Topic: What we want to see in Mario Kart 8

This thread was specifically designed for features that you want to see in Mario Kart 8. Flaunt your creativity, and discuss other's ideas to decide what we want to see in the next Mario Kart installment.

I'll get things started with a few ideas.

First, a customizable number of laps.
Although well-designed, several people were disappointed (including myself) that Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road was only one lap. This issue will no longer be a problem with customizable lap amounts! Grand Prix will have a predetermined number of laps, but in other modes, you could choose the number of laps and race to your heart's content. How about a 10 lap epic on Rainbow Road? Or perhaps short, one lap bursts to see who's the best at working quickly. This option would work best both offline and online: offline VS mode would be very suitable; creating online communities would take advantage of this as well.

Second, the return of classic balloon battle.
Balloon Battle has been a mainstay of Mario Kart games since its inception. It wasn't until Mario Kart Wii that the format of this beloved method of battling was altered. This new format allowed players to return to battle with a penalty. Wins were determined solely on score. In the old format, each player was allotted three balloons. Players were eliminated when they had no balloons left and the win was given to the last player standing. In Mario Kart 8, an option should be given for both formats, with players choosing either strategy or chaos. Classic balloon battle works easily in both individual or team events, with wins determined by the last player/team standing.

Finally, DLC race/battle courses.
Nintendo has had a very decent foray into the land of DLC, and could be further expanded into Mario Kart 8. Nintendo could create completely original race or battle courses or they could recreate retro courses. In retro courses, they could sweeten the deal by including items that were present in their respective Mario Kart game (anybody remember the feather?).

And those are my ideas. What are yours?

just bring back and improve the chaos of online battle matches from Wii (same with the regular courses honestly) bring back mission mode or something comparable and do some semi-advanced things with online and I'm cool. I guess. Also, for the devs to play Kirby Air Ride until they learn how to make gliding add much to the game.

I do also always like the often asked idea to have the courses change every lap.