AMG.
Staff Emeritus
- 3,116
- NL, Leiden
- GTP_AMG
I thought Id install Colin Mcrea WRC 2.0 (for PC) again + the Microsoft Force Feedback Wheel.
Alas none of my 5 PCs have Win98 anymore and Gates doesnt support the wheel (drivers) anymore since 2002, thx Bill.
So I debate with myself, do I buy a PS2 or not. That actually went through my head for a couple of weeks. I quizzed colleagues on whether to buy Xbox, PS2 or Nintendo.
The Nintendo look a bit childlike so that idea was scrapped immediately. My hate love relationship with Bill decided in favour of PS2.
So there I am 30 May 2005 in a toyshop, big yellow box in hand containing a PS2 boxed together with GT4. For good measure I also throw in an 8Mb backup card and box containing the remote a 2nd DS2 and 8 Mb.
No idea what Im letting myself in to. I find out after installing the hardware and firing up the DVD.
Oh my gawd, this controller should be called an uncontroller.
Next day I buy myself a Logitech DFP.
Im sure I will get the hang of using a DS2 somewhere in the future, like I had to learn using a mouse in the dark 80s.
For now though the DFP in 200 degree mode works like a charm. 900 degrees is too much work!
I have no knowledge of GT1, 2, 3 etc, no experience at all, a real novice.
Oh f :censored:k, what ????, you mean I have to take exams to compete in a race. But in RL have a motorbike and car license, for over 20 yrs, and Ive taken various expert driving courses for both. I even went for my racing license recently.
Oh well, I might as well start somewhere so I ace all National B and A tests on my first try. Yeah dream on.
No way sir, some take me ages to get just within the reach of bronze. I look at the times I have to beat to get silver and gold. No way man, Im never going to reach that level of skill.
I remember a license test where I had to steer a Merc SLK 230 (old type) through 2 bends.
Jeez a wet towel handles better than this piece of s**t. Hit the brakes and nothing happens, I plough in to Belgium before it decides to react. I turn the wheel, and I can hear the German under the hood muttering I vill not zurn ze wiels fur u, Dutchie.
In RL I actually own and drive a new model Merc SLK AMG. It definitely handles much better than the PS2 version. Other GT4 cars I really like but they still made my life hell as I tried desperately to get Bronze.
Then I found this forum and spend hours going through numerous posts in search for the help I desperately need.
Some posts really helped me out, thx guys.
I particularly found the R3 button tip (switch on blue red stripes) for national A and B tests very helpful. This helped me to score silver on quite a few exams, and I even got 1 Gold. Wow !
The slaloms with the Beemer were, correction are, a nightmare, dont think Ill ever Silver those.
The coffee breaks are fun (for bronze). Till now I really dont understand how you guys can Gold these.
PD please give me a snowplough with 20.000 hp and a very wide plough and Ill turn your effing cones in to dust in 2 seconds. Ill score diamond ! Go suck on Gold you w**ker.
Then theres the Gymkhana track in Driving Range (I don't mean the one in coffee break), what am I supposed to do here. I see some cones laid out in a circle, that's it, yeah now what.
Definitely help needed here. (Famine to the rescue ?!)
I have now completed B, A, IB and IA and have 15 driving missions under my belt and 50% of the specials licence.
For me quite an achievement but then Ive only been playing for 6 weeks. I have a very long way to go till to get to some of the levels you lot are. But patience is on my side.
I returned to National test A6, the sponge Merc. Only to see if I can score Silver this time around.
I must admit that having played more of the game and bettering my skills have definitely made this Merc easier to handle or PD have switched my PAL version of the DVD for an upgraded one when I wasnt looking or ze Kraut zezided zo leve me alone.
In the early races I was really happy to beat the AIs in an eight-nine point race.
Now a 25-35 point race is my new benchmark. So yes, Im definitely improving.
The City Courses still give me headaches, there are too much Neon signs, buildings, lights, and blond babes in the pits distracting me from how the track runs. In NY I keep hitting the barriers at the end of the long straights. At Opera there seem to be permanent road works going on, 1 of the straights is halved in width by some red-white skirting boards. When do those Frenchies ever finish this work, or can they be found sipping wine and consuming croissants, whilst eyeing the French lasses.
PD please install big signs WARNING END OF TRACK, TURN LEFT (or Right) xxx degrees.
In SS5 there are no / hardly any streetlights so I have no idea whether turn left or right and therefore have cost that city a fortune in road barrier repairs. Which idiot runs races in the night.
My car dealers love me because after every race they can sell me a new car cause I crashed the previous one in a race in attempts to win it, no Im exaggerating there, it should read in attempts to stay on the d*mn track.
Some courses are in Reverse; why ?
I faithfully follow the white painted arrows on the road, as I was taught in RL so many, many years ago. So the arrow points left and I turn left and meet a barrier, which my car loves as it can wrap itself around a lamppost doggie style.
Turns out I should have taken a right turn instead.
This game has infiltrated in to my life in such a way that I wonder if Im still sane.
Thankfully one of my colleagues also plays GT4 so I can vent some of my frustrations on him.
Its now mid July (RL) and Ive covered > 1800 GT days. I couldnt figure out how that worked, weird 24hour clock PD must have, now I know.
I didnt have a particular game plan but having completed 47% of the game I find myself developing some quirky habits.
Most cars I own are black except for some of the ones I win in races. Probably some thing in the back of my mind playing with me, most of my RL cars were, are black too.
If the 2nd hand dealers dont have a black version I will buy new, I own all 4 famous black cars, why I don't really know, and have > 9.5 million to spend.
If my bank account is at level X before I start a race and I need to buy a car and some upgrades I will continue playing the race until Ive at least won back what I spent to enter the race and to get the Aspec points. Then it's Bob's turn.
At first I fitted the racing chip and exhausts, turbos etc, not all at the same time.
I never use NOS, for me thats cheating. If you want to use it fine, I play my own game.
Nowadays I gain much more pleasure in beating the AIs in as near as standard car I can get away with. Much more fun in winning a race by 0.3 seconds than by 2 minutes. A win is a win whatever the time difference.
It definitely keeps me on edge.
My impressive stats at the moment are:
47.7% completion Gold 1 Silver 22 Bronze 51
Machine skill 94, Course skill 82 and battle skill 80, Wins 52%. Aspec 6462 and Bspec 8181.
What I dont like about GT4 is that in some races 4 out of 5 AIs are more or less equal and 1 car seems to be overpowered.
E.g. 4 standard VW Lupos and 1 VW Golf V16 GTI Turbo Evolution 20 4WD.
If I join the race with my superior skills I either need a F1 car to beat the effing Golf, scoring a measly 1 point or I turn up in a standard Lupo, beating the other 4 and never get the 9 points because of the Golf ^%$^%$*^.
If I enter with a Lupo my win% goes down, if I back out get a better car, one that gives me a fighting chance, my win% goes down as well.
It would be nice if GT5 gave you an idea of what the competition is going to be like upfront so I can decide what sort of car I need to make the race interesting.
Edit: thx again Famine for pointing out the Preview in one of your posts.
I also have difficulty in reading the red coloured texts on my TV. No its not the TV (100Hz 34inch widescreen) and it aint my eyes either. I know it means trouble but difficult to find out how much trouble I'm in.
PD please change this to light yellow (or something) in GT5, DO NOT USE RED!!!!.
Ive have yet to master cars like the Nissan R92something, Theyre way too fast for me.
But hey, Ive only just started. Bob seems to be quite happy with these though. Well he does have more points than I have.
Im sure Ill be able to handle these later on. The licence test 1 lap on the Nurb with the Merc I finally got bronze (<10 minutes). Now I can run the track in 8.40 in a standard Beemer M3. Yes I still near-total the car 4 times in 1 lap. It keeps my car dealers happy though. Thank god its not real money.
Anybody see the female german Racing driver 'beat' Jeremy Clarkson's RL Nurb record lap of 9m.59sec in a Jag. She was in an Ford transit van and ran a 10:06 lap (RL) on the (UK) Top Gear program. Wow.
I dont have the NTSC version of GT4 so I will miss out on the Hot Rods, (are these any fun?) Ive got Old Muscle Car race instead. (I hate loath the superbird or whatever that car is in the driving mission, the one with an oversized Subaru rear wing, looks like an shopping trolley)
I dont seem to have Premium Sports Lounge race either.
Still to learn, 52.3% of the game, what LMP and JGTC stand for.
Anyways Im gonna sign off now as I have a race to win (or not).
Yours truly,
A GT4 convert.
Signed AMG_SLK.
Alas none of my 5 PCs have Win98 anymore and Gates doesnt support the wheel (drivers) anymore since 2002, thx Bill.
So I debate with myself, do I buy a PS2 or not. That actually went through my head for a couple of weeks. I quizzed colleagues on whether to buy Xbox, PS2 or Nintendo.
The Nintendo look a bit childlike so that idea was scrapped immediately. My hate love relationship with Bill decided in favour of PS2.
So there I am 30 May 2005 in a toyshop, big yellow box in hand containing a PS2 boxed together with GT4. For good measure I also throw in an 8Mb backup card and box containing the remote a 2nd DS2 and 8 Mb.
No idea what Im letting myself in to. I find out after installing the hardware and firing up the DVD.
Oh my gawd, this controller should be called an uncontroller.
Next day I buy myself a Logitech DFP.
Im sure I will get the hang of using a DS2 somewhere in the future, like I had to learn using a mouse in the dark 80s.
For now though the DFP in 200 degree mode works like a charm. 900 degrees is too much work!
I have no knowledge of GT1, 2, 3 etc, no experience at all, a real novice.
Oh f :censored:k, what ????, you mean I have to take exams to compete in a race. But in RL have a motorbike and car license, for over 20 yrs, and Ive taken various expert driving courses for both. I even went for my racing license recently.
Oh well, I might as well start somewhere so I ace all National B and A tests on my first try. Yeah dream on.
No way sir, some take me ages to get just within the reach of bronze. I look at the times I have to beat to get silver and gold. No way man, Im never going to reach that level of skill.
I remember a license test where I had to steer a Merc SLK 230 (old type) through 2 bends.
Jeez a wet towel handles better than this piece of s**t. Hit the brakes and nothing happens, I plough in to Belgium before it decides to react. I turn the wheel, and I can hear the German under the hood muttering I vill not zurn ze wiels fur u, Dutchie.
In RL I actually own and drive a new model Merc SLK AMG. It definitely handles much better than the PS2 version. Other GT4 cars I really like but they still made my life hell as I tried desperately to get Bronze.
Then I found this forum and spend hours going through numerous posts in search for the help I desperately need.
Some posts really helped me out, thx guys.
I particularly found the R3 button tip (switch on blue red stripes) for national A and B tests very helpful. This helped me to score silver on quite a few exams, and I even got 1 Gold. Wow !
The slaloms with the Beemer were, correction are, a nightmare, dont think Ill ever Silver those.
The coffee breaks are fun (for bronze). Till now I really dont understand how you guys can Gold these.
PD please give me a snowplough with 20.000 hp and a very wide plough and Ill turn your effing cones in to dust in 2 seconds. Ill score diamond ! Go suck on Gold you w**ker.
Then theres the Gymkhana track in Driving Range (I don't mean the one in coffee break), what am I supposed to do here. I see some cones laid out in a circle, that's it, yeah now what.
Definitely help needed here. (Famine to the rescue ?!)I have now completed B, A, IB and IA and have 15 driving missions under my belt and 50% of the specials licence.
For me quite an achievement but then Ive only been playing for 6 weeks. I have a very long way to go till to get to some of the levels you lot are. But patience is on my side.
I returned to National test A6, the sponge Merc. Only to see if I can score Silver this time around.
I must admit that having played more of the game and bettering my skills have definitely made this Merc easier to handle or PD have switched my PAL version of the DVD for an upgraded one when I wasnt looking or ze Kraut zezided zo leve me alone.
In the early races I was really happy to beat the AIs in an eight-nine point race.
Now a 25-35 point race is my new benchmark. So yes, Im definitely improving.
The City Courses still give me headaches, there are too much Neon signs, buildings, lights, and blond babes in the pits distracting me from how the track runs. In NY I keep hitting the barriers at the end of the long straights. At Opera there seem to be permanent road works going on, 1 of the straights is halved in width by some red-white skirting boards. When do those Frenchies ever finish this work, or can they be found sipping wine and consuming croissants, whilst eyeing the French lasses.
PD please install big signs WARNING END OF TRACK, TURN LEFT (or Right) xxx degrees.
In SS5 there are no / hardly any streetlights so I have no idea whether turn left or right and therefore have cost that city a fortune in road barrier repairs. Which idiot runs races in the night.
My car dealers love me because after every race they can sell me a new car cause I crashed the previous one in a race in attempts to win it, no Im exaggerating there, it should read in attempts to stay on the d*mn track.
Some courses are in Reverse; why ?
I faithfully follow the white painted arrows on the road, as I was taught in RL so many, many years ago. So the arrow points left and I turn left and meet a barrier, which my car loves as it can wrap itself around a lamppost doggie style.
Turns out I should have taken a right turn instead.
This game has infiltrated in to my life in such a way that I wonder if Im still sane.
Thankfully one of my colleagues also plays GT4 so I can vent some of my frustrations on him.
Its now mid July (RL) and Ive covered > 1800 GT days. I couldnt figure out how that worked, weird 24hour clock PD must have, now I know.
I didnt have a particular game plan but having completed 47% of the game I find myself developing some quirky habits.
Most cars I own are black except for some of the ones I win in races. Probably some thing in the back of my mind playing with me, most of my RL cars were, are black too.
If the 2nd hand dealers dont have a black version I will buy new, I own all 4 famous black cars, why I don't really know, and have > 9.5 million to spend.
If my bank account is at level X before I start a race and I need to buy a car and some upgrades I will continue playing the race until Ive at least won back what I spent to enter the race and to get the Aspec points. Then it's Bob's turn.
At first I fitted the racing chip and exhausts, turbos etc, not all at the same time.
I never use NOS, for me thats cheating. If you want to use it fine, I play my own game.
Nowadays I gain much more pleasure in beating the AIs in as near as standard car I can get away with. Much more fun in winning a race by 0.3 seconds than by 2 minutes. A win is a win whatever the time difference.
It definitely keeps me on edge.
My impressive stats at the moment are:
47.7% completion Gold 1 Silver 22 Bronze 51
Machine skill 94, Course skill 82 and battle skill 80, Wins 52%. Aspec 6462 and Bspec 8181.
What I dont like about GT4 is that in some races 4 out of 5 AIs are more or less equal and 1 car seems to be overpowered.
E.g. 4 standard VW Lupos and 1 VW Golf V16 GTI Turbo Evolution 20 4WD.
If I join the race with my superior skills I either need a F1 car to beat the effing Golf, scoring a measly 1 point or I turn up in a standard Lupo, beating the other 4 and never get the 9 points because of the Golf ^%$^%$*^.
If I enter with a Lupo my win% goes down, if I back out get a better car, one that gives me a fighting chance, my win% goes down as well.
It would be nice if GT5 gave you an idea of what the competition is going to be like upfront so I can decide what sort of car I need to make the race interesting.
Edit: thx again Famine for pointing out the Preview in one of your posts.
I also have difficulty in reading the red coloured texts on my TV. No its not the TV (100Hz 34inch widescreen) and it aint my eyes either. I know it means trouble but difficult to find out how much trouble I'm in.
PD please change this to light yellow (or something) in GT5, DO NOT USE RED!!!!.
Ive have yet to master cars like the Nissan R92something, Theyre way too fast for me.
But hey, Ive only just started. Bob seems to be quite happy with these though. Well he does have more points than I have.
Im sure Ill be able to handle these later on. The licence test 1 lap on the Nurb with the Merc I finally got bronze (<10 minutes). Now I can run the track in 8.40 in a standard Beemer M3. Yes I still near-total the car 4 times in 1 lap. It keeps my car dealers happy though. Thank god its not real money.
Anybody see the female german Racing driver 'beat' Jeremy Clarkson's RL Nurb record lap of 9m.59sec in a Jag. She was in an Ford transit van and ran a 10:06 lap (RL) on the (UK) Top Gear program. Wow.
I dont have the NTSC version of GT4 so I will miss out on the Hot Rods, (are these any fun?) Ive got Old Muscle Car race instead. (I hate loath the superbird or whatever that car is in the driving mission, the one with an oversized Subaru rear wing, looks like an shopping trolley)
I dont seem to have Premium Sports Lounge race either.
Still to learn, 52.3% of the game, what LMP and JGTC stand for.
Anyways Im gonna sign off now as I have a race to win (or not).
Yours truly,
A GT4 convert.
Signed AMG_SLK.
Keep it up, buddy!! 
still laughing! lol. 
Benjii wants to know about my Driving Missions. Here goes.
AAAARRRGGHH, I hated this test, have run it over and over for ages. Finally I got mad 
and ploughed in to the bugger at the bottom of the hill.
. Ill send him a get well card once I feel better again. My car is totaled but it wasnt mine so I dont really care anyway.
, whom Ive taken a liking to explains to me that drafting and draughting 
) Not to worry, give it time to grow on you... 
. I'm dating her and liking it a lot. I pretend I'm hurt after a race and she dotes on me. 
