Project CARS 3 Launches to Mixed Reviews

This game is superb. I've just spent the last few hours absolutely lost in it. It's not perfect by any means but it's absolutely superb none the less.

All of you who have needlessly slated it before actually playing it can spend the next few months eating your words as far as I'm concerned. SMS got it right and you know now it...
 
It's a fun game, I don't doubt that and I am really enjoying it.
However, the things they said about it being all the sim you want just are not true.

They could have been upfront about what the game is, and maybe the reaction would have been different.
 
Titzon Toast
This game is superb. I've just spent the last few hours absolutely lost in it. It's not perfect by any means but it's absolutely superb none the less.

All of you who have needlessly slated it before actually playing it can spend the next few months eating your words as far as I'm concerned. SMS got it right and you know now it...
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:lol:
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I'll be playing pcars 2 for years to come, i doubt i'll be playing 3 a few weeks from now.
 
Titzon Toast
This game is superb. I've just spent the last few hours absolutely lost in it. It's not perfect by any means but it's absolutely superb none the less.

All of you who have needlessly slated it before actually playing it can spend the next few months eating your words as far as I'm concerned. SMS got it right and you know now it...
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Got it right for who? I will give it a chance, but the people I talk to who like the kind of racing games I do have said it’s pretty underwhelming. Maybe you like what they created, but from all accounts I have read if you are looking for more PC2 style racing you will not find it here. I’m glad you’re happy, but I’ve seen a lot of negativity and disappointment so far from longtime fans of the series.
 
GTPNewsWire
This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Jordan Greer (@Jordan) on August 25th, 2020 in the Project CARS 3 category.
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Why is there always something unnecessary in a game that totally ruins it. In this game there are quite a few things to get your blood boiling with anger, but the worst of them all is the ridiculous time penalties you get for touching a barrier or if someone slams you in the rear.
What bright spark thought that stupid useless penalty system would be a good addition to the game? Make a patch to fix this quick or you will loose 99% of the players that you still have.
It's bad enough that there is not any feeling of speed at all in this game, even when you are at top speed it feels like walking pace, so we don't want to be slowed down more with a stupid time penalty for just touching a fence ever so lightly. For crying out loud it's supposed to be a racing game not a driving school.
And the reviews that rave on so positively about the wonderful handling & feel are crazy too. This game has no handling feel or anything close to natural driving physics at all.
The controller feel is pathetic and too many of the cars feel too much alike, but at least you can steer reasonably well so that is a small bonus.
This game reminds me of those $20.00 bargain bin driving games from the 80's.
I am so disappointed with this game that was advertised as being a Game Changer. I guess that it might be the right description though because I tried to play it for an hour and then I ejected it & Changed Games.
Fix the Time penalties Please.
 
Scaff
Quoted by @Jordan, nice :gtpflag:


Challenging doesn't equal accurate, the handling (as an extreme example) in the Ridge Racer series is challenging to get good at, doesn't make it accurate.



I've run multiple cars with assists on and off (and every combination) and would put the handling between the likes of GT/FM and PC2/AC/ACC. It's more accurate than the likes of GT and FM, but it's lost the depth and nuance of past PC titles and the likes of AC and ACC.

That doesn't stop it being enjoyable, and right now I'm having a lot of fun with it.


Sorry, but that doesn't mean something is wrong with it, what it means is it's not a title for them.

Doesn't like is quite a different thing to it being broken or wrong in some way.
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The main problem is, it is mutton dressed as lamb.

SMS say its a sim, but give us an arcade style game. It's extremely poor marketing, or Just flat out lying.

They could have easily called it project cars express or something similar, and nearly everyone would be ok with it. But there calling it a sim and direct sequel to pc & pc2.

It just isn't cricket.
 
Titzon Toast
This game is superb. I've just spent the last few hours absolutely lost in it. It's not perfect by any means but it's absolutely superb none the less.

All of you who have needlessly slated it before actually playing it can spend the next few months eating your words as far as I'm concerned. SMS got it right and you know now it...
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Haha I'm glad you're enjoying it but be serious man. On paper FOR ME they got it totally wrong! No endurance racing, no pit stops, tire wear, fuel use, or damage, inauthentic car classes, ltoo many new fantasy tracks, less real tracks, no crew chief support etc etc etc
 
It's nothing like any driving Sim that I have ever played, it's arcade only, and not very good arcade either. In fact, all of the real Pro Sim fraternity are still rolling around on the floor in uncontrollable laughter at that "Sim" description.
How did it even get to have the Project cars name? It is nothing like the first two Project Cars releases, there is no comparison at all.
In my opinion they have messed up big time & have gone so far backwards that they ended up with a racing game that could have been released in 1980's, and before the other two. The first two PC games are way in front of this game & superior in every way.
 
BlueyZarsoff
It's nothing like any driving Sim that I have ever played, it's arcade only, and not very good arcade either. In fact, all of the real Pro Sim fraternity are still rolling around on the floor in uncontrollable laughter at that "Sim" description.
How did it even get to have the Project cars name? It is nothing like the first two Project Cars releases, there is no comparison at all.
In my opinion they have messed up big time & have gone so far backwards that they ended up with a racing game that could have been released in 1980's, and before the other two. The first two PC games are way in front of this game & superior in every way.
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"Pro sim fraternity" Have you any idea how ridiculous that sounds?!

I prefer to go by real world experience, and I've been driving the nuts off cars since before I was legally allowed to.

This game is on another level and I'm not gonna let foolish elitist opinions away my judgment here.

Sentry87
Haha I'm glad you're enjoying it but be serious man. On paper FOR ME they got it totally wrong! No endurance racing, no pit stops, tire wear, fuel use, or damage, inauthentic car classes, ltoo many new fantasy tracks, less real tracks, no crew chief support etc etc etc
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On paper? Have you even played the game? With a decent wheel? Be honest.

Chikane_GTR
:lol:
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I'll be playing pcars 2 for years to come, i doubt i'll be playing 3 a few weeks from now.
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So what? Why would I care what you'll be playing in a few weeks? Who are you?
 
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@Titzon Toast I had a lot of fun with this game in my first two hour session with it and was surprised myself because I found the handling to be pretty darn authentic having used three different cars with three different feels

I think you're getting the reaction only because your words were a little bit strong and even though you probably didn't intend to do it, it kind of gave the impression that you were telling other people off.

I would be interested in hearing more specific things from you as to what you like because for me, at least early on, it is the handling.

My struggle is with the hyper aggressive AI but I'm only playing on the medium level and maybe they are better on a higher level.
 
Titzon Toast
So what? Why would I care what you'll be playing in a few weeks? Who are you?
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They are a long-standing member of the forum, with a long history of contribution, who is free to post his views, opinions and thoughts as long as they remain within the AUP.

What is ironic is that the exact same could be said in regard to your own posts!

Now in regard to PC3, its a fun title and one I'm enjoying more than I thought I would, but its a long way from a second coming in regard to physics and handling, rather its a step backwards for the series in that regard, and the marketing around it and the claims made by SMS have been counterproductive and divisive.
 
Scaff
Now in regard to PC3, its a fun title and one I'm enjoying more than I thought I would, but its a long way from a second coming in regard to physics and handling, rather its a step backwards for the series in that regard, and the marketing around it and the claims made by SMS have been counterproductive and divisive.
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I enjoyed your reviews of PC3 and agree. I loved PC2 and thought the handling was most like my 15 years of SCCA racing. There were small gaps in the old game and I was hoping for a refreshed game, not a complete re-write. I purchased the deluxe edition and played the first night but have submitted to Steam for a refund. I already have Forza 7 and Forza Horizon 4 so not sure why I need a $100 PC3 game too.

PC2 is still my favorite sim racer. Not sure what to try next. I didn't enjoy iRacing. Any suggestions for a guy who loves the technical, sim racing and tuning side of things? What game would you play most?
 
Chikane_GTR
I'll be playing pcars 2 for years to come, i doubt i'll be playing 3 a few weeks from now.
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Having just gone back and played PC2 again to make sure that I didn't have rose tinted glasses about it, it's still a good game. It feels, looks and sounds better than PC3 to me (on PC, ymmv). I still really like what they did with the PC2 tyre model, I think it generally feels really good.

PC2 was a wholesale upgrade to PC1, and I haven't played PC1 in years. I don't see PC2 going anywhere anytime soon, PC3 just doesn't do enough of the same things to supplant it.

Scaff
Now in regard to PC3, its a fun title and one I'm enjoying more than I thought I would, but its a long way from a second coming in regard to physics and handling, rather its a step backwards for the series in that regard, and the marketing around it and the claims made by SMS have been counterproductive and divisive.
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They should have leaned into the Codemasters thing and just called it Grid Autosport 2. Autosport 1 was a fine little game, and PC3 would be a nice upgrade of that blend of motorsport and simcade.
 
Motor City Hami
I enjoyed your reviews of PC3 and agree. I loved PC2 and thought the handling was most like my 15 years of SCCA racing. There were small gaps in the old game and I was hoping for a refreshed game, not a complete re-write. I purchased the deluxe edition and played the first night but have submitted to Steam for a refund. I already have Forza 7 and Forza Horizon 4 so not sure why I need a $100 PC3 game too.

PC2 is still my favorite sim racer. Not sure what to try next. I didn't enjoy iRacing. Any suggestions for a guy who loves the technical, sim racing and tuning side of things? What game would you play most?
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I would strongly suggest ACC if you haven’t given it a go, it’s excellent.

Assetto Corsa Competizione - Initial Thoughts
 
I don't think I'll play a game with more realism than Project Cars 2 for several years at this rate, if at all. I expected Project Cars 3 to be a step forward in the physics department but that doesn't seem to be the case. There's still a heap of cars I want to experience with the Project Cars 2 physics model... I don't know when or if Project Cars will go back to being the full-on simulator that I love. That's my biggest worry.
 
Titzon Toast
"Pro sim fraternity" Have you any idea how ridiculous that sounds?!

I prefer to go by real world experience, and I've been driving the nuts off cars since before I was legally allowed to.

This game is on another level and I'm not gonna let foolish elitist opinions away my judgment here.
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No, I have no idea how ridiculous it sounds. But when you are trying to keep things as short and as descriptive as possible it Sounds like an apt description to me.
Wow, so you have been driving since you were knee high to a grasshopper, good for you. And so have I!
I was driving farm vehicles from the age of 10 and I have had (and still Have) cars that you could only dream about driving & I am confident enough know exactly what I am talking about and explicitly how a car is supposed to handle.
The cars in this game just go round & round without any noticeable feel. Even in Gran Turismo you can feel the cars physical characteristics, but in PC3 they all feel lifeless & without the feeling of speed, and the sound like buzzing flies.
Also, what other game (or in real life racing) has ever penalized U for touching a wall or fence in a race? Scrapes happen in the real world racing experience constantly, it's a real part of motor racing & doing it usually slows you down anyway which is its own penalty. There is no need for this stupid time penalty that this game has.
I am not an elitist either, but I do agree with you if you are meaning that the game is on another level of Badness, & that does sound ridiculous.
 
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Imari
Having just gone back and played PC2 again to make sure that I didn't have rose tinted glasses about it, it's still a good game. It feels, looks and sounds better than PC3 to me (on PC, ymmv). I still really like what they did with the PC2 tyre model, I think it generally feels really good.
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I've been playing it since release day and it's rare I've played games for 3 years to the extent I have. Joined a few leagues, changed my opinions of cars and I'm still finding cars I've yet to properly put time into like the SR3s my league is doing in a few weeks. Recently, I've properly gone into touring cars and they're fun despite it being the Renault Megane Cup. Some more variety there would have been nice in both BOP and more cars.

Last night, I did some RallyX and enjoyed that for a league and found my favourite car in that class.
 
ACC on PS4 is my favorite Sim in terms of physics but more importantly, in terms of AI behavior.

When you have the proper racing line and the AI is attempting to pass, instead of forcing the issue and ramming straight through you, they will tap their brakes and look for another opportunity.

the only reason I don't play that game more is because it's quite limited in terms of cars and in terms of tracks since it follows the Blancpain series.

If they were able to expand their scope to as many cars and as many tracks as Project Cars 2 or Forza Motorsport 7 has, it would be game over for every other racing game.

EDIT: on a side note, I love that the AI in this game makes mistakes, not only on the first turn of the first lap of a race. I was on lap 6 of a race at Daytona using the road course and there was a wreck between an LMP car and another class of car up in front of me and it was fantastic to watch and a nice little challenge to get through.
 
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This game suffers from the same issue as NFS Most Wanted 2012 in my opinion. Because it carries a certain name, people expect it to be something it isn't. The massive dev blogs detailing tyre models and whatnot only serves to confuse people more. I saw through all that and the game pretty much is what I expected from reading all the online reviews - a slightly better version of GRID with parts and livery customization and cars/tracks from previous PCARS. I won't rush out to buy it now, but when I do at least my expectations will match the game. Same with MW 2012 - I expected it to be Burnout Paradise with real cars, and that's exactly what we get. Those who expect it to be a true MW sequel got seriously disappointed. Those expecting a PCARS2 sequel is going to be seriously disappointed with this too.

IMO, SMS should've called it something else. Shift 3 would be the obvious choice but EA probably has rights to the name. What about World of Speed? That was hyped as a less serious alternative to PCARS a few years ago but we never heard of it since.

More importantly, after the bomb that was F&F Crossroads, SMS really need this game to sell and I'm not sure it will do that (at least not in numbers comparable to its predecessors). Codemasters doesn't have a good track record of keeping developers who put out poor selling games either (they pretty much axed Evo Studios after Onrush flopped). It's a shame because for all its problems, I like having PCARS as a competitor in the sim racing market to GT/FM/AC/rF/RRRE/iR/AMS. But as it stands, I very much doubt we'll see PCARS4...
 
LeGeNd-1
This game suffers from the same issue as NFS Most Wanted 2012 in my opinion. Because it carries a certain name, people expect it to be something it isn't. The massive dev blogs detailing tyre models and whatnot only serves to confuse people more. I saw through all that and the game pretty much is what I expected from reading all the online reviews - a slightly better version of GRID with parts and livery customization and cars/tracks from previous PCARS. I won't rush out to buy it now, but when I do at least my expectations will match the game. Same with MW 2012 - I expected it to be Burnout Paradise with real cars, and that's exactly what we get. Those who expect it to be a true MW sequel got seriously disappointed. Those expecting a PCARS2 sequel is going to be seriously disappointed with this too.

IMO, SMS should've called it something else. Shift 3 would be the obvious choice but EA probably has rights to the name. What about World of Speed? That was hyped as a less serious alternative to PCARS a few years ago but we never heard of it since.

More importantly, after the bomb that was F&F Crossroads, SMS really need this game to sell and I'm not sure it will do that (at least not in numbers comparable to its predecessors). Codemasters doesn't have a good track record of keeping developers who put out poor selling games either (they pretty much axed Evo Studios after Onrush flopped). It's a shame because for all its problems, I like having PCARS as a competitor in the sim racing market to GT/FM/AC/rF/RRRE/iR/AMS. But as it stands, I very much doubt we'll see PCARS4...
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Funny you mention Most Wanted, I was thinking about how it kind of had a parallel with this PC3. Paradise may not have been the most loved title in the Burnout franchise, but it was a very fun game, generally well liked and was played enough to get remastered and re-released, MW had less arcadey physics more or less in line with other NFS titles, real cars, got some good reviews but wasn't well received with the community and it sure didn't seem to last long.

And yes, EA almost certainly owns the rights to Shift, and I remember SMS saying pits, etc, weren't in Shift because of pressure from EA to get the game out, shame as it had one of the best damage models, IMO.
 
I’ve been playing this for about an hour thus far and I’m enjoying it so far. It’s definitely more arcade then sim but at the end of the day it’s all about having fun. It’s fun but it’s not wow this is awesome I’ll keep playing this all afternoon etc.

The graphics however- wow. I’m surprised of how lacklustre the graphics are on my Xbox S with a non 4K tv are considering how good something like Forza Horizon 4 looks on the same tv. I’ll hope they look better when I hook it up to the big screen 4K in the lounge.

Curiosity killed the cat so paid $80 AUD. Considering 90% of the games content is recycled from PC2 and how bad the graphics are it feels very overpriced. I’ll give it a couple of days but I’m tempted to return it and buy it later when it comes down significantly in price.
 
Scaff
I would strongly suggest ACC if you haven’t given it a go, it’s excellent.

Assetto Corsa Competizione - Initial Thoughts
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I've played PCARS3 for about 5 hours (TGT wheel, all aids off, abs off) and I agree with you in most of areas.

It's fun and not so arcade as it seems in its first sight along the career mode.

I've been doing laps at Barcelone GP with an Audi R8 GT3 in 1'46"s and the way you have to go through every corner is exactly the same (at this pace) than in ACC and GTS. Same driving techniques, same grip, same braking and turning references, same problems if you loose the apex in every corner, same handling when you drive over the same kerbs (except for the last chicane, too much forgiveness on gts and pcars3).

Tryed with the Audi R8 GT3 on the 3 games. 1'45.6 on ACC 1'45.6 on GTS and 1'46.1 on PCARS3 (only 11 laps for the moment)

They are stable and agile in the same way on the 3 games. Only in PCARS3 when loosing control the game is more forgiveness (like some driving assistance in order to not spin too much) ...
but driving well "at the limit" PCARS3 handles like a real sim.

I encourage everyone to try this combo, is very fun and you will find the sim inside of Pcars3 (with some limitations, I agree, but the same handling, same references, and driving techniques needed for the same corners than others sims).
 
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oneloops
I've played PCARS3 for about 5 hours (TGT wheel, all aids off, abs off) and I agree with you in most of areas.

It's fun and not so arcade as it seems in its first sight along the career mode.

I've been doing laps at Barcelone GP in 1'46"s and the way you have to go through every corner is exactly the same (at this pace) than in ACC and GTS. Same driving techniques, same grip, same braking and turning references, same problems if you loose the apex in every corner, same handling when you drive over the same kerbs (except for the last chicane, too much forgiveness on gts and pcars3).

Tryed with the Audi R8 GT3 on the 3 games. 1'45.6 on ACC 1'45.6 on GTS and 1'46.1 on PCARS3 (only 11 laps for the moment)

They are stable and agile in the same way on the 3 games. Only in PCARS3 when loosing control the game is more forgiveness (like some driving assistance in order to not spin too much) ...
but driving well "at the limit" PCARS3 handles like a real sim.

I encourage everyone to try this combo, is very fun and you will find the sim inside of Pcars3 (with some limitations, I agree, but the same handling, same references, and driving techniques needed for the same corners than others sims).
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I agree, although I do think the braking distances in pcars 3 are a bit on the short side
 
BigSoloFish
I thought this too. I found I could really fly on laguna seca and brake much later than I usually would
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I think that one of the problem on PCARS, 2 and 3 titles always was some inconsistence on accurancy among combos. Some combos feels and matches driving references really great some others don't.

That happens with the cars sounds too. In PCARS3 the Jaguar XJ220 race car sounds gorgeous, the McLaren 720s GT3 too... the bmw320 E90 handles with a lot the nuances, need to be gentle with the throttle and need some driving skills to be fast... the ferrari 355 challenge lacks this... and so on with many examples. But in general I'm happy and I can make a huge number of combos for one-make races very epic ! I love some races I've just done: one-make race with bmw320 E90 at Jerez and Megane racing one-make race at Watkins Glen. Also classic cars are very skill demanding and rewarding in general.

In Assetto Corsa that happened too, some cars are very accurate and real in handling some others not.

But if you find some good combos both games are epic. And more in VR !
 
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