GPS Data Visualizer app.

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spawn_of_loki
Sorry if this has been asked before, I searched and did not manage to find an answer to my question.

Does anyone know anything about the app(s) what will be able to collect data for the GPS Data Visualizer? What kind format is supported? Has anyone uploaded any data for it somewhere?

Thanks.
 
It's an accessory you need to purchase from Toyota, it's not an app. It only works on 3 tracks in Japan. Also, IIRC it only works on the Toyota 86.
 
Oh, OK. Thanks.

So basically we will have to wait for some guys in Japan to buy the damn thing, install it on their car, run a few laps on the selected tracks and hopefully upload the data on a server where we can download it and then transfer it to a USB stick, and from there to the PS3 in order to be able to enjoy this little gem of a feature. Right?

Awesome!!
 
You see, I don't see the point of releasing something that is of little or no use to us. Maybe this will change in the future, so why release this "thing" if it can only be used by a minority?
 
pzkpfw
Oh, OK. Thanks.

So basically we will have to wait for some guys in Japan to buy the damn thing, install it on their car, run a few laps on the selected tracks and hopefully upload the data on a server where we can download it and then transfer it to a USB stick, and from there to the PS3 in order to be able to enjoy this little gem of a feature. Right?

Awesome!!
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Well, you could go to Japan, buy an 86, buy the accessory, go to one of the three tracks, then go crazy doing laps. It's just an option though.
 
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It's not like they re-invented the telephone. When I go on a bike ride, my phone, in my pocket, is able to track my progress, speed, average speed, ascent and descent. All they did was write some code to take GPS info and make a replay out of it. Not exactly ground-breaking stuff.

They actually made it worse by forcing you to buy an accessory and from what I read, an accessory that only works in the Toyota 86.

Considering many players don't own a Toyota 86, and don't live in Japan, this feature should've been a "Japan only" feature. So it's not that we're being negative, it's just completely useless.

Out of all GT6 users, how many live in Japan? Out of those, how many own a Toyota 86? Out of those, how many would spend $1,000 on an accessory that works with GT6, and out of those, how many would travel to and race their car on one of the three tracks it works on at the moment? That number has to be below one percent.

When you factor in that the accessory isn't due out until June (someone posted that date), this is a completely useless feature for 100% of GT6 users.
 
DeifieD
When you factor in that the accessory isn't due out until June (someone posted that date), this is a completely useless feature for 100% of GT6 users.
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The CAN GPS equipment needed has been available from 2nd April, but is only currently being fitted to the GT86.
Jordan has used the equipment on Willow Springs in the US, so it's not limited to Japan. However the format and equipment is limited to new Toyotas at a cost.

This makes the feature completely useless unless you buy a new Toyota and pay some travel and track day costs.

Will it be a common thing in the future? Maybe, but by then we'll be playing GT7 or GT8.
 
Jay.
The CAN GPS equipment needed has been available from 2nd April, but is only currently being fitted to the GT86.
Jordan has used the equipment on Willow Springs in the US, so it's not limited to Japan. However the format and equipment is limited to new Toyotas at a cost.

This makes the feature completely useless unless you buy a new Toyota and pay some travel and track day costs.

Will it be a common thing in the future? Maybe, but by then we'll be playing GT7 or GT8.
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According to the release notes, only works on 3 Japanese tracks.
 
They were probably allowed to test it there and had early access to both the features and the hardware. So I'm not surprised it worked.
 
It's not the track that restricts it's use. It's format and availability.
With the format we need currently restricted to new Toyotas, specifically the 86. (Though Jordan was using a Scion)
 
DeifieD
It's not like they re-invented the telephone. When I go on a bike ride, my phone, in my pocket, is able to track my progress, speed, average speed, ascent and descent. All they did was write some code to take GPS info and make a replay out of it. Not exactly ground-breaking stuff.

They actually made it worse by forcing you to buy an accessory and from what I read, an accessory that only works in the Toyota 86.

Considering many players don't own a Toyota 86, and don't live in Japan, this feature should've been a "Japan only" feature. So it's not that we're being negative, it's just completely useless.

Out of all GT6 users, how many live in Japan? Out of those, how many own a Toyota 86? Out of those, how many would spend $1,000 on an accessory that works with GT6, and out of those, how many would travel to and race their car on one of the three tracks it works on at the moment? That number has to be below one percent.

When you factor in that the accessory isn't due out until June (someone posted that date), this is a completely useless feature for 100% of GT6 users.
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Perhaps you missed the part where I said, "I think this could be the *start* of something very cool."

So tell me, what PS3 games are integrated with your RunKeeper app, or whatever you're using? What games are integrated with the GPS routes from my sailboat? NONE!

Also, tell me why it should be a regional feature? How does it's as-yet unused presence adversely affect your life? It doesn't. It takes nothing away from you!

As I said, this is the beginning of something cool. You don't actually believe this was developed for only one model of car and three tracks, do you? That's like saying three years ago that Apple should not have included LTE capability in their phones because LTE hadn't been rolled out yet in your city.

Dude, you were just given the first telephone for free. Hang in there, and you'll probably find a use for it.

And, by the way, you completely missed the telephone analogy. Pay attention.

Jay.
Will it be a common thing in the future? Maybe, but by then we'll be playing GT7 or GT8.
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Maybe, but it's gotta start somewhere!

Jay.
However the format and equipment is limited to new Toyotas at a cost.

This makes the feature completely useless unless you buy a new Toyota and pay some travel and track day costs.
Click to expand...

At present, yes. Six months from now???
 
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Jbaffoh
Perhaps you missed the part where I said, "I think this could be the *start* of something very cool."

So tell me, what PS3 games are integrated with your RunKeeper app, or whatever you're using? What games are integrated with the GPS routes from my sailboat? NONE!

Also, tell me why it should be a regional feature? How does it's as-yet unused presence adversely affect your life? It doesn't. It takes nothing away from you!

As I said, this is the beginning of something cool. You don't actually believe this was developed for only one model of car and three tracks, do you? That's like saying three years ago that Apple should not have included LTE capability in their phones because LTE hadn't been rolled out yet in your city.

Dude, you were just given the first telephone for free. Hang in there, and you'll probably find a use for it.

And, by the way, you completely missed the telephone analogy. Pay attention.
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I didn't miss anything, it's a feature that 100 percent of GT6 users won't be able to use at the moment. The point being that it's a waste of time to release something no one can use. The time could've been spent on making the existing game better for all users, instead of releasing something that no one can use.

It should've been a Japan region specific feature since Japan is the only place you can use it.

It affected me, I had to download a 295mb update, with a feature I can't use yet.

My comment about my biking and tracking of my rides was that it's not new technology, the technology has been around for a while, it's the incorporation of that technology into the game that's new.

I read your telephone analogy, it's not the same thing, or even remotely close.

This is an incomplete feature that shouldn't be on my PS3, since I can't use it due to geographical, and automobile restrictions.

When Apple released LTE on the iPhone 5, most major cities had LTE coverage, I got my iPhone 5 on launch day and I was using LTE the same day. So I don't see where you were going with that.

I never said I'm going somewhere, all I said is that this feature is completely useless at this time. It has potential yes, but at this time, in it's current state, it's completely useless.
 
Ahem.... The first telephone was unuseable, too. Get it? But eventually someone else got one, and it caught on. Get it?

You're right about the 5. But what if you didn't live in a major city when you bought it? That's kinda like living outside Japan now, isn't it?

You're right; GPS tracking and routing has been around for a while, and I was an early adopter using it on my boats and cars when you were in elementary school, and later on bikes and running shoes with my original iPhone. You're also correct that integration into video games is new, AND THAT WAS MY POINT!

I'm so sorry you had to endure the 15 seconds it took to download that 295mb, which also included the data logger, a seasonal, custom wings, new online settings, etc. in fact, the GPS doodad probably cost 1-2 seconds of your life that you'll never replace. My condolences.

There are several plausible reasons for incorporating the GPS functionality at this early stage. From a marketing standpoint, it helps attract other car manufacturers and smart phone app developers because nobody wants to develop for vaperware. But perhaps more importantly, in some countries, technology needs to be implemented in the wild before it can be validly patented. In the US, you can patent an idea even if it's never used. That's not true everywhere.
 
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When I first read about it on the Update thing, I thought it sounded neat, and it is, but it only works in Japan at the moment. And I'm not sure how video game updates work and all, but I think it's easier to let everyone have the update than to update only the players from countries that have and will have the service.

And I don't know if I'm getting it right, but if the data will be converted into a replay anyway, can't I just buy the 86 and do a few laps on the specified tracks? Sounds less harmful to my real-life wallet to me :3 Still think it's kinda cool.
 
Jbaffoh
There are several plausible reasons for incorporating the GPS functionality at this early stage. From a marketing standpoint, it helps attract other car manufacturers and smart phone app developers because nobody wants to develop for vaperware. But perhaps more importantly, in some countries, technology needs to be implemented in the wild before it can be validly patented. In the US, you can patent an idea even if it's never used. That's not true everywhere.
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There's a bigger picture here though. This is a videogame and at the core, the vast, vast majority of us want to simply drive and race cars in the game. Every time we see a feature like this, or the VGT Project, or driving on the moon or anything else that doesn't revolve around making real cars and real tracks or improving the actual gameplay, we begin to question where the focus of the franchise is. If we were getting all the core features we were promised like monthly track DLC, "quantum leap" DLC, Course Creator, Community Features etc. no one would care how many moons are mapped or other useless features we get.

Some of us, me included, are wondering if PD hasn't lost it's way, caught up in trying to be all things to all people in the automotive world, and forgetting that us millions of fans are funding this experiment, and we just want our game to be finished in a reasonable time and for them to live up to their promises, implied and specific. All the negativity around the GPS Visualizer isn't about the feature itself, it's about what we might have had instead if they didn't focus on this first or at all.
 
Jbaffoh
There are several plausible reasons for incorporating the GPS functionality at this early stage. From a marketing standpoint, it helps attract other car manufacturers and smart phone app developers because nobody wants to develop for vaperware. But perhaps more importantly, in some countries, technology needs to be implemented in the wild before it can be validly patented. In the US, you can patent an idea even if it's never used. That's not true everywhere.
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So it's another move based on marketing strategies, just like the product placement DLC. Basically all we got for GT6 so far in terms of true updates were minor tweaks some of PD's monkeys did in their lunch break while working on GT7. Wonder when or if we will get proper features we can actually use anytime soon, such as the promised stuff that was already in GT5...

Edit: What Johnnypesto said. Had this tab open a while already.
 
I agree with everyone who would prefer useful features over features that are questionably useful in the future. But maybe I'm just a dreamer.

I would like to see this developed so I could, for example, drive around the Long Beach Grand Prix route, which is 10 minutes from my house. Using a smartphone app or an accessory for my car, map the route. Then, have the ability to input that into GT6's promised course creator, and then have the track to race. If some actual race cars are similarly equipped in the actual race, then I'd like to race against their ghost.

Or, using a map app like Google Earth, create a course on my couch and upload it into the game.

I see a ton of potential, but it needs to start somewhere.
 
Jbaffoh
Ahem.... The first telephone was unuseable, too. Get it? But eventually someone else got one, and it caught on. Get it?

You're right about the 5. But what if you didn't live in a major city when you bought it? That's kinda like living outside Japan now, isn't it?

You're right; GPS tracking and routing has been around for a while, and I was an early adopter using it on my boats and cars when you were in elementary school, and later on bikes and running shoes with my original iPhone. You're also correct that integration into video games is new, AND THAT WAS MY POINT!

I'm so sorry you had to endure the 15 seconds it took to download that 295mb, which also included the data logger, a seasonal, custom wings, new online settings, etc. in fact, the GPS doodad probably cost 1-2 seconds of your life that you'll never replace. My condolences.
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Ahh, you're older than me so you know better. You are taking this way too seriously. If you want to defend the feature that nobody can use at this time, by all means, but you don't need to try to compare the invention of the telephone to this. I'm happy for you and all your boats, must be nice, even happier that you're an early adopter. Can you hear my one hand clapping for you? Bravo. Even with all your money, if you were able to buy the gadget from Japan and have it shipped here, and you bought a Toyota 86, as it stands, it would still be useless to you. That is my point. I'm happy that PD is introducing new things, but there are bigger issues with the game that require fixing, prior to launching a feature 99% of GT6 users aren't able to use. Maybe you should get your reading glasses out, and re-read everything I've been writing. It's not a personal attack on you, so stop taking it personally.
 
Dude, in NO way did I ever compare this feature to the invention of the telephone!--and certainly not with respect to its importance! Read much?

I was using it as an example of the unusability of new devices or features before they are widely adopted. It's that simple. I remember when email was said to be pointless in the early 80's for the same reason. Pick any example. People who complained like you were eventually embarassed.
 
As I previously stated, this feature has great potential, but in its current state, it's pointless, and a waste of resources at PD. They should fix the game before releasing something that most, if not all GT6 users can't use. I would love to take my car to a track and have it made into a replay, but I'm not buying a Toyota 86 and shipping it to 3 tracks in Japan, because it's pointless. The idea is great, but the implementation is a joke. It just shows you how much PD doesn't care about the current bugs and errors in the game. That's what's frustrating.
 
Let me see, if you click on the icon in the game it says, transfer usb data. I'm pretty sure there will be someone in Japan, who happens to have the car,track,logger, that will maybe supply their data? Transfer to your usb,upload, ta da.
Sorry, I'm thinking outside the box.
 
DeifieD
It's an accessory you need to purchase from Toyota, it's not an app. It only works on 3 tracks in Japan. Also, IIRC it only works on the Toyota 86.
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Ok from what you've said I have to buy a Toyota 86 $25 000, ship it to japan, $3000, WOW thanks PD, if I mention PD at the Toyota dealer do I get a discount?
 
killerjimbag
Let me see, if you click on the icon in the game it says, transfer usb data. I'm pretty sure there will be someone in Japan, who happens to have the car,track,logger, that will maybe supply their data? Transfer to your usb,upload, ta da.
Sorry, I'm thinking outside the box.
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That's great, but it's his lap not yours. So it's still pretty useless. Might as well download your friend's replay data and watch that.

1gt6freak
Ok from what you've said I have to buy a Toyota 86 $25 000, ship it to japan, $3000, WOW thanks PD, if I mention PD at the Toyota dealer do I get a discount?
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Don't forget the accessory which will be around $1,000
 

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