PC1 ISR interview with Andy Tudor (Creative Director of SMS)

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Decent interview, interesting tidbits about multiplayer, hope they go through with the bits he talks about.

 

[Chronus]

Really good interview. Adding it up to what ISR said in their latest episode, release is confirmed, as we all know, for late 2013...but we never know, having it ready is crucial. Then the content, and something that is, in my opinion, more than certain: pCARS is after realism and authenticity on several levels.

Hats off to SMS - especially to Andy T. for all the stuff he is willing to expose.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Ohhh thanks for the link! Is he "selling" Shift and S2U as hardcore sims with a casual mode or am I hearing it all wrong?

 

[Chronus]

Very interesting video, David. Good one.

It is rather curious - the intention, the objectives behind the planning of S2U and what we finally got.

Maybe that alone illustrates clearly why SMS no longer pursued the "big publisher/distributor" avenue and decided upon a different way of doing things (development, company and business).

And maybe we should forget about investors and similar types and concentrate on what is really important here: getting a good racing sim. As I have been saying, let them finish their job, I think they'll surprise us positively.

 

[DrJustice]

Ohhh thanks for the link! Is he "selling" Shift and S2U as hardcore sims with a casual mode or am I hearing it all wrong?

No you're not. However, dirt digging aside, this time around they're free of the "shackles", and there's nothing stopping them from producing a good sim. pCARS is on an entirely different level than S2U, and IMO we already have a fairly good sim. And of course there's lots more to come before release, including even better physics, as everybody here knows.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

While I agree that they are more or less free to do their thing without EA atm, it still doesn't change the fact that it feels like I'm driving one of these (in it's current state):

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one to dig for dirt or want to bash on pCars, on the contrary I WANT it to be good, it's win/win for me if it becomes a propers sim cos it's one more game for me to enjoy. But as it stands right now, it feels as immersive as driving the toy above sadly, it leaves me feeling next to nothing. Here's me hoping it improves.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Ohh and also; The fact that he marketed S2U as something for the Sim lovers just made him loose credibility in my eyes. Not gonna go on tangents about how bad this or that he or anyone else is, I'm just not gonna put much faith in what he says in interviews (cos I've played S2U, and imo it's very very far from a sim ).

 

[DrJustice]

While I agree that they are more or less free to do their thing without EA atm, it still doesn't change the fact that it feels like I'm driving one of these (in it's current state):

...

Now, that "factual" statement is even less accurate than anything SMS might have said about S2U - and I think you'll agree

I get your point though - hang in there, Kjell

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Last time I checked, wording a sentence "feels like" pretty much nailed it as a subjective observation not a factual statement

 

[DrJustice]

I don't believe for a second that "the fact that it feels like" means that you actually and factually think it feels like a Scalectrix kit - in fact, I think you may be exaggerating in the extreme

Oh, and I still get your point...

 

[Chronus]

The fact that he marketed S2U as something for the Sim lovers just made him loose credibility in my eyes. Not gonna go on tangents about how bad this or that he or anyone else is, I'm just not gonna put much faith in what he says in interviews (cos I've played S2U, and imo it's very very far from a sim ).

I think it is fair that we take what devs say in interviews with a grain of salt.

However, lets not lose sight of something crucial here: SMS knows people are paying attention to what they say and comparing interview content. They stand to lose a lot if they are putting forth smoke screens, they risk alienating the fan base they have if that is the case. Which I think is not.

As for credibility: the dependence of SMS on EA made all the difference - the distributor/producer dictates what can and cannot be achieved, patched or produced. Unless there was no dependence (I find it hard to believe in that), then SMS has fully justified what happened.

Why don't we all wait and see?

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

We will wait and see, which has been my point of view all along. I allowed myself to get higher hopes due to that interview I posted, but luckily David reeled me back in to remember that more often than not you can't believe a word a developer tells you (based on personal experiences). The proof will be in the pudding.
And yes I was serious about my comparison to the toy track, it immerses me about as much as pCars does in its current state and some of the cars even feel like they are on rails like that. Have to say the lotus 49 (iirc) was a lot more interesting, but not enough to keep me playing, I rather spend my time on other sims though.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

And maybe we should forget about investors and similar types and concentrate on what is really important here: getting a good racing sim. .

For me and my trusty G27, pre-alpha should be close to beta by now pcars is a better driving experience than Dirt3, F1 2011/12, so in a sense, they've already produced a good driving game, but whether they can or plan to build a PC version with at least the fidelity of GTR2 remains to be seen.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

it feels as immersive as driving the toy above sadly, it leaves me feeling next to nothing.

That's down to the center sprung nature of the current build, and I wonder what the final product will be like if they improve the TM/FFB, but don't remove the centre sprung feel....
One of the reasons I rate GSC Camaro so highly is that it has no centre sprung feel, and very little if any pendulum effect, which is impressive for a heavy wayward car.

 

[James Woods]

However, lets not lose sight of something crucial here: SMS knows people are paying attention to what they say and comparing interview content. They stand to lose a lot if they are putting forth smoke screens, they risk alienating the fan base they have if that is the case. Which I think is not.

They do, but to me they have been pulling crud from their asses since day one. All i have to do is load it up to know it's not a very good driving experience. And after all the stuff around here (i read those threads, didn't post though), i detest SMS. If i could be bothered to get a refund for my measly 10 euros, i would, but i just don't care enough to even bother.

But hey, if the ntm does some good and it starts to feel like a sim, good, but i doubt I'll ever feel comfortable playing this game, not with rf2 and AC there to keep me occupied in the hardcore areas and avoid what i consider to be a very odd and arrogant company.

also, just went looking for the forum and noticed it's hidden away now in "other sims". You know what? Good

 

[Chronus]

also, just went looking for the forum and noticed it's hidden away now in "other sims". You know what? Good

Hmm. Why good? pCARS has generated much interest since the beginning of the project, having it hidden is not logical if we take that into consideration. Of course, there was a lot of heat produced by several threads, and we know how things turned out (hats off to Ian Bell for taking the high road ).

Anyway, this interview by AT has many things to be read from, and all these matters/issues seem to be settling peacefully (interviews such as this help a lot).

 

[James Woods]

Good because SMS behaved atrociously towards RD.

The high road? Have you been following the same developments I did? Ian accused RD of lots of stuff, would provide no evidence to help them determine if the claims were true, then threatened to sue. The moral high ground you refer to is what? Backing down from the mess he created? Nothing impressive about that. If anything he has behaved atrociously and then tried to pretend it was all normal.

Unless he has apologised to RD for his behaviour and I missed it, he has done nothing but act like a baby.

I support RD fully. They are the ones who acted like adults and took level headed, appropriate responses towards Ian as all the baby tantrums unfolded.

 

[Chronus]

Your opinion.

Some will agree with you, others will not.

Mind you, it is easy to see why you have that opinion - you're the one who said SMS "have been pulling crud from their asses since day one[...]i consider to be a very odd and arrogant company".

I don't mix personal opinions on someone or some company with how good or how bad a racing sim is.

Now, this interview, as Marco's or Diego's, are what the simracing genre needs. Not wars against persons or entire companies.

 

[DrJustice]

Good because SMS behaved atrociously towards RD.

I dare say there was a lot of atrocious behavior on RD that led to it all.

I still see snide remarks and slagging off here. When are you guys going to leave it and start to behave like adults?!