Project Cars vs The World (FM5, Asetto Corsa, GRID, Rfactor 2, Raceroom)

While I am quite able to enjoy the pCARS tracks, I feel that their few laser scans are "better" than their handmade tracks, because they seem to have more life in the track surface. Being used to driving laser scans I really miss it when I drive a flat smooth surface in some of the non-laser-scans in pCARS.

Additionally, because pCARS has handmade models of tracks which are laser scanned in other sims, the elevation differences as well as the less convincing surface detail (e.g. Silverstone which is one of the least convincing) is a bit of a shame.

In the end, I also find myself enjoying the high quality but narrow experience in AC more than the huge array of options in pCARS. Although for me AC works best when hotlapping since the AI isn't so great. When I want really competitive AI racing I pick RaceRoom

 

Out of that list, I've only played GRID:AS. From the first few hours of playing PCARS, I get the feeling it's a tidied up version of GRID.

I've got a new T300 which makes it harder to compare, and it probably needs to be adjusted (haven't got a clue how to and copied Jack Spades settings that I found). Maybe the G27 was a better wheel, but I can't seem to find the limiting friction point. It seems my car just suddenly loses traction, and is like ice on the grass.

I'm just not getting that sort of bite with PCars yet that I got straight away with GRID, and I don't know why. I still picked Pcars over it, as, in theory, it's the better game, but this game is just not getting me hooked like GT and Grid did... Yet!

 

For me personally and at this time in the development of the main sims, Assetto Corsa is my favourite.

Reasons for this are that for my set up (AMD PC, triple screens) Assetto Corsa looks great, runs great and feels great.

The proper triple screen support, the ability to cap frame rates and the option to 'lock horizontal camera' (same effect as the 'motion cockpit view' in iRacing) just all comes together for me and I love it!

I really hope pCARS eventually runs as well for me as Assetto Corsa does, would love to get stuck into the career and some league racing!

 

Same here; only ventured out for a few laps so far.

 

1st cut is the deepest

 

Haha yeah I think I just need to get used to it or something. I just had a four lap race on Circuit de la Sarge with a hopefully stable Aston Martin, and I was still randomly losing control and trying to bring it back, but it refuses to go back. I've always been useless at drifting, so controlling a slide was the thing that took the longest to get used to in GT6 for me. It can be incredibly frustrating, and don't get me started on braking lol

 

Love the Pcars feedback, its way better than GT6. But I love the car selection in GT6. Also the lighting in Pcars can feel artificial, like they are trying to force the visual appearance of times of days, and while it looks really pretty at times it just is not that realistic. Whereas the GT6 colour scheme looks a lot more natural, if underwhelming.

That said I do really like the competitive AI in Pcars but miss the car roster of GT6. Also I miss the original tracks in from Gt6 for some reason... All in all though Pcars is better. Cant wait for AC.

 

I gave Grid Autosport a couple of races as it came with my new PC but just as on Xbox 360 I didn't feel connected to the car and everything felt comparatively numb (sounds like a Pink Floyd song).

It didn't grip as hard so I found myself drifting back to PCars. Sorry for the driving puns.

 

Disclaimer: Been with PCars since the beginning (what...nearly three years ago?)

Driving comes in a number of fashions...and they pride themselves on different things. Luckily for us, this means everybody wins.

Where Forza and GT are more aimed at money-making and car modding with hundreds of cars...you then have iRacing with relatively few cars aimed solely at motorsport simulation (same with the RFactor crowd etc.). You have some silliness like Driveclub etc. but those are just what they are.

This is where I think PCars and to a lesser extent, Assetto Corsa hit the nail on the head. They took a swing and cracked a shot straight down the center. Following PCars it's been ridiculous the changes from start to finish...and I do think they aimed a little too high in some areas, but overall the PC game is pretty darn solid.

AC/PCars hit that median between super-mega-sim...and enjoyable racing game. I think PCars took the right approach allowing the huge amount of customization to really cater to the type of player. I can't think of many racing games with so many options

-Deep graphical options/adjustments
-Tons of control adjustment
-AI skill/type/etc.
-Weather (random slots, advanced timing, etc.)
-Time (when and how fast)
-Sound adjustment (this didn't end up being as detailed as they said they'd allow)
-Control of penalties
-Control of restrictions for room entry
-Adjustment of damage, fuel, tire wear

They went after so many options I think this is why you see it more buggy than most titles (if I'm honest I haven't encountered many bugs in the release - other than the pit stop bug that 1.4 caused). They're trying to do a ton o' stuff and it shows on the Xbox/PS console releases since they didn't have any of the quantity of playtesting they benefited from on the PC version.

AC has slightly better physics but (sans mods) is way too sterile with even worse car selection and the poorest track selection in any racing game I've seen. While mods are nice, I play with a big group of guys and we can't be bothered with verifying everyone has all the same mods/tracks/cars etc. I think AC could have been huge, but for all around enjoyment and letting me race how/where I want, PCars definitely takes the edge.

RRE could have been huge to me, but the micro-transaction model killed it dead immediately. My buddy and I downloaded it on Steam...looked at the costs/market and immediately uninstalled it. Good as it may be (with the best sounds in the industry by far) it'd be $400+ to get all the tracks and cars (of which there are about enough to warrant a full PC game). Shame as I love Simbin and had high hopes.

PCars issues (my opinion):
-Crappy cracked glass effects. For a game with great graphics...this was weird that they released it that poor. Rain effects were sub-par but they're introducing speed effects so that'll help immensely. Unless you're behind someone, there isn't a real need to turn on your wipers most of the time.

-Sound is crap. Okay it's better than say Forza and probably GT...but is one of the weakest points of the game.

-Customized classes are not available. This is a huge killer for me. We normally run 3-5 players with 10-15 AI. Because of the silly class organization, some classes have far faster cars and some have far slower --- I can't pick what the AI drive, nor can we eliminate slow cars from classes. If you run the Group 5 class...the Mustang TransAm and Mercedes DTM are heaps faster than the other cars, so if we all want to run some fun Group 5 cars without running a spec-car, we can't determine if the AI will be 5-6 seconds a lap faster. This is frustrating. SMS stated they can't run more than 8-10 types of cars on the same track without memory issues...I'd really, REALLY like to be able to make a custom class --- this would also allow multi-class races online (not available at the moment which sucks for LeMans stuff)

-Car selection*. I'll be honest, I love the variety. However, due to license issues there are many cars which have no competitors. So, outside of a spec-race you're not going to have a good race with someone. Most cars have at least one proper opponent, but I'd have preferred to see licenses aimed at ensuring 3-4 types of car per class when possible. I do love that each car has a very unique feel (this may be because I'm using a wheel for the first time in racing, but it's a nice change from Forza where you had about...6 different "types" of cars).

_______________________

Cliff's Notes: It's an excellent game that is modular and adjustable to fit pretty much every driver...unless you're just into paint schemes (which you can do) or earning money.

*Some of this is being alleviated by the cars coming out later. Having seen all of the current license agreements I'm fully satisfied with the "end" number of cars/tracks we'll have access to.

 

For me RRE is my go to sim. I love the engine sounds, FFB, car selection and unique tracks. Pcars is second. I started on GT5 and went to PC. Really stopped playing consoles after I made the switch. I will most likely get a PS4 when GT 7 comes out. I tried iracing, but it cost too much once you start to buy tracks. As a working adult I couldn't justify the cost since I had such a limited time to play.

 

Haven't only played PCARS once since I bought it, decided to have a gentle cruise down the French coast. Lag and frameskipping. Just brutal.

The career seemed fine at first but with a grand total of 10 tweets, starting with the unpleasant karts and no feeling of achievement or reward.

I might try another shot of career mode without starting in karts (the special events outside the karts were pretty fun at least) but honestly I'm more likely to continue trying to complete all the Forza games starting with FM2 then going back to Project CARS.

 

I have played GT since the beginning...every version, its a great game...Then I got the original Grid on pc and loved it. Next I decided to get autosport on pc and it's cool but very hard to do with a controller so I went out and got a T300rs. Wow is like learning all over again lol. I like autosport with the wheel so I bought Pcars and Assetto Corsa So I am adjusting to using a wheel now but Here is my take on the ones I have played. AC I like how it feels and drives but for the life of me I cannot beat the AI in career Mode set at 98%...The cars blow you away and handle on rails and I cant keep up. PCars I have few hours but doing the Career mode starting in karts I am doing well, looks and feels great also. GA I like also...it may not be quite as technical as the others but it plays and looks good too atleast giving me a shot at winning. I'm sure I will feel different once i get better with the wheel and pedals...Pcars has the best graphics...AC is ok but they need to fix crossfire/sli support and AS looks good too, since I have a nice gaming rig that can handle all of them maxed out easily I think they all look great. Just need more hours driving I guess...Thats my opinion

 

I would love for R3E to come to consoles, I think it would do really well even though it's a f2p, maybe even because it is, there are others on PS4 after all and I have one, War Thunder. I for one would get it having seen loads of YouTube videos showcasing it. I really like what I see a lot.

 

So can anyone tell those of us who haven't voted what the current results are?

 

?
Which game suits you best?

1. 
   PCars
   141 vote(s)
   69.8%
2. 
   Forza Motorsport 5
   14 vote(s)
   6.9%
3. *
   Asetto Corsa
   33 vote(s)
   16.3%
4. 
   GRID Autosport
   3 vote(s)
   1.5%
5. 
   RFactor 2
   4 vote(s)
   2.0%
6. 
   Raceroom
   7 vote(s)
   3.5%

 

Not surprising given that the majority of posters here seem to be both PS4 and XBone users and many probably have little to no experience with pc sims.

 

True in my case

I play rFactor1, GTR2, GT Legends and Race07 on my pc but it won't stretch to anything more modern

 

Is there A GRID for the PS4 Coming? Because I am limited to PlayStation experience, and Project CARS in my opinion is the best Sim Racer that ever hit PS Console.


I just wonder why SMS doesn't do rear interior in there cockpit view? It's like your driving A Half A Car

 

THAT IS A SCREAM !!!

 

I would like to quite respectfully disagree with one of your points, Sir:

Sound - FM5 absolutely nails it and PCARS might follow suite in more ways than one. Correct me if I'm wrong.. I don't think there are any audio differences between the PC and console versions; being said, the reverb effect is completely missing in PCARS.. so is that "delightful" 'whoosh' sound effect as you're passing objects on either side or above your car at higher speeds.

However, PCARS does the off-throttle sounds well, and Forza has yet to nail this properly. (hit and miss, some cars have it, some don't, but PCARS' effect is pretty good on all cars)

All in all, the engine sounds in FM5 sound natural, whereas PCARS' is a bit forced and synthesized.. it's one game where I don't prefer turning the volume up too much.

What say? Have you played FM5 at length? Just curious on what your thoughts are.

 

If FM5 has better sounds, good on them. They were crap in Forza 1-4 (my only experience with that franchise). GT has always been awful in the sound department (again, personal opinion). If they actually put some work into FM5 I have no doubt it may be better than PCars.

I agree completely that PCars sound is very forced, synthesized and has no natural sound to it. Without a doubt it's my personal biggest complaint with PCars. I was a little sad to see the same sound designs already doing work on PCars2 on that the new forum.

To me, the best still seems to be RRE in many aspects and some of the iRacing sound sets are quite good.

 

Forza 4's sound weren't that bad, though some of them were off - loud and distorted or otherwise inaccurate. There was a fix for the loudness and distortion, but I'm sure you're on to better stuff. If you're willing to get an X1, do check out FM5.

PCARS could have been even more enjoyable had it had 100% accurate sounds. We're on 2015 today, and look how far graphics have come. Why can't they do the same with sound??

I will check that video out a little later and post thoughts.

 

I'm overall pleased with PCARS, I entered with no expectations and I'm happy with the purchase, still haven't dug deep at all (only do race weekends) but I feel it's a game I'll spend year with (provided SMS are have as competent as EVO with supporting it), Love the AI I do agree that I don't like being given all the content at once, doubt I'll ever try career to be honest.

 

If they keep supporting the game with patches and updates, it might end up as one of the best "realistic driving" games on consoles.

I was hopelessly disappointed when booted up PCARS for the first time, but since the 2.0 patch, the game is quite playable and you learn to live with the mediocre (just above average) sounds and graphical anomalies.

The driving model is good and once.. once you look past its shortcomings, it ain't too bad. One thing I absolutely love about PCARS: steering freedom. There's no invisible cap on a controller that governs how much you get to steer according to speed *ahem ahem*

 

Fully agree with Johnnypenso: In terms of FFB, physics, livelyness of the cars, it is Assetto Corsa. The perfect combination would be the "feel" (and "sound") of AC combined with the "looks" of Pcars. Everything else - meaning rfactor2, Forza5, even Game Stockcar Extreme - is way behind, being aware that some users will crucify me :-). I am still hoping they offer some (FFB) tweaks to fill the gap, at least the Jack Spade Files and some other settings help to get close.
Delevopers should start to think about FFB customization in a more usable way. For example instead of offering detailed parameters with thousands of combinations it is better to combine them to a few settings that everyone understands:
- Tyre effects overall
- Grip loss of tyres (maybe separate front/rear)
- G-forces when cornering
- Strength of additional effects (kerbs, street "roughness", braking, gear changes, clutch feel, engine vibrations) -> maybe separated)
- Overall strength
For freaks (no offense!) they can still offer an advanced configuration mode.

For things like Deadzone removal, but also other settings to avoid clipping, I just expect from the developers a tested default setting for most common wheel (CSR, CSW v2, ts300/tx, G25, G27, GT...). Especially for a racing sim, this should be an essential part of the development as it defines the driving experience for the user!

 

Yeah this gen I've learned my lesson and will now wait for 2-3 patches after the day one patch to even consider buying a game, unless it's a game by PD or ND.

 

Do I need to toy around with any of the FFB settings? I think not.. since I'm on a controller. What say?