The Power Pack DLC for Gran Turismo 7 is something different, really different.
You race against the GT Sophy 3.0 driving agent in a series of tricky challenges, culminating in a Gran Turismo series staple – 24-hour races.
While you can save your progress mid-race, you cannot hand over control to the computer, in a management style reminiscent of prior instalments’ – B-Spec mode.
This was despite ‘B-Spec’ seemingly appearing in event-specific builds earlier this year.
According to Series Producer Kazunori Yamauchi, there’s a very good reason for this:
“I can’t say that it’s impossible, but there are a few hurdles involved in that,2 he said when asked about a possible return of B-Spec via the Power Pack.
“One of those is how we handle the AI.
“[For GT Sophy] we do reinforcement learning and train a lot of different agents at the same time, [then] pick and choose the faster and the well-behaved ones.
“Actually, we don’t know until we actually do it [the learning] whether they turn out to be a good driver or not.
“Compared to the in-game AI that we’ve had in the past, in the aspect of controllability, GT Sophy AI is a lot more difficult to work with.
“I you do B-Spec, you want to direct the driver, but that’s actually quite difficult when you’re working with the neural network.”
GT Sophy is a unique driving agent, developed in collaboration between Polyphony Digital and Sony AI. First seen testing in GT Sport, it was added post-release to Gran Turismo 7, and an upgraded ‘GT Sophy 3.0’ is your only opponent within the Power Pack.
It uses reinforcement learning to understand not just pace, but racecraft, and can be a stiff opponent.
Until the DLC, it could only be used in single races without a sense of progression.
Power Pack “I still want to make it better”
During our review, Traxion enjoyed the Power Pack DLC’s curated approach, increased challenge and GT Sophy’s racecraft.
It’s also somewhat of a curveball, a different approach to Gran Turismo.
“[The Power Pack] is a very new trial for us, and we have had very good feedback,” highlighted Yamauchi.
“But for me, I still want to make it better. We’ll continue to make that effort.”
When asked to clarify if there will be further Power Pack updates, the answer was “it’s a possibility.”
Among the optional add-ons, there are holistic changes to the in-race HUD, such as seeing the time gaps between drivers more clearly and which tyre compounds are in use.
When queried if these changes could be rolled out into the main Gran Turismo 7 experience, Yamauchi said with a smile, “I think it would be better to.”
Chat with the Community
Sign Up To CommentIt's completely Free