PC1 Little review..

Sun · Mar 31, 2012

Hi guys has any of you played the latest build? If yes please tell me what you guys think of the game cause im not sure if i should buy it and become part of it, so yeah give us a little review of the handling, physics etc.
btw im a sim racer, i play LFS, Rfactor and GTR 2 I sure the physics of pCARS wont be as good as them but is it like SHIFT 2? cause that was bad lol is pCARS atleast drivable? i wanna hear from other sim racers!

Ivo Simons · Mar 31, 2012

Its a better game in terms of physics as Shift 2 etc.
But FFB atm still has alot of input lag and they cant seem to get rid of it with every build. So its abit uncertain if the final game has it.
As in terms of a sim. Its in between of Shift and rFactor/LFS etc. Its abit simcade titel. It can be a fun game at the end but dont expect it to be the new rFactor 2/GTR3 ot any other sim in that catagory.

If you btw decide to join. You need to be quick i believe as soon you cant join anymore.

Micas_WMD · Apr 1, 2012

pCARS is pre-alpha software, and while people have their opinion of the current state of the physics, it will be an evolving process for many months to come. Answering the question "is it drive-able", the answer is yes it is. Some cars might need a bit more setup work to get them as you like, and some are very good with the default setup. It's not Shift 2 - entire subsystems re-written.

The vast majority of members do not have any input lag - there seem to be a small number of members that report it, and SMS is working to perfect both the FFB and the physics. Making assumptions about the the "sim-ness" of the finished product is, by definition, useless because there is at least a year remaining in the development of the title. The intent is to make it class leading in every category of simulated racing. They've already got the graphics taken care of - nothing else comes close.

It is true that if you want to join (I recommend at least the team member toolpack for weekly builds), you should do it quickly. SMS has secured the balance of the budget funding and new member sign-ups and toolpack upgrades will be halted. This is to ensure the integrity of the revenue shares for all members by not over-funding the budget. If you go with the "full member" toolpack, you'll receive a copy of the retail game when it's released in addition to revenue shares due that toolpack level.

And the forums are a lot of fun. The community is quite good now.

David Ignjatovic · Apr 1, 2012

Micas_WMD said:
The intent is to make it class leading in every category of simulated racing.

To some degree, Iracing tried that and have 30k members on the books.....so do you think the GFX bump will allow the game to break the 1million sales barrier?

Andy_J · Apr 1, 2012

Micas_WMD said:
The intent is to make it class leading in every category of simulated racing.

I'd say more SIMCADE than class leading simulated racing. It's main customer base will be on the consoles and therefore will most likely be dumbed down, unmodable and very similar to other simcade games like GT5 and Forza.

Lee Ross · Apr 1, 2012

Agree with Andy for me it felt like a fixed/refined SHIFT2, possibly what SHIFT2 was originaly before EA jumped in. It's better obviously than SHIFT but don't go expecting anything close to the big boys like NKP or rF2 when it comes to fidelity and realism to the physics and FFB

It feels more refined than the SHIFT titles but once you get up to the limit and over that is when the arcady side rears itself again like the SHIFT titles. It doesn't punish you really when you go over the edge.

I tried to find something more recent to show what i mean. The video below as he goes over the crest at 1:08 onwards at at that speed and ferocity you would expect an open wheeler like that taking air like that to loose it when it came back down, at least step out, have a wiggle or whatever, instead it bounces. It looks very odd. It's also a car that has been in from day one

!

Andy_J · Apr 1, 2012

Oh my gawd yes. That is way too arcadey for me. LOL

at 3:29. The physics are terrible. It just looks terrible too. Way to go yet for this title to be called a class leading simulation.

Sun · Apr 1, 2012

Thanks for the feedback guys, I am aware that it is pre alpha and i know the game still has a long way to go, and i've decided to buy it!

Lee Ross · Apr 1, 2012

Andy Jackson said:
Oh my gawd yes. That is way too arcadey for me. LOL at 3:29. The physics are terrible. It just looks terrible too. Way to go yet for this title to be called a class leading simulation.

That's the replay of 1:08

EIF · Apr 1, 2012

I'd group it with GT and Forza in terms of simulation, simcade is the best way to describe it right now.

Andy_J · Apr 1, 2012

I'll just wait for the final release demo and I'll try it then. Eye candy does not make a game.

Kazumi · Apr 1, 2012

D'uh I'd rather have one issue less then one too many after jump and takeoff

Car at landing should at least give a f*** . Not that it automatically makes it spin, that depends on many things. IMHO the "bounce" must look like that, it just should happen a few ms later, which of course makes it bounce much less then.

Also when braking and then accelerating before takeoff the jump should look more even, at least in non heavy downforce cars. Doesn't work in every sim though either. Maybe worth a try here...

Andy_J · Apr 1, 2012

The physics look wrong don't they. Can't nail it. Reminds me of the first Colin Mcrea rally games from codemasters.

David Ignjatovic · Apr 2, 2012

Eifion Evans said:
I'd group it with GT and Forza in terms of simulation, simcade is the best way to describe it right now.

Yup...I'm thinking that we should be asking, "is it worth buying this racing game", as obviously, millions and millions think so on XBOX and PS3, ie, buying accessible simcade games.
I remember playing Toca3 on a keyboard, I had heaps of fun, so this will probably slaughter that, but trying to match/surpass established sims is plain ludicrous atm, and given that many of the problems I experience in this game are similar to what I experienced in both Shift1/2, it seems like they haven't learnt their lesson either.

David Ignjatovic · Apr 2, 2012

Andy Jackson said:
The physics look wrong don't they..

They're alive/exaggerated, they're meant to stimulate you every second......thing is, many people would probably like that, but I don't, especially if it's unrealistic.

Lee Ross · Apr 3, 2012

Interesting interview with Mr Bell in the latest AutoSimSport.

He was asked if they see iRacing, rF2 as competition and replied with...We see are ourselves as a more realistic GT5 or Forza. Think that basically says everything i feel about the title. He also said that basically it's there now and it's now just about polish and new content and features

http://www.autosimsport.net/

Kazumi · Apr 3, 2012

Lee Ross said:
He also said that basically it's there now and it's now just about polish and new content and features

Yes, they just need to work on it.

He also said it's 25% finished...

Geodomus · Apr 4, 2012

as far as i remember, autosimsport was marked as "the worst press release" by the community over at the forums. They got so much wrong (them stating that it changed to Boxed this month, when i believe it was 3 months ago, and them also not realizing that there have been announcements that Ian made a deal with a publisher, also that "MyLoadBase" thing is just plain wrong)

please don't take this as a source. Best thing to take as a source is to talk to some member that is really active in the community, and ask him how he feels about the game, and what kind of games he played before (obviously, someone coming from F1 2010/11 arcadeish is going to say that pCars is a sim, while someone coming from RF2 might say it the other way round).

At the moment, you can't really rely on reviews. Some magazines write junk into them (has been discussed on the forums), some just post screenshots or videos. As said, best is to ask members how they feel about it.

Kazumi · Apr 4, 2012

I disagree. They also follow Ian and his crew for more then 5 years (the online mag ASS)

It's not believable when they just communicate "everything is better then what Ian said"

As I said in another forum, Ian is free to correct some things he (or his precious investors) feels misinterpreted or misinterpretable.

The article itself (not the interview parts) is certainly not worse then the average press stuff.