Humble pie never tasted so good!

[TokyoDrift]

I've ranted and moaned about many aspects of this game/demo/time trial. Regarding the graphics, control via pad, and general technical performance relative to Prologue, I am still disappointed. However...

I put some time aside to learn the course and get to grips with how the car (tuned version) behaves. Soon I was able to put in consistent lap times. Not fast lap times by any stretch, but at least consistent. You are definitely rewarded with smooth driving, but severely punished with bad driving and incorrect lines. A bit too unbalanced still in that regard, but bearing in mind the purpose of this download, it is what it is I guess, and no different to getting a real car on a real track out of line.

So, I'm sorry for any upset caused by my rants etc. This "thing" can be fun - you just have to put more effort into it than you would otherwise relative to what most of us are used to. For that reason, I still feel the glut of negativity being thrown towards it somewhat justified. After all, most PS3 owners who like racing games, even the GT series, are not what you would call "sim racers". With more assists available, I'm sure it will all come good in the end.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

some good points, but I think I can hear the sound of a padlock

 

[Sphinx]

some good points, but I think I can hear the sound of a padlock

I'll leave it open for now because it takes a lot to eat humble pie and also to make an apology in public.

Quality post TokyoDrift, it certainly makes up for the past week . 👍

 

[Lain]

After all, most PS3 owners who like racing games, even the GT series, are not what you would call "sim racers".

Yes, but this demo/time trial/whatever is meant specifically for the ones who are sim racers.

Anyway, great post. I'm sure it took some balls. 👍

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

I'll leave it open for now because it takes a lot to eat humble pie and also to make an apology in public.

haha the kind of pie you'd see on "Fear Factor" haha

 

[cicohipe]

Yes, but this demo/time trial/whatever is meant specifically for the ones who are sim racers.

Anyway, great post. I'm sure it took some balls. 👍

You beat me to it. Everyone is judging this game as a demo of GT5. That is not what it is designed to be. It is designed to find the next GT academy winner/driver and the best drivers from selected countries. Bearing that in mind i think the locked professional physics and limited assists is completely justified and arguably necessary.

 

[TokyoDrift]

Cheers guys! I don't expect to make friends overnight, but just as I'm quick to speak my mind (for better, and evidently worse!), I also have no problem admitting when I'm wrong as well. In the process I've also been a bit of a prat at times I know...

Anyway, this game seems to have put me in my place - I'm never going to be the worlds fastest GT racer, but if PD really have just given us a stripped down game, where the focus is on out-and-out realism, then there is hope for the general racing populous yet. I'm definitely on the more casual side of the racing spectrum, and having enjoyed the GT series immensely thus far, I'd hate for it to swing so far the other way as to create a huge divide.

As a technical racing game to weed out all but the best for the GT Academy, I'm sure it hits the spot. As a piece of marketing, it could have shipped with a few more disclaimers and warnings

 

[FLASH48]

You beat me to it. Everyone is judging this game as a demo of GT5. That is not what it is designed to be. It is designed to find the next GT academy winner/driver and the best drivers from selected countries. Bearing that in mind i think the locked professional physics and limited assists is completely justified and arguably necessary.

100% agree with what you have said! And it still is fun, for me anyways!👍

 

[Lain]

As a technical racing game to weed out all but the best for the GT Academy, I'm sure it hits the spot. As a piece of marketing, it could have shipped with a few more disclaimers and warnings

I agree on that. Polyphony should've made sure that the people who haven't heard of GT Academy, who maybe just found the time trial on PSN and downloaded it understood that it's not entirely representative of GT5 the way everybody's going to play it.

 

[TokyoDrift]

I agree on that. Polyphony should've made sure that the people who haven't heard of GT Academy, who maybe just found the time trial on PSN and downloaded it understood that it's not entirely representative of GT5 the way everybody's going to play it.

Yeah, I'm mean there is some text that says it gives a taste of the driving experience of GT5 (or words similar to that effect). It just needed something in addition to that which warned the gamer that it uses "professional" settings by default to give both a challenge and an even playing field. But, in the final game, more assists and physics options will be available to tweak the difficulty to their liking.

Having said that, forcing people to race in professional mode is no bad thing - it certainly opened my eyes to just how detailed this game can be. Unfortunately it also opened my eyes to a whole new level of frustration too!

 

[Obli]

It's good that you have had time to reflect, TokyoDrift. PD are very frustrating. I believe that they like messing with us because they are quietly confident. I don't expect total perfection, but what will be delivered will be special, I'm sure.

I have found the demo challenging too. But it rewards in a big way with practice.

 

[Dravonic]

I knew it! It was all because you couldn't keep the car on the track!

 

[Nerra]

I was messing around on the Grid demo today as I had some friends over who wanted a go on the G25. Grid is more forgiving and arcade like so it was perfect for them. I had a few goes though and managed to knock 2 seconds off my top time due to being so much smoother on the throttle and having better lines all thanks to GT5.

GT5 is very rewarding when you start to get it right.

 

[chepe371]

Bon Appetit.

 

[TokyoDrift]

I knew it! It was all because you couldn't keep the car on the track!

Keeping the car on the track was not the problem - getting reasonable, consistent lap times was! I still stand by my opinions, but credit where credit is due - this does push the game close to it's tagline.

 

[TrievelA7X]

Keeping the car on the track was not the problem - getting reasonable, consistent lap times was! I still stand by my opinions, but credit where credit is dude - this does push the game close to it's tagline.

Practice makes perfect - just ask the guys at the top that've spent up to 30 hours in a week for nothing other than bragging rights.

 

[m00ndancer]

Good post TokyoDrift,
(Warning: slightly off topic)

I love the "demo" but are probably slower than you on the track. I'm one of those "Hardcore" simracers, always runs any game/sim without any aids unless they are
stock on the car. But when I race in our leagues I'm the mid to lower part of div 2.
We have a few "aliens" and really fast drivers in div 1. But that is in rFactor.
I'm about 4 seconds of the pace in the tuned 370 and 6 seconds off in the stock version.

And I don't have 30+ hours to spend behind the PS3. This "demo" is good, really good
despite a few tech problems. It's the way I'll be driving GT5 when it's out. That said,
I know I'm in a minority, a really small group of the GT5 users. So have faith, you will be able to customize the game to your liking. Hope to se you on track in the future.

 

[Synwraith]

Agreed, quality opening post 👍

By the time this demo had arrived I was about 18 months into GT5P and had fully adapted to driving with a G25 wheel after a history of pad use with all the previous GT games. I've managed to claw my way up to Division 1 silver in the GTP Prologue div system and always drive without aids, and can usually post competitive times on any combo.

Having said that, I have found this demo to be incredibly challenging and fiercely technical. I spent a little while on GT5P driving the 350Z stock on N3s to gain some sort of feel and while it was similarly slippery, the demo in the 370Z is certainly more of a challenge, especially with a host of tricky corners that require precision exit strategy.

At the moment in the normal car, the challenge/difficulty vs reward/enjoyment isn't at the right balance for me despite having a 1'48.8 so far (19th in UK) in the normal car. I'm just hoping it all comes together and I start to get a better grip on it as I practice more, I traditionally take a very long time to get up to speed with major changes in control mechanism (wheel) and new physics (Spec 2 to 3 to demo etc).

I will certainly agree that getting used to this set of physics/settings will improve anyone's ability and technique for playing Gran Turismo 5, and frustrating and laborious as that may be at the time (like learning the wheel was sometimes), it is ultimately worth it.

All the best
Maz

 

[irnbrutwinturbo]

Huge respect.

Perfect example of what's good about our community.

 

[TokyoDrift]

As ever, cheers guys!

Been way too busy today to put any more time in, but I'm done now for the year so will have plenty of spare time to put a few laps in I even started looking at wheels and stands, but to be honest, I'm probably not good/consistent enough to get the real benefits from such a setup, other than the added fun element. Last time I had a wheel though (Logitech DFP), I found myself worse with it overall relative to the pad, so we'll have to see.

 

[Stotty]

Really good post 👍

 

[Sphinx]

I'll leave it open for now

Time to put this to bed. 👍

Locked.