JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST: To be the first to know
when my new and updated guides are released, join the
FeatherGuides E-mail List. Go to
http://www.coollist.com/group.cgi?l=featherguides for
information about the list and to subscribe for free.
SPACING
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers
and letters below line up:
PERMISSIONS
This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides,
GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, Games
Domain, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe,
InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire,
gamespot.com, ps2domain.net, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
ps2replay.com, cheatingplanet.com, neoseeker.com,
RobsGaming.com, ps2fantasy.com, gamespot.com, and
vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post
elsewhere on the Internet.
Permission is granted to download and print one copy for
personal use.
INTRODUCTION
This guide is designed to provide tips in acquiring an
International A (IA) License in Gran Turismo 3; the goal,
therefore, is to assist drivers in earning a Bronze Medal.
The IA License is somewhat difficult to obtain, and the test
venues themselves require strong familiarity with medium-
powered vehicles to ensure that proper braking points and
racing lines are observed.
====================================
RIDING THE WALLS
This tactic can be very useful, both in the License Tests and
in actual competition in Gran Turismo 3. The game does not
include damage modeling, so scraping the walls, cliffs, and
other barriers will only slow a car (and accelerate tire wear
if applicable to a particular race).
Riding the walls entails placing one side of the car against
the wall or other barrier and letting the curve of the
obstruction change the car's direction. However, in the
License Tests, this must be done VERY carefully, as hitting
obstructions with much force will result in automatic failure
of the test.
The best way to engage in this practice is to gently edge the
side of the car against the obstruction at a very gentle
angle. Keeping the accelerator fully engaged, the friction
will slow the car, but will still generally allow for a
greater speed than braking and cornering normally - and in a
racing situation, can result in passing one or more cars
performing 'normal' cornering procedures.
Exiting the corner, however, can be tricky when riding the
walls. Depending on the car, the terrain, the speed at exit,
and the obstacle itself, a car may want to keep going in the
direction at which it had been turning. Therefore, always be
prepared to quickly countersteer on exit; lifting off the
accelerator just before corner exit may also be of use in
this situation.
LICENSE IA-1
Skill: Fast Complex Corners I
Car Used: Lancer Evolution VI Rally Car
Gold Time: 0'40.000
Silver Time: 0'40.700
Bronze Time: 0'42.500
Taking place on the back side of the Tokyo R246 circuit, this
test requires excellent knowledge of the venue, as many of
the corners are blind turns. Throttle management is very
important here, as it can mean the difference between banging
a barrier on corner exit and squeaking through a corner with
millimeters to spare on exit.
It may help to immediately use the 'ride the wall' technique
for the first corner of the IA-1 test area, thus keeping up
speed without slowing too much (which is what will likely
happen with conventional braking). A solid racing line
through the second and third corners of the test area is key
to using full acceleration and to keep from banging the
barriers exiting this quick-flick chicane.
The fourth turn of the test zone is really the only place
where braking is necessary, although experts with a solid
racing line can possibly speed through with just millimeters
to spare. The fifth turn is also a right-hand corner, but
the circuit narrows significantly on corner exit, so drivers
MUST keep to the left here to avoid banging the narrowing
barrier.
Riding the wall may also be useful for the final corner. The
circuit is still very narrow here, and conventional braking
may cost a lot of time.
====================================
LICENSE IA-2
Skill: Fast Complex Corners II
Car Used: Spoon S2000(J)
Gold Time: 0'15.700
Silver Time: 0'15.900
Bronze Time: 0'16.400
This high-speed test makes use of the final segment of the
Trial Mountain circuit. Tapping the brakes means failure due
to excessive time, so keep HARD on the accelerator and make
good use of the rumble strips while avoiding the apex cones.
Keep in mind that the end of the test zone is well beyond the
Start/Finish Line for races held at this venue.
====================================
LICENSE IA-3
Skill: Fast Complex Corners III
Car Used: Imprezza Rally Car Prototype
Gold Time: 0'23.400
Silver Time: 0'23.800
Bronze Time: 0'25.000
This is a very tricky test held in the beginning stages of
the Deep Forest circuit, as there is just enough dirt on both
sides of the pavement for a car to be considered 'out of
bounds' before the steep embankments attempt to force a car
to stay on the racing surface. Due to the extent of the
corners, a newcomer to this venue will want to brake for
each, but this tactic will result in failure due to excessive
time. ONLY the final two corners require braking or a
lifting off of the throttle, and only A LITTLE at that.
Returning to Tokyo R246, this test begins on Pit Straight and
uses the first three corners. The yellow distance-to-corner
markers (measured in meters) tend to blend into the scenery,
so they can be hard to spot at speed; make use of these
markers to determine the best braking zone for Turns 1 and 2
- Turn 3 can be cleared at full throttle with sufficient
braking in Turn 2.
Laguna Seca's world-famous Corkscrew simply CANNOT be cleared
safely at speed; real-world attempts to do so would almost
certainly kill the driver. The problem with the Corkscrew is
that the difficulty does not begin with the steep blind
downhill Corkscrew itself, but with the crest in the mini-
mountain just before the top of the Corkscrew; if a problem
with car control is to occur in this test, it will begin with
the crest.
Once past the crest, keeping tight to the apex is key,
especially since the second (right-hand) corner of the
Corkscrew is filled with sand on the inside which will
certainly slow the car enough to result in failing the test.
On exit, however, drivers must quickly go to the right side
of the pavement to correctly set up the final turn, a long
semi-blind high-speed left-hand corner with a decreasing
radius which results in cars wanting to drift off the
pavement on exit (or even just halfway through the corner if
the proper racing line cannot be kept).
====================================
LICENSE IA-6
Skill: Fast Complex Corners IV
Car Used: Zonda C12
Gold Time: 0'20.100
Silver Time: 0'20.400
Bronze Time: 0'21.300
The Rome test takes place on the back end of the course, and
begins with a tight left-hand corner. There is NO run-off
room and NO widening of the circuit here, so a flawless
racing line is key; slight braking or lifting of the throttle
may help, but if any subsequent area of the test is sub-par,
the result is quite likely failure due to excessive time.
Once past the first corner, drivers must quickly get to the
left side of the pavement. Fortunately, the course widens
>from here to the end of the test zone, so it is possible to
simply power through the rest of the way so long as the
racing lines are tight to the apexes of corners.
This test, on the backmost section of Complex String, is
essentially a semi-slalom test. Unlike the slalom tests for
the IB License (see my Gran Turismo 3: IB License Guide for
details), the IA-7 test involves gentler corners with
slightly more room between corners, plus the addition of
hills and valleys - the left-hand turns crest each hill,
while the right-hand turns are in the valleys between hills.
However, the initial run up to the semi-slalom section
features a long sweeping full-throttle right-hand turn; the
section immediately following the semi-slalom area is a pair
of left-hand perpendicular corners which are best approached
as a wide U-turn, the exit of which will cause the rear of
the car to want to slide out.
====================================
LICENSE IA-8
Skill: International A License Final Exam
Car Used: Mine's Skyline GT-R-N1 V-spec(R34,J)
Gold Time: 1'08.850
Silver Time: 1'10.000
Bronze Time: 1'12.500
This test - run in reverse at Complex String - is by far the
most difficult of the tests for the IA License, and cannot be
attempted until all of the previous tests have been passed
with a Bronze Medal (or better). This test features numerous
consecutive decreasing-radius corners alternating between
left and right turns. Keeping a tight apex without running
off the racing surface due to understeer or knocking over the
apex cones due to overcorrection is EXTREMELY difficult.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if you
have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to
you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal
(http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail address.
To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2
game guides, please visit FeatherGuides
(http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/). The
latest version will always be posted at FeatherGuides, while
other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their
regularly-scheduled posting updates.
=======================================================================
Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford
=======================================================================
Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a
remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are.
- Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_
=======================================================================
What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_
=======================================================================
