Non race content in GT

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tomcat66

tomcat66

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mr tomcat 66
Of course we all do realize that GT is the "real driving simulator". I always did find it interesting, that PD never called it a "racing" simulator. But most of GT is focused on racing anway.

Now my question is: What is your opion on more non race content in GT?

There are already some small pieces of content like the coffee break stuff. But I would like lots more - of course in addition to the race stuff and not as an replacement.

I think it would be funny to include some road safety training in GT, or even a virtual driving school (like the license test - but much longer stages and not focused on time but on driving skill). I think most of the necessary ingredients are already in the game. The competitions on Sierra are already a nice idea. I mean to avoid hiting other cars to get more points.

I also would like to see some technical stuff. Like a comparison between front, rear and all wheel drive cars and their behaviour under the same situation. Or some fun with summer tires on snow. Many, many things that would simple let us fool around.
 
tomcat66
Of course we all do realize that GT is the "real driving simulator". I always did find it interesting, that PD never called it a "racing" simulator. But most of GT is focused on racing anway.

Now my question is: What is your opion on more non race content in GT?

There are already some small pieces of content like the coffee break stuff. But I would like lots more - of course in addition to the race stuff and not as an replacement.

I think it would be funny to include some road safety training in GT, or even a virtual driving school (like the license test - but much longer stages and not focused on time but on driving skill). I think most of the necessary ingredients are already in the game. The competitions on Sierra are already a nice idea. I mean to avoid hiting other cars to get more points.

I also would like to see some technical stuff. Like a comparison between front, rear and all wheel drive cars and their behaviour under the same situation. Or some fun with summer tires on snow. Many, many things that would simple let us fool around.
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Show me where the racing is please because all ive found is TT's with moving road blocks
 
Mr Grumpy
Show me where the racing is please because all ive found is TT's with moving road blocks
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That is exactly what I meant, when I did write that GT should focus more on "non race content". The offline races are very disappointing. So I think most of us are just driving around anyway.

Instead of complaining year after year about the weak AI or other stupid decisions that make racing on GT boring, I think we should tell PD to focus on the strong points of GT. And that is definately NOT racing.
 
tomcat66
That is exactly what I meant, when I did write that GT should focus more on "non race content". The offline races are very disappointing. So I think most of us are just driving around anyway.

Instead of complaining year after year about the weak AI or other stupid decisions that make racing on GT boring, I think we should tell PD to focus on the strong points of GT. And that is definately NOT racing.
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You say this is something they should do, I say it's already done. The game is designed around the very casual user, not the hardcore fan that most of us are. The customization isn't there, the racing isn't there, the atmosphere in general isn't there. GT is lots of "stuff", much of it mediocre (hundreds of 10 year old assets) trapped inside an arcade style racing game. You've got racing on the moon and Ridge Racer style DLC cars. You've got moving roadblock racing that is actually designed to let you catch up and win, and everybody knows this, and yet some people are convinced they are still racing and proudly talk about their offline racing achievements.

Just this week a new event is added to the game, an "Expert" level race. An "Expert" level race with the most arcade of aids in the game, SRF, forced on. In any driving sim if this were to happen there would be total and complete outrage in the fanbase. Fans of that sim would be mocked mercilessly all across the internetz by fans of all the other sims. Said fans would hang their heads in shame for being associated with such a travesty. In GT it's accepted by many and people try to justify why it's forced on and not optional. :lol:
 
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tomcat66
I think it would be funny to include some road safety training in GT, or even a virtual driving school (like the license test - but much longer stages and not focused on time but on driving skill). I think most of the necessary ingredients are already in the game. The competitions on Sierra are already a nice idea. I mean to avoid hiting other cars to get more points.

I also would like to see some technical stuff. Like a comparison between front, rear and all wheel drive cars and their behaviour under the same situation. Or some fun with summer tires on snow. Many, many things that would simple let us fool around.
Click to expand...

These sound like fun ideas. GT6 will never be a "hardcore" driving sim ( personal I don't even think one actually exists outside of an F1 team ) but I don't see why they can't show off more of the 1000+ cars and the joys of driving them in the offline game.
 
I agree that GT already has some content that qualifies as "not racing". But I still believe that the game (yes, I call it a game and not a simulator) is too much focused on racing. All the seasonals are racing and drifting only.

For me the idea of integrating a driving school or road saftey training in GT (the recent or the next one) is also important because I believe that many young gamers play GT. I am talking about kids and youths without a driving license. And right now GT gives them the impression that it doesnt matter if you drive safe and fair or not. Ramming or driving unfair has no consequences at all in GT (with very few exceptions).

GT always did show a good amount of responsibility for the driving community. Just look at the GT Academy. But when it comes to safe and responsible driving, GT lacks a lot.

There are lots of driving games out there with different ideas about responsible "non racing content". You dont have to go all the way with games like "City Car Driving". Even arcade style racers like "Midnight Club LA" had a challenge to deliver a car to another spot in the city without damaging it too much. And "Forza Horizon 1" had a challenge to cruise around the map without getting a ticket in the speed traps. Many, many ideas.
 
tomcat66
I agree that GT already has some content that qualifies as "not racing". But I still believe that the game (yes, I call it a game and not a simulator) is too much focused on racing. All the seasonals are racing and drifting only.

For me the idea of integrating a driving school or road saftey training in GT (the recent or the next one) is also important because I believe that many young gamers play GT. I am talking about kids and youths without a driving license. And right now GT gives them the impression that it doesnt matter if you drive safe and fair or not. Ramming or driving unfair has no consequences at all in GT (with very few exceptions).

GT always did show a good amount of responsibility for the driving community. Just look at the GT Academy. But when it comes to safe and responsible driving, GT lacks a lot.

There are lots of driving games out there with different ideas about responsible "non racing content". You dont have to go all the way with games like "City Car Driving". Even arcade style racers like "Midnight Club LA" had a challenge to deliver a car to another spot in the city without damaging it too much. And "Forza Horizon 1" had a challenge to cruise around the map without getting a ticket in the speed traps. Many, many ideas.
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The game itself provides no rewards for clean driving. You can smash and bash your way through any career race and it's perfectly ok. To encourage clean driving, they could simply add a "safe driver bonus" or some such reward, for finishing any career race without any appreciable contact beyond a scratch or minor ding. It has to be worthwhile to be encouraging and it has to be reasonable, you can't have AI running into the back of you or turning into you in a corner and causing you to lose your bonus. That one change alone would change the character of the entire offline career and for the better IMO.
 
Johnnypenso
The game itself provides no rewards for clean driving. You can smash and bash your way through any career race and it's perfectly ok. To encourage clean driving, they could simply add a "safe driver bonus" or some such reward, for finishing any career race without any appreciable contact beyond a scratch or minor ding. It has to be worthwhile to be encouraging and it has to be reasonable, you can't have AI running into the back of you or turning into you in a corner and causing you to lose your bonus. That one change alone would change the character of the entire offline career and for the better IMO.
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I agree that it makes a lot of difference, if you have to be careful how you drive.

I always try to avoid hitting other cars in GT6 - even in online mode. But it is something different, when you KNOW that there will be consequences for making an error.

When I drive different racing games with mechanical damage I drive much more aware of my surroundings. I still dont understand why PD has disactivated the mechanical damage function in career and arcade mode. The function is there and properly working in online racing. For me that is the most stupid decision in GT6.
 
Because PD is not helping us very much with new ideas, I have decided to publish some myself.

First try: The doughnut challenge

This is a very easy one. Just take a rear wheel drive car to a large place. Ideal is the parking space on the small Willow Springs track. Then try to do, what the old ladies below have mastered. And have some fun :lol:



 
tomcat66
I still dont understand why PD has disactivated the mechanical damage function in career and arcade mode. The function is there and properly working in online racing. For me that is the most stupid decision in GT6.
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The only reason I can think of is that in career and arcade mode the game's full processor load is on the PS3. Having damage in career/arcade mode might chew up enough resources on the PS3 that it would negatively affect smooth game play. When playing online the processor load for the game would be shared between the PS3 and the server, which then allows damage mode to be run - mainly on the server. This is only a guess.
 
rixtar
The only reason I can think of is that in career and arcade mode the game's full processor load is on the PS3. Having damage in career/arcade mode might chew up enough resources on the PS3 that it would negatively affect smooth game play. When playing online the processor load for the game would be shared between the PS3 and the server, which then allows damage mode to be run - mainly on the server. This is only a guess.
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I dont think it is a technical problem to have mechanical damage on offline racing. Please remember that we had that option in GT5 in arcade mode!

It looks more like an "company politics" of PD. Somebody once said it was because Kaz had a terrible accident when racing and now dont want anybody to get "harmed" when playing GT. I have no idea if that is true, but it would be very, very stupid.
 
Second Challenge: Build your own fast car

This challenge is based on an old Top Gear challenge, which is unfortunately no longer available on Youtube. The challenge was to buy an old, used car and tune it, so it is as fast around the Top Gear test track as an already fast car.

At Top Gear they set the lap time, using an Mitsubishi Evo X (1,28.2). Then the producers gave the team an old, used Renault Avantime V6 3.0, which they had to tune. The rules were: They could spend half the money of an new EVO X (30.000 pound /2 = 15.000 pound), but the cost of buying the used Renault had to be calculated too (5.200 pound). So they could spend 9.800 pound on tuning. Of course the team couldnt agree what was more important to tune: tyres, suspension, brakes, motor ... as they were on a budget.

Well to make an long story short - they failed miserably and in the end the poor Renault did even burn (because they build a front spoiler out of wood, because there was no money left).

We have the Evo X and the Avantime in GT6 but you can use any car combination you like. Unfortunately the Top Gear test track is gone now. But the basic idea can be realised on any track anyway. Someone even did a funny video, where he mixed his own GT5 video footage with the original soundtrack - see below.

The challenge now is rather simple: Can you make an cheap (slower) car as fast as an more expensive (faster) car with tuning? As there is no used dealership anymore in GT6 I suggest you use the entire price difference between the 2 cars for tuning.

Have some fun.

 
Third challenge: Fun with an front wheel drive car

Now for some fooling around, with some "boring" FWD cars. Try to do things like:

  • handbrake turn
  • 90 degree handbrake turn
  • reverse flick
  • scandinavian flick
  • lift off oversteer
If you have no idea, how to do it, here are some instructions for you:



Have some fun.
 
Fourth challenge: Be your own car tester

This is something better done in a group. I did it with friends, family or colleagues. Imagine you have to test different cars and then rate them.

Once I gave some friends 2 cars to choose from. Like some friend asked us, what car he should buy. So we took both cars on a track and compared them - like in a car magazine. In this case there was even a surprise at the end, because the same cars (McLaren MP4-12C vs. Ferrari 458 Italia) were tested in real life by Fifth Gear and I did show the group the video after we have choosen our own winner (back then in GT5 we could even use the Top Gear test track they used in the show). And we came to the same conclusions as Tiff and Jason. But of course you could choose any cars you like.

Here is the video I have mentioned:

 
Johnnypenso
The game itself provides no rewards for clean driving. You can smash and bash your way through any career race and it's perfectly ok. To encourage clean driving, they could simply add a "safe driver bonus" or some such reward, for finishing any career race without any appreciable contact beyond a scratch or minor ding. It has to be worthwhile to be encouraging and it has to be reasonable, you can't have AI running into the back of you or turning into you in a corner and causing you to lose your bonus. That one change alone would change the character of the entire offline career and for the better IMO.
Click to expand...
The simplest way is to introduce a realistic crash model so if you crash your cars gets damaged or if you get really rough on it, it breaks down and stops all together and the more damage you get the bigger the repair bill gets that would be the most realistic way
 
GT needs F1
The simplest way is to introduce a realistic crash model so if you crash your cars gets damaged or if you get really rough on it, it breaks down and stops all together and the more damage you get the bigger the repair bill gets that would be the most realistic way
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Or as I always thought, once you crash, game over. You need to spend that time and the money you won't have in the beginning of your career to fix your damages. Meanwhile, other races would be happening and you could even be hurt in the crash. Because of this, you need to start all over again.

If you do have a successful beginning, then you could start to gain sponsors or a team. All the fun of contracts would be included, and up to you to decide how you finances are used. You would also have to rise your way, realistically, through ranks to eventually reach pro status. And a sponsor/team would have to want to sign you. And could cut your contract if they don't like you. Or you could have the option to leave/dissolve your team all together.

Testing, qualifying, and actual racing would be the main focus. But you could not do any of that without the parameters above.

If you crash while having a successful career, those damages would be subtracted from your teams funds and the races would continue with or without you.

You could even take the option of crashing your opponents in hopes they don't win, while risking theirs and your life and the possibility of being suspended or arrested.

Who doesn't love some awkward acting on commercials or promos either?

Then again, this is a game designed to sell to people who like to drive cars fast, while throwing in somewhat realistic physics (is there actually a comparison to IRL vs. GT driving?) and fun challenges.

Racing? No. Fun competition in driving? Yes.
 
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GT needs F1
The simplest way is to introduce a realistic crash model so if you crash your cars gets damaged or if you get really rough on it, it breaks down and stops all together and the more damage you get the bigger the repair bill gets that would be the most realistic way
Click to expand...
That's certainly an option I'd like to have, it would enhance the realism. It's been in other games like Grid Autosport and it was an incentive to stay clean, although engine wear and tear was more about time than collision damage. A combination of monetary, punitive damage and postive rewards for clean driving might be the ideal solution. Kind of the stick and carrot idea.
 
Shift 1 have rewards for clean laps. Plus, there is a big incentive for keeping all tyres on the tarmac: Losing the race. There is hard racing in Shift and Grid AS. if you drop a wheel in GT, you pretty much keep your place, and could even win a couple races by travelling off road. In Shift, it's not happenin'. You have to back off the throttle to keep control first, then you can try to enter the track again, then you can apply throttle once the car is aimed straight.
Even though there are no penalties to fix repairs in Shift 1, mechanicals are still damaged. If you crash in Shift 1 and Grid AS, you're at the back trying to finish. Nevermind trying to make up time by "crossing the grass at Nurburgring GP".

GT would do good to add costs from mechanical break downs and damage from too many off road excursions.
 
I don't know about non-race content... But I still think it's too bad you can't create your own races sort of like the Family Cups in GT4. Or you know have some options in career to set up a fantasy championship or something, and pick the cars that you will race against by the AI, and then...

Well, at the risk of sounding even geekier...

GTFireball
....about to be eaten by Nessy? (who looks more like a brontosaurus to me) :p
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Both are mythical creatures, so no difference. ;)
 

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