Gran Turismo 7 “Power Pack” Paid DLC Now Available: New Races Including Endurance Events, Qualifying, and “Sophy 3.0”

[A_Higher_Place]

Yeah I imagine it's still all over the place, if they half-heartedly did the changes to the extent Sarah now pops up to explain the pack to you every time you open it.

I'm doing the GT ONE event at Le Mans and the AI are 5 seconds a lap slower there than they used to be (3:46 before for the fastest AI is now 3:51-52) so that one is also a complete wash, which is a trend that has constantly repeated for me with this update.

As you two are discussing, it's touching in the disappointment I experienced yesterday morning when revisiting the peepee. Winning by 34 seconds is not my ideal race. I found myself unchallenged and lapping in (some) cars that have zero sensation or excitement to drive. I was pretty brain-dead-bored by the end of some of the (now shortened) 8 lappers.

Not only are the AI all over the place, the driving experience seems to be too. How can a Porsche road car feel so lifeless but then a GT3 have some of the best driving sensations offered in the game?

My only motivation is unlocking the cars. I'm unsure I'll even attempt to finish it if I'm left unchallenged.

 

[GlamFM]

I am deducing based on simple observations, if you want to believe PD at face value until they say otherwise then good luck to you.

Remember - NFS Hot Pursuit had AI that could catch you by 20 seconds in a lap by rubber banding when it was behind, in 1998.

Apples and oranges.

 

[o000o]

What was the reason between this nerf? Honestly was scared that they'd just cater to many (if they're complaining about difficulty, even though Power Pack seems to be not about all winning), and further prioritize the AI letting the player win again, or even if for next games, remove qualifying again.

Difficulty adjustment for AI (not only about the car choice, also different rewards) is really needed for later stages and/or next games.

 

[wowbaggerBR]

Will they ever learn?

Yes, you absolutely want to cater to the widest audience possible, and that usually means making things more approachable and keeping the default difficulty on the easier side. But you don't need to frustrate your hardcore players. Just make the game more customizable. Improve the AI and the UI so players can define exactly what they want: the AI skill level, how much rubberbanding they’re willing to tolerate, and so on. I’m sure something like Sophy is controlled by a huge set of parameters, expose some of them, explain what they do, and suddenly the conversation shifts from “I can’t believe they did this” to “guys, check this out: try these settings, Sophy will be amazing!”

People who either are of a more casual profile, or are like me and don't get that much time to play, could just lower the difficulty a bit here and there and players who want maximum challenge can crank everything up. Complete newcomers could leave everything at default and ease in. And if you design it smartly, you can even nudge new players toward increasing the challenge as they improve.

By trying to cram everyone into a single, one-size-fits-all difficulty and AI behavior model, you’re sabotaging yourself. You either end up making the game too difficult for newcomers, which is bad because nobody makes a game wanting the fewer possible number of players enjoying it, or you alienate your dedicated fans, which is bad because these are your loayl evangelists.

I wonder if they are so resistant to this obvious solution because they don't want to support endless permutations of difficulty settings? But then again the game is running like 3 different AI system as is, so...

 

[Lischynski]

Pretty much like the real Le Mans.

One driver completing the entire 24 hour race isn't.

 

[mynameis66]

Ive completed the first and second FF races,came second on the first race and,after about 10 attempts,eventually managed a 3rd on Willow springs all this on zero pepper but hey thats my skill level.One thing I did notice on all my attempts on Willow Springs,on the lowest level the same 3 or 4 drivers seem to occupy the same positions at the front of the grid.
Anyway,regarding the star points.Going along the tree from starting the FF battle races,if you then go down to the,i think Trial mountain race with the Porsche and the R3,after the 2 final races there is a 1million credit prize.You need 130 stars to unlock but the most you can earn from these 5 races is 100 stars,if you come first.Am i right in assuming you can enter other races to get your stars tally? I know you can repeat races but not get any extra stars unless you finish above your previous position,so you cant grind for them as such.
Also are there enough stars available to win the prizes even without winning each race or getting into the top 3? I dont know if ive got this wrong.lol

 

[Lomic]

Am i right in assuming you can enter other races to get your stars tally?

All your stars remain, you don't spend them to unlock reward, so you can gather stars in any branch to unlock any reward.

As for how many wins you need (and 20 stars) to be able to unlock everything, I did not do the maths, but as you get 15 stars when placing 5th, I think we can unlock most rewards locked behind some star count.

 

[mynameis66]

@Lomic Cheers for that.Im struggling a bit,even on the lowest level but still having a blast with the PP.

 

[Gerarghini]

Will they ever learn?

I think we all know the answer to that one

 

[Lomic]

As for how many wins you need (and 20 stars) to be able to unlock everything, I did not do the maths, but as you get 15 stars when placing 5th, I think we can unlock most rewards locked behind some star count.

There are 47 races (not counting the enduros) so if you rank between 5th and 1st, you get between 705 and 940 stars.

Not in front of PS right now, but I remember there is a 900 stars locked reward at least (may be a 920 too). So you will need to place better than 5th to unlock all rewards.

 

[pabloprp69]

As you two are discussing, it's touching in the disappointment I experienced yesterday morning when revisiting the peepee. Winning by 34 seconds is not my ideal race. I found myself unchallenged and lapping in (some) cars that have zero sensation or excitement to drive. I was pretty brain-dead-bored by the end of some of the (now shortened) 8 lappers.

Not only are the AI all over the place, the driving experience seems to be too. How can a Porsche road car feel so lifeless but then a GT3 have some of the best driving sensations offered in the game?

My only motivation is unlocking the cars. I'm unsure I'll even attempt to finish it if I'm left unchallenged.

It's pretty rough...

At launch, the whole thing was already all over the place. And the update made it worse. You'd think the update would improve things...

@A_Higher_Place, you tell me, do you think this version of Sophy is any better than 2.1 custom mode? I know you have lots of experience with the other modes, and you're an alien... 😊 Just curious to hear your thoughts.

How are you liking the new wheel btw?

 

[Voodoovaj]

6 hours of Suzuka race report - I am 40 minutes in on 1 pepper.

For context, I'm done all the regular DLC content at either 1 pepper or 2 pepper, with events that I just said to myself "I'll do this later" and I did the default just to get through the event. In every case, I see the AI running consistent laps. People talk about "rubber banding" in the DLC, but where? I never saw it. I saw MY LAPS drop off considerably from not paying attention, but that's on me.

I hold that 0 pepper is EASY - I don't know if we need an English lesson on what that means.
1 pepper is what anyone on this forum should be shooting for at a minimum.
2 pepper is a nice challenge, even for the advanced. Is it consistent? No, some 2 peppers are easier than others.

I chose 1 pepper, because the 2 pepper option gives you the NSX. I was 1.5 seconds slower than the AI in practice and qualifying and I didn't feel confident that I could overcome that pace difference to take advantage of the NSX's superior fuel consumption.

I started 3rd. I didn't bother to shoot for pole because, you know, 6 hours...I check the weather, saw that rain would be incoming, so I gambled and started on soft. Everyone else except for Fraga went Medium. The rain didn't come fast enough, but I was much faster, so I built up a big lead and on lap 12, I came in for Mediums (no rain yet). I left the pits in 6th, but quickly got back of the 3rd and started to close down the leaders.

I took the lead again and just before I quit, the rain had started. 2nd and 3rd went for their first tire change, but it's raining on the back half of the track (so pit straight is dry, all the way to the bridge. It's wet from the bridge to the exit of 130R). I pit for IM's, and a full tank, and I am out on track with a 6 second lead. In 40 minutes, I did not experience an rubber banding, and I am always watching my times, and the gap.

For those who want to try this on 2 pepper, would I be in this position with the NSX? No, probably not. That would have been a LOT more work. Am I sorry that I chose the Skyline? No, I don't want to have to do this twice. I've crashed several times in the regular events and threw away races. I don't want something bad to happen and I throw away 6-24 hours of work. I MIGHT try 2 peppers on the other races...we shall see.

@A_Higher_Place, you tell me, do you think this version of Sophy is any better than 2.1 custom mode? I know you have lots of experience with the other modes, and you're an alien... 😊 Just curious to hear your thoughts.

it's an apples and oranges comparison. In the custom races, everyone is using boost to make it interesting. The DLC is set up completely different. I've not seen the DLC AI boost itself back up to me like the custom races. I have seen it defend it's position with defensive lines though. That's definitely new.

 

[DS13_supergt]

I've never been more disappointed with pd honestly, what they have done was basically giving us 1 week trial of good racing and then removed it.
I'm honestly speechless.

 

[tothesz]

Reading how this patch affected the racing in the DLC, I am just glad I didn't purchase.
I will stick to my custom races with Sophy 2.1, at least it offers fun racing for now.

 

[man_801]

I stayed home today because I wasn't feeling well. I've done 4 races so far (since the update) and they feel so so much easier. I can lap like 1-4 seconds faster than p2 on each event; using 2 the chilli each time.

I'm a little disappointed that the Sophys are just slow. I want to have a challenge, without feeling handicapped. At least some of the harder events before are actually doable now.

I'll keep going, but I can only do so many races where I gain a second or more per lap, leading by far. It gets boring. Then again, I would rather lead the whole race and win, than get frustrated by my car feeling hopelessly outmatched.

 

[eran0004]

One driver completing the entire 24 hour race isn't.

I never said it was.

 

[DS13_supergt]

Reading how this patch affected the racing in the DLC, I am just glad I didn't purchase.
I will stick to my custom races with Sophy 2.1, at least it offers fun racing for now.

Wise move

 

[happycorey]

It's Sophy 3.0 in the Power Pack and 2.0 or whatever in the Custom Races. So it's a different iteration of Sophy inthe different game modes.

I would love to know what makes it "3.0" because there is no real change in the iteration lol

 

[Greycap]

I hold that 0 pepper is EASY - I don't know if we need an English lesson on what means.
1 pepper is what anyone on this forum should be shooting for at a minimum.
2 pepper is a nice challenge, even for the advanced. Is it consistent? No, some 2 peppers are easier than others.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure this is the problem. People with years, even tens of years, of GT experience pick the zero pepper option and end up disappointed when they win it easily. It should be remembered that the pack is for everyone, a certain way to alienate new players is to give them races they can't even come close to winning.

Originally there were races that were difficult for a veteran on zero peppers, and to make it even more off-putting they were right at the beginning. No matter how one looks at it that's not good because it shouldn't require a near alien to win on easy difficulty, let alone the harder ones. There was also very noticable difference in even back to back races with the tuning branch being the worst in that regard. First the FF races that were tough as nails even when pushing really hard, and then the Trial Mountain 500 hp one right after that was a cake walk while on an afternoon cruise.

The pack definitely needed adjusting. Whether they got it right or not is another question in itself, but it's clear it wasn't balanced in its original form.

 

[Pulsar-NX]

It's a huge old nerf too. My ability at this game is 'complete scrub, using a controller' so I completely suck.

I went back and did one race I struggled to win badly (GT300, no peppers) and re-did it with the MR2 and won more easily than I did in the first time around. I imagine the fast guys with wheels are blasting through these races like they're nothing now.

 

[kowalski__1]

Ive completed the first and second FF races,came second on the first race and,after about 10 attempts,eventually managed a 3rd on Willow springs all this on zero pepper but hey thats my skill level.One thing I did notice on all my attempts on Willow Springs,on the lowest level the same 3 or 4 drivers seem to occupy the same positions at the front of the grid.
Anyway,regarding the star points.Going along the tree from starting the FF battle races,if you then go down to the,i think Trial mountain race with the Porsche and the R3,after the 2 final races there is a 1million credit prize.You need 130 stars to unlock but the most you can earn from these 5 races is 100 stars,if you come first.Am i right in assuming you can enter other races to get your stars tally? I know you can repeat races but not get any extra stars unless you finish above your previous position,so you cant grind for them as such.
Also are there enough stars available to win the prizes even without winning each race or getting into the top 3? I dont know if ive got this wrong.lol

You need 900 stars to get all 37 rewards....out of 46 races,i won 42 with two 10th place finishes(dirt races) and two 2nd place finishes,which gets you exactly 900.....and then there's the 4 endurance races which i haven't tried yet.

 

[GTvsForza]

The way I'm doing it, I'm starting with 0 peppers first (mainly to get everything done without having to deal with the faster drivers yet), then I'll see what I can do with the higher difficulties.

 

[05XR8]

I wouldn't call it a bad thing if Reggie behaves good!

I’m spending time playing with my new toys over finishing the PP.

 

[ice311man]

What’s worse are Regullar AI giving me better competition than 3.0.

I’m not a mustang guy at all but I really like this Mustang AR. It seems to perform better than the mustang Gr3.

 

[05XR8]

I’m not a mustang guy at all but I really like this Mustang AR. It seems to perform better than the mustang Gr3.

Seriously. I really didn’t think I’d use it this much. It’s wild. It’s heavy. It’s fun. Wish they made Camaro and Challenger ARs.
The Hakosuka and D-Tuned haven’t been driven in five days… and since the DLC debut, those two are my favourite cars in the game!

 

[Dave A]

I would love to know what makes it "3.0" because there is no real change in the iteration lol

I would guess it's racing in the wet and pit strategy based on what I've read/seen, but 🤷‍♀️.

 

[Lomic]

I would guess it's racing in the wet and pit strategy based on what I've read/seen, but 🤷‍♀️.

Based on what I experienced at Suzuka, wet is mostly visual with barely an impact on driving. And it was pre-patch, now that race is shorter and barely wet at all even visually.

 

[suomi1]

I've never been more disappointed with pd honestly, what they have done was basically giving us 1 week trial of good racing and then removed it.
I'm honestly speechless.

In the trailer, Kaz said :

"We wanted to bring this realistic and hardcore racing to Gran Turismo at least once"

So they did, once, for a week.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

It's pretty rough...

At launch, the whole thing was already all over the place. And the update made it worse. You'd think the update would improve things...

@A_Higher_Place, you tell me, do you think this version of Sophy is any better than 2.1 custom mode? I know you have lots of experience with the other modes, and you're an alien... 😊 Just curious to hear your thoughts.

How are you liking the new wheel btw?

New wheel is great!

As someone replied, it's a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. The peepee Sophy is a better defensive driver, I'd say.

 

[cvjoint]

I'm willing to bet that the majority of people finding this easy are using paddle shift, ABS, traction control and so on. They've made it easy, not PD.

I personally always drive without aids and my IRL race car is the same. I also can't be bothered with practice, either in the game or IRL. In GT7 I start with quali and do one or two laps then pit to fastrack to the race. Sometimes I miss shifts or don't get the rev match right, sometimes my dog licks my hand as I'm trying to shift gears and botch it.

I still win most of these races on the easy version, but at times the fastest two guys give me a good battle and I don't get the lead until the last two laps. It's good fun, I get my 20 stars and I'm happy.

If PD ever made it too easy I think it's got to do with the online races. I think they should make it mandatory to have h pattern shift, have to clutch in, no ABS, no traction control. No one deserves an A+ rating unless you're rev matching half a dozen downshifts on a formula 1 car.