My comments on the difficulty rating breakdown in your video description:
- Lap Length: A longer lap means an easier gold time as the % increases. Think of it like interest rates, the higher the savings amount the larger the amount you get (So the larger the time leeway). Anything with a 3/4 second window I would class as easier not necessarily easy. This is due to the fact there will be more straights, number of corners rarely changes much.
My take: while it's true you have more leeway with a longer lap, there are also a lot more corners to get right. The TTs we had on Nordschleife and St Croix were one of the hardest to get gold for me. Having said that, I only had 1 bronze ever and it's the dastardly X2019 at Road Atlanta. Sub 1 minute lap means there's zero margin for error. So I guess it could go both ways.
- How hard a car is to drive. So do you have to do exceptional things to get gold. Does it oversteer all the time, does it do huge understeer so you're having to do alternative things.
My take: agree with this. Though I would also broadly classify road cars as being harder for the general population compared to race cars. Lots of people are used to driving just Gr.3/4 that when you put them in road cars with comfort/sport tyres, soft suspension and no downforce they struggle. Although for me it's the opposite and I struggle with higher downforce cars like LMP and Super Formula, this guide is meant for general players so I think road car combos would have a higher difficulty rating. Also certain cars might favour some drivers' style more. I know you're a specialist with the R8 LMS back in GT Sport but I cannot drive that car to save my life because of the lift off oversteer.
- Penalties and track limits. So barriers close to the track I would class as harder, places where you can cut easier.
My take: again I'm the opposite of this. I find it easier to get close to the limit at Tokyo than places like Maggiore/Sarthe because it's clear where the boundaries are. I tend to drive in a conservative manner and I hate cutting kerbs that would DSQ a lap in real life. I guess it's easier for someone who has no qualms abusing track limits, but having to memorise which pixel I can/cannot cross on entry/apex/exit is more difficult for me than not touching walls.
- How easy it was for me to get close to Rank 1
My take: agree, although again you're an alien and most of us are not
- I would add also wet and rally combos tend to be more difficult for most people, but I guess this can fall under the "how hard is the car" category.
- Controller input/driving aids that people use can make a big difference. Cars that need precision are harder to gold with controller. Some cars need funky gear shifts and if you drive with AT it's gonna be a problem.
You're a much much better driver than I could ever hope to be, so this isn't meant in a condescending tone, but I think it's best to just remove the Gold difficulty rating altogether to avoid giving people false hope
Obviously a Fiat 500 around an oval is gonna be easier than an old 911 around the Nordschleife, but for everything in between there are just too many variables to rate. Different skill levels, people's preference for road cars vs race cars, people's familiarity with certain tracks, etc. Don't underestimate also human's brain expectations - some people see a road car combo with easy difficulty and expect a walk in the park, but they drive a first lap and understeer everywhere and get discouraged quickly. Meanwhile a Gr.1 combo might be technically harder but because they love driving it they have an easier time getting gold.
My 2 cents
Been following your guides since GT Academy days and even though now I don't really need them as much I still watch every video religiously 👍