One year after release opinion

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fernandito

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Well, after the latest patch and the eventual fixing of many tyre compunds and handling aspects that had been pretty much destroyed since the infamous patch three, I think It is safe to say that Project Cars 2 is by far the best sim in the market, not only in terms of content where there is simply no contestants, but also in physics, both racing cars (now) and factory.

We have everything in pc2. Most comprehensive list of tracks; cars, the always wellcome track live thing, and tyre compunds finally fixed. There still remains issues with dedicated servers (the host migration issue which usually ends up being a session killer), and a couple of others here and there, but the end result is too good to be overwhelmed by the bad.

I wanted to congratulate SMS for a job well done in spite of the initial rush, and hope for the sales get higher than I think they currently are after a fiscal year. You guys have, simply speaking, created the best racer ever, whose only competition in terms of handling remains in rfactor2 only. Even then, I think pc2 after the last patch is pretty much there already.

This is, and will continue to be the sim of choice by many of us SMS. You have raised the bar too high for the competition at this point. Too bad the recognition and the sales haven't acompaigned you and the game in the form of increased sales, although you have to understand that releasing an unfinished game one year after completion will always have an effect on that. Next time you have to take your time in order to ensure yourselves that the game is actually ready for release, because a game like pc2 simply does not deserve lower sales than expected.

Farewell and good luck on your next project, although something tells me you will probably want to slip away from the project cars franchise for some time given the tremendous negative criticism taken during the full year. If they only tried the game again after this patch...

That is all. My two cents after the game is pretty much done at this point.
 
There was a lot of negative buzz about this game long before anyone had played it. Some people had bad opinions after the first game and I remember reading a lot of talk of how it was going to be more of the same months and months before launch. That's by no means everyone, but once your mind is made up it's hard to change it. A rather awkward launch(which was probably too soon) didn't help matters, as the problems evident at release were just confirmation of what people already believed.

I'm in no way saying the game didn't deserve criticism or that it is perfect now, but it did face a bit of an uphill climb from the start. I hope they do make a third one down the road as there is a lot of good there, but I really hope they think pretty hard about how to avoid some of those problems and produce a more solid game(with some quality-of-life improvements like custom SP championships/custom car counts/more sensible online setup, etc.) right from the start.

I'm not sure what the real issue was that caused such poor performance on consoles, but that's a big issue too. The PC version seemed to be much better but so many more people buy games on consoles(and to be fair it did require a rather current PC to run well).
 
Unless an update drops between now and than, I'd say doing this thread a week early isn't that big of a deal.
*in before massive amazing surprise update including 2018 IndyCar and Interlagos and fix everything and add a GT Sport-esque Livery Editor with Online Championships*

In all seriousness, this was a good read. It wasn't perfect. But I've enjoyed it and will continue to do so until Project CARS 3. I'd love more content but who wouldn't?
 
I haven't touched this game in probably 6 or 7 months, as I found it back then extremely difficult to handle, depending of car/track/weather etc. At the occasion of the last update, I tried again ... and wow, what a blast. A totally different game, for the better . Everything feels a lot more natural and easy to handle, and by that I mean, a better depiction of how cars behave on a racetrack. Tested the F40, 512m, beasts like that and they're all very easy to handle. A totally different game . Even the graphics look better, the F40 and 250GT are absolutely stunning when you overtake one during a race.
 
I'm very happy with the game - I play a few hours (probably between 2 and 4) every week and have done since launch. I enjoy the extensive track list and the good selection of historic racing cars. The Historic Le Mans DLC and the classics from Porsche and Ferrari have been particular highlights. Added by Edit - checked game stats and use averages 4.5 hours per week since launch.

I'm disappointed that a second season pass wasn't offered and there doesn't seem to be any information from SMS about future intentions with this franchise. Surely the potential is there to grow the games user base and gradually improve sales through continued support i.e. further updates.

I presume that a Game of The Year Edition will be released in due course - if so I hope that this sells steadily. I was late to PC1 - not buying a copy until well after GOTY release, but with PC2 I was in at the start. I have found that there is a small, but steady trickle of ex-GTS players joining PC2 - a GOTY edition might help this to pick up.
 
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I liked the game alot at launch, such a breath of fresh air after 15/20 years of GT.

Didn't see as many bugs as some people reported at the beginning so maybe I was lucky or didn't venture into bug territory that often.

Now after all the updates (V7) & dlc, I absolutely love this game.

I'm in the same boat @Sick Cylinder, I don't get to play much (work/kids) so only really got time for 1 car/track combo a night if that.

Anyways I've just done a complete re-installation of the game including wiping my save file (stats were a bit **** lol + it's always a good thing tidying up game files).

Now I'm starting a fresh like I've just bought the game & might actually get time to start the career now as well.
 
Overall it's a great game but unfortunately the public race scene has been a huge failure. I only play PC2 online now in organised league races. There is little point trying to find a good public race unless you like GT3 around Monza or Spa 24x7. Of course if you have a well managed friends list you can get people into a good room but that is not really the idea behind public racing.

I am hopeful of a Season Two pass however. If I was to be picky I'd prefer tracks over cars - the game is veyr short of ovals for example, but yes I'm sure we'd all love the 2018 Indycar and maybe some more vintage F1 options.
 
I bought PC2 last year about 3-4 weeks before I bought GT Sport. The reason for buying PC2 first ( and my intent was to only have PC2) was for offline, career mode. I had read that GTS didn’t have that.

I found PC2 so extremely difficult (DS4 user) that I quickly gave up. I only then bought GTS and found I could control the cars so much more easily. However, for some strange reason, the game felt hollow, partly due to it looking too shiny and mostly due to lack of career mode. After reading everything I could find on multiple forums over weeks, I re downloaded PC2. I had previously deleted it. All my games are digital download these days.

I bought a very good wheel and NEARLY almost quit again. But, I reached out on these forums to ask for help and received it in spades. I fought past the difficulties of getting used to a wheel (I nearly quit that as well) and fought past the fact that PC2 is INFINITELY more detailed and authentic than GTS that it made me have to learn how to drive, literally learn proper braking and how to be patient and how to use proper and subtle set up changes. Every car felt different and I soon fell deeply in love with PC2 although I was still bad at it.

All this is to say that I believe it’s the single best game I’ve ever played, across all genres. Outside of Uncharted, I have always played sports games but not really racing games. I have deleted GTS 3 or 4 times since. After awhile, and after reading about an update, a new track, or new cars, I re download GTS and try it out. I can’t get past 15 minutes where I just feel like it’s too “plastic feeling” (I know that’s a weird description but I don’t know how else to describe it) and I quickly delete it again.

I wish there was something I could do to help SMS advertise this game. I would do it for free. You may think that the only gamers who can love this game are the elite sim racers. I’m living proof that’s not true. I am likely an inferior racer to every single one of you who reads this. But, I am certainly a sim racer.

I am convinced that, if anyone who plays GTS would all of a sudden lose that game for a month and be forced to only play PC2, they would be astonished at the difference, in a positive way.

I feel like I will play this game for many years to come and i would blindly buy PC3 (if ever released) for twice as much as I paid for PC2, just to support the developer.

So, I heartily endorse this thread and add my thanks to SMS for an AMAZING experience!
 
Whatever happened to the Fast and Furious game that was to be announced last year? I wonder what SMS is up to. I'll admit I'm hooked on Sport Mode in GTS in spite of it being quite "sim lite" but I will tell you what I am praying for:

It's time for SMS to do a rally game. PC2 rallycross physics are excellent on both tarmac and dirt. Live Track applied to rally stages would be an industry first. The inevitably lower car count would likely help to avoid some of the inconsistencies present in PC2. And I am confident SMS would stick a ton of stages in there.

I have had it up to here with Codemasters selling DiRT DLCs as new games for sixty dollars. SMS already has all the tools they need. Make it happen! The world of rally games needs a new player to shake things up. I can't think of anyone better than SMS to make that happen.
 
Whatever happened to the Fast and Furious game that was to be announced last year? I wonder what SMS is up to. I'll admit I'm hooked on Sport Mode in GTS in spite of it being quite "sim lite" but I will tell you what I am praying for:

It's time for SMS to do a rally game. PC2 rallycross physics are excellent on both tarmac and dirt. Live Track applied to rally stages would be an industry first. The inevitably lower car count would likely help to avoid some of the inconsistencies present in PC2. And I am confident SMS would stick a ton of stages in there.

I have had it up to here with Codemasters selling DiRT DLCs as new games for sixty dollars. SMS already has all the tools they need. Make it happen! The world of rally games needs a new player to shake things up. I can't think of anyone better than SMS to make that happen.
Dirt 2.0 is on the way though :)
 
@FOG-Smokebeer and @CHEN255, DR2.0 is what I am referring to along with previous releases. Forgive me but doesn't the release announcement seem extremely underwhelming? Still no full RX season (which I don't really care about anyway), recycled car list with a couple new ones, no hyping any physics improvements, only six rally locations... Only new news is tire selection and deformable surfaces (which might only be for rallycross). I am afraid we will get once again very few stages per location.

I hope they prove me wrong, but does anyone agree with me that SMS could make a killer rally game?
 
Crazy idea -- more than just rally, make it a multi-disciplinary game like PCARS, but for all things point-to-point. Rally, hillclimbs, touge, vintage road racing (ie. Targa Florio, Mille Miglia)...not to bite off more than SMS can chew, but it would be economical in offering multiple uses for stage/road assets. It would make for a unique game that stands out from the rest and could maybe draw together rally fans, JDM/streetracing fans, and vintage sim racing fans. :)
 
@FOG-Smokebeer and @CHEN255, DR2.0 is what I am referring to along with previous releases. Forgive me but doesn't the release announcement seem extremely underwhelming? Still no full RX season (which I don't really care about anyway), recycled car list with a couple new ones, no hyping any physics improvements, only six rally locations... Only new news is tire selection and deformable surfaces (which might only be for rallycross). I am afraid we will get once again very few stages per location.

I hope they prove me wrong, but does anyone agree with me that SMS could make a killer rally game?
I’m not underwhelmed at all, I’m excited. I still play the original Dirt Rally to this day and I love it.
We really don’t know what is in store with DR2 so let’s wait and see.
 
Crazy idea -- more than just rally, make it a multi-disciplinary game like PCARS, but for all things point-to-point. Rally, hillclimbs, touge, vintage road racing (ie. Targa Florio, Mille Miglia)...not to bite off more than SMS can chew, but it would be economical in offering multiple uses for stage/road assets. It would make for a unique game that stands out from the rest and could maybe draw together rally fans, JDM/streetracing fans, and vintage sim racing fans. :)

Yes - that is a crazy idea imo! I certainly wouldn't buy it! I realise there are many people who play offline, but there are also many like myself who only play online and just use offline mode for practise.

I'm very glad that hillclimb was dropped as it wouldn't work well in a game - the tracks are too narrow and if they used UK tracks they are also very short - normally around 30 seconds in length.

The current game is a good one which needs polish! I don't know if SMS will do that, but it has the potential to be a very good game.

If SMS extend the use of the loose surface / off road element I would rather see it done with circuits than point to point as then I would actually use them in online series - maybe a dirt oval?

 
Yes - that is a crazy idea imo! I certainly wouldn't buy it! I realise there are many people who play offline, but there are also many like myself who only play online and just use offline mode for practise...
There have also been many other circuit racing sims over the years. :P Meanwhile there are very few legit rally sims, and I don't see many other options for the likes of touge or Mille Miglia to make the cut. It could also be a way to split off the roadcars and things like Pacific Highway and Azure Coast, leaving PCARS to a motorsports focus.

You can do rally racing online, with ghosting or actually taking turns. Touge would be a head-to-head match, which could take the form of a tournament for a lobby of several players. For hillclimbs I was imagining more like Pikes Peak, but on some fictional roads (since PP is apparently unobtainable) that would of course double as Initial-D-style touge passes as well as tarmac rally stages.

And of course, like in PCARS, if you wanted you could take a tuner RX-7 and get it all muddy on a gravel rally stage in the rain, or take a rally car up a mountain in the snow...or down the mountain in a blizzard if you're brave enough. :)
 
There have also been many other circuit racing sims over the years. :P Meanwhile there are very few legit rally sims, and I don't see many other options for the likes of touge or Mille Miglia to make the cut. It could also be a way to split off the roadcars and things like Pacific Highway and Azure Coast, leaving PCARS to a motorsports focus.

You can do rally racing online, with ghosting or actually taking turns. Touge would be a head-to-head match, which could take the form of a tournament for a lobby of several players. For hillclimbs I was imagining more like Pikes Peak, but on some fictional roads (since PP is apparently unobtainable) that would of course double as Initial-D-style touge passes as well as tarmac rally stages.

And of course, like in PCARS, if you wanted you could take a tuner RX-7 and get it all muddy on a gravel rally stage in the rain, or take a rally car up a mountain in the snow...or down the mountain in a blizzard if you're brave enough. :)

I thought Polyphony has the exclusive rights to Pikes Peak.
 
Project Cars 2 after a year to me is:

"As i approach the tight right hander, the car goes light, the back starts to come around, so i lift off the accelerator Momentarily, expecting the car to swap ends, but it doesn't, and i manage to get away with it, this time.

Then, coming up to the next corner, the Karussell, i grab the wheel tightly, my nails digging into the leather of the wheel, but the fantastic Force Feedback helps me, by giving extra confidence as i start to turn in, the car starts skipping, bucking and weaving on the harsh bumps of the said famous corner........It seems to go on forever, and me waiting, with the worry of losing a filling or two from my teeth, but thankfully the suffering ends, and i power out of the corner as hard as i can, the car's rear wheels spinning as it does so, due to the tyres having already cried enough on this punishing lap...I wipe a bead of sweat away from my brow as i start thinking how to tackle the last few miles of The Green Hell......."

To me, PCARS 2 isn't perfect, but for sheer driving pleasure, it's the best console sim game ever...... It's like a beautiful woman with lots of bad points, you just keep coming back for more and more anyway.......And with time you learn more about her, all the good points and bad ones....And in the end, you fall in love!

Sorry for being poetic! :lol:
 
@HammyMansell, very poetic.

My version would be more along these lines.

"As i approach the tight right hander, the car goes light, the back starts to come around, so i lift off the accelerator Momentarily, expecting the car to swap ends, it does, a real tank slapper head first into the barriers, my front wheels shoot off faster than the opposition, my windows are smashed, red warning lights all over my dashboard, it's terminal & I'm retiring to the pits again :)

On another note, I really hate this game. You know why........ I'm addicted to it. The last 2 nights I've been on it with my new TX, not realising it's 2am & I've had to be up for work by 6am. I've had 8hrs sleep in 2 days & I know full well it's going to happen again tonight as soon as the wife goes to bed.
 
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@HammyMansell, very poetic.

My version would be more along these lines.

"As i approach the tight right hander, the car goes light, the back starts to come around, so i lift off the accelerator Momentarily, expecting the car to swap ends, it does, a real tank slapper head first into the barriers, my front wheels shoot off faster than the opposition, my windows are smashed, red warning lights all over my dashboard, it's terminal & I'm retiring to the pits again :)

On another note, I really hate this game. You know why........ I'm addicted to it. The last 2 nights I've been on it with my new TX, not realising it's 2am & I've had to be up for work by 6am. I've had 8hrs sleep in 2 days & I know full well it's going to happen again tonight as soon as the wife goes to bed.

Even more poetic than me mate haha!

Totally agree! ;)
 
I love the endless possibilities this game offers. Yesterday, offline mode, 30 minute race at Silverstone against 31 opponents in Road C class (me in the Audi R8). The other day, Road F around Hell, 15 laps, full damage using the Evo VI, from clear to fog to rain to storm, with full damage and using G29 with clutch and H-Pattern - what a workout!

As a side note, anyone know where I can race (track, date, time) at the highest ambient temperature possible? Tried Bathurst at 1pm in Summer, but only saw 29°C. Would love to do a mini enduro with some road cars, giving them a workout, and trying to stop them from blowing up!
 
^I've been paying attention to the highest ambient temperature in pc2 during the entire summer (real weather and sunny both), and the highest I got was 35ºC in Willow Springs.

Yes there must be something wrong regarding this in pc2, as temperatures of +40ºC/+45ºC should be the rule through the entire summer in locations such as either Willow or Bathurst.

It happens the same anyway in the opposite side of the story. I've been trying the Mercedes Ice Track on winter, night-am, bad weather etc and the lowest temperature I got was just -15ºC.
 
IMO, effing brilliant! GTS can't really compete. Dynamic weather, night/day, huge track list, amazing cars plus excellent DLC.
And don't get me started on the engine sounds. Oh my God, 917K and 512M sound orgasmic! Don't know which sounds better although I'll probably give a slight nod to the Porsche although I'm a Ferrari fan.

Just the variety of disciplines is incredible too. From Go Karts to LMP1 and everything in between.

How this game didn't receive more praise is baffling, quite honestly.
And someone wants to tell me that GTS is the 'real simulator' :rolleyes:
 
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