More Lightweights?

Many know Lotus as the king of lightweight sports cars. Even TVR has a handful of lightweight cars. You may have used a Caterham in GT4 (though a "Special Car" in GT4) or even in GT5. While those are nice, more lightweights would be better- especially a few that NEVER been in a GT. A few more companies would be great to include to enhance the lineup for a future GT. This is a commentary piece regarding lightweights, especially ones I wouldn't mind seeing in the future in the Gran Turismo series.

I had initially intended this post be about British lightweight cars, but some non-British cars forced me to change things up.

--- More Lightweights? ---

What am I discussing here? You'll see what I mean as you read this blog post further.

To learn more about each featured company, click on the links in the headings to visit their official websites (if offered). I will be using YouTube videos to demonstrate certain makes. If you are unable to view embedded videos (granted all are embedded), you may click on the video link below each video to view on YouTube.

Lightweights Focus: Caterham.

Caterhams are mostly based on the classic Lotus Super 7. These front-engine/RWD roadsters have impeccable handling prowess and are usually considered track toys. These machines are usually considered weekend racers with amazing handling ability. Caterham debuted in Gran Turismo 4 with the Caterham 7 Fireblade, a car powered by the Honda CBR900RRW motorcycle engine.

More Caterhams would be great to enhance the lineup and portfolio of Caterham in Gran Turismo. Now for some people, there isn't too much difference in Caterham models because they all mostly look the same. However, there are more powerful offerings from Caterham. They are still capable machines. Their offerings come in many different versions: Classic, Superlight, and CSR among others. In collaboration with Lola, Caterham has created a car called the SP/300.R- an open-top prototype racing car that is like a Radical. Unfortunately, this is not a street legal car. Here is a video on the SP300R:


^ "Introducing the Caterham Lola SP/300.R"

I would want to see some more Caterhams featured. These cars can be an absolute blast to drive and tune. Who wouldn't want the opportunity to stun bigger and more expensive sports cars by simply racing a Caterham? A One-Make Series with these Caterhams would be great.

Speaking of which...

Lightweights Focus: Radical.

You may never race the 24 Hours of Le Mans, let alone even qualify. Your next best bet to feel like a Le Mans racer would be to race a quality prototype from a great company. That company is Radical. Radical has never been featured in Gran Turismo. Radical Sportscars basically provides people the experience of racing a Le Mans prototype with Radical's amazing open-top prototype cars. Even more surreal is that Radicals are street-legal machines. So if you were to enter an event requiring Normal (or Production) Cars, a Radical would qualify for such an event. Radicals are offered in various models ranging from road-going models to various racing-spec models. Here are models offered from Radical (source: Radical's home page): SR1, PR6, SR3 series (SR3 RS and SR3 SL (SL stands for street legal)), SR8 RX, and the RXC- the only closed-top Radical. Radical has even been credited as laying down some of the fastest lap times for production cars around the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In fact, the Radical SR8 LM lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife at about 6 minutes, 48 seconds.

Radical would be such an incredible addition to the Gran Turismo car lineup. You would be able to enjoy prototype racing without having to get any of the high-dollar prototypes in a GT game. These Radical prototypes are an absolute blast. I would love to race Radicals in a One-Make series or even a One-Make championship. If there were Seasonals devoted to the Radical lineup, I'd even race those. This video showcases some of the latest (at its time) Radical models:


^ "Radical Sportscars at the Autosport Show 2011"

Besides the Radicals offered to its customers, there would be one other Radical that would be interesting to see in a GT- the Radical SR9 LMP. This LMP2-class machine has been offered as a great contender in the LMP2 ranks. Radical is simply a company that knows and delivers on LMP-type racing machines.





Here is a Jump Break that I added for performance reasons. I want to make sure this blog isn't a burden on your connection if you are not reading the full post. Too many YouTube videos could slow down your performance substantially. And in trying to keep this post as friendly and useful as possible, I'm breaking off part of my post.

Want to see more lightweights that would be great to feature in Gran Turismo- including two lightweight machines from two non-British makes? Make sure you're reading the full post. If you aren't, and if you enjoyed what you read so far, please click on "Read More." Or of course, disregard this break if you are reading the full post.

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GT Academy... Rather Than License Tests?

Gran Turismo games do a good job of getting you active in the racing process. But in the act of considering alternatives to current GT practices, one such thing has to change. To me, you have to practice your skills before considering the license tests. Think about it. When you were in grade school (or if you are in grade school), do you take a test BEFORE getting the lesson? Taking a test before being taught the lesson doesn't result in learning anything. Gran Turismo Academy was something I thought of as expanding the greater scope of the License Test facilities to include practicing certain aspects rather than just taking the license test cold turkey.

NOTES ABOUT THIS POST:
This was a post from my main blog- "John's Blog Space." It was since deleted and edited substantially for "John's Gran Turismo Space." The original post was made on October 28, 2009.

--- How Would This Work? ---

For each license test and all the different tests, going to this GT Academy will allow you to practice certain tests. Once you have a license test unlocked, you can have a chance to practice certain elements. The issue at hand here is how to integrate this feature to make it useful in addition to taking license tests. With a good system in play, you will be given advice based on racing line, acceleration, braking, and things like that. The Analyzer allows you to analyze your runs in GT games since GT3. What has to happen is that this feature has to be expanded upon to make for better practice and to allow tips on improving your driving skills in Gran Turismo 5.

--- Gran Turismo... University? ---

Yeah, GTU! A plan I thought of was having certain racing schools in Gran Turismo to help out with enhancing driving skills. Each racing school encompasses a different element of racing. There are racing schools on topics like these:

• General Skills (basic skills like acceleration, braking, handling, etc.)
• Advanced Skills (application of basic skills in racing situations)
• Extreme Skills (advanced techniques)
• Oval Racing (oval racing technique (yes, there is actual skill in oval racing!))
• Road Racing (applying skills to road racing)
• Rally Racing (rally racing on various surfaces, including rally techniques)
• Drag Racing (skill in acceleration and in timing shifts)
• Drifting (application of car control in extreme driving, and also practice in Drift Trials)

Imagine if you could enroll in these schools. If you enroll, you can get some formal training in certain elements of Gran Turismo. The cars featured are specially-tailored to the given racing school. These even include certain cars you will be unable to own. Imagine racing go-karts, low-level formula cars, and things of that nature. You will have a variety of school-supplemented cars tuned specifically for each school.

There are even some racing series you can enroll in to give yourself experience racing and even make some money early. Think of the Skip Barber Racing School, in which you pilot these Dodge-powered Formula cars in amateur-level competition. A great aspect of this is that you can actually feel like you're establishing yourself as an actual racer in the Gran Turismo series rather than be just a no-name racer who somehow has all kinds of cars in GT. It points things more towards a career while not really being a career-oriented game. By the way, no racing license needed for any of these.

When you feel you're ready to really take on racing, you can then take your racing school experience to try to pass the license tests. It prolongs the game sure enough, but at least you feel like you can grow confidence towards passing GT license tests.





Would you be open to the idea of introducing Gran Turismo Academy in GT5 to represent a practice field for GT license test subjects? Comment away! Thank you for reading!

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Motorcycles in GT6?

Do you like your Gran Turismo with motorcycles? If it were to happen, motorcycles could return as part of Gran Turismo 6's lineup. Question is- would you want motorcycles to be along with cars in GT6? Or should the motorcycles be available as downloadable content? Allow me to explain my thoughts on the prospect of motorcycles in Gran Turismo 6, as opposed to being in a sequel of Tourist Trophy.

--- Motorcycles in Gran Turismo 6? ---

Some fans are adamant against Gran Turismo- a car racing game- having motorcycles in them. Part of the reason why GT6 would be a candidate for having motorcycles is the simple fact that those who didn't buy into Tourist Trophy would have a more viable and more visible arena for which motorcycles are showcased. Let me give you a blogging example for a moment, just to express what I am trying to explain.

Most of you know of my primary blog- "John's Blog Space." A lot of what I discuss is featured in my main blog because I want the most visibility. Only someone truly intrepid would find "John's Gran Turismo Space" for a Gran Turismo-themed post if I didn't bring it up in my main blog. Before any blog post of mine becomes successful and popular, it needs to be visible. And to be visible, it has to be featured in my most prominent source of views- which is John's Blog Space.

So what does this have to do with motorcycles in GT6? Simple- Gran Turismo 6 will likely be the most visible and most prominent source for anything featured. Many people doubt there will ever be a sequel to Tourist Trophy. And at the same time, there are those who would lovingly want to race a motorcycle against cars. So if there is an outside possibility of motorcycles returning to the surface of Polyphony Digital racing games, the best visibility would be to feature motorcycles as part of Gran Turismo 6's overall lineup of machines. Hardly anyone complained of karts in GT5, so what's wrong with motorcycles being among the racing machines in Gran Turismo 6?

--- Motorcycles in GT6: What to Include? ---

The lazy answer to this question would be every motorcycle from Tourist Trophy- only all totally revamped and pretty. A longer answer would be to include motorcycles from Tourist Trophy while also adding several more new motorcycles. I would also want Polyphony Digital to surprise me a bit. I am normally a fan of Ducati, Honda, and even Suzuki. I'd be interested seeing some more different motorcycles from companies like Moto Guzzi, MV Augusta, Bimota, Benelli (the motorcycle company, not the shotgun maker), Hyosung, Vespa, and others. Maybe even throw in some odd motorcycles like the Campagna T-Rex, the Peraves MonoTracer, the Piaggio MP3, and dare I say- the BRP Can-Am Spyder.

I would be open to see other kinds of motorcycles featured ranging from dirt bikes to sport tourer bikes. Supermoto bikes would also be cool to see. Also possible would be seeing more real racing bikes. And if PD could, I would be interested in doing sidecar racing.

--- Motorcycles in GT6: Bikes as Downloadable Content? ---

Should any would-be motorcycles be featured right from the retail version or be offered as downloadable content (DLC)? If you dislike a Gran Turismo with motorcycles, you would rather pay for DLC motorcycles rather than have them right away. I have never really believed in DLC unless I really NEED to have it. I mostly see DLC as optional material that could or could not enhance any game. Whether or not I'd want some DLC depends on if I think it will make my gaming experience better. And if I had to choose, I'd rather have the material right away because I'm usually too cheap to want to pay for something *optional*.

Now let's say Gran Turismo 6 includes motorcycles right from the retail version, but offers certain exclusive or special motorcycles that you can buy as DLC. Like, let's say GT6 has one of my favorite motorcycles- the Ducati Desmosedici RR, but Polyphony Digital comes up with a specially-tuned and much more powerful racing version of the Demsosedici RR. Or imagine if there is a specially tuned version of the Suzuki Hayabusa that goes up to 240 mph and handles impressively. Would you want these motorbikes as DLC or be available right from the retail version?

--- Motorcycles in GT6: Other Considerations ---

One of the biggest considerations would be to have motorcycle-friendly courses. Think of tracks like Suzuka for a moment. Some tracks have chicanes and certain modified configurations to better suit motorcycles. Some tracks from Tourist Trophy aren't even raced on to include multiple motorcycles on the track, like Seattle Circuit and El Capitan among others.

With power from the PlayStation 3 (or if it shows up on the PlayStation 4), it would be sad to just race have four motorcycles on track. Gran Turismo 5 has had as many as 16 competitors to a track. So I'd feel sad to not have sixteen motorcycles to a track. Having 12 bikes to a track is alright, but I'd love to see sixteen motorcycles to a track. Sixteen motorcycles is a decent number to include. Some of today's MotoGP World Championship grids feature about 16 bikes.

Coming up with races will obviously give GT6 much more in the way of competing in races by adding some more different events and more ways to race. You can separate car racing from motorcycle racing, adding more ways to race and enjoy racing. I wouldn't want to see motorcycle racing be part of the "Special Events," though. It would be A-Spec cars, B-Spec cars, and then maybe A-Spec and B-Spec for motorcycles (which would be a first for motorcycles in the GT/TT realm).





What do you think about Gran Turismo 6 if it were to include motorcycles? Would you still rather see a sequel to Tourist Trophy rather than GT6 having motorcycles? Or do you even care about racing motorcycles in a Polyphony Digital-made game? Share your thoughts and thank you (again) for reading!

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GT Could Use New Ideas

Gran Turismo has established itself as the finest racing game franchise since its inception in 1997 or 1998. More cars and tracks have helped to shape the franchise along with a healthy array of racing events to challenge all gamers. The old adage of "teaching an old dog new tricks" shouldn't have to apply for something like GT... right? Well, no. If you look at Gran Turismo 5, there was a LOT to be desired, as many felt disappointed at what GT5 COULD have been. Some people have lost their faith in the Gran Turismo series after what GT5 has produced. Even with its updates, some feel it is not enough to keep Gran Turismo as the top console racing game franchise in all of gaming. So what will save Gran Turismo for years to come? To me- new ideas.

--- What New Ideas Will Help GT6? ---

What do I mean by new ideas? Let's think about this for a moment.

Gran Turismo has done everything possible to make racing games better in a number of respects. Helping its own cause is a variety of races and race events along with various cars to take advantage of these races. A new venture lends itself to new opportunities for your game and your franchise. Case in point- Gran Turismo 2, where rally racing debuted in the GT series. It offered a parallel different from traditional circuit racing. In Gran Turismo 3, you would be fortunate enough to own a Formula 1 car- which debuted in the GT series. Gran Turismo 4 featured Le Mans Prototypes for the first time as well as Driving Missions. Gran Turismo 5 had its own new ideas- NASCAR, proper rally racing, and of course- online racing.

Even with these new additions to each game, the racing element still feels fairly stale. That's why I introduced my "Motorsports Makeover" series to discuss various aspects of racing that will make the series just an extra bit better. No matter how many cars or tracks are featured, they all mean nothing if the racing is stale.


It would be comical of me to say I'd need an entire blog post on this topic, but there are still a number of things that have yet to be properly executed. Here are some:

Drag Racing.

Gran Turismo 2 featured the first-ever drag racing cars with the HKS Drag 180SX and the HKS Drag R33 Skyline. Proper drag racing and proper tracks? No. Reports have talked about how the Gran Turismo team used Bandimere Speedway in the Denver area as its roster of real-world locations. Online racers have used Special Stage Route 7 for drag racing.

People have always thought of drag racing as "stupid." You know- just accelerate and go faster than the driver in the other lane. There is a science to drag racing that makes it what it is.

Track Challenges.

Certain tracks that have multiple layouts can benefit from track-based challenges. For example, a three-race series involving multiple configurations of a track (including reverse layouts) can be a start for track-based series. For example, this could be a three-race series involving Grand Valley Speedway:

• Grand Valley East-Normal
• Grand Valley East-Reverse
• Grand Valley Speedway-Normal

I thought of this from "SHIFT 2 Unleashed." You could even allow track challenges to even include various other events, like drift trials.

Time Attack.

Why not allow a mode where many cars are on the track at once trying to score the best time? If you're familiar with the SHIFT series, you know what I am talking about with the Time Attack events. Fastest time after a certain amount of time allowed wins.

A Career-Inspired GT Mode.

It would be interesting to make GT Mode seem more like an established racing career while not making it some linear storyline. If you make a storyline-like model for Gran Turismo, you make Gran Turismo more linear than GT usually is. You also run the risk of making Gran Turismo less fun and less free to do almost whatever you want. And I'm sure this is NOT what you want...

Unique Championships.

Many of the championships are based on car types. I would like to see GT maybe play around with some new ideas to make the tracks more interesting. Why not come up with some championships to take advantage of certain kinds of cars, tracks, and features? You could come up with championships based on the cars that could be Racing Modified in GT5. You could have (for example) a Camaro Cup based on the Chevrolet Camaro that could be Race Modified in GT5 and have the race ONLY feature Racing-Modified Camaros. This would be sort of a throwback to Gran Turismo 2, where there were One-Make Races limited to road-going cars and race-modified cars.

In addition, it would be nice to have certain championships and series feel more like proper championships rather than just a series of races. Infuse a certain character to some championships to make them feel like they are more than just a standard series of races. If you ask me, one of the best candidates would be the Gran Turismo World Championship. If PD is smart and creative, they can make several series infinitely better.

More Races With Loaner Cars.

You usually need a certain car or certain kind of car to compete in a championship or race. Having to own a certain car can get a bit old and stale. A better idea would be to give you races and series where cars are provided for you. You don't have to buy a car beforehand. I really don't know why Gran Turismo doesn't offer this in its games. For as many cars that are in a game like a Gran Turismo, there are few opportunities to really enjoy using a certain car that you either don't own or may be curious about knowing its performance characteristics.

Another way to think about this is to imagine trying to join a racing team or be among a given field. Let's say if you place well or win a championship, you win the car you race in. Added incentive for you and your racing career in Gran Turismo.

Rivalry Races and Duels.

If there was one thing the Forza Motorsport series has done right, it is a proper forum for putting cars to the test. One of many different rivalry series is the Camaro vs. Mustang battles. Or if you've played the SHIFT games, you may be familiar with the Manufacturer Showdown races, where two similar or evenly-matched cars are offered to you, and you must pick one car to compete in a Best-of-3 race series.

I want to see Gran Turismo make their own unique series of rivalry races. The possibilities are endless. They could start with a Supra vs. Skyline/GT-R rivalry series. It would help establish a connect between the featured cars and the racing. PD needs to be creative coming up with certain rivalry series that would make the battles interesting. If the player doesn't have the car for each rivalry race or duel, that player can be provided one of the cars per the request of the player. So if there was a rivalry between the latest Camaro and the latest Mustang, I could choose between either of the two cars and compete valiantly in a given rivalry race or duel.

Give the player options and keep the race interesting.

Race Weekends.

Practice. Qualifying. Warm-up. And of course- the main race. Why not make the racing a bit more interesting and realistic? You don't have to do all the elements of a race weekend, but at least it helps make the racing more realistic. Heat races would also qualify as part of a racing weekend. Imagine having to earn your way into a race or championship rather than just simply enter a race or championship. Yeah- make you work for it.

Race Formats.

A single race format is basic for any race. However, it helps to try some new things. Why not have a few different race formats for a few championships and series? Imagine if you could have a two-race format either with the same number of laps or where you reverse the finish order to determine the grid for the next race? What if you could have a dual-race format that consists of a sprint race followed by a feature race? It's just something to think about to add a little spice to races.


These are all among MANY different things Polyphony Digital can do to enhance the GT franchise.

--- Ideas vs. Execution ---

Ideas mean nothing without properly executing them. I am not saying or implying that Polyphony Digital fails at making races interesting; I am just saying that you have to have certain ideas, and then properly execute them just to make the package sweet. I make mention to a lot of things on JGTS in hopes of envisioning a more creative and fun game. What I want is for Gran Turismo to continue being one of the very best gaming franchises (let alone racing game franchises) on the market today.

Certain elements to enhance Gran Turismo will require a few new elements and ideas to make them magical. It may even mean doing some things differently than in past iterations of Gran Turismo. Certain elements may even require changes to car lineups, driving physics, etc.; but at least these changes can be done. To what extent each change will make GT6 better purely depends. The one thing I want is a different experience that still remains vintage Gran Turismo.

Is there something I think should be implemented proper that hasn't been fully executed or realized yet? To me, I'd like to see proper drag racing implemented. It's pretty pointless to not have something to take advantage of serious high horsepower additions in a proper environment. I am not talking about using a very long straight to simulate a drag racing environment. I am talking about proper drag racing with all the rules and nuances of drag racing.

--- Final Thoughts ---

Gran Turismo can use some new life and some fresh ideas. Do you want everything to be stale or show some vast evolution? There have been new ideas and cars and such. What GT REALLY needs is some more spice and spunk to show forward progress and further evolution. Maybe my ideas and insight can help. In addition, I hope my loyal readers can supplement their own ideas to help me help offer more suggestions for Polyphony Digital's great racing game franchise.





Keep reading "John's Gran Turismo Space" for more commentary and for more ideas expressed. Thank you for reading!

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Car Collecting

In Gran Turismo, you'll have to have a lot of cars in your collection to take part in the various races. You know you will need certain cars of certain drivetrains (front/FWD, front/RWD, mid/RWD, and 4WD) early on. You'll need certain cars of certain nationalities. Cars from different decades also come into play. Some cars are even needed for certain one-make races. For some people, car collecting in any racing game (let alone a Gran Turismo) is really just a pain. How come you can't have just one or so cars that can be useful for a multitude of races? Fact is, games like Gran Turismo help you to appreciate all vehicles of various decades, performance types, nationalities, and the like.

The car collection reached an extreme point in Gran Turismo 5 if you were going for that Trophy for having 1,000 cars. With Gran Turismo 6 in the works, I hope car collecting won't be that extreme. It was unlikely you would use every single 1K car at least once. Collecting cars in GT5 could also be just for collecting paint items to paint cars and wheels. That, too, is an acceptable element of car collecting, especially for those of you who like changing the color of your cars and/or wheels.

I think car collecting is great only as long as I know I can fully utilize as many cars in my collection as possible. Just having all the cars "just 'cause" doesn't really help me to enjoy a Gran Turismo title. Gran Turismo 5 seemed to be a lot more about the cars than really utilizing them. I can only hope GT6 will have a more even balance on car selection as well as putting them in various races.





How do you feel about car collecting in Gran Turismo games? You're welcome to comment! Don't forget that you can share your thoughts on ANYTHING you see in this blog. Thank you for reading!

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Do Seasonal Events Save Racing in GT5?

For many people, the single-player aspects of Gran Turismo are disappointing. Seasonal Events have served as a way to enjoy racing in Gran Turismo with many different events. Each Seasonal features many different ways to race. Most common are the A-Spec races, featuring five different events. The fifth event usually takes place on a generated race track. There are Time Trial events where racers are invited to post the fastest time. Posting the fastest time gets you some prizes in the game. Your time is also up against other online players. Sometimes, you just want to view all of the top times to see what everyone else is using. There are also Drift Trials that are part of the Seasonal Events package. The Drift Trials require you to furiously (yet stylishly) drift around corners to rack up as many points as possible. Finally, there are Expert events that are very strict in regulations. These Expert races will pay you heavily in Credits and in Experience if you are able to win these races.

The main question here is... do Seasonal Events save GT5's racing and replay value?

--- Gran Turismo 5 Seasonal Events: Racing Savior of GT5? ---

^ Do Seasonal Events, such as the German Touring Car Championship Seasonal, save and enhance the variety of racing in Gran Turismo 5? That will be debated on this blog post.

Many people disappointed with the array of races in GT5 single player racing feel that Seasonal Events help extend the replay value of GT5. Since these races usually require certain kinds of cars and cars of a certain level of Performance Points, it gives many gamers reason to race more with certain cars. Think about Gran Turismo 4. GT4 wasn't the first GT to have One-Make Races, but you know you had to have certain cars if you wanted to win all the races. You sometimes had these cars just to compete in the various One-Make Races. These events should at least be enjoyed for the money and for picking up racing suits and racing helmets (especially for victories).

You probably feel like the single-player elements could have been more interesting and enjoyable in GT5, but Seasonal Events are really a tad more challenging and fun. You always start dead last in the Seasonal A-Spec races, and you must work your way to win the race. A number of people probably wish you can qualify so that you don't have to work from behind all the time.

--- Can More Be Done? ---

I think a lot more can be done. Consider the following in enhancing Seasonal Events:

B-Spec Seasonals?

• I would actually be interested in B-Spec racing Seasonal Events. It would be great to get some more B-Spec experience going in these tough events if we're struggling through the A-Spec events. If it's my A-Spec skills getting a workout in these races, why not give the B-Spec racers some Seasonal races to take part in? Don't give me that stuff about B-Spec racers being pathetic and passive. B-Spec racers should have to endure through these races as much as we are through A-Spec. So why not Seasonals for B-Spec?

Rally Seasonals?

• I think some of my fellow GT fans will agree- as much as we have rally events, it would be GREAT to have rally racing Seasonals. Think about it for a moment. If we have (for example) a Seasonal dedicated to 4WD cars, why not an event or an entire Seasonal where you have maybe a three-race or a five-race rally. I mean, how tough is it to set up Seasonal or an event that's all about rallying? You could have any kind of rally Seasonals limited to cars of a certain horsepower level. Heck, you could (and I know my rally racing fans will LOVE this) even limit the choice of cars to the Group B rally racing monsters. Perhaps even have a Seasonal limited to proper rally cars (including Group B). You could possibly even set up a makeshift rally weekend where you do rally racing for two or three simulated days across a number of stages. Don't just leave the rally racing to the Special category- Seasonal rallying would be great!

Seasonal Endurances?

• It would be interesting to see a Seasonal Endurance. Since most Seasonal races are within 6 to 10 minutes, a longer series of Endurance races between 25 to 30 minutes would be nice. Or at the most, a race of about 55 minutes to a full hour would be more than suitable for endurances. An Endurance Seasonal featuring only one event (or maybe more than one) is also possible. I say to make these time-based rather than lap-based.

Seasonal Championships?

Rather than five races, why not a championship? Maybe you can win both a new helmet and a new racing suit for winning the championship. Set up five races and find out if you can win the championship. Of course, you can still win individual prizes for clearing individual rounds. However, imagine winning much more for winning the championship. Talk about making money and earning experience! No better way to do so than to clear all of the races in a championship. Or if not new racing outfits, put up [for one time only] a prize car for winning a Seasonal Championship. It could either be a specific car or a ticket/coupon for a car of a certain theme. For example, winning a Seasonal Championship with muscle cars could earn you a Ticket that could earn you a Ford GT40 Race Car.

More Interesting Seasonal Events.

• If you remember Gran Turismo 1, there were some events where you could take your machine and mod its performance extremely. The Megaspeed Cup and Tuned Car races were two of the best in anything-goes tuning and racing. I still remember taking my 930 horsepower Mitsubishi GTO (3000GT) and just go crazy racing full speed in all of the races. I'd say more races where you could race almost whatever you want (no Performance Point restrictions) would be great. More unique events, more unique races... just make it interesting! Only problem, however, would be that certain people would take certain cars (like a formula car or the X2010) and easily win. Maybe even grind for money and experience. So SOME restrictions would have to be placed.


The real reason why I mostly do Seasonals is for the money and the experience. If you have the Spec 2.0 update, consecutive logins result in up to 200% boost in your winnings and experience. Winning one Seasonal Event is almost enough to max out your car's performance. Therefore, winning these can be very beneficial. You can also keep racing these Seasonals to build up money to purchase more cars or save up for a really expensive car. Two of the PSN Trophy goals are to get 1,000 cars and to have an insane amount of money (10M Credits or more). Making all the money you can will help you get there.





So do you think Seasonal Events save the single player racing aspect of GT5, or do you think the Seasonal Events should maybe replace the A-Spec and B-Spec events? What are your thoughts on Seasonal Events in regards to enhancing Gran Turismo 5's array of races? Also, what do you think about my ideas for enhancing the Seasonals? Comment away and thank you for reading!

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Free Roaming in Gran Turismo?

(UPDATED: October 17, 2013)

Why would you want free roaming in a game series like the Gran Turismo series? For some people, the reasons are understandable- the feeling of an open world, an expansive realm, exploration, simply being able to cruise, and things like that. Gran Turismo has, and always will be about racing. GT is one of few racing game series where one can enjoy just casual driving without feeling the need to race all the time. Think about some other racing-centered games for a moment. Anything besides doing full-on racing seems boring because the focus is squarely on racing. When not racing, you're probably testing out a setup for your car or practicing your skills on a certain track. Therefore, an idea of free roaming makes little to no sense. Why would you want to explore some realm when the focus should clearly be on racing and driving? As you know, there are people who'd rather try some new things out rather than stick to old practices. As a Gran Turismo fan, I often times think Gran Turismo should try some new things to keep its long-running franchise strong. So this blog post is an opinionated and detailed look at a free-roaming environment and what if Gran Turismo had such an environment.

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About the Label: "Free-Roaming"

This is a series of blog posts related to the ideas of a free-roaming environment in the Gran Turismo series. There will be more posts devoted to specific aspects of this topic.

--- Free-Roaming at a Glance ---

What defines free roaming? Here is my dictionary-like definition of free roaming:

Free Roaming: a gaming concept that allows one to explore an expansive space where players have free access to just about all of the game's facilities.

Free roaming suggests a realm where people are free to explore all of a game's facilities with little or no limitations. It is where you feel free to do almost anything within the boundaries of a game. A racing/driving game like the Gran Turismo series obviously suggests you will mostly be driving and racing. As any Gran Turismo fan would know, however, GT is also about car collecting. So making a free roaming environment would also mean you can look for cars as well as

--- Gran Turismo Retrospect: GT/Simulation Mode ---

If you have played all five major Gran Turismo games, you may be familiar with each game's GT mode. If not, here is a look back at the GT/Simulation modes of each title.

Gran Turismo 1's Simulation Mode.

^ Welcome to the world of Gran Turismo, all within a big city.

Gran Turismo 1 featured a city that resembles Tokyo. In it, there are ten different dealers (eleven if you count Honda/Acura), Go Race, the License Test place, car wash, machine test, and of course- your home. You have all the facilities in one big map. Just point to wherever you want to visit and press "X" to visit. You did not drive from one point to another- you just basically pick a location on the map and go there.

Gran Turismo 2's Simulation Mode.

^ Gran Turismo 2 categorized everything. Cities help separate the nationalities of car.

For Gran Turismo 2, there was an Arcade Mode disc and the Simulation Mode disc. All of your Simulation Mode goodness was done on the Simulation Disc. GT2's map categorized the nationality of cars into cities. East City featured Japanese cars, West City features French and Italian cars, North City featured British and German cars, and South City featured American cars. The only new facility added to the host of options for Gran Turismo was the Wheel Shop, where you can purchase new wheels for your car.

Perhaps it is GT2's Simulation Mode that has the most potential for a proper free roaming environment. Can you imagine traveling from city to city and exploring all the different facilities? GT2 tends to offer the best model towards a proper free-roaming environment.


I'm sorry I don't have any further pictures to explain the other modes.

Gran Turismo 3's Simulation Mode.

[~~~ no picture ~~~]

Three major changes were made to the GT Mode map starting with Gran Turismo 3. (1) Rather than cities, GT3 featured all cars as an all-in-one Car Dealer. Each nationality of car were broken up by nationality, and the represented makers are all sorted alphabetically. (2) There was now one Tune Shop as opposed to individual tuning shops. The need to find certain individual aftermarket dealers now came down to visiting just one Tune Shop for all of your tuning needs. (3) Rather than a Wheel Shop and a Car Wash, a new GT Auto was established to handle other tuning aspects of cars. This allowed you to wash your car, change wheels, but also change the oil. This is all a dumbed-down version of GT's Simulation Mode.

Gran Turismo 4's GT Mode.

[~~~ no picture ~~~]

Starting with Gran Turismo 4, Simulation Mode was now called "Gran Turismo Mode." A massive map featuring various dealers any facilities were offered. Car dealers were sorted out by nationality rather than by individual makes. New to this model were individual Used Car Dealers as well as a new Tuning Village. The Tuning Village featured tuner cars as well as parts for various manufacturers. Also new to GT Mode were individual facilities for practicing on certain categories of race track, Driving Missions, testing facilities, the Replay Theater, Music and sound, and Photo Travel. There were also separate facilities for races with the introduction of three series of events, regional events, and endurance events. GT4's Photo Mode is by far the most expansive of all.

Gran Turismo 5's GT Mode.

[~~~ no picture ~~~]

Many people felt disappointed at GT5's GT Mode because of its layout. GT5's GT Mode is simply a mosaic of pictures linking to various aspects of the game rather than an environment that resembles a city or a world. If you considered the previous four GT Mode models to feel like you are part of a world, then GT5's GT Mode is disappointing.

Despite the disappointing all-in-one menu, some cues from other GTs were taken. You can purchase cars from two different dealers broken up between the Dealership and the Used Car Dealer. It was also possible to buy cars from a new Online Car Dealership. The Used Car Dealer and Online Car Dealership feature only Standard models while the primary dealership feature only Premium cars. There is a new Special facility devoted to the game's seven (one has to be unlocked) special events. You can also play online with facilities offered there. Rather than one just racing facility, there were separate facilities to race for both A-Spec and B-Spec.

GT5's model has the absolute least potential at a proper free roaming environment. It is just too basic and plain for a menu.





Now, you have an idea as to past Gran Turismo titles and the GT/Simulation modes. Here is a preview of what the free-roaming discussion entails in further posts:

• a detailed post regarding Free Roaming in Gran Turismo
• what should a proper Free Roaming model should entail
• things to consider when making a free roaming model

I think you GT fans may enjoy this discussion. Feel free to share this blog with others and contribute by posting comments.

--- Free-Roaming in Gran Turismo: Series Preview ---

Here is a preview of the rest of the "Free Roaming" series will feature:

• What would be the ideal environment for a free-roaming environment?
• How do you pattern a free-roaming environment?
• What could/should you do or be able to do in a free-roaming GT?
• What facilities should a free-roaming environment have?

To decrease the workload, I will consider posting on this topic by separating my posts into a few different individual posts. This section is a preview of the topics I have considered. As I make new posts, expect the headings to feature links to the proper blog posts.

Free-Roaming Environment: Cities?

Should a free-roaming environment for Gran Turismo be denoted by a city? Drive around a massive city as you interact with a living, breathing city. Could this be the ideal environment for a free-roaming GT, if there ever was one? Could the city concept be extended further like what Gran Turismo 2 attempted?

Free-Roaming Environment: Island or Country?

Similar to the Test Drive Unlimited Series (and certain other games with environments surrounded by water), should the free-roaming experience be indicated by traveling around a massive island?

Free-Roaming Environment: Virtual World?

The most diverse experience would be if you did your free roaming around a massive country or a virtual world. In this virtual world, the challenge is not so much in trying to find everything, but also in trying to interact with various other virtual environments. As an example, you can be in one environment that resembles traffic laws and driving styles in the United States in one part of the massive area, but another area may resemble most European nations. You will encounter driving on massive roads and highways in major cities, but then have to deal with driving down European country roads. You also have to get used to other driving conditions and roads like in some other places. Imagine having to deal with an environment similar to African jungles or Japanese mountain passes. It would be something to enjoy for both racers and cruisers alike.





These ideas and more will be discussed once I put together all of my posts. I invite all of you reading this blog to offer me your ideas so I can make this more fun and engaging for all of my readers.

If you see that I am not posting anything for a while, remember that there are other blogs I run as well as the fact I'm thinking of new posts for this blog and my others. I am also trying to slowly remodel "John's Gran Turismo Space" by remodeling my primary blog, "John's Blog Space." Thanks to all of you for visiting. Please take care and have an amazing day! Thank you for reading!

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Porsche in Gran Turismo?

Depending upon who you ask, every racing game featuring sports cars should feature Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. No exceptions. At least, in the minds of most fans. Many have criticized how Polyphony Digital couldn't secure world-class manufacturers into their franchise. People tend to think that Polyphony Digital cares more about kei cars, Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, and Mitsubishi Lancers than real cars most discriminating racing game fans care about. With a little more personality in Gran Turismo 5's car list, such as the likes of Bugatti, speculation opens as to whether or not Porsche will find its way into a future Gran Turismo Many feel the inclusion of Porsche would complete the cycle along with Ferrari and Lamborghini for all marques represented in Gran Turismo games. I'm here to ask the question and try to answer it in my own way.

And in case you're wondering, I am talking about Porsche and not Ruf. I will explain later about the Porsche/Ruf deal later in this blog post.

NOTE: This blog post was taken from John's Blog Space and modified extensively to be recent for "John's Gran Turismo Space." The blog post was originally posted on November 23, 2009; and edited and re-posted May 9, 2011.

--- Porsche in Gran Turismo: Why Should You Care? ---

^ from: www.orbitcast.com - Can future Gran Turismo titles feature Porsche (not Ruf or not just Ruf)?

Why be concerned (or at least optimistic) about Porsche being in a future Gran Turismo? Simple. The inclusion of Ferrari starting in Gran Turismo HD was a surprising announcement and a surprising change in overall philosophy in Polyphony Digital including certain cars. The inclusion of Lamborghini in Gran Turismo PSP, followed by subsequent appearances at video game shows featuring Gran Turismo 5 means that Lamborghini will more than likely enter the realm of all manufacturers and race constructors for Gran Turismo 5 along with Ferrari. Now with Gran Turismo 5 already been released since November 2010, now the question becomes: will Porsche complete the cycle by joining the lineup of cars and racing teams in a future Gran Turismo?

Many people like to assume that Porsche IS in the Gran Turismo series and has been since Gran Turismo 2. Well, you're wrong. Ruf (contrary to what most people like to believe) is not a tuner. Their cars are modified and made in such a way that they are their own legit manufacturer. Take this from Gran Turismo 2:

"Although some may argue that RUF simply modify the products of a famous German sports car maker, the transformation of its road cars is so complete that the company is an official car maker in its own right."

-RUF screen in Gran Turismo 2's Simulation Mode

Or take this from Ruf's official page:

"RUF Automobile GmbH is a producer of high-performance vehicles, specializing in manufacturing new RUF automobiles from the bare chassis, conversions to RUF specification and the performance enhancement / refinement of Porsche cars."

-RUF Automobile GmbH's official website (English)

So Ruf automobiles are built on the chassis of Porsches. They are recognized as a manufacturer by the German government. So Ruf and Porsche are not exactly one in the same. Having said this (and you must admit), it would be cool to see the RUF CTR3 or the new RUF Rt 12 in a future GT. ;)

--- Porsche Insight from Other Games ---

Now it's time to look at a few past games that have included Porsche. For this segment, I'll be talking about the Forza Motorsport series and "Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed."

Forza Motorsport Series.

One of the reasons why more people preferred playing Forza Motorsport 1 than Gran Turismo 4 was because of manufacturers like Porsche being included. Every Forza has featured Porsche. The very first Forza featured a great variety of classic and modern Porsches. Along with a healthy array of 911 models (including the 1998 24 Hours Le Mans outright-winning Porsche 911 GT1), there are also Porsches like the beautiful 550 A Spyder, the 959. Boster, Carerra GT, and an awesome Porsche 962C. It even included both the 911 GT3 Cup driven by Mike Fitzgerald in Speed World Challenge and the Alex Job Racing 911 GT3-RS.

Forza 2 added many more new and old Porsches, including various Porsche 911 GT3-RSRs, GT3 Cup cars, and more. This was also the debut for Porsche cars like the Cayman S and the 914/6.

Forza 3 debuted the Porsche RS Spyder LMP race car and included many more Porsches, even including the Porsche Cayenne.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed basically took you on a well-executed tour of Porsche history. You started out with the very first Porsche model- the 356 series, and then worked your way up through three different eras of Porsches- classic, golden, and modern. Cars range from the 356 models and up the order to the 550 A Spyder, the 959, the Porsche 935/70 Moby Dick Porsche, various variations of the 911, and even the outstanding 911 GT1. It was maybe one of the best titles focused solely on a certain manufacturer.

--- What Porsches to Include? ---

What Porsche models should be included? I've only named specific cars and not specific race cars. You can read the blog entry I set up for this topic by clicking on the link in the sidebar. But for this part, I will name as many Porsches as possible that may be considered or likely should Porsche be featured in a future Gran Turismo. They encompass classic and modern cars I've seen in magazines and on the Internet. The following are a list of Porsches that I think would be likely or considerable for a future Gran Turismo...

Porsche models of consideration include, but are not limited to the:
* 356/1 Roadster
* 550 A Spyder
* 904
* 911 lineup
* 911 GT3
* 911 GT3-RSR
* 917 (1969-1970; 1970-1971 917 LH; 1973 917/30;
* 962C
* 1975 911 Carrera 3.0 RS
* 1979-1981 Porsche 935 K3
* 924
* 956
* 1985-1986 Porsche 959 Dakar
* 1986 Porsche 961
* 1996 Porsche 993 GT1
* 1998 Porsche 996 GT1 Evo
* 2001-2003 Porsche 996 GT3 RS
* Cayenne series
* Carerra GT
* GT3-RS models
* Boxster series
* Cayman series
* 2004 Porsche 996 Turbo GT1
* 2005-2006 Porsche RS Spyder
* GT3-Cup series?
* Panamera?

There would be many more Porsches to include. If PD REALLY want to test the waters, they can try to fish out some rare Porsches to include into a future GT. Wonder what rare Porsche PD would find.

--- Porsche AND Ruf? ---

Some people thought that the only reason Ruf is in Gran Turismo besides Porsche is because GT wanted the next best thing to Porsche. Those who overly complain about having Ruf and not having Porsche think that since PD couldn't acquire Porsche, that PD were "relegated" to Ruf. And in case you think Porsche has been around since GT2 and called Ruf, you'd be absolutely wrong. Or to quote Gran Turismo 2's Ruf showroom:

"Although some may argue that RUF simply modify the products of a famous German sports car maker, the transformation of its road cars is so complete that the company is an official car maker in its own right."

So in other words, it's kind of like Pescarolo Sport in Gran Turismo 4, with modified Courage chassis for their LMP cars. So if Porsche is included would Ruf be singled out? One of two possibilities could happen if Porsche AND Ruf are offered:

* include Porsche and eliminate Ruf
* include Porsche and Ruf in the same game

Which do you think is most likely?





No matter what your dream list of Porsche cars is, the fact is... you love Gran Turismo, and you love Porsche. No matter if you're into Porsche street cars, Porsche race cars, or both... the fact of the matter is that you're talking about one of the most legendary marques in automobile history. You're talking about wonderful cars from a company based in Stuttgart, Germany. And Porsches, ranging from the most classic models to modern classics, they all have their own unique character and charm, which cannot be matched with any other car company. With this kind of dedication and devotion, you'd be wanting to have these featured in any Gran Turismo as much as anybody else. With the inclusion of makes like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and possibly more big name makers in the works, Porsche would provide plenty of spice to a future GT's car list. Finally, some of the most critical fans can finally stop complaining about PD not including major car companies. Thing is, they've been doing it all their life. Just that more people care about Ferrari and Lamborghini and such. For example, They got Bentley for GT4, granted it was the 2003 Le Mans-winning Bentley EXP GT. They got Aprilia and Ducati in Tourist Trophy. And they got Lamborghini and Bugatti in Gran Turismo PSP. If this keeps up, the sky could be the limit in including big-name car companies and even more exclusive automobiles. Time will tell, but the future looks bright on the car front for a future Gran Turismo to include Porsche. In any event, be as hopeful and positive as possible. And as their slogan goes- Porsche. There is no substitute.





What do you make of Porsche being featured in a future Gran Turismo? Will there ever be honest-to-goodness Porsches in Gran Turismo? Feel free to comment away on this. Thank you for reading!

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