Project Cars 2: Preview

Project Cars was very good but flawed, so have matters improved second time around?

The eagerly anticipated follow up to Slightly Mad Studios' crowd sourced driving sim, Project Cars, is due to hit the shelves on September 22nd. PistonHeads sent me along to a glorious, sun baked Brands Hatch to see how the aptly named Project Cars 2 was shaping up.

M6 GT3 so huge so other cars can fit in shot...

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.

Updated physics has improved handling - good!

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'.

Want a challenge? Try the rain!

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.

More cars, more tracks, better handling - it's good!

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.