Finally was able to make time to play last night and the results are
overwhelmingly positive. Still have only put about two hours into things since 1.31, but here are my thoughts so far. For reference I play on a T300RS 599XX on PSVR2.
There are so many things to talk about! My T300 feels smoother and there is a ton more road feel that comes through, and most important of all... managing opposite lock IS A THING NOW!
Tires are markedly different from each other. Cars feel like they put much more weight on them, sidewalls have clear differences in pliability/flex depending on tire selection, and all this can be picked up through new communication through the wheel. Going from CS-SH-RS on a DC Integra presents stark differences in feel and the limit with which you can push into them before understeer. A race-suspended road car properly tuned on slicks provides a TON more steering weight and awesome load building as you find more and more grip that isn't present in road tires. My T300 did not need any adjustment for me from before, and the range in load from a CS to an RS is HUGE (LOTS of load on wheel when really pushing a slick for low speed grip, very light overall with a CS). The overall range and delicacy of the wheel is very much improved. When a slick is combined with stiff, well sorted suspension, there is so much communication coming through. It's amazing.
4WD cars no longer feel like RWD cars on corner exit. Before they would still oversteer on throttle even when pointed "straight", instead of it pulling you out with the fronts like in reality. Now you can play with the balance between trail-braking into a corner, loading the fronts and then exploiting all the traction available on exit with realistic on-throttle understeer/oversteer. Balance is important to avoid understeer, but it is so satisfying to finally have the ability to pull out of corners like an AWD car should. Really looking forward to tuning some oversteer into some 4WD cars.
I built my IRL RX7 in game and it was never really satisfying to drive. The same goes for a stock FD, they were WAY too unstable, super twitchy in oversteer, nearly impossible to hold opposite lock, slide at triple-digit speeds with little input etc., but now it is
so much more manageable, much more planted, communicative, and more like its real life attitude. Now, you can safely push them into oversteer, find lock, hold it there with the throttle, and then power out while bleeding off steering angle and waiting for the tires to regain traction. Oversteer isn't just a time sucking, drop-throttle catch-game anymore! It's a fluid, realistic, exploitable trait now. This goes for just about any RWD car in game, and was truly one of the most broken characteristics of GT7 prior to 1.31. This is an amazing revelation in the model, and this one thing makes the whole update a win.
Porsches are much easier to drive, which leads to them being much more capable, if not a little less fun. The 930 Turbo is (broken record) much more stable, very prone to on-throttle understeer, but the rear-engine nature is still fully exploitable. The 997 GT3 is much the same, but amplified. It's a little bit of a learning curve to find my "center" with them again, but it's so much fun to do so.
I've only driven one race car so far, the GR3 SC430 at the new Nurburgring 800, and I'm having a hard time finding the same "understeer" argument many are coming up with. Firstly, the tire temps play a huge role in traction, and there is a marked grip increase when you've put some heat in them, so don't go wild or get judgy about driving a car fresh out of the pits. The cars definitely do not turn in on the brakes in the way they did before, but I don't find it in any way unusual, or hard to deal with, and they can be pushed far into their traction limits with satisfying load increases through the wheel. While I notice some extension in braking (which is also me likely being overly cautious), the car still felt very planted, capable, and exploitable. With tire-wear at 10x, it still had much left in its set of RHs at the end of the race, and despite needing to save fuel on the last lap, still beat 2nd by over 37 seconds with zero pre-race practice. It was a super fun race.
I also made some time to run the new TT with the Toyota Alphard and it was WAY more fun than I thought it would be. Got gold on lap three and had enough fun to keep on pushing for a few more laps. Got down to a 1:28.2XX, and there is still much more in that big ol' fridge. Very surprising how fun it is to drive!
All in all, I'm 100% enjoying this update. It is several orders of magnitude better than what we had before, and while still not perfect, it is so much closer to mimicking real-world car attitudes and abilities. The power-oversteer thing for me is such a huge thing, and means a lot for the tire model and driving realism. I can't wait to put more miles on
everything.
I really don't understand the people saying that this "ruined" the game, complaining about too-much understeer, or the various other negative things that have been said. I know I can't speak for controller users, so some of these things might be selective, but if you have a decent wheel, there should be nothing but positives from 1.31 as far as I can see. The balance between under/over steer is definitely more delicate. You can no longer just stand on ABS and turn in like before. Trail braking is done with a progressive release of steering angle and brakes, and it still works just fine. If you have a wheel, this communication is
right-there telling you exactly where you are with traction and when you've exceeded it. For some, simply slowing down and recalibrating your style may be necessary to find your balance again.
Yes you are the only adult here who can drive! It's a game, a simcade at best, if you want total realism play iracing
Just had to quote this for the hilarious hypocrisy of it. Many people here, myself included, have a lot of spirited/track IRL seat time in cars and love the new update. Tidgeny, Super GT, Kie, Igor Fraga and many other talented sim/IRL drivers think this is a huge step in the right direction. So, why is it that an "adult" such as yourself is struggling with it so much, while us "children" see how good it is and are having such a good time? I'm all for discussion and disagreement, but calling others children while acting like a child isn't going to do you any favors.
Try it yourself, it really turns much better than you can.
