PC2 Sim Discussion Monday - Project CARS 2

[Paul Jeffrey]

First day back in the office for many this morning, what better way to pass the time than have a good discussion about the new Project CARS game?

Now the dust is beginning to settle around the recent release of Project CARS 2, we thought it a good time to look deeper into the game, driven by our community, and share our findings and impressions from the heavily hyped new racing title from Slightly Mad Studios.

Do you have some useful tips for getting the most from the sim? Found a magic setting to really unlock the FFB? Got a trick up your sleeve that helps bring sharper graphics for little FPS trade off? Or do you simply want to share your most / least favourite car and track combinations?

So long as it remains on topic, respectful and mature, we want to know your thoughts!

Mondays be like...

 

[Deleted member 99238]

If PC1 was going at your high settings then PC2 will also be on high. The game will also go on Windows 8, 8.1. Enjoy!

 

[CC]

Graphics look insane!

 

[Shiimis]

Tried it for a couple of hours, but so far I'm not impressed. Will wait for patches which hopefully fix the bugs. And there are so many of them. For example if you teleport from track to pits, your car sometimes gets messed up completely. There is something wrong with the sound when car collides with objects. It is either very muted or can't be heard at all. Multiplayer rarely works. And even if it does, upon loading track, my car often just floats in the air. Default setups for cars are bad (for example weird Gear ratios which results in last gear being useless).
The biggest problem for me though is the handling. I tried driving BMW E30 Group A. the most , because I know very well how that car feels and behaves in Raceroom. Now I refrain from saying which of the games is more realistic to not start a war here, but I have a hard time keeping my car under control in PCars2 whereas it handles beautifully in Raceroom. Granted that may be because Raceroom is too easy to drive and I'm just a noob and have no skill to drive the real simulators which PCars2 certainly aspires to be.
FFB is better than in first game, but still nothing to write home about IMHO.
Generally I still get the same overall low budget feel to the game I felt for PCars1 and while I do realize that they do not have millions to spend on development, other low budget games still manage to make the experience feel less cheap. Again comparing to RaceRoom. Don't want to sound like a fanboy, but it is currently my go to racing game, so naturally I compare everything to RaceRoom.
If I could I would ask for a refund, but I can no longer get one because of hours played. I still hope patches could address the issues and maybe eventually PCars2 will become more playable, but judging by the comments made by developer, who thinks that not only this is their best game but best racing game ever made, I have doubts if they feel something needs fixing.

 

[Ryann]

It's a very promising second start. If they keep fixing bugs and improving features, this could be the best racing game in the years. Currently, despite all the flaws, I'm enjoying it so far.

The biggest issues for me are:

• Using "skip to the end" in a session generates unrealistic times for the AI.
• Varied quality of surface detail between laser scanned and standard tracks.
• First lap with the AI is a survival lottery.
• Weird racing performance of AI in wet conditions.

One thing is kinda cool. On the official forum, there is much less angry people compared to first installment. Also Mr. Bell's attitude has shifted towards more politeness and helpfulness. The whole forum now appears more civil.

 

[kkdrummer]

There are things needing fixing in the game, such as the AI and some cars ffb, but no game braking issues it seems, at least not for me. I am having a blast. Doing Career, started on Ginetta JR> Ginetta GT5 and now KTM GT4. All fun to drive and weather plays a big part in this game. Now in GT4 I can feel how the tires work better how easy it is to burn those softs.

 

[mister dog]

With a bit of polishing in the next months this game will probably become the main choice for a big part of our community these next years.

SMS managed to release it in a release worthy state this time round, and pretty much every feature has been improved from PC1 (physics, FFB, weather, AI, menus, graphics, sounds you name it). It really is an all rounder ticking all the boxes and when you take the time to dial in your settings it is the most enjoyable racing sim out there at the moment IMO. Some games do some aspects better, but none of them presents this complete package.

 

[Bozz.gee]

Default setups for cars are bad (for example weird Gear ratios which results in last gear being useless).
QUOTE]

Yeah the gear ratio thing is super annoying, can barely get to 6th in the Audi R8 LMS @ Spa.

There are a lot of frustrating elements, the AI difficulty is really inconsistent at times and cars seem to post lap times 1-2 seconds faster whether I skip a session or not.

The German GT3 championship in the career mode has snow on the first race in Oscherlaben... I've never seen snow on a GT3 race!!... not counting the 6 hours of Silverstone practice session two years ago when the track did have some snow on the track..

There are a lot of annoyances in this game... however I cant deny the sheer joy I get out of it...

Blasting down Long Beach in the Ligier JSP2 is ridiculous!

 

[Bozz.gee]

Also, any ideas why all my custom livery templates are blank?? Be nice to do some skinning at some point????

 

[François Strat]

Again talking about that "thing" on this wonderfull simracing website ?
I thought the "P" in Pcars2 was standing for "Poor Cars 2" ...
Go immediatly wash your souls on rF2 or AC ^_^

 

[apex11]

Got it off steam, played up to point of refund time and refunded it, having put 600 hours into PCars 1 on xbox i do like the franchise but this one is a bit of a sell out, feels more like shift 2 and like ti is made for the masses too much, feels worse than PCars 1, and Donington is so way off its laughable. Its a 'game' where as RF2 is a simulation....
Good for the kids to have some fun on like Forza though...sell those units..

 

[dzk76]

Finaly, a new sim on the market! (first sim made by SMS, thanks guys!)

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

I hugely enjoy how rain behaves in this game, with dry lines forming, standing water messing up the balance of your car (same with Dirt 4). I like that nearly every car has some competitors to race against (with the exception of cup cars and a few formula 1 class), which to me always was a bit of a problem with Assetto Corsa. I like in particular how there's a "Road G" class that gives us a modern Toyota GT86, a Ford Raptor, and some cars from the 60s - proper madness . The content on offer is well sorted: Classic GTTC? Yes! Classic prototypes? Yes! Le mans from the 90s? Yes, including a fully represented GT1 field. GT3s? Yeah, obviously. GT4s? Yes, also there. You can do multiclass properly now too, it allows you to select the classes you want rather then a generic "Multi class" option that gave you silly combinations as in Project Cars (Sillyness is still an option, but only if you want it to).

Far more varied then the rather anaemic Dirt 4 from earlier this year, even in the Rallycross department. I can see myself enjoying this for a *very* long time. There's simply so much content on offer, and so many variables within that content (Snow! Rain! Night! Combinations!), that I can easily see myself playing this and only this until Project Cars 3 comes around.

Did I mention I love the rain? This is the first time I crashed a car and went "This is awesome", as I was aquaplaning at the bus stop at Spa, just like happened at the 24 hours of spa this year - The puddles that form on track there are the same that you can see forming in real life, which is really cool.

Not sure why'd you ever want to buy the DLC though, as all the DLC from Pcars 1 is included here anyway (which means we have ROUENNN, and CLASSIC HOCKENHEIM, and we get CLASSIC SPA too! And Classic Monza but that one isn't as special anymore). I can just wait till PCars 3 rolls around and get that content there.

 

[Deleted member 99238]

Did anyone understand how to turn on the virtual mirror in the cockpit?

 

[mrbungle83]

I find it pretty good, I am a fan of Assetto corsa, that's the sim that gives me the best feel.

I am mostly using GT3 class as i love the series so far this is how I have got on.

one minor gripe is the major oversteer at slow speeds, I find it really hard to catch the car when it starts to go, even though I find catching a slide pretty comfortable at normal speeds or when hitting a big puddle.

I have been running AI at around 100% now in dry conditions it gives me a decent race the AI are clumsy but if you can learn what not to do then you can race them door to door.

The main problem i have is with them in fast corners, it might just be my setup but at Silverstone I can't compete, I cant get near my AC times as I cant hit the corners at the speeds the AI are (again very possibly setup related) so if it is setup then i need to work hard on that. i'm getting overtaken at what seems near impossible speeds around the high entry speed corners.

moving on to another track Nurburgring GP, I have much more success here I can hit 1.58 in the BMW M6 GT3 which usually just about puts me on pole. So... I start the race in rainy conditions, I am miles faster 2-3 seconds per lap faster than the AI perhaps i'm just Hamilton... but no, i'm not... then the rain starts to slow down, now here's the major bummer I get near impossible mid corner oversteer in nearly every corner the AI are thrashing me seemingly not suffering the same effects, i think its overheated tyres but i have tried purposely driving off line and it doesn't seem to help me. then I pit for Slick tyres and i'm running about 2.02-2.03 on a damp track but the top AI are now running 1.59.

I really enjoy the handling of the cars I have tried, I really really like the wet weather driving. I really really really like the way the Live track works for Humans, but the whole thing is just too convoluted to put into practice, I cant find a way to stay competitive with the AI through the changing conditions i'm either much faster or much slower. It really needs sorting as this is a game breaker for offline players (and i'm hearing online is pretty screwed ATM)

I appreciate that it's going to be difficult but Ian I ask you honestly if your still around these forums. why start something like this? the game should have been delayed because it takes more that 2 hours just to test these conditions to be comfortable with the driving model, I'm not going to call you a lair because i genuinely feel that this has potential to be the best all rounder, the driving is seriously good the FFB I find to be as good as the rest. just please fix the Balance in differing conditions as it kind of makes all this fantastic effort utterly pointless.

One more thing, I play in VR and the implementation is really good, it can get a bit much with all the effects but mostly it's good. when everything is working and you hit a big puddle in the dark the way the wheel reacts is utterly amazing, I knew what had happened, it made me jump out of my skin, adrenaline pumping and instant reactions needed to save the car. it felt so believable.

overall 7/10 for me with potential for a 9/10.

 

[Steve Gordon]

Finally to the game installed after steam reinstalling the game, despite it being installed. Just tried GT3 Porche and BMW at Red Bull ring in wet weather. Looked nice (I dont have the fasted PC) enjoyed a few laps with wet tyres, then changed to Soft Slicks in the wet and didn't notice any difference with the grip ?? anyone else tried the wrong tyres for the weather and not seen any grip issues ?

 

[LTC_Mike]

There is something wrong with the sound when car collides with objects. It is either very muted or can't be heard at all.

Are you on a stereo headset and tried the 'Headphone Mix' in the Audio settings?

Multiplayer rarely works.

There is some bug in the MP system right now, SMS has released a quick workaround fix at the weekend and a more solid solution is to be expected during this week, according to one of the devs in the Project Cars official forum: http://forum.projectcarsgame.com/sh...nline-games!&p=1359129&viewfull=1#post1359129

The biggest problem for me though is the handling. I tried driving BMW E30 Group A. the most , because I know very well how that car feels and behaves in Raceroom. Now I refrain from saying which of the games is more realistic to not start a war here, but I have a hard time keeping my car under control in PCars2 whereas it handles beautifully in Raceroom. Granted that may be because Raceroom is too easy to drive and I'm just a noob and have no skill to drive the real simulators which PCars2 certainly aspires to be.

Most - if not all - of the cars have two default setups: a more 'looser' one and something called 'stable' - and some cars even have one called 'OEM' that was provided through the real cars manufacturer. Driving wheel users are provided with the 'loos setup' by default. So maybe you should load the stable one and try this to check the driving. Remember: those predefined setups just use the given car setup options and there is no magic down under the hood - so it's maybe just a different setup that you experience differences.

Plus: To take other racing games (aka sims) as the one and only reference how a certain car should drive and behave seems not to be the best choice in my point of view, if one wants to achieve the closest thing to reality. If one wants that the cars drive like in game X, I think he should always load that X-game ...

---- My overall feedback ---
First: I am a WMD member myself, so I am clearly biased to rate pCARS2 more on the positive side, but I won't say that it's perfect right now. But I don't see any real game breaking things this time at the release - I myself and a bunch of friends in my German simracing community, with some guys being rather sceptical after V1, had so much fun racing in pCARS2 online through the whole release weekend.

The MP problems got a workaround right on this release weekend so that it could be used - not perfectly, but it's usable. And the other things, like the problems with the AI, will get some dedicated love from the devs during the next weeks and month. Having such a broad selection of cars and tracks that even could be mixed with each other is not an easy task to be solved perfectly - and if one is fair: there are many complains with the AI in other racing titles as well and it took sometimes more than a year after release until better usable systems were delivered - and most of the other titles have cars and classes that work very well and others that don't work at all together with AI.

But the complete package is so full of options and possibilities that even being very active in testing a lot during the WMD phase I just scratched the surface with this racing sim. I am very confident that the most 'bug like' issues will get solved and with other things that don't work like one maybe is used to from other games, you should give it a solid chance. One example: In one of our many first tests last weekend we tried the snow racing. The first cars we had chosen didn't drive very well at all with studded tires on snow, so that I was thinking that something got basically broken in the release version. Then we did choose the 'Mitsubishi Lancer VI TME', put in on studded (Ice) tires in the snow season at the Nordschleife Combined track and had a real blast racing this car around through a winter's night with heavy snow falling down from the air. And the more snow covered the track the better the racing went ... quite stunning graphics and racing wise (and living in the southern part of Germany myself I have quite some experience in driving under sometimes heavy winter conditions).

So my conclusion so far is: This will give a lot of people a lot of fun in a demanding racing environment - better say in a bunch of different racing environments under one hood - one has just to be open minded enough to give it a solid chance - it's very well right out of the box and just could get better and I am confident it will get improved for the better.

 

[Shiimis]

I just realized that I haven't been completely fair in my assessment of PCARS2. From my post it might seem that there is nothing I like about the game, which is not the message I wanted to communicate. Some aspects of graphics are really nice and weather system is quite amazing. Sound is improved from previous games and this time there are many cars I see myself driving. The negative reaction I left in my first post is reactive to the fact that I've spent almost 50EUR (thanks to the discount applied for owning PCARS1 - very nice) and I wasn't blown away by the quality of the game. I was a huge fan of Shift1 and Shift2 Unleashed (at the time I wasn't into racing sims at all, and these games even if they didn't quite meet the standard of racing simulator, got my interest in real world tracks etc). So i'm thankful for what SMS have done and I do not think that they haven't tried hard enough to make this game as good as possible. It just needs more work in my opinion

 

[Ryann]

Got it off steam, played up to point of refund time and refunded it, having put 600 hours into PCars 1 on xbox i do like the franchise but this one is a bit of a sell out, feels more like shift 2 and like ti is made for the masses too much, feels worse than PCars 1, and Donington is so way off its laughable. Its a 'game' where as RF2 is a simulation....
Good for the kids to have some fun on like Forza though...sell those units..

I don't uderstand why people are so keen to call a game not-sim, just because it feels different than the other game they are currently playing and are used to it. Give it more time than two hours and then judge it. If you have tried it just to assure yourself your sim is the best, with no intent to actually play and enjoy it, then fair enough, have fun wih your game.

Anyway, when comparing PC2 (physics?) to Forza you are making a fool of yourself and one can't take you seriously anymore.

 

[CC]

I don't uderstand why people are so keen to call a game not-sim, just because it feels different than the other game they are currently playing and are used to it. Give it more time than two hours and then judge it. If you have tried it just to assure yourself your sim is the best, with no intent to actually play and enjoy it, then fair enough, have fun wih your game.

Anyway, when comparing PC2 (physics?) to Forza you are making a fool of yourself and one can't take you seriously anymore.

Do not believe he actually compared it to Forza , he stated its not simulation but something to have fun on like Forza , not quite the same thing