WRC8 WRC 8 The Game

[Paul Jeffrey]

Kylotonn Racing Games have confirmed this September will see the release of the next officially licensed World Rally Championship video game - WRC 8.

Imaginatively titled as always, the eighth instalment to the steadily improving WRC franchise of games is set to launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC this September, and promises to be an all round improvement on previous iterations of the long running franchise.

New for WRC 8 will be a revised physics system across the many varied different racing surfaces within the game, plus the inclusion of what looks to be an already very impressive looking dynamic weather system, presumably adding a feature to allow the 100+ official WRC stages to be experienced in a variety of different weather conditions.

Of the new dynamic weather, Bigben and Kylotonn had the following to say during a brief press release to accompany the brand new announcement trailer:

"A new dynamic weather system has been developed to add random elements to the driving experience, but also to increase realism in the game. Managing the weather is a real challenge for the drivers: modified grip, car settings adjustments, tyre selection optimization, weather team relationship to ensure the best tips and information on the latest conditions. More than mere visual effects, climatic conditions become crucial, especially in the management of your career"

Of course with the title coming out toward the end of the year, the new WRC 8 release will replicate the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship season, including the latest cars and drivers from the official teams' of the category. Featuring over 50 drivers, including the returning multiple champion Sébastien Loeb in his new Hyundai, 14 different events across over 100 individual stages, WRC 8 certainly lacks nothing in terms of scale.

Most importantly of all for sim racers looking to get their rally kicks, Kylotonn have promised that "WRC 8 will go above and beyond WRC 7, especially in the steering requirements and the realistic physics of the vehicles" - one of the weaker points from previous releases.

As well as the class leading WRC cars, the new game is also set to feature a selection of vehicles from the WRC 2 and Junior WRC categories, alongside a number of historic cars. Team management is also set to play a role in the expanded career mode, with the player able to improve their car by way of upgrades and team developments, of which more details are expected to be revealed in the near future.

Exciting times for fans of sideways action.

WRC 8 releases for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam/PC September 2019.

Check out the upcoming WRC 8 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for the latest news, discussions and conversation prior to the big game reveal this September!

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[DrDeath_MD]

Will it work without stuttering in PC? Will I be able to use a Bodnar cable for pedals? Will it not get completely broken above 60 fps? All issues I had with WRC 7!

 

[Celestiale]

Would be instabuy with VR support but without...ney

 

[gamer19]

WRC is back you say ?

WRC series is (finally) back !
Loeb vs Ogier full season - is (finally) back !!!
Do I still hear some doubters here ? Haters. Nonbelievers.
If the game sucks, I won't insta-refund it. I'll just brace and boldly wait for patch(es). And prey. A lot.

 

[Thombike]

Is still someone who want to buy this POS?

 

[flykas]

Funny thing is that they are probably driving using keyboard in this trailer.

 

[bogani]

I hope WRC 8 will already enable to read telemetry data !
Now I can't use my hardwares like digital dashboard, gear indicator etc. while i play WRC 7 which is a shame......

Car 3D model still looks primitve. The suspension move more than IRL while tyre/wheel width seems narrower

This. Wheels and suspension just looks so..... weird?

 

[Cheesenium]

I find WRC7 to be pretty decent. Runs a bit crap, physics is a bit problematic at times but the overall package is more enjoyable to the point I think it is better than Dirt 4. At least the driving is consistent, unlike Codemaster's odd tarmac physics in Dirt 4 and Dirt Rally while the tracks, they feel more like a journey than a short 4km run.The tracks are nice and bumpy too which is a huge plus.

Hope they keep improving on WRC8. Vrally 4 is disappointing though.

 

[Ernie]

It looks really strange what the car is doing in the trailer at 0:26.

 

[Paul McCluskey]

Is still someone who want to buy this POS?

Sadly they do and why they turning the trash out, never get a penny from me after that IOM TT game farce

 

[69Harder]

Why cant there be a serious rally Sim developer in the same spirit as Kunos ?
I don't buy that there wouldn't be enough market for it.

WRC8 is going to be the same story as the last one.
Release and then just a couple of updates that doesn't fix all bugs !

Stages in WRC7 are great but the physics suck !

 

[69Harder]

This going to be nice in VR.

No Valentino Rossi wont be in this title either !

 

[69Harder]

Funny thing is that they are probably driving using keyboard in this trailer.

Looks like it yes !

 

[KittX]

Why cant there be a serious rally Sim developer in the same spirit as Kunos ?
I don't by that there wouldn't be enough big market for it.

I think one of reasons is RBR being an example of commercial failure for too long, while it surely was released just at the wrong time - now the market of sim devices is so big, that a title like that won't be so much failure than back then.
I am hoping for good rally sim too, but what I expect from it maybe will receive a lot of hate to my post from people who hate early access or subscription-based games: I think first a sim like that must concentrate on the very core - physics, online championship aspect etc, and release very limited amount of content (making the rally stages alone takes about 10x more time than a racing circuit); and adding some free and paid cars and tracks later on. I believe that's the only way for hardcore rally sim to survive these days.

 

[69Harder]

It looked more promising when I looked at the clip at 0,25 speed

 

[ShredatorFIN]

People literally trashing WRC7 physics here leads me to believe just repeat what they've heard others say without even properly trying it, or properly setting FFB.

Lack of testing, mixed with prejudices based on WRC 1-6. The physics really weren't that bad...

Inside Sim Racing for example said only positive things about the physics, listing them as WRC7 strong points and rating the game as sim. And it was by 2 different reviewers, who shared exact same opinion.

They are both wrong? Billy Strange is actually a former competitive Sprint Car driver

I don't really see anything majorly wrong with the physics (excluding the weird SAT), when compared to something like Automobilista the dirt 4WD behavior is roughly similar.

Especially loading front suspension with brakes to turn the car works just like it should, and how real rally drivers use it to replace handbrake when possible (everything except extreme hairpins). Throttle steering works nicely too (unlike Dirt 4)... so what's the problem exactly? Two probably most critical aspects about rally physics, done right...

Can the critics actually point out something concrete in the WRC7 cars, that works totally against laws of physics? Or are you comparing the cars into some Group B or Group A cars, because "that's how rally car behaves?" If modern WRC car didn't feel "arcade" and "easy" compared to Group B widow makers, then something would really be wrong with physics

FFB is another matter, but it was better (in some respects) before they updated it. If less than stellar FFB would mean bad physics, then ACC build 1 would fall into that category

Anyway, looking forward to WRC8, if it's able to improve on WRC7, it might end up being better than Dirt Rally 2.0 which hasn't looked too convincing (physics wise) in some of the footage

 

[69Harder]

I think one of reasons is RBR being an example of commercial failure for too long, while it surely was released just at the wrong time - now the market of sim devices is so big, that a title like that won't be so much failure than back then.
I am hoping for good rally sim too, but what I expect from it maybe will receive a lot of hate to my post from people who hate early access or subscription-based games: I think first a sim like that must concentrate on the very core - physics, online championship aspect etc, and release very limited amount of content (making the rally stages alone takes about 10x more time than a racing circuit); and adding some free and paid cars and tracks later on. I believe that's the only way for hardcore rally sim to survive these days.

All Kylotonn has to do is improve on the physics, FFB and sounds ( Especially the engine sounds which are crap in WRC7 IMHO )

I love the stages in WRC7 and the different feel of the surfaces !

Stages from the full calendar is also something that no other developer offers.

I am a rally nut and buy every game/sim and so far the only ones that still lives on my SSD are RBR and WRC7 ( WRC7 mostly for the stages though )

 

[KittX]

All Kylotonn has to do is improve on the physics, FFB and sounds ( Especially the engine sounds which are crap in WRC7 IMHO )

I love the stages in WRC7 and the different feel of the surfaces !

Stages from the full calendar is also something that no other developer offers.

I am a rally nut and buy every game/sim and so far the only ones that still lives on my SSD are RBR and WRC7 ( WRC7 mostly for the stages though )

Kylotonn's aiming for a different market, what I described would be more niche product. But hey, iRacing is niche product too, but look at how it thrives, despite all the hate. I mean, the aim and strategy must be different from ground zero. Plus I'd add a dynamic stage feature, weather changes, and a very versatile multiplayer that will use all those dynamic conditions... And people waiting for their stint in some sort of spectator mode. But all of this is another story, it will never happen with title aimed for market Kylotonn's aiming for, and i hope it's not even needed to explain why.

 

[anton_Chez]

FFB and physics are different things. Physics in WRC 7 were acceptable to good as far as I was concerned. The FFB is a little off which makes the experience a little poorer. If you actually turn the FFB off and drive without it, you'll find the weight transfer and handling of the cars through both steering and the pedals is quite convincing.

 

[Cote Dazur]

FFB and physics are different things. Physics in WRC 7 were acceptable to good as far as I was concerned. The FFB is a little off which makes the experience a little poorer. If you actually turn the FFB off and drive without it, you'll find the weight transfer and handling of the cars through both steering and the pedals is quite convincing.

I heard it is even better with a game pad.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Last time I checked I was still in top 50 leaderboards in many stages of WRC7, with in some cases 30 000+ entries.

To really be able to say something about WRC7 physics, set a competitive time first. First 6 months or so I was in top 10 in several stages, close to WR. And I was able to use largely same driving techniques like weight shift, as can be used in best of sims.. weird huh?

Hard to take seriously, when people who weren't even fast in WRC7, are bashing the physics tbh