Same here. GT2 was done and over with a month or so after I got it, beaten up to whatever percent you could finish in 1.0, around 96.5% (I could be wrong about that number)
So it just sat on the shelf for about 2 months. You can't really do much with a racing game after you complete it and try out every part of it.
Then one day as I was looking at a few gaming messageboards, I saw someone mention hybrids. That's how I got my start in hybrid building.
And if you think we use hybrids to cheat, you're wrong. Only people who are pathetic losers use hybrids just to beat the A.I. racers, unless the hybrid cars are the same class as the other cars. Some of us use them for online races that allow hybrid cars. Some of us who aren't good enough to compete in the online races (like me, for the most part. I'm good enough to win the races in GT2, but not good enough to compete with most of the online racers around) just build them for online races or our own enjoyment and help other people learn how to do it themselves.
And another thing, many of us have gotten so good that we can win races in GT2 with hugely underpowered cars. So some have found ways to race against hybrid cars, making the races that much tougher.
I had yet to see a racing game keep anyone's interest more than a few months after it was released, but that changed when I started playing the GT series. The hybrids you can make in these games have given them new life. I know people who still play GT1 every day, just because of the hybrids they can make.
And another thing, have you ever wanted to drive a car in GT2, but the developers had only included a low powered piece of crap excuse? (kinda like the 'cuda they put in there...too underpowered, that doesn't live up to the 'cudas reputation) Well, with the right code, you can slap in that 426 Hemi engine that they should have put in that 'cuda, and you finally have a car worthy of the 'cuda name.
(Edited by skynyrd at 11:44 pm on July 30, 2001)