The PlayStation 4 is here! If you were one of hundreds (thousands?) of people waiting patiently in line to get your hands on the PS4 at the stroke of midnight, there’s no doubt you were excited to get back and play whatever selection of titles that interested you most. Now that the PS4 is here, there is one thing we all should be aware of: where one countdown ends, another begins – Gran Turismo 7 is imminent.
You’re already thinking about the wondrously magical possibilities aren’t you? You’re welcome.
We’re now twenty-two days shy of the worldwide release of Gran Turismo 6 and many of us are coping with the time by revisiting GT5 and partaking in a series of farewell tributes, myself included. Whether it be racing, shooting photos or taking spirited vehicles for a spin that you’d otherwise never look at, now is as good a time as any to fire the game up and have any and every heartfelt sentiment accounted for.
GTPlanet Picture of the Week
Environments rarely get their share of the spotlight in this space and this week that changes. This week’s featured image, brought to us by MoMo PeeZero, proves that the locations within GT can stand all on their own, and are more than capable of conveying their own mysticism.
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
Track & Field Championship Series
GTPlanet’s own Weekly Race Series may be the premier method in getting your online fix, but it’s far from the only way to do so. The Track & Field Championship series put together by GTPlanet’s own eDirtyTati will feature classic Japanese machinery from the 1980’s racing around several tracks located in – you guessed it – Japan.
Why start a series with GT6 so close? Because some of the cars in this first season (see car list below) are somewhat rare, it wouldn’t be fair to expect players to have them so quickly after picking up the new game. Each season will feature a different sort of car and list of venues, so for GT6 we’ll be able to select a suitable group of vehicles.
Best described as “a typical championship season with a twist”, the events will span across six weeks lasting approximately 30 minutes, and will be held Saturday nights at 9:30 PM EST. Should this pique your interest, and I see no reason why it wouldn’t, you would have to sign up to participate, pick your car and you’re ready to go.
Wait are you waiting for? Stop by the official thread and register!
Mercedes-Benz Teases First Look at Vision Gran Turismo Vehicle
Announced at Gamescom, Vision Gran Turismo is a collaborative effort with “leading automotive manufacturers, design houses, and other leading global brands”, and up until now little has been known about this enthusiastic project, that is until today:
For a project celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Gran Turismo series, famous brands from around the world are designing unique sportscars that will be given as gifts to players of ‘Gran Turismo 6’. The project is called ‘Vision Gran Turismo’, and the first commemorative car to emerge from the project in its grand opening, is a Mercedes-Benz.
Please look forward to more updates coming soon.
The announcement also mentions the official Facebook page for Mercedes-Benz which you can find here.
GTPlanet Weekly Race (WRS) Online Events: Greatest Hits – The GT5 Grand Finale
The farewells for Gran Turismo 5 are not only in full effect but are quickly coming to an end, and how could they not with the imminent countdown to the worldwide release of Gran Turismo 6 quickly closing in? As I’ve said twice before, everything has to come to an end no matter how large the community or the ridiculous amount of fun had with the fantastic outings in the WRS. I’d imagine next to no one will go back to GT5 once its successor has hit shelves, and that’s precisely the point of the various series of farewells many of you will have undoubtedly taken notice of.
The last scheduled event for the GT5 chapter in WRS Online racing is here and it’s your responsibility to send GT5 out in an audible blaze of tire-screeching glory by selecting that which will end all, welcome to the Gran Turismo 5 Finale.
For the entire rundown you’ll definitely want to stop by the official thread and get your votes in! Remember that you NEED to be registered before officially participating in the WRS, and that can only be done by submitting a time for the official GTP Registry Qualifier.
PlayStation 4: The Future of Racing Games is Nigh
The PlayStation 4 is upon us and just as it was hinted at during Gametrailers’ PS4 All Access countdown event, first-party teams are already beginning to brainstorm the possibilities of setting this generation apart from the rest; possibilities that hardly begin (or end) with the hardware specifications. It begins with a new user interface, a new field of possibilities – it begins with the DualShock 4 controller.
The touch pad affords the possibility of seamlessly and quickly navigating through Gran Turismo’s nested menu options, to quickly position your favorite vehicle(s) while in photo travel and maybe even open the doors or the bonnet (hood) by depressing the touch pad, all while eliminating the necessity of continuous button presses.
The Share button will allow play a critical role among GTPlanet’s own racing series as it will make sharing clips as simple as pressing a button, and will make that critical moment when the championship was decided all the more exciting and memorable. The built-in DVR functionality is yet another feature ripe for the picking and will make sharing racing footage just as simple; imagine what this could bring to the table for the racing series’ hosted here, both old and new alike.
These changes apply to the entire racing game landscape, whether it be The Crew, Driveclub, Need for Speed, Burnout – the PlayStation 4 will change racing games and I can’t wait to see how (and when) it happens.
GTPlanet Member of the Week
After a week’s vacation it is once again time to acknowledge a member of the GTPlanet community; 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.
We welcome yet another Junior member into the ranks; one who appreciates a good clean fight on the track as much as any of us do, and is depressed by a recent development with McLaren’s Formula 1 team. Let’s give a very warm welcome to the newest member to find a vacant apartment in the ever-expanding MotW madhouse, Wardez!
The interview is now live and provides the usual share of laughter, but more importantly provides the medium of getting to know your fellow GTP members a little bit better. For the whole kit-n-kaboodble be sure to stop by the official Member of the Week thread.
Anyone you’d like to see recognized as the Member of the Week? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Member of the Week” and fill it out with your choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot nominate yourself.
Gran Turismo 6 Screenshot Bonanza!
Last week the official Gran Turismo was host to a detail blowout which saw such features as time transitions, astronomy effects and the return of coffee breaks revealed – to name a select few.
This week you’ll have a look at what awaits you on December 6th.
Coffee Break
Photo Travel
There are plenty more that you can view to your heart’s content right here.
Gran Tursimo 6 Hands-on Impressions
Back in September GTPlanet were one of the few able to take the then current build of Gran Turismo 6 for a spin and was pleasantly surprised with the disparities between it and the GT Academy demo from July.
Last week, GTPlanet was once again on the scene with Gran Turismo 6 but this time the stakes were much higher; this would be the “full” version of the game, and being among the first to take it for a trial run gave the impression that it were forbidden fruit.
When it was my turn to drive the real FR-S on the tight and technical Streets of Willow Springs course, it was stable and predictable at the limit – providing what felt like a slight four-wheel drift with a hint of easy-to-manage oversteer. It was light, alive, and fun!
Back inside, I had the unique opportunity to immediately drive the exact same car on the exact same track in GT6 – and it was definitely not the same understeering bore I had driven in GT5.
On Sports/Hard tires, it may have had a bit more grip than the street tires on the cars we had just driven, but the FR-S’s driving characteristics at the limit of adhesion was nearly the same as what I had just experienced in real life: a smooth four-wheel slide, with the back wheels stepping out gently behind the front.
I also noticed a slightly more gritty engine sound than what I have heard in previous builds. A Sony representative confirmed that several of the cars were equipped with updated audio. Although I’m not sure if I played with one of these cars, I could sense something had changed. For those optimistic audiophiles out there, don’t get too carried away by my comments – the game still sounds much the same – but you should take comfort in knowing that it was better.
GT6 hasn’t yet gone “gold” but it is on schedule and is expected to be ready for mass production within the next two weeks.
Gran Turismo 6 Track Creator: The Real And Virtual Worlds Collide
Last week witnessed an outcry of slight disappointment when the vastly improved track creator was revealed to be coming to GT6 in a future update, however, the silver lining is the feature itself will perhaps be so profound that this may have been the only course of action to make sure things work naturally. If that doesn’t satisfy you, then ponder this – to wit, what would you do if you were able to map out your own route in the real world and have it recreated in the virtual world?
That’s exactly what the new and improved track creator in GT6 will allow you to do:
This feature, available at a later stage through an update, will allow you to create your own custom tracks that can be driven in the game. Additionally, in another update we will add the possibility to generate a track by capturing the GPS coordinate data of a mobile app while you are driving that course. This GPS-generated tracks will be available in the game as playable content.
If you had any doubts about the scale of the feature then I believe this should soundly lay them to rest. The possibilities are infinite or nearly so, and this will afford you the convenience of mapping out your favorite route to and/or from work, stretches of road, or even to recreate the NY track.
The community has been discussing this idea with great enthusiasm and I implore you to join in on the fun by sharing your intentions and favorite stretches of road!
GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week
The FXX is the most advanced GT ever created at Maranello and its mission is to involve the most valued clients as genuine Prancing Horse Test Drivers in their own right.
Every client who signs up for the FXX project by purchasing one of the estimated 20 or so cars being built, will actually be joining Team Ferrari, and will have his driving experiences at the wheel of this new car monitored directly by the Prancing Horse’s technicians and specialists.
The FXX is the fruit of Ferrari’s know-how in building special limited-series sports cars combined with, of course, its racing experience. It will provide the basic framework on which the specifics of future extreme models will be worked out. The exceptionally powerful FXX delivers absolutely blistering performance on all fronts.
The FXX has not been homologated for road use and thus will not be a competition model. It will be used exclusively on the track as part of a specific ongoing research and development programme featuring this first ever group of client test drivers.
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
GTPlanet Tune of the Week
The product of the late Ayrton Senna’s prowess and finesse around a track, the NSX is the weapon of choice for this week’s featured tune, recommended to us by tuning aficionado danbojte and courtesy of CyKosis1973.
Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’e after and you want to do so using the proven track record of the NSX, then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself.
Exactly like the Picture and Vehicle of the Week features, if you have any suggestions for the upcoming Rewinds be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Tune of the Week” and let me know. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
/DRIVE: McLaren 12C GT3 Race Car – Carbon Dreams
Closing Thoughts
So excited for the PlayStation 4, and I’ll be honest, the launch lineup did very little to impress me but after seeing some live gameplay of Knack, Resogun and Super Motherload from one of the Taco Bell winners, I was sold on those games where previously the only attraction was Killzone Shadow Fall. Knack hearkens back to a more classic platformer style of gameplay and looks to be more difficult than one may assume it to be – sign me up!
Super Motherload is a game inspired by XGen Studios original Motherload is liberally sprinkled with homages to the 80’s, however, as far as I’m concerned the game deserves no less than an 8 on the merits of its splendiferous soundtrack alone. If you think I’m exaggerating give the soundtrack a listen and judge for yourselves.
Remember folks if you want to share your opinions on this week’s entry you’ll have to stop by the official Rewind thread to do so, which is where you’ll eventually be re-directed once the new comments system is put into active service so you’d might as well get a head start!
Now a message from our sponsor, me:
While you’re salivating at the very thought of Gran Turismo 6 finding itself into your PlayStation 3 this coming December why not take the time to become a full-fledged member of our wonderful community. It’s free and we have cake! Okay, we don’t have cake (the cake is and always will be a lie, remember this!) but we do have a strong community and we’re always talking about something interesting. If you aren’t already a member you should join today and maybe you can work out a patented antidote for “Lying Cake Syndrome”. Seriously, it’s been years since I’ve had cake.
We’re going to take a little break from the plugging of my official Twitter page as I’m using it less and less as the hours go by. Will it return? Probably, but not within the next few weeks I’m sure.
This week, madness. Next week, more madness. December, even more maddening madness. Pray for me. Until next week, keep racing!
GT5 Photomode images by Grand Prix, dice1998, hakalapetri, and jus1029.
See more articles on GTPlanet Member of the Week and GTPlanet Weekly Rewind.
