WARNING: This is going to be a VERY LONG post!
Okay. Now I look at the link provided in Post #40. I may be inclined to say that we may really get a good amount of customization to make our own unique players. Part of the immersive attributes I'm trying to think about include the driver. Here are some things I wonder:
* possible to have a customizable character that takes full advantage of the My Home deal? Imagine your created character racing in Gran Turismo 5.
* I'm seriously considering teammates, GTPlanet. I'd be interested in seeing your character in the game as well as a teammate to provide for a B-Spec racer as well as a seperate member of the team that that can compete in other events to build money for the team.
That character creation thing could be interesting. Maybe Sony's ahead in all of us. I'd love to imagine being able to create lots of different characters to make our own race team. Everyone from the manager to everything else would be great. I could imagine a more personalized pit crew as well. I was pretty creeped out at the guy that was used followed by a manly-looking girl that was (thankfully) modified to look somewhat decent. I follow women's fashion, so I'm glad they changed up her looks from that guy. On another hand, it would be great to be able to have a female racer in GT5 for the ladies of Gran Turismo.
The home customization process seems pretty cool. Make your own home and put it in GT5. However, I'm thinking more about race teams than usual homes. GT has to adopt some kind of sense that you're a racer though GT is seen more as a driving sim than a pure racer. At least have the element that I'm part of my own race team trying to make it big in the GT realm. So I'm thinking of some kind of option that will allow you to have a race team and your own race shop to work on cars to go racing with. The house in the demonstration kind of looks like a Monte Carlo-style setting, only without really tall buildings. Either that or a lovely San Francisco kind of setting. In "Test Drive Unlimited," all you really get are random loops of the guy doing stuff at the house. An expansive home option would mean that you could be able to perform certain tasks at home. These include (but not limited to) doing online work in GT5 (car shopping, checking offers, getting newsletters from One-Make race clubs, and more), setting out on the road to access certain venues (like car dealers and the race shop) through the huge GT5 map, and other things of that nature.
--- Immersion with the General GT Environment ---
Gran Turismo is about motorsports. What you're playing for is to win every race and become your own hero/heroine on the track. I'd propose a realistic twist to the calendar system as well as an interesting take on One-Make Races. "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2" had you being able to purchase cars and tune them up to go racing legally in daytime, then head into nighttime for bragging rights. A system I'm looking at would mean that the majority of racing takes place on weekends and even some weekdays. There lies a problem with this. A day passes when you do any race. It's almost as if you have to choose what kind of race event you want to be in for that given weekend. Does this sound like any specific game to all of you? Right- Enthusia. Those of you who have played Enthusia know that you can race any event that weekend. Only when you get to the RS series, it's recommended you race the RS races to improve your rankings in the RS class to make that King of the Year Grand Prix on the final weekend of the year. So how could this be taken? Here are some ways.
I draw on "Need for Speed: Pro Street" for this one, as you have track days. You have to dominate track weekends to advance to the other series and other race events. What makes it all unique is that there is a weekend for you to be at a race track to compete in a variety of race events. You should be able to compete in as many events as you like that day. Even more so if you have the kind of car to compete in these events. So let's talk about a race weekend at a track. There are two kinds of race events: regular events and feature events. Regular events are available almost all-year 'round. The feature events are special races that are usually either championships, endurances, or certain Single Day competitions. I'll use Midfield Raceway as an example. Pretend the car I have heading into this event is a 1996 Nissan 240SX.
<<< = eligible to compete
(a Midfield Raceway weekend)
Midfield Raceway: Normal Events
* Japanese Car race @ M.R. Normal - only for Japanese cars <<<
* Turbo Battle @ M.R. Normal - only for turbo cars <<<
* V8 Battle @ M.R. Reverse - only for V8-powered cars
* Front/RWD Battle @ M.R. Reverse - FR cars only <<<
* Mid-Engine Challenge @ M.R. Normal
* Drift Challenge @ M.R. Reverse <<< (since it's RWD)
* Over 3000cc Race @ M.R. Reverse
* Sunday Cup @ M.R. Normal <<<
Midfield Raceway: Feature Events
* Ferrari Challenge Rd. 4
* Nissan Micra Cup Rd. 2
* Dream Car Championship Rd. 4
* Autobacs Super GT Rd. 5
* Gran Turismo World Championship Rd. 7 (Midfield Raceway Grand Prix)
Midfield Raceway has two configurations (Normal and Reverse). So all events would be held around some deviation of the course. But what if you're taking part in a major race event? Here is the same example using Suzuka Circuit. Pretend my car in this series is the Audi R8 road car.
(a Suzuka weekend)
Suzuka Circuit: Regular Races
* Clubman Cup @ Suzuka West <<< (though it would be a blowout win)
* Sunday Cup @ Suzuka East <<< (though it would be a blowout win)
* German Car Race @ Suzuka Circuit <<<
* Japanese Car Challenge @ Suzuka Circut (using the 8-Hour motorcycle race layout)
* Over 2000cc Race @ Suzuka East <<<
Suzuka Circuit: Feature Races
* Supercar Festival Rd. 4 @ Suzuka Circuit <<<
* Touring Car Challenge @ Suzuka Circuit Final Round
* Suzuka 1000km @ Suzuka Circuit
* Gran Turismo World Championship Rd. 9 @ Suzuka Circuit
* Formula GT @ Suzuka Circuit Rd. 14
Tracks that have different configurations can have races held on different configurations can have specified layouts to work with. The action is just at one track configuration with my Midfield Raceway example, but different layouts at tracks like Suzuka can mean interesting race action on different configurations. NFS: Pro Street featured action at one track area with different kinds of races available. Unlike NFS
S, I'd be more than happy to allow you to keep all winnings and not force you to win every race that weekend. Also, I think there would be a preference as to what races are run at what days at different times. The Gran Turismo World Championship and Formula GT races at Suzuka would likely be held on Sunday. The other three aforementioned races among my Suzuka feature races can take place on Saturday. The other races could be held on Friday or Saturday.
A model I've proposed to allow for you to stay in the know on upcoming race events is to
sign up for newsletters in the game. As each day passes in GT, imagine getting reminders on special track meets as well as championship races. On the day that the race will take place, you can be able to prepare your car and report to the race events to take part in the race event. Race clubs are what "Test Drive Unlimited" came up with that features some races requiring a specific type of car. I don't think you should be able to race to become President of the club, but I think you can be able sign up to compete in One-Make series sponsored by the manufacturers where it's just you going up against other racers racing the same kind of car or type of car as you are. This would keep things organized so that you don't have to get in a specific car and go race at will in a One-Make race. GT4 elaborates on what cars are eligible to be raced in a One-Make race (and even in regular races). Thing is, you never know what kind of car to really bring. I had a GT2 experience in which I drove the FWD Renault Clio and tried to enter the Clio Cup. Unfortunately (remember that I was scared of racing RWD car), the race required the mid-engined/RWD Clios. I think there were some cars that you could race in certain One-Make races, but don't have a RacingModify feature. All cars should be made able to be recreated and turned into purpose-built race cars, if not highly-tuned cars. These newsletters in the game should allow you to stay intact with all racing events. An interesting twist is that the cycle of race events repeat each month. So when the four One-Make races (for those that have four One-Make races) are complete for one month, the same rotation of races continue for next month in the same order.
Finally, imagine a convention show held annually or bi-annually in "Gran Turismo City" that gives you a chance to sign up for and compete in race events around the world. You can learn more information on what races are run that year or in months. Here is an example of a racing convention:
(Gran Turismo Racing Convention)
Select a series:
* >>> Gran Turismo World Championship <<<
* Formula GT
* Ferrari Challenge
* Stars and Stripes
* Italian Avantgarde
* Gran Turismo All-Stars
INFO: "The Gran Turismo World Championship is the premier series of Gran Turismo racing. Only the finest race GT and prototype cars and race car drivers compete to become World Champion. It consists of ten rounds of competition going around the world in competitive races. An International A-Grade License is required to compete in the Gran Turismo World Championship. High-class driving talent is expected of you when competing in this series."
I look at these conventions as a way to get inexperienced/new GT gamers a look at racing events held throughout each year. You can learn about racing events as well as sign up for them. Something you've noted was how much I said "sign up" for races. Imagine being at these yearly conventions to learn more about race events and take part in them from the convention. Doing these things at these racing conventions will get you more information about the racing series and when races will be held. As long as you have a car and the license needed to race in them, you can compete in the series.
--- Immersion: Tracks ---
Every track is available to be raced on all year (except for temporary courses). I brought up track weekends. Does that usually mean each race is held on the weekends? Not really. "Race Weekend" is a general term to describe a time when a track is available to be raced. They can be a Thursday-Sunday swing. They may only do racing between Thursday to Saturday. They may even be Saturday and Sunday (or Saturday into Sunday for 24-hour endurances). They could even be an entire week of racing at the track. It may even be just one day with lots of racing. Your fantasy mail or E-Mail account in GT may give you stuff like racing at a certain track for a weekend. It could even be about tracks giving you E-Mail saying, "thank you for participating in race events at our track. Your cooperation is appreciated. Hope you can race here again someday." Imagine the Driving Park even giving you mail about competing at the Driving Park to test your abilities and even have some races.
Temporary courses (non-permanent courses) can be hard to come across because you don't have the luxury of racing around anytime you like. That's because most of these courses are usually city streets and country roads. You may receive some messages wanting you to compete in racing events on temporary courses. You could compete in a regular race or a feature event. We have Eiger Nordwand and London as temporary courses. So imagine a message saying this:
"(FirstName LastName), we would love to invite you to visit London for a series of great racing on our city streets! There is nothing like racing in London with attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the world-famous Big Ben. We think you are an extremely talented driver. As soon as you can make flight arrangements, we'd love for you to compete in London for cash and prizes. Please let us know if you are interested in competing in London for this race weekend."
Would you take the offer? You probably would. I imagine you also get a look at all the upcoming race events for that race weekend.
The same kind of messaging would go for rally events (on and off road). It would be no different from any other race invite deal. The thing to remember is that real gamers and groups could schedule challenges and meets for you. Imagine you and [as many as 15] other people all meet in this one group to race an event or a championship. Organizers could set cash rewards for the race event or mini-championship. So this can benefit both offline and online gaming.
--- A Proposal? ---
Test Drive Unlimited gave you as few as 4 cars and as many as 10 to have in one house (depending on garage capacity). "Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3" gave you the ability to have five cars available to race with, but you have an underground garage that can house 15 cars. If you are "equipped" with a Dodge Viper GTS (the 1990s Vipers) at a race event and are unable to compete in a certain kind of race, I'm proposing having as many as four cars to have with you to a race event. Amateur races will have you with maybe one or two cars with a good hauler or trailer. I think four cars in one weekend can be possible. So how would this work? The car you're currently using is automatically able to be shipped if you choose to. For the kind of trailer or hauler you have, you can select what cars you want to have with you to compete in a number of events on any given track weekend. You may even give a teammate on your race team a car to use for a weekend in other action. What are the advantages (all of this driven on "Need for Speed: Pro Street," by the way)? You can choose different cars to use for different kinds of races. You can enter any car you like as long as it's within the guidelines of the required race (for example, a Honda Civic can be entered in a FWD race or a Japanese race, but is disqualified from a RWD race or a drift battle). So you can have as many as four cars to take with you to compete at race events. You don't have to race back home to pick a car to compete in a certain race event when you can just select what car you want to take with you for a specific race event. Don't have a car that meets requirements but have a car that CAN compete in that specific race? You can just change cars and bench the other car(s) from the competition.
These thoughts take time. That's why I take so long to be so detailed. What you think about these items I brought about?
. This is his dream; to have Gran Turismo become a car enthusiast hub for all real world and game related car material 
. GTTV and the simultaneous (down to the second) in-game/real life Tokyo Motor Show unvielings of the GTR and STI in the GT5P TMS Special Demo were a very tiny taste of what is to come. Basically the same things you've pointed out, though you've gone into far greater detail than he did. Kaz is way ahead of you 
