I've always had a soft spot for retro gaming. MegaMan 2, Final Fantasy 7, Fire Emblem, you name it. That pixelated world is my happy place. That is also the case for racing. Gran Turismo 4 was actually the most recent title I played before getting into Gran Turismo 7.
I am passionate about data, research and understanding my games' mechanics and the real-world physics they were based upon.
All this has culminated into what I will offer here; tunes that bring the cars back to life that are so sorely missing in GT7. And on top of that; building faithful replicas of cars that exist in real life, but never in the games.
I make these Retro & Replica tunes as faithful as is possible. The game does force me to make compromises, but if it strays too much from the source material, the project goes in the bin.
I don't settle for mediocrity; matching the engine, gear ratios, and shape of the power curve are the bare minimum. I figure out exactly what performance parts were used. I factor in every single detail.
Then come the handling characteristics; I've picked up the older games and play them on original hardware to experience them firsthand. I then translate the tune settings from the old games to GT7. In the case of real-life replicas I read up on driver's experiences and watch videos on it. That data determines the handling characteristics of the car. I never tune the cars to my own preferences; it is entirely data-driven and supplemented with the game's mechanics.
This process results in a genuine, engaging and nostalgic driving experience.
Credits
None of this would have been possible without the help of my friends:
- Scruff King, a small variety streamer whose contagious enthusiasm, kindness and imagination got me into this game. He has since moved on from GT7, but do drop by to see what he's up to on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/scruff_king
- Mozzie, who got me into tuning and showed angelic patience correcting my undrivable builds. I credit him fully for some of the builds I'm incredibly fond of; I found the data from real-life cars and he was able to create the driving experience.
- Adam & Ryan, who along with Mozzie have spent countless hours testing cars, events and making custom BoPs.
- Jukaru, whose generosity made it possible for me to play this wonderful game on Playstation 5.
- Tolima for encouraging me to start this page and hosting the lovely racing community I'm part of.
- Dstinct_FILO for not only making the Holy Grail of tuning explanations, but also answering questions of players who are finding their way around tuning. If you want to learn how to tune, his page is the definitive guide: https://www.filoengineering.com/home