- 4,360
- Connecticut
- Ridley-X4
To preface, I'd have some parts of the controls be dependent on the car itself, rather than customizing the controls from a more basal menu and thus having them apply in a "top-down" fashion. For example, MT vs. AT would depend on the car, and would include MT with clutch, and/or cars that include the ability to switch between AT and MT on the go. There's also the factor of buttons that apply to windshield wipers, lights (e.g. flashing & low beam/high beam), horns (if they return), and overtake/ERS/DRS mechanics. Also, not all cars IRL come with options to tune ABS/TCS/BB/fuel mapping, whether in the garage or on-track. Finally, I'd have unit readouts also be dependent on the car, so the USDM Nissan GT-R Premium Edition seen in GTS would have imperial units, while the JDM Toyota Sports 800 would have a metric readout. Ultimately, I'd have it so that the controls are applies in a "bottom-up" method, where each car has its own control mapping that you can customize, rather than a "one-size fits all" approach that may not apply to all cars.
Without further pontification, I'll try to briefly overview my idea of license test design.
-For the tests involving braking, I'd have the most basic test be a rolling start, so that the only factor is figuring out when to brake. The next iteration of that test would include launch with TCS set to 3, making it more like the typical braking test. The next iteration would include launch, but disable TCS. Then, the final version of this test would disable both TCS and ABS, making the player figure out how to brake without inducing brake-lock.
-I'd also have a series of tests where you aren't in control of the car, but instead, an AI is driving, and it's up to your tuning to get the best time. This would be good for tests involving adjustments to Brake Balance, and other factors such as downforce, placement & weight of ballast, camber, or gear ratios. (As an aside, I'd prefer it so that each adjustable parameter would include its advantages/disadvantages in their descriptions, as well as what units are being adjusted. I also think that instead of power/weight being adjusted by percentage, it could be adjusted by individual bhp/kg, (and/or approximate equivalent for hp & lbs) which in turn would be translated into a percentage rather than the current inverse order.)
-The S-license would mostly entail trying to beat certain times with powerful cars, and/or allowing a wide variety of tuning options for your AI driver. It also would entail using specialized mechanics for some cars, including DRS/ERS and similar systems, like the overtake option on the SF19. In fact, I'd have the groupings of cars for each license be as follows:
National B - Up to N200
National A - Up to N400 + Least Gr.X cars (e.g. Racing Kart 125 Shifter, Tesla Model S)
Int'l C - Up to N600 + Lesser Gr.X cars (e.g. Peugeot L500R VGT, Daihatsu Copen RJ VGT)
Int'l B - Up to Gr.4/N800 + Gr.X Concept Sports Cars (e.g. Nissan VGT, Mercedes-Benz VGT, both Volkswagen VGTs)
Int'l A - Up to Gr.3/Gr.B/N1000 + Gr.X Concept Racecars (e.g. Mercedes-Benz VGT Racing Series, Toyota FT-1 VGT)
Super - Up to Gr.1 + Various open-wheelers (Red Bull cars, SF19, W08) and otherwise most powerful VGTs. (e.g. Chaparral VGT, Alpine VGT Race Mode)
Naturally, these would all have leaderboards, but I'd also have more options for leaderboards, including the ability to see where you stand among all other players (like we see with the new Sport Mode Time Trials), but also within your region, nation, and smaller region (e.g. state), much like one would see for the Nations Cup standings.
Without further pontification, I'll try to briefly overview my idea of license test design.
-For the tests involving braking, I'd have the most basic test be a rolling start, so that the only factor is figuring out when to brake. The next iteration of that test would include launch with TCS set to 3, making it more like the typical braking test. The next iteration would include launch, but disable TCS. Then, the final version of this test would disable both TCS and ABS, making the player figure out how to brake without inducing brake-lock.
-I'd also have a series of tests where you aren't in control of the car, but instead, an AI is driving, and it's up to your tuning to get the best time. This would be good for tests involving adjustments to Brake Balance, and other factors such as downforce, placement & weight of ballast, camber, or gear ratios. (As an aside, I'd prefer it so that each adjustable parameter would include its advantages/disadvantages in their descriptions, as well as what units are being adjusted. I also think that instead of power/weight being adjusted by percentage, it could be adjusted by individual bhp/kg, (and/or approximate equivalent for hp & lbs) which in turn would be translated into a percentage rather than the current inverse order.)
-The S-license would mostly entail trying to beat certain times with powerful cars, and/or allowing a wide variety of tuning options for your AI driver. It also would entail using specialized mechanics for some cars, including DRS/ERS and similar systems, like the overtake option on the SF19. In fact, I'd have the groupings of cars for each license be as follows:
National B - Up to N200
National A - Up to N400 + Least Gr.X cars (e.g. Racing Kart 125 Shifter, Tesla Model S)
Int'l C - Up to N600 + Lesser Gr.X cars (e.g. Peugeot L500R VGT, Daihatsu Copen RJ VGT)
Int'l B - Up to Gr.4/N800 + Gr.X Concept Sports Cars (e.g. Nissan VGT, Mercedes-Benz VGT, both Volkswagen VGTs)
Int'l A - Up to Gr.3/Gr.B/N1000 + Gr.X Concept Racecars (e.g. Mercedes-Benz VGT Racing Series, Toyota FT-1 VGT)
Super - Up to Gr.1 + Various open-wheelers (Red Bull cars, SF19, W08) and otherwise most powerful VGTs. (e.g. Chaparral VGT, Alpine VGT Race Mode)
Naturally, these would all have leaderboards, but I'd also have more options for leaderboards, including the ability to see where you stand among all other players (like we see with the new Sport Mode Time Trials), but also within your region, nation, and smaller region (e.g. state), much like one would see for the Nations Cup standings.
