Yup, me too. Potential is there but it depends on Turn 10s delivery, and Turn 10 hasn't been the best in respect to thinking out of the box in regards to features and they are known for holding back on features even when they said they will deliver it (night driving in Forza 5 anyone).
This is what I mean by thinking out of the box. I'll blow up and go crazy if 3D Puddles does all the following:
- Forms due to rain and river/pond overflow (remember, Forza also features fantasy tracks which is probably the best tracks in the game).
- Water runs off from hills and form at the bottom of it, especially from dynamic weather.
- A puddle spreads and becomes more shallow when a car runs over it and, depending on the weather and water volume, dries over time.
- The puddle/water affects the handling.
- In rain, the size of the puddle increases to a certain point over-time. Of course, there has to be a cap.
- The water/puddle sprays thus affecting the vision of the rear car.
- Depending on the volume of the puddle, the water can spray onto your own windscreen thus making you have to turn on the windscreen wipers to clear the dirty water (windscreen wipers must not be automatic, it has to be a button that you have to press).
- Depending on the track, the puddle can be quite dirty greyish or muddy brown. The dirtier the water the longer it will take to clear the windscreen. I.e. if it's a sunny day then the screen will take a little longer to clear and if on a rainy day it will be very quick to clear.
- A feature that allows you to scan/overview/walk-over a cou1rse so you can figure out what tires would be best to use for race day, just like what professionals/advance drivers do in real-life. During this mode, the game should provide suggestion like an assistant saying things like, "Be careful, I think water can foam here or, look out for that puddle" and even suggest what type of tires to use. Together with a mini course map, Sega Rally 2 style, it should give a percentage of how much of the course is wet along with marking of hazards such as puddles. Again, all the info will be essential for picking the best tires for race-day.
Anyhow. We'll see in due time but I don't have faith in Turn 10 to be honest. Again, its due to their history.