Video: Gran Turismo 5 - The Reason to Buy a Playstation 3

So far, the Playstation 3 has been lacking in terms of games. The exact thing that made owning a Playstation so great (lots of good games) is the very thing that’s lacking in the third console. It looks like they’re starting to change that, and some of the racing games for it simply look amazing, including Mikey’s review of Need for Speed: Carbon.

Gran Turismo has always been a ground-breaking series. Gran Turismo 5 will be no different. Due for a 2008 release, I’m very excited to see the final release of GT5. This game alone might make me buy a PlayStation 3. Check out the video:

Pre-Order Gran Turismo 5 here

Ok, so I have this thing where every time I see a video trailer like this I have to identify all of the cars off the top of my head, so here goes:

Nissan GT-R
Audi R8
TVR Tuscan Speed 6
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer
Mercedes-Benz AMG SL-series
Ferrari F430
Nissan Skyline (R33)
Alfa Romeo coupe
BMW Z4
Dodge Viper
Ford Mustang GT
Audi TT Coupe
VW Golf
Acura NSX

There were a few other compact cars I’m not familiar with, and a few not-so-good looks at some other cars. Can you recognize them?

Let me know if I missed anything, just be easy on me

Wow, pretty pretty graphics … and those anime guys talking in the garage? Top notch.

You know what I didn’t see?

Car damage or any demonstration of the game having anything approaching a viable opponent AI.

Polyphony have had FIVE iterations of this game, and they STILL haven’t come out with a damage model or digital opponents that can drive better than me?

Why bother?

I agree TB, I’m disappointed there’s no damage modeling, I thought they were going to bring that out in this game. It’s still a possibility, but it seems to be the last thing on their minds.

I always thought they weren’t allowed to have car damage on the cars? Stipulation from the manufacturers (could be wrong though, probably am actually)

Shaun, I heard that too, but I know Need for Speed does it, and they’re licensed cars being damaged as well, so I guess I don’t really know.

I believe that was just a rumor Shaun. I think there are only certain vehicles that cannot show damage on and so they just don’t put them in the video games.. I am excited for GT 5. I’m a big gamer my self and I’ve been playing forza 2 way to much

I had heard that “they weren’t allowed to have car damage on the cars” thing too, but I always thought it was BS.

Two of the main things that separate a sim from a game are, 1 - what does the physics do, and, 2 - is there a damage model.

It is a LOT easier from a programming standpoint to have the “car” in the game be an invisible box, but what is seen by the player looks like a real car. You don’t have to model and render fairly complex things like panel deformation and chassis damage effecting handling etc.

You can see this effect in the current release of GT; it’s like there is an invisible box drawn around perimeter of any given car (length and width, and probably height). You can see when the car interacts with something, another car, a barrier on the track etc, it doesn’t interact at a given point, say a wheel, but at a flat plane.

You can see what the programmers for Polyphony have done. The “car” is actually a box of approximate size to the car they’re “modeling”. Within that box, they put a rendered image of the car. You’re actually driving the box, but they’re showing you the rendered image of the car.

It’s a clever trick and work around for not having to model dozens of individual cars, but it’s still a trick. Much like having triggered effects in place of a real physics engine is a trick.

It’s also cheaper and more cost effective to go that route.

Sure, real car nuts can tell the difference between something that has triggered effects in place of a real physics engine, but the vast majority of people would much rather see shiny shiny cars.

So, you put money into staffing up a bunch of 3D artists, rather than physics geeks.

Same goes for their AI (which to me is even more of a deal breaker).

The way you win at GT is build faster cars. Not DRIVE the cars better, but BUILD the cars better.

No matter what you do, your AI opponents always drive at a given level of skill. They don’t get any better or worse, they just circulate at what seems to be predetermined lap times.The only way to beat them in GT is to build a faster car, not driver better than them.

If they were to have come up with a decent AI, I could have overlooked the physics and pretty vs. realistic failings, but I think the game has run its course with me.

I still remember when GT3 came out and the hype over it was crazy! I can’t believe that GT5 is coming out soon

-Mike

Mike, GT3 was ground-breaking; nobody saw anything that detailed before in a racing game. Let’s hope GT5 is just as amazing.