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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Comparison with the Gran Turismo Series
Non-Championship Modes
Licenses
Initial Car Purchase
Sponsors
Chaining
Points
Carrozzeria
Contact Information
SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
below line up:
PERMISSIONS
Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or
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However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving
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Should anyone wish to translate this driving guide into other
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with a copy when complete.
Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!!
INTRODUCTION
Sega GT is an excellent racing game - not quite the 'racing
simulation' as touted by the Gran Turismo series on the
PlayStation and PlayStation2 consoles, but still very
intriguing, quite fun, and mildly challenging nonetheless :-)
This guide is designed to help those who are just starting
with Sega GT. The majority of the guide focuses upon
Championship Mode.
There is no indication of the currency used in Sega GT - the
player is unsure whether the monetary figures are based in
Dollars, Yen, Marks, Francs, Lire, etc. Therefore, since the
version of the game that I am using is that which was
released in North America (which is monetarily dominated by
the U.S. Dollar), I will use the American currency notation.
Please note that I have just recently acquired a DreamCast
console, and Sega GT is the first game I have played for this
console (and the first DreamCast game for which I am writing
a game guide). Previously, my console gaming experience has
consisted of first PlayStation, then PlayStation2 (I did have
a Sega Genesis before the PlayStation, but it was already
sadly outdated even before I bought it... so that does not
really count!!!!!). For this reason, references to other
games will be for the PlayStation and PlayStation2, as these
are the game consoles with which I have the most familiarity
and expertise.
==============================================
COMPARISON WITH THE GRAN TURISMO SERIES
Sega GT is an excellent racing game - not quite the 'racing
simulation' as touted by the Gran Turismo series on the
PlayStation and PlayStation2 consoles, but still very
intriguing, quite fun, and mildly challenging nonetheless :-)
The variety of (types of) courses is wider than the Gran
Turismo series, and the circuits themselves are moderately
more challenging as well. However, there are noticeably
fewer courses overall in Sega GT, and certainly not nearly
the level of repeat gameplay as in games such as Metropolis
Street Racer (DreamCast) or Gran Turismo 3 (PlayStation2).
Many of the same cars appear in both Sega GT and the Gran
Turismo series, although some cars are indeed unique to Sega
GT.
For those who own a PlayStation, I strongly suggest acquiring
Gran Turismo 2; for those with a PlayStation2, I EMPHATICALLY
suggest buying Gran Turismo 3 (and perhaps GT2 as well, since
the PlayStation2 can handle both games - but a PlayStation-
compatible memory card will be required for saving game
progress in Gran Turismo 2). While Sega GT is fun and
exciting in its own right, the high level of playability (as
based upon having oodles upon oodles of things to do in both
GT2 and GT3 in order achieve 100% completion in each game)
makes Gran Turismo 2 and especially Gran Turismo 3 much
better games overall. However, Sega GT's innovations - in
including both general Driver Licenses and Factory Licenses,
combined with the ability to create factory-produced original
cars - make Sega GT a much, much more intriguing game than
anything in the Gran Turismo series to date.
NON-CHAMPIONSHIP MODES
Championship Mode is certainly where the 'meat' is in Sega
GT. However, there are also Time Trial and Single Race Modes
available.
Single Race Mode is essentially the equivalent of an Arcade
Mode in other racing games. Here, the player can select
Easy, Normal, or Hard levels of difficulty, then one of the
pre-selected cars in each level, then head to the races.
Fortunately, a player is not obligated to use the same car
across all races in a difficulty level. Players should
probably start the game here, working at least through the
three Easy difficulty races, as this will provide a good
general overview of car handling and other elements within
Sega GT. Winning all races in Single Race Mode results in an
extremely corny 'You are a great driver' screen and a 'Don't
get cocky' screen, followed by the record times for all the
races in Single Race Mode; then, after being given an
opportunity to save game progress, the game essentially
reloads itself as if the game disc had just been inserted, so
it is IMPERATIVE to use the opportunity to save game progress
just so races will not need to be reraced.
Time Trial Mode is simply the player battling against the
clock. This is a straightforward and typical feature of
virtually all racing games. In Sega GT, however, winning
Time Trial Mode depends upon a player's overall time for
three consecutive laps at a race venue - while a lap record
may be attained in the process, it does not count toward
having defeated the record time for a given track. Also,
Time Trial Mode is dependent upon car class, and uses the
cars a player has already acquired in Championship Mode.
LICENSES
Acquiring various licenses (in Driver's Test) permits players
to participate in races in Championship Mode. For those who
have played the Gran Turismo series (on PlayStation and
PlayStation2), the licenses in Sega GT are NOT as difficult
to acquire, so there should not be any broken controllers or
television screens due to controllers being thrown in
frustration :-) Further, while there are numerous tests (by
car manufacturer) for each license, only one such test must
be successfully passed in order to acquire each license.
(However, the tests are all so relatively easy - especially
for those with a lot of experience with racing games in
general - that players may as well earn them all before truly
embarking upon a career in Championship Mode.)
Fortunately, Sega GT's license tests require only that a lap
at a given circuit and a given direction be completed with a
given car within a given period of time. Therefore, driving
off the main circuit and/or banging the barriers will not
mean instant disqualification as in other racing games with
licenses or challenges (such as the Gran Turismo series or EA
Sports' F1-based series) - thus alleviating one of the most
frustrating aspects of acquiring licenses. However, banging
barriers and driving off the main circuit will likely slow
the car severely (especially if driving through sand traps),
thus resulting in a slower lap time and risking to cause the
player to fail that particular license test.
Tip: If a player is about to fail a license test, press the
Start button before crossing the Start/Finish Line. This
will bring up a Pause Menu with Retry as one of the options.
Selecting Retry (using the Start button) will instantly cause
the player to restart that test. Failure to restart a
license test in this manner means waiting around for the
results screen to be displayed, and the license test to be
reloaded.
The following is a list of all license classes, car
manufacturers per license, and license test locations - in
the order in which they appear in the license tests. Again,
only ONE license test needs to be passed within each class in
order for the player to receive the appropriate license.
Class Manufacturer License Test Location
----- ------------ -----------------------
Extra Suzuki Sport Snowy Mountain
Extra STI Sky Peak Hill
Extra DRS Great Rock Road
Extra Mugen Deep Rock Road
Extra Mazda Speed Solid Circuit
Extra Ralliart Night Section A
B DRS Night Section A Reverse
B TRD Snowy Mountain Reverse
B Nismo Solid Circuit
B Mugen Great Rock Road
B Mazda Speed Sky Peak Hill
B Ralliart Night Ground
A STI Night Section A
A TRD Snowy Mountain
A Nismo Sky Peak Hill Reverse
A Mugen Great Rock Road
A Honda Speed Solid Circuit Reverse
A Ralliart Night Section A Reverse
SA STI Snowy Mountain Reverse
SA TRD Solid Circuit Reverse
SA Nismo Night Ground Reverse
SA Mugen Great Rock Road Reverse
SA Mazda Speed Sky Peak Hill Reverse
SA Ralliart Night Section B
There are also Factory Licenses, acquired in the Carrozzeria.
Each of these licenses has five tests, and specific
requirements on cars (of the player's choice) which can be
used for acquiring these licenses. A strong suggestion is to
wait on the Factory Licenses until a car has been 'race-
tested' and can perform well enough to win fairly easily
while still maintaining a decent level of handling; this will
make the Factory Licenses (similar to the regular licenses,
but only on short sections of circuits) much easier, and will
also allow some recovery time in case the player makes a
major mistake (such as banging a barrier hard enough to
significantly slow the vehicle) during any of the tests.
==============================================
INITIAL CAR PURCHASE
The first car will definitely need to be a used car, as there
are NO new cars which can be purchased for $10,000 (the
player's initial cash stock when beginning in Championship
Mode) or less. The used cars are available by selecting the
'Used' menu option near the bottom (on the left-hand side) of
the Car Dealer main page; it is easy to overlook the 'Used'
menu option, but it IS definitely there. Here is a
comprehensive list of the initially-available used cars -
sorted by prize - which can be purchased with the player's
initial cash of $10,000:
Price Car
------ ----------------------------------
$3,000 I-Mark
$3,600 MR2 G Limited (AW11)
$4,000 Silvia Q's (S13 1.8)
$5,200 Silvia K's (S13 1.8)
$5,980 Beat
$6,200 CR-X SiR (EF8)
$6,500 Sprinter Trueno GTV(AE86)
$6,500 Corolla Levin GTV (AE86)
$6,800 MR2 G Limited Super Charger (AW11)
$6,900 Silvia Q's (S13 2.0)
$7,000 Sprinter Trueno GT Apex (AE86)
$7,000 Corolla Levin GT Apex (AE86)
$7,800 RX-7 GT-X
$7,800 MX-5 Miata S Special 1.6
$7,800 Cappuccino
$7,800 Silvia K's (S13 2.0)
$8,200 RX-7 InfinityII
$8,450 AZ-1
$8,900 Supra Twin Turbo R (JZA70)
$9,000 MX-5 Miata S Special 1.8
$9,800 Pulsar GTI-R (RNN14)
Obviously, those cars with higher prices have generally
better performance than those with lower prices. However,
spending less on a car provides more money with which to buy
parts and/or services initially; this may provide a better
chance of being competitive for a few race wins from the
start - and that in itself will rebuild the player's money
supply to continue upgrading and/or buying cars.
The initial car will obviously not be able to compete in a
lot of events. I suggest the Small Event Races, which will
pay more than the Open Event Races (and also should not have
any potential outclassing, which can occur in the Open Event
Races), but which also require a car which will perform well
in its stock (untuned) condition. My first race series was
the Hertz Novice Car Cup (one of the Small Event Races) using
a Cappuccino; winning an individual race awards $1,000,
winning the series awards $10,000 and the Hertz sponsorship
(plus a bonus car - I won a Storia X4), while $500 can be
gained for qualifying on Pole Position at each race (for a
total potential payout of $14,500, plus permanent Hertz
sponsorship throughout the player's career in Championship
Mode).
Winning events results in bonus money (if the event is a
series of races) and bonus cars. Before performing upgrades,
try to use each car as long as it can possibly be competitive
for race wins, or else time will be required later to remove
all those parts to enter certain events. Also, note each
car's displacement, as this is one of the main requirements
(other than holding an appropriate license) for entering many
events, especially in the many Event Races.
==============================================
SPONSORS
Championship Mode includes sponsors, which can provide a nice
boost of income upon winning even the lowest-paying of races.
Depending on the multi-race event or single race entered,
each sponsor a player has acquired will pay a given amount of
money per win.
Players acquire sponsors by entering and WINNING their
sponsored (pardon the pun) events. Once a sponsor-sponsored
event has been won, that sponsor stays permanently with the
player, continually paying relatively small amounts of money
for race/event wins. The beauty of the sponsor system in
Sega GT is that the more sponsors a player accumulates (and
these are PERMANENT sponsor accumulations for Championship
Mode), the more sponsorship money can be gained... so that
even a low-paying race (perhaps paying only $1,000 to the
winner) becomes a nice-sized moneymaker if a player has
acquired many or even ALL the sponsors and they each pay as
little as $500 in bonus money for the win. This extra boost
in income can be quite handy for buying a desired car or for
buying new parts and/or services for cars already in a
player's garage. The only 'difference' to this is that in
those events with heats (i.e., the 0-400 and the 0-1000
Events), sponsors pay out after the player wins each heat;
therefore, even if a player does not have a car capable of
winning such events, if a player can survive several heats
and has a lot of sponsors, these events can be good ways to
gain a fair amount of money fairly quickly :-)
Note that once a player has acquired more than seven
sponsors, the sponsor money will be presented on two screens,
with the first seven sponsors and their bonus money shown on
the first screen, followed by the other sponsors and their
bonus money. There are twenty-six total sponsors which can
be acquired in the game - collecting ALL the sponsors alone
makes for a nice windfall upon a race victory :-)
==============================================
CHAINING
Also in Championship Mode, within a multi-race event, it is
possible to gain bonus money by chaining together victories
at consecutive individual races. The amount of money per
chain (as recognized at the end of each individual race) is
determined by this formula:
Chain = $1,000 x ((consecutive wins) - 1)
Since this formula is applied at the end of EACH individual
race within an event series, some consecutive race victories
will actually pay the player multiple times. For example, in
a three-race event series, if the player chains Race A and
Race B, the player receives $1,000 bonus money for that
chain. If the player also chains Race C, the player is
rewarded with $2,000 bonus money for the three-race chain.
Note that Race A and Race B are in both chains, so they
actually pay out twice :-) A four-race chain will have
Races A and B pay out thrice, and Race C pay out twice.
==============================================
POINTS
In multi-race events, Sega GT uses a points system similar to
that used by FIA for its real-world events (such as F1 and
World Rally Championship). At each race, drivers receive one
or more points based upon how they finished the race; the
driver with the most points at the end of an event series is
the winner. Here is the points system used in Sega GT:
Position Points
------------ --------
First Place 9 points
Second Place 6 points
Third Place 4 points
Fourth Place 3 points
Fifth Place 2 points
Sixth Place 1 point
Fortunately, in the event of a tie for First Place in an
event series, the CPU still awards prize money and bonus car
or body to the player. This is different than in many other
racing games, where the player must win a series outright to
be declared the true winner and receive any due bonuses (in
terms of money and/or cars).
==============================================
CARROZZERIA
Here, players can build their own cars and obtain factory
licenses. This is a rather unique an interesting feature of
Sega GT. However, building these original cars costs money -
A LOT of money - and simply cannot be done at the beginning
of the game. Plan on spending approximately $50,000 for a
good Extra Class original car, plus another $30,000 for parts
and service upgrades to make the car fast enough to easily
pass the five tests in the quest for a Factory B License.
Note that if using an original factory-built car, winning
will sometimes produce not a new car, but a new body.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, 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
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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 immediately available 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_
=======================================================================
