F1 2016 F1 2016: Career Trailer and Multiplayer Championship Preview

[Paul Jeffrey]

Codemasters have today released a new trailer for the upcoming F1 2016 game, showcasing key features of the new for 2016 ten year career mode as well as revealing details of a new Multiplayer Championship that makes its debut in the latest addition to the series.

The new for 2016 Multiplayer Championship allows a maximum of twenty two players to race online against each other as either team-mates or rivals over the course of a racing season. The championships can be saved at any stage and resumed at any time. Today's announcement reveal is an interesting new aspect to the F1 2016 game and is another small indication that Codemasters are looking to produce a seriously improved and detailed product over recent releases.

F1 2016 - Career Trailer

Codemasters had the following to say regarding the many new features to be found in F1 2016:

"You’ll be able to select your character, helmet and race number that will stay with you throughout your FORMULA ONE™ career. You’ll then be able to choose which of the 11 official teams you want to join, as well as which member of the team will be your team-mate, before taking to the track for the first race of the season. One thing to remember though: the higher ranked teams will have steeper expectations for you"​

"You’ll also experience the tension of the Formation Lap as you weave to warm your tyres, before facing the drama of the manual race start, where you will have to balance your revs and release the clutch at the right time. Get this wrong and you could jump the start and face a penalty or fail to get away from the line as the anti-stall kicks in!​

Race strategy is also vital as you battle your rivals. For Pit Stops, you can choose to have control of the Pit Lane entry, meaning you’ll have to brake at the right time to avoid losing too much time, but also to avoid speeding in the Pit lane. Strategy will be key, especially under Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car conditions."​

"The action continues off the track and into the Paddock and Hospitality areas. Over the course of the Career, you can decide how you want to upgrade your car, by consulting with the Research and Development Engineer on areas for improvement, and by completing tasks during Practice sessions. Take your team to the top over a number of seasons, or negotiate with your Agent to move between teams and work your way up the grid"

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Formula One 2016 will be available to purchase for Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on August 19th 2016.

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Check out the Formula One 2016 sub forum for news and discussions regarding Codemasters latest F1 franchise title.

F1 2016 nears release, are you looking forward to trying the new game? What part of F1 2016 are you most looking forward to? Does a substantial offline career mode interest you, or is it an unnecessary distraction? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[CCKaren]

Letting people choose their realism level isn't unrealistic, all the Papyrus games had arcade and simulation modes and I think they were a similar size team to the Codemasters Racing crew. I'd be very happy if Codemasters decided to go down that road as well.

 

[Mantas Jokubauskas]

Pre-ordered it. As I tested it, it was really good fun.
Also, the Close Beta has ended, and we (testers) are free to share our experiences (without screens/videos), so feel free to ask if you have any questions about the game, I'll try answering all questions from my experience of 3 betas. (Offline-side only, online was not in the beta tests)

 

[Christian Moreau]

@Mantas Jokubauskas
What modes/features were available to you in the beta. Were you able to do any quick races? If so here's a couple of things I'd like to hear.
- How does the car handling differ from last year
- Race length
- AI racecraft
- Available tracks
- Pit Strategy
- FFB

Also, if you've tried the career mode, what are your first impressions on it?

 

[Mantas Jokubauskas]

@Mantas Jokubauskas
What modes/features were available to you in the beta. Were you able to do any quick races? If so here's a couple of things I'd like to hear.
- How does the car handling differ from last year
- Race length
- AI racecraft
- Available tracks
- Pit Strategy
- FFB

Also, if you've tried the career mode, what are your first impressions on it?

Beta 1 and 2 had only Time Trial, but Beta 3 had Quick Race instead of TT. (Note: Tested on PC with a X360 gamepad, using Experienced assist preset (same as in F1 2015 - ABS On, TC Medium, Corner racing line, Manual + Suggested gears))
1) Handling - feels different thanks to the new Pro Surfaces system. Now if your tyres get dirty you'll slide around, if you push too much on the curb you'll slide around, if you try to extend the track too much you'll lose grip. Wet is also very rewarding if you drive carefully. Medium TC is not OP, and setup can improve your lap time massively (Spa Setup Preset test showed that maximum top speed option is not fastest...).
2) Race length: Same as before - 3 or 5 laps and 25%, 50% or 100%. Qualifying is also same as last year (the "new" system not included at all). Practice can be one session or three sessions with short (30 or 30/30/30 mins), medium (45 or 45/45/30 mins) and long (90 or standard F1 mins) options. HOWEVER, CM noted that in the next games this might change (we offered 20-100% option (every 10%) IIRC).
3) AI Racecraft. Much better. Compared to Tiametmarduk videos (for example) the AI was improved in our build and although I played only on Hard-Expert AI, it was fun. They go for inside lines when defending, they hang on to the trajectories while not pushing you off, they can outbrake you. Not sure what to add else.
4) Available tracks: Beta 1 had Australia, Austria and Spain; Beta 2 added Spa; Beta 3 removed Austria but added Bahrain.
5) Pit strategy. Thanks to the return of "Predicted weather for the race" and predicted weather check in the monitor in practices and qualifying, you can now plan your strategy carefully. Graphs show predicted tyre wear (which will adjust to you properly in Career mode) and you can select from two default generated strategies - High tyre management (usually less stops) or Low tyre management (more stops, but generally faster). You can also edit them if you want. AI also does different strategies in the race at different laps. Oh and also now you can select starting fuel, you can underfuel your car to be faster in the beginning but later you'll need some savings, or you can overfuel (like Bahrain 100% race actually asked me for 90kg of fuel optimally, this might be tweaked a bit for full release) so you'll be slower in the beginning, but you could use Rich revs more often. Also, pit stop times are varying. For example Red Bull can do 1.8-2.6 seconds pitstops, while Manor, for example, will do 2.5-3.5 second stops. (Like Tiametmarduk said in Twitter, three compounds adds variety, and SC can turn the race upside down. Sadly, we didn't have Safety Car in the last Beta build)
6) FFB. Can't say too much since I was playing on gamepad, but it felt like it was improved. Wheel users reported massive improvement from F1 2015.

Additionally:
Didn't test Formation Lap (not in the last build).
Manual starts are awesome!
Career mode not included (we were mostly only testing/improving handling).

Hope this was useful. Any more questions?

 

[Christian Moreau]

@Mantas Jokubauskas Thank you so much! The things I was most looking forward to was the handling, ai and pit strategy and it sounds like things are going to find a great balance between accessibility and simulation.

Race strategy sounds like it has much more depth to it now and I am really excited about that. The introduction of the 3 different tyre compounds per race has already made pit strategies in real life much more interesting and I'm sure it'll carry over well in the game.

Though a lot of people have been vocal about their disappointment in the game still not being "sim" enough for them, I'm on the side that thinks Codies are striking a nice balance of features and I am really looking forward to playing it!

Once again, thanks a lot for the info, I can't wait for August 19th!

 

[samcar304]

Though a lot of people have been vocal about their disappointment in the game still not being "sim" enough for them, I'm on the side that thinks Codies are striking a nice balance of features and I am really looking forward to playing it!

Yeah as much as i like racing games to be as realistic as possible, F1 offers something all the sims out there does not. An RPG style of gameplay in the form of their Career. And while it not may be everyone's cup of tea i personally can't wait to try it out.

And if i wanted to drive something close to a real F1 car in a sim i have AMS for that

 

[Christian Moreau]

Yeah as much as i like racing games to be as realistic as possible, F1 offers something all the sims out there does not. An RPG style of gameplay in the form of their Career. And while it not may be everyone's cup of tea i personally can't wait to try it out.

And if i wanted to drive something close to a real F1 car in a sim i have AMS for that

I agree. Also, some people seem to forget that this is still a business. Codies has to turn a profit, and no matter how hard and how awesome we think a fully licensed AMS/RFactor sim level F1 game would be, the fact of the matter is, gamers playing on a pad or casual gamers could not handle that style of gameplay, and sales would fall very short.

Everyone has seen how closely FOM to police their content. If they don't feel that they're going to benefit and be able to reach out to as many people as possible, they won't push for that type of game.

Anyway, yes, as you said, it's the only recent racing series that offers this type of career mode. For those who aren't convinced, pray that someday a developer takes GTR2 to heart and makes something that fits your fancy.

 

[Andy_J]

View attachment 147074

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The picture in Pauls opening post is superb. Is it a screen grab or real life? I can't tell. I hope it's a screen shot.
Maybe @Paul Jeffrey can tell me?

 

[Hitman65]

Can't wait. I have all the F1 games from Codemasters. F1 2015 has been the best so far IMO. Only game of theirs I can't seem to control is Dirt Rally....Just can't configure it right.

 

[Andy_J]

Can't wait. I have all the F1 games from Codemasters. F1 2015 has been the best so far IMO. Only game of theirs I can't seem to control is Dirt Rally....Just can't configure it right.

That's because that one takes some skill. And real practice.

 

[Michael Watts]

Wow, sounds like Bernie has allowed some creative freedom within the game. I lost interest when I had to race as someone other than myself.
I guess if NASCAR doesn't pan out I can always go back to F1

 

[Juliusz Baczynski]

Would you really w

But will they drive like a Kunos F1 car?

would you really want it to? Personally I think iRacings physics is substantially better, somehow you feel the texture of pavement when you drive!

 

[Colin Knowles]

Pre-ordered it. As I tested it, it was really good fun.
Also, the Close Beta has ended, and we (testers) are free to share our experiences (without screens/videos), so feel free to ask if you have any questions about the game, I'll try answering all questions from my experience of 3 betas. (Offline-side only, online was not in the beta tests)

Can you change the FOV ?
Is there any kind of Telemetary ?
How was the speech recognition working ?
Any mention of VR in the menus ?

 

[Rob]

F1 has always had a top notch penalty system and, as of last year, craftily used the radio-to-driver in order to immerse us without being able to use the UDP steam (why, I don't know). Their games can stand on their own in the SIM world (as DiRT) has proven IF IF IF - They get the physics right and get rid of the blurry mess. I guess we will not know too much about the console graphics until they appear in our living rooms (digital foundry?) but as to the physics, has anyone played the beta/demo on a wheel? If so, is the braking now connected to the road? And is the grip level massively high only to be outdone by the massive high torque loads and BHP? That's what was missing IMO.

 

[Colin Knowles]

F1 has always had a top notch penalty system and, as of last year, craftily used the radio-to-driver in order to immerse us with being able to use the UDP steam (why, I don't know). Their games can stand on their own in the SIM world (as DiRT) has proven IF IF IF - They get the physics right and get rid of the blurry mess. I guess we will not know too much about the console graphics until they appear in our living rooms (digital foundry?) but as to the physics, has anyone played the beta/demo on a wheel? If so, is the braking now connected to the road? And is the grip level massively high only to be outdone by the massive high torque loads and BHP? That's what was missing IMO.

Which wheel & pedals are you using Rob ?
Oh & does dirt rally have a FOV slider on consoles ?

 

[Mantas Jokubauskas]

Can you change the FOV ?
Is there any kind of Telemetary ?
How was the speech recognition working ?
Any mention of VR in the menus ?

FOV is changeable as with F1 2015 (now all platforms get the cockpit camera editing + new T-Cam editing! Sadly T-Cam editing was not in the last build).
Telemetry - don't know sadly. The telemetry app from F1 2015 (from here) worked well though.
Speech recognition - working as expected. Maybe slightly improved from F1 2015 (recognition-wise, commands-wise is a huge improvement), but as I didn't have any problems with F1 2015 Speech Recognition, can't say much.
VR - no idea. Sorry.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I'm really looking forward to this title. I'm hoping it's their best attempt yet and all the issues previously have been ironed out.

Really hoping for an ultra simulation option where you need to manage the MGUs and engine braking etc just like the Assetto SF15T but I may be wishing for too much.

I just hope they've taken some advise from their Dirt Rally buddies as if they have then it should be a corker.

 

[Christian Moreau]

I'm really looking forward to this title. I'm hoping it's their best attempt yet and all the issues previously have been ironed out.

Really hoping for an ultra simulation option where you need to manage the MGUs and engine braking etc just like the Assetto SF15T but I may be wishing for too much.

I just hope they've taken some advise from their Dirt Rally buddies as if they have then it should be a corker.

I completely agree with you on wanting a simulation option that includes the details of engine management, but unfortunately, it won't be in this version of the game. If Codies do renew the license, perhaps if enough people show interest in that type of simulation, they might build new versions while giving us more control but I honestly don't see them ever going the full simulation route even if it was just an option for those who chose to use it. They're already a small team as it is so I'm sure it would be tough for them to allocate resources for that.

I don't want to come off as too pessimistic though. I too would welcome an option such as this. If F1 2016 is a glimpse of greater things to come from Codies F1 games, then I'm excited!

 

[Rob]

Which wheel & pedals are you using Rob ?
Oh & does dirt rally have a FOV slider on consoles ?

Good question Colin. I doubt it does, but FOV and driver position in the cockpit has always been a weakness for sure. Strangely, DiRT has tilt, up/down & fwd/backwd but in rally, it's not as crucial. I was hoping that F1 would at least have look-to-apex which, to me is essential with F1 cars. But I highly doubt we will see that either on console.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

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The picture in Pauls opening post is superb. Is it a screen grab or real life? I can't tell. I hope it's a screen shot.
Maybe @Paul Jeffrey can tell me?

Screenshot, you can tell by the Force India and Williams that have 0 alcohol ads, and the track really doesn't look like a typical "non-alcohol" track.