Codemasters to Develop Official WRC Titles from 2023

Mr_D
Okay I'm not getting into a discussion but I'll touch this very quickly. The game is ready for release on the first day of "early access". They just decided to DELAY it for people not preordering. Hence, depending on your perspective, you're not really gaining anything but other people are losing something (access to the game in october). I'll shut up now. I'm not here to argue and I'm just as happy about this game releasing in the near future as most others I'm just not pre ordering ;)
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Yeah, that's the idea, create an incentive, games done, wanna play it before everyone else? Have at it.

Anyway, 200+ stages and 17 rallies at launch, I reckon that'll translate to 12 stages per rally, (200/17 is 11.7). Much like DR2 had, so if it follows a similar trend then that could be 2 long stages, split into 4 shorter versions plus reverse. Pretty much what WRC Generations had as well (usually from 1 long stage).
 
MroczMR
Damn it... I am starting to believe that PSVR2 is forgotten hardware just like VITA was.


eh I am annoyed right now.

Angry Fed Up GIF
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I hear you. PSVR2 has some great games and new ones coming out all the time but for some reason the racing genre continues to elude it completely despite GT7 being a literal killer app. I don't have much time to play as in years past, so I ditched my PC + Rift S VR setup completely as I had gotten sick of fiddling with it all the time, and the Rift S now requiring a Metaverse account was the last straw. And with the 2060 in my laptop and EA Sports WRC using Unreal it will probably be crap anyway without a massive investment in a new computer.

I gave up ACC and all the other PC sims in VR to settle with the no-fuss ease of GT7. I uninstalled WRC Generations (a game I enjoyed and played frequently) the day the PSVR2 arrived.

I don't know if Sony or the devs are responsible for PSVR2 getting any racing games besides GT7, but I will not be purchasing EA Sports WRC without PSVR2, and I am not going to make the $$$ and time investment needed to go back to PC, either.

There are lots of disappointed VR users right now (PCVR because it won't be there at launch, and PSVR2 because no support at all).
MagpieRacer
Yeah, that's the idea, create an incentive, games done, wanna play it before everyone else? Have at it.

Anyway, 200+ stages and 17 rallies at launch, I reckon that'll translate to 12 stages per rally, (200/17 is 11.7). Much like DR2 had, so if it follows a similar trend then that could be 2 long stages, split into 4 shorter versions plus reverse. Pretty much what WRC Generations had as well (usually from 1 long stage).
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There is a big difference between the splitting up of stages between the DRs and the KT WRCs. Whereas in DR you had a single long stage cut into pieces, in the KT games you had 2 or 3 short- and mid-length stages (depending on if the rally had an SSS or not) which were then pasted together as the "Epic Stage". The two or three stages tended to be modeled after different regions of the same rally, which gave a lot more variety of scenery and stage layout in the KT games vs. the DRs.
 
Pfei
I hear you. PSVR2 has some great games and new ones coming out all the time but for some reason the racing genre continues to elude it completely despite GT7 being a literal killer app. I don't have much time to play as in years past, so I ditched my PC + Rift S VR setup completely as I had gotten sick of fiddling with it all the time, and the Rift S now requiring a Metaverse account was the last straw. And with the 2060 in my laptop and EA Sports WRC using Unreal it will probably be crap anyway without a massive investment in a new computer.

I gave up ACC and all the other PC sims in VR to settle with the no-fuss ease of GT7. I uninstalled WRC Generations (a game I enjoyed and played frequently) the day the PSVR2 arrived.

I don't know if Sony or the devs are responsible for PSVR2 getting any racing games besides GT7, but I will not be purchasing EA Sports WRC without PSVR2, and I am not going to make the $$$ and time investment needed to go back to PC, either.

There are lots of disappointed VR users right now (PCVR because it won't be there at launch, and PSVR2 because no support at all).

There is a big difference between the splitting up of stages between the DRs and the KT WRCs. Whereas in DR you had a single long stage cut into pieces, in the KT games you had 2 or 3 short- and mid-length stages (depending on if the rally had an SSS or not) which were then pasted together as the "Epic Stage". The two or three stages tended to be modeled after different regions of the same rally, which gave a lot more variety of scenery and stage layout in the KT games vs. the DRs.
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DR typically had 2 long stages which were then cut down. The main difference is KTs epic stages were generally longer, if they've improved this aspect from DR2 then maybe we'll get similarly lengthy stages to KT.

I do however, hope they still go for the recreation of real stages that they did in DR2. I like KT stage design but much prefer the realness of Dirt Rally 2s.
 
MagpieRacer
DR typically had 2 long stages which were then cut down.
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Actually, in DR it's 1 long stage, cut into pieces and then copies of everything reversed.

Similarly in KT games it's 2-3 medium stages, 1 epic stage pasted together and then copies of everything reversed.

Reversing stages to me is a totally valid method in rally games given how time consuming it is to create them.
 
Pfei
I hear you. PSVR2 has some great games and new ones coming out all the time but for some reason the racing genre continues to elude it completely despite GT7 being a literal killer app. I don't have much time to play as in years past, so I ditched my PC + Rift S VR setup completely as I had gotten sick of fiddling with it all the time, and the Rift S now requiring a Metaverse account was the last straw. And with the 2060 in my laptop and EA Sports WRC using Unreal it will probably be crap anyway without a massive investment in a new computer.

I gave up ACC and all the other PC sims in VR to settle with the no-fuss ease of GT7. I uninstalled WRC Generations (a game I enjoyed and played frequently) the day the PSVR2 arrived.

I don't know if Sony or the devs are responsible for PSVR2 getting any racing games besides GT7, but I will not be purchasing EA Sports WRC without PSVR2, and I am not going to make the $$$ and time investment needed to go back to PC, either.

There are lots of disappointed VR users right now (PCVR because it won't be there at launch, and PSVR2 because no support at all).
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The thing is... Are really that many of us VR racing enthusiasts? On PC yes, but PS5 is starting to get forgotten with racing VR supports. Thing is so bad now that I am starting to believe that GTR Revival and AC 2 also won't have PSVR2 support. Maybe next F1 game (since it is yearly made) but after not having VR on WRC title there are also slim chances for that. This is unfortunately really bad.
 
Pfei
Actually, in DR it's 1 long stage, cut into pieces and then copies of everything reversed.

Similarly in KT games it's 2-3 medium stages, 1 epic stage pasted together and then copies of everything reversed.

Reversing stages to me is a totally valid method in rally games given how time consuming it is to create them.
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Oh yeah it wasn't a criticism at all. Real rallies run the routes in the same direction multiple times so at least reverse gives variety.

DR2 was definitely 2 long stages per rally cut up though, not 1. New Zealand for example had the 16km inland stage and the 12km coastal stage. Both those then get split and reversed.
 
MroczMR
The thing is... Are really that many of us VR racing enthusiasts? On PC yes, but PS5 is starting to get forgotten with racing VR supports. Thing is so bad now that I am starting to believe that GTR Revival and AC 2 also won't have PSVR2 support. Maybe next F1 game (since it is yearly made) but after not having VR on WRC title there are also slim chances for that. This is unfortunately really bad.
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The last official info from Sony was 600,000 units sold at the end of May. I wouldn't be surprised if that approaches 1 million by the end of the year. Given the high uptake rate (and praise) of GT7 among PSVR2 buyers (even people that don't like racing games) I would imagine there is a sizeable chunk of players willing to dip into their wallets for another AAA racing game in VR.

I am not aware of devs' finances or focus groups that make these decisions, but if you think about Hello games adding PSVR2 to the 7-year-old game No Man's Sky you would get the impression that it's not a gargantuan task. At least that's how I see it but, admittedly, I know nothing of the inner workings of devs and their publishing companies.

MagpieRacer
DR2 was definitely 2 long stages per rally cut up though, not 1. New Zealand for example had the 16km inland stage and the 12km coastal stage. Both those then get split and reversed.
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Yes, you are correct. I had forgotten.
 
MagpieRacer
Improvement will be aplenty. EGO was outdated and had it's limitations for rally games. Unreal should let them add more detail and length to the stages without compromising how the game runs. Especially if it is UE5.

Current car list and classes.

WRC

  1. Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID
  2. Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID
  3. Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRID
WRC2 *

  1. Citroën C3 Rally2
  2. Ford Fiesta Rally2
  3. Hyundai i20 N Rally2
  4. ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 Evo
  5. ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2
  6. Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
Junior WRC

  1. Ford Fiesta Rally3
World Rally Car 2017-2021

  1. ?
  2. ?
World Rally Car 1997-2011

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
  5. ?
  6. ?
  7. ?
  8. ?
  9. ?
  10. SUBARU Impreza 1998
  11. ?
  12. ?
Rally2 *

  1. ?
  2. ?
Rally4

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
NR4/R4

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
S2000

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
S1600

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
F2 Kit Car

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
  5. ?
  6. ?
Group A

  1. ?
  2. Lancia Delta HF Integrale
  3. ?
  4. SUBARU Impreza 1995
  5. ?
Group B (4WD)

  1. Audi Sport quattro S1 (E2)
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
  5. ?
Group B (RWD)

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. ?
H3 (RWD)

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
  4. Lancia Stratos
  5. ?
  6. ?
H2 (RWD)

  1. Alpine Renault A110 1600 S
  2. ?
  3. Ford Escort MK2
  4. Hillman Avenger
  5. ?
  6. ?
H2 (FWD)

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
H1 (FWD)

  1. ?
  2. ?
  3. ?
Builder Cars

  1. WRC Builder Car
  2. WRC2 Builder Car *
  3. Junior WRC Builder Car
* All WRC2 cars can compete in the Rally2 car class.

Hillman Avenger is all new, that wasn't in DR2, so there may still be some surprises on the way.
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Hillman Avenger !?!
Who the heck had the licence for Hillman...! They've been defunct for nearly 50 years. Bravo 👋

And I'm happily shocked by the pricing. I almost never pre-order but at that price I'm likely to do just that!

Ironically the last game I reordered (because of a low release price) was... WRC Generations.
 
sirjim73
Hillman Avenger !?!
Who the heck had the licence for Hillman...! They've been defunct for nearly 50 years. Bravo 👋

And I'm happily shocked by the pricing. I almost never pre-order but at that price I'm likely to do just that!

Ironically the last game I reordered (because of a low release price) was... WRC Generations.
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I wonder if it gets to a point where they're so defunct that they only need permission from the owner of the car to get it maybe?
 
Pfei
The last official info from Sony was 600,000 units sold at the end of May. I wouldn't be surprised if that approaches 1 million by the end of the year. Given the high uptake rate (and praise) of GT7 among PSVR2 buyers (even people that don't like racing games) I would imagine there is a sizeable chunk of players willing to dip into their wallets for another AAA racing game in VR.

I am not aware of devs' finances or focus groups that make these decisions, but if you think about Hello games adding PSVR2 to the 7-year-old game No Man's Sky you would get the impression that it's not a gargantuan task. At least that's how I see it but, admittedly, I know nothing of the inner workings of devs and their publishing companies.
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Yeah maybe. There are games on PSVR2 i enjoy. (not counting GT7 which is killer app) Recently even Crossfire Sierra Squad is better than reviews says IMHO. But this racing game problem is worring. Maybe F1 2024 and WRC 2 from EA SPort will support it but my faith is starting to end.
 
sirjim73
Hillman Avenger !?!
Who the heck had the licence for Hillman...! They've been defunct for nearly 50 years. Bravo 👋
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Fun fact... the Hillman Avenger lived on until well into the eighties in Argentina as the VW/Dodge 1500. My wife had an '85 VW 1500 when I met her in 2001. Looks identical to the rally car, and you can still see them all over the place in Argentina!
 
The price has shocked me!

Also there seems to be plenty of content too so it's looking really good!

I never pre order games these days as games always seem to release in a mess since the PS3/PS4 days but if reviews are good and its fairly bug free I will be picking this up soon after launch and investing in a handbrake for my wheel:yuck:
 
Vince_GT
When the Hillman Avenger it's comfirmed?
For the Brand Hillman it's not the 1st apparence in Videogames; a Hillman Imp was on Horizon 4. I bet all the Rootes brands (Sunbeam, Hillman...)
are now under the umbrella of Peugeot, like Talbot.
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It's on the official car list on the website 🙂.
 
Mr_D
Okay I'm not getting into a discussion but I'll touch this very quickly. The game is ready for release on the first day of "early access". They just decided to DELAY it for people not preordering. Hence, depending on your perspective, you're not really gaining anything but other people are losing something (access to the game in october). I'll shut up now. I'm not here to argue and I'm just as happy about this game releasing in the near future as most others I'm just not pre ordering ;)
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Same here, never preordered a game in my life as I think it’s a bit of a ****** practice but that’s just my opinion 😃

I’m looking forward to this title but won’t buy it on release day, always been a huge rally game fan even though I’m bobbins at them and glad to see last gen is finally starting to fade away, not that it directly affects me as I’m now a PC gamer…one of the reasons I haven’t bought a PS5 after having every other iteration was when GT7 was announced to be cross gen…anyways, off topic
 
I reckon the 5 seasons in the pre order pack may refer to week 0 (early release), week 1 (normal release), week 2,3,4. So effectively a month plus the 3 "early" days. Which means 4-week rotations similar to Forza Horizon set up.

Or is it 5 months? That would seem abnormally generous 🤔?

What is included in those seasons, I am hoping will be good. But there's already a shed load of content seemingly in this game, all at an unusually reasonable price. I mean, I keep wondering ... where's the catch ... but I can't see one yet.

I guess all the seasons after the first 5 require paid "battle passes" potentially? Otherwise, why include the 5 VIP passes with the preorder?

Basically, I'm looking forward to hearing more... 👍
 
I am really pleasantly surprised by the price for a current gen only game. The make your own rally car is appealing to me. I will still wait to get it until after all the DlC comes though
 
I can't shake my previous foreboding that future updates will be subscription-only and can't hold on a couple of years for the GOTY version.

Somehow I don't trust EA to price the VIP passes quite as reasonably as the standard edition and am finding it hard to take Elder Kettle's sage advice.

header.jpg

[EDIT] OMG... they just discounted the price to £40.49 because I bought WRC9 and 10 (for peanuts) last month. Talk about pushing me over the edge. I am in. Sorry, Elder Kettle and roll on Hallowe'en.

Screenshot_20230906_012412_Chrome.jpg
 
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The price is actually kind of concerning especially when compared to this year's F1 game. Makes me wonder how aggressively will EA plan to charge for future content to make up for the lower cost of entry?

And why is the game labelled as "standard edition" across all platforms when the only other edition available is through EA's pro subscription?
 
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whannel
👀 ☃️

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I see what he means with the shot of the snowy-but-not rally. I'm not convinced by his seasons theory, cool though it would be. My take on that is its possibly a look at the surface degredation, the end of the stage after lots of cars have gone over it and brushed the snow away.

It could also just be that it's showing certain bits of the Swedish rally where there isn't much snow, as has happened recently.
 
Think it could be bonus stages, like the 13 official ones then the extra 5 to give us the 18. One bonus might be Finland (winter) or something like that, with regular Finland in the main 13. But seasons would be brilliant if they've pulled that off.
 

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