Gran Turismo 7 is a sim racing game available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. This video will look at the motor accessibility of the game and will look at options and settings that might help to make gameplay easier.
All of the footage in this video has been captured on a PlayStation 4 console.
When the game is first started the player has to select certain control configurations and assist presets before they can start playing. These options are Steering Controls, Pedal Controls and Assist Preset Selection. Steering Controls allows you to select how you steer the car.
The options are Left Stick, Directional Pad and Motion Sensor Function. Pedal Controls allow you to select how your car accelerates and brakes.
The options are L2 for brake and R2 for accelerate, the Cross button for accelerate and Square button for brake or the Right Joystick. Pushing UP or FORWARD on the Right Joystick will cause the car to accelerate and pulling BACK will cause the car to brake.
Assist Preset Selection allows you to choose what level of assistance the game gives you when driving. There are 3 presets available each tailored to a different skill level. These are Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. The Beginner Preset automatically adjusts the following assist settings.
Auto-Drive is set to Brake & Steering. This means that the game will provide some assistance for braking and steering.
For braking, the car will automatically start braking at suitable points to help the player control their speed. This option is not a full assist, and the player will still need to monitor their speed and may need to physically brake at times.
For steering, the AI will prevent the car from oversteering and can help with smooth transitions through corners. This is not a full steering assist, and the player will still need to physically steer the car. Driving Line Assistance is set to ALL. This activates corner indicators and full driving line which makes it easier to navigate around the track. Braking Indicator is set to ON. This means that text and your HUD will flash telling you when you should brake.
Braking Area is set to ON. This means that an indicator for the best place to brake will be displayed above the track.
Replace Car After Leaving Track is turned ON. This means that your car will be automatically replaced on the track if you drive off.
All of these options can be changed at any time by going into the Settings and selecting the Assist Settings at the beginning of a race.
In the Assists menu you can customise these assists and you will find a few additional settings that will have also changed, depending on the preset chosen. These can be used to help make the game more accessible. Some of these will be activated when the Beginner Preset is selected.
Selecting Automatic Transmission means that you will not have to change gears so the game can be played with fewer buttons. With the Beginner Assist Preset, this is automatically changed to Automatic.
Traction Control sets the extent that the engine power will prevent the wheels from spinning. The higher the value, the less the wheels will spin, making the car easier to control. However, exit speeds from corners will be adversely affected.
With the Beginner Assist Preset, this is automatically changed to 5. ABS alters the effectiveness of the Anti-Lock Braking System, which prevents tyres from locking under braking. Setting this to Default means that the braking force will be controlled. With the Beginner Assist Preset, this is set to Default.
With Stability Management turned ON this will help prevent your car from spinning out. With the Beginner Assist Preset, this is automatically changed to OFF.
Counter Steering Assistance automatically rights the car when it has oversteered. With this set to Strong, even a minimal amount of oversteer will activate the system, making the car easier to control. With the Beginner Assist Preset, this is automatically changed to Strong.
Before you start the game you will also need to select which difficulty you would like to race at. The options are Easy, Normal and Hard. The default that the game suggests is to race on Normal, but Easy is recommended for beginner racers. The Easy option means that the AI-controlled rivals in world circuits are slower. Difficulty level selected does not affect prize money. To change the race difficulty, go to the Gran Turismo symbol in the World Map and select Options. You can then select Race Difficulty.
The default controller layout will vary depending on what steering controls and pedal controls are selected. If you do not want to use the preset controller layout, you can remap the buttons to your own choosing. To do this you can go into Options, by selecting the Gran Turismo logo in the World Map. Or select the Controller Settings menu before you start a race. You can only use the preset options for steering, but you can remap the pedal options and the other gameplay buttons. The only other buttons you cannot remap are the Share and Options button.
In this example L2 is being mapped to Accelerate and L1 is being mapped to Brake.
In the Controller Settings menu, you can also change the controller sensitivity. You can only access this in the Settings just before you start a race, not from the World Map. Controller Steering Sensitivity adjusts the steering speed and response speed of the front tyres. A lower value produces a slower response time, which allows for smoother steering. A higher value makes the car more sensitive. For steering wheel users, this menu also has some force feedback options.
Thank you for watching this video, if you have any questions about accessible gaming, please contact SpecialEffect.
Gran Turismo 7 is a sim racing game available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. This video will look at the motor accessibility of the game, and options and settings that might help to make gameplay easier.
All of the footage in this video has been captured on a PlayStation4 console.
Video Timestamps (clicking on links will take you to view them in YouTube):
0:00 Intro
0:41 Basic Controls & Assist Presets
2:13 Beginner Assist Preset
5:27 Race Difficulty
6:08 Control Layouts
7:39 Outro
Music: Flight of the Inner Bird by Out of Flux and Ezra by Notize (both Artist.io).
Developer Resource:

For more video examples of how developers have improved the motor accessibility of their games, please visit https://specialeffectdevkit.info/