This article has a talk page!This is a sub-page of Gran Turismo 5.
The game features quite an impressive number of courses, with more able to be created via the Course Maker, but there's also several other courses that aren't normally available to the player, or were completely removed from the game.
Sub-Page#
Courses with Assets#
All of the courses listed below have leftover assets that were created for them, such as images and graphics, but are either hidden or removed from the game. A huge majority of these courses seem to have been imported directly from Gran Turismo 4. It is unclear whether these courses could be considered leftovers from GT4, leftovers from GT5's early development as GTHD Classic, or something else entirely. Some of these courses listed below were reworked to be used with the game at some point, but some of them are completely missing outright.
"20r60r" (Driving Park - Beginner Course)#
A returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"apricot" (Apricot Hill Raceway)#
The second returning course from Gran Turismo 4. The then-current incarnation of the course can still be found present in the game's files, but it would not officially return until Gran Turismo 6, in which it was completely redone.
"assisi" (Citta di Aria)#
The third returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, albeit any feasible remains.
"campo" (Piazza del Campo)#
A cut course recreating the historic Palio di Siena horse race in motorsport form; this course was fully completed as shown in video footage from GamesCom of 2010. The course caused controversy and potential legal action towards the publisher due to flags of the city being used without permission1; an Italian news report alleged the city was initially satisfied after the flags were removed2, but the entire course was removed from the final game regardless. In the final game, Siena now only remains as an unlockable location for Photo Travel.
"capri" (Costa di Amalfi)#
The fourth returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"grandcanyon" (Grand Canyon)#
The fifth returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game and is most-likely carryover from the scrapped "Gran Turismo HD Classic" project.
"grandcanyon_north" (Grand Canyon Mini)#
A returning course from Gran Turismo 4 Prologue, from where this layout made its only appearance. Only its logo remains.
"gymkhana" (Driving Park - Gymkhana Course)#
The sixth returning "course" from Gran Turismo 4. Some files are present in the game's data, albeit not enough information for the course to be loaded, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"hongkong" (Hong Kong)#
The seventh returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Some files are present in the game's data, but not enough information for the course to be loaded. Its assets are otherwise all present.
"icerace" (Ice Arena)#
The eighth returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
"infineon" (Infineon Raceway - Sports Car Course)#
The ninth returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
Curiously, the Stock Car Course variation is nowhere to be seen, probably because it wasn't in the PSP game.
"kashiwa" (Driving Park - Motorland)#
The 10th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"lasvegas" (Las Vegas Drag Strip)#
The 11th returning "course" from Gran Turismo 4. Only its logo remains.
"matterhorn" (Matterhorn)#
Another cut course. This course was never seen anywhere in the game. Matterhorn eventually made its official debut in Gran Turismo 6. This off-road layout also goes unused in the sequel as well, where only the tarmac road course layouts are present.
While there are references to this course and the three other layouts that eventually made their appearance in the sequel, no files of the course remain.
This track can be driven in the UK 1609 prototype build, in a very incomplete state for the main layout.
"midfield" (Mid-Field Raceway)#
The 12th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. This course would not officially return until Gran Turismo 6, in which it would be completely redone for the game and added in via a later update. Its files are still present in the game and it has assets for its course map and logo.
"newyork" (New York)#
The 13th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"nursnow" (Chamonix)#
The 14th returning course from Gran Turismo 4, distinct from the version of Chamonix playable in GT5 which was an entirely new course with separate layouts. The file name for the logo references the course's internal name from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo. The logo for this course here was actually used for the new variant of the course done for the game; it is a copy of this course's logo file.
"paris_rally" (George V Paris)#
The 15th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"paris_tarmac" (Opera Paris)#
The 16th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
"pylon_slalom" (Driving Park - Pylon Slalom)#
The 17th returning "course" from Gran Turismo 4. Only its logo remains.
"routex" (Route X)#
"Route X" appears to be a rather extreme and unconventional layout of Special Stage Route X. Assets for this course were added in Version 2.00 of the game; all featured courses in the game were given a loading background image due to the change in how courses are loaded, and as such, this course has one too, albeit leftover in the game's files.
The internal name of this course, which is "routex", comes before the layout used in the game, which is "routex_oval". Parts of this course were officially seen in the Acura NSX Concept video shown at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.
The course uses roughly the first half of the oval layout, but it then breaks off into its own layout, complete with cylindrical tunnels, cants, and winding looping turns which come close to intersecting one another. When examining the course's map, after the first right hand turn into the other half of the oval layout, there is a very small change in the path that makes the break into the rest of this course's layout. While certain parts of this layout can be seen in the scenery of the routex_oval version, it is not possible to drive on these sections if one breaks out of the course, due to the collision being missing.
"sarthe" (Circuit de la Sarthe)#
The 18th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. While Circuit de la Sarthe is present in the game, the internal name seen on the file names, "sarthe", references the older version of the course that was featured in Gran Turismo 4, back when there was only one version of the course. As this game adds two new versions, the internal names for those courses are "sarthe2005" and "sarthe2009" respectively. Its files are still present in the game.
"sarthe_old" (Circuit de la Sarthe Old)#
The 19th returning course from Gran Turismo 4, the version of Circuit de la Sarthe without the Hunaudieres chicanes. Some files are present in the game's data, but not enough information for the course to be loaded.
"seattle" (Seattle Circuit)#
The 20th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. While this course went officially unused, it has been shown briefly in the Acura NSX CONCEPT video, specifically at the timestamps of 0:59 and 1:12. The course's files are still present in the game.
"seoul" (Seoul Central)#
The 21st returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"smtsouth" (Swiss Alps)#
The 22nd returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Note that the course's internal name still references the course's old name from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, where it made its debut. Its files are still present in the game.
"sprit_mu" (Driving Park - Split µ)#
Not much is known about this course, apart from its name and its logo remaining in the game's files.
"Split µ" refers to a surface where friction significantly differs between the left and right wheelpaths, such as a tarmac road where one side is wet and the other side is dry. The name suggests that this course could have been used to test car handling in such conditions.
"super_speedway" (Super Speedway)#
A returning course from Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. Only its logo remains.
"tahiti_maze" (Tahiti Maze)#
The 23rd returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
"testcourse" (Driving Park - Test Course)#
The 24th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. This course, a benchmarking test oval, would eventually be succeeded by Special Stage Route X, a course which was added into this game via a later update (as DLC). Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"valencia" (Circuit de Valencia)#
A returning course from Tourist Trophy and Gran Turismo PSP. Its files are still present in the game.
"yosemite" (El Capitan)#
The 25th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
"yosemite_dirt" (Cathedral Rocks Trail I)#
The 26th returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game.
"yosemite_dirt_short" (Cathedral Rocks Trail II)#
The 27th and final returning course from Gran Turismo 4. Its files are still present in the game, albeit not enough information for the course to be loaded, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
"yosemite_dirt_mini" (Cathedral Rocks Trail III)#
A returning course from the PSP spinoff title, from where this layout made its only appearance. Its files are still present in the game, but the only asset that remains is its course logo.
Courses without Assets#
There are some courses present in the game's data that have all of their files required to be loaded by the game but didn't have any assets created for them. Some outliers include the Circle 60R and Complex String from Gran Turismo 3, a selection of courses from Gran Turismo 4, and a bare skeleton of Pikes Peak from Gran Turismo 2 of all places. A database has been compiled on a sub-page of this page that lists all of these courses without assets.
Course Maker#
Point-to-Point Course Generation#
While point-to-point courses generated with the Course Maker functionality are not unused themselves (as the Gran Turismo Rally Special Event uses this functionality for all courses in its events), the ability for the player to generate their own point-to-point courses is. A method to generate point-to-point courses using the Course Maker (prior to Version 2.00) is to extract one of the courses from a replay file that was saved during the Gran Turismo Rally Special Event and then overwrite one of the saved courses in the game's data files, or to boot the game running under the runviewer version branch before using the Course Maker.
As it turns out, the game has always supported generating point-to-point courses so long as the game is running under the runviewer version branch; the option is just normally hidden from the player on the normal version branch of the game. They are fully configurable from within the Course Maker, and can even be configured to have just a single section. In addition, when the player test drives the course, the game will set the test drive session to only a single lap, ending the test drive session once they reach the end of the point-to-point course. These types of courses can be adjusted and saved like normal as well, and can thus be used in other game modes such as Arcade Mode and Practice.
It is unknown as to why the developers initially made it so that players are not able to generate their own point-to-point courses using the Course Maker.
Unused Course Maker Themes#
In the game's Course Maker, there are seven templates (or themes) that are available to select from. In the game's data files, there are extra four themes that are not used. Two of them resemble the gravel and snow templates that are already available in the game, while the other two depict a substantially unique theme that went unused. Nothing else is known about the unused templates, although one of them was featured in a pre-release screenshot.
template02#
This template closely resembles template01, which is known as "Liege (Gravel)" in the game. The template features an evening skybox with a bright orange flare/glow effect being cast from the sun. The landscape and scenery, such as the flying jet that can be seen leaving a vapor trail in the sky, are similar to template01, perhaps even shared, but the elements on the generated courses are very unique.
- There are puddles of water that can be found dotted along generated courses using the template. The water puddles emit proper water spray particle effects when a vehicle crosses over them. The physics when driving along these puddles are very slippery.
- There are runoff grass sections that can narrow some sections of the path in generated courses.
- Groups of pylons can be placed randomly throughout generated courses.
- When generating courses using this template, the generation algorithm only seems to function properly for circuit courses when only two sections are used. Greater than three sections will generate extremely short courses. Complexity values also seem to not function if more than three sections are used.
- This template appears to have complete support for point-to-point courses, with a closed-off wall being generated at every start of a course and a runoff exit gap being generated at every end. This template might have been intended for the Gran Turismo Rally special event at some point.
Files for this template can still be found in the game's data, and with hacking and/or modifications, the Course Maker can generate courses for this template. However, starting with Version 1.06, files for this template were overwritten, copying and replacing the landscape with that from template08, which is Alaska, for some odd reason, and generated courses will be generated exactly the same as if using template01, albeit with extreme elevation changes thanks to the Alaska theme's landscape. The course features such as the water puddles were also removed from generation with the replaced files.
Screenshots
Features
template03#
This template features unique scenery and a unique road texture that is not seen in any of the other templates. The skybox also appears to be the same one used in template02. Not much else can be made out from the template's thumbnail. There are some files present in the game's data, but not enough for the Course Maker to use. Attempting to load this template into the Course Maker will cause the game to crash.
template04#
This template appears to be very similar, if not identical, to template03, in that it shares the same skybox, scenery, and road textures to those of template03. Files for this template can still be found in the game's data, and with hacking and/or modifications, the Course Maker can generate courses for this template. However, the data appears to be a direct copy of template05, which is known as "Eifel (Tarmac)" in the game, using the same landscape, scenery, and road textures from that template. The generation of courses is similar as well, albeit with more extreme height elevations, less straight, and longer corners. Only the skybox from this template is leftover, while the rest of the template's data was apparently dummied out with a copy of template05. The flying jet that is a part of the dynamic scenery for template01 and template02 can be seen in this template as well.
Screenshots
template09#
This template closely resembles template08, which is known as "Alaska (Snow)" in the game. The generated path appears to be different for this template, with a thin wire barrier on the left side of the pathway and a thick layer of snow forming the right side barrier. Not much else can be made out from the template's thumbnail. No files are present in the game's data for this template, so attempting to load this template into the Course Maker will cause the game to soft-lock.
References#
- Sony, Polyphony Digital Face Italian Legal Threats - GTPlanet, Aug. 23, 2010↩︎
- Siena’s Flags Removed from GT5’s Piazza del Campo Circuit - GTPlanet, Aug. 30, 2010↩︎