GT4 B-Spec Details News

As we reported last week, a new B-Spec mode has been added to forthcoming Gran Turismo 4. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has released details as to the exact nature of this new feature.

Called â??Director Modeâ?, B-Spec is to Gran Turismo what a Race Team Manager is in, for instance, Formula 1. The feature will not be part of a standalone mode, but can be accessed in the main game itself. Whilst computer AI controls the car, players will be able to decide certain factors including the pace of the car, and the attitude towards overtaking. Gamers using the B-Spec mode will still be able to decide the racing setup for the cars like their A-Spec racing colleagues, since the whole point of the Director mode is to help players who perhaps arenâ??t as skilled in the actual driving, compete against the trailblazing A-Spec racers.

The Gran Turismo World has been expanded upon, with a â??Tunerâ??s Villageâ? where players can take their cars to the best tuning shops in the world, and a â??Music Theatreâ? where players can go and listen to some great tracks from global artists.

GT4 will have over 650 cars from over 80 manufacturers, and will include cars from today as well as also placing an emphasis on cars from the 80s and 90s. GT4 will also be including Nitro boosts for the first time, as well as other superchargers â?“ reflecting the current trend in car modifications.

As youâ??d expect from the GT series, actual life tracks have been included, with firm favourite Laguna Seca and the full Nurburgring track making appearances. In a nod to its Xbox rival, Project Gotham Racing, world cities have also been added to GT4, with racing taking place in New York and Hong Kong; tracks in Seattle and Tokyo will also return in greater detail to GT4. Racing in the Las Vegas strip and the Coze dâ??Azur will also be included â?“ with the general tracks such as Autumn Ring and Ice Arena thrown in for good measure.

Another new feature in Gran Turismo 4 will be the Photo Mode. This will enable players to take photographs of their cars whilst on location from any angle, and will include actual photographic techniques such as Depth of Field and Zoom. The results of your handy work can then be printed off a compatible printer, or can be passed around on memory cards.

And all of that isnâ??t enough for you, Polyphony Digital have also included a new â??High-Scoreâ? system that is reminiscent of handicapping in Golf. They have now removed the limitations on the competitions that you can enter if your car is too powerful. Instead, if you are in a vastly more powerful car than your competitors, then youâ??ll accumulate fewer points completing the race than if you drove in a lesser vehicle. GT4 will also include â??Mission Based Racesâ? where scenarios such as starting a lap behind and having to win the race will be introduced.

TVG will have more on Gran Turismo 4 soonâ?¦