John's Race Space

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Races of Gran Turismo 2

The Simulation Disc of Gran Turismo 2 showcases a host of races for you to take part in. For some of the early races in GT2, a license is not required. However, to complete the game, you need to make sure you have all of your licenses ready in taking on the rigors GT2 has to offer for you on the Simulation Disc. So make sure to get more licenses. If you need a little advice on clearing license tests, visit my blog post featuring GT2's license tests.

(NOTE: This blog post only concerns the official races, not the One-Make races.)

--- Races of Gran Turismo 2 at a Glance ---

^ Gran Turismo 2's Gran Turismo Foundation features four great classes to challenge your racing abilities.

The Gran Turismo League, Special Events, Rally Events, and Endurance races all feature many ways to go racing in GT2. The majority of your racing is in this lineup of events. You will need to remember to keep your horsepower within regulation of the required horsepower limits to enter.

Gran Turismo League.

The GT League features three tiers of racing. It begins with six different Nationals you must clear. These are basic races featuring mostly cars from certain nationalities. The next tier is the Euro-Pacific League. Here, you battle against cars from European makes in the Euro League, and against Japanese and American cars in the Pacific League. The chosen few compete in the greatest of all races- the Gran Turismo World League. It is a five-race series featuring some of the finest race cars in Gran Turismo 2. This is where you will get your kicks racing on a proper stage of racing.

Special Events.

Special Events are limited to certain types of vehicles. In it, you will face a great variety of cars and tracks to push your racing skills further. This is where you will do a vast majority of your racing in GT2. Many races have horsepower restrictions, but some others have restrictions on drivetrain and aspiration. Therefore, it is not required for you to have a certain kind of car to meet most regulations. So for example, you could race the Station Wagon Cup in a 1997 Acura NSX (as long as it is within the horsepower regulations). You can race a car from the 1970s or the 1990s in the '80s Sports Car Cup. There are no legit limitations for any series unless a series specifically calls for a certain restriction.

Rally Events.

All Rally Events require you to complete a one-lap time trial against a ghost. If you beat the ghost's time, you win the event. Each of the nine events feature three races against a certain opponent car. An A-License is the bare minimum to compete in these races.

Endurances.

While GT1 had three endurances, Gran Turismo 2 challenges you to seven endurance races. The same ability to endure will be tested substantially in this series of endurance races. Take note of the various horsepower restrictions for those who have horsepower restrictions. At the least, an International B license is required.

These are the four classes of racing in Gran Turismo 2. It is now time to delve further into these races.

--- Races of Gran Turismo 2: Gran Turismo League ---

Official racing events of Gran Turismo 2.

Nationals.

On your way to reaching the pinnacle of Gran Turismo racing, you must start out in the Nationals. A dark hint... you do not need to have a car of a certain nationality for each National. So in other words, you can bring a Japanese car to the U.S. Nationals and still win. Each race is two laps long. No cars are rewarded for winning each race. In brackets are the license requirements. In braces {} are the money prizes for each position from 1st to 6th.

--- Japan Nationals (at Midfield Raceway) ---
* [B] 197hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] 295hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}
* [A] 345hp limit - {7000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 700, 500}

--- U.S. Nationals (at Laguna Seca) ---
* [B] 246hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] 295hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}
* [A] 394hp limit - {7000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 700, 500}

--- French Nationals (at Tahiti Road) ---
* [B] 246hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] 295hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}

--- U.K. Nationals (at Trial Mountain) ---
* [B] 197hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] 345hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}
* [A] 394hp limit - {7000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 700, 500}

--- Italian Nationals (at Rome Short Circuit (B) and Rome Circuit (A)) ---
* [B] (at Rome Short) 197hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] (at Rome Circuit) 295hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}

--- German Nationals (at Deep Forest Raceway) ---
* [B] 216hp limit - {4000, 1000, 500, 400, 300, 200}
* [A] 295hp limit - {5000, 2000, 1500, 1000, 500, 300}
* [A] 443hp limit - {7000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 700, 500}

Euro-Pacific.

The next step in the GT League is to go through the Nationals. Here, you race against cars of certain nationalities across various courses. Remember that there are no restrictions towards what nationality of car you have. Bonus cars are awarded for victory in each stage. Each race is three laps long. An International B license is required to compete on this level.

--- Euro League (German, Italian, British, and French cars) ---
* Apricot Hill - 591hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}
* Grand Valley - 591hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}
* Rome Circuit - 591hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}

--- Pacific League (Japanese and American cars) ---
* Midfield Raceway - 542hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}
* Seattle Circuit - 542hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}
* Laguna Seca - 542hp limit - {10000, 7000, 3000, 2000, 1000, 500}

Gran Turismo World League.

The final challenge for you to conquer is in the Gran Turismo World League. This is a five-race championship featuring some of the fastest cars in the game. Do you have what it takes to conquer Gran Turismo racing and become World Champion? Prepare to earn your stripes here. Each race is five laps long. There are no horsepower restictions. An International A license is required to compete.

RACES:
* Trial Mountain
* Laguna Seca Raceway
* Apricot Hill
* Rome Circuit
* Midfield Raceway

Prize Money in Races: 25000, 10000, 5000, 3000, 2000, 1000
Prize Money to Champion: 150000

More reading to come, so make sure you're reading the full blog post to see everything! If not, click on "Read More" to see the remainder of this blog post!

Deep Forest Raceway

John B. Marine | 5:08 PM | GT1 | GT2 | GT3 | GT4 | GT5 | Tourist Trophy | Tracks Be the first to comment!

The challenge of Deep Forest is to "experience racing through a forest" (to quote Gran Turismo 1). Deep Forest has long been a formidable course combining both rhythm-based sections with a lovely forest setting. It has been featured in every Gran Turismo game including Tourist Trophy. This is one of many true original courses in Gran Turismo history. This blog post is about the unique racing challenge known as Deep Forest.

--- Deep Forest Raceway ---

^ (picture from Gran Turismo 2)

"Experience racing through a forest." -Gran Turismo 1

Deep Forest Raceway had always been under sunset conditions. It used to be that Deep Forest was a romp through a forest. The track is not exactly about a thick and dense forest, but it certainly lives up to its billing as being a race track through a forest. High trees and a very natural landscape make this course quite the task to race. The undulations in the road will easily unnerve your car if set up poorly. The backstretch features a tunnel along with a nice little look at the My favorite part of Deep Forest is the final corner, which you could aggressively take at full speed if you got a good line set up. This track can be quite difficult to race on in a mid-engine car, so take this into consideration if racing this course in a mid-engine car.

You briefly head up a hill and come back down as you enter Turn 1. The first corner comes up quickly, but smoothens out as you go further into this left-hand corner. As you head up the hill, the many switchbacks and chicanes heading into the first tunnel will unnerve you and your car. A smooth right takes you into the second tunnel. Coming out of that second tunnel, you'll go downhill and face a left-hand corner followed by a smooth uphill right followed by a seemingly long left-hand corner. Then, another left follows that leads onto the backstretch. The backstretch features a gradual climb in elevation that goes back down as you enter the third tunnel, then slightly uphill heading into the fourth tunnel. After the fourth tunnel, light to moderate braking is needed. You don't need to do any more hard braking unless you have to. Go full speed down the following straight. Depending on your line and how well your car can take high-speed corners, you can let off the throttle a bit and take the final corner at high speed. Climb up the hill and back down, and you've completed a lap of Deep Forest!

Deep Forest: Gran Turismos 1 and 2.

If you go on Gran Turismo 2, Deep Forest is somehow a German race track. Both GT1 and GT2 have this track as a track at sunset with plenty of high trees.

Deep Forest: Gran Turismo 3.

Gran Turismo 3 still has a sunset race around Deep Forest, but only in the Reverse direction. GT3 signaled the current daytime races around Deep Forest. Part of me tends to miss racing this course at sunset. Also, the sunset is more like early evening than a true sunset race. The capabilities of the PS2 allows for some more dramatic elements. A nice touch is how the sun rays illuminate through the trees. You can see a lot more high hills and mountains with many trees on them in the distance. The third tunnel has some openings on the left side so you can have a small glimpse at the trees on the other side of the river or stream. The experience of Deep Forest is more natural and more beautiful than in GT1 or GT2.

Deep Forest: Gran Turismo 4.

Gran Turismo 4 was a huge makeover of Deep Forest. The bad news, however, is that a lot of the trees that gave Deep Forest its character were gone. A good deal of deforestation took form. In essence, the track was slowly starting to feel more like a proper racing facility rather than a fantasy masterpiece. GT3 was the last GT game to feature sunset settings around Deep Forest. In addition to a lot of missing trees, the lines on the road have mostly been removed, making Deep Forest look and feel even more like a proper road racing circuit. The same configuration could be raced in Gran Turismo PSP and Tourist Trophy.

Deep Forest: Gran Turismo 5 (on impressions).

I don't have a PS3 as of this blog post. It seems like Deep Forest in GT5 is mostly unchanged since GT4, only there seems to be even fewer trees at certain points. Is this a sign of the times that even the video game world has problems with the environment?

I think there are a lot of people who hate fantasy courses just because they seem too unreal or because a race track is too incredulous to be believable. Deep Forest is surely a race track that tests you, whether it's a real course or not. It is as much of a staple to Gran Turismo than almost any other course. Have to wonder what the future would hold for a future Gran Turismo with this track. There has NEVER been a Deep Forest endurance. Could it be possible to have maybe a six-hour race going from afternoon to the late evening around Deep Forest? Would Deep Forest actually retain its forest atmosphere, or is this track somehow losing its natural character to where there are more grandstands and fancy buildings than an actual forest? Could it be possible to race this course in wet conditions, or would wet racing be too much a nightmare around Deep Forest? Maybe could some night racing happen around this place (granted you will need a bunch of flood lights)? Either way, Deep Forest will surely challenge you. It has always challenged Gran Turismo racers and Tourist Trophy riders since the late 1990s.

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Monday, December 20, 2010

Tokyo R246

John B. Marine | 7:15 PM | GT3 | GT4 | GT5 | Tourist Trophy | Tracks Be the first to comment!

Tokyo Route 246 is based on a bus route in Tokyo. Let it be known that Tokyo is one of my favorite cities in the world, so I was more than pleased to see this track featured in Gran Turismo starting with Gran Turismo 3. It is a three-mile stretch of city streets starting in the Akasaka District of Tokyo starting on Aoyama-Dori street. It can be thought of as a signature race track of Gran Turismo because you can see the Sony Computer Entertainment building going down the front straight. This blog post is a look at Tokyo R246.

--- Tokyo R246 ---

(original picture credit: IGN)

Whoever would have thought that a bus route would make a great race track?

The streets of Tokyo give you some of the toughest bits early, then gets a little faster. The most important aspects to remember in tuning is that there are a lot of high-speed sections along with some slow and off-balance corners. So a little of everything has to go into planning an attack on this course.

The very first corner is the corner that will unnerve you the most. It's best to pay attention to the signs hanging on the left side to get you to find out where you need to brake to get the best possible exit out of Turn 1. You head down a tree-lined street with the National Diet Building in the distance. The next corner is a very abrupt two-turn complex that consists of a sharp left followed by a sweeping right. When you clear this chicane, you find yourself on a high-speed section that seems more like a short oval. In fact, I sometimes imagine if this oval part of Tokyo R246 could be its own track. A very long right follows once you get past the baseball stadium to your left. After the long right, you need to get ready to take on a technical double-apex left-hand corner. Get up to speed quickly as you blast down the tree-lined street. Depending on how fast you're going, you may be daring enough to take the chicane at full speed or just letting off the throttle. The next corner is a sharp right-hander that's VERY easy to screw up if you completely miss your braking point. The road ahead snakes around as you prepare to eventually go underneath a highway. The only thing separating you from the Start/Finish line is a super-slow right-hand hairpin. No excuses after this hairpin- FULL speed down Aoyama-Dori. Don't let the little high-speed chicane force you to slow down. Just go full speed all the way to the Start/Finish line!

Lap times usually last between 1:35 to 1:55. Much faster cars can do this course south of 1:30, and especially in really fast cars or Formula 1 cars, times well south of 1:30 (try 1:18 for instance!) is possible. Here is a VERY old video showing you what Tokyo R246 is like WITHOUT the guardrails:

--- Tokyo R246 in Videos ---

Let's take a video look at Tokyo R246.

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

In Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, this course could be raced on a mostly sunny day (Normal) or on a mostly cloudy day (Reverse). This one is the normal layout:

Gran Turismo 4.

The only difference between GT4's version of this track and GT3's version is how much less saturated the colors are for this track. The same strategies still apply for tackling this course. You can even race this track in Tourist Trophy against three other riders.

Gran Turismo 5.

Glorious sunshine and sunny skies make up GT5's version of Tokyo R246. The challenge still remains as intense as ever.

It is a great race track and an invaluable asset to Gran Turismo. Maybe it isn't the street version of Grand Valley in terms of complexity and challenge and appeal, but it is a great track for racing.

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Seattle Circuit

John B. Marine | 6:21 PM | GT2 | GT3 | GT4 | Tourist Trophy | Tracks Be the first to comment!

The Emerald City of Seattle, Washington, USA is the first American city to be featured in a Gran Turismo game. This Pacific Northwestern track is a technical street course complete with many elevation changes, fast straights, and more. This track has been in every Gran Turismo except GT1 and GT5. You can even race it in Tourist Trophy, but unable to race against three other riders. This American city provides a formidable challenge. According to what I've been reading, where the Kingdome is after the backstretch is nonexistent. Though the Kingdome was imploded back in March 2000, it is added to this course in Gran Turismo as a styling touch. The course began as an afternoon drive in Gran Turismo 2. Since Gran Turismo 3, however, the race takes place around sunset.

--- Seattle Circuit ---

(map from: Gran Turismo 2)

Prepare for elevation changes, blind corners, not many curvy roads, high speeds, and a few of jumps on this classic GT course.

Seattle Circuit begins with a high-speed left-hand kink. Take it at full speed, but be ready to slow into just about first or second gear for the very slow, double-apex hairpin. You then go under the highway to make your way uphill after the next corner. That left-hand corner can be taken at full speed, and you can do the same for the next left-hander that has Smith Tower on the right. Three uphill jumps will follow. By the time you reach the second jump, you'll need to think about where to start braking hard so that you don't fly into the wall coming out of the third jump. The next order of business is to negotiate a right-hand kink followed by a fairly wide right-hand corner. The corners between this point and Intermediate 2 consist of a sharp right, a sharp left, and then a very sharp left going downhill. The undulating road will test the balance of your car. It is then full speed as you go uphill through Intermediate 2 down the backstretch. After coming up to where the Kingdome once stood (meaning that the Kingdome was imploded by the time GT3 rolled around), you need to think about where to start braking... and brake hard. You need to carve a smooth racing line that allows you to negotiate five straight 90° corners. Treat the first two 90° corners (right and left respectively) like a wide hairpin, then treat the left-handed corner like a chicane. The fourth and fifth corners should be treated like a smooth chicane. On the way to complete the lap, you must then negotiate a very sharp right-hand corner that leads under a freeway. A left-hand kink follows. Either stay straight to go into the pits, or you have to properly negoiate a very tricky 90° chicane which can completely make or break your lap. Blast ahead to the finish line to complete the lap.

Seattle will absolutely test your suspension and handling limits with its undulating roads and technical corners. It is a course that offers you no breaks. You have to be alert and consistent at all times to land the best lap times on such an abusive course as this one.

--- Seattle Circuit in Videos ---

This is a look at Seattle Circuit in GT games past. Check it out:

Gran Turismo 2.

(NOTE: Turn down or mute the volume for this video because it is loud)