Project Cars 2: Preview
Project Cars was very good but flawed, so have matters improved second time around?
Project Cars divided opinion on its initial release; some niggly issues with the console versions especially and frustrating bugs across the board meant it had a bumpy start. A few patches later and Project Cars was up amongst the established simulations on PC and challenging the status quo on the consoles previously dominated by Forza and Gran Turismo. Project Cars 2 aims to address the problems that plagued the initial release, but also build on the features that raised it above the plethora of console and PC simulators on the market.
Banished from the game in this new version are the days of bouncing from barrier to barrier using a control pad; infinite control options and hours of tinkering would help, but the improvements here are dramatic. The steering assist feature ensures cars move from lock to lock smoothly without darting you off in to the Armco when you turn in or try to correct a slide on a crisp winter morning. It is still a challenge, but a far more rewarding one.
The force feedback for wheel users was another area which caused concern, as it required some form of master's degree in fettling to get anything approaching the right feel from the vastly complicated tuning menus. Project Cars 2 now comes with three tunes from launch: Immersive, Informative and Raw. Each of these settings is self-explanatory and all work really well at providing the level of feedback they propose; they are all tuneable to your desires as well, but excellent starting points.
The most divisive element of Project Cars was the tyre and physics model. The dark art of accurate tire and physics modelling in a race sim is a much contested issue, with many having their preferred brand. When you try to get your head around what a tyre model has to do, it becomes abundantly clear why it is such a difficult thing for developers to master. Following a test at Slightly Mad Studios with some of Bentley's GT drivers, the team knew they had to improve their tire model, specifically when on and over the limits of adhesion. With the aid of a stellar line-up of race drivers covering a wide variety of disciplines and a technical partnership with Pirelli, improvements have been made and the results are really very good. Each car is far more controllable and predictable, enabling you to push harder and really explore the limits and beyond. In the past you would dejectedly wait for Ben Collins to come on the radio and inform you that you might have some damage as one of your rear wheels trundles off in to the distance, but now you have the faith to gather it up and push on.
Another major feature on the receiving end of an overhaul is the weather effects and day/night cycles, essential for endurance lovers and events like Le Mans. The new system that implements and manages the weather and resulting track conditions is Live Track 3. It is a hugely impressive and complex system not just visually, but in how it physically affects the car and tyres as well. A light drizzle is manageable with slicks on a warm track, but what about on a crisp November morning in Lincolnshire? That drizzle could dry up forming a grippy line or turn in to a heavy storm, making it extremely hard to control the car at speed. Live Track uses fluid dynamics to accurately replicate how water on a circuit falls, runs and settles. Combined with the laser scanning of tracks and drone scanning of track surfaces, the system tries to accurately replicate where puddles will form and where streams will run across a track. Hitting one of these puddles could mean a spritely trip to the scenery backwards, or just a brief 'moment'.
The new system brings with it a vast array of options to further enhance your race, so you can chose your race date with lighting and track appearance that changes with the seasons, the time of day and weather conditions. With the weather you can chose to race with the current real-time conditions or chose up to four different weather slots, a new option that will implement each condition equally across your set race time or lap count. You can race any car for one lap and experience all extremes of weather and a full day/night cycle, something that the drivers of the 2016 Nurburgring 24-Hour would have been happy to have experienced prior to the race.
Project Cars 2 expands on the cars and classes of the original title as the overhauled Career Mode takes you from the grass roots of karting, Ginetta Juniors, Formula Rookie and Clio Cup right through to modern GT and Prototype classes. Touring cars old and new feature, plus there's an expanded range of Group C, Group 4, Group 5 and Group 6 cars, as well as Indy Cars and NASCARs from across the pond. Altogether there are 180 cars to master across nine different disciplines of motorsport including the newly introduced Rallycross and its various weather enhanced degrees of mud and tarmac, jumps and hairpin bends. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and Jaguar enter the fray with their highly desirable catalogue of classic and modern road and race cars. Each class is now well populated, enabling you to re-enact some of the classic battles of the past and present using the new and easy to use multiclass and motorsport pre-set system. The title comes with 60 faithfully recreated venues with over 130 individual layouts. Each track can be driven in any weather condition, at any time of year and at any time of day.
Project Cars was always and immersive experience, with great sounds, great visuals and a great line up of cars and tracks to experience them on. Project Cars 2 has addressed the issues and built on its strengths, with a slicker UI, simpler settings and a more intuitive, more accessible experience straight out of the box. With an enhanced Career Mode, strong eSports offering and an altogether more cohesive experience, Project Cars 2 now provides something that both the casual racer and serious sim racer can enjoy.
[Words: Matt Papworth. Thanks for heading along Matt! MB.]
I have an oculus rift on PC and the difference visually is amazing it really is head and shoulders better than PSVR, obviously the more pixels your pc can pump out the better. Price wise a PC and rift isn't much more (maybe £100-£200 more) than what you would end up paying for PS4 Pro, motion camera and PSVR which is nearly £1000.
Games are typically cheaper on PC too.
If this alone were corrected, as has been hinted in the sequel, it would transform the whole thing. Graphically it is superb, and the dynamics of the cars seem very realistic.
If this alone were corrected, as has been hinted in the sequel, it would transform the whole thing. Graphically it is superb, and the dynamics of the cars seem very realistic.
https://youtu.be/ee0qPqDQzw0
https://youtu.be/sv7V1qNMOO8
Lotus 98T (beast to drive) using a PC gamepad and right stick for throttle/brake...
https://youtu.be/J3wAbWJeL9E
Main differences:
All the cars are getting to the same state as those flagged as polished/finished in the press build, to give an indication where they want to be one of the senior guys was disappointed this review was on an older build because he felt a more current review would be far more effusive...I'd have to agree in my opinion it's such a massive improvement on the first game I can't stop playing it...you can feel the grip much better out of the box.
AI is improving all the time, in some of the preview videos you see AI cars stacked up in corners and that happens very rarely in the build I'm playing. I've been concentrating on career, racing the AI, but I did an online race to test MP on Sunday with 27 GT4 cars around Zolder (the good news is that the only new bugs we found were replay related), and there weren't any game breakers for anyone. It's very stable for MP (and bloody good fun in VR).
Every time I see youtube video I go and try out the combo, (apart from rallyx but that's because I don't really enjoy that so much). I haven't found one that I thought was buggy or crappy handling, it all felt very natural...
Obviously, I've only played PC version, and the issues in PC1 mainly on console were an unwelcome surprise, I do know SMS are very aware of the issues from the first game's release and they are trying to avoid the same thing happening again. I very much doubt they would release the sequel with the same or similar issues.
On PC it's a very credible sim that's stands up well against the big boys, but obviously people will have their own preferences. On console I don't think GT Sport or Forza will be at the same level. Assetto Corsa is the only alternative and it has limited content in comparison.
Told you, I got a bit carried away sorry...
Figure I might as well jump straight into PC2 with all its improvements right off the bat (tho might pick up a cheeky copy of assetto corsa too as its so cheap). Will be a nice change from gt6 (my last racing game) not having too grind through driving crap road cars and doing driving tests for the first week. With AC, PC2 and dirt rally also, I'm really not that fussed about gt-sport coming up.
Even if it's a slight improvement I'll be very happy,
I don't think you'll be disappointed...be sure to let me know what you think
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
The old TT progressed to that because Mark joined and came up with some software to monitor Project Cars on any console or PC (as long as you have a windows pc or laptop to run the software on your network) the softwares reports all the results and telemetry into a server which he then publishes a website of results...you can compare your racing line speed everything against other competitors to see where you are losing time it's brilliant
Project Cars 2 has the option to output the same UDP and API data streams as PC1 so he doesn't need to change it straight away...any PC1 apps will work on PC2 just by selecting the options
I stopped the time trial when you started with the stupid challenges at the time we only had a mac but recently bought daughter a note book will that work? I had thought of giving it a go but not had a lot of time recently.
So if I was able to take part as I'm not very good, are others able to see where I bad and give me some tips?
I stopped the time trial when you started with the stupid challenges at the time we only had a mac but recently bought daughter a note book will that work? I had thought of giving it a go but not had a lot of time recently.
So if I was able to take part as I'm not very good, are others able to see where I bad and give me some tips?
Absolutely, happy to help where I can as are others, you'll learn over time how to read the telemetry data too. There is a newly installed little chat box on the results website, or just post in the thread I tagged on the PH forum. We're a friendly bunch although I tend to monologue in there regularly when things go quiet.
For the entire press day I had to use a control pad, and it worked really well straight away, although the Group C Jag was a handful, its a handful with a wheel as well.
When I fired it up at home with a wheel setup, the FFB "flavours" as they call them worked really well, was most impressed with the different weight feeling according to which car I was in.
Seriously, these new puddles, if you are on the wrong tire, its game over, the Mulsane is aquaplane central, I know it gets bad as I go to Le Mans every year and you can see how the normal road struggles to dissipate the standing water.
Want to see some improvement to the Ferrari V12 sounds, not that impressed with the P4 or the Daytona, like the 333SP though.
It is coming along very nicely.
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