I disagree Yamauchi on the latest...

[serversurfer]

Then at TGS 09, he said they only started on damage in the last 2 months and that what we have seen in the demo is what they have managed to do in 2 months …

What gets me is, they didn't start doing work on damage until a few months ago …

He said what was shown at TGS represented two months of work, but he didn't say when that work was completed. There's a subtle, but very important distinction there.

Billy points out they were trying different damage models "a few years ago" to see which one worked best. Perhaps they had three they were trying to pick from. They spent two months working on each of the three. They then decided the model we saw at TGS was the best choice. They then shelved the code until the game was nearing completion and it was time to finish it up to get it ready for the final build, and used TGS to go ahead and show us what they had so far.

In short, yes, it took two months to make it, but that does not mean they only started on it two months ago.

It is possible it was only started two months ago? Well, anything is possible, but the interview(s) Billy mentioned would seem to indicate work was started long ago. It's also possible their test cases each had two weeks of work, and the other six weeks of work came after they decided this was the way to go. Again, these six additional weeks could've been put in piecemeal over the course of several years, or they could've all been done in a row, starting two months ago or two years ago.

 

[SuperCobraJet]

I played GT3 non-stop for 3 years, did several careers from scratch, tried and raced every car that game featured. I played GT4 for about 3 months, shelved it in the summer of 2005 and never looked back.

I very much had this same reaction to GT4 the first time I played it.

It was so different and of such a larger scope from GT3, it was hard to embrace.

I didn't really warm up to it until my third or fourth game, all of which were in various percentages of completion, after having started and stopped several times.

I finally began to get into it and really enjoy and appreciate it.
Then once I became intriqued by the A-spec pts. part of it, it easily took first place from GT3 as my all-time most played game.

In short, I can't deny GT4 was BIGGER then GT3. But I can firmly say that, from my point of view, as a "racing games gamer" it wasn't BETTER.

Initially, within the first six mos. or so I probably would have agreed with this statement.

However at this point, I must say it is "bigger" and for me "better".

 

[Tenacious D]

Those who say that GT3 was the better game (for them) just mystify me. The only thing I recall as better in GT3 is that you could spin out your cars. Maybe drifting was easier, I don't know. But just off the top of my head,

• More than three times as many cars - yes, including Skylines. Excellent inclusions.
• Many more tracks, a few old tracks returned, including a magnificent Nurburgring.
• Used cars returned.
• More detailed car and track models, and better graphics all the way round.
• Physics improved: cars "felt" more massive and substantial, better feedback with a DF Pro wheel, better tires, front wheel drive cars handled more like front wheel drive cars, mid-engined cars didn't handle like front-engined cars, etc.
• More modification options.
• Photo Mode is simply brilliant.

And I'm sure there are more, but I'd like to get on with my day.

 

[RedBaron]

I loved GT4 and spent about 2 intensive years with it and then only occasionally on parties with friends and two steering wheels but have to agree that like a game it was worse than GT3 for me. It was not motivating to complete all those sunday cups and many other events with badly balanced competition and after appearing of fact that there actually is oversteer, but only with N-grade tyres, rest of my GT4 life sustained from Nordschleife and RUF/Zonda/any BMW time trials with N2's...