Replacing Car XP and Car Points: Build-a-car

Suggestions Hub Getting Started With Suggestions Previously Considered Suggestions
1

In a different suggestion, I suggested removing the CXP and CP system entirely. I still support that suggestion by the way.

However, since I’m a man of solution, I offer an alternative suggestion, where CXP and CP are allowed to stay, in a way that should hopefully satisfy everybody. This is a concrete solution, with some real thought put into it, and it is definitely different enough from just axing the CXP/CP system that I feel it justifies its own thread.

First things first, for the sake of clarity:

  • By (career) event, I mean a single build + practice + race event
  • By (career) series, I mean a series of career events
  • By buying, I mean using credits
  • By owning a part, I mean being able to remove it and reinstall it at no (credit) cost.

Then, for the system to work, there are some required changes:

  • No locked parts. All parts are unlocked for all cars, in all game modes, including career, no exceptions, ever.
  • You buy parts with credits. And when you buy a part, it becomes owned.
  • Car XP still gives Car Levels. And Car XP is still earned the exact same way.
  • Car Levels gives discounts on parts. Up to 100% discount at level 50.
  • Car Points aren’t Car Level rewards anymore. It should become clear why in a minute.

What is Build-a-car?

It’s an alternative to the current CP system, that is completely decorrelated from Car Levels, and instead entirely based on career series progression.

How does it work?

Same as it is currently, when starting a series, you pick a car. Either one you own, or a new one that you buy for the occasion. You will use this car until the end of the series.

Same as it is currently, an event starts with you being given the opportunity to update your build, before you can move to practice and the race. If you quit the event before the end of the race, you go back to the build stage.

FIrst difference, each event has a fixed CP budget. Starting with 1000 CP for the first event of a series, and going up 1000 CP for successive each event. Players cannot go into practice and the race if the build exceeds the CP budget (and obviously any other spec restriction that exists).

(The value here is given as 1000 CP, but this can be played with, could be made different for different series for instance, non-linear, etc. 1000 CP though should be fine for most purposes, or at least a good starting point to tweak.)

During the build stage of an event, parts do not cost credits. Instead, they only cost CP. This does mean parts are installed but not owned. As all parts are unlocked, players are free to play within the limits of the budget to build a car that is fit for the next race.

A car entered into a series can still be used in other modes, and can be modified and upgraded in other modes. All upgrades applied during career mode remain installed outside of career mode and at the end of the series. But while these upgrades are installed, they aren’t owned (unless previously bought by the player).

When going back to career mode, players would always go through the build stage first, where their car would be checked against the CP budget (and any other event restriction).

Optional: completing a career event could permanently mark all installed parts (on this car) as owned.

Optional: completing a career series could permanently mark all parts (for this car) as owned.

Why is this system better?

It gives you this famous “sense of progression”. As you progress through a series, you do get to install more and more parts, and build a more and more competent (or not) car.

It forces you to give a thought to how you build your car for career events as you have a limited amount of CP to play with. Plus it’s literally “build not bought” since you can’t buy upgrades in career, so it’s not making liars out of the marketing department.

There is no grind. You can buy and upgrade any car in any way you want in free mode and multiplayer, same as you always were able to in previous games.

CP limits only apply to career mode, which is the only place it makes sense they exist.

You can still bond with your car if you’re that sort of person.

Limits and potential exploits

Players mights be able to pick a series, pick a car, and install 1000 CP (or whichever number) worth of upgrades for free that they can take into other modes without ever intending to play through the series. I don’t see this as a major problem personally, this wouldn’t be a lot of upgrades, and the credit cost of these upgrades should be fairly low anyways.

2

So, if I’m understanding right, the proposal is that an event has a limit in the form of the PI value and then the CP on top?

I kind of like it.

3

Man this is pretty in depth and I like it as an idea, would be a pretty cool implementation. You need to change the title of the thread though, I had no idea what you were talking about at first. Needs to be like “CP/CXP replacement idea” or something like that so we know what it is.

Heck maybe even add a yes or no poll to see the community’s reaction. I personally like the idea since it’ll use some assets that are already in place.

4

The only thing I would not be okay with is the free parts at level 50, unless they are car specific. People will probably want them to be manufacturer specific and that would ruin the game in the exact opposite way that they did with the CP/CXP. You need to be able to work for something, otherwise the system proposed here is what I can see them doing as it fits with 95% of the communities’ ideas

1 Like
5

The intent here would be to be car-specific (or model-specific perhaps). The idea is to reward players’ affinity with a certain car (or having spent hours grinding under the current system to unlock parts). The intent is certainly not to apply that at the manufacturer or division level. There are already manufacturer rewards, they can stay as they are.

Although regarding “work for something”, personally I hate the idea of having to “work” in videogames and I think driving the car you love is its own reward.

2 Likes
6

Then I am all for this. Would make things better for all. And by work, I don’t mean actually working. I mean not being handed everything you want right off the bat

1 Like
7

I truly do not understand those feel the need to have to “work” for something; it’s a video game not a career. Turn10 won’t pay your bills for playing their game enough. I have a job already. I do not want my escape from the mundane and drudgerey to feel like more of the same.

However, the plan as detailed in this post is a fair compromise and does a rather decent job of balancing actual progression, and not some mindless make-the-numbers-go-up, fill a status bar facsimile of progress with allowing players like me who want the freedom to make their own choices about car mods/builds.

So while I despise this idea that players need to “earn” the right to make their own choices, I can live with what is detailed in this proposal.

1 Like
8

And this is where the old system failed for me because it was the same monotonous run over and over again. I don’t want to work for everything but I want a sense of accomplishment. Where was that, when after a few days everyone knew what to use everywhere and there was no variety

9

This system isn’t any different. Every car follows the same upgrade path.

If anything, there is even less variety, since you cannot hope to be competitive in MP without either spending hours to grind levels to simply be allowed to make changes, or just buying the meta car and using that.

10

I’m not looking to be a meta player. So competitive MP doesn’t really affect my outlook on the game. Yeah, sure, that makes me a outlier in the scheme of things, but I think this system has more variety than most people realize. I like having to figure out what I can prioritize to get that extra tenth on a track. Does it work 100%, no. But the old systems, once you have, you keep. Does that work 100%, also a no. This suggested system fits all those things other than partial credit returns on parts in your inventory you are not using/ do not need.

11

I should have been more clear in my previous reply, I was referring to the current ChorePG system as is present in the game at the moment.

I like the proposal the OP made as a decent balance between those that desire that build progression and those who prefer the freedom to mod from the start and progress differently.

2 Likes
12

I also like the proposal. I do wonder if it’s an easy switch, which it should be. It could be a setting as soon as you start up and you could change between the two as you see best fitting your gameplay style

13

I want a progression system that’s not grindy like what we have now

1 Like
14

That sounds like a nightmare to program to me, having two different systems active and coexisting without one breaking the other and vice-versa.

There would be a (probably minor) balance issues considering the game currently supports car level restrictions, but car levels in the current game and car levels in my proposal are two different things (which could be solved by removing that option, or changing it to a CP limit restriction).

1 Like
15

That makes a good compromise, it keeps the progression and satisfy those that want easy tune their cars on umtiplayer

Is tno perfect but i think that is a ok compromise for those that still want the progression kept the most as it is

16

Please also consider voting here. [Multiplayer] No upgrade parts locked behind XP. Every part should be unlocked instantly!

17

This system makes infinitely more sense than the current one, I think replacing whatever we have now with this system wouldn’t make Turn10 look like liars/be inconsequential more than they already are.

18

I followed your link from the other thread. This is a good idea too, tying car points specifically to cup progression only and rewarding the player with the parts. It allows the new and the old ways of upgrading cars.

I do like my idea in the other thread of an overarching passive decrease to the overall grind time too though (I mentioned a +1% XP boost per driver level). Tying car level to a parts discount instead of car points is a great step in the right direction, but it still might leave the overall playtime needed to max out all the cars the same, the difference being instead of a CXP economy shortage, it becomes a credits economy shortage. I think we should be rewarded by the grind slowly becoming shorter as we play, either by a slowly increasing CXP boost per driver level or a slowly increasing credits bonus per driver level. Both of these things effectively achieve that and give us a sense of actual “progression” while also eliminating any FOMO from continuing to race your favorite level 50 cars (as it would reward you not only with credits, but with XP bonuses that would be effective on future cars you drive). That combined with everything you mentioned above I think would be perfect. As it stands, we’re looking at ~1750 hours to achieve the full car points budget on all cars, and even with parts being purchasable through credits, it’s difficult to tell if that number would actually decrease over time (because we’ll be running out of credits eventually and might end up doing the same amount of grinding to achieve the same endgame). Prices of cars/upgrades, car level discounts, and race rewards would have to be very finely tuned to not have a credits shortage and end up playing the same loop as the original system.

19

Personally I don’t think credits are much of a problem. Based on FH5 prices, upgrading a car to the top of its class, or even a class or two above, shouldn’t be that expensive.
But it would be trivial to boost credit earnings if necessary.

3 Likes
20

GRINDING to have a decent tune is like a CANCER in this game, an absolute waste of time, much more than the 1000 bugs they have.

We want to tune all the cars and search what car or configuration is better to us.
But is impossible if we need 3h to develop every single car.

Only with that, the game have a great improvement!

-Upgrading must to be quicker.
-Creating and sharing our own championships.

Rest is fix the bugs, add cars and tracks.

1 Like