Project Cars vs Gran Turismo Sport

Timm Sheehan

Timm Sheehan

904
United States
Indiana USA
tmsheehan
What is the consensus, which is a better game Project Cars vs Gran Turismo Sport?

To add some context GTS tracks and cars are good but the quality of drivers online is getting pretty poor. It is nearly impossible to actually drive a respectable race without getting rammed or torpedoed. A driver's SR rating doesn't mean squat anymore - I constantly get rammed by S rated drivers as much as C rated drivers and it is getting old.
 
It depends on what you enjoy the most and or can do without.

From a Sim racing aspect Project Cars is far better then GTS (my views based on PS4)

For me Project Cars is now taking a substantial lead as to which is better. Project cars is considerably better at the immersion of simulation real world races. There is plenty of car classes to choose from - however far less car count then GTS. Graphics are not as good as GTS, but with day/night and weather once you get used to project cars and are immersed in the racing it does not matter that much. Cars have standered liveries in PC, some good and some not so good unlike GTS where the sky is the limit. Track count on project cars is superior to GTS. With project cars you can do a lot of customized settings A.I. difficulty, mixed car classes, in depth tunning and other things. I do enjoy the car content, stunning graphics, photo mode from GTS. The racing on the other hand which has to be the core of any car racing game is same old stuff with GT series. There has been very few improvements in the last 10 + years. A.I. is a joke in GT, A.I. in PC is far better (after the first lap or 2 lol). Sounds are good in PC with most cars having enough sound variance, while in GTS sounds are still fairly bland. What's up with the ghosting in GTS etc. - that's a joke how is that going to ever help anyone improve. Not to mention track limits and usually tire wear, fuel etc hardly ever being used in offline mode. If you do not like a challenge either in learning to set-up the game for what works best for you or for really having to learn the tracks and cars then project cars would not be for you. Project cars and similar sim racing games are difficult to learn and can be frustrating. Once the time an effort is put in, along with study/research - seeing what others are doing and or have done to get better. I think most that trully enjoy the challenge of actual racing, where with the right settings it can take a lap or several laps just to pass one car. Not to mention the challenge that a race incident such as wreck or more often then not off course/spin out etc. will have you completly out of contention for a podium finish - not just time lost but actual damage that has to be repaired in the pits (as long as damage is on). For me every week my experience with project cars just keeps getting better.

There are several other threads similar to this and especially about just starting out in project cars - so check them out.
 
Timm Sheehan
What is the consensus, which is a better game Project Cars vs Gran Turismo Sport?

To add some context GTS tracks and cars are good but the quality of drivers online is getting pretty poor. It is nearly impossible to actually drive a respectable race without getting rammed or torpedoed. A driver's SR rating doesn't mean squat anymore - I constantly get rammed by S rated drivers as much as C rated drivers and it is getting old.
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Being rammed by random strangers while racing online has been a problem ever since racing games first went online. This problem applies to all racing games including both GTS and Project Cars.

If you want to race online, the way to get good clean racing in either game is to join a league (or several leagues). There are many good leagues listed in the online gaming section of GTPlanet and the good news is that they are always looking for new members.

A lot of people say -"Oh I couldn't do that - I can't race at a set time each week." Which in most cases is nonsense - it requires some self discipline to make yourself available for a slot or slots once or twice a week. Random time that you have available outside your league races then becomes a time to practise or just have fun with the game - i.e. your gaming takes on a purpose and can become a hobby.

In terms of which is the better game - GTS or Project Cars? There is much to enjoy and admire about both games, but racing with random crashers is not and never will be one of them!
 
I agree with everyone above.

Timm Sheehan
which is a better game Project Cars vs Gran Turismo Sport?
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Hi Timm. I'm not sure it should be a vs. Both are equally good at what they do.

GTS - A mass market highly polished multimedia style game that features (mainly) online racing. Made purely for PS4 so it's fully optimised. Great graphics on menus good on track. Simpler driving physics to suit easy entry (and controller users). Fixed lighting and conditions. Just an easy jump in and go game that's suitable for a wide audience.

PC2 - A more focused racing game (that's all it does really) that has some online features but has good offline features (career, AI). It's ported over from PC so is less optimised on PS4. Good graphics. More advanced driving physics. Dynamic lighting, conditions and tracks. Not initially so user friendly, it takes time to get used to it - but is rewarding once mastered

GT, made for everyone and is great at that. PC2 made for sim racers and is great at that. There's room for both. ;)
 
Me personally project cars 2 hands down only thing GTS better is car graphics & updates but even the updates are letting the game down.
Once I put down GTS i have never gone back.
 
First off I think thread titles can be inherently inflammatory and that’s not good. It’s like titling it pizza-pepperoni vs sausage imo.
I’ve got around a thousand hours driving time alone into GTS. It’s VERY appropriately titled. You play that game to compete with others online. It can be very addicting, and the game rewards fundamentally correct driving. I decided to grind out an A plus finally, my other acct is like mid A.
So on the server I play on that’s top 1 percent in the admittedly less competitive America’s region.
The thing that keeps you going in that is 100 percent competition, or it was that way for me at least.
Anymore for me, I see no reason to stay limited in terms of game choice, or having to choose to invest time into the ‘best’ game (whatever that is or if it even exists)
The competition kept me interested in that title only for a looong time, obviously.
At some point though even that can become a grind. I found myself becoming more gamer than driver, which is opposite the reason I began driving games in the first place when it released.
I can think of an FIA race I did recently when at Laguna Seca a guy tried to run me off on my qual lap on the penultimate turn, there was no thought in my head, I saw it coming in the rear view, braced for impact, took the hit, and sent him to meet David Hasselhoff at the hairpin that leads onto the front straight. I probably still had time to get a clean qual lap in for the race after punting him off but didn’t feel like it. Punting jerks was becoming a simple preprogrammed response in my mind that happened without even a conscious decision. Later that event kept sticking in my mind. Luckily I had some fantastic racing at Interlagos the week after that, but still you get the idea...
With Project Cars 2 now, and also Dirt Rally 2 and an occasional drive in AC...I play these for the reason I started car games in the first place...Simply enjoying the driving experience, the immersion within them. Somehow it’s a more personal reason than comparing ones self vs others. Ok DR2 has leaderboards and it’s fun to get a good daily run and get up the board more than whatever you usually get, but I drive it because the driving itself draws me in. It’s the same now with PC2. The AI is plenty of competition for me, and it’s great to throw a nice big grid in there. There’s a lot of new tracks to learn and the KART tracks are just great.
The cockpit view and adjustments and fov adjustments really make it such that the immersion factor can get very high to me in PC2 right now just playing offline.
Again pepperoni vs sausage pizza is a question diff people will have different responses to.
For me I like almost all pizza...
Cheers
 
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Personally see GT Sport as fantasy world of Motorsport. A game that build around a word "Vision". It takes a player straight to most appeal things in driving, and don't ask questions or put a player into dilemmas. It also have that specific style, which makes game very attractive. You know no one except PD see Motorsport that way. And if it wins against competition in that way, it's also a flaw, but for each for their own likeness. In GT Sport, I guess it's easy to feel comfort, what ever your desire - driver or an artist.

Project Cars gives me feel of real. It has simple approach, which totally suit for only Motorsport fan. It has balance in visual and technical attractions, which makes harmony between what a player would see and feel from a participation. The only big threshold - engineering. A player need to pay attention to literally every little piece of information on the screen and through controlling.

At first it appears that you can make Project Cars being that simple as GT Sport, to only find out that there will be just another pack of engineering puzzles to solve. Project Cars too deep into gameplay and never let you really play on loose in even maximum simplistic gameplay options it offers. But unlike GT Sport, as mentioned above, which flaw - it doesn't allow you play your own game, but what PD vision of a racing game. In Project Cars you control what it has to be, Semi Arcade, Semi Simulator, full hardcore.

In the end, what a player have to choose between, Mazda Demio or full set of legendary DTM cars, and such. In other words, ironically a Real Driving Simulator comparing to a Racing Simulator, as Motorsport fan, I'd say Project Cars is better. I'll add to that irony, that you better see GT as Racing Simulator and Project Cars as Real Driving Simulator, so it's safe to say that Project Cars name more suit to Gran Turismo and vice versa, except Project Cars have more that GT cars, but let's be honest, GT has more loosen focus in cars selection.
 
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As has already been mentioned, you will find those who enjoy making everyone else’s online experience miserable in any racing game. It’s more pronounced in GTS because there are millions more playing online and it caters to a more casual (less experienced) crowd, despite the fact that there are some high-level racers as well.

if you want a real answer to your question, here is how you will get it:

Take your favorite car on your favorite track under the same exact conditions for a 20 lap race on both games

I just did this with the GT3 Lamborghini Huracan at Monza GP. My answer was crystal clear after that.

if you are not used to PC2, you will likely need to get used to it before you conduct this test. The driving physics are much closer to sim and it won’t be so easy to throw the car around without consequence.

EDIT: it just occurred to me that you may be strictly asking about online racing. There is a section for online racing here at these forums and you will find a lot of very good and polite racers in both games. However, the only way to control that is to get with a group that you become familiar with. In either of these games, jumping into a lobby where you are racing against random people all over the world is a recipe for disaster, as you have already stated

My advice is strictly for offline racing feel
 
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Well sinci this is the pc2 subforum I think you will find a bias towards pc2..
Theyre both different games catered towards different people. For a more casual experience gts is a great game. It looks and feels fantastic with plenty of content.

However if you are looking for a more in depth racing experience pc2 is undoubtedly the better game. I played gran turismo 3 and 4 back in the days. But from 5 and on I could feel something missing. It just wasnt the 'real' simulator it claimed to be.

I played a bit of GTS but it didnt fully click with me, too little customization options, physics werent deep enough. Project cars 1 was horrible with a controller though, but ever since I have a wheel and (a fully patched version of) PC2 I havent looked back
 
Mr_D
Well sinci this is the pc2 subforum I think you will find a bias towards pc2..
Theyre both different games catered towards different people. For a more casual experience gts is a great game. It looks and feels fantastic with plenty of content.

However if you are looking for a more in depth racing experience pc2 is undoubtedly the better game. I played gran turismo 3 and 4 back in the days. But from 5 and on I could feel something missing. It just wasnt the 'real' simulator it claimed to be.

I played a bit of GTS but it didnt fully click with me, too little customization options, physics werent deep enough. Project cars 1 was horrible with a controller though, but ever since I have a wheel and (a fully patched version of) PC2 I havent looked back
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Thank you. I chose asking in this forum because I figured everybody has played GT# or GTS and played PC2. In the GT# forums most that I talked to don't play PC2.

PC2 looks good but now I am shying away because everyone keeps mentioning wheel/pedal sets and I am not equipped with them so controllers in how I do all of my racing. It is easier since the game set does travel with me frequently.

Since PS Store is trying to offload the games now for a super cheap price I will just dive in and see what kind of fun I can have.

Thank you all for your good advice.
 
Timm Sheehan
Thank you. I chose asking in this forum because I figured everybody has played GT# or GTS and played PC2. In the GT# forums most that I talked to don't play PC2.

PC2 looks good but now I am shying away because everyone keeps mentioning wheel/pedal sets and I am not equipped with them so controllers in how I do all of my racing. It is easier since the game set does travel with me frequently.

Since PS Store is trying to offload the games now for a super cheap price I will just dive in and see what kind of fun I can have.

Thank you all for your good advice.
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Good point about people having played both. Pc2 is still very playable with a controller. Much more so than PC1 but maybe not as good as GTS.
 
I have had PC2 since it's shortly after it released. I will admit that upon initial release was displeased with the bugs and major pile up of A.I. cars on the first corner. Also did not understand or want to spend the time to fine tune all the adjustments that you can/need to make to get the most from the game. Therefore a year later maybe closer to 2 years later after reaching burn-out on GTS. Just really sick of the daily car wheel and grinding.
Why they ever thought that the daily car wheel would be a good ideal with zero option of selling the cars for some type of value is beyond me. Then having such an insurmantiable feat if someone wanted to try and get all the 15 million + value cars is stupid. It's not good for a persons health to spend that many mindless hours grinding. I tried grinding for awhile - until realized would have to due it every week for months on end. It's not worth it - despite seeing the glorious liveries that people have put on some of them cars.

I would like to have some of the time spent wasted grinding back.

I now have all my settings in PC2 to comfortable levels where can enjoy just about any car. As I have said in many other post the feeling of actual racing is far and above what I have ever experienced with GTS. We should be pleased that in PC2 they give you so many ways to enjoy the game. You really can have it your way for the most part. I would like to see ability to make offline race series outside of career mode in the next one.

Really comes down to what one desires. Nothing wrong with GTS is someone does not have the time to give to PC2 or another Sim Racer.

I believe in the long run someone that desires a more true race experience will be more then pleased by putting in the time to get there with PC2. Ran the old Indy Cars (50's) for first time yesterday evening - what a treat.
 
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I was surprised when I was browsing through the world records for many of the different tracks with the different cars that’s so many people are on the front page using the controller and not the steering wheel

@Mr Grumpy has posted videos in the past of what people are capable of doing with the controller. I would start with his settings and his videos. He’s not the only one but he is active here and is very helpful
 
slthree
if you want a real answer to your question, here is how you will get it:

Take your favorite car on your favorite track under the same exact conditions for a 20 lap race on both games
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Not necessarily. You're only testing a small part of each game. There is also the possibility that game A could have several features that you enjoy, but that can't be found in game B, and vice versa. You will be able to conclude which game that does the exact thing you tested better, but not which game that is the most enjoyable for you (unless the things you find enjoyable in a game are mostly found within the thing you tested).

venn.png
 
Hi Eran, good to "see" you making a rare appearance around these parts! :)

eran0004
(unless the things you find enjoyable in a game are mostly found within the thing you tested)
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I think this might be the key thing for @slthree. When comparing the two driving/racing games the core driving/racing experience was better for him in one more than the other. And I suppose the on track "feel" should be at the heart of it.

I agree though there may be features you may like in A or B that would increase your enjoyment of either. If GTS had a track creator for instance I'd enjoy it much more - even though I don't like the driving so much!
 
IfAndOr
Hi Eran, good to "see" you making a rare appearance around these parts! :)

I think this might be the key thing for @slthree. When comparing the two driving/racing games the core driving/racing experience was better for him in one more than the other. And I suppose the on track "feel" should be at the heart of it.

I agree though there may be features you may like in A or B that would increase your enjoyment of either. If GTS had a track creator for instance I'd enjoy it much more - even though I don't like the driving so much!
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Loves a little diagram as well :lol:

Hello @eran0004 :)
 
Personally I never managed to get along with PCars driving physics, so my opinion probably doesn't count. GTS is obviously the more polished product given the big difference in budgets and dev times, but PCars has a ton of tracks and features like dynamic time and weather on all of them. Depends on what you're looking for.
 
I used to compare the games, as which is better, but these games just can't be compared. I agree about combining the two. If they worked together...."Ooh Wee". :)
 
SimTourist
Personally I never managed to get along with PCars driving physics, so my opinion probably doesn't count.
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It certainly does. :) If you don't like something that's fine. We know PC2 isn't quite so "jump in and go" as GTS, there's a learning curve.

It makes me wonder though, if someone came to PC2 without trying GTS at all, would they get used to the game and physics easier? Does GT in some ways "spoil" PC2 for people? Hmm.

05XR8
I agree about combining the two
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Project Sport? Gran Carismo? ;)


Mr Grumpy
Loves a little diagram as well :lol:
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It wouldn't be Eran without one of his excellent diagrams.
 
IfAndOr
It makes me wonder though, if someone came to PC2 without trying GTS at all, would they get used to the game and physics easier? Does GT in some ways "spoil" PC2 for people? Hmm.
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I would say GT (especially versions 5, 6, and Sport) spoil people into believing how to drive a car on it's limits. As someone that has raced my own car and karts in competition in real life, GT doesn't shed the most realistic light on how physics and driving dynamics work. PC2 is closer to reality.

Yet back to the OP - Both are great games for their targeted audiences. Using food analogies: GTS is a grab-n-go, easy to consume experience. While PC2 is a highly customization experience (from simple to complex/nuanced). Here are some of my observations.

1 - How much realism do you want? PC2 wins
2 - How much time are you willing to invest in car setup (yet there are two defaults for each car - Loose and Stable, so you can hop in and go). GTS wins if you want to hop in and go. PC2 wins if you like to adjust the car for your driving style so you can go faster.
3 - Online racing - GTS probably wins as there's more people playing (I haven't taken a look at PC2 online lobbies yet).
4 - Graphics - GTS is very polished, very little adjustments needed. PC2, depends on how you set up the visual effects.
5 - Sounds - PC2. GTS still uses a lot of generic effects, and muted or over amplified sounds
6 - Tracks - Yes. lol. If you want to drive on real life circuits, PC2. All of them were laser scanned, so every aspect of the track is how it is in reality. GTS has great tracks too, yet most aren't real. So this is really subjective.
7 - Offline racing - In PC2 you can adjust how aggressive and how smart the AI is. So this will vary. GTS - same train of cars that are too slow.
8 - Car Damage - PC2 you can modify it to how you want. GTS, damage is not encouraged. lol
9 - Track Penalties - PC2 - gotta keep at least 2 wheels on the track at all times (unless you turn this feature off). Otherwise, you'll get your laps not counted or time penalties by the race director. GTS, they're extremely lenient.
 
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The same discussion I think can be had for people coming to P Cars 2 from Forza 7. That's also very easy to be plug and play and the visuals are very good albeit darker than Forza 6. But you get good at that, then jump into PCars and it's as if you can't drive. P Cars is very rewarding once you put some time into understanding it more. I love it. And I enjoy Forza for different reasons. If the visuals of Project Cars was like Forza or GTS then that would be better but once you're immersed in it and battling other cars, AI or human, or just time trialling don't really notice any graphical shortcomings or differences. It's mainly replays you might do so. And then that's only after really comparing side by side.
I mean it's the same when you watch a TV program and then switch to the same but on HD. At first you notice the extra crispness and detail but then soon get used to it.
Having said that I think PCars 2 looks great and the customisable weather and time progression is second to none.
I watch the shed dweller Jimmy Broadbent a lot and he sums it up by saying there's no other sim that does that as good as PCars and it's not his summit choice.
Even Assetto Corsa has modded weather to compete. It didn't at first. ( And still doesn't on console grr )
 
eran0004
Not necessarily. You're only testing a small part of each game. There is also the possibility that game A could have several features that you enjoy, but that can't be found in game B, and vice versa. You will be able to conclude which game that does the exact thing you tested better, but not which game that is the most enjoyable for you (unless the things you find enjoyable in a game are mostly found within the thing you tested).

View attachment 926614
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I’m not sure what you did not understand about my original post. I made it clear that I was talking about “Driving Feel”.

I did not talk about online racing. I did not talk about the mechanics of setting up an individual vehicle. I did not talk about tire models. I did not talk about weather. I did not talk about track lists. I did not talk about penalty systems. I did not talk about sounds of the game.

It may not be this way for all gamers, but for me, I will spend more time driving a car on any given track and how that driving feels is what matters most.
 
slthree
I’m not sure what you did not understand about my original post. I made it clear that I was talking about “Driving Feel”.
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The part where you said it would provide an answer to the question about which game is better.
 
IfAndOr
It makes me wonder though, if someone came to PC2 without trying GTS at all, would they get used to the game and physics easier? Does GT in some ways "spoil" PC2 for people? Hmm.
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When Live for Speed blew Gran Turismo 3 out of the water about 17 years ago, and other PC sims as well, the experience was eye-opening. It hooked me on properly dynamic handling. It wasn't that challenging for me to adjust; it was profoundly intuitive. :) My spring-centered gaming wheel of the time did help in that case.

I was already into sims and sim-leaning games, though.
 
slthree
As has already been mentioned, you will find those who enjoy making everyone else’s online experience miserable in any racing game. It’s more pronounced in GTS because there are millions more playing online and it caters to a more casual (less experienced) crowd, despite the fact that there are some high-level racers as well.

if you want a real answer to your question, here is how you will get it:

Take your favorite car on your favorite track under the same exact conditions for a 20 lap race on both games

I just did this with the GT3 Lamborghini Huracan at Monza GP. My answer was crystal clear after that.

if you are not used to PC2, you will likely need to get used to it before you conduct this test. The driving physics are much closer to sim and it won’t be so easy to throw the car around without consequence.

EDIT: it just occurred to me that you may be strictly asking about online racing. There is a section for online racing here at these forums and you will find a lot of very good and polite racers in both games. However, the only way to control that is to get with a group that you become familiar with. In either of these games, jumping into a lobby where you are racing against random people all over the world is a recipe for disaster, as you have already stated

My advice is strictly for offline racing feel
Click to expand...

eran0004
The part where you said it would provide an answer to the question about which game is better.
Click to expand...

Please see the bolded and underlined statement I made at the end of my post.
 
Agree with all recent discussions. GTS offline racing against A.I. is very generic - same old same old not much has changed. Start in same position on most events, generally in half the race length you can be in the top 5 or 6 cars every time - except on some pro events. There are zero track limits, I believe zero tire wear, zero fuel wear and zero damage in the offline events. Therefore the races are completely watered down compared to Project Cars. Not to mention there is very little input transfered to the wheel via force feed back etc.
With project cars you can configure one race in many different ways.

I think that it would be absolutely a great idea if on PC3 or some other sim racer that you could configure race series outside of career mode. Then even save your configuration with others so that they can run the same series same tracks etc, but still have ability to override #of laps, difficulty and time of day etc.
Need to try the online race series creater and see what it is like. Anyone have a brief summary that they can provide?
 

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