DiRT Rally 2.0 DiRT 2.0 Dev Insight 3: Rising to the Top

[Paul Jeffrey]

Another new, and very short 'dev insight' video has been released for DiRT Rally 2.0.

To be perfectly honest the video isn't that much to write home about.. or right to our readers at RD about either come to mention it, but it does come with some nice new screenshots of the game, so I thought it probably worthwhile to throw a few words together.

By now I'm sure we are all aware that DiRT 2.0 is a thing, and will be released in early 2019 (February 26th to be precise). Unlike its very popular predecessor DiRT Rally, a game that frankly no-one had a clue about until it dropped on Steam Early Access all of a sudden, Codemasters have very much taken a different route to market with the new release - following the more traditional and well worn path of announcing the title far in advance, and using the following months to keep pushing out a steady stream of new information and game footage to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

Now when Codies first confirmed they would be running a series of 'Developer Insights' videos I admit my curiosity was peaked. I've always enjoyed having a look behind the curtain so to speak, and like many of us I'm very curious to see more of the game in action prior to getting my hands on a copy directly. Sadly, the insight series isn't quite as in depth as I would of liked (the latest video being less than one minute in length), but I am pleased to report it comes with some new screenshots of cars I enjoy set to feature in the title - including a rather pleasing Colin McRae spec Subaru Impreza WRC and the lovely Lancia Stratos HF...

A feast for the eyes? Oh yes...

DiRT Rally 2.0 will release February 26th 2019.

If you want to discussion the game with our passionate community, and read about the latest news, check out the RaceDepartment DiRT Rally 2.0 Sub Forum for a great place to pick up mods, catch the latest news and chat about the game with our community. Give it a go, just keep it DiRTy!

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[LibranRabbit]

I should be ecstatic but something is making me feel very, very wary....once bitten, twice shy, maybe?

 

[vittau]

Codemasters should have a "dev insight" and learn to support their products after they're released.

 

[Boby Kim]

Only in DX16, the Unreal unity rFactor megaforce engine with hyperflop double supersharp anti aliasing cracking boost program combined with the new superhyperdeluxe VeeARRR.
If not...no..well, exactly!

 

[Alex72]

0:31 Does that really look realistic? Dude cant follow the corner but have to do tiny flicks in a robotic perfect sequence. I dont know. Looks gamey. Too much talk and showing of things they know we dont care much about. If they for example had improved tarmac they would have been all over it in these videos and boasted about it. So far i have not cared ONE TIME about the highscore lists in Dirt Rally. Im not a dummy who cares about highscores and graphics before i care about physics.

 

[Nick Phillips]

Actually reinstalled Dirt Rally due to this as it was for me a very good rally game.

My only issue after many hours racing was the lack of tracks...8 or so from memory. Hope there is a bit more variety on that front as long as we don't lose the quality.

 

[flykas]

I find it interesting that they only things they said about physics is that they are better, nothing specific, nothing technical, that is a little bit weird. Well, I still think that it will be pretty interesting. I reinstalled Dirt rally and I can say that I am enjoying it again doing community challenges.

 

[MarcG]

It can look as realistic as it wants...No VR = No Buy

 

[theravenousbeast]

0:31 Does that really look realistic? Dude cant follow the corner but have to do tiny flicks in a robotic perfect sequence. I dont know. Looks gamey. Too much talk and showing of things they know we dont care much about. If they for example had improved tarmac they would have been all over it in these videos and boasted about it. So far i have not cared ONE TIME about the highscore lists in Dirt Rally.

They did improve on tarmac in 4 though.

Not that you would know, because if simracers love something it is baseless shittalking.

That bit at 0:31 isn't from Jon's POV (his is without the animated wheel), I'm guessing that's a controller used.

They've got two actual rally drivers working on this from pretty early in development. The stuff they worked on with the real RX drivers in 4 were by far the best in the game. I wouldn't worry too much.

As for Dirt 4 support, I too was disappointed. However I can sort of understand it. Most people really just assumed Codemasters duped them about "simulation" mode thinking Dirt 4 is a sequel to 1,2 and 3 which were pure simcade titles in the handling regard as well. 4 was never going to win back these people so the playerbase kinda died quickly. Why try support, update and release content for it?


"Im not a dummy who cares about highscores and graphics before i care about physics."

Then go play RBR.

 

[shadow118]

They did improve on tarmac in 4 though.

Not that you would know, because if simracers love something it is baseless shittalking.

The force feedback did feel a lot better on tarmac, but the cars still drove a bit wierd, especially the 70's cars

 

[theravenousbeast]

The force feedback did feel a lot better on tarmac, but the cars still drove a bit wierd, especially the 70's cars

The 70's cars drove weird on all the stages. The bad thing about 4 is that there's wild inconsistency between cars' feel.

60's and 80's are generally fine. (Ascona, M3, Sierra, 037, Manta being highlights, Alpine can be weird)
70's have too little power to break traction in the game so they tend to plow badly.
Group B have too much rear end grip apart from maybe the Quattro. Otherwise they feel fine, braking, acceleration feel fine.
90's tend to understeer too much on throttle (especially Evo, Cosworth is great though)
2000's Subaru plows way too much under power, others are fine.
Moderns and FWDs are fine.

In general, the cars in 4 feel great under braking and mid corner but once the weight transfers to the rear they rarely break traction. It's something with the tyre model that I believe can be worked on if enough attention is given, since there are cars that "break the mold". There's also IMO more felt difference between each car (for better or worse)

I played DR since early access and I loved it up until the infamous V2 patch that was hurried out to please all the "hardcore" fans (read: people who liked vanilla RBR zero grip) that made all the cars slide more but also feel a third of their weight and float on every jump and crest. Now, half the difficulty in the game is judging how high and far every single bump on the road will launch you. The FFB was also affected by this and not in a good way. The tarmac handling was basically ruined by this patch (it wasn't great before but it was better).

 

[bogani]

The 70's cars drove weird on all the stages. The bad thing about 4 is that there's wild inconsistency between cars' feel.

60's and 80's are generally fine. (Ascona, M3, Sierra, 037, Manta being highlights, Alpine can be weird)
70's have too little power to break traction in the game so they tend to plow badly.
Group B have too much rear end grip apart from maybe the Quattro. Otherwise they feel fine, braking, acceleration feel fine.
90's tend to understeer too much on throttle (especially Evo, Cosworth is great though)
2000's Subaru plows way too much under power, others are fine.
Moderns and FWDs are fine.

In general, the cars in 4 feel great under braking and mid corner but once the weight transfers to the rear they rarely break traction. It's something with the tyre model that I believe can be worked on if enough attention is given, since there are cars that "break the mold". There's also IMO more felt difference between each car (for better or worse)

I played DR since early access and I loved it up until the infamous V2 patch that was hurried out to please all the "hardcore" fans (read: people who liked vanilla RBR zero grip) that made all the cars slide more but also feel a third of their weight and float on every jump and crest. Now, half the difficulty in the game is judging how high and far every single bump on the road will launch you. The FFB was also affected by this and not in a good way. The tarmac handling was basically ruined by this patch (it wasn't great before but it was better).

To be fair Dirt Rally V2 was introduced because V1 was flawed from the beginning with excessive mechanical friction as well as aero drag across all speeds that basically made the cars stop like you were on the brakes when just releasing the throttle. The cars just came to a complete stop when it should be coasting. This extreme drag also made the cars feel very underpowered and when you can't make something like a 300bhp RWD car wag it's rear end on power, something isn't right.

As I understand making V2 happen was a HUGE undertaking and things that got fixed sadly also messed other things up along the way.

At first glance one might think tarmac was greatly improved in Dirt 4 but IMO that feeling mostly comes from the FFB that seems to work differently. It's less detailed but much more "tight" in D4 if you understand what I mean. The FFB on tarmac in DR felt vagues and sloppy, in D4 it's much more stiff and tight. However, when it comes to car movements both DR/D4 gives you the feeling that the rear end isn't really always follow in the tracks of the front. It kinda slides along like a soap, even without any real wheel slip. On the official forum this has been pointed out as "crabbing" since the days of V2 Dirt Rally.

I'm delighted that they actually managed to get rid of that feeling on tarmac for Dirt Rally 2. It was there when we started testing the handling prototype but after new builds based on feedback it feels very good, even on tarmac.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

They did improve on tarmac in 4 though.

Not that you would know, because if simracers love something it is baseless shittalking.

But what does it help, when nearly everything else was ruined. As a whole Dirt Rally physics are much better than Dirt 4 physics. Yes tarmac was improved, jump and braking behavior was improved too. But as a whole it got worse, considerably worse. (Yes I own Dirt 4, sadly)

You change one thing, everything changes. They don't seem to be on the top of things... more like turning some knobs, and hoping for the best

Maybe DR 2.0 will be good, but not gonna believe until I test it with wheel. Even WRC7 physics are better than Dirt 4 physics

 

[69Harder]

I should be ecstatic but something is making me feel very, very wary....once bitten, twice shy, maybe?

Never ever forget that Codies are the true masters of Hype and Arcade games !

Why oh why can't there be a Sim rally developer that are as serious as Kunos ?

 

[bogani]

Never ever forget that Codies are the true masters of Hype and Arcade games !

Why oh why can't there be a Sim rally developer that are as serious as Kunos ?

Emm.. there was. They went bancrupt

 

[69Harder]

Emm.. there was. They went bancrupt

Let's re phrase that:

Why oh why can't there be a Sim rally developer that are as serious and smart as Kunos ?

 

[theravenousbeast]

Let's re phrase that:

Why oh why can't there be a Sim rally developer that are as serious and smart as Kunos ?

Kunos got pretty lucky though. Half their playerbase is Gran Turismo refugees drifters/weebs because Polyphony cocked up so much.

That's why the online racing quality is the worst in AC.

 

[melanieuk]

Emm.. there was. They went bancrupt

Who went bankrupt, they are all still developing as far as I know.

 

[Kurupt CDN]

I find it interesting that they only things they said about physics is that they are better, nothing specific, nothing technical, that is a little bit weird. Well, I still think that it will be pretty interesting. I reinstalled Dirt rally and I can say that I am enjoying it again doing community challenges.

Not sure why RD hasn't posted any info regarding physics info other than these pretty pointless short Dev videos?

There have been a few interviews else where with the codies devs that have shed some light on the topic.
Tarmac physics, track deformation ex...
Here's a some info from the Red bull site.

https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/dirt-rally2-interview-codemasters

Until there is conformation on proper controller support and automatic deg of wheel rotation with matching visuals I won't be jumping on the hype train.

 

[bogani]

Who went bankrupt, they are all still developing as far as I know.

Warthog?

Not sure why RD hasn't posted any info regarding physics info other than these pretty pointless short Dev videos?

There have been a few interviews else where with the codies devs that have shed some light on the topic.
Tarmac physics, track deformation ex...
Here's a some info from the Red bull site.

https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/dirt-rally2-interview-codemasters

Until there is conformation on proper controller support and automatic deg of wheel rotation with matching visuals I won't be jumping on the hype train.

Wheel animation matches 1:1 in DR2. It did in D4 as well.