Tokyo Expressway - What's the deal?

  • Thread starter Ameer67
  • 69 comments
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What do you think of Tokyo Expressway?

  • I LOVE it - It's pretty much perfect.

    Votes: 33 14.7%

  • I LIKE it - Can use some improvements, but it's a good track overall.

    Votes: 54 24.0%

  • NEUTRAL - Don't really have a positive or negative opinion about it.

    Votes: 38 16.9%

  • I DISLIKE it - Eh, it's a bad track, but there's worse.

    Votes: 46 20.4%

  • I HATE it - Whoever even thought of Tokyo Expressway should be fired!

    Votes: 54 24.0%
  • Total voters
    225
Ameer67

Ameer67

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As many of you forum-goers are probably aware of what goes on around here, the new Tokyo Expressway track in GT Sport has been a hot topic ever since it was first seen. Some folks see it as a horrible track that shouldn't have even been conceived, while others think it's not that bad. What's your take on it?​

Here is gameplay footage of Tokyo Expressway courtesy of @Igor Fraga:


And here is footage of a race on Tokyo Expressway courtesy of @hankolerd:

​
 
I don't completely despise the track, but I still think it should either be removed from Sport mode, or the car classes on the track should be limited in Sport mode.

For example, N100-300 would probably be pretty fun on there. Stuff like N800-1000 and Gr.1 seems like it'd be hellish. A track where most of the corners are taken at high speed, coupled with two lanes to manoeuvre between and high powered cars sounds like a recipe for disaster.
 
It's a track that I like, but hopefully they render the entire C1 loop (which they used as a basis but cut it short for obvious reasons) in GT7. It may take getting used to, since we are very familiar on how wide the Special Stage city courses are.

The width of that expressway is accurate. I've been to Japan quite a few times and that C1 loop is really narrow.
 
RCKakashi14
It's a track that I like, but hopefully they render the entire C1 loop (which they used as a basis but cut it short for obvious reasons) in GT7. It may take getting used to, since we are very familiar on how wide the Special Stage city courses are.

The width of that expressway is accurate. I've been to Japan quite a few times and that C1 loop is really narrow.
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I'm hoping PD have longer version of Tokyo Expressway, not necessarily C1. The narrowness is also something that I like, it reminded me of a PSX game I have, Cinematic Racing, a wangan racing game which uses FMV for storyline ( several girls with different story ), the player uses heavily modified R32 GTR. I always feel SSR7 in GT5/6 was a bit too wide and needs more high speed corners :P ( I spent lots of miles there doing online 320+kmh highway battle in GT5 hybrids days with 600-800HP Devil Z on CS tire )
 
I think Tokyo Expressway is pretty fun with the N300 cars right now, while the Gr. 4 was alright.

Ridox2JZGTE
I'm hoping PD have longer version of Tokyo Expressway, not necessarily C1. The narrowness is also something that I like, it reminded me of a PSX game I have, Cinematic Racing, a wangan racing game which uses FMV for storyline ( several girls with different story ), the player uses heavily modified R32 GTR. I always feel SSR7 in GT5/6 was a bit too wide and needs more high speed corners :P ( I spent lots of miles there doing online 320+kmh highway battle in GT5 hybrids days with 600-800HP Devil Z on CS tire )
Click to expand...

Same, a longer version would allow the field to disperse better.

And this article really sells it visually.
http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/04/a-night-out-on-town-lapping-the-c1/
 
I hate it, 90 degrees corners, no enough corners for the pack to disperse, too many straights, every corner been blind because you can't see the apex of it with the barriers and the narrow roads make it the worst track to race around. Someone once told me that is easy to complain but not to come on with ideas to improve so here are my suggestion

1. Make it a 4 lane track 2 lanes is just too narrow for such a high speed track.

2.Add more challenging corners, right now all we seen to have are 90 degrees corners and straight lines.

3. Make the apex of the corner visible, we are litteraly driving blind around it.

4. Make it harder to losse SR, at the moment you just need to tap the wall and there goes your SR.
 
I find that there are a series of corners where the pikers overdrive and you slide by on the inside.

The real test has yet to come: right now we're still gaining SR rather than finding our limits, so the effect of limiting your exposure to bad drivers can't be expected. Once you find your level WRT SR you should be racing people with the same definition of "clean" as you practice. Frankly, I'm just cruising with the pack, not pushing for passes, just trying to get a few more SR points. Once I don't have to worry too much about being crashed into I can push for my speed rating.
 
I think it's real fun as a fast-paced hot lap track and can work with fields of slower cars, but it absolutely has no place hosting races for stuff with the pace of Gr. 3. I'd go as far to say Gr. 4 is it's limit, but even there for me clean racing has been far and in between. That said, given that I actually have had a couple clean races here and there I think it's possible that people's behavior could eventually adapt to the track, especially with the help of the SR system.

Over the course of the beta period, throughout all the tracks (but especially on Tokyo) and regardless of the match's SR pool I've noticed people opting to give more and more space in corners and braking zones rather than the usual bum-rush that would occur in public lobbies of the past two games. It's clear that people are paying attention to their SR, and I think if this behavior continues to progress then the track could be viable for Gr. 4, but we'll need to see what happens with the player base when the full game launches.

With care Gr. 4 has the capacity to go two-wide on most of the bends, but Gr. 3 cars are just too fast. You pretty much need the full width of the track to make any of the corners, and because of the pacing it's nigh on impossible to adjust speed and position to navigate yourself around other cars safely in these areas - you're either gonna slam a wall or another car if you're at a different speed or racing line. I haven't been around for the N300 races on Tokyo, but given their pace everywhere else and my relative experience with Gr. 4 they would seem fine. I'd say the track is only suitable for Gr.4 and N200 through N500, though it depends on the pace of the mid-upper N class cars.
 
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It's a pretty poor replacement for Tokyo R246. Looks more like it belongs in a Wipeout game than Gran Turismo, although stringing together the final sector looks pretty tricky; it will demand a lot of concentration.
 
Great if you're a GT Academy-type driver. Otherwise, what's the point? The great majority of console sim players aren't great enough to be consistent enough. GTP has top talent. The GT universe is not suited for this layout. I'm not saying it's totally useless. It still has potential to be fun. But, it probably isn't worth the effort they put into making it.
 
It's a really great track for hotlapping. You have to use up all of the space on the track, and get as close to the walls as possible. However, that becomes a problem when racing in any race just because there isn't nearly enough room to run two cars side by side. And we've seen what happens when people attempt to do that. :ill:
 
GTRacer22
It's a really great track for hotlapping. You have to use up all of the space on the track, and get as close to the walls as possible. However, that becomes a problem when racing in any race just because there isn't nearly enough room to run two cars side by side. And we've seen what happens when people attempt to do that. :ill:
Click to expand...

I'll admit that I've warmed to it in terms of the actual layout, for hotlapping purposes. It's still an utterly lifeless grey blaaaaah of a track (it has all the presence of a four-cylinder beige Camry), but there's definitely a rhythm you need to hit to start getting the best lap times in the faster stuff. The margin for error is so small, it feels like an achievement when you nail everything.

But yeah, as a race track, with a pack of cars, it's easily one of the worst tracks in the franchise for me, especially when one considers it was made for a game with an eSports focus. Polyphony could've made anything, and if Dragon Trail is any evidence, the team hasn't lost its mojo in terms of fantasy layouts. Tokyo is just a dud.
 
SlipZtrEm
It's still an utterly lifeless grey blaaaaah of a track (it has all the presence of a four-cylinder beige Camry)
Click to expand...
Even though this is the case, I can still respect PD for staying faithful to what the C1 Expressway in Tokyo looks like in real life. Sure, it could use some more atmosphere like spectators and some signage, but in my opinion they nailed the look of what it looks like in real life.
 
GTRacer22
Even though this is the case, I can still respect PD for staying faithful to what the C1 Expressway in Tokyo looks like in real life. Sure, it could use some more atmosphere like spectators and some signage, but in my opinion they nailed the look of what it looks like in real life.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah. Polyphony certainly captured the dry, boring nature of a two-lane highway in the middle of the day. It's a bit like Rockstar having anywhere in the world to base its next Grand Theft Auto title on, and settling on Batavia NY. Or Uncharted globetrotting to the exotic locale of Brantford ON. :P
 
Haven't driven it yet, but I've watched lots of others do it and my first impressions aren't good. I typically like street tracks and I think it might actually be somewhat fun to drive and hotlap. But being narrow and having lots of straights that lead into fast corners is just terrible for trying to create some clean racing.

I'll reserve final judgement til I actually try it myself, but I think it's pretty clearly not a well designed track for this type of game.
 
Judging typical circuit standards, the track could only be suitable for illegal highway racing. Imagine your car breaks down, where are you going to move? There is only one parking space on the left before the second tunnel, and that's it. No moving barriers, galleries or cranes either. At times it feels like they forgot to add all the necessities a track should have.

Maybe with more details the track would have looked better, but then you still have overly narrow configuration that combined with high-speed driving just isn't suitable for the class of cars the game is using most.

And yes, in order to drive cleanly, you need to have reliable drivers around you. I'm sure this is one track all people would agree on having full-time ghosting employed.
 
RCKakashi14
It's a track that I like, but hopefully they render the entire C1 loop (which they used as a basis but cut it short for obvious reasons) in GT7.
Click to expand...

What obvious reasons? C1 loop is just 9 miles long. Just played Import Tuner Challenge on X360 and it features every crack and bolt of it, plus another 12 miles or so on radial roads.
 
true_kiat
So, are you saying GTsport will have the entire C1 loop mapped out?

How's so, given the beta stretch can't be traced back to any stretch of the real thing?
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It could be that they can't reveal much yet, which is why I came up with that explanation.

Plus, aren't Beta specification games limited in size? I mean they can't reveal everything yet, am I right?

And I think GT Sport isn't a highway street racing game, so it's obvious why the Tokyo Expressway track was rendered that way.
 
radix023
I find that there are a series of corners where the pikers overdrive and you slide by on the inside.

The real test has yet to come: right now we're still gaining SR rather than finding our limits, so the effect of limiting your exposure to bad drivers can't be expected. Once you find your level WRT SR you should be racing people with the same definition of "clean" as you practice. Frankly, I'm just cruising with the pack, not pushing for passes, just trying to get a few more SR points. Once I don't have to worry too much about being crashed into I can push for my speed rating.
Click to expand...

Only problem with SR is that it's overall.
If someone just does NIS gets a 99 and then has to run a different course you think that their completely clean when they spin out and wreck everyone.

Has some have wanted to fix SR and I suggested it be based on Track itself than overall would help see who is actually good and who isn't.
 
Honestly, if they did the Sierra Time rally thing (GT6) on there it would be a little more interesting also I'd love to see it at night (Tokyo Xtreme Racer), the roads and building are too dull and grey at day.

Wonder how it would look in HDR.
 

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