First Impressions of GT5P after years of GT4

[danthespaceman]

About a month ago I bought a new ps3 along with GT5P to tie me over until the full version of Gran Turismo 5. While the graphics absolutely blew me away, I couldn't help but notice that the new game was lacking that very disinct feeling of being connected to the road that GT4 had. Despite the vibration from controller, I would say it feels a lot more like I'm floating above the road.

I'm not sure if it's the wireless controller, or the new physics engine, or a combination of the two, but there is definitely is something lacking in the experience. Also, the sheer fear of coming of the road a high speeds just ins't there like it was in GT4, but I can't put my finger on it.

Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

I know what you mean, most people here will disagree tho however.
When I fired up GT5P the first time (about 2 years ago...), I was shocked, especially about the inclusion of 2 different driving physics which none of both suits my style or my expectations.
Oh and it's not the controller, because other game make good use of it and give you full control of what's going on on your screen.
I think the problem is the cars just don't match well together with the road and scenery, something other GT games always did extremely well... thus the cars feel "disconnected" to the road.
Having said that GT5P is still one of the best racing games for PS3 and you can have lots of fun, and lots of frustration, too IMO

As I said many here will (probably) disagree and tell you to buy a wheel, but I for one just hope GT5 will get it right again.

 

[ajrichar]

I know what you mean about the driving sensation when you first get into GT5P. However, have you downloaded the Spec III update? For me, I felt more comfortable with the general handling and feel of the game after this (uness it was all in my head).

 

[phillookswasted]

Thought I'd just be the first to say it then...... Get a wheel!

 

[Seismica]

1) Use cockpit view (very important, the bumper cam, roof cam and chase view are really rubbish in this game, i had to switch from chase cam to get the right feel for the car, and i've been using chase cam in every racing game since i was 5/6 years old)
2) Get a wheel with force feedback
3) If you played GT4 with TCS/ASM off and with simulation tyres, you should already know how to regulate the throttle so you should have no problem.

But bearing in mind the GT5 physics engine has been through so many updates and adjustments since the spec 3 prologue update, it will be unrecognisable when you start playing GT5.

 

[devildog666]

Thought I'd just be the first to say it then...... Get a wheel!

That's not the problem.

 

[The Outlaw]

Well I don't see how you could find GT4 to be more realistic than GT5P in terms of physics or just about anything else either. Are the physics too challenging? Because I don't really understand what you mean when you say the cars are floating above the road...

 

[Hugo Boss]

Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

Yes, the feedback you get when driving seems less than in GT4. It's something I'd like to see improved for GT5. However, most of the cars in GT4 drove like a brick unless you opted for N tires. From that perspective GT5P is a huge step forward. The depth of the physics still amazes me, although it's far from perfect. It made me almost forget about the reduced feedback.

Regarding the buy a steering wheel comments, the difference between pad and steering wheel is bigger with GT5P than it was with GT4. I switched to using a wheel after playing GT3 with a pad for 2 years, but every now and then I still played GT4 with the pad. Now with GT5P I stopped doing that, simply because in my opinion the experience with the pad has become completely inferior to the experience with a wheel. So if you still plan on buying GT5, it might be worth it to (save up to) buy a steering wheel

 

[IsmokeGT]

That's not the problem.

Great insight!

I noticed today that I dont feel "connected to the road" in real life. Also, I never heard this "floating above the road" phenomena until I read the Forza vs. GT threads, and people in those threads used that term to describe Forza.

When I crashed my motorcycle with nothing but a dirt bike helmet, t-shirt, jeans, and shoes on, I felt connected to the road then!

 

[Seismica]

I noticed today that I dont feel "connected to the road" in real life. Also, I never heard this "floating above the road" phenomena until I read the Forza vs. GT threads, and people in those threads used that term to describe Forza.

The only thing i can think of that implies 'floating' is the lack of bumps in the road. But Suzuka, HSR and Fuji are all pretty smooth circuits so you won't feel any bumps giving you the impression you are floating. When you go over kerbs and stuff you do get the feedback like you did in GT4. But if you are comparing the 'Ring from GT4 with Suzuka in prologue of course you are going to get less feedback.

You look at games like rFactor and they simulate every little crack in the road felt through the suspension, and your cockpit view shakes constantly. In GT5P you don't get that. Although the majority of cars in GT5P are road cars with soft suspensions...

 

[Kryz11]

About a month ago I bought a new ps3 along with GT5P to tie me over until the full version of Gran Turismo 5. While the graphics absolutely blew me away, I couldn't help but notice that the new game was lacking that very disinct feeling of being connected to the road that GT4 had. Despite the vibration from controller, I would say it feels a lot more like I'm floating above the road.

I'm not sure if it's the wireless controller, or the new physics engine, or a combination of the two, but there is definitely is something lacking in the experience. Also, the sheer fear of coming of the road a high speeds just ins't there like it was in GT4, but I can't put my finger on it.

Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

Hmm a wheel is best option. It will bring back the SIM in this simulation.

 

[Tetradic]

Most people posting here have been playing GT5P for the past 2 years and then some. Most have been playing it so much they have stopped, put it away and then come back again... some more than once. As a few have said GT5P needs to be experienced with a wheel, it's simply not the same with the pad and only with a wheel do you really get the depth of the engine driving the game.

Over the summer, during a downtime with GT5P, I bought a PS2 and a copy of GT3 and GT4. I was amazed when I played both how "dead" they both had felt when compare to GT5P that I had grown very used to over the previous 16 months or so. The cars felt like slot cars and there was very little challenge to either. Events and races I remember struggling with years ago when I originally played both were a breeze and overall I was left unimpressed. The games were still fun and had their appeal but it was more nostalgia and arcade fun.

I spent about a month recent playing Need for Speed: Shift until I reached the point where the game simply got silly and fell apart for me. Then GTPSP came out, which feels to me, all the fun and excitement of what driving in GT3/GT4 was with a pad with alot of the depth of GT5P. Everytime I play GTPSP I'm blown away by the experience and how it ties together the GT series up to this point. It almost seems GTPSP should be renamed "GT Classic", as it embodies the experience of all the previous GT titles (I'm talking driving feel, not gameplay/career mode), and makes one nice concise game that can be enjoyed quickly and at anytime with a pad. Perfect.

Given that I deleted my GT5P game saves from my PS3 over the weekend and started anew with GT5P. It had been almost 4 months since I had played it and I was honestly excited about it again. Within the first few corners of the first event (Cappuccino hotlap at HSR) I was agian blown away. It expanded the depth of gameplay of GTPSP and made up for all the faults of Need for Speed:Shift. I found myself amazed by the feel of the game along with, as Hugo Boss said, the depth of the physics engine. To be fair I do find GT5P a bit sterile in the way it looks, especially compared to NFS:S and even GT4, but one needs to remind themselves that GT5P is a demo that is almost 3 years old now, not a fully finished game like either other title. Even then it is above and beyond either title.

Stick with it is all I can say. GT5P is a game that rewards time spent with it. What seems simple at first keeps showing more and more depth the more you dig into it. You really can't compare it with GT4, not directly, but you'll soon see how it is very much a step above the older title.

We can only assume GT5 will be a giant step beyond that...

 

[danthespaceman]

After thinking about this some more, I think I should clarify it's not so much the phsyics and handling that bother me (I actually agree with most people that they have been improved) but the feedback I'm getting from the track environments is what I feel is lacking.

Regarding tracks like Suzaka and Fuji, I'm willing to concede that because they are such smooth tracks, there isn't much there to feel in the way of feedback. But the track that did disappoint was Eiger; I thought I would feel a very subtle rumble from the texture of the asphalt.

Also, I remember that certain cars in GT4, tuned a certain way, would give a decent amount of feed back in the higher revs or off the starting line when the wheels were spinning

I'll guess we'll have to wait and see what GT5 brings.

 

[Tetradic]

As I said, GT5P does feel sterile at times. Mostly in look but sometimes in "feel", which is a combination of visuals, details models, textures and overall track design.

Fuji for some reason always felt cold and dead to me. Suzuka is a little better but given it's a much more engaging track than Fuji you forgot about the sterile feeling quickly. Those both seem to be older track models which probably represent one track of development (porting of old models/content). Eiger, London and Daytona are all new (or newer) models it and are less sterile and more textured. HSR is, well... HSR (blah) which oddly seems to have been redeveloped in GTPSP (FYI). The same seems to be true with some car models. Some of the older cars well known in the GT series (i.e. R34 Skyline) seem a bit dead compared to the GT-R (the NSX-R and Integra-R seem to have escaped that fate though). On the other side of the spectrum you have the Ferrari California which seems very involved and engaging (regardless of how you feel about the car itself).

If anything GT5P is interesting in how you see some of the development process and thinking of PD. There seems to be a spread of ideas in the game.

 

[Worst_Driver]

So if you still plan on buying GT5, it might be worth it to (save up to) buy a steering wheel

They should sell a wheel with GT5, like Guitar Hero that comes with a guitar. I'm joking that would scare a lot of casual gamers and PD would lose sales, so bad idea.
IMO,you can't fully enjoy GT5 without a steering wheel and believe me I've played 3 months with a pad and when I finally got a wheel (DFP), it made a big difference.

 

[Seismica]

I've been switching from GT4 to GT5P on and off for the past few weeks. The transition back onto GT4 is always smooth and easy. But everytime i go back to GT5P it takes hours to adjust, and more often than not i only get a few hours before i go back on GT4 again. This isn't by choice, the PS3 is my brothers and he's like a big kid, he doesn't like to share. Plus Modern Warfare 2 doesn't help, it means he's on it 24/7.

As a result i still suck at GT5P... GT4 is too easy in comparison.

 

[panjandrum]

I know what you mean, most people here will disagree tho however.

I don't disagree. I've spent a tremendous amount of time behind the wheel (DFP and G25) in both these games and GT4 definitely has more connection with the road and the car. Something in GT5P has become too sanitized, especially with the SPEC II updates and newer. SPEC I was a bit better. Every time I hop back in GT4 I'm impressed by the superb feedback and road/car feel. Go back to GT4 and drive for an hour or so around El Capitan or Trial Mountain, then go back and drive Eiger in GT5p. Something is missing in GT5p.

I'm hoping that they get it right with the final release!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

About a month ago I bought a new ps3 along with GT5P to tie me over until the full version of Gran Turismo 5. While the graphics absolutely blew me away, I couldn't help but notice that the new game was lacking that very disinct feeling of being connected to the road that GT4 had. Despite the vibration from controller, I would say it feels a lot more like I'm floating above the road.

I'm not sure if it's the wireless controller, or the new physics engine, or a combination of the two, but there is definitely is something lacking in the experience. Also, the sheer fear of coming of the road a high speeds just ins't there like it was in GT4, but I can't put my finger on it.

Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

YEa I can see what you're saying, but my opinion is GT5P should be driven with a wheel for the fullest experience...as others have no doubt said by now. Dual-shocks only convey 10% of the action. As a dual-shock user myself, I know what you mean, tho. The sixaxis doesn't seem to convey as much vibration as an old-skool DS2.

 

[danthespaceman]

So the question becomes, is the Dualshock 3 controller not doing GT5P justice? Or is it the programming within the game itself? I'm on the new PS3 slim, so I can't just pop in GT4 to test out my theory.

Before I wrote this post, I knew that a wheel would give a totally different (and more enjoyable) experience. But that wasn't my point. My point was that if it feedback was satisfactory on a controller in GT4, shouldn't it be just as satisfactory in GT5P?

I did a few laps of Eiger last night, and noticed the little jump not too far from the start/finish line seems a little sterile too. Remember in GT4 on tracks like Seattle and El Captain, you really wanted to hit those 'jumps' square on for fear of landing off axis and sending the car out of control? Even the jumps that were relatively safe brought on a sense of 'don't screw this up!'. Not so with Eiger, it almost seems a little arcade-like.

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

I don't disagree. I've spent a tremendous amount of time behind the wheel (DFP and G25) in both these games and GT4 definitely has more connection with the road and the car. Something in GT5P has become too sanitized, especially with the SPEC II updates and newer. SPEC I was a bit better. Every time I hop back in GT4 I'm impressed by the superb feedback and road/car feel. Go back to GT4 and drive for an hour or so around El Capitan or Trial Mountain, then go back and drive Eiger in GT5p. Something is missing in GT5p.

I'm hoping that they get it right with the final release!

Well, glad you don't disagree... however I had this discussion here often and it usually end up in suggestions I can't drive and I should get a wheel. I wonder why tho, if I could drive in GT4 with Sim-Tires and DS2 just fine, now I need a wheel for what reason ? LOL

So the question becomes, is the Dualshock 3 controller not doing GT5P justice? Or is it the programming within the game itself? I'm on the new PS3 slim, so I can't just pop in GT4 to test out my theory.

Before I wrote this post, I knew that a wheel would give a totally different (and more enjoyable) experience. But that wasn't my point. My point was that if it feedback was satisfactory on a controller in GT4, shouldn't it be just as satisfactory in GT5P?

I did a few laps of Eiger last night, and noticed the little jump not too far from the start/finish line seems a little sterile too. Remember in GT4 on tracks like Seattle and El Captain, you really wanted to hit those 'jumps' square on for fear of landing off axis and sending the car out of control? Even the jumps that were relatively safe brought on a sense of 'don't screw this up!'. Not so with Eiger, it almost seems a little arcade-like.

As I said it's the programming or rather lack of because other PS3 games let you control analog DS3 buttons properly, only PS3 game I know where it feels like an on /off switch is GT5P, very impressing...

 

[Seismica]

Well, glad you don't disagree... however I had this discussion here often and it usually end up in suggestions I can't drive and I should get a wheel. I wonder why tho, if I could drive in GT4 with Sim-Tires and DS2 just fine, now I need a wheel for what reason ? LOL



As I said it's the programming or rather lack of because other PS3 games let you control analog DS3 buttons properly, only PS3 game I know where it feels like an on /off switch is GT5P, very impressing...

Sixaxis controller (original) sucks so bad, it doesn't even compare to the old DS2. If you have a sixaxis get a wheel.

I believe the DS3 has had some improvements? (other than vibrate function) If it hasn't, then get a wheel.

GT4 was easier and the DS2 was a better controller in almost every way. I would recommend getting a DFGT or something for GT5, it will be much better than the pad.

 

[blademask]

I'm with the wheelers on this one. GT4 seemed to be way more balanced for the controller input, but now it seems too imprecise to be used to drive. For a while I was a controller jockey, but once I tried a wheel I really saw that you can barely do input, and the vehicle acts accordingly.

Every turn isn't a drift anymore, acceleration is calm and firm, braking is just amazing with a real pedal under your foot, you'd find most people slam on the brakes with the controller, but GT really turns alive when you use the right input, the response is so amazing I doubt you'd think a game would have the 1:1 interaction, but it really does.

I've found driving slower just gets such better results than the breakneck-snappy controller handeling. HARD left HARD right, never slight.. then..even less slight.

The sense of speed is good. I loved GT3/GT4, and im just as in love with 5 because the basic driving inputs/corrections still apply to physic laws.

 

[TorqueHappenS08]

GT5p was made for a wheel, Only with that can you really discover the true strengths of GT5p. i was in your shoes before, just had bought GT5p, was not impressed with it on a controller became very dissapointed, read forums and reviews about how it completely changes on a wheel... Bit the bullet and spent 150$ on new DFGT from best buy, took it home, set it up,mounted it to my desk in front of my tv and computer, went to options, set every thing to max, went to garage, picked a corvette Z06, went to suzuka time trial, set the physics to professional, driving aids all off,set it to manual, took 1 lap with my mouth wide opened.. ended up doing 10 laps with out even knowing. GT5p with a wheel is that good. it didn't change the feel... it completely transformed the whole game, even driving a stock capucino was fun.

 

[phil_2001]

Isn't PC sims physics floaty and even more so than GT5P? rFactor games etc. And all those PC sim racing enthusiasts will tell you that Gran Turismo isn't a true simulator. Or is it maybe because of the options(car adjustments) and not the actual driving physics? Beats me..

GT4 is very fun, but what if it's not realistic as GT5P is trying to be and I am not talking car adjustment options here like in PC sims, actual driving physics? In real life ONLY sports cars feel stiff and fun on even roads. I come from moldova, a country where roads are very bad even in the capital city(most of them). You have no idea how good cars like the latest BMW 5 serries hate uneven roads, roads with holes all over the place, it almost feels like a junk car with unpleasant sounds coming from its suspension whenever it will hit a hole on the tarmac, or a bump, or something. However when you get it on good roads it drives amazingly soft and you cannot feel anything, it's like floating above the ground and the car is focused like a bullet.. that's what I like about the BMW that is feels sporty and fun to drive.

 

[BolgOfThe North]

Buy a wheel and practice more.

 

[danthespaceman]

Buy a wheel and practice more.

Buy a wheel? I'm seriously considering it.

Practice more? How is this gonna help me feel the feedback I'm looking for?

 

[Hugo Boss]

Buy a wheel? I'm seriously considering it.

Practice more? How is this gonna help me feel the feedback I'm looking for?

It won't. With a wheel the driving will be much more involving, but the feedback you're looking for simply isn't there in GT5P. You cannot feel the tires rubbing when you understeer in a corner, only the steering becomes a bit lighter.
However, if you take the time to master the wheel, it's seriously worth the investment. When using N or S tires, your throttle and steering input need to be very delicate if you want to go fast, just as in a real car.

 

[Lernatix]

About a month ago I bought a new ps3 along with GT5P to tie me over until the full version of Gran Turismo 5.
Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying?

Welcome to the club.
I was there 2, nearly 3 years ago. (longer? feels like it)
Whatever you do, don't come and bitch here when your
bored of the beta demo you paid $$$ for that is no longer
supported or updated. Mods won't like it.
Enjoy the game while you can.
I bet you eject it before GT5 is released but.

 

[danthespaceman]

Welcome to the club.
I was there 2, nearly 3 years ago. (longer? feels like it)
Whatever you do, don't come and bitch here when your
bored of the beta demo you paid $$$ for that is no longer
supported or updated. Mods won't like it.
Enjoy the game while you can.
I bet you eject it before GT5 is released but.

That's a little harsh. I never said I was bored with the game - and if I was, I wouldn't be wasting my time on here talking about it. I was only ever interested in hearing if other people had similar first impressions of after years on GT4 - or if it was just me. Turns out I wasn't alone, and after some discussion, I've decided to take a lot of people's advice and invest in a wheel.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Welcome to the club.
I was there 2, nearly 3 years ago. (longer? feels like it)
Whatever you do, don't come and bitch here when your
bored of the beta demo you paid $$$ for that is no longer
supported or updated. Mods won't like it.
Enjoy the game while you can.
I bet you eject it before GT5 is released but.

Huh??