PC1 Latest Build testing.

[Andy_J]

As you all know, Ian gave me a free pass to test the latest builds and that's what I have been doing for the last week. I will report here as and when I see fit to tell all about my findings.

But I will say that the latest build (296) is quite good. Now lets make some sense of my statement. I used a Lotus 98T in helmet cam using my antique MOMO red wheel and I can honestly report it is coming along much better than I anticipated. The actual feel and immersion is damn fine at this point. The handling is strange at first compared to say...RF2 and FVA, but it grows on you within minutes. At this point in time, this actual car feels good. I like it and I love the Milan circuit. The damage model has come on leaps and bounds.

I am doing some more testing all of next week using a G27 and I will also test some of the other cars that don't interest me as much (I am a F1 nut) and see how the feel in comparison to Shift 2, because that is what I was initially comparing PCars to.

I would like the replay function to have a directors mode though. Something that jumps from action to action and from car to car.

Aside from that, the replay's do crash my PC quite often but I understand that is being looked at.

Watch this space.

 

[Andrej Svajger]

Yes, you can (too) easily lose a tire in openwheelers, but there was once visible damage (apart from losing a part of the car) that isn't there anymore (to such extent). I remember having a great ride in Z4 without drivers door (at first it was flapping all over and than it fell off).

 

[Blkout]

Yes, you can (too) easily lose a tire in openwheelers, but there was once visible damage (apart from losing a part of the car) that isn't there anymore (to such extent). I remember having a great ride in Z4 without drivers door (at first it was flapping all over and than it fell off).

I lost a hood in one car. It was flapping a bit then came off at some point.

 

[Andy_J]

Another thing thats really bothering me are the dark cockpit views. Both Helmet and normal cockpit views are too dark. I remember reading on WMD that many were complaining about this but it looks like it was never finished. It really spoils it for me as I like to use helmet cam or cockpit cam and always race with these views.

 

[Andrej Svajger]

Another thing thats really bothering me are the dark cockpit views. Both Helmet and normal cockpit views are too dark. I remember reading on WMD that many were complaining about this but it looks like it was never finished. It really spoils it for me as I like to use helmet cam or cockpit cam and always race with these views.

To be honest, i only drive in helmet cam view and never had any problems with exposure. But i'm using my pad as the HUD, so i'm not too concerned about the details of cockpit since everything i need is on my pad. Btw, i'm using HUD Dash, which is a fine little program.

 

[Andy_J]

To be honest, i only drive in helmet cam view and never had any problems with exposure. But i'm using my pad as the HUD, so i'm not too concerned about the details of cockpit since everything i need is on my pad. Btw, i'm using HUD Dash, which is a fine little program.

Not bothered about the instruments details Andrej, its the darkness of the windscreen in some cars.

 

[Andy_J]

I have got to say, that after some extensive testing, optimising of FFB and video and some brilliant Multiplayer and offline races in variable weather and lighting, Pcars is growing on me a lot. It is damn fun. I feel that the physics are actually very very good once you get used to them. I was loving the Renault Clio Cup cars going onto 3 wheels and all the time I am fighting that front wheel drive torque. Great stuff. Some cars have much better damage models than others though.
I really hope SMS fix the little bugs (like the hide interface button) and sort out some MP glitches. It will be very very good then.

It can only get better.

 

[Andrej Svajger]

So they dumbed the damage system down eh. Expected I suppose. But it was great once,

I'll quote Cluck's post from WMD forum, as it shows that SMS had no other way but to do it (tone down the damage system).
"If you want fully realistic car damage then you can kiss goodbye to licensed cars. Like it or not, that is how it is. I believe it is the case (from reading previous dev posts on here) that no car manufacturer, right now, will license their cars if anything encroaches into the 'safety cell' area and it will be a cold day in hell before they allow the virtual driver to be killed. You can scream, moan, cry, petition, laugh until you are blue in the face, it won't change the manufacturer's minds. It is their intellectual property and they are well within their rights to decide what can and can't be done to it."

 

[Blkout]

@Kyle Pearson

I honestly don't believe it will take nearly 5-6 years to release PCARS 2. If PCARS is successful which it likely will be, SMS already has a solid foundation to build PCARS 2. It won't take nearly as long to develop as PCARS since most of the ground work has already been done. I seriously doubt they would radically modify the game engine and code to start all over again. I'd say a safe bet is PCARS 2 in less than 3 years and I'd personally bet on 2 years.

Nope. They have updates and DLC plans for Project CARS 1 for 2-3 years. Why 5-6 years? They want the hardware platforms to evolve. Without that, they can't really introduce too much other than more cars and tracks, which is the plan for Project CARS 1 DLC. They want the hardware to continue to mature so they can do things like increase the resolution of the SETA tire model. For Project CARS 1, they did have to dial back some of the tire resolution for performance reasons. If the tire calcs are taking up too much of the CPU, there isn't enough overhead for the rest of the processing (input, graphics, sound, AI, etc).

In short, Project CARS 2 is really so far out and unknown at this stage that it's pointless to even discuss. All Ian was attempting to do was share a little of SMS's vision to the WMD community. He felt that they were "part of SMS" and wanted them to be excited about the future now that pCARS 1 is being released. There are a lot people in the WMD community who care more about the journey than the destination so sharing that vision was a good thing on so many levels. It's just a shame it's been twisted and spun into something it's not by the interwebz....

Nope. I'm going with 2-3 years. We'll revisit this in 2017-2018 if you'd like.

Bump for PCARS 2 announcement.

 

[yusupov]

um...not that im gonna sign up or anything, bc i think its disgraceful -- but if i WERE to, could i upgrade my status thing as it goes along?

 

[Zytok]

If it's so disgraceful, don't bother. No-one has you at gunpoint.
Yes you can, even though you don't care.

 

[yusupov]

that was meant as a little self deprecating humor...as it is, im considerably less enthusiastic upon finding out its a pretty huge project (mixed surfaces). i really do think pcars is great (or, will be great, when it gets sorted), so ill probably buy in eventually.