GT5 finally...

[MoonieGT]

GT5 comes out next Wednesday, just several years behind schedule. I can't wait to play it but I'm expecting disappointment. Real world track selection is laughable. 10 versions of one car is not 10 cars. I find it annoying that there are 30 STIs in the game and no WRXs etc...

[Miatamaniac92]

Found an austin store selling it tomorrow, a day early. Woot!
http://www.playntrade.com/

There's one in Plano, Arlington and Flowermound. Couldn't find anyone that was doing a midnight release here in Austin and then they told me they'd sell it tomorrow!

Chris

[MoonieGT]

Mine is supposed to show up tomorrow via Amazon...

[Miatamaniac92]

Drat, employee misspoke last night.

I tried to snag a copy at Walmart just now, it was in my hands! The register wouldn't let her ring it up. I'll be back around 11 tonight.

Chris

[Miatamaniac92]

Got it last night at midnight.





B license down, have a sunburst and a kart so far. Some online racing, surprised you don't win credits anymore.



Chris

[MoonieGT]

Ya I'm stuck at work. The wife called and said it was delivered. Now I got to figure out how to vet out of here... :)

[CHeavin_2006]

I've been hooked on Forza lately, hopefully I can pick up a copy of GT5 for Christmas :)

[kcoughlin]

PS3 SN

kcoughlin77

Had about 10 people racing spec civics last night.. it was a blast..

[MoonieGT]

I'm MoonieGT. Havent raced online yet...

[trickyrix]

So I went by Fry's just to see if they had any copies of GT5 left... and not only did they have plenty, but they had a demo set up with the new Logitech force feedback steering wheel and pedals... and I played with it for about 20 minutes until some little kids started whining to mommy that they wanted to play.

Getting the game was a foregone conclusion, but I was hooked on that stupid wheel. And Fry's was out of stock. Amazon had them but I didn't want to wait - how else was I going to blow the rest of my Sunday? So I went to Target - nothing. WalMart - nada. Best Buy - sold out. Dammit.

An den... I went to Game Stop and got the second to last one. At this point I realize I need something to attach the wheel to, so I run back to Target and get a couple of TV trays (I've been meaning to get 'em anyhow). I get back home, and after thirty minutes of ripping open boxes and bouncing around like an 8 year old, I start the game. Gotta watch the opening movie, and after 30 minutes of loading and setup, it delivers. I'm all giddy now. It's go time. I decide to play around in Time Trial mode, with a 1970 Trans Am Mustang, on Laguna Seca. I get a rolling start just before the last turn... and... NO STEERING! Literally, everything else works, but I can't turn. Grrrrr. So I go back through the setup, and everything appears to be spot-on. Damn. Then I go back to the pile of box shreds and discover the effing power supply for the steering wheel. Plug it in and all is well. Whew.

Unfortunately, on my first gentle lap, I discover that the TV tray isn't nearly sturdy enough for its new purpose. Not even close. I get down to turn 2, brake hard, and cut the wheel left. This causes the TV tray to tip over, shut its legs, and collapse in a heap on top of the pedals. Dammit.

Solution below... I call it GT-Fail. Basically, I took my buffet table, turned it longways so the wheel mount had more grip, then bumped the other end of the table up against the TV cabinet. Needs work, but it's passable. I'm having too much fun to care right now.



And when I get down to business and start racing for real, my handle is "trickyrixx" - with two X's because the other one was taken. Who the hell else is trickyrix? I mean really...

[MoonieGT]

I've got that wheel and it's been great. I really want to get a Fanatec Porsche RS wheel with the clubsport pedals. It's a cool $350 for the wheels and pedals, but those pedals are WAY better than the DFGT pedals...

I race in a $5 folding chair with the wheel attached to a cheap Ikea side table. I stick my feet through the table. It's a cozy setup that works well.

[trickyrix]

My butt's numb now... I hit Level 5 with my '95 NA and a friggin' Yaris. Back to the real world in the morning...

[Nails]

It's no wonder sitting in a spindle back wooden chair. Looking at your photo I think you chose the wrong chair to use.

[trickyrix]

Well, that... and I dicked around with it for 5 hours...

[Kestrel]

Well, I did the whole pre-order thing with Best Buy, got GT5 on Wendesday, and spent some time with it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was... moderately impressed. It's good, and I've particularly enjoyed the Top Gear course (just fun to finally "drive" Hammerhead, Follow-Through and Gambon), but in all honesty, it's more of the same thing. I'm not sure what I was expecting -- well, a couple of Porsche would be nice but (1) we know why they aren't there, and (2) we knew they wouldn't be there -- but I just didn't find it to be that much better than GT5 Prologue... or GT4, for that matter. There is some damage modeling, but it doesn't appear to impact the drivability of the car, just the looks when you are doing a replay of that spectacular crash.

Is it worth it? Yeah, I suppose so if you are a die-hard car game / "racing simulator" fan, but it's really not earth-shattering.

By the way, like MoonieGT, I have my wheel attached to a flimsy wooden TV tray, and I just sit in my simply office/desk chair. What this set-up teaches you is smooth, gentle steering inputs, because if you don't, you'll send the wheel and the TV tray set-up flying!

[MoonieGT]

I too have been playing since Wednesday. My thoughts: it's good, not great. The graphics are a step up from Prologue and the physics are better as well. However, iRacing has ruined me as far as the actual driving goes. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts who also have Forza 3. I've played F3 (don't own it), but it's been a while. I think F3 has more real racing tracks, which is a big plus in my book.

My biggest annoyances are: 1) it defaults to 5 for the front brakes and 5 for the rear brakes in any car. In my '91 miata the back end kept coming around under hard braking until I realized that I could change the brake balance (I turn off all the driving aids). I thought you had to have a brake balance controller in past games to fiddle with it. 2) The AI are just terrible drivers. They don't give you any racing room. I don't know if AI will ever get better in games. But oh well, I have iRacing for a clean racing experience. Other than those two small gripes, it's pretty fantastic. Driving the Green Hell is AWESOME. This is why I wanted GT5. I can't wait to try some 1 hr+ races at Nordschleif and at Cirque de la Sarthe (sp?).

As for damage, I've heard that the damage becomes more realistic as your level progresses. I have yet to notice this while driving (I'm currently Level 12).

As for miatas, I've got a '91 and an '04. The '91 seems to be the better drive in game. I havn't been able to find a '99 for sale yet to build my car...

[Majik]

I heard full damage unlocks at level 40. If that is true, it makes no sense to me, because it seems like you would have finished the game by then.

[jeff_man]

i'm so glad i didn't buy gt5, rented it and it blows. can't believe how detached it feels to play it compared to even a need for speed game.

[ray_sir_6]

Well, I did the whole pre-order thing with Best Buy, got GT5 on Wendesday, and spent some time with it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I was... moderately impressed. It's good, and I've particularly enjoyed the Top Gear course (just fun to finally "drive" Hammerhead, Follow-Through and Gambon), but in all honesty, it's more of the same thing. I'm not sure what I was expecting -- well, a couple of Porsche would be nice but (1) we know why they aren't there, and (2) we knew they wouldn't be there -- but I just didn't find it to be that much better than GT5 Prologue... or GT4, for that matter. There is some damage modeling, but it doesn't appear to impact the drivability of the car, just the looks when you are doing a replay of that spectacular crash.

Is it worth it? Yeah, I suppose so if you are a die-hard car game / "racing simulator" fan, but it's really not earth-shattering.

By the way, like MoonieGT, I have my wheel attached to a flimsy wooden TV tray, and I just sit in my simply office/desk chair. What this set-up teaches you is smooth, gentle steering inputs, because if you don't, you'll send the wheel and the TV tray set-up flying!

I don't think it was worth it....the money or the wait. They added more tracks, and they have Lambo and Ferrari, that isn't enough. I haven't seen any "damage" affecting the driving of the vehicle, but have noticed visual damage, mostly while doing B-Spec (complete waste...no matter the skills you select, can't pass, can't drive, you have to put them in a VASTLY SUPERIOR vehicle to win the race). I played it all weekend, and I have completed the first two levels, and have 1 race left in the 3d, and 2 left in the 4th, and haven't gotten Lvl20 yet (only 18 right now) to get to the top level.

I haven't been able to drive the cars with the skid control off, so I have that on, and 1 for ABS. Everything else is off. The Top Gear track is fun, but the Elise race on it was very loose in the first corner, but after that, it's sweet.

Only thing that is 5 star are the Go Karts! Gotta love having a vehicle that you can't mod for an overall driver's race. It does suck that you can only go 75mph if in first place, and 85mph for everyone behind you.

...and the online racing is pitiful. Every room has at least one asshat! And then there are the "Sub-300hp" rooms where the creator is rolling in a 400hp car. Or you go into a "325hp max" room and you have a 185hp Miata, so they add a minimum weight so you can't race, and the room creator has a 3KGT with 324hp, and sets the minimum weight at his cars weight. Load times are insane, you leave a room and it puts you back in your home, to log back in. It doesn't let you see the settings for the room till you are in it...you can't tell who has Skid control on, who has a weight limit, power limit, or anything besides the track until you are already in the room. Plus the cars you win are beyond pathetic.

[MoonieGT]

I think damage slowly ramps up as you progress through the levels... I think it takes a while to experience full dmage...