Edge went to Polyphony's new HQ somewhere near Yokohama, to find out what has been happening with the long-delayed GT4.
In B-spec (management) mode you can follow the race either from replay view, or a statistics screen that shows the positions of all the cars and their tyre / fuel status in real-time. You can enter tuned (garage) cars in the races, and time can be accelerated.
PD considered releasing a 'GT3: B-spec' including the management mode, to follow 'GT3: A-spec' in Japan, but decided that a second game with the same cars and tracks wouldn't be original enough to sell.
The GT4 network code is fully developed. The excuses given for not rolling it out are that it's not a big deal in Japan (?) and that it will take a lot of time and effort to set up a suitable network of servers to support online play, especially in Europe. 'First we need to sell GT4, and then we'll work on building an online play service with adequate play conditions'.
Basically, Sony doesn't have anything like Xbox live, and without that it's going to take PD ages to set up their own servers worldwide.
But there's worse: "The online version will not be released any time soon after GT4, because we want to maximise the game sales".
In any case, it seems like they haven't even started sorting out suitable servers. I will be surprised if PD manage to produce GT4 Online before Sony launch PS3, especially in Europe...
Better news - 'GT 1 to 3 shared the same physics engine, but we've rebuilt it from scratch for GT4'. Also, the AI is said to be less aggressive, more natural, and more polite. I guess this means cars not grinding into each other as they converge on the first corner, but falling into line. Yamauchi-san reckons that the car physics are now 'good enough', and it's time to work on the AI. B-spec is as much as anything, an ongoing 'laboratory' for them to improve AI. But don't expect too much - he reckons that GT4 AI is at 'one or two percent of what would be a satisfying level', and that it will take the next ten years to get really good AI. Er... right then.
GT4 on PSP is planned to have the same physics, but the reduced graphical power may mean that the number of cars on track is reduced to 4, or maybe only 2 or 3.
Cars - 650 cars, including 'more than 200' from previous games.
GT development - at all points in the game's development, it is playable. So GT4 has been progressively 'evolved' from GT3, presumably going through various intermediate points on the way.
There are lots of pics of the new HQ as well as a few from the game, showing drag racing etc.
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Having picked up the mag today and read the interview there are a few things I would like to mention.
Edge: Why did you decide to remove the online features?
Kazunori Yamauchi: I have to be honest with you. The online feature is up and running in our office. I mean it is already working in GT4. ......
Then please give it to us, if SCEE doesn't have the infastructure use someone elses. As samhot mentions he says it not a big deal in Japan and that the infrastructure isn't there yet in Europe. Strangely no mention of the US/Canada Rolling Eyes Kazunori also goes onto say that more than a 1Mbps broadband connection is prefered when asked what sort of set-up will be needed to play the game effictively when it finally goes online.
I was also supprised to hear that "The greatest achievement of this version of GT is certainly the B-Spec mode. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and I had to wait until the right moment" Clearly no last minute inclusion then.
Apparently a designer will spend one month on each model, surely enough time to model enough of the cockpit to give us a drivable and much more realistic view point Confused
Finally only 80 people working on GT4. Suprising, I thought that figure would be quite a bit bigger.
Posted on another site by Thomas and Nismo. Ignore if already posted here.
In B-spec (management) mode you can follow the race either from replay view, or a statistics screen that shows the positions of all the cars and their tyre / fuel status in real-time. You can enter tuned (garage) cars in the races, and time can be accelerated.
PD considered releasing a 'GT3: B-spec' including the management mode, to follow 'GT3: A-spec' in Japan, but decided that a second game with the same cars and tracks wouldn't be original enough to sell.
The GT4 network code is fully developed. The excuses given for not rolling it out are that it's not a big deal in Japan (?) and that it will take a lot of time and effort to set up a suitable network of servers to support online play, especially in Europe. 'First we need to sell GT4, and then we'll work on building an online play service with adequate play conditions'.
Basically, Sony doesn't have anything like Xbox live, and without that it's going to take PD ages to set up their own servers worldwide.
But there's worse: "The online version will not be released any time soon after GT4, because we want to maximise the game sales".
In any case, it seems like they haven't even started sorting out suitable servers. I will be surprised if PD manage to produce GT4 Online before Sony launch PS3, especially in Europe...
Better news - 'GT 1 to 3 shared the same physics engine, but we've rebuilt it from scratch for GT4'. Also, the AI is said to be less aggressive, more natural, and more polite. I guess this means cars not grinding into each other as they converge on the first corner, but falling into line. Yamauchi-san reckons that the car physics are now 'good enough', and it's time to work on the AI. B-spec is as much as anything, an ongoing 'laboratory' for them to improve AI. But don't expect too much - he reckons that GT4 AI is at 'one or two percent of what would be a satisfying level', and that it will take the next ten years to get really good AI. Er... right then.
GT4 on PSP is planned to have the same physics, but the reduced graphical power may mean that the number of cars on track is reduced to 4, or maybe only 2 or 3.
Cars - 650 cars, including 'more than 200' from previous games.
GT development - at all points in the game's development, it is playable. So GT4 has been progressively 'evolved' from GT3, presumably going through various intermediate points on the way.
There are lots of pics of the new HQ as well as a few from the game, showing drag racing etc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having picked up the mag today and read the interview there are a few things I would like to mention.
Edge: Why did you decide to remove the online features?
Kazunori Yamauchi: I have to be honest with you. The online feature is up and running in our office. I mean it is already working in GT4. ......
Then please give it to us, if SCEE doesn't have the infastructure use someone elses. As samhot mentions he says it not a big deal in Japan and that the infrastructure isn't there yet in Europe. Strangely no mention of the US/Canada Rolling Eyes Kazunori also goes onto say that more than a 1Mbps broadband connection is prefered when asked what sort of set-up will be needed to play the game effictively when it finally goes online.
I was also supprised to hear that "The greatest achievement of this version of GT is certainly the B-Spec mode. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and I had to wait until the right moment" Clearly no last minute inclusion then.
Apparently a designer will spend one month on each model, surely enough time to model enough of the cockpit to give us a drivable and much more realistic view point Confused
Finally only 80 people working on GT4. Suprising, I thought that figure would be quite a bit bigger.
Posted on another site by Thomas and Nismo. Ignore if already posted here.
