Gran Turismo 7: Ultimate Assist Settings Guide
With the release of Gran Turismo 7, racing fans all over the world have a fantastic new simulator to sink their teeth into. As with previous games in the coveted Gran Turismo series, this entry goes for full realism, eschewing the more arcadey sensibilities of other racing games. If this is what you’re after, Gran Turismo has it in spades, with over 400 cars and 34 tracks with modifiable layouts, increasing the actual number of tracks to 97. But, if you’re maybe new to racers and you want to be eased into the genre, or if you just want to experience Gran Turismo 7 is the most accessible way possible, the game does, fortunately, have many accessibility options that can make the driving experience more laid back.
For new or aspiring racers who are looking forward to this part of Gran Turismo 7, I’ve compiled a guide of the most helpful settings to use throughout the game to make it less rigid. If you’re ready, check your engines and your ABS switch, and let’s get started!
Getting to the Assist Settings
If you’re looking to make Gran Turismo more accessible, you’re going to want to get to the settings options. If you haven’t participated in a race yet, you may be confused as to where to find these settings, as they aren’t accessible from the hub menu. To access the settings page, you’re going to want to get to the pre-race menu, meaning you will essentially need to select a race to drive in. After you’ve selected a circuit and race type, you will be presented with a screen that has an overview of the track you selected, a ranking board with some of the top lap times, and several buttons along the bottom. These buttons are Start, Settings, Ranking Board, and Exit. Clicking the Settings button will bring up options for altering many different settings, including Car Settings, Assist Settings, Controller Settings, Display Settings, and Ghost Settings. You may want to take the time to peruse all of these menus to optimize your GT7 experience, but I will just be covering the Assist settings for the purpose of this guide.
Assist Settings
Once you’ve reached the Assist Settings, you will be able to make changes to how your cars control, making them easier to drive.
Gears
This setting will determine if your cars have Automatic (AT) or Manual (MT) transmissions. For beginners, I would recommend going with the Automatic Transmission, unless you’re well versed in gear shifting and want the extra edge and slightly faster performance.
Assist Preset Selection
This setting will present you with the options of Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert. This may save you some time, as it will adjust all of the assist settings to match your skill level.
Traction Control
This setting gives you a slider from 0 to 5, and will determine the strength of the Traction Control. Traction Control is a feature that will prevent your tires from spinning when you accelerate. The higher you set the slider, the less your tires will spin when accelerating around a corner, for instance. But, this will also affect how quickly you can get back up to speed after slowing down for a turn, so careful experimentation with this setting is necessary.
ABS
Anti-Lock Braking System. Prevents your tires from locking up when braking. You have options of Off, Weak, or Default. The Default setting is probably best for new racers.
Auto-Drive
This setting will let the AI control when your vehicle brakes and steers. The options in the setting are Off, Brake, and Brake & Steering. This is basically the training wheels for the game. Might be helpful to start off with the full setting to learn when to brake and how to steer.
Driving Lane Assistance
This setting will put down indicators on the track for the best routes and when to start turning. The options are Corner Indicators, Driving Lane, and All. I’d recommend playing with All, as both the driving line and corner indicators are very helpful.
Braking indicator
This setting will alert you with flashing text when you should begin braking for a turn. Options are On or Off.
Braking Area
This setting will place a dynamically changing red area on corners. It will change in size depending on how fast you enter the corner. Options are On or Off.
Replace Car After Leaving Track
This setting will automatically return your car to the track if you run off course. Options are On or Off.
Active Stability Management (ASM)
This is one of the most helpful settings in this menu. ASM prevents your car from spinning out, which can happen very often if you’re inexperienced with racing simulators. Options are On or Off; I’d recommend leaving it on.
Countersteering Assistance
This setting will prevent your car from “fishtailing” which is what happens when you oversteer and your rear wheels lose traction. Options are Off, Weak, and Strong; I recommend at least leaving it on Weak until you’re fairly experienced.
Conclusion
I hope this guide will help you make Gran Turismo 7 a great, individualized experience. There’s no shame in assist settings in any game; they’re there to let everybody enjoy the game, even if they aren’t as skilled. Everybody has to start somewhere. Good luck!
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