Fast_Blue_Scooby

Anyone care to agree that the Record Lap times being displayed on the racing screen don't work properly?

Or if I explain:

GT1 was excellent for its record lap recording. You had a record for the time attack mode, the arcade mode and for each type of race. So all in all one track could have several records stored for it, ie one when in time attack mode, one in Arcade mode, one when racing in GT mode for American
Cars, one when in Jap V GB races etc etc.

GT2 mucked it up. The record lap used to be shown but if you beat the record lap in GT mode or Arcade mode it was not updated. ONLY in Time Attack Mode could you beat it and enter your name and see it get updated on the race display!

GT3 has messed it up even worse. The record lap is not in Arcade mode or Time Attack. Best Lap is and that just shows you the best lap of the present laps. Leave the track, return to the menu, then enter the track again and your best lap has gone. However where the record lap is show in free run and
also run and settings in GT mode garage, well the record lap does not show the record time at all. Race a few laps and the record lap is the same as your best lap. Enter your name, restart the track and the record lap is
there. However come out of the track, return to the menu, then enter the track, even though your best record is still there in the lap records, race lap, oh dear the record lap is back to --:--:--. Do a few laps quite slowly, ie slower than the lap record which you set last time and hey presto when you complete the first lap, the record lap becomes the best lap for the lap
you have just done. Ah but didn't you set a better lap last time you were on this track. Well complete your laps and enter your name, you may have had the 2nd fastest lap. Yes you did as your records show BUT the record lap you set earlier is still no 1 and is in the records option. So restart the laps again, oh dear the record lap is the 2nd fastest lap showing on the display. Oh dear. Come right out to the menu, re-enter the track again and the lap record is reset
to --:--:-- and here we go again.

Worst I think is the top speed lap in machine test. This is always --:--:--, your best speed is fair enough, this indicates the top speed you have reached for your car on that lap, but the record speed is NEVER shown on the display so you don't know what you are aiming for. Also in time attack mode, there isn't even a record lap being displayed for you to aim for while racing. Also no record lap while racing in the races in GT mode.

How come they got it so right in GT1, the record keeping was first rate, GT2 was a disaster and GT3 just confirms that no thought went into the record processing.

A big part of playing a racing game is records and although the records are stored away in the records option for each track, the fact that they are not displayed properly on the screen reeks of poor testing. Surely someone would have noticed this. It stands out like a sore thumb!!!!!

Any comments on this?

Fast_Blue_Scooby

Also the rear view mirror is not very good. Looks like they rushed the rear view mirror display, lots of pop down!
Also the cars in the rear view mirror look quite far behind when in reality they are right behind you. I think they tried to include the rear view mirror to cover the blindspot. Now when a car pulls alongside, it still appears in the mirror, this effect I do not like at all. It is because of trying to cover the blind spot that cars now look further behind than they really are.

Anyone know how to disable the in-car rear view mirror?

Looks like the developers added this on late and really rushed it.

Anyway I think GT3 is the best game on the market for the PS2 so far. The graphics on the whole are excellent BUT they could have put some thought into the record lap processing and not rushed the rear view mirror mode.