Caramelzappa,

I totally agree, however the gaming *industry* is structuring itself in a similar manner as the other entertainment mediums (not the smartest business plan to follow). Which is why, to me at least, this level of access to assets was finite.

Nerdy,

I don't think anyone would disagree with you. I mean, everyone loves free stuff, but you can't honestly expect it to last forever - for better or worse.

Well honestly this mod culture is unheard-of in any other major media form so it's no suprise that you see fewer and fewer companies involved.

In the film industry would you ever expect a director of a major film to give you the raw footage and FCP files to make your own rendition of the film?

In the music industry would you ever expect a major label to supply the fans with the ProTools session files of an artist's music to customize thier experience?

It's absurd to expect that level of interaction/personalization in any other medium yet PC gamers (and even consoles, to a degree) have essentially been spoiled with such features. So I guess it's not totally unexpected to see that such unprecedented freedom/interaction had a finite life in the game industry.

Not saying I agree with any of it, just saying that it was almost in inevitability.

Oops. Dammit, Joystiq.

Regardless of the car details, Forza and GT render thier replays and vids at a higher res than during a race -- giving the vehicles and environments a more realistic look in photos and during replay vids. Racing games have been doing that for years now, so this isn't some secret practice.

The proof is in the replays -- both drop to 30 FPS instead of the normal 60 to accomodate the added detail.

Regardless of the car details, Forza and GT render thier replays and vids at a higher res than during a race -- giving the vehicles and environments a more realistic look in photos and during replay vids. Racing games have been doing that for years now, so this isn't some secret practice.

The proof is in the replays -- both drop to 30 FPS instead of the normal 60 to accomodate the added detail.

Apollo,

Same here. Never owned a Sony console. I usually could afford only one console per generation so I had to pick wisely.

95 - Saturn (sigh, lost that gamble)
96 - N64 - meh
99 - Dreamcast - fantastic for a year or two, then sadness.
2001 - Xbox - "OK" at best.
2005 - 360 - great so far.

But at least one of my friends had a Sony console throughout the years so I guess it's a win/win for me :)

It's like Forza 3. The replay/picture/video modes render higher-res textures, effects and an overall better image than the 'in-race' car models. Still looks amazing, mind you, just not as good as some of the replay shots my lead you to believe.

While the car models of both games are similar, GT's lighting engine is a league above Forza's -- giving GT the edge.

To encourage CAHLITO's chant...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0H7EnPGJJs&feature=player_embedded

Ok, I'm cool with everyone boycotting retail games for stuff like this. But c'mon, this is free-to-play. How else did they really think this was going to play out? This is the gift/curse of 'free' games.

Agreed,

Something about this felt so...late 80s - early 90s. Very cliched. But for an amateur project the production values are commendable.