PC1 Project Cars Delayed Until March 2015

[Bram Hengeveld]

Originally set for a November 2014 release the news reached us today that Project Cars will be re-scheduled for March 2015 meaning that fans of the multi-platform racing title will not be able to play the anticipated title during the gaming intensive holiday season in December.

Namco Bandai sent out the following press release, after rumors that have surfaced around the internet about a possible delay, officially confirming what was publicly known since yesterday.

Slightly Mad Studios and BANDAI NAMCO Games Europe S.A.S today announced they will be moving the release of Project CARS for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC to March 20th 2015 in Europe and Australasia.

The move positions the title away from the competitive holiday scene dominated by household names while affording the team at Slightly Mad Studios additional time to extend and polish their ground-breaking and accomplished next-gen racing experience that’s been created alongside a community of over 85,000 racing fans and real-life professional drivers.

“Our goal has always been to deliver a landmark title that encompasses the wishes and desires of racing fans from all around the world; something with features and content powered by the community that provide a truly unforgettable and pioneering experience” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios. “Whilst a tough decision to make, the change in release date allows the game the greatest chance of success and visibility, and the opportunity to polish the game even further to the high standards that both ourselves and our community demand and expect. We’re eager for you all to see what we’ve been working on in just a few months.”

Project CARS aims to deliver the most authentic, beautiful, intense, and technically-advanced racing game on the planet. Crowd-funded by a passionate community that has been involved in the development process from day-one to create their ultimate racing experience, Project CARS includes the largest track roster of any recent racing game, a huge variety of motorsports to play, a freeform and authentic career mode, world-class graphics and handling, dynamic time of day & weather, and a suite of community features and connectivity that leave the competition behind in the dust.
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For more on Project Cars check out the forum. Up- and download game modifications via the downloads section. Share your latest photos and videos in our gallery.

 

[RaceNut]

I agree. When I first started playing it with my TX, I thought to myself the FFB feels absolutely dreadful. It felt extremely heavy and had zero detail. Raising the FFB to 85 and lowering the tire force to 30 made all the difference in the world. However, I still say it doesn't feel as good as AC yet but it's certainly MUCH improved over the default setting of Tire Force 100 which is the real killer.

Yeah - as it is now, turning down TF is an absolute must or the Center Spring completely dominates the FFB. SMS are slowly adding more detail and layers to the FFB. I think they are getting close to having default FFB setups for various wheels that work quite well. I try to rotate different cars through testing every couple days or so and I notice good progress of late.

I still prefer the more direct feel I get from AC using my wheel but, Pcars FFB is getting there and I think once we have more control over settings, it'll be really good.

 

[RaceNut]

And on that note, the water and rain effects in Project CARS is unmatched in any game I've ever seen. Its truly something special to see and I don't see any performance hit at all on my system which is even more impressive.

I agree, and I think Pcars will be extremely strong in terms of bringing a dynamic racing experience in a way that hasn't been fully realized before. Doing so in VR will greatly enhance the effect IMO. Both Pcars and AC look amazing with the Rift. Well, a low-res version of amazing.

 

[Lifer]

I tell my opinion about this game. I think this is not a real simulator, like Assetto and i just say that because i love the AC, but see some video and in-game footage about the Project Cars. This game is developed by Slightly Mad Studios, which is developed the NFS Shift series too. In gameplay's i can recognized some ancient, and not correct sounds for the cars, some sound used from Shift 2, and tried the handling model, and it's terrible i think, far away from the AC. The graphics is looks really good now. In my opinion this game is try to target the "Simcade" category, not the full simulation category (that said by some people on the forums). With the great graphics, and the "easy to handle" driving model is playable for anyone, especially for the beginner drivers, who's don't want to have a 1:1 real driving model in the game, only to have a fun with the app, with next-gen graphics, and with a good, but not real driving model.

....okay, now everyone is going to kill me and my post...

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

I agree that it's very much unlike AC, but I completely disagree that's it's not a simulator.

 

[Mark Quigley]

Yep, they feel very much different but at the same time very much the same.
Pcars has a looseness to it that I have felt in many cars IRL, Ac has a tightness that I have felt in many cars IRL, I give up on what is right in this respect.

One example of how AC could be seen as too easy.
The Mp12c gt3
In Pcars if you enter a corner too hot you will run wide with understeer, you will need to reassess and modify your line and speed to accommodate your mistake.

In AC you go in too hot and understeer, run wide, you can just add more lock and bring the car back into line.

Would be nice and easy to claim pcars is the more realistic because what I typed explaining what I feel just sounds good, sounds more like a simulator.
The fact is how the hell would I know what a MP12c GT3 feels like when making an arse of it it the real world.

 

[RaceNut]

@Mark Quigley: That's a great summary and comparison between the two titles as it stands at the moment. I can find some Pro's & Con's with both games. I do consider them both to be simulations but, that will always be the subject of many debates.

 

[Lifer]

Yep, they feel very much different but at the same time very much the same.
Pcars has a looseness to it that I have felt in many cars IRL, Ac has a tightness that I have felt in many cars IRL, I give up on what is right in this respect.

One example of how AC could be seen as too easy.
The Mp12c gt3
In Pcars if you enter a corner too hot you will run wide with understeer, you will need to reassess and modify your line and speed to accommodate your mistake.

In AC you go in too hot and understeer, run wide, you can just add more lock and bring the car back into line.

Would be nice and easy to claim pcars is the more realistic because what I typed explaining what I feel just sounds good, sounds more like a simulator.
The fact is how the hell would I know what a MP12c GT3 feels like when making an arse of it it the real world.

Yeah, but i don't speak about the racing cars. I don't have any experience with it, that's true. But i have some experience with street cars (for example BMW), and some is feeling very weird now in pCars compared to AC. I don't say the pCars is a bad thing, and the AC is the only No.1, but now the pCars is "far" from the AC for me. But as they say: "To each his own."

 

[ONT]

I think it's pretty evident that pCARS still has lot's of ups and downs.

There is wide swings from week to week in almost every regard, one week driving on grass
is worse than ice with some water on top, the next week it has the same grip as the race track, the next week it's somewhere in between

This is true for tires, sound, down-force, FFB etc etc etc.

Where it all ends up in the end only GOD knows, but lets hope for a good balanced SIM

 

[Andy_J]

I agree with ONT at this present time.

For me, AC is far better right now. Really enjoying AC where Pcars is a little staid, if not dull at this build time. Constant crashing too.

 

[LazyBug]

I kinda expect the next delay will be like "End of 2015"

 

[RaceNut]

I kinda expect the next delay will be like "End of 2015"

I don't think so. The current date seems like a reasonable amount of time to finish the game to a high level and there are already projects in the works for future DLC. Of course, the development process does not work with all aspects running completely in parallel or perfect sync. Some personnel or departments are able to move onto new projects while others have to refine and add details, fix bugs, etc. I suspect that SMS has built-in a margin for meeting the current date.