Intro

As a member of the GTHQ crew I was invited to attended the Room299 event dedicated to GT5 on Wednesday October 13th. Part of it was a press presentation by the Benelux GT5 product manager. Of course it started with marketing talk like the GT5 franchise is the top Playstation hardware driver for Sony. With every release since GT1 back in 1997, they have aimed at setting new benchmarks for gameplay, graphics ans physics, and GT5 should be the "crown on the PS3 platform". It will again become the new benchmark, offering a total package of gaming and community features, where the whole will be greater than the sum of it's parts.

There are no really shocking new features announced, most of the facts are just a confirmation of what we already new from other sources. I still took the opportunity to put all info told and from the trailers together in 1 place. The real shock would come after arriving back home when we heard the November release date has been postponed.

Dutch

GT5 has been fully localised for the dutch (and part of the belgian) market. This means that not only the menu's and car specs are translated. GT5 will contain a Manufacturer's Museum, where you can find information about manufacturers, their history & what they stand for, and about certain models. All info there is available to read in dutch as well.

General features

- >1000 cars, in coöperation with manufacturers
- visual damage model that also impacts car performance
- more on track dynamics:
     - cars can roll over
     - smoke and sparks
     - leave skidmarks on the tarmac
     - trackside objects can be moved and end up on track
     - day and night transitions
- car lighting, low beams and high beams for signalling
- weather model
     - weather forecast before race, may be inaccurate just like in real life
     - temperature, track and air humidity, air pressure, will influence car performance
     - you need to tune to deal with specific race circumstances
     - graphics are  “the prettiest bad weather you’ve ever seen
- use of official licenses, trademarks and manufacturers
     - Mercedes      
     - AMG
     - NASCAR
     - Red Bull
     - Top Gear
     - WRC
- head tracking with the PS Eye
     - check mirrors
     - look into corners
- tracks
     - 100 layouts on 20 tracks
     - Track Generator           
          - select 1 of 4 initial available themes
          - choose track type open (stage) / closed (track)
          - adjust every section
               - corners / straights
               - elevation
- all new karting mode
- 2 ways of playing
     - A-spec = you are the driver
          - earn licenses
          - buy / sell new and 2nd hand cars
          - tune car performance & exterior (wheels, paint job, …)
          - wash and maintain your car
     - B-spec = you are a team manager
          - manage 1 or more drivers
          - realtime strategy decisions
          - develop a driver’s character
          - share drivers with other B-spec players
- improved GT-TV
      - Top Gear content
- manufacturer’s museum
     - manufacturer history
     - car model information
- Photo mode, both normal and 3D
- ‘what if’ scenarios
     - …

Special events

As you progress you will be able to play a series of special events
- GT Karting Experience
- Mercedes Benz AMG driving school
- The Stig Challenge
     - drive the reasonably priced cars and compare with celebs
     - drive supercars and compare your time with The Stig
- Jeff Gordon NASCAR School
- Sébastien Loeb Rally Challenge
- Gran Turismo Rally

Online

- up to 16 players in 1 session
- spectator mode
- possibly matchmaking based on skill level
- My Home lobby
- share and give away cars
- sharing of Course Generator tracks
- various leaderboards and online competitions
- GT Anywhere:
     - play B-spec races over the internet
     - by using your PC, laptop or smartphone
- integration of social media techniques
     - forums
     - sharing principle (tracks and cars)
     - public and private rooms
     - crosstalk with PSP

Conclusion

After the presentation there were some questions like whether the rumours about a stunt arena are true, if there wil be DLC (downloadable content) in the future, if it’s possible to play multiplayer over a LAN. He couldn’t really answer the questions so we got an “I can’t confirm anything but I also can’t dismiss anything .”.

What it comes down to is that there will still be some surprises up PD and Sony’s sleeve they won’t tell us before we first start our GT5. That's probably because this game has been awaited and hyped for so long now, that  if we knew everything there's to know about the  the game, it  would just meet our expectations and no longer exceed them.