Has Project Cars lived up to the hype?

[Luminis]

I just want a game that for once gives me the joy I feel when driving my real car.

Let's be honest, no game will ever deliver that. Driving top down, the air rushing by, rustling my hair, carrying all sorts of smells and fragrances, including the smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes, feeling G-forces while cornering... None of that can be replicated by a game. Not with the technology we've got available. Project CARS does a good job conveying a somewhat similar experience with what limited means current technology offers.

I don't care for rules and regulations or career modes that accurately represent motorsport, I care for the on-track action, the experience if you will and that is already done pretty good in many racing games. That's why I feel PCARS is pretty standard, not bad but not great

And that's all fine and dandy, if you ask me. From Driveclub to GRID Autosport to Mario Kart, there's a whole bunch of games that are kinda about racing and still focus on being games and giving you entertainment. I, for one, am happy that there's an option for those that don't want a Michael-Bay-ified racing game that tries to amp up the "entertainment". Sure, SMS did shoot themselves in the foot when they said that their games offers the players total freedom to create the racing experience they want.

I've had this game since the first builds, and I've mostly used a handful of cars only. With the track selection + practice/qualification/racing + dynamic weather/time that's pretty much all I need to keep me entertained.

You know, I'm mostly using Forza 4 as a comparison. It's the racing game I spend the most time on (so far, that is). In FM4, I've probably driven dozens of cars within the first few hours of playing it. Went through cars at an alarming rate, really. Bought one, drove it, upgraded it, drove it, got bored, moved on. PCARS? A handful of cars. I've probably not even driven ten cars yet because every car feels very much different from the others and just learning a new car on a new track takes a good bit of time. Add setting it up right to that and, yeah, I'm spending quite a bit more time per car (and track) and I'd do in other games.

I find it kind of odd that now pcars has been released with some bugs, so many people seem to have forgotten how many other games have had just as many or more bugs on release. People saying it's not as polished as GT games because of the bugs, forgetting that GT6 released with a huge number of very serious bugs in it's physics, some of which never got fixed.

Might be odd, but not very surprising to me.

For two reasons, mainly: One, GT's got a cult following (as does Kazunori, I feel). It's a high profile title and it's a franchise that people have been playing since the early nineties, in some cases. Giving a game a bit of a free pass under those circumstances isn't unheard of. I know plenty of people who're doing the same for their beloved franchises. I've got a friend who's going berserk whenever someone says that Final Fantasy isn't what it used to be, for example

Second, there was NFS: Shift 2 and it was made by SMS. Sure, I do think that it was mostly EA being a ****** publisher that caused that game to be released as a buggy, crippled mess of a game instead of what SMS might have wanted to do with it, but others might not keep that in mind - or care. And they're therefore going to scrutinize PCARS a lot more thoroughly than they'd do otherwise. Can't blame anyone for doing that. Might not be the most fair thing to do, but completely understandable

That said, folks who play on consoles might have a worse experience than I do - and I tend to forget that. My PC version runs fine and I don't care about the career mode... Playing a shoddy console port and going for the most buggy part of the game is bound to give someone a worse impression than the one I got. As I said, I gotta admit that I do tend to forget that

 

[CHEN255]

No way is PCars on console a shoddy port from PC. It has been pointed out several times that the game was developed for each platform alongside one another. Console specific bugs are being found that were'nt evident prior to release because the PC version got the most testing.
There are loads and loads of people very happy with their console version of PCars, me included on PS4.

 

[UKMikey]

For £65 I expected the game to be ready to play, but they simply haven't learnt from Shift - on Xbox One it is not at all calibrated for the control pad and as before, people are coming up with settings. Unfortunately, I have the bug they're rolling out the patch for, so it is near enough unplayable.

Exactly when was the last time you bought a bug free game out of the box? back before the internet age devs had no choice but to release a finished and polished product...but those days are long gone!

There are bugs and then there is not being able to complete a lap on any course because the controller model is broken on my platform. I expected problems with this but was kinda hoping I'd have some kind of game to play while they sorted out the issues. Not so.

Ask me again in a month's time when I can complete a lap without my Clio ramming into the wall on the first sharp turn as I'm dying to jump on board the hype train with the rest of y'all.

 

[phonyk]

For me it does live up to the hype. But then I guess that's entirely subjective. I've got it on PS4, and thanks to (well documented) bugs I'm unable to use my steering wheel. That's immensely frustrating, especially when my entire decision to buy a PS4 rested on the fairly late announcement of support for my family of wheels. It boggles the mind that they added the support for the wheel, it went off for UAT, someone actually plugged in one of the wheels and tested it, and then said "Yep, that's working. Good to go!". That really galls me. For some that'd be enough to say that the game had failed to live up to the hype. But the hype, to me, was never around specific peripheral support. The hype was around the physics model, and the recreation of actual racing rules. And in that respect, PCars is an absolute triumph.

It's a bold experiment really. Most studios would have balked at the idea of producing such a hardcore sim, and then putting it out to the console market. You need only look at some of the comments on this thread to see that some people just want a massive roster of nice looking cars, and a grindy career system. I certainly don't. I've played through every GT and Forza game since they were released, and I'm now completely and utterly sick of having to spend hours of my time grinding my way through lower class races on short tracks in naff cars just so I can get to the good stuff. I know what I'm doing with racing games and sims, I don't need to be forced through that gentle handholding. It stifles the fun for me. And frankly my days of being interested in street cars with silly bodykits are well well behind me.

To me, I'd say that PCars is more of a spiritual successor to the likes of Live For Speed. A sim which was hugely popular despite only having a handful of imaginary cars and tracks. LFS shows that there's a big market for games which are built purely around that raw racing experience. And that's why I love this game as much as I do - for the first time since probably the first Gran Turismo came out, here's a console racer which breaks new ground, and feels like it is made just for me. I'm happy to forgive the bugs, even the major ones, and wait on new patches to come out. Because the very fact that this game exists makes me happy, let alone the fact that there are clearly enough people out there to justify its existence. So in future, where producers may have balked at the idea of hardcore sim racing on consoles, they might just be prepared to get out the chequebooks and back projects like this on an even bigger scale. And that's an idea I find very, very exciting.

 

[Mr616]

I'm a PS4 user who was excited to play this game. I held my expectations in check because I know what game releases can be like. I think Pcars is the best racing experience I've played on console (I am/was a big GT fan). The sound, the feel of driving, the huge amount of tracks which IMO are modelled amazingly well. The cars included are fantastic (I don't believe you need a huge car count, you need cars that are relevant to the game). I like how you can change livery and love all the options to tailor the game to your own personal preference. If anybody feels let down by this game, I feel your expectations were far to high in the first place. I personally don't want to paint cars, modify them or change rims in this game. I want to pick a car, and drive it hard on track. The RS500 is personal favourite at the min. In short, yes the game more than lived up to the hype/my expectations.

 

[Johnnypenso]

On One, its failed to phase Forza at all and, if anything, has driven players more towards Forza. While it has some nice features to boast, it fell short of how absolutely amazing it was supposedly going to be as a total package.

Anyone that had done a minute of research before release would know that PCars was never promoted as the "total package". It was promoted as a racing simulator, period. It was clear from the beginning what the game was and was not.

I find it kind of odd that now pcars has been released with some bugs, so many people seem to have forgotten how many other games have had just as many or more bugs on release. People saying it's not as polished as GT games because of the bugs, forgetting that GT6 released with a huge number of very serious bugs in it's physics, some of which never got fixed.

On release you say? I was reading in the GTAcademy Forum that there is a tire grip bug in the GTA events. If you enter the event, then back out and enter again, you get more grip. Okay, stop laughing, I'm being serious Imagine how many of the tens of thousands of entrants are unaware of this bug? Ride height is still backwards after 4.5 years, camber doesn't work properly, aero physics are off etc. GT5 was a mess at release. GT5-6 is the king of bugs. Project Cars may end up in the same boat as it remains to be seen if they can follow through on their promise of long-term support, but as you indicate, let's give them a chance to sort this all out and we'll see where we are in a few months.

 

[dr_slump]

Why is the poll so one sided?

3 positive
1 neutral
1 bad

 

[Johnnypenso]

Why is the poll so one sided?

3 positive
1 neutral
1 bad

That's not one sided, it's 3 sided actually. No matter your feelings on the game, there is an option for you. Combine the first three = Good, 4= meh, 5 = disappointed.

 

[RacerPaul]

Does Project Cars suit its hype?

Of course it doesn't. It couldn't, given the sheer amount of hype it got

Pretty good though, great racing. With a patch or several, it'll be lovely

 

[dr_slump]

No matter your feelings on the game, there is an option for you.

You can say it's great, but not that it's awful.

 

[Stephen220378]

I think it does, Project Cars does racing better than any other console driving/racing game I've played including good old GT so yeah, if Forza and GT are hyped to death then why not hype the game that actually gets the basics right?

Sure, it doesn't have the car list of GT, or the special events etc that make Gran Turismo what it is but GT has been around for 20+ years and PD have Sony's fat wallet backing them all the way. What it does have though is tons of potential to develop into the best all round driving game there is and that in itself is an exciting prospect, it has the racing, now all it needs is the content.

As for the bugs and glitches, well it's hardly Driveclub is it!

 

[adstomko]

The great message that this game delivers, is that racing games shouldn't be all about how many cars can be listed on a game, but a number of cars which are very well designed to feel pretty close to the real thing.

Quality, not quantity.

 

[gtracedriver1]

I guess this depends on what we mean by what that hype is. If we're talking about the amount of hype, as in how many people were buzzing about it, it's short of Forza or GT. If we're talking about to what extent people hyped it up, this then refers to how this game was going to blow Forza out of the water and further bury GT. Regarding the latter, it's failed to do that; at least in the Xbox community. On One, its failed to phase Forza at all and, if anything, has driven players more towards Forza. While it has some nice features to boast, it fell short of how absolutely amazing it was supposedly going to be as a total package.

You are saying Forza5 with that track list and no night, or any sort of variable condition is better than Pcars

Pcars got lots of hype of community and it was never going to be as popular as Forza and definitely not GT.

 

[Stephen220378]

That's not one sided, it's 3 sided actually. No matter your feelings on the game, there is an option for you. Combine the first three = Good, 4= meh, 5 = disappointed.

Totally agree with this.

That's not one sided, it's 3 sided actually. No matter your feelings on the game, there is an option for you. Combine the first three = Good, 4= meh, 5 = disappointed.

I'd say it's 4 sided actually, first option is for people who think it's amazing, next two are for the ones that think it's good but.... (basically the same option but worded differently) the third is neutral and the fourth bad.

Anyway to the guy you replied to: nobody is taking away your right of opinion, who cares how the poll is worded, you have this thread to get your point across by means of discussion and debate.

 

[dr_slump]

As for the bugs and glitches, well it's hardly Driveclub is it!

What a ridiculous statement!

Just because something isn't as bad as something else, doesn't make it the slightest bit better. It's just a super cheap excuse, not more.

 

[HAL20XX]

What hype? No where near Forzas or GT levels

Maybe not as much hype leading up to it, but it surpassed both within its launch window.

 

[doctorrg]

I bought the XB1 version and it seems like a waste of $60 so far. Hopefully the patch irons the game out.

Unfortunately, it's how I feel at the moment. Really tried to like it, but currently it really does seem like a waste of A$99 (bought the digital copy). I actually couldn't get back to Horizon 2 quick enough. Probably give it another shot at a later date.

 

[mr_serious]

If you have only ever played console racers before, you will need to adjust your mindset slightly if you want to get the biggest bang for your buck.

In the real world race drivers don't jump into a car, do three laps and win.

When you play a simulator that attempts a high fidelity recreation of an experience, you have to do a little bit of role playing yourself.

The more realistic the sim, the more effort you are going to have to put in, to get something out of it. Just think for a moment about how many laps a paid F1 driver does at a circuit before the start lights actually go out.

If you approach PCARS with the understanding that a new physics model, and new FFB model require some acclimatisation through practice, just like a real driver would need to do when moving to a new race series or category, most of you will probably find there is a hell of a lot to enjoy in this game.

For me personally, the more I play it, the more I am understanding the FFB parameter effects, the better it gets. Honestly if someone asked me for a description I have run out of superlatives to use. But I did have to spend several hours of reading & testing to understand the per car FFB settings. Now that I do, it seems so clear and easy. The drive is fantastic. I can get good times in practice but in Qualy or a Race I am still battling with adrenaline overload!

Just like real life

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Unfortunately, it's how I feel at the moment. Really tried to like it, but currently it really does seem like a waste of A$99 (bought the digital copy). I actually couldn't get back to Horizon 2 quick enough. Probably give it another shot at a later date.

Definitely not the same type of game as Horizon [thankfully].

 

[Johnnypenso]

If you approach PCARS with the understanding that a new physics model, and new FFB model require some acclimatisation through practice, just like a real driver would need to do when moving to a new race series or category, most of you will probably find there is a hell of a lot to enjoy in this game.

For me personally, the more I play it, the more I am understanding the FFB parameter effects, the better it gets. Honestly if someone asked me for a description I have run out of superlatives to use. But I did have to spend several hours of reading & testing to understand the per car FFB settings. Now that I do, it seems so clear and easy. The drive is fantastic. I can get good times in practice but in Qualy or a Race I am still battling with adrenaline overload!

I haven't had as much time as I've wanted since getting the game and that's basically all I've been doing is driving and tuning and playing with parameters and seeing what happens. You're absolutely right, there is a depth and complexity to the simulation aspect of this game that is there for everyone to enjoy if they'd take the time to discover it. I understand that isn't everyone's cup of tea and some people just want to hop in cars and go fast, but you can do that in any game. There is a lot more than meets the eye with PCars...and to me that means a better racing experience whether it's online or off and that's what it's all about...for me.

 

[doctorrg]

Definitely not the same type of game as Horizon [thankfully].

You mean it's not a game where you can get into a car and drive around? I swear that's exactly what I did. Are you saying I must've played a different game?

 

[mr_serious]

I haven't had as much time as I've wanted since getting the game and that's basically all I've been doing is driving and tuning and playing with parameters and seeing what happens. You're absolutely right, there is a depth and complexity to the simulation aspect of this game that is there for everyone to enjoy if they'd take the time to discover it. I understand that isn't everyone's cup of tea and some people just want to hop in cars and go fast, but you can do that in any game. There is a lot more than meets the eye with PCars...and to me that means a better racing experience whether it's online or off and that's what it's all about...for me.

The sad part for me is that it is not just a PCARS, or GT issue. It's that people are wary of skill based games in general and of FPS and Racers particularly.

I have been into computer racing for 34 years, although admittedly back in 1981 it was a matter of guiding one ascii character through a path of other ascii chars with a refresh rate which you could sip a cup of tea between screen updates (almost anyway)

But the objections of the unwilling have basically remained the same.

Winners : They want to win on the first go
Embarrassed: They know that it is skill based and can't compete without practice
Shy: They desperately want to win, but know they won't (without practice)

Then you have these folk...
Tryers: They know that the only way they might win is with practice.

I have been fortunate enough that the last RL gamers I have been introduced to have no interest or experience in racing games, but explicitly wanted to race on the same settings (no aids, cockpit view) that I use. These are the ones that tend to grow into excellent virtual racers. No pre-conceptions, Open minded and keen to learn from the experience.

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

You mean it's not a game where you can get into a car and drive around? I swear that's exactly what I did. Are you saying I must've played a different game?

No I mean it is not some open world NFS style street racing game. It is a serious racer. Horizon suckered me by having the Forza name on it but will not make that mistake again.

 

[doctorrg]

No I mean it is not some open world NFS style street racing game. It is a serious racer. Horizon suckered me by having the Forza name on it but will not make that mistake again.

Umm, from the Project Cars website:

Relax and go for an open-top cruise!

Select the Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster and the Azure Coast location and go for a Free Practice in the glorious sunshine. No rules, no lap counts, just the wind in your hair and some beautiful scenery.

That sounds to me EXACTLY like what I play Forza Horizon 2 for. Tell me again what makes Project Cars a "serious racer" and means it's not the same type of game?

 

[Mike458]

Well, I don't know how hyped everyone else is or was. As far as I am concerned, I'd say that Project CARS is actually exceeding my expectations - considerably. Might be because I've learned my lesson from other games, I'll give you that much. There's been a lot of disappointments as of late and I have, additionally, come to accept that I won't ever get my perfect racing game. Information on PCARS wasn't scarce, either, so I kinda knew what was coming. And I, for one, kept in mind that it's still a crowd funded indy game; I knew SMS wasn't going to have the resources to match a game like Forza or GT in terms of scope.

Bottom line is (for me, anyway): The driving feels great! It's challenging, the physics feel believable and are quite realistic, as far as I can tell. It's been a while since just driving a car in a video game was fun to me; and in PCARS, it is. The driving is satisfying enough to keep me hotlapping around one of my favorite tracks for hours on end. I'd grow bored of that in most other driving games I've played in the last few years. The only exceptions were Forza 3 and 4 - and that wasn't because of the driving, but because of the car selection and tuning/upgrading. PCARS is the first game in recent years where a single car and a single track can keep me busy for that long.

That said, I'm not one of the guys who'll venture into the GT section and tell people to make the switch. Sure, I'm happy it's getting a lot of positive reception and favorable reviews, but do I care what the guys in the GT section of GTP think of it? You bet I don't

And I agree with @Spagetti69, PCARS isn't seeing anywhere near the hype Forza or GT get. If anything, I'd say that GT is getting a good bit of (possibly) undue hype; which does not come as a surprise on a website dedicated to GT, but still.

Not to say that everyone's like that, but some of GT's fans are so smug about their game, they've had it coming. I trust you know the kind of people I'm talking about

You pretty much summed up my thoughts on this game, I played for so long that my eyes felt like they were on FIRE at the end of the day!

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Umm, from the Project Cars website:
That sounds to me EXACTLY like what I play Forza Horizon 2 for. Tell me again what makes Project Cars a "serious racer" and means it's not the same type of game?

Well lets see how many real world race tracks does Horizon have? How many race cars? What kind of tuning options? What kind of actual race series.

Project cars is keyed around real world race tracks, race cars, sim physics and in depth tuning options all of which make it a serious sim and none of which were present in Horizon. The career mode is a race career. You progress by winning races where as in Horizon you knock over signs and try to go through speed traps at high speeds without crashing into the crazy oncoming AI

So it is easy to see why someone who was wanting something like Horizon would be disappointed just as I was when I tried Horizon expecting something more like Forza.

 

[doctorrg]

Well lets see how many real world race tracks does Horizon have? How many race cars? What kind of tuning options? What kind of actual race series.

Project cars is keyed around real world race tracks, race cars, sim physics and in depth tuning options all of which make it a serious sim and none of which were present in Horizon. The career mode is a race career. You progress by winning races where as in Horizon you knock over signs and try to go through speed traps at high speeds without crashing into the crazy oncoming AI

And in how is any of this relevant? I'm still trying to understand your very first reply to what I've said.

So it is easy to see why someone who was wanting something like Horizon would be disappointed just as I was when I tried Horizon expecting something more like Forza.

Huh? Where did I ever say I wanted something like Horizon? I didn't buy Project Cars because I wanted something like Horizon, and it's not why I am disappointed with it. The disappoinment I have is due to the actual feel of driving, the way it responds to my controls, and the visuals I am getting while playing, not because there's a different way of progressing through the game. The progression, in fact, is quite irrelevant to me. The only reason for me to have mentioned Horizon 2 was because I was in an open world mood at the time, if I was in a race mood I'd have likely said Forza 5 instead. What type of games these are is utterly irrelevant as to why I am disappointed with Project Cars.

I most certainly wasn't looking for something like Horizon, that's for sure, I was looking for something that would give me a great subjective experience of driving. IMO, Project Cars simply doesn't work for me (yet). And yes, that's my very subjective opinion, but my opinion it is.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I most certainly wasn't looking for something like Horizon, that's for sure, I was looking for something that would give me a great subjective experience of driving. IMO, Project Cars simply doesn't work for me (yet). And yes, that's my very subjective opinion, but my opinion it is.

Looks like you wasted $60 then. Perhaps a trade-in?

 

[doctorrg]

Looks like you wasted $60 then. Perhaps a trade-in?

I guess that's the drawback of digital copies, no way to get even a portion of my A$99 back, at least not as far as I'm aware. I'll wait a few months and then give it another try when I'm in the right mood, maybe I'll like it then. Not much else I can do at this point.

 

[Luminis]

Full price for digital copies. Yuk.

And people think pc gaming is expensive.