar Games, Rockstar Studios, Microsoft Corporation, Rock Island Auction Company, Wikipedia

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