- 112
- United States
Since I got GTS in October of 2017, I've been focusing almost entirely on online racing. My goal was to eventually get a DR of A. I felt like that would satisfy my racing ego, especially since I am using a controller instead of a wheel. So when I finally achieved my goal, I was sort of able to relax and explore other aspects of the game without feeling I was wasting my time. Since then, my new "hobby" has been taking cars out on the Nürburgring 24h.
Normally, I tended to avoid the gargantuan and complicated Nürburgring 24h. Very few online races took place there, so I did not see it as the best use of my time. But since I've started taking cars out on it, I've been having more fun than ever playing GTS. I think this can be explained mostly by my change in mindset. When my focus was on online racing, it was all about competing and optimizing my performance. This meant driving the same cars on the same tracks over and over again which can get pretty monotonous. It also meant steeling my nerves for the online races: Worrying about having a competitive qualifying time; worrying about getting rammed in the first turn; worrying about making a tiny mistake on the last lap that ruins your entire race; it could get pretty stressful. But now my mind is more geared towards the driving experience itself, and that has allowed me to have A LOT of fun testing cars on the Nürburgring 24h.
One of my favorite things about this new hobby is testing out a wide range of cars. Instead of doing twenty or thirty laps a day in the same car, I now do about five laps a day in three or four different cars. My focus lately has been on street legal supercars in the N1000 to N400 range: La Ferrari, Vulcan, Huracan, 650S, F40, etc. This has been a welcome change of pace from driving Gr.3 and Gr. 4 race cars all the time. The thing I love most about driving these cars are their distinct personalities. Unlike highly tuned race cars that are BOP, you can really feel the differences between cars within classes and between classes. And because I'm not obsessing over optimizing my time, I can maximize my sense of immersion by driving from the cockpit view.
Another thing I love about driving around the Nürburgring 24h is the course itself. Most online races take place on relatively short tracks that contain a preponderance of smooth, symmetric turns and long straightaways with wide margins of error. But the Nürburgring 24h is a glorious mess of irregularities, jagged edges, and rapid changes in elevation that occur within an unforgivably narrow asphalt. In order to perform well on the Nürburgring 24h, you have to think on your toes.
All this has caused me to remember something about when I first started playing Gran Turismo as a kid. Games are meant to have fun. The increasingly competitive aspect of online gaming can obscure that truth at times. And this can show in how we discuss the game on social media and forums like this. Most of the time, the discussion is very critical and combative. Sometimes we need to just relax and remember that driving and racing is about enjoyment and shared interests. Regardless of how good you are at GTS, we all love cars in some way. I was hoping this thread could be used to have more relaxed discussions about driving and racing.
So to set the tone, I thought I would give my quick impressions of some of the cars I've been driving:
LaFerrari: This is the only N1000 car I own. And it is one of the most challenging cars to drive, in my experience. It feels like you could lose control of it at any moment, especially when it is accelerating aggressively through its fourth gear. I find myself feathering the throttle throughout most of the track just to keep the wheels from spinning/slipping too much. I also have to make sure not to turn the wheels too aggressively or sharply, since it is so responsive and powerful.
650S: My favorite car to drive around the track so far. What the 650S lacks in raw power, it makes up for in sheer control. I always feel like the car is under me and responding at a rate that is neither too fast nor too slow. With the 650S, I can jam on the accelerator without any worry that the car will come unglued as long as I maintain reasonable positioning relative to my acceleration. Tons of fun and surprisingly fast around the track.
I'll leave it at that for now, but I will add more thoughts on the cars I'm driving later.
Feel free to add your own casual views and thoughts on everything driving related. Just try to keep things relaxed.
Also, once I've thoroughly tested out the supercars, I'll make a list of which ones are the fastest around the track. Obviously, the list isn't authoritative or anything. The results vary depending on the driver. But I figure I'm a decent baseline. However, I probably won't be posting the times because that will tempt people to become critical which is something I'm trying to avoid. I think the list will have value because I always see people in my GTS Facebook group asking questions about which cars are the "best". The list will allow them to get an idea of where each car sits on the performance hierarchy. Maybe other members of that group could point them to this thread as a quick reference.
Normally, I tended to avoid the gargantuan and complicated Nürburgring 24h. Very few online races took place there, so I did not see it as the best use of my time. But since I've started taking cars out on it, I've been having more fun than ever playing GTS. I think this can be explained mostly by my change in mindset. When my focus was on online racing, it was all about competing and optimizing my performance. This meant driving the same cars on the same tracks over and over again which can get pretty monotonous. It also meant steeling my nerves for the online races: Worrying about having a competitive qualifying time; worrying about getting rammed in the first turn; worrying about making a tiny mistake on the last lap that ruins your entire race; it could get pretty stressful. But now my mind is more geared towards the driving experience itself, and that has allowed me to have A LOT of fun testing cars on the Nürburgring 24h.
One of my favorite things about this new hobby is testing out a wide range of cars. Instead of doing twenty or thirty laps a day in the same car, I now do about five laps a day in three or four different cars. My focus lately has been on street legal supercars in the N1000 to N400 range: La Ferrari, Vulcan, Huracan, 650S, F40, etc. This has been a welcome change of pace from driving Gr.3 and Gr. 4 race cars all the time. The thing I love most about driving these cars are their distinct personalities. Unlike highly tuned race cars that are BOP, you can really feel the differences between cars within classes and between classes. And because I'm not obsessing over optimizing my time, I can maximize my sense of immersion by driving from the cockpit view.
Another thing I love about driving around the Nürburgring 24h is the course itself. Most online races take place on relatively short tracks that contain a preponderance of smooth, symmetric turns and long straightaways with wide margins of error. But the Nürburgring 24h is a glorious mess of irregularities, jagged edges, and rapid changes in elevation that occur within an unforgivably narrow asphalt. In order to perform well on the Nürburgring 24h, you have to think on your toes.
All this has caused me to remember something about when I first started playing Gran Turismo as a kid. Games are meant to have fun. The increasingly competitive aspect of online gaming can obscure that truth at times. And this can show in how we discuss the game on social media and forums like this. Most of the time, the discussion is very critical and combative. Sometimes we need to just relax and remember that driving and racing is about enjoyment and shared interests. Regardless of how good you are at GTS, we all love cars in some way. I was hoping this thread could be used to have more relaxed discussions about driving and racing.
So to set the tone, I thought I would give my quick impressions of some of the cars I've been driving:
LaFerrari: This is the only N1000 car I own. And it is one of the most challenging cars to drive, in my experience. It feels like you could lose control of it at any moment, especially when it is accelerating aggressively through its fourth gear. I find myself feathering the throttle throughout most of the track just to keep the wheels from spinning/slipping too much. I also have to make sure not to turn the wheels too aggressively or sharply, since it is so responsive and powerful.
650S: My favorite car to drive around the track so far. What the 650S lacks in raw power, it makes up for in sheer control. I always feel like the car is under me and responding at a rate that is neither too fast nor too slow. With the 650S, I can jam on the accelerator without any worry that the car will come unglued as long as I maintain reasonable positioning relative to my acceleration. Tons of fun and surprisingly fast around the track.
I'll leave it at that for now, but I will add more thoughts on the cars I'm driving later.
Feel free to add your own casual views and thoughts on everything driving related. Just try to keep things relaxed.
Also, once I've thoroughly tested out the supercars, I'll make a list of which ones are the fastest around the track. Obviously, the list isn't authoritative or anything. The results vary depending on the driver. But I figure I'm a decent baseline. However, I probably won't be posting the times because that will tempt people to become critical which is something I'm trying to avoid. I think the list will have value because I always see people in my GTS Facebook group asking questions about which cars are the "best". The list will allow them to get an idea of where each car sits on the performance hierarchy. Maybe other members of that group could point them to this thread as a quick reference.
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