Das vor einiger Zeit angekündigte, in der letzten Woche etwas näher beschriebene Spec 2.0-Update für Gran Turismo 5 (ab 22,25€ bei vorbestellen) steht laut GT Planet jetzt zur Verfügung.

Der Download wiegt knapp 1,2 GB und kommt u.a. mit einer vereinfachten Cockpit-Ansicht für alle Standard-Fahrzeuge daher. Neben einem neuen Intro gibt es erweiterte Wettereinstellungen für die Arcade- und Practice-Modi. Inhaltlichen Nachschub gibt es in Form des Nissan GT-R N24 und elf aktueller NASCAR-Boliden. Polyphony verspricht außerdem eine Verbesserungen bei der Menü-Führung, der KI und in anderen Bereichen.

Auf der Webpräsenz des Rennspiels gibt es ein paar Infos zu den DLC-Paketen, die der Hersteller schon angedeutet hatte. Insgesamt vier Updates sollen am 18. Oktober veröffentlicht werden.

Das Course Pack kostet fünf Dollar und umfasst zwei neue Rennstrecken mit fünf Layouts: Spa-Franchorchamps sowie eine Kart-Strecke. Für acht Dollar bekommt man das Racing Car Pack mit insgesamt 15 neuen Fahrzeugen, darunter Der Red Bull X2011, Dodge Challenger SRT8 sowie drei Karts. Eine vollständige Übersicht gibt es hier. Wer seinen Fahrer neu ausstatten will, greift für drei Dollar zum Racing Gear Pack, welches insgesamt 90 neue Gegenstände bietet. Neue Lack-Sorten gibt es hingegen im Paint Pack, welches mit zwei Dollar zu Buche schlägt.

Wer sich für mehrere Updates interessiert, kann auch zum Complete Pack greifen, welches alle vier Pakete umfasst und 12 Dollar kosten wird.

Hier noch die vollständigen Patchnotes für Spec 2.0 (via GT Planet);

Major Changes and New Features

- Standard Cars now given simplified cockpit views
The over 800 standard cars included in the game are now given simplified cockpit views. You can change your view using the SELECT button when racing, to change your display to the exciting cockpit view.
*Unlike the cockpit view of premium cars, the simplified cockpit is shown in a dark silhouette, and the gauges used for the car will be standard in-game instruments.

- New Opening Movie
A new opening movie is now available from “Gran Turismo TV”. When you download this movie, it will replace the current opening movie. The previous version will be viewable within Gran Turismo TV.

- Addition of the weather change menu
On some tracks with weather changes, it is now possible for the user to set time and weather changes from the Quick Menu in both the Arcade Mode, and “Practice” of the GT Mode. Also, you can make more detailed time and weather changes while editing in the course maker and in the online lounge.

- Multiple car settings/save feature
We’ve added a setting sheet feature that allows you to save multiple car settings.
From the [Setting Sheet] on the lower right of the screen, you can check the current settings. You can switch between 3 settings A, B, and C, allowing you to change between your personal settings easily according to the type of race and your objectives.

- Added 11 NASCAR cars
The newest NASCAR 2011 models have been added to the car dealerships. The added cars are the following:

• Toyota 2011 Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx TOYOTA CAMRY ’11
• Chevrolet 2011 Tony Stewart #14 Office Depot CHEVROLET IMPALA ’11
• Toyota 2011 Kyle Busch #18 M&M’SR TOYOTA CAMRY ’11
• Toyota 2011 Joey Logano #20 The Home Depot TOYOTA CAMRY ’11
• Chevrolet 2011 Jeff Gordon #24 Drive to End Hunger CHEVROLET IMPALA ’11
• Chevrolet 2011 Juan Montoya #42 Target CHEVROLET IMPALA ’11
• Ford 2011 AJ Allmendinger #43 Best Buy FORD FUSION ’11
• Chevrolet 2011 Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe’s CHEVROLET IMPALA ’11
• Toyota 2011 Brian Vickers #83 Red Bull TOYOTA CAMRY ’11
• Chevrolet 2011 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 AMP Energy/National Guard CHEVROLET IMPALA ’11
• Ford 2011 Carl Edwards #99 Aflac FORD FUSION ’11

- Added the Nissan GT-R N24 Schulze Motor Sports
The Nisssan GT-R N24 Schulze Motor Sports has been added to the car dealer. This is the car entered in the 2011 Nurburgring 24 hour race by Schulze Motorsports of Germany, and is the very car in which Kazunori Yamauchi drove and achieved a class victory.

- Avatar now usable in Photo Travel
An Avatar ON/OFF feature has been added to Photo Travel. Now you can photograph your avatar together with your car.
You can turn the driver avatar ON/OFF by pressing the â–³ button while positioning the car.

- Replay Fast Forward/Rewind
All replay videos recorded after the 2.0 update will have [Forward] [Rewind] buttons.
You can now easily search for the scene you are looking for and play back a certain section whenever you want to, adding even more fun to the photo mode.

-Improved Online Lounge
[Car Restrictions] has been added in the regulations. You can now limit participants to specific categories such as “NASCAR” and “Super GT”. Also, there are now more cars that can be used in shuffle races, and a new “Shuffle Base” setting allows you to set the performance level of cars allocated to each player.
For details, please see Top screen -- [Manual] -- [Online Race] -- [Event Settings] and the “Regulation Settings”.

- Additional features to Remote Racing
A “Graph Display” has been added to the remote race screen in GT My Home of granturismo.com, where you can enjoy B-Spec racing. This allows you to visually see the changes in positions in each lap. A time difference display for each car in the race has also been added.

- New Photo Stage Added
The “Indy: NASCAR Pit Stop” stage has been added to photo travel. We invite you to come see and capture the energy of NASCAR’s famous pit stops.

- Addition of the Consecutive Login Bonus
When a user logs in consecutively, a bonus will now be applied to experience and race rewards.
It will increase to 110% in the 1st day, 130% in the 2nd day, 150% in the 3rd day, 170% in the 4th, to a maximum of 200% in the 5th day. This will apply to all events both online and offline, so logging in every day will make the game progress faster.

- DLC (Downloadable Content) Compatibility
A [Downloadable Content] button has been added to the lower right of the top screen. Here you can install content purchased from the PlayStation®Store, which will be made available on October 18th.

- Official Support for the G25/G27 Racing Wheels
The Logitech G25 Racing Wheel and G27 Racing Wheel are now officially supported. You can now change button assignments for various racing controls on these wheels.

Other Improvements
- User interface improvement
- Quick Menu can now be accessed while the race is loading.
- It is now possible to save and resume endurance races.
- Two NASCAR cars selectable in Arcade Mode have been changed from the 2010 models to 2011 models.
- In the Arcade Settings of [Options], AI Car Characteristics settings has been added. You can now change the aggressiveness of the AI against you in Arcade races.
- Some effects of Traction Control have been adjusted. When the TCS level is set to 1, it will not come into effect as much especially in tight corners on dirt tracks.
- Surface Water and Tire Load Indicator displays have been added to the race screen. The Tire Load Indicator can be set from the Quick Options menu that is displayed during the race (when the game is paused using the START button), or the standard Options menu.
- The option to Create Thumbnails for All Cars has been added to the context menu of the Garage. This will update the thumbnails of all cars in the garage.
- Experience gained in online races have been increased by 60%, and rewards have been increased by 66%.
- You can now change the Slipstream Strength settings in the lounge.
- In the Lounge and in [Option] -- [General] -- [Arcade], it is now possible to turn Visible Damage ON or OFF.
- Drivetrain settings has been added to the regulation settings in the Lounge.
- A setting to prohibit “Tuning” of cars has been added to the regulations settings in the Lounge.
- Adjusted the driving speed of formula cars in banks, and auto-drive when coming onto straights.
- Added a button to [Reset Playlist to Original Settings] under the settings menus of [Menu BGM], [Race BGM] and [Slideshow BGM].
- Personal BGM can now also be set in [Slideshow BGM]
- A new brand “AMG” has been added to the MUSEUM.

Correction of Known Issues
- Corrected an issue where the “Torque Sensing Center Differential” installed on a Lancer Evolution X was not functioning.
- Fixed an issue where you could participate in the Intermediate/Tarmac Rally of the Gran Turismo Rally in a Ferrari F1 by using the power limiter.
- Fixed an issue where the Controller Steering Sensitivity was not applied correctly.
- Fixed an issue where there was a server connection problem in certain network environments.
- Fixed an issue where auto-drive would make braking mistakes.
- Fixed an issue where the system would misjudge whether deceleration happens in time when making pit stops in the rain.