GTPlanet Community Spotlight: The Final Days

– 1969 Lola T163 at Laguna Seca as both appear in Forza Motorsport 6, September 21st, 2015, courtesy of ImaRobot.

The final days of September are upon us, and what an absolute joy this month has been: Metal Gear Solid V, Forza Motorsport 6, Destiny: The Taken King, and my birthday was even in there somewhere, but I’m pretty sure it swept past me being too occupied trying to absorb this relentless onslaught of racing games and the news surrounding it. On top of that my favorite shows are beginning to return from their off-season hiatuses, and best of all, summer is coming to an end! You all know my distaste for hot weather so there’s no need to reiterate it for the seventy-fifth time, suffice to say the last two seasons of the year are going to please my being immensely.

Apologies for the lack of a Spotlight last week, but two weeks ago I posed a question asking if many of you would prefer more of a volume-based approach or if things should remain as they are, and before I get to the result of that I now realize the former can actually be read as the Spotlight being delivered in daily installments and that just wasn’t ever going to happen; you guys are great and all but my fingers would actually fall off, and no one wants to trip over that. Having said that the Spotlight will remain as is because you all like being assaulted with news from every which way in the weekly episodes and I’m content in delivering.

Let’s get this thing underway: who’s ready for the Spotlight?

GTPlanet Picture of the Week

This week’s featured image comes to us courtesy of ceiling_fan and features the all-powerful Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak monster tackling what very appears to be the Nurburgring. If you’re looking at the front wheels and thinking of Gran Turismo 3 – you’re not alone!

If you like what you’re seeing and have a suggestion for next week’s featured image, start a conversation with me, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week” and fill it to your heart’s content with suggestions and they’ll be featured in upcoming Community Spotlight articles. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Gallery of the Week

This week’s featured is the other side of the coin in the long running Photomode Competitons for Gran Turismo, yet another community effort maintained by budding virtual photographers and veterans alike.

“As some of you may know, Initial D is a famous Japanese automotive manga and animated series. It’s known worldwide for its fast paced action scenes and battles, and I want you to replicate one!”

You can use any car that was involved in the battle stages (you’ll have proper context for that once you make the jump following the link), and the locations are restricted to Chamonix (any variation), Sierra, Deep Forest, Nurburgring Nordschleife, and Trial Mountain. You can have a look at this week’s competition and submit your own entry by stopping by the thread here and getting with the program!

If you like what you’re seeing and have a suggestion for next week’s featured gallery, start a conversation with me, entitle it “GTPlanet Gallery of the Week” and fill it to your heart’s content with suggestions and they’ll be featured in upcoming Community Spotlight articles. NOTE: You cannot elect your own gallery.

GTPlanet Thread of the Week – Random Combos!

This tool, put together by our own msgt-sd and recommended by Gravitron, epitomizes the GTPlanet community: create a program such as this that would largely be beneficial to leagues and our own WRS and watch as everyone rejoices in good will.

I say “largely beneficial” in the sense that leagues and the WRS have the greatest pool of talent that actively participates in competitive racing, but having said that this fantastic tool could be the very olive branch you’ve been looking for; something that would piece together a combination that you’ve never once considered before, a combination such as the Honda Life Step Van and the Nurburgring for example.

The sheer number of adjustable parameters that can generate appropriate results is equally astounding; performance points, track direction, weather, the possibilities are virtually limitless. Is there really anything more that I have to say to sell you on this great tool? Stop by the thread and see how well it works for yourself, and who knows it might just result in an all-night session of Gran Turismo 6 randomness.

Driveclub: Pictures Worth a Thousand Words (And a short Story)

– Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, September 25th, 2015, courtesy of XEROX.

We’ve all seen pictures that invoke a sense of surrounding and feeling; a picture you could look at for an extended period of time and are able to grasp a story from that without anyone uttering a single word. This thread, ‘Short Fiction Prose Inspired by Driveclub’ put together by MeanElf and recommended by Nato_777, actively encourages the community to develop that sense of surrounding and feeling into something comprehensive; it doesn’t have to be poetic, all it has to do is convey whatever is being seen in the picture.

“Whilst many of the Driveclub images, especially those from the scenery thread seem to have a story begging to come out centred upon that moment, it was only yesterday that I felt compelled to hobble into action regarding this.

So, I thought it might be a fun idea to create a thread for people to do just that. If you see a picture anywhere in the photomode forums which speaks to you above and beyond the normal ways, then please feel free to describe what that picture/moment is saying to you.”

What do you get from the picture above? What instantly comes to mind when you look at the surroundings and notice there’s an SLS playfully rearing its head forward? A thread such as this one deserves a new jolt of life and you can do just that by stopping by the thread and participating.

Spa Francorchamps 4-Way Comparison

The legendary Spa Francorchamps was recently released in R3E which makes it the absolute opportune moment to get a 4-way comparison between the latest sim racing has to offer. In this comparison you’ll find Forza Motorsport 6, Project CARS, Assetto Corsa, and of course Raceroom Racing Experience.

Which one out of the four looks (and sounds!) best to you?

GTPlanet Member of the Week

We’re once again going to preface this by saying that while there are more nominations on hand now then there has been for the past few months (yes, months) I’d like to keep the momentum going, so if you want to see the Member of the Week continue moving forward you’ll want to send some suggestions my way and remember to title it “GTPlanet Member of the Week”.

With that said and done, the time to acknowledge a member of the GTPlanet community is upon us. A member who has stood out among the hundreds of thousands of members already here, both old and new alike for all that they’re worth and all they have contributed to the community.

While this week’s inductee has yet to provide the necessary insight in their world, the call ahs been answered and without further ado let’s give a warm welcome to the newest member to find vacancy in the ever-growing Member of the Week madhouse, Sick Cylinder!

You can read the interview in its entirety the second it becomes available (watch for the alert!) in the official thread right here and remember, the feature is now on an alternating schedule so don’t panic when this particular feature is gone from the Spotlight next week.

GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week – Flat out in a Porsche 917

I know we’re overdue for the bi-weekly write up for this particular feature, but how am I not going to share this with everyone?

GTPlanet Tune of the Week

Who wouldn’t want to drive around in a Veyron with more than 1200 horses under the hood? This week’s featured tune is all about enhancing the cornering prowess of the all-powerful Bugatti Veyron.

• BRAKE EARLY. This car does NOT like braking late. You will pummel the wall, or hit the ditch.​
• COAST AROUND BENDS! The Veyron will actually understeer around corners namely because of consistenly accelerating upon entry or in the middle of a corner. Maximum cornering prowess can be achieved by coasting around various corners and bends by not pressing on the accelerator.​
• (For the Nurb) SLOW DOWN EARLY. Despite being a Supercar, the Veyron does not have great stopping power for the brakes. Slow down early. Especially at the long stretch section of the Nurb.​
• AVOID LIFT! Once the Veyron enters high speed mode, you may notice the front lifting itself up. Once this happens, you are in the most part, locked up in a straight line unless you slow down. Manage your speed, and know when it’s clear for the full-throttle press.​

Be sure to stop by Grandea GTR’s tune page and give this one a go. Can you rise to the challenge?

In the last Spotlight the featured tune was a 458 GT3 replica put together by RIDOX’s Replica Garage and it came to my attention over the last couple of days that the link in fact misdirected to a previously highlighted tune, and as a way to make amends for that you can check out that tune right here!

WRC 5 Release Date Confirmed; System Specs Revealed

You’ll recall this earlier article discussing the release date for next month’s WRC 5, and while it pains me to say this, that information was off… by one day – WRC 5 releases worldwide on October 16th and a week prior, October 9th, in Germany, France and Belgium; digital copies of the game will be made available on the 9th as well regardless of where you reside. If you happen to still be on the fence regarding an outright purchase of the upcoming title then you’re in luck as a demo will be made available close to the game’s release.

The system requirements for those looking to purchase the game on the PC have been made available and are as follows:

Minimum specs

• OS: Windows® 7
• Processor: Intel® Core i3 / AMD Phenom™ II X2
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GTX / AMD Radeon™ HD 5750
• DirectX: Version 9.0c, Shader Model 3
• Hard Drive: 25 GB available space

Recommended specs

• OS: Windows® 7 / Windows® 8
• Processor: Intel® Core i5 2500 / AMD FX 8150
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX780 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290
• DirectX: Version 11

Of this I find the GPU requirements to be particularly interesting, on the Nvidia side the recommendation is the Kepler-based GeForce GTX 780 which is going on three generations old come next year, whereas on the AMD side the recommendation is a Hawaii-based R9 290 which is only two generations old. Without spiraling off into a tech tangent, WRC 5 appears as if it’s going to look stunning on the PC when pushed to its limits.

The Last Lap

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the show ‘New Girl’? It is perhaps the happiest accident since I’ve come across Broad City. I won’t speak too much about it but if you enjoy a good comedy and enjoy the awkwardness of Zooey Deschanel then there’s a great chance you’ll enjoy the show. I’m also going to put this out there and it’s that Nick and Schmidt played by Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield respectively are perhaps the two best characters on the show.

That’s all out of me for this week and should something else come to mind that I feel can’t wait until next week be sure to keep an eye peeled to the status feed. Until next week, keep racing!

See more articles on GTPlanet Community Spotlight and GTPlanet Member of the Week.