F1 2020 F1 2020 Wish List

F1 2020 The Game (Codemasters)
VR - but we already know that's not going to happen.

I honestly don't know why the Codies are so against implementing VR. Sure DR and DR 2 have it, but they had to be beaten into submission by Facebook, err I mean Oculus, to include it.
 
VR - but we already know that's not going to happen.

I honestly don't know why the Codies are so against implementing VR. Sure DR and DR 2 have it, but they had to be beaten into submission by Facebook, err I mean Oculus, to include it.

In a recent interview the reason as to why no VR was revealed :

“It’s very difficult to bring a game that runs like Formula 1 with such an intense physics engine and graphics engine to run VR,” says Mather. “So VR isn’t something we’re going to be able to do this year at the moment.”

Source - https://www.racefans.net/2020/05/15/classic-tracks-livery-editor-vr-your-f1-2020-questions-answered/
 
In a recent interview the reason as to why no VR was revealed :

“It’s very difficult to bring a game that runs like Formula 1 with such an intense physics engine and graphics engine to run VR,” says Mather. “So VR isn’t something we’re going to be able to do this year at the moment.”

Source - https://www.racefans.net/2020/05/15/classic-tracks-livery-editor-vr-your-f1-2020-questions-answered/

Honestly I don't buy that. F1 2019 is incredibly light on resources - CPU is at 10 - 15% utilisation and the GPU is at around 15 - 20% utilisation when you consider the core clock and power draw of the GPU. Honestly compared to other games F1 2019s impact on the system is negligible - one of my systems uses a blower style GPU which will ramp up pretty quickly on most games, but with F1 2019 it barely makes a sound.

If Mather is talking about PSVR then maybe he has a point, but if he's talking about PC then it's bull****.
 
There was a time when I enjoyed every release of Codemasters' F1 series. I would complete a career and enjoy every race. As a fan of F1, I appreciated what Codemasters was doing... and I still do, EXCEPT for one MAJOR problem, and now going on for four years, four releases, this is STILL a problem.

Then I bought an Oculus Rift in 2017. Within the first hours of trying it out in PCARS, while racing down Döttinger Höhe in a Porsche, the "evening" sun rays coming through the wind screen, my eyes literally teared up. It was unlike any other experience I ever had before in sim racing. I spent hours trying out the various sim-racing titles I have that offered similar VR experiences.

So later that year, as I always did, even though I knew it still didn't support VR, I bought the newest release of F1 2017. I thought, because I enjoyed it so much previously, that I'd still enjoy it. I played it for about four hours, then went back to my other sim-racing titles that do support VR, never to return to F1 2017 again. $60 wasted.

I keep watching and waiting for Codemasters to get with the program and catch up. I think the title still looks wonderful and I appreciate the work they do for the franchise, but I just don't have a reason to buy it any longer. Without VR, it just doesn't deliver the same experience that I've been getting from other titles for over three years now.

Having developed content myself for VR in Unreal Engine, the excuse they're giving just doesn't seem valid. Yes, you need to set up a compatible or alternate HUD for VR, and be sure the rendering engine is optimized for VR, but these days, that's not that difficult. They should know how to make it work for their rendering engine, or have the resources to do so. I think this is either an issue with getting approval from F1, or it may be just pure laziness. Completely disregarding a growing and substantial part of the market--there's no excuse for it. Codemasters has become too comfortable with this license, they crank out a new version each year, get their money--why put any additional effort? Well, today, it would result in more sales and revenue.

AC, ACC, rFactor2, PCARS... and more. They've all supported VR for a few years. I have an incredible ultra-wide, fast-refresh, low-latency monitor for FPS and other games that don't support VR. However, for sim racing, VR is pretty much mandatory because of the experience it delivers (even with an Oculus Rift purchased in 2017).

I do really care about every Codemasters F1 release each year. I was a loyal customer. This title looks more amazing with every yearly release--it DESERVES VR capability. Also, Formula 1 deserves it. That's why I posted this. I REALLY WANT to enjoy it again, but without VR, only getting about a third of the experience from a 2D computer screen, I just don't have a reason to spend any time with it, even if it was free.

The video below--an example, a reason why I don't see a need to purchase yet another non-VR F1 title from Codemasters until VR is supported. A capture from Assetto Corsa in VR.

For those who've never experienced VR, this capture shows less than a third of what you really experience. This video shows a "2D" capture from the left display. It doesn't show the "depth" and perfect tracking you experience, and that the FOV is much wider in the headset, going well beyond the mirrors.

In VR, specifically for F1, today's Halo Design becomes blurry and "double imaged," and your brain "filters" it out as you look past it and down the track. Place your hand out in front of your face, fingers extended. Focus on your fingers first, then focus on something across the room. Without re-focusing on them, force your brain to "notice" how your fingers are out of focus and double-imaged. With its' dual displays and Fresnel lenses, a VR headset tricks your brain to do the same thing, Then add to this the wider FOV, seamless tracking, and that you can look at anything, only limited by how far you can turn your head (or by the sides of the "virtual" cockpit or seat head restraints).


In contrast, one of the last videos I recorded with F1 2016--a POV with a head-mounted action cam.



Back to VR, Laps around Red Bull Ring. Notice how I can look around and admire the track (and balloons above).

 
Last edited:
The problem with Codemasters' F1 Series is that they don't care enough for the people who would actually like to do proper racing.
Instead, they focus to much on graphics. career mode and special editions.

In F1 2019 they didn't event get some basic F1 rules right:
- Parc fermé is not lifted when weather changes from a dry qualifying to a rainy race
- Lapped cars cannot unlap themselves during a Safety Car phase
- Some corner cutting rules under "strict" are way off, with the game handing-out penalties despite two wheels clearly being on-track

If the game is to anyhow move towards simracing a bit more it should
- have the above errors fixed
- allow the driver to do a manual pitstop
(stopping exactly right on your service gridspot is important for a pitstop to run fast but in F1 2019 all pitstops run perfectly because the AI stops the car for you)
- allow the driver to drive all the way to the strating grid in the formation lap
(some drivers don't want the car to be positioned completely straight but this is what the AI always does)
- allow starting from the pitlane if the relevant criteria apply
- include the option to use the mouse in the menus (for God's sake, simracers use a wheel and not a controller)
- allow having a full replay from all camera angles available after the race

All of the above was already possible and implemented in sims more than 10 years ago so there is no excuse for these features to be missing.
If Codemasters continue to lean towards arcade-style, lack of realistic rules/options and console users, simracers won't buy the new versions from this series anymore.
It's fine to keep the more arcade-like options but the possibility of tuning it more towards simracing in a kind of options menu should be added on top.
I got F1 2018 and then F1 2019 hoping it would offer more realism but the 2020 version I will probably skip as I see little hope of improvements for simracers.
 
I like F1 and have always enjoyed codemasters titles as a result. However please add VR, it has the best career mode on any title and would make it so much better received.

on top of this:

1. Give the option to alter tyre rules for starting in online racing. If you are not doing a full quali session and have equal performance cars it makes no sense.

2. Improve the net code, I’m pretty sure 2016 was better

3. Sort out the safety cars, I don’t get the logic

4. Fix corner cutting penalties, there are some that have been wrong for years

5. Allow full HUD in cockpit view

6. Allow a semi transparent halo pole in cockpit view

7. Polish the post race highlights (show overtakes ), these have real potential

8. Allow full skinning of multiplayer car

9. Make more of the online events

10. Allow pit stop without changing tyres in race

11. allow picking of tyre sets which give a greater choice for quali, e.g. more than one set of mediums

and a bunch of other stuff I suspect
 
From a fan of Codies:

1: Language file, they only gain with more modding. I still have a hope...
2: Manual pit. Stop at your pit, exit and move your car in the box. As in Assetto Corsa.
3: More realistic transfers. In 3 careers I done, I'm not joking, in every career Gasly gone to Haas. At season 2. These things are STRANGE! Just, I'm not a hater of it, but make for example Red Bull doing transfers most likely with Alpha Tauri (and, let's say, 2 drivers from other teams in 7-8 years. Remember that the last driver that raced with RB without being from the academy was Mark Webber, 7 YEARS AGO.)
4: Not being free of choosing the team I want. Why, if I'm fired, I can go to the best car on the grid? Just, do it well. Not as F1 2016, where I didn't have any contract proposal, even with some podiums on a Manor. (Yeah, F1 2016 AI was ridicoulus, too slow).
5: More realism. At least in F1 2021, as I think the 2020 physics are already done. Be able to go onto the grid by formation lap manually (as an option, so everyone can choose) and other small things.
 
For me, if we're talking about potential patches rather than the next F1 2021 version, it's all about the small things to help with immersion/emotional investment (PC single-player MyTeam centered):

  • Option for the player to have random terminal technical failures, even when wear is not an issue.
  • Option to add random career events that affect the team and that you have to react to (e.g. driver unavailable for the next race due to injury).
  • Improved algorithm for driver of the day, being more than just the driver than "won the most positions from qualifying".
  • Variety in podium celebrations and end-of-race analysis (don't tell me I won the race because of pacing and being faster lap after lap, when I was struggling with tires and was just defending my position for most of the race when everybody else was doing faster laps).
  • Press interviews are too simplistic as they stand. For starters, add more diversity (e.g. don't make it obvious which ones are right/wrong choices) and avoid nonsensical questions (e.g. if I just won the championship, don't ask if I'm disapppointed).
  • The same goes for audio cues (don't tell me that I got "into the points" last race and to keep momentum, when I just won 3 races in a row after a catastrophic season start where I didn't finish the first two circuits -- it's a bit underwhelming).
  • More career stats. Personally, in addition to the season results tab which shows the drivers' race positions, I would love to see:
    • Historical view of qualifying position per track (season)
    • Historical view of personal/global best laps per track, alongside AI difficulty and weather conditions for context (season, all time)
    • Historical view of best practice points per track (season, all time)
    • Historical view of penalties per track (season, all time)
  • Improved driver stats, more perks (granted, this will make it a bit more RPGey and would probably never be in a patch as it's too big of a change).
  • Allow mouse usage outside of race even if a controller/wheel is active.
  • Option to have more radio chat, even non-practical banter. Also more feedback on the second driver, other than in the pits or out of the race, would be great (e.g. comment on overtakes).
  • Corner cutting penalties are annoying at times (e.g. penalised when you understeer/oversteer accidently but no penalty when you deliberately cut some of the corners at a certain angle).
  • Very minor but always bugged me. In the emails from your staff, add the corner numbers to the track preview, especially when giving advice about parts of the circuit in the email's body.
 
To be honest, something cool to now see since Codemasters have had the licencing for over 10 years is to see a career mode where you could actually play the last ten years of Formula 1. With all the rules and regulations changing the silhouette changing, track lineup changing (#bringbacksepang) as each year goes past.
 

Latest News

Are you buying car setups?

  • Yes

  • No


Results are only viewable after voting.
Back
Top