NASCAR 21: Ignition Releases in 10 Days to High Expectations from Fans

NASCAR 21 Ignition Coming Soon 01.jpg
With just over one week to go until NASCAR 21: Ignition is released, there is optimism in the NASCAR community based on what Motorsport Games has revealed so far about the upcoming title.

A few months ago, when it seemed like Motorsport Games had a major announcement every few days, one of the biggest pieces on news surrounding the game developer and publisher was the reveal of NASCAR 21: Ignition. The concept of a racing title using the Unreal 4 engine for visuals and rFactor’s physics engine for the driving experience seems like a sim racer’s dream come true.

The title focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, and Motorsport Games has been deliberate in distancing themselves from the NASCAR Heat game series. The Heat series had developed a reputation for underwhelming fans of NASCAR, and the hope is that Ignition represents a rebirth of the official title of one of the most popular auto racing series in the world.


Reception of the subsequent game teasers and trailers on the official Motorsport Games YouTube channel has been overwhelmingly positive, with each receiving 95% or more likes. The team has also given the public a few peaks behind the curtain as far as the development of the cars and tracks, and an introduction to some of the members of the development team.

NASCAR 21: Ignition was even playable for NASCAR event attendees recently. Motorsport Games brought the game to select races in recent months for fans to try. While some cell phone footage shot at the live demos has popped up on YouTube, it’s difficult to say whether the title will live up to its potential. Questions have been raised about the level of customization possible in Ignition, and some footage seems to hint at flaws in the AI. But, with the full game not yet shown and many post-release updates surely still to come, there is optimism in the community that NASCAR 21: Ignition will be the game fans have been waiting for.

NASCAR 21 Ignition Coming Soon 02.jpg


NASCAR 21: Ignition is scheduled for release on the 28th of October on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Be sure to check back with RaceDepartment for a full review shortly after release. Let us know what your expectations are for this title in the comments below.
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

I already got refund from steam.

Sometimes reviews are not enough to realize just how bad the game is till you try it first hand.

Think Cyberpunk 2077 release and than times it x100.

Mobile racing games are more complete than this pile of trash.

I am actually starting to worry for the fate of rf2 and this motorsport company all together.

They could be out of business by end of next year at this rate.


lol they already announced 3 patches in one day.

so basically this is alpha version of game atm

 
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Since day 1. Maybe someday rF2 will have track temperatures influence the tire - or maybe not :)
Have you ever actually seen a thermal performance graph for a tire? Or the K spreads in corners and on straights? Just because the model is there doesn't mean it actually works.

rF2 isn't much better.
 
Even though you don't really think half of what you say, I thought it would be interesting to note that as much as I strongly dislike stage racing, overtime, playoffs and all other lame hockey influences in NASCAR, not having them in the game as a core feature or structure of the actual activity of racing in this racing game is as bad as it gets in terms of game design. It's like an RX game without a joker lap, a basketball game without 3-point shots or a football game without punting.

I hope they fix everything else and realize too late that the engine doesn't allow stages, I'd buy that for more than a dollar.
Learn to appreciate, man.
 
So in short. its potentially another title that is managed/directed by the marketing department?
 
So in short. its potentially another title that is managed/directed by the marketing department?
Unfortunately, most probably by no one, just some decisions made by a few incompetent administrators named ceo or coo who understand nothing to the industry they work on. A project without any operational leader with decisional responsabilities. Don't you think some managers know about what they are doing? For sure there are some, but if they do not have the power to decide, they have to deliver this kind of product. I'm sure these people and their team are not proud of the result, especially knowing that they could have done the job better.
 
At no additional charge you get a day one patch...But wait there's more a second patch that will be out 'very soon", and that's not all order now and a third patch for the stuff we can't identify but are sure to be found will be coming.

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The last two days they have probably released some of the biggest change logs i have ever seen with things i didn't even know were happening. It is crazy how truly broken the game is but even crazier that it took them only a week and some days to fix the issues, that makes you wonder why they weren't fixed earlier in development? What is even weirder is that i don't see RD posting here them, which usually they do.
 
Premium
The last two days they have probably released some of the biggest change logs i have ever seen with things i didn't even know were happening. It is crazy how truly broken the game is but even crazier that it took them only a week and some days to fix the issues, that makes you wonder why they weren't fixed earlier in development? What is even weirder is that i don't see RD posting here them, which usually they do.
They actually have longer than you think as they have to submit the "gold master" or "gold copy" or whatever they call it to publishers and/or the platforms they're running on well before-hand for QA and other pre-release checks. It might've gone gold a month ago. That's how they can have huge day one patches.
 
Watched the video again after seeing the bonfire on Steam.
So apart from the ambitious plans, this should not have been the NASCAR Fahrenheit 451 it turned out to be…

1. Unreal 4 - arguably a great engine
2. RF2 physics - arguably a very good engine
3. s397 support - arguably an experienced team
4. At least 18 month production cycle - not ideal, but not exactly building from scratch either

So apart from some bugs, which happen, how can a title miss the mark by such a wide margin by lacking so many basics on release, by having arguably gamebreaking bugs and flaws? What were testers doing, what were early previews giving as feedback?

Although I was skeptical and did not get hyped, I was still hopeful to be proven wrong at least there where it matters - like many of you I am a potential customer for another NASCAR title.

So who should take responsibility for this?
I don’t buy the contractual obligation part alone.
 
Just been reading some of the Steam reviews! No FFB! Seriously!?!? Not even a rear mirror either.
Welcome to 1996.
 
4. At least 18 month production cycle - not ideal, but not exactly building from scratch either
MG and S397 partnership was announced in March 2021.. That is some 7 months ago... Also reality with these yearly titles is that they don't get fixed. The fixes typically come with next year iteration which is probably what MG is already working on or they will be already out of time since the start.
 
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MG and S397 partnership was announced in March 2021.. That is some 7 months ago... Also reality with these yearly titles is that they don't get fixed. The fixes typically come with next year iteration which is probably what MG is already working on or they will be already out of time since the start.

Check the video again, at 02:10 they mention a period of a year and a half, that’s 18 not 7 months.
So work seems to have preceded the announcement.

As for fixes that depends on the developer / publisher, but yes in general a broken franchise only get’s significantly improvements with next seasonal game. OTOH, if they decide to ignore any game breaking bugs etc, it will take a lot of effort to win back customers for the next game.
 
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