New update patch for Gran Turismo 5 due for release on Tuesday
The next patch release for Gran Turismo 5 will be on Tuesday, February 7th, as confirmed by Kazunori Yamauchi via Twitter. It should arrive after the online service maintenance period, which is currently scheduled between 03:00 and 04:00 GMT, during which time you won’t be able to connect to any of the online services – likely to affect U.S gamers more than the UK we’d imagine!
There’s no confirmation on exactly what is included in the patch, which should be version 2.04, besides one minor bug with drift trial replays will be solved.
Gran Turismo 5′s Nurburgring Nissan goes up for sale
You could own the Shulze Motorsport Nissan GT-R N24 #71 which was co-driven by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi at the 2011 Nurburgring 24 hour race, and was then added to GT5 in the Spec 2.0 release back in October 2011. That’s assuming you have 120,000 Euros or $155,000 to spend, plus sales tax.
The car recorded a class victory at the 2011 event, driven by the team of Kazunori Yamauchi, Tobias Shchulze, Michael Schulze and Yasuyoshi Yamamoto. They completed 134 laps in 24 hours, 2 minutes and 26.9 seconds, having recorded a fastest lap of 9:17.707.
Voting starts for iRacers of the Year 2011
Voting is now underway for the first ever iRacer of the Year Awards, with categories for Top Driver and Top Member. The voting continues until 23:59 GMT on December 31st, with the winners announced in early January.
The nominees for iRacing Driver of the Year are:
- Ray Alfalla – NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship winner with 3 wins and 8 more top fives; also scored two top fives en route to fifteenth place in the iRacing.com NVIDIA Grand Prix Series.
- Chris Hughson – iRacing’s winningest driver in 2011 hands down, with 1179 victories in inRacingNews Challenge (Solstice and SRF), Street Stocks and NASCAR iRacing.com Class C (among others).
- Greger Huttu – Beat many of the best iRacers to win the Intel GP Series; scored four wins and ten more top tens en route to finishing runner-up in iRacing.com NVIDIA Grand Prix Series.
- Hugo Luis – iRacing.com NVIDIA Grand Prix Series champion with five wins (including four straight with the title in the balance) and ten more top five finishes.
- Yang Ou – Dominated the IZOD INDYCAR Premier Series, taking both the Oval and Road racing crowns with a total of 16 wins and five more top fives.
And the nominees for iRacing Member of the Year are:
- John Bodin – One of iRacing’s “good guys,” Bodin has helped countless iRacers (particularly rookies) with chassis setups and driving tips, and is a regular contributor to iRacing’s official FAQs on the member site.
- Glenn Chalder – Worked tirelessly to create a setup guide for the Skip Barber F2000, and updates the Skippy Tuning Guides every new season. Glenn also created the Periodic Table of iRacing Racetracks and Cars and is always a good source of creative ideas about the iRacing service.
- Rusty Greer – Another one of iRacing’s real “good guys,” Greer not only spends countless hours developing set-ups, he selflessly shares them with the sim racing community and is always ready, willing and able to offer a helping hand.
- Chris Hall (aka “Captain Obvious”) – Hall’s knowledgeable and entertaining articles are a staple of inRacingNews, and he’s a tireless booster of iRacing in paddocks across the UK and Europe.
- Steve Luvender - The driving force behind the Trading Paints.com, which enables iRacers to download, upload and share their cars’ paint schemes with the iRacing community, Steve is a thoughtful and creative influence on the sport of sim racing.
- Nick Neben – An invaluable voice of reason in the sim racing community, Nick is a dedicated champion of Sprint Cars and Silver Crowns whose thoughtful Q&As with Tony Gardner and Dave Kaemmer (almost) single-handedly crashed inRacingNews.
- Pete Ness – Father of iSpeed, an application that creates both a digital dashboard and a real-time race analysis.
- Tim Terry – The Maritimes’ force of nature provides expert commentary on iRacing’s broadcasts, covers oodles of race series for inRacingNews and gives sim racing plenty of virtual ink on “Tim’s ‘Sim’ Corner” website.
- Stephane Turpin – Creator of the Motion Cockpit View, which enables drivers to bobble their head around the cockpit based on their cars’ physics.
- Jari Ylimainen – Developed the iRacing TV Overlay, a tool for creating TV style broadcast overlays from spectator sessions used by hundreds of league racers to post their races on the Internet.
So you can make your choices and vote on the iRacing site right now.
Gran Turismo 5 voted Racing Game of the Year at Golden Joysticks
Gran Turismo 5 was awarded Racing Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick awards on Friday, in a year which saw a record number of votes cast by the gaming public, with 2.06 million votes setting a new Guiness World Record for a videogame awards.
Obviously Forza Motorsport 4 wasn’t in the running, but to claim the award, GT5 still beat nominees including DiRT 3, F1 2010, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Shift 2: Unleashed. So although Sony’s flagship racer was always a clear favourite, it wasn’t a complete foregone conclusion.
DiRT 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit were also in the running for the Ultimate Game of the Year, which was awarded to Valve’s first person puzzle game Portal 2, which we can understand, even if it’s not a racing game. Sega Rally Online Arcade lost out to Minecraft in the Best Downloadable category, whilst both Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Real Racing 2 were overcome by the phenomenon which is Angry Birds in the Mobile Gaming category.
Obviously it missed out this year, but from what we’ve seen so far, and what’s coming up in the next 12 months, we reckon Forza Motorsport 4 might continue the rivalry by taking top racer next year…
Turn 10 admits some Forza Motorsport 4 players banned in error
A number of players have been suspended from Xbox Live since the launch of Forza Motorsport 4, and several have publicly claimed their innocence – and it appears that in at least some cases, it was true.
The bans were intended for players who had been using a pirated copy of the game – there’s no confirmation whether the bans also applied to players found to be cheating or whether there was any crossover between the two. A statement made on the official Forza forums states:
Turn 10 has been investigating claims from a select group of Forza 4 players who believe they have been unfairly banned. Additional inspection has revealed some accounts may have been banned in error. We are in the process of reinstating impacted accounts and apologize to those loyal fans that may have been inconvenienced. At Turn 10, security and the protection of our player base from cheaters has been and will continue to be of paramount importance.
The Ultimate Forza Motorsport Racing Rig – and it’s for sale!
Not only is this the ultimate Forza Motorsport Racing rig, but even more amazingly it has an identical twin in a UK warehouse, and they’re both up for sale! And just in time for the launch of Forza Motorsport 4!
The story behind them is pretty special. They were both originally built for Microsoft to promote the launch of Forza Motorsport 3 at a cost of £25,000 each, and once they were built they were shipped to Le Mans, and used to demonstrate the game. After the launch they were shipped back to the UK, but eventually became property of the shipping company, from where the current owner bought them. One of the two units has now been set-up for demonstration purposes as you can see in the video, and will be sold complete with everything you need.
The specifications list is pretty long, as you’d image for what must be the ultimate Forza Motorsport racing rig. For starters, you’ll get the required 3 Xbox 360 consoles. Those feed into the 3 Samsung 42 inch monitors, and control is with an official Xbox paddle shift steering wheel and foot pedals. Meanwhile you’ll be able to relax in the Corbeau race seat, assuming you can cope with the sound system. If you like engine noise, then you’ll love the fact the units feature an Onkyo TX-SR507 AV Receiver/Amplifier, a Kef Kube-1 Bass Box, Kef Surround Sound Speakers, and a Buttkicker amplifier under the seat.
And as you’d imagine for units built for a Microsoft launch, it’s all professionally built with steel and silver-coated MDF. All the wiring is hidden and everything fits into custom-built compartments, complete with cooling fans at the front and rear of each set-up. And the underside is lit, as wel as the light box on top of the spoiler.
Opportunities to own something like the ultimate Forza Motorsport racing rig don’t come along very often, and the company which currently owns the two units have already been speaking to potential buyers, but if you’re interested, there’s still a chance to own one of this extremely special set-ups, assuming you have the space to put it in! The owners are looking for around £10k for each unit, and if you’re a serious potential buyer get in touch with us via dan.thornton@hotmodmedia.com, and we’ll put you in touch to arrange a demonstration or purchase.
And remember – when you’re explaining this to your partner or bank manager, it’s an investment in a unique piece of entertainment and motorsport history, not the utilimate Forza Motorsport racing rig. And if you can’t see a way to raise the cash yourself, there’s always a local bar or club that definitely needs it (pick one within walking distance of your house and with a friendly bar manager/landlord). Meanwhile we’re trying to work out how many online racing friends we need to get to club together, as long as they don’t mind one of the units being located at OnlineRaceDriver HQ. But if you do have access to around £10,000 before us, make sure you email dan.thornton@hotmodmedia.com to get the details of the current owners and arrange a demonstration.
Specs for the ultimate Forza Motorsport racing rig:
- Ex Microsoft demonstration units, costing £25,000 to build
- 3 x Xbox 360 consoles
- 3 x 42″ Samsung monitors
- Xbox paddle shift steering wheel and foot pedals
- Onkyo TX-SR507 AV receiver / amplifier
- Kef Kube-1 bass box
- Kef surround sound speakers
- Buttkicker amplifier (under seat)
- Corbeau race seat
The Ultimate Forza Motorsport 3-screen set-up
Forza Motorsport 4 demo dated and DLC Season Pass Revealed
It’s not long until the October release of Forza Motorsport 4, with the game arriving on October 11th in North America, October 14th in Europe and October 20th in the rest of the world. And you’ll get to try it even sooner, as the Xbox Live Demo will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 3rd if you’re an Xbox Live Gold Member, and October 7th for any other Xbox Live Member. There’s no confirmation of what will be included yet…
But what we do know is that you’ll have the option of individually downloading each of the monthly car packs due to be released as DLC content ( at $7 each), the chance to occasionally buy individual cars if you prefer, or you can sign up for a Forza Motorsport 4 Season Pass to get six months of DLC, plus a launch bonus pack:
Forza Motorsport 4 Season Pass Details:
From October 11th, you’ll be able to buy the Forza Motorsport Season Pass via Xbox Live or participating retailers. It’s going to cost 2,400 MS Points, which is $29.99 US, or 21.74 Euros, and that will work for six game add-on packs. Compared to downloading each pack seperately, you’ll save 30% by buying in bulk, and you’ll get all six add-ons available between November 2011 and April 2012, which totals 60 extra cars.
Plus, you’ll also get a launch bonus of the American Muscle Car Pack, which includes:
- 1970 Buick GSX
- 1966 Chevrolet Nova SS
- 1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee
- 1967 Dodge Coronet W023
- 1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock
- 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
- 1971 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi
- 1968 Pontiac Firebird
- 1965 Pontiac GTO
- 1969 Shelby GT500 428CJ
It’s safe to say we’re pretty tempted by the prospect of the muscle car pack, plus a whopping 60 extra cars over 6 months, even if it’ll play a bit of havoc with the unofficial race series to have new cars coming out all the time. But who can resist picking up the Chevy Nova SS, Dodge Dart and Ford Fairlane in-game?
Plus a new track announced:
The track list is possibly a little disapointing considering the number of circuits returning, and the lack of many new locations. It’s particularly bad for European gamers, considering the lack of iconic tracks such as Spa, and the fact that Silverstone continues to represent the UK (We’ve always enjoyed driving Brands Hatch, Donington etc far more).
But yet again, American drivers do get somewhere new in the shape of the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You’ll be able to drive the full Grand Prix circuit, plus the famous Brickyard Speedway oval.
And Creative Director Dan Greenwalt does explain that each track, whether real or fictional, takes around a year to create in-game, explaining the balance between adding tracks and shipping a game on time. Here’s hoping they spend more time visiting Europe for track data, and less time on locations like Rally di Positano, which isn’t one of our favourites at ORD. If we keep asking, maybe we could get somewhere really interesting, like Cadwell Park, on the list for Forza Motorsport 5?
Check out:
- The Forza Motorsport 4 Page
- The Forza Motorsport 4 Official Car List
- The Forza Motorsport 4 Official Track List
- The Forza Motorsport 4 Offical Achievements List
OnlineRaceDriver honoured to be CVG’s Site of the Week
We’re incredibly pleased and honoured to have been picked by the legendary Computer and Videogames site as their ‘Site of the Week‘. It’s a regular series recommending the best gaming websites around, and tends to showcase those who really specialise and know their subject.
So it’s a priviledge to be featured alongside such good company, and it’s also really nice after the hard work that’s been put into this site, especially by Tom, Kalps, GTDon and several other great people who have helped us get this far, and are working hard to help us keep making such great progress. To put it into context, we’ve gone from a handful of people reading the site to just under 20,000 people this month, and we’re growing every single week and month.
And it’s also a recognition of the input every single one of you has had in reading what we do, commenting, sharing on social networks, and telling other people about the site wherever you chat about games. We really appreciate it, and hope to get you more involved in the future of ORD, along with releasing a load of site updates, and a new contributor we’ve currently got locked in a garage completing his race training ready to make his debut on the site.
So here’s to a great 20 months of ORD so far, and here’s to making the site even better as the home of online racing in the future!
F1 2011 secrets revealed on Twitter
Detailed information about inclusions, tweaks and updates for the forthcoming F1 2011 have been few and far between, but Steve Hood, Chief Game Designer for F1 2010/11, has revealed many snippets of information via his Twitter account (@T4RG4) not mentioned in official press releases.
Hood is preparing for the first public screening of the game at Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, and has revealed that co-op championships will only be available online rather than via split-screen, the career mode will be five seasons rather than seven.
Perhaps most interestingly, it seems using driving aids whilst racing online will now carry weight penalties – meaning more skilful drivers will no longer be disadvantaged compared to those using ABS and traction control.
Hood also reveals his team would like to include additional downloadable content and that he would like to include helmet designs of classic drivers in the game.
Here is a select sample of Steve Hood’s most revealing tweets:
“Co-Op is a single season” … “Co-op Championship is Online only, not in Split-screen (although you can run a 1-19 races if you wish)”
“And the Stats have shown few people went all the way through 7 seasons so I’ll put up with it as long as it’s 5 decent seasons in Career.”
“Truth in DLC rumours? Hmm… well. We’ve talked about it and talked about it. We do want to do it. It’d be so cool!”
“TC and ABS carry weight penalties (for experienced drivers and the penalty goes up with rank).” … “Assists = extra weight issue. it’s not to penalise players using assists but demotivate/equal good players using assists to be even faster.”
“…we’ve gone way past the point of being able to add Ricciardo to HRT”
“No flag helmets this year. Because I get so many requests to add more nations! So it’s original designs in’11 
” … “I’d love to include classic driver helmets but it’s a license minefield. Will still try!”
You can follow Steve’s tweets on @T4RG4, and also the official feed for the game @formula1game. You can also follow us – @ORDNews.
Looking to pre-order F1 2011 before it’s released on September 23rd, 2011? Then check out:
