The problem with online is poor matchmaking. That we have to come to a place like this, and gather people together in a slow, painstaking way, just to get a quick race together without a bunch of yahoos, is INSANE...!
The online game needs to offer Spec cars, so that matched racing is guaranteed. At the moment, you have FAR too wide a choice of cars, upgrade levels (don't forget, there's no way to downgrade a car that you have upgraded, so that it can fit in with a lobby creator - whatever happened to that from GT5p, BTW?) and the like for an easy race to take place.
I have NO idea why the Arcade Cars aren't simply made available as a choice for the Lobby creator to pick from. Some of those are tuned pretty well, and at least everybody drives the same thing... Spec racing, even in Yaris's can be a real fun time.
The next epic fail is the game's inability to figure out if a car is knocked off the track or DRIVEN off the track. Somebody punts you off, YOU shouldn't be the one paying the penalty. Any game with an elaborate damage system, well, it's obvious that the game IS capable of telling where and how hard any contact is made. The game uses that data to calculate the visual damage shown and mechanical penalties. Same data could EASILY let the game know if you were knocked off the track or went of your own accord! Same with shunts from behind, or fender rubbing. The game KNOWS how hard each of them are. Certain License Tests, the game is VERY finicky about contact. Anything above a certain level, DSQ! But ONLY above a certain level. Shows me, at least, that the game has this type of data available.
They simply choose not to use it.
Lobbies... The HELL with what the creator wants to call it! Most of them are idiots that just want to 'represent', anyway... Lobby name should be car, track, laps. And what the Lobby Creator wants to call it should be the fine print! Too many Lobbies say one thing outside, and inside it is something else altogether.
Track 'camping' is the EASIEST thing for a game to self-police (it shouldn't be the Host's job to kick morons if the game can detect them by itself). Don't keep up at least a minimum speed around the track? Automatic boot! How hard would THAT be to implement? Several other games, you drive backwards, you are either booted or turned around. Me, I give booted the vote!
Real racing has stewards. The racers aren't asked to police themselves. Especially online, the game needs to be the adult! Just put it in as options, so the idiots can have somewhere to play Mario Kart. Give Lobbies without policing rules a nice 'Hello Kitty' color scheme, so the rest of us can avoid them like the plague..!
Personally, I'd like to tie Kaz to a Playseat, and MAKE him play random games online for a day or so. Bet your sweet bippee online would get better a LOT faster than the current pace! In fact, it's a pet theory of mine that Kaz has NEVER played the game the same way we HAVE to. He's got a Garage of 1000 cars that he never had to grind for. He's never done a 4hr Endurance race and been rewarded with a POS concept car he wouldn't even drive down the street in! And he's never had to endure some idiot camping around a blind corner just for the FUN that is messing with the target user of the game.
Somebody needs to lock him in a room with a brand new PS3, a wheel and a new copy of GT5. And then make him endure the horror that his child has turned into...
Bet you he couldn't stand it, either!
