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Particularly on console, PC2 is dying. After midnight CST, it is not unusual to see less that 20 rooms in the public lobbies (probably half or more with fewer than 8 players in them). That means you are seeing them all, worldwide. At the exact same time, there are hundreds of lobbies up on GTS. Not players... Lobbies.
Obviously, we have a problem. Can SMS change this? And can they do it without ruining the game for those that already like it? I think they can, with not all that much change, and zero change to the game as is already enjoyed. But it's going to take a shift in SMS's thinking.
For starters... Grip
I think that, for PC2 to gain a significant piece of the casual player base, it needs the full range of tires available to ALL cars.
There's a significant percentage of GTS's player base sticking RSS (racing super softs) on Fiat500's and the like! Is it ridiculous? Yes, of course. But they are buying GTS and not PC2! They are playing online. They will gradually move onto more realistic tires, and swell the online community (which on consoles is close to dead compared to GTS) and gradually become more hardcore.
The thing is, allow a far grippier tire selection for casual players won't change the hardcore game one iota. Host should always be allowed to set rooms' tire selection (say from 'Full' to 'Real') so the purists won't know the difference. But the average casual player will definitely appreciate the extra grip, especially pad players. TBH, if Gran Turismo restricted cars' tires to the grip levels that come with the standard tires they come with IRL, the same litany of 'I can't control this, your game sucks!' from the inexperienced would be heard there as well as here!
But PD know better than this. They know that you need to ease players into it. And they know that they will make millions off of players that will never be able to control a car on realistic tires. It's a shame that PD don't see the benefit of millions more players (and sales) than they already have, because it would benefit even the hardcore players. More money means more tracks, cars, features, faster new game development. And if that takes being able to stick a racing soft slick on a stock Escort, where's the harm in that, as long as hosts can restrict tire selection online?
Next up... The lobby system and multiplayer online code.
We all know it sucks. It sucked in PC1. And unless it stops sucking, and soon, the casual player millions will stay where they are. Along with their money.
Room titles are a must... not just for computer players. Sort options should work across all available rooms, not just for computer players. Lobby sort options need to include tuned and untuned rooms (untuned racing is very popular in the casual scene). The flag for 'Join' should change to 'Spectate' in the lobby as soon as you can't get to the track. Filters for rooms in one's own region (to help with ping) are needed.
Host kicks should work. Public online just doesn't work without them. On PS3/GT5/6, a blocked person couldn't even join your room, and a kicked person if not on the list couldn't rejoin until your next session. Great for busting trolls. And I can't recall a single clean room where the host kicked for no reason. So much for SMS's pressing need to kill the feature! They should have just set it up so that kicking doesn't help the host's rating. Problem solved...
Host migration shouldn't kill rooms. It is unconscionable that this basic bug has been allowed to survive for a year (did it mess up on PC1, too?). New host, new controls. Most rooms die in public if the host leaves or gets disconnected. Casual players won't have the patience for that.
Text chat is needed, not just for computer players! And simple mute options for mics. Mute All, Mute All except Host, Mute spectators. Text chat allows communication without having to listen to the cacophony of voices, languages and mic bleed from other people without the nuisance of setting up a Party. Allowing the host to set up a standard greet post that new players see saves invaluable time in communicating the room's focus. In fairness, this isn't even really a casual player feature, it is one that should be on even for the hardcore. But apparently, while other studios have no problem with chat on console, it is beyond SMS's capability!
Next up... Online gameplay.
Casual players don't like to waste a lot of time with practice and qualy. But PC2's options are limited if you don't use them. For starters, reverse grids are important. Casual rooms are rarely very evenly matched, and the reverse grid is a great way to present the few good drivers in the room with a challenge. Work your way clean through the pack. Beats sitting out ahead all alone! Plus it gives the tail enders their moment of glory, their chance at the podium on short enough races (which casual races tend to be!).
With greater casual participation comes a greater choice of skill levels. Be nice to be able to set upper and lower limits on Reputation strengths, to better match you with your peers. GTS's Sport Mode does this automatically to an extent, it would be good for hosts to have this control. Obviously, we are going to need a LOT more players before this works, but if SMS address some (hopefully all!) of these issues, we are likely to see it.
Track and car selection need an optional vote system. With mics muted, or international rooms, it is a mess to get this done quickly by talking. And room titles need to be able to be changed as room's focus may change. I like a system where each vote can be seen. With PC2's huge track selection, it can easily end up with everyone voting for a different track. I used to like to see the first few votes and pick from them!
To better leverage the less balanced Groups, which some of which have wildly different capability cars in them, I think an optional SMS determined BoP scaling might be host imposed (and the lobby could be sorted by it), to help get people into more cars than the already tightly BoP's GT3 and GTE type classes. It often seems a shame for PC2's massive group selection to be so underused because there is often one rabbit and you pick it or lose. BoP would, I think, finally break the stranglehold GT3 has! This works well for GTS.
This is just a start to how Project Cars might reverse the decline in participation, and no doubt many of you have other ideas to bring the flock to us. Please note, I have not suggested a single thing that would alter the game in any way for those it is already perfect for. That is important to me. I realize the thought of casual gamers changing the game upsets the faithful. But I hope that many of them would realize that easing millions more into playing this game would only make it stronger.
Isn't that a good thing..?
Obviously, we have a problem. Can SMS change this? And can they do it without ruining the game for those that already like it? I think they can, with not all that much change, and zero change to the game as is already enjoyed. But it's going to take a shift in SMS's thinking.
For starters... Grip
I think that, for PC2 to gain a significant piece of the casual player base, it needs the full range of tires available to ALL cars.
There's a significant percentage of GTS's player base sticking RSS (racing super softs) on Fiat500's and the like! Is it ridiculous? Yes, of course. But they are buying GTS and not PC2! They are playing online. They will gradually move onto more realistic tires, and swell the online community (which on consoles is close to dead compared to GTS) and gradually become more hardcore.
The thing is, allow a far grippier tire selection for casual players won't change the hardcore game one iota. Host should always be allowed to set rooms' tire selection (say from 'Full' to 'Real') so the purists won't know the difference. But the average casual player will definitely appreciate the extra grip, especially pad players. TBH, if Gran Turismo restricted cars' tires to the grip levels that come with the standard tires they come with IRL, the same litany of 'I can't control this, your game sucks!' from the inexperienced would be heard there as well as here!
But PD know better than this. They know that you need to ease players into it. And they know that they will make millions off of players that will never be able to control a car on realistic tires. It's a shame that PD don't see the benefit of millions more players (and sales) than they already have, because it would benefit even the hardcore players. More money means more tracks, cars, features, faster new game development. And if that takes being able to stick a racing soft slick on a stock Escort, where's the harm in that, as long as hosts can restrict tire selection online?
Next up... The lobby system and multiplayer online code.
We all know it sucks. It sucked in PC1. And unless it stops sucking, and soon, the casual player millions will stay where they are. Along with their money.
Room titles are a must... not just for computer players. Sort options should work across all available rooms, not just for computer players. Lobby sort options need to include tuned and untuned rooms (untuned racing is very popular in the casual scene). The flag for 'Join' should change to 'Spectate' in the lobby as soon as you can't get to the track. Filters for rooms in one's own region (to help with ping) are needed.
Host kicks should work. Public online just doesn't work without them. On PS3/GT5/6, a blocked person couldn't even join your room, and a kicked person if not on the list couldn't rejoin until your next session. Great for busting trolls. And I can't recall a single clean room where the host kicked for no reason. So much for SMS's pressing need to kill the feature! They should have just set it up so that kicking doesn't help the host's rating. Problem solved...
Host migration shouldn't kill rooms. It is unconscionable that this basic bug has been allowed to survive for a year (did it mess up on PC1, too?). New host, new controls. Most rooms die in public if the host leaves or gets disconnected. Casual players won't have the patience for that.
Text chat is needed, not just for computer players! And simple mute options for mics. Mute All, Mute All except Host, Mute spectators. Text chat allows communication without having to listen to the cacophony of voices, languages and mic bleed from other people without the nuisance of setting up a Party. Allowing the host to set up a standard greet post that new players see saves invaluable time in communicating the room's focus. In fairness, this isn't even really a casual player feature, it is one that should be on even for the hardcore. But apparently, while other studios have no problem with chat on console, it is beyond SMS's capability!
Next up... Online gameplay.
Casual players don't like to waste a lot of time with practice and qualy. But PC2's options are limited if you don't use them. For starters, reverse grids are important. Casual rooms are rarely very evenly matched, and the reverse grid is a great way to present the few good drivers in the room with a challenge. Work your way clean through the pack. Beats sitting out ahead all alone! Plus it gives the tail enders their moment of glory, their chance at the podium on short enough races (which casual races tend to be!).
With greater casual participation comes a greater choice of skill levels. Be nice to be able to set upper and lower limits on Reputation strengths, to better match you with your peers. GTS's Sport Mode does this automatically to an extent, it would be good for hosts to have this control. Obviously, we are going to need a LOT more players before this works, but if SMS address some (hopefully all!) of these issues, we are likely to see it.
Track and car selection need an optional vote system. With mics muted, or international rooms, it is a mess to get this done quickly by talking. And room titles need to be able to be changed as room's focus may change. I like a system where each vote can be seen. With PC2's huge track selection, it can easily end up with everyone voting for a different track. I used to like to see the first few votes and pick from them!
To better leverage the less balanced Groups, which some of which have wildly different capability cars in them, I think an optional SMS determined BoP scaling might be host imposed (and the lobby could be sorted by it), to help get people into more cars than the already tightly BoP's GT3 and GTE type classes. It often seems a shame for PC2's massive group selection to be so underused because there is often one rabbit and you pick it or lose. BoP would, I think, finally break the stranglehold GT3 has! This works well for GTS.
This is just a start to how Project Cars might reverse the decline in participation, and no doubt many of you have other ideas to bring the flock to us. Please note, I have not suggested a single thing that would alter the game in any way for those it is already perfect for. That is important to me. I realize the thought of casual gamers changing the game upsets the faithful. But I hope that many of them would realize that easing millions more into playing this game would only make it stronger.
Isn't that a good thing..?
