Yesterday I mentioned that in Gran Turismo 4 I bought a 2nd hand Nissan Skyline GT-R LM '96, which is basically an R32. Then I mentioned that I upgraded some of its parts. So I raced it last night. I raced in two different categories: 4WD Cup and the Japanese 90s Car Cup. Finished both. Got this experimental Toyota future-car looking thing from the 4WD Cup. And for the Jap 90s Car Cup? A Nismo 400R '96.
For those of you who don't know what that Nismo is, its basically the same Skyline I had. Only tuned. Except my Skyline is also tuned now. So I'm thinking of selling the Nismo (it sells for a little over 25k credits) since I already have an R32 Skyline. But I'm not sure what my chances are of getting another 400R. Selling it will give my funds a much needed boost, since I REALLY, REALLY WANT the Ford GT. But I do have a thing for Skylines too. So maybe I'll just hang on to it a bit longer. Maybe sell it once I have around 130k credits.
Speaking of racing, GT4 offers two new ways to win a race. A-Spec Driver's Mode or B-Spec Director's Mode. A-Spec speaks for itself. You drive the car to win the race. Its fun. Specially since the handling in general of GT4 is a lot better. B-Spec lets you play Jean Todt (Or Flavio Briatore or Eddie Jordan) where you basically just instruct your computer controlled car what to do in general. There are five pace settings, from slow to push. You can command the driver to overtake or pit in. At first try I just left the car in push mode, but that's basically because I haven't done any endurance races (endurance races can only be accessed once you have completed 25% of the game - sucks doesn't it?) where tire wear is crucial.
Oh and did I mention there's fuel involved too? Just noticed it last night. There is a fuel guage in your car, so better watch out. GT4 seems so much better than GT3, that all the creators have to do is add damage and the game would be ultra-realistic.
However Gran Turismo seems to appeal mostly to the hardcore driving fans. Those who take racing lines and races seriously. Those who want to get all gold prizes in the licensing tests. To the not so hardcore racing fan they might find GT4 a bit anal in handling. If you're an NFSU2 fan the handling here is so different from NFSU2. But these two games, despite being both racing games, are two totally different games nonetheless. It's like trying to compare digital photography with film photography. Similar but totally different.
Gran Turismo 4 is still a fun game, even for a not-so-hardcore-racing-fan like me. I'm content with getting all bronze prizes and I may not make the fastest lap times, but I still enjoy the game. Maybe when my mentor and I meet next time I might prove more of a match for him but for now I'm happy that I understand the basics of the racing line and stuff like that.
Besides, I can still beat my mentor in rally tracks in Gran Tursimo, since he doesn't enjoy rally races and i do.
On a different note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THIRD!!! Hope you and Itin are doing great down under. And I hope we get to see each other again someday. There's always blogging., e-mail, YM, and text anyway. More birthdays to come, and may you always be happy.
Out.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The Quest for a Ford GT
I recently had my PS2 re-modified with the new Messiah 2 chip so that it would be able to read the latest pirated DVD9 games. Why would I want to do that? Simple. GT4.
For the past few months all I've seen is the intro to this fabulous game. And when it finally came out I instantly bought a copy. Sadly my PS2 couldn't play it since it was a DVD9.
Finally after all these months I got around to modding my PS2. Finally it works. And boy is that game great. So far.
What's so great about GT4 is that the physics seem better. The car handles better than in GT3. I'm still not as fast as my mentor and I doubt I will be, but at least now I'm driving a lot smoother than before. I don't know if its because of the game or whatever.
Another great thing about it is that you can import your licenses from GT3. I chose not to do this, and despite the fact that license tests are tedious they let me get a feel for the game. Plus if you get a license you get a car. Of course, the better cars only become available if you get all gold or all silver.
Plus you can also import up to 100,000 credits from GT3. This is the feature I used. So I had 110,000 credits to start. Plus I sold the car I got from my B license test. Then I bought a used Nissan Skyline R32 (The used cars are also back, another welcome addition) but I forgot its actual designation. I spent around 20k for the car and another 40k for brakes, brake balance controller, suspensions and exhausts. No turbos yet. You see, I'm on a mission.
The Ford GT is available in GT4. It can be bought. Not won, like in GT3. It costs 149k++ but thanks to the feature above it hopefully won't take me as long to acquire it. The GT40 is also available but it can only be won. There's also this souped up GT which you can see in the opening credits. I guess you also have to win that. But one step at a time.
See, here's my plan. I'll try to win as many races as I can with my Skyline without having to upgrade it. So all I need is roughly 100k more to get a GT. Then I can get on with the game.
Unfortunately my GT4 has a problem. The Sunday cup races won't load. So I'm off to the mall to buy me another copy. Can't exchange it since games bought from that store can only be exchanged up to two days after one buys it. Sad. Oh well.
So far my car's been competing in the 4WD races and the 90s Cars Cup. If I win them both I don't think I'd have enough money yet. I'll see. I'm not even sure about selling cars that I win because some of them might turn out to be excellent cars. Its just that right now I choose to be blinded by the Ford GT.
I wonder what color I'll pick...
Out.
For the past few months all I've seen is the intro to this fabulous game. And when it finally came out I instantly bought a copy. Sadly my PS2 couldn't play it since it was a DVD9.
Finally after all these months I got around to modding my PS2. Finally it works. And boy is that game great. So far.
What's so great about GT4 is that the physics seem better. The car handles better than in GT3. I'm still not as fast as my mentor and I doubt I will be, but at least now I'm driving a lot smoother than before. I don't know if its because of the game or whatever.
Another great thing about it is that you can import your licenses from GT3. I chose not to do this, and despite the fact that license tests are tedious they let me get a feel for the game. Plus if you get a license you get a car. Of course, the better cars only become available if you get all gold or all silver.
Plus you can also import up to 100,000 credits from GT3. This is the feature I used. So I had 110,000 credits to start. Plus I sold the car I got from my B license test. Then I bought a used Nissan Skyline R32 (The used cars are also back, another welcome addition) but I forgot its actual designation. I spent around 20k for the car and another 40k for brakes, brake balance controller, suspensions and exhausts. No turbos yet. You see, I'm on a mission.
The Ford GT is available in GT4. It can be bought. Not won, like in GT3. It costs 149k++ but thanks to the feature above it hopefully won't take me as long to acquire it. The GT40 is also available but it can only be won. There's also this souped up GT which you can see in the opening credits. I guess you also have to win that. But one step at a time.
See, here's my plan. I'll try to win as many races as I can with my Skyline without having to upgrade it. So all I need is roughly 100k more to get a GT. Then I can get on with the game.
Unfortunately my GT4 has a problem. The Sunday cup races won't load. So I'm off to the mall to buy me another copy. Can't exchange it since games bought from that store can only be exchanged up to two days after one buys it. Sad. Oh well.
So far my car's been competing in the 4WD races and the 90s Cars Cup. If I win them both I don't think I'd have enough money yet. I'll see. I'm not even sure about selling cars that I win because some of them might turn out to be excellent cars. Its just that right now I choose to be blinded by the Ford GT.
I wonder what color I'll pick...
Out.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Lemons
I admit it. Our car, the Mazda 323 Familia 1996 model, is a lemon.
It is moody. Sumpungin in the vernacular.
Sometimes it drives like a dream. Fast response, great torque. Great handling. It reminds you of the new Mazda 3 commercial. Y'know, zoom zoom zoom and all the bull.
Oftentimes it sucks. RPM drops, the timing belt is loose, it overheats, it won't start, and a lot of other things. Now I know most of you will think, Hey maybe you and your family just don't know how to take care of a car. Now that's wrong. My dad loves cars. He takes care of all our cars, and I'm proud to say that our oldest car, a '93 Toyota Lite-Ace, is still running well. Maybe the engine needs to be overhauled, but at least the worst thing to happen to the Lite Ace was the heat spikes. Easily remedied by buying new radiator hoses and clamps. But I digress.
The Mazda was well taken care of. When Mazda left we sent it to other casas that supposedly were the "official" service centers of that car. First to Prestige Cars Libis. Until BMW threatened to stop making them the official dealer of BMWs because they serviced Mazdas. Then it was Kia Pasay. WTF??? Don't ask me. Dad makes the decisions. No dice. Service was okay but it was around this time that the Mazda became a pure Shell Velocity drinker. Why? If we used other kinds of gas the engine would misfire. Palyado in Tagalog. Don't know why. Then we sent it to Ford Balintawak once because we found out it was the official Mazda service center. They said we had to change the engine mounts. Plus they made it run great again. Problem solved? Wait.
So we bought new mounts. Next service time we sent it again to Balintawak only to find out that they didn't service Mazdas anymore. Since Mazda returned here they serviced cars. So we sent it to Mazda Quezon Ave (I think) only to find out they don't do engine mount changes there. Plus the Mazda didn't need the mounts changed. Yeah right.
Anyway now even Mazda doesn't service our Mazda. Too old. No parts. Yeah right. Elitist pigs. You don't want to serve old Mazdas. Well I hope you guys bomb in our country. I hope the new Mazda here leaves again so that the owners of the zoom zoom zoom Mazda 3 know what if feels to own a f*cking lemon.
I hate Mazda now. Even if I do like the MX-5 Miata, RX-7 and RX-8. Maybe in the US they're better. But here? Make mine Toyota.
Out.
It is moody. Sumpungin in the vernacular.
Sometimes it drives like a dream. Fast response, great torque. Great handling. It reminds you of the new Mazda 3 commercial. Y'know, zoom zoom zoom and all the bull.
Oftentimes it sucks. RPM drops, the timing belt is loose, it overheats, it won't start, and a lot of other things. Now I know most of you will think, Hey maybe you and your family just don't know how to take care of a car. Now that's wrong. My dad loves cars. He takes care of all our cars, and I'm proud to say that our oldest car, a '93 Toyota Lite-Ace, is still running well. Maybe the engine needs to be overhauled, but at least the worst thing to happen to the Lite Ace was the heat spikes. Easily remedied by buying new radiator hoses and clamps. But I digress.
The Mazda was well taken care of. When Mazda left we sent it to other casas that supposedly were the "official" service centers of that car. First to Prestige Cars Libis. Until BMW threatened to stop making them the official dealer of BMWs because they serviced Mazdas. Then it was Kia Pasay. WTF??? Don't ask me. Dad makes the decisions. No dice. Service was okay but it was around this time that the Mazda became a pure Shell Velocity drinker. Why? If we used other kinds of gas the engine would misfire. Palyado in Tagalog. Don't know why. Then we sent it to Ford Balintawak once because we found out it was the official Mazda service center. They said we had to change the engine mounts. Plus they made it run great again. Problem solved? Wait.
So we bought new mounts. Next service time we sent it again to Balintawak only to find out that they didn't service Mazdas anymore. Since Mazda returned here they serviced cars. So we sent it to Mazda Quezon Ave (I think) only to find out they don't do engine mount changes there. Plus the Mazda didn't need the mounts changed. Yeah right.
Anyway now even Mazda doesn't service our Mazda. Too old. No parts. Yeah right. Elitist pigs. You don't want to serve old Mazdas. Well I hope you guys bomb in our country. I hope the new Mazda here leaves again so that the owners of the zoom zoom zoom Mazda 3 know what if feels to own a f*cking lemon.
I hate Mazda now. Even if I do like the MX-5 Miata, RX-7 and RX-8. Maybe in the US they're better. But here? Make mine Toyota.
Out.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Things to Do During Lunchbreak
Was surfing the net when I found this in a random blog somewhere. Since I ain't doing nothing I decided to try and answer the following questions.
three names you go by:
1. Gani
2. Carlo
3. Ganations
three screen names you have had:
1. Akula_X
2. Lead_G
3. Ganations
three physical things you like about yourself:
1. Hair
2. Eyes
3. Hands
three physical things you don't like about yourself:
1. Beer Belly
2. Flabby Arms
3. Fat Legs
three parts of your heritage:
1. Filipino
2. uh...
3. hmm...
three things that scare you:
1. Giant Spiders
2. Death
3. Horror Movies
three of your everyday essentials:
1. Cellphone
2. Internet
3. iPod
three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Dream Theater
2. Black Sabbath
3. Megadeth
three of your favorite songs:
1. The Silent Man by Dream Theater
2. Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth
3. One by Metallica
three things you want in a relationship:
1. Happiness
2. Love
3. Intimacy
three lies and truths in no particular order:
lies:
1. I'm physically fit.
2. Older people are smarter.
3. Nothing really matters.
truth:
1. Anything mathematically proven
2. Anything scientifically proven
3. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, yadda yadda yadda...
three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. Face
2. Armpit
3. Buttocks
three of your favorite hobbies:
1. Computer Games
2. Reading
3. Internet
three things you want to do really badly now:
1. Sleep
2. Play computer games
3. Play guitar
three careers you're considering/you've considered:
1. Car magazine writer
2. Chef
3. Web Designer
three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Ilocos
2. Japan
3. England
three kid's names you like:
1. Sebastian
2. Quinito
3. Gabriel
three things you want to do before you die:
1. Have kids
2. Be famous
3. Own a supercar
three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. Stares at pretty ladies
2. Drops f-bombs and swear words almost all the time
3. Really short nails
three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. ?
2. ?!?
3. ???
three celeb crushes:
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Bianca I-forget-her-last-name - the girl from Breakfast who moved to channel 2
3. Kate Hudson
three people that i would like to see take this quiz:
1. Tsitonats
2. Toyd
3. Ethel
pasensiya na sa inyong tatlo. wala ako'ng maisip e. hehe.
three names you go by:
1. Gani
2. Carlo
3. Ganations
three screen names you have had:
1. Akula_X
2. Lead_G
3. Ganations
three physical things you like about yourself:
1. Hair
2. Eyes
3. Hands
three physical things you don't like about yourself:
1. Beer Belly
2. Flabby Arms
3. Fat Legs
three parts of your heritage:
1. Filipino
2. uh...
3. hmm...
three things that scare you:
1. Giant Spiders
2. Death
3. Horror Movies
three of your everyday essentials:
1. Cellphone
2. Internet
3. iPod
three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Dream Theater
2. Black Sabbath
3. Megadeth
three of your favorite songs:
1. The Silent Man by Dream Theater
2. Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth
3. One by Metallica
three things you want in a relationship:
1. Happiness
2. Love
3. Intimacy
three lies and truths in no particular order:
lies:
1. I'm physically fit.
2. Older people are smarter.
3. Nothing really matters.
truth:
1. Anything mathematically proven
2. Anything scientifically proven
3. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, yadda yadda yadda...
three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
1. Face
2. Armpit
3. Buttocks
three of your favorite hobbies:
1. Computer Games
2. Reading
3. Internet
three things you want to do really badly now:
1. Sleep
2. Play computer games
3. Play guitar
three careers you're considering/you've considered:
1. Car magazine writer
2. Chef
3. Web Designer
three places you want to go on vacation:
1. Ilocos
2. Japan
3. England
three kid's names you like:
1. Sebastian
2. Quinito
3. Gabriel
three things you want to do before you die:
1. Have kids
2. Be famous
3. Own a supercar
three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. Stares at pretty ladies
2. Drops f-bombs and swear words almost all the time
3. Really short nails
three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. ?
2. ?!?
3. ???
three celeb crushes:
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Bianca I-forget-her-last-name - the girl from Breakfast who moved to channel 2
3. Kate Hudson
three people that i would like to see take this quiz:
1. Tsitonats
2. Toyd
3. Ethel
pasensiya na sa inyong tatlo. wala ako'ng maisip e. hehe.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
It all began Saturday.
What was supposed to be a regular weekend turned to one of the worst, then best, Saturdays of my life.
First the Mazda's battery dies. The car gets stranded over at the weekend market. Fortunately I was not that stressed out because I manage to borrow jumper cables from my uncle. So I drive over to the Mazda with our driver to jump start it. No dice. Jumper cables too corroded. So we had to fix the cables. During that time I get into a nasty argument with Maica. Nice. Perfect. Just what I needed.
Mazda starts. Bring it home. Use Lite Ace to go to Merville to pick up Maica. On the way the Lite Ace's heat spikes. Doesn't overheat. Spikes. Bad. At Maica's place we fill the Lite Ace up with water, AND discover that the radiator hose is leaking. Fine. No aircon. No spike. Fine.
We get the battery. We go home. A new radiator hose is bought.
Afternoon. We take Maica home using the Mazda. Nope. Now the revs are dropping to near zero when the tranny is on drive. Shit. Take the Lite Ace out. No problemo. Take Maica home, pick up the food, go home. All's well.
Dinner. We go to the house of one of my folks' ninong and ninang during their wedding. Friends from long ago. Nice to see them, felt great to just witness the friendship among all of them (other friends, neighbors from Malabon) and their reminiscing. Problem forgotten.
Sunday. Things were fine.
Monday. Rode with my mom to work on the Lite Ace. No gas, go to C5 Shell to gas up. Mom annoyed. Car should always have gas. Never fill up with her in it. We leave gas station. Heat spikes. Again. What the f*ck? Stress levels increase. You can cut the tension with a knife. Bloody hell. I thought the car was fine already. Now this, again? Shit.
What a perfect start to a Monday.
What was supposed to be a regular weekend turned to one of the worst, then best, Saturdays of my life.
First the Mazda's battery dies. The car gets stranded over at the weekend market. Fortunately I was not that stressed out because I manage to borrow jumper cables from my uncle. So I drive over to the Mazda with our driver to jump start it. No dice. Jumper cables too corroded. So we had to fix the cables. During that time I get into a nasty argument with Maica. Nice. Perfect. Just what I needed.
Mazda starts. Bring it home. Use Lite Ace to go to Merville to pick up Maica. On the way the Lite Ace's heat spikes. Doesn't overheat. Spikes. Bad. At Maica's place we fill the Lite Ace up with water, AND discover that the radiator hose is leaking. Fine. No aircon. No spike. Fine.
We get the battery. We go home. A new radiator hose is bought.
Afternoon. We take Maica home using the Mazda. Nope. Now the revs are dropping to near zero when the tranny is on drive. Shit. Take the Lite Ace out. No problemo. Take Maica home, pick up the food, go home. All's well.
Dinner. We go to the house of one of my folks' ninong and ninang during their wedding. Friends from long ago. Nice to see them, felt great to just witness the friendship among all of them (other friends, neighbors from Malabon) and their reminiscing. Problem forgotten.
Sunday. Things were fine.
Monday. Rode with my mom to work on the Lite Ace. No gas, go to C5 Shell to gas up. Mom annoyed. Car should always have gas. Never fill up with her in it. We leave gas station. Heat spikes. Again. What the f*ck? Stress levels increase. You can cut the tension with a knife. Bloody hell. I thought the car was fine already. Now this, again? Shit.
What a perfect start to a Monday.
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