Today I took a shot at the online campaign, sport mode. It looks like there are 3 races to master every day that start at different intervals. The cool thing is that your qualifying time stays so you don't need to set a new time when switching between races or taking a break.

I completed 9 races already (I thought it was less, it's addictive!) got 1 pole position (which is kinda luck based since I improved my time a lot later) 3 wins, 2 clean races and a fastest lap in one race. After that I leveled up to SR A and DR D. You get a 150% bonus for money and xp for a clean race which is nice.

One tip, stay away from the oval races, at least until your SR rating is up. People braking on straights when you're behind them gives you a penalty as well. The oval race is where I got a negative rating with that and people ramming from behind in corners.

Sometimes it's better to let the rest go and play from the back, I rather get that SR ranking up first to not have to deal with reckless drivers. Luckily it doesn't seem that hard, I had 1 red rating, 1 white, 7 blue, and leveled up.

Matchmaking works well, and in my last race the pack was already very well matched. Closely following someone in front and one behind you without touching is very cool. You're not only looking for an opening to overtake, but also always looking for an escape to avoid that SR down just in case.

There is still the problem of people making a mistake and then getting back on the racing line without checking for traffic. I rather stay on the side and make sure it's safe to get back. Fighting for 10th position is just as exciting as fighting for 1st when you have someone equally skilled in front of you.

On the reviews they were getting a weekly rotation for the races not a daily, so might look for it. 9 races is fairly cool. Congrats on the achievements on them.

Well Nascar is basically a long line of cars trying to get a position ahead while defending from overtaking... this is kinda a feeling we didn't had on previous GTs.

Oh, I hope it's daily and not weekly, I'll see tomorrow.

I understand blocking and preventing slipstreaming in Nascar, yet slamming on the brakes in the final straight with a car 10 meters behind you... GT5 had Nascar as well, less cars though. The gamecube had a nascar game with a full roster I think. It was a lot of work to take them all out :)

Tell us if the rotation changed... having only 3 races and repeating for a full weak is a little boring.

Yes hitting the brake is at least dirty move or severe lack of skills... I just said the emotion in itself, like you will be all the time defending and attacking. This didn't really happen in previous GT.

It seems you still didn't accept that this isn't really a continuation of the other GTs. The proposition is completely different and that is why it doesn't have the same modes. The only criticism that would be more in point for this title is lack of cars or tracks. More for the tracks, because the cars wouldn't make much since they are all balanced on the races so having 100 models per class with they all having equivalent performance points and just small difference in the handling would be more a distraction than anything. Think of it like a fightning game, you won't master 600 cars to compete, you will probably dominate one per class.

Oh dang! I thought it would go a bit higher....

Well, the excuse is starting fresh after 'wasting' time on GT6 that didn't release until after the PS4. So they started quite late on the ps4 title. First there was talk of a GT6 version for PS4 but it looks like PD wanted to get rid of all the legacy PS2 and PS3 code and assets and make a new engine and assets ready for the next 10 years.

http://www.hardwarezone.com.my/tech-news-psx-2017-sea-gt-sport-assets-future-proofed-next-gen-gran-turismo-titles
http://wccftech.com/yamauchi-gt-sport-specced-ps4-pro-8k/

The new engine and entire workflow is in BT.2020 color space with HDR upto 10k nits, far exceeding what current displays can handle. All the art has been remade with that in mind and it definitely already shows on a current 4K HDR tv. With that change to making a next gen ps5 engine, even the high level assets from the ps3 were likely incompatible (wrong color space), plus making the editing tools for GT Sports takes time as well. Everything has been redone.

Besides that the focus has changed to online racing, one thing people wanted to see vastly improved over GT5 and GT6. And it really has improved this time. People wanted a real livery editor, you'll be able to upload your own decals soon. People didn't want old assets anymore and PD delivered... People complained about the standardized tuning parts, and PD listened... People even said the campaign was getting stale and GT was a relic. PD listened again... However now reviewers can't look past the past to see the future.

Now everything is in place and proven to work, developing new tracks and cars should become easier. They could of course have waited another year or two to make more content, but there is enough atm to keep you going. I rather have deep gameplay first with breadth added as time progresses than the other way around. Adding new tracks and cars later will generate interest in them online, whereas having 40 tracks at the start will likely see a lot ignored in online lobbies. Yeah it's a poor excuse, it's all I have. Still enjoying the game immensely, more than any other GT so far. The campaign, what there was, was very exciting and satisfying with no grind in sight, plus the online racing is already the best I've played.

Unfortunately you were right, not sure why they are called daily races, but the roster is still the same today. 10 min oval, 15 min race every 20 min, 30 min race that only starts once per hour. Old qualifying times still stand so not much to do in between races once you hit that ceiling.

I hope they change that or add more races and/or more starting times. I guess I'll be checking out the lobby system tonight.

Yep I have seem that in one review.

And sure, after you do the good lap times you'll probably not get much better so you only need to enter close to the start.

Lobby is the alternative

I reached Sportmanship rating S which isn't that great in practice currently. Maybe the pool for rank S is very small since I get matched with people that are much better than me. Even after improving my qualifying time, I still start at place 5 at most in the easier race and place 10 in the longer one. I get matched with driver ratings A through D (all SR S) with people that drive lap times that are 5 sec faster than me on Nurburgring GP. Meanwhile I'm very careful not to hit anybody, back off and wait to re-enter the track, then got timed out for being more than a minute behind the leader after the 10 lap race was done. (Half the pack didn't make the finish in time) My DR deleveled back to D. Still I rather race from behind than get wedged in in the middle of the pack and inevitably get hit or pushed from behind while preventing to hit the person in front of me making a small mistake.

Some of those qualifying times are also 3 to 5 sec faster than what I can manage. Perhaps this roster has been running all week and only the die hards are left with tuned cars. (I hate tuning, haven't touched those settings, which is why I prefer games like DC with a true level playing field) Or maybe I'm not all that good at the game! Anyway, it now seems impossible to improve my DR rating, which frankly would only make it harder anyway...

Don't level your SR rating up too quickly :) I hope this is temporary and daily races will indeed become daily and not weekly. I had some great evenly matched race experiences in the beginning, yet now it's the usual leader escsapes, rumble in the back, except a very polite rumble lol. I guess matching based on tuned / stock cars is out of the question...

Excellent post. There is no excuse, only the truth. PD has rebuilt GT from the ground up for the first time in almost 20 years, and set it up for the next 20. The core mechanics are the best in the business, the attention to detail is at a perfectionist level, and the tuning of each vehical is pin point. I can see the reviews being disappointed with the smaller car and track count, but this ~77 critical average is a total disservice to the incredible work that has been accomplished. This is a 90+ game as it stands right now, and will become even better going forward. 

I still believe the game will go on to be the best selling in the series. As more cars, tracks, events, modes, and options are added, and people get their head around it, it will have incredible legs. I believe Polyphony is more interested in getting the largest userbase possible, and racking in money from sponserships on the major events they are putting together, than delivering another game that breaks up the online racing pool. Basically I see GTS as a platform more than a game. Right now it may not be for everyone, but as it continues to grow, it will become essential to all car enthusiasts or racing fans around the world.