The start didn’t go well for Gran Turismo Sport (PS4), but the developers are listening to the fans and shifting into a higher gear.
Our reader Devilron1989 has taken a closer look at the development of Gran Turismo Sport and wrote this guest post for us at Mein-MMO.de.
One of the worst launches of the year
You probably didn’t even notice it because the so-called “shitstorm” passed quickly, only to catch games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 or Destiny 2, but GT Sport did not have a good launch at all. Many things were criticized by players:
- The missing offline modes like career,
- the limited selection of vehicles,
- the VR implementation
- and of course, the online requirement.
Yes, you read that right, after all these years the old issue resurfaced: “Online only” for a game series that had primarily grown through singleplayer. The fans didn’t like it, and there was a deluge of criticism in forums and on review sites. The end of the story: Gran Turismo, traditionally one of Sony’s key exclusive games, became perhaps the biggest flop of 2017.
But what’s it like in 2018? Can you hear the engine rumbling in the background?
GT Sport is getting better and faster every month!
At this point, Sony deserves praise. They didn’t simply leave the game behind, but worked through the criticism from fans and responded ambitiously.
By the end of November, minor blemishes were fixed with patches.
- The control via controller and steering wheel has been improved
- the individual performance of the cars has been brought under control
- and some cosmetic aspects have also been renewed
At this point, something was done against the hated “online requirement”. From Patch 1.06, players could also use the photo mode or the livery editor offline. Shortly afterwards, the development studio Polyphony Digital, a subsidiary of Sony, announced a singleplayer expansion for the end of December – free for everyone in the form of a patch!
12 new cars came just before Christmas
On December 22, 2017, just before Christmas, it finally happened. The “GT League” was released with Patch 1.09 and brought major changes. Initially, the number of available vehicles was increased:
- Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD)
- Nissan Skyline GT-R V・spec II (R32)
- Nissan Skyline GT-R V・spec II Nür (R34)
- Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
- Lamborghini Countach LP400
- Ferrari F40
- Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
- KTM X-BOW R
- Suzuki Swift Sport
- Volkswagen Sambabus Type 2 (T1)
- Chris Holstrom Concepts 1967 Chevy Nova
- Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible (C3)
Finally more love for singleplayer
The special thing about the GT League was not the vehicles, but a comprehensive singleplayer mode that was oriented towards the major GT predecessors. Now, modes like the “Sunday Cup”, “Clubman Cup”, or “Mazda Roadster Cup” could finally be played offline. All of this with different classifications. Sometimes you have to tackle the cup with powerful cars, sometimes with relatively sluggish vehicles.
These cups are also divided by different difficulty levels consisting of Beginner League, Amateur League, Professional League, or Endurance League.
This patch, however, did not silence the critics, as the damage from the release was too great and echoed like a response. However, this extremely swift change brought great cheer to those players who did not want to give up on GT Sport so quickly.
Considering that the game was released at the end of October and these major steps in the right direction occurred within two months, I have to tip my hat, um, helmet to Sony. I, as a passionate Destiny fan, can only dream of such rapid reactions from developers.
New update brings sports cars, racetrack, and GT events
After some player wishes have been fulfilled, there are plans to work on further improvements. Many GT fans are calling for more rain on the various tracks. Although this weather phenomenon already exists in the game, it only rains heavily on the track “Northern Isle Speedway”. This is set to change in the future.
Currently, content continues to be delivered diligently. Last week, on January 25, 2018, an update was released with:
- Ten new vehicles,
- a new track called “Autodromo Nazionale Monza”
- and four additional GT League events consisting of:
- F-150-Raptor-Survival,
- J-Sports-Meeting,
- La Festa Cavallino
- and the endurance series for Gr. 3.
Fast patches silence critics of Gran Turismo Sport on PS4
GT Sport reminds me a bit of the saying: “Like a phoenix from the ashes.” Sure, the game had its problems, and it’s still a few miles away from being a perfect racing game, but in my opinion, Sony is doing a lot right here and gradually silencing the critics with current patches.
Especially the speed with which this is being done shows that they do not want to abandon the GT Sport project. This development is something that, in my opinion, should really be praised, as it unfortunately does not belong to the standard in the gaming industry at present. Those who love exciting online matches will certainly have fun with GT Sport, while those who want to focus on offline activities should gradually take a look at this game. For example, older Amazon reviews should not deceive you this year anymore. The game is now truly worth its price and is steadily improving!
This guest post is by our reader DevilRon1989.
