PC2 Project CARS 2 Released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC

[Paul Jeffrey]

Highly anticipated racing simulation Project CARS 2 has been released today, marking the return of the best selling franchise to both console and PC systems.

Developed by Slightly Mad Studios and community backers from the world of sim racing, using the experience of professional race drivers the likes of former Top Gear Stig Ben Collins and sometime Renault Clio racer Nicolas Hamilton, Project CARS 2 looks set to be the most ambitious racing project yet from the British based development team.

Featuring over 180 cars and 60 locations on launch and benefitting from live track technology, advanced weather effects and class leading graphics, Project CARS 2 looks very likely to become yet another best selling release across all platforms following release today.

Unfortunately we have not been able to get access to an advanced copy of the game prior to launch, however in constant quest to bring you all the news and opinion from sim racing (haha, well actually because I cant resist a racing game) I will be purchasing testing this thing thoroughly tonight, with a view to writing up an article over the weekend with my first impressions.

About the Game

• 180+ licensed cars from iconic manufacturers
  
• Full 12K & VR Support
• Tested and tuned by pro racing drivers
• All-new motorsports (IndyCar, Oval Racing, Rallycross) join old favorites incl. GT3
• LiveTrack 3.0: Dynamic surface & weather physics affect vehicle performance and handling in real-time
• New loose surface racing (ice, dirt, mud)
• Full 24-hour cycle featuring real-time atmospheric conditions and seasonal ambience
• State-of-the art physics model
• Revamped gamepad handling
• Class-leading Esport capabilities

Project CARS 2 is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Check out the Project CARS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment to catch up with the latest news, engage in lively discussions with the community, download some mods and get yourself out on the track in online races for both PC and console.

Well it's here! What do you think? Win, Lose or Draw? Improvement over PC1? Serious rival for the main PC racers? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Damage Inc]

Perhaps there should be a rule that people who have a personal financial interest in the game should not be allowed to remorselessly attack those who criticise it.

Jesus wept......no-ones financially involved in PC2..SMH I truly dispair. I didn't even get involved in WMD this time round.

 

[Sigmar Bomar]

I'll add my part.
Physics & FFB - with default FFB options I felt lost. Jack Spade settings helped and I'd say it's good now, maybe few more tweaks needed. One thing I see others have mentioned is the weight transfer feel is either missing or very weak. Tire feel on the other hand felt real good.
Graphics - it feels kind of inconsistent quality wise. Nords late evening with cars on Ultra, headlights on - I got goosebumps! Some other tracks, especially road surface looks so bland (e.g. Road America).
AI - first corner...
Multiplayer - really need to update filtering and sorting. Also, it's really hard to understand at first what's going on in each session. Probably need some time to get used to it.
UI - some issues like using mouse/keyboard at the same time can mess up scrolling through options. Car setup handling seems odd. I saved some setup and could not delete/get rid of it later on. Also, some car tuning options are hidden in menu within menu and there is no option to map direct button (e.g. Traction control +/-).

Overall I feel this game has potential to be my second choice after iRacing (and yes, over AC).
There is a lot of content (cars/tracks/weather/career mode/community events/time trials), options and for me it feels weird if some say it's not worth the money. There's way more stuff to do than in AC (which I don't play mainly due to lack of features). It's easy to blame the game for trying to give options when other games offer so much less (no features >> less chance for bugs).

 

[William Wester]

Ok ive been searching for this option.. can you please tell me where i can turn off the car driving itself out of the pits. Please and thank you. I cant foe the life of my find this.. And i am by no means a pcars hater. I actually quite like this game. Otherwise why would i buy it on day 1 .

I see someone else commented on pit control. Again Greg, I was only making a point with my response, not anything directly toward you. I remember missing a number of things in rF2 early on, a very deep sim that took some time to familiarize myself.

 

[William Wester]

I don't support that mentality either hence why i have 600 hours on PCars 1 on xbox and own every current sim aside from PCars 2 as i wont be able to give it the time as i am balls deep into an RF2 and RRE obsession...
I honestly think on PC there are better examples and whilst RF2 is available (cost me £11.99) i dont see the point in PCars 2...

You make a very good point regarding sim of choice and time. Many find their preference and stick to it. I tend to buy them all as I enjoy the journey - but a master on none. The only issue I have (not directed at you) is negativity just because a new game isn't something their interested in playing for whatever reason. If someone has no interest, why do they even bother commenting.

 

[William Wester]

Amen to that Ryan.

In the end, it´s always just someones opinion isn´t it?

A great thing is that on Steam you can buy, try for a while (under two hours) and get a refund if you don´t like it. Fair and square. And then the decision is based on YOUR opinion.

Personally I purchased it, have tried it for little over an hour - and... well I am yet to discover the amazing leap forward from PC1, but then again - the possibilities in PC2 are more than enough for me to keep it, and yes I am sure I´ll fire it up once or twice a week and try out the different cars, tracks - and oh sure... the Career option. This is what keeps me at it the most. Love career modes...

The Steam 2 hour return is nice... but for some games it's not enough. I think I had 1.5 hours just getting things in PC2 to my liking - it's a pretty deep game. Take rF2 for instance, there is no-way someone is going to get a decent feel in 2 hours. There is so much under the covers that takes time to flush out but once you do, and are more of a sim gamer than a game gamer, you find the gold.

 

[William Wester]

Probably few people are going to kill me for that I am willing to write down.

But god damn it, for me: the Project Cars 2 is a great compromise and mix between rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa.

I had rF2 for 2 hours and got refund due just technical issues, butAC which is great and has the superb tire model, is a main simracing game on my PC.

Of course AC is great, but it lacks the 24h mode, PC2 has all in one.

You can do WEC, VLN, ELMS, IndyCar or Rally Cross races.
The main thing is that it has all major GTE/GT3, LMP1, LMP2 cars. With the 24 hour mode, you can imitate all major WEC/ELMS/Blankplain races... Is any other game which has it? At the start? I doubt. Even if iRacing has it, you need almost 1000$ to have all needed cars, but in pCars for 59,99 you have it right away on start.

If there comes a DLC with Audi R18 2016, Toyota TS040 2016 and Porsche 919 Hybrid 2016, I'll buy it without hesitation.

Of course game has some issues. Technical issues but which new game has everything working? There will be always few bugs at start which were not found in beta testing.

For me the game has almost everything, and without assists is challenging same as AC or RF2, or even R3E or iRacing, of which free versions I tested in the past.

But the thing is, you shouldn't have to think twice about getting a slammed by your opinion of a game. If you enjoy and want to share what interests you that is what these forums are for. The fireworks "usually" only go off when someone does a comparison to another game, this always ruffles the "mine is better than yours" feathers. Project CARS does seem to rub some people the wrong way, more than any other sim, I can't quite figure this out. No one is saying it's the next best thing since sliced bread Ok, marketing people do but that's understood based on their position/job. Gran Turismo - "The Real Driving Simulator" - marketing!

 

[Rob Milliken]

Ok ive been searching for this option.. can you please tell me where i can turn off the car driving itself out of the pits. Please and thank you. I cant foe the life of my find this.. And i am by no means a pcars hater. I actually quite like this game. Otherwise why would i buy it on day 1 .

In case you have not found it yet

options/game play single player

to set it on your in game server its under the realism tab

 

[Ole Andreasen]

I'm a busy man, I'm not reading three paragraphs of excrement.

I have reported this post Ben Collins.

Andrew - PLEASE shut up this insane guy, to stop him from polluting this forum. Ben Collins - again - attacks a long, totally solid, and fair post, in the most abusive way. The man is utterly mad, obviously.

 

[Rob Milliken]

I'm a busy man, I'm not reading three paragraphs of excrement.

To Buzy ? out clubbing baby seals?
lol <jk>

 

[GP20]

What will happen when your rate number will reach zero ?
Because mine should be at zero before next week end.

 

[Greg Latty]

In case you have not found it yet

options/game play single player
View attachment 213148

to set it on your in game server its under the realism tab
View attachment 213149

yup found it. thanks anyway

 

[Metla]

Take rF2 for instance, there is no-way someone is going to get a decent feel in 2 hours.

I gave RF2 15 minutes, and I'm fully satisfied I made the right call.

As it was I deferred even trying it for quite a few years due to the fully mental purchase system they launched with.

 

[kondor999]

The AI is pretty bad compared to rF2, AC and Raceroom. But it has amazing weather effects, which nothing else has.

I wish AC and PC2 would get together and have a kid. That kid would be the Max Verstappen of sim racing games.

PS - This is more amusing if you already know that Max's mom and dad were both race drivers.

 

[Boby Kim]

Bad AI huh....so another pratice lap game from SMS. Ian...im impressed. I will not be bothered even trying the game and refund. I will spare myself the frustration

 

[MPortnoy]

The AI is pretty bad compared to rF2, AC and Raceroom. But it has amazing weather effects, which nothing else has.

I wish AC and PC2 would get together and have a kid. That kid would be the Max Verstappen of sim racing games.

PS - This is more amusing if you already know that Max's mom and dad were both race drivers.

Eww no thank you, we'd have a lot of 1st turn crashes (even though i admit Singapore wasn't his fault).

On a serious note, i totally agree. PC2 with AC AI would be awesome. The more i try it, the more I like the physics/FFB but for now all i'm doing is hotlaping and testing cars cause quick races/career are a waste of time.
It took a while for AC to get the AI dialed in and tbh i'm not even sure it will ever get as good in PC2, but at least they're looking into it. One can only hope

 

[gianlucaP]

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[gianlucaP]

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[Nick Gregory]

Jesus wept......no-ones financially involved in PC2..SMH I truly dispair. I didn't even get involved in WMD this time round.

Can confirm, nobody is financially invested this time around. Although, having my name in the credits and an AI driver in the game, a nice shirt and a nice poster is good enough for me.

 

[randMracer]

I have over 10hrs now and the AI doesn't seem quite as bad as yesterday. AI was competitive and not spazzing out like they were before. They've been pushing little fixes through Steam all day, so maybe they fixed some stuff.

I just ran Sonoma with the Caterham SP300r. Early morning and light rain. (VR looked awesome). And the AI seemed fine in that race. Ran Bathurst last night and the AI was kind of crazy. Maybe they haven't patched everything yet, idk.

Read up and did a little tweaking on the FFB and it's feeling good. Overall things are not as bad as everyone is saying. The first day was kinda of rough and I was skeptical, but today things are much better. Yesterday I thought I bought shite, but today I'm having fun with it. Not the shite, the game.

I was totally against buying this after the FFB headache of the first one, but this one is a lot easier to setup and finding your preference. The learning curve is 100 times easier.

I bought it a few days before release and it was $10 off, plus I had some refund money in my Steam wallet, so I got it for $38. I know, Theoretically the wallet money is still coming out of my account, but when it sits in there for a few months, it doesn't seem like it's as painful as paying the full amount at the time. Is it just me that thinks that way?

At times it kind of feels like pCars 1.5, but then there are quite a few noticeable improvements. And with all the content and variations, I actually think it's a pretty good buy.

 

[Vojko Music]

I have tested PC2 for a few minutes and i must say I am amazed! The only problem so far is a spotter which is useless for AI xD