3 features we want to see in Gran Turismo 7

3 features we want to see in Gran Turismo 7

Gran Turismo 7
Feb 21, 2022 11 Min Read Posted by Luca

We are less than a month away from the release of Gran Turismo 7, so we decided to create a list of things we want to see in the latest installment of the series.

Image credit: Polyphony Digital

Us racing game fans are never satisfied, are we? Whether our demands are for a pre-existing title or a new one that is releasing soon, we always want more. Today, we’re looking to the future with Gran Turismo 7.

The series is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and for the first time, it’s launching on two different generations of PlayStation. From the first until the sixth installments, each generation of console got two core-series Gran Turismo games, with the soft-spinoff Gran Turismo Sport being on PlayStation 4.

GT7 was initially set to be on PlayStation 5 only but with the hoarding issue still preventing many players from picking up a PS5, it will also be available for PS4.

So with the game releasing on 4 March, here are some things we hope will be in Gran Turismo 7 either at launch or in a post-release content update.

More circuits

Okay yes, there are 34 tracks and 97 configurations overall, so perhaps us bringing this up makes us look ungrateful. Gran Turismo 7 will feature a bunch of incredible real world circuits like Spa, Red Bull Ring, Monza, Nürburgring, Suzuka, Mount Panorama, Laguna Seca, Interlagos, Le Mans. There are plenty to name and all of which featured in Gran Turismo Sport.

Also carried over are some originals that made their first appearances in GT Sport and became fast favourites, such as Dragon Trail Seaside, Lago Maggiore, Tokyo Expressway and Kyoto. But GT7 also sees the return of iconic Gran Turismo original circuits like Deep Forest Raceway, High Speed Ring and Trial Mountain.

So there are already some amazing tracks, but what else could be added? Well for starters, Silverstone. Gran Turismo 6 had it, and it’s one of the best circuits in the world but it never came back for Gran Turismo Sport. Another is Côte d’Azur which is just the unofficial name of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

Also, we would love to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, both in its oval and road course configurations. Although the latter would need to be updated to more closely resemble the layout that IndyCar use now as opposed to when F1 last raced there in 2007. One world-renowned American ‘roval’ is returning from a previous Gran Turismo title, that being Daytona, so the other should as well.

Speaking of Indy, what about Twin Ring Motegi? Both the oval that IndyCar raced on and the road course that MotoGP uses. Gran Turismo is a Japanese game, and with the introduction of Super Formula in GT Sport, why did Motegi never come back? Suzuka and Fuji have been in the series for a long time, Autopolis was also introduced in GT Sport, so what gives?

Then there’s a load of original circuits that haven’t been confirmed for Gran Turismo 7 that are probably going to be added to the game later on. For example Apricot Hill, Grand Valley, Autumn Ring, Mid-Field Raceway and also Kart Space are just some that we really hope do get added.

Online Driver Swaps

One of the elements that was seemingly all-but-confirmed in the most recent State of Play was multi-class racing. It wasn’t explicitly confirmed, but it was hinted at by a bunch of LMP1 cars navigating the Dunlop chicane on the Le Mans circuit, shortly followed by a group of GT cars.

It is possible in online lobbies on Gran Turismo Sport to race different groups of cars but you could never specifically force players into choosing a certain class and you just had to often rely on players doing as you requested. There is also endurance racing in the game by the proper definition of the word, timed races instead of lap races.

Now with endurance races, you could – in theory – do a full on 24 hour race. The one problem with that is, Gran Turismo has never had driver swaps. You had single player endurance races in past titles that you could save in the middle of and come back to it another day, and some people even try to work around limitations online by running separate races with the different competitors.

You can do online driver swaps in top level PC sims such as iRacing, rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa Competizione, so it’s about time this is made available on console. Gran Turismo 7 is a good place to start, at the very least on the PS5 version.

Back in the FIA-certified Gran Turismo championships World Tour onsite events, the Manufacturer Series competition involved three drivers sharing the same simulator to race whilst representing an automotive brand. They would decide amongst themselves how to split duties on all three mandatory tyre compounds and when one driver comes into the pits, they leap out their rigs and hand control over to their teammate.

However, when the series was forced to go online, they had to adjust the format since it wasn’t possible to drive into the pits and hand control over to another driver. So when they had multiple drivers representing a brand in the 2020 and 2021 World Finals and also the 2021 World Series Showdown, they had each of the three drivers doing one race each. So if Polyphony want to revert back to the way they did it in the onsite events while keeping it online, they need to have a driver-swap system.

Disabling car maintenance

One aspect from previous Gran Turismo titles that was noticeably absent in GT Sport was having to put cars through what is essentially a service. You could go to the repair works to change oil and wash the car, but also it was where you could add visual or performance modifications.

This may be an unpopular take, but we could honestly do without this. Not the visual or performance modifications part, they’re great for people who want to customise their car, and especially in GT7 where it’s being turned all the way up to 11. The part we don’t like is the maintenance, including having to change the oil as well as engine overhauls and body rigidity.

When in GT7, you will have to maintain your car’s oil, engine and structural rigidity. Image credit: Polyphony Digital

One of the reasons people get into racing games is to avoid the needless fuss of reality when driving. Players of Forza Horizon are not crying out to refill their cars in a petrol station, and even though so many iRacing players boast about their game’s unmatched sense of realism, they seem to enjoy the convenience of pulling over to the side of the track after setting a qualifying time and pressing escape to go to pitlane rather than doing an in-lap.

Not everybody will want the fuss of having to constantly be maintaining their car. With the vast amount of cars players will be buying and competitive community racing always going on, being forced to constantly maintain the cars to ensure that they are always at peak performance is an inconvenience not all players will want to deal with. There should be an option to disable the need for maintenance and have the cars be constantly at showroom specifications, or whatever they’re upgraded to if players desire.

Gran Turismo 7 launches on 4 March for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Hopefully these features are implemented either at some point in the future for GT7 or perhaps for a later installment of the series further down the line.

Which of these features would you like to see in Gran Turismo 7? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!

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Luca
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