It's interesting to read what tracks most people seem to select and why they select them. The majority seem to dislike tracks which they find difficult. So tracks with confusing, technical, and/or slow twisty sections tend to appear on the 'hate it' lists very often. Since the majority of players seem to like the easiest tracks, it's easy to see why PD widened some of the traditional tracks, particularly in key places.
I am happy to see, however, that there are a number of folks who like or dislike tracks for the same reasons I do. Personally, whether I like a track or not is not a function of how good I am at it. What I look for in a track are features that make it unique and atypical to attack. The track needs something that gives it character and personality... with turns that aren't just straight out of a text book where the racing line is obvious, standard, and simplistic.
There are quite a few tracks that I _really really like_ in GT4, so it's difficult for me to choose my absolute most favorite. So my list of favorites is in a sort of approximate order... but it kinda shuffles around by the day of the week.
FAVORITES
El Capitan: This track flows very well and is full of elevation changes and atypical twists and corners. It's a nice combination of speed and twisties. It's also beautiful. This track punishes weaker players more by loss of time than frustration, so it seems to be universally liked.
Laguna Seca: GT4's representation of this track is much improved over previous versions. Most particularly, the corkscrew is correct now (it was much more open than in RL in GT3). Since I live close to this track in RL and have actually been on it, the authenticity is very important... both to be accurate and because the RL track is amazing for its gobs of character, technical difficulty, and flow. I'm glad GT models it accurately now. I love this track so much. (It eats brake pads and rotors for breakfast in RL though)
Infineon: Another track I live next door to. Now if PD just added Thunder Hill and Button Willow, I could have all of my nearby RL haunts represented in the game. Anyway, to say Infineon has character and atypical corners to it would be an understatement. Like Laguna Seca, it strongly features elevation changes. And the swooping series of chicanes toward the end of the track are very technically interesting as well as just plain fast and fun.
Suzuka: I'm not very good at this track yet. Actually, it kicks my a$^@... most particularly, I'm still baffled by the long double turn toward the end. Suzuka is very technical and full of character, however. And it has a nice combination of speed and twisties. So I do very much appreciate this track.
Hong Kong: Lots of people list this as their least favorite track. The camp that hates tracks which are too difficult hate it because it's twisty, difficult, and often slow. The camp that hates tracks for boring unchallenging turns hates it because they think its all boring obvious 90 degree turns. I disagree. At first, Hong Kong did seem to me like it was all boring repetitive turns... but it's actually not. The fastest way around the course is actually very interesting and the way the corners get strung together is not obvious. So this course is actually deceptively technical. It's a very interesting drive once you realize that.
Nurburgring: Technical and gobs of character? Absolutely. This track has a bit of everything for you. But maybe a bit too much of it... the course was purposefully designed to be so painful and dangerous that, by and large, racing organizations have stopped using it in RL after enough horrible tragic accidents occurred. The entire course was designed by somebody who likes sticking needles in his eyes in his spare time. Turns which are cambered in the right direction are rare. Nearly every turn is blind and/or deceptive. It's definately an interesting challenge though.
Opera Paris: Here's another track often sited as a least favorite because it is twisty, technical, and often slow. But for sure, it has a lot of character and atypical corners. It features a number of turns where you do interesting stuff while under hard braking.
Midfield: This is just a wonderful track and always has been. It's very fast yet has good technicality to it. I appreciate the subtle tightening of the big S bend in GT4, it makes that section more interesting where taking it flat out was just plain easy before.
Trial Mountain: Most everyone likes this track. And so do I.
Apricot Hill: I was a little suprised to see a lot of people listing this track among on their hated list, but I guess I should have expected that. It's a very fast _and_ technical track with elevation changes and blind bends. The double turn after the main straight is very confusing and dangerously fast. I love it. It's a great challenge that flows pretty easily once you get the hang of it, but it's frustrating at first.
Seattle: I can't disagree with the folks who say this is the greatest city course. But I do think it has stiff competition.
Citta d'Aria: The best thing about this course is having my friends be amazed as they watch me take a hopped up muscle car (super charged but with stock suspension and tires) blaring through this ultra narrow (much of it is barely wider than a muscle car) course at rediculous speed without ever touching anything. It's easier than it looks (but it looks impossible). Nice and technical and fast... totally unforgiving of mistakes because it's so narrow.
TRACKS I DON'T LIKE
Any of the short versions of courses. And I don't like the NASCAR variant of Infineon they use because Nascar drivers don't actually know how to drive and can't handle any of the interesting sections of that track.
Seoul: I've tried to like this track for the same reasons I liked Hong Kong... but unlike the latter, there is no inobvious technicality to this track. It really is just plain 90 degree turns connected by very long straight aways. There's absolutely nothing you can do here to go faster by being creative.
Sarthe II: I do like Sarthe I, but the looooooooooooooooooong straight on Sarthe II is just... well, I basically want to put her on autopilot and go have a sandwich when I reach the straight on each lap. I'd have enough time to eat it before reaching the next turn. There's nothing interesting to do while you're on a straight. Yawn.
Tsukuba: I don't seriously hate this track or anything, but I find it kind of boring. Too short and with characterless corners. It's just monotonous.
Autumn Ring: It's a twisty track with a ton of corners... it seems to have been intended as a very technical track... but... it's actually not. All of the corners are bland and characterless. They slow your car, but aren't actually very challenging. The section used as the main feature of Autmn Ring Mini is the only part of this track with any personality. The rest of the track is yawnworthy.
Twin Ring Motegi: This is definately my least favorite road course in the game. It's ugly and characterless. It's basically just a series of long straights connected by uninspired low speed turns. Horsepower wins every time on this track... there's nothing to finesse in the turns.
Test Course: Definately my least favorite track in the game. It appeared pretty extensively in race series in GT3 and thankfully rarely appears in GT4. There... is... nothing... to... do... on... this... track... You might as well just give the trophy to the car with the highest listed top speed and save the hassle of actually running the track. It's basically just an infinitely long drag strip.
Hmm... I just made a very long post.
- Skant
