Is anyone else disappointed with GT5?

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To be fair, as harsh as I've been on GT5 and as disappointed as I am with this game, one thing I will praise it for is the damage. Especially if you compare it to Forza 2 & 3.

With those two games you can be racing in a Clio and recieve a light brush to the back end then the aero damage that you recieve will lose you 2-3 seconds a lap.............IN A CLIO!!!!!

What's worse is the aero damage is un-repairable.

One of my friends (and clan members) actually races in the real Clio cup and I've been taken for passenger rides around Brands Hatch in his race car. His car hasn't had a straight chassis for at least 2 years yet he's competetive in it and has scored a few podiums.


I am not so sure I feel generous with the praise for damage

GrPqt.jpg
 
To be fair, as harsh as I've been on GT5 and as disappointed as I am with this game, one thing I will praise it for is the damage. Especially if you compare it to Forza 2 & 3.

With those two games you can be racing in a Clio and recieve a light brush to the back end then the aero damage that you recieve will lose you 2-3 seconds a lap.............IN A CLIO!!!!!

What's worse is the aero damage is un-repairable.

One of my friends (and clan members) actually races in the real Clio cup and I've been taken for passenger rides around Brands Hatch in his race car. His car hasn't had a straight chassis for at least 2 years yet he's competetive in it and has scored a few podiums.

No, the damage in GT5 is one of the worst things in GT5 and one of the worst damage models in any driving game ever.
True story! :D
 
I think they just took a different route with the damage. It seems like Dirt 2 was panel for panel destruction. If you touch anything you lose at least 1 part and a huge impact meant you weren't going to continue on anymore, the axles break and everything, which is realistic.

Where as GT5 chose to keep all their parts, but just bend them instead of losing them. It works where you have good impacts and parts bend, they don't go flying off, but when you smash into other cars, rails, jumps, it's way too prudent and it bends glass, which shouldn't happen either. I'd like to know if it was easier or just more compatible with their graphics engine. I'm guessing the latter.
 
For sure. I don't have any problem with the damage rendering myself I think it looks fantastic. I once spun out and the back of my car was hard against the barrier. I changed to the look back view ( in third person ) just as I did so a car came past and collected the front corner of my car. I literally saw the dent being made and I was like "wow that is unbelievably excellent damage molding and in real time". Its wasn't like one frame the car was fine then the next frame it was wrecked, it seemed really linear the way it came across and to top it off the shape of the dent even seemed to correlate to what it might look like from such a impact. After that I was of the opinion the damage modeling was way beyond what it needed to be and no doubt sucked up alot of development time.
It can be faulted in that it seems a bit inconsistent as to whether the contact is going to show or not on impacts at the lower end of the spectrum.

And to reiterate what I said earlier cars should be able to graze each other without breaking an axle. Race cars do this all the time and it does not destroy the cars handling. Fair enough when its a reasonable impact but not from a light graze or a touch that wouldn't even dent the bumper. Its like all or nothing with GT5.
 
If it wasnt for everybody wanting damage, we would probably have more premium cars. I personally dont care for the damage, its never been in any of the GT games and it seemed that GT was more for the beauty of the car. I hardly hit the wall if at all anyways to the damage is really nothing. I think its cool after a long endurance race that the car is actually dirty
 
For sure. I don't have any problem with the damage rendering myself I think it looks fantastic. I once spun out and the back of my car was hard against the barrier. I changed to the look back view ( in third person ) just as I did so a car came past and collected the front corner of my car. I literally saw the dent being made and I was like "wow that is unbelievably excellent damage molding and in real time". Its wasn't like one frame the car was fine then the next frame it was wrecked, it seemed really linear the way it came across and to top it off the shape of the dent even seemed to correlate to what it might look like from such a impact. After that I was of the opinion the damage modeling was way beyond what it needed to be and no doubt sucked up alot of development time.
It can be faulted in that it seems a bit inconsistent as to whether the contact is going to show or not on impacts at the lower end of the spectrum.

And to reiterate what I said earlier cars should be able to graze each other without breaking an axle. Race cars do this all the time and it does not destroy the cars handling. Fair enough when its a reasonable impact but not from a light graze or a touch that wouldn't even dent the bumper. Its like all or nothing with GT5.

Occasionally the damage works out perfectly... but the vast majority of the time it's total crap. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

If it wasnt for everybody wanting damage, we would probably have more premium cars. I personally dont care for the damage, its never been in any of the GT games and it seemed that GT was more for the beauty of the car. I hardly hit the wall if at all anyways to the damage is really nothing. I think its cool after a long endurance race that the car is actually dirty

Sure... and if any number of other things hadn't happened we would have more premium cars... like good project management, perhaps outsourcing some work or, you know, not choosing a level of detail so high as your goal that it makes the whole project unfeasable... after all if THAT had been different we could have had ALL cars of the same reasonably high quality... you know, like all the other GT games before...

And as for damage, sure people wanted it, but it's as much or more PDs fault for dragging their feet so long on implimenting a common and important part of auto racing that they were stuck with so much work at once... doesn't help that again they decided for their first try they couldn't be just as good as everyone else, they ahd to set the goal stupid high again... beyond what anyone else has ever done...

Sorry... blame falls squarely on PD for all aspects of this product being so shoddily put together and released.

Blaming the customer for wanting damage would be like blaming the customer for wanting their steak cooked properly.

If your chef has never bothered to practice cooking steaks and decides rather than just getting the temp right he is going to make the ultimate rub and sauce for the perfect steak his first go round and screws it all up... that's the chefs fault... not the customer.

You know if we all just wanted RC Pro AM from the Nintendo the whole thing would have been perfect... funny how that doesn't work though and there is this weird rule about how with time quality is expected to go up... not just "it was never there before so you dont need it now".

PD's own choices have been their own undoing, more so with GT Acadmey than ever.
 
If it wasnt for everybody wanting damage, we would probably have more premium cars. I personally dont care for the damage, its never been in any of the GT games and it seemed that GT was more for the beauty of the car. I hardly hit the wall if at all anyways to the damage is really nothing. I think its cool after a long endurance race that the car is actually dirty

1) Damage happens in real life. If Polyphony want to keep their 'The Real Driving Simulator' tagline, they have to implement damage.

2) They'll hopefully transcended this 'only the beauty of the car counts' virtual stamp collection thingy and make it feel more like, you know, racing :D

Either way, there's lots of problems with the damage, both visual and mechanical. Personally, I'd prefer it if PD focused on fixing the A-Spec mode of GT Life first, as that's my main gripe with the game.
Lots of small stuf that adds to the frustration, but if they could iron that one out (a little, at least), it'd do a lot for me.
 
I can appreciate that there is some type of damage in GT5, better than nothing. And I also can appreciate the theory behind their method and direction of damage but the actual implementation of it leaves ALOT to be desired. It's like they should have put a big "WORK IN PROGRESS" sign on the damage because it just doesn't cut it.
 
I'd prefer it if PD focused on fixing the A-Spec mode of GT Life first, as that's my main gripe with the game.

^ This. I love driving cars in GT5 but at present I only do it in time trial and usually around the Ring. It's great taking different cars round there with the weather and time of day changing but that's only one aspect of why I bought the game. I just want a progressive, challenging and long (for the right reasons, not grindingly long ;) ) single player experience. Currently it's just plain sucks and I have zero appetite for it becasue at present it's just not as rewarding as taking a bunch of cars round the Ring on my own.

If they can significantly improve the single player then my score for the game would increase dramatically.
 
At this point in time with GT4, we had barely scratched the surface on the depths of the game.
With GT5 except for seasonal events and online, the game is over.
The depth of GT3 even beats this game, hands down.

This sums up my disapointment quite nicely, really.

While I don't have the time for a game like GT3 or Gt4 right now, I'd like the option to keep coming back to it every so often. All I'm doing at the mo is grinding with Bob to get an X1, because I want to see what all the fuss is about, then It's coming out the PS3, possibly for good.
 
I'm point blank refusing to grind, its the worst aspect of the game for me. punishing players rather than rewarding their skill is illogical no matter what way you look at it. If I win something once I have nothing to prove by doing it again. No other game I can think of expects players to repeat sections of it for hours.
The other most illogical part of the game: Negating the licenses by having a leveling system. It makes no sense other than to artificially extend the game.
I think implementing damage in the game (properly) would have required a complete re-design of the game engine, something that PD seem to never want to do.
 
This sums up my disapointment quite nicely, really.

While I don't have the time for a game like GT3 or Gt4 right now, I'd like the option to keep coming back to it every so often. All I'm doing at the mo is grinding with Bob to get an X1, because I want to see what all the fuss is about, then It's coming out the PS3, possibly for good.

Don't bother... seriously. The "fuss" is all about a turbo go-cart that pulls about the same g as a Typhoon fighter jet and will attempt to kill your FFB wheel (if you have one) or drive you insane trying to control it with analogue pad.

If you can wait til tomorrow I'll bloody give you an X1 to play with so you can save the electricity and time pointlessly grinding. I'm serious.
 
SupraCobraJet
Having played online, off and on for nearly 10 yrs now I found, its no substitute for a good single player experience such as GT4.

I do feel that this is a very sad statement.

I've played online games now for about 12 years. During that time I've met some of the biggest idiots the world has ever seen. But, I've also gone out of my way to make lasting friendships.

I now play online with about 10 or 12 people who are brilliant. We meet regularly, go camping, stay at each others houses and get drunk together. I've had one of them stay for Christmas on two separate occasions.

And as each and every year goes past they introduce me to new friends, Some come, some go but the difference is that you have to treat this as a long term deal. If you play with someone you can chat to, who you like, send them a PSN friend invite, with a message ( why do I get so many PSN invites from people with no message at all? ) and try and play with them again. They'll be just as glad to play with someone who isn't a 🤬 as you are.

It doesn't matter how good the AI becomes. It will never ever be as good as playing against a real person.


Kaldaroth
Why did they emphisize so much on **** boxes like the Miev, Cappuccino, Prius, etc… Cars I will never EVER use!

PD have taken a lot of inspiration from the various Top Gear series now running around the world so it's not surprising that they've tried to emulate some of more madcap races they try on the shows. But I don't think it's fair to say they've tried to emphasize it. They've just given us the option.

Try to think out of the box a little. My friends and I have raced Go Karts round the Ring and we've done Nascar around London ( my god that was a mess ) and these can provide a lot of fun. So can the one make a-spec races you see in the practice session.

I do take on board your comments regarding the large number of Mazdas, Skylines ( and can I add Nissans in general ) but it's not PDs fault that you're limiting yourself to bigger engine cars.

GT5 does something that no GT has done to date. It's given us a sandbox to make our own races in and the limitations are restricted to those in our imagination.

Now...if I could only race a Minolta against a Kubelwagon and an Apache Helicopter I'd be fine!
 
I found the in game damage disappointing. It just looked like plastic body panels had melted in the heat. :rolleyes:

When I played online, the damage, while too harsh, was mechanical damage which could be felt and seen on the icon which shows the tyres heating/wearing. During one race I had damage and decided to pit to repair it, luckily the other drivers decided to do the same as they had also damaged their cars, and because the damage was severe enough to slow you down enough to make a pit stop worth while. Just like real life in fact. Why in game and online damage is so different is beyond me. :confused: It is like two parts of the company were working on online and in game damage, and never talked to each other. :rolleyes: Where's the consistency?
 
Pardon my ignorance, I've never played any other GT game, so I find it odd when people say GT5 has too few A-Spec events compared to GT4. I thought A-Spec was kinda repetitive already except for a few memorable and distinct events like FGT C'ship, Super GT C'ship, Classic Racecar series etc.

I think having more A-Spec events won't add more value to the game as it will be no different from repeating the finished events but with different cars. More special events (like longer NASCAR races with pitstops) will be nice though. :)

Plus, it will be awesome if they add depth to the A-Spec mode instead of broadening it. Reward multipliers for finishing events with lower powered cars will be a good and challenging addition and it will also encourage us to try out some more of the lower powered cars with different tuning options.
 
I think having more A-Spec events won't add more value to the game as it will be no different from repeating the finished events but with different cars. More special events (like longer NASCAR races with pitstops) will be nice though. :)

Plus, it will be awesome if they add depth to the A-Spec mode instead of broadening it. Reward multipliers for finishing events with lower powered cars will be a good and challenging addition and it will also encourage us to try out some more of the lower powered cars with different tuning options.

What you're describing there is, essentially, GT4's A-Spec mode. Including the award of A-Spec points for using lower powered cars.

That's why people are saying it was better: PD basically did what people want out of GT Life today. They did it six years ago and scraped it.
 
What you're describing there is, essentially, GT4's A-Spec mode. Including the award of A-Spec points for using lower powered cars.

That's why people are saying it was better: PD basically did what people want out of GT Life today. They did it six years ago and scraped it.

Hmm! Don't understand why they scraped it. Maybe, people complaining about the dumbness/unfairness of the reward multiplier system made them scrap it. :P

Seriously though, such a system would have been great for GT5. Stuff like A-Spec leaderboards showing the lowest powered cars people used to win each event with would have made the system even sweeter.
 
Apricot Hill
High Speed Test Track
Tahiti Rd.
Super SPeedway
Complex String
El Capitan
Grindelwald
Gymkhana
Midfield
Red Rock Valley
Citta di Aria
Costa di Amalfi
George V Paris
Hong Kong
Las Vegas Drag Strip
New York
Opera Paris
Seattle
Soeul
Special Stage Rt 11
Valencia
Infineon
Twin Ring Motegi

All of the above are tracks that have appeared in previous GT games (or Tourist Trophy with Valencia) but are not in GT5. I understand that real-world circuits come with licensing agreements but how on earth could they leave out so many original circuits? And I didn't even bother to list all the rally circuits either. Is it too much to ask to include just a few more of these, many of which I'd consider standards (Seattle anyone?)
 
Pardon my ignorance, I've never played any other GT game, so I find it odd when people say GT5 has too few A-Spec events compared to GT4. I thought A-Spec was kinda repetitive already except for a few memorable and distinct events like FGT C'ship, Super GT C'ship, Classic Racecar series etc.
This is actually because GT5 handles AI drivers differently from how GT1-GT4 did them. It is basically a double-whammy: There aren't many races, but the races that are still there are repetitive because they all seem the same. And because GT Life almost completely ignores several of the tracks in the game in favor of tons of races on the same tracks (look at how many time Cape Ring is reused throughout the game, for example), it is actually something of a triple-whammy.
 
Apricot Hill
High Speed Test Track
Tahiti Rd.
Super SPeedway
Complex String
El Capitan
Grindelwald
Gymkhana
Midfield
Red Rock Valley
Citta di Aria
Costa di Amalfi
George V Paris
Hong Kong
Las Vegas Drag Strip
New York
Opera Paris
Seattle
Soeul
Special Stage Rt 11
Valencia
Infineon
Twin Ring Motegi

All of the above are tracks that have appeared in previous GT games (or Tourist Trophy with Valencia) but are not in GT5. I understand that real-world circuits come with licensing agreements but how on earth could they leave out so many original circuits? And I didn't even bother to list all the rally circuits either. Is it too much to ask to include just a few more of these, many of which I'd consider standards (Seattle anyone?)

Given the structure of GT5, everything A-spec gets mirrored in B-spec. I've wondered if any tracks were eliminated because the AI didn't work well there.
 
Apricot Hill
High Speed Test Track
Tahiti Rd.
Super SPeedway
Complex String
El Capitan
Grindelwald
Gymkhana
Midfield
Red Rock Valley
Citta di Aria
Costa di Amalfi
George V Paris
Hong Kong
Las Vegas Drag Strip
New York
Opera Paris
Seattle
Soeul
Special Stage Rt 11
Valencia
Infineon
Twin Ring Motegi

All of the above are tracks that have appeared in previous GT games (or Tourist Trophy with Valencia) but are not in GT5. I understand that real-world circuits come with licensing agreements but how on earth could they leave out so many original circuits? And I didn't even bother to list all the rally circuits either. Is it too much to ask to include just a few more of these, many of which I'd consider standards (Seattle anyone?)

'Track-gasm', followed by 'I just threw up in my mouth' when I thought "they could just re-animate these tracks", and I wouldn't even have time to complain anymore!
 
Given the structure of GT5, everything A-spec gets mirrored in B-spec. I've wondered if any tracks were eliminated because the AI didn't work well there.
the AI seems to work fine when using the Course Maker, so why wouldn't it work in Seattle or El Capitan?[/rhetorical]
 
the AI seems to work fine when using the Course Maker, so why wouldn't it work in Seattle or El Capitan?[/rhetorical]
Don't know for sure, but we do know that the AI has trouble with certain spots on some tracks (like Monaco, for example). Seattle had that nasty kink near the main straight, and I can't really think of a spot where El Capitan would cause trouble, except maybe near the tunnel. It's hard to say for sure without seeing the algorithms for getting 10+ AI cars through tight sections of track.

Does the course maker allow for kinked sections?

Great tracks in that list, though. Sure would be nice to see them again in GT5.
 
I guess I'll throw my laundry list down. I hope I don't miss too many and kick myself later for it. And no, I don't play it anymore. I'm waiting for patches or GT6.

  • Not enough options for race requirements online
  • No 'race builder' ability to customize races offline
  • No AI difficulty settings
  • Not enough offline race variety, poor requirements for many of these races
  • Not enough filter/search options for finding lobbies
  • Leaderboards and matchmaking were on the package but not in the game
  • B-spec controls poorly documented
  • B-spec generally inferior to GT4 (more hassle, little fun)
  • Track cutting allowed
  • Generally poor penalty system online/offline
  • Fuel use and tire wear don't seem proper (?)
  • Errors in car documentation
  • No 'realistic' option for visual/mechanical damage
  • Mechanical damage not allowed in a/b spec
  • Not all cars can be sold
  • Only one tune per car
  • Not all cars can be painted
  • Some(?) cars lose repaint color when traded
  • No methods of organizing garage (folders maybe)
  • Paint system is silly and lacks preview.
  • Coursemaker tracks not able to go online
  • Head tracking almost totally missing from the game
  • Variable physics (?) (offline/online)
  • Standard cars were not upscaled very well
  • GT4 tracks not upscaled very well
  • Poor shadow and smoke effects
  • Menus are clumsy and take too long to load (backgrounds?)
  • Logitech wheel support (especialy braking) clumsier than prologue
  • Upgrade glitches when upgrading or race modding (have to do things in proper order or else parts, or their effects, vanish).
  • Cars gain HP, making it hard to tune for a set number
  • Standard cars lack appearance upgrades that they had in gt4
  • 'Bumper cam' placement appears inconsistent from car to car (?)
  • No photo mode for standard cars
  • Long initial load time (bad for when the game locks up and you restart)
  • Leaving online lobby doesn't take you to lobby select
  • 'Facebook style' profile settings not integrated into online very well (no league/tourney tools, no avatars in lobbies, no groups even)
  • Keeps forgetting that I use a custom soundtrack
  • No custom soundtracks online
  • Time/weather options not available on all tracks
  • Let me pick tire/assist options or view requirements while online track is loading
  • Many hours of entertainment lost due to poor utilization of Top Gear track (standing starts, drag races, camera angles)
  • Localization of measures incomplete (kilograms, newton metres?)
  • Don't even get me started on the sounds. There's little sense of savagery on even the most extreme car.
  • Endurance races lack save, or ability to switch drivers (b-spec or online)
  • Lack of custom decals. GT's never had/needed them before, but I ding them for it. Decal shops have become an expected feature in triple-A racing games and GT has long been the king of customization.

Some of these seem like they would be very quick fixes.
 
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Reaperman, that's a good list.

I enjoy the game immensely, but if PD wanted to knock this game out of the park, they'd be well advised to go straight down that list.
 
I do feel that this is a very sad statement.

I've played online games now for about 12 years. During that time I've met some of the biggest idiots the world has ever seen. But, I've also gone out of my way to make lasting friendships.

I now play online with about 10 or 12 people who are brilliant. We meet regularly, go camping, stay at each others houses and get drunk together. I've had one of them stay for Christmas on two separate occasions.

And as each and every year goes past they introduce me to new friends, Some come, some go but the difference is that you have to treat this as a long term deal. If you play with someone you can chat to, who you like, send them a PSN friend invite, with a message ( why do I get so many PSN invites from people with no message at all? ) and try and play with them again. They'll be just as glad to play with someone who isn't a 🤬 as you are.

I think you misinterpret my meaning on that.

I have also enjoyed some great comradery and racing online.
Not to the extent of friendship you describe, but I can relate to that potential.
However it is a different aspect and experience altogether.

Likewise I have enjoyed to the same degree, the comradery of fellow A-spec point enthusiasts in the pursuit and exploration of the Maximum point mystery in GT4.
There has been nothing for me like that experience in any racing game to date.
There is no mystery game within a game or challenge to match it online, offline or any other line.
(To understand what I'm talking about you would need do some research reading the original 200 A-spec point thread in the GT4 forum.)

Just to help give you some perspective on this, the original 200pt thread ran for 18 months, before it was converted into a seperate forum. 18 months! and it was just beginning.
I spent almost the same amount of time completing it, which was 2.5 years after the game had released.
Hopefully you can begin to comprehend the scope of game-play involved here.
Thats what I'm talking about.

From your post it appears the "online" comradery aspect is the most important draw for you in the game.
Hey, thats great and a plus.

But as I said, its still no substitute for the A-spec play potential of GT4.


It doesn't matter how good the AI becomes. It will never ever be as good as playing against a real person.

Depends on the person and the challenge.
 
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