That's not structure, a variety of unrelated things available to be done in any sequence isn't structure, it's closer to open world play - which has it's place - but structure it is not.
The game's economy provides the structure.
It actually kinda doesn't. It's an integral part of the gameplay with much emphasis on the techniques that will be used throughout the game, that means people can take the time to learn the finer points of driving, rather than doing just enough to win...
It doesn't really teach techniques. It certainly doesn't teach proper racecraft. It teaches you to do the same thing over and over again until you get it right; and much of the time "getting it right" means you exploited the parameters well enough. In GT2, there was a reasonable chance that you could wallride in many of the tests and blow through the gold time. In GT3 and GT4 the rally tests were almost ridiculously easy to pass once you realized there was a way to slam the car into the walls without failing. In GT4 the "chase the Pace Car" races were no problem once you realized just how much you could use it as a brake (or bump-drafting it down the entire Nurburgring). In GT5, the AI passing tests were made trivial once you realized that the AI was always
always always in the exact same position on the track at the same time every time you did the test. Then there was the period of time between patches where PD turned
off the AI contact fail conditions, making even IC10 completely trivial because you could use an AI car in every braking point one the track.
.. but there you see, we are both just stating our opinions.
The difference is that my opinion is calling for people to have the option to progress through the game as they want, and you're opinion is calling for people to continue putting up with a forced set of arbitrary tests for little reason beyond semantics, tradition and you judging that you know better for me than I do.
now I think about it, a non-mandatory license is a stupid idea... if they're in, they should be mandatory, if they're not mandatory then do away with them completely, or call them something else entirely.
So call them something else entirely. "Driving Missions" or "Special Events" would be good.
I might be wrong, since I never bother with it.. but is there no longer an Arcade mode?
There's an arcade mode with an extremely limited selection of cars and almost no way of taking part in races to your liking; and it's completely segregated from online and GT Mode. In a word, it's useless.
You make you point well, it is still to me only a trivial expense though since I find it enjoyable/challenging/frustrating, and lets be honest, they will be as different to each other this time around as the FF-cup, the MR-Cup, the FR-Cup etc. etc. (insert all the other regular events here), will be from previous generations - repetition is rife in the events too, but it's part of the game.. and it keeps most coming back for more.
Doing the same types of races in GT6 as you did in GT1, with different cars and physics and blah blah; isn't the same thing as doing the exact same test over and over and over again until you do it just right to gold it (or bronze it, for people who aren't that good). The former is just a familiar sense of structure. The latter is just trial and error.
"I stomp on the throttle, let the car shift itself, don't even
touch the wheel, and hit the brakes at
exactly 174 km/h, and I'll gold the test." Had I been doing the test, that probably would have taken me 5 minutes or so to determine that exact sequence. And that test has been in every GT game I've played, I'm pretty sure. What does that teach me? Compare that to this wonderful idea from Famine a few years ago in a similar topic:
Now... I'm a Goldjunkie - I have all-gold licences in multiple GT games in multiple regions - but I think the way GT does licences needs reviewing.
The tests themselves aren't the issue - they teach several things about the physics and driving lines to even experienced players. It's the implementation.
In reality, all you need to get a race licence is a short assessment of competancy. To get a higher-level race licence you need to drive a certain number of races at the lower level and this holds true right up to the highest levels, where performance becomes an issue too - to get a super licence you need to be an existing super licence holder or a champion of certain national/international series. Extending this to GT you'd need a single set of licence tests, then cut your teeth in road-based car series with your basic licence, advance to silhouette and single-seater racing, advance to international series and eventually, if you perform well enough at something like GT series or F2 you can get an F1/Indy/Sprint licence.
The current licence tests could then become a tutorial tool like GT4's Driving Missions - you don't have to do them, but they enhance your skills and you get game completion and prize cars/money for them. But not being able to do a 40mph slalom in a Saxo won't be a barrier to driving a 24hr race in an Aston Martin - and being able to do a 40mph slalom in a Saxo won't be a qualification to driving a 24hr race in an Aston Martin. The game becomes progressional and developmental while being accessible to all and the difficulty isn't diminished.
Where it's clear just what I'm learning and what I'm supposed to take away because I'm actually getting real experience to progress through the game, and the game judges how I gain that experience based on how good I am.
The entire idea of a "License" at all is to prove your worth and competence in something
Funny thing happened. I remembered the above fantastic post by Famine on the issue, so I looked up the thread in the GT5 forum. I also stumbled upon this:
License tests force you to suceed by driving properly.. ultimately making you a better driver, and improving you long term enjoyment of the game.
And lets be honest, all you need to do is get bronze across the board to get the license.. and if that takes more than a 1 or 2 goes, then maybe you should go back to Mario Kart!
That just sounds like elitism to me. Is that what I was supposed to take from that?
.. it was the game!)
in order to make good use of three existing game functions: in-game days, engine/chassis recycle and delivery truck and combine them so repairs and such takes actual in-game days.
