GT Surgeons.com ekskluzivni GT5 Overview

[sagitarius]

Nemam nacina ni vremena prevesti sve ono napisano za GTPlanet, pa ovdje stavljam C/P originalnog engleskog teksta, kao sto sam svojedobno napravio s Prologue overviewom.

Ovaj overview pokriva moj inicijalni dozviljaj igre, mnostvo tehnickih pitanja, kao i odgovore na najcesca pitanja postavljanja na GTPlanet vezana za igru.

Pokusao sam biti maksimalno informativan i odgovoriti na sve sto sam znao.

U ovom topicu mozete dalje postavljati pitanja vezana za igru, a pozivam sve koji znaju odgovore ili koji ce ih znati da vrijedno odgovaraju Hvala unaprijed i pozdrav!




GTSurgeons - Croatian Gran Turismo Community (Gran Turismo zajednica Hrvatska) - Proudly presents

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GT5 RETAIL PAL HANDS-ON




So, here we go again, once more in our common history. It was a bumpy and lenghty ride - from 2007 to here - but now everything is done. Thanks to all who understood the logic behind the Winds, special thanks to all GTP Admins and Moderator staff and especially Jordan for giving us support throughout of this years.

Content of this thread is logical from the title. Fortunately, I have something important to do for the next hour or so, so please expect first update around 19:00 my local time (18:00 CET).

Until then, one appropriate shot of the box for validation of the future content.

Notice I'll be adding all new info in this first post. See you in one hour.

****

[FIRST UPDATE: Game gently warns that "Install of game data can take up to 50 minutes". See you somewhat later then, I'm going to do somthing useful

It took 40 minutes. First bunch of installed data is actually 6.4GB, but we have already learned that game will continue to install (decompress) the data during playtime. And off we go

# FIRST REAL UPDATE:

I drive with G25.

Clutch users, rejoyce! Clutch works, same style as GT5:Prologue, no official support, you still have to press triangle before the race, but the beauty is here.

Physics are fantastic. In the line somewhere between cruelty of Academy TT Demo and Prologue. My first ride was Trial Mountain with F40, S1 tyres, all aids OFF (ABS on 1), Professional setting. I spun on lap 2, went into Pause Menu and found out about new addition  in Quick Options - Interior View Angle.

Now we can adjust view angle to Standard, Narrow and Narrower.





Map Size can be adjusted, unfortunately, no option to turn-off the HUD yet.

Prior to the race start you can choose Depletion of Tyres/Fuel

# UPDATE FIRST AND HALF

Regarding PHYSICS - the Professional / Standard is gone. I referred to Professional in my previous update as an AI setting in Arcade. However, physics are "Professional" with everything OFF - it seems that new assist "SKID RECOVERY" actually determines the complexity of the tyre physics.

I've just tried RX-7 on compound previously known as N2 (marks N, S and R are also gone - now we have Comfort, Sports and Racing, while only Racing have option to be Intermediate and Rain - logical, since Racing are slicks without grooves) on Indy Road and actually it is damn close to one I remember from Academy TT demo. Although there is no way to compare (demo is out of function) I can safely say that all hard-cores will be very satisfied

From my first byte at physics and overall options - and all at this point have been into Options and Arcade modes only, I'm heading to GT Life now - driving with force feedback wheel (my current FF strength is 5) is more refined than in Prologue and/or Academy TT Demo, yet it is more complex but feels more natural. Please notice that physics elaboration is very sensitive matter, but at this point all who were impressed with Prologue Spec III physics update and TT Demo physics later, will be satisfied.

Notice that ABS-off is now refined to death, lock-up is made very impressive and I really starting to like the journey that lays ahead


# SECOND UPDATE

First to say that sound is greatly improved (I have a large 5.1 setup). Best sound is from the roof-cam (no hood cam, it's final), while tyre sound is refined additionaly. Spund of impact is vastly improved when you bump into other cars.

NO MULTISCREEN OR LAN OPTIONS SO FAR.

No new tracks in Arcade so far. No Sienna too (probably opens after Kart test).

GT Life mode. - [COLOR="Red"]spoiler alert[/COLOR], highlight for content:

[COLOR="White"]You can choose design of your racing suit (only once per save) and then design your My Life space (backgrounc color, profile picture (from the PhotoModes, interesting??), you can choose from 12 beautiful sceneries for the Home Wallpaper and edit your Welcome Message.[/COLOR]

When in Used Car/Dealership garage, every car (all in Used Car are Standard Models) have a Demo. During the demo you can watch the car being auto-piloted on the test track with great motor sounds due to track configurations - and car story being displayed as an roll-on txt. Despite many members will later find evidence to contrary, I have to admit that during Demo Drive, for instance Nomad Diablo/Plymouth Cuda/Callaway C12 looked very ok. Standard cars looks way better than I expected, but far from complexity of Premiums.

Also, Demo Drive is dome on some special Test Course (probably Cape Ring, not sure at this point), and cars go uphill, downhill, slow and fast, in order to catch the sound and variations of the engine sound (Doppler Effect presented there is amazing). And I assure you that  Diablo/Cuda/C12 (oh the V12 ) all sounds freaking beautiful. Driver in Demo Drive will sometimes make a small mistake, force skidding or even drifting - which is a nice touch.

Before going to Licenses you have to purchase a car. Purchasing a car in some colour gives you the Paint Item for that colour (for body or rims).

Now heading for the Licenses. Expect additional updates soon.


UPDATE SECOND AND HALF

OK, all National B Licenses done (10 of them), all Golds.

Nothing particulary challenging, but it was fun to see some licenses from the times of the very first Gran Turismo in the new era All licenses are done with Premium cars as expected.

Notice that Skid Recovery is permanetly on and it can't be set to off for al N-B Licenses. Other assists can be turned off, but you have to do it manually for every new License. Some things never change in he World of Gran Turismo Also notice that quantity of OSD data during in-cockpit is noting short of fabulous Position, map, current time, prize times, best time, all gauges, split-times... My dear Lord. Polyphony sticks to the roots of 15 years ago :lol:

For all Bronzes in N-B you get legendary Demio Sport '03. For Silver and Gold you get ([COLOR="red"]spoiler alert[/COLOR]): [COLOR="White"]OFC Concept '07 and ZZ-S '00.[/COLOR]

Notice that winning all N-B with Gold will get you to Lv. 4 and unlock Kart, JG Nascar and Top Gear Special Races (ones with appropriate level).

Also, N-B 10 License hosts 16 cars on track, so that one question is also settled pretty much.

Will come back soon, I have to do further search into some options now.

# THIRD UPDATE

I have to say that I will go into actual career structure until I finish all Licenses, so my initial focus will be based around that segment.

I have just finished golding of National A Licenses - it was a bumpy ride

First, rally is awesome. Period. Will make deeper explorations of the physics tomorrow, but from what I've experienced today, physics in all aspects of the game is nothing but phenomenal. It is difficult to explain, but with every new corner and movement of the car you get the idea you've learned something new. Some tiny bit, some small idea about something, but important and meaningful. During process of golding N-A it was 1997 ll over again, with some familiar licenses in different setting, all up to One Lap Magic finale.

Golding N-A will rank you directly to Lv.7. Bronze prize car is mm-R Cup Car '01, while Silver and bronze are ([COLOR="red"]spoiler alert[/COLOR])[COLOR="White"]: Atenza Concept '01 and 4200 R Concept '89.[/COLOR]

Somebody asked about 16 races (as seen in both final One Lap Magic races in Licenses section so far) being mixture of Premium and Standard models. They are in fact, I took a moment to pay attention, but - you just don't see the difference during race. On my set - and I'm using an 50" plasma - all Standard cars look like a Prologue cars in-race. It is more-less visible in the replay, but overall I think PD did a very decent job in mixing the two breeds.

One thing was surprising to me since I race without Race BGM (without music during race) - when you pass the License and Bronze/Silver/Gold trophy appears - followed by crew scene (as in GT4) - there is no corresponding in-game music. In order to hear those special tunes (when obtaining the trophy, after race screen or fail-screen) you have to enable Race BGM. Bu then you have to listen to the music durng License test and that is just a no-go for my concentration Tomorrow I'll try to bypass it by recording an empty MP3 track and by enabling Custom soundtrack - and setting Custom track as Race BGM - but it is a strange workaround (if it will work).

There are 189 songs in total in Soundtrack Library of the game, including glorious selection of Classic music, but there is no "Moon Over the Castle" to be found anywhere. It will be a shame if it does not appear later (maybe after Ending Credits or something, only time will tell - since fan-editing of the intro-movie pretty strongly implied that it is edited for MOTC).

One tiny but beautiful [COLOR="Red"]spoiler[/COLOR] here, regarding option previously introduced in Tourist Trophy game: [COLOR="White"]you can change the number on the race cars, including 4 types of letters and numbering - from 1 to 99.[/COLOR]

Another [COLOR="Red"]spoiler[/COLOR] about acquiring cars and other items in the game:[COLOR="White"] you can win different kinds of items, such as car-tickets, horn vouchers or Paint Items (probably some other types later). So, instead of winning an actual car, you get a "Ticket" for it. You can then decide to use the Ticket (or any other type of voucher) for yourself of gift it to the friend. Very nicely executed community/RPG/Pokemon feature [/COLOR]

In Practice mode (Settings options for car are available if you have "settable" parts) you can run Free Run, Drift Trial or One Make Races which I find great. NOtice that game has it's own logic about Race Starts - on some tracks they're Standing, on others Rolling. I presume once the Online options become available we'll be able to choose desired option for Private Lobby races. But both Arcade and GT Life mode have predetermined ways of starting the races.

Also, Karts should be driven only with force feedback strengthen up to 10 Those babies are fun as hell while physics of the tires surprisingly shows it's manners on the best imaginable way. Online Karts will be great fun for clean drivers.

This will wrap-up my updates for today, will continue to update tomorrow, notice that RDK will probably unlock Lv.20 and Extreme level, so stay tuned to his thread in order to find out details - of course, if he decides to share them and spoil surprises

Thanx to all who stop by and read, good night ladies and gentleman drivers

# FOURTH UPDATE

At this update I'll try to tackle some issues from yesterday, with focus on some questions I found interesting and some elaborations regarding various parts of the GT5.

With physics being most important in my book, I understand that some observation from tomorrow were somehow misleading. So, here are the further impressions.

I drive with G25, no assists except ABS (1), and no clutch (although it works as previously mentioned). I have no idea about limitations of sequential shifters on G27 (as witnessed in Prologue and TT demo), none of my friends have it and I can't try it at this point. I also have a Fanatec 911 GT3 RSV2 Clubsport waiting to be mounted, but until my new rig comes that baby will not start it's GT5 life.

As I mentioned yesterday, most important issue in physics is disappearance of STD/PRO distinction. Instead, GT5 introduces new driving-aid, Skid Recovery Force, which somewhat limits car lateral movement allowing for easier control. I presume it also applies some kind of steering buffer for controller users, but I haven't try the game with the pad so I can't elaborate further. As said before, all license test in N-B and N-A divisions comes with SRF enabled and I presume it can be disabled by progressing into higher tiers of Licenses - as logic of the licenses determines, since by advancing you can turn-off almost every assists (or the appropriate test turns it off as mandatory).

My physics impression comes from driving stock RX-7 (N2), stock M3 (S1) and racing Castrol Supra (R1) on dry surfaces. GT5 physics is the most advanced physics any any GT game to date, more complex than Prologue, demanding as Academy TT physics, but much more subtile and profound. Tire-snap is now logical, you can feel the surface, suspension and weight on tires and you can perfectly determine what is going on with the tire-grip. I'm impressed with modeling of suspensions - feel of the road is phenomenal and in every moment you know what your car is doing through the force feedback effect delivered on the wheel.

You have a constant idea what your car is doing and you just know when you did something wrong. It is very difficult to explain by words, but all variables that determines the feel of the car on particular part of the track are linked perfectly. You just know when you're going over the top, when the line you've taken will not be good or when you've applied the wrong steer. Also, greatest improvement is done in realms of racing cars, where Kazunori finally reached the levels of his only inspiration, Yu Suzuki's masterpiece F355 Challenge. Sense of speed through corners is now perfect. The insane level of grip and power of race cars has been finally toned down, and feeling of having an ultimate driving machine now comes from ability to steer perfectly, to have control of throttle and brakes, to feel the suspension and to have time to prepare for next maneuver. Refinement in this area is the most important to me, because in all previous GT games I had problems with insanity of race cars. Now everything is in place as it should be, and I love that aspect most.

Of course, in days to come, GT5's physics will be analyzed as no driving-game physics ever was. I expect many criticism, searching for flaws, comparisment with "this game" or "that game", but I have strong impression that physics in GT5 is the most refined physics ever introduced in virtual world - as long as "physics" is determined by the feel of actual driving, feel of tires, feel of suspension, weight transfer, engine momentum and actual feel of steering. Sense of speed, grip, weight and car-performance is just logical and natural - and that is what matters most.

I tried to drive without ABS on both stock cars mentioned above, but even G25 pedals are not up to that task Although overall effect of non-ABS braking is more refined than in Prologue, brakes needs to be approached with great attention. Actual tire-lock is easy to be done and I really have no idea how will users of DFGT/DFP drive without ABS if wanted . Watching braking without ABS in replays finally looks logical and natural and later afternoon I'll be doing much more research in that particular field. On the other side, driving a Castrol Supra on R1 without ABS was totally different from stock-cars, I could tackle braking more efficiently and I presume that mechanical setting (tire compound, suspension, brake power distribution) have lot to do with the overall immersion of the non-ABS braking.

One of the most common questions was one regarding the sounds. GT5 have drastically improved sounds over Prologue in every way. I started a Demo Drive for F430 and it sounds much better than in Prologue, as well as all cars I've driven. Notice that sound changes when driving in cockpit, as I mentioned yesterday best (loudest and clearest) sound is when driving from the roof-cam. However, it is logical to be as that, because the sound of the car from outside and from inside is not the same, as in real life. In the sound department I really love the way in which Doppler effect have been implemented during replays. It shines in surround setting and everybody who got any kind of surround system will enjoy probably the most realistic interpretation of audio-design in virtual racing from "spectator" point of view.

Speaking about replays, they're much more complicated in execution than in previous games, with much more option on disposal. You have 2 interior views focused solely on driver (not sure about that view being available for STD cars) and animation of the driver and interior lightning is just phenomenal.

More serious drivers will love the fact that fuel depletion is now inter-connected to the power of the engine, it's aspiration and way of driving. Although I didn't research it yet in any longer race, menu clearly says that driving more aggressively, with revving into red-area and such will consume more fuel. I hope I'll have time to tackle both tire-wear and fuel-depletion today and it is clear it will add whole another dimension for online racing. I have no idea about brake-fade and such but I'll share any insights as soon as I realize them.

Slipstream has finally been reduced to normal levels and I can't wait to go online and try it in real races. Insane slipstream does not exist anymore and it is noticeable from few licenses that includes slipstreaming. Slow drivers will not be happy, fast drivers will finally get a deserved on-track advantage for their skill outside the straight.

Shirakawa Akira made some interesting questions that deserves serious answer

- Can the car be stalled?
- Are bad shifts harmful or have they been correctly dealt with?
- Can the clutch be burned or otherwise damaged?
- Does the clutch slipping point change with modifications or wear?
- Is it possible to choose the amount of fuel in the tank before race start?
- Is it possible to know in detail tire temperature data with the data logger, meaning not only each tire as a whole, but in separated sections? (usually in PC sims outer, middle, inner portion)
- ...or better, what exactly can the data logger do/analyze?
- Can tire inflating pressure be changed and checked?
.

Answer to them is mainly negative or still unknown . GT series was always different from PC simulations and it is very clear that Kazunori's vision is different from one of hard-core PC simulations. I still have no idea about execution of mechanical damage and I presume that Extreme races (unlocked after Lv. 20) will offer more answers in this area. But it is safe to presume that some features such as  clutch wear, separate sections for the tire-wear and tire-pressure will stay out of the GT world for time being. As for amount of fuel and functions of the logger, I have no idea yet. I'll take a notice when I tackle them.

I don't know anything about Qualifications process since I didn't go into A-Spec races yet.

PPT values are nowhere to be shown (maybe in A-Spec races?) and if they're still in, they could be part of the online portion of the game. As for yesterday, connecting to PSN haven't prompt any update or allow that menu for Community features becomes available. As I noticed yesterday, I am getting the same message as other members with the game about some functions "Not being available in this Version of the game". It is very safe to presume that players with connection to PSN will get some serious update as servers go up (on 24/11, as being announced on official web) that will unlock or make visible all community/online features.

Somebody asked about tuning and adjusting process being available in Practice mode - it is. You can take any car in Practice mode, tune it there, do Free Runs, Drift trials or do One Make Races. Unfortunately, legendary Test Track is nowhere to be found, together with 0-400, 0-1000 tests. Maybe I didn't search enough.

I didn't try all surfaces yet (rain, snow..), report on that comes later today. Many other advanced options as variable weather and such will probably be introduced in Endurance races (wherever and on whichever Lv. they are) and in settings for still unavailable online races (Private Lobby and races settings).

Also, I couldn't find an option to create a point-to-point track in Course Maker and it remains to be seen will it unlock on some point.

I have a PSEye and I'll be post impressions of headtracking later today.

In the end, I will conclude with overall impression of the Graphical User Interface. As always, GUI created by Polyphony Digital is the most beautiful in the genre and beyond. Everything is designed to insane level of logic and beauty and navigating through menus with great music in the background (lounge and jazz selection is perfect) is a treat of its own. Shortcuts are also welcomed again and although many new users will loose themselves in the beginning, it has to be noticed that complexity of the game structure is almost perfectly executed through GUI.

This concludes this update, I'll be tackle other issues in the early evening (around 18:00 CET).

Thanx for reading.:tup:


# FIFTH UPDATE (18/11)

OK, back to business. This update will tackle many small things and bits I've came across, as well as many questions made in this thread.

But first, I'd like to explain the issue encountered yesterday, when I realized that BGM sounds/music for winning a license-trophy (bronze, silver or gold) are being muted if you have Race BGM muted.

I presume it will not be an issue for 95% of future GT5 players, but all Legacy Players (respect and all other players that tend to race with Race BGM set to OFF (as everybody should, but hey - De gustibus non disputandum est will probably find it annoying. For solving of that problem you'll need an empty MP3 or VAW file (GT5 will only accept 48, 42 and 20.05 sample-rate files) uploaded to your PS3 music Library, in separate folder. Once uploaded, you go to GT5 Options/Sound menu and then choose User BGM (for Race BGM). You then choose the empty file and make it play random in loop and then set the Race BGM to 100. Voila! License-winning music is there and our favorite Japan Guitar-Rock tunes will play happily in the rhythm of spinning awarded Trophy

After you're done with Licenses, you just turn off User BGM and disable Race BGM in order to save precious RAM streaming-bandwith. And trust me, GT5 needs it.

One of the most repeated questions is about changing rims on Standard cars. No, Standard cars can't have their rims changed. Period. Forever. Sorry guys, but there are more than 200 Premiums waiting to have their rims changed, and I guess it is lots of dirty hands to be washed after only that number. Imagine 1031, no hands can sustain so much degreaser and soap And no, really no, Standards do not have interiors too.

Another important issue - particularly to all members of GTP Registry League, as Sjaak asked me - is that save files are really copy-protected, period. You can't copy them to memory stick and that is it.

Interesting thing regarding save file is that it actually tracks Days of your GT Life career - which is nowhere else to be found in GT Life. Number of days spent in Career Mode - as one of the foundations of RPG-esque GT system of all previous games - is now gone from display. But, those interested in Old School Values will still be able to find it by pressing a triangle in XMB section of Game Save Data for GT5 save file.

Although I have PSEye camera and I went through set-up procedure in Options menu, I couldn't get it to work during my License/Arcade races sessions. I have no idea where is the problem, I'll try to mess with the options tomorrow. Interesting thing is noted in Online Manual (notice that paper manual that comes with the game is nothing but informational - everything you need to know about the Sea of Options is available in in-game Help Manual) regarding Headtracking - it will not be available in races with pit-stop enabled. And no, I still haven't race almost any race in GT Life career mode (only 1st Lv. of Kart Challenge) because I'm still golding Licenses.

Drift mode (in GT Life mode only to be found in Practice section at this moment) can be executed as Section or Full-Lap drift. I can't wait for first serious drift videos of all great drifters there, it will be a treat.

Unfortunately, I just didn't have time to make further exploration of the physics, except during License tests. But, everything I said in previous updates is still valid, rally is a real treat, while overall feel of racing on dry surfaces is great. I will just expand my thoughts regarding execution of the physics/vehicle characteristics/tire modeling, by saying that GT5 provides unprecedented variety of feels for different cars, as never before. Racing 512BB on Rome Track (and Rome track is great I must admit) is totally different experience than racing new Infinity. I know it is logical to say "it is totally different" - they're totally different cars in any mean after all - by it is also not easily explainable by words. Everything we know about feel of the cars from previous games has been rewritten, so to say - torque, weight, lateral movement, way of braking, accelerating - everything is so unique to each car, as never before. Exploring the whole universe of different types of cars will now have a whole new meaning.

At this point, no Network functions has been made available yet, so I still don't know anything related to online, multiplayer, community, GT Anywhere options, Museum (it is part of Network options, as stated in Online Manual section of the game), YouTube upload, Item Sharing or Car Exchange (and yes, we all have to wonder what "Car Exchange" will be .

And in the end of impressions, I have to admit that graphics will occasionally slow down in large-field races, but it is nothing that can ruin anyones experience. Please, do not jump to this now, it is very rare, it lasts very short and it is just not so important with everything in scale Also, some shadow-cast could be strange, but with level of overall details and everything it is expected. After all, it is only 256 RAM of dedicated graphics CPU, our mobile phones probably have better graphic CPU these days So, nothing to be rally picky about in my book.

And now onto questions, I apologize to all whose questions will be left unanswered, I will try to anwser them in some future updates.

G25 wheel related
- clutch works (I presume it will work with G27 too, but I have no idea will the paddles work on G27)
- no steering lock in any option I have found so far
- I have no idea yet about Tuning-Menu allowing to adjust Steering Degree (as in QTS of Prologue)

JumpAce asked about all tire and compound types. There are Comfort (N), Sports (S) and Racing (R) tires, and with porchasing Racing tires you're given both Intermediate and Rain compounds. Additionaly, there are Dirt and Snow tires for rally races.

Quick rundown for various:
- Karts can be raced on any road track
- no new diesel cars found (except 120d and Pegueot LM)
- no Stunt Arenas yet (probably never in GT5 by my opinion, but you never know with Kaz
- brand of the Mercedes SLS model is surprisingly - Mercedes-Benz

I found Jay Leno's name in Credits. Hm. Any thoughts?

Oh, and one very important thing for the very end - almost forgotten in lights of news - there is no Rewind :lol: Thank you Kazunori-san, ありがとうございました.

This concludes my fifth update, more updates tomorrow evening. Thank you for reading!

[sagitarius]

# FIRST Q&A UPDATE

Good morning people.

I have collected many quotes of questions and opinions from last 20 pages and I'll answer them here during my early morning coffee break.

So, we start with my favorite so far:

not a word regarding damage (which will likely blow) yet, you've got to be ****ing kidding me. Further proof that all of the guys who've gotten the game early are just a bunch of clowns hired by Sony to do viral marketing for the game and build up hype.

Staff Edit - This member just got banned for this post (along with a history of poor behavior - this kind of attitude will not be tolerated - Scaff

Thank you for your nice words sir, it is always welcomed to have such a high-profiled marketing analyst around here. Please notice that your humble opinion regarding implementation of damage can't be answered easily by Clowns because GT5 is a huge game, with slow progress-curve and there is many things to be opened or discovered that can't be done in week of playing.

However, thank you once more for your distinguish approach to the matter.

My second favorite:

The amar guy could very well be, he doesn't have to be ofcourse, but jesus ****ing christ the way he hypes the game is a bit obnoxious, it's like watching a toy commercial...

I want to see framerate while racing, proof of screen tearing or lack thereof, word from PD on vsync , news about the resolution, how good is the vibration function on the controller in gt5 (was usually awesome in ps2 games but most ps3 games seem to have something akin to my cellphone to save battery power), how is split screen? how long are loading times if you don't install the game and most of all proper IN RACE footage of car damage without the stupid arcade mode excuse.

Staff Edit - This member just got a warning for this post - this kind of attitude will not be tolerated - Scaff
I don't hype the game, sorry. I am just making an subjective overview of the game from my personal perspective. I'm not payed to do review here, all I want is to share some of my initial feels and thoughts to people who are members of this community. I am sorry if you find that offensive by any mean, it was not meant to be that way.

As for issues you describe, I stated in my last update that I've encountered some occasional slowdowns, but nothing important in my book. Screen tearing will probably be experienced in some point, but I haven't seen any on my set. I read on NeoGaf that V-Sync is probably off for GT5 because of technical reasons, but until Digital Foundry posts their report I will sustain to comment on that because I do not have sufficient technical expertise not equipment. If it means anything to you, GT5 is graphically the best racer I have ever seen, so take that as a hype, or just as an subjective opinion. I am aware that many people will find their complaints, but while they complain about this or that, they could better improve their driving skills instead of counting frames. There is no perfection oh hardware with 256MB of graphic-CPU, but it is also the main reason why I find final result even much more impressive.

As for controller, I haven't play with it, I use the wheel only, sorry. I will try split screen later today. I instal the game immediately, so I can't tell about loading times for non-installed game. But yes, loadings are longer than in Prologue for instance, but still noticeably faster than in "other games". You can find answer regarding showcasing of the "damage" in answer above, cheers.

I think that it's the same sort of situation as going up to Jack Nicholson and asking him to give you his take on the current state of the LA Lakers.

:tup:

I wonder if the Diesel Le Mans cars have better fuel efficency than the gas ones?

Maybe they will have, since game clearly states that fuel depletion will depend upon engine type (although it does not explain in further) and way of driving.

..what replay options are available? Also when you said there is no Rewind, did you mean like how GRID/Forza etc have a gameplay rewind function or did you mean replay rewind?

There are many replay options, but I still didn't found time to actually explore replays from technical POW (logger, replay save, exporting to USB stick, attachment to messages in XMB maybe, and so on). I'll do many of such technical explorations  today afternoon.

And by REWIND I meant gameplay rewind, yes.

There better be Moon Over the Castle somewhere in the Japanese version, or I'm cancelling my Chinese version import.

At this point we know that Official GT5 Soundtrack CD is announced for Japan and it will be available from Dec 22. CD lists "Moon Over The Castle GT5 Version" as the first song - and we can safely presume it will be opening title song for Japanese game - but there is no MOTC on my PAL game, nowhere to be found among 189 tracks listed in Music directory. It is shame, I agree.

Here you can find info about GT5 Soundtrack Album and track listing for both CD's (site is on Japanese):
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=696143

But when games like (That Microsoft one) and others are allowing rim changes plus body kits and more, it definitely seems like this game should have them included.

You can change bodykits, rims and such on Premiums, so technically those things are included. To compare, "other games"  even remotely do not have many of features of GT5, so it basically comes down to what is more important in driving genre. Answering to that question is pretty much subjective thing, but GT5 obviously have change of rims, bodykits and such, together with plethora of other features that none other game I know can tackle in one complete package.

Do you have any idea if the G27 shift lights will work, and if the face buttons are all programmable? i know you only have a G25 atm, but any wheel info is welcome.

No idea about G27 lights, but I have serious problems in configuring my G25 to all the functions of the game It remains to be seen will G27 allow mapping of extra-wheel buttons to different functions, from my experience when testing G27 with Prologue, game was mapping all 6 extra-buttons as same function.

I will also be testing parallel usage of controller and wheel in the same time later today, so it will be part of technical update.

Can you drive the standard and premium versions of the same car and see if there is a difference in the feel. Or actually just any standard car to see if the car feels different than the premiums. I feel like the standard cars have been overlooked I just want to be proven wrong lol

Since I only do Licenses at this point, I haven't use any cars except Premiums. But will try that also later today in technical update, stay tuned.

He hasn't mentioned anything about damage

Because I haven't encountered any, look at the first answer :tup:

Would you be able to shed any light on what can be customized if anything besides the rims?  Also, can all street cars get the Race Mod?

Selected Premiums will be able to get the Race Mod, but I have no idea which ones, I know that first car I bought - MX-5, Premium - can't have it From what I saw, you can add front and side aero-kits, rear spoilers and change rims, but availability of those procedures is limited by car-to-car basis.

Hope you're able to get head tracking working later, I would really like to hear more about this feature. Any idea why it doesn't work on tracks with pit stop?

Have no idea why it will not work with pit-stops enabled, Game Manual says so. I also can't understand why Headtracking does not work for me, will check on that too. However, friend of mine told me it could be inter-conected to 3D option, which will be a bummer if true, since I do not have 3D set. Will explore this to.

No splitscreen :tdown::tdown:

2-player split screen is in, there is no option to have multi-screen.

This is multiscreen, as in GT4 for example:

Do you have to take pics from the replay or can you access photo mode via the pause menu while on track?

You can't access it during the race, you have to finish the race in order to have replay at your disposal and then use the PhotoMode feature.

lol.. I just realized I forgot how long the replay recorded during the 24 hours races on GT4, I think I remember seeing it as being full after about 2.5 hours... does anyone else remember that... I actually would hope to have all those long races recorded,:

There was no full-race replay in Gran Turismo series since the first game (it was the only GT so far that could "record" the replay for up to 99 laps, we tried it in fact, back in 1998 ). Game Manual points out that "some of the replays can't be saved by full length due to length of the actual race" but it remains to be discovered how much data RAM can sustain.

This concludes this session, I'll be making Technical Update later today, thanx for reading!

few additional answers:

Can you drive ANY car on the courses made at the Kart Environments in the Course Generator?

While in Course Builder game allows you to test tracks - even those labeled with Kart - with choice of cars, so I believe it will allow it. I haven't actually save any tracks yet, only made few tests of overall possibilities of the CM.

Just one question for you. I know it's what everyone has really been waiting to hear confirmed. Do standard cars have reverse lights?

I really don't know, I'm driving cockpit-only (bumper on STDS). But will check :tup:

Anything about the AI? Hopefully they're not totally stupid like they have been in past GT games.

Regarding AI, here is my answer to same question I made on NeoGaf forums:

Before answering I have to elaborate on this.

I am a 100% clear racer and I try to drive racing simulations as I would drive the car in RL. I also do not tend to exploit the physics and tracks (going crazy over kerbs, going off-track and over shortcuts, passing on impossible places and so on).

Said that, I was amazed with AI in GT5: Prologue because it was the most convincing AI that I ever witnessed in any video game. Of course, during Mission test you had to make few dirt moves in order to pass the tests (especially on One Lap Magic tests on Pro physics), but if you'd settled your own race with 20 laps and then try to race 100% clean - including taking no shortcuts and such - it was a breathtaking race experience.

I know many people didn't dig Prologue's AI, although I can't understand why.

I find AI of GT5 advanced over Prologue, especially in blocking procedures. Also, AI drivers make mistakes and they fight among themselves - which makes for some great moments. However, they will brake on time if you're in front of them (no more GT-GT4 bumping), when you pass they'll try to regain position on the very fair manner and so on.

In short - in my personal book, GT5 have the best AI routines I've ever seen in genre so far.

Also....how come you can't drive without ABS? I've never had a problem with brake lockup in any racing sim with my G27. Makes me question the whole physics write-up when you can't even slow the car without the game holding your hand.

I never said I can't drive without ABS, I just said it is very difficult to drive without, although I also pointed out that actual non-ABS braking is more refined than in Prologue.

Non-ABS driving heavily depends on car you're using. I had almost no problem at all with JGTC Castrol Supra, but I had serious sensitivity-problem with stock cars, such as M3. At this point I haven't developed enough finesse in my foot to sustain more than 3 lap of concentration for non-ABS driving since it asks for serious concentration - especially when battling AI on Professional AI setting.

G25 pedals are more stiffer than those on DFP/DFGT wheel, but even with them you have to be extremely careful while applying brakes, because it is very easy to lock them and go into spin. It was the main point of my elaboration of that particular issue. However, it is probably a matter of time-investment into skill itself, together with additional investment into some hard sponge (for DFP/DFGT users respectfully).

Are you able to catch a slide (oversteer) using your G25 and actually perform a drift?

Yes. You will soon find out that physics is in fact very refined Academy TT Demo physics - as I stated earlier. Refinement now includes work done especially in the field of tire-grip and feel of the weight-transfer on the steering wheel. If you can imagine complex physics as those in Academy Demo with proper grip and skid-snap included, you'll have the picture :tup:

#SIXTH AND FINAL UPDATE

Italy, France, UK and USA are getting the game as I type (thanx to people at Neogaf that are sharing their view on game as we speak, especially to all good friends and members of GTP - Goldrusher did a spectacular OP there, congratulations mate :tup:)) - and I'll be slowly concluding this overview, since this weekend is obviously going to be an big information blowout.

Thanx to all that followed this update, thank you for your support, Thanx to GTP admins in keeping this thread civilized - I know it was not easy in days of great tensions - I am pleased if this overview help anyone in his wait to GT5.

This update will tackle few technical issues I find important in my book, as well as details of my personal overview of PhotoMode and Replay.

Final Q&A of some questions raised today will conclude this final update. So, let's start.

2 Player Split-Screen

Based on traditional Memory Card Battle of first Gran Turismo game, 2-player split screen have been with us for 13 years. However, there are some issues I find strange.

You can choose cars from your favorites, Portable Garage (that is the section where PSP cars will transfer) or game initial bunch. Only 2 game-views on disposal (bumper and above the car) no matter you use Premium or Standard cars. However, it has to be said that graphics in 2PSS looks nothing short of single-player, from HDR lightning to details around the track.

Problem is that you can't view replay after the race :lol: I know it is not funny, but since there is no replay, you can't save it too. I really hope PD will include option to have and save replays in 2PSS races, since I presume zillions of players will race GT5 casually on split-screen.

You can choose to race up to 99 laps (as in Arcade race settings), but there is no option for tire-wear/fuel-depletion. Splitscreen is horizontal, with no option to go vertically (as in GT3 or GT4 for example).

PhotoMode

Today was the first day I used photomode and I'm nothing by amazed. Being more than avid photographer in real life, I have to admit that GT5 graphics and options for taking photographs are simply stunning. I did some examples and posted them below and I presume the future will showcase what marvel of graphic/lightning engine have PD create.

Photos from Race Photo can be done on max resolution of 1980x1080 while photos from Photo Travel (limited to Premiums only) can be processed up to 8MP. Both modes are equally amazing and it is all that really needs to be said. I don't want to spoil surprises, so I can say that future will probably soon bring us some fan-made car magazine made entirely from GT5 photomode - and it will looks stunning, I'm sure.

Photos are processed fast, you can save them to HDD (game forces 500MB of HDD space for initial PhotoMode purposes) and later export them to XMB (into separate folder). From XMB you can save them to memory stick, directly print to printer or send in PSN messages. There are also many Gallery options in the game, but I will not explain  them now - those interested will be able to see for themselves.

Average size of 1080p photos is around 250kb and those (MP ones around 600-700kb.

You can access PhotoMode directly from replay too, and there is Walk option which I find great. You can literally walk around the whole circuit - probably even around all Nordschelife - like your walking on foot. You have 3D camera (as in FPS games) fully enabled, and you can take pictures of whatever you want in any time. I can presume one of the first videos on that subject will be GT5 Nurb Walk It could also come handy in order to study configuration details, but that is something that only few will do anyway. But it can be done. Props to PD.

Here are the examples of PM settings with no particular adjusting the options (1080p Race Photo in 16:9):


http://imgur.com/NEz6W.jpg


http://imgur.com/DkZr9.jpg


http://imgur.com/rUjkI.jpg


http://imgur.com/Hz1Vj.jpg


http://imgur.com/X4FZr.jpg


http://imgur.com/E2C70.jpg

Default made photo in Race Mode (1080p, 1.4:1)


http://imgur.com/3hbk2.jpg

And below the thumbnails are the links for PhotoTravel photos (8MP) including my starting Chrystal White MX-5.


http://imgur.com/v0kZG.jpg


http://imgur.com/3t5je.jpg


http://imgur.com/9EVEc.jpg


http://imgur.com/oS748.jpg


http://imgur.com/iYNIt.jpg

Various Technical

I didn't have time to mess with my PSEye, so nothing about Headtracking at this point. Will post that somewhere else later, after I spend some time in further investigation of options.

Wheels users will certainly appreciate that GT5 also supports parallel functionality of G25 (probably G27 too) wheel and controller (controller can be forced to Slot 1 through in-game XMB)  in the same time. Having both connected, you have all functionalities of the wheel during the race and all functions of controller in all other menus (replay, PhotoMode, GUI navigation..). Great move for comfort of G25 users, as already seen in Prologue.

Replay Files can also be exported to XMB and there you can copy them between your PS3 profiles (on you local console). You can also export them to USB (where they produce one big mess of unreadable files and directories). Until network functionality are enabled, I don't know nothing about direct YouTube upload or similar. Notice you can't attach Replay files to PSN messages, you can only attach photos from photomode you've exported to XMB.

There is no FFW/REW options in replay itself, nor lap-skip option.

For the end, here is the "empty VAW" file that I use to bypass lack of BGM effect during Award sequence of License Tests - problem I tackled in previous updates. It is 64MB VAW file without any actual volume. It will be useful to all that race without music during racing and still love to hear the license-award music after getting the trophy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zu02f92yhfilm2o

And that is it regarding this overview of GT5

Now onto fast Q&A:

I
Can the Standard cars post times to the Leaderboards?I was just curious about this as i'm big into hotlapping/tuning.

You can choose both Favorite, Arcade (game stock) and Portable (PSP transfers) cars for local Arcade Time Trial. Have no idea will Network offer additional online TT and under which conditions.

1. Do cars accumulate miles like in gt3 and gt4?

2. Can you rally any car? I would love to build my own rally cars like in the older ones.

Yes they do, and overall aspect of philosophy of "ownership" has been greatly improved. Will not go into details because of spoiling the expereince :tup:

Rally tires will determine that and I presume they're available for majority of models (except Karts and probably some more).

If you have played Enthusia on PS2 before could you tell me how its car physics compare to GT5?

Enthusia was the best PS2 racer in terms of physics - I agree - and in my personal opinion GT5 excels it in every way.

Regarding bitrate, didn't GTPSP require some sort of ridiculus hoops to jump through in order to use personal music?  Amar would you please clear up this bitrate issue?

Yes, I was thinking about sample-rate, I have already corrected the OP and added VAW file to download that I've used for that issue. Thanx for noticing :tup:

The question is what did you mean by "once per save"? Does it mean you can only choose it once and then it's the final choice or that you can choose differently on another occasion?

Only ONCE and you can't change it on your save. If you want to change it, you have to delete the save and start all over again

1. Would you say license tests are harder or easier than previous games?

2. When viewing a replay and heading into Photomode, is the camera free-roaming, or is it tied to the camera angles/locations in the replay itself?:

I have finished first 3 Tiers with golds and I find them challenging equaly with GT4. Some were easy (rally, as always , some were boring (start-stop, 01 N-A is particulary frustrating from cockpit-cam), One Lap Magic were great. If you're skilled driver they'll be great challenge as always before.

As for PM, there is Free Roam (Walk) camera - and it is great. It floats somewhere around 1,5m from the ground, it is fully free and I expect to see great photos of many details of the game because of it. Also, there are fixed cameras in RacePhoto, number depending on particular track-position of the car.

Wouldn't it make sense for PD to use the Hard disk for replays?

I don't know about that, maybe it uses HDD, I don't know. Manual says replay-length could be limited, so I presumed they're using RAM. Further evidence about that is there is no Split-Screen replays (maybe after update, but no at this point).

Q: Can you choose the gender of your driver?.

Unfortunately, no Would be nice and fair, I agree.

About licensing:
does licensing unlock races as in gt-gt4, or just gives you xp to reach the actual level required to race in?

No, Levels determine everything - from availability of the cars (you can purchase cars depending on your Lv and wallet status) and availability of races in A/B-Spec and Special Races.

Also notice that A-Spec and B-Spec have the same races in Tiers.

I don't know if this was asked/answered somewhere before, but are there manufacturer events in GT5?

I haven't find them in Dealership and in Tuning Shop (as in previous games) so I presume the answer is no.

That would be it, this concludes my initial overview of Gran Turismo 5, I hope all of you will get the game soon and that obviusely imminent update for unlocking Community and Online features will come ASAP.

See you online soon, thank you for support and reading.

Regards!

***THE END

[STINGer]

Nemam nacina ni vremena prevesti sve ono napisano za GTPlanet, pa ovdje stavljam C/P originalnog engleskog teksta, kao sto sam svojedobno napravio s Prologue overviewom.

Ovaj overview pokriva moj inicijalni dozviljaj igre, mnostvo tehnickih pitanja, kao i odgovore na najcesca pitanja postavljanja na GTPlanet vezana za igru.

Pokusao sam biti maksimalno informativan i odgovoriti na sve sto sam znao.

Gle momak, lijepo ti je onaj tamo rekao da si fenboj... nemoj ti tu sada nama prodavati muda pod bubrege

[crorastafa]

Daj mi reci kako funkcioniraju kratka duga svjetla na G25 ?, jer sam vidio prije da mozes blicati..

[STINGer]

Pa danu, na mazdi mx-5 koji je on kupio, stisneš tipku pa se farovi dignu i svjetla upale, pa daljnjim stiskanjem iste tipke blicaš, a kad malo pusti farovi se ugase i uvuku... Za ostale aute nisam vidio...

Išli smo prebacivati aute sa PSP-a i igra dopušta da se u Portable Garage prebaci samo 50 auta koji se mogu koristiti u Arcade Modu. Tako da to baš i nije najsretnije riješeno i ipak će trebati kupovati sve te zanimljive standard aute u samoj igri, pa mudro trošite novce na zanimljive aute jer ćemo jednog dana probati i standard aute online...

[toni_cro]

sve što je bitno je rečeno a ovo drugo ću sam otkriti

[Tomivav]

Pročitat ću ovaj review kasnije, recimo nakon recenzije kad izađe u GamePlayu. Sad za svaki slučaj ne želim ništa doznavat.

Ali ima dosta, bravo na trudu.

[cold]

Odlican review!!