Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Slightly Mad Studios have released the final image from their mystery Twitter teaser, showing off an atmospheric wet circuit under lights during evening conditions.
As we mentioned in an earlier article, SMS have been tweeting a countdown of reveal images from the new game as they build up promotion prior to Project CARS 2 hitting our shelves. So far we have seen official images from a range of weather conditions, including night and snow, as well as some impressive looking visuals throughout the game. Coupling this together with various other leaked previews and last month's game introduction leak, it looks like players are in for another visual treat with Project CARS 2.
So what do we know about Project CARS 2 so far? Looking around the internet I've managed to pull together all the information I can lay my hands on, but be warned - not all of the information comes from official sources and could easily be subject to change. Oh and it's taken me ages to find from loads of different places, so please don't ask for links as to where I got it from, because it was all over! I've tried my very best to ensure what I've noted down here was backed up with either screenshots or comments from people in the know.. so it (should) be reasonably reliable...
CARS
According to the official Project CARS website we can expect upwards of 200 vehicles shipping with the initial release. Due to the way gaming works nowadays and the ever present need to continue bringing in income, one would be safe to say this number will be padded out somewhat with post release DLC packs, as was the case with the original title. I've heard rumours that up to 50 additional cars might be added post release. So what cars have we seen so far?
- McLaren P1
- McLaren P1 GTR
- McLaren F1 GTR
- Ford GT 2017
- Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo
- Mini Countryman Rallycross
- Ford Raptor Truck / F-150
- Pagani Huayra BC
- Pagani Zonda R
- BMW 320 Turbo Group 5
- Ford Capri Zakspeed
- Formula Ford
- Ferrari 288 GTO
- Nissan 240Z Fairlady
- Mercedes C63 AMG Coupe
- Porsche 918 Spyder
- Chevrolet Corvette C.7R
- Ferrari La Ferrari
- Jaguar XJ220S
- Ford Fiesta WRX
- Ford Focus RS 2010
- Ford Sierra Cosworth
- Arial Atom
- KTM X-Bow
- Mercedes A-Class
- Volkswagen Polo WRC/WRX?
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
- Lamborghini Veneno
- Porsche 935/7 "Moby Dick"
- Ford Escort (Mexico?)
- Potentially entry level oval stockcar based on the 1990 Caper Monterrey from PC1
Again the official website for Slightly Mad Studios is used for reference here, and they claim that the new Project CARS title will contain no less that 50 unique locations covering over 200 different layouts, including for the first time loose surface racing and snow conditions. We don't know much about the tracks but here's what I can uncover so far:
- Sampala. A winding road covered in snow and ice as seen in the recent leaked game intro
- Brands Hatch. Not sure if it's to be the Indy layout or the full GP version - or both
- Classic Daytona Beach Road Course
- Mugello
- Monaco
- Fuji
- Texas Motor Speedway
- Spa
- Historic Monza
- Historic Le Mans
- Sachsenring
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Historic Phoenix
- Brannochbrea
- Laguna Seca
- Hell Rallycross track in Norway
- Wildcrest (fantasy RX track)
- Long Beach
- Although not actually officially confirmed, with VR usage growing considerably in the gaming industry in general and with Project CARS 1 having done such a good job of implementing support in the original release (including status as Oculus launch title) it's probably fair to say the new game will contain support for at least some of the Virtual Reality headsets. It is less clear how much support will be given to console VR versions of the game.
- According to the official notes from SMS we can expect eight different disciplines of racing in the new title. With Rallycross having already been teased plus circuit racing to and the previously leaked stockcar and Indy news, I suspect oval racing will also feature in a prominent way. As for the other five different disciplines, other than something around ice it remains a bit of a mystery.
- eSports Racing - yep it's popular nowadays and will be an integral part of Project CARS 2 "from day one". We expect this functionality to have broadcasting capabilities and some kind of driver matchmaking feature to allow drivers of certain earned skill points to be matched with equal ranked drivers. Expect something similar to what iRacing have in place, but with a bit more gloss.
- Enhanced weather effects. Again taking the leaked intro video as reference, it looks like PC2 will be going all out in an effort to impress with the weather in game. From the leaked intro it looks like we will be getting snow this time, plus a more dynamic wet weather puddle build up and changeable wind directions. "We'll now have it sunny in one part but there might be a rain cloud a few corners away"
- Dynamic weather seasons. You will now be able to set the game to simulate seasons and such things as foliage off track will change colour to represent the new season.
- Dirt can be dragged onto the racing surface and can only be cleaned by cars running over the affected area.
- Triple Screen support confirmed.
Other
- Judging by a recent Tweet from the official Project CARS account it looks like former BBC Top Gear Stig Ben Collins has been secured to add voiceover audio for the new game. For those who only know Collins from his Top Gear duty in the white suit, the 41 year old Brit is a rather accomplished racing driver in his own right, with seven victories and a championship trophy in the 2003 ASCAR championship standing out as some of his many career highlights.
- It is expected that SMS will continue to use professional racing drivers to aid the development of the new game. We know Nicolas Hamilton has been retained as a consultant for PCARS 2 but other names have not yet been revealed. New for 2017 DTM driver Rene Rast has posted a video of himself driving Spa in PCARS 2 so it wouldn't be a great stretch of the imagination to see him playing some part in the ongoing game development.
We will continue to bring you all the latest news and rumours with regards to Project CARS 2. If you have some information to share you think might be of interest feel free to post in the comments section below or drop me a PM directly.
Project CARS 2 is due for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC probably during the fourth quarter of 2017.
Check out the Project CARS forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussions regarding Project CARS on both PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Browse out modding database, engage with the community or join in one of our many League and Club Racing events. Its all here at RaceDepartment.
So after everything we know so far and the latest reveal images, are you looking forward to PCARS 2? Do you think the game will be able to pick up where the original left off, or will this be a sizeable step up from its predecessor? Let us know in the comments section below!
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