6 months ago i'd have said any track editor which is accessable to the masses is going to be pretty fugly, even with LittleBigPlanet on the market (which is comprehensive, but not really easily accessable to anyone without sitting through tutorials and a lot of trial & error). Typically the only easy peasy method of creating a track is like building scalextric, 4 types of corners, straights, chicanes, bridges... and the end result is a custom track but a fairly limited one which removes the real creativity people desire.
Then along came ModNation Racer, our saviour.
If you havent seen it, take a look:
HD SD
I have to admit, i cant wait to get my hands on this track editor, the video above shows the developers creating an attractive though fairly simplistic figure of 8 track, a reasonable amount of scenary and landscape, and all while showing what's possible and a couple of test runs, and they've created a track which would be a perfectly fine user generated content type track inside 5min.
If you swap out the toon graphics, and instead replaced it with fairly generic but photo realistic models, then IMO something like that wouldnt harm the GT5 community.
Okay, you couldnt replicate Monaco down to the smallest detail (is it in GT5?), and you probably couldnt really accurately replicate many tracks because I dont see how you could implement all the bumps and niggles tracks have... but from a purely fantasy track level, open green landscape, i dont see why something like Westhill or Aston couldnt be recreated using tools as simple as what ModNation Racers use.
IF GT5 has a track creation tool, and its still a very big IF, then this IMO would be the best way to go about creating something that is accessable to everyone. They showed just how easy it is to create an attractive track with various features, and with no effort at all. They're both Sony assisted studios, so some sort of collaboration could have been in effect... but thats just speculating on rumour
i'd pay full retail price just for a competent track editor like MNR's in GT5, likewise LFS, how you deal with so much user generated content when a lot of it is crap... i dunno, but just like in LBP, it doesnt take long before word gets around of what's worth looking at, and paticular 'artists' work is followed.
I've never believed we'd get a tool like this for GT, ever. I never believed it'd be functional and still accessable, but MNR shows maybe it isnt that complicated.
Eitherway, im hoping the ModNation Racer beta comes along soon, hell i'd settle for more videos of it in action.