Gran turismo 2 bugs and history!!!!!

[cheese wizzy]

Two steps forward and one step back."
If there is a phrase that summarizes my experience with GRAN TURISMO 2, this is it. In 1997, the original GRAN TURISMO for the Sony PlayStation set a new standard for console racing games when it came to graphics, sound, physics, and gameplay. Polyphony Digital Entertainment's masterpiece showed that though it wasn't capable of photorealism, the PlayStation was capable of an impressive level of fidelity in recreating the experience of thrashing various real-life cars around a good variety of racetracks.
GRAN TURISMO 2 was supposed to take this formula and raise it to new heights. Adding a larger variety of cars, introducing real world racetracks, and utilizing PlayStation power untapped by the first game, GT2 represented a chance for a last hurrah for this franchise before it moves on to the PS2. Unfortunately, the presence of numerous faults add up to an underwhelming send off for this series.
As is common with many games, GT2 was hit by delays. Originally due out Q3 1999, GT2 ended up getting pushed back to a December release. As the date loomed close and hype built up to a fever pitch, speculation circulated that the game would miss the holiday season and arrive sometime after the New Year. Perhaps in response to the resulting outcry, GT2 arrived in stores in mid-December in a clearly unfinished state.
There were bugs present in the original GT, the most prominent of which had to be where AI cars passed through walls to end up outside the boundaries of the track. None of the bugs, however, seriously affected one's ability to enjoy the game. But there are enough serious bugs in GT2 that Sony has recently offered to exchange buggy discs for bug-free ones through its Consumer Services Department, something almost unheard of in the realm of console gaming. Details can be found at psx.ign.com.
That's not to say that GT2 is a disappointment. The number of cars available to choose from is particularly mind-boggling. Whereas the first game consisted primarily of cars from Japanese companies, GT2 includes a much wider variety of makes including Audi, BMW, Fiat, Lancia, Peugeot, Lotus, and even supercar manufacturer Vector. There is also a decent selection of older cars such as the Ford GT40, Shelby Cobra, and Plymouth Superbird. RUF, a specialty tuner of Porsches, and several Japanese tuners also get their wares showcased in this game. There are, however, still noticeable gaps in the game's coverage. For example, there are no Scandinavian cars (Saab, Volvo) in the game.
The inclusion of so many car manufacturers (remember, tuners also count as manufacturers here) means that the original GT's one-screen-fits-all had to give way to a new interface. The manufacturers of GT2 are grouped into four areas based on nationality. A wheel shop has been added so that players can further customize the appearance of their cars.
Other changes to the game's interface were less successful. Moving the game's memory functions from the home area, where they were easily accessed, to the main menu where the Options reside should be considered a failure in design. Also, no change was made to the fact that set up of a steering wheel requires that players configure their wheels in the Options area, enter the game to test the new settings, and then exit back out of the game if further changes are necessary.
Tuning gear ratios in GT2 has been simplified by replacing the original GT's gear ratio graph with a sliding bar that adjusts the ratios for the player. Though it is still possible to tune gear ratios individually, without the graph that charted speed and gear against RPM, that task has become a great deal harder.
With all the new cars and the inclusion of new races, including rally racing, GT2 now encompasses two discs: an Arcade Mode disc and a Gran Turismo Mode disc. A new Information screen helps players keep track of their progress, listing licenses earned, money accumulated and spent, as well as a game completion percentage.
License tests now all have associated replays so that the player can see what an ideal run looks like. In general, the tests seem to have become slightly easier, though there are still a few that might be difficult to master.
The replays have been revamped in appearance and now offer new options. One such option allows the player to see a visual readout of control inputs during the replay. A new label in the corner displays the name of the car that the camera is currently following. A number of camera angles have been added, but some of GT1's reverse views have been taken away. It is also impossible to deactivate all the on-screen displays when the camera is focused on the player's car.
The physics have been tweaked to provide a greater degree of realism. As impressive as GT's physics model seemed at the time, the way cars understeer and oversteer in GT2 illustrates how inaccurate the first game actually was. Some sacrifices are still made in the name of gameplay. It is still possible to perform some bonehead manuevers which would result in spectacular accidents in real-life, but in the game are reduced to easily controlled 4-wheel drifts (as well as not-so-easily controlled spins and slides).
The improved physics model is accompanied by fractionally better graphics. In a back-to-back comparison, it is quite clear that improvements were made to the car models, track-side objects, and the on-screen display which shows readouts of speed, RPM, and other pieces of information. A turbo boost gauge is one of the new features of GT2.
These improvements are offset by other faults in the game. There are a couple of tracks where the edges of the track appear to be unpaved, yet driving on these portions of the track results in no decrease in tire grip. Texture warping is quite obvious to the casual observer. Although rare, it is even possible for two cars to partially merge with each other in particularly tight corners. These faults are quite minor by themselves, but when the highest possible completion percentage is 98.2% rather than 100%, it becomes quite clear that Sony did themselves and their customers a great disservice by rushing this title to market. While it may be acceptable to release incomplete software to the PC market (where patches can be downloaded to hard drives and applied post-installation), to do so with a console game

[Link001]

this was mine but i 4got the password!

[Spitfire]

kinda old but ok *blows dust off case and puts in PS2* I think this was on G4 last year when they explained all those glitches