What do you think about the singleplayer and the overall game design of Gran Turismo 7? And how does it compare to the previous games?

[BlackHGT]

There are many good ideas and many interesting approaches to read here. Many of the ideas put forward here are not found in practically any racing game. But why is that?

Don't the developers come up with such ideas?
Are we just a fringe group of racing lovers and the masses would be dissatisfied? or are there other reasons why all racing games have somewhat the same problems?
or are the developers so caught up in their corset that they don't think about these cool ideas?

I would like to hear/read the comments from developers about the ideas here.

 

[Techlet]

There are many good ideas and many interesting approaches to read here. Many of the ideas put forward here are not found in practically any racing game. But why is that?

Don't the developers come up with such ideas?

Why spend extra resources when the sales have shown that consumers will happily fork out money for the bare minimum time and again?

 

[GTboyz]

I'd be all for hotlapping, but they for some reason removed the music and credit payout. I feel like since those two are gone now I either have no incentive nor excitement to do it. Sucks because that was one of my favorite things to do in GT games prior... Just testing out cars and such while listening to music taking in the game atmosphere... The miniscule credit reward you got in Sport really helped give incentive too.

This next bit is gonna be subjective, but I feel like they **** on everything Sport did right for seemingly no reason.

Even Ride series gives you quite generous credits just for Time Trial. Makes riding alone fun in those games.

 

[BlackHGT]

Why spend extra resources when the sales have shown that consumers will happily fork out money for the bare minimum time and again?

That may be an investor's or an accountant's perspective.

Developers don't necessarily have to think that way. They usually have a vision and want to implement it as much as possible.Of course, compromises have to be made in order to keep the costs under control and to be profitable in the end...

But whether it is extremely much more work to implement the ideas of this topic, for example, I cannot say. It could be very difficult or not at all.

 

[eran0004]

I've been thinking about all the criticisms that GT7 has been getting - stuff like Cafe-based progression, rigged roulette tickets, inflated car prices etc. and I just feel like I want to ask this question again. What do you think about the singleplayer and the overall game design of Gran Turismo 7? And how does it compare to the previous games?

Single player could use more structure, now it’s more of a sandbox (like previous games). I think they should use the Cafe feature to generate some daily missions for you. It could pick some random events from the world map for you to complete within 24 hours and reward you with some bonus credits for it. It could be a nice way to bring some variations to the daily grind and introduce you to events you may not have tried already.

 

[Ande3200]

if only they did a proper single player with overhouled economy it would be a masterpiece

 

[05XR8]

If we leave out the haves and have nots. Looking at what Kaz said about PSVR2 with GT7 development, that's the biggest difference in Single Player.

The overall game design, in my opinion from the VR standpoint, is what it is. It could be a structured tier career or the old way of building a grocery getter to complete the game.
I just created a new account. Started with VR. From the Music Rally to Licence tests, it's genius. The perfect way to be introduced to GT7.
I mentioned before about the game making sense when the VR helmet is on. Regardless of any one player's queasiness, the experience allows players to sample multiple vehicles realistically. It actually can make players wan to collect cars or at least try as many as the early "progression" of the game allows.
Even with Circuit Experience. Pretty much trying before buying, behind the virtual wheel,the past Gran Turismo games cannot compete.

Moat of us pretty much know about all the short comings. Blatant disregard for players with certain aspects of this game- World Tours(offline) and Sport Mode(online). However, don't get it too twisted when seeing a part of Kaz' vision, having players start this game in VR and the journey through the headset.

That experience is immeasurable and in my opinion, out weighs a lot of those aforementioned short comings.

 

[GTboyz]

any car be considered a "Hypercar" for the Hypercar Parade event? Why add any special car (like those in the "#Professionally Tuned" category) if you will inevitably shoehorn them into the same X PP event as everything else?

I remember that time when I entered a swapped Tundra to that event. It was hilarious but also made no sense. They should be more restrictive.

if only they did a proper single player with overhouled economy it would be a masterpiece

Also make the campaign available offline. I guarantee you I will play the game a lot more.

 

[UnkaD]

My biggest issues with the game are the lack of single player events, despite having regular updates for over a year now, and the huge mindless grind necessary to buy a small handful of cars, even though we are able to earn credits at a rate superior to past games.(correct me if I'm wrong)

We need many more events with much more focus. Any given car should have multiple events available to it, and at multiple circuits. Custom races isn't an answer unless they give comparable credit payouts for the time put in. I don't want to choose between having fun OR making progress in the game. A grind doesn't have to be a chore.

Stop pulling our legs with two or three single events each update and give us some actual meat to dig into.

The economy isn't bad at all if you ignore the 8mil+ cars. So for those, bring back one thing the game is sorely lacking. Repeatable prize cars. Make a championship of ten races, each around 20 or so minutes for a three-hour tour. Have the winning prize be a roulette ticket for any cars costing at least 10 million credits.

It being a championship will lock you in so you're committed to finishing it before being able to do anything else, but the different races will give variation to reduce the monotony of the grind. If you already have the car or don't want it then you can sell it. If you are after a particular car, then two or three runs will guarantee you the 20 million credits needed for any car in Legendary.

You could grind from no credits to 20mil through 6 or 9 hours of play, maybe spacing across three days, and it wouldn't feel mindnumbing like it would from repeating the same single race over and over. Or you could just do the championship occasionally, collecting cars through the roulette as you go. A much healthier way to go about it than what is available to us.

 

[Draggon]

I agree with most all said here. Ignoring the issues of a.i., poor payout, no races based on drivetrain, grinding, etc leaves me with my main complaint. No tiered campaign mode. If memory serves me correct GT has always had this until now. I really dislike the hunt-and-peck process to find a race on the map.

 

[PGodia10]

I'm a full time worker and dad. I play an average of 1 hour/day at 6am in the morning... For me it's fun and entertaining. Also challenging enough. Idw, I love it's quirkiness and I enjoy reading the description on a new car or just listening to its engine.

I understand why hardcore/competitive players (overrepresented in this forums for obv reasons) or people with a lot of time to spare find it easy or boring but the game has a very wide range of players to appeal.

The Real Driving Simulator is a great slogan but maybe is hurting PD more than is helping them 😅

 

[wowbaggerBR]

It's more of the same, when compared against previous entries.

And it's subpar, really. At this point, it's clear that Poliphony is missing someone capable of build a game, not a glorified tech demo.

 

[Astronoud]

I basicly bought a PS5, Fanatec GT DD 8Nm + full Sim Lab rig for this game. I feel so let down by this game i can't even put it into words.

Luckily ACC is okay on console, but i'm looking forward to moving to PC in the future for my racing.

 

[timekiller001]

I think it's a bit of a double edged sword.
When GT7 came out and I first played it, I loved the setting. Over just a few days I spent all my time with it and really enjoyed it.
But then again, it was quite short. And I've never looked back to the singleplayer.
I can still play GT1 to GT4 from time to time, even though it's just a list of events. But I'm missing that feeling with GT7, but also already before that with GT5 and GT6. It certainly doesn't have the long term appeal to me.
Sport Mode is where it's at for me ever since the release.

 

[Duke]

GT4 will always be the gold standard for offline games.

I respectfully disagree. I think GT3 was better for career mode gameplay. Sure, GT4 had lots of tracks and lots of cars and lots of cars on track... BUT it also had a huge increase in the Rabbit Effect where most of the cars were pretty evenly matched except for one car that ran away from the pack. Coupled with the extremely short races - many of them a single lap - it was very very hard to get a satisfying race in GT4. I quit about 70% of the way through the game.

So, 10 months after this thread was started, has there been any improvement in the GT7 single-player mode? Because I just have no real interest in GT-based online multiplayer.

 

[PlanetJanet]

So, 10 months after this thread was started, has there been any improvement in the GT7 single-player mode? Because I just have no real interest in GT-based online multiplayer.

No.

 

[Lux Klonoa]

So, 10 months after this thread was started, has there been any improvement in the GT7 single-player mode? Because I just have no real interest in GT-based online multiplayer.

Nope. Still pretty short compared to past GTs and still with a lack of variety in the events.

It's still the weakest GT career, IMO.

 

[Ande3200]

I respectfully disagree. I think GT3 was better for career mode gameplay. Sure, GT4 had lots of tracks and lots of cars and lots of cars on track... BUT it also had a huge increase in the Rabbit Effect where most of the cars were pretty evenly matched except for one car that ran away from the pack. Coupled with the extremely short races - many of them a single lap - it was very very hard to get a satisfying race in GT4. I quit about 70% of the way through the game.

So, 10 months after this thread was started, has there been any improvement in the GT7 single-player mode? Because I just have no real interest in GT-based online multiplayer.

We all have our opinions, i also think gt4 career mode was better than gt3,

 

[ItsHim]

I love it, and I might go as far as saying it’s the first time GT has some actual structure to it making it feel like a game. The Menu Books work surprisingly well, licenses and mission feel like having an appropriate difficulty curve, the weekly TT pay good money, the weather and day time cycle make the game look atmospheric… I’m still a very happy bunny.

But then I do seem to play the game quite differently compared to others. I do hardly ever upgrade cars, heck, I didn’t even buy cars at first but used prize cars exclusively, I try races with lower PP first and enjoy a close battle for 8th place as much as winning, I go back to races when I have a new car and try to gold them, I don’t grind that much… and I spend maybe 30 minutes a day on the game.

 

[Meythia]

We all have our opinions, i also think gt4 career mode was better than gt3,

I dont have any nostalgic memory of any previous GT.
I played 1, it was obviously the best racing game of its time
I played 2. it was 1+Ultra, so it was even better
I played 3. I dont know any of it anymore
I played GTS, but I couldnt keep interested in online races though I can relate to the thrill of evenly matched races.
I play(ed) 7, and though I have more hours than in most other games, the quality of the game is hold back by the fact it had to cater to PS4 compatibility which is why I dont consider it better than okay, but definitly worth its money to not be a purchase to regret.

But calling anything career mode is like saying Tetris has a career mode.
For career mode races, there are other games, and to me none beats Grid(legends, racedriver, 2, 1) regarding career modes.

Of course, this is all opinion ,
but I felt like I needed to add, because comparing career between any GT series seems like a waste of time to me.

Edit: despite that, I still have spend much more time on GT, so ... it is the better game? (more fun in the long run).

 

[Ande3200]

I dont have any nostalgic memory of any previous GT.
I played 1, it was obviously the best racing game of its time
I played 2. it was 1+Ultra, so it was even better
I played 3. I dont know any of it anymore
I played GTS, but I couldnt keep interested in online races though I can relate to the thrill of evenly matched races.
I play(ed) 7, and though I have more hours than in most other games, the quality of the game is hold back by the fact it had to cater to PS4 compatibility which is why I dont consider it better than okay, but definitly worth its money to not be a purchase to regret.

But calling anything career mode is like saying Tetris has a career mode.
For career mode races, there are other games, and to me none beats Grid(legends, racedriver, 2, 1) regarding career modes.

Of course, this is all opinion ,
but I felt like I needed to add, because comparing career between any GT series seems like a waste of time to me.

Edit: despite that, I still have spend much more time on GT, so ... it is the better game? (more fun in the long run).

For me gt4 has the best career mode of all time in any track racing game to date, and i dont expect to see it ever again sadly.

 

[queleuleu]

I try to like this game but this is the worst GT in terms of single player IMO.
Everything is there: cars, tracks, features like tuning or dynamic TOD.
Poly isn’t even trying to improve its game. And for the first time, I hate the UX/UI.
Something is off with this game. GT7 doesn’t click for me even if this the best car list in a decade.

 

[Revengel]

First: I acknowledge that this is a "feeling over fact" thread.
Next: I also acknowledge that the feeling about Gran Turismo 4 is pretty heavy in this forum.

That said, I disagree (I know, what a shock!) and do in fact find Gran Turismo 7 to be the best so far for single player content. However, I think it is just as important to acknowledge some of the things people seem to forget about "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of your Life."

Spoiler: Long Ramblings on Gran Turismo

For context: I began with Gran Turismo on PlayStation (note I'm not calling it "GT 1" for the same reasons I state I saw the movie "Star Wars" in the theatre - not "A New Hope") and have owned each numbered release - including GT5 Prologue - as well as GT Sport. I think there are things about single player mode in "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of your Life" individuals are skipping past

• No Roster Updates. Like the new Corvette that's not in the game? Not an option. Wish a classic Mercedes could be added, or some other new car that wasn't in the game when Gran Turismo 4 was released? You could dream about it, but not do it.
• Painting a Car. This was not available. Some folks care about this and is a major portion of their enjoyment of a Gran Turismo game.
• Updated Features Like Photomode. Photomode - which was in GT4 - may not be your thing. However, for a number of folks it's a (now) vital addition to Gran Turismo and can't imagine playing without it. The inability to update locations and other items is likewise not mentioned by the champions of GT4.
• Track Editor Anyone? This is possibly my second favorite feature in Gran Turismo history, and one I'd love to see return. But it wasn't there in GT4; you had to like-it-or-lump-it with the tracks in the game when it was released. No option to extend your own offline single player. As a small footnote, this is the feature that helped me and so many others deal with the dreaded PSN outage of 2011.
• No V.R. Whatsoever. If Gran Turismo 7 didn't have any of the bullets listed above, but still had the PSVR2 support it currently has, it would still be my favorite game in franchise history by a wide margin. Being inside the car largely trumps everything else in single player. The only thing I can't do while wearing the PSVR2 is race against someone else sitting on my couch. Having the interior of the car in front of you - VR or not - is a level of detail and immersion we didn't have in Gran Turismo 4, and I think that matters. The only way to get something close to an interior view was to use a codebreaker solution which was covered in an old string on these forums. The interior views were covered in an article here on GT Planet.

Don't get me wrong; I loved Gran Turismo 4. It has my favorite version of the theme song, had wonderful breathtaking views . . . hamfat, I even took one of my best photographs in that game. I no longer have my Flicker account so the image is on one of my old hard drives, but it was a "hard monochrome" image of the R34 Skyline (named "Blue" for the character in Wolf's Rain) and all you could see were the headlights and some portions of the silhouette. It won a weekly contest here on the forums, if I recall correctly. "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of Your Life" was a great game.

But Gran Turismo 7 has it beat with so much more you can do.

• Custom Races.
• Dynamic Weather
• V.R.
• Advanced Photo Mode
• More Used Car Dealerships
• Updated Rosters
• Added Circuits
• Share Replays
• Share Photos natively through Gran Turismo
• Create Liveries
• Create and Share decals
• And more . . .

If the discussion is limited to comparing the Cafe mode and nothing else from Gran Turismo 7 single player mode vs. other iterations in the series, I can understand the position. However, that's not taking into account the full single player experience. The same goes for Gran Turismo 5 and 6 for that matter; neither of them had cafe mode, but I suspect the point is made.

It is also fair to bring up the fact that internet connectivity is required for advancement in the game for Gran Turismo 7 & GT Sport as a negative. GT4 didn't have that as it had no true online component. That requirement does impact the single player mode should someone not have an internet connection.

TL;DR version: There are a lot of things about GT4 people gloss over in the name of nostalgia, and that's not fair to any other iteration in the franchise . . . especially for GT7.

However in the end, this is all about opinions shared by the forum members in this string.

Granted, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.

 

[MIE1992]

I think it's really hard to try having a more "traditional" campaign while still incentivizing people to try out new content that's almost always added every month. Personally, I don't know if I have a better idea for the overall design. I will say that I really like the idea behind the Master Licenses, as I never would've though that the license tests could be expanded upon at all.

Personally, I do think we could use more mission sets, as well as more events that require the higher-end licenses. I also think the Gr.1 Prototype Series should be retroactively modified to limit players to actual Gr.1 cars, just like how the Nissan GT-R Cup was changed to permit the KPGC10 and C110.

Also, I find it interesting that some events become permanently added to World Circuits, typically via a Bonus Menu, while others are temporary Special Events. I think the latter method is a pretty smart way to avoid clutter in the UX, especially for events that may focus on a particular model, like the Tourist Trophy. I'd love to see other older events like the Evolution Meeting return like that, rather than most Special Events just being one-makes. (Unless said one-make is for a relatively unique car, like the Radical SR3, in which case I think a one-make makes far more sense.)

 

[GBalao888]

Other than the messed up career mode revolving around the cafe, it does get tedious to play without any reprieve in the form of having all the cars available in the game as rental cars, given they integrated the Arcade/Free Play modes with World Circuits.

 

[Mafio]

First off, I am NOT a gamer, I'm not one to hold on to the past and I AM the type thats able to admit something is unfair to my benefit. All I want is the AI to be a little more challenging, without being cheap and an interactive, drivable, open world-esque main menu would be cool. Like one could drive to the used car lot and then drive to the parts store, ect on different types of roads(mountian roads, highways, back roads ect). Shoot, Id do that for hours with NO payout.

First: I acknowledge that this is a "feeling over fact" thread.
Next: I also acknowledge that the feeling about Gran Turismo 4 is pretty heavy in this forum.

That said, I disagree (I know, what a shock!) and do in fact find Gran Turismo 7 to be the best so far for single player content. However, I think it is just as important to acknowledge some of the things people seem to forget about "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of your Life."

Spoiler: Long Ramblings on Gran Turismo

For context: I began with Gran Turismo on PlayStation (note I'm not calling it "GT 1" for the same reasons I state I saw the movie "Star Wars" in the theatre - not "A New Hope") and have owned each numbered release - including GT5 Prologue - as well as GT Sport. I think there are things about single player mode in "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of your Life" individuals are skipping past

• No Roster Updates. Like the new Corvette that's not in the game? Not an option. Wish a classic Mercedes could be added, or some other new car that wasn't in the game when Gran Turismo 4 was released? You could dream about it, but not do it.
• Painting a Car. This was not available. Some folks care about this and is a major portion of their enjoyment of a Gran Turismo game.
• Updated Features Like Photomode. Photomode - which was in GT4 - may not be your thing. However, for a number of folks it's a (now) vital addition to Gran Turismo and can't imagine playing without it. The inability to update locations and other items is likewise not mentioned by the champions of GT4.
• Track Editor Anyone? This is possibly my second favorite feature in Gran Turismo history, and one I'd love to see return. But it wasn't there in GT4; you had to like-it-or-lump-it with the tracks in the game when it was released. No option to extend your own offline single player. As a small footnote, this is the feature that helped me and so many others deal with the dreaded PSN outage of 2011.
• No V.R. Whatsoever. If Gran Turismo 7 didn't have any of the bullets listed above, but still had the PSVR2 support it currently has, it would still be my favorite game in franchise history by a wide margin. Being inside the car largely trumps everything else in single player. The only thing I can't do while wearing the PSVR2 is race against someone else sitting on my couch. Having the interior of the car in front of you - VR or not - is a level of detail and immersion we didn't have in Gran Turismo 4, and I think that matters. The only way to get something close to an interior view was to use a codebreaker solution which was covered in an old string on these forums. The interior views were covered in an article here on GT Planet.

Don't get me wrong; I loved Gran Turismo 4. It has my favorite version of the theme song, had wonderful breathtaking views . . . hamfat, I even took one of my best photographs in that game. I no longer have my Flicker account so the image is on one of my old hard drives, but it was a "hard monochrome" image of the R34 Skyline (named "Blue" for the character in Wolf's Rain) and all you could see were the headlights and some portions of the silhouette. It won a weekly contest here on the forums, if I recall correctly. "Gran Turismo 4 - The Drive of Your Life" was a great game.

But Gran Turismo 7 has it beat with so much more you can do.

• Custom Races.
• Dynamic Weather
• V.R.
• Advanced Photo Mode
• More Used Car Dealerships
• Updated Rosters
• Added Circuits
• Share Replays
• Share Photos natively through Gran Turismo
• Create Liveries
• Create and Share decals
• And more . . .

If the discussion is limited to comparing the Cafe mode and nothing else from Gran Turismo 7 single player mode vs. other iterations in the series, I can understand the position. However, that's not taking into account the full single player experience. The same goes for Gran Turismo 5 and 6 for that matter; neither of them had cafe mode, but I suspect the point is made.

It is also fair to bring up the fact that internet connectivity is required for advancement in the game for Gran Turismo 7 & GT Sport as a negative. GT4 didn't have that as it had no true online component. That requirement does impact the single player mode should someone not have an internet connection.

TL;DR version: There are a lot of things about GT4 people gloss over in the name of nostalgia, and that's not fair to any other iteration in the franchise . . . especially for GT7.

However in the end, this is all about opinions shared by the forum members in this string.

Granted, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Honestly, I think they should just make an old GT HD remake. Let those people live in their rose tinted world and let the rest of us move on.

 

[Revengel]

All I want is the AI to be a little more challenging, without being cheap and an interactive, drivable, open world-esque main menu would be cool. Like one could drive to the used car lot and then drive to the parts store, ect on different types of roads(mountian roads, highways, back roads ect). Shoot, Id do that for hours with NO payout.

Have you tried racing Sophy? If so, what are your impressions? If not, why?

 

[Mafio]

Have you tried racing Sophy? If so, what are your impressions? If not, why?

I have. I enjoyed it a lot(Violette is my GIRL!! lol). I'm ready for Sophy to be released to the rest of the game. I think it would be really fun to have Sophy race against me in MY cars.

 

[PlanetJanet]

Something like Sophy added to custom race mode and all of a sudden you have an incredible single player experience, imo. That's all I'd need anywho!

 

[Revengel]

I have. I enjoyed it a lot(Violette is my GIRL!! lol). I'm ready for Sophy to be released to the rest of the game. I think it would be really fun to have Sophy race against me in MY cars.

Something like Sophy added to custom race mode and all of a sudden you have an incredible single player experience, imo. That's all I'd need anywho!

Are each of you on PS4 or PS5? Sophy is not available on PS4, sadly. However, Sophy 2.0 is in the PS5 version of GT7.

I have a PS5 and drive against Sophy on a regular basis.