In reply to BMWGeoff :
I was out of it for a while myself. The GT series has a sort of "scaled introduction" where you complete "license tests" of gradually increasing difficulty. Then you can compete in events against the "AI" or computer controlled opponents. Eventually, with a PSN account, you can compete on line against live opponents. That can take you pretty much as far as you want to go, all the way from casual gaming up to international competitions with "real world" implications.
As for hardware, think of it like hanging a picture on the wall. The controller is a sledge hammer. It will get the job done, but it will be brutal and ugly at the same time. I've seen some people who are fast and smooth even with a controller, but for me a controller is an "on/off" switch for the steering, brakes and gas and my driving ends up reflecting that. A cheap wheel (like the T80 I'm currently using) is like a framing hammer. Still not the level of finesse needed to be really good and really smooth, but 1000x better than a controller. A good wheel (like a G29) is the tack hammer, the perfect tool for the job. Unfortunately, they're pricey. You also need to give some thought to where and how you're going to mount it. I'm older than most gamers, but even my teenage son ends up sore and stiff if he's leaning over a coffee table to use the wheel. I ended up buying something sort of like this:
and modifying it so it holds the wheel and I can still sit in a comfortable chair. If money is no object, there are high end sim rigs that have wheel mounts, shift mounts and a racing seat all attached to a permanent frame.
Other misc. stuff: The AI opponents suck. They always brake early, over brake and never yield the line. It's easy to get used to passing them in corners by braking very late and, if necessary, giving them a little nudge. Those habits will make you unpopular when you switch to racing "live" opponents. Also, don't ever race Spoolpigeon, he's not human and can permanently ruin your self image.
Kazoo knows what he is talking about. Stay away from Spool! 
For wheel reviews, and game info, GT Planet is a good source of info:
https://www.gtplanet.net/category/hardware/
Thanks for the tips... after playing a few hours with the controller, the sledgehammer metaphor is very apt, and I'm terrible with it. That said, practice makes perfect, so I have no intention of giving up. You'll see me online eventually, as Carfixer24.
Hey now, I am human. Argo is the one with the bionic eye!
Posted this on my club's FB page, they loved it: 
BMWGeoff said:
I just picked up a PS4 for the wife (she's about to take a year of maternity leave), and it came with GTS free, so I figured why not.
I'm definitely a noob when it comes to gaming, but I want to give it a try, and possibly pick up a decent wheel and pedal set (since real racing far exceeds my current budget).
Any tips for a beginner? Both in terms of gameplay and future hardware purchases?
Yes. Treat the game like Iracing. When you start out online racing, don’t qualify. Ever. Stay at the back of the pack. Come in last. Learn the tracks and cars. And aim for a clean race bonus. This will increase your sportsmanship rank. You need to be SR:B MINIMUM before the shiny happy people stop brake checking you at every corner. B,A, and S are decent. Anything below and the people sucks. Once at B or A, work on the driver rank. It’s much easier.
Update yesterday. Got a few new cars including some cool 80's/90's Toyotas, a few muscle cars, a couple Alpines, a Pantera, some modern Subie stuff and an old school formula car. A couple new track configurations were added as well as some more "single player" stuff.
Still no 1st gen Miata. Hoping that comes out soon in a "Mazda pack" with Laguna Seca.
- Alpine A110 1600S ’72 – 100,000 Cr.
- Alpine A110 Premiere Edition ’17 – 70,000 Cr.
- Audi R8 4.2 FSI R tronic ’07 – 166,700 Cr.
- De Tomaso Pantera ’71 – 200,000 Cr.
- Dodge Challenger R/T ’70 – 80,000 Cr.
- Ford Mustang Mach 1 ’71 – 50,000 Cr.
- Gran Turismo F1500T-A – 1,000,000 Cr.
- Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 ’11 – 400,000 Cr.
- Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man Time Attack Car ’16 – 300,000 Cr.
- Subaru Falken Tires / Turn 14 Distribution BRZ ’17 – 400,000 Cr.
- Toyota Supra 3.0GT TURBO A ’88 – 40,500 Cr.
- Toyota MR2 GT-S ’97 – 27,100 Cr.
Polyphony has added a griefing report system — good news for those that have to deal with the … less savory drivers out there.
Longer races naturally tend to space out the pack more. For those dealing with lapped traffic, the backmarkers will now ghost out on approach. You’ll no longer have to worry about the folks a lap down taking you out.
The Sportsmanship and penalty algorithms have changed, which should result in plenty of experimentation by the community. Also in penalty news, players will now need to serve them promptly, as time will increase the longer a penalty stays on screen.
In reply to aircooled :
Yeah, I jumped into the new update without reading about it, had an off, got a 3 sec penalty, didn’t serve it as you used to be able to “bleed it of” over the rest of the course, instead my penalty became 5mins, and eventually I was ejected from the game.
But im very happy it is like that! I have seen the racing get very clean now. GTS hopefully didn’t kill their image with the first 30 days fiasco. The online racing was garbage until now. The grief system is great, but now I fear abuse of that. Any player can try to sink you. If they have friends online they can all gang up to. Hopefully PD is actually investigating and not haphazardly handing out punishment.
And yes, I can’t WAIT for laguna seca! It’s the one track I miss most from last GTs. This has always been my test track on any game to try different setups and judge how competitive a car is.
Saving cash for a Formula car right now. I've downloaded an AJ Foyt livery that's just waiting for the car. Gilmore was a local dealership and I remember one of his cars displayed in the front window as a kid. I'm still slowly working my way through the single player stuff and improving my lines and consistency before jumping into online stuff. It's pretty tough to drive clean against the AI, so I'm not sure if that's a good measure of progress or not.
In reply to kazoospec :
Dude! You may as well forget trying to drive clean against the AI. Because the AI does not back off it’s line or treat you like a human being that might swerve a little bit dirtier in there. I would not use off-line to judge my online Prowess
Update today: Still no NA Miata, but we did get an E30 M3 and a GT 40.
Is it just me, or are the daily races really repetitive with the same stupid cars. It’s always like three days of sw20 mr2 (that handles like crap, due to tuning.) or the Alfa 4c (which handles like crap because of tuning). Or the retard Golf (that handles like cap, because of tuning)
Previously I just wasn’t interested in GT Sport, but now they’ve insulted me... I’m a “senior”?
Meanwhile, an exhibition race will also be held for anyone who is present at the event. The race will be divided into the Jr. Class (for 15-year-old or younger), Adult Class (between 16 and 35-year-old), and the Senior Class (36-year-old and over). The classes are so divided to have a wide range of age groups to truly experience the fun of motorsports.
Whaaaat? That makes me a "senior" too. Oh, it's on now!
PC2 is much more of a simulator. It is much harder to drive then GT, but much more rewarding once you get used to it.
Generally more race car oriented. If you are really into modern street cars, it's less then ideal. (stock street cars are less than ideal for full size race track though)
Much better real track selections. Not very many fantasy tracks, if you are into those.
FAR more extensive (and realistic) tuning. WAY more customizable (views, sounds, controls etc)
There is a pretty extensive single-person campaign and has online of course. It's not nearly as "gamelike" though.
NO need to buy cars! All are available. It's can be fun to have to work for cars, but really irritating if you don't have a lot of time.
No livery editor (which is really nice in GT), but there are multiple liveries for the cars in the game.
Photo mode is not as good, if you care about that.
Some really cool old race cars (which I appreciate). 1000 hp 1200lb Porsche 917.... oh, my!
It's a different game. GT is probably a bit better for just jumping in for a quick race and is more gamelike. I honestly haven't touched GT in a few months, but I don't put a lot of time into the Playstation lately either.
So my son finally got a PSN subscription and I decided to do some of the "on line" races. Here's my general observations: 1. Racing against live players is, in general, more fun that racing the stupid AI. 2. Human drivers don't drive in predictably stupid ways (like the AI), they drive in unpredictably stupid ways, which in some ways is worse. 3. Apparently Senna was the last Brazilian who knew how to drive a race car. 4. The "sportsmanship" system is stupid. I lost a ton of sportsmanship points by being repeatedly rammed by an absolutely atrocious (and, perhaps not surprisingly, Brazilian) driver. 5. I seem to be a "mid pack" driver. I'm rarely a front runner or a back marker.
The AI in PC2 is pretty stupid and can do some pretty silly things. The AI in GT is boarder line brain dead. Basically, they follow the line, no matter what!! It really doesn't take much to get a top rating in sportsmanship, I think that is a lot of the problem.
Some of the best, and most interesting to talk to, drivers seem to be from Australia and New Zealand (and it's still crazy you can even play a game with them, that far away).
