GT Sport Polyphony is on a hiring spree

[Alex Franchini]

Looks like Polyphony Digital is trying to shift development for Gran Turismo 7 into the next gear as the Japanese studio is in fact looking for personnel to fill 13 new work positions, and judging from these job postings, we could, at long last, see an improvement in the AI - which is the series' infamous weakness.

The postings are available at the official Polyphony website (and have been translated by Dualshockers) and are for the following positions: "AI Engineer, Online Engineer, Graphics Engineer, Game Engine Development Engineers, Game Script Engineers, Sound Development Engineer, Data Engineer, Test Build Engineer, Pipeline Tool Development Engineer, Mobile Application Engineer, In-House Tool Development Engineer, Vehicle Simulation Development Engineer and Physics Engine Development Engineer".

According to the translated content, the studio wants to improve the "positional awareness of AI drivers", "giving them a more human-like behavior". Surely good news for GT fans, but Polyphony is also looking to implement specific racing rules for each series and "missions" (no idea as to what they could entail). The Playstation 4 GPU is going to be used for physics calculations, too, but once again there's no further details on this.

This hiring spree might mean that the game is at an advanced development phase, and that Polyphony might announce something at the Tokyo Game Show, which is taking place 17-19 September.

Are you looking forward to Gran Turismo 7? Do you think it's going to be a fearsome rival for Assetto Corsa and Project Cars on Playstation 4? Let us know in the comments!

 

[Andy_J]

So at least going by the majority of comments on here, the sim of all sims, Project Cars is in the same ball park as Gran Turismo. All those investors who so wanted Pcars to be the best race sim ever will be spitting feathers at this comparison.

 

[Brownninja97]

no polyphony please dont announce a new granturismo. I cant afford a ps4 CRAP, dont tempt me.

 

[TKFranz]

People saying that Consoles can't run sims are completely wrong. They can. It's just never done because the market isn't there. You consider that AC can run on a single core, terribly optimised, and then consider how many cores a console CPU has (which is 8) and consider how well optimised GT7 will be (considering it's a title exclusive).

I race PC sims and I don't think I could ever see myself doing it on console, but I hate the fact people are ignorant to what consoles can and can't do performance wise.

 

[Brownninja97]

People saying that Consoles can't run sims are completely wrong. They can. It's just never done because the market isn't there. You consider that AC can run on a single co
I race PC sims and I don't think I could ever see myself doing it on console, but I hate the fact people are ignorant to what consoles can and can't do performance wise.

the biggest issue i see with the console market is that you its very hard to introduce something to their ecosystem, sim racing hasnt got much of a scene, we actually have to hope that the big players on youtube and other social media sites clock onto a sim on those platforms. Pcars did this very well, dont care if you think its a sim or not because the console players thought it was a sim, more importantly a metric ton of them brought a wheel for Pcars. Ac and other sims coming to console really need to get the advertising side done correctly and they need to understand the differences that the consoles users expect. Ive said it before and ill say it again, every sim company is watching kunos. Isi, reiza, sector3 they are all watching because AC's console success will determine whether more sim ports come to console, reiza said they were they interested in the consoles after they saw how well pcars did, iracing folks also said there is a chance it could happen if they notice demand for sim racers. Honestly its now or never for Kunos, PS4 users have no wheel based racing games coming out, xbox users have forza which they likely will get burnt out of by March next year. the success of kunos next spring will determine the future of sim racing on consoles at least in the near future.

Side note AC supports up to 8 cores for everything apart from AI(until 1.3 apparently). its not got teh best optimization but its not single core only, it would run extremely bad then

 

[TKFranz]

the biggest issue i see with the console market is that you its very hard to introduce something to their ecosystem, sim racing hasnt got much of a scene, we actually have to hope that the big players on youtube and other social media sites clock onto a sim on those platforms. Pcars did this very well, dont care if you think its a sim or not because the console players thought it was a sim, more importantly a metric ton of them brought a wheel for Pcars. Ac and other sims coming to console really need to get the advertising side done correctly and they need to understand the differences that the consoles users expect. Ive said it before and ill say it again, every sim company is watching kunos. Isi, reiza, sector3 they are all watching because AC's console success will determine whether more sim ports come to console, reiza said they were they interested in the consoles after they saw how well pcars did, iracing folks also said there is a chance it could happen if they notice demand for sim racers. Honestly its now or never for Kunos, PS4 users have no wheel based racing games coming out, xbox users have forza which they likely will get burnt out of by March next year. the success of kunos next spring will determine the future of sim racing on consoles at least in the near future.

Side note AC supports up to 8 cores for everything apart from AI(until 1.3 apparently). its not got teh best optimization but its not single core only, it would run extremely bad then

My apologies on the AC optimisation blunder. I meant the A.I. I was referring to a comment earlier in the thread. Specifically this;

"Also, the consoles of this generation are so massively underpowered it is sad. Real sad. 25 frames per second does not make for fluid racing, especially as the physics tick rates has to be therearound as well as the systems can not handle anything else. ACs AI calculations can use up to 80% of a core, on a modern I7 CPU for instance. This will not play nice on the consoles's 5 year old or more PC mid-level tech. My biggest disappointment this console generation actually is that both MS and Sony went for casual players and thus "maximum money-save mode."

 

[Brownninja97]

My apologies on the AC optimisation blunder. I meant the A.I. I was referring to a comment earlier in the thread. Specifically this;

"Also, the consoles of this generation are so massively underpowered it is sad. Real sad. 25 frames per second does not make for fluid racing, especially as the physics tick rates has to be therearound as well as the systems can not handle anything else. ACs AI calculations can use up to 80% of a core, on a modern I7 CPU for instance. This will not play nice on the consoles's 5 year old or more PC mid-level tech. My biggest disappointment this console generation actually is that both MS and Sony went for casual players and thus "maximum money-save mode."

There are a few upsides however. Xbox gets directx 12 support very soon, PS4 forces you to use their weird api which confused me when i tried using it either way both support around 80%(translates to around 5-10fps extra which is nice) more drawcalls then the current dx11 counterpart on pc. Its up to kunos if they want to utilize that, porting to xbox is very quick, can do it in around 2 weeks to a month ps4 takes slightly longer with its api differences. stefano said the console builds run way better then the pc build which i expected, kunos havent spent time on engine optimization in a while(shader optimization yes but core mechanics no). gpu power on the consoles is more or less fine, cpus will be pushed big time especially as both never use 100% so you can access other tools. yebis is going to be a bitch to port though, ive read a number of horror stories regarding it. either way 60fps will not be a problem for both consoles

 

[billymitchell]

Expect GT7 Prologue.

Polyphony is a top quality studio, and they can make GT7 to be the most visually stunning title on the PS4 and best console sim to date (when it's released), but it won't be in the first swoop.

Both GT4 and GT5 had a Prologue release: semi-polished games with limited but finished content. GT6 has become a much better game than GT5 ever was, but it took time, free content, and lots of updates.

As a franchise I always thought GT car handling to be best enjoyed with a gamepad, and I give them props for making their releases 100% playable with the d-pad and standard buttons, and not forcing thumbstick steering and trigger brake/throttle. Forza was the opposite, but that fact is more a function of the differences in controller design and quality between PS and Xbox pads.

Console sim titles have a space because the PC communities are comparably tiny to the volume of racers found on PS and Xbox. It's waaaaay harder to race against human opponents whenever the hell I want to on PC compared to a console. And with Forza's new driver skill/safety rank for multiplayer games plus dedicated servers, it will be possible to do those races without falling victim to a crash fest of bumper cars. Or at least that's what I hope will be the case.

I also hope +20min races become more popular among the console racers too, because racing without attrition isn't racing at all.

 

[Juliusz Baczynski]

He will be even more limited on PS4 than on PS3. At least PS3 had the cell cpu to harness...

As for PS4 compare it to a 2009 mid to low range PC. Thats your performance. Will that run a full grid of good AI and good simulated cars in a framerate above 15-20? Answer is no.

This console generation is actually LESS powerful than the one before but people have missed that point so far... they are a lot more efficient however.

Why would it be worse that last gen?? That is a strange statement of yours, they know what they are doing so don't worry.

 

[Steve William]

Go... go... Polyphony, decide for PC conversion!
Would be great!

Correction
Go... go... Sony... let Polyphony port it to PC

 

[Juliusz Baczynski]

People saying that Consoles can't run sims are completely wrong. They can. It's just never done because the market isn't there. You consider that AC can run on a single core, terribly optimised, and then consider how many cores a console CPU has (which is 8) and consider how well optimised GT7 will be (considering it's a title exclusive).

I race PC sims and I don't think I could ever see myself doing it on console, but I hate the fact people are ignorant to what consoles can and can't do performance wise.

I couldn't describe it better than you just did.

 

[Richard Eriksson]

Why would it be worse that last gen?? That is a strange statement of yours, they know what they are doing so don't worry.

Simulation is very much dependant on pure power, because it is very computation heavy. Multithreading some of the stuff is also just a pipe dream. Thus, you need single core speed.

This gen of consoles are more like a tablet with a mid range 2009 gpu. Multitask is great due to many cores. But in pure core speed they are too slow. And yes those GPUs was low end even on day 1.

If consoles have this immense power you speak of, why is the number of titles apart from 2d platformers hitting 60 fps synced on the consoles like 1 or 2?

But i do like consoles per se. Its not that i inherently dislike them. I own a PS4 this gen myself. But I am disappointed in the lack of power. Understandable to keep prices down on the other hand.

 

[billymitchell]

If consoles have this immense power you speak of, why is the number of titles apart from 2d platformers hitting 60 fps synced on the consoles like 1 or 2?

Because it's tedious to optimize a game for multiple cores and most console gamers are ignorant to smooth frame rates. In other words, the increase in costs to develop 60 fps cannot be justified in a business sense, and as a result, most developers/publishers do not make it a priority.

I've never played a GT game with consistent framerate; constant 60 fps is just a lower priority for Polyphony and their community hasn't complained loud enough to change it.

[Edit] Also, just because us Glorious PC Gaming Master Race have the option to throw money at computer component upgrades so poor and inefficiently programmed games can run at 144fps for our 144hz screens doesn't mean our games are better. Just means we are Glorious PC Gaming Master Race!

 

[NL-Jos]

I think (and hope) that gt7 will be a great comeback.
And if it is'nt, I think this good be the last version of gt.
Because at this moment so many People going to other race games and will stay there if gt7 won't be a sensation.

 

[Andy_J]

[Edit] Also, just because us Glorious PC Gaming Master Race have the option to throw money at computer component upgrades so poor and inefficiently programmed games can run at 144fps for our 144hz screens doesn't mean our games are better. Just means we are Glorious PC Gaming Master Race!

Amen to that. Thank god I am and always have been a member of the PC master race.

 

[DrKruntz]

Correction
Go... go... Sony... let Polyphony port it to PC

...YESSSSSssssss

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

GT7 will be the game to go to on PS4. AC I think will be dumbed down and has terrible bouncy crash physics in the PC so who knows what it will be like on a console.

Why does everyone think AC will be dumbed down? THe PS4 is quite powerfull (and faster then the Q6600 I first played Assetto Corsa on) and it's very drivable with a gamepad. And aside from that, the biggest market for racing wheels is still the console space. There's a reason those things are all cross-compatible.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

Don't really care for Sim-cades, as for AC & pCars being better on console than GT7, I won't ever know, been down that road........never again!

After reading all the hype I purchased GT6, then absconded with my sons PS3 which he rarely played anyway, even purchased some elite pedals to run with my CSW because PS3 didn't recognize my CST's.

Didn't take long to realise I wasted my time & money, compared to PC it doesn't feel like a Simulation at all, more sim-cade with lots of "Bling & Eye Candy" to compensate for the lack of feel. IMO GT7 will no doubt be an upgraded GT6 with greater levels of "Bling & Eye Candy" and 50 new cars to throw around some new tracks with gay abandon.

I do find the title most amusing though "GT the real driving simulator" now that's definitely debatable.

Oh well, "each to their own" as they say.

Cheers.

 

[Greg Doan]

Bring it, I mean bring it to the PC and lets see how it really stacks up to the real sim world. I mean really even the x-b people to bring it. Sorry I grew out of the game station stuff and put my money in my own build of a gaming PC and will never turn back don't have the time now.
But by all means game on and be safe.

 

[Thomas Alderton]

Why does everyone think AC will be dumbed down? THe PS4 is quite powerfull (and faster then the Q6600 I first played Assetto Corsa on) and it's very drivable with a gamepad. And aside from that, the biggest market for racing wheels is still the console space. There's a reason those things are all cross-compatible.

In your answer you have explained why I think it will be dumbed down. "It's very drivable with a gamepad" answers it all. That's why I say it's dumbed down because it will have to keep support in for controllers on a console for sure.

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

In your answer you have explained why I think it will be dumbed down. "It's very drivable with a gamepad" answers it all. That's why I say it's dumbed down because it will have to keep support in for controllers on a console for sure.

But, Assetto Corsa is very drivable with a gamepad *right now*. Why make it any easier?