This whole online business is just badly designed, and it could be better

[SavageEvil]

It's really not about changing accounts. Most of the games I have been playing work absolutely fine, and I am talking about playing games like Diablo 3 online using the JP account here in Canada. They'd proven that using a foreign account on local servers was not impossible.

Servers aside, I am absolutely fine playing GTS with my NA account, and I have deleted the issues with accounts in my original post edit. I'm not that OCD about this. But, the country thing is something I'd wish PD gave an option for. It is not at all hard, just an option for flags. Nothing to do with the servers.

For the race times, I believe it will get better as it is an online game, everything's gonna be updated fairly timely.

You mean the flag? Well that is something that can be changed, but I don't think PD thought about that as something important. You can always bring that up to them, since a lot of people living in other countries may want to represent their actual country of origin if they so choose. It's not impossible at all. I apologize since I thought the problem was you are forced to use Japanese servers and wanted to use NA servers with the Japanese account based on the region you are located in geologically.

I think that is something PD can definitely put in the game, choose which country you wish to represent and not what's tied to your PSN account since people can and do emigrate. It's probably an oversight on their part, so bring their attention to it. Nothing happens if we don't do something, so I say call, email and bug them about it.

 

[GTPVenomZombie]

Thanks for making your point in a reasonable fasion. I like Canada as a country, and have no problem representing it. I'm just a bit disappointed that we are not given a choice.

Yeah no problem. Just take it easy. & next time, instead of making a thread for the smallest problems, why not next time either message a staff member, moderator or someone you know on here? You can always message me if you want to know anything about the game. Of course I don't know everything, but I'm always happy to help out anyone as much as I can. And I'm saying all this because it looks like you're new here & we all can be understanding of what we are doing when we are new to certain stuff. Luckily, I'm in a good mood tonight so I'm not going to be harsh.

 

[coltsjugg]

I am absolutely fine playing GTS with my NA account

So what is the fuss? Im not from Canada either, and I would change it if i could, but saying online is badly designed because you don't want to be canadian is a bit much.

 

[Miths]

While I don't feel as strongly about the issue as the OP I certainly understand him. I've been living in Bulgaria for four years but my natural instinct is definitely still to represent my native Denmark, and a number of other racing games (although they were admittedly less online focused than GTS) - from Codemasters for instance - have allowed you to simply choose your nationality.

It won't be a continuing point of annoyance for me though, after all if I joined a competitive sports team here in Bulgaria I would also be representing this city or country and not Denmark.

 

[AMGholics]

Because PD are incompetent at figuring out simple things people want.

Same issue here, I should be able to rep my nation no matter what part of the world i play from.

 

[PzR Slim]

Because PD are incompetent at figuring out simple things people want.

Same issue here, I should be able to rep my nation no matter what part of the world i play from.

Agreed, I used to live in Saudi Arabia. Still supported England in the World Cup. People are rightly proud of their nation and should be able to represent their nation no matter where in the world they are.

 

[AMGholics]

Agreed, I used to live in Saudi Arabia. Still supported England in the World Cup. People are rightly proud of their nation and should be able to represent their nation no matter where in the world they are.

Its one of these simple things that in typical PD kaz fashion they are oblivious to.

 

[Lain]

It could've been an option, but I think Polyphony wants it to be taken seriously. Giving everybody the option to freely choose their "country" which they may or may not have any real attachment to would cheapen the whole affair... you'd have a bunch of people picking random countries for arbitrary reasons which won't motivate them in the long term. Forcing everybody to represent the country they reside in at least ensures that everybody has at least some real connection with the country they're representing.

 

[CConspicuous]

The sheer amount of intollerance in this thread is sickening. If someone wants to play in one country & support another in GT Sport, then they should be allowed to. How many Man U fans actually live in Manchester? Or, is it wrong to support an F1 driver because you don't come from the same country as him? Should a Brazillian living in London be expected to support England in The World Cup? Think about it...

Agree 100%, people who are intolerable towards those wanting to represent their home country as opposed to their residential country actually remind me of the racist England cricket supporters in the UK who abuse British-born Indians and Pakistanis for supporting India and Pakistan in cricket, and then abuse guys like Moeen Ali and Ravi Bopara for taking a spot in the England team.

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say maybe this has less to do with PD "Forcing people" to do anything and more to do with PSN determining where you race depending on the primary account you use and guess who PD work for?

I live in the UK and know a lot of people of South-Asian and West Indian descent, they're not into Gran Turismo enough to buy GT Sport, but I can 100% tell that they will absolutely refuse to race under the UK/GB flag, so I kind of understand where the OP is coming from.

 

[Johnnypenso]

It could've been an option, but I think Polyphony wants it to be taken seriously. Giving everybody the option to freely choose their "country" which they may or may not have any real attachment to would cheapen the whole affair... you'd have a bunch of people picking random countries for arbitrary reasons which won't motivate them in the long term. Forcing everybody to represent the country they reside in at least ensures that everybody has at least some real connection with the country they're representing.

Why would people pick countries that won't motivate them? The very opposite is much more likely. I suspect most people would be pretty happy with the country they currently live in and were likely born in, and this option would likely only appeal to a tiny % of ex-pats.

 

[Lain]

Why would people pick countries that won't motivate them? The very opposite is much more likely. I suspect most people would be pretty happy with the country they currently live in and were likely born in, and this option would likely only appeal to a tiny % of ex-pats.

If people are presented with the option to pick any country they want, they might not take it very seriously and make their choice based on more fun or silly factors. They'll pick a country they currently like and will motivate them, sure... they're not gonna pick one they dislike obviously. But their choice might not be one they have any long-term attachment to, which means it might not motivate them in the long-term. Maybe their current favorite car is from a certain country, so they pick that country... only to regret it when their next favorite car is from somewhere else. (And I know you aren't restricted to cars from the country you represent, I'm just talking about making short-sighted decisions based on fanboyism... something people sometimes do)

Admittedly not likely to be the hugest factor, but I was just throwing it out there as one idea why PD might not want to give players the option... Polyphony Logic and actual logic aren't always the same.

 

[FPV MIC]

Why would people pick countries that won't motivate them? The very opposite is much more likely. I suspect most people would be pretty happy with the country they currently live in and were likely born in, and this option would likely only appeal to a tiny % of ex-pats.

They might see another country as easier to qualify in.

edit: In leaderboards

 

[cutmeamango]

If you chosen your country it would directly affect any participation rules for future stages in competitions, the ones that will say "You must reside in country X to be eligible". Which directly ties with account terms of service...

But hey, just ask PD to add a "nationality" field in your player profile.

 

[lancia delta hf]

I am forced to explain this issue a little better and clearer:

I am physically located in Canada but not a Canadian. When playing the game, I am forced to bear a Canadian flag and so is every other racer in Canada. Since the servers are regional, this means all the players I could see are basically North American.

The thing is, what's the point of "race for your country" if I cannot correctly represent my country and race against other players worldwide? Canada is the most diverse country in the world, but everyone here is forced to bear a Canadian flag.

What's harder to understand is the event times. The first National Tournament has events on 3rd of November, from 12:00 to 16:00 hourly. Why the HELL did Polyphony think that the players of GT Sports would have time on a Friday afternoon playing racing games? Just unbelievable.



The original post is kept with a smaller font.

First of all, I have two accounts, Japanese and North American. I got the Japanese account first and have been playing games on it ever since. NA account is used to buy games since I am physically in Canada. I don't play games with my NA account because of my obsession with trophies, and I want them all in one place.
The way GT Sports works, is that it detects your account region and automatically sticks a national flag on you and puts you in the servers that are in that area. This is unchangable, and has resulted in me racing in East Asian servers with a bunch of Asians and an absurd lag, regardless of where I am located, because I happen to be using a Japanese account.
The thing is, what's the POINT of "race for your country" if I cannot correctly represent my country, which is actually neither Japan nor Canada, and race against other players worldwide? What's the point of online racing, if the game cannot correctly put me into servers with the lowest latency? Canada is the most diverse country in the world, but everyone here is forced to bear a Canadian flag. Inferior design isn't it?
What's harder to understand is the event times. I have tried to run the game with my NA account, and the first National tournament has events on 3rd of November, from 12:00 to 16:00 hourly. Why the HELL did Polyphony think, that the players of GT Sports would have time on a Friday afternoon playing racing games? Just unbelievable.
It could be done so much better. The game is beautifully made yet filled with such nonsense.

This is obvious really as it denotes your location to other online players. The solution is simple Roma degree. Use the livery editor and put your flag on the car.

 

[CConspicuous]

Why would people pick countries that won't motivate them? The very opposite is much more likely. I suspect most people would be pretty happy with the country they currently live in and were likely born in, and this option would likely only appeal to a tiny % of ex-pats.

Try telling that to Khalistani Sikhs who have wanted their own country since the 70's and live in India, and try telling that to Catalans in Spain, as well as Kurds who live in Iraq.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Try telling that to Khalistani Sikhs who have wanted their own country since the 70's and live in India, and try telling that to Catalans in Spain, as well as Kurds who live in Iraq.

Like I said, most people would be pretty happy with the country they live in or were born in.

 

[Scaff]

Views on the immigration status of others have nothing to do with GTS, members who continue to post about it will find they have a very short membership.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

More evidence of PD forcing stuff on people rather than simply giving them the option.

I know! I wanted to be the greatest driver from Mozambique while not really being from Mozambique, how dare they!!!

 

[IfAndOr]

The UK is a interesting problem. What if you want to represent any of the individual nations, is that possible?

Anyway I reckon we should be able to choose the GTP flag to race under.

 

[liuby33]

So what is the fuss? Im not from Canada either, and I would change it if i could, but saying online is badly designed because you don't want to be canadian is a bit much.

I admit the subject line is over-stated, but I could not edit it afterwards so it had to stay like that. My bad.
It certainly is not as serious as it was worded, but a choice is better than nothing.

Forcing everybody to represent the country they reside in at least ensures that everybody has at least some real connection with the country they're representing.

It is a fair point.

But hey, just ask PD to add a "nationality" field in your player profile.

This should work really well, however I don't think they have a reliable place for feedback? I guess this forum was not an official forum was it? And they don't have an official forum if this isn't it. But when I get a chance, I certainly would make this suggestion

Views on the immigration status of others have nothing to do with GTS, members who continue to post about it will find they have a very short membership.

Thanks for this, really appreciate it!