Q&A with Slightly Mad Studios: Ian Bell [Read OP]

[Ian Bell]

I am eager to see that! The photomode has become one of my favorite features in games and it is good to hear that pCARS2 has improved upon the first game 👍

This is a WMD user shot. You can set most of the things you can set on a high end camera. This is a simple in game pause shot applying Bokeh. Exclusive

Apologies. I don't seem to be able to upload images

This was not a blank tease!

 

[35mm]

This is a WMD user shot. You can set most of the things you can set on a high end camera. This is a simple in game pause shot applying Bokeh. Exclusive

Apologies. I don't seem to be able to upload images

This was not a blank tease!

This is excellent news. 👍


Also, do you need any help with those shots?

 

[Ian Bell]

This is a WMD user shot. You can set most of the things you can set on a high end camera. This is a simple in game pause shot applying Bokeh. Exclusive

Apologies. I don't seem to be able to upload images

This was not a blank tease!

One of my team came through. I can show a more distant shot later as it works even better with depth and night lighting.

 

[doblocruiser]

Great! The reflections on the window, in the tarmac, the focus and depth of field. Very nice indeed 👍

 

[Dresden]

We want to show off that our chosen championships are better

Ahh, this explains why custom championships have still not raised their head after two years of people asking for it on the offical forums. In this case I will defer to your better judgement and wait to see how the career turns out. Thank you for the update.

 

[Ian Bell]

Ahh, this explains why custom championships have still not raised their head after two years of people asking for it on the offical forums. In this case I will defer to your better judgement and wait to see how the career turns out. Thank you for the update.

I want to make it clear that that post was light hearted. Hence the smiley.

 

[LGee19]

@IanBell when can we expect the next big reveal?

 

[Ian Bell]

@IanBell when can we expect the next big reveal?

Four posts up.

 

[Dresden]

I want to make it clear that that post was light hearted. Hence the smiley.

Well, in that case SMS had better give us custom championships. Just in case.

 

[Dresden]

Ian-

Any more word on the audio? When I drive the Lambo Miura in Forza it is flat and boring, as quiet as a mouse. When I drive the 385 hp Miura in Assetto Corsa it spits and snarls and sounds lovely. PCars 1 had 'loud' audio, but lacked that punch in the chest that sim racing needs. Please tell me the windows of my house will vibrate...

 

[thuGG]

Four posts up.

We already know about McLaren 720S

 

[Ian Bell]

We already know about McLaren 720S

Bokeh....

 

[LGee19]

Four posts up.

Come on... this is killing me . That's not the next big reveal..

 

[fbetes]

@IanBell @The_American Is there any type of cinematic scene in offline Championship mode?

In that case, I presume why @IanBell told "We want to show off that our chosen championships are better" previously...

 

[Dresden]

It's a combination of the preponderance of what the fans ask for,

Seeing as you asked.

Order of importance

1. Car Physics / FFB
2. Audio
3. Tracks
4. AI
5. Custom championships
6. Custom grids
7. Awesome garage mode
8. Career
9. DLC

Oh, and Porsche.
Oh, and variable weather. I forgot that!

How do you juggle so many things...

 

[LGee19]

@IanBell what's the FFB strength like this time round? Because in pCARS 1 it was fairly weak in my opinion.

 

[Ian Bell]

@IanBell what's the FFB strength like this time round? Because in pCARS 1 it was fairly weak in my opinion.

It's not weak. In fact we had to turn down the input on crashing as our Build Manager was worried about breaking his wrists. Now I thought the mechanics themselves would have a sensible (non wrist braking limit) but we've had to tweak that...

Beyond that, there are sliders to set the level you prefer.

The FFB is dramatically different now as the physics are so much improved. We've simplified the input and provided various 'feel' presets to hopefully please everyone.

 

[35mm]

@IanBell Will the 2 minute replay cap for free runs be removed in PCars2?

 

[bramvanuytven]

When we broadcast , can the host/streamer see the gap between te cars , so it's easy to see where te action is?
While not broadcasting al that data.
Some sort of replay in case of crash would be nice , i asume it's easy for the game to notice who damages his car , rewind a few seconds and "showtime"?
Just some idea's.
Good broadcasts can make te game more popular then it already is.

 

[fbetes]

@IanBell do we have to expect a new Career mode, or is similar to PC1?

Do we have to wait for new info about it? I'm going to ask you directly: Is a career mode similar to Toca Race Driver 3 was (with cinematics and progression mode)?

Thx for your feedback Ian!

 

[Ian Bell]

@IanBell do we have to expect a new Career mode, or is similar to PC1?

Do we have to wait for new info about it? I'm going to ask you directly: Is a career mode similar to Toca Race Driver 3 was (with cinematics and progression mode)?

Thx for your feedback Ian!

It's a massively more detailed career than pCARS1. It's a little (ok a lot) less cinematic than Toca though.

 

[F1Racer68]

@IanBell or @The_American

I am an avid tuner, and have found that I am far better at tuning than I am at driving. Any setup I build tends to be 2 seconds a lap faster in the hands of other league members. Still not sure if that makes me happy or sad

Can you tell us anything about the tuning options? Will we still have the same level of tuning for each car as we currently do, or has it been expanded or simplified (I hope not)? I found that the current game has just the right level of detail and adjustability, so I hope there hasn't been too drastic a change there. Improvements to the GUI/layout would be welcome.

 

[jake2013guy]

It's a massively more detailed career than pCARS1. It's a little (ok a lot) less cinematic than Toca though.

Are you allowed to say how it's massively more detailed or do we have to wait?

 

[SlowBloke]

@IanBell & Co:

Are you able to confirm if Le Mans has had the laser scan / photogrammetry treatment please ?

Thank you !

 

[The_American]

@IanBell or @The_American

I am an avid tuner, and have found that I am far better at tuning than I am at driving. Any setup I build tends to be 2 seconds a lap faster in the hands of other league members. Still not sure if that makes me happy or sad

Can you tell us anything about the tuning options? Will we still have the same level of tuning for each car as we currently do, or has it been expanded or simplified (I hope not)? I found that the current game has just the right level of detail and adjustability, so I hope there hasn't been too drastic a change there. Improvements to the GUI/layout would be welcome.

Yes, improved GUI work for vehicle tuning. All the details from pC1 remain, plus some new ones you'll see later. As mentioned before, we've added some "Easy Buttons" for those not so into managing the vehicle tuning details.

 

[fortbo]

@IanBell @The_American Will the hybrid systems in the WEC LMP1 cars be properly simulated this time? What I mean by this is how they only get a restricted amount of hybrid power per lap during a race. No big deal if it isn't but it would be a cool feature if it was.

 

[TexasTyme214]

@IanBell @The_American Will the hybrid systems in the WEC LMP1 cars be properly simulated this time? What I mean by this is how they only get a restricted amount of hybrid power per lap during a race. No big deal if it isn't but it would be a cool feature if it was.

I think this is modeled but the amount allowed isn't varied with the length of the track like in WEC. I've run out of electric power at the end of LM in some cases in the Toyota. The Audi and Toyota don't get around Nürburgring 24H maintaining energy.

 

[DesertPenguin09]

Is that the same for the Formula A and other KERS cars?

 

[TexasTyme214]

Is that the same for the Formula A and other KERS cars?

Formula A is definitely limited to a certain amount of KERS per lap, but I think that is limited to the same amount in every track. 2014+ P1 cars have their own ruleset IRL. The fictional P1 cars are supposed to be 2013ish so they function differently (500kJ per "zone?")

 

[DesertPenguin09]

And how does that Caterham work? I still haven't figured that out