*This article is compiled from IGN JP and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
GT Racing, which can enjoy all the driving pleasures, finally returned after a long absence, and also provided players with a world map that symbolizes the origin of the series. GT Racing 7 can be said to cover a wide range of car-related entertainment activities, while enjoying racing, photography, car design and other game content, players can also learn about the development history of the entire automotive industry.
What kind of evolution has the car life simulator GT Racing 7 (gt7) completed? And as a driving simulator, how has it improved? Next, I will try not to forget the original intention and avoid looking at this work from the perspective of too fanatical fans. By the way, I am playing the PS5 version of the Day 0 patch at the time of writing.
"GT Racing" as an orthodox sequel that has achieved the evolution of the king's way
One of the most striking elements of this game is the "World Map", which has reappeared in the 2004 PS2 version of GT Racing 4. In recent games, it is interesting for players to directly visit the fashion dishes page of various ways to play, but if you want to enjoy the car life, the world map can better express the atmosphere. By the way, everything in this game is developed from a beginner-led "coffee shop".
At the center of the map are the coffee shop and the world circuit, which can be said to be the main content of the GT7
Relevant tasks can be accepted in the "menu" of the coffee shop. The activities here are mainly based on obtaining vehicle rewards through competitions, but also experience content outside the competition such as "landscape photography" and "modified vehicles", and by completing the content in the menu, players can naturally learn and master the structure and flow of the game. You should know that the content of this game is quite rich, and even people will be troubled by where to play, so the design of this guide beginner's game route is still very friendly. In addition, in the process of completing the task of the coffee shop, you can also learn a lot of historical knowledge about the car from the visitors of the coffee shop, but it is a little regrettable that you can't look back at the relevant information, and I always feel that it is a pity.
Although you can look through the menu tasks that you have completed, you can't look back at the information you learned at that time
In the process of completing the coffee shop mission, in addition to gradually collecting more new cars, you can also unlock various things such as driver's license mode and track little by little. There are more than 420 models included in this game, which is extremely detailed, and at least 100 or so can be collected by completing the task alone. Although at first glance this number is not much, in addition to adding the modification of ordinary sports cars, this game also provides a lot of legendary vehicles that require perseverance to collect, which can greatly meet the player's sense of collection achievement.
The initial instruction for the mission was still to go to the used car dealership and buy a cheap vehicle in the screen of the used car catalog. Although you can buy a variety of new cars if you go directly to the brand store, you should be patient until you save enough money.
If you drive the same car repeatedly in the process of saving money, the body will gradually lose its luster, so you need to wash the car regularly. If the high-intensity use continues at this time, it will even lead to a decrease in vehicle performance, which will require oil replacement or engine overhaul. Although the UI of this game is completely new, and the production team's love for cars can be felt in all aspects, to be honest, it sometimes makes people feel "what a trouble!" GT Racing is such a game that people love and hate.
"Isn't it the gameplay of GT racing cars to check the condition of the vehicle while maintaining it with love," although the words are beautiful, I am afraid that I often feel troublesome
Although such a meticulous guide is very easy for beginners to get started, it is indeed a bit troublesome for authors who want to skip the intermediate steps and challenge the difficult competition as soon as possible. In addition, since I like to save seemingly interesting activities for later and enjoy them slowly, it is a pity that I cannot skip some of the activities.
The main content of the single-player game is naturally the competition activity, this game can choose three different levels of difficulty before the start of the game and in the options, players can adjust the difficulty of racing with AI on the world track.
The first thing that surprises you in this game is the loading speed. When it comes to racing games, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely the long data reading time before the start of the race, and everyone is used to waiting patiently. The loading time of this game actually only takes about three seconds, which makes people wonder "Huh?" while being moved. Is it already playable?".
The game features more than 90 tracks in 34 regions, most of which have appeared in GT SPORT, and personally, it's a great home for me to see them. The revival of tracks such as the popular routes "Test Drive Mountain" and "Deep Mountain Forest" in the old game is particularly gratifying, allowing players to enjoy a variety of tracks. Unfortunately, the proportion of sand routes is somewhat small, and it is expected that some exciting content such as mountain climbing levels will be added to future updates.
Different tracks host games such as the Sundae Cup, Club Cup, FR Challenge and other games that older players are already familiar with. For example, suzuka can choose local races such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hour Rally at the Sarthe Circuit. But if you don't select a track in the menu, you won't know what you can experience, and you'll have trouble finding the race you want to play.
Although it is not very likely to play the same game over and over again, it is a bit difficult to grasp the information if you want to play casually
Although the race activities can be created on each track, it is a bit tedious after all, and it would be better if you could save your favorite race content as a preset
Polyphony Digital is a master of vibration, taking the realism of the driving simulator to another notch
The GT Racing series has been relentlessly pursuing realism as a driving simulator, which is perhaps the most striking point of this game. In addition to the PS5's handle DualSense, I also used Fanatec's "GT DD Pro" peripheral. Although it is difficult for the simulated driving system to play a real role if it does not cooperate with the internal setting adjustment of the specific game, because there is no available setting for GT 7 at the time point of the evaluation, the author refers to the Fanatec official forum to explain the use of GT SPORT settings.
First of all, I would like to bring you my evaluation of using DualSense to play. Compared to GT SPORT, the vibration of the DualSense provides a significant increase in the amount of information. In games, DualSense rarely experiences the kind of subtle vibrations that are common, and instead DualSense uses the unique, powerful vibrations it's not very good at to convey a message to the player. For example, when the vehicle is understeered, it will emit a unique vibration of clicking, and the vibration when triggering abs (anti-lock braking system), the player can judge the burden of braking and the load of the front wheel according to the strength of the vibration, so as to correctly control the body. To be honest, I didn't expect the DualSense vibration performance to be so rich, which made me a little moved.
It's harder to get information about ABS with a simulated driving system, so it's a small advantage of playing with DualSense. In addition, the player can feel the subtle vibrations of the tires as they slip. After riding a car, the weight of the throttle and brakes also changes, so it is easier to perform more detailed power operation than ever before.
What follows is what I said about the GT DD Pro. The load on the steering wheel and the sense of force withdrawal caused by the vehicle when turning will not change greatly depending on the situation, and the reversal and retreat of the rear wheel load is also natural. The OVERALL FEEL OF THE GT SPORT AND GT 7 HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH, BUT SIMILAR TO THE USE OF THE DUALSENSE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE INFORMATION FROM THE VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN UNDERSUSTING, THE VIBRATION OF THE TIRES BECOMES MORE APPARENT, AND THE ABILITY TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW CLOSE THE VEHICLE IS APPROACHING THE LIMIT WHEN CORNERING.
In this game, both the simulated driving system and the standard handle are easier to operate
In addition, the behavior of the vehicle itself has also undergone some changes. The simulation of the tire is more simple and clear, and the corner acceleration is more likely to cause the tire to idling. Even if the TCS (Device to Suppress Tire Idling) is turned off, it can be roughly handled in gt sport with only cursory operation, but in gt 7 it requires considerable meticulous power operation.
That being said, there is no need to manage the temperature of the tires and the temperature of the brakes in this game, which is relatively simple as a simulator. The more detailed treatment of the tires also increases the amount of information from the car's feedback (vibration and drag), making it easier for players to experience speedy driving.
Aside from races that cause tire wear, there is no need to care about tire management
The beauty of the carefully polished car image and the richly detailed environmental performance
Racing games have reached the era of PS5, and the pursuit of high-definition and exquisite images that "surpass real shooting" has become a matter of course. At the level of GT 7, it is up to the designer's taste to depict the landscape and what tricks to use to attract players.
In this work, the overall slow change of light and dark contrast over time is impressive, especially the color contrast between the morning and evening glow periods makes the image appear extremely soft, and the picture that comes into view is more like a field shot than a CG.
The completion of the production of the vehicle itself has reached its peak, and it is worth looking forward to in the future what kind of natural environment should be used to display fascinating images
The overall environment of the race has also become extremely rich, with gorgeous tire smoke rising from the rotation of the vehicle, and the performance of small parts flying away if there is a strong touch. Although the damage to the car in this game is limited to simple treatment such as painted surface scars and will not affect driving, even the performance of small parts flying away will form a strong sense of presence. The same goes for tire smoke, with more intense white smoke making players feel as if the game is intense.
The weather system is not based on the real performance of the physics engine, but the raindrops that fall on the windshield are quite realistic. The splash of water from the tires is also particularly realistic, if the rain is heavy enough, the splash of the tires will block the player's view of the vehicle in front of them, and it will not be possible to identify the pinch points in the corners. This is especially true when replayed, where the splash is particularly strong and even makes it almost impossible for the player to see the vehicles around them.
The headlights are very eye-catching at night, but they are difficult to identify during the day because of the splash
Although the idea of weather changes is good, it is annoying to be unable to tell which tire to choose when the weather is bad because there is no information before the start of the race whether it will rain or if the road surface is wet. The screen before the start of the race will show the situation of the track, if it seems that the rain is raining heavily, you can choose the special tires for the rainstorm, and the light rain and the like can only depend on luck. However, since we have achieved this level, why not let players see the weather radar before the game, and look forward to the future updates to increase this function.
If you customize the event, the weather can be adjusted freely
In summary, the effect of this work in focusing on the picture of the vehicle is called a first-class awesome. But this is not the case when viewed in terms of performance across the track, such as a bird's-eye view of the track that often feels as if you are looking at a miniature model. When driving normally on the track, there is nothing in the field of vision that will attract people's attention, so this game highlights the car to the greatest extent, but there are still some areas in addition to it that have to be compromised.
The GT 7's sound side is also a great treat. This game has put a lot of effort into 3D audio, if you use the official PULSE 3D wireless headphones to listen, you can clearly capture the direction of the noise of the surrounding vehicles, and even the sound of heavy rain hitting the roof from overhead. Although the sound of the front wheel cannot be distinguished, if the rear wheel is slippery, the sound of tires rolling will be heard. Since the position relationship with the opponent can be mastered through sound, excellent sound effects can not only increase the sense of presence, but also provide a certain degree of help in the battle. In addition, although there will be some discounts on the sense of direction in presenting sound, ordinary headphones can actually feel the 3D sound effect.
A more demanding setting for beginners in racing games
Race events are worthy of the real simulator level of difficulty, even if the choice is low difficulty, once there is one or two body rotation and deviation from the track, it is often difficult for beginners to recover the loss. However, if the brakes and steering are set to "assist", it is easy to complete the schedule by slamming the throttle all the way with the powerful auxiliary function. Although the whole process of driving the auxiliary can only beat the lowest difficulty at most, but presumably the player can still fully enjoy the fun of driving.
If you don't want to rely on assistance, the modified vehicle can adjust the difficulty of the game to a certain extent, that is, rely on the performance of the vehicle to reduce the difficulty of the game, which is the tradition of the series. The performance of the car in this game will be represented by PP (performance point), and the race event will have a corresponding PP requirement recommendation, which the player can use as a reference to combine their own level for transformation.
Many race events have a limit on appearances, and the reference recommendation PP can estimate the performance of the AI machines that appear to some extent
But not everything that a PP high will necessarily be able to take advantage of the track, for example, in the case of creating the ultimate "straight-line assault car" and the ultimate "efficient turning car" of the same PP, the latter can run the track with an overwhelming advantage. Of course, this is only an extreme example, PP can not fully predict such as vehicle imbalance, please pay more attention when modifying the car.
In gt 7, there is a major hidden danger in the setting, that is, if the parts of the commercial car are replaced and improved to a certain level of performance, oversteering will occur (the vehicle faces inwards in stable arc turns/easy to the inside), making the vehicle too strong and difficult to drive normally. It is not because the power is too strong to cause the rear wheels to idle, but just by hitting the steering wheel, the rear wheels will suddenly lose grip and become a tricky vehicle that is difficult to control.
One of the problem vehicles I first encountered was the Mustang GT'15, which after replacing a bunch of parts, it turned into a car that spun out of control when it hit the wheel slightly. Although this is a muscle car that is popular all over the world, the balance between the power and the setting of the next plate is also too bad. If you set it to understeer (the vehicle faces outwards/easily outside in a stable arc turn), some of the above problems can be solved.
Although the setup was temporary, the Mercedes AMG C63S'15 also turned into a runaway mad horse
In the series to date, there has never been a situation in which a simple replacement of parts can make a vehicle so difficult to drive. Maybe it's because this game improves the accuracy of the simulation? But I think that at least when replacing the lower disc parts, even high-performance cars should retain a minimum of processing.
Speaking of settings, Beyond The Apex, which is also included in the online setup guide, will be released on the release date, and I hope that it will become a reference for everyone's settings.
Faithfully inherit the online mode of GT SPORT
In the online mode, there are "Daily Matches" with weekly updates, "Official Matches" held officially, and "Lobby Speed Matching" in the lobby where players can enjoy free driving. These modes have been enabled since the GT SPORT era, and the basic rules such as shortcuts and penalties are also roughly the same.
In addition, as a new social venue, the online space "Conference Plaza", which will be open around the clock in some tracks, also appeared in this game. Just like the lobby that is open all year round on the Internet, players from all over the world can freely enter and exit here. Here you can either communicate with other players in the chat bar or take to the track to practice driving together. In the early play version for the review, I saw 9 halls that could accommodate 16 people each, including popular tracks such as Newbrook.
The most popular is probably the "daily race" like a speed dating event, where competitors with similar TimeAttack records can play fiercely.
The online mode of this game has also officially introduced the setting function, each game has set the maximum PP, players must freely adjust their vehicles within the specified range for participation, players who are good at vehicle settings may be able to open up the gap with their opponents by this alone. The reason why this is an element with a threshold is because players need to play the performance of the vehicle on their own before fully considering how to set it up, and as far as the author is concerned, he still hopes to hold more races that are limited to vehicles with fixed performance.
Somewhat regrettably, the TimeAttack penalty mechanism in the online mode of this game is also inherited from GT SPORT. In GT SPORT, if a violation occurs during an online race, it will be punished with a penalty of automatic deceleration time during the specified deceleration zone. If the violation occurred before the violation interval, it will be punished after driving a lap. If this is the final lap, the penalty points will be added after reaching the finish line.
That's all, the problem is that the penalty at TimeAttack will not only cause the time erasure of this lap, but also produce a deceleration penalty. Depending on where the penalty occurs, sometimes it ends in this circle and sometimes occurs in the next lap, resulting in repeated penalties. It wouldn't be surprising if the misconduct would affect the next lap, but TimeAttack already has a race slowdown penalty, which complicates the entire penalty mechanism.
Although it is possible to choose to start over at the moment of the penalty, it will lead to the loss of time data from the previous multiple laps, so the player will be forced to choose to either run a lap in vain or give up the reference data, and the tension of the entire TimeAttack is extremely high.
The slowdown penalty at TimeAttack is terrible
"Landscape" and "Paint Editing" worth watching
Enjoy the "Landscape" mode of car photography in attractions around the world, with photographs taken in special circumstances in the background. The difference from ordinary photos is that the game records the light and shadow data information of the shooting place, and after placing the car in the scene, the scenery such as sunlight and shade will naturally integrate. Although it is only a photograph, it also contains information about the three-dimensional building. Affected by this, the light of the headlights and the shadow of the car body will be reflected according to the shape of the object, and some scenes will give people the illusion of 3D space.
Many new attractions have been added to the game, and convenient features such as random selection of places have been added. In GT SPORT only vehicles in perfect condition can be photographed, but in GT 7 it is possible to shoot with deliberately soiled or scratched. If you make full use of this, you can completely shoot the scene after the game.
In the "Landscape Image" function of the garage, a demonstration video of driving in these landscapes can be played. The vehicle exudes an extremely captivating brilliance in the demonstration, and it is really tempting to stare at these images. Possibly, it would be better if player-owned cars could appear randomly in each scene.
The landscape is more than just photos
Paint Edit increases the number of stickers that can be pasted and the maximum number of stickers that can be used. Although the original GT SPORT cap is not small, for the author who likes to design his car according to the racing style, the livery edit developed on the basis of GT SPORT is still quite difficult to use freely.
GT Racing, a complete return to the familiar patterns of the past
Looking at the game as a whole, players can sometimes be guided by the game in the coffee shop, and sometimes they can enjoy the thrill of a ride with relaxed music in the "music pull", and design and content for beginners can be seen everywhere.
In addition to the "driver's license" mode, which allows you to learn driving skills, there is also a "mission" mode that can challenge various special activities, such as knocking down all the pylons placed on the route, or challenging to run as far as possible with limited fuel, and it is not so easy to complete these tasks with the highest evaluation. These difficult content that makes core fans also have to complain for days is also quite fulfilling.
After spending twenty or thirty hours, almost all kinds of tracks can be unlocked, and the mission challenges will naturally be unlocked. But because every track has something like a driver's license and track experience, it can take quite a long time to get everything through.
Even if I drive 800 to 1,000 kilometers a day, it is not surprising
That being said, this content, for better or worse, is a feature of GT Racing, and the overall composition of the game is not much different from before compared to previous works in the era when there was no world map. While functionally expanded, landscape and livery editing hasn't changed much compared to GT SPORT, although it's true that the content has reached its peak. Although we are very happy to see the nostalgic "GT Racing" return as it is, the content of the resurrection is mostly the classic elements common to the series, bringing nostalgia and lack of freshness. I really hope that some unique elements can be added to this game, such as in the previous series of works, players can become coaches to train AI drivers, or make their own original routes.
Overall
In order to meet the expectations of beginners to core fans, GT racing, which has evolved in a more beautiful and realistic direction, has prepared a colorful content feast for us. A coffee shop guide will make it easier for you to get started, but it may be a little more restrained for core fans who like free games. In addition to the changes in weather and time, subtle performances such as tire smoke have also been improved, and the picture performance has not only become more beautiful, but also the sense of presence of the game scene has also been greatly improved. While it's gratifying that the traditional GT racing mode has been revived, too much of an old style can't help but make people crave new gameplay.
merit
Unparalleled high quality graphics
Highly realistic driving feel
Tons of vehicles to choose from
shortcoming
The full networking requirements are slightly redundant
Career Mode's rolling start mechanism is debatable