PC1 Project Cars Delayed Until March 2015

[Bram Hengeveld]

Originally set for a November 2014 release the news reached us today that Project Cars will be re-scheduled for March 2015 meaning that fans of the multi-platform racing title will not be able to play the anticipated title during the gaming intensive holiday season in December.

Namco Bandai sent out the following press release, after rumors that have surfaced around the internet about a possible delay, officially confirming what was publicly known since yesterday.

Slightly Mad Studios and BANDAI NAMCO Games Europe S.A.S today announced they will be moving the release of Project CARS for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC to March 20th 2015 in Europe and Australasia.

The move positions the title away from the competitive holiday scene dominated by household names while affording the team at Slightly Mad Studios additional time to extend and polish their ground-breaking and accomplished next-gen racing experience that’s been created alongside a community of over 85,000 racing fans and real-life professional drivers.

“Our goal has always been to deliver a landmark title that encompasses the wishes and desires of racing fans from all around the world; something with features and content powered by the community that provide a truly unforgettable and pioneering experience” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios. “Whilst a tough decision to make, the change in release date allows the game the greatest chance of success and visibility, and the opportunity to polish the game even further to the high standards that both ourselves and our community demand and expect. We’re eager for you all to see what we’ve been working on in just a few months.”

Project CARS aims to deliver the most authentic, beautiful, intense, and technically-advanced racing game on the planet. Crowd-funded by a passionate community that has been involved in the development process from day-one to create their ultimate racing experience, Project CARS includes the largest track roster of any recent racing game, a huge variety of motorsports to play, a freeform and authentic career mode, world-class graphics and handling, dynamic time of day & weather, and a suite of community features and connectivity that leave the competition behind in the dust.
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[Kenny Paton]

At least it's getting there. I ran a few laps with the BMW M3 GT around Spa and it feels okay, not quite as good as GSCE or AC handling wise but it is driveable. So more time hopefully equals better game.

 

[Tony Panagopoulos]

I guess they now have more time to improve the graphics

Indeed

 

[yellowpinkie]

Hi all

while obviously it's sensible to delay til the game's ready, it'd be easier to take if I was one of the early access people, would love to try it sooner, regardless of bugs etc. Anyone know whether there's any chance they'll allow new people in?

ta

Ric

 

[Tripokaridos]

No problem at all. Raceroom and Assetto are the best for now

 

[Tripokaridos]

Indeed

I guess i have to get 2x 295x to be ready

 

[GWGiamundo]

Probably they tried out AC 1.0 RC lol

 

[RaceNut]

Running a triple 4K setup will be very demanding but, I run a single GTX 780 and and have no issues running a dozen or more cars in the rain at high settings. That's not triples, not 4k but, not pushing the card even close to it's limit either. I haven't tried to see where things top out graphics-wise as I mostly play using the Rift and that works great with the 780 as well.
There are lot's more optimizations to make still so I don't think Pcars will be as demanding as some believe. In the end, it' about striking a balance between what you can afford and what level of graphics you can live with.

 

[Dan Allen]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm kinda getting bored of this waiting now. They build up a load of hype around the release date, only to push it back 5-6 months!

People aren't going to wait forever, the people going to move on to something better. The new AC update is pretty fantastic, why should anyone bother to get excited for pCars now? From what I've seen of the latest builds of pCars, it looks pretty polished anyway? By the time March comes around, it'll be so polished that we should expect to see our reflections in it!

 

[Steve Bird]

No shocker there as its got a bit to go before it's ready for release.

 

[RaceNut]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm kinda getting bored of this waiting now. They build up a load of hype around the release date, only to push it back 5-6 months!

People aren't going to wait forever, the people going to move on to something better. The new AC update is pretty fantastic, why should anyone bother to get excited for pCars now? From what I've seen of the latest builds of pCars, it looks pretty polished anyway? By the time March comes around, it'll be so polished that we should expect to see our reflections in it!

How it looks and how it plays are completely different things. It'll be great when done but, there are tons of things that need tuning, polishing and optimizing. The details are what require the most time in any endeavor.

 

[Dan Allen]

How it looks and how it plays are completely different things. It'll be great when done but, there are tons of things that need tuning, polishing and optimizing. The details are what require the most time in any endeavor.

If that's the case, my question is what is the point in setting a wildly optimistic November release date if it's still got quite a way to go?

 

[William Wester]

Just as well, it's better to release when ready and not rush just to hit a target. I have a lot to keep me busy in the mean time, AC - R3E/DTM - GSCE, and the continuing development of pCARS.
SMS will be releasing a much more expansive game than some of their competitors, and their development approach is different than say Kunos or Sector3. Instead of releasing a game with less features, but features that have gone through more debugging and fine-tuning, SMS is developing a large feature set for the initial release. It's taken 7-8 months since my purchase of AC and R3E to get some additional features and there is still a long way to go.
I am seeing a parallel to the large business software suite development project I'm heading at my company. We had a target date of January 1, 2015 (started August of 2012) but the closer we got to this Go-Live date the realization set in that it's not going to happen as planned if we want a safe and reliable implementation. We have recently switch gears and defined a more safe and doable phased plan. It's always a gamble to predict a completion date for software development whether a game or business productivity software.

 

[RaceNut]

If that's the case, my question is what is the point in setting a wildly optimistic November release date if it's still got quite a way to go?

I think it's quite simple. They set a target date in hopes of meeting it but, in the end - it's only a projection or estimate. Every industry I have worked in has the same issues. Things change, unforeseen problems arise, or life happens and we have to adapt. As end users, we have the easy part. Wait or play what you can. Not the worst problem to have IMO.

Having said that, I know waiting is hard too. The Oculus Rift CV-1 can't come fast enough for me. I now know how cool that is going to be and people have no idea what lies ahead. The only words of advice I can offer is "save your money" now. You may want it bad when the time comes.

 

[Pedro Cunha]

Running a triple 4K setup will be very demanding but, I run a single GTX 780 and and have no issues running a dozen or more cars in the rain at high settings. That's not triples, not 4k but, not pushing the card even close to it's limit either. I haven't tried to see where things top out graphics-wise as I mostly play using the Rift and that works great with the 780 as well.
There are lot's more optimizations to make still so I don't think Pcars will be as demanding as some believe. In the end, it' about striking a balance between what you can afford and what level of graphics you can live with.

Only 2xTitans Z are able to run Pcars with full grid 4K maxed out above 60fps.

6000€ GPU power for 4K
2000€ GPU power for 1080p
...not very demanding?

Pcars is a joke!

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

With the new range of Nvidia cars I don't think you need 3x Titans anymore, the 970 cars are inexpensive and perform VERY well. That said, even on my old 570 I ran it in 1080p (single screen) at close to maxed out gfx at 50-60 fps.

 

[james]

Cool, now maybe they can fix the terrible a.I., physics!

 

[Robert vd Heide]

hopefully the lack of wheel support for console racers will be solved by then as well

or this is the future for Ps4 and Xb1 racers with dongles from china

 

[Dan Allen]

hopefully the lack of wheel support for console racers will be solved by then as well

or this is the future for Ps4 and Xb1 racers with dongles from china

Oh god! The horror!!

 

[Snjper]

I too would like Tool Pack/early access opened back up. I still have no problem paying FULL or even SENIOR member price..

I will say the shine has worn off some after waiting so long and looking at tease after tease... then seeing other titles match if not better the graphical quality and physics.

 

[RaceNut]

@ Pedro Cunha: I question why anyone needs 4k myself but hey, if you have the money - knock yourself out. The next gen GPU's are said to be even better, more efficient and less costly. I'm more than satisfied with what the GTX 780 can do now with Pcars and a $300 GTX 970 will easily outpace that so - why all the drama? 4K triples - really? That costly experience will easily be bested by Rift CV-1 for a fraction of the cost. To each their own but, your point is a bit extreme IMO.