Proto:Gran Turismo 4/Gran Turismo 4 First Preview

This is a sub-page of Proto:Gran Turismo 4.

To do: Start dumping whatever hasn't been seen in any form out of the game's files, as GT4.VOL can be opened now. Apparently there's also a lot of hidden cars in here, too.

Released a couple of months before the final game as both a standalone demo and with a magazine, the Gran Turismo 4 First Preview demo showcases a build of Gran Turismo 4 in a significantly more final state than all of the demos before it. The executable was built on September 20th, 2004.

Menu Differences

Start Menu

While the background FMV seems to be finalized by this point, the menu in this demo only allows you to Start or go through the Options menu, with both options in all-caps. Strangely enough, there's no copyright year and, as such, the font for the copyright information was made larger for this demo; also strangely enough, the registered trademark for Gran Turismo in this demo was changed to a standard trademark in the final game.

Demo	Final

Car Options

This demo uses a limited car option menu, with only a couple of options and a couple of tire options, too.

Demo	Final

In-Game Differences

Loading Screen

Interestingly enough, even the loading screen when entering a track is slightly different.

Demo	Final

Race Menu

The race menu is quite different in this build, featuring less information about the cars in general and a Gran Turismo 3-esque background run of a race. The icons indicating a race start and to exit the race are also different. A larger version of the demo's race start icon was repurposed as the Entry icon in the final version's GT Mode, while a race start icon similar and with the same spot of the demo's one would later be used on Tourist Trophy pre-race menu (albeit showing a biker helmet).

Demo	Final

Race Start

The actual race start is considerably different and appears to be lifted straight out of Gran Turismo 4 Prologue. The final game has a sweeping view of all the cars rather than an angled shot of the player's car.

Demo	Final

It should also be noted that Nürburgring Nordschleife starts a race in a proper grid fashion in this demo, rather than the rolling start like in the final game. Coincidentially, a grid start for this track in single race mode will be later reintroduced in Gran Turismo PSP.

Demo	Final

In-Race HUD

The in-race HUD looks quite similar between First Preview and the final game, with the most notable differences being a low fuel indicator, a different indicator for the car's redline and a slightly modified font for the timer.

Demo	Final

The bumper HUD is also slightly different, featuring a speedometer that's not as optimistic as the final game's speedometer and the lack of an odometer.

Demo	Final

16:9 HUD

Even the HUD in the demo's 16:9 mode is a little bit different. The bottom portion of the HUD does not stretch out to fill the screen, something that was ultimately done in the final game.

Demo	Final