Dirt 4's little details

T

TRGTspecialist

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Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
One of the things that's impressed me about Dirt 4 has been Codies' attention to detail. I've noticed a fair amount of small stuff dotted around the game that makes it that little bit more dynamic and immersive:

  • distractions like low-flying drones/helicopters, or animals flying over/crossing the road, can pop up during a stage.
  • you can also pass by broken-down cars on a stage; sometimes there'll be a warning triangle at the previous corner, or the co-driver will be trying to flag you down. In the service area, if you see on the news ticker that a particular opponent has retired on the stage, it'll be that opponent you'll see stranded.
  • sometimes if there's been an incident on the stage, you'll have a delayed start. Your co-driver will tell you and you'll have to wait a bit longer before the countdown begins.
  • opponents can be disqualified for failing scurtineering (you'll be told about that on the news ticker too).
  • your co-driver's radio can malfunction, causing it to cut out periodically (and if you have corner markers turned on, you'll see big red question marks instead).
  • your co-driver will tell you if they think there's a mechanical problem developing - sometimes they're right, but other times it comes to nothing, it's just meant to distract you. (Source)
  • it seems that when car parts start wearing out, there's a greater range of grinding/whining sounds you'll hear than in Dirt Rally. I still don't know where some of the noises are coming from!
  • usually when viewing a replay, you'll have an option to select the helicopter camera. If the weather conditions were bad - so the helicopter couldn't fly - this option won't be available.
  • like in Dirt Rally, you can stop to change a punctured tyre. Now though you can also choose how many spare tyres (if any) you want to bring with you before starting a stage. You can also stop on a stage to refill a leaking radiator.
  • in rallycross, AI drivers can jump the start, and will be awarded the appropriate penalty of an extra joker lap (I don't think this was in Dirt Rally?)

Noticed any other neat little details? Please share them below :)
 
At night, spectators will move out of the designated viewing areas to get closer to the action. They often have cameras and the flash will distract you.

Sometimes pacenotes are wrong. I've had Nicky call a cattle grid before a jump when the notes should have told me that the jump comes first.
 
If an upcoming stage features rain, the stage before it will feature some very ominous-looking clouds in the distance (it's particularly apparent in Spain).

You can use the accelerator and brake to zoom in and out on the car in tge service park. If you look carefully, you can see "C. McRAE" embroidered into the headrests.

You can tear holes in the bodywork - I was doing the new monthly in a Stratos and misjudged a corner entry. I rolled it, but managed to recover. When I got to the end of the stage, I saw a fist-sized hole in the ventillation grille on the bonnet.

The helicopter cannot always follow the car. It's usually centred on the car, but sometimes the car disappears from view - especially if you have an abrupt change of direction; the helicopter has to bank to keep following you. It most frequently happens around square bends (especially in towns).
 
The attention to detail is amazing in the game. I've played for hours and have still seen things for the first time. For example, the other day I saw rabbits cross the road in Michigan, I think it was. When I first got the game I saw birds fly across the screen on Spain but haven't seen them since.
 
(I think) stages are all named for real places - but I can only speak for Australia. Sawtell, Orara, Dorrigo, Wards Mistake, Never Never and Diehappy are all real areas around Coffs Harbour. Fitzroy is the name of a county, which is an obscure administrative division used by the Bureau of Land Management; it was probably chosen because most of the other names for the area - like Coffs Coast - are too close to Coffs Harbour, the home of the WRC event (the only other name that might fit is Cowper, the name of the area's seat in federal parliament).
 
I don't have anything to add to the list of observations, but just wanted to comment on how cool it is that they've added these touches. I know in one stage I kept hearing a sound from my car and early on the co-driver commented on the sound, saying she thought it was my brakes knocking. I know before a stage she commented on there having been a wreck and I thought it would be cool to drive by a wrecked car, and minutes later I did. I also noticed when doing my livery that it writes my name and my co-driver's name on the windows.
 
One little detail I only noticed last night when I was racing with my headphones in (I don't do that very often). When you pass through a town, village, or other collection of built up areas, the car noise echoes off the walls and it sounds GLORIOUS!!! :eek:
 
TRGTspecialist
you can also pass by broken-down cars on a stage; sometimes there'll be a warning triangle at the previous corner, or the co-driver will be trying to flag you down. In the service area, if you see on the news ticker that a particular opponent has retired on the stage, it'll be that opponent you'll see stranded.
Click to expand...
Are there any videos out there of this happening? I've never seen it or had it happen to me before :boggled:
 

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