I think it's time to include my wishlist for the future of GT7 - and likely GT8.
TRACKS
Bring back as many classic GT tracks as possible. Such as Red Rock Valley - much cooler to me than Midfield. I'd also like to see the return of the monster from GT6, Circuito de la Sierra.
Goodies
- Allow us to install our own music tracks, both as race tunes or menu music. Add as well as replace.
- Bring back Race Mod, and add along with it, Tuner Mod. Race Mod should allow us to use appropriate sports and supercars to create race cars suitable for various "leagues" and classes.
- Give us an updated Course Creator with lots of features. Big big big.
- Give us a comprehensive Event Maker, useful for both offline and online play. I want it to be feature rich, so we can use it to create everything up to an entire racing season, say 20 - 25 events with a championship, and can set up our own points rules. And please, with reasonably good credit prizes. Pick a class and have the game populate the events with appropriate cars and named drivers. Include alternate liveries on duplicate cars, with the option of including cars with custom liveries from our garage. Include something like co-op play, so bots are replaced with players online. Make all tracks available, and include weather where available and time of day for each stage.
RACING
I want to see a GT Sport-like expansion of the events. Kazunori-sensei is all about car and racing history. He should have his team working on modeling a whole bunch of period race cars with a focus on what I consider the glory years of racing, from the 1980s into the 2000s. This period had some fantastic fast paced racing and a number of incredible racing machines which should be a blast to race. A few cars are already in the game, but it needs to be expanded to bring to life these marvelous machines used in GT / Touring Car, DTM, BTCC, WTCC, JGTC and Super GT among others. Period cars made by the various automakers from the three regions should be there to compete with each other. I'd love to see the stables grown with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Jaguars, Maseratis, Aston Martins, BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Opel and many more from America, Asia and I'd include our friends in Australia with their own racing history.
PD has already created a sort of fantasy league in their WTC. Use this as the platform to provide individual race car classes for these machines. If licensing individual racers is too much of an ordeal, fantasy liveries for fantasy leagues would work for me. They should make suitable separate number plaques for each league and league badges, and provide those in a new racing decal list, as well as sponsor decals.
I would also like to see a new racing class added,
Gr.5, to provide racing in lower powered race cars, 180 to 250hp, with PPs around 550 to 600. In rallying, add a further
Gr.C for these machines as well, as well as a possible
Gr. A for the seriously powerful Rally cars of the past. Race Mod would include options to create race tuned cars built to the requirements of these leagues, for suitable cars, and we should be made aware of which cars would qualify for each league. For those who lack skill or patience creating liveries, templates could be provided enabling anyone to make a good looking paint job for their racer which they can color as they like.
As with previous Gran Turismos, make a range of racing series as short as three events, all the way up to serious ones with ten events or so including a championship race with extra points to help with those wanting an extra opportunity to win first place. Prizes could include race cars for the next step up in performance.
CAREER MODE
This is something I've been proposing since GT4. Give us a career roughly modeled on the early Gran Turismo games, but more along the lines of a real life progression into professional racing. This won't be for collecting cars, save for your personal rides.
- Start as a beginner with a limited budget buying a used car to race with.
- Tune it up to meet the requirements of the local racing club, maybe give it some racing stripes with a racing number and your name on the car. Complete a basic license test to participate, unless you have all the licenses already. Practice all the tracks as much as you want to get good.
- Participate in a short racing season with a championship race for extra points, with small but useful prize purses. Perhaps maintain your car from wear and tear and any damage per race. Include difficulty options and assists.
- At the completion, you must finish in the top three, which shouldn't be too hard. Go back for another season if you don't make it, or even if you want to, say to win first place. Sponsors will want to sign you, giving you access to a steady income and a hefty discount on their upgrades.
- Semi-pro racing opens up, something like America's SCCA, my proposed Gr.5. Pick one of a few different classes of racing, including the dreaded Rally. Buy and modify a car allowed within the class, and race mod it. Livery templates should be provided for those with less skill in creating one. The more challenging races will require more expensive cars, but will offer bigger prizes.
- Participate in another racing season, a longer more challenging one, and race to the top three in the final standings. You may stay with this racing club, try another season in the same car and class, or try another class. But a new league will open up, equivalent to Gr.4 Class racing.
- Supported with more sponsors, buy a Gr.4 race car and give it a livery. Join the league, and race for a new championship. Return if you want as a young hero, or move on to Gr.3, and from there to Gr.2, and from there to Gr.1 and/or Formula racing.
