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Gran Turismo's unique perspective on how to brutalize a Ferrari
Yesterday we saw how Forza 3 has mad love for Ferraris. To balance that out, have a look at the damage model in Gran Turismo 5, recorded during a demo at the Tokyo Game Show. That's quite the hardy Ferrari. Those are quite the featherweight concrete barricades. But, hey, you can scrape the paint. That's new for Gran Turismo!
The series has been criticized consistently for not bothering to include a damage model. With its indestructible cars, the Gran Turismo way has been to bounce off other cars to take the inside of a turn, or to use walls instead of brakes. If you mounted a giant set of flippers at the starting line, a typical Gran Turismo would make a great pinball sim. The fifth game promises to change that, but it looks like it hasn't made much progress yet.
Fortunately, the game is still very much in development. Sony announced a March 2010 release date for Japan. Presumably a North American release will follow sometime shortly thereafter. Maybe we'll have exhausted Grid, Forza 3, and Need for Speed: Shift by then.
By vibropod at 12:57 PM ON 09/30/09
I remember reading a while ago that they wanted damage modeling in GT before but were unable to secure those clauses in their licenses. *shrug* who knows the truth.
By Andy Bates at 1:29 PM ON 09/30/09
I used to be a big Gran Turismo fan, back on the original PlayStation. Now, I am completely over it. I mean, how many Concepts and Previews and Prologues can they release? They have fallen way behind Forza. Look at the dates: The last Gran Turismo game was GT4 on the PS2, back in 2005. Around the same time, Forza was released for the Xbox. Since then, they have released Forza 2, and Forza 3 is out next month. What has Sony released in the meantime for next-gen consoles? Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The next game is due in 2010, if it doesn’t get pushed back again. They are milking expectations way too much.
By kickn67 at 3:53 PM ON 09/30/09
I am not knocking Forza 3 in anyway, but have you seen the demo? Not very much advancement there, from #2. Forza is a great game, but it is not even close to Gran Turismo. If you can't tell the difference, you need to have your eyes checked. I will always take quality over quantity. Oh yeah, let me clarify again, I'm not knocking Forza it's a great game.
By z-factor at 4:00 PM ON 09/30/09
That kind of damage model is worse than no damage model at all.
It's so pathetic, it looks like you can crash into a wall at 100mph and keep driving.
By Joshua at 4:19 PM ON 09/30/09
Yea z-factor, I can't believe they released this game in such terrible condition. Man Polyphony sucks, trying to sell us this game for $60 with such pathetic damage.
By Mihos at 5:38 PM ON 09/30/09
@joshua They haven't released anything... it doesn't come out until next march. Maybe you are thinking the PSP version, which is disappointing in ways that have nothing to do with graphics.
By Merryprankster at 6:13 PM ON 09/30/09
Ummm...I think those dividers are supposed to be the plastic variety...but even for plastic they seem pretty light.
By Commander at 3:15 AM ON 10/01/09
GT is about racing not crashing if u want crashing go back to your burnout i mean seriously GT has and hopefully will stay the best racing game evr as for forza well they had to cut out alot of content just to get damage ide rather have alot more to do than having less to do and having damage models so get Burnout Paradise and GT 5 and your all set. plus forza rushes shit like EA does ide rather have a high quality game and wait for it than a crappy game and play it for 2 days and get bored
By Rob Zacny at 6:12 AM ON 10/01/09
This is a perfect example of why I've moved on from that series. I expect a lot more from a game that's styled itself a racing sim. If I can glide through turns by riding the crash barrier, or broadside an opponent and send him into the wall with nothing more than a slight loss of speed and some chipped paint, then the game is encouraging me to exploit it.
By Anonymous at 4:13 PM ON 10/01/09
I don't understand the deal with these nigh-indestructable cars. I can understand if you don't want to model damage physics, which is in fact a lot more complicated than just new graphics models. But in any real (non-Hollywood) movie, if you crash hard enough to dent your fender, YOU'RE OUT OF THE RACE. Your alignment's off, your aerodynamics are shot... you shouldn't be driving more than 35, much less trying to finish.
If you bump hard enough to think about a damage model, the game should just jump to the DNF screen. Anything more than that and you're driving an arcade racer, not a simulator.
Anonymous:
I don't understand the deal with these nigh-indestructable cars. I can understand if you don't want to model damage...More »