Gran Turismo 7’s Invitation System Is Broken: Here’s How We’d Fix It

[MatskiMonk]

Or just remove it entirely, problem solved.

It's not a solution if it doesn't achieve PD's creative or holistic goals for the game.

 

[Porsche_Racer]

I remember that when I first got the game, within the first few weeks of playing(been playing since it came out,March 4th) I got a Bugatti invitation and I spent a whole 2 days racing in my beat-up Intergra(this is a bit after they gave everyone 1M,and I spent it on a '06 Viper and a '07 M3, Murci, and a '69 Z/28) trying to save up to get that Veryon. I miss that car...

 

[sonnyboychris]

The implementation though is endlessly frustrating for players

This line really stuck out to me because it seems to be a prominent issue across the board for PD. There are a few systems within the game that are not just poorly implemented, they're neglected and have been for 6 years (depending on the system).

The poor implementation is excusable, it's expected. They're human, they make mistakes or go down the wrong path. It's the silence, the perceived stubbornness and neglectfulness of Kaz/PD that's downright infuriating.

 

[o000o]

• Bring back Manufacturer Cup races - win and you get the car as prize reward.

For now (since GT5), the manufacturer cup races are united with other events, GT7 had something like Nissan GT-R Cup.

I do wish that events are more organized around each category like older games up to GT4.

 

[tankuroded]

The Invite system should be simplfied, complete the all GOLD in Track CE's or Master Licence tests and you get a Random brand invite. So overall you complete a gold, get credits of like 1mill and a possible invite for your dream car.

That sounds still tying it to the roulette system, at which point you might as well ask for tickets that can only drop invitations (much like car/part/engine-only tickets).

 

[sswishbone]

It's not a solution if it doesn't achieve PD's creative or holistic goals for the game.

Well since their goals appear to be grind, manipulate cash and bore... it's good their vision would be unachievable

 

[Sasek]

This is how I would solve it.

Depending on the brand of the vehicle, do some championship, let's say 5 races, X laps, win and get an invitation to buy this brand of vehicle. If we want another car, go back to the championship and buy another car. Yes, it would make sense and taking part in races would make sense.

If it is not possible to drive cars of this brand because there are very few of them, organize another championship that can be repeated and receive invitations. The tracks could also be randomized so as not to run the same tracks over and over again in one championship.

How hard is that to make?

 

[bass_warrior]

I’m not sure if PD changed something in their invitation system but I was able to get all the invitations on the first months of the game release, I wish this could be given to other players since for me they’re useless and still get them quite often!

 

[Touring Mars]

Honestly they could do away with the mechanic. It's no wonder that new high-end hypercars introduced in updates, such as (in order): the Porsche 918 Spyder, Bugatti Chiron and Aston Martin Valkyrie, don't need any invitations at all.

Or if anything, the invitations can be permanent, but you must meet certain requirements before you can attain them, such as:

Aston Martin - Have at least Cr. 5,000,000 worth of garage assets from Aston Martin.

Bugatti - Reach 400km/h on at least ten cars.

Citroen - Win 10 races each with the GT by Citroen Race Car (Gr. 3) and GT by Citroen Gr. 4, a total of 20 races.

Ferrari - Have at least Cr. 20,000,000 worth of garage assets from Ferrari.

Lamborghini - Own at least one car from the Countach, Diablo, Murcielago and Aventador model families.

Pagani - Win 10 races with the Zonda R.

Porsche - Own at least one model from every Porsche 911 generation (901, 930, 964, 993, 996, 997, 991 and 992).

Excellent idea - make obtaining invites part of the game, and achievable to the average player. Tying the invite to one's brand loyalty is a cool concept 👍

The Invite system should be simplfied, complete the all GOLD in Track CE's or Master Licence tests and you get a Random brand invite.

Nay, nay and thrice nay.

All bronze maybe, but definitely not gold. Invites should be obtainable to regular players and through standard gameplay IMO, and definitely not locked behind a very high level skill barrier.

If PD is so keen on replicating real life with these invitations

If they are trying to do that, they've not succeeded very well.

After obtaining at least one of every (non-invite only) Ferrari in the game, I'm somewhat irked that I only got a Ferrari invite after driving a Honda NSX GT500 around Suzuka for over 26.2 miles one day. Indeed, I reckon if anyone in real life bought as many Ferraris as I have in GT7, my phone number would be on speed dial at the Sales Office at Maranello.

 

[sonnyboychris]

If they are trying to do that, they've not succeeded very well.

Let's not forget what PD/Kaz attempted to do when the game 1st released. Not to beat a dead horse but contextually it puts things into perspective.

They were actively attempting to mislead gaming journalists and maliciously monetizing their game... This aspect of the game is another example of that goal.

So there's no need to wonder how they could fix it or why it's broken. It's broken because they tried to screw us over and they have to renege on it because it tanked their revies and the PR was disastrous. These systems weren't created to be fair or inclusive, they were created to make money for Sony/PD.

 

[Famine]

They were actively attempting to mislead gaming journalists and maliciously monetizing their game...

That's PR, and that's on Sony. Game design is on PD.

 

[mef]

This is the discussion thread for an article on GTPlanet:

Gran Turismo 7’s Invitation System Is Broken: Here’s How We’d Fix It​

The recent Gran Turismo 7 update 1.46 has again thrown a spotlight onto one of the game’s least-loved mechanisms, which we think is long overdue an overhaul:

“we regularly get comments from players who’ve been trying to get specific Invitations for almost two years”

Thanks for putting the spotlight on PD.

I’m in that boat, it seems like PD don’t care at all.

Frankly, I don’t think they deserve their games following anymore.

It's not a solution if it doesn't achieve PD's creative or holistic goals for the game.

Such lofty words for a driving game that falls short in so many ways.

We have a mediocre or less than mediocre single player mode and a multiplayer mode that is the same or only marginally better than in gtsport.

GT7 isn’t new in any way, except new mistakes were added like the BS invite system this article mentions, it doesn’t deserve words like “holistic vision”.

 

[diegorborges]

The idea of locking the invitation by requiring you to own some models from the same brand is a good one.

Also it creates a side quest for the game. Makes me imagine how some "chapters", an expansion of the cafe menu concept would improve the game career: an extensive menu just for Ferrari would require you to get 3 cars from the brand and after a dozen of completed races from this menu would give you the invitation to get any locked model.

It would create a good sense of achievement without being frustrating.

Damn, TDU was good at this. Getting the keys of a car you worked a lot for had a great feeling.

 

[MatskiMonk]

it doesn’t deserve words like “holistic vision”.

Yes yes, we get it, you're butt-hurt.

 

[sonnyboychris]

That's PR, and that's on Sony. Game design is on PD.

Forgive me, maybe I'm misunderstanding which part is PR.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the preview build of GT7 was missing the malicious monetary system that was conveniently turned on after receiving scores of 8, 95, 10, etc. The game/topic-at-hand was designed around that monetary eco-system. Is PD not in charge of what game features are revealed to journalists in a preview build?

 

[Famine]

Forgive me, maybe I'm misunderstanding which part is PR.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the preview build of GT7 was missing the malicious monetary system that was conveniently turned on after receiving scores of 8, 95, 10, etc. The game/topic-at-hand was designed around that monetary eco-system. Is PD not in charge of what game features are revealed to journalists in a preview build?

That's correct, yes. For that matter, the MTX pricings will also have been set by someone above PD, and their existence could (but not necessarily would) have been mandated along similar lines.

 

[MIE1992]

When we were given all invitations for a month it felt like PD were acknowledging that they realised the system was flawed.

Not only that, but there are some cars added post-launch where it'd make sense for them to also be locked behind invites, but they're not. The Porsche 918 Spyder, Bugatti Chiron, and Aston Martin Valkyrie are the clearest examples.

 

[HarVee]

Or they could redesign it where the Used and Legend car dealerships have all cars available to purchase brand new and on demand, similar to Brand Central (with the ability to select any colors and liveries), and an option to buy them used for a lower resale value.

Obviously buying one brand new will cost more credits. Another is that they should bring back the in-game days system instead of having everything revolve around real time so that it's more offline-friendly.

This could also mean renaming the Used Car Dealership to Retro Cars. In a way, it would be like NFS Porsche Unleashed where cars are sorted by era (Modern, Retro, Legendary).

You also have to remember that GT Sport had something like this, in the form of Mileage Exchange, with the safety cars and "homologation specials". Now that GT Sport is offline, you can never get these cars ever again there.

The bolded part is what concerns me about the dealerships being separated and online-dependent. When the servers go offline, what happens to all the otherwise inaccessible LCD/UCD cars? Will they be migrated to BC or will players be forever locked out of them? Of course, only time will tell the definite answer, but that doesn't make the concern invalid.

I disagree i find it more intresting have classic cars in lcd and ucd dealerchips but it could be made better

The simplest solution to this would be to keep the LCD/UCD as is, but migrate the cars over to BC so those that want them can buy them whenever, those happy hunting for deals, so to say, can go to the LCD/UCD for a cheaper copy of a car.

And it is another subject.

True, but that's the nature of discussions.

 

[GT_Alex74]

Sometimes, the best way to fix something that doesn't work is to just remove it. This is one of those cases.

The career mode is not developped in a way that allows this feature to bring anything interesting to the experience, and in turn it only detracts from the ability to enjoy other modes like multiplayer, photo mode or livery editor to their full potential. Same thing for online bound used car dealerships rotation, those features just make the game worse.

 

[GleepGlop]

Its also silly to receive an invitation when you've already bought the cars available. The whole system is poorly conceived. I applaud an article being written about issues with the game that aren't just personal preference. Gtplanet articles sometimes come up on my phone's news feed. This will get PD off their butt to make the game what it could be much more than forum posts that they obviously ignore.

 

[GTboyz]

One thing to add to your proposal - once one acquires an invite-only car, one no longer needs an invite to get a second (or third, or...) copy of that car.

THIS.

I was fortunate to be able to buy all the invite cars when PD gave all the invitations for a month but the newer players are struggling. It's a prettay, prettay, dumb system.

 

[tothesz]

I would lock invitations behind manufacturer events. If they don't want to give players gift cars for races, at least make them rewarding by invitations.
It would also eliminate this type of events from the main career and would give space for other types of races.

 

[rikiflsh_99]

Gotta disagree with this one. There's clearly a massive gulf in player skill level so there's no way to do it where it won't be easy for some and literally impossible for others. With RNG you have a chance, with a skill wall, you might not.

That is a fair point, however it could be solved by adjusting the difficulty level. I don't personaly like how difficulty is scaled upwards in GT7 (with all that chase the rabbit stuff etc...), but if set at "easy" GT7 gets extremely manageable even for a child, i can speak for experience. We also have very strong driving aids if accessibility is a concern.

If difficulty and accessibility options are done correctly, it's possible to have challenging games yet accessible for everyone who doesn't want that kind of experience.

 

[PlanetJanet]

I actually quite like the idea of an invitation system but it should be based on more than sheer dumb luck, probably the biggest remaining issue in the game for me, so good to see it get some exposure.

 

[SSQES]

-The "easiest" fix for me would be to link the invitations with the Collector Level. I would pass the collector level from 50 max to 100 max and make some "rewards" as : "You acquired the collector level 60. You get now an permanent invitation to buy Bugatti model"
-The "cool" one would be : Win X races with [Manufacturer car] to get [Manufacturer invite]

 

[MatskiMonk]

That is a fair point, however it could be solved by adjusting the difficulty level. I don't personaly like how difficulty is scaled upwards in GT7 (with all that chase the rabbit stuff etc...), but if set at "easy" GT7 gets extremely manageable even for a child, i can speak for experience. We also have very strong driving aids if accessibility is a concern.

If difficulty and accessibility options are done correctly, it's possible to have challenging games yet accessible for everyone who doesn't want that kind of experience.

Well, I certainly wouldn't disagree that GT needs better difficulty level management (to go hand in hand with better AI) anyway, but I think that goes better with the level of reward, rather than access to the reward at all. If you get the same prize for switching it to easy as for hard, there's no real incentive for it to be a challenge if you want the car, and if it's not a challenge it won't introduce the aspirational aspect of getting the cars that PD are clearly trying to implement.

 

[Mankster3]

The way we get invites is terrible. After the latest update I now have 499 cars out of 500. Because I can’t get an invitation for the Lamborghini. I have 24 million in game credits that are useless to me because I’m dependent on a random roulette ticket. My fix is simple you need to own all the Lamborghinis to get an invite for the final car. Or race a Lamborghini championship and win the car.

 

[daan]

I got a Pagani invite yesterday for my daily miles ticket. When I got back to the main screen and looked at brand central, there was no indication I had an invite. Went to Pagani, and it said I needed an invite to buy the Huayra.

I owned it already, but still... 🤷‍♂️

 

[sonnyboychris]

That's correct, yes. For that matter, the MTX pricings will also have been set by someone above PD, and their existence could (but not necessarily would) have been mandated along similar lines.

I appreciate the clarification, thank you.

 

[rikiflsh_99]

If you get the same prize for switching it to easy as for hard, there's no real incentive for it to be a challenge if you want the car, and if it's not a challenge it won't introduce the aspirational aspect of getting the cars that PD are clearly trying to implement.

I don't know, GT is a game for everyone and I don't see PD offering a different experience to players based on the difficulty they choose, in fact GT7 offers the same prizes regardless of the chosen difficulty (at least for the main career, licenses and missions).

Difficulty, prizes, progression, car prices are part of game design, and personally I would never decrease the difficulty level to obtain an in game prize, for the reason you mentioned. Yes, choosing an easier difficulty could decrease the reward's gratification, but it the end is a matter of personal choice and how one wants to play the game. I guess there is no right choice and that's why we need options.