Heads up, racing fans: GT4 ships today.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2005-03-06 09:13pm

I cannot stand the fact that the computer driven cars never pit and always have perfect tires while your own pit stops are painfully slow, even considering the four man pit crew.

Tranan · Post by **Tranan** » 2005-03-11 08:29am

One thing thats graeat is tp play the game on a 52" tv set its kick ass.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-03-11 07:51pm

Dude, if your having to pit and the computer isn't, then your either driving incorrectly or using too soft a tires for the race your running. I used to run super soft on everything, but luckily in GT3 I started running the pro. races in arcade and had tire wear, so I'm used to medium tires. If you go anything tackier for more then 2-5 laps, your handling is going to suck real quick, and your pits are going to rise.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-03-14 11:29am

What is everyone's plan of attack so far? As in, how have you started off. This includes porting GT3 data over and the likes. For me, I got all of my liscenses first, this time I have a slight advantage because I won a couple of pretty good cars. So far I've been upgrading the Nismo 270R and racing it. But, I was wondering because even with that thing the lower races are still a bitch to compete in.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-03-14 10:15pm

And one more for old times sake. I just got the Driving Force Pro. Damn is that thing sweet. That was worth every penny. The pedals have this super tack material, and I have them on a hard wood floor. They also have a teeth like gripper strip for carpet. The steering wheel has the same clamp style, which worked perfectly for the tv tray I bought to use for the last wheel. Last but not least, the cords are fucking long enough to use. I have the USB into the PS2 and the power cord on the other side of the living room and I'm not stretched out. This rocks!!!

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-03-15 12:05am

I'm returning my copy. Played for an afternoon - bought GT-R 89, won Skyline LM, won 350Z racing. The game is now utterly pointless as I can defeat anyone. Even the b-spec moron wins by an entire lap. The game is ruined by 1) not having rules for races (seriously, if I showed up with my 900+ hp racing car, the sunday drivers wouldn't even let me in the grid) and b) non-random car prizes. I've got 3-4 racing cars. Basically totally invincible flawless racing cars. I won them early on. I COULD deliberately limit myself... but why? Indeed, since I can routinely win 300k serieses without touching the controller, any obscure race (like the K cup, my deadly Cappucino rules all) can be won by sinking godawful amounts of money into a crap car. Just like GT3.

The only saving grace is that G4 Ginette. Take all the weight out, jack up the power... 'entertaining' handling indeed. Shame EVERY BASTARD wins the G4 at the same race because its non-random. Everyone's car collections will be exactly the same.

AND you can't fucking trade cars! I've got cars I don't want - I can't give them to other people? They can use my memory card to BUY a showroom version of anything I've got. LAME! Can't trade money either. How do you think racers in t3h real world get started? It's called 'dad's money'. Bah.

AND the PS2 is so horribly low-res and flickery. Its a damn shame.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2005-03-15 10:57am

Cal Wright wrote:What is everyone's plan of attack so far? As in, how have you started off. This includes porting GT3 data over and the likes. For me, I got all of my liscenses first, this time I have a slight advantage because I won a couple of pretty good cars. So far I've been upgrading the Nismo 270R and racing it. But, I was wondering because even with that thing the lower races are still a bitch to compete in.

I ported the liscences and money, then bought an RX-8 as my first car. That, the RX-8 LM race car concept, and the 350Z LM concept have been my three main cars. I have, of course, the various necessary cars for the oddball cups, but those have been serving me well. Now that the endurance races are open, I'm happier than a pig in shit about B-spec. It's actually entertaining to run the race and have to watch lap times, fuel, and tire wear like a hawk.

For the endurance races, BTW, I have always used super-hard tires. As long as your car is competitive, you can run reasonably close laps to the other cars, but you'll always out-pit them. I suppose that, for certain races, you might be able to get away with hards, but I couldn't see using anything less than that, unless, of course, your car is insanely faster than the others. After all, you just have to finish first; how large your margin is is irrelevant.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-03-15 08:27pm

I can't believe you use an RX-8. That is the biggest POS. Maybe I should try it with teh steering wheel. That made the '05 Mustang a lot of fun. I think what I need to do, which was my original idea, is to buy the used RX-7 and use it. I've always had an RX-7 in the garage, and it's so very kick ass.

Gerard_Paloma · Post by **Gerard_Paloma** » 2005-03-15 10:25pm

I finally got my copy in the mail yesterday (I rent from Gamefly), and it's pretty awesome. I ported my licenses and 100 grand over from GT3, and got an '05 Mustang. I've since gotten some pretty nice cars that can smoke almost any competition.

I think my favorite part of the game is B-spec mode. When your thumbs can't take racing anymore, it's damn fun to sit back and tell the AI what to do. The driver is actually fairly aggressive. I've seen him take the inside track and bump the opposition on corners, come up hard behind the leader and give him a "love tap" that sends his car careening into the wall, and rubbing repeatedly while jockeying for position.

That said, I really don't see this as a game that I'll keep coming back to, so once I've had my fun with it, I'm not shelling out 35-40 bucks for a copy of my own. It's good, but it's not that good.

Jade Falcon · Post by **Jade Falcon** » 2005-03-16 08:14am

I'm still fairly early on. I hate the licence tests, but I've got my Domestic B. The only championships I've won are the Sunday Cup (really inspiring prize car I must say) and the 4WD. I won the four wheel drive cup by buying a used Mitsubishi 3000GT and souping it up.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2005-03-17 01:54pm

Endurance races are, surprisingly enough, very entertaining on B-Spec. I thought it would be mind-numbingly boring, but I find the strategy aspect of it very exciting. I also have no idea how the hell you could do the 24-hour or even the 8-9 hour races on A-spec. It's cool that you can switch between the two modes when you pit, though.

Does anyone know if you get a nitrous refill when you pit? I've never run a race with a nitrous-equipped car during which I had to pit.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2005-03-19 11:47pm

We can play online now!!! The latest PSM tells you how. It involves a program that uses the LAN function of games. So you can run XBox, GC, PS2, PSP, and DS on there. Here's the link.

www.teamxlink.co.uk

I haven't played online yet, but it seemed pretty easy to get all setup, I can always talk someone through the process that I followed from the mag, and once I try it online maybe I can help everyone out.