It's now March; where is our promised community update?

[eSZee]

It's sounding like everyone in this thread has just given up. Why has everyone given up?

To be fair, no one official told us we would get anything last night. They do still have a couple days to deliver on their promise.

 

[Tier 2 Racing]

Then they would have to develop and update on 2 platforms simultaneously, from what I understand of the differences between PS3 and PS4 coding. That's just not sustainable for such a small production team. Which would not, then, bode well for the PS3 side of the fence.

Someone tried something like this in 1941, it was a mistake.

 

[Bremsbacke]

The really important news we get every week are those wonderful PD`s Public Relation Clips with big announcements and fantastic "visions", always with great sounds, millions of colours and wonderful dreams. And hey, I love watching two-minute-trailers, don`t you?

Who cares about boring silly contents...?

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

Gran Trollismo 6
The Real Expectation Simulator.

I thought GT's unofficial affectionate name was "The Real Waiting Simulator".

 

[Griffith500]

I think you're looking too far into this...

Most people just seem to want advertised features, or news of there whereabouts. True to form, Polyphony have given no dates or real information on these features since release. Funnily enough , they were much more talkative about the subject before they had my money...

And that's perfectly fine, mostly because I want that too. 👍

The conversation, for me, warranted discussion of the potential consequences of coveting a "democratic" development method, that's all.

Also, that last line really oughtn't surprise anyone. Imagine if Sony suddenly releases a big apologetic ... thing, then all those people who were more or less ignorant of any issues (that your typical "fan" is probably too aware of by now), including potential customers, might suddenly become aware of the issues they previously didn't care about, and be up in arms about it because that's what gamers do, and they are real gamers now of course.

The "casuals" are the real majority. Best not to stir the nest? Just a guess.

 

[mister dog]

I thought GT's unofficial affectionate name was "The Real Waiting Simulator".

The real "future update" simulator last i heard.

 

[Alss]

That is a terrible outlook to have. would you not attempt avert a disaster or save someones life? You would rather watch terrible things happen needlessly? I for one cant just sit back and watch GT die a slow agonizing death.
Maybe you watch too much startrek cause the Prime Directive does not apply here on earth.

Bit extreme the guy Is talking about a game not a persons life the two are not even remotely related.

 

[Griffith500]

The real "future update" simulator last i heard.

Technically it's possible.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Bottom line is how much do you like your racing sims?
Personally I only put any serious time into racing sims, im not that bothered about other titles.
So for not a lot more cash you can get a Pc instead of a Ps4, Xbox1 then you have access to titles that knock the spots off GT and FM. Such as :

Assetto Corsa
Project Cars
RFactor2

Well from what I hear AC is not complete, P Cars is at least 6 months away and RFactor2 doesn't do much for me. P Cars looks like it may be the ticket when it gets released, we'll see. As of right now none of those compare to GT or FM and I do have a good PC and had one before I bought the PS2, 3 or 360. Problem is there is no versions of these games for the PC so console it is.

Most PC sims have no real offline mode and most of them have no car collecting aspect nor even upgrades, just race in whatever you want. So while the driving is good the game is limited to a great extent and missing many of the things I like about GT and FM.

 

[Streeto]

Ok so whos gonna start posting countdown posts until todays possible update?

It's well into the 26th in Japan now, the so-called "source" said the 25th, so don't expect anything.

Maybe we'll see something near the end of the week.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Weird train of thought you got there; so because people can adjust the game to very easy with assists on if they wish, there are no hard races? Try the event list with all aids off and sim steering in FM4 and you'll realize the races against the AI are quite challenging indeed. Even the career mode is a bit more challenging. GT has the worst, most artificial and easiest offline racing of any racing game nowadays. This whole start from the back and chase the rabbit thing is just a smokescreen to cover that up a little.

The point is that you can make any race as easy as pie on Forza. In GT there are some races that many will find very hard to win and will very likely become a better driver for it on Forza they will just turn down the settings, use rewind as needed and win without learning anything.

I really dislike the career mode in Forza 3 and even more in Forza 4, 2 was much better.

Depends on your priorities. For car collecting and physic purposes i would agree, but if you want tight racing there are many alternatives available that do offer that particular fun factor people seek.

Yes I like car collecting, modding. tuning as well as racing and not just race cars.

What other console game could compare even without the collecting aspect? I really can't think of any, only PC sims and they have no collecting, career, modding at all.

 

[Swagger897]

Yes PD has been late before, many times at that. But if you feel that PD is ripping you off, file a lawsuit or sue them for not getting done on time if you have such a problem with it. You see, some of us do other things besides playing this game. I go to work, eat, sleep, pay bills, spend time with my friends and family, and much more. I could care less if a feature is delayed, I have better things to do with my life than playing video games and wait for something to come out. It's not just PD being "late", there are many other games in the market that are "unfinished" or "late" as well. New features are exciting and it will be really cool when they come out, but if they are delayed and I will say it again, I have other things to do right now.

I'll let you know we all in this forum do the same (maybe not all yet) as you, including myself. However, you aren't the first person I've seen on this forum evade a question by bringing up personal complications...

I simply stated after you wittingly defended PD in your original post that PD cannot be called late for prior instances.... Including this "upcoming" update. I asked you how do you explain PD being late for over a month and a half for the last "update" and you are defending them by not calling them late/tardy/unloyal to their customers.

I paid the $60 bucks just like you did, but I paid it for prior experiences with the game, where updates were relatively on time, and a PR was formally given before the update, and after. There was nothing really late with the last iteration other than release. They only were unable to develop the features most of the community wanted in time.

It was a simple question as how do you explain that the January update won't be reminiscent of this future "update"...

 

[sumbrownkid]

Ok guys I got my calender marked for February 28th of 2015. I got a good feeling!

 

[mister dog]

The point is that you can make any race as easy as pie on Forza. In GT there are some races that many will find very hard to win and will very likely become a better driver for it on Forza they will just turn down the settings, use rewind as needed and win without learning anything.

I really dislike the career mode in Forza 3 and even more in Forza 4, 2 was much better.



Yes I like car collecting, modding. tuning as well as racing and not just race cars.

What other console game could compare even without the collecting aspect? I really can't think of any, only PC sims and they have no collecting, career, modding at all.

For your cup of tea IMO Forza 4 is much much better than GT. It has the collecting aspect also but of more desirable cars, it has good physics when all aids are off + better racing with fixed starts and spec type events (not a bunch of different cars thrown together just because they happen to have the same PP level like in GT); yes one can make it easy on himself but the choice is up to the player and you get rewarded with more credits if you play harder for the purpose of collecting those cars. You can also design or buy liveries, it has a second hand market online with the auction house which makes GT5's UCD look pathetic...

Overall a more finished and better thought out car collecting/racing game than GT5 or GT6 for that matter.

 

[Griffith500]

Heh, just happened across an old interview with Kaz, makes for interesting reading in hindsight:

It still shocks us how amazing Gran Turismo 3 looks alongside more recent next-gen racers, its astonishing, near-photo realistic sheen as impressive as ever. But beneath the series' façade of shimmering beauty lies a game of unprecedented precision, with each GT title offering an uncanny recreation of what it's actually like to race some of the world's greatest automobiles.

But the fourth instalment of the globally respected series is set to enter uncharted territory, making the onerous - though much longed for - leap into online. But although by all accounts GT4 will be the most accurate videogame racer in history, but that does not automatically equate to a life-changing online experience.

Developer Polyphony Digital, headed by the masterful Kazunori Yamauchi, was on hand at E3 last week to present the game - in playable form - to the world for the very first time. And after a thrilling demonstration, we were lucky enough to grab some time Kazunori, alongside select members of the press, to delve deeper into PS2's biggest game.

Open and frank throughout, Kazunori discussed the heated car damage issue, explained the myriad problems facing his online dreams and his goals to build a mighty GT community. Without further ado, here's the full transcript:

Will there be any car damage in Gran Turismo 4? Surely the more realistic the game gets the more a lack of damage sticks out like a sore thumb, undermining this realism?

Kazunori: The simple answer to your question is: no. We are not planning to include any visual car damage. However, we are considering something, although we are not 100 percent sure... For instance, you saw the Grand Canyon course with the car running close to the ridges of the canyon?

If the driver messes up and misses the course, we might show the car jumping off the cliff, but we won't show it falling into pieces at the bottom. We're still considering that and we don't know how far we can go with it.

Instead of visual damage, we are considering some kind of a penalty system in which players will be penalised for trying to run corners along a wall, as they did in Gran Turismo 3 for instance. Also, pushing against opponents' cars, again seen in previous GT titles, will be penalised. We're currently trying to find the best solution.

Do you foresee a time when you will be able to include car damage in a GT game?

Kazunori: One of the reasons it would be difficult to include damage is that, because Gran Turismo is a real driving simulator, we would have to consider damage to be real. I have dome experiments, and a very high percentage - maybe 80 percent - of crashes in Gran Tursimo will cause the car to fall into pieces maybe two inches big.

Current specifications of the hardware will not allow us to represent this fully. If the specs are higher, then maybe, but then again, there are also other issues with manufacturers, licence issues and so forth, which keep us from doing this. There are many hurdles we must jump over.

It's not all manufacturers, but there is a trend generally speaking that manufacturers have become a little bit more lenient towards the direction we would like to head, in terms of allowing for damage on cars in games.

You do see that in other games - there are ways - it's just that with the range of cars we have, it's more difficult.

Will GT4 be the last PS2 game you make?

Kazunori: Maybe! [laughs]

Can you highlight what got you into cars and making car games in the first place?

Kazunori: There's no specific incident in my life that triggered the passion. I feel it's an instinct a lot of boys have - it's just natural for boys to like cars and that's where it stems from.

And are there any other racing games which have inspired you during your career?

Kazunori: One of them is Winning Run by Namco and also Microprose Grand Prix.

Can you tell us a little more about the online side of things?

Kazunori: With online, the reason why you haven't heard much is that there isn't much we can talk about, unfortunately. But my main area of interest is not actually the racing element of online, for instance, where people will compete against each other online. My main interest is to find a setting where players can come to share knowledge of cars - just car talk. Car talk is endless: you can talk about tyres, you can talk about oil, car parts, modification... "I did this! Was it good?" "Yeah, it's alright, but I tried this!"

This kind of communication is what I value the most and would like to implement somehow in the online segment.

What about a kind of online garage where you can buy, sell and trade motors?

Kazunori: Technically it's possible, but we're currently in the middle of examining all of our options.

Will you offer voice communication via the USB headset?

Kazunori: During racing? No, because Gran Turismo 4 uses the specs of the system to the max. Unless you would be happy settling for a 30fps frame rate? But I'm sure no-one wants that.

How about beforehand? When I played before, I picked an interesting looking car, but couldn't see what the other player did, who just picked the fastest of them all creating a real mismatch.

Kazunori: What you've brought to our attention is absolutely right, but that is only because we were very limited in time preparing for E3. For the finished game, there will be a system in place so that players know what each other has chosen, otherwise it wouldn't be fair.

I think most of you will have experienced the demo downstairs and noticed in some of the online competitions that you might see an opponent car in front of you moving a little bit awkwardly. This is a technology problem due to latency and cannot be eliminated 100 percent.

But the team is very, very smart and knows what it's doing. They know the problems, but they also know the solutions. It's just that due to the network, there are hurdles they cannot overcome. So you will always see that, and the further you are away from someone, the more "off" that will be. If you're closer it's not that bad.

There are so many areas we need to study if we're to say we're comfortable with where we're going. The biggest problem for me is that the images that players see will no longer be the standard of Gran Turismo, and that's the greatest concern for me we have in terms of taking the game online.

I don't think that problem will ever be solved. No matter how hard the team studies the programming side of the game, there will always be a network-related problem in which the quality of the gameplay will be decreased when seen in relation to the potential of the rest of the game.

Being the perfectionist that I am, this will always be a problem in my mind, and I will have to continue examining it.

Maybe if this were another game - no specific names - it might not be such a significant point. But because it's Gran Turismo and because of the quality we've had, once we take the online step, we're afraid it won't be the Gran Turismo that we all know. That's not the way we would like to move forward.

Considering its accuracy, have you ever thought about commercial uses for Gran Tursimo in the sense of teaching people to drive particular cars, or will it always be a game for entertainment purposes?

Kazunori: We have been approached by a number of car manufacturers and we are looking into some of those possibilities, but we haven't actually taken the step into taking action in terms of creating some kind of training simulator.

We're not as interested as the manufacturers at this point.

Taken from here.

Contrast with this.

Just killing time...

 

[elston87]

To be fair, no one official told us we would get anything last night. They do still have a couple days to deliver on their promise.

Yeah, I'm at least expecting one update every month, as said during the launch party event if I remember correctly, even if it takes until the very end of the month. If the update is delayed, I'm perfectly fine so long as they inform us that they're having issues with rolling it out~

That scenario with the Red Bull X Challenge caused quite the pandemic...

Edit: @Griffith500 Thanks for the interesting read~

 

[Mubble]

Let's all hack the game again. That seemed to get Kaz's attention last time!

 

[Griffith500]

Let's all hack the game again. That seemed to get Kaz's attention last time!

Ironically, that could be complicating things for them if they are attempting a "fix", since it's already happening.

 

[grashopper]

Let's all hack the game again. That seemed to get Kaz's attention last time!

Yes...more time trying to stop hacks and less time giving us features and content!

 

[Th3Juggernaut]

well I didn't hear the word promise and there was no oath signed in blood so any videos like that have to be inadmissible conjecture along with all the other 'official' stuff lol

 

[Tier 2 Racing]

Heh, just happened across an old interview with Kaz, makes for interesting reading in hindsight:

Taken from here.

Contrast with this.

Just killing time...

Cool. That was from a different time indeed. May of '03, man, you're making me all nostalgic.

It may be a cliche, but, it is all too true and may very well be the same for this fanchise. "Victory is what has defeated you."

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

For your cup of tea IMO Forza 4 is much much better than GT. It has the collecting aspect also but of more desirable cars, it has good physics when all aids are off + better racing with fixed starts and spec type events (not a bunch of different cars thrown together just because they happen to have the same PP level like in GT); yes one can make it easy on himself but the choice is up to the player and you get rewarded with more credits if you play harder for the purpose of collecting those cars. You can also design or buy liveries, it has a second hand market online with the auction house which makes GT5's UCD look pathetic...

Overall a more finished and better thought out car collecting/racing game than GT5 or GT6 for that matter.

Trust me I know all about Forza, I own a 360, Fanatec Elite wheel and Forza 2, 3 and 4.

One major issue with FM is that the PI is all over the place when you change the trans and many cars have a very poor and unrealistic stock gear then they charge you 10-30PI for changing it where some other cars they actually reduce the PI when you add a fully customizable gearbox making many of the cars totally outclassed at every PI level. Pontiacs for example, every one of them have a messed up gear box.

The offline mode in Forza is just lame as all get out and is far to long. If it were not for online racing and leaderboards I would not own any of the Forza titles. Forza 2 is much much better than Forza 4 both online and off. Credits are very easy to get in Forza 4, there is no need to play the offline mode at all beyond the first race. It is much better to race in some of the rivals events [not the track day nonsense, those give a whole new meaning to the phrase "horrible AI"] or just create an online lobby, you have more fun, drive whatever you want with your friends or by yourself if you like.

If I were to play an old game at this point it would be Forza 2 because of the games that have modern day graphics it is the best out there and even now you can still get some good racing in a custom public lobby on it.

If not for the outdated graphics I would be loading up NFS Porsche Unleashed and run through it with my wheel setup but the graphics are to hard to look at now and the game does not run well under XP and later.

 

[Imari]

In GT there are some races that many will find very hard to win and will very likely become a better driver for it on Forza they will just turn down the settings, use rewind as needed and win without learning anything.

God forbid people should be able to choose how they play the game. They don't know how they should be playing the game, the developers should tell them.

 

[Devil240Z]

Trust me I know all about Forza, I own a 360, Fanatec Elite wheel and Forza 2, 3 and 4.

One major issue with FM is that the PI is all over the place when you change the trans and many cars have a very poor and unrealistic stock gear then they charge you 10-30PI for changing it where some other cars they actually reduce the PI when you add a fully customizable gearbox making many of the cars totally outclassed at every PI level. Pontiacs for example, every one of them have a messed up gear box.

The offline mode in Forza is just lame as all get out and is far to long. If it were not for online racing and leaderboards I would not own any of the Forza titles. Forza 2 is much much better than Forza 4 both online and off. Credits are very easy to get in Forza 4, there is no need to play the offline mode at all beyond the first race. It is much better to race in some of the rivals events [not the track day nonsense, those give a whole new meaning to the phrase "horrible AI"] or just create an online lobby, you have more fun, drive whatever you want with your friends or by yourself if you like.

If I were to play an old game at this point it would be Forza 2 because of the games that have modern day graphics it is the best out there and even now you can still get some good racing in a custom public lobby on it.

If not for the outdated graphics I would be loading up NFS Porsche Unleashed and run through it with my wheel setup but the graphics are to hard to look at now and the game does not run well under XP and later.

For me the single player in forza was all I liked. I love that you can get WHATEVER car you want and do many many races with it in campaign. Where in GT you might get a few you can do with each car you like.

 

[Devil240Z]

If the update isn't today then something really is really wrong.

 

[pakiman740]

NOOOO HE WASNT READY

 

[Mulan]

My fears are getting true, PS3 users are stalling true development of the game...or should i say, thirst for fast cash and alot of ps3 users just not saving up money for the real deal.
If they just skipped all ps3 nonsence, and ps3 users getting their hopes up that PD would do a miracle. But i guess the result is clear. PS4 users unhappy. PS3 users unhappy. I bet not what they wanted but that is what they got and i bet they are just regretting saying yes somewhere along the way.Most important must be what the ps4 users feel...they are the future!

 

[bscar27]

I bet the update will come on February 29th 👍

 

[wowbaggerBR]

I, for one, can't wait to see how amusingly complex the bugs implemented by 1.05 will be.

 

[CJSpencer77]

Well from what I hear AC is not complete, P Cars is at least 6 months away and RFactor2 doesn't do much for me. P Cars looks like it may be the ticket when it gets released, we'll see. As of right now none of those compare to GT or FM and I do have a good PC and had one before I bought the PS2, 3 or 360. Problem is there is no versions of these games for the PC so console it is.

Most PC sims have no real offline mode and most of them have no car collecting aspect nor even upgrades, just race in whatever you want. So while the driving is good the game is limited to a great extent and missing many of the things I like about GT and FM.

Rfactor 2 is great and available right now

Assetto is out now as a beta, last time I looked its meant to be finished early this summer.

And Pcars is out in November

None of these have the car collecting aspects of the Gt games, so i guess it comes down to what you want from your sim, personally I hate grinding offline, im only interested in racing online with friends, this is where I get my kicks, I hate having to do offline events with the terrible AI so I can afford cars ( I did the money glitch as soon as I could ) .

But I own all 3 of these titles and when it comes down to it in terms of graphics and physics to say Gt and FM are better seems crazy to me, what gt does have is a great community and variety that these other titles dont yet have, so it all boils down to how much the flaws in gt bother you or not, pit stops being broken for months along with all the other stuf such as the RA menu still not working and Pd changing the brakes/physics every other patch, and still not delivering half the features that are printed on the box the game comes in. For me and most of my league friends we will be finishing our current season on gt6 and then we will be moving on to Rfactor 2 until Assetto releases fully.

I will always remember gt fondly, for 3 years T.A.M league had some great races on gt and I honestly hope pd sort gt out for all us gt fans, but the truth is gt6 looks like a bag full of broken promises, where in fact gt5 was more of a complete article.

P.s. im honestly not whinning, im simply voting with my feet.