GT3 - a single question...

[SoloWingDixie]

Hi, guys!

I'm full of curiosity. How it comes that this eight-year-old game still provides the player with photorealistic visuals (mostly during replays). I believe you have the same impression. When you see your car racing, it still feels as if you were watching a real-life footage. Eight years! Even in light of the HD PS3 installments, GT3 doesn't fail to give you this astounding "wow, it's so real" feel.

I know everything written above is widely known by the vast majority of members. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and ask if anyone know what special technique that GT4 happened to miss was used in creating GT3 graphics...

 

[mistamontiel]

You think GT4 was better ??

The thing I really hated, in replaying for GT4 was the Dive Camera..I had to hit Square three times over and over, if you keep it on Dive too long it'll switch to the other car, or the car in 1st place.

GT4 has the better replay, but GT3 definitely has the better presentation. I just got GT3 again recently..the cars are so big..nothing like GT4. And drifting ?? Forget about it, GT3 is completely in favor of drifting !!

GT4 wasn't a loss. When I was racing at night in GT3, or even Seattle I had to get disappointed with the lighting effect, it looks the same on every car. GT4's lights look just perfect, beautiful. You can check how much throttle or braking you use, GT4 did a lot for the series.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Hi, guys!

I'm full of curiosity. How it comes that this eight-year-old game still provides the player with photorealistic visuals (mostly during replays). I believe you have the same impression. When you see your car racing, it still feels as if you were watching a real-life footage. Eight years! Even in light of the HD PS3 installments, GT3 doesn't fail to give you this astounding "wow, it's so real" feel.

I know everything written above is widely known by the vast majority of members. I simply wanted to share my thoughts and ask if anyone know what special technique that GT4 happened to miss was used in creating GT3 graphics...

Yea I know what you mean. GT3 has slightly better graphics than GT4. It also has much better replay camera action. One general opinion is that in GT4, they had to sacrifice some of this to get hundreds more cars and also more tracks into the game.

GT1/2 are the same way. GT1 has better graphics than GT2, as well as less visual glitches. Again, it's partially because of the extra 600+ vehicles +more tracks they had to cram into 2. But also, GT1 had a longer development period than GT2 if you consider the fact that Motor Toon (PD's first racing game) provided the basis for GT's car physics modeling.

 

[oldmodelt]

Picked up GT3 for 1.99. Mainly for the complex string track.

 

[Qronicle]

I agree the visuals in GT3 are still very impressive, especially that red viper on one of the wet-night stages still leaves me questioning how they pulled it off.

Anyways, I finally aced the Tihiti Maze and Complex String Time Trials, but my completion status stayed at 99% Am I missing something? (won all arcade and gt races, gold on all time trials...)

 

[Shoogar]

I agree the visuals in GT3 are still very impressive, especially that red viper on one of the wet-night stages still leaves me questioning how they pulled it off.

Anyways, I finally aced the Tihiti Maze and Complex String Time Trials, but my completion status stayed at 99% Am I missing something? (won all arcade and gt races, gold on all time trials...)

Try going through all of the races, and see if you've come 2nd or 3rd in any of them, and race the track again, and win.

GT3 is defiantly in my favor. Had a race on it with my dad, we were both in Ruf RGT's around Midfield, was an outstanding race. 15 laps, and it came down to who could get on to the final straight with the fastest speed. Although the catch-up is extremely unrealistic, we were pulling 1:20's until my dad pit, and on the same lap he exited the pits, he pulled a 1:07. But I did a 59.837 after my pit stop. So we decided to turn Catch up off, and well, it came to using the pits wisely.

Drifting is also a lot better in Gt3, and I find you can run on one lot of tires longer. I was leading for most laps, and pit once is a 30 lap race, when he pit 5 times.

The one bad thing I would have to put in, would be the stiffness of some of the cars, and the fact that there aren't many cars in the game. But there are Indy cars, and formula 1's (Polophony 002, and Polophony 001)

 

[Viper-Fan]

I agree the visuals in GT3 are still very impressive, especially that red viper on one of the wet-night stages still leaves me questioning how they pulled it off.

Anyways, I finally aced the Tihiti Maze and Complex String Time Trials, but my completion status stayed at 99% Am I missing something? (won all arcade and gt races, gold on all time trials...)

Same, I don't know why, but I seem to be missing 1 and a bit percent holding me back from completion. Could it possibly be an issue to do with the early versions of GT3 A-Spec? I got the PAL version when it was first released way back in '01.

 

[Duke]

As far as I know there are no versions of GT3 that cannot be completed 100%. You'll have to go back race by race and check to make sure you have gold on everything (except the license tests).

 

[Viper-Fan]

You'll have to go back race by race and check to make sure you have gold on everything (except the license tests).

Ok, will do 👍 I'm absolutely certain I had all golds the last time I checked though. Oh well, always worth double checking.

 

[Duke]

Do you have all arcade races won at Hard level? That's required too. And championships need to be won as championships, not just individual races.

I'm just grasping at ideas, here.

 

[AyJay]

But also, GT1 had a longer development period than GT2 if you consider the fact that Motor Toon (PD's first racing game) provided the basis for GT's car physics modeling.

Bwahahaha! I never knew that! And I used to love that game!

 

[viperin]

I find it interesting that a lot of people comment on how fantastic the graphics are for GT3.
I agree they are certainly a class above GT1 & 2 as far as being smooth and glossy.
However I find the graphics somehow, soulless ?
I never really felt any particular "realism" playing the game.
I also detested the lighting and general look of Laguna Seca, I am glad GT4 got back on the right track there, as it were.
I realise the developers were trying different looks for the respective versions but I just feel GT4 was far superior.
Comments ?

 

[Parnelli Bone]

It's a matter of opinion, really. I remember way back when...some people swore GT2 has better graphix than GT1, for instance. To me, GT2's cars often have too much glare on them, don't seem as detailed (most of them don't anyways, there are a few exceptions). You can look at any car in GT1 from any angle, and it'll have more of a "finished" look to it...without all the added glare GT2 cars have. But whatever...there are plenty of people who totally disagree on this opinion.

I agree GT3 is a bit soulless; one could make the same argument of GT4 or GT5P, honestly. They're not really soulful games. GT is more about flash and superiority..."look at how mighty we at PD are! We are the BEST." PD keeps trying to make each game more visually stunning than the next. That's what it's all about.

But there's more detail in GT3 than there is in 4. I was gonna make a picture-based comparison thread of the same tracks in GT3 and GT4 but never got around to it yet, just to show what I'm talking about. And GT3 (you can't argue about this) has a much better replay system with multiple modes and camera angles.

It even has a mode that switches randomly from car to car while creating camera angles that you'd swore you've never seen before. This is important because it means you can watch a replay that's constantly varying, while truly zoning out. No buttons need to be pressed. Every time you press a button during a GT4 replay (to watch another car) you're using a different part of your brain than you are if you're just kicking back, letting the game replay surprise you.

GT4 sort of has something similar to this, but it's not as varied...it's that stupid "Dive" mode or whatever..the mode that changes colors and stuff. I can't watch it...it always gives me a headache. GT4 also has a mode which switches automatically from car to car, but it uses all the standard camera angles a regular replay uses. No surprises. Not only this, but most people don't know how to get into this mode...you have to go into the Starting screen and mess with the Options panel just to find it! I bet you don't even know what I'm talking about!

 

[viperin]

Yes, I agree with the GT1 ==> GT2 comparison, you would think with more horsepower for the game it would be a quantum leap ahead but it aint.
I also felt the same for GT2==>GT3, it was definitely superior but had somehow lost something in translation.
It is probably all down to the different lighting "look" of each version.
I hear what you are saying about the various replay modes, having spent a lot of time producing replay videos for myself and others amusement.

Later.

 

[TeamStig]

I'm surprised most of you are saying that GT3 looks better than GT4. I consider GT4 to have the best graphics of any PS2 game. But if you guys disagree, maybe I should go back and play GT3 again just to check.

And yes, visually GT1 > GT2

But Parnelli, I don't think you can make the argument that GT5P lacks soul. "My Page," the jazz music, the pre-race garage screen, the close of shots of the cars against glossy white backgrounds...if anything GT5P is the most soulful racing game I've ever played (I think that's the only time I will ever use the words "soulful" and "racing game" in the same sentence - that sounded pretty strange ).