USA First Impressions?

[///M-Spec]

My very inital impressions.

👍 -Noticably superior tire modelling than GT3. By gosh, the N tires remind me quite a lot of real street tires. Haven't tried any slicks yet.

👍 -Noticably more realistic body motions; weight transfer very convincing. Also the subtle differences in body control varying from car to car is truly well done and gives the game superior depth. Big thumbs up here.

👍 -Binding is now modelled. Try to correct power understeer with more steering lock results in ---MORE understeer. Just like in real life. Wow. Cool.

👍 -Some others mentioned braking being quite tricky --I definately agree. Another plus is that brake qualities vary from car to car in a convincing fashion. Now all we need is force feedback brake pedals.

👍 -High speed stability. Clip an apron the wrong way at 150 in a stock car and chances are you'll loose control pretty fast. The way it should be.

👍 -The Ring. I am truly amazed. And humbled.


The Bad

👎 -Still no control over tire pressure. And NO info on tire temps.

👎 -Unless I'm just an idiot and haven't seen it, there's no way to disable the ghost in Time Trial mode (where I spend most my time). Very distracting and I don't need to be reminded how slow I'm going compared to my last lap. Boo.

👎 -Speaking of stuff I don't need to see, how does one turn OFF the gear suggestion that flashes bright red? You know the one that take your eyes away from the ACTUAL gear indicator, sometimes confusing you.

👎 -Prices for certain cars are still jacked up. $75k for a BMW Z4??? Don't make me laugh. Is PD trying to price some cars out of consideration for most people?

Additional thoughts: Most of my 4 hours of play time last night was behind the wheel of an M3 (big surprise). Having had plenty of wheel time in real life M3s, I must say PD's staff did a really terrific job reminding me of how the real car behaves. The dynamics are not perfect, and there is still quite a bit of "hero" factor in the physics model, but is still a big step forward from GT3.


M

 

[nightkid86]

If you import your GT3 A and B licences and exempt them in GT4, can you go back later in GT4 and re-medal them?

 

[///M-Spec]

If you import your GT3 A and B licences and exempt them in GT4, can you go back later in GT4 and re-medal them?

Yes.


M

 

[Corps]

The game is awesome. I started off importing my licenses and credits and bought me a '92 supra. This car was too fast for the Sunday cup, went to the FR and it was semi-challenging. That's where I noticed more of the differences. The handling is so much better. You really notice how much understeer there was in GT3, but not anymore with GT4. It feels like you have a lot more control. Weight transfer seemed to be much improved, it is exagerated with dips during breaking and front end coming up during acceleration, but it helps to let you judge where the weight of the car is. After a few races I decided I needed to get used to the new physics and went back to the license tests, I was able to get all silver in the B and A licenses. I got a pretty good feel for the weight transfer running the last test in the A license.

Things I didn't like, the bug with the screen shake. I don't mind it at high speeds, but the screen seems to shake at really odd times, like the finish animation when you beat a license test? It would have been nice if they had crashes, not damage, but crashes. It's still easy to just crash into an AI opponent and use them as brakes. I would rather see both cars end up in the ditch at that point. But at least they made it so that your screen shakes when you hit another car. Finding a race is also tough, It's going to take a while to learn where everything is.

 

[BaronCAD]

My limited exposure to GT4:
- License tests 16 per plus "coffee break" ABSOLUTLY a blast, working on IB.
- Driving a little different, braking (many a fly-off track)
- Liked that you could transfer B and A Lic. & 100K
- Several Things that have simularity to GT2 (layout with all stadiums and car dealers spread out vs. GT3 all dealers under one icon

- Now the most talked about feature (mostly bad) AUTOSAVE -DISLIKE WITH LEANING TO HATE. Did "options" put autosave to "restricted" bought Mustang GT '05 put in garage went back got in 'stang **autosave**

I've only played for 5.5 hrs. have not explored enough, but what I have seen I like and expect to have many late nights ahead of me

 

[Quagmire]

Overall I'm happy with it, and for me the good outweighs the bad. I've only played for 5-6 hours and haven't yet gotten through that many tracks or cars, so these are my first impressions.

Pros:
* Much improved physics. Braking and acceleration are no longer no-brainers, and the car doesn't always launch and stop in a straight line (maybe that's my DFP?). Regaining traction after countersteering is more realistic, and high speed handling and balance are better. Weight shifting is more pronounced. Hitting things at speed (even the curb) will throw your car off balance. I could go on and on here.
* The car selection. Yes, there are seemingly hundreds of Civics now, one from every year it was in production, but there are also old Alfas and Alpines, and a Corvette from just about every generation. Too many Japanese cars? If they weren't in there, there would be less cars, so it doesn't bother me. I just won't use many of them.
* More tracks: I'm in love with Infineon, and I even like some of the small & beginner courses. And I haven't even tried most of the new ones yet.
* Camera shake after an impact is a nice effect. Makes crashes seem more traumatic.
* Photo mode: haven't tried playing with it yet, but I'm glad there are more toys to play with when I need a break from driving.
* Used cars: until I get to a certain level of saved cash I'm glad I can get another car after winning just a few races.

Cons:
* Animations/pauses: although I don't mind now, things like the oil change animation, with no way to skip it, seem like they will get annoying as I progress deeper into the game. And there seems to be more delays, like after your prize money counts down and before you can hit "OK" or after you finish a license test and before you can switch to the next one.
* AI is still crappy. Some people enjoy solo racing, but for those of us who love the thrill of wheel to wheel competition, we need better AI.
* The World Map interface in GT mode is confusing. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it seems like they could have organized it better without having to scroll around and hunt and peck to find the races. For example, there's no reason every country needs a top-level icon, especially with so many countries being represented now. I preferred them organized into the dealership in GT3.

Undecided:
* Auto-save: even though it may be realistic, I don't like a machine taking that control away from me. I also hate when my DVD player doesn't let me skip past FBI warnings. But if I can turn it off I guess it isn't that bad. EDIT: Missed the part about not being able to turn it off. Boo! This should be on my cons list.
* B-Spec: The whole point of the GT series is driving, and I don't see how this could be fun. But I guess for the 24 hour races it can be my second driver.
* Music: Same as GT3; I don't like it, but at least I can turn it off.

With my Driving Force Pro wheel and the improved physics, GT4 seems like so much more of a simulation than GT3 was. And although there are some annoyances, the driving is improved and that's what counts.

 

[Corps]

👎 -Unless I'm just an idiot and haven't seen it, there's no way to disable the ghost in Time Trial mode (where I spend most my time). Very distracting and I don't need to be reminded how slow I'm going compared to my last lap. Boo.

M

Yea you are an idiot

You'll actually love this as I did when I figured it out. Hit the up button on the d-pad in-game. You can actually toggle the ghost while playing.

I found it helped me a lot during the license tests, If I wanted to know If I was beating my old time I'd just hit the d-pad to see where I was then switch it back off. I hated the ghost as well, but now that I can toggle it, I actually use it a lot more now.

 

[///M-Spec]

Yea you are an idiot

You'll actually love this as I did when I figured it out. Hit the up button on the d-pad in-game. You can actually toggle the ghost while playing.

Doh. Thanks. I have a GT Force and don't touch the D-Pad in game.


M

 

[ChristmasGTO]

The screen shaking bugs me to no end, I finished the A and B liscense last night so I could get the Sunfire GXP concept. I've finished the Sunday Cup, and also FF Challenge. The AI is Unbelievably Cheap, The DFP is the most amazing piece of software ever, and in 2 days I'll have a nice 27 Phillips HDTV to go right along with it, Whats everyones Impressions of 1080i?

 

[Duke]

My very inital impressions.

👍 -Noticably superior tire modelling than GT3. By gosh, the N tires remind me quite a lot of real street tires. Haven't tried any slicks yet.

Hrmmm. Maybe I'm spoiled. I thought the N tires felt like Costco specials with an 80,000-mile tread life guarantee. Or maybe skateboard wheels. Something incredibly hard and un-grippy.

👍 -Noticably more realistic body motions; weight transfer very convincing. Also the subtle differences in body control varying from car to car is truly well done and gives the game superior depth. Big thumbs up here.

Agreed. Though it's funny - the brake dive is enough to throw the inside POV off and make me miss the apex. I'll need to get used to that.

👍 -Binding is now modelled. Try to correct power understeer with more steering lock results in ---MORE understeer. Just like in real life. Wow. Cool.

It's modelled quite a bit too aggressively, I think. I drive a stiff, peppy FWD car in real life. I can throttle steer with ease and a gentle lift tucks the nose right in. If I poke the brakes a little it will step the back end right out. But everything I've driven in GT4 - mostly the B licenses, FWD and RWD - understeers like a barge. Brake, and it understeers. Accelerate, and it understeers. More lock, and it understeers. Less lock, and it might not understeer, but it runs wide. On some of the FWD "Follow Me" laps I had to come to a virtual halt in order to get the front end to act like it's even touching the ground. And in a MINI One, that means aeons until you get a little speed back.

👍 -Some others mentioned braking being quite tricky --I definately agree. Another plus is that brake qualities vary from car to car in a convincing fashion. Now all we need is force feedback brake pedals.

Yes, that would help. I'm learning with the DS2, but I have setup issues I'll mention elsewhere.

👍 -High speed stability. Clip an apron the wrong way at 150 in a stock car and chances are you'll loose control pretty fast. The way it should be.

Agreed! This is great - perfectly done. The only actual race I ran was an arcade Normal job at Trial Mountain in (what else?) an SRT. I was gaining on the leader when I clipped the infamous 'Freejack' chicane just a tad too much. I got into a great big loopy pendulum slide, which I might have caught, except the last-place RX-8 t-boned me a la Zanardi and sent me pinwheeling.

👍 -The Ring. I am truly amazed. And humbled.

I can't wait. The M3 CSL is crying out for home.

The Bad

👎 -Still no control over tire pressure. And NO info on tire temps.

Yeah, this would help too.

👎 -Unless I'm just an idiot and haven't seen it, there's no way to disable the ghost in Time Trial mode (where I spend most my time). Very distracting and I don't need to be reminded how slow I'm going compared to my last lap. Boo.

Try the UP button on the D-pad. I didn't try the TT mode (which I assume replaces Free Run), but that works on the license tests.

What's driving me insane is that pushing down on the right analog stick (R3 button) toggles the racing line path on and off. I drive with the analog sticks and so every time I brake or accelerate I end up flashing that stupid path on and off. Usually on when I don't want it and off when I do... but the flickering is driving me batty.

👎 -Speaking of stuff I don't need to see, how does one turn OFF the gear suggestion that flashes bright red? You know the one that take your eyes away from the ACTUAL gear indicator, sometimes confusing you.

Sorry, can't help you there.

👎 -Prices for certain cars are still jacked up. $75k for a BMW Z4??? Don't make me laugh. Is PD trying to price some cars out of consideration for most people?

Meh, if it's anything like GT3, that's going to be an issue for about the first month I play. After that there's usually plety of moolah.

Here's one thing that is driving me nuts but I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere: the analog sticks.

I panicked when I first saw the setup menu: no option for gas and brake on the right analog stick. I cannot use the buttons - just cannot. After a few deep breaths I realized it was probably a typo, since there was an option to set it to 'up' and 'down' on the left analog stick. So I picked those.

The only problem is that now both right and left sticks control gas and brake. Which means that unless my steering is preternaturally precise in moving the stick left and right, I frequently find I'm left-foot braking against the throttle my right thumb is applying. It made golding the whole B license a bit too difficult. I got almost all the short stages gold, but I can't do better than silver on any of the full laps.

There's an option for 'NONE' on the DS2 throttle/brake control menu... I'll have to try that and hope it eliminates the left stick but the right stick still works.

 

[Der Alta]

A slight correction for Neon_Duke, there is not option, because that's a standard Try not setting is, and it works fine. That upset me at first as well, but out of habit I used the stick and it works fine.

AO

 

[Duke]

So, I set that to "none" and it eliminates the double control? That's going to take 20 points off my blood pressure. Thanks.

 

[ScottinPA]

Happy Day!

My first drive was the Nurenburgrin (whatever) with the Buick GNX in Arcade mode.....uhhhh...what the hell is going on with the annoying reflections???...sloppy reflections is my point...(refering to the reflections on the car while driving it...it makes it extremely arcady)...NOW...when you finish and watch the replay, that all goes away and I am in bliss...

I played for 8 hours last night....4 to 5 % complete...

I don't know if I like this new 'engine'....I'm getting used to it though. Buggy game, but really, who cares?!

I feel lucky to be alive right now just to experience this game...I wish I had more time to play .....

So much to do, so little time...

Hey...did you guys see the newly stiled viper?...how about the ZR-1 vette?....

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jim X]

The only problem is that now both right and left sticks control gas and brake. Which means that unless my steering is preternaturally precise in moving the stick left and right, I frequently find I'm left-foot braking against the throttle my right thumb is applying. It made golding the whole B license a bit too difficult. I got almost all the short stages gold, but I can't do better than silver on any of the full laps.

HAHA that's great, made me laugh right out loud. Anyway, sorry for enjoying your pain but that would just be sooo frustrating that it's funny to me. I can just picture trying to gold the licenses while seeing your accelerator bar maxed out, but your red braking bar creeping up. I would be steamed. So hilarious!

I suppose it's funny to me because I have the DFP.




EDIT: Well, I guess they got it figured out, but still funny to me nonetheless.

 

[slowman]

First Impression... I didn't like the physics at first... but I switched to arcade mode and took an M3 out on the Nurburgring... that folks, is what this game is about.

My first car was a SC AW11 MR2 in a Navy blue color... and I just bought a Ford Lightning for the Sport Truck race.

I transferred my credits over from GT3 but not my licences. ATM I have all silvers in B and A.

 

[PSI240SX]

I love this game...... I think its hands down far superior then any other previous title and for good reason. Worth every single minute of the last 4 years of waiting.

I transferred funds and bought my dream car... BMW MCoupe! Once you start winning some races, you can mod this car and make it bad to the bone. One thing I have found is that upgrading tires is a must. I went as long as I could on the stocks and was getting dissapointed with the car until I finally bucked up and got the medium race tires.

AI is definately tougher but still dumb as most have said. The tracks are amazing, especially El Capitan! I played from 5:30 til 2:30am and now I am dragging ass at work lol. I am going to be playing the game every hour of every day I am not at work. Check out my setup:

DFP is the shiznit!!! so realistic except for the dog gone force feedback coming out of oversteer... drifting is really difficult!

Anyone else experience the fact that even with a full customized LSD the car still acted like it was one tire fire out of the corners? This was my biggest complaint... I just dont understand why they would have overlooked this. I could not put power to the ground coming out of corners with the street tires but when it would lose traction, it wouldnt oversteer at all, it would just peel out in a straight line, even if you gave it some steering input.... it really sucked. Once I got stickyier tires, and really cranked up the LSD, it got better but its still there.

I cant rate the game overall yet because I havent even begun to get into all that it has to offer, but so far, its absolutely amazing! More to come later.

 

[Joey D]

Woah somebody needs a life Just playin man. Nice set up though, that must have cost a pretty penny.

 

[TwinTurboJay]

I love the set up, but a quick questions...helmet and roll cage ? do you live along the san andreas fault ! J/k...if I had the extra bling. I would be geeked out with a helmet and a roll cage too ! ( although I might add a cup holder on the side of the roll cage

 

[Rocket Punch]

Ok, here is my first impression of the US GT4.

Background Info:
- You will need 1500KB free space in your memory card.
- The game supports 16:9, HD1080i &480p.
- You can use a USB thumb drive or memory card to save your photos.
- When using steering wheel, the game will calibrate it automatically.
- IMO, this game is really coded for the Driving Force Pro - 900degree steering.
- The usual: more cars, more tracks, better graphics....

What I like:
- The Driving Force Pro 900 degree steering: Much more realistic game play! I LOVE IT!!!!
- Transfer game files from GT3: you can transfer Max. 100,000Cr. and give you the A & B license.
- Physics: Realistic! weight transfer, tire model (how it grips and slides), brakes (effort base on cars)
- 16:9, 1080i & 480p supported
- Finally, my beloved Catherham!!
- 2 words: Nur Nord!
- DB pro logic surround (better than nothing).
- Pit stop action

What I don't like:
- Like in GT3 the game tells you where to shift and brake: good for beginner but annoying for experienced players.
- Gear indicator too small and distracted by the annoying "you should be in this gear now" indicator.
- Music: I like the music in GT & GT2. Then they change to something mainstream. Now, It is like watching a kung fu movie without the kung fu movie music, but with Britney Spears music instead. Personally I turn the music off for driving and replay.
- AI, though more aggressive. Still very stupid.
- 1 word: NOS!?

What I would like to see:
- Ferrari's
- Online play, online trade, online buy/sell parts and cars
- Touge: real location touge tracks
- True DB 5.1 in game surround

 

[dgoreck]

It's modelled quite a bit too aggressively, I think. I drive a stiff, peppy FWD car in real life. I can throttle steer with ease and a gentle lift tucks the nose right in. If I poke the brakes a little it will step the back end right out. But everything I've driven in GT4 - mostly the B licenses, FWD and RWD - understeers like a barge. Brake, and it understeers. Accelerate, and it understeers. More lock, and it understeers. Less lock, and it might not understeer, but it runs wide. On some of the FWD "Follow Me" laps I had to come to a virtual halt in order to get the front end to act like it's even touching the ground. And in a MINI One, that means aeons until you get a little speed back.

I would totally agree with you. I spent an hour and half last night playing, and all I did was the B liscense tests. I have the DFP wheels, and yes, I felt like the car was always understeering on or off the gas/brake, turning to lock or not.

Otherwise, so far I like it. The steering wheel works so well with the game. And the autosave I will see it becoming a pain.

 

[squirrelbait75]

Got gt4 last night too, bought a good old sprinter trueno, did a few laps at the
driving park to get used to the new physics and now its off to the races!
Yeah baby I love this!

Oh, and I spent two hours just dinking around with photo mode...this rocks!!

 

[M5_dude]

Has anyone else noticed the prices on some of the cars seem to be a little outrageous? I'll give an example: BMW Z4 Cr. 75,000??? Anyone else care to share any ones they have found?

 

[bigmixx]

Has anyone else noticed the prices on some of the cars seem to be a little outrageous? I'll give an example: BMW Z4 Cr. 75,000??? Anyone else care to share any ones they have found?

$35,000 for a Honda Civic Si

 

[santapod123]

i asked this on a foroum a couple of weeks ago, giving the example of all the astons, and some moderator sed the prices arnt really based on a realistic price but are close enough

 

[kabe586]

I am still waiting for my copy of the game to get to me. I have a question though, has anybody who tried the credit transfer, then loaded up their GT 3 game to make sure it was still ok. It might sound a little paranoid, however i spent many hours on my GT3 game, and i would hate to have the file messed up to go some odd bug (as it sounds like the game is not 100% bug free).


Thanks

 

[ScottinPA]

I have more to say...only because none of you have mentioned it here yet....

I bought my favorite car: the GNX...

Have any of you taken your car and turned off all of the Driving Aids in GT mode? (in Settings)....

Very VERY interesting.....and very difficult.

Just wondering....

 

[bradymiller]

As for the car prices, yeah some of em are high...basically remember that in gt3 when a car was $1M it was like "whoa, that's an expensive car!" now the top of the line are like $3-4.5M (right?). I think they wanted to raise the bar a little bit.
*Like the real sensation of the car rocking and pitching based on braking/accel and G forces
*Some screen jitter at random times after license test or on pause screen (not during race, as of now)
*like having the ability to do license tests without the driving line on the track (the tests are much harder imo, but I won't skip them)
*and lastly, though it doesn't affect gameplay, PD managed to leave in the Kingdome, which is the Seattle baseball/football stadium that was blown up BEFORE GT3 came out!
*where's the rally license? (I've only played the game for about 1 hour, and it is H-U-G-E.
--> To all the Pal-Pal's please accept my apologies for what might seem like ungratefulness...you'll get yours really soon!

 

[ScottinPA]

Very VERY interesting.....and very difficult....


What I meant to say....the cars I buy..all of them, so far, are easy to drive...almost like they are following a 'track'.....especially while turning....which, sounds like most of you are commenting on...I like it too...but something is too easy for me....

...not when I turn off all of the aids, though...

Funny...back when we were all saying, 'Yeah, when we get bored with GT4 a year from now...we'll go get the Forza and Enthusia, blah, blah...'

Y'know what? IMHO....the Driving Aid option alone will keep me playing this game for years and years...

Eat your heart out X-Box lovers, hell, even X-Box Manufactures...nothing you will ever produce will ever come close to this experience

God Bless PD and Sony...bugs and all.

 

[Corps]

*where's the rally license? (I've only played the game for about 1 hour, and it is H-U-G-E.

There is no rally license anymore, but each of the "regular" licenses have a couple of rally tests snuck in there.

 

[Symtex]

Eat your heart out X-Box lovers, hell, even X-Box Manufactures...nothing you will ever produce will ever come close to this experience

God Bless PD and Sony...bugs and all.

What does it have to do with xbox ? Your fanboyism is blinding your view. You just lost all your credibility in my book.

I like Gt4 as much as the next guys but why should I hate xbox for it ? This illogical reasoning is beyond me.