Project CARS 2 General Discussion Thread - Out Now on PS4/XB1/PC

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I don't see a promise when I read that list, I see a goal they're aiming for.
If they reach that goal I'll be delighted. If not, and they give good reason as to why they couldn't, all is good by me.

It should be said that they promised some of those for pcars1 already. So take that list with a grain of salt (the size of Texas).

At least they didn't try, fail and give up.
 
Indeed, although I think PCARS is already great and nowhere near as buggy as some would have you believe. Awkward user interface needs work though, and as good as the AI is in some ways it needs tweaking for PCARS 2. It's the only aspect of the game I have significant issues with really, especially when driving an open-wheeler.
I've experienced a lot of bugs in Pcars, though not some of the major ones like the landmines, which is strange (not that I'm complaining!). With that said, these days the only bugs I run into are fairly minor and don't ruin the game like the game-breakers I would run into daily half a dozen patches ago. I can't even remember the last time my game crashed, which is actually quite nice considering it used to consistently crash after every hour or so of playing. Still, it's far from perfect, and still has some annoying bugs that SMS seemed to never quite get their heads around, so I'm not expecting it to get any better. It's good enough now.

As for the AI, I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's some of the best AI I've experienced, and at the same time, some of the worst lol. They are more competitive than any AI I've played against, without them having special physics hacks like a lot of games give their AI to make them faster. However, as you pointed out, in the open wheelers especially, you notice their downside. They can be far too aggressive when it's not called for, and when they are being aggressive, they throw their spacial awareness out the window. It's strange because sometimes you can race wheel to wheel with them fine, and have an excellent race, and then others they will just divebomb you, ram you, and not care whether you both end up out of the race. They just need their rough edges smoothed out and I'll be happy.

At least they didn't try, fail and give up.

Actually, that's exactly what they did with a bunch of the promised features and content in Pcars 1.
 
That's probably why we're getting no information on PCARS2, because of 'promises'.
I wish they would communicate a bit more without making promises that could be held against them.

Updates on what is done and working, what they're struggling with, and what they tried but couldn't get to work would be most welcome.

To go from the extreme of making promises and not fulfilling them to silence is not good.
 
I'm with @Animera, it's evident by now that SMS will treat that list like a roadmap, and (now that we know) that's okay by me. It's a bit cheeky, but their ambition is refreshing and it's nice to know what they're aiming for with the brand.

With that said, I also agree that they need to put more polish into the next game, but I think they've gotten that message (regardless of whether it'll prevent them from overreaching again or not).
 
With that said, I also agree that they need to put more polish into the next game, but I think they've gotten that message (regardless of whether it'll prevent them from overreaching again or not).

You'd think they would have gotten that message long before Project CARS though mate. Pcars is their fourth racing title in a row, all running on various versions of the same game engine, to suffer from, to put it nicely, a lack of polish.
 
@Mike_grpA -- Well, they have a larger quantity of direct feedback now than they ever did before. Like I said, it doesn't necessary have any bearing on how they'll operate. Some devs never change.
 
That's probably why we're getting no information on PCARS2, because of 'promises'.
I wish they would communicate a bit more without making promises that could be held against them.
Problem is they can't win. If they (or WMD members for that matter) start putting stuff out there then accusations of hype will start flying around. If something gets talked about now, even in vague terms, and then doesn't make the final cut for some reason some people will go on about "broken promises" even where none were made. And if they say nothing, people complain about no information....

For what it's worth - some of the stuff on that list is already in the test builds and being played with/tested. Some of it we haven't seen any sign of yet. And the game is a very long way from being anywhere near ready. These things take time. A lot of it :)
 
@Mike_grpA -- Well, they have a larger quantity of direct feedback now than they ever did before. Like I said, it doesn't necessary have any bearing on how they'll operate. Some devs never change.

Well that goes without saying, but you would think they'd have had enough feedback on Shift, Shift 2, and Test Drive, to get their act together for Pcars. I hope they do nail it this time, because we'll (the players) be the winners if they do, but I'll remain skeptical until that time comes.
 
Remember the stage that PCars 2 is at now, traditionally the game wouldn't have even been announced to exist yet in a "normal" development timeline....and probably not even announced for another 12 months or so yet.
I think SMS is learning that it was too open in PCars 1 and that led to a lot of disappointment when dev features didn't make the cut and its all being controlled a lot better this time around. And the fact most people were able to guess a lot of the DLC content because of previous announcements on licensing.

Things are being done differently this time and i wouldn't expect the same openness or announcements as last time....and its still FAR too early in development to talk about anything.

However, there is A LOT to get excited about...certainly i know SMS is trying to push the boundaries, and yes likely they wont be able to achieve everything.....but its looking great so far and it certainly wont be a case of PCars1 plus some new tracks and cars....there is some big stuff coming and i cant wait until everybody gets to hear about it.
 
Problem is they can't win. If they (or WMD members for that matter) start putting stuff out there then accusations of hype will start flying around. If something gets talked about now, even in vague terms, and then doesn't make the final cut for some reason some people will go on about "broken promises" even where none were made. And if they say nothing, people complain about no information....

For what it's worth - some of the stuff on that list is already in the test builds and being played with/tested. Some of it we haven't seen any sign of yet. And the game is a very long way from being anywhere near ready. These things take time. A lot of it :)
The solution: SMS/WMD should only talk about things publicly that they have acquired the license for (classic Monza and Spa should have never been discussed publicly since they didn't even have the license) and have certainty that it can be implemented into the game (oval racing, pit crews, etc were discussed before SMS knew that they wouldn't be feasible).
 
The solution: SMS/WMD should only talk about things publicly that they have acquired the license for (classic Monza and Spa should have never been discussed publicly since they didn't even have the license) and have certainty that it can be implemented into the game (oval racing, pit crews, etc were discussed before SMS knew that they wouldn't be feasible).

Of course :)

With that in mind, right now it would be foolish to start talking in anything but the most general terms about the game simply because all of the cool new things are still very WIP. We don't yet know exactly how, or even if in some cases, these things are going to work. Therefore, best not to talk about them.

Newly licenced stuff is a bit different of course, and it's no secret that there will be new content, but details of that kind of thing should wait until we're much nearer a release date IMO.

As cornishbrooksy pointed out, we all know pCARS2 is in development much earlier than we would for most other games, simply because of the nature of WMD. Couple that with lessons learned from the first game, and I think patience is going to have to be the watchword for a while yet...
 
From the "roadmap", what I'm hoping for most of all is the hillclimb course, touge courses, and rallycross cars (Subaru license, not to fanboy but just because SMS have already covered several of my other favorites). Knowing SMS's reluctance to implement SNOW the first time around, I won't be heartbroken if they decide to put off dynamic surfaces like gravel, mud, or snow for PCARS3, and I can forgive them for not implementing freezing weather at appropriate latitudes and time of year.

The social and multiplayer concepts are neat ideas (and probably the most likely to be cut), and I'm curious about the "customizable" test track, but I won't be upset if it's dropped.

I've always wanted a console sim like this to implement an open lot with an editor for autocross layouts, like Live for Speed. There's so much replay value in a feature like that.
 
...I think SMS is learning that it was too open in PCars 1 and that led to a lot of disappointment when dev features didn't make the cut and its all being controlled a lot better this time around...

...Things are being done differently this time and i wouldn't expect the same openness or announcements as last time....and its still FAR too early in development to talk about anything....

See you say that, but their Pcars 2 page on their own website tells a different story. If they learned their lesson from overpromising in Pcars 1, why is this even on their website?

"PRO RACING. ANYTIME. ANYWHERE.
Building upon the huge success of Project CARS being one of the highest-rated and fastest-selling racing games of this generation, Project CARS 2 continues to expand and dominate with...
  • THE LARGEST TRACK ROSTER EVER - 50 unique locations and 200+ courses including 'loose surface racing' on dirt, gravel, mud, and snow. All will have dynamic time of day and weather allowing you to play anytime, anywhere
  • THE WIDEST VARIETY OF MOTORSPORTS with 8 different disciplines now including Rallycross, Hillclimbs, and Touge. 200+ cars from over 40 different vehicle classes including never-before-seen Concepts and Banned Race Cars
  • CO-OP CAREER - Play as the Teammate Driver, Spotter, Driver Swap, or Co-Pilot. More choices, more opportunities, more strategy, greater risks and greater rewards
  • SEAMLESSLY CONNECTED - Socialize and compete via Online Track Days, have players from around the world take the place of AI-controlled drivers in your solo play, and get news updates on the Driver Network around you
  • PRO ESPORTS RACING - Skill & Behavioural-based matchmaking, create your own Online Racing Seasons, and Live Broadcast and Spectator functionality
  • YOUR HOME FOR RACING - Your own personal, customisable Test Track to tune and test your cars. Invite others to showcase your passion for racing and learn race craft and engineering with the Project CARS Academy"
http://www.wmdportal.com/projects/project-cars-2/

Sure, you could say "maybe that's what they're aiming for, rather than a solid promise of what will definitely be in the game", but when they say stuff like "continues to expand and dominate with", "all will have", "now including", and more, it's pretty clearly saying that this stuff will be in the game. Those dot points don't say things like "we're trying to get as many as 200 cars", they say things like "200+ cars". So people will expect them to deliver on all of those dot points, because they're using definite terms. They're describing what the game contains, rather than what they hope it will contain.

I hope they deliver on it, because it'll be beyond a joke if they keep over promising and under delivering in their games, especially when they're getting crowd funding for a game that is more than fully funded by their previous game. I've seen Ian Bell himself gloating about how they have so much cash from Pcars 1, that after Pcars 2 is fully funded, he is "literally rolling in cash".
 
@Mike_grpA -- The bullet points are one thing, but @cornishbrooksy is talking about WMD and all the work-in-progress things and internal talks that were shared in multiple forums and shown off in videos and whatnot. So far we have not actually seen or heard about much of what SMS is working on or toying with since the first weeks after announcing PCARS2, when a few videos popped up showing the Evo VI driving on mixed or offroad surfaces. So in that regard, they have been more reserved and avoided implications that something that exists now in WMD will be in the final game.

I doubt very many players felt betrayed with the first game based primarily on the first bullet list. There was so much more that was discussed at WMD and spread around, videos of tracks that didn't make the cut, videos of cars that were held back for DLC for whatever reason, and features that couldn't be completed as planned. I think those are the things that burned SMS the most.

So the bullet list is boast-y marketing speak, but they still seem to have learned a lesson from PCARS1.
 
@Mike_grpA -- The bullet points are one thing, but @cornishbrooksy is talking about WMD and all the work-in-progress things and internal talks that were shared in multiple forums and shown off in videos and whatnot. So far we have not actually seen or heard about much of what SMS is working on or toying with since the first weeks after announcing PCARS2, when a few videos popped up showing the Evo VI driving on mixed or offroad surfaces. So in that regard, they have been more reserved and avoided implications that something that exists now in WMD will be in the final game.

I doubt very many players felt betrayed with the first game based primarily on the first bullet list. There was so much more that was discussed at WMD and spread around, videos of tracks that didn't make the cut, videos of cars that were held back for DLC for whatever reason, and features that couldn't be completed as planned. I think those are the things that burned SMS the most.

So the bullet list is boast-y marketing speak, but they still seem to have learned a lesson from PCARS1.

The point is that if SMS has learned their lessons regarding announcements, which that list is, then they should only have put that list up if all of those claims have been met in the game.
 
I'd love to see some contempories for the Lotus F1 cars, just for some variety. That said, I haven't managed to put a clean lap together in the 98T yet. :lol: :embarrassed:
 
Some of y'all might enjoy this bit: http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/07/online-gaming-was-his-gateway-to-professional-racing/

"What can be expected from the simulated sequel?

Viljoen: There will be some significant changes. We'll be taking you to new surfaces through rally and ice racing and the various aspects that go into simulating the systems and how you get to the championship. We'll have a lot of new cars, even brands that we couldn't have before. Now that we're on the map, people recognize us. They're more willing to come to the table and agree on prices that we can actually afford to pay for some of these brands.

We'll have multiplayer enhancements and more support for VR. We'll be polishing features for more authentic experiences. For instance, with the first Project CARS we had the ability to do a 24-hour light-cycle simulation; now we will also be doing season simulations. You'll see snow in the winter or different leaf colors for autumn and it will dynamically change so you can set it to go through the seasons. It has such an impact on racing. For freezing temperatures on the racetrack, you want visual cues to know the effects it has on the car. Same with rainfall: It happens in various stages, so we'll now have it sunny in one part but there might be a rain cloud a few corners away. It will have realistic puddles and how they affect the handling of the car. And it won't be pre-generated art; it will be simulated to the scenes. The slope of the track will determine where the puddles fall. This is all in addition to it sounding and looking better."
 
Some of y'all might enjoy this bit: http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/07/online-gaming-was-his-gateway-to-professional-racing/

"What can be expected from the simulated sequel?

Viljoen: There will be some significant changes. We'll be taking you to new surfaces through rally and ice racing and the various aspects that go into simulating the systems and how you get to the championship. We'll have a lot of new cars, even brands that we couldn't have before. Now that we're on the map, people recognize us. They're more willing to come to the table and agree on prices that we can actually afford to pay for some of these brands.

We'll have multiplayer enhancements and more support for VR. We'll be polishing features for more authentic experiences. For instance, with the first Project CARS we had the ability to do a 24-hour light-cycle simulation; now we will also be doing season simulations. You'll see snow in the winter or different leaf colors for autumn and it will dynamically change so you can set it to go through the seasons. It has such an impact on racing. For freezing temperatures on the racetrack, you want visual cues to know the effects it has on the car. Same with rainfall: It happens in various stages, so we'll now have it sunny in one part but there might be a rain cloud a few corners away. It will have realistic puddles and how they affect the handling of the car. And it won't be pre-generated art; it will be simulated to the scenes. The slope of the track will determine where the puddles fall. This is all in addition to it sounding and looking better."

Wow, how are they planning to implement all of that on console without crippling the frame-rate?
 
Wow, how are they planning to implement all of that on console without crippling the frame-rate?

Hasn't more processor been opened up to programming since Project Cars was developed?

More efficient code/game engine will allow improvements.

The upgraded versions of the consoles will be out by the time Project Cars 2 releases. The PS4 and Xbox One would just require a different level of optimisation.

It could be that the standard PS4 and XB1 consoles will be similar graphically as now but relatively further down the scale from the maximum possible detail on the higher end PC or even souped up consoles.

There also potentially a lot more that isn't listed in the released info that is being worked on that will also get the most out of the machines!
 
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Some of y'all might enjoy this bit: http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/07/online-gaming-was-his-gateway-to-professional-racing/

"What can be expected from the simulated sequel?

Viljoen: There will be some significant changes. We'll be taking you to new surfaces through rally and ice racing and the various aspects that go into simulating the systems and how you get to the championship. We'll have a lot of new cars, even brands that we couldn't have before. Now that we're on the map, people recognize us. They're more willing to come to the table and agree on prices that we can actually afford to pay for some of these brands.

We'll have multiplayer enhancements and more support for VR. We'll be polishing features for more authentic experiences. For instance, with the first Project CARS we had the ability to do a 24-hour light-cycle simulation; now we will also be doing season simulations. You'll see snow in the winter or different leaf colors for autumn and it will dynamically change so you can set it to go through the seasons. It has such an impact on racing. For freezing temperatures on the racetrack, you want visual cues to know the effects it has on the car. Same with rainfall: It happens in various stages, so we'll now have it sunny in one part but there might be a rain cloud a few corners away. It will have realistic puddles and how they affect the handling of the car. And it won't be pre-generated art; it will be simulated to the scenes. The slope of the track will determine where the puddles fall. This is all in addition to it sounding and looking better."
Nice. I'll link this in the OP. :D
 
I got a feeling this thread is about to start getting crowded really soon. With no word about pcars1 DLC or patches I think people are about be to looking at this thread. Unless SMS give us news about pcars1.
 
Some of y'all might enjoy this bit: http://www.engadget.com/2016/06/07/online-gaming-was-his-gateway-to-professional-racing/

"What can be expected from the simulated sequel?

Viljoen: There will be some significant changes. We'll be taking you to new surfaces through rally and ice racing and the various aspects that go into simulating the systems and how you get to the championship. We'll have a lot of new cars, even brands that we couldn't have before. Now that we're on the map, people recognize us. They're more willing to come to the table and agree on prices that we can actually afford to pay for some of these brands.

We'll have multiplayer enhancements and more support for VR. We'll be polishing features for more authentic experiences. For instance, with the first Project CARS we had the ability to do a 24-hour light-cycle simulation; now we will also be doing season simulations. You'll see snow in the winter or different leaf colors for autumn and it will dynamically change so you can set it to go through the seasons. It has such an impact on racing. For freezing temperatures on the racetrack, you want visual cues to know the effects it has on the car. Same with rainfall: It happens in various stages, so we'll now have it sunny in one part but there might be a rain cloud a few corners away. It will have realistic puddles and how they affect the handling of the car. And it won't be pre-generated art; it will be simulated to the scenes. The slope of the track will determine where the puddles fall. This is all in addition to it sounding and looking better."

Oh WOW! I cannot wait for different coloured leaves. ;)
 
I really want there to be Ferrari, the license may be too expensive for this team but I really want to drive a 458 on consoles!
 
I really want there to be Ferrari, the license may be too expensive for this team but I really want to drive a 458 on consoles!

They were in talks with Ferrari not long after Pcars 1 came out. Ian spoke about it at the official forum. They also have a history with Ferrari, being the developers of Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends, so I'll be shocked if there are no Ferraris in Pcars 2. I would go as far as to bet money on it.
 
I almost don't care what SMS do, but... If they are reading,... Please, do not delete GR.A. DO add the GR.A R32 GT-R in as many liveries as you see fit. As well as GR.A Mustang, Volvo and VK & VL Holden Commodores. :D
 
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