First, the good... Graphics (on a monitor)
At 4k with an i9-9900k (overclocked) and a 2080ti, the graphics on a widescreen monitor are plenty good for racing. and my frame rate feels really good. That said, Forza Horizon 4, for instance, has much better visual appeal.
The bad... VR
Both Oculus and SteamVR work, but textures flash, tires are occasionally weirdly outlined in the water, and countless other anomolies exist. I mitigate a lot of the reported issues by setting most options at high or ultra and super sampling at 1.1 -1.3. Frame rate, as you might expect under these circumstances, just barely adequate for the task. Long story short: I find the VR simply ok for racing (it certainly needs some further dev attention) but I definitely will continue to race in VR. The VR is NOT (yet) as good as Project Cars 2.
The bad... Sound
The C8 doesn't sound anything like a real C8. I want deeper, and richer sounds in a racing game. I have really good external speakers because I really enjoy the sounds of a throaty V8. It is certainly better than the old vaccuum cleaner sounds of yesteryear but there is still lots of room for improvement here.
The bad... AI
You just aren't safe out there. You are gonna get knocked out, dive-bombed, squeezed and spun. You are also gonna retaliate and dive-bomb in this game no matter how much you hate to do it in normal sim racing.
The jury is still out... puddles and ice
As expected, these can definitely trip you up. Frustrating at times but they do keep you on your toes.
The better than expected...force feedback and upgrades
FFB for an unlisted direct drive wheel (Accurforce Pro V2). What?! Really. It isn't full sim ffb, but there is more than enough info in the ffb to balance cars on the edge. What's more, I can definitely feel the nuanced differences between every single Road B car on Bathurst. Please NOTE that the force feedback gets far more communicative as you go up in car classes.
That said, the force feedback is certainly NOT as good as rfactor2 or ACC, but in my opinion it is considerably better than Project Cars 2, Grid (2019) and/or the Forza series.
Upgrades... In terms of upgrades, dropping weight seems very effective... as one would expect... But, many of the upgrades don't show visually on the car. Still, I do enjoy things like increased braking or performance cams.
The way better than expected... colored brake markers and apex markers that you can see (even thru vehicles)
The use of Brake markers and Apex markers really work so much better than the "ideal line" in other racing games. Pushing hard at Bathurst, for instance, was a blast with those markers.
What previous reviewers got wrong...
From what I have observed, you can drive ANY car on ANY track by setting up a CUSTOM race. This is extremely valuable for choosing which car you want to buy as you move up in car classes. It is also useful for generating some credits when you are low. I spent over an hour driving multiple 5 lap races (using cars I did not own) at Bathurst. This means your "content" is not locked in the traditional sense. That said, to own the cars, you need to progress through the career. But, if you get to a step in the career that might be too hard or too tedious, you can always use racing credits to unlock that step.
Telemetry...NLRv3 Motion works
Nuff said.
Untested... Multiplay
Waiting for another internet buddy to work through the title before we test it.
TLDR: My OPINION: I bought this knowing it was arcade. I bought this knowing VR was far from perfect. I bought this knowing the sound was sub par. And yet, I find myself enjoying it. I enjoy the changes in each new car I drive. I enjoy the minimal upgrading available. And, I enjoy driving in the frequent monsoons. So, cost issues aside, I recommend Project Cars 3. It is a less than perfect simcade. And, other than the glaring VR issues and occasional glitch, I personally like Project Cars 3 far better than I ever liked Project Cars 2.
As always, your mileage may vary.
At 4k with an i9-9900k (overclocked) and a 2080ti, the graphics on a widescreen monitor are plenty good for racing. and my frame rate feels really good. That said, Forza Horizon 4, for instance, has much better visual appeal.
The bad... VR
Both Oculus and SteamVR work, but textures flash, tires are occasionally weirdly outlined in the water, and countless other anomolies exist. I mitigate a lot of the reported issues by setting most options at high or ultra and super sampling at 1.1 -1.3. Frame rate, as you might expect under these circumstances, just barely adequate for the task. Long story short: I find the VR simply ok for racing (it certainly needs some further dev attention) but I definitely will continue to race in VR. The VR is NOT (yet) as good as Project Cars 2.
The bad... Sound
The C8 doesn't sound anything like a real C8. I want deeper, and richer sounds in a racing game. I have really good external speakers because I really enjoy the sounds of a throaty V8. It is certainly better than the old vaccuum cleaner sounds of yesteryear but there is still lots of room for improvement here.
The bad... AI
You just aren't safe out there. You are gonna get knocked out, dive-bombed, squeezed and spun. You are also gonna retaliate and dive-bomb in this game no matter how much you hate to do it in normal sim racing.
The jury is still out... puddles and ice
As expected, these can definitely trip you up. Frustrating at times but they do keep you on your toes.
The better than expected...force feedback and upgrades
FFB for an unlisted direct drive wheel (Accurforce Pro V2). What?! Really. It isn't full sim ffb, but there is more than enough info in the ffb to balance cars on the edge. What's more, I can definitely feel the nuanced differences between every single Road B car on Bathurst. Please NOTE that the force feedback gets far more communicative as you go up in car classes.
That said, the force feedback is certainly NOT as good as rfactor2 or ACC, but in my opinion it is considerably better than Project Cars 2, Grid (2019) and/or the Forza series.
Upgrades... In terms of upgrades, dropping weight seems very effective... as one would expect... But, many of the upgrades don't show visually on the car. Still, I do enjoy things like increased braking or performance cams.
The way better than expected... colored brake markers and apex markers that you can see (even thru vehicles)
The use of Brake markers and Apex markers really work so much better than the "ideal line" in other racing games. Pushing hard at Bathurst, for instance, was a blast with those markers.
What previous reviewers got wrong...
From what I have observed, you can drive ANY car on ANY track by setting up a CUSTOM race. This is extremely valuable for choosing which car you want to buy as you move up in car classes. It is also useful for generating some credits when you are low. I spent over an hour driving multiple 5 lap races (using cars I did not own) at Bathurst. This means your "content" is not locked in the traditional sense. That said, to own the cars, you need to progress through the career. But, if you get to a step in the career that might be too hard or too tedious, you can always use racing credits to unlock that step.
Telemetry...NLRv3 Motion works
Nuff said.
Untested... Multiplay
Waiting for another internet buddy to work through the title before we test it.
TLDR: My OPINION: I bought this knowing it was arcade. I bought this knowing VR was far from perfect. I bought this knowing the sound was sub par. And yet, I find myself enjoying it. I enjoy the changes in each new car I drive. I enjoy the minimal upgrading available. And, I enjoy driving in the frequent monsoons. So, cost issues aside, I recommend Project Cars 3. It is a less than perfect simcade. And, other than the glaring VR issues and occasional glitch, I personally like Project Cars 3 far better than I ever liked Project Cars 2.
As always, your mileage may vary.
