Gran Turismo 5

[CP]

Doh! But I've only ever raced in one National...

I'm working my way through the A-Spec races with cars I've already won, and trying to mod them as cheaply and as little as possible to win. I'm at Experience Level 16 right now. My goal is to save enough for one of the NASCAR racecars and then try the online racing.

[TroyV]

I just was told that there is an update available online that adds some new races.. Interesting.. I wonder if that means that you'll be able to DL new tracks/other content later...

[blindsidefive0]

From the website:
"Contestants must not have previously held a National A or superior MSA license or equivalent in another Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) recognized ASN and not have competed in a national level Karting Championship for more than two full seasons."

The way this reads is that it's a National A or better MSA license, which is a UK racing governing body. Is the license required for SCCA nationals recognized by the FIA? I don't know much about this - the only licenses I have are Massachusetts Class D and COMSCC Time Trial Either way, it's worth confirming because the goal is to exclude professional racers, but I understand SCCA is basically entirely amateur racing (i.e. separate those who are paid to race from those who pay to race).

@Troy - I don't think you'll be getting any additional cars/tracks. However, it looks like a few more races have become available. I think they'll keep throwing new "features" like online time trial leaderboard and the like.

[blindsidefive0]

Doh! But I've only ever raced in one National...

I'm working my way through the A-Spec races with cars I've already won, and trying to mod them as cheaply and as little as possible to win. I'm at Experience Level 16 right now. My goal is to save enough for one of the NASCAR racecars and then try the online racing.

What worked best for me:
1) get all gold on all licenses
2) get gold on all special events
3) win races, primarily with cars earned from 1 and 2

Basically if you go in this order, you'll have the cars and cash to quickly move through the races rather than getting "stuck" and having to re-do a race to "level up" or afford those sports tires you've been eying (just like real life)...

Perfect example is the NASCAR - if you complete Jeff Gordon's stupid challenges with gold, he'll just give you a NASCAR. You can win some really good cars, including CLK-GTR race car, Ford GT, MB SLS AMG, and Sebastien Loeb's Citroën rally car.

[kfoote]

From the website:
"Contestants must not have previously held a National A or superior MSA license or equivalent in another Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) recognized ASN and not have competed in a national level Karting Championship for more than two full seasons."

The way this reads is that it's a National A or better MSA license, which is a UK racing governing body. Is the license required for SCCA nationals recognized by the FIA? I don't know much about this - the only licenses I have are Massachusetts Class D and COMSCC Time Trial Either way, it's worth confirming because the goal is to exclude professional racers, but I understand SCCA is basically entirely amateur racing (i.e. separate those who are paid to race from those who pay to race).

The SCCA is a FIA Recognized member club. If you follow all of the links, it eventually leads here
http://www.accusfia.us/member_clubs.html

[blindsidefive0]

From the website:
"Contestants must not have previously held a National A or superior MSA license or equivalent in another Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) recognized ASN and not have competed in a national level Karting Championship for more than two full seasons."

The way this reads is that it's a National A or better MSA license, which is a UK racing governing body. Is the license required for SCCA nationals recognized by the FIA? I don't know much about this - the only licenses I have are Massachusetts Class D and COMSCC Time Trial Either way, it's worth confirming because the goal is to exclude professional racers, but I understand SCCA is basically entirely amateur racing (i.e. separate those who are paid to race from those who pay to race).

The SCCA is a FIA Recognized member club. If you follow all of the links, it eventually leads here
http://www.accusfia.us/member_clubs.html

Thanks for the link. So I guess it's safe to assume that SCCA National license is out...

Anyone else playing along?

[Mario Fallas]

i am, but could not get a handle on the car, after a 20 min run i came in 802 , i'll give it a try tomorrow with a different approach, i was overdriving that nisan for sure!
m

[blindsidefive0]

i am, but could not get a handle on the car, after a 20 min run i came in 802 , i'll give it a try tomorrow with a different approach, i was overdriving that nisan for sure!
m

It's "slippery" - those tires are equivalent to street tires, so that's an issue. I've found that you really can't get on the gas fully before any apex. 0 tire slippage is fastest, IMO. Cut distance off all the sweeping corners by taking a mid or inside line and using trail braking to gently rotate the car until the apex. Sometimes I have a habit of making the corner longer than it has to be, so I took off some time with this approach.

[Mario Fallas]

makes sense, i'll try that, as always with me, no patience! sometimes i go to the playroom to escape from the ruckus between my wife & daughter this usually nets slow lap times (excuse?)

[blindsidefive0]

Unless there's some movement in the standings tonight, I think I'm going to win a...<insert drum roll>...POSTER!

My combined time between the 3 events ranks 8th in the Northeast and 17th in the US as of dinner time. Hopefully I can stay sharp for Orlando and maybe Silverstone...

[WillM]

Nick,

Good luck! Sounds like you are spending a good amount of time with GT5. How are the load times?

I just read an article about replacing the PS3 internal drive with a solid-state drive. Load times were cut in half!

[blindsidefive0]

Thanks Will - I'm spending WAY too much time with GT5. With the "snow day" today I pretty much played all day focusing on the GT Academy Time Trials, working up to 7th overall in the US (5th in the Northeast).

The load times can be frustrating at times, but for this competition it's not bad because it's an open time trial - I'll load one of the three events and just drive for 30-60 minutes at a time. Sometimes loading can get painful while cranking through single player mode, but overall I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker.

The online racing is better (but not perfect), and there's even a guy who put together a weekly spec miata race. Other than that it's basically GT4 + much better graphics, another few hundred cars, upgraded physics (same stupid AI), and some new special events that I really like (rally mode with navigator, Nurburgring school).

[blindsidefive0]

Delete - browser issues

[blindsidefive0]

Anyone else actually compete in the GT5 GT Academy? Round 1 is over Sunday night.

Mario - you said you were 802 after 20 minutes. That's pretty solid since according to Sony, there are over 50,000 entrants.

It looks like I'm going to finish round 1 in 2nd place, nationally. I had moved up to 1st overall for a very brief period of time, but the #1 Forza (xbox racing game) player in the country decided to join the competition and post alien times. After the next 2 rounds, I'll need to finish top 8 on the East Coast to make it to the national finals in Orlando. From there the top 16 of 32 national finalists will go to Silverstone, UK to drive real cars...that's when the fun really begins. I'll be putting in some "hard work" playing GT between now and then...

[John F]

I don't have a PS3, but am going to buy one for the online FP Shooter Black Ops. Are the physics "real" with GT5? I race with rFactor and have been debating joining iRacing. The latest "deal" on the PS3 has a choice of either a kids game or GT5 included in the price and I was wondering if it's worth getting. I don't want something with no physics where you can get airborne and still slow down by lifting.