Another important detail for atmosphere: the moon shouldn’t shine too strongly. At night, the sky should look like in a real city, with light pollution from the buildings and street lights, not an over-bright moon. A proper night sky with city glow would feel much more authentic.
Also, sunsets should be beautiful and immersive, like many modern games already show – it adds a lot to free roam driving.
Outside of races, there should be no side activities at all, to keep the focus and arcade style. The only exception could be a physical speed camera system, where your car’s speed is measured – nothing else.
