FIA Online Championship 2015

[F1jocker12]

Keep in mind we are getting the Course Maker first, the GPS app will come later.

I don't think Polyphony fully understands the impact of their promises. Kaz needs to push the developing (Sony almost forced him to release GT5) and come up with those updates and stop speaking about GT7 as long as GT6 is not even 70% there. If you check how many cars got released in Vision GT will see there are more cars left than the ones unlocked. 16 cars left versus 12 released.... Simple math with a consistent schedule for updates, puts GT7 release at the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017. So you have 18 to 24 months left to give YOUR customers the chance to get what they were promised in the first place and also give them time to enjoy it. There are features in the game (like GPS Visualizer) nobody uses for the simple reason that track time at a japanese facility is unrealistic and impossible for 99,999% of the players. And then, why have it over GPS Course Maker app?

 

[F1jocker12]

I doubt 15 or 20 people in a thread on GTP are going to have a lot of impact on the FIA partnership, otherwise the BSpec and CourseMaker would be here already, given there have been hundreds or thousands of posts on the subject already.

I see were are you coming from but trust me, they are watching these forums .... All we need to do is positively criticize instead of whining, because the developing has its limits as well, based on your resources as a business and every reasonable person understands that. All we need to do is ask Polyphony to DELIVER.

 

[pzkpfw]

What is it that you expect the most profitable car maker in the world(profit/car) to learn from this deal with EA?

"Not doing it again", I guess. It's maybe more money on the short term, but also way less advertising on the long term. The level, impact and overall importance of games has changed a lot in the last 15 years.

Keep in mind we are getting the Course Maker first, the GPS app will come later.

Call me a heretic, but I seriously doubt that those will end up being included in GT6. GT7 is probably 1 or 2 years away (yeah, I'm optimistic like that), and they will need to advertise more than better graphics and updated physics engine to sell that game.

 

[Harsk100]

I would like to see some more rally cars, especially the rallycross and touring cars championships! It would be awesome to have them! 👍

By the way, PD should collaborate with EA for Porsches like Turn 10 did and then, EA will have to realize why NFS isn't a greater game than GT.

 

[pzkpfw]

I would like to see some more rally cars, especially the rallycross and touring cars championships! It would be awesome to have them! 👍

Agreed. But they should make the rally physics more realistic. They've come a long way since GT4 and the rally stages in GT6 are actually quite enjoyable, but they don't feel as realistic (nor as fun) as they do in a dedicated rally game.

 

[Johnnypenso]

"Not doing it again", I guess. It's maybe more money on the short term, but also way less advertising on the long term. The level, impact and overall importance of games has changed a lot in the last 15 years.

You don't seriously believe that anyone's purchasing decision is influenced by a racing game do you? Arguably the influence of games is much less, given GT6 appears to be struggling to sell 4 million copies and GT3 sold 15 million.

 

[Harsk100]

Agreed. But they should make the rally physics more realistic. They've come a long way since GT4 and the rally stages in GT6 are actually quite enjoyable, but they don't feel as realistic (nor as fun) as they do in a dedicated rally game.

I agree. There are Gran Turismo Rally stages in GT5 and they were thrown away without us understanding why.

And most of sounds of rally cars were ruined, therefore, they must be fixed. And more tracks like Grand Canyon should make an return!

 

[pzkpfw]

You don't seriously believe that anyone's purchasing decision is influenced by a racing game do you?

It depends. New Porsche car buyers? Probably not. But if "purchasing decision" includes SH Porsches and fan merchandise, then yes I think it might have an influence.

Arguably the influence of games is much less, given GT6 appears to be struggling to sell 4 million copies and GT3 sold 15 million.

There are a few reasons to that. More options on the market, the fact that it's basically a GT5 done right and that many fans were disillusioned by the previous opus...

 

[F1jocker12]

"Not doing it again", I guess. It's maybe more money on the short term, but also way less advertising on the long term. The level, impact and overall importance of games has changed a lot in the last 15 years.

I don't think their data shows they make a lot of money because of the games.

 

[pzkpfw]

I don't think their data shows they make a lot of money because of the games.

Doesn't that fall under "advertising"?

 

[F1jocker12]

Doesn't that fall under "advertising"?

correct.... any presence in any kind of game, movie, song video... is advertising and is paid for, or is part of a collaboration... But they have internal data, collected every day, that shows where there customers are coming from... Service, repeated ones, certain internet websites, drive by dealerships, friends, magazines, tv ads.... and they know where to improve or what category is more profitable... and I doubt video games is a strong category at all... If you remember, Kaz struggled in the past with some manufacturers that did not want their cars to appear smashed in any way, because, for them, gaming was synonymous with crazy kids going rampant and destroying the simulated vehicle and then he had no damage option in the game.....

 

[CodeRedR51]

I don't think Polyphony fully understands the impact of their promises.

http://www.gran-turismo.com/us/products/gt6/

This feature, available at a later stage through an update, will allow you to create your own custom tracks that can be driven in the game. Additionally, in another update we will add the possibility to generate a track by capturing the GPS coordinate data of a mobile app while you are driving that course. This GPS-generated tracks will be available in the game as playable content.

Says right there, since before GT6 was released, that the two would be available separately. Not once did they ever promise them being released at the same time. There's no promises to break here, especially since GT7 isn't even out yet (and I doubt the full team at PD are working on just GT7). There has been no release dates for features broken either. "At a later stage" and "in another update" say nothing about dates. Until GT7 hits retail shelves, there are no promises broken.

 

[Johnnypenso]

There are a few reasons to that. More options on the market, the fact that it's basically a GT5 done right and that many fans were disillusioned by the previous opus...

I don't think the reasons matter much to someone wanting to "advertise" through being in a videogame. I think racing gamers in particular dramatically overestimate the effect of advertising your car in a videogame has. Think about it. It's not that difficult to model cars, just a question of time. And it's relatively cheap. Using Project Cars as an example, they are launching a brand new game from the ground up with 75ish cars and 40ish tracks for less than $6Million. Even if half the budget is eaten up by modeling and licensing it's less than $30k per.

$30k is nothing for auto manufacturers. If it was that important to them, they'd be paying GT to put the cars in the game and helping them to do so. Heck, they'd just find out what videogame makers need to get the cars into the game and do the modeling themselves and hand over the finished product. They spend $100's of millions on advertising, if videogames were effective they'd be going out of their way to get every one of their cars into every game. They aren't.

 

[pzkpfw]

correct.... any presence in any kind of game, movie, song video... is advertising and is paid for, or is part of a collaboration... But they have internal data, collected every day, that shows where there customers are coming from... Service, repeated ones, certain internet websites, drive by dealerships, friends, magazines, tv ads.... and they know where to improve or what category is more profitable... and I doubt video games is a strong category at all... If you remember, Kaz struggled in the past with some manufacturers that did not want their cars to appear smashed in any way, because, for them, gaming was synonymous with crazy kids going rampant and destroying the simulated vehicle and then he had no damage option in the game.....

I don't think the reasons matter much to someone wanting to "advertise" through being in a videogame. I think racing gamers in particular dramatically overestimate the effect of advertising your car in a videogame has. Think about it. It's not that difficult to model cars, just a question of time. And it's relatively cheap. Using Project Cars as an example, they are launching a brand new game from the ground up with 75ish cars and 40ish tracks for less than $6Million. Even if half the budget is eaten up by modeling and licensing it's less than $30k per.

$30k is nothing for auto manufacturers. If it was that important to them, they'd be paying GT to put the cars in the game and helping them to do so. Heck, they'd just find out what videogame makers need to get the cars into the game and do the modeling themselves and hand over the finished product. They spend $100's of millions on advertising, if videogames were effective they'd be going out of their way to get every one of their cars into every game. They aren't.

Both your points are relevant. Though I can't help but notice the fact that collaborations between manufacturers and game developers are becoming more and more frequent. And there must be at least something they perceive, since (for example) Kaz receives gift cars from them and GT6 gets a project like "Vision GT". And I don't think PD is paying the manufacturers for the cars featured in VGT.

Yes, the immediate profit may be slim, but since games are becoming more and more a part of our culture, things like being represented in a successful gaming franchise could become somewhat important in a manufacturer's history.

 

[F1jocker12]

Says right there, since before GT6 was released, that the two would be available separately. Not once did they ever promise them being released at the same time. There's no promises to break here, especially since GT7 isn't even out yet (and I doubt the full team at PD are working on just GT7). There has been no release dates for features broken either. "At a later stage" and "in another update" say nothing about dates. Until GT7 hits retail shelves, there are no promises broken.

They need to keep people informed about their projects and reinforce the fact that they will deliver what promised. I'm not saying they've broken promises, but a realistic business model tells you that you will loose initial customers if you do not understand that by delaying initial promises, they will walk away. Gaming industry is getting bigger and if you have somebody else to do a accurate research and listen to the market, they will get your customers in an instant. As much as I like GT6, if another company will give me a better alternative, I will switch and this is not a fault on my side, this is real life. It is only few bucks I'm spending somewhere else and get stuck with the product because is the best out there. For now, I consider GT6 being the best, but Kaz needs to keep up the standard. You cannot have an update with all those features in September (lets say) and launch the next game in December. Makes no sense. B-spec is another game in the existing game already and at this point, Polyphony seems to have a big problem with scheduling properly their developing, testing and implementation. Small glitches in the game show poor testing. I don't know how they are working everything up with Sony people, because that is regulated by the platform they are running the code on.

On the other hand, Vision Gt needs coordination with the manufacturers, only the release of the last Mazda seemed to bypass an actual Car Show, real scale model launch by the factory. They need to be consistent with all these things, because we know, any delay will have a domino effect and will trigger more and longer delays....

 

[CodeRedR51]

They need to keep people informed about their projects and reinforce the fact that they will deliver what promised. I'm not saying they've broken promises, but a realistic business model tells you that you will loose initial customers if you do not understand that by delaying initial promises, they will walk away.

Again, no promise has been broken. It says on the site that it will be released in the future. And until they completely stop supporting GT6 in any way, that promise will remain unbroken. And I believe a couple months ago Kaz had mentioned in an article or interview that he had just received the course maker feature, and I'm sure they would then need to look it over, fix things, add or remove features, etc, etc.

Polyphony seems to have a big problem with scheduling properly their developing, testing and implementation.

You say this like you know their work schedule. Do you work for PD?

Small glitches in the game show poor testing. I don't know how they are working everything up with Sony people, because that is regulated by the platform they are running the code on.

What game now days doesn't have glitches? I think we should all be thankful that most of these glitches are found and fixed within a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Aussie_HSV]

*Enters thread about the FIA Championships.

 

[F1jocker12]

Again, no promise has been broken. It says on the site that it will be released in the future. And until they completely stop supporting GT6 in any way, that promise will remain unbroken. And I believe a couple months ago Kaz had mentioned in an article or interview that he had just received the course maker feature, and I'm sure they would then need to look it over, fix things, add or remove features, etc, etc.


You say this like you know their work schedule. Do you work for PD?


What game now days doesn't have glitches? I think we should all be thankful that most of these glitches are found and fixed within a reasonable amount of time.

If I'll be working for PD I will be telling Kaz all these things directly, believe me. They know how customer psychology works... It is not that simple... like "If I sold you something promising you will get some extra features in a future update and after one year that didn't happened, I still have enough time" works in today business ... Because it doesn't. If it takes that long, you tell people what is going on and explain yourself. I am saying this, because FIA Championship project will be huge and needs to be backed up by consistent improvement of quality of your services. If you have an outstanding product (lets say) still its not enough. Defensive approach, like the one you are using, from Polyphony point of view is out of question. They will rather not say anything whatsoever instead of being defensive, but the best way to do it is by delivering. If setting a FIA event, or having B-spec added will be an easy task, I will invite Kaz to hire a smart teenager to do it in 2 days, but is not, and because of that, you need to build a structured schedule to STICK with, otherwise you will lose control and run out of time. I totally appreciate what the game became and all the effort at this point, but looking at what is coming (many cars left to be released under Vision GT, B-spec mode, GPS Track editor update and app, plus FIA Championship - PROMISED for this spring, and another GT-Academy) and knowing the pace Polyphony is working on, I wonder. Big time.

 

[F1jocker12]

*Enters thread about the FIA Championships.

hahahahahahahahaha

 

[Johnnypenso]

Both your points are relevant. Though I can't help but notice the fact that collaborations between manufacturers and game developers are becoming more and more frequent. And there must be at least something they perceive, since (for example) Kaz receives gift cars from them and GT6 gets a project like "Vision GT". And I don't think PD is paying the manufacturers for the cars featured in VGT.

Yes, the immediate profit may be slim, but since games are becoming more and more a part of our culture, things like being represented in a successful gaming franchise could become somewhat important in a manufacturer's history.

Of course there's probably some benefit from it otherwise they would just tell game makers to get lost and not waste their time. I just think car gamers in particular suffer from a sort of confirmation bias and dramatically overestimate the effectiveness of having your car in a videogame. How do you explain then that GT6 launched with so few current model cars and of the handful included most were supercars? Surely if gaming is a vehicle they expect to impact profitability and sales they'd include current models right? The push would be to constantly keep the game up to date no?

At best you get brand awareness but since the game is not really set up to favour one car over the other, you're just thrown into a generic mix of available dealerships, dominated by mass quantities of Japanese manufactured vehicles.

 

[catamount39]

Back to the actual FIA thing...I've got a new theory:

GT6 will recieve an update; Ferrari 458 GT2, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE and Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTE. These will all be base models with GT/PD/FIA/Manufacture markings. They can only be tuned like the real life cars and feature new sounds as a sample of GT7. Then a month later we will recieve another update with the current GP2 car, also a base model but with FIA championship markings and same tuning setup as the GTE's. Then for the International Championship we get a special FIA LMP1 car that is a base model and has no tuning.

 

[F1jocker12]

Back to the actual FIA thing...I've got a new theory:

GT6 will recieve an update; Ferrari 458 GT2, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE and Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTE. These will all be base models with GT/PD/FIA/Manufacture markings. They can only be tuned like the real life cars and feature new sounds as a sample of GT7. Then a month later we will recieve another update with the current GP2 car, also a base model but with FIA championship markings and same tuning setup as the GTE's. Then for the International Championship we get a special FIA LMP1 car that is a base model and has no tuning.

Interesting choice... Why 3 different cars in the first update?

 

[JKgo]

Back to the actual FIA thing...I've got a new theory:

GT6 will recieve an update; Ferrari 458 GT2, Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE and Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GTE. These will all be base models with GT/PD/FIA/Manufacture markings. They can only be tuned like the real life cars and feature new sounds as a sample of GT7. Then a month later we will recieve another update with the current GP2 car, also a base model but with FIA championship markings and same tuning setup as the GTE's. Then for the International Championship we get a special FIA LMP1 car that is a base model and has no tuning.

...........Personally I'd like to see a maker with only one car in the game get more "recognition": Bentley Continental GT3 racer. But Aston racer sounds super, too.

 

[catamount39]

Interesting choice... Why 3 different cars in the first update?

I would have added the Porsche but EA is hoarding it. I was going to say GT3 cars, but I changed to those GTE cars like the FIA wants it's fans to expierence the highest tech GT cars. Making a deal with those three to add those cars into the game. Because there aren't any real secrets as GTE is frozen for this year IIRC.

But one other side thought...what if the top challenge is actually a concept car of Class 1?

 

[wicken]

But one other side thought...what if the top challenge is actually a concept car of Class 1?

What if you are overreacting about this? I actually think this will be just like GT Academy but this time available to everyone in the world, players will be able to compete against real racing drivers’ lap times/ghost car or in a championship similar to the Nissan GT Academy, where players compete against each other and winners get to actually race in the real thing.

 

[catamount39]

What if you are overreacting about this? I actually think this will be just like GT Academy but this time available to everyone in the world and with FIA rules in state.

The thing is, I know that you are right. There's a 99.99% chance all we get is some challenges and some FIA branded Nissans. BUT, I'm leaving a little room for hope and that that 00.01% chance we get some real world content finally again for GT6.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Maybe the FIA would like to promote the heck out of it's newest high profile series and please all the tree huggers at the same time by providing GT gamers with the Formula E car for the first time We'd all be happy with that right:idea: Imagine roaring whirring down the front straight of Fuji, peaking around 300km/h 225km/h, the wind buffeting your helmet tussling your hair as your engine reaches full roar purr. Downshifting through the modern 8 5 speed gearbox hearing the engine bark it's defiance squeal it's compliance with each downshift. Bliss I tell ya, bliss

 

[catamount39]

At least GT sounds would finally be accurate...

 

[DSkywalker01]

I would have added the Porsche but EA is hoarding it. I was going to say GT3 cars, but I changed to those GTE cars like the FIA wants it's fans to expierence the highest tech GT cars. Making a deal with those three to add those cars into the game. Because there aren't any real secrets as GTE is frozen for this year IIRC.

But one other side thought...what if the top challenge is actually a concept car of Class 1?

There is no way... it will probably just be time trials with Nissan GTRs.

But it doesn't mean I am absolutely dreaming of an update like that.

 

[05XR8]

Formula 4(maybe, who knows) at Brands Hatch and Silverstone.

GT3 at Spa, Monza and Nurburgring GP/F (THOUGH, the recent Nurb24H seasonal, could have been a litmus test).

Super GT at Fuji, Motegi and Suzuka 2014.

I really have no idea what the FiA want to do with the series. If there are no working flag marshals and lights. If there is no terminal damage. Maybe there will be numbers typed for those that hit walls and spin other drivers, so they will be DNF'd/excluded. It will be interesting.