Ideas for both Gran Turismo 7 and the franchise more generally. Some are original, some are derivative. Apologies for being a bit too hopeful.
1 — SPECIAL SPONSOR DECALS:
‘Special Sponsor Decals’ would be awarded to a player to affix to their car and driving suit (both optional) when they meet, and maintain, certain requirements. Once "signed" the player would earn extra credits from career races. This is a common feature in ball sport videogames. Requirements to receive and maintain sponsor bonuses could manifest when the player maintains streaks in career mode such as podiums, clean races, fastest laps, qualifying performances (if it returns) and performing despite vehicle handicaps. Sponsorships could be immediately revoked if a driver violently rams into opponents. ‘Special Sponsor Decal’ designs could be manufacturers themselves, real world companies or fictional companies depending on what is easiest for Polyphony Digital in regards to licencing. Sponsor bonuses would function in a similar way to the clean race and handicap credit bonuses in Gran Turismo Sport. This would mean that rather than decals and liveries being purely cosmetic, they would be functional adding a level of realism to career mode. It would also incentivise better sportsmanship by players.
2 — FULLY CUSTOMISABLE, SAVEABLE & SHAREABLE RACES / CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The customisable arcade races in Gran Turismo Sport were great. They could be made even better if complete control was given to the player to select each of the oppositions cars, rivals, liveries of opposition cars, tuning of opposition cars. One flaw of Gran Turismo Sport was the inability to save these custom races. Players should be able to link multiple custom races into a championship series. This would substantially add to the longevity of the game. It should be possible to create and allocate ‘Legacy rivals’ (described below) in these custom events. Custom Arcade Events should be shareable online much like liveries.
3 — LEGACY RIVAL(S) / RIVAL CREATOR:
Just like Pokemon, when a player starts the game they come across a driver like ‘Gary’. The ‘Gary’ rival would first crop up in the opening event (such as the first Go-Kart races) and would re-appear in seminal competitions throughout the game. Legacy rivals would have their own helmet and suit. The legacy rival would invariably be the most competitive AI opponent in the game. The legacy rival would progress through the game like the player. In Arcade mode players should be able to create their own rivals with control over name, nationality, AI rating, helmet and suit design. Rivals would serve to humanise the AI.
4 — BARN FINDS:
When a player completes a tier of events (e.g. Novice, National A, Super) an animation of a barn door or decrepit garage opening takes place revealing a ‘Barn Find’ prize car with a special patina livery. Players would then have the option to leave the car in its original condition, restore it, or sell it. For example when a player completes all the Novice events they could receive a 1963 Corvette with a special patina livery. When a player completes all the Super tier events they could get a Ferrari 250 GT with a special patina livery. Barn Finds could feature real world examples such as those that appear at Pebble Beach. After writing this I have seen that Forza have done something along these lines.
5 — GO KARTS:
In my opinion the first event that a player takes part in during the career mode of Gran Turismo games should be a Go-Kart race using an entry level kart such as the 'GT Junior' from Gran Turismo 6. As a prize for completing this event the player should be given a small amount of money to purchase their first car. This event would not be repeatable to ensure the player is restricted in what they can buy. Each tier of events (e.g. Novice, National A, Super) would feature a more advanced Go-Kart series.
6 — BRING BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Championship option in Gran Turismo 4 was more engaging than a series of stand-alone events. Bring it back.
7 — BRING BACK QUALIFYING:
Qualifying was a great way to refresh ones memory of a track. As the game progresses the qualifying times would become more difficult. Qualifying would be restricted to a set time period. It would be optional as it was in Gran Turismo 4.
8 — INCREASE CAR MAINTAINANCE REQUIREMENTS:
To make the car culture experience that Kaz talks about more tangible the cars in the game should require maintenance. This should be more than just an oil change or a car wash. Cars should require regular services at GT Auto. As a cars milage climbs it should lose power until it undergoes an engine refurbishment at GT Auto. If a car is damaged during a race (not visually but mechanically) it should require repairs at GT Auto. This last point would incentivise better driving. To ensure the game is not too difficult mechanical damage could only occur in the higher tier categories (International B and above?).
9 — BRING BACK MANUFACTURER EVENTS
Gran Turismo 4 had a long play life due to all the manufacturer events. Bring them back.
10 — VERBAL DESCRIPTIONS IN CAR DEALERSHIPS.
In Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 the unprompted verbal descriptions for the cars were great. Forza Motorsport 4 had a similar feature with Jeremy Clarkson. Both were a bit cheesy but I think PD could do this with a lot of class. Such descriptions could be done by voice actors with accents from the country of each manufacturers origin describing each car as though they were either historians or a car salesperson. Alternatively they could be voiced by actual people involved with the manufacturer.
11 — FULLY FILTERABLE FASTEST LAP TIMES
The fastest lap function should be filterable both locally and online. Details such as manufacturer, model, tires used, specific tuning points, assists (e.g. ABS, traction control), controller / steering wheel and nation of driver should all be visible and filterable. Additionally it should be possible to isolate fastest laps from time trial replays.