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- Columbia, MD.
- Parnelli_Bones
All the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players, performers, and portrayers.
Hello and welcome to Issue One of Parnelli's Online Racing magazine. This is a new venture for me as a writer, and who knows how long it will last. "Lol". Today we are going to take notice of something new in the world of virtual racing.
There are all sorts of new things happening in the world of Gran Turimso, of course. The latest iteration of the series (Gran Turismo 5) has certainly captured the imaginations and hearts of many gamers worldwide...and many of us are already looking forward to Forza 4 and even Gran Turismo 6.
But today, I'm writing about something exciting and surprisingly new which is happening right under our Sparco gloves, which has nothing to do with GT5 or either of those future games.
A new race series at GT Planet has just started and is gaining surprising popularity. You might think this series would have something to do with GT5. If so, think a little earlier. Matter of fact, think back...all the way back....to 2004!
"Wait, but isn't GT4 done with? Who would play a past-gen game when there's a brand-new one out of the same series?" some might ask. "How can we possibly "go back" to an old game in this day and age of online racing, online dealerships, and so-called "Premium" cars? Hasn't it all been done before? Well, not only are we going to "go back", but we are going to witness going back to Gran Turismo 4, and with fresh new approach. An approach which has (amazingly) not been tried before.
A racing driver & entrepreneur going by the name of BH-21 has appeared on the scene as of recently, seemingly from nowhere if we are to judge by his post count. His racing venue is one which has been entered, driven, and tossed aside by many, many gamers as they make their way to GT4 racing glory and lots and lots of credits!
When GT4 was released, it captured many of us for a good long while, just as GT5 has done within the pastthree four five+ months. GT4 featured hundreds of new cars to play with, and dozens of new tracks, as well. Polyphony Digital, creators of the Gran Turismo series since 1997 (before 1997, actually) managed to push the envelope further with GT4, further than any other racing game of its day (if we're juding sheer content), which had more cars, more tracks, more racing, and more features than many others of its time.
It all started back in 1997 with the original Gran Turismo, which also featured more cars, more tracks, and more features than any other of its time (on consoles, especially). And unlike other games of its era (Need for Speed and Ridge Racer, for instance) the cars in the first Gran Turismo weren't just super sports cars or imaginary fantasy-mobiles, the bulk of them were ordinary passenger cars. Hatchbacks we see on the streets every day. Sedans. Low-powered coupes. Along with a handful of supercars.
Some thought Gran Turismo would fail at the time, yet look at where we are now...
But enough history. I mentioned something earlier about a "new GT4 racing series", one which has taken a look back to 2004, and with a "fresh new approach". One might think BH-21 is rehashing something of great caliber...that he is doing something with GT4's many LMP and Group C racing automobiles. That prospective drivers will be choosing from yet another batch of Minolta Toyotas, Mazda 787Bs, and Audi R8s. Right? Think again!
Oh, well, it's sports cars, then! NSX, Corvettes, and the ever-popular Skylines, all at battle! Yes?
No. We are going back...all the way back....to the Sunday Cup!
That's right! The Sunday Cup. Those lowly events designed to coddle to the very greenest of drivers! But first, some technicalities. BH-21's new series is not actually going to be racing in the Sunday Cup itself; instead, drivers will be taking their shrimpy-powered sleeper-mobiles to the Family Cups. But, these are the sort of cars a new GT4 gamer might enter into the Sunday Cup. Honda Civics, Mazda RX-7s and Roadsters, Mitsubishi Mirages. Cars like that. ORDINARY cars, in other words. The sort of cars many of us see, borrow, and might even possibly own in real-life.
If you think such low-powered races do not offer any excitement (as many gamers have decided to simply blow away the Sundays in pursuit of faster races which can further fatten up their bank accounts) think again. This writer has done many countless Sunday Cup races. Hundreds for sure! Although I would choose even weaker cars for my Sunday Cup races back in the day, there are some things noble about this current series BH-21 has concocted.
1). There is an honor system. Only drivers who have a prior reputation for honesty, truancy, and fair-racing may enter.
2). There is also a budget, a very strict budget.
We're not starting with the 100,000 credits a GT3 gamer can plop down to start his or her game. We're not even starting with 10,000! Instead, drivers get a budget of 5,800 cr to start with. Luck also comes into play early-on, as an extra 200 to 1,200 credits can be added to this. So far, no driver has had a beginning budget of more than a paltry 6,900 credits.
Overall, there's a 42 car & driver field during this first season of Sunday Cup racing. Most of these drivers are nobodys, of course, drivers who race and go home with a few extra credits to their name, perhaps. But there are seven drivers with more of a reputation. These seven are actually all more talented; all seven of them have competed (and succeeded) on much higher levels than Sunday Cup racing, so it's interesting each and every one of them have decided to "go back".
Among this season's notable talent are BH-21, GrumpEone, Car-Less, dogbreath, Jet Badger, Shotamagee, and Skython 11. Hats off to all of them.
It's too early to speculate how things will turn out, as these drivers are basically still sorting out their automobiles for the first set of races at Autumn Ring Mini and the Driving Park Beginner's Course, but stay tuned. I certainly am.
Hello and welcome to Issue One of Parnelli's Online Racing magazine. This is a new venture for me as a writer, and who knows how long it will last. "Lol". Today we are going to take notice of something new in the world of virtual racing.
There are all sorts of new things happening in the world of Gran Turimso, of course. The latest iteration of the series (Gran Turismo 5) has certainly captured the imaginations and hearts of many gamers worldwide...and many of us are already looking forward to Forza 4 and even Gran Turismo 6.
But today, I'm writing about something exciting and surprisingly new which is happening right under our Sparco gloves, which has nothing to do with GT5 or either of those future games.
A new race series at GT Planet has just started and is gaining surprising popularity. You might think this series would have something to do with GT5. If so, think a little earlier. Matter of fact, think back...all the way back....to 2004!
"Wait, but isn't GT4 done with? Who would play a past-gen game when there's a brand-new one out of the same series?" some might ask. "How can we possibly "go back" to an old game in this day and age of online racing, online dealerships, and so-called "Premium" cars? Hasn't it all been done before? Well, not only are we going to "go back", but we are going to witness going back to Gran Turismo 4, and with fresh new approach. An approach which has (amazingly) not been tried before.
A racing driver & entrepreneur going by the name of BH-21 has appeared on the scene as of recently, seemingly from nowhere if we are to judge by his post count. His racing venue is one which has been entered, driven, and tossed aside by many, many gamers as they make their way to GT4 racing glory and lots and lots of credits!
When GT4 was released, it captured many of us for a good long while, just as GT5 has done within the past
It all started back in 1997 with the original Gran Turismo, which also featured more cars, more tracks, and more features than any other of its time (on consoles, especially). And unlike other games of its era (Need for Speed and Ridge Racer, for instance) the cars in the first Gran Turismo weren't just super sports cars or imaginary fantasy-mobiles, the bulk of them were ordinary passenger cars. Hatchbacks we see on the streets every day. Sedans. Low-powered coupes. Along with a handful of supercars.
Some thought Gran Turismo would fail at the time, yet look at where we are now...
But enough history. I mentioned something earlier about a "new GT4 racing series", one which has taken a look back to 2004, and with a "fresh new approach". One might think BH-21 is rehashing something of great caliber...that he is doing something with GT4's many LMP and Group C racing automobiles. That prospective drivers will be choosing from yet another batch of Minolta Toyotas, Mazda 787Bs, and Audi R8s. Right? Think again!
Oh, well, it's sports cars, then! NSX, Corvettes, and the ever-popular Skylines, all at battle! Yes?
No. We are going back...all the way back....to the Sunday Cup!
That's right! The Sunday Cup. Those lowly events designed to coddle to the very greenest of drivers! But first, some technicalities. BH-21's new series is not actually going to be racing in the Sunday Cup itself; instead, drivers will be taking their shrimpy-powered sleeper-mobiles to the Family Cups. But, these are the sort of cars a new GT4 gamer might enter into the Sunday Cup. Honda Civics, Mazda RX-7s and Roadsters, Mitsubishi Mirages. Cars like that. ORDINARY cars, in other words. The sort of cars many of us see, borrow, and might even possibly own in real-life.
If you think such low-powered races do not offer any excitement (as many gamers have decided to simply blow away the Sundays in pursuit of faster races which can further fatten up their bank accounts) think again. This writer has done many countless Sunday Cup races. Hundreds for sure! Although I would choose even weaker cars for my Sunday Cup races back in the day, there are some things noble about this current series BH-21 has concocted.
1). There is an honor system. Only drivers who have a prior reputation for honesty, truancy, and fair-racing may enter.
2). There is also a budget, a very strict budget.
We're not starting with the 100,000 credits a GT3 gamer can plop down to start his or her game. We're not even starting with 10,000! Instead, drivers get a budget of 5,800 cr to start with. Luck also comes into play early-on, as an extra 200 to 1,200 credits can be added to this. So far, no driver has had a beginning budget of more than a paltry 6,900 credits.
Overall, there's a 42 car & driver field during this first season of Sunday Cup racing. Most of these drivers are nobodys, of course, drivers who race and go home with a few extra credits to their name, perhaps. But there are seven drivers with more of a reputation. These seven are actually all more talented; all seven of them have competed (and succeeded) on much higher levels than Sunday Cup racing, so it's interesting each and every one of them have decided to "go back".
Among this season's notable talent are BH-21, GrumpEone, Car-Less, dogbreath, Jet Badger, Shotamagee, and Skython 11. Hats off to all of them.
It's too early to speculate how things will turn out, as these drivers are basically still sorting out their automobiles for the first set of races at Autumn Ring Mini and the Driving Park Beginner's Course, but stay tuned. I certainly am.
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Might I recommend the Silvia Q's or maybe a Prelude? I don't think anybody has entered one yet. That's probably what I would drive, assuming I could find one cheap enough. 
NOt without something to actually watch. I'd goof that up for sure!
Funny, I don't remember giving that interview! 
Yes, in a good way!
So it's amazing I'm writing at all today! Yee haw!
