[PETITION] Make Gran Turismo 7 available to play offline.

1
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Hi folks,

After recently discovering that Gran Turismo 7 will have an always online requirement, I decided to take it upon myself to be the voice of fans who are just as disappointed in the hopes of this petition reaching out to Sony and Polyphony Digital to reconsider the always-online aspect of the game.

I have provided 5 potential solutions to the problem in the petition. Solutions that I feel would appease both the old-school Gran Turismo community and the eSports community.

If you too are disappointed in the always-online aspect of Gran Turismo 7, let Sony know this by signing the petition. If you know anybody outside of this forum who too are also disappointed, feel free to share the petition with them.

Thank you,
Dylan.

 
It's sad that this is being repeated and unfortunately a petition alone won't do anything. Sony seems to be more receptive if the backlash is big enough on social media and picked up by multiple outlets. I don't see any of that so far and once again I don't see the majority caring about this. I'll sign it anyway.

Your 5th solution is our best bet I feel, but I still think PD won't do anything. We'll see what they do with GTS but I doubt they'll patch it before the server shutdown.
 
I think it's going to be like Sport in that regard. It's still possible to play offline on that game, but stuff like saving progress, buying a car, and even (I think) applying liveries are only doable with an online connection.

Honestly, I hope we can at least save progress offline, be able to buy vehicles and apply liveries without online connection in 7 if some huge pushback were to be given towards PD and Sony regarding the required online connection.
 
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What I hope is that at least, when the servers come to an end, they make a patch to be able to play and save the game offline (also applies to GT Sport). This would help a lot in the future to preserve the games.
I really hope someone at PD thinks about this and will implement it in the future.
 
So, when they end support for GT7 we will no longer be able to play even a single player campaign. :confused:
What I hope is that at least, when the servers come to an end, they make a patch to be able to play and save the game offline (also applies to GT Sport). This would help a lot in the future to preserve the games.
I really hope someone at PD thinks about this and will implement it in the future.

Sony would really rather you buy the next game instead.


GT5 was initially barely online-focused in its single player design (mostly the crappy UI constantly trying to link to the servers and softlocking the game if it didn't like the response it got), they spent several years doing little things to dramatically improve the single player and add plenty of quality of life aspects to it that happened to be done through the online servers, then still basically gutted it of all its post-launch improvements and left it to die to try and force people to move on to GT6 even when it would have been trivial to make said improvements decoupled from the online component for people who wanted to keep playing GT5.
GT6 removed a major advertised aspect of the single player game in GT5 (course maker), made its improvement a major advertising point of the game to justify buying GT6 (whenever it eventually would come out), then killed it immediately after the servers were shut down for that game even there was no reason for that aspect to be coupled to the online component in the first place.



I'd be more surprised than not if GT Sport's servers being sunsetted didn't basically make that game unplayable. And assuming GT7 actually comes out in March, everyone should also expect the date that Sport's servers are shut down will be sometime before Christmas.
 
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It's sad that this is being repeated and unfortunately a petition alone won't do anything. Sony seems to be more receptive if the backlash is big enough on social media and picked up by multiple outlets. I don't see any of that so far and once again I don't see the majority caring about this. I'll sign it anyway.

Your 5th solution is our best bet I feel, but I still think PD won't do anything. We'll see what they do with GTS but I doubt they'll patch it before the server shutdown.
pretty sure when microsoft tried to pull the same sort of ******** with the xbone, the pushback was significant enough for them to make changes to the hardware
don't see why this can't be the case here too, because this is absolutely insane for a game of this scope
 
Another suggestion, besides offline saving (which is a must), that should be added would be

Make the following game modes available offline, such as:
  1. My Home
  2. My Library
  3. Brand Central
  4. Used Car Dealerships
  5. Legend Cars
  6. GT Cafe
  7. Scapes
  8. Tuning Parts Shop
  9. School
  10. GT World
  11. Special Events
  12. Mission Races
However, in Brand Central (if it were similar to how GT Sport functions), when offline, players can't access brand channels, the ability to view their website, or sign contracts for the Manufacturers' Series of the FIAGTC.

My personal thoughts on this alone:

During the PS3 era and GT Sport (more especially since the latter focused on e-sports and competitive online racing), I believe Polyphony are making a huge mistake in compromising for a more online-focused game, and not giving a damn about the basic core single player features (Arcade, Career, etc.), by downgrading them.

Polyphony are making GT7 to give single player gameplay more weight than previous titles while retaining online gameplay as its predecessors, but to what extent they're executing this concept, they should realize that not everyone can play online (others may have **** internet), some others don't want to play online (merely focusing on the single player aspect, the piece de resistance of the game), and that it's such a hassle to get the game connected just to experience the game in its entirety, let alone, save progress.

Other games can pull this off (like Forza, especially Motorsport 7) without needing a constant internet connection to save or access the bulk of the game. I honestly think they're using Sport mode as an excuse for requiring an active connection for all of this. That's also another thing Polyphony should consider: not everyone has PS Plus, and not everyone can, and/or wants to compete in the FIA-sanctioned races either.

Besides shortening the career mode in all of its scope, they also dumbed down Arcade Mode where it was no longer like GT4 where eventually you can get to use all the cars in the game once you've bought or obtained every possible car in the GT Mode firsthand. That's why I barely even touch GT6 anymore when the servers shut down. GT Sport being almost useless/obsolete by the time its servers shut down is also one thing I worry about if I would even dare to revisit the game when GT7 is out, and yet the single player aspect such as the Arcade and Campaign are not as innovative enough even in Sport.

But because it's an always-evolving game, the Arcade Mode car selection has to be like Forza's Free Play mode (Motorsport 4-style), you can drive anything you want for free, but with restrictions such as default colors only (no liveries, upgrades or customization on these cars), basic car-specific tuning, and no credits, XP, Daily Workout progress earned driving those cars, with the option to use cars in our Garage. That way, single-player can still be enjoyable somewhat.
Sony would really rather you buy the next game instead.


GT5 was initially barely online-focused in its single player design (mostly the crappy UI constantly trying to link to the servers and softlocking the game if it didn't like the response it got), they spent several years doing little things to dramatically improve the single player and add plenty of quality of life aspects to it that happened to be done through the online servers, then still basically gutted it of all its post-launch improvements and left it to die to try and force people to move on to GT6 even when it would have been trivial to make said improvements decoupled from the online component for people who wanted to keep playing GT5.
GT6 removed a major advertised aspect of the single player game in GT5 (course maker), made its improvement a major advertising point of the game to justify buying GT6 (whenever it eventually would come out), then killed it immediately after the servers were shut down for that game even there was no reason for that aspect to be coupled to the online component in the first place.



I'd be more surprised than not if GT Sport's servers being sunset* didn't basically make that game unplayable. And assuming GT7 actually comes out in March, everyone should also expect the date that Sport's servers are shut down will be sometime before Christmas.
This scenario is almost similar to the "Sony timer" urban legend. Not just the PS4 and PS5 are affected by the Sony timer, but even one of the game franchises itself, and it's Gran Turismo of all things.
 
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I've still got my PS1 memory cards with my GT2 save data on them. Corrupt or not after all these years, it's mine. I'm too old to deal with this crap - I desire physical property, physical copies, tangible objects, and I want to hold my data and my achievements on a physical device in my hand. The lack of physical property these days is actually stressful to me - I go out of my way to save music and all sorts of media to my hard drives as often as possible because the idea that I can be stripped of that by some corporate database going defunct is terrifying. I paid for this, I traded my time and effort for this, I want it sitting right here on my desk. Kids these days absorbed by this cloud nonsense have no clue what they're missing out on.
 
Apples and oranges.
Not exactly. When the game is sold with an asterisk saying that you need an internet connexion to use some features, and then, after few years, the compagny shuts down the servers preventing you from using said features despite having an internet connexion, there is a problem.

Two scenarios:
  • Case 1: An update they bring with the shuting down of the servers allows the player to save his progress, then everything is fine.
  • Case 2: They close everything without any patch, preventing the player to actually play the game, then there it's not OK.

In both case, they should clarify what they plan to do when the game will reach the end of it's life cycle. For both GTS and GT7, online save enabled or not.
 
The biggest annoyance, are for people that bought cars with real money. They’ll no longer have access to those cars.
They wouldn't have access to any cars. It doesn't matter. You paid for early access you could've grinded through rather easily. It's not like buying those cars makes them any more special than the ones you bought with credits. It's an irrelevant argument.

The biggest annoyance is that people who bought the game with real money won't have access to...the game.

Either way I'm pretty sure they'll update GTS for offline saves at the end...it'd be ridiculous to leave all those physical copies completely useless.

Not exactly. When the game is sold with an asterisk saying that you need an internet connexion to use some features, and then, after few years, the compagny shuts down the servers preventing you from using said features despite having an internet connexion, there is a problem.

Two scenarios:
  • Case 1: An update they bring with the shuting down of the servers allows the player to save his progress, then everything is fine.
  • Case 2: They close everything without any patch, preventing the player to actually play the game, then there it's not OK.

In both case, they should clarify what they plan to do when the game will reach the end of it's life cycle. For both GTS and GT7, online save enabled or not.
It has nothing to do with planned obsolescence laws. It's different.

What about free online games which died? People spent money for content in them, but the game's dead and unplayable, and nothing happens. It's not like they're gonna get a refund.

GTS was a spinoff anyway, and GT7 will have everything it had + more. Even if they don't enable offline saves at the end, it's not like they robbed the players. You already spent your money's worth of time in the game.
 
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It amazes me that somehow, even though it is effectively always online as well, Forza Horizon 4 can be played offline (and very easily, in fact) and will be more or less fine for those who buy into it late and start playing when the game is delisted or the servers are turned off, yet GT7, when it's all said and done, will probably be a shell of its former self when the servers are offline for no good reason other then spite. And considering GT Sport is fast approaching end of life, and with Polyphony's prior history for shutting down servers in a flash, relative to other devs...we're gonna see the future of GT7 in Sport.

I'd be more surprised than not if GT Sport's servers being sunsetted didn't basically make that game unplayable.
I know that 99% of gaming sites don't care about racing games other then in edge cases (if they did, maybe Ian Bell's extra-curricular activities would be more well known and more ridiculed then they already are in this small community) but if they would be kind, can they make anything news wise about GT Sport's servers being turned off making a game with single player elements added in an absolute paperweight of a game?

I'm not a fan of always online connectivity either, but I've accepted it. It's when certain games remove the ability to press pause during single player sequences that leaves me upset.
This is what concerns you, and not having the ability to even save games offline, instead being off-loaded to a server which will force you to restart if the save data between offline and online aren't on an even level?
 
Let's think about this what would happen if Player 1 builds 150 different liveries offline,then he wants to do a online race. What do you think his/her PlayStation 4/5 going to do, take 45 hours to update?
 
Only found out today and this just killed my excitement completely and crossess off my plan for a PS5 as well...

Back to GRID Autosport on the Switch for me I guess...

Of course we'll see what happens to GT Sport once it servers shut down, if GT Sport can go off-line, assuming GT7 would do the same, I'd then have to wait until GT7 servers shut down
 
Offline gamesaves could open the door to save cheats like Cyberpunk supposedly has (if YouTube is to be believed). We've all seen how that turned out in GT5. So I can't sign the petitiion, plus if my internet is out, I have bigger problems. But good luck all the same. I will say I'd be impressed if Sony/PD even mentioned this request in a public manner.


Jerome
 
I know I'm not only thought this up, but what if PD could implement a separate save system? One for offline and the other for online. At least as an option to play the game in any way. Perhaps something like GTA V and GTA Online.
 
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I absolutely understand the concern about end of life.
But frankly I can't understand the fuss about demanding an internet connection to play.
Haven't you all already have one?
It doesn't need PS+ so there's no cost.
I have an active internet connection anyway and if I wanted to take the console on a camping trip (I don't) I could just connect it to my phone's hotspot.
It's not going to be bandwidth demanding exactly...
 
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