When it comes to Ghost’s rebooted take on Need for Speed, this is the area the team have put the most attention into. Ever since the release of Need for Speed Undercover in 2008, fans have been clamouring for the return of an open world NFS game with customization and a focus on lower-end cars, and Ghost certainly have delivered on that front.

Cars and customization are two aspects Need for Speed really excels at and does unlike any other racer on the market, but there’s always room for improvement. There are plenty of lower end, mid-range and even hyper cars missing from Need for Speed’s roster, and a lot more improvements Ghost can make to its customization system.

The Car List:

As it stands with Need for Speed Payback’s car list, there are over 70 cars with plenty of diversity that ensures there’s something for everyone; JDM, Old-school Muscle, European supercars, SUVs and Offroaders just to name a few. Need for Speed doesn’t need a packed car list with over 600 cars like Forza does, as each car is designed with a slew of customization options, meaning adding more cars would detract from the amount of customization on offer.

That being said, I do expect to see at least 15-20 new vehicles in Need for Speed 2019 – a similar number of new vehicles added to Payback from 2015. As good as it would be to see, we can almost certainly rule out the new Toyota GR Supra making an appearance, and with Ferrari’s strange stance on customization rules we most likely won’t see them either. So what can we expect? Here’s a few that I’m personally hoping for:

· Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

· Mazda RX8

· Subaru Impreza (2005)

· Hennessey Chevrolet Camaro Exorcist ZL1

· Ford Mustang RTR

· Subaru Impreza 22B-STi

· McLaren Senna

· Dodge Challenger (1970)

· Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale

· Hennessey Venom

· Bugatti Chiron

· Mazda 3 MPS

· Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

New Customization Options:

Ghost has almost every aspect on their car models covered customization wise, however engine bay, roof scopes and interior customization are missing options that fans are clamouring for. While at least two of those options aren’t particularly necessary as there isn’t a first-person camera in Need for Speed games, part removal glitches in Payback showed just how detailed the engine bays can be.

A removable hood option with different engine bay options would make a fine addition, however this is completely dependent on manufacturers and how far they’re willing to let Ghost go, so this most likely won’t happen – but a man can dream!

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Vinyl Groups (Decal Creator):

Need for Speed has a solid livery editor, arguably one of the simplest to use when compared to other racers on the market, however there are two features missing that would greatly improve the editor experience and help simplify it further: Vinyl Grouping/Decal Creator.

Much like you would in an editing program like Photoshop, decals should be able to be linked together as a group so each decal in that group can be moved and modified together, rather than individually. In doing this, these vinyl groups should be able to be saved and shared online for other players to search for and download, with kickbacks for the number of downloads and ratings it gets, much like in Forza.

Exhaust Sound Tuning:

Other than looking menacing as they protrude from the back of your car, changing your exhaust doesn’t do much, which is contrary to real life where modifying your exhaust completely changes how a car sounds.

Need for Speed is renowned for their over-the-top engine sounds and backfire crackles, and I’d love to see vehicle sounds change when changing the exhausts this time around, which perhaps could be previewed in the garage when testing which exhaust to go with.

Spacers:

One of the best additions to Forza Horizon 4 was the inclusion of Spacers, which allowed you to pick from a range of different options how far the front and rear tires protrude outwards. This would be an excellent addition to Need for Speed, especially when several vehicles with wide body kits don’t match up.

Customizable Garages:

Payback featured multiple purchasable garages however each one remained static and looked identical to one another. Being able to customize garages would give each one a sense of identity, perhaps even placing photo-mode photos on the wall and unlocking new items as you level up to hang around the garage, would be a huge game changer for those especially who spend a fair amount of time in their garages customizing their cars and designing liveries.

More Ghost-Made Parts/Brands:

Ghost’s Need for Speed games tend to focus their customization parts on authenticity, using real life brands such as Rocket Bunny and Liberty Walk. This was also the philosophy behind Need for Speed 2015’s customization, whatever you build in the game can be built in real-life. However, the game featured some unique Ghost-made parts – parts specifically created by their vehicle designers – and Payback introduced much more.

They even made an in-game brand called ‘The Alchemist’ specifically for these parts and I’d love to see more of these fictional parts and brands in Need for Speed 2019. They allow Ghost’s designers to let their creativity run wild and create parts that are truly unique and badass for players who don’t want to be based in reality.

Rim Filter/ Improved Menu:

Rims in both 2015 and Payback have been a bit of a cluttered mess, and it only got worse when Payback added more rims in its last content update in June 2018. In 2019 I’m hoping we see an option to filter the rims, not only by manufacturer but also by style.

One issue that’s plagued Payback is the performance when browsing the menus, particularly in the Rims section. On console the game tends to stutter when swapping between customization option or vehicles at the dealer/garage, and even more so when it comes to the rims which hopefully will be optimized in 2019.

Vanity Item Store:

One of the most annoying things about Payback was most of its new customization features, such as neons and airbags, were locked behind a lootbox system called ‘Shipments’, which only gave you randomized items and not the ones you wanted – something most games in the industry are moving away from.

Need for Speed 2019 should adopt a similar store model to Gran Turismo Sport and Forza Horizon 4, where you can earn currency separate to the normal in-game money and spend it on which item you’d like in addition to exclusive rotating items in the storefront. This could also be used as a way for microtransactions in the game (which no doubt it will have, it is an EA game after all), which is a far less egregious model compared to loot boxes and would incentivize players more knowing they can pay for the item they want.

Be sure to check out our other in-depth Need for Speed 2019 wishlist articles releasing over the next few days and weeks, and follow us over on Twitter to stay up to date with all the latest Need for Speed and racing game news!

Need for Speed 2019 Wishlist Series: Cars and Customization