How much do you want to know ?

[bigbear]

The experience of something new is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately the information age tells us a great deal about a game before it goes on sale leaving little room for discovery. So I'm curious, how much do you want to know about Gran Turismo 6 ? (before release day)

In the old days I knew almost nothing about a game before I tried it. Buying or renting a game was often a crapshoot, but exploration of the unknown is incredibly rewarding. Looking through GT4's car dealerships for the first time remains one of the best video game experiences I've ever had. My experience with GT5, on the other hand, was very different. I knew far to much before release and the game felt uninspiring because of it. I would like to get back to the old senario and hope to keep the next Gran Turismo as much of a mystery as possible.

 

[Samus]

Generally speaking I want to know as much as possible about a game except for the story/progress if it's applicable. I want that to be new to me when I play it. I don't want to see any in game cut scenes beyond whatever they use for promo, usually the very start. That obviously is not applicable to a game like GT so in that case I want to know pretty much everything before I buy it.

 

[Tornado]

After the amount of misleading and intentionally vague information given in the months leading up to GT5's release, I want to know pretty much everything that we can. The game's structure, what limitations are put in, why things are being done the way they are; the whole nine yards.

 

[bigbear]

After the amount of misleading and intentionally vague information given in the months leading up to GT5's release, I want to know pretty much everything that we can. The game's structure, what limitations are put in, why things are being done the way they are; the whole nine yards.

Personally I think thats reason for us not to know as much the next go 'round. If someone is on the fence about buying the game, they can wait a couple weeks to find out what people think of it. And If Polyphony simply spells out a few details, rather than laying out everything, there should be less room for misunderstanding.

 

[Samus]

Personally I think thats reason for us not to know as much the next go 'round. If someone is on the fence about buying the game, they can wait a couple weeks to find out what people think of it. And If Polyphony simply spells out a few details, rather than laying out everything, there should be less room for misunderstanding.

That makes no sense. The reason there was misunderstanding about for example the standard cars and their features is because PD were never 100% clear about them even up to release day.

 

[eran0004]

Well, Gran Turismo doesn't (or didn't?) have any storylines that can be spoiled, so...

 

[bigbear]

That makes no sense. The reason there was misunderstanding about for example the standard cars and their features is because PD were never 100% clear about them even up to release day.

What I mean is that they should limit the number of things they reveal, and make a stronger effort to be "100% clear" about them. Istead of briefly mentioning lots of things over time Polyphony could focus on a few key points hopefully reducing misunderstanding. With GT5 they talked a lot about 1000 cars, 70 locations, amazing new features, and things they were hoping to include. They should've said it'll have 200 amazing cars. Have fun! And then we would've been impressed to find what the game did include.

 

[Exorcet]

Everything. Everything. Everything times two about the physics.

No other way to do it.

Personally I think thats reason for us not to know as much the next go 'round. If someone is on the fence about buying the game, they can wait a couple weeks to find out what people think of it. And If Polyphony simply spells out a few details, rather than laying out everything, there should be less room for misunderstanding.

Ambiguity creates misunderstanding. The problems from GT5 were from PD not being clear, not from them releasing too much information. Potential consumers should not only know what's going on, but be involved in development. Some things won't be set in stone, WIP software, and that should be made clear. However game development should be as open as possible.

 

[Samus]

What I mean is that they should limit the number of things they reveal, and make a stronger effort to be "100% clear" about them. Istead of briefly mentioning lots of things over time Polyphony could focus on a few key points hopefully reducing misunderstanding.

The reason they can't be 100% clear on everything being? When I say everything I don't mean I need to know what every menu looks like and what every car looks like, I just need to know the clear details about the main features and format of the game.

Career Mode features x+ number of events, x+ races.
There are x+ cars, y full detailed, z have no cockpit and of lower quality.
You can paint your car but you must use paint chips acquired from buying cars or winning them.

..and so on. Clear, concise information about the core features of the game.

 

[analog]

Assuming all cars in GT6 will be Premium (it better be), I think the surprises amount to the newly added Premium cars, tracks and hopefully new features (livery editor hopefully and a better functioning track editor amongst other things perhaps).

How much would I like to know? Well, there's one part of me that thinks I'd like to know as much as possible so I know what I'm looking out for (that's again assuming there won't be nasty surprises like Standard cars) and realistically 'manage' my expectations.
But then there's the other part of me who remembers the joy of finding out all the cars and tracks in GT4 (got it a bit late and didn't read up on it beforehand as there was a bit of a gap where I didn't play videogames much for a few years as I lost interest somehow).

And with the possible outcome being probably somewhere in the middle (automatically as a lot of content will be carried over and selected new content being leaked or shown, and I'm actually paying attention this time) I think it's a bit irrelevant anyway what I'd like to know in advance.
It would be nice to discover new things when I fire it up for the first time but it inherently won't have the 'shock of the new'-value which GT4 had for me.

 

[bigbear]

The reason they can't be 100% clear on everything being? When I say everything I don't mean I need to know what every menu looks like and what every car looks like, I just need to know the clear details about the main features and format of the game.

Career Mode features x+ number of events, x+ races.
There are x+ cars, y full detailed, z have no cockpit and of lower quality.
You can paint your car but you must use paint chips acquired from buying cars or winning them.

..and so on. Clear, concise information about the core features of the game.

I wouldn't say they can't be clear about everything. But most of what we hear comes from interviews which have definite time and space constraints. If someone talks about 12 different features they can't describe them as well as if they stick to 5. Describing all the differences between Premium and Standard cars simply reqires more time/space than saying 1000 cars. Language translation is another sizable hurdle. I think they should be concise and if they stick to the basics, something like you outlined, they have a better chance of success.

 

[Exorcet]

I wouldn't say they can't be clear about everything. But most of what we hear comes from interviews which have definite time and space constraints. If someone talks about 12 different features they can't describe them as well as if they stick to 5. Language translation is another sizable hurdle. I think they should be concise and if they stick to the basics, like you outlined, they have a better chance for success.

It doesn't take long to pass on information.

"GT5 will have 1000 cars, but only 200 will be fully modeled. The remaining 800 will be imported from GT4. All cars will have the same physics fidelity"

How long would that have taken?

Also PD hardly ever mentioned the physics. I'd know because that was nearly the only thing I actually wanted information on.

 

[Samus]

I wouldn't say they can't be clear about everything. But most of what we hear comes from interviews which have definite time and space constraints. If someone talks about 12 different features they can't describe them as well as if they stick to 5. Language translation is another sizable hurdle. I think they should be concise and if they stick to the basics, like you outlined, they have a better chance for success.

There is no reason for only giving away information in those channels though. They have their own website, they have the Playstation website, they have plenty of mediums for which to have an information blowout. The language barrier also shouldn't be an issue, if they have enough staff members to translate the whole game they have enough staff members to translate press information.

PDs near silence in communication is getting rather tiresome in general, they just don't talk to us. The hybrid situation is case in point. What do they think of them? Are they going to do something about it? If so, what and when? This is the sort of thing other developers would be telling players but nope, not PD. The first time we'll hear anything is likely the changelog for an update. It's frustrating.

 

[bigbear]

It doesn't take long to pass on information.

"GT5 will have 1000 cars, but only 200 will be fully modeled. The remaining 800 will be imported from GT4. All cars will have the same physics fidelity"

How long would that have taken?

Ok, but what does "fully modeled" mean? How do we know from that statement that the imported cars are restricted in photomode? It's not always easy to be 100% clear and accurate. Models, damage, customization, photomode, and cockpit view were all different between Premiums and Standards. Thats not easy to sum up without some level of ambiguity.

 

[Tornado]

So they shouldn't even try?

The first time we'll hear anything is likely the changelog for an update. It's frustrating.

If we get that much. Will probably be more along the lines of "Updates to game stability."

 

[Exorcet]

Ok, but what does "fully modeled" mean? How do we know from that statement that the imported cars are restricted in photomode? It's not always easy to be 100% clear and accurate. Models, damage, customization, photomode, and cockpit view were all different between Premiums and Standards. Thats not easy to sum up without some level of ambiguity.

Include a screenshot to show the levels of detail. Maybe polygon counts too. For photomode, damage, and customization, some bullet points would probably do. In addition, the interview shouldn't be in a void.

PD could post on their website "Here is some clarification from the interview whenever" and include a longer description and more screenshots.

 

[bigbear]

So they shouldn't even try?

Yes they should try. By limiting the number of subjects covered they can take more time and care with each. Hopefully eliminating "fullymisleading and intentionally vague information". But it does take more time and effort to lay things out like this-

Include a screenshot to show the levels of detail. Maybe polygon counts too. For photomode, damage, and customization, some bullet points would probably do. In addition, the interview shouldn't be in a void.

PD could post on their website "Here is some clarification from the interview whenever" and include a longer description and more screenshots.

I fully agree that Polyphony Digital's communication has been week. My suggestion is that carefully spelling out a few important things, rather than glancing over many things, may help the situation. Maybe even leave some features as unannounced extra surprises. Anyway about it the information given should be accurate.

 

[Tenacious D]

This far out - however long it takes for GT6 to be released - I basically don't want to know anything. Which of course is pretty close.

As the days get closer to E3, I would like some teasers. Blurbs and rumors from "sources." Cryptic posts from amar212, which were a lot of fun in the months prior to GT5's release. Then in the final month of May, some more solid tidbits but still teasy.

At E3 itself, assuming GT6 is going to be released within a year, lay out some solid info. Car and track count, and new manufacturers if any. Race course locations. Some sense of how many events are going to be included, and the nature of any Career Mode. Will there be race series based on real world leagues. The nature of the physics build, and any damage implementation. Features such as the Livery Editor, Race Modification, Event Maker, improvements to Photo Mode and the Course Maker, assuming it returns. Improvements to online implementation and race builder tools such as the Event Maker.

While that sounds like a pretty comprehensive list, there are a lot of things that have been glossed over in the past, leaving us with surprises to learn later. It was VERY late in the cycle that we learned that used cars would be in GT5 again, and Race Mod was making a comeback. As it was. And then, while I doubt I'll have to ask, a lot will remain shrouded in mystery. Some will be held back for the Tokyo Game Show, some more which can dribble out to keep us hooked until the game ships.

 

[MisterWhiskers]

I like surprises.

 

[Eks]

Basic things. Car count, track count, whether or not all tracks will have Day/Night/Weather, whether or not B-Spec returns, whether or not all cars are premium, etc.

Things like career features/progression would be better left a suprise.

 

[tube chaser]

Just give me the platform, and a release date when they're absolutely certain there wont be delays.

If you're going to get it anyway why dilute the slack-jawed surprise factor? I'm the same with movies I'm interested in - in those situations I ignore all trailers/reviews/spoilers.

However I think most of us will agree that the community speculation in the case of GT6 is heaps of fun

 

[BongRipz]

I dont want to know anything about it if it is for PS4. Anything else wouldnt matter if thats the case because I dont see myself buying another gaming console.

 

[interpolfan11]

I want to know everything because I don't trust PD anymore and knowing as much as possible will help me decide whether I want to buy GT6 or not (and possibly a PS4, if that's the platform it's released on).

 

[Zona]

I'd like to know a little bit about the game. Like maybe box cover, a few trailers showcasing tracks and cars but nothing to special. I want to be amazed when I load up Gran Turismo 6 for the first time. When it does get announced or leaked or whatever I will want to stay away from it.

 

[Raggi Boy]

I much prefer Rockstar's marketing. They follow the same principal every time, and it works like a charm every time. A cheeky and thin on plot reveal trailer that makes everybody watch over and over that often tricks people into who the protagonist is, then many months later you get a bit of a plot and hints on other things but still massive holes left for people to get excited about. Then only in the last week or two fully introduce plot, characters and such. But still not much on features or details to be honest. I get so excited by the release of the next big Rockstar game. Its so much fun every little hint of info you get after months of patient waiting. Rockstar have got this sussed. They just know how to get everybody excited.

I would say it is an art form of such, and one that doesnt get utilized nearly enough in the games industry nowadays. I just dont understand why anybody would want to know every detail way before the games release. No fun at all. It is well known that people are curious and excited about things they know little about.

 

[TokoTurismo]

I like to know "some" information or sometimes lots, because it hypes me up everytime I read about said game (GT6) and watch teasers that are so addictive to always keep watching. Can't wait till E3 2013 to see GT6. I'm strongly confident it'll be there this year.

 

[KinLM]

As others have said, as much as possible. All the things that will be important in the game. Not all of it's secrets, but as much as I can.

However, if we're gonna have a repeat of how they informed us for GT5..

I'd rather know nothing at all.

 

[1241Penguin]

I don't mind PD not giving us every bit of detail there is, as long as the info that they DO give us are what fans really want to know. For example, many fans wanted to know the situation with Standard cars in GT5, yet PD didn't tell us a single thing about them, and we had to find out ourselves by playing the game.

 

[SkylineObsession]

Usually i get to know the very basics (first bits of news) and then (like for GTA IV, GT4 and possibly other games in both series) i completely avoid all news sources until i buy the game, so theres a lot to be suprised about.

For some reason i'm wanting to know more about the next GTA and GT though, but may stop looking at future news soon.

 

[Downhill Dino]

All I want is a release date. Everything else can be kept as a surprise. More fun that way.