How do you guys get gold in the Licences

[BadBatsuMaru]

For some people, just passing them is enough. I do try and not be hard on myself (*recommended for others*). I remember that first game. Whew. GT1. Man. Took me LOTS of learning just to pass them.

There's certainly no need to get gold, especially when simply passing the license tests can get you 5 free cars before you start the main part of the game.

Most of the tests are really useful, though, and while some golds are a definite challenge, the bronze times seem much easier on GT4 than they were on GT3. I've gotten bronze on several 1-lap tests the very first time I ran it, which seems pretty lame to me for tracks I've never even seen before. For most of the full-lap tests I have to say that you simply don't know the track if you can't get silver. You have to learn how to drive sooner or later if you want the game to be any fun, so you might as well give yourself a little challenge and try to at least get all silver and get 5 more cars.

Like you said, when you got GT1 it took work just to pass the tests at first. That's exactly the way it was for me, and it's pretty cool that the GT series actually makes you pass tests to get to most of the events.

There are a lot of people who get pissed off by even having to get bronze, but these seem more like the people who would be better off just getting a hack or someone else's gamesave to give them a ton of cash and all the licenses. They just like to buy a car then get every mod for it then look at it for awhile, enter it in a race with some grossly inferior competition, run off the road a lot and lap some people. Of course then they'd just be mad that there are cars in the game you can't just go buy at the dealer.

I guess I don't have too much of a point. Nothing wrong with not being hard on yourself, but I don't think many people with that mindset end up playing the game very long.

 

[Skant]

The weight transfer that you mention doesn't happen instantly. The front tires have grip to spare and they do start to accelerate the car and begin a weight shift backward, at the same time that the load on the outside rear tire increases toward its breaking point due to the extra power to the wheels. As you can guess, it's a balancing act. How do you manage the rate at which the weight shifts backward to balance it against the loss of traction to maintain neutral handling? Well, that's actually pretty easy -- you play with the compression strength of the rear dampers. And in fact, I can dial in oversteer or understeer at will by adjusting the damper strength -- although I'm generally aiming somewhere in the middle. (An adjustable center diff could be used to balance the car out as well, but I don't have that available to me...)

Okay. That makes sense to me. More or less. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, you were at the Atlanta ProSolo last year. Where we both got whooped by that Scirocco that I mentioned a few posts ago (and that I ended up driving at the Finale in September). Who says that FWD is inferior??? Of course, it didn't hurt that he was able to borrow a set of Dirt Stocker tires which were ideal for the wet conditions...

Heh. I was saying that FWD is inferior by nature. That doesn't mean that any particular FWD car is inferior. It might kick your butt anyway. The equation is much more complex than just the drive train alone.

And I know there are some folks who swear by FWD, and would beat me up for my opinion. And who knows... maybe they've got a point. But I haven't seen it yet.

BTW, Skant, what do you drive? (yr, Z06? etc.)

1996 Corvette LT4 Collector's Edition. It's the 'other' Grand Sport. The Collector's Edition is silver instead of blue and white. But it's otherwise the same car... more of a sleeper because it looks like a regular C4.

I don't think that's the reason. Manufacturers like FF cars because they are cheaper to build. You can combine the differential and the transmission into a single transaxle and bolt it right up to the engine. The rear tires only exist to keep the muffler from scraping the ground... The rear suspension can be extremely simple, since the wheels don't actually have to be attached to anything.

But then again, that wouldn't seem to explain everything, because the MR layout can achieve many of the same efficiencies. I used to own an MR car (a 1971 Porsche 914), and it was a pretty simple design. But engine accessibility is generally a PITA with an MR car, and mechanics usually hate working on them.

I think you're both right. FWD is popular because it's cheaper to build, generally lighter (better gas mileage), and easier/safer to drive (ie. less law suits).

MR is actually expensive to build, believe it or not. It has some of the aspects of FWD, sure (with the lack of driveline). But actually the lay out of a car doesn't lend itself to MR. Manufacturers have to go to great lengths to get the engine to fit back there in a useful way. That's why you pretty much never see any MR cars with mammoth engines in them. And there's a lot of comfort issues to be overcome when the engine is right next to the driver's head (ie. noise, vibration). Overall, as I understand it, the MR configuration is the hardest to develop as a street car.

- Skant

 

[///Marc]

Getting golds for the licenses really worths imho, and here're my steps getting there, hope they help.

1. Familiarize myself with the car / track, keep beating the ghost car until I can't improve anymore. In many cases, I only managed getting silver at this point.
2. Go study the demo (& turn on the ghost), learn where I lost time to the demo drive.
3. Retry the test, adjust my driving, just be calm and go study the demo again when needed; most of the time I got gold after sufficient practice.
4. For certain tests, however, after missing the gold time by 0.0Xs or even 0.00Xs, I would go mad and couldn't even complete the tests by hitting the wall or going off-track. From there, I would turn the ghost OFF, just to focus on driving; and in three or four tests, I got gold on my first attempt without the ghost!

Besides, I feel it's important NOT to watch the demo until I really feel I couldn't go faster; in that way, I wouldn't just "memorize" the demo driving, and it helps improving my overall skill for the later tests.

As for the Nurburgring tests IA-15 & S-16, I once had difficulties just to finish them!!! Nonetheless, after some very frustrated runs, now I realize the real key is DON'T PUSH!! You can get a gold time making a few mistakes, just don't push too hard and get off the track!

 

[JavaBrain]

Ok... I've skimmed through this entire thread and haven't found my question answered, and the moderators apparently didn't accept my new thread post, so here goes (apologies as this is just slightly off-topic):

QUESTION: If I win all gold or all silver for any given license, will the bronze car be additionally awarded, or is there no way to get the bronze car if all license races were silvered (or golded) on the first try before exitting to get the license and prize car? The only reason I ask is I sometimes try to minimize the number of days, and silvering a whole license isn't that hard, but I don't want to miss the bronze car.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jbrennen]

QUESTION: If I win all gold or all silver for any given license, will the bronze car be additionally awarded

Yes.

 

[gumpy]

Here's TML's walkthrough from http://www.goldjunkies.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=275:

B5 - Tsukuba Circuit, Full Pace Lap; Mini One '02

Before even starting this test, you should know this: you never have to use 1st gear, aside from the initial standing start. Launch between 5000 and 6000 RPM. Shift into 2nd at 40 mph, brake slightly entering turn, but coast for most of it, the car seems to behave better. Get back on full throttle (still in 2nd gear) at about 40 mph, steering out smoothly. Stay close or even on the rumbles through the quick ess turn. I recommend shifting into 3rd at about 68 mph (short of max revs.) This is because leaving it in second gear you will hit the rev limiter causing you to slow down.

Brake as late as possible heading into the hairpin, braking to about 43-44 mph, and coasting down to about 37 mph. Get back on full throttle as soon as possible (it is actually a lot sooner that you think), and try to stay as close to, without touching, that inside rumble strip on apex. Try to get over to the left side as quickly as possible after exit. This is required in order to take the quick right turn coming up at full throttle. Getting the turn-in angle correct is a little bit tricky, but after a couple of tries you should get it. Speed should drop no less than 55 mph, and if you get smooth at it you will stay at 57 mph. Once again, follow the pace car nice and smoothly through the double left turns. Shift into 3rd at 71 mph.

Just like the first turn, use coasting as much or more than braking to slow the car. Initially, brake down to about 48-52 mph, then coast down to about 40 before getting back on full throttle. As usual, try to make steering out of the turn as smooth as possible. Shift into 3rd at 71 mph. Follow as closely as you can the line of the Skyline into the final turn, however instead of braking, start coasting a fraction of a second before turning in. Coast down to about 66 mph, staying in 3rd gear, while maintaining as smooth a line as possible. Get back on full throttle at 66 mph, maintaining that smooth line. You should exit the turn just short of running onto the rumble strip. (It will slow you down. The Mini is not powerful enough to overcome the bumpiness.) If you have done this correctly, you will cross the finish line at 71-72 mph.

I finally got this one last night. I started with Auto as most tests have been possible with auto.

Got as close as 0.350 secs.

Then decided to hold it in gear until just past the redline. Not much better. Then tried everything including bashing the pace car.

Switched to manual - still got nowhere. Then I watched the demo for about the 10th time and noticed the gears he used and the fact that he had about 2-3 less gear changes than I had. So the tip above is very accurate - never drop below second gear after the first straight and for the last corner keep it in third. Do that and nail each corner and you are laughing.

 

[demon of speed]

Some of licences have the lead Skyline car on lap tests. But I can't get golds them and I've noticed that the lead doesn't finished the lap within the gold time either. How is possible to gain a gold when I can't overtake it when there are many chances?

 

[Gentry Coach]

Some of licences have the lead Skyline car on lap tests. But I can't get golds them and I've noticed that the lead doesn't finished the lap within the gold time either. How is possible to gain a gold when I can't overtake it when there are many chances?

I'm not terribly sure, but I think the pace car always tries to stay just ahead of you (2 or 3 seconds?) so the faster you go, the faster he goes.

 

[demon of speed]

That's true.

On the Nuremburg I-A 1 lap I found myself having to break at unnessesary points due to the pace car not using the straights at full speed. I would have got the gold but his constant slower driving on the straights wasted about 4 seconds for me, and I was only out by 3 seconds.

 

[Duke]

That's true.

On the Nuremburg I-A 1 lap I found myself having to break at unnessesary points due to the pace car not using the straights at full speed. I would have got the gold but his constant slower driving on the straights wasted about 4 seconds for me, and I was only out by 3 seconds.

What you have to do is stay closer up behind him through the turns. If you lag, he will slow down, meaning you catch up to him on the straights. But if you can get faster through the twisty bits, he will push harder through the whole track and you'll get faster overall times because he won't be holding back so much and you won't catch him on the straights.

 

[jbrennen]

What you have to do is stay closer up behind him through the turns. If you lag, he will slow down, meaning you catch up to him on the straights. But if you can get faster through the twisty bits, he will push harder through the whole track and you'll get faster overall times because he won't be holding back so much and you won't catch him on the straights.

You'll still have to back off at points to avoid the pace car, no matter how quick you handle the corners.

My best time on IA-15 is 8:39.542, which is over 20 seconds quicker than the gold time -- so I'm pretty fast through the twisty bits (the 'Ring is mostly twisty bits, isn't it?). On the long straight at the end, I followed the pace car at a distance of about 2 feet for quite some time -- he just won't go any faster...

 

[demon of speed]

Cheers fellas it all makes sence to me now.

 

[Prowl]

I always struggle with the licenses - In 64 tests, only 4 silver and 60 Bronze I know I need more practice, but it's pretty damn hard some of those tests...I want the GTR Concept

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Sometimes you can get lucky and crack it first go. I managed to get Gold in IA16 due to sheer luck (and a touch of bravado). I also found the easiest tests to get the Golds on were the Pace Laps (with the excepions of Citta di Aria and Amalfi) because the Pace Car takes a fairly decent line.

 

[mccfowler]

I have the Logitech Driving Force and I love it but I did come with a flaw as they all do. Yuo can only get 60% braking. Watch the replay and see. I found a web site that had a fix for it. I modified it and now it works properly. Get a wheel. It rules. The experience of driving is much better.
As for all Gold I did it in GT3. I thought at first when I got the licences that it would be impossible. When I got 100% in the game and wanted something new to do I went back to them. I started on the B licence and found that after just a couple tries I could do it. It caused me to keep trying to beet more. I'll admit it took 2 hours for some of the harder ones but it was worth the challenge. Keep trying. You'll get it eventually.