PC1 Sim Discussion Monday - PCARS 1

[Paul Jeffrey]

Monday morning blues? No worries, let's talk Project CARS 1!

Next up for the 'Sim Discussion Monday' feature of articles is the very first release from Slightly Mad Studios - Project CARS 1.

Now the intention of these articles is to talk about a particular sim with like minded individuals, discuss how to get the most from the game in terms of performance and satisfaction, share you wheel or game settings, discuss particular likes and dislikes and generally just chat about anything and everything related to the title.

I appreciate discussion about PCARS can often get a little... tasty, so I ask you to please don't get into a silly flame war or throw around trolling comments. We are (mostly) adults here, let us remember that before we type and keep up the generally good behaviour we display in the various comments sections throughout the site.

With Project CARS 2 on its way in a couple of weeks, this should be a nice opportunity to have a look back at the first game after the benefit of time and experience has helped shape our opinions.

Mondays boring? Nope, Mondays be like...

 

[CL0NE]

Personally I think PCars 1 was the birth of something truly new. It will no doubt in years to come become an icon, something that will be remembered, a time something very special started. It's an amalgamation of all the good things that people wanted or at least an attempt at that. All the people that took part in the making of it and I don't just mean the developers, all put their opinions and ideas into it and the devs did a great job translating those ideas. Without a doubt it was one of the prettiest games for quite a while, and still is. Slightly mad Studios will set the bar again with PCars 2 and I’m sure they will set it higher again. Everyone who's into simulation driving that I have spoken to all have their own opinions and different tastes. Some love it others like it and just a few hate it but I believe PCars 2 will truly be the driving simulation for all. Enough simulation and realism, fun and feel to appease the hardest of sim racers. No doubt there will be faults with it and in time these faults will be fixed with numerous patches as every other game preceding it has had but what slightly mad Studios started with PCars 1 was the first step on a ladder that hopefully one day we'll reach the highest limits of the perfect simulator. There isn't a game that I have seen or played that somebody somewhere hasn’t had a criticism about but its these criticisms that help developers improve those games. So don't be put off by Force Feedback issues and the lack of feel. Don't be put off by non driver swap option and the like. Forgive the lack of triple screen support. Look out for PCars 2 over the next few months and if they have finished it off as we hope,adding all the goodies we asked for, you will see what I believe will be the best driving sim to date.

 

[Nick Hill]

Personally I think PCars 1 was the birth of something truly new. It will no doubt in years to come become an icon, something that will be remembered, a time something very special started. It's an amalgamation of all the good things that people wanted or at least an attempt at that. All the people that took part in the making of it and I don't just mean the developers, all put their opinions and ideas into it and the devs did a great job translating those ideas. Without a doubt it was one of the prettiest games for quite a while, and still is. Slightly mad Studios will set the bar again with PCars 2 and I’m sure they will set it higher again. Everyone who's into simulation driving that I have spoken to all have their own opinions and different tastes. Some love it others like it and just a few hate it but I believe PCars 2 will truly be the driving simulation for all. Enough simulation and realism, fun and feel to appease the hardest of sim racers. No doubt there will be faults with it and in time these faults will be fixed with numerous patches as every other game preceding it has had but what slightly mad Studios started with PCars 1 was the first step on a ladder that hopefully one day we'll reach the highest limits of the perfect simulator. There isn't a game that I have seen or played that somebody somewhere hasn’t had a criticism about but its these criticisms that help developers improve those games. So don't be put off by Force Feedback issues and the lack of feel. Don't be put off by non driver swap option and the like. Forgive the lack of triple screen support. Look out for PCars 2 over the next few months and if they have finished it off as we hope,adding all the goodies we asked for, you will see what I believe will be the best driving sim to date.

I hope you are right - I like a good sim as much as the next guy - but forgive me for being skeptical. We heard the same kind of hype prior to PC1's release, but the end product fell well short of the hype in my opinion (and many others, as well).

If PC2 delivers the goods and deliver the "killer app" they are claiming to be building, you can bookmark this post - I will be shouting its praises to anyone who will listen.

 

[pcraenme]

Initially I liked PC1 a lot because of it's dynamic weather and day-night transitions and the fun factor. However after playing AC, rF2, R3E and AMS some more, PC1 is collecting dust. It just does not feel right anymore (FFB/physics) for most of its cars.

I played about 12 hours of PC2, and then SMS/WMD decided to ban me because I did not agree to their decision not to give Bronze members the Japanese Car Pack pre-order bonus (I paid them €70 2 years ago!). The impression I got of playing PC2 was... just more features (some of them that were already promised for PC1) and the same crappy FFB/physics for most of the cars. If this has improved over the last 2 months...? I don't know... I cannot test it anymore... so I also don't care anymore. SMS have lost me as a customer.

 

[Warren Newman]

For me pCars was my first race sim. I had always been dissapointed in how arcade games felt so wrong. I was so impressed with pCars I bought my first FFB wheel (g29). I put 630+ hours into it and I had just assumed I was the problem when it came to catching oversteer etc.

Then I bought Assetto Corsa and any attempt at going back to pCars left me extremely frustrated so I eventually just uninstalled

Do love the inclusion of the Aston Martins and loved the California Highway P2P as well as Azure Coast

 

[Nick Gregory]

I played about 12 hours of PC2, and then SMS/WMD decided to ban me because I did not agree to their decision not to give Bronze members the Japanese Car Pack pre-order bonus (I paid them €70 2 years ago!).

The ban was justified.

 

[Greg Latty]

I recently started playing this game again with a controller on my new gaming laptop. Im actually enjoying it more than on my main rig with my TX wheel. This is a great game to show off graphics to your buddies. And its actually pretty fun when you arent taking it too seriously. I had fun online with it because a couple of my friends had it but I just couldnt get on with the FFB and some other annoyances. But Im willing to give pcars 2 a shot.

 

[Gargos]

PCARS 1 was a game of great potential held back by too many bugs and a POS personality at the top of the studio. It made me physically ill to watch the way people were treated when they tried to voice their displeasure on their customer support forum.

My own personal experiences involved trying to race in a GT3 series online with the XBox only to have my Bentley come out of the pits every time with overheated tires that would explode after half a lap. Completely unplayable at the start which drove many people away and made any attempt at getting competitive series together later impossible. Everybody else walked away ages ago.

 

[PicoBp]

47 is still too big FOV. I use, I think, 42 for cockpit view. I know for sure it's 42 in Assetto.

AC uses vertical FOV, pCARS uses horizontal. I use 40 in vFOV titles like AC, AMS, RaceRoom, DR, which translates into 81 hFOV for pCARS with a 34" 21:9 display.

 

[Neils on Wheels]

The ban was justified.

Sounds to me they should have been more clear what the different editions would buy you.

 

[aka2k]

Beautiful game, but no car felt like a car. Would be a nice boat simulator tho. Really hoping PCars 2 fix the physics.

The videos on youtube so far are interesting. Now the cars in replays behave like cars.

 

[Cazdad2]

I was really stoked for the pCars, thinking it would be game changing and was disappointed. There were many fanboys then. Graphics were nice, at least on single screen, but not as good on triples. Really liked the adjustable FOV. The NFS Shift 2 DNA was not attractive to me - physics, handling, FFB - was really surprised how much it felt like Shift 2. I also expected more (some!) upgradability and more to career. But I appreciated pCars effort since I assume it's pushed other game makers (ahem, such as Turn 10) to better their games. I'm getting pCars 2 because I like racing games, but I'm more simcade/arcade, and don't try alot online. I assume pCars 2 will address some of the issues.

 

[Boby Kim]

Back then nice graphics...yeah...nice graphics. And besides the nice graphics the graphics were nice yeah...did i allready mention the nice...

 

[Rob]

Title should have been "who's going to get bounced from the forum first?" So far, so good. My bet is -- they learned their lesson. I sure hope so, because Forza is not an option and Assetto is broken after two weeks of multiplayer (out of six months).

 

[Terry Rock]

Owned it...Gave it back...Moved on.
Too divisive.
I wanted to have fun with the game...not be told what I can and cannot ask for, or post to sites.
When I stop paying for product a and they start handing it out for free...then and only then, can that happen.

 

[Nick Gregory]

Sounds to me they should have been more clear what the different editions would buy you.

It was very clear what you would be getting depending on which tool pack you bought.

 

[ionONE1]

Was bored enough on Saturday and downloaded pcar again. The game that started the sim racing journey for me back in april 2015?!
Still a good looking game but it also reminded me of the countless bugs i experienced (some still in the game)

Did some online racing too ...
Chat is still bugged to this day, broke around october 2015 i think. At the start of a multiplayer race sometimes cars are displaced causing a huge accident. Lack of track limits, tested spa ... you can drive so dirty no penaltys. Voting system is frustrating, always felt like everyone on the server and even the suspect had to vote so he gets removed. P2p has no ping limits, 1 guy had 2300 ping. Sound is bad no depth, physics and handling are weird at times depending on car too.

Holy **** all the setup expoits, some still in the game literally 4 sec faster vs default.
Pcar had some dedicated online trolls i remember "Amika" and his friends on eu anyone?! always reversing the track and causing a desaster. There was no ghost car feature at first, people who didnt start the race were not removed from the grid etc. ... it was frustrating but somehow i was still happy with my purchase.

I hope the best for Pcar2, the gamescom competition was a farce ... no track rules, missing the corner and going wide was not penalised it was just dirty. Pls someone tell me this is fixed.

 

[mopro]

Despite the results, I salute SMS team for they are very brave, taking the risk designing what could be the "most complete" racing car games. Mixing a robust graphics, physics, ffb, weather, day times, track and sound systems plus good marketing, is definitely a very huge task for any game developers. This is why I decided to support them in pCars1. I wish SMS will keep improving pCars over times.

Now, about pCars1:
FFB settings is ridiculously complicated. Fortunately I came across a tutorial on how to eliminate the FFB clip, and this helps to make FFB more pronounced. Atoms and RS500 at Cadwell and Oulton Park are what I enjoyed most in pCars1. Atoms are very nimble, and RS500 power feels satisfyingly brutal.
Overall, pCars1 feels unfinished. Car quality varies, the UI could be much better, some tracks still has "arcadey" in-cam in replay. I'm also not a fan of its replay system. I wish the replay system could be like AC, rF2 and R3E. Engine sound also seems off on most cars and mechanical/skid sounds is non existent, I'm glad that sounds seems improved in pCars2.

 

[Dirk Steffen]

I had PC1 from the beginning, installed it, read about the promises of adding missing promised features and fixes "soon" and kept using it for a while.

I had some of the greatest racing in it (loved online races with the Group A touring cars in bad weather around Nordschleife) and I enjoyed some of the cars on bad weather conditions - loved the day night transitions in longer races too.

At some point though those questions about the missing features were getting louder in the back of my head and internet searches for answers on them began to be more desperate.
From the beginning the single one feature I missed badly was multi view monitor support - I hated the distorted side screens from the beginning and every time I tried to watch into a mirror was reminded by that.
At that point coincidentally I became more serious about Assetto Corsa, told myself: when I get back to PC1 they will probably have fixed the issues they always kept promising to be fixed "soon".

Well, that never happened.

Out of curiosity I recently re-installed PC1 to see how it has come along since I left it.

Here is my impression, coming to PC1 with a fresh mind (I didn't PC1 to have made ANY progress since I left, so I had no expectations).
- car dynamics: cars just awkwardly slide around - they do not move with grip on they tires, they just flop left to right, sliding over the track at a given yaw angle depending on your steering input - absolutely no sense of tire connecting to road surface whatsoever

- FFB: no detail (and I am not talking added effect vibrations you can add in other software) - Assetto Corsa, rF2, AMS, heck even R3E has far more detail and fine nuances in their FFB that seems entirely lacking in PC1 (I too remember myself having fiddled endlessly with the FFB settings in PC1 when I was actively using it and the must install of new Spade FFB files after each PC1 update and DLC release and consecutive re-tuning of all FFB settings got tiresome very quickly)

- graphics: still pretty, although 3D models were always much less detailed than Assetto Corsa car models (yet I usually thought that I preferred low res models as in PC1 or R3E as long as this results in smoother, rock solid performance - which is where PC1 did NOT deliver, R3E though does).

The PC1 re-install and "try with a fresh mind" took about 2 hours for the download and installation and approximately 20 min in driving my favorite cars from back then in my favorite weather conditions at Silverstone GP (a track I could well compare with AC + rF2).

The combination of the car's behavior, lack of feedback and the still horrible triple monitor view just wasn't bearable.

I think about PC1 that it would be a great GAME when played with friends at a party with game pads on a big TV slightly drunk - good fun.
A simulator it is not and when one is used to serious sim racing and expects a performance as in AC, AMS, rF2 or even R3E, Project Cars 1 in all seriousness will disappoint.

PS: I didn't mention the absolute atrocity the menu system always has been (especially as it would wildly and unpredictably reset certain choices every time you reenter the game - this drove me mad back then and knowing about it, I tried to completely blind this issue out when I tried PC1 again - it was not a factor therefore into me discarding the game after 20min time)

 

[Case_]

especially as it would wildly and unpredictably reset certain choices every time you reenter the game

You just reminded me of the fact the game couldn't remember I had virtual mirror turned on and the default was always off for some reason. No workarounds found on the internet ever worked for me. Was driving me crazy to turn the mirror every time I got on track.

Oh, and the longstanding bug where the game would change your desktop wallpaper on every launch was also infuriating.

 

[snyperal]

Some of these issues! Wow