Gran Turismo 4 - Under The Hood, Driving The Prologue

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.

Comments

This is a review?

[Lukey Boy]

I bought this last week and wrote about it, and the 1UP review has some bullshit that would lead me to believe they haven't played the game at all.

For example they say there's no playing against AI racers in the demo. Um, no. Three of the five maps have optional AI racers that can be turned on via the Options menu. Even if you don't read Japanese, it's pretty easy to just test out the different options.

Re:This is a review?

[rhs98]

You bought the cut down version, with many cars and tracks missing. This is not the same as the final version - it costs nearly half as much!

Anyway I found another interesting article - this one has pictures of the cars and a video feature(s) as well...

Re:This is a review?

[Lukey Boy]

No, I agree - it's called "Prologue" for a reason. My point was that there is competetive racing in the Prologue edition, and the 1UP review of Prologue says that there aren't.

Physics engine compromised?

[nobodyman]

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.

Re:Physics engine compromised?

[hawkstone]

I've read that GT4 will behave the same way

Out of curiosity, did you read the articles? They all talk about how you used to be able to bounce off opponents and walls in GT3 to better your time, and steps have been taken to alleviate it: while it's true that there is no collision damage, there are penalties for bumping too hard into either. I'll quote the GameInformer article.

Also, for all of you out there who go used to driving like a madman and slamming into walls and other cars, you're about to get a heavy schooling. Major impacts with walls and other cars will penalize you and after the collision you'll be forced to drive at a top speed of 50 km/hour for 10 seconds. So, you may want to think twice before using some poor opponent as a spring on a tight corner.

Re:Where's Ferrari?

[damien_kane]

I'm sure that offering girls a ride on your PS2 is just as effective as an F150.

With the trance vibrator that came with Rez, It Can...