Any news on a strategy guide?

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Watevaman

Watevaman

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Going through all my old stuff this past weekend, I found my old Gran Turismo 3 guide and it brought to mind a little thought about what they're gonna do with Gran Turismo 5.

Now, I used to love the strategy guides for Gran Turismo 2 and 3. Not because of the tips they had or the fact that they could be brought to school when I was a kid, but rather because they were like mini car encyclopedias on their own. Think of them as a portable Gran Turismo, only you couldn't drive the cars.

For one, they had pictures of all the cars available in the game, along with info for said cars. They also had info about the manufacturers and details on what makes each one unique. On top of this, they had very useful checklists in the back of the guide so I wouldn't have to worry about what cars I did and didn't have yet.

With the age of online references and the sheer number of vehicles available in GT5, is it too much to hope for a physical guide to complement me while I play? And yeah, I know the Apex book will be a sort of guide, but I'm afraid it may be lacking in the charm that the big honking books of old brought to me.
 
With PD going to the wire, I wouldn't expect a guide to be out until maybe the beginning of next year.
 
I'd buy one if it came out. I almost always buy guides just to see what they have to say. Especially for fighting games.
 
Jason_Hall
Don't you mean PiggyBack as they did the Gran Turismo 4 guide.


I will be getting it if they release one. :)
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I`ll get it from Prima/Piggyback. I do remember it changing publishers from GT 3/4. I have all the previous Prima GT guide books so i`ll grab this one to add to my collection :)
 
FlourescentBlak
I'd buy one if it came out. I almost always buy guides just to see what they have to say. Especially for fighting games.
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I have never bought a guide in my life, but I could be persuaded on this occasion if the content is as comprehensive as people are making out.
 
I'll only consider a guide if I eventually get bored of the game. Maybe it'll point to things I never thought of, or didn't discover, as well as tell me cool stuff I didn't know about the game. I don't like to have things laid out for me; I prefer to try to make my own way through it.

Then again, I always read "(strategy) guide" as "walkthrough", so I might be wrong.
 
Griffith500
I'll only consider a guide if I eventually get bored of the game. Maybe it'll point to things I never thought of, or didn't discover, as well as tell me cool stuff I didn't know about the game. I don't like to have things laid out for me; I prefer to try to make my own way through it.

Then again, I always read "(strategy) guide" as "walkthrough", so I might be wrong.
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Yeah, it's hard to call the Gran Turismo guides I've read "strategy guides." They're more of glorified reference manuals that hand out tips and tell you nice information about the contents of the game.
 
Griffith500
I'll only consider a guide if I eventually get bored of the game. Maybe it'll point to things I never thought of, or didn't discover, as well as tell me cool stuff I didn't know about the game. I don't like to have things laid out for me; I prefer to try to make my own way through it.

Then again, I always read "(strategy) guide" as "walkthrough", so I might be wrong.
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In the case of GT, it's more of a reference guide, because no matter what it tells you, it's not going to magically make you a better driver. You still need to implement knowledge and demonstrate skill to win those races.
 
Watevaman
Yeah, it's hard to call the Gran Turismo guides I've read "strategy guides." They're more of glorified reference manuals that hand out tips and tell you nice information about the contents of the game.
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Ah, right. Well, I've ordered a Collector's Edition anyway, so that probably makes me a hypocrite :p

Still, the sorts of things like prize car lists etc. are what I'd like to avoid, until I get bored. :)
I do remember, I think, GT2 guides that listed which cars to buy in which order, so that 100% could be earned "as fast as possible" - or with the minimum amount of faffing. This, I think, happened with GT5:P, too, which I found entertaining.
 
Ah, I will admit that having a list (if applicable) of what cars you win from which races, usually on one page, is a luxury I've become accustomed to having. However, I usually only use the "guide" portion for the checklist.
 
I bought the official guides for GT3 and GT4. I still bust them out from time to time (good bathroom reading material!) when I'm bored or looking for some clarification. Both were really good buys and I'd definitely get one if it came out for GT5.
 
We all know how to beat GT5, or get 100%. Win everything, win every race. What more is there to a racing game, lol. Strategies for certain types of cars around certain tracks, in terms of racing lines, I could see that stuff being useful. It's not like you are going to get stuck and think, "Hmmmm, I can't find a race! HELP!!!"
 
Falango
We all know how to beat GT5, or get 100%. Win everything, win every race. What more is there to a racing game, lol. Strategies for certain types of cars around certain tracks, in terms of racing lines, I could see that stuff being useful. It's not like you are going to get stuck and think, "Hmmmm, I can't find a race! HELP!!!"
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Read the thread and maybe you'll understand why they appeal to me.
 
I may get the GT5 guide since i still have the GT4 guide witch i used to keep track of what cars i had or what cars i still needed to get?
 
Watevaman
Read the thread and maybe you'll understand why they appeal to me.
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I agree with you completely. Sorry if my post was misinterpreted. My point was, I'm sure there will be a "guide" for GT5, but it will probably feature things like overviews and strategies to each track, and some interesting info about the tracks and cars. I do have a feeling that this stuff will be overlapped with the Apex book.
 
Haven't bought a guide for a GT game. I do have the big hardback book for GT4 but it was a making of book. If one does come out for GT5 I'll get it just because it will be a good compendium of EVERYTHING. The main reason I got the CE is for the 300 page booklet that comes with it. I need something to read while waiting on that 10gig install lol.
 
sw_sephiroth
The main reason I got the CE is for the 300 page booklet that comes with it.
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Yup, same. I would have likley bought the better edition if it were avalible in NA for that other book too.

I never knew that previous GT guides had a car checklist, that would be really handy.
 
well, guess we've got an answer:

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it's due to release on November 2nd.

I've seen it on a few websites now, including barnes & noble and amazon. You can pre-order it for $10.19 on amazon. I think I'll grab it, just as a somthing to complement the collector's edition.

Also, I saw this too: (The Art of Gran Turismo 5)

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That one I've only seen on B&N for $43.87. This book may be similar to the one included in the Signature Edition, which unfortunately isn't being released in the states.
 
Huh, 10 bucks, you say?

If I like GT5's features, I'll buy a PS3 when it comes out. That guide is 240 pages, so I'll see if I can nab one of those as well.

I dearly treasured my Syphon Filter and Pokemon Yellow guides, so I'd like to relive that tradition with GT5. As somebody else mentioned, it makes good bathroom reading.
 
CoolColJ
Guide? Drive fast!
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Buahhaha! Exacly. No need for a guide, also some people will have that Apex book with all car list, tips and tricks, thats enought.. But why buy a Guide for a racing game? We have forums to help newcomers to make a best lap, and best car for each event. Some tunning options from best users around, a guide wont give you good tuning options, just TIPS.. And yeah, GT planet is free
 
yeah ... they're not essential as guides, per se, but such guides do make those mandatory ventures into the bathroom more doable :)

i'm actually gonna hold off on ordering it for at least a few weeks, just in case a collector's or limited edition guide surfaces. i love my God of War 3 hardcover guide. let's see if PD or prima can top that one.

but like you guys are mockingly pointing out... such a guide won't make anyone a better driver. basically if you suck as a driver (in game or in real life), you can read all the books you want, but you'll still suck :)
 
regnar
With PD going to the wire, I wouldn't expect a guide to be out until maybe the beginning of next year.
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PD wouldn't work on the strategy guide. Game developers never do. They contract it out to companies that specifically do strategy guides who then contract it out to a freelance writer. PD would provide beta builds of the game since the writer obviously has to play it in order to write the guide. It is a time consuming process that starts months in advance of the games release. Strategy guide writers get to play games way before anyone else and see the entire process as the game develops. It is a really cool but very demanding and time consuming job.
 
iAMgt5
yeah ... they're not essential as guides, per se, but such guides do make those mandatory ventures into the bathroom more doable :)

i'm actually gonna hold off on ordering it for at least a few weeks, just in case a collector's or limited edition guide surfaces. i love my God of War 3 hardcover guide. let's see if PD or prima can top that one.

but like you guys are mockingly pointing out... such a guide won't make anyone a better driver. basically if you suck as a driver (in game or in real life), you can read all the books you want, but you'll still suck :)
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The original driving guide from GT basically got my driving off to a good start; granted the physics engine wasn't really fine enough for a lot of it to make a difference, but I played a lot of PC sims even back then. I'm probably a competent, if not exactly world-beating driver now, in games at least. Most of that might be practice... but without that insight, I might have practised the wrong things. So, a guide alone won't make you a fast driver, no.

Anyway, I don't think this guide is quite like the original GT driving guide, but I'm sure there'll be things of importance to somebody out there. 👍
 
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Griffith500
I'm probably a competent, if not exactly world-beating driver now, in games at least. Most of that might be practice... but without that insight, I might have practiced the wrong things. So, a guide alone won't make you a fast driver, no.
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I would say the same thing of myself. After spending many hours playing Forza 2 and 3, I've learned a lot about driving.

Given, I didn't read much to do with Forza specifically, but hours spent on forums and the little tips and tricks in the loading screens of the game certainly helped me immensely. I have foiund that I understand how to race far better with information, rather than practice alone.

The guide is just a useful collection of a whole load of tips and racing techniques, and is a pretty handy thing if you don't like reading on the computer, as I don't.

If there is one thing I wish to really improve in racing games, it is tuning. I had next to no clue what to do with the tuning options in both Forza's, and ended up simply upgrading the cars and making sure the air pressure in the tires was optimized. Beyond that, I rarely tried to tune a car, mainly because I haven't had the patience to see if I can set consistent enough laptimes to see if my tuning has made any difference.

If this guide includes useful tuning explanations beyond simply giving definitions of which different tuning options do what, I'll definitely look into getting it. If I decide to get a PS3, that is.

Which I most likely will. Have you seen those rain effects? :dopey:
 
hmm ... i suppose i stand corrected. but like you guys said, it's still a lot of input from you that made you better. the guide can be a good start point though, so yeah, in that way, i was wrong.
 

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