Need for Speed Shift users will soon be able to download a free pack of cars that will add five new vehicles to Sligthly Mad Studios’ recently-released title.
The pack will introduce four American muscle-cars and one Japanese sports car to Shift:
* 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
* 1967 Shelby GT 500
* 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
* 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
* 1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV
Furthermore, the pack will be including a new team racing mode for online events, allowing up to six players per team to race their opponents.
Even though the pack is already listed on the Need for Speed website, the download links aren’t available and no further info on the release date has been given yet.
Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed some interesting facts regarding Gran Turismo 5’s weather system in an interview with the British Playstation Magazine:
“Night racing is going to be a part of GT5, but with things like dynamic weather, the choice is about whether it will improve the experience. The functionality is not a problem – we’ve got the weather system done – but if we are not sure about the quality of it, and how it improves the driving experience, we are not going to have it in the game.”
While it is understandable that they´re not willing to include a feature that does not meet the GT quality standards, it’s rather odd to think about whether or not weather adds to the driving experience. Missing weather has been the point of complaint in many simulations such as rFactor as driving in the rain is one of racing’s most intense challenges – Lets hope that the guys at Polyphony Digital manage to come the same conclusion…
Furthermore, Yamauchi has been commenting on the rumors that Gran Turismo 5 may be released in an unfinished state to meet the release deadline (March 2010 in Japan), relying on online updates to complete the title’s content.
“Let me be clear on this. There is a massive amount of content in this game, I don’t think there are many teams that put as much into a game as we can. The launch of the game isn’t a start, we are releasing a full game. Everything we want to put into the game is on the disc when it ships. Having said that, we do have a sizeable online team that will look after it once it’s launched.”
Turn 10 has released the free Hyundai Genesis car pack for Forza Motorsport 3, introducing three new cars to the Xbox 360 racing title.
The pack includes the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe in three different versions. Included is the HKS-tuned street version, the R3-class drift version as well as a SuperGT & DTM-inspired R2-class racing version.
The pack can be downloaded free of charge from Xbox LIVE by following the link below.
Gran Turismo godfather Kazunori Yamauchi completed his second VLN race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife last month, getting some real race experience that is surely helpful when developing a driving simulator.
Yamauchi partnered with motorsport journalists Owen Mildenhall & Peter Lyon, driving a Lexus IS-F touring car against over 150 competitors, ranging from small tin tops to powerful GT cars. His second race on the Nordschleife was ended early due to differential damage, Yamauchi is nevertheless determined to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hour race next May.
You can check out his car in action in the video below, showing some of the atmosphere that Germany’s popular GT & touring car series provides.
EA and Ford Motor Company recently staged an interesting tournament, allowing players to prove themselves in the recently-released Need for Speed Shift title driving a virtual version of the Ford Mustang.
The four quickest contestants got to prove themselves in a real 2010 Ford Mustang, trying to replicate their times in Shift on the real-life race track. You can check out their experience below, it’s not very surprising to see that none of these guys came anywhere close to the times they´ve been setting in Shift, despite professional help from Fast Lane Racing School.
Polyphony Digital has released four new previews of their upcoming Gran Turismo 5 racing title for Playstation 3.
The shots show two cars from the SEMA tuning show in mind-boggling 5760×3240 pixel resolution, equaling 18 megapixels.
Please allow some time for these shots to load as they´re several megabytes in size. Once the image has fully loaded, click “Full Size” to view these shots in all their glory.
Gran Turismo 5 will be bringing 1000 cars and over 60 tracks to the Playstation 3, including new features such as damage, weather and day/night effects. The title has been announced to be released in March 2010 in Japan, dates for the US & Europe have not been given.
Gran Turismo made a big appearance at the annual SEMA tuning show, not just selecting cars that will be included in future GT titles but also bringing a new playable demo.
The new demo already includes a car that had been picked at SEMA before as players got to drive JR Rocha’s Infinity G37. The video below shows off the demo, the somewhat shaky footage shows both the car in the showroom as well as on track.
In a recent interview with Autoweek Magazine, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi revealed some very interesting infos on the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 title for Playstation 3 and the franchise’s future.
Yamauchi confirms that Gran Turismo 6 is already planned, even though the fifth installment of the series is still five months away from hitting the shelves in Japan. According to the creator, the development time for the next title will be much shorter as it will be using base components from Gran Turismo 5.
Furthermore, he confirms that even though Sony holds the NASCAR license for Gran Turismo 5, the title will only include selected cars and tracks from the Sprint Cup Series. Also mentioned for the first time is the possibility to “reverse your game”, indicating that Gran Turismo 5 will include a rewind mode that can be found in many modern racing titles.
When asked about the production costs of Gran Turismo 5, Yamauchi estimates that 60 million dollars have been spent on the title’s development. Even though some car manufacturers were willing to pay to see their cars in the game, the studio has never accepted money from car makers. Gran Turismo 5 will be released in Japan in March 2010, a release date for the rest of the world has not yet been announced.
You can check out the full interview with Autoweek here.
Turn 10 has confirmed that the first download content pack for their recently released Forza Motorsport 3 title for Xbox 360 will be available starting early December.
The pack will include ten cars, none of which have been revealed yet. Unlike the free Hyundai pack announced earlier this week, this DLC pack will be the start of a series of commercial download-content packs as Turn 10 plans on keeping Forza 3 fresh by releasing new cars and tracks on a monthly basis. The packs will be available on Xbox LIVE, payable using Microsoft’s Points system.
Following the first patch that was released shortly after Need for Speed Shift hit the shelves, Slightly Mad Studios are now busy preparing the second patch that will address a variety of issues.
Alongside various small fixes for all platforms, the patch also addresses the technical issues of the PC version such as poor ATI support, crashes when changing graphic settings and more. Furthermore, the patch will increase the number of players in online races from 8 to 12.
The patch is currently being tested, a release date has not yet been announced. You can find the full changelog below, you might have to click “Read More” to see it.
Less than two weeks after the release of Forza Motorsport 3, Turn 10 has announced the first download pack as players will be able to get their hands on the Hyundai Genesis Coupe starting November 17th.
The pack will bring the Hyundai Genesis Coupe to the console driving title, the car will be included both as street and racing version. Furthermore, the pack will add a Hyundai Genesis event to the game’s career mode. The pack will be available on Xbox LIVE starting November 17th, the download will be free of charge for all Forza owners.
The annual SEMA show in Las Vegas is not just an important date for tuning fans but also for Gran Turismo followers as Polyphony Digital regularly picks vehicles from the show to be included in their titles.
That includes the HPA Motorsports Audi TT and the JR Rocha Infinity G37 which are playable in the newest Gran Turismo showfloor demo at SEMA. Those who can’t make it to Vegas can enjoy plenty of screenshots of both cars below.
Gran Turismo 5 will be bringing 1000 cars and over 60 tracks to the Playstation 3, including new features such as damage, weather and day/night effects. The title has been announced to be released in March 2010 in Japan, dates for the US & Europe have not been given.
Earlier this summer, Black Bean Games & Milestone released Superstars V8 Racing, bringing the European Superstars Championship to the PC and gaming consoles.
The title received mediocre reviews, suffering from rather poor graphics and physics as well as a missing cockpit view. The developers are given another chance though as a new version will be coming in Q1 2010. Improvements will include new cars and tracks as well as an improved online mode.
Furthermore, the team will be assisted by former F1 driver and Superstars Champion Gianni Morbidelli, hoping to make the new Superstars title more realistic.
The third installment of Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport franchise brings over 400 cars and 100 to the Xbox 360, aiming to create a new benchmark title in terms of console driving games.
Can the newest Forza give Gran Turismo a run for its money and is the title something sim racer should consider? Read the review to find out.
iRacing has released first screenshots of Brands Hatch, the second European track to make it into their online racing simulation.
The shots show the track as it's currently undergoing the development process, including the laser-scanned surface and the buildings around the track's main straight.
he 3,7 kilometer Brands Hatch circuited hosted 12 Formula One Grand Prix and is well known as a touring car venue these days, hosting both the WTCC & DTM as well as the British BTCC.
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Ferrari F60 & Singapore 2009 – Released
Team LMT has released their first ever public mod for rFactor, bringing Ferrari's F60 Formula One car and the 2009 version of the Singapore Grand Prix to the simulation.
Driven by Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, the F60 was Ferrari's take on the new rules introduced prior to the 2009 Formula One season. Despite being equipped with the promising KERS system, the car failed to make an impact on the world championship. Along with the car comes the 2009 version of Singapore, Formula One's first ever night Grand Prix.
The team's first public mod for rFactor was helped by many modders who ...
Superleague Formula Game – Released
Image Space Incorporated and the Superleague Formula Series have released the Superleague Formula Game, bringing the 2009 SLF season to the PC.
Based on ISI's popular gMotor 2 simulation engine, the game includes all cars, drivers, rules and tracks of the 2009 SLF season, the second in series history. The virtual SLF cars have been created by none other than CTDP, rFactor's most popular open-wheel modding team.
The game includes six popular European road courses as Magny Cours, Zolder, Estoril, Monza, Jarama & Donington are included. Furthermore, the game includes all of the series rules including the two-race format used on race ...
Forza Motorsport 3 – Review
The third installment of Turn 10's Forza Motorsport franchise brings over 400 cars and 100 to the Xbox 360, aiming to create a new benchmark title in terms of console driving games.
Can the newest Forza give Gran Turismo a run for its money and is the title something sim racer should consider? Read the review to find out.
Endurance Series SP1 – Porsche RS Spyder Evo Previews
Enduracers have released a first batch of previews of the upcoming Service Pack 1 for their popular Endurance Series mod for rFactor.
The previews show the Porsche RS Spyder Evo LMP2 prototype in several paint schemes. Launched in 2007 after a problem-ridden season with the initial RS Spyder model, the Evo proved to be a big success, clinching Porsche countless wins in the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Le Mans Series.
The first service pack will be introducing several new models to Endurance Series, including the Peugeot 908 and Audi R10 diesel sports cars, the Acura ...
Need for Speed Shift users will soon be able to download a free pack of cars that will add five new vehicles to Sligthly Mad Studios’ recently-released title.
Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed some interesting facts regarding Gran Turismo 5’s weather system in an interview with the British Playstation Magazine:
Turn 10 has confirmed that the first download content pack for their recently released Forza Motorsport 3 title for Xbox 360 will be available starting early December.
Following the first patch that was released shortly after Need for Speed Shift hit the shelves, Slightly Mad Studios are now busy preparing the second patch that will address a variety of issues.
