- 4,800
- Connecticut
- Ridley-X4
1. All Events (i.e. Daily Races, Championship Rounds, and Online Time Trials)
Let's begin with the most important subject for me: the cars, and the regulations thereof.
For race cars, I'd seldom have an all-inclusive "staple group" race, where all Gr.3 cars are permitted, but rather, when BoP is enabled, I'd mostly limit these races to a certain sub-group, like how there are the two JGTC GT500 racers, or the various FIA GT3 cars. For Gr.1 events, we've seen events where players are limited to the Group C cars in that group - this sort of regulation would be the norm for me. When all cars in a group are permitted, I'd disable BoP while permitting tuning, as many racers could potentially compensate for a car's shortcomings with its stock settings. Heck, for when there's a "sub-set" of cars within a group, like the aforementioned FIA GT3 racers, I think I'd also be OK with that sort of regulation going between tuning being enabled and being disabled.
Moving onto road cars, I like the idea of limiting things to PP or power/weight, while still including either any road car you have, or limiting it to a certain drivetrain. But what I'd really prefer is more events based on races from the campaign, including the cars featured in the various Bonus/Extra menus. Imagine a Sport Mode race at Tokyo Expressway South, using a model of Nissan Silvia. Or, a race at Le Mans - without the chicanes on Mulsanne - using either the Jaguar XJ13, Ferrari 330 P4, Ford Mark IV, or the Porsche 917.
When only one car is permitted, I suppose I'd go between enabling and disabling tuning. I don't mind either way, even though I mostly prefer to tinker with the downforce and gear ratios versus the LSD or suspension.
2. All Races (i.e. Daily Races & Championship Rounds)
Unlike the Online Time trials, these two types of events feature tire and fuel use, as well as pitting. I am not, however, a fan of how the consumption of the tires/fuel is often accelerated, and furthermore, often in different amounts. Instead, I'd almost always (with rare exceptions) have tire/fuel use at 1x. But you may wonder, then, why pit? Well, I'd set mandatory compounds when multiple compounds are available, only permit certain amounts of fuel to be taken on (while also tinkering with the refueling rate), or simply mandate a pit or two. (And I recall that all of these were potential regulations for races, although I've seldom seen them getting changed.) I recall a round of the GTWS Nations Cup, where it was a Gr.1 race at Le Mans, and you didn't even really need to stop for fuel/tires, but you simply had to pass through the pit lane. I actually gained some positions upon the race's finish because at least a couple racers in front of me seemingly neglected to do so!
I also think the current approximate duration of races is fine, but I think if the credit payout were profoundly increased - especially for Championship Rounds - then that could very well increase participation in Sport Mode as a whole. Personally, I'd model the payout on events in World Circuits. So for example, a race that limits you to Gr.4 or Gr.3 cars would respectively have payouts based on that of a WTC 700 or WTC 800 event. Perhaps for Championship rounds, your payout could correspond to how many points you get for that round, which would potentially incentivize players to increase their DR, or at least keep it at a respectable level. Maybe your pay could be the points you scored for that round, multiplied by a thousand?
3. Daily Races
This section will be somewhat short, as it'll simply be my ideas for what Daily Race A, B, and C should look like in terms of regulations. I think there's a trend that PD can work with, where the class of car being used generally (but not always) is more powerful as you move from A, to B, to C. I also like how the circuits also seem to progress in complexity, as I don't think I've seen the Nordschleife for Race A at any point. Nevertheless, in combination with my ideas from the first two sections, here were my takes:
Race A: Gr.4. Any VGT or road car with under 400 HP, or under 500 PP. For example, the VGTs from Daihatsu and Honda.
Race B: Gr.4, Gr.3, and Gr.B. Red Bull X2014 Jr., as well as any VGT or road car with 400 or more HP (or 500 PP) but less than 600 HP/700 PP. For examples, the VGTs from Nissan and Suzuki.
Race C: Gr.3, Gr.B, Gr.2, and Gr.1. F1500T-A, MP4/4, Red Bull X2014, Red Bull X2019. Any VGT or road car with over 600 HP/700 PP. For example, the VGTs from Lamborghini and Porsche.
Let's begin with the most important subject for me: the cars, and the regulations thereof.
For race cars, I'd seldom have an all-inclusive "staple group" race, where all Gr.3 cars are permitted, but rather, when BoP is enabled, I'd mostly limit these races to a certain sub-group, like how there are the two JGTC GT500 racers, or the various FIA GT3 cars. For Gr.1 events, we've seen events where players are limited to the Group C cars in that group - this sort of regulation would be the norm for me. When all cars in a group are permitted, I'd disable BoP while permitting tuning, as many racers could potentially compensate for a car's shortcomings with its stock settings. Heck, for when there's a "sub-set" of cars within a group, like the aforementioned FIA GT3 racers, I think I'd also be OK with that sort of regulation going between tuning being enabled and being disabled.
Moving onto road cars, I like the idea of limiting things to PP or power/weight, while still including either any road car you have, or limiting it to a certain drivetrain. But what I'd really prefer is more events based on races from the campaign, including the cars featured in the various Bonus/Extra menus. Imagine a Sport Mode race at Tokyo Expressway South, using a model of Nissan Silvia. Or, a race at Le Mans - without the chicanes on Mulsanne - using either the Jaguar XJ13, Ferrari 330 P4, Ford Mark IV, or the Porsche 917.
When only one car is permitted, I suppose I'd go between enabling and disabling tuning. I don't mind either way, even though I mostly prefer to tinker with the downforce and gear ratios versus the LSD or suspension.
2. All Races (i.e. Daily Races & Championship Rounds)
Unlike the Online Time trials, these two types of events feature tire and fuel use, as well as pitting. I am not, however, a fan of how the consumption of the tires/fuel is often accelerated, and furthermore, often in different amounts. Instead, I'd almost always (with rare exceptions) have tire/fuel use at 1x. But you may wonder, then, why pit? Well, I'd set mandatory compounds when multiple compounds are available, only permit certain amounts of fuel to be taken on (while also tinkering with the refueling rate), or simply mandate a pit or two. (And I recall that all of these were potential regulations for races, although I've seldom seen them getting changed.) I recall a round of the GTWS Nations Cup, where it was a Gr.1 race at Le Mans, and you didn't even really need to stop for fuel/tires, but you simply had to pass through the pit lane. I actually gained some positions upon the race's finish because at least a couple racers in front of me seemingly neglected to do so!
I also think the current approximate duration of races is fine, but I think if the credit payout were profoundly increased - especially for Championship Rounds - then that could very well increase participation in Sport Mode as a whole. Personally, I'd model the payout on events in World Circuits. So for example, a race that limits you to Gr.4 or Gr.3 cars would respectively have payouts based on that of a WTC 700 or WTC 800 event. Perhaps for Championship rounds, your payout could correspond to how many points you get for that round, which would potentially incentivize players to increase their DR, or at least keep it at a respectable level. Maybe your pay could be the points you scored for that round, multiplied by a thousand?
3. Daily Races
This section will be somewhat short, as it'll simply be my ideas for what Daily Race A, B, and C should look like in terms of regulations. I think there's a trend that PD can work with, where the class of car being used generally (but not always) is more powerful as you move from A, to B, to C. I also like how the circuits also seem to progress in complexity, as I don't think I've seen the Nordschleife for Race A at any point. Nevertheless, in combination with my ideas from the first two sections, here were my takes:
Race A: Gr.4. Any VGT or road car with under 400 HP, or under 500 PP. For example, the VGTs from Daihatsu and Honda.
Race B: Gr.4, Gr.3, and Gr.B. Red Bull X2014 Jr., as well as any VGT or road car with 400 or more HP (or 500 PP) but less than 600 HP/700 PP. For examples, the VGTs from Nissan and Suzuki.
Race C: Gr.3, Gr.B, Gr.2, and Gr.1. F1500T-A, MP4/4, Red Bull X2014, Red Bull X2019. Any VGT or road car with over 600 HP/700 PP. For example, the VGTs from Lamborghini and Porsche.
