Brendan Rorrison

Following on from yesterday’s look at PlayStation VR, GTPlanet takes a more thorough look at Evolution Studios’ Driveclub VR. 

The growing influence and presence of Virtual Reality gets stronger with every passing day in the gaming industry. Headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are currently in consumers hands and opening up the ever-present tech to audiences like never before.

Earlier this year, we reported that Assetto Corsa on PC and console would be seeing Porsche enter the car roster through DLC. Although the majority of the 24 vehicles being added will be premium DLC at a cost, three of the German manufacturer’s finest will be playable for free as confirmed by Kunos’ Marco Massarutto on Twitter:

Last weekend at the Nurburgring in Germany, Sim Racing Expo 2016 rolled in with plenty of industry professionals talking about cars, racing, and everything that makes them so exciting to replicate in the digital world. One such studio who attended was Reiza, recently known for their work-in-progress title Automobilista. Lead vehicle-physics developer Niels Heusinkveld used the Expo to host a seminar on the intricacies of vehicle dynamics and car set-up. The entire lecture has been captured in the video above brought to our attention by VirtualR.

Despite DriveClub VR releasing as a stand-alone title, the degree to which the game is actually ‘new’ has sparked discussion within the DC community. Ex-DriveClub producer and social media mogul Paul Rustchynsky addressed a misinformed fan about what players can expect from DCVR earlier on Twitter:

Sony’s Virtual Reality showcase for the driving genre has been given a release date with just under a month until the launch of PlayStation VR. Evolution Studios’ final title ‘DriveClub VR’ will reach PlayStation 4 owners worldwide on October 13 2016, following an announcement from the Playstation Twitter account.

With more mainstream simulation titles than ever and many routes to becoming involved in the eSports scene, the racing genre is flourishing in the competitive environment. However, with so many options and opportunities many questions arise; ‘how do I become a better driver?’ ‘What is the most effective use of my time practicing?’, to name but a few. Chris Newman aims to make entry into high-level sim racing a less-daunting prospect with his free eBook ‘Virtual Race Driver’

Gran Turismo Sport is playable this weekend at Tokyo Game Show as we reported earlier this month, and thanks to Gamersyde we have a few videos showing us the latest build that event-goers are able to experience.

Shortly after detailing what to expect from the upcoming console patch for Assetto Corsa, Kunos has revealed that fictional circuit ‘Black Cat County’ will arrive on console in the same update due to land this month. Assetto’s track list is currently composed of real-life circuits from both the present day and the past, so the County will be our first taste of what imaginary tracks Kunos is capable of creating.

Earlier this month we reported that Kunos Simulazioni would be releasing a new patch on the console versions of the Assetto Corsa. However, aside from some vague comments about what the aim of the patch was, we didn’t have a full list of what to expect. That information has now been shared by the team and it looks like there has been some welcome improvements on both a technical and playability level:

With Sony’s PlayStation conference last week finally making the PlayStation 4 Pro official, the benefits the system can bring to pre-existing PS4 games has brought hefty discussion in the racing genre community.

Assetto Corsa has been in the hands of console players for the past few weeks and a common complaint is that the game suffers from multiple issues that hinder the overall playability. These issues include some of the more unwanted aspects of the sim racing industry like screen-tearing, frame-rate drops and iffy gamepad support.

When a new piece of tech releases, consumers often need a proof of concept to prove that the device is worthwhile. In recent times, the best way to do this has been via digital downloads and tech demos, more often than not showing what the device could be capable of but not quite representative of the experiences you’ll have.

Following the disappointing delay news last week, Sony has now confirmed Gran Turismo Sport will be showcased at the Tokyo Game Show later this month. In a list posted on the official Japanese Playstation website, GT Sport appears alongside other upcoming first-party exclusives and third-party titles set to take place in the ‘stage event’ at the show:

Eagle-eyed GTPlanet user queleuleu has spotted a yet-to-be-announced car that will feature in the Gran Turismo Sport roster — the Toyota S-FR racing model. The photo featured above shows a clearly modified version of Toyota’s concept car in GT Sport’s ‘Scapes’ mode being photographed against an urban environment.

Sony has announced via the Playstation Blog US that Gran Turismo Sport will not be releasing this November. In the update post, Kazunori Yamauchi himself details that the game will now be releasing in 2017 with an exact release window still to be confirmed.

Earlier this month, GT Academy winner Nicolas Hammann made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity series. Competing at the Zippo 200 Watkins Glen International, the American managed a 28th place finish after an oil leak plagued his race. Although not ideal, his placing did put him ahead of a good few NASCAR veterans including NASCAR sprint cup champion Kyle Busch, although Busch did have an accident himself. Hammann’s Xfinity journey isn’t over yet however — he’ll race this weekend in the Road America 180.

This week’s garage update for Forza Horizon 3 takes on a bit of a different tone from the past 2 weeks. Showcase cars in previous weeks include some modern-era powerhouses and historic sports cars. This week however — the game is changed forever. Ferraris are lovely, and Aston Martins are prestigious, but this week a new entry into the garage roster makes all other competitors in the Horizon festival null and void. Say hello to the…

Former GT Academy graduate Lucas Ordoñez is auctioning one of his racing suits for a great cause. Lucia Gil Alvaro is an 11-year-old girl who suffers from the rare disease ‘Leber congenital amaurosis’, which causes the person affected to become blind. However, this illness can be treated but must be done so in the USA. For the past 8 years, Lucia has been treated in Philadelphia as explained below in the video introducing the auction:

Every year at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Polyphony Digital award the Gran Turismo Trophy; a token of intent to bring the chosen winner into the Gran Turismo series. The official description of the trophy states the following: