Coming off the high of last week’s Jalopnik Film Festival is no easy feat and I was aware of this challenge the entirety of last week, but the problem now is whether or not I actually want to come off of such a high, and the answer is relatively simple. No.
With so much news having come out of the last two weeks it’s been relatively hectic here at GTPlanet but as always we’re on top of things bringing you the news you want to read. With that said the advent of last week’s Tokyo Game Show brought with it nothing new to GT’s core audience and this could be resultant of several factors all currently residing in the unknown zone; a zone many of us don’t like venturing into, but with all things interesting it’s a necessary evil for the time being. The trick is to not leave one lingering in such a zone for too long, which in the end results in nothing more but a waning interest.
There’s the possibility that nothing new being revealed at GT6 was a very last minute decision, which, to my understanding isn’t exactly out of the normal swing of things for PD, but fret not because there’s still plenty of opportunities primed for the newest Gran Turismo 6 revelations, and we’ll be there reporting it as always.
Speaking of news, and this will be talked about in full later on, Forza Motorsport 5 is finally beginning to come out of it’s “unknown zone” and while that’s the exact reason my interest has waned since its unveiling at Microsoft’s E3 conference, my ears (and eyes) are open.
There’s plenty to get through in this week’s Rewind so let’s get a move on, shall we?
GTPlanet Picture of the Week
I saw this and knew right away what this week’s featured image was going to be. I’m a huge science-fiction buff and this picture checks all the necessary boxes for me. Courtesy of CCShaft7, this image features Special Stage Route X around 2500 A.D.
It’s an incredibly visual piece and illicit’s thoughts of Oblivion (the movie staring Tom Cruise, not the Elder Scrolls) and Bungie’s upcoming Destiny; more importantly and perhaps more to the point is that it embodies going on a journey that no one else dares to.
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
Meet The Staff (And Kazunori Yamauchi!)
While this picture was meant to go up with last week’s JFF report, it’s never really a bad time to see for yourselves what some of GTPlanet’s staff members look like. Taken last Wednesday with the backdrop of the 1966 #6 Ford GT40, 1969 Jaguar E-Type, 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and a 1969 Shelby Cobra lies us, from left to right: Jordan, Kazunori, Kyle (SlipZtrEm) and myself.
GTPlanet Weekly Race Series (WRS) Week 136: SPF 136
It’s time to break out the sunblock because you’ll be revisiting one of my personal favorite tracks in the world and F1 attraction, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and what better way to visit a track in Italy than in a topless Ferrari?
A fantastic combo with one of Ferrari’s more daring designs as of late and as usual the sector times are shaping up rather fast and with a maximum of 476 horses powering the rear wheels you’d better be on your best behavior around this fast-moving track.
Take in the last of the late summer Mediterranean sun in this smooth driving 7-speed convertible. This V-8 powered prancing pony packs some punch with smooth acceleration equal to that of the fabulous Ferrari F430. The standard carbon-ceramic brakes are definitely put to the test on this circuit with it’s long and heavy brake zones.
You’ll only experience the first 6 gears during your solo laps so if you want to try out the final gear, join us online on Oct 2nd where 7th will serve as an overdrive, perfect for draft induced overtakes. Enjoy another racing combo courtesy of Italy, but don’t forget to apply sunscreen, SPF 136 recommended.
Stop by the official thread here and remember that you NEED to be registered before officially participating in the WRS, and that can only be done by submitting a time for the official GTP Registry Qualifier.
Gran Turismo 6 to Feature KW’s “7-post” Test System
GT6 is looking better by the day and today is no different, as reported earlier in the week, the upcoming title is set to feature advanced suspension tweaking by way of KW’s 7-post testing environment.
Forza Motorsport 5 – And So It Begins
This past Wednesday Turn 10 began revealing some of the vehicles set to be included in Forza Motorsport 5′s lucrative list of automotive history, and that list is as follows:
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II
That’s not all because the following list was also revealed
2009 Zonda Cinque Roadster
2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8
2013 Ford Focus ST
2010 Audi TT RS Coupe
2012 Scion TC
2009 Jeep Cherokee SRT8
2011 Kia Cee’d
2005 TVR Sagaris
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Stradale
1999 Dodge Viper GTS ACR
1998 Eagle Talon TSi Turbo
2009 Ferrari California
2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R
2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata
2010 Maserati GranTurismo S
2003 Toyota Celica SS-I
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe
1971 AMC Javelin-AMX
And even further are all of the vehicles announced up until this past Wednesday which include the following
1976 McLaren M23
1976 Ferrari 312-2
2013 Dallara #9 Target Ganassi Dallara DW12
2013 Dallara #15 Target Rahal Letterman Dallara DW12
2012 Dallara #28 Andretti Autosport DW12
2013 Dallara #12 Team Penske Dallara
2012 #1 Audi Team Joest R-18 e-tron quattro
2012 Ferrari F12berlinetta
2013 McLaren P1™
1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe
2012 Pagani Huayra
2011 Koenigsegg Agera
2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
2010 Audi TT RS Coupe
2013 Ford Focus ST
2011 McLaren MP4-12C
2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro
2012 Aston Martin Vanquish
2011 Audi RS3 Sportback
2013 Ford Mustang GT500
2013 SRT Viper GTS
1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird
1991 Mazda #55 787B
2011 Ford F150 SVT Raptor
2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
Quite the list, wouldn’t you agree? That’s not all for the news either as you’ve no doubt gathered from the above video as Turn 10′s Dan Greenawalt was present at the Eurogamer Expo earlier today and revealed that both the Bernese Alps, introduced in Forza Motorsport 4, will be returning as will series-long inclusion, Silverstone – updated and laser scanned to boot!
And it doesn’t quite end there either as we now know a little bit more about the revamped career mode and Top Gear’s involvement in the upcoming game.
“Designed to spotlight the hundreds of drivable cars in “Forza Motorsport 5”, the all-new career mode is organized into eight leagues, with each league covering a special “genre” of car (such as supercars, vintage, sports compacts, and more). Each set of career events will feature a video introduction with commentary provided by the hosts of the UK version of the worldwide smash automotive entertainment show, Top Gear.
Unlike traditional racing game career modes — where players move from low-performance cars and are forcefully guided into more powerful cars over time — the career mode in “Forza Motorsport 5” gives players the power to choose their own paths through the career. Players will have the choice to participate in whichever career mode events they like, provided they own a car that meets an event’s requirements, and can return to those events as many times as they like, all the while earning credits and experience as they go.”
New vehicles will be revealed every Wednesday leading up to the launch of the Xbox One and the release of Forza Motorsport 5, so you rest assured the same will ring true with the Weekly Rewind’s Forza mention until then as well.
GTPlanet Member of the Week
Once again it’s time to acknowledge a member of the GTPlanet community; a member who has stood out among the hundreds of thousands of members already here, both old and new alike for all that they’re worth and all they’ve contributed to the community.
Over the past three weeks we’ve inducted two Junior members of the community back-to-back for two consecutive weeks, and with there being no formal mention in last week’s Rewind it’s now time to induct yet another member, and surprisingly it’s another Junior member. Proving it isn’t always about the tried and true for the third consecutive week.
So without further ado let’s welcome this week’s newest inductee in the madhouse that is the Member of the Week hall of fame, Monatsende! The interview is now live and provides the usual share of laughter, but more importantly provides the medium of getting to know your fellow GTP members a little bit better. For the whole kit-n-kaboodble be sure to stop by the official Member of the Week thread.
Anyone you’d like to see recognized as the Member of the Week? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Member of the Week” and fill it out with your choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot nominate yourself.
GTPlanet Vehicle of Week
Making its debut at the 1967 Turin Motorshow, the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is based on the Autodelta Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 racing car. This car, designed by Franco Scaglione and built by Carrozzeria Marazzi was as an attempt to make Alfa Romeo’s racing technology available to the general public. It was the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at a cost of $17,000. This may not seem like much at all by today’s standards, however, in 1968 the average automobile cost was $2,822.
The 33 Stradale is unique in it being the first production vehicle to utilize dihedral doors and features windows that seamlessly curve upward into the roof of the vehicle. Each of the 18 33 Stradales built are all built by hand meaning each one differs from the others.
The race-bred all aluminum 2.0L V8 bore no relation to Alfa Romeo’s previous mass-produced mainstream efforts. The engine produced 230 horsepower in road trim and 270 horsepower in race trim, however, once again contributing to the fact that every Stradale was built by hand, power levels varied as well as the amount of RPM.
Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
GTPlanet Tune of the Week
This wee’s featured tune goes hand-in-hand with this past Wednesday’s newest seasonal event challenges in GT5. Featuring the 1986 Toyota MR2 1600 G-Limited tuned to exhibit its prowess in 450PP trim, the only concessions you’ll have to make are the tires and a bit of ballast. What’s racing without a challenge every now and again?
Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’e after then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself.
Exactly like the Picture and Vehicle of the Week features, if you have any suggestions for the upcoming Rewinds be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Tune of the Week” and let me know. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.
Motor Trend: Head 2 Head!
This video pits Ferrari’s F12 Berlinetta, Chevrolet’s C7 Stingray, and Porsche’s 911 C4S in all out battle. Do you really need more of an introduction than that?
GTPlanet Photomode Competitions
In Week 148 of the Standard and Advanced competitions you are to put your best foot forth and show the community just how seriously you take your in-game photography. All you need to know is as follows:
Week 148, Standard: Cheap Fun vs. Expensive Ruin - “Choose a car that’s either cheap or expensive. If you choose a cheap one, go for a drive and have as much fun as you can! With an expensive one though, you don’t want to smash it up so you’ll just have to photograph it parked up.”
Week 148, Advanced 2.0: Expression Session - “For this week I thought it’s time to get a little more expressive and utilize the often neglected Panning Mode 1. I sometimes like to use this mode to spice things up and find is can create interesting results that showcase a more raw speed and energetic and word of the day’expressive’ feel. So get out to your track of choice and give us all some Panning Mode 1 brilliance. For best results I suggest keeping a low shutter speed, ideally 1/125sec or 1/60sec. So there you have it hope you have fun!
Here’s a few examples to get you thinking. (If they help at all.)
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4“
For all of the relevant information pertaining to this week’s challenges be sure to stop by here and here.
Closing Thoughts
It has been a fairly relaxed week here and as a result I don’t have too much in mind to mindlessly gab about. I will say after having written out what’s coming to Forza Motorsport 5 I think my interest is slowly returning to where it was months ago, but it will probably take a considerable amount at this point as I’m long past jaded.
I just remembered AMD’s GPU 2014 Product Showcase conference in Hawaii yesterday and there were a couple of things mentioned that interested me a great deal, and those things being GenAudio, AMD’s own TrueAudio, Mantle, and of course their new line of graphic cards. I won’t get into specifics as I’m still going over most of it myself but there is some truly interesting stuff on the horizon for us PC guys.
I’d talk about Formula 1 but Vettel is winning again which means the front end of things are, well, boring, and his only immediate threat, Fernando Alonso, is driving a dog of a car that he has to perform above and beyond in to get to second place. The season isn’t over just yet so things could make a turn for the better or the absolute worse. With that said the last two or three races have been relatively boring with sparks of action toward the very end and it really has nothing to do with Seb winning repeatedly, well, the Belgian Grand Prix wasn’t helped by that fact. I don’t even want to think about 2014. At all.
Now a message from our sponsor, me:
While you’re salivating at the very thought of Gran Turismo 6 finding itself into your PlayStation 3 this coming December why not take the time to become a full-fledged member of our wonderful community. It’s free and we have cake! Okay, we don’t have cake (the cake is and always will be a lie, remember this!) but we do have a strong community and we’re always talking about something interesting. If you aren’t already a member you should join today and maybe you can work out a patented antidote for “Lying Cake Syndrome”. Seriously, it’s been years since I’ve had cake.
My shameless Twitter plug has also returned!
Once again I forgot to mention that I’m on Twitter now. What was once going to be a bit of parody account (because I don’t use Facebook or Twitter for any reason whatsoever) has quickly turned into me using Twitter rather effectively. So, follow me and suggest all things Rewind-worthy from the comfort of your tablets, phones, or Skynet-linked computers. Remember, when the machines finally rise you’ll need someone to write pieces regarding the matter littered with Armageddon-y undertones and I can be just that guy! What were we talking about? Right, Twitter, so if you’ll follow me here the Rewind can be delivered to you in a timely fashion not seen since snail mail. Wait, that’s not the right thing to say!
You will be showered in Rewind, Seasonal Event and future article goodness courtesy of yours truly, so there’s that worth looking forward to once I’ve bothered to get the thing up and running. It can also be used to suggest things for upcoming Rewinds, so that’s now two ways you all can keep me on my toes.
As I’ve said, it was a relatively relaxed week with things back to normal but you’ve finally been able to put a face to at least two of GTPlanet’s own members of staff and on that note it’s time to bring this week’s Rewind to an end. Until next week, keep racing!
GT5 and FM4 Photomode images by zzz_pt, WRP001, and Ronin.