Gran Turismo 5 Will Feature A Complete Course Creation Mode.

Aswell as building the prettiest racing game ever made, Gran Turismo 5, they've also been packing the title with features. Producer Kazunori Yamauchi's blown the lid of some of the goods at a GamesCom conference today. The biggest addition is the Course Maker, which will bring the number of tracks available in GT5 up to well... infinity.

It's worth noting first of all that the Course Maker will not be a complete track editor. Producer Kazunori Yamauchi notes it would "really require a complete CG tool, which would limit the number of users who could use it". The funniest part about that statement is it sounds like they considered it.

The Course Maker instead will allow players to create custom race-tracks based on set parameters. Players will be able to select a theme (Toscany and Belgian High were revealed), choose the number of sections and course-type (point-to-point or loop), select the weather (yes, weather!), time of day and length.

Once the parameters are in place, you'll be able to edit your course section by section. You'll be able to create curves, set the course width, define corner sharpness, create bank angles and much more. Presumably players will be able to share their creations online.

In addition to the track creator, Yamauchi also confirmed that Gran Turismo 5 will be getting kart racing. Apparently the feature was planned for Gran Turismo 6, but when details were leaked Yamauchi decided to include it early.

The game's out in November. Seriously, preorder now. It sounds absolutely fantastic.

[source kotaku.com]