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Proto:Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec/Store Demo Volume 2

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This is a sub-page of Proto:Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec.

A fairly late build, the Store Demo Volume 2 was playable in stores in Japan prior to the release of Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec.

General Differences

  • The Arcade Mode music has been updated, but now it's "An Endless Journey" by Isamu Ohira, which was replaced and later remixed in Gran Turismo 4.
  • A different sound effect is used when you select a car or track, becoming the sound for when you back out of one of the game modes in the final version.

Tracks

Hmmm...
To do:
Almost all of the YouTube links are dead, please replace them.

In this demo, four tracks are playable without codes: Trial Mountain, Smokey Mountain South (later renamed to Swiss Alps in the final), Super Speedway, and Seattle Circuit. All remain similar to their OPS2M demo incarnations, while the rest of the tracks that are stored in the demo's files have varied differences to the earlier OPS2M demo.

Track Video
Test Course

Slightly resembles the final version, but is unfinished as the tunnel on the back stretch is untextured, there are objects missing here and there, and the track map is still a placeholder.

Grand Valley Speedway

It appears that Polyphony had just started transforming Grand Valley into the version which would make it to the final GT3. The road has just begun retexturing, some advertising boards have been added, and the city in turn 1 has been moved farther away from the speedway, before being completely omitted from the final version.

Course Sample 001

Nearly identical to Super Speedway from the final version. A few different advertising boards such as Havoline and Total are really the only noticeable differences, as well as other small things.

Tahiti Maze

Somewhat similar to the final version, but it has its differences. Most notably there is a fence on the wall of the last left hander which was cut from the final version, as well as many different advertisements here and there. It is still somewhat unfinished as well, as there is still some missing scenery, the track map still shows the Gran Turismo 2 layout, and due to a bug the start finish line is mapped on the back stretch which was newly straightened for GT3.

Special Stage Route 5

Slightly different from the final GT3. While the road and course itself appear to be updated, many advertising boards are still from Gran Turismo 2 and the OPS2M demo.

Special Stage Route 5 (Wet)

Same as above, except the road is now wet, which makes the course comparable to its OPS2M demo counterpart.

Apricot Hill Raceway

Much more complete compared to the OPS2M demo version. Some advertising boards have been updated, and the weird lighting bug present in the OPS2M demo is gone here. Some scenery from the final version is missing, however.

Tokyo Route 246

Still unfinished, and similar to the OPS2M demo. While some new scenery has been implemented, lots of it is still missing, and the untextured buildings from the OPS2M demo remain untextured here.

Deep Forest Raceway

It appears Polyphony had plans to make the OPS2M demo's Deep Forest the finalized version, because this version remains unchanged from the OPS2M demo. Interestingly, upon viewing it on the track selection screen, it displays its own logo, rather than the placeholder "texture" logo used on most tracks in the demo. It even has its own detailed track map and the footage of the track above the blue layout preview is the track's own as well.

Laguna Seca Raceway

Another track that remains unchanged from the OPS2M demo, other than the fact that the barriers that prevented you from going into the pits in the OPS2M demo have been removed here. It is also another track that features its own logo and everything on the track selection screen, but that is because it was playable without codes in the aforementioned OPS2M demo.

Mid-Field Raceway

Resembles the final version, but still has some noticeable differences. The textures in both tunnels have been updated, some advertising boards are updated as well, but a few GT2 bits still remain, including the small buildings at the start of the main stretch, and the bridge that you drive under at the start of the main stretch as well is still from Gran Turismo 2.

Cote D' Azur

Similar to its OPS2M demo counterpart, but is slightly more finished. The sky has been updated, and more buildings have been added, while some existing ones have been textured. Still unfinished however, as the track map is still not GT3 quality (it even shows a placeholder map on the track selection screen), and all the aforementioned new buildings are untextured, as well as a few buildings that were previously untextured in the OPS2M demo.

Rome Circuit

Identical to its OPS2M demo counterpart, the only difference is more advertising boards have been added in Turn 1. It's also another track which displays it's own logo on the track selection screen, rather than the placeholder logo on most tracks.

Round

For some reason, the reflections are much brighter in this demo, but other than that this circle test course used to test the handling model remains unchanged.

Special Stage Route 11

Still uses the layout from the first game, but has a few updates compared to the OPS2M demo and GT1. The trackside turn indicating signs have been updated, the tunnel has been updated, as well as other changes. Has glitchy reflections, however, as the white car used in this video appears black on the track.

Smokey Mountain North

Identical to the OPS2M demo, but is seemingly now completely finished. You no longer start on the bridge, which was caused by a bug in the OPS2M demo, and a barrier is no longer missing in turn 1. Other than that, everything else remains unchanged.

Test- This one loads successfully, but instead of showing the glitchy figure eight track from the OPS2M demo, instead it shows a duplicate of Laguna Seca shown in the track list above.
Deep Forest Raceway II

Looks similar to the normal Deep Forest, except this one is set at sunset like in the final version, and all of the track direction signs have been flipped in other direction as well. Some beta screenshots exist of this track as well, making it the only reverse track to have beta screenshots.

Trial Mountain II

One of the only Trial Mountain variations hidden in any demo, this version is basically the same as the normal one, but it just has you driving in the other direction. Unlike Deep Forest, the turn signs on the track have not been updated, and instead point in the direction where the normal track goes.

Complex String

Another course which seems to be unchanged from its OPS2M demo counterpart.

Tahiti Dirt Route 3

Appears to be mostly identical to the OPS2M demo, the only noticeable difference is that there is a different skybox.

Seattle Circuit II

Identical to the normal version on the demo, but like Trial Mountain, the direction signs have yet to be flipped in the other direction. Also unfinished, as the car turns completely black when driving through shadows, the AI doesn't work, and the finish line is in the completely wrong position.

Tahiti Maze II

Was set at sunset originally. It appears to be based off an earlier version of Tahiti Maze (from sometime before this demo but after the OPS2M one) since it has less billboards compared to the normal version on this demo, and it still uses the old layout from GT2.

Circle 100R

Now features the city setting but still takes place at daytime. Aside from the time of day differences, this version also seems less detailed compared to the final game.

Extra Tracks

Aside from the tracks listed above, there are extra tracks stored in the demo that either crash the game if you attempt to load them, or are simply just a void with no objects.

Test 2- The small oval test track from the OPS2M demo. Crashes the game if you attempt to load it.

Tahiti Road- The all tarmac Tahiti course from Gran Turismo 2 also appears here, but loading it only displays a black void.

Early Menus

Despite this being the latest demo build known to exist, this is the only one which features menus other than the ones used normally in the demo. Most of these menus are only semi-working, and of course are normally inaccessible.

gt_mode.mbl- A very early version of the overall game interface. Most menus use a placeholder list format at this stage. Some of the more finished menus include Tune Shop, as it has its own unique layout with most options being present and some of the associated pictures also being there, as well as the License Center menus, which look pretty similar to the final minus the main menu which is a placeholder. This UI also includes just the wheel shop (included in GT Auto in the final, this suggests GT Auto was a later addition) as well as a "Parking" menu, which is nowhere to be seen in the final. The purpose this menu would've served is unknown.

arcade.mbl- An early version of the Arcade Mode UI. This rendition is very buggy, as it doesn't remove the text from previous menus upon entering new ones, and the car and track selection screens are very zoomed in, making it impossible to see what car and track the player is choosing.

i.link menu.mbl- An early i-Link menu.

arcade.mbl wait_other- A rather strange menu showing an image of Laguna Seca with the GT3 logo, and some text scrolling on the bottom that says the Tokyo metropolitan government's Tax Commission proposed a tax on diesel trucks on Friday. Perhaps meant to be a test of how text scrolled.

debug.mbl- Largely the same as gt_mode.mbl, with a few differences such as an accessible options menu, a car wash on the main menu, and the tune shop and license center having placeholder designs with the list menus, suggesting this menu was from earlier in development.

flame_test.mbl- Most likely meant to test frame resolutions.

launch.mbl- A debug menu most likely used during QA testing.

memcard.mbl- Name entry screen.

mtest3.mbl- Possibly a debug prize display screen, based on the string "qm_prize_disp" shown on screen along with what was most likely the resolution it was intended to be displayed in down below.

option.mbl- An options menu that is most likely newer than the one found in debug.mbl, as this one looks more like the final than the one in debug.mbl which looks to be in a more placeholder state. This menu does seem to reveal a few planned options that never made it to the game, such as a second chase cam (most likely further away from the car than the standard chase cam), an option to pick between a tight or loose chase cam (with tight cam likely being similar to the one seen beginning in GT4), and the ability to turn the course map off. This menu also only gives the player the option to turn the overall music or sound effects off, meaning that individual options to turn music/effects off in menus and races likely came later in development.

preview.mbl- Similar to launch.mbl, but with two more options: OPTION and FLAME TEST.

qm_gt_event.mbl- Seems to be an early mockup of the pre-race menu. Features a static image with a VW Beetle on Trial Mountain as a background, a placeholder "Event Logo" text on the top left corner (event logos were not shown on the pre-race menu in the final), as well as the track map of Trial Mountain on the top right (track maps were also not shown on the pre-race menu in the final, just the track name).

qm_race_before.mbl- Another early pre-race menu mockup, although this one looks more similar to GT2 as it doesn't feature a background with cars racing, but rather shows the track map larger, and more detailed.

qm_race_after.mbl- An early mockup of the post-race screens. Starts on a prize screen which resembles the one from GT2, with no 3D trophy like in the final game. The race results menu also looks more similar to GT2 than the final game. Most of the options on this menu don't function aside from "Data Loger", but upon selecting it, it goes to a black screen with the text "no page error", due to the game trying to load a menu that doesn't exist yet, and the game crashes as a result.

race.mbl- Most likely tied to i-Link since this menu gives an error message saying the i-Link cable is disconnected.

sample.mbl- An early mockup of the prize screen.

setting.mbl- An early version of the car settings menu.

shorttest.mbl- Seems to be an early post-race menu (likely even earlier than the one in qm_race_after.mbl) with more scrolling text saying the approval rating for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet has slumped to 18 percent. Clearly meant to be another test menu.