GTPlanet Weekly Rewind: It All Begins Again

The inaugural race weekend of the 2014 Formula One season is finally here, and while I maintain a gross of reservations regarding the new engine formula and some of the new/amended rulings, it’s a level of excitement that I couldn’t feign if I honestly tried to.

Every year it’s a new story of what team or what driver is going to reign supreme and who their most prominent threat(s) will be, but this year it’s as much of an outright guessing game as any before it – a new engine formula, new cars, and new driver pairings across more than half of the field that will stir things up quite a bit.

Could this be the year that Sebastian Vettel’s championship supremacy comes to an end? If early testing is any indication (and it usually isn’t) then the boys and girls at Red Bull Racing will definitely have their work cut out for them; a statement that seems to ring true regardless of any troubling indications during winter testing.

GTPlanet Picture of the Week

This week’s featured image, courtesy of ekalleberg, is all about the RUF CTR, otherwise known as the Yellowbird, as dubbed by Road & Track magazine, whose staffers noted the contrast created by its yellow paintwork against the overcast skies on the day of the photo shoot.

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.

Gran Turismo 6 Update 1.05

It’s been a little while but here we are once again cataloging the changes made to the ever-evolving Gran Turismo 6, this time with the 1.05 update that’s now available and weighs in at a very light 100MB, which means this update does not introduce any significantly new content.

An overview of the changes are as follows:

Additional Features in Open Lobby

• [Time Trial], [Drift Trial], and [Free Run] have been added to the [Race Type] option within [Room Settings] of the Event Settings screen.
• It is now possible to also [Filter by Performance] even when [Car Selection Method] is set to [Filter by Make] or [Filter by Category].
• It is now possible to select Karts in one make races held on weather enabled tracks.
• It is now possible to check regulation settings in the confirmation popup dialog before entering a room.
• In the [Race Alone] mode for the Qualifier, cars other than yours (when only spectating, cars other than the one in focus) will appear as lines.

Multi-monitor Compatibility

• [Multi-Monitor Settings] has been added to the [Start Button]>[Options]>[Display] options.

Car Search

• A [Car Search] feature has been added to the [CARS] section in My Home. You can specify the desired parameters to search for a particular car in the Car Dealerships.

Sale of Racing Gear in Individual Colors

• The sale of Racing Gear has been changed from full color sets to individual colors. Some of the pricing for racing gear have changed accordingly.

Kart Adjustments Options Expanded

• [Traction Control] is now available to adjust in the [Driving Options]. [Skid Recovery Force] is also now available.
• [Brake Balance] is now available to adjust in [Machine Settings]. Only the rear can be adjusted in Normal Karts, while both the front and rear can be adjusted in Shifter Karts.

Other Improvements/Adjustments

• An icon that shows the login bonus stage (1-5 days in succession) has been added to the top of the [My Home] screen and the prize receiving dialog.
• The increments of the [Front/Rear Torque Split] in [Car Settings] has been changed from 5 to 1.

As always, keep an eye on our GT6 forum as our community explores and discovers more undocumented tweaks.

GTPlanet Quiz of the Week

The third week is upon us, and the question is and forever will be, how much do you know?

1. Featured in the second chapter, you’d have to look to the stars to understand the inspiration but one thing is for sure, it may be an American car but it has Italian blood coursing through its veins.

2. It may have made its official debut in the sixth iteration, but it’s no stranger to the world of Gran Turismo as it was seen once before.

3. 2014 may stand as their best chance yet, the chance to retain their former glory, for at the forefront stands two men – one of whom is responsible for their last championship victory in 2007.

Clues will be provided if necessary. The official thread is up and running but hasn’t been outfitted with the full breakdown of things just yet, so until that happens be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Quiz of the Week”, and share your answers.

GTPlanet Member of the Week

The prized status and stardom that only the Member of the Week can bring has once again arrived and thus, 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.

A Junior member is once again among the ranks, and this particular member shares the interest of professional wrestlingt, so let’s give a very warm welcome to the newest member to find a vacant apartment in the ever-expanding MotW madhouse, m8h3r!

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, and his appreciation of all things automotve. 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.

GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week

This week’s featured vehicle is none other than the monstrous Zonda R, powered by a 6.0L V12 M120 engine sourced from the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured vehicle? 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

This week’s featured tune, recommended to us by tuning aficionado danbojte and courtesy of ACSR421 of Clueless, over The Hill Outlaws (a merging of Clueless Tunes, Outlaw Motorsports and The Hill) features the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro under the pseudonym “Pot Roast”.

Tuned online for Nurburgring Norschliefe. Works well at other tracks also.
Nicknamed Pot Roast because of its weight. Not the fastest Fr @500 but it is competitive and fun to drive.

Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’re after and you want to do so with a V8 sports coupe that’s clearly over the hill, then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself – and remember, Clueless, over The Hill Outlaws have been featured in this space on three consecutive occasions in the past, so we all know they’re capable of providing some of the best tunes available.

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.

GTPlanet Photomode Competitions

We’ve reset the counter for the sixth chapter in the Gran Turismo series and the photomode competition is back and better than ever.

In Week 14 of the Standard and Advanced competitions for GT6 you are to put your best foot forth and show the community just how seriously you take your in-game photography. All you need to know is as follows:

Week 014, Standard: Carbonated – “Take a picture of anything made of carbon fibre.”

Week 014, Advanced 2.0: Animals: Vipers vs. Mustangs (Head 2 Head) – “Simple, just pick a side and shoot on any American track! Single-car shots only!”

For all of the relevant information pertaining to this week’s challenges be sure to stop by here and here.

Closing Thoughts

Last week I proposed the scenario of a GTPlanet Let’s Play of some sort and the idea was well-received by those who responded to it, and if you haven’t the foggiest idea what I’m on about then you may want to stop by the official Rewind thread and look over things.

That’s really all there is for this week, so with another Rewind in the wind column it’s time I ride off into the sunset. Until next week, keep racing!

GT6 Photomode images by RevoXeli,Chrisuu, eugene2023, and Eric1512.

See more articles on GTPlanet Member of the Week and GTPlanet Weekly Rewind.