Dirt Rally vs Dirt4 vs WRC7 vs SLRE - Which is your favourite? ;)

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EDIT: (30 Sep) Added WRC7 to the mix (which arrived last week) and a game that surprised many with it's positive reviews this season. đź‘Ť
SLRE Added so we have the main 4 Rally games



Just out of interest, It would be great to hear what your favourite Rally game is now you have had time to play them Dirt Rally or Dirt4? and why?



For me having gone back to Dirt Rally recently after buying and playing Dirt4 for a few weeks now
Dirt Rally to me still the best by quite a margin. đź‘Ť

The graphics on the PS4 Pro are stunning, the commentary of the co-pilot actually distorting words-(recorded on a motion simulator) is very clear, Engine audio great, the very detailed cockpit interiors and the lighting and the feel of a real simulator with all the stages being very challenging. All this as a package beats Dirt 4 for me even if Dirt4 is better on the DS4, slightly easier to master and has great Rally Cross overall.



I made a separate thread as I couldn't decide which general discussion thread Dirt Rally or Dirt4 to put this question in.:ill::gtpflag:
 
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I enjoy both.

Things I prefer about Dirt 4:
  • The cars feel like they have more weight to them.
  • Track randomization is cool and keeps things interesting.
Things I prefer about Dirt Rally:
  • The stages look better since they are made by hand.
  • The stages are more consistently good since they are made by hand.
  • You can do non-career races without screwing with your career (in Dirt 4, your teams/sponsers tick down when not in career mode).
The biggest benefit of Dirt 4 is also the cause of its greatest weaknesses. Turn calling is equally mediocre in both, but in Dirt Rally you can learn the parts of the track that are called incorrectly and chalk it up to mastery. In Dirt 4, since there is so much randomization, a bad turn call can ruin your entire race.

Track randomization also causes inconsistency (some tracks are great, some are terrible) and forced them to make the environments a lot more generic and visually blah. It also means that any time you encounter very distinct portions of a track multiple times in one stage (e.g. caution, right 3, tightens, rocks outside) you notice the repeat, ruining the point of the randomization.

All that said, I actually quite like Dirt 4. The main thing I notice when I go back to Dirt Rally from Dirt 4 is that cars feel very light in Rally. I'm not sure if it's more or less realistic since I've never driven a rally car at 100+ MPH on a back road, but the weight of cars in Dirt 4 feels more natural for me to drive.
 
Dirt Rally. Best rally game I've ever played, more content would be nice but that's true for all enjoyable games.
đź‘Ť

I agree @Luckbad, I like Dirt4 as well as it is a great game. The cars as you say feel better to control and more weight to them and I do like the track generator but the graphics have really taken a hit this time . But on the other hand I also like the light weight feeling of flying through Finland or Sweden in Dirt Rally. It is a close call but going back again this afternoon to both Dirt Rally wins again for me.:cheers:
 
This is tough. Both.

I picked up both titles just last month and started out playing DR extensively. Didn't even touch D4 until a few weeks ago because I liked DR so much. I wanted to experience each car in DR before putting it away for D4, but once the stages started to become familiar I put it on hold for a bit.

At first I really liked the menus and general feel of DR over D4, but D4 has grown on me to the point that I almost like this aspect in both games equally.

D4 definitely has more content and a deeper career mode to keep me interested longer which is good. I predict even the Landrush races will grow on me. Haven't tried Rallycross yet but I think it'll be fun. I also like the open test location for testing cars. Didn't think I would appreciate it, but I do.

The detail of the stages in DR are hands down better looking, but D4 is good. Don't mind the lesser detailed stages in D4.

'Your Stage' in D4 is awesome. Yes, some corners and sections start to look familiar, but I don't mind at all. The sheer number of combinations of turns and layouts will always keep the game fresh. Like it.

The car handling difference between the two games has been a somewhat contentious subject, but I like both. They are both challenging in their own ways. Haven't made up my mind which I prefer, but for long term play D4 wins since the cars (even with simulation mode) seem to handle with more stability and predictability versus constant driving on pins and needles in DR (which I like too). Tough call.

Either way, I'm very happy with both games and glad I revisited the CMR/DiRT series after not playing a CM rally game since the PS2 era. Glad to be back.
 
I think D4 works better as a game. It feels more complete with what you can do then DR ever could. But that's understandable considering that DR was merely a science experiment, a test of what could be done by catering to the hardcore rally fanatic.

My ideal DiRT game is the team elements and MyStage of 4, with the difficulty based seasons of Rally.
 
Sorry, rambling incoming............


Dirt 4 for me, hands down. I really appreciate the ambitious direction Codies are taking, and all things considered I'd say it moves the series forward.

I'm probably a bit fortunate in that some of the tradeoffs that have been made are ones I happen to not mind or even prefer. Like the graphics - fidelity has been lost, but in return the lighting is improved, and the stages can be made longer. I much prefer that. (If I had my way, you'd be getting fully dynamic, 50km+

The accuracy of the gravel physics has been much debated.............but from a selfish perspective, I've always preferred cars that have more 'neutral' handling. So, it's pretty much right up my street :lol: But I would echo what @Luckbad said, whilst the historic cars probably do seem too stable, the modern cars do feel pretty natural.

Then there's My Stage.........now I'm very biased here, I'm a huge fan of procedural generation, I even did a project in generating racetracks for my uni finals last year. But to be brutally honest I don't think it's been given an entirely fair trial. For starters, it works - this is Codies' first attempt at a very ambitious piece of software, and from what I've seen it isn't churning out anything broken. That on its own deserves a bit of praise I'd say.

Second, whilst My Stage no doubt has its limitations................DR's stages had some limitations of their own, too. Not every part of them was a specially crafted set-piece, and there were some similar corners here and there - there's only so many types of corners you can create after all, something that I think has been forgotten somewhat in all the D4 analysis. Then there was only two full stages per location - which, incidentally, I reckon is a big reason why they're considered so unique and memorable! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm 99% positive that compared to DR, I drove a lot more miles before feeling repetition in D4.

I don't say any of this to bash DR's stages, they're great, it's just this stuff seems oddly absent from the discussions I've seen, which makes me wonder if maybe some people have been focusing a bit harder on D4's stages than they might normally have done (and I did find out through uni that some do, for whatever reason, lose a bit or perspective when it comes to procedurally generated content).

But ranting aside, the big attraction with My Stage is the feeling that you simply don't know what's coming up next until you see it, or your co-driver tells you. For me personally that's a very special feeling you can't get with any other game, and it easily outweighs the limitations. Fabulous tech, I hope Codies stick with it 100%. đź‘Ť

Then there's the set of positives that are more generally agreed upon - tarmac physics is better, rallycross is excellent, the expanded career mode is welcome (spending ages trying to get the perfect sponsor placement on your car is my personal favourite), and the attention to detail is fantastic.

So I don't come across as a total fanboy...........my biggest complaints are lack of locations, the loss of modern world rally cars, not liking the controller optimisation out of the box (although that was easily fixed), locking away the hardest AI difficulty, inconsistent AI, and no leagues yet (or anytime soon by the looks of it). But hopefully all of this can be addressed in the future.

More than that, here's hoping Dirt 4 is the just the start of even greater things for the series. :)
 
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...[in Dirt Rally] there was only two full stages per location - which, incidentally, I reckon is a big reason why they're considered so unique and memorable! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm 99% positive that compared to DR, I drove a lot more miles before feeling repetition in D4.
This is the #1 reason I skipped Dirt Rally. Rally games are a bit different from other racing games in that the stages are pretty much paramount, more important than the track list in other games (which is still important). I've even scooped up a few bargain bin rally titles without any expectation of a quality game just to have a go on some fresh stages.

I completely agree with you that Your Stage is a laudable accomplishment, and never knowing what's next more than makes up for recognizing the segment once you get there. I can't complain about repeat segments by comparison to stages I've already driven multiple times from beginning to end, or stages that share entire chunks with each other. Time-of-day and the variety of weather conditions also add value to the proposition.

Dirt 4's physics are somewhat odd but more reasonable than past Codemasters efforts, the car list is great, the pacenotes are good (impressive how well the system works with Your Stage), the team management is a wonderful comeback from GRID, I like the damage simulation (which is rare for me), and the attention to detail speaks for itself. It's a great game that has mended my perception of Codemasters. If Your Stage is here to stay, I'll stick by the Dirt series from now on.
 
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Just out of interest, It would be great to hear what your favourite Rally game is now you have had time to play them Dirt Rally or Dirt4? and why?



For me having gone back to Dirt Rally recently after buying and playing Dirt4 for a few weeks now (I will keep it to Dirt Rally & Dirt4 as this is the Dirt Series threads- But I also have brought SLR evo and WRC6 which I will take out of this discussion as I don't feel they can compete with Dirt Series-If you think they are better please explain).

Dirt Rally to me still the best by quite a margin. đź‘Ť

The graphics on the PS4 Pro are stunning, the commentary of the co-pilot actually distorting words-(recorded on a motion simulator) is very clear, Engine audio great, the very detailed cockpit interiors and the lighting and the feel of a real simulator with all the stages being very challenging. All this as a package beats Dirt 4 for me even if Dirt4 is better on the DS4, slightly easier to master and has great Rally Cross overall.



I made a separate thread as I couldn't decide which general discussion thread Dirt Rally or Dirt4 to put this question in.:ill::gtpflag:
Well I've not driving a rally car lol but have taken my own car's 100 MPH lol down back roads and off road across filds and dirt rally is the real handling 1 ove the 2 games and I wish dirt4 had keeped the Sim made as it was.
 
This is a difficult call for me. I feel like I'm enjoying DiRT 4 more in general. I feel like the presentation is better and I like some of the extra stuff like the little details (there's a whole thread about this, as I recall) and managing my own team. I know that's not for everyone, kind of like settlements in Fallout 4, but I loved building settlements in Fallout 4 and I enjoy having my own team in DiRT 4.

However, DiRT Rally's rally stages kick the living crap out of DiRT 4's generated stages. DiRT Rally made me feel like I was going through real locations and not just textured polygons. Plus, I felt that the graphics looked better, too.

If DiRT 4 could have some hand-crafted rally stages, that would make for pretty much the perfect rally game.
 
On Dirt Rally (PS4) DS4 I use these settings, I am not sure now having changed them so much if they are near default! But I found these settings give the car more control and a slight feel of weight and not too far off the excellent Dirt4 handling on DS4. (When the wheel is put away!)
DiRT Rally_20170724142225.jpg
 
The more I play Dirt 4 the more I realized how much better Dirt Rally was. I really like Dirt 4, it has more cars and there are many better features like an in depth career mode. But one of the biggest features is also the most disappointing to me, one I thought would make the game better, is the randomly generated stages. The downfall is that after a while, even if the stages are random, you start to feel like it's all familiar still. It feels like the stages are just made up of a small set of pieces, and they are. Sure, you may never memorize a stage but you will memorize the corners before you even see them, since there aren't all that many unique corners. They lack character, since no rally feels truly unique.

On top of that, Dirt 4's "Sim" physics feel off to me, but maybe that's because I was so used to Dirt Rally. My car goes wildly spinning from time to time making the rallies more unpredictable than they should be. Realism or not, I preferred the handling physics of Dirt Rally.

In short, I liked Dirt Rally better because of the pre-made stages that all felt unique and the better, more predictable physics engine.
 
But I also have brought SLR evo and WRC6 which I will take out of this discussion as I don't feel they can compete with Dirt Series-If you think they are better please explain

If by "brought" you really meant "bought" then congrats. You have two underrated games. If you don't have them yet, get them both. Of the four titles you mentioned, three are must-haves for any rally fan: SLRE, DR and WRC 6.

I won't get into the specifics of each game since that has been done in other threads in this forum as well as the SLRE forum, not to mention discussions all over the 'net, but what I will say is that many people that bash SLRE and WRC 6 I think it's pretty apparent they haven't played the games. WRC 5 was utter garbage and SLRE has pretty poor graphics and sounds. It seems the badmouthing of those two issues were enough to generate a bad vibe regarding SLRE and WRC 6.

They're all rally games and each one has its pros and cons. Just a quick summary of the four, in order of preference (all IMO of course):

1. SLRE (Best physics of the current generation of rally games) MUST BUY
Pros: Physics; Car list; Stage Quantity and Quality; Can use rally, RX and PP cars on any track/stage you want
Cons: Graphics; Sounds; 30fps (though it runs near 60 on a high-end PC or PS4 Pro with Boost Mode)

2. DiRT Rally (Good physics - on the floaty side and too easy to throw the cars around) MUST BUY
Pros: Stage Quality; Co-Driver; Handling; 60fps
Cons: Floaty physics; Limited Content; Bare-Bones Presentation; No online rally

3. WRC 6 (Competent and intuitive simcade physics - fails at low speeds) BUY IF YOU NEED MORE RALLY
Pros: Official Cars (WRC, WRC2 and JWRC) and Rallies (13 of them); Super Special Stages; Tons of Content; eSports competitions
Cons: Cars lose torque at low speeds; screen tearing; 30fps (though it runs near 60 on PS4 Pro with Boost Mode); My goodness, that co-driver! A Fond!

4. DiRT 4 (Excellent underlying physics model totally ruined by releasing the game six months early - note I refer to rally mode and Sim handling; RallyX physics are great) DO NOT BUY (for now... must see if the many issues are ever addressed)
Pros: Rallycross physics; Procedural Stage Generator; Online Lobby options/features
Cons: Rally physics; Small car list; Very limited content (tracks and rallies); Procedural Stage Generator incredibly bland and repetitive; SHOULD BE IN ALPHA AT THIS STAGE; This game is not anywhere near finished.
 
If by "brought" you really meant "bought" then congrats. You have two underrated games. If you don't have them yet, get them both. Of the four titles you mentioned, three are must-haves for any rally fan: SLRE, DR and WRC 6.

Yes sorry grammatical error 'bought' đź‘Ť they sit nicely along my latest race games on PS4..(I now have too many to choose from with all these 'Digital Sales' this year I have picked up quite a few I wouldn't have normally.... :ill: :sly:
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:gtpflag:
 
I now have too many to choose from with all these 'Digital Sales' this year I have picked up quite a few I wouldn't have normally....

Wow, that's quite the list of racing games, arcade, simcade, sim, four wheels, two wheels, no wheels :lol:

Good to see people taking advantage of sales to pick up games that were slammed by the "sim" community. It's really unusual to have so many sim/simcade titles to choose from on console. As a racing fan I always pick up every title I can get my hands on. There's too much Codies vs. Milestone vs. Kylotton or Polyphony vs. SMS. vs Kunos going on. Most racing games deserve a spot in a racing freak's library no matter if brand loyalty is an influence or not. Even iffy games like WRC 6 can be loads of fun if you jump into them with an open mind.
 
Wow, that's quite the list of racing games, arcade, simcade, sim, four wheels, two wheels, no wheels :lol:

Good to see people taking advantage of sales to pick up games that were slammed by the "sim" community. It's really unusual to have so many sim/simcade titles to choose from on console. As a racing fan I always pick up every title I can get my hands on. There's too much Codies vs. Milestone vs. Kylotton or Polyphony vs. SMS. vs Kunos going on. Most racing games deserve a spot in a racing freak's library no matter if brand loyalty is an influence or not. Even iffy games like WRC 6 can be loads of fun if you jump into them with an open mind.


:P mmm it is all too easy to buy from the PSN and Xbox stores with a password now! I also have few more indie games..ie. table top racing and a fair few others I have now deleted and plenty of free demos.

I like to try them all and support who I can for DLC if I like the games. I also have an Xbox One -ForzaHorizon2+3 ForzaMotorsport5+6 :ill: I think this forum and the photomode community have helped tempt me on some as Drive Club was the only game I ever used to play! :cheers:

But slowly I have brought a T300RS wheel/set up and last year PSVR and Dirt Rally VR and DriveClub VR!..

But to be honest I enjoy them all and I really am glad I have tried and played them all to experience them, even if I don't like them all it has been great fun. Having played mainly racing games through my life from a kid and then having a break from it all, it is nice to get back in to it a few years ago (now a little older) and I have a little more time lately. The photomodes and graphics really have moved on this generation and keep me coming back.

Listening and reading on here (GTP) I am now slowly getting in to 'Action games' too.. đź‘Ť but upgrading last year to the PS4 Pro now I am waiting for new releases to take advantage of the system and will try to get them all now with 4k or 60FPS and/or a photomode for longevity if I can.
:cheers:
 
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I bought Dirt 4, but I'm thinking about selling it and getting Dirt Rally. 4 just feels unfinished and I've heard great things about DR so far.

I am selling my copy of DiRT 4 too, I already own Dirt Rally but I also pre-ordered WRC 7 which looks promising from what I have seen, and stages also look a lot more interesting compared to DiRT 4.
 
Well said. I deleted D4 two weeks ago. Time to add "vs WRC 7" to the thread title...

I think we understand. You hate DiRT4.

Still waiting for my copy of WRC7 if it ever gets here.

Meanwhile SLRE wasn't even worth the 8 bucks I spent when it was on sale in the PS store. Junk.
 
I think we understand. You hate DiRT4.

Still waiting for my copy of WRC7 if it ever gets here.

Meanwhile SLRE wasn't even worth the 8 bucks I spent when it was on sale in the PS store. Junk.

I didn't say I hated DiRT 4. I am more angry at Codemasters and the lack of support and radio silence than I am at the game itself. I did get some enjoyment from it working to the platinum. But between SLRE, DR and WRC 7 it was just taking up space. We're going on nearly four months since launch and not even day-one game-crashing bugs have been addressed and Codies is completely ignoring the fan base in the community.

Codemasters promised us this:



but gave us this:



Besides the odd handling on most cars I found Your Stage to be extremely repetitive and boring.

What is it about SLRE that you didn't like? The graphics and sound suck but the physics and content are excellent. Still my favorite rally game of the current generation.
 
@Pfei

I appreciate the positive response, I suppose we disagree on our favorite games. :)

I like the stage generator in D4 even though the corners will repeat. My issue with Rally games has always been the more you play them the more they become time trials, which goes against the spirit of rally racing. The generator is the best option out there to create stages that are as unique as possible.

I played SLRE again a couple weeks ago, and yeah, the sounds are not good though the graphics are good enough. Otherwise the car handling is ok. Until I memorize the stages (which I don't want to do) I can't finish worth a darn and gain credits to get better cars, so I can't make a good assessment of the overall game. I like most things rally so I'll give it more chances but with WRC7 coming soon I don't see myself playing SLRE much.

The only game crashes I've had on D4 is during 'Pro Tour' in which I likely wouldn't participate much anyway. No other major bugs other than the strange AI rally times I came across using certain cars in certain events.
 
Just sold DiRT 4 today & immediately bought DiRT Rally back. Will be getting WRC 7 for Christmas. So, all I can say as of now is that DiRT Rally is much better than DiRT 4. DiRT 4 has great graphics, sounds & such but there's no atmosphere to it all. It's just driving a car on generic randomised rally stages over, & over again. You can't practise a stage to get use to it like you can in DiRT Rally. & the biggest problem is that it's just too easy, even with no assists & the A.I on the hardest difficulty. It just feels like you're doing a time trial on generic rally stages. & that's what I mean by it has no atmosphere to it. Still a great game, it's just boring.

So in my opinion, DiRT Rally is far superior to DiRT 4. Get DiRT Rally. đź‘Ť & Ill be getting WRC 7 for Christmas so I can't judge it yet. But it looks fantastic!
 
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