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

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I understand why SMS released when they did but they should have released this game mid winter. They could used a few months to really clean things up and delivered on what they promised. People would have been amped for a new title after the dust settled with FM and GT.

With that said I'm happy with what Pcars offers. I'm ok with waiting for the patches. I would love to go back to June or July. I would bet my house that if you asked everyone here if they would have taken the game then and there, early access style about 95% of people would have said YES!
 
Harry Freq
Problem is some of the things Ian has said like the PS4 Pro version doesnt suffer from jaggies when its clearly a jaggy mess. Also the comment about it only having 5 or 6 bugs was pretty baffling.

It is great that he does come here and other forums but just stick to the truth instead of leading us up the garden path so to speak.
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Except he said 5 or 6 major bugs and 20 or so minor ones, which is about spot on. If you've quoted him correctly it would be closer to the truth.

Point is a lot of people have been saying SMS hasn't been listening or interacting with the community since launch, which is inaccurate.

That said, we also can't expect them to be here to answer every single question or inquiry when they're busy trying to fix the game you keep on moaning about.

Also, that one guy trying to petition the government because the game is too buggy less than two months after its release, although post release patches have been the norm in the industry for a while. Just stop, I appreciated you reporting bugs with video evidence to assist SMS in helping patch the game. But lately the bug reporting stopped and it just comes across as malicious and useless in helping SMS polish the game. That's why the moderators moved your thread, thought you'd get it by now.
 
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IanBell
To be honest I lost a bit of heart after giving GT Planet so much of our time to get a review 15% below the average. I took that though, noting our surprise and nothing more.

Then I read a thread here where our game, currently rating decimals above Forza and massively above GT Sport, has been referred to the UK government and petition started in said thread to get us into legal trouble (and 5 people 'liked' it! and voted!) for delivering 'the best Sim ever'. I lost a lot more heart at that.

But the kicker was to be accused of not communicating on four separate threads :) I was all over forums everywhere answering every question I legally could for months, both before and after release, to be told that SMS doesn't communicate with their users and takes them for fools etc etc..

So I decided to take a couple of weeks easier than normal...
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I understand.

About time to make another push for Pcars2.

To me it´s the best sim ever, but i´m worried about the sales. If you can release some info on this front it would be really nice, we would love to know if things are going all right in terms of targets.
 
I've realized that PCars 2 has been a bitter-sweet experience for me. PCars 1 made me a sim racing hobbyist, rather than a video gamer. I had great passion for the original title, and was extremely excited for it's sequel. Perhaps my expectations were too high, given the current industry trends for newly released games. I bought PCars 1 several months after it's release, and most of the major bugs were taken care of by the time I started playing it. Furthermore, it's tough to continuously hear how well the PC version runs compared to console versions.

PCars 2 is a fantastic game. I can say that with confidence. When it functions as intended, it's by far the most enjoyable gaming/racing experience available on console. However, most of my sessions end with me frustrated because of glitches and bugs. Mostly, I'm sickened by the destruction of my racing license score through lobby disconnections. These are surely unintended circumstances that SMS is trying to correct. And I'm grateful that SMS continues to work hard on these fixes.

My point here: I wouldn't get so frustrated or upset about a game I didn't really love. It's because PCars 2 is such a great game that I hope to see these wrinkles ironed out. I've never owned a game that had the potential to upset me. In the past, if a game didn't function properly, I'd just put it on the shelf or sell it. Not going to happen with PCars2, it's just too good to give up on. In the meantime, I'm going to try to curb my negativity, and focus on what's good about the game. I'll withhold any criticism until after our next patch, with the hope that there aren't any unknown bugs or glitches by now.

Thank you @IanBell for continuing to check in on GTPlanet. It's reassuring to see you're still keeping your chin up, and striving for excellence. Your vision is still, by far, the best when it comes to sim racing games.
 
Regardless of whom said what to whom around here one thing is FACT for me.

Project Cars has shown me what a sim should be, and has pulled my head out of my arse after years of gran turismo veneration.

@IanBell
I really hope you give us at least a trilogy with the franchise.
 
dQuim
Also, that one guy trying to petition the government because the game is too buggy less than two months after its release, although post release patches have been the norm in the industry for a while. Just stop,
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Surely if that's the norm it's a reason to continue, not stop? Until something is done, buggy releases will continue to be the norm. Wouldn't you want much more stable releases?

dQuim
I appreciated you reporting bugs with video evidence to assist SMS in helping patch the game. But lately the bug reporting stopped
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Nice to know. I figure this is the least I should be doing. I'm still posting bugs I find though? I haven't stopped at all. Even the last post in there was by me, constructively too with a suggestion for the possible cause. I wish I had stopped posting bugs but they are so numerous I keep succumbing to them. I don't often record my game footage, but it's sad that I should have to do so constantly. Most bugs I've reported are ones I can recreate with ease - a sure bug if it can be recreated easily. Very few are ones that I catch first time, because I'm not actually recording footage at the time.

Also once fixed, and I'm sure they will be, there will be no need to keep the videos up on Youtube as reference.

dQuim
and it just comes across as malicious and useless in helping SMS polish the game. That's why the moderators moved your thread, thought you'd get it by now.
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Malicious though? I'm a paying customer. I have a legally binding contract with the seller under the Consumer Rights Act, that the product is as advertised and not knowingly mis-sold. If there was any "malice" involved, it is not on my part, legally speaking.
 
People are getting mad for a damn videogame.

I can understand the frustation of paying full price at release, especially when you are young but I think It is a bit too much now.
 
paulpg87
People are getting mad for a damn videogame.

I can understand the frustation of paying full price at release, especially when you are young but I think It is a bit too much now.
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Exactly. Caveat emptor. If the game were a real car, the way that some feel, it'd be a lemon. A lemon is rare these days.
When cars are sold, dealerships are asked by the manufacturer, to record all concerns reported by the dealers and car owners. From plastic clips to protect mechanics arms from getting sliced in Mazda 2s, to software updates for BCMs & transmissions.

To those not happy about the game(mainly on PS4), there would have been plenty videos and reviews before they purchased.
The developer even said there would be bugs. For those that missed, the below still applies.

In everything, whether the product is good or bad, the buyer makes the choice.
 
mattikake
Surely if that's the norm it's a reason to continue, not stop? Until something is done, buggy releases will continue to be the norm. Wouldn't you want much more stable releases?
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Of course stable releases are ideal. But games have become more complex and no amount of testing can catch every bug. Post release patches exist, that is the reality.

And yes malicious. You're not on a crusade against a major corporate entity like EA, Ubisoft, or Microsoft. This is a smaller company with less resources.
 
05XR8
To those not happy about the game(mainly on PS4), there would have been plenty videos and reviews before they purchased.
The developer even said there would be bugs.
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The problem with that is every video review I'd found was as it turns out, the PC version, but always titled as a "Project CARS 2 review", failing to mention which platform. The same goes for reviews I could find on websites and magazines etc. Easy to be lead to believe that all versions would be the same.

It also became apparent that all dev streams were also on the PC and again, the platform demoed was never mentioned that I saw. So easy to believe they were referring to all versions, not solely the PC.

Small bugs and glitches are not a problem - to be expected. But when you get one of the numerous bugs that destroys your race completely - oversteer bug, wrong setups loaded in bug, disconnects, lobbies hanging, [race] ready button not working, invisible cars, FFB not working, incorrect tyre models etc etc. - that's a different matter. I think the people that have a problem, have a problem with these kinds of bugs.

Going round in circles now but most of these would've been discovered if each feature was properly tested and in some cases, even just once. Yet it was admitted the testing was not done by WMD.

It's clear the console versions are simple ports of the PC with very little time spent on them. The graphics have not even been optimised for consoles.

It's not much of a leap to see that many PS4 users feel they had been mislead.

05XR8
In everything, whether the product is good or bad, the buyer makes the choice.
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They should also be able to un-make that choice. Which is exactly why there is buyer protection in law... except for PS4 users buying from the PSN store...
 
Mike_grpA
Rough idea of when the CSL Elite support will be fixed on PS4?
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Soon, if iirc

For some other postings
Edit: google, Microsoft updates cause crash. It happens more than you would think!
 
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mattikake
The problem with that is every video review I'd found was as it turns out, the PC version, but always titled as a "Project CARS 2 review", failing to mention which platform. The same goes for reviews I could find on websites and magazines etc. Easy to be lead to believe that all versions would be the same.

It also became apparent that all dev streams were also on the PC and again, the platform demoed was never mentioned that I saw. So easy to believe they were referring to all versions, not solely the PC.

Small bugs and glitches are not a problem - to be expected. But when you get one of the numerous bugs that destroys your race completely - oversteer bug, wrong setups loaded in bug, disconnects, lobbies hanging, [race] ready button not working, invisible cars, FFB not working, incorrect tyre models etc etc. - that's a different matter. I think the people that have a problem, have a problem with these kinds of bugs.

Going round in circles now but most of these would've been discovered if each feature was properly tested and in some cases, even just once. Yet it was admitted the testing was not done by WMD.

It's clear the console versions are simple ports of the PC with very little time spent on them. The graphics have not even been optimised for consoles.

It's not much of a leap to see that many PS4 users feel they had been mislead.



They should also be able to un-make that choice. Which is exactly why there is buyer protection in law... except for PS4 users buying from the PSN store...
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Buyers can un-make their choices. Depends where the product was bought. From the full refund with digital purchases, to what ever percentage a buyer gets back from a physical copy.

I bought my XBONE copy at an electronics retailer. Before that, I saw mainly pc videos over console videos. So, I was in the dark at launch. After launch, people that wanted to see the game on their preferred system, could have waited til then. That's my point.
 
Sentry87
It's clear the console versions are simple ports of the PC with very little time spent on them.
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Funny, when I play the PC version it's pretty clear that it's a console port to PC. Especially in the menus and settings screens where they're designed to be used with the d-pad and using a mouse can be infuriating.
 
ThunderLips
I would love to go back to June or July. I would bet my house that if you asked everyone here if they would have taken the game then and there, early access style about 95% of people would have said YES!
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That's actually a very good idea, sell the game as "Early Access" for slightly less money and everyone is happy, users will know what they are buying, developers get feedback and then release polished game for a full price. Win, win and win.
 
IanBell
To be honest I lost a bit of heart after giving GT Planet so much of our time to get a review 15% below the average. I took that though, noting our surprise and nothing more.

Then I read a thread here where our game, currently rating decimals above Forza and massively above GT Sport, has been referred to the UK government and petition started in said thread to get us into legal trouble (and 5 people 'liked' it! and voted!) for delivering 'the best Sim ever'. I lost a lot more heart at that.

But the kicker was to be accused of not communicating on four separate threads :) I was all over forums everywhere answering every question I legally could for months, both before and after release, to be told that SMS doesn't communicate with their users and takes them for fools etc etc..

So I decided to take a couple of weeks easier than normal...
Click to expand...
Have no sympathy whats so ever....."you reap what you sow"
 
BrandonW77
Funny, when I play the PC version it's pretty clear that it's a console port to PC. Especially in the menus and settings screens where they're designed to be used with the d-pad and using a mouse can be infuriating.
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It was me. There was an independent reviewer that notice this too - that the menu interface is designed for mouse input.

And there is no way in hell the PC version is a port from the consoles! There's too much evidence - such as PC2 is optimised for PC gfx cards and processing power and the gfx issues on the PS4 clearly aren't with this is being addressed in the next patch for PS4 I believe. FPS problems on PS4. Setup saving space problems that are restricted on PS4 but not on PC. And a host of playability issues that we are currently putting down to a lack of processing power on consoles. The admitted fact that testing on PC was done in-house and console testing was out-sourced. And on it goes. Even in some of the dev streams you can see they are using a PC setup (others you can't tell what platform is in use, but in now you have to believe it was a PC).
 
mattikake
There was an independent reviewer that notice this too - that the menu interface is designed for mouse input.
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It's really not though. The mouse works on it but it can be maddening, much better off using the d-pad and paddles to navigate which definitely isn't the norm for a PC game. I dunno, whenever I fire up the game everything about the UI just screams "I was made for consoles", but I'm no expert.
 

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