[Discussion] Do you still have faith in SMS in the project cars series

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With the recent launch of pcars 3 and all the problems this game has from graphical flickering to bugs to freezing and i could go on.

From the bad sales going from it debuting at number #17 in the uk sales chart and its nowhere to be seen on us amazons top 100 best sellers in video games to the low player numbers from steam.

More on sales here.... https://www.vgchartz.com/articles/?category_story=Latest+Charts

The question is have you lost faith in sms and in the project cars series?

Will you be day one again if there is a pcars 4?
 
With the recent launch of pcars 3 and all the problems this game has from graphical flickering to bugs to freezing and i could go on.

From the bad sales going from it debuting at number #17 in the uk sales chart and its nowhere to be seen on us amazons top 100 best sellers in video games to the low player numbers from steam.

More on sales here.... https://www.vgchartz.com/articles/?category_story=Latest+Charts

The question is have you lost faith in sms and in the project cars series?

Will you be day one again if there is a pcars 4?

No I won’t be a day one buyer.
I opted out on PC3 day one and after reading through the forums I might just skip PC3.
Very happy with PC2, more hours playing it than any other racing game I’ve played back to GT2.
 
I would love to see a good game from CM, hope they will bring loads of cash to hire new developers, who can handle technical issues and still able to produce new content, and merge such things like simulation and arcade with good physics, also to buy all expensive licences. According to recent trends it might as well be called Project Cars.
 
A few bugs and crappy marketing aside its a decent enough game. With Codemasters now at the helm I have faith that they will whip SMS into shape with regards to the poor marketing strategy, lack of communication and their actual public relations, which are, well, frankly shocking.

Codemasters themselves aren't everyone's cup of tea, but the acquisition of SMS is a sign of their intent. They didn't acquire SMS to churn out sub par sims or simcade titles that tread very closely to their own series, albeit with more realistic physics. I've always felt that its been about capitalising on the sim roots of the team and creating a genuine evolution of the project cars series.

Codemasters will be watching this all unfold and they will be putting their plan into action at the earliest they can. The backlash from the fans of the series, the constant arguing in forums and the like, it gives Codemasters the opportunity to be the knights in shining armour and 'rescue' the series with the next installment and shown us their vision.

With how poor Grid performed sales wise and its relatively lukewarm reception and lack of support to back that up, combined with what already looks like a lukewarm reception and underwhelming sales performance. Dont be too surprised to see pCars and Grid get disbanded and become a new franchise/reboot to really capitlise on the teams abilities and knowledge.
 
Depends on how SMS responds, both in terms of fixes/optimization patches and changes/additions based on feedback.
I still think there's a decent game in there somewhere, but fixes and tweaks are sorely needed.

If they do nothing it's a definite no.
 
SMS as a company has lost my faith. I never agreed with how they conducted themselves. From the launch of pCars1 I was turned off by their responses, and lack thereof to the community. The BS surrounding the promised preorder bonus and banning criticism on their forums kinda set that off for me during the first game.

They did much better leading up to pCars2. Mr Bell interacted with the community much more and as a company they seemed much more receptive. I love pCars2 and was 100% onboard for pCars3.

Then I figured out what pCars3 was. Would have been fine to come out and say it, instead of trying to veil it as the sim we wanted (a true successor to pCars2.) Despite my support during pCars2, they were still BSing us and not following up on promises leading to the third game.

TLDR... yes I've lost faith, not from one thing, but from their history of treating their community like garbage. Maybe Codemasters will finally throw a muzzle on them.
 
Have I lost faith? Well, I am not a PC3 buyer. I may yet, but right now, it's just not what I'm looking for. However, as I recall, both PC1, 2 and even Shift 2 were all hot messes on launch (whole 'nuther rant right there, more and more devs seem okay with launching terribly unfinished products), so PC3 is sort of a step in the right direction that way. So, we know what they can do given the time and resources, we know their engine at the core has some serious potential. Can they find their mojo again and get back to producing not cartoon racing games? I hope so.
 
My one big hope is that codemasters can steer the ship of sms in the same direction as what they did with dirt/dirt rally, a specific title for sim and the other arcade.
As with dirt, they can share assets for project cars sim/project cars arcade, possibly picking up crossover sales for both.

I’ve no doubt that the talent remains at sms, it’s hopefully just a matter of the right management of which codies hopefully can provide.
 
A few bugs and crappy marketing aside its a decent enough game. With Codemasters now at the helm I have faith that they will whip SMS into shape with regards to the poor marketing strategy, lack of communication and their actual public relations, which are, well, frankly shocking.

You would think that would have been accomplished a couple months ago.

No, I do not have faith in SMS. If they would have just been honest with their intentions, maybe some of us could have been more supportive.
 
The question is have you lost faith in sms and in the project cars series?

Will you be day one again if there is a pcars 4?

Yes - I have lost faith in SMS, but I haven't lost faith in the Project Cars series - I am hoping that the acquisition by Codemasters will bring much needed improvements in quality control.

I didn't bother buying PC3 although I did pre-order PC2. I was late to PC1 because I didn't get a PS4 until the Pro was launched.

I won't be day one again if there is a Pcars 4.
 
SMS has always been pretty sketchy but they've really dug themselves a hole with pCARS 3.

With confusing marketing, baffling game design decisions that have exposed deep divisions in the community, and the Bells being straight up liars as well as belittling the sim fanbase it built up, I have no faith left in SMS.
 
I lost faith in SMS but i still think they have potential in creating the best racing sandbox on market. They nearly nailed it with PCars 2 it just needed more refinement. I just hope they will come back on this patch with future titles, but right now i feel very disappointed.
 
You would think that would have been accomplished a couple months ago.

No, I do not have faith in SMS. If they would have just been honest with their intentions, maybe some of us could have been more supportive.

PC3 will have been too far along for Codemasters to have been able to have any say in its direction.
 
It depends. If PCARS4 goes back to being a PCARS game and, as others have said here, SMS are open and actually communicated with the community, I'll give it a chance. They can make a good Project CARS game if they know what a PCARS game should include. PCARS3 wasn't a PCARS game as many have already said and furthered the confusing and condescending marketing.

The Steam figures, the only figures we know, show that fewer people are playing than PCARS2. Leagues I'm in have stated no intention.

If there's anything I'd keep, it's the Schedule Races and the Livery Editor as they can work in a PCARS game but massive performance upgrades, not so much.
 
For me the ball is very much in SMS’s court, and it depends on what happens next.

Will they acknowledge the issues PC3 has and take active and effective steps to resolve them, as happened with The likes of DriveClub, No Mans Sky, Battlefront 2, etc?

If so then they have a hope of convincing me that they are still serious about the series.

However if they repeat the mistakes of the lead up to release, and continue a trend of dismissing perfectly valid concerns out of hand, then I fear it will lose them even more of the audience than has (seemingly) already happened.
 
For me the ball is very much in SMS’s court, and it depends on what happens next.

Will they acknowledge the issues PC3 has and take active and effective steps to resolve them, as happened with The likes of DriveClub, No Mans Sky, Battlefront 2, etc?

If so then they have a hope of convincing me that they are still serious about the series.

However if they repeat the mistakes of the lead up to release, and continue a trend of dismissing perfectly valid concerns out of hand, then I fear it will lose them even more of the audience than has (seemingly) already happened.

As the cliche goes the ball is firmly in there court. The foundation of PC3 is fun as heck. If they can further optimize the framerate and resolutions and squash the smaller bugs. I will actually have gained faith in them.

I like the game very much and really good polish or two (updates) can make it special.
 
well lets hope someone at Codemasters/SMS takes this in and reads what you guys are all telling them and they develop a game/s that people will pick up and want to buy, even if it has a few bugs and needs refining, instead of trying to dictate to you guys what in SMS' opinion is what you guys "need in a sim".

FWIW my thoughts would be:
PCARS4_SMS
This would be a true Serious Motorsport Simulator, of the same pedigree as PCARS2 but totally revamped to make use of the new console generation. Improvements in the Madness engine to optimise and remove the shortcomings of PCARS2.
Include a Livery editor, this appears to be a success in PCARS3.
vehicle Handling models, physics, SETA tyre model, Livetrackx, pit stops, vehicle degradation, etc all to make a full return and all to cater for an immersive motor sport enthusiasts experience.
Enhanced Multiplayer, with latest tech netcode and heavily biased towards Leagues and Esports comps.
revamped matchmaking.
Cater for the wheel guys, but still have controller support as well.
Real life car classes, etc etc.......make it something enthusiasts really want to get their grubby race gloves onto!
Solid Career Mode perhaps around an upcoming Junior driver, with some motorsport management builtin as well, (reference the F1 2020, DIRT 2.0 Codies are good at this type of integration)

And now
PCARS4_FUN
This one would take all the good stuff from PCARS3 and improve further on it.
Even better controller support, with ability to configure a wheel (but will be much better played with a controller to be honest)
Short fun and exciting events same as whats in PCARS3
Now include a "Car Creator"!!
This would be somthing similar to Targems Crossout (which I find is a lot of fun and there are some amazing creations that guys do)
If you want to put buggy wheels on an F! and drive it around Bathurst then go for it!!
If you want to put a triple turbo on a V12 and then chuck it in a Mini Cooper, and see how it handles on a wet track at Knockhill....by all means give it a try!!
I think guys would have a lot of fun sharing and making some wild and fantastic creations.
Mostly online racing, with test tracks available offline.
The races would be very interesting and fun too.
Damage and deformation models will be highly detailed so parts come flying off as you get hit or collide into barriers.
Some races will be like Demolition Derbys........online events could have goals, to reach achievements which would award credits to buy/craft new parts, etc.
Packs can be sold which include parts, paints, decorative items etc to increase life expectancy of game.

Anyway its just my thoughts, and I'll be upfront and say I dont own or plan on owning PCARS3 as I already have PCARS1 and 2 and I think there are enough games that are already similar to PCARS3 that I already have.:)
 
As the cliche goes the ball is firmly in there court. The foundation of PC3 is fun as heck. If they can further optimize the framerate and resolutions and squash the smaller bugs. I will actually have gained faith in them.

I like the game very much and really good polish or two (updates) can make it special.

If they can improve the horrible graphics and fix the graphical flickering i'll be more then happy to fully enjoy pcars 3 but for now i can only half enjoy this game.
 
Coming into Project Cars 2, I had no history with SMS and Ian Bell. That game is giving me nearly three years of fun.

I vehemently defended him and declared that there was no way he would make a game without pit stops. Obviously, I was wrong

While I'm not happy with the decisions he made going into this game, I am playing the heck out of it. I have eight or nine different racing titles and this is the one I choose to play when I have time

Given what we're experiencing, I now believe that this game was just a placeholder, a last quick Cash grab for this generation of console.

I am fully expecting the new consoles to usher in a new racing game that's beyond our imagination! I have been wrong before so I won't hold my breath but it's what I'm hoping for.

So, no, I have not completely lost faith in them yet
 
I have lost faith in this series as well. And it's only because Nathan Bell and the marketing team lied to our faces when asked if pCars 3 retained the same simulation features as PC2. PC3 clearly doesn't. I think PC3 should be called Project Cars Lite. It's a lesser game.

I will only buy another PCars game if it's an improvement over PC2.
 
I must admit, I'm definitely interested to see where the Project Cars franchise goes from here.

Will they carry on down this new route?, will they try and return to a more serious sim route?

I guess only they know.
 
I must admit, I'm definitely interested to see where the Project Cars franchise goes from here.

Will they carry on down this new route?, will they try and return to a more serious sim route?

I guess only they know.

Interesting would be "a little bit of both"

Why not having good controller support, nice carrer mode but keep motorsport atmosphere intact with Pit-Stops and race weekend format which will add a lot of depth. Lets keep it easy to learn but hard to master. I think this would be perfect middleground.
 
I have no faith. With Gran Turismo's and Forza's next-gen releases in the near future, I don't think there'll be any way that the Project CARS series regains what it lost with this game. All SMS had to do was to improve on Project CARS 2 to have a good PC3, and they failed to do that. The marketing was bad, the reviews were mixed, and the appeal was very narrow. SMS made an aimless game, and therefore missed the mark. Like Project CARS 3, Slightly Mad Studios has become an inessential part of the racing genre for now.
 
Yes I've lost faith in SMS and in Pcars series as they lied with an pathetic marketing to the fanbase and changed the project 360 degrees giving the back towards an community that putted money, time and work in the Community Assisted racing simulator project


Lot of things have to change to make me regain faith in those guys

And no... don't gonna buy shift 3 lite and don't gonna buy a probable Pcars 4 day one ... don't even think that it will go back to the unique identity the 2 first Pcars achieved, trying to make a good SIM now that they form part of Codemasters.

Will keep playing Pcars 2, 90% same game than shift 3 lite but with more tracks, options, tyre wear, and so one..
 
Yep the last little bit was lost when CM bought them they used to make money by making "good" games now they make games and try to ring every penny out of it I used to buy all their games now I don't want to buy any its sad to see what they became
 
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