I dunno, kinda of look a bit too arcadey. Maybe the Forza 7 trucks are actually better, comparing racing games that aren't very serious.
 
I have 2 reasons to be pessimistic (which are: graphics do not look modern and FIA licences sims are usually silly expensive games). I have infinitive number of reasons to be optimistic. We don't know how this title is gonna drive like. It might be good.
 
Team VVV have some videos on their channel and it looks surprisingly decent in them, certainly better than what they showed themselves. Not ultra hardcore sim, but not as arcady as it seemed either.
 
Well, fingers crossed I guess. It would bring something new(ish) to the sim racing table, but I can’t really be bothered with arcade titles - unless it’s Wreckfest - which is what I suspect this will be. Good luck to them though.
 
Well, this is something truly different and in my opinion well worth picking up. With the usual slow summer for game releases, the FIA Truck Racing game intrigued me. The game launched today and after a quick single lap tutorial that covers the basics of truck control, I was quickly into a race.


First impressions, the good stuff:

+++ Size and weight. Immediately and in real contrast to the usual car racing games the size and weight of these trucks is transmitted superbly, they feel big, slow to react and momentum is key. This is much better than the Mercedes Truck in Forza 7 which feels like an on stilts version of the Forza cars. These trucks handle differently to anything I've tried before.

+++ Water-cooled brakes, managing the brake temperatures with water cooling is a real challenge. If the brakes get too hot the trucks spin easily. Having only a limited amount of water for the race adds to the strategy. I've never seen this before in a game and it is enjoyable.

+++ Narrow power band, these trucks give a new meaning to narrow power band, only 2 gears 7H and 8H really seem to matter after the rolling start and keeping the turbo spinning is essential. I've also noticed the turbo gets damaged.

+++ Handling. The driving in the game is intuitive from the outset. I had to make minimal changes (slightly increase the FFB and ad a little more centre weight with the damper) to the wheel settings. Massive understeer is relayed well if turning in too quickly. Feeling the trucks push wide onto the rumble strips seems right to me. When the turbo spins up the torque overtakes rear grip and the truck starts to oversteer, it's well communicated and intuitive to counter. getting the brakes red hot, usually forgetting to use the water spray, has been the cause of the only strange handling effects I've seen so far.

+++ The game worked from the first load up with no issues. It looks good in 4k to me and holds a steady 50+ FPS with everything maxed out (FPS counter is top right in the video). Race replays also play well at 60fps. There is also an in-game option to display performance during the game.

+++ The AI drivers are decent, on the Hard setting, they race well and leave enough room for the player. The AI trucks make mistakes, recover, get caught out of the powerband and equally fight back hard if they get the chance.

+++ Rules and penalties are well implemented and working. Track limits, penalty bollards, speeding penalties all work as described - which is again great for a game on launch day. Equally impressive is the way the game allows door to door truck racing without caution but hitting another truck at speed results in a contact penalty - it isn't perfect but it's better than many games have.

+ The atmosphere of truck racing with the pace truck etc seems to have been pretty well captured.

+ It has leaderboards and records laptimes (a real shame serious sims like ACC don't have this imo essential feature).

The less good stuff:

- - No track feel. The tracks look good but other than kerbs there is no real track surface feel to speak of.

- Sound is average throughout.

- Tuning options look pretty basic but then I don't know how much tuning is allowed in the real series.

- Contact between trucks feels a bit lightweight and the sounds are quite muted.

- All the rules and penalties can be switched off, good for accessibility of the game but not so much for realism. It looks like that is also true for leaderboard lap times so that might not be such a great choice.

- It looks like a fairly thin game without much content at full price. I picked it up for a good pre-order price and I'd say it's more a £30 game than a full-price £40-50 (consoles!) game.

So far so good:

I'm far more impressed than I expected to be. There is enough that is unique and different to make this game worth playing. The fact everything seems to be working at launch is a bonus.

Add to that I've finally discovered what happened to Nancy from Chase HQ and I'm pleased with what I've seen so far.
 
I agree with MarkR.
I miss the camera setting like...FoV, seat setting.
I couldn't switch off the auto-pilot in pit.
But it is a good fungame, it is closer to arcade, not a simulator. "Hop in sim" :D If You have half an hour...jump in and drive an elephant! :D
 
Bigben Games have released the new FIA European Truck Racing Championship game for console and PC.


Initially available on PC and for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, with Nintendo Switch set to follow this August, the new game is now available to purchase for around £34.99.

Complete with 45 individually liveried trucks and 14 tracks from which to choose from, this is the official videogame of the mightily impressive FIA European Truck Racing Championship, the first time in the modern era that the series has been represented in the virtual world.

About the Game:

The European Truck Racing Championship is one of the most spectacular and challenging motor racing competitions.

The driving difficulty and many unique race features have been faithfully reproduced with the KT Engine (WRC).

In ETRC, like on real-life race tracks, you need to control the temperature of your brakes so they don't overheat. You must also consider the weight of the truck when cornering, monitor tyre wear and find the best tactics for overtaking.

The official FIA ETRC game is a completely new option for all fans of racing sims.
  • 45 trucks with their official livery, including top manufacturers like Volvo, Man, Freightliner and Western Star
  • 20 teams and the championship's best drivers
  • 14 circuits including official ETRC ones, as well as Laguna Seca, Circuit of The Americas and Fuji Speedway
  • 5 single-player modes and 3 multiplayer modes

The FIA ETRC game is available now for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Check out the FIA ETRC sub forum here at RaceDepartment for all the latest news and discussion about the game.


Like what we do at RaceDepartment? Follow us on Social Media!


 
 

Latest News

Online or Offline racing?

  • 100% online racing

    Votes: 86 7.4%
  • 75% online 25% offline

    Votes: 123 10.6%
  • 50% online 50% offline

    Votes: 170 14.7%
  • 25% online 75% offline

    Votes: 321 27.7%
  • 100% offline racing

    Votes: 455 39.3%
  • Something else, explain in comment

    Votes: 4 0.3%
Back
Top