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Gran Turismo 4 - Under The Hood, Driving The Prologue

Posted by simoniker on from the engines-revving-furiously dept.

Thanks to Motor Trend for their feature documenting the extreme attention to detail being lavished on Gran Turismo 4 for PlayStation 2, as the franchise, which "has sold more than 30 million units worldwide", gears up to a 2004 release for this latest iteration. According to the article, "between 20,000 and 30,000 digital photographs are taken" to faithfully reproduce the real-life racetracks used in the game, and there's also a behind the scenes feature on a 150-vehicle capture session in Japan, each car being "systematically studied and logged so the design team could faithfully recreate [it in-game]." Elsewhere, 1UP has a hands-on look at the Japan-only Gran Turismo 4 Prologue, a budget-priced preview which they consider "isn't worth the purchase for any except the most obsessive Gran Turismo fans." Update: 12/12 16:18 GMT by S : Another hands-on look at GT4 Prologue from Game Informer adds detail and corrects a couple of inaccuracies.

3 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. Physics engine compromised? by nobodyman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I really like the Gran Turismo series, but the most frustrating aspect that punches a big hole in the overall immersion and sense of realism is the physics engines.

    Specifically, I'm talking about the fact that you can't crash. Sure, you hit another car and spin out.. losing time and potentially costing you the race. However, you cannot "damage" your car. No matter how hard you try, you can't flip, roll, or crumple the vehicle around a light pole. The was a design decision to satiate corporate interests (not too many car companies would be keen to see one of their cars depicted in such a way. While I can understand the decision (one of aspects that makes GT so cool is the sheer number of "real" cars you can play with), it causes unrealistic racing conditions. For example, in GT3 I wouldn't care about slamming into slight turns because I knew I would be "bounced" back on track without incident. So, I'd approach the turn at 120mph and get knocked down to 70mph, passing by the computer opponent that was safely taking the turn at 45mph. In "real life", my I'd lose a tire and possible send my car hurtling towards a terrified audience.

    I've read that GT4 will behave the same way, and that's a shame. I don't necessarily blame Sony but rather the car companies who would otherwise withhold licensing rights.

  2. mod parent up! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    maybe that's why they don't make the game for PCs, as someone would more than likely mod the game to make the cars damageable...

  3. Re:No vehicle damage by Zed2K · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Nothing like replying to your own. Another thing that annoyed me was the total lack of interaction with your environment. If you are in the rally courses and you slide off the course you shouldn't just bounce off those flimsy orange fence posts...you should go through it and take it down and have to get back on course. If you hit a tree it should flip you.