As far as car selection, the staple of this project would be to focus almost entirely of domestic type vehicles. So, the goal for the player is NOT just to progress through the game and trade up to a brand new exotic to be able to compete in high performance events. Although, you can follow that model if you like. This project is all about having options and alternatives, but you are not required to excersice those options if you don't want to.

  A problem I see in the single-player aspect of most of the racers out now, and in the past, is they are hell-bent on making you try out all the different types of cars, particularly in GT and Forza series games. So if you've built the car you want to race- it almost feels as you never get a chance to race it in the equivilent of career mode (unless you want to keep repeating races at 2 or 3 shortened tracks, which you can't choose), as you're always having to change into other cars to compete in certain events to progress.

 

  Now, while I don't want you to be stuck with the first car you chose or found, I want you to be able to just keep, drive, build up and cherish a car you want throughout the game; reminiscent of Need For Speed Underground 2, how you can start and finish the entire game with the same one car- only with many many more choices out of the gate.
 
   The design for progression of the game is if you have a car set up exactly how you want it and enjoy driving it, you won't need to turn it into a monster car to get through the main parts of the game, as there will always be new races and events available for your car- in both competitive classes and unlimited/free-for-all. Effectively, 'level-scaling' most* Ai vehicles and assets to match yours to their relative degrees.

   Now, does that mean you can show up to an event in a stock motor little commuter car with sticky tires and coilovers and expect to dust a guy with an 9-second car that's built to the teeth in a drag race- No, certainly not. On the other side of the same coin, say you show up to an event that takes place in a mountain pass, togue run, or relentless twisties- in say, a 1000hp Muscle Car with drag slicks, don't think that just because you have a million horsepower that you're going to beat out a 300hp Lightweight Car setup for Time-Attack.

-Realistic Simulation Physics Engine                                                                                                                    
Pretty self-explanatory. The cars will handle as close to the real thing as possible, and be affected by your settings appropriately. Think Gran Turismo.

- Massive Tuning Library for Tons of Customization                                                                                           
Engine / Aspiration / Drivetrain swaps, (Any make of any engine can go in any car, as long it will fit in the bay)

Widebody (Aftermarket Kits or Viami Custom Specs) / Fender Flares, Aftermarket Body Kits / Ground Effects

Spoilers, Front and Rear (Vintage ducktails to modern GT style, all with customizable specs.)

Extensive Suspension capabilities,

Wheels (custom dimensions, forged, multi-piece, etc),

Exhausts (sounds and tips, as wells as system types),

Lights (Headlights, Tail Lights, Fog Lights, Auxilary lights, Strobes, Neons[if you're stuck in 1999], Etc) 

Interiors / Gauges / Seats / Steering Wheels / Shifters,

Auxillary Intercoolers, Oil Coolers, Blow-Off valves

and just about everything else that is commonly done.

   The FOCUS here would be on having a large number of "normal" cars available, rather than the FOCUS being on the few select hyper-super-space-techno-funk-race cars that are "street legal"...

but those will be around too.

 

 

 

-Open World with Dynamic Environments                                                                                                             
    From urban underground areas to high mountain togue passes, and from established racing circuits to off-road rally trails, and from large volume highways to sleepy suburbia.

Note/// While I want you to be able to drive anywhere you physically can-  running over curbs and going off road will affect or damage your car accordingly. You will suffer damage from it. 
 
   In a race, don't expect to just roll over a curb at speed like it wasn't there, it will affect you how it would in real life. Before taking a short cut, try to figure if the value of the position gained is worth the risk and/or damage involved. Epic comeback with reckless abandon? Stuff of Legend... so is coming across the line, clean as can be, in the lead.

   If you're not really into street/track cars, and/or have no regard for civil engineering or precision driving, you can sacrifice top speed, acceleration, and most handling characteristics on tarmac if you lift your vehicle and equip some oversized off-road tires. This will diminish intial effects of being harsh on your vehicle in the aforementioned instances, but prolonged abuse will result in damage, and costly repairs.

-EXPLORE!                                                                                                                                                               

   Find new cool roads to drive on! In your galavanting you will come across new businesses, shops, people, crews, landmarks, properties and rare cars for sale!

   While you're exploring roads (or off road) and you happen to find a line that you like to drive, "mark" it as you drive with checkpoints for a linear race, or only mark a start and finish point to leave the route up to whoever is racing. Save it to come back later and run it with or against friends and rivals.

 

  As you become more influential in the scene, you can organize a race on your "track". Whether it be a legal, sanctioned event, or a free-for-all street race with traffic and potential police interference- that depends on you and the company you keep, which will also affect your influence in the community accordingly.

-Non-Linear, Optional Story Mode                                                                                                                          
   Do what you want, when you want. Engage with who you want, disassociate with who you don't like or dont want to be a part of. Or don't engage in the story much at all, that's cool too. In essence, the story would be formatted as many instances and character interactions that build on eachother in various directions based on the player's decision, rather than a singular / linear plot line. 

Alternatively/// Choose what level of story interaction you want.

   The first optional story mode you can choose is to only have Action, which would bypass most story elements and effectively make the game play more like a conventional racing game. 

  

   The other optional story mode is to focus on the "narrative" with the characters and also focus on the business & management aspects, but have a limited amount of racing or activities.
 

-Rich Characters / Deep Character Interaction                                                                                                      
   Main Characters will have some kind of "story" to either uncover or involve you with in some way.

Characters will generally have two types of quests:

-Mission (Plot Progression)

-Personal (Bonus quests to become better friends (or rivals) and/or to learn more about the character(s) )

 

Some characters may have ongoing quests that persist through long segments or throughout the entire game. Only a few of the characters will you be able to engage immediately about personal matters.

*Progressing with specific characters and their stories will allow you to either become friends or rivals with, depending on how you interact and choices you make during story "quests".

-Deep Personal Character Creation/Customization                                                                                              
  Create your own character, as close to the real you as want, and as different from the real you as you like... within reason!  Continually update your character thoughout your experience by choosing new outfits and accessories and by getting new hair-do (and #beardlife).

   During the creation process you will have the option to develop a "Character Profile" which details your character's history with cars, preferences with cars and some traits that NPC/AIs will relate your character to, sometimes creating different encounters and interactions in certain instances/situations based on your Profile.

- In and Out of Car Experience***                                                                                                                            
  The Focus will obviously be about the driving, but you will be able to get out of your car, walk around, interact with other people, and do photo/video shoots.
*At this point in the concept, out of car experiences *may* be limited to specific hangout locations, such as landmarks, properties, shops and spectators areas at race tracks.

Your Starter Car
 

Dealerships vs Randomized Used Cars                                                                                                                 

   As you start the game, you will need to select your first car. Ideally, almost every production car in the game will be available at the start of the game. (Your starting funds will be determined by your character profile that you will have chosen in the intro sequence.) No matter what profile you choose, there will be options for you.

   You can either buy outright with cash, or go down on payments for a new or later model car, but- like in life, you will have to uphold your payments or chance the car getting repo'd.

   Searching for cars initially can be done at least 3 ways:
                             Visit Dealerships, Internet search, or via Friend Recommendation.

-Visiting a Dealership

Don't really know what you want, but want to see whats around?
   Dealerships will have a randomized assortment of stock vehicles available. These cars will also cycle fairly often. Model availibility will be consitent at Manufacturer Dealers, mostly colors and options will vary randomly.
However, Local Dealers, who are not brand associated, will not necessarily have consistent model availability and will vary wildly more than a Manufacturer dealer.

-Internet Search
Know what you want? Find it.
   You can filter Make, Model, Year, Vehicle Type, Drivetrain, Transmission (Auto/Manual), Color, Condition, Dealer/Individual and Price. These cars will be randomized by time. For instance, if you started the game over twice and did the same search, you may end up with a slightly different car.

   To expound, If you searched "1990/ Honda/ Civic/ Manual / Individual" the first time you may find a slightly used, 5spd Civic in fair condition, and it may have an aftermarket strut bar, and a cheap set of coilovers. The second time you searched you might find a hammered 5spd Civic, where 2nd gear grinds, the paint is terrible, but has a cam set, an exhaust and an intake. Or they might both show up in the same search if you leave the Condition/Price/Color filters open.

   Basically, each time you search, or each time new cars hit the market, it will have a chance of having upgrades, as well as an equvilent or lesser amount of damages. 
***Most production cars will ALWAYS be available via Internet searches, in one condition or another. 

   Generally, dealerships will deal more with stock cars, and Individuals will have cars with modifications, as well as possible defects of a similar to lesser magnitude.


-Friend's Recommendation
Have a general style or driving preference? Friends are here to help you find what you might like.
   At some point early on, you will either create a "Profile" for your character's preferences before you start playing, or if you choose to bypass that, there will be a short segment where an AI/NPC will ask you a couple general driving questions to get a feel for what might be of interest to you. This would be more of a beginner's choice, but not exclusively, as they may have a good deal or an inside line on a quality car.

   If you had created a profile, the aforementioned AI / NPC will be one of your friends, and depending on who it is may have access to higher quality or more modified cars for the same kind of money as a base car out of the gate.
 

-Vehicles... Kind of Matter.                                                                                                                                      
   Your choice in vehicle will matter in certain instances, such as delivering products and passengers, 
Factors include Storage Space and Weight Load, as well as general fuel consumption and tire wear.
 

   So if you plan on being able to move things and having a higher (honest) income potential, get something accordingly. But remember, that doesn't mean you have to be stuck driving your grandmothers station wagon- but you can if that's your style. And also if you're moving... "lucrative" products, then vehicle storage space may not necessarily be paramount.

 

^Remember though, you will NOT be required to haul around stuff, so if utility doesn't interest you don't worry about it- these will primarily (or only) be for optional "quests" or errands.
 
   Another point of mention on vehicle choice: style and customization, this is a factor of how "loud" it is (yes, that's a double meaning [think Need For Speed Underground 2's Star Rating system]).
-First is the actual sound (decibel level) of how apparent your location is.
-Second is "loud" in recognizability, or shall we say "uniqueness". Both of these factors are exponentially more important if you're planning on ... going "under the radar".

  Cops and rivals will be more aware of you in relation to how loud you get, both in style and sound. If you're sticking to the law these are not nearly as important factors, as you have nothing to hide... right? 

 

   Certain Characters in the world will have their own specific leaning and access (or lack there of)  to each major organization. Meaning, the more you help or hang out with each character, that will affect the influence of the major groups, as well as the major groups' perception of you. 

 

Here are a couple possible archetype pathway examples.

--/// Engage in Illegal Street Racing. 
   The gateway to delve into the Underworld of the City, street racing, illegal errands and deliveries, getaway driving, shady business. Participating in these occurences give way to the lucrative underground criminal syndicates, who are at constant war with the officers of the law and rival groups, either by directly opposing them or doing questionable business in the shadows.

 

   A high stakes game, but the payout is substantial for winners- not to mention the street cred and bragging rights. The more influential you become in this scene, the more business opportunities present themselves. Climb the ranks for more bank and privledges, or start growing your own game and topple the groups in place. Rule cool or by fear, this path is all about respect and success.

 

   Not interested in running the business? Or not even interested in the money making-machine that is the underworld? Just want to be the fastest street racer out there, go do it. Something that you hear people talk about when your out and about. Be as stealthy or as obnoxious as you like. 

 

                                                                       Become a legend.
 
--/// Become an Agent of the Law Against the Underworld.
   Become an associate and serve the public, while keeping your town or city safe. Or go undercover into the underworld- Always looking over your shoulder, constantly vigilant of not blowing your cover.

 

   As an Associate, you're really free to do as you please, but are obligated to keep the police and government officials appraised of whats going on in the city. What you tell them, compared to what you see, is up to you.

   

   If you decide to become an Agent, then you've become more committed to the Force. As such, you are required to gain access to the criminal underworld, and report from the inside. Always anxious, never trusting anyone or growing too close, as they could end up in the crossfire, while everything you've worked for falls apart. Help the public good where you can, or play double agent, doubling the stakes, spreading corruption and destroying the structures in place from the inside out... on both sides of the fence. Your call.

--/// Help Local Businesses, and Local Groups.
   There's a small group of enthusiasts looking to start something good in the community. They're striving to purchase some land in an abandoned industrial complex to have a number of sanctioned, public, closed circuits for racing and local events as well as garage space and business potential in nearby warehouses and offices.

 
   Help them out by participating in sanctioned events to help promote the movement, or help behind the scenes by helping deliveries, other industry functions and, if you choose, invest in a business to have some additional income proportional to that business's success. Boost the local economy, be in good standing with the law, which in turn helps protect local businesses.

 

(Also while in good standing with the law, you can organize and hold legal Rally Events on blocked off public roads. Participating in rallies increases your discount rate and reputation within local business circles.)
 

-Multiplayer                                                                                                                                                               
   The intent would be that other players blend in and are part of the world, as opposed to dominating the game world presence. 

  Participate in Races, Rallies (Driver + Co-Pilot), Relay Races and Deliveries, Photograph or Film your buddies. Roll in a party, Road Trip to familiar locations, or search for new locations and points of interest and gather more experience/influence depending on your crew and each crew members experience.
 
  Go in on business ventures together with your friends, which will carry over to the "single player" experience and be shared in both players game experience. Effectively shaping the world around you depending on you and your friends decisions.

   Start a crew / outfit / gang / driver's club / whatever with your friends, as well a number of NPCs you meet and befriend throughout the game.

 

 

   *However if your chosen name is totally hipster and exclusively original and uses lots of _underscores_ or little xx"x"xxs and \\\slash/// marks, you may be refered as "that one group"... but we're not heartless- even if that's your groups name, you can still select a seperate voiced option for a "nickname" for your ragtag rebel alliance to be referred to as.

 

   Optionally, you may select (voiced) or write some custom terms that best describe your club's style that will be displayed in association with your club. For Example, if you're focused on drifting, you could put something like "Drifters", "Drift Club", or something like... "Slideways Specialists :D" as your club's description. Or, if your club is about being make/model exclusive, put down what you want in- you can also make owning a specific vehicle a requirement to gain entry into your club f that's your flavor.

 

 

 

 

Create a Logo
   You may also completely design your own logo / standard / banner / coat-of-arms / whatever for your group, or you can selct and combine from some pre-made designs that will hopefully be a bit less generic than your run-of-the-mill-extremely-lame design choices often featured in situations like this. Yay creativity.

 

   Here you can meet up, hold car shows, make the hub for starting certain events and races/rallies/relays/road trips (depending on properties, you may also hold race events on your property). You may also store personal cars and parts for free(or rent), alternatively you may donate cars and parts directly to newer members, or to admin/group leaders to distribute accordingly (if you run a cool club). 

 

   As an Admin/Group Leader, you can also choose if you want a free swap lot in your property- basically a lot where any member may donate cars, parts or blueprints for any other member of the same group to pick up for free, or without checking in with anyone- Unless you choose to make the lot have a check-out process.
   
   Your clubhouses may also gain the ability develop prototype parts, if you have a number of members with specific skills and specific equipment pertaining to what you want to develop. You may also save and share blueprints you have developed yourself for the betterment of your club, or a tune to help make it easier for some noobz. ( Blueprint Examples - Custom Spec: Body kits, Widebodies, Aero, Engine specs, Suspesion tunes, Graphics/Paintjobs etc, even full car setups/builds)

 

  If you develop a custom one-off part, you can sell it to the community at whatever price you deem fit. Theorhetically, the design process will be extensive enough that there will be tons of customization in the custom design department, that you and your friends and people you meet will have their own "touch" to whatever they develop.
 

-Shop Challenges / Rivalries / Discounts                                                                                                               
   Shops will post challenges/bucket lists for you, complete them and you can get discounts, sponsorships, and sweet hookups such as free garage spaces, prototype parts and all sorts of things.
 
   For example, a shop that caters and sponsors drift events, may have a challenge for you to perform a continuous drift around a specific set of turns or a landmark. The same shop might also have a 'bucket list' challenge for you, such as entering 10 sponsored drift events, or winning 5 events, and so on. Both of which contribute to the players progression in sponsorship to that shop.
  *Some shops may share some progressive goals.

 

-Skills / Traits***                                                                                                                                                        
   As you play the game you can develop some skills that can augment your experience, while not necessarily directly affecting the actual driving in the game. 
Just a few skill ideas are things like:
-Mechanical Competance (DIY installation, repair perks)
-Welding (DIY Perks, Material and Tool expertise and effectiveness)
-Fabrication (DIY ability to install / design just about anything aesthetic)
ETC

Then for general examples in traits I have things like:

- ( Increased awareness of Police, or Rivals, Instinct Hints for discovering locations)
-Handy (Increased efficiency in DIY)
-Business Savvy (Easier to obtain discounts in business deals)
-WaveMaker (Popularity/Noteriety growth rate increase)
-Adventurous Spirit (Increased sensitivity to Instinctual Hints)
-Mentor-Mentality (Increased impression on followers)
-Magnetic (Increased gravitation of NPCs who have like values, and increased distance from those with opposite values)

ETC

*Skills you, your friends, and Ai/NPCs in your crew possess will carry over to your active party. If characters possess the same skills, effect of the shared skill will be stacked.

-DIY Minigames                                                                                                                                                         
   Do It Yourself installs or repairs improve your skills and familiarity with materials. Doing things yourself allow you to bypass labor costs for installs. These actions can be done using minigames, that offer a bit of a technical insight into car modification and a bit of difference in gameplay to change the pace at times.