PC1 Project CARS GOTY Edition Revealed + DLC Previews

[Paul Jeffrey]

Slightly Mad Studios have announced their best selling PC, PS4 and Xbox One racing simulator, Project CARS, is due to receive the Game of the Year treatment.

Releasing in 2015 to much fanfare, Project CARS has both amazed and confused its many followers with some truly sublime moments, occasionally tainted with disappointing issues which many feel really shouldn't happen in a modern, highly tested, multi-platform title.

However despite a troubled birth, the team over at Slightly Mad Studios have worked tirelessly to bring about a heavy list of updates, fixes, feature enhancements and content to finally bring the game up to a level that richly deserves its place in the sim racing marketplace.

Slated for a Spring 2016 release on all platforms, PCARS GOTY Edition will feature a total of 125 cars (an additional 50 from the initial release) and over 100 variations of 35 racing circuits from around the globe. Perhaps of most interest will be the addition of the endurance layout of one of the worlds most famous circuits - the fabled Nurburgring Nordschleife. The endurance layout allows drivers to race the full Nordschleife combined with the more recent Grand Prix circuit.

The Game of the Year release will also include updates which have been anticipated since the game launched back in 2015 (a mammoth 500+ features and improvements) and over 60 community-created liveries to compliment the paint schemes already available with the studio created content.

Game of the Year Edition Trailer

RaceDepartment has a vibrant Club Racing scene for Project CARS across all three platforms, don't forget to have a look and join your fellow sim racers out on track in a number of car and circuit combinations. Why? Because racing is more fun when you test your skills against your fellow sim racers!



Will the proposed GOTY Edition of Project CARS tempt those of you who are still without a copy of the game? If not, what do you think PCARS needs to do to make a purchase attractive to you? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Adam#81]

There are some teams that are making efforts to make a couple of tracks for PCars, but no news of modded conversions from other games, I assume rF2 or the likes. I think the career feature is over-rated anyway, it's too sterile. The only game that managed to have a decent career was the F1 series and the latest one also managed to fck it up as well.

 

[Andy_J]

"The Game of the Year release will also include updates which have been anticipated since the game launched back in 2015 (a mammoth 500+ features and improvements)"

So hopefully the full animated pitstops, manual control of pitting etc etc etc will be coming as promised by Bell? Some how I doubt it. lies, lies and more damned lies.

 

[Andy_J]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. In my opinion, your opinion on the pricing of the tiers is not founded in reality. But apparently everyone is free to make stuff up as they go on the internet, so there's that.

Hi Ermo.
I do enjoy your occasional input here . So well spoken. That bit in bold is very true. Look at all the promises SMS/Bell made that were pie in the sky. They made many things up as they went along so many of us thought they were telling the truth. I remember the original promises about a super sim, made by simmers for simmers and it would be the best of the rest. What happened?

 

[ermo]

Hi Ermo.
I do enjoy your occasional input here . So well spoken. That bit in bold is very true. Look at all the promises SMS/Bell made that were pie in the sky. They made many things up as they went along so many of us thought they were telling the truth. I remember the original promises about a super sim, made by simmers for simmers and it would be the best of the rest. What happened?

Not quite sure how to read your post, so I'm just going to assume that it was made in good faith and that the question wasn't a rhetorical one.

My guess (and I stress that it's mostly a guess) is that as the FSA got involved and the funds dried up, SMS were hard pressed to deliver on all of their promises? To be fair, I saw SMS deliver on a fair few of their internal development promises, so it's not like they didn't deliver on *anything* they promised, which I think is an important distinction.

IF we assume that funding was limited, it helps explain why SMS didn't hire e.g. a community manager (we began asking about this in early 2012 I think). If you compare and contrast the pCARS 1 development process with the development of pCARS 2, it's clear that lessons were learned and that the development process was changed as a result.

I can understand people being skeptical about pCARS 2 given how pCARS 1 ended up playing out. Personally, I'm quite curious to see what has gone into the "pCARS 1.5" GOTY version that will be released as DLC not too long from now AIUI. From the pCARS 2 dev logs, it's clear that the developers have put quite a bit of time into developing/backporting fixes and features between the two code bases, though I have no idea how much of the tech resulting from recent pCARS 2 related research will go back into pCARS 1/1.5.

Another related point is that I find it quite interesting to see how e.g. Automobilista aim to implement features that were originally conceptualized and described on the pCARS forums, just as it was interesting to see Codemasters develop first Grid Autosport (which had features that were clearly inspired from ideas and proposals made by the community on the pCARS forum) and then Grid Rally (which was again something that people had conceptualized and talked about a lot on the pCARS forum).

So even if pCARS didn't end up delivering on 100% of the original promises, it seems to me that its goals have helped up the ante for the features that are now beginning to be considered de rigueur in the broader sim racing space.


P.S. I just realized that the brain fart re. me erroneously thinking that Automobilista was coming to consoles was actually a case of crossed wires -- I was thinking of Grid Rally and got the two mixed up due to being a bit too tired to post. Can't win 'em all.

 

[Andy_J]

So even if pCARS didn't end up delivering on 100% of the original promises, it seems to me that its goals have helped up the ante for the features that are now beginning to be considered de rigueur in the broader sim racing space.

Can you name some things that Pcars has inspired other PC race sims to adopt?

 

[ermo]

Can you name some things that Pcars has inspired other PC race sims to adopt?

I can, but this will necessarily be according to my definition of "inspired" which is naturally a local truth at best and as such is up for the eternal "that's too subjective to be considered fact" internet argument.

For instance, SCE is generally hailed as a pretty decent and proper sim here at RD. However, this is what the product page for its successor Automobilista says:

"In addition to the content already present in Stock Car Extreme - all of which comprehensively upgraded - AUTOMOBILISTA turns it up to a new level by adding all the new cars & tracks proposed in the SimRacing Bonanza crowdfunding campaign, new simulation features such as dynamic track conditions, advanced transmission and tire modelling, substantial upgrades to physics, graphics & audio, new game modes and much more!"

(emphasis mine).

If SCE was just fine and indeed better (according to whatever yardstick constitutes proper simness) than pCARS, why would Reiza want to implement the above extras if it wasn't in part because they are high-profile sim features that e.g. pCARS (and to an extent rF2) have advertised?

Noting that I wrote "the broader sim space" as opposed to "other PC race sims", I also find it interesting that Forza 6 decided to implement night time racing as this was a feature which was originally promoted with pCARS on the consoles.

 

[jlnprssnr]

The Game of the Year release will also include updates which have been anticipated since the game launched back in 2015 (a mammoth 500+ features and improvements) and over 60 community-created liveries to compliment the paint schemes already available with the studio created content.

So where's the Steam patch with those fixes?

 

[Adam#81]

I think they mean that the release will include all the patches done so far to the game. The wording is misleading on this one. I think they were just trying to emphasize the improvements that have happened so far.

 

[Andy_J]

I can, but this will necessarily be according to my definition of "inspired" which is naturally a local truth at best and as such is up for the eternal "that's too subjective to be considered fact" internet argument.

For instance, SCE is generally hailed as a pretty decent and proper sim here at RD. However, this is what the product page for its successor Automobilista says:



(emphasis mine).

If SCE was just fine and indeed better (according to whatever yardstick constitutes proper simness) than pCARS, why would Reiza want to implement the above extras if it wasn't in part because they are high-profile sim features that e.g. pCARS (and to an extent rF2) have advertised?

Noting that I wrote "the broader sim space" as opposed to "other PC race sims", I also find it interesting that Forza 6 decided to implement night time racing as this was a feature which was originally promoted with pCARS on the consoles.

So despite older PC sims already having many of the things you mention, you have decided that Pcars is the originator of some of those emphasised features?
If Pcars is so ground breaking, it would be the race sim of choice for PC simmers. Why isn't it?

 

[Adam#81]

Cause pit stops can be buggy, and people have problems with multiplayer connection, going from quali to the actual race and they get dropped. And when that happens the replays and leaderboard can get borked. And for serious leagues that run long events and need everything to work 100%, it can be frustrating.

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

PCars sits at the bottom of the sim pile and top of the greedy devs pile.

I only paid around £30 for Pcars with the majority of the DLC, and payed a good £50 for AC with its Car packs. Not to mention iRacing and RaceRoom Experience where you've got to actually buy each car individually.

If anything, PCars should be awarded for the kindest Devs in the world!

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

.

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

ROLL ON PCARS 2! ^_^

 

[ermo]

If Pcars is so ground breaking, it would be the race sim of choice for PC simmers. Why isn't it?

I don't believe I stated that pCARS is 'ground breaking'. I stated that, as I see it, the development discussions and the community feedback during development (and their result as they appear in pCARS build artifacts) appear to have been taken under advisement in the development of other sims?

Nothing curious about that, I'm sure?

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

I find it bizarre how all of you hating on Project Cars in some way, you obviously have some liking for the game as you staggered across this thread...IN THE PROJECT CARS FORUM. If you were an Assetto Corsa fan, surely you wouldn't be here? Or perhaps the urge to troll was too much. This isn't aimed at all users who have posted criticism as some of you such as Ermo have justified as to why you dislike the game, and have actually gave constructive criticism, rather than just stating, "Best game of the year? More like worst!".

I personally believe PCars is fantastic, being a Simcade fan. Sure SMS may have stated they would include certain features before the release that were never implemented, but please bare in mind the team of dev's had to crowdfund their resources to make this game. SMS isn't some A rated game company like EA that can pull out £1,000,000 from their butts! they worked with what they had, and they did it better than what any of us could have achieved.

If your comparing PCars to a different Sim game that you prefer to play, THEN GO PLAY IT! SMS did a perfect job in my eyes. I never use the pit stops, nor do I tune my car. People are always slating the game for not including features you would expect from a simulation game, but if you were to ask the majority of the Project Cars community, they would state that it leans more to the Simcade style; the reason why the tuning isn't identical to real life and the pitstops don't have hyper-realistic features.

Project cars was set out to attract a certain audience like myself, and they did it brilliantly. Comparing 2 games with two different forms of genre is just stupid. Its all fine pointing out the flaws of Project Cars, but think of its traits in comparison to other Racing games! It actually has collision models unlike AC, and weather, and dynamic Racelines, and assists that actually prove helpful to the user! (NOTE: I don't hate Assetto Corsa, I was once a true fan until I stumbled upon PCars).

Say what you must, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but please don't slate Project Cars simply because it isn't the game you want to play, as 1000's of players will beg to differ. Good job SMS, and I really can't wait to see what you bring with Project Cars 2.

 

[Adam#81]

Having said all that, keep in mind that this is a racing forum. People who lurk this place are typically people that have high expectations (as they should) of sim games. They usually take part in league races, long endurance races etc etc., they require all the features of the game to work coherently and reliably. And this is where PCars fails. It might not bother you and me that pitting selections are not always enforced and there is no pit crew or manual pit-lane, but most people on here will find this unacceptable and move on to other games. I don't agree with the arcade accusations, I think they have done a good job with the handling in most situations. But when you can't deliver a consistent experience, people's ffb goes dead when switching from race to race, people get DCed, wonky replays, then people are going to have a bad time. And when they are in leagues, it makes it a bad experience for everyone. I understand why people are disappointed. However, you can't blame their funding for the state of the game a year after release. They just can't solve some issues, others have been done wrong from the beginning, like the dcing issues I would imagine. They can't have excuses for these things, and "gonna be fixed in PCars 2" is a lame answer to anything. It might be the reality, but it excuses nothing. They really need to improve on the experience and reliability. I love the driving, i m still playing PCars after having a few sessions with AC and I really feel SMS have the superior model. But the overall experience leaves you wanting more, like there has been a lost opportunity here. I will be waiting for PCars 2, no doubt, but they need to pull it together in the online sector if they are to attract racing leagues.

 

[Andy_J]

I find it bizarre how all of you hating on Project Cars in some way, you obviously have some liking for the game as you staggered across this thread...IN THE PROJECT CARS FORUM. If you were an Assetto Corsa fan, surely you wouldn't be here? Or perhaps the urge to troll was too much.

How Ironic. Just registered to troll by any chance?
I'd prefer it if you didn't tell us what forum to visit and what we can discuss.
Pcars was supposedly designed by the sim community and was to be the best race sim ever. The trouble is they only got investors that normally play console games and hence the style of racing game that was developed. I agree totally that the game serves a purpose and does fill a hole with what it supplies. Simcade is wanted by some just as RF2 is needed by others.

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

How Ironic. Just registered to troll by any chance?
I'd prefer it if you didn't tell us what forum to visit and what we can discuss.
Pcars was supposedly designed by the sim community and was to be the best race sim ever. The trouble is they only got investors that normally play console games and hence the style of racing game that was developed. I agree totally that the game serves a purpose and does fill a hole with what it supplies. Simcade is wanted by some just as RF2 is needed by others.

Naaaah i'm just saying, people that are hating on Project Cars, can't hate the game with a passion if they keep returning back to the Project Cars thread, and coming across this.

It wasn't even targeted at you man. You explained the reasons why you hated the game from what I can recall, it was a few of the other users who just simply stated, "Worst game of the year more like", or "Project Crap". If you have a reason for hating the game then that is fine with me, but i'm trying my best to get people into Project Cars, and it seems they are all playing Mario Kart 10 lmao.

 

[Charlie Fishykins]

Tip for SMS: Call the game Project Mario Kart and nobody will hate on it

 

[Adam#81]

Now you re just trolling -_-