@photonrider ... I would imagine it's a lot of work. Trust you me, it is appreciated. I fly around a few threads for GT6, and the amount of dedication that yourself and people like
@McClarenDesign ,
@nowcontrol and countless others demonstrate on a weekly basis is astounding. It is also the reason that I, for one, keep coming back for more.
Ditto on that 👍 'cept I wouldn't put myself in the same league as those powerhouses of GTPlanet that you mentioned. And there are many others whose praises go unsung -
@JoostBaksteen, for instance, who is behind the WRS - and there are many other strong fans of the Series - tuners, drifters, photomode geniuses and ace time-trialers who work around this site to bring together and hold different pockets of the GT Communtity that are immersed unabashedly in the latest version.
For a game that's almost 2 years old, threads like this and the Beater or Sleeper thread (amongst others) keep it alive and interesting. I rather enjoy the fact of discovering new and interesting hidden gems and twists within the game I've recently achieved platinum status on. I may have done this game to 100% completion, but I'm far from done with the game.
The GT Series Sub-Forum is always active. There are still people playing GT on PS!
GT3 and 4 are still being discussed. Just the other day a guy who discovers GT4 for the first time flies in and is so excited about it starts posting like mad - but this is the vision behind a fan-site.
Someone just discovered the Stealth cars! Long time series fans crack a smile: 'Yeah, they come around every 700 days . . .
I learned that at another site (sssshhh . . .) long before I stumbled upon GTPlanet - but if I had known better I would have come here - and those older-version games are still being played and discussed.
Not everyone has a PS3 but still run their PS2; so GT3 and 4 stay alive and active for those people.
TBH - when I was reading those latest GT4 post I got so hyped-up myself I wanted to boot up the PS2 and start dabbling in it again - maybe do something at El Capitan or Seattle or Hawaii.
But this is not a video-game with the kind of role -playing in it that you can enjoy alone and offline.
Even hardcore 'solitaire' games like the Sims Series in which a player can immerse themselves in AI companionship and fantasy environments all under god-like control that can keep them enteretained alone, the Sims Forums are very active with players who gather to discuss tips, tricks, cheats and easter eggs.
If you take the Career Progression away the GT Series Evolution as it stands now is then nothing but an exotic, diverse, huge, complicated (but flexible) automotive-product-based simulator together with environments created to simulate automobile-related activity. (101 uses.
)
From real-world aptitude tests - to Lunar Rover low-gravity driving practise.
The Career Mode is what makes it a game - or rather - the Career Mode is a gaming part of this huge app - a gaming part that utilises the AI as players against us.
In a sense this is then companionship - AI that will play with us (and a lot more interactively than the sprites in Sims.) This explains the huge amount of players that never play in online lobbies - they can have as much fun within the game itself - some would even say more fun than online.
But then we factor in the 'Forum' connection.
A good fan-site filled with fans busy with one thing or another about the game is a great place to share the app - taking advantage of the game within the app to 'play online' while yet not being anywhere near a live lobby.
From The Stock Thread Challenges (done practically) to the assessments and reviews in Threads about Forgotten Cars, Duelling cars, and so on - these are all Forum-based challenges that bring people together so they don't have to play the game alone - so that the unabashed enjoyment and continued excitement is always fresh.
Add this to events like WRS or CoTW and all three components come together - the Game potentials, the Forum company, and the Online component.
For the little pitched battles that I relish either here or in online lobbies, I've "met" a lot of great people and some fantastic drivers. All in all, it's all of you people that help keep things fresh and keeps me striving to improve my racecraft to have further battles. It's just way too much fun to pass up! Thanks to all!
I'm sure many echo you - myself included.
Here I am - an everyday average driver rubbing shoulders with some of the world's best virtual driver/video-gamers with proven track records - and enjoying my humble performances thrown in with their mind-boggling times. (And that includes regarding you as one of the finest racers I've met online.)
I remember a moment online at the Nurb - where you were ahead of me but spun out, waited till I passed (I was trailing you by a few seconds) then recovered quickly to stalk me ruthlessly - though never shoving me out of the way (too narrow to pass where we were dueling it out) and then finally when I made that fatal slip and went wide you took the pass at lightning speed cleanly and professionally. That is the kind of racing I look forward to. I've met a few drivers like that online and never fear to jump into a lobby when I see them - their very presence tells me it's the kind of lobby I would enjoy myself in.
@photonrider I'll probably have some time at the weekend to take part in some testing.
I was hoping you would volunteer, Moose - you and the Baron have a documented record of running cars stock and what better way to test these cars than get the stockers to run them?
I run stock a lot myself - but can handle a variety of configurations because of much experimentation - so the trio of us should be sufficient.
Others may try out the specs as required and provide subjective opinions on the sameness or difference -
but we will be regarding only our statistical figures as the controlled results.
If necessary we will do more tests till we get some glimmer that we can work with and delve further from there.
There is no time frame - take your time, get the surgical gloves on, notebooks and underwater writing implements and so on and go for it when you are fresh and clear-minded.
Remember - when we are using B-Spec Bob as the Test Driver for the last two tests on each car, to never interfere with him/her after the initial command is given.
Don't leave the B-Spec race unattended - the final leaderboard will come up and you may miss the capture.
Having a camera around, adjusted to capture legible screenshots, is a boon - I capture all info with my camera - and then examine at leisure - or from there transcribe to hard copy.
I'm agnostic about the difference in NASCAR cars thing. I'm prepared to believe there is a difference but I can't help thinking that if the difference were consistent and significant it would be evident in the TT rankings. I mean with tens of thousands of people trying to get the fastest time over two weeks I think the faster cars would rise to the top, and that doesn't seem to happen. I'll be happy to be proved wrong though.
You can't be proved wrong if you have no opinion about it either way? I'm neutral about it until I see hard facts - and that would be statistical differences.
The fact that a variety of cars came up tops in the TTs is the same reason that a variety of cars come first at the NASCAR races. Though when JJ
keeps winning we take a close look at his car, maybe check the C-Pillars . . .
Will JJ win if he switched to a new car every race? If they were the same he would.
The cars are set up different IRL (though following the NASCAR "Be the Same!' specs as closely as legal.) But does the game do this?
If all the cars are 100% identical in performance at all tracks and right down the notches identical in power-reduction then I will have no hesitation in recording that as a fact.
What I'm seeing as a statistical fact right off the bat is that the cars are not the same when 'equalised'.
At 70% Jimmie is downgraded to 577 PP while the others stay at 578.
To get to 578 PP for JJ I need to add 0.7% more power. In this sense the cars are different. Why?
Let's put out heads and hands together and figure it out.
What I'm subjectively seeing here (because the game-stats don't agree with me) is that the gearing is different, and so are the suspension set-ups on the three Test Cars in
this particular test.
btw I was P1 in the Falcon not P2. It's the only car I've managed to win with.
Corrected now - I saw you improved your time but failed to notice the increase in position as you took off deeper into Oz.
Wow, lot of racing going on !! Cars in the way at Matterhorn, with Rocket . At 5:37 in my way, at 5:27 so so, at 5:22 just on slow turns which is good, at 5:19 a bit worse .
It was the Rocket that started the games in here -
Hall and myself going after an AI named
E. Papp who drove a Rocket at Brands Hatch. He was hard to beat - but had a huge lead. So we wondered how fast he was anyway and went after him. Later on we found him in Career Mode at Eiger dominating the competition - and beat him there, too (
Papp's Peak Award.)
So what better car for dominating the competition in this event?
Yup, lot's of good racing going on - and the deeper you're into this series, the deeper your enjoyment.
Tell me about it. My perfect grid was only perfect at 5.20. I went back for another try and did a slightly better first lap, which resulted in rear-ending the Jaguar, who seemed very determined to get in my way. Twice. .
I'm beginning to think these guys remember. Some of them can hold a grudge through many races.
I'll check to see if the Jag comes after me, too - or if it's just personal between you two.
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I have published the TWIN RING TEST procedures in a separate post to avoid any complications (please note the Post number for reference)
