[amar212]

The hell, I was just there yesterday night and it was still at ~980k. What the hell happened? I smell cheating.

You have no idea.

My country - Croatia - was holding top position in Average Rankings for past 6 weeks, prior to last Round. We fought with Slovenia and Hungary during 2nd round, but we managed to mobilize few boards on top of mine GTS community and we got 18.1 average with no way of loosing. We had pretty small number of players compared to other countries (only Slovenia had less, but we had more players with golds) and majority of players were organized trough few boards and mobilised to go for golds.

And than hell came loose.

In one single night there was 300% more players under Croatian flag, drowning our Average from 18.1 to 16.1 and lowering us to 5th position. In the same time Finland risen to top position from nowhere, getting down all of us. But it was just the beggining.

Next day Australia just exploded, climbing up to top position with crazy average of 21.3, totally out of any logic. We fell even more, our average was just obliterated as number of Croatian players was rising as crazy. And rest is history.

At this point were on the 6th spot, never to recover. Australia is literally uncathchable with their Average, Fins are still trying. I did a small intelligence effort in Monday and got an confirmation how there was unexpected rise in nimber of newly created Croatian accounts in past few weeks.

In order to achieve good average you have to have as many as golds possible per account. In order to loose average you would have to enter a game under some particular national account and "register" your start by only entering 1-1 and leaving the game. By doing that, you're practically *killing* one of the "all gold" account-efforts.

Connect the dots.

Since we found out what is actually going on during past week and got the above info in Monday, my complete community offically redrawed from mobilizing members into GTA. It is pointless and shameful.

Let the Australia win, I guess how Nissan Australia have a nice PR plans for the Down Under. Of course, my sincere congratulations to every single legit and fair player from any country, we had a great few weeks of challenge.

[Metalmurphy]

But the country rankings don't really matter do they? There will still be national finals and only 2 of each pass to the next round. It won't matter what your country rating is.

What this could be however, is people controlling the top 16 of each country to some how take control of the national finals. Imagine one good guy doesn't want to take any chances, he makes 15 more accounts and controls all the top 16 slots for his country. Then he tells all his friends to go play in the finals and BAM, national finals done.

[thelastword]

But the country rankings don't really matter do they? There will still be national finals and only 2 of each pass to the next round. It won't matter what your country rating is. What this could be however, is people controlling the top 16 of each country to some how take control of the national finals. Imagine one good guy doesn't want to take any chances, he makes 15 more accounts and controls all the top 16 slots for his country. Then he tells all his friends to go play in the finals and BAM, national finals done.

I doubt that will happen, it just wouldn't make sense and the frauds would be found out eventually. I honestly believe that the boost is as a result of this round of GTA closing out soon, and the people who had not participated yet, have now come on board in rush-fashion to stake their chances.

[seattle6418]

But the country rankings don't really matter do they? There will still be national finals and only 2 of each pass to the next round. It won't matter what your country rating is. What this could be however, is people controlling the top 16 of each country to some how take control of the national finals. Imagine one good guy doesn't want to take any chances, he makes 15 more accounts and controls all the top 16 slots for his country. Then he tells all his friends to go play in the finals and BAM, national finals done.

That´s very possible. One great player can qualify five or six "bum" friends to make the finals easier for him. There´s really no way to prevent this, since this guy can go over to his friends houses and perform the laps.

In the end of the day, some of the contest will always be honor based.

[Metalmurphy]

Anyone noticed that the round on the test track mimics your current day time? Neat detail.

[paskowitz]

Congratulations RounD for making it by...


.001 seconds!

[Konosuke]

It's over. Did anyone made the cut? I had no chance.

[paskowitz]

I was off by .364 seconds. One member did make it, look at my previous post.

[Konosuke]

: O Congratulations RounD

[Metalmurphy]

Best of luck on the national finals RounD, we're all rooting for you!

[paskowitz]

I did not know this but RounD made it last year as well.

[Metalmurphy]

I wasn't sure if we were gonna be locked out of GT Academy after it ended so I took some photos like 10 minutes before it closed. Final GAF Rankings:

Round 1:







Round 2:







Round 3:







Round 4:







Round 5:







Round 6:







Round 7:







Round 8:

[Graphics Horse]

Anyone noticed that the round on the test track mimics your current day time? Neat detail.

Are you talking about 2-1? Doesn't seem like it to me.

[mclaren777]

Did GTA have a telemetry tool or could the saved replay/telemetry be viewed in GT5 proper?

I would love to see RounD's lap as pure data.

[Graphics Horse]

Did GTA have a telemetry tool or could the saved replay/telemetry be viewed in GT5 proper? I would love to see RounD's lap as pure data.

You can save another person's replay and view it from the menu within GTA.
Edit: sorry I misread, no data logger.

[mclaren777]

You can save another person's replay and view it from the menu within GTA.

I only want to see the telemetry, not the actual replay.

[dubc35]

Congratulations RounD for making it by... .001 seconds!

Holy S! Congrats!

[cutmeamango]

Go go go RoundD! Make NeoGAF proud!

Too bad we don't have GT Academy in Latin America (not that I'd qualify lol but still would be a nice incentive!).

[Metalmurphy]

Are you talking about 2-1? Doesn't seem like it to me.

I remember the first time I did it was during night time. Then yesterday it was bright daylight, however when I downloaded a replay from the leaderboard it was daylight but a bit darker then what I had before (probably the time of day when the guy was playing)

I only want to see the telemetry, not the actual replay.

You can still see throttle/braking telemetry. What good would g-forces be to analyse how he raced?

[l2ounD]

Man that was intense!

I ended my run Saturday in 27th I think, only a few hundredths ahead of the cutoff.

Come in today 34th with an hour left to run. I was trying desperately to get my time lower and was getting real good first sector times but always dirtied them in the last two turns.

Luckily I stayed 34th in the end and there's maaaybe 2 people ineligible for the final quali

So if im lucky ill be squeezing by into the finals... dunno though.

I did manage to get into the finals last year, it was down to the wire then too. And my first time doing online group races started with the SuperGT league here with Tox as my teammate. Super fun! but I was definitely not as fast during races, so I didnt fair so well during the finals in Orlando.

Hopefully I do better this time around, if I go.

edit: aHa!@ being .001 ahead of 35th! Wheww!

[mclaren777]

You can still see throttle/braking telemetry. What good would g-forces be to analyse how he raced?

I would love to compare his telemetry against mine to see how/where he is making up so much time.

[Metalmurphy]

I would love to compare his telemetry against mine to see how/where he is making up so much time.

Download the ghost and race against it. Easy to tell that way.

[mclaren777]

Download the ghost and race against it. Easy to tell that way.

Thanks. I hadn't even thought about that option.

[weekend_warrior]

RounD made the top 32 cut!? Awesome man, congratulations!

I was off by .364 seconds. One member did make it, look at my previous post.

Thats rough. I just missed the cut too, by about 6 seconds. :P

[paskowitz]

RounD made the top 32 cut!? Awesome man, congratulations! Thats rough. I just missed the cut too, by about 6 seconds. :P

Haha. Seriously though, that car was a bitch to drive. Marketing exercise my ass, I hate Nissans now.

I used the the #10 time's lap as my ghost (1:31.1xx). I was always ahead of him until the second to last and final corner. I never learned them this whole competition. For both I was either too slow or I could not get the power down. I am still happy I got top 100 though. Last year I was ~180 something (although I quit 2 weeks early because of college finals).

Based on my experiences in the NRL and on GTPlanet I feel pretty confident that IF I made it to the semis I would have a good chance of moving on. Next year (hopefully)!

Congrats, RounD! Represent GAF well.

[magawolaz]

Yay RounD! :D

[SolidSnakex]

The official GT Youtube channel just uploaded the fastest lap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxY-QIAL3v8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klA5YDucyrI

Ti-tech85 with a 1:30.682.

[Niks]

Awesome to have a gaffer up there.
Congrats RounD!

[cutmeamango]

The official GT Youtube channel just uploaded the fastest lap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxY-QIAL3v8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klA5YDucyrI Ti-tech85 with a 1:30.682.

I'm dying with these commentaries.

"you would not survive a 24h LeMans Race with this Driving Style."

"sorry but this driving style will help you nothing in real motorsports, the setting of the gt academy was just unrealistic^^"

[Metalmurphy]

I'm dying with these commentaries. "you would not survive a 24h LeMans Race with this Driving Style." "sorry but this driving style will help you nothing in real motorsports, the setting of the gt academy was just unrealistic^^"

Those tears.

[l2ounD]

Ti-tech85's lap is awesome to see, he was hitting all the marks right on.

Thanks for the comments I hope it turns out well, Im not in officially.. yet! lol @ youtube comments too! :D

[paskowitz]

I'm dying with these commentaries. "you would not survive a 24h LeMans Race with this Driving Style." "sorry but this driving style will help you nothing in real motorsports, the setting of the gt academy was just unrealistic^^"

As jealous as they are, they are technically correct. Read the discussion on GTPlanet. That does not take away from the tremendous amount of precision and skill all the top drivers have. It is just that the particular style this car, track, and game required was not how you would drive a real race car. It is almost more of a rally style.

[Metalmurphy]

As jealous as they are, they are technically correct. Read the discussion on GTPlanet.

But they are pointless remarks, this is a single lap with the purpose of achieving the best time, it's not an endurance race where you need to save tires and drive with caution. And they say it like the guy driving isn't aware of that... Duh

[paskowitz]

But they are pointless remarks, this is a single lap with the purpose of achieving the best time, it's not an endurance race where you need to save tires and drive with caution.

That is true, but even if you were to do a time trial in real life you would not drive this way.

It does not matter though. It is a game. You drive whatever way is fastest and there is nothing wrong with that.

[Metalmurphy]

That is true, but even if you were to do a time trial in real life you would not drive this way. It does not matter though. It is a game. You drive whatever way is fastest and there is nothing wrong with that.

If you had regenerating tires you would :P

Disregarding all the differences in the car behaviour that is.

[paskowitz]

If you had regenerating tires you would :P Disregarding all the differences in the car behaviour that is.

I do not want to get into a whole kerfuffle but there is too much difference between real life racing and GT5 to make that type of driving style valid. Like I said, maybe in rally. The quick downshift then upshift is a technique commonly used as is the heavy trail braking.

Again, for the record, this is not a complaint. In a competition you have to deal with the cards you are dealt. No whining.

[SolidSnakex]

The comment section is much more interesting after this

Sorry but anyone who says Ti-tech85 would suck in a real car is wrong LOL He competed in GT Academy 2011 and got to the Race Camp final at Silverstone and finished second overall, his name is Thibault Lacombe and he was VERY fast in a real car. :-) I should know, I was one of the others at the same race camp ;-)

[paskowitz]

Looks like I am going to have to take an emergency vacation.

Congratulations to our Top 32 competitors, who beat out a field of nearly 400,000 participants to compete in this year’s GT Academy 2012 National Finals. The 32 finalists (pending eligibility confirmation) will take part in a live head-to-head competition at the GT Academy National Finals event on Friday and Saturday, July 13th and 14th, at the Jolt’n Joe’s Gaslamp – a short distance away from the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. Introducing a new twist in this year’s competition, PlayStation and Nissan are backing up our “Victory Is Anyone’s” message by allowing any gamer to show up and secure one spot in the National Finals to compete against the top 32 finalists. Anyone (pending eligibility) can register at the Oasis Bar inside the Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego on Thursday, July 12th from 10am to 4pm PST and compete for top lap time in Gran Turismo 5. The top competitor of the day will walk away with a one of a kind GT Academy 2012 designed HumanRacing GT Chassis equipped with the Thrustmaster T500RS wheel and pedal set. Additionally, the winner will earn a 33rd spot in the Finals competition, becoming “Racer X” and earning a chance Friday morning — July 13th — to knock out and replace any of the top 32 finalists. So for those who didn’t make the top 32 in the online competition, this is your second chance to fight for ONE spot in the National Finals and also take away an exclusive GT Academy – HumanRacing GT Chassis and Thrustmaster Wheel! Just be sure to show up early, as the competition will be first come first serve. Since this is only open from 10:00am to 4:00pm, your window of opportunity is very limited, so be sure to show up early and ready to race! Once in the National Finals Event, the 33 contestants will be divided into individual groups and race in a series of live head-to-head races in Gran Turismo 5. Racing Nissan vehicles, each contestant will earn points based on the place they finish in. As race difficulty increases, the contestants with the fewest points at the end of each round will be eliminated until only 16 remain. These final 16 contestants will move on to Phase Two in GT Academy, taking the racers away from their PS3 consoles and onto the track, behind the wheel of real race cars, for a chance to become a professional race car driver and the official GT Academy winner for the U.S. The winner will have the opportunity to train with an elite racing team, and will work towards a debut as part of a professional team. The competitors’ road to victory will be documented in an innovative new series airing exclusively on Spike TV in late 2012. More info, including Official Rules for Racer X and National Finals will be available very shortly through GT.com

[SolidSnakex]

Looks like I am going to have to take an emergency vacation.

http://www.gtplanet.net/racer-x-wild...nals-detailed/

[Polyphony]

Holy shit, congratulations RounD, definitely hope you make it to the finals and beyond, now I have a reason to follow this competition! This is pretty exciting stuff even from a viewer's point of view. I'm recognizing another user on that list, Veloci2NR. He used to participate in the same SuperGT nightly events as me and would obliterate the competition.

Time to organize some practice NRL races in your honor :P

[rvy]

I missed this for some dumb reason, do I still get the prizes if I manage to get Gold on the events before the end of the week?

[Metalmurphy]

What happened to the prize cars? Weren't we supposed to get them after it ended?



Also, weekend_warrior: You gonna do the final GAF leaderboard now that people can't submit times anymore?

[weekend_warrior]

What happened to the prize cars? Weren't we supposed to get them after it ended? Also, weekend_warrior: You gonna do the final GAF leaderboard now that people can't submit times anymore?

Can I still start the game and check the leaderboard? I figured it was closed.

[Metalmurphy]

Can I still start the game and check the leaderboard? I figured it was closed.

I think so, I didn't actually relaunch it after it ended but I was able to keep racing after it ended, I just couldn't submit times.

[magawolaz]

What happened to the prize cars? Weren't we supposed to get them after it ended?

Next wednesday: http://us.gran-turismo.com/us/news/d6375.html

Prize Collection Period: July 4th, 2012 – January 25th, 2013

[Metalmurphy]

Final GAF standings for the GT Academy 2012, shamelessly stolen from weekend_warrior:







Spreadsheet with all the math and all the standings (> 10):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...ExUYmx1UUN1enc
(just so no one can say I cheated :P)

Times:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=412

[mclaren777]

Congrats, Metalmurphy!

[weekend_warrior]

Shit MM, if I had known you were going to post a final standings I would have given you the link to my origal spreadsheet to make it easier for you. Congrats on first place though!

[ruttyboy]

Heh, moving house killed my position :(

Still, congrats to the winner(s) :D

[Metalmurphy]

The US finals are being streamed from ComicCon

http://www.twitch.tv/iplracers