In so many areas us players are
forced to do things a certain way, without being given any
option to do otherwise (or sometimes we just have very limited options). In my humble opinion, this is one of the biggest problems with the way you approach game design at Polyphony Digital, & it impacts on many aspects of the game, causing much grief to those trying to enjoy it. You make it impossible for us to
customize our Gran Turismo experience to our own liking, & many of us are left feeling frustrated &/or patronized.
Here are just a few examples of what I mean, in no particular order.
1) Skid Recovery Force: Why is SRF
forced on? You give us no reason, therefore you come across as being unreasonable. You call it a "
beginners aid" yet you
force it upon
all players at certain points throughout the game, even though many of them are
not beginners! This contradiction makes no sense at all, & ruins our enjoyment of the physics model. Please, give us the
option of turning it off
everywhere in the game. Also, please give us separate online leaderboards for SRF Off, & SRF On lap times (like a tickbox filter). I understand that having it on by default helps those who are new to the GT series, but not allowing the more experienced players to turn it off is patronizing, & annoying. By giving us the
option, you'll keep
everyone happy, not
just the inexperienced players.
More Feedback For PD.
2) Automatic Traction Control: Why is traction control
forced on if I go off track? If I have turned TC off, why is it
forced back on? I can understand that it would help new players, but by
forcing it on everyone you just end up aggravating the more experienced players. Please, allow us the
option of turning it On or Off
completely for ourselves, or just set it to On when track Grip is set to Low, & Off when Grip is set to Real.
More Feedback For PD.
3) Auto Drive In The Pits: You trust us to drive around all these beautiful tracks you have recreated at very fast speeds, so why is it that you
force Auto Drive on us in the pit lane when at very low speeds? This makes no sense whatsoever! Again, you are inadvertently patronizing the experienced players who have already proven that they are capable of handling their cars. Please, give us the
option of turning Auto Drive in the pit lane On or Off when racing online, & offline too. A pit speed limiter button would be a welcome addition.
4) Global Traction Control: Why is there no
global option to turn traction control off in certain events & license tests? It is really annoying to have to remember to turn it off every single time we enter a new one. Is there any reason why you
force us to turn it off every single time? Please, give us a
global option for traction control in these events so that once it's been turned off it stays off until we want to turn it back on again.
5) Automatic Replays: Why is there no
option to turn off the automatic replays? Many people do not like being
forced into watching them after each race, & having to press a button to turn them off every single time gets tiresome. Please, give us the
option to choose whether to have them On or Off in the main menu.
More Feedback For PD.
6) Default Driving View: Why is there no
option to choose the default driving view? Why are we
forced into "Normal View" every single time we start the game? For example; I go to Free Run & in the pit lane I'm
forced into "Drivers Eye View", then I'm spat out of the pit lane &
forced into "Normal View" again, & then I have to go through a series of unnecessary button presses in order to choose my preferred view. This gives the game a rather unprofessional, unfinished, & sloppy feel. Please, give us the
option of choosing our default view in the main menu, or at the very least have the game permanently remember it & use it at all times (like when we're in the pit lane).
7) HUD Configuration: Why are the HUD options so restrictive? Is there any reason for the lack of
options? Please, allow us the
option of turning On or Off every single item of HUD
individually to our liking, then give us the ability to toggle all the HUD on or off while racing via a simple button press. Having to pause the game & go to an off screen menu to do this is clunky, & cannot even be done while racing online without compromising our lap time/position. Also, why can we not turn the wrong way indicator off? This is something that is needed, especially by the drifting community. Besides, many of us know the tracks very well & do not need to be patronized with a flashing red symbol.
More Feedback For PD.
8) Automatic Game Saves: Why are automatic game saves
forced upon us? Is there a reason why you have given us no
option to turn them off? I remember we did have the option in a previous GT title, & it was a very good thing to have too. I suspect that this might be causing corrupted game saves, because some people are moving between menus while saving is in progress. How ironic it is that the menus in GT6 are faster, but the Auto Save is slower! Please, give us the
option to turn this feature On or Off in the main menu.
9) Power Limiter Online: Why is there no
option to ban the use of the power limiter in online lobbies? It ruins PP based racing when everyone is choosing overpowered cars, & then pulling the BHP down 50% or so with the limiter. The power limiter is broken anyway as it creates a flattened BHP curve that gives them a power advantage over those who are choosing cars normally. Please, give hosts the
option of allowing it or disallowing it & being able to set what percentage of power limiting is allowed.
10) NOS Online: Why is there no
option to enable NOS in Tuning Prohibited Races? Many people enjoy racing without tuning, & if NOS could be independently allowed or disallowed, this would create a whole new racing experience for them. Is there any reason as to why, or have you simply not considered it? Please, give us the option to enable or disable NOS for Tuning Prohibited races, & One Make Races as well.
11) Motion Blur: Why is motion blur on some views, & not on others? At the moment the inclusion of motion blur seems to be random. It's on all views when spectating online, but when watching an online replay it's not on any views of my own car. It's not on any views when watching a replay of a Free Run, except the two interior car views. Why? Are you having problems with it, is it a bug, or is this deliberate for some reason? The most important views we want it on is all those whilst playing! Please, give us the
option of turning it On or Off for all views in all modes, & then give us a slider so we can choose the amount applied.
12) Nag Screens: Why so many nag screens asking us to click OK or Cancel, & more importantly why no
option to turn them off? When I enter a Time Trial for an event where the times are no longer being counted, why do I have to be reminded of it every single time I move from one screen to the next? If I've had the oil changed in my car, why do I need to click an OK button? Just tell me it's done, & then take me back to the GT Auto menu.
This game is riddled with so many time wasting & entirely unnecessary button presses! Please, give us the
option in the main menu to turn all such nag screens off, because
forcing us to interact with them over & over again can become extremely annoying.
13) Name Changes: Is there any reason why we are limited to only 3 name changes? Please, allow us to change it as many times as we like, after all it is
our name! Also, please allow online hosts to choose whether PSN names or driver names are displayed. First you
forced us to have driver names in lobbies, then you
forced us to have only PSN names! Why not simply give us the
option to do either &/or both? Sometimes you think in such black or white terms & it shows in so many areas of the game, this being just one tiny example.
14) Blue Lines In Online Lobbies: In the 1.05 update, you have provided us with Blue Lines when qualifying. This seems to be another classic example of the 'either or/all or nothing' type thinking plaguing your studio & which is ruining the game for many of us, as you have not provided us with the
option of turning them off! Why is this new feature being
forced on us, is there any real reason for it? Some people find the lines very distracting (myself included), & being
forced into having them on permanently is not only annoying, but also counter productive to getting fast lap times. Please, give us the
option of turning them On or Off just like we can in other parts of the game.
More Feedback For PD.
15) Slipstream & Mechanical Damage In Online Lobbies: In the 1.05 update, you have also added the options of Time Trial, Drift Trial & Free Run in online lobbies. Thank you! However, you have taken away the Slipstream & Mechanical Damage options in these 3 modes. We are now
forced to drive with Slipstream set to 'dunno whatever', & no damage even if we want it. Is there any reason you have taken these
options away from us? Please, give us the
option to set Slipstream & Mechanical Damage as we wish in all online modes (& all offline modes as well).
16) Qualification In Online Lobbies: Why have you taken away the
option of qualifying sessions that are under 5 minutes in the 1.05 update? Why are you
forcing us into a minimum of 5 minutes, is there any reason behind this? Why thoughtlessly fiddle with things that are not even broken?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Now you have made it impossible for us to set up 1 lap qualifying without wasting our time, especially for tracks that are around 1 minute in length. Please, let us choose the length of qualifying sessions starting at 1 minute & going up in 15 second increments, & also give us an alternative option of choosing the amount of laps for qualifying instead (from 1 lap upwards).
More Feedback For PD.
17) Tyre wear/Fuel Depletion & Mechanical Damage: Is there any reason why we do not have these
options in Career, Arcade, & Free Run modes offline? Why are you restricting us by taking
options away &
forcing us to do without them? I would very much like to drive in Free Run with all these options enabled, but you have taken this choice away from me & many others. Please, just allow us
all options in all modes so that we can tailor our Gran Turismo experience to our own liking.
18) Tuning Restrictions In Online Lobbies: Why is it practically 'all or nothing' when it comes to tuning restrictions in online lobbies? You either allow us to tune, or not; why so black & white? Is there any reason for this? Please, give hosts the
option to enable or disable each tuning function
individually in online lobbies. Think of the potential variety of races that could be made by the community if only they were given the proper tools! Also, allow us to specify which individual car or cars are eligible, all you'd need to do is add 1 more tickbox option to the sort by Country/Manufacturer options.
19) Force Feedback Wheel & Pedal Options: Why do we only have 1 option for force feedback? I have a Logitech G25 & can only adjust the amount of feedback in this game. Is there any reason as to why you restrict us in this regard? Please, allow us a similar amount of FFB & pedal
options as there are in most PC based simulators. And while we're on the subject; why did you change the bite point of the clutch to be at the bottom of the pedal travel? Are you trying to simulate a worn out clutch for all cars! This is
extremely annoying for those of us who have spent large amounts of money on wheels/race seats to play Gran Turismo. Please,
simulate 2 clutch types; a plate clutch with lots of slip (for road cars), & a dog box with virtually none (for race cars & Fully Customizable Transmission), then allow us to adjust the bite point to our liking.
AND PLEASE STOP THROWING US INTO NEUTRAL!
20) 1:1 Wheel Animations - Cockpit Shake - Exterior View: Why did you remove 1:1 wheel animations from the GT series? Is it because they looked bad when players used a DS3? Please, have 1:1 animations default for wheels users, & what we have now default for DS3 users. And Please, give us the
option of hiding the wheel & hands, as some of us who own steering wheels do not want to see another one on screen. Why add cockpit shake, & then remove it entirely after a just few complaints? Please, give players the
option to decide whether they want it or not, an On/Off setting in the main menu would suffice. Why did you "fix" Exterior View, when it didn't even need fixing? Please, give players the
option to choose between the old loose version & the more recent rigid one. 'Either Or' thinking is fallacious, as there is always more than just 2 ways of doing things!
More Feedback For PD.
21) Standing Starts: Why are single file rolling starts
forced upon us for most of the offline events? Why can we only have standing starts for most online races? Is there any reason for this? Again, you don't give us one, therefore you come across as being unreasonable. Please, give us a mixture of different start types in Career mode (suited to the event), & give us the
option of choosing whatever start type we want online & in Arcade mode.
More Feedback For PD.
22) Access To Garage In Free Run Mode Offline: Why is there no
option to access our Garage in Free Run mode offline? Why do you
force us to leave the track with all it's settings & go all the way back to the garage, change cars, & then return only to have to set the track up all over again? Is there any reason why you make changing between cars while trying to Free Run so awkward & time consuming? We can access our Garage & change between cars in an online lobby, so why not in Free Run offline? Please, give us the
option to change between cars while at a track in Free Run mode.
23) 500 Car Garage Restriction: Why are we f
orced to choose from only 500 cars with no
option of choosing from our other cars? Why did you restrict the garage in GT6 to only 500 cars, was it because loading times for online players were very slow? Please, give us several different garages containing 500 cars each (that we can name), & let us have access to all of them online so we can choose which garage to open. That way we'll have access to
all our cars, & loading times won't be affected. Or, lift the garage restrictions entirely, & then using something similar to the Car Search feature for the dealerships, let us decide what cars to load first.
More Feedback For PD.
24) Penalties & Ghost Cars In Online Lobbies: Why is there no
option to have penalties on & ghost cars off at the same time? Why are we
forced to have both either on of off? Cars ghosting & driving through each other looks incredibly unrealistic, & ruins the racing simulation for many of us. Please, give us the
option of turning ghost cars & penalties On or Off
individually. Also, please add the
option of Drive Through penalties (like in GT4), & allow us to be able to
choose between them & the Slow Down penalties we currently have.
A Cautionary Tale For Kazunori.
Once upon a time there was a master shoe maker. His shoes were the best shoes in the world, & he knew it. Everyone else knew it too, & his designs were the envy of all other shoe makers. Try though they might, they could not even come close to mimicking his great artistic flair. However, while his designs were indeed second to none, he would only sell shoes that were tailored to his own feet & that of those closest to him; much to the annoyance of his customers! When they bought his shoes, they never really fitted properly, & this caused them such discomfort. Some of the other shoe makers, although creating designs inferior to his, eventually became far more business savvy & started tailoring their shoes to their customers feet. As a result, many of the master shoe maker's customers stopped buying his shoes altogether, even though they were far better looking, because now they had experienced the relief of tailored footwear & therefore could no longer go back. When the master shoe maker saw that sales were plummeting, he said to himself, "Aha! I know what I shall do! I will keep on designing shoes according to my great artistic talent, for it is second to none, but I also will tailor them to my customers feet just like my rivals. Then, not only will I be the best in the business, but I will also win back my customers & keep their feet happy too!"
That's so true! If they gave us all the options under the sun as requested, they could still set up the default settings to make Gran Turismo appeal to casual gamers initially. That way they'd keep everyone happy, as the more experienced players could then simply tailor the game to their own liking by changing said options. With a certain "Community Assisted Racing Simulator" coming out on the PS4 later this year, which is
packed full of options, the GT series is in real danger of being
left behind for dead & eating it's dust.
Thank you very much indeed Kazunori Yamauchi San, Polyphony Digital, & Sony, for considering these points.
PS: There are many more examples of our being
forced instead of being given
options that I don't have time to write up at the moment, & some that I can't recall at present. If anyone else thinks of some, please post them up in this thread & I'll update the OP as & when I'm able to.