Promised Functionality vs Realistic Timelines in GT6

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Squanto

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After a lock-up of this thread, I got the idea for a new thread, this one.

Please use this thread to discuss possible timelines and promised functionality, and don't bother other threads with it.

I think a lot of us have false expectations of the software (GT) development process because PD clearly doesn't bring any clear time lines.
I can only try to help you understand what realistic timelines are, so I hope you won't be so disappointed every new update (1.xx) which are coming in the near future.

About the promised monthly DLC:

Just imagine someone literally sees updates & patches as DLC (DownLoadable Content)
Then he(Kaz) is pretty much right ... you get some DLC every month.
(it could also be a translation issue, I don't know how it's called in Japanese... anyone?)

Software development:

Still if you know just a bit of the Software Development Process .... You would know a 4 week cycle is a nice thing to achieve ...
On top of that bug fixing has to be done ... so it's reasonable to assume all promised functionality will be implemented in the next 6 to 9 months ... if it's faster i'll be ecstatic ...

Releasedate GT6: (80%complete GT6)

You can assume they (SONY or PD or Both) wanted a release close to PS4 launch for obvious reasons. We all know they weren't ready with GT6 at this point in time ... hence the promised future functionality on their website.

GT5 timelines:

Also we learned from GT5 that they love to work like that, and we got the major update in October ... 10 months after release... we can all learn and remember that time span.

Future updates:

If we just try to accept those timelines based on the version number and the implementation date that we now know ... and extrapolate this to the future ... we could better manage our expectations and stop expecting things to be solved in a blink of time ... it just won't happen.

I assume every functionality which is promised will consume a reasonable amount of time to Design, Code, Implement and Test ... You all should know by now that you are in for a big wait.

I hope this thread will lower the emotional reactions to every update that will be released.
And stop other threads from flooding with discussions over promised features and crossed deadlines.

And please help me adjust the text where necessary. (English is not my native language)

Cheers :cheers:👍

Edit: even more reasons for the delay are drawn up here by @amar212
 
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If they promise things they should deliver them simple as that, regardless of any possible excuses for missed deadlines there might be and we can spend time speculating about, because they don't bother to communicate with their customers... Failure to deliver and not being respectful enough to give an explanation about the reasons equals incompetence in my book.
 
The thing I try to address is that they obviously weren't finished, and it's not that the functionality is somewhere on a PC in PD-HQ ready to launch. Else they would have launched it already and used it for their marketing machine ... But they don't so it's not finished...
So because of that people are upset and disappointed ... me too ... but I try to invest in better understanding in stead of negativity ... sure I find it disrespectful too the way they treated us ... but its just the way it is ... and we now have to deal with that knowledge ...
I sure don't think they are just lazy guys ... they are probably proud of their work and try hard to get us the things they promised ... I don't know about you ... but if I promise something and can't deliver ... I feel bad ... I can only assume that they feel the same way ... and work very hard to deliver on their promises ... even though for us it feels like nothing is happening.
 
The sad thing is that they only communicate to customers before the launch of a title. Companies like PD should constantly communicate to costumers, it would give them a solid and reliable image.
Yep I totally agree, Look at Naughty Dog, Ubisoft and Rockstar ... they act appropriately ... PD sure got a lot to learn ... But we as a community have a lot of knowledge too ... so i'm just trying to let it work in our advantage ... a lot of members give us useful input from which we can benefit a lot ...
 
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They really shouldn't have made it seem like we were going to get pretty much the rest of the game soon after launch then. I don't know who dropped the ball on that one, and yes some of it was the hype train, but I'm fairly certain we were promised significant content (not a car here or a redbull series there) shortly after release. I wouldn't consider that negligence on their part. I consider that flat out lying.
 
I appreciate what you're trying to do here but to honest most of it just comes off as making excuses for PD.
Yes, I expected that, and in a way it is, but that's not my goal here. The goal is to manage expectations.

People seem to expect everything solved in the next update ... I just try to provide some background to it .. that its not a realistic thought to expect every issue to be addressed in the next release ...

I am as disappointed as anyone, but I think we already made clear were not happy with that. For now I accept it as the " current status " and approach it like that.

I try to be realistic ... to keep me from having too high hopes, and helping others in that same process.
 
Here is my problem with your "realistic timelines", not meaning to be disrespectful, but they are not realistic. I work at a research university that employs around 100 programmers and software devs (about as many as PD?) and you wouldn't believe the amount of work they have produced in the past year alone! Kaz himself has been quoted as saying that they started on 6 before 5 was released, that's about 4 years ago. It's not like they were starting from scratch either, much of the content and assets already existed in GT5. I hate to say it, but if this is all a "dedicated team of professionals" can come up with in 4 years of work then they have little to be proud of.
 
Here is my problem with your "realistic timelines", not meaning to be disrespectful, but they are not realistic. I work at a research university that employs around 100 programmers and software devs (about as many as PD?) and you wouldn't believe the amount of work they have produced in the past year alone! Kaz himself has been quoted as saying that they started on 6 before 5 was released, that's about 4 years ago. It's not like they were starting from scratch either, much of the content and assets already existed in GT5. I hate to say it, but if this is all a "dedicated team of professionals" can come up with in 4 years of work then they have little to be proud of.
Yes totally agree on that, but you know also that they are working on the next gen version.(with how many FTE?) And they probably have scaled down the GT6 team massively since lets say October?.
I am sure happy with your input (I am only used to teams of max 30 people), I would love to hear and learn from your experience!
 
Yes, I expected that, and in a way it is, but that's not my goal here. The goal is to manage expectations.

People seem to expect everything solved in the next update ... I just try to provide some background to it .. that its not a realistic thought to expect every issue to be addressed in the next release ...

I am as disappointed as anyone, but I think we already made clear were not happy with that. For now I accept it as the " current status " and approach it like that.

I try to be realistic ... to keep me from having too high hopes, and helping others in that same process.

Well everyone has different expectations and it's hard to change those. Yes, when the game came out there was no timescale on anything. However everyone that knew about the updates would have thought about how long they thought it would take, or how long they thought it was realistic to wait for. Some people might have expected it in the first day patch, some within the first month. Some may even find four months reasonable, but I doubt many people seriously thought it would be longer than this.

Me personally, given that they announced most of these features in May 2013 and they looked fairly complete, I didn't expect it to take more than a couple of months for them to appear in the game. I'm aware how long development takes, I'm aware how slow PD work, but a few months seemed reasonable to me. Nothing you have said makes me change my mind, to be honest. It's been too long, in my mind.

We know they weren't ready in December, that is obvious, the point is they should have been. They had three years, on top of the five they already had for GT5. Again, to most people that seems reasonable time to produce one, full complete game.

Oh and I really hope you weren't serious with your defence of the monthly DLC. You and I both know they were talking about more than what they've delivered so far. That US staff member I forgot the name of specifically said monthly track DLC in interviews. Kaz mentioned a quantum leap forward. They've simply failed, on those promises.
 
The "realistic timelines" must also factor previous Kaz statements about GT5, In other words, we may reach a stage where GT 7 on PS4 will see its inevitable announcement, in which case just like features said they simply waited to put into GT6.. may be put into Gt7
 
i'll say the same as before (in others threads), my biggest concern about PD is the lack of communication.
if we knew whats going on backstage, the complains would be far less. if we knew PD's point of view about features suggested by users, the complains would be far less. we would still have our own priorities on features and the updates would still be there to happen, but with a little more communication, we would understand the reasons.
 
Yes totally agree on that, but you know also that they are working on the next gen version.(with how many FTE?) And they probably have scaled down the GT6 team massively since lets say October?.
I am sure happy with your input (I am only used to teams of max 30 people), I would love to hear and learn from your experience!

Well, I can't shed much light on the software teams operations. I generally work along side them, I am a hardware engineer. My equipment either runs their software, inputs data to it or pulls data from it for research. I can tell you they are a very professional, hard working group of people that do excellent work and are managed very well.

Yes, I know they are working on two games for two systems concurrently, but whose fault is that? Kaz is a VP at Sony for crying out loud, he even said he got to help set the hardware specs so it's not like the coming release of the PS4 could have been a surprise to him. With that information at hand, I can tell you what I would have done if I were him, or a trusted manager of the team. I would have done whatever it took to get GT6 95% done and out on time, over time, temp teams...whatever. They could have just taken all we had in GT5, spruced it up a bit, including the new physics & AI and called it done. Sure it would have given the "GT5.5" crowed more ammo, but so what? Then I would have "teased" at some of these cool new high tech features coming in GT7 on the new system. He then would have had a mostly happy fan base playing away at Gt6 and eagerly awaiting the next installment and thinking that $500 for a new system might be worth it if we are going to get all this new functionality with it and he would be able to spend the majority of his efforts now on GT7 and the PS4. Which is a far cry from the mess he finds himself in now isn't it?

Look, I will give the man credit where credit is due. He has done some incredible things with the GT series, things no one else has done and he continues to look at expanding on those achievements. I also understand that he had to cultivate relationships with the auto companies to do what he has done, but he seems to have forgotten that he had a game company to run while doing so, he should of had a trusted group back at the office taking care of things while he did this. I have a theory though that is as good as any other as to why they are having the problems that they are with GT6. We already know that GT6 as is, is really pushing the limits of the PS3, what if all these new high tech goodies he envisions just aren't possible on this system? If he would have just firmed up GT6 and got it out the door he would have all the extra power of the PS4 to exploit in giving us the new features and like I said, give us a reason to by a PS4 and anticipate the release of GT7.
 
After all this lack of comm, i started checking what other devs were doing... Most have dev blogs, most have comunity polls, simbin recently apologized to the fans saying something along the lines of " sorry, we misjudged the work it would take to do something and are doing the best we can to be as fast as possible" to forza's "we launched a car pack a few days ahead of time by accident". (Fm5 has Over 30 cars and 2 circuits as dlc already, btw) . every dev must be real happy with kaz and the gang since they are getting new costumers from one of the biggest comunities, its up to them to keep them happy, but they are getting the chance to do so.

In an time where people are supposed to be looking for a next gen console, they should have been extra careful and tried not to piss people off, like they did, this ultimately will mean that some of the gt crowd will disperse not only to xbone but pc too... So they may not have the same success as other versions of gt had, where it drove console sales up, platinum level sales before launch, etc.

Also, by now, even they are not crazy enough to ask fans fore more money in dlc form, it would be an unforgiveable mistake in my opinion and even if i bought it i would be thinking, "enjoy and use wisely my last 10 pity bucks towards gt"
 
For me it is not about updates and DLC content and the wait for new cars/tracks. For me it is the bugs that spoil the fun and they are not able to get rid of those and add serious stuff for good online racing!
GT6 is in physics way better than GT5 but it still feels just like a GT5 Vers. 2.5!

How on earth can you built one of the worst AI of all racing games I know in 2014? They did not really spend a lot of effort into that point. So what else than online racing is left? But the online mode is as well far off from perfect. So instead of adding new content they should fix that.
So if they concentrate more on eyecandy by adding new cars and tracks and less on the functionallity and userfrienldy interfaces and so on, I think that this franchise has seen its customers!

It can`t be an excuse to say we are working on GT7 already so, the "unfinished" GT6 has to back off and all of you who buyed it have to live with the flaws and wait as long as it takes.

Realistic timelines? Sorry, can`t be an excuse as well, I payed for the game, you do not buy a book and the author tells you at the end inside of the book, well the last 100 pages will be released in the future weeks and you`ll wait like an idiot and do not even get a response on how long it takes! There were promises made to get the community to buy the game, they did not stand for it. other companys in other buisneses broke there neck on things like these.
So PD have the luck that they could directly communicate with their community/customers, but so far it feels like they don`t care, and this is the point.
If you can`t release seomthing in time, well, let the community know. It just takes 2 to 3 sentences!

It is the lack of communication and information and it feels just like money making. Of course I am not blind, it is their buisness, they need to make money, but if they go on like this the`ve seen my money. And it is not he time that spoils me off, it is the feel of that the GT series develops into a direction I totally dislike. Don`t get me wrong, I am addicted to the new physics in GT6 but I am also shocked on how oldfashioned and none inovative GT6 feels in so many ways. It feels like concentrating more on eyecandy than quality.
It is not the current standard if you look at the AI, the sounds or the many "unfinsihed" standard cars or the miss of saving as many setups per car as you like.................I could go on for hours with this list, but just look at the pit/tyre problem, online disconnection or not even beeing able to get online/join a server.
A career mode ( if you want to call it like that ) is just to short and emotionless built.

So, they would get all the time they need, if they just came up with solutions or at least communicate with the community on some way, to see if the wait is worth it. This game has now 5 months of age and still there are serious bugs!
 
The only problem I see with constant communication is that, knowing this community, will raise expectation way too high and be displeased in the end - it always happens.

For software updates and whatnot, I still stick to the 6 months time frame. That's a reasonable time to me, especially while during the time of the release date, they were still working on the features - remember Kaz talking about the course creator a few weeks to a monh before the release date?.

Lets be real here, we knew what we were getting into but ignored it. Call it havin faith in a company or ignorance, it was still our choice to buy an incomplete, day one updated (first indication right there), game. They (I'm looking at you Sony) rushed the release and we're the ones paying for it.

With that said, I still firmly believe that we'll get the update we're all looking for in May, when/if the Senna content becomes available (for those eligible). That would be the time where the GT5 servers close and hopefully opening up the way to GT6's online features (ie; Community features).
 
Show me one other developer with so many broken promises, and lies to its fanbase? Changes are needed at PD. Gt5 and 6 have major issues and so many things they said would be in it puts any other game to shame.
 
I said I was going to flit off, but this thread caught my eye.

One thing I keep forgetting, as if there wasn't a whole microcosm of stuff to remember with Gran Turismo, is that PD and SONY are locked in a literal cold war with Microsoft. They essentially stole the entire GT concept, lock, stock and spark plugs, and I'm sure they feel quite a bit like Apple. And from what I recall, Apple hardly teases their new i-products at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I remember. Thus we get scant info on a Gran Turismo until the year of release, and even then, it seems to trickle.

Now one thing that bodes ill is that Kaz isn't giving interviews since about January. In fact, hardly anyone in SONY CE is. This kind of silence two months before E3 usually indicates something brewing. And with the teases of GT7 Prologue strategically released this winter, that's looking more and more likely.

However, this happened with GT5 too. There was a LOT of complaining prior to GT5's release about Kaz not giving any solid indication of when we could expect the game, or what was in it. And oh man, his remarks about Standard cars and tracks caused no end of consternation here - or since. ;) But after release, he was pretty quiet in long stretches too, just every once in a while making vague remarks about upcoming goodies for GT5. Aaaand... we did get just a portion of things he discussed. Even the incomplete online tools look good compared to what we have now for GT6.

But this is a really weird situation for all concerned to be in, even SONY to a point, because they need cash after this huge investment in PS4. One thing to consider is that SONY Corp and SONY CE are different people. SONY CE are trying like mad to be the new SEGA, and to a point they are. In particular, indie developers love them. But this gamer friendly bunch are subservient to the megacorp that needs our monies. They will be looking at GT6 as an investment, as well as GT7, and whichever one looks more promising will get the attention focused on it. So, we may well have most of PD's resources devoted to GT7 now, and particularly in piecing together a Prologue at least as appealing as GT5P was.

Taking that into account, which I think is quite possible, what do I see as the timeline of GT6's added goodies?
  • Bugs such as the pitstop tire issues, April/May.
  • Aytron Senna features, May/June.
  • DLC, sporadic cars, a few tracks, beginning June/July.
  • Online update, June/July, done in stages.
  • Event Maker, useful off/online, July/September.
  • Course Maker 2, August/October.
  • Sound improvements, August/December.
  • Race Mod, with a possible Livery Editor, September/2015.
I expect GT7P by November, and GT5 itself in fall of 2015 to summer 2016.
 
>>>**The following is my opinion/lengthy vent. Reader discretion is advised.**<<<

We are still waiting for this....

Gran Turismo Arena
This is a multipurpose arena used to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, with a special circuit set up on its field. The total length of the course is short at 668 metres, but the variety of corners in its layout is equal to a large scale circuit. This is a great stage for Karts and small displacement cars. You can also remove the cornerstones and corner barriers to set up a variety of attractions using cones.

.....Advertised (some call promised) on or before December 6th, 2013. Yep, I’m a stickler for this, but dang it if that is a selling point on the date of release, then I want what I bargained for. If Sony/PD can’t get this right after 4 months come the 6th of April, what chance will they do ANYTHING right. Fact is when the inclusion of the DeltaWing was up in the air, it was remove from just about everything possible: teaser trailers, granturismo.com, etc... This bit of information is still here and yet I can’t find how to go about this. If anyone from K.I.R.K (Kaz Is Right Klub) can show us how to “set up a variety of attractions using cones”, please share your wisdom. A few notes before your reply....

- Coffee Breaks do NOT count (Open Layout).
- The need of Course Maker does NOT count. There isn’t an asterisk (*) in any of the reading. An example can be found at the bottom of most pages of granturismo.com like this... “*Images shown are from a pre-final English version of the game.” No where does it say “*Requires Course Maker”.

So those who did their homework before buying was mislead information. It may seem small to some, but in the grand scheme of things it starts small. Tease a new track in January with information in February (that never happened), announce the release of GPS functions so few can use in April. What? It just shows no one knows what is going on, and they get paid the big bucks!!!

I’m sure there is a Statute of Limitation when it comes to how long they can advertise/promise a future update. Can you imagine loaning a friend money and the contract says “payback when I can”? Well when is when I can: one year, 10 years, 1000 years? I can’t think of the name but there is a law for this exact thing. There is a deadline depending on the situation.

Since we just buy a “license” to play the game with Terms and Conditions, that’s a contract. Well part of that contract, as advertised/promised is the ability to change the Gran Turismo Arena on their official Sony/PD run website. So where’s the “Grey Area”? There isn’t, the same way there isn’t any with the AUP here on GTPlanet or Terms of Service with Sony. It’s in black and white type. If it’s a mistake, then it should have been fixed as quick as the DeltaWing incident or the hotfix for the BMW in the dealership.

I suppose announcing “Gran Turismo 6.... is here” doesn’t sound as good as “Gran Turismo 6 has the Moon, monthly DLC (Free AND Paid), new features, new tracks, new this and that all coming to the series”. False advertising or bait and switch is the name of the game. It’s the best way to lose a fan base, trust and word of mouth. At this rate we are looking at the new slogan of Gran Turismo “The Real All Show and No Go Simulator”.

The Show (Looks nice...) GPS Visualiser, Multi Monitor, 3D (why not get all the less useful stuff out of the way)
The No Go(...but doesn't work): Camber, Pit Stop Bugs along with.....oh heck I’m not typing ALL that out.

Fun facts before I go...

1. Did you know a person with one TV, PS3, and Gran Turismo 6 game can use the Community Features for just the cost of their internet?
2. Did you know a person with one TV, PS3, and Gran Turismo 6 game can use B-Spec at the cost of their time, hair, and loss of voice?
3. Did you know a person with one TV, PS3, and Gran Turismo 6 game can use Course Maker with just their FREE imagination?
4. Did you know the first three Fun Facts can be used by most if not all people in the Gran Turismo community?

I might not use any of these, it's not about me, it's about the fan base. I'm pretty sure the above is more desired than buying a brand new car and flying to another country just to get some GPS data.

Oh well... back to making credits... for now.
 
As an Arsenal FC fan. . I think the Kaz knows best guys are an aweful lot like the Arsene Knows best guys and. . well, we havnt won a trophy in many years. . so.
ok guys, honest timeline, Sonwn *may* have told Kaz to make the DLC, features that are missing, but release it after E3, so they have something to talk about at E3 for PS3 like *GRAN TURISMO 6, the world famous Real Driving Simulator will also launch a Best of GT version release featuring blah blah blah, just like an academy edition release.
Its possible with Evo Studios missing release and Driveclub. . maybe Sony wants to relaunch GT6 at E3 with a new edition with the features GT6 lacks now.
 
If they promise things they should deliver them simple as that, regardless of any possible excuses for missed deadlines there might be and we can spend time speculating about, because they don't bother to communicate with their customers... Failure to deliver and not being respectful enough to give an explanation about the reasons equals incompetence in my book.
Indeed :)

Also, I bet we all remember the heady days before games could access the internet and so had
to be properly sorted before release

I know some bugs/glitches got through qc, but all in all the games were pretty good back then
 
Unfortunenately missed the goal of keeping the update1.06 thread clean, but I did get a lot of constructive thoughts on why and how PD underachieved disappointed and is to blame, thank you guys for that! 👍

I hope they prove us wrong... But until then, fingers crossed...
 
I said I was going to flit off, but this thread caught my eye.

One thing I keep forgetting, as if there wasn't a whole microcosm of stuff to remember with Gran Turismo, is that PD and SONY are locked in a literal cold war with Microsoft. They essentially stole the entire GT concept, lock, stock and spark plugs, and I'm sure they feel quite a bit like Apple. And from what I recall, Apple hardly teases their new i-products at all. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I remember. Thus we get scant info on a Gran Turismo until the year of release, and even then, it seems to trickle.

Now one thing that bodes ill is that Kaz isn't giving interviews since about January. In fact, hardly anyone in SONY CE is. This kind of silence two months before E3 usually indicates something brewing. And with the teases of GT7 Prologue strategically released this winter, that's looking more and more likely.

However, this happened with GT5 too. There was a LOT of complaining prior to GT5's release about Kaz not giving any solid indication of when we could expect the game, or what was in it. And oh man, his remarks about Standard cars and tracks caused no end of consternation here - or since. ;) But after release, he was pretty quiet in long stretches too, just every once in a while making vague remarks about upcoming goodies for GT5. Aaaand... we did get just a portion of things he discussed. Even the incomplete online tools look good compared to what we have now for GT6.

But this is a really weird situation for all concerned to be in, even SONY to a point, because they need cash after this huge investment in PS4. One thing to consider is that SONY Corp and SONY CE are different people. SONY CE are trying like mad to be the new SEGA, and to a point they are. In particular, indie developers love them. But this gamer friendly bunch are subservient to the megacorp that needs our monies. They will be looking at GT6 as an investment, as well as GT7, and whichever one looks more promising will get the attention focused on it. So, we may well have most of PD's resources devoted to GT7 now, and particularly in piecing together a Prologue at least as appealing as GT5P was.

Taking that into account, which I think is quite possible, what do I see as the timeline of GT6's added goodies?
  • Bugs such as the pitstop tire issues, April/May.
  • Aytron Senna features, May/June.
  • DLC, sporadic cars, a few tracks, beginning June/July.
  • Online update, June/July, done in stages.
  • Event Maker, useful off/online, July/September.
  • Course Maker 2, August/October.
  • Sound improvements, August/December.
  • Race Mod, with a possible Livery Editor, September/2015.
I expect GT7P by November, and GT5 itself in fall of 2015 to summer 2016.
I'm thinking that they are either waiting for winter 2014 for GT7 P or are waiting until winter 2014 to release all of the content at once in a 2.0 style update. Or doing nothing at all/doing things at a snails pace
 
I think that certain parts like the new B-spec or the redesigned course creator taking longer is alright. But GT fans have been screaming for a livery editor for some time. I don't mean give us everything at once, but give us a tid bit hear and there.

The GPS Visualizer is way cool. But I drive a Honda and a Pontiac so it is of little to no use even if they include more tracks, I track at Mosport, Shannonville and Cayuga most of the time. Cool feature yes, but widely usable to the community? Not really. That's not to say it shouldn't be implemented in due time but it should be slotted alongside another usable feature.

Wasn't there suppost to be another big track coming out? I really like our current tracks but would like to see more. Sebring would be a great addition or CTMP (Mosport). The game is really good but promised features are not there and it shows.

The community is waiting but PD needs to feed them a bone. I wouldn't mind even seeing a couple of Vision cars added. They are a great addition to the game.
 
...are waiting until winter 2014 to release all of the content at once in a 2.0 style update.
I can't imagine anything that would drive the vocal fanbase more rabid than a drought of new features for the next several months. I'm sure that if they get an update done, like the Visualizer, they'll release it. Even if someone said in an E3 interview that a huge GT6 update was coming in the next few months, I'm not sure how well that would be received. Distrust among the natives is building...
 
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