This may require a series of blog posts to accurately explain everything. Rather than just explain everything here, I will further explain my points on John's Gran Turismo Space. I would like to invite you to visit "John's Gran Turismo Space" for more advanced commentary in regards to some of the different talking points of this blog post. A link to JGTS will be posted at the end of this blog post.
BEFORE I BEGIN: Please note that I have NOT played Gran Turismo 5 yet, nor do I own a PlayStation 3 as of the initial date of this post. What I will discuss is based on impressions based on YouTube videos and material I have seen posted online.
--- Initial Thoughts on Gran Turismo's Racing Model ---
^ from: gamerant.com - A great race going on. Some, however, feel the racing can be a lot better and more like a true RACING sim.
One of the real challenges in explaining something is to express things in a way you see fit. No one will ever understand what you are trying to discuss unless you clearly explain yourself. It is therefore very important I explain myself here so that the rest of this blog post doesn't seem convoluted.
Basic Thoughts.
My most basic thoughts is that I love racing in Gran Turismo games. For every criticism, I have always responded with a respectful viewpoint on Gran Turismo to where people still have an open heart and a positive outlook on the Gran Turismo series. Consider Gran Turismo 4. There were people who complained that GT4 has a boring lineup of cars and no true supercars (namely Ferrari and Lamborghini among others). I've responded in saying that the world-class makes are there, and there ARE supercars (so any Pagani or the Saleen S7 aren't examples of supercars?). I have been real defensive about a lot of things in the Gran Turismo series.If there has been one thing I have pondered about the Gran Turismo series recently, it has been the racing and how the racing model is constructed. For as much as the Gran Turismo series has been about cars and driving, not too much has been about making the racing at least respectable. Think about some of your favorite production-based racing series.
Does Gran Turismo 5 Have Something Going for the Future?
Well, does it?--- Kart Racing ---
I absolutely think so. A big reason why- kart racing. Think of how many race car drivers started out in kart racing. Think of those who started out as kids going kart racing before stepping up the motorsports ladder to the big-name motorsport series. As someone who has been such a fan of motorsports, I think kart racing was a big step forward for the Gran Turismo series.
Why is kart racing so important for a simulation racing game? While many people think of kart racing as a cartoonish thrill, many others see kart racing as a way to gain quality experience towards racing bigger, better, and MUCH faster race cars. Jose Guillermo (Memo) Gidley once said that you learn everything there is to know about a 700+ hp Champ Car by racing a go-kart.
If Polyphony Digital was smart, I'd come along and make kart racing of bigger importance and make somewhat of a bigger deal out of karting. There's only a 100cc go-kart in GT5. I'd make the karting ranks more diverse. The kart ranks can start out with a bunch of racy 50cc karts all the way up to the superkart ranks. They can feature both regular karts as well as shifter karts. Just make it interesting, fun, and diverse.
--- Level System ---
I also believe the level system helps to pace the game better. Think of your favorite RPG for a moment- do you start out with the most powerful weapons, the most powerful magics, and the fiercest enemies? No. You start out with the weakest of everything. When you have a level system, it is best to pace things appropriately. You want the pacing to be understandable and appropriate. You want that just right pace that doesn't feel seriously constrictive.
--- Special Events ---
The inclusion of things like the Gran Turismo Karting Experience, Mercedes-Benz AMG Driving School, the Top Gear Test Track, Jeff Gordon NASCAR School, Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge, Gran Turismo Rally, and the Grand Tour events help to add some much-needed diversity and personality to the kinds of racing you can do. This can probably be expanded upon for the next GT by featuring some realistic type championships in these series.
--- GT Academy ---
The presence of GT Academy should provide insight on enhancing the morale of racing in Gran Turismo games. It should at least provide some real racing insight that can be used to make racing better the racing in Gran Turismo.
--- The Rendered Pit Crew and Team ---
Since GT4, there have been a realistic pit crew servicing cars. I feel that future GT titles will have more of a real racing feel if there's life to the actual pit crew and your racing team.
These are just some of the many things that I think GT has going for itself for the future.
{I may prepare blog posts for John's Gran Turismo Space discussing this section and its issues in greater detail. If I do prepare a blog post on JGTS, a link to that JGTS blog post will be supplied here.}
--- Gran Turismo Racing Past: A Synopsis ---
The majority of your time in Gran Turismo is spent racing. So when most of what you do is racing, what you do most has to be of top quality and top standards. Gran Turismo doesn't disappoint in the racing category, but more can be done to feel more like a solid RACING game. You can make the racing aspect more solid without completely destroying the GT formula. I don't think Polyphony Digital is banking on taking the original concept and starting over from scratch anytime soon.Racing game is a vague statement. You have to define the parameters which make a racing game a pure racing game. Gran Turismo games seem more like car comparison deals rather than actual racing with a host of cars. You compete in championships and races, but it doesn't feel like an environment that feels like true racing is going on.
Gran Turismo 1.
GT1 had the feel of a real racing environment, especially how you can Race Modify your cars to be true racing machines. It felt like you actually had a good enough racing environment. Even doing the nationality races (US vs. Japan, Japan vs. UK, and US vs. UK) felt more like a real racing deal. There was also a good deal of originality with the races.Gran Turismo 2.
Of all the Gran Turismo games I have played, Gran Turismo 2 is perhaps closest to being a true real racing GT than any other. It was the most diverse among types of races as well as having the best official race structure. You started out in Nationals to work your way up to the Euro-Pacific and GT World League. GT2, at the time, had the most realistic rally package as it was just a one-lap time trial against a Ghost car.Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec.
The ladder structure in Gran Turismo 3 sorted races on difficulty. Lower-difficulty races were shorter with weak opposition, and the highest-difficulty races were the longest with stronger opposition. No PS2 Gran Turismo title had Racing Modifications. The departure of Racing Modifications meant this game was not going to be as fun feeling like you have a complete race car. So you have a completed race car from a street car... that still doesn't at least look the part. This GT somewhat triggered a package that just didn't seem as fun racing with as GT1 and GT2 provided.Gran Turismo 4.
With no Racing Modifications, you still got to attach rear wings to cars. This gave you the chance to adjust downforce while also making your street car feel more like a racing machine. I will say that the racing in GT4 is the toughest in any Gran Turismo game (since I have yet to play GT5 as of this initial blog post). The GT World Championship in GT4 is TOUGH! No excuses- get yourself a GTP or LMP prototype, or you stand no chance of winning. There was still much to be desired for GT4 in the racing department. Oh, and with Online Play being sacked for GT5, that just meant you were going up against dodgy AI.Because I have not played Gran Turismo 5, I will NOT comment on this until I actually play the game. I will make no reservations or comments on a game I haven't played. I am trying to retain my integrity in my posting.
--- What "Motorsports Focus" Are We Discussing? ---
You've read my blog so far about a better focus on motorsports. Now in this section, I analyze what is meant by a better motorsport focus. Gran Turismo has done everything to allow you to race various kinds of cars in various kinds of races. It is a chance for you to build your car up to specifications you set based on modifying your car to be as complete of a racing machine as you so please. However, the game still tends to fall flat in really feeling like a proper and complete racing game. It just doesn't feel like a racing game in a pure racing environment. Nothing seems purely competitive or original enough to feel like you're in a truly realistic racing environment. Likewise, there's always the issue of AI.The different racing series and racing events could be featured in a way to where it feels more like you are doing very competitive racing. I want to feel like (for example) the World Compact Car Cup is more like a proper racing series and that I'm racing for much more than a trophy and a prize car. I always take Gran Turismo games like I am racing for my own racing team. Therefore, the feeling seems repetitive and flat being just being a one-man racing team. Think of the ToCA Race Driver series. Everything in the ToCA games is neatly constructed and executed, and it really feels like you are racing in proper championships. The cars feel more like properly-tuned machines for racing rather than just a bunch of street cars that somehow are good racing machines. I am now starting to feel like Gran Turismo needs some kind of link to real racing and realistic racing for the series to remain strong in the future.
Road racing and rally racing have been the two main kinds of racing in the Gran Turismo series. To offer the perspective of real racing, I will describe a different set of racing series here based on categories.
Production-Based Racing: Group N.
^ from: www.autoguide.com - two B-Spec showroom stock race cars from Honda (left) and Mazda (right) respectively.
Production-based machines comprise the greatest concentration of machines in the Gran Turismo series. It is basically the lifeblood of the Gran Turismo series. "Group N" is FIA terminology I will be using in describing this section. Many Group N or Showroom Stock machines are usually cars equipped and modified with racing parts and equipment, but remain mostly stock mechanically along with stock transmissions. So you're basically in a pure racing machine that is gutted out except for most of the same stock setup of the road-going car.
Let's look at a few series for comparison and how future Gran Turismo titles can make the racing more interesting.
Showroom Stock (SCCA)
In the Showroom Stock class of SCCA Racing, cars allowed are limited only to recent production cars (no cars 12 years or older). Modifications are... just racing safety equipment and hardly anything else. Most of the cars that compete are mostly low-end sports cars and economy cars. Street tires are required (for what I know). Again- very few modifications allowed, if any.
Learn more about SCCA Showroom Stock by visiting the SCCA's site on Car Classification.
Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
What began life as the Motorola Cup in the 1990s is nowadays known as the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. This is a production-based racing series that does not allow for any extreme modifications to be made. One rule I know of is that each car must have a stock transmission from the car it is based on. The only serious modifications are full safety systems (racing rollcage, racing fuel tank, and stuff like that). Most of the rest is just about bringing a great car and racing as hard as you can with it. There are two classes of racing- Grand Sport and Street Tuner. Grand Sport features a good deal of high-performance sports cars while Street Tuner has mostly economy-type cars and low-end sports cars.
Learn more about this series by visiting this link that provides more info on the CTSCC.
These racing series usually require cars be as close to stock as possible while allowing for minimal modifications. This may be boring for those who reluctantly max out their cars in Gran Turismo, but these Group N-type racing series usually produce some of the most hard-fought racing.
Production-Based Racing: Group A.
This section pertains to race cars that resemble their road-going counterparts, but are vastly-modified. I'm talking more or less about your silhouette race cars. These are more apparent in silhouette touring car series (such as the DTM or V8 Supercar Series, or a series I recently discovered- the Belgian Touring Car Series). These represent some of the fastest and wildest-looking cars (as opposed to their production-based counterparts) in the world.Taking a certain car and making it unfathomably powerful than its road-going counterpart is basically more on the Group A front. That would describe things like... I don't know, my 930 horsepower Mitsubishi GTO in GT1!
Sportscar Racing.
Most of you know I love sportscar racing more than any other form of racing. Most traditional forms of sportscar racing have multi-class racing. I thought of GT4 having multi-class racing so that you don't feel like you have no chance of winning the GT World Championship in a high-powered GT car (as opposed to a prototype). Sportscar racing has been the lifeblood of Gran Turismo racing. It is great, but can be improved.Formula-Type Cars.
Understandably, most people think of Formula 1 when formula cars are mentioned. However, there are several single-seat formula car series the world over.Here are examples of other formula racing series:
* IndyCar
* World Series by Renault
* GP2 (multiple series)
* Formula Nippon
* CART/Champ Car World Series (defunct)
And some others:
* Formula 3 (various series)
* Star Mazda
* Formula Vee
* Formula 500
* Formula Atlantic
* Formula Continental
* Thoroughbred Grand Prix
The common saying is that the purest race cars have no fenders. By this logic, you can be assured that the purest racing cars are being raced. Gran Turismo 3 somewhat began the fascination of trying to make a proper Formula 1-style addition to Gran Turismo racing with all the fantasy F1 cars. GT4 had just one F1 car. GT5 featured the first-ever real F1 car along with the returning Formula Gran Turismo car.
I personally want to see more Formula racing cars in Gran Turismo. I have always wanted to run some of the GT courses especially in an Indy car. I wouldn't mind doing Apricot Hill in a Dallara F308 Formula 3 car. If PD could secure a license for the series, I wouldn't mind racing Suzuka in a Formula Nippon car. Formula Nippon cars are insanely fast!
Rally Racing.
The weakest link in Gran Turismo racing is rallying. While many of us are used to the old Colin McRae Rally games from Codemasters (I'm not even going to discuss the DiRT series) as one of the finest in rally racing, and while many PC fans are accustomed to Richard Burns Rally, Gran Turismo rallying has been very weak. I love rally racing. There's nothing like powersliding into corners aggressively and trying to navigate a seemingly narrow course with your co-driver reading his/her pace notes to you.The Course Maker for Gran Turismo 5 greatly favors open circuits than closed circuits. However, more probably could have been done to make the off-road racing a bit more solid. GT5's Course Maker was not really supposed to be a proper and complete deal you can freely edit. However, it was a step in the right direction as far as making more traditional rally racing a hit. There are those who still complained about rally racing courses being like five-lane highways in width rather than usually narrow roads for rally racing. From my first impressions of Gran Turismo 5 from the kiosk demo, I noted that the cars don't seem to feel as heavy in the corners. Best rally racing game I've ever played was "Colin McRae Rally 2.0." I still want to get "Colin McRae Rally 2005" or even "Rallisport Challenge" for the PC. Yeah, they are old games, but who said I always wanted the latest and greatest games?
Kart Racing.
Kart racing is almost never taken seriously by most people. Most people take kart racing like it is a novelty deal and think it can't be as fun as racing in much larger machines. I don't think GT5 will do much to convince you that it is. Despite this, though, kart racing in GT5 should at least be a sign that something close to a career model could ultimately find its way into Gran Turismo in the future.When you think of kart racing in all seriousness, you envision low-powered racing machines that deliver huge fun. The tracks that are somehow kart tracks for GT5 are short, but not complex. I raced on two different kart tracks- one at a family fun center and one at an indoor karting facility. Real kart tracks are much more complex in layout than what GT5 provides. The biggest thrill in kart racing can be found with superkarts. You're going very fast with no suspensions. Those machines are just crazy awesome to see race. Read my blog entry "Karts and Kart Racing" to learn more about kart racing.
A racing career can be started in karting. GT5 introduced kart racing. I now think PD needs to capitalize on and expand upon kart racing. Expand upon it not only to make racing more fun, but also to provide more ways to enjoy kart racing.
Oval Racing.
While there are those who neglect or disregard any kind of oval racing, it is as legitimate a form of motorsport as any other. The most popular series for oval racing are NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. For the sake of including Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I'd love to see Indy cars (or fantasy Indy cars at the least) be included to make for great oval racing. Gran Turismo may expand upon it by featuring dirt ovals. Then, that would have to warrant featuring racing machines like sprint cars (winged and non-winged), dirt late models, and stuff like that. Hey- it's all in capitalizing on an expanding upon a certain form of racing.Here are two forms of racing that have yet to be utilized or realized in Gran Turismo:
Drag Racing.
Drag racing has been a no-show in Gran Turismo games (I am not even counting the makeshift Las Vegas Drag Strip in GT4 or the 0-400m Test Course events). If anything, a GT5 update or GT6 will need drag racing to add more ways to race.Other Off-Road Racing.
I doubt we will ever see anything like desert racing or any racing like you see in SCORE International or in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. It would be interesting to see more Dakar machines as well as trophy trucks, and also interesting to see them become utilized. Can you imagine doing Tahiti Maze or someplace in a Trophy Truck?There is now some insight on various forms of racing and how they impact Gran Turismo.
{I may prepare blog posts for John's Gran Turismo Space discussing this issue in greater detail. If I do prepare a blog post on JGTS, a link to that blog post will be supplied here.}
--- Could This Shift in Philosophy Ruin Gran Turismo? ---
Gran Turismo is, has been, and likely will always be about production cars along with a fair share of racing cars. The spread is fairly even between road cars and race cars. This balance isn't going to be interrupted any time soon. This philosophy couldn't hurt, either. Either way you look at it, more elements will need to be implemented (or at least considered) for the future success of Gran Turismo.I think that while the Gran Turismo series is of and about production cars while also having a motorsports presence, I think the motorsport presence has to be expanded upon and enhanced for Gran Turismo to remain fresh as well as inject more character on the racing front. This is needed if Gran Turismo is to be freshened and made better. The current racing model offered in Gran Turismo is good as it is. However, if the series is to have extended leverage and appeal, the series needs to take a better and more-focused approach at a proper racing model.
--- Is a Proper Career-Oriented Model Eminent? ---
There has always been a makeshift career mode for the GT series. It just isn't a Career Mode that is like anything of ToCA quality. Not even the ToCA model was seriously a complete model. I think a career-oriented model is inevitable. How it is implemented, though, is the main question. Many of these points will need to be discussed further in other "John's Blog Space" posts or on "John's Gran Turismo Space." I will use this time to discuss aspects of a career model in case the next Gran Turismo features a proper Career Mode.Modifications to the Current Formula?
Certain series could be changed up to allow for certain tuning changes to be made. For example, pretend that one series disallows engine and drivetrain modifications. GT2 had races regulated by horsepower. GT4 had many races regulated by tire types. If you want to have more realistic kinds of racing, you'll have to feature certain regulations to make the racing both fair and realistic.New Qualifying and Race Formats?
ToCA Race Driver 3 had it best. There were some championships that had interesting rules for qualifying and for races. One example is Formula One. Think of F1's Knockout Qualifying format. You enter three heats trying to avoid the relegation zone. If you are fast enough through Q1, you enter Q2. Otherwise, your Q1 position is set. If you survive Q2, then you will compete for Pole Position.Race formats are interesting to note as well. You may have one race weekend with multiple events. Think of series like the FIA World Touring Car Championship as you have multi-race weekends at the same track. To tweak the formula some more, some series reverse the finishing order from one race to the next race. Some series, like the Australian V8 Supercar Series, have multi-race weekend formats except for the endurance races.
Be interesting to see if a future Gran Turismo takes on a unique route that makes certain races and championships more interesting. Think of doing heat races or Last Chance Qualifiers to enter a certain race. Races in Gran Turismo need to have the proper package: practice, qualifying, warm-up, and the race itself. I don't want (especially Single Races) to just be a last-to-first deal. So many times have I struggled in certain championships having to start at the back to try to win. If I want to come from behind to try to win, I'd rather just qualify poorly. Or rather than have a qualifying session, have random qualifying. The only problem with random qualifying is that you may start on the front row. You didn't earn pole, but you could be on the pole. If money is offered for Pole Position, you may get free money for not earning pole on the track. Be real- have at least practice and qualifying. It is not always fun trying to come from behind all the time to win. Some tracks basically REQUIRE you to have a strong qualifying position so that you can be clear of the madness heading into the first turn.
Sponsorship?
I will need to discuss this in another blog post. I know I did a thread long ago as a speculation one on sponsorship, but I feel sponsorship will help you earn more money from your racing. You may earn sponsors by placing well in certain races or accomplishing certain tasks. You earn extra money from sponsors for great finishes. Let's say that finishing 3rd or better earns you money. Sponsors would pay you 25% of the prize money for whatever place you finish (assuming you finish no worse than 3rd). Certain sponsors will pay you more than other companies. The in-game sponsors would be the main sponsors to pay you money. I got my sponsor idea from Sega GT.Team Offers?
Here's ToCA right here. Imagine having cars prepared for you rather than have to buy a car and modify it up. You can still bring your own car (as long as it is within regulations), but imagine being in a series with a car already available and tuned for you. It would make things great for just entering and racing.More Entry Fees?
The best thing about games is that you don't have to worry about economic situations. Like how you've paid fees to use tracks in GT4 for racing (except the free Family Cup races) or photos, imagine having to pay entry fees to compete in certain championships. It's real, but it would make holding onto your Credits even more critical. For example, entering in Star Mazda costs $200 USD. Running a full season in Star Mazda costed $200K to $300K in 2005.More items may be added in future edits.
{I may prepare blog posts for John's Gran Turismo Space discussing this section and its issues in greater detail. If I do prepare a blog post on JGTS, a link to that blog post will be supplied here.}
--- Final Thoughts ---
The Gran Turismo series is one of the finest racing game series of all time. As much as it has done to introduce many people to cars and racing, more can be done in the long term to keep this series running strong. The biggest thing that I think PD needs to focus on is enhancing the racing. Not just the racing itself, but enhancing the intricate elements of the various series to make racing more interesting and fun. I have somehow (to some of my critics, finally) grown to believe that the series needs almost a complete overhaul in the racing department for future GT action to be fresh as well as extend the longevity of the series. This vastly detailed blog post featured many different kinds of racing that I think will help the series in the long run.Championships and races need to feel more like real racing series. Some inventive thinking on PD's behalf can make the racing feel more entertaining and realistic. The AI drivers will also need a kick overall to try to be more realistic and mindful of your presence on the track. If you love racing period as well as Gran Turismo, you have to admit the real racing feel just feels flat. The ideas I have presented should help to make racing more interesting overall.
Again- some of the issues in this blog post will need to be discussed further. So rather than focus everything here on John's Blog Space, I will utilize "John's Gran Turismo Space" for more in-depth details of the issues you've read in this blog post. So feel free to visit JGTS for more. You can find John's GT Space by visiting the link in the closing of this blog post.
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