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1. Car Balancing
In concept, I do like the current system, with the N-series, the "staple" groups (e.g. Gr.1, Gr.2, etc.), and Gr.X. In addition, I like how each class can offer a potential combination of vehicles not seen in real life, which can make things interesting for both the player as well as spectators. I'd argue that if each class (especially the staple classes) were strictly-adherent to reality, then it'd undermine GTS' appeal as an eSport. Audiences would end up more likely to just ignore GTS and watch the real-world equivalent of a given racing series.
One issue that many players (myself included) have with the current execution of the system, however, is how it seems that other than an class being selected for a given event - with BoP enabled and settings disabled - most events allow for a battle royale as far as car selection goes. This means that, as a result, some classes can seem over-centralized. This is especially so for the N-Series, where you can have inter-class cars such as the Ferrari F50, and you can modify their power to be eligible for N-series classes they would not be eligible for as stock. There's also vehicles that will likely never see any viability in this current "anything goes" take, such as vehicles below 100HP within N100, the Ford SVT Raptor, or the Group C cars in Gr.1. However, I do not think new classes altogether should be created, as I have a potential solution that can work just fine within the current system. This would be to simply have "sub-rules," wherein on top of picking a class, specific vehicles will be eligible within that group. It's very similar to the limitations put on vehicles in various campaign modes in the GT series.
I also hypothesize that the N-series hasn't had much balancing changes yet since new N-series cars are being added at a much faster rate than cars from the staple groups. Thus, I think that once all N-series cars have been added (whenever that may be), then we'll get more "accurate" BoP adjustments. Otherwise, I think it's very wise and efficient for PD to use AI for BoP calculations, as I can only imagine how pain-staking it'd be if it were done by hand.
There are some comparatively more notable changes I would make, however, either for GT Sport or its successor in the next GT installment:
-The Toyota S-FR Racing Concept could either be moved into Gr.X, or into Gr.4. I am fine with concept cars being in the N-series, but this car is something I think would fit better with other race cars from real-world one-make series (e.g. Renault Megane Trophy) in Gr.4. Putting in Gr.4 would give Toyota a neat parallel for the FT-1 VGT in Gr.3. I don't want to banish the S-FR Racing Concept to Gr.X, either, as I believe Gr.X is meant to be a "wastebin," "one-make only," or "misc." class.
-The Toyota FT-1 ought to be moved into N500. I don't see why it can't be placed there. Otherwise, I do think the "raw" forms of the VGTs should remain in Gr.X.
-The Aston Martin Vulcan seems like it'd be better for Gr.X, as it's track-only. Two other track-only cars - the McLaren P1 GTR and the Pagani Zonda R - have been also placed in Gr.X. My hypothesis is that PD had hoped that the Vulcan (and S-FR Racing Concept) could be put into the N-series, but somehow decided post-launch that it'd be better to put similar cars in Gr.X, while being unable to take these two vehicles out of their given class. (I recall that both the S-FR Racing Concept and the Vulcan were in the vanilla version of GTS.) I would imagine that similar track-only cars from the series - such as the Ferrari FXX - would also end up in Gr.X.
-I propose two new classes for historic race cars. They would each be a historic analogue to Gr.1 and Gr.3, as one would be for historic prototypes, and one for historic grand tourers. I am otherwise unsure how to categorize these two, but I'd say the cut-off for "historic" would be 1980, since many historic events in Gran Turismo's campaign modes have used this year as a cut-off point. But overall, I would really like to see a way for historic racers to be balanced, as I don't think they should be in Gr.X for one-makes. This could even allow some cars from previous games to be part of a class, like the Chaparral 2D, or the Honda RSC.
-By and large, a restriction on "inter-class" N-series cars should be in place for most races, much like BoP and disabled tuning. They could still be enabled occasionally, much like how some races may allow players to pick different tire compounds or allow tuning.
2. Track "Balancing"
This isn't so much anything to be strictly enforced, but this is more so an attempt at listing what courses and classes of cars are best-matched, with a given layout being matched with the most powerful class that'd be recommended. This is especially for potential car/track combinations that aren't seen in reality, and even more for tracks that are GT-original. Here were some examples:
Tokyo Expressway Central - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Tokyo Expressway East - Gr.3/N700 or lower
Tokyo Expressway South - Gr.1/N1000 or lower
Northern Isle Speedway - Gr.3/N600 or lower
Broad Bean Raceway - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Suzuka East - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Of course, I am not sure about various Gr.X cars, like the Red Bull racers and formula cars, but some may be a bit more clear than others. (And speaking of which, I hope they fix the issue with going off-track in that first corner at the RB Ring soon...) So for example, anything that I'd recommend for a class that's under Gr.1 as a maximum is likely not something that I'd also recommend for the F1500T-A or the X2014 Standard. But I'd probably say that for the sake of simplicity, whatever I'd recommend for Gr.3 is likely something I'd also recommend for Gr.B, and the courses I'd recommend for Gr.1 are also ones I'd recommend for the X2014 Junior. And whatever I'd recommend for the X2014 standard is likely also going to be a track I'd recommend for the Super Formula cars as well as the F1500T-A, but that will likely be only some courses that I'd recommend for Gr.1, and not all of 'em.
Any thoughts on this? @Alpha Cipher @Sven Jurgens @Famine
In concept, I do like the current system, with the N-series, the "staple" groups (e.g. Gr.1, Gr.2, etc.), and Gr.X. In addition, I like how each class can offer a potential combination of vehicles not seen in real life, which can make things interesting for both the player as well as spectators. I'd argue that if each class (especially the staple classes) were strictly-adherent to reality, then it'd undermine GTS' appeal as an eSport. Audiences would end up more likely to just ignore GTS and watch the real-world equivalent of a given racing series.
One issue that many players (myself included) have with the current execution of the system, however, is how it seems that other than an class being selected for a given event - with BoP enabled and settings disabled - most events allow for a battle royale as far as car selection goes. This means that, as a result, some classes can seem over-centralized. This is especially so for the N-Series, where you can have inter-class cars such as the Ferrari F50, and you can modify their power to be eligible for N-series classes they would not be eligible for as stock. There's also vehicles that will likely never see any viability in this current "anything goes" take, such as vehicles below 100HP within N100, the Ford SVT Raptor, or the Group C cars in Gr.1. However, I do not think new classes altogether should be created, as I have a potential solution that can work just fine within the current system. This would be to simply have "sub-rules," wherein on top of picking a class, specific vehicles will be eligible within that group. It's very similar to the limitations put on vehicles in various campaign modes in the GT series.
I also hypothesize that the N-series hasn't had much balancing changes yet since new N-series cars are being added at a much faster rate than cars from the staple groups. Thus, I think that once all N-series cars have been added (whenever that may be), then we'll get more "accurate" BoP adjustments. Otherwise, I think it's very wise and efficient for PD to use AI for BoP calculations, as I can only imagine how pain-staking it'd be if it were done by hand.
There are some comparatively more notable changes I would make, however, either for GT Sport or its successor in the next GT installment:
-The Toyota S-FR Racing Concept could either be moved into Gr.X, or into Gr.4. I am fine with concept cars being in the N-series, but this car is something I think would fit better with other race cars from real-world one-make series (e.g. Renault Megane Trophy) in Gr.4. Putting in Gr.4 would give Toyota a neat parallel for the FT-1 VGT in Gr.3. I don't want to banish the S-FR Racing Concept to Gr.X, either, as I believe Gr.X is meant to be a "wastebin," "one-make only," or "misc." class.
-The Toyota FT-1 ought to be moved into N500. I don't see why it can't be placed there. Otherwise, I do think the "raw" forms of the VGTs should remain in Gr.X.
-The Aston Martin Vulcan seems like it'd be better for Gr.X, as it's track-only. Two other track-only cars - the McLaren P1 GTR and the Pagani Zonda R - have been also placed in Gr.X. My hypothesis is that PD had hoped that the Vulcan (and S-FR Racing Concept) could be put into the N-series, but somehow decided post-launch that it'd be better to put similar cars in Gr.X, while being unable to take these two vehicles out of their given class. (I recall that both the S-FR Racing Concept and the Vulcan were in the vanilla version of GTS.) I would imagine that similar track-only cars from the series - such as the Ferrari FXX - would also end up in Gr.X.
-I propose two new classes for historic race cars. They would each be a historic analogue to Gr.1 and Gr.3, as one would be for historic prototypes, and one for historic grand tourers. I am otherwise unsure how to categorize these two, but I'd say the cut-off for "historic" would be 1980, since many historic events in Gran Turismo's campaign modes have used this year as a cut-off point. But overall, I would really like to see a way for historic racers to be balanced, as I don't think they should be in Gr.X for one-makes. This could even allow some cars from previous games to be part of a class, like the Chaparral 2D, or the Honda RSC.
-By and large, a restriction on "inter-class" N-series cars should be in place for most races, much like BoP and disabled tuning. They could still be enabled occasionally, much like how some races may allow players to pick different tire compounds or allow tuning.
2. Track "Balancing"
This isn't so much anything to be strictly enforced, but this is more so an attempt at listing what courses and classes of cars are best-matched, with a given layout being matched with the most powerful class that'd be recommended. This is especially for potential car/track combinations that aren't seen in reality, and even more for tracks that are GT-original. Here were some examples:
Tokyo Expressway Central - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Tokyo Expressway East - Gr.3/N700 or lower
Tokyo Expressway South - Gr.1/N1000 or lower
Northern Isle Speedway - Gr.3/N600 or lower
Broad Bean Raceway - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Suzuka East - Gr.4/N500 or lower
Of course, I am not sure about various Gr.X cars, like the Red Bull racers and formula cars, but some may be a bit more clear than others. (And speaking of which, I hope they fix the issue with going off-track in that first corner at the RB Ring soon...) So for example, anything that I'd recommend for a class that's under Gr.1 as a maximum is likely not something that I'd also recommend for the F1500T-A or the X2014 Standard. But I'd probably say that for the sake of simplicity, whatever I'd recommend for Gr.3 is likely something I'd also recommend for Gr.B, and the courses I'd recommend for Gr.1 are also ones I'd recommend for the X2014 Junior. And whatever I'd recommend for the X2014 standard is likely also going to be a track I'd recommend for the Super Formula cars as well as the F1500T-A, but that will likely be only some courses that I'd recommend for Gr.1, and not all of 'em.
Any thoughts on this? @Alpha Cipher @Sven Jurgens @Famine
