Polyphony Digital released a flurry of GT Sport screenshots earlier today. In addition to new cars and new tracks, the menu shots show us our clearest look yet at some of the visual customization available in-game.
In addition, the bevy of images showcases the Brand Central portion of the game. There’s more to GT Sport’s campaign mode as well, which we’ll be focusing on in a later article.
Livery Editor Expanded
After a peak earlier this week, we’ve got more info on GT Sport’s mysterious livery editor.
We see the expected options, like user-selectable base paint options. Mercifully, it seems the PS3-era paint chip system has been taken out back. Players can focus on a specific portion of the car’s body when placing decals: body, bonnet (hood), side mirror, rear wing, and other.
The decal options seem plentiful. While there still isn’t a confirmation of an image import option, we do see that some of the images found in the media sessions earlier this week are in the decal library. Most notably, pro driver Dani Clos’ logo is just within the frame at the bottom.
The “Racing Item” option isn’t expanded on, but it seems likely it’s for number plates and such. It should go a long way to making the road-based N-series classes feel more like race cars.
Our friends at Gamespot got some seat-time with the editor (starting at 6:20 above). There’s no hint of an image import option, but there is a “Personal Decal” folder alongside the others. There are hundreds of real and fantasy logos arranged into various folders, as well as a folder specifically for fonts and basic shapes.
Creative types will note there are 300 layers available for crafting a livery. That’s some ways south of the editors available in Forza or Need for Speed, though those games typically require many layers for custom decal creations. Perhaps players will be able to create their “Personal Decal” via the existing shapes, and have it merged into one layer?
It isn’t explored in greater detail, but Gamespot’s video also confirms that players will be able to customize their helmets and racing gear. We’ll have to wait and see if that involves the level of decals available for the car itself.
Aftermarket Rims Return
The livery editor images offer up a pleasant surprise: Polyphony Digital has added aftermarket rim options to cars. A series tradition since Gran Turismo 2, the optional rims are a welcome return alongside the series-first livery editor. Just like GT6, players can upsize the rims: check out the massive 22″ BBS alloys on the back of the 911.
Given this revelation, we’re curious to know what (if any) impact different rims have on the car’s performance. GT Sport is focused so much on class-based racing, lighter rims could upset the Balance of Performance (BoP).
Brand Central: In-Game History Lessons
The Gran Turismo series has always had a certain fascination with the story of the automobile. That looks to continue in GT Sport via Brand Central. Functioning in a similar way to GT5’s Museum Cards, Brand Central offers players postcards from a particular marque’s history. For the example shots, Polyphony uses Mercedes-Benz — appropriate, as it’s one of the founding companies of the modern automobile.
See more articles on GT Sport Screenshots and Livery Editor.
