F1 2011 First impressions after playing the game

[Johnson0311]

Well just finished my first race with Force India. Let me just say the new suspension system is a handful to get used to. I lost a front wing twice in practice. Lets just say if you activate DRS don't do it at a wrong spot or you'll pull a Maldonado and spin out.

So far managing KERS and DRS is tricky in practice and qualy. At no point was I within a second in the race but I qualified 18th and finished 12th meeting my objective.

The graphics don't appear that much better and the washout effect is kinda odd. Modders will fix that I'm sure fast enough.

Career mode is now managed with a laptop and no more ugly lady... Helmets are going to have to be modded in again.

No Senna for Renault.

Fuel mixture is kind of a neat addition and my gas light came on during the second to last lap and I was not in a position to gain a position so I just turned it back to normal.

Engineer seems like he barely talks at all now. To early to tell if this is good or bad. Seems like all sector times are good in qualy.

Massa was pole along with Button and Petrov. Vettell was an embarrassing 14th.

Any other questions let me know.

Also I'm playing with 20%

 

[tmunz88]

Well, the graphics was improved.. Car handling improved.. not so bad laaaa

 

[lerre]

Ive played the game since yesterday, so far all seems exellent. Really like that you can truly manage your low speed corners not just hope you have the right amount of throttle. There seemes to be a lot more depth allround, i especially enjoi the updated AI.

However i had a real strange moment today. I was playing china (carrer mode) and all was well upp to the end of quali 3. The "result screen" came up and showed me my position for the race, but instead of moveing me to the race it just passed straight thru to turkey...
Anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[Sean Lander]

I'm on the Xbox 360 with a Fanatec GT2 Wheel.
So far I'm finding it much better than 10. It's harder as the tyres are less forgiving but easier because the car is way more predictable.

My biggest disappointment is in the Force Feedback dept. It still doesn't come close to the likes of Forza or Gran Turismo.
It's a bit better but I just can't get the feel of loss of traction like I can in those games.

What's really weird is that Fanatec say the Spring and Damper settings don't work with the 360 but if you adjust them on the wheel they make a MASSIVE difference to the way the wheel feels.

 

[kelaroost]

I'd argue that anything lower than 30fps isn't "fine". 20fps is close to unplayable on racing games.

I agree but i only did it on that huge res to see the results.
my usual fps is around 58 on 1920x1080 with shadows droped a little.

 

[Rotax]

i don't get it why they don't release just a good F1 201X.

They make always the same things wrong, they don't listen to the community and so on, they must be silly.

 

[Scott Main]

Firstly, Hello! Long time lurker, but never posted much.

I've been playing this for most of Saturday now (although I stopped to watch the real F1 on TV!) on the PS3. I've done a single full distance race in GP mode (McLaren, assists OFF, pro AI, clear weather) after checking out a few circuits and getting the hang of the new handling. I have to say, so far it's a big improvement over release-day 2010.

I notice a lot of complaints about various little things, and can't help wonder why they are so upsetting? Sure, some of the background scenery looks a little crappy if you stop to do some sightseeing, but surely the whole point of F1 is to be barreling along at the best rate of knots you can possibly manage? What little scenery I had time to actually notice at racing speeds looked fine to me.

There is a minor framerate issue which I notice tends to manifest itself when you are near the pits during P/Q, but it's not as bad as it was in 2010 and it's certainly not a game breaker as far as I'm concerned.

The AI backmarkers can be a pain in the rear end to pass when they take a dumb line or slow down on the racing line, but then how many times this season alone have we seen the guys at the back do similar things in the real thing?

I'm not sure either why there are complaints about the handling being too easy and the cars being unspinnable. I can only assume that either the assists make it uncrashable (don't know though, I refuse to use them), or else there are a lot of virtual Schumachers and Sennas out there. I won't presume to second guess which...

Personally, I like the handling. Unlike last year, it's now possible to actually attack the kerbs and get through low speed sections without having to say a prayer to the gods of throttle-finger-fine-control first! The cars do feel much grippier than before, but I seem to remember this being a common theme in commentary early in the season; the amount of grip compared to the old Bridgestones.

The big surprise for me was Eau Rouge, which I expected to take flat out but found that just a slight lift was required. This was on the high-speed quick setup though, so I guess it ought to be possible to dial the car in for flat out. Out of curiosity I looked up the 2011 race on YouTube, and right enough in some videos you could hear the rasp of the magic-throttle-gizmo thingy as the drivers lifted on the way through. But then, if memory serves Eau Rouge is not always flat out - for much of the late 90's and early 2000's after the 98 rule changes it couldn't be taken flat?

Albert Park was just fantastic though - being able to really attack 11 & 12, and not having to tiptoe around 16 any more was great stuff!

Having never driven an F1 car, I have no idea how authentic it actually is. What I do know is that F1 2011 delivers a fantastic racing experience, well packaged and fun to drive. Sure, there are very minor niggles and glitches but the ones I've noticed so far have hardly made much, if any difference to the overall experience.

TL;DR - much better effort this year, Codies. Room for some improvement but a sterling effort all round and a must for any fan of F1 or challenging racing games in general!

 

[JDdeBoer]

I'm just getting started with F1 2011 - I use Microsoft 360 wireless wheel - I can not figure out how to get out of the pit and start the practice session... I could not find any help in the manual. Please help if you can...

 

[Scott Main]

The Engineer has a "Go to track" (I think it's called?) option. Just look over at him, open the menu and off you pop!

 

[JDdeBoer]

Thanks I'll give it a try...

 

[Mike Coleman]

The big surprise for me was Eau Rouge, which I expected to take flat out but found that just a slight lift was required.

There's a quote from Ayrton Senna: "Everyone says they take Eau Rouge flat out, but nobody really can" :wink:

I'm glad they made it realistic.

 

[resmania]

I think graphic is pretty much same and I hate the low-res fonts in race monitor and laptop.

And there's frame rate issue in replay

I'm using GTX560Ti with maxed setting, frame rate drops to 30 in certain angle.

 

[Louis Wedding]

There's a quote from Ayrton Senna: "Everyone says they take Eau Rouge flat out, but nobody really can" :wink:

I'm glad they made it realistic.

Except for the fact that every f1 car has been taking Eau Rouge flat for about 10 years now, blanchimont is the exact same, shouldnt be any lift or braking but you have to because you either run wide or spin.

 

[Mike Coleman]

Except for the fact that every f1 car has been taking Eau Rouge flat for about 10 years now, blanchimont is the exact same, shouldnt be any lift or braking but you have to because you either run wide or spin.

lol and how do you know? Because they say they do?

 

[Louis Wedding]

Do you even watch the sport? The TV HUD's which show how much throttle and braking the driver is using shows they have been taking both corners flat. This year even in the changing conditions on dry tyres Alguersuari took Blanchimont flat AND with his DRS open, try that in F1 2011 and your in the wall. It seems codies dont seem to watch the sport... or want to put in the time to implement physics which simulate any sort of aerodynamics

 

[Mike Coleman]

Blanchimont is not Eau Rouge.

If you think the TV HUD is 100% accurate, OK

 

[Griffin247]

well as with all new realises theres always gona be sum minor issues but after playing 2010 for nearly 400hrs i am very impressed with 2011

 

[Adam Hartwell]

What AI setting are you using? i might be wrong but in 10 there were some talk about that the setting made a difference, I.E Professional AI was faster in the wet than Legend.

I first used Legend but then went to Professional which seems the best mix and fit, it feels great fighting with the AI now.
Also, i spoke with a few friends who got the game who complained that the AI don't crash and i beg to differ.
At Monaco, Barrichello was driving infront of me and i saw him lock up and break his front wing in the 30 mph hairpin, plus in Silverstone in wet Practice, i saw a Mclaren spin off onto the grass at Brooklands.

 

[Adam Hartwell]

Blanchimont is not Eau Rouge.

If you think the TV HUD is 100% accurate, OK

Sorry for the double post))
Bro, they take Eau Rouge and Blanchimont flat, Blanchimont is basically 130r from suzuka it's just a quick flick left and your through and Eau Rouge has been sanitized it's just a quick flick left and right, listen to the engine as they come through, you can hear the slightest dip when the car bounces on the bumps but there is no lift.

 

[Mike Coleman]

This year even in the changing conditions on dry tyres Alguersuari took Blanchimont flat AND with his DRS open, try that in F1 2011 and your in the wall. It seems codies dont seem to watch the sport... or want to put in the time to implement physics which simulate any sort of aerodynamics

DRS was not allowed on Blanchimont this year. Only on Kemmel straight.

http://www.f1plus.com/en/news/item/794-drs-zone-defined-for-spa-francorchamps

But we're getting off topic...

 

[Igor Tomičić]

Except DRS is available on entire track during practice and qualifying...