GTPlanet

Work on the third issue of the popular grass-roots “GTlife” magazine (the first two issues received over 230,000 collective downloads) is now complete!

It’s that time of year again, where the GTPlanet community comes together for the greater good!

We’re less than 100 hours away from Christmas, and while Santa Kaz has already dropped off a few presents (and yet more if you’ve got a few dollars for him), there’s even more fun to be had in our Photomode section this week. For our digital photogs, this update was welcome as it returned a few features that were mysteriously removed from Photomode during 2.01. Lens flare and bloom have returned, so before you’re stuffed to the gills with shortbreads and other festive treats, take a look at our competitions this week!

With former steering wheel market leader Logitech resting on its laurels, there’s been a flurry of activity fill the mid-to-high end range of steering wheels over the last few years. For Gran Turismo 5 players, the licensed Thrustmaster T500RS was generally considered one of the best options – until now.

Another week, another batch of competitions! This week’s themes are even more varied, and require some creativity to really get a competitive shot. Looking to enter? Click the links for each week’s theme and read the first post in the thread; make sure to follow the rules on submitting an image, and do so in that thread before the weekly deadline! Each competition has unique rules, so keep them in mind when submitting!

After more than a year without any mention of Gran Turismo 5’s real-world visualization capabilities, the novel feature has suddenly returned to the spotlight with the debut of the Scion FR-S/Toyota 86.

After many wallets are recovering from Black Friday madness (not to forget there may be new GT5 DLC this month), why not take part in GTP’s Photomode competitions, where you can win in-game prizes without having to drop a penny? Read on for all of the info on this week’s five contests!

In addition to being granted full access to GT Academy 2011 winners Jann Mardenborough and Bryan Heitkotter, GTPlanet also had the pleasure of interviewing RJN Motorsport team principal Bob Neville on the team’s prospects for the Dubai 24 Hour race, the development of this year’s winners and the GT Academy programme as a whole.

Following in the footsteps of GT Academy champions Lucas Ordoñez and Jordan Tresson, European GT Academy 2011 winner Jann Mardenborough and his US counterpart champion Bryan Heitkotter would conclude their intense driver development programme at the Britcar “Into The Night” 3-hour endurance race around Brands Hatch circuit. This race would signify the last segment of the pair’s development campaign and their last competitive race before the GT Academy 2011 grand prize, the chance to compete at the prestigious Dubai 24 hour race.

That’s right, today the 24th marks GT5’s year anniversary (we’re sliding in just under the wire). As such, there’s a lot of celebrations going on this week, especially in the Photomode section, where prizes are flying left and right! Read on to get all the details…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6pf6ueK-Is

There’s some more interesting themes this week (as well as an extension on one from last week), so I’ll cut right to the chase!

After a short hiatus, we’re back on the front page, just in time for the big five-oh! Now that every region has access to the DLC, we’re all enjoying the intensity of Spa, and the incredible lighting Kart Space provides for photo shoots. Not to mention all those new paints! Why not join us and take part in some of the competitions this week? You can’t win if you don’t get involved…

At the 2011 SEMA Show last week, I had the very special opportunity to – for the first time – personally interview the master himself: Kazunori Yamauchi. We had a great chat, and I am happy to report that Kazunori seemed happy, relaxed, and in good spirits.

It’s true, it’s true… the Tournament has come and gone. In its place, our community is taking advantage of the biggest overhaul to GT5 since its release, with the Spec 2.0 update adding some features, and the DLC packages this week (and next for North Americans) bringing even more content. What better way to show off your new rides?

It’s been a busy week for racing game fans – that’s by bad excuse as to why this week’s Round-up is late. But, here we are! In the midst of literally dozens of Schulze N24 GT-R’s running around online, our 2nd Photomode Tournament is just wrapping up. There’s only a few hours left to vote, so help decide the winner of the matches below…

Would you look at that – a mention of the year anniversary approaching last week, and the very next day, the bombshell hits: Spec 2.0 is coming! While we’re all wondering what Kaz & Co have in store for us, the Photomode sub-forum continues to bustle. So much so, in fact, that we’ve had to add a new Official competition. But first, some Tournament news:

Two months away from the big one-year anniversary of GT5’s official release, the Photomode sub-forum continues to draw new members each week, as more players begin to explore the in-game mode, and even more excitingly, share their works with the community. The competitions heated up too, seeing old veterans bumped by new members in the polls. The Tournament continues, so coverage of that comes first, followed by our usual weekly competitions. Let’s see here…

Another week, another batch of outstanding photos from various members, involving various cars flying through (or sitting in) various locations. It’s all about variety, in case you didn’t guess. Even more so this week, with our Official competitions touching on history, the golden era of rally cars, a shiny new McLaren in Monaco, and even… promotional material?! But first off, this month’s main event: the Photomode Tournament.

What do we have in store this week? Quite a lot, actually! The Tournament has stopped taking entries, PMC has a very colourful poll, 2.0’s theme is already bringing in quality entries for both sides, CCCL car/track combos being able to even double for 2.0 (more on that later), and the potential for hilarity in this week’s Photoshop theme. Onward!