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» Cars not available in the game
   What's in and what's out?

» Racetrack questions?
   The very ground you're racing on has changed.

» What's changed for Gran Turismo 3?
   A quick glimpse of the major changes to the game.

» Mileage in GT3 and Oil changes
   A new and confusing feature tha's been added, so pay attention.

» Prize car questions
   Everyone has a question about prize cars!

» Bugs and annoyances in GT3?
   What to look out for and to avoid.

» Improvements
   In my opinion, what Polyphony Digital did right.

» Disappointments
   In my opinion, what Polyphony Digital could improve.
Cars not in the game GT3 has a lot of new cars, some carried over from GT2, and some very "old" cars have survived into the 3rd installment of the game. However, there's always the same questions over and over again..."Where is the [Brand X] in the game?" Of course, it's not in the complete car listing, it's not in the game. But for those of you too lazy to figure it out, I'll save you the trouble.

There are no Ferraris, McLaren F1s, Venturis, Vectors, Saabs, Volvos, or Plymouths in the game. Hey wait...what about Lamborghini and Porsche? They aren't in the game, are they? Actually, if you have access to a GameShark or a SharkPort, then the answer is yes. There is a hidden Lamborghini Diablo and a Porsche 993 on the disk. Of course, the answer is "no", if you don't have access to these tools.

Still no milk truck, either. Sigh...

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Racetrack questions? Track troubles? You can't race Cotê d' Azur in 2-player Mode. You won't race more than 3 opponents at SSR5 (Wet). Special Stage Route 11 has returned in a slightless less annoying format, there's an overly-geometric course called Complex String (available only for testing, no races are held there), and a revamped Test Cousres that is only good for one-shot laps until you get sleepy.

Yes, you will have to perform way too many laps of Test Course if you wish to complete GT3 100%. Make some coffee for those Test Course races, I say.

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What's changed in GT3? For whatever reason, GT3 no longer has the used car lots. This is due to the increased focus on new car models, rather than cars from the past. This also makes the day counter rather usless, unless you're hoping to complete the game in the shortest amount of days (229, in that case).

Qualifying has returned! And you get an unlimited number of laps, so there's no one-shot, standing-start problems. Of course, in-event test sessions have been done away with, they really aren't necessary now.

If you're leading, then you can see the interval you are ahead of the second-place car. This was a feature that GT1 and GT2 were sorely lacking.

Car Washes actually make the car appear shiny, if you've been racing them for a few miles. Supposedly you reduce drag on the car when it's clean.

Special Stage 11 has made a return, and of course, it's not afavorite among everyone...but at least that annoying double-chicane "construction zone" has been bypassed by adding another hairpin turn.

There's a wet race track, too! Good old Super Stage R5 has wet races for you to try out in both Arcade and Rally mode. However, you don't get to race on them in the remainder of Simulation Mode, but it's a nice touch.

Time Trials are something new to GT3. They are like license tests, except you have to beat the best overall time in the 10 different sections. There's a different car and track combination for each, and they range from hard to next-to-impossible. You can pass some of them on the second or third try, others take a lot more practice (like the Ruf RGT at Complex String). If you complete them all with first placings, you get a nice prize car, and they also represent 5% of your completion towards the game.

Other stuff that didn't make it in GT3: Used car lots, Grindelwald, High Speed Ring, Pikes Peak (both up and down), Green Forest Raceway, Autumn Ring (and A. R. Mini), Clubman Stage 5, Grand Valley East, Dodge Concept Car(s), many of GT2's hated Kei-cars, and a seventh gear in any car.

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Mileage and Oil changes Mileage is a nice new feature for GT3, you can actually see how many miles you've put on each car. Any arcade race, qualifying session, race laps, free runs, machine tests, add on to your mileage.

You can also gain power as you drive a new car, becuase as you put mileage on the car, you're "breaking-in" the car. The amount of power achaives its maximum at 186 miles (300 km), and decreases at around 360miles (500 km) until it hits the lowest amount at around 650 miles (900 km). This also serves as a reminder to change your oil.

You can gain 5% more power when you change your oil, but there's a trick to this, of course. Your car will lose power when it's running on dirty oil, and you have to replace it. Also, your car's engine will deteriorate, and cause a lack of power. It doesn't completely disappear, but it's a sign that your car won't gain any more power if you can't tune it any further.

Prize cars awarded vary from Car Dealer-bought cars because they are already "broken-in", so they are at maximum power once you change the oil.

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Prize car questions Like the rest of the GT series, you can't influence the prize car colors and choices. So it's not based on the make, color of your car, or the position of certain planets among the stars. Don't waste your time pressing buttons in silly sequences, there's a better way...

Technically speaking, you can actually choose your prize car (or color), if you are 1) in a series of races, 2) have at least an 11-point lead before the final race of the series. This is commonly known as the save-reload trick. If you're leading the series by 11 or more points, you'll have enough to clinch the championship. Save the game after the next-to-last race, but before the final race in the series. Then, start the last race, and exit immediately. Of course, you won't score any points, or prize credits for the race, but you'll be sent to the championship prize screen, shown your trophy and bonus money. Then, the prize car awaits you. If it's what you wanted, then just continue on your way. If not, then just exit to the main menu, and select "Load Game" off the memory card. your race series will resume right where you left it, just after the penultimate race. Repeat the procedure as necessary. The only downside is that your winning-percentage decerases.

Another handy trick to use is the double-prize car method. This does require a good bit of credits, becuase you literally have to pay for the second car you win on the other memory card. Save your game onto a second "backup" card, and save your game at the desired point onto both memory cards. Now, you can perform the save-reload trick on Memory Card 1, win the car your want, save the game on Card 1, and then reload the game on Memory Card 2. Win the car you want, and save your game on Card 2. Now, reload your game from Card 1, and go to the "Trade" feature in the Home Garage. Load the garage from the other card, and select the car you wish to buy.

There's also some cars that can't be re-won, no matter how many times you re-race the the same events. Unlike GT2, the non-series races (like the 3-race Evolution Challenge, Silver Arrows, Red Badge etc.) award you the prize car once, and only once. That means there are a few cars that can't be re-won, like the Mercedes-Benz CLK Race Car, Mine's Lancer, and the Celica Rally Car. Once you've sold them, you have to trade them from a firend, or re-start another game. If you're trying to collect all the cars in the game, then avoid selling any car you win in a non-race series. Of course, cars in the race series (like the European Championship, Type-R Festival, Clio Cup, etc.) can be won over and over again.

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Bugs and annoyances? 100% completion is funny; you can get 99.0%, but the last tenths of a percentage point don't show up until you've really attained 100%. So the game hangs onto 99% until you're through. Also, the prize car you attain for 100% completion (a very nice F094/S) doesn't show up unless you're in Simulation Mode.

The Honda S2000 car sometimes fails to appear in Arcade Mode, and the logo disappears from view in the Garage. Don't worry, it's still there, whether it's the prize car or dealer-bought car.

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Improvements

1. You can finally tell how far ahead from the second-place car you are. Previously, no interval was displayed if you were in first place.

2. Two hundred garage spaces! Twice as many as before. You can have every car in the game if you play long enough, and don't keep too many spares.

3. Graphics are intense and amazing; particle effects like sparks, dust, smoke, and cones are quite nice. Better engine and exhaust notes.

4. Save and reloading times have improved drastically. Just a few seconds now, where as it was 15-20 seconds beforehand.

5. Race cars can get even more power. Finally, a reason not to get bored with those LM Editions if you’re a pro. (Well, in most cases.)

6. Qualifying actually makes sense. Although you don’t win anything, you actually get a running start like the AI cars do.

7. Mileage helps you keep track of your car’s usage. Neat trick, even if we don't like enignes that lose power.

8. An intro movie. We missed it if you played Sim Mode in GT2. Hypes you up for some racing.

9. Save-Reload trick. Although we don’t think PD intentionally added this one, but it’s a great help. No more going crazy about attaining just the right prize car. Not to mention, you can save in the middle of a race series.

10. Mostly Bug Free! No need to worry about your garage disappearing.

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Disappointments 1. Prize cars you can’t re-win. I’m talking about the events that give you little incentive to return to them once completed, because you have no way to re-win some of those cars.

2. No used lot. There’s no surprises to look for, nor any reason to have a day counter. The car lots are the same from day one to the end of time.

3. Lap times after a race. I want to record this, but after 30 seconds or so, it’s gone and/or hard to read.

4. Lap times during a race. You can't compare lap records while racing, so it's hard to remember what a good lap is, nor make direct comparisons, unless you go to a "Free Run."

5. Missing courses from GT2. About 8 tracks got the axe, and were replaced with fewer than that. What’s the point of a SSR5 (Wet) that only gets used in two rally-car only series? A Complex String that’s obsessively long and used for “Run & Setting” only? The track repetition makes things boring.

6. Too much Test Course! It’s much longer than before, and thus, even more boring. It might be fine for a race or two, but it’s too boring for anything more than a 3-lap race.

7. Lots of missing cars; plenty of Skylines and Lancers, but less of the unique stuff we had in GT2. A very good selection if you only like cars from Japan, but a lot of American and European cars got the axe.

8. The AI has barely improved one bit. The computer cars don't race each other very often, and they keep an even distance between one another at times once you've gotten too far away.

9. Unrealisitc tire wear. Many cars allow you 4-5 laps until the tires are wasted. Give us something more realistic, both the human and the AI lack the ability to use the tires effectively.

10. Having to buy a new console to play this game.

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