Official GT Blog: "Pit Stop" by Polyphony Digital

[Imari]

There are numerous developer teams out there with dedicated forums who frequently talk directly with their paying customers and fans, who ask for feedback and what the fans would like to see. After waiting for 8 months on advertised features, I think it is fair that we have some information as to when the content we have paid for is coming.



Again, other developers frequently talk directly with their fans and customers. It does not take long to type out a message, or record a video/audio message. Please explain why this couldn't be done in a few hours.

It doesn't even need to be developers or Kaz posting directly. A lot of companies hire a person specifically for the role of communicating with the public. That's a very good idea, if the developer's time is so valuable that the company doesn't want to take them away from development work to write random blog posts.

That person could talk to various developers about what was going on, and then communicate to the public as appropriate. In many ways, it's better having a community manager like that, because they can focus entirely on the information being distributed. They can be consistent in what they say, and they have less personal involvement when criticism of the game comes up.

I think the value that someone like that could provide to a company like Polyphony would be more than worth the $50k a year.

 

[TokoTurismo]

It seems some people will never give up fighting tooth and nail in defense of PD.



We were all given information that our questions about Gran Turismo will finally be answered "soon" and within "a few weeks", it has now been 2 months and counting, and we are still waiting.

We were told that PD were finally going to be communicating with their fanbase more, and shortly afterwards, this blog appeared. So far, no extra communication has really happened.

It is fine for the blog to be updated with Gran Turismo related and non-related info, but so far, GTP's news section - which is entirely a fan site and not associated with PD in any way - seems to be posting several times the amount of news and GT related/non-related content.



I'm sure that amongst the 100+ staff, there is someone who can spare an hour to answer a few quick questions. They have had years to come up with some of the answers. If the main man himself has enough time to attend car shows, he has enough time to answer a few very repeatedly asked questions.



It is disrespectful to advertise features and tell your paying customers you will communicate with them more, and then not deliver on either of those. It is disrespectful to promise, advertise or give the impression you will deliver on something, not deliver upon it (sometimes over the course of several years), then have no explaination, answer or apology to give to your paying customers.



There are numerous developer teams out there with dedicated forums who frequently talk directly with their paying customers and fans, who ask for feedback and what the fans would like to see. After waiting for 8 months on advertised features, I think it is fair that we have some information as to when the content we have paid for is coming.



Again, other developers frequently talk directly with their fans and customers. It does not take long to type out a message, or record a video/audio message. Please explain why this couldn't be done in a few hours.

Thank you @Lewis_Hamilton_. Respect. I want to also add that PD should be really giving their paying customers love, but they don't. They always leave us in the dark without saying anything for months, and now that they finally have a blog, not even that is helping with anything and it isn't what I call "communicating". PD should define what "communication" means because they should as heck doesn't know what it means.

And it blows my mind when the defence force comes flying in because you said something they didn't like, they can easily not read it, but they choose to anyway because they want you to "Leave PD aloooooone!!!"

It doesn't even need to be developers or Kaz posting directly. A lot of companies hire a person specifically for the role of communicating with the public. That's a very good idea, if the developer's time is so valuable that the company doesn't want to take them away from development work to write random blog posts.

That person could talk to various developers about what was going on, and then communicate to the public as appropriate. In many ways, it's better having a community manager like that, because they can focus entirely on the information being distributed. They can be consistent in what they say, and they have less personal involvement when criticism of the game comes up.

I think the value that someone like that could provide to a company like Polyphony would be more than worth the $50k a year.

And that's excatly what I believe PD are missing and probably refuse to gain. I have no idea what the problem with them not hiring a person to interact with fans is, when a whole bunch of developers actually has one. That's what also is bothering me, along with everything else @Lewis_Hamilton_ mentioned above.

 

[Imari]

I have no idea what the problem with them not hiring a person to interact with fans is, when a whole bunch of developers actually has one.

The same problem that exists with a lot of the issues with Gran Turismo.

Solutions exist for just about every problem with Gran Turismo. An independent observer can look and say "Yes, this other game had that problem too, and this is how they solved it". But Polyphony is so bent on doing things their own way, that they're essentially forced to reinvent the wheel for every major feature.

I'm including major community involvement as a feature. It's only recently that the technology has existed to do so in a sensible manner, and other companies have tried and failed and learned, and now most devs can at least do a passable job, if they want to.

If someone else comes up with a great solution to a problem, it's not a sin to replicate that. It's foolishness not to use good ideas that are right in front of you.

 

[Vspectra]

It seems some people will never give up fighting tooth and nail in defense of PD.

And people will continue to whine about first world problems. People here are actually upset about the content of blog posts, even stating that the blogs about Nurburgring 24H and Goodwood shouldn't even be there. It's getting ridiculous. Out of all the things to get upset about with PD, this isn't one of them.

We were all given information that our questions about Gran Turismo will finally be answered "soon" and within "a few weeks", it has now been 2 months and counting, and we are still waiting.

We were told that PD were finally going to be communicating with their fanbase more, and shortly afterwards, this blog appeared. So far, no extra communication has really happened.

So the REDDIT AMA didn't actually happen?

It is fine for the blog to be updated with Gran Turismo related and non-related info, but so far, GTP's news section - which is entirely a fan site and not associated with PD in any way - seems to be posting several times the amount of news and GT related/non-related content.

Well, that is the point of fan sites, to give updates on news/related news of the games they're fans of. The pitstop blog was meant for a casual informal talk. The official content related news are posted on the official GT website. The blog posts of the 24h Nurburgring and Goodwood festival provide a point of view of the events from PD members and a fan who were actually there, and it is still related to the development of GT. PD new recruits mentioned their feelings and what they think will help them in developing future GT games. What's the actual issue here?

I'm sure that amongst the 100+ staff, there is someone who can spare an hour to answer a few quick questions. They have had years to come up with some of the answers. If the main man himself has enough time to attend car shows, he has enough time to answer a few very repeatedly asked questions.

True on the staff, but the main man spent an hour on Reddit answering questions.

It is disrespectful to advertise features and tell your paying customers you will communicate with them more, and then not deliver on either of those. It is disrespectful to promise, advertise or give the impression you will deliver on something, not deliver upon it (sometimes over the course of several years), then have no explaination, answer or apology to give to your paying customers.

He spent an hour answering Reddit AMA questions. The features will be ready when they're complete, and nothing has indicated the promised features were canceled. The major sound update has been confirmed to be in GT7, Course Maker is still being worked on and planned for release, camber problem got fixed, the pitstop blog was opened only 3 weeks ago, communication has been much better compared to 6 months ago. Where is the disrespect?

There are numerous developer teams out there with dedicated forums who frequently talk directly with their paying customers and fans, who ask for feedback and what the fans would like to see. After waiting for 8 months on advertised features, I think it is fair that we have some information as to when the content we have paid for is coming.

Again, other developers frequently talk directly with their fans and customers. It does not take long to type out a message, or record a video/audio message. Please explain why this couldn't be done in a few hours.

Whining about the content of blog posts about racing events that Kaz is apart of isn't going to make PD answer the questions any sooner. The Q&A setup with GTplanet proves PD is looking at what the fans would like to see or see fixed, even if they haven't directly answered all questions.

And which developers are these? I know of community managers who have nothing to do besides talk with the community, but other than that, I'm not aware of the actual devs frequently talking with fans.

 

[Johnnypenso]

And people will continue to whine about first world problems. People here are actually upset about the content of blog posts, even stating that the blogs about Nurburgring 24H and Goodwood shouldn't even be there. It's getting ridiculous. Out of all the things to get upset about with PD, this isn't one of them.

What are some of these things we should be upset about?

Well, that is the point of fan sites, to give updates on news/related news of the games they're fans of. The pitstop blog was meant for a casual informal talk. The official content related news are posted on the official GT website.

The purpose of the blog was clearly stated and it wasn't for casual, informal talk of a general nature, it had a specific purpose.

The PIT STOP is a blog-style service that brings you information regarding Gran Turismo in a casual way. Taking an approach that is a bit different from the official gran-turismo.com, we’ll be bringing you bits of info that didn’t make it into the official news

Clearly the intention was to bring us news about GRAN TURISMO (aka the game) that doesn't make it onto the official site. So far the majority of the blog posts have nothing to do with Gran Turismo. That is their prerogative of course, they can do whatever they like and clearly do, but promising content on the game and then blogging about just about everything but, is going to disappoint some people.

The blog posts of the 24h Nurburgring and Goodwood festival provide a point of view of the events from PD members and a fan who were actually there, and it is still related to the development of GT. PD new recruits mentioned their feelings and what they think will help them in developing future GT games. What's the actual issue here?

There is no "issue" here. They can blog about how their farts smell differently after eating German sausage for a few days or anything else for that matter and I'm sure we'll all have a big laugh. That is, as long as the stated purpose of the blog,
"bring[ing] you information regarding Gran Turismo" continues to be fulfilled.

He spent an hour answering Reddit AMA questions. The features will be ready when they're complete, and nothing has indicated the promised features were canceled. The major sound update has been confirmed to be in GT7, Course Maker is still being worked on and planned for release, camber problem got fixed, the pitstop blog was opened only 3 weeks ago, communication has been much better compared to 6 months ago. Where is the disrespect?

None of which is anything new. We all pretty much knew there would be no sound update for GT6 and that Course Maker was being worked on. Camber was a bug that should have been fixed months ago.

Whining about the content of blog posts about racing events that Kaz is apart of isn't going to make PD answer the questions any sooner. The Q&A setup with GTplanet proves PD is looking at what the fans would like to see or see fixed, even if they haven't directly answered all questions.

The Q&A Forum has great potential and maybe some day it will be realized. As of yet, it proves nothing towards PD looking at what fans would like to see or see fixed until at least a few questions get answered directly and clearly.

 

[TokoTurismo]

The same problem that exists with a lot of the issues with Gran Turismo.

Solutions exist for just about every problem with Gran Turismo. An independent observer can look and say "Yes, this other game had that problem too, and this is how they solved it". But Polyphony is so bent on doing things their own way, that they're essentially forced to reinvent the wheel for every major feature.

I'm including major community involvement as a feature. It's only recently that the technology has existed to do so in a sensible manner, and other companies have tried and failed and learned, and now most devs can at least do a passable job, if they want to.

If someone else comes up with a great solution to a problem, it's not a sin to replicate that. It's foolishness not to use good ideas that are right in front of you.

Excatly, and I highly agree with you bud. 👍 It's so mind boggling that PD isn't like that, there are soooo many problems that can be solved like you've mentioned, but guess PD is too special for dat.

 

[Imari]

Camber was a bug that should have been fixed months ago.

Camber was a bug that should never have made it to release on a simulator, and certainly shouldn't have taken six months to squash.

The Q&A setup with GTplanet proves PD is looking at what the fans would like to see or see fixed, even if they haven't directly answered all questions.

Speaking from slight ignorance here, because I don't stay on top of everything that is in the Q&A forums, but have we had any questions directly answered that we didn't know the answers to already?

Camber was indirectly answered, in that they fixed it.
Sounds was arguably directly answered, but he still hasn't ruled out a minor update to the sounds in GT6, which was all reasonable people expected anyway. So really we're still in the dark on that one.
We don't know any more about the course maker now than we did in December, that they had a working version was never really in question: You can't really put specifications on something unless it at least kind of runs.
Online features?
B Spec?
Companion app/mobile access?

Polyphony doesn't deal out information before they're ready to drop the feature, is apparently how it works now. Which would be great, if they had never opened their mouths in the first place. Everything is a surprise, everything is a bonus. But they did open their mouths, because they knew it was worth a bunch of sales to them at release.

The polite thing now is to be straight with the people who fronted money on the basis of what was coming. It's almost exactly like an Early Access game, there is expected to be a certain amount of communication with the people who have funded your ongoing development. Yes, that probably takes some time away from developing. That's part of the cost of getting paid for selling a product before it's actually finished.

People have given Polyphony money to buy parts of their game, sight unseen, on the belief that they will do a good job and deliver in a timely manner. I think it's only fair that Polyphony return that trust by taking a little time to make people feel involved, like they can see where their money has gone.

 

[NUNOpt]

polyphony, once again, starts well but fails to finish. bittersweet, like "always".
i'm fine with the casual posts at pitstop but the main reason for it is not happening at all, not even one question has been answered at pitstop! why? i understand the need of time and preparation to write good answers but 2 months? no, the lack of communication hasnt been solved.

👍 for the intention (although late)

👎 for the delay, not even one question has been answered at pitstop

 

[jimipitbull]

I'm going to send Kaz a blog post about how a few dedicated members of an internet fan forum have created a soap opera loosely based on Gran Turismo.

 

[machschnel]

I'm going to send Kaz a blog post about how a few dedicated members of an internet fan forum have created a soap opera loosely based on Gran Turismo.

Be sure to write your post in installments over a couple of weeks/months and only vaguely talk about the soap opera.

 

[trustjab]

Anyone else notice a recurring theme?

...So far most of the blog posts have nothing to do with Gran Turismo, the game...

...So far there's been an overwhelming mass of non-GT stuff, and the GT stuff has not really been anything that a long term GT fan didn't know already.

...So far, no extra communication has really happened.

"So far"... So why conclusions are being made that questions wont be answered is baffling. Especially seeing people say this also state gt6 is an 'unfinished product', as is this blog.

 

[TokoTurismo]

Anyone else notice a recurring theme?


"So far"... So why conclusions are being made that questions wont be answered is baffling. Especially seeing people say this also state gt6 is an 'unfinished product', as is this blog.

It shouldn't be taking Kaz and PD "months" just to answer at least a couple of questions that can easily be found in Kaz's subfourm. Any developer would have answered those questions by now, but with PD, you're left in the dark wondering, always. I know some folks loves to be kept inside PD's dark cold basement but come on.....

 

[jimipitbull]

It seems some people will never give up fighting tooth and nail in defense of PD.
.

As opposed to people that never give up posting the same complaints across multiple threads on a daily basis.

It shouldn't be taking Kaz and PD "months" just to answer at least a couple of questions that can easily be found in Kaz's subfourm. Any developer would have answered those questions by now, but with PD, you're left in the dark wondering, always. I know some folks loves to be kept inside PD's dark cold basement but come on.....

 

[trustjab]

Wait, what?

It shouldn't be taking Kaz and PD "months" just to answer at least a couple of questions that can easily be found in Kaz's subfourm. Any developer would have answered those questions by now, but with PD, you're left in the dark wondering, always. I know some folks loves to be kept inside PD's dark cold basement but come on.....

That makes no sense. You want answers to "at least a couple of questions" on the blog, but we have some in "Kaz's subforum" already been answered?

 

[TokoTurismo]

Yes. Kaz hasn't been advancing in fan communication since '97, I know.

Wait, what?

That makes no sense. You want answers to "at least a couple of questions" on the blog, but have already been answered?

What are you talking about? For one I feel the engine sounds has been "answered" properly and they are somehow struggling to answer other questions that are listed here.

 

[jimipitbull]

Yes. Kaz hasn't been advancing in fan communication since '97, I know.

The blog posts suggest that PD values human interaction. Stop trying to surpass that.

 

[TokoTurismo]

The blog posts suggest that PD values human interaction.

Yeah, with other people outside of GTPlanet. What about Kaz's subfourm, hmmm?

 

[jimipitbull]

Yeah, with other people outside of GTPlanet. What about Kaz's subfourm, hmmm?

What are you on about? GTP members have the same access to the blog as everyone else.
Kaz even mentions GTPlanet and provides a link to that subforum.

 

[NUNOpt]

strange how PD can look so professional in some areas and so amateur in others.

 

[machschnel]

"So far"... So why conclusions are being made that questions wont be answered is baffling. Especially seeing people say this also state gt6 is an 'unfinished product', as is this blog.

Anyone else notice a recurring theme?

Yes, Polyphony seems synonymous with "unfinished".

 

[synon]

My expectations were based on this:

"The PIT STOP is a blog-style service that brings you information regarding Gran Turismo in a casual way"

So far most of the blog posts have nothing to do with Gran Turismo, the game. The two that do are history lessons. So far I'd say the blog has been dissapointing at best. Kaz obviously thinks there's no sense of urgency to address any of our more pressing concerns nor to keep the flow of information directed at the game itself.

Why are you assuming that it is only about Gran Turismo, the game?

 

[TokoTurismo]

What are you on about? GTP members have the same access to the blog as everyone else.

That's not what I meant. Attempting to skip over what I said huh?

"What about Kaz's subfourm?"

That's what I'm asking.

Why are you assuming that it is only about Gran Turismo, the game?

That's because that is what GT excatly is. The game.

Anyways I don't have time to argue, I'm heading off to bed where it's all peaceful.

 

[Imari]

"So far"... So why conclusions are being made that questions wont be answered is baffling. Especially seeing people say this also state gt6 is an 'unfinished product', as is this blog.

I don't know about you, but in my personal timeline I'm only up to July 14th, 2014. I can only make judgments on stuff that has happened in the past, because I'm not magic.

As soon as Kaz starts answering questions, then there's evidence that possibly more questions will be answered in the future. Until he starts, we can't know whether he'll start, continue or sit and play with his hamster until it's time for dinner.

As far as GT6 being an unfinished product, it is, by Polyphony's own admission. It has features that are not yet implemented, ergo, it is unfinished. I don't see how that's even up for debate.

Why are you assuming that it is only about Gran Turismo, the game?

As opposed to Gran Turismo, the light musical? What other Gran Turismos are we missing here?

 

[jimipitbull]

That's not what I meant. Attempting to skip over what I said huh?



That's what I'm asking.

You only quoted the first line of my post. The second line (which you skipped) covers what you were asking.

 

[Vspectra]

What are some of these things we should be upset about?

Pretty much everything else that's not about "what PD's blog post should contain", in which case people have already voiced their opinions and still are doing so.

The purpose of the blog was clearly stated and it wasn't for casual, informal talk of a general nature, it had a specific purpose.

-Polyphony Digital has launched a new blog called the “PitStop” as a place to provide more frequent and informal communications with the public. A “variety of authors” from around the world will be contributing to PitStop, and comments can be posted via Facebook.

-"The PIT STOP is a blog-style service that brings you information regarding Gran Turismo in a casual way."

Clearly the intention was to bring us news about GRAN TURISMO (aka the game) that doesn't make it onto the official site. So far the majority of the blog posts have nothing to do with Gran Turismo. That is their prerogative of course, they can do whatever they like and clearly do, but promising content on the game and then blogging about just about everything but, is going to disappoint some people.

Are we reading the same blogs? They don't go into detail about the "game development" and advances in Gran Turismo the game (that's just your assumption about what the blog's purpose is), but they relate to Gran turismo as well as the GT postings on the official site. It is clearly stated that information regarding Gran turismo would be posted, casually, from around the world, and they have done just that.

-Aston Marton DP-100 announced on official site. Blog posts relate to DP-100.
-Goodwood course updated announced on official site. PD blog posts about goodwood event.
-Nissan Concept posting on official site. Blog posts about Nissan Concept.

"Taking an approach that is a bit different from the official gran-turismo.com, we’ll be bringing you bits of info that didn’t make it into the official news."

There is no "issue" here. They can blog about how their farts smell differently after eating German sausage for a few days or anything else for that matter and I'm sure we'll all have a big laugh. That is, as long as the stated purpose of the blog,
"bring[ing] you information regarding Gran Turismo" continues to be fulfilled.

See above, no false advertising found. You left out "bringing you information regarding Gran Turismo casually. The blog posts have relation to GT.

None of which is anything new. We all pretty much knew there would be no sound update for GT6 and that Course Maker was being worked on.

And yet, these are the top 2 questions in the Q&A, so why did people even ask them and upvote these questions to be answered when everyone already knew the answers? Who's fault is this really?

The Q&A Forum has great potential and maybe some day it will be realized. As of yet, it proves nothing towards PD looking at what fans would like to see or see fixed until at least a few questions get answered directly and clearly.

Not at all, it indeed proves Kaz and PD have taken a look at the questions and concerns of the franchise.

 

[jimipitbull]

Yes, Polyphony seems synonymous with "unfinished".

Polyphony is actually synonymous with symphony. Unfinished? Sure, why not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfinished_symphony

Ludwig Van Beethoven
Massive Attack
Polyphony Digital

So what else do these artists, each from a different century of human history, have in common?

They are/were all very successful in their chosen genres, and are very well respected amongst their peers and critics.

 

[1241Penguin]

If PD have to worry about updating blog posts of their game developments then nothing will ever get done.

Honestly if you're the sort of company that can't even find a few minutes to post on a blog a few times a week then that says a lot about the competence of said company.

 

[synon]

As opposed to Gran Turismo, the light musical? What other Gran Turismos are we missing here?

Er, Gran Turismo Academy.....

 

[TokoTurismo]

Er, Gran Turismo Academy.....

It will be wise not to bring that into this, I doubt GT Academy does anything to prove that, "Oh GT is more than just a game". It's still a game...

 

[jimipitbull]

Honestly if you're the sort of company that can't even find a few minutes to post on a blog a few times a week then that says a lot about the competence of said company.

Using blog post frequency as a basis for judging a companies competence? Using that logic we could use your telephone bill to calculate your IQ.

The people playing along at home can decide what that says about your competence.