Now, it's no shocker that "Gran Turismo 5" is going to feature breathtaking graphics. A quick play through "Prologue", and it's obvious the development team at Polyphony Digital have an eye for attention to detail. Still, I was a bit shocked when I saw the attention to obscure minutiae during an E3 demo.
"We've actually kind of gone too far on some of this detail," said Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi. That statement sounded a bit preposterous at first, but then Polyphony started showing the goods.
It's one thing to make the over 1000 vehicles in "Gran Turismo 5" look realistic. It's downright borderline obsessive compulsive to include the tiny safety wire on a barely visible part under the hood. Yes, they actually took the time to model wiring that you'll likely never even notice.
Think that's a bit too much attention to detail? One of the tracks featured in the game, Nurburgring, has its pavement covered in graffiti at its real-world location in Germany. Polyphony decided it was necessary to exactly replicate every piece of graffiti on the track in-game, less any profanity. People were wondering what was taking so long to release the game?
Beyond the graphical obsession, Polyphony also revealed today that there will 200 "premium" cars out of the 1000 vehicles in "Gran Turismo 5." The premium vehicles will give the player some extra detail to their vehicle, such as fully modeled interiors. Also, while both standard and premium vehicles will reflect dirt and damage, only the premium models feature separation of body panels and body deformation.
"Gran Turismo 5" hits the track on November 2nd.