Here's something I'd like to pose for this thread. I've made here-and-there comments in regards to this issue, but one thing I'd really love to see be focused is rendering newer car parts. Cases in point:
--- Lightweight Tuning ---
* Lightweight substantially lightens your car and supposedly adds carbon fiber parts. Throughout series history, we never really noticed how much the car has changed in style as well as how much the car has really progressed. Lighter cars should be fitted with roll cages and even have a race-oriented cockpit. I know I'm hearing that GT5 cars may be as customizable as Forza. Here is how I think the layout should be arranged:
(Level 1) - Strips out every unnecessary element to lighten weight. Should include a high-quality racing seat (or two for cars that can be raced in off-road conditions, because I'm hopeful of seeing a rally co-driver be with you for rally events. A low-spec roll cage is installed to keep the car rigid as the car is lightened. Not that I'm expecting cars to catch fire, a fire extinguisher will be in the car available to be used as well as to add to the race car feel.
(Level 2) - Strips out even more unnecessary elements to further lighten weight as well as replacing body parts and fenders with lighter, more rigid materials. A much more rigid roll cage is installed.
(Level 3) - Generally lightens the car to unfathomable levels for the ultimate lightweight package. Even includes a pure race car cockpit made of carbon fiber and a digital dash board similar to a MoTeC ADL system. Since the car will be all carbon fiber, there should be a choice (inspired by "Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3") to keep the carbon fiber natrual or colored. The coloring adds only a few pounds to the car's weight. This makes your car completely certifiable as a race car.
This is my hypothetical Level 4:
(Level 4) A tuner-friendly package that will allow modifications to add as many as four auxillary lights to your car for big time endurance racing. For rally cars, several modifications catered to rally are implemented including a lightpod for rally racing in darkness, rain, or snow.
* Racing Mufflers should really seem and feel like actual racing mufflers. In addition, they should look nothing like the stock mufflers. Racing-spec mufflers in GT4 do have backfire. However, I'd be interested in more racing-type mufflers like the ones with open catalysts that have blue tips. Muffler options should even include installing a new series of brackets and pipes to deliver more power.
--- Racing-Specific Modification Packages ---
Racing Modifications for car types is an idea derived from "Need for Speed: Pro Street." One thing I didn't really like about that game was that one car could be made for one kind of racing. But when you try to take that same car for a different kind of racing, you completely erase the old config. For example, the Porsche Cayman S I had in the game was my road racing car. And as much as I'd love to have my Subaru Impreza to road race, I chose it for drag racing. The default option for tuned cars is road racing. But what if you wanted to tune a car for something else? What if you want to make a car into a drag racing, perhaps (I'd actually lobby for drag racing)? What about drift-specific setups? How about touring car setups for more economy cars to have a competitive racing setup?
Rally packages would allow for cars to have bodywork and other tuning options specifically catered to a certain kind of racing. * The purest drag racing cars don't have functional headlights or brake lights. Imagine something similar to a Pro-Stock drag racing car or a highly capable bracket racer with fat tires. * As for drift-specific settings, the car will have settings which will make it hard to drive straight on a straightaway. A specialized rear wing may help in downforce while drifting. * Touring car settings don't allow for super-powerful cars (unless you're thinking DTM or Australian V8 Supercars). The general style of touring car would be those seen in series like FIA World Touring Car, Brazilian Stock Cars, the British Touring Car Championship, and Speed World Challenge - Touring Car. Any kind of extreme touring cars would be high-downforce and very powerful cars like in Australian V8 Supercars and DTM. Any of those cars not initially equipped with RWD will be fitted with RWD.
The PS3's power and performance should allow for such modifications to make a car go from normal to as pure of a race car people want a car to be. Even better if we could have Racing Modifications return because I feel like GT needs some real racing influence, while not turning into a ToCA or a GTR. My garage in the game should be more of my own race team with some cars specially tuned for racing. Why not finish the touches and make pure race cars from average street cars both in tuning and in looks? So a lot of my changes relate to either pure race cars or pure tuner cars (like the capable machines that compete in Time Attacks and Track Attacks (or whatever else is similar to this style of racing). I'm still holding to the thing about cars being customizable like Forza, so that's at least some hope we can have detailed tuning for cars.
Your idea about pit lane communication is a good idea, but I hate menu screen commentary with a passion, it's always really patronising, like the menu voices in DIRT. If they did implement it it wouldd HAVE to have the option to turn it off. I can read, I don't need to be talked to by pre-recorded people.
