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So thanks to some developments over the past couple of years by some very talented developers which have given us the ability to unpack and repack GT4's file system, and some more recent research from myself into engine sound formats, the modding potential for GT4 is really starting to come to light. I've been toiling away on my own mod in the background for a while now, and I figured that there's now enough progress to start one of our modding threads for GT4.
I'll kick things off by giving a brief overview of my as-yet-unnamed GT4 mod. I'm basing mine on the NTSC build of GT4 Online, as it's packaged on a single layer disc and has a few nice enhancements compared to the base game, including but not limited to proper 16:9 scaling for fonts in widescreen mode, the online functionality which is now restored thanks to others' work on custom servers, and other minor bugfixes which have been discussed over the years.
To avoid any piracy concerns and keep download sizes small, I'll be delivering my mod as a patch file that users can apply, using xdelta, to their own disc image to make the modded version. All you'll need to do is ensure your disc image is dumped to Redump standards (i.e. an MD5 hash of 3306538778dda2ded87ceaf52c944a98), make a backup, and apply the patch. This system should also let me bundle multiple versions of the mod to deliver some optional aspects that some folks might not want changed in their games, which I'll touch upon below.
Content Porting/Restoration:
Tweaks and Fixes:
* - A little background on the cut driving missions - while there are text strings left over describing mostly how these events would have worked, there is no actual data for them left in the game. You may have seen entries on TCRF showing the Chase Battle missions, which describe a game mode where the player has to reduce the time delta between themselves and a faster car to win. As far as I know this isn't actually possible in the versions of GT4 we have, so a few people have made their own interpretations of how these missions would've worked which you may have already seen on Youtube. What I'll be building into my mod is my own interpretation of that set of missions, complete with some sort of prize car for completing 35-40.
** - Mainly to strike a good, enjoyable balance - not like GT4 allowing the classic CLK/RSC cheese strategies, but also not like GT7. Expect things like "National B Silver and the early days' UCD will both offer cars that are good for the beginner/professional halls", things that will change the game up but also not force the player down one specific ideal path.
Sounds:
If anyone has played the GT6 Spec II mod then you'll know the deal here - I want to work through as many cars as possible in GT4, giving them all the most accurate sounds I can find. I'll be sourcing sounds from a number of different places, such as creating porting entirely new sounds across from other games, utilising unused sounds as mentioned above, or even just remixing and reassigning existing GT4 sounds to cars that are more appropriate for them. Bear in mind though that these sounds won't be perfect - I'm working with tiny 100KB per sound PS2-era limits at the end of the day.
I've cooked up a little preview video of what I've got so far:
I'll kick things off by giving a brief overview of my as-yet-unnamed GT4 mod. I'm basing mine on the NTSC build of GT4 Online, as it's packaged on a single layer disc and has a few nice enhancements compared to the base game, including but not limited to proper 16:9 scaling for fonts in widescreen mode, the online functionality which is now restored thanks to others' work on custom servers, and other minor bugfixes which have been discussed over the years.
To avoid any piracy concerns and keep download sizes small, I'll be delivering my mod as a patch file that users can apply, using xdelta, to their own disc image to make the modded version. All you'll need to do is ensure your disc image is dumped to Redump standards (i.e. an MD5 hash of 3306538778dda2ded87ceaf52c944a98), make a backup, and apply the patch. This system should also let me bundle multiple versions of the mod to deliver some optional aspects that some folks might not want changed in their games, which I'll touch upon below.
Content Porting/Restoration:
- Mazda MX-5 '05 added and implemented into the Mazda new car dealer
- Many previously-unused engine sounds have been utilised where appropriate to give cars more realistic sounds (e.g. Autozam AZ-1 was a 4cyl sound before, now using a more realistic 3cyl sample that nothing else used)
- (Planned) re-adding the cut Roadgoing Formula Cup to the Exterme Hall
- Recreating* the cut Driving Missions 35 through 40
Tweaks and Fixes:
- Realistic automatic shifting (e.g. Nissan GT-R Proto, Mercedes SL500) applied to more cars with suitable auto transmissions
- Some UCD selections and all licence, race, and mission awards changed to shake up the typical career paths a little**
- (Optional) Endurance races normalised to a more accessible length, e.g. 1-2 hours max
- (Optional) Removal of those pesky loud horns and crowd cheers on tracks
- (Potentially) Changing up some race opponents' cars and skill to increase the challenge a little
* - A little background on the cut driving missions - while there are text strings left over describing mostly how these events would have worked, there is no actual data for them left in the game. You may have seen entries on TCRF showing the Chase Battle missions, which describe a game mode where the player has to reduce the time delta between themselves and a faster car to win. As far as I know this isn't actually possible in the versions of GT4 we have, so a few people have made their own interpretations of how these missions would've worked which you may have already seen on Youtube. What I'll be building into my mod is my own interpretation of that set of missions, complete with some sort of prize car for completing 35-40.
** - Mainly to strike a good, enjoyable balance - not like GT4 allowing the classic CLK/RSC cheese strategies, but also not like GT7. Expect things like "National B Silver and the early days' UCD will both offer cars that are good for the beginner/professional halls", things that will change the game up but also not force the player down one specific ideal path.
Sounds:
If anyone has played the GT6 Spec II mod then you'll know the deal here - I want to work through as many cars as possible in GT4, giving them all the most accurate sounds I can find. I'll be sourcing sounds from a number of different places, such as creating porting entirely new sounds across from other games, utilising unused sounds as mentioned above, or even just remixing and reassigning existing GT4 sounds to cars that are more appropriate for them. Bear in mind though that these sounds won't be perfect - I'm working with tiny 100KB per sound PS2-era limits at the end of the day.
I've cooked up a little preview video of what I've got so far:
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