Hi guys - I thought I would give an update about Sick's Race Room as we will shortly be switching to Project Cars 2 and I last posted on this thread in July 2016.
I got a PS4 Pro and Project Cars for Christmas 2016 and after a period of car and track testing and getting used to the game started hosting online races. I was lucky that my wheel was compatible with the PS4.
Findings - the bad things first - online / hosting options are limited. There is no text chat so it is microphones or nothing. GT offers a range of grid orders and lends itself to multiple short races with options for grid based on previous race finish and reverse grid. These options are missing - it is either grid based on qualification or start in a strange order with no qualification. When qualifying each car leaves its pit garage and therefore has to complete one lap then another complete lap in order to record a time. This means that 5 minutes is very rarely long enough in which to record at least one flying lap. Monza for example can be qualified in 5 minutes on GT6, but needs 10 minutes on Project Cars. In GT6 the time can be adjusted between 5 and 10 minutes which allows the Host to pick a length into which 2 flying laps can be fitted e.g. 8 minutes at Daytona Road. In Project Cars the qualification length cannot be graduated between 5 and 10. In GT6 some clever programming enables a qualification to take place on the Nordschleife (and other long tracks) even when only 5 minutes is selected - it calculates which car travelled the furthest in the time available. Their is no such option in PC1 which means that long tracks cannot be used for championship racing unless very long qualification periods are selected.
The above are all disappointing limitations and I don't think there will be any improvements in PC2.
Hand controllers - I only use a wheel. I have 2 friends who were competent drivers on GT6 with hand controllers, but they could not gel with PC1. Some people on GTPlanet cope ok after they have adjusted their settings.
On and over the limit handling - with some cars the limit can be hard to judge and it is difficult to recover when a spin starts. This area and ease of use out of the box with hand controllers have received the most attention so will hopefully be improved in PC2.
The menus are not intuitive - photos for instance were easy in GT6, but I still haven't managed to take one in PC1.
There were a lot of bugs when PC1 was first introduced - most of these have been resolved by updates, but a few remain for example the "Silverstone Classic" layout is unusable online and pit stops for cars running default setups are bugged, so we run tyre and fuel wear off and no pit stops as we run default (no tuning) setups.
That's the bad - what about the good? I thoroughly enjoyed racing online on GT5 and 6, but PC1 has taken the virtual racing experience to another level of immersion and hence enjoyment. The sounds are much better and also the tactile effects are outstanding (I use a Buttkicker / Bass Shakers) - their are even transmission thumps with each gearchange.
The AI is scalable from 0 to 100 (120 in PC2) and you can fill empty grid slots with AI. For online I fill empty grid slots and set them to a level where they will typically get lapped during the final 10 minutes of a 30 minute race - this adds interest if you are lappig on your own and a challenge if you are racing in a group to get through the AI without losing time. For offline practise you can set the grid to just 1 (yourself) or up to 46 (yourself + 45 opponents) depending on track. You can start first, last, midlle or custom or based on a qualification session. To practise I normally find an AI setting at which I can't quite win and gradually increase the setting if I improve. My last session on the game for example I was running 10 minute races which I couldn't quite win - I managed to overtake, but half a lap later he retook the place and won by a fraction.
You can also practise clean overtaking by setting the AI slower and starting last - on a shorter track there will be constant cars to overtake.
The AI could definitely be improved further, but if the sound is say three leaps above the standard in GT6 then AI is five or ten leaps above.
The cars fit into proper categories which enables the Host to construct realistic championship series. One of the strengths of GT6 was the wide range of cars, including classics so that interesting series could be held - sometimes using substitute cars. That option will be limited in GTS because of the small car list which contains no classics and a myriad of fantasy Vision GT cars.
In PC1 most cars have a choice of 24 different liveries - some even more which enables each series look really good. Unfortunately you cannot choose your exact number - you have to pick a livery which includes a number which you like.
I haven't done much of the career mode - it's not really my thing - I have limited time for gaming so I prefer to spend it online racing or practising for same or testing cars and tracks for potential future series.
Anyone thinking about taking the leap to PS4 and Project Cars will find some of the old faces still regularly racing in "Sick's race Room" such as IfAndOr, Richroo, Flaco, Simba, John Wells plus new guys who are equally enjoyable to race with. You would all be welcome to join us on Monday and Wednesday nights from 20:30 to 21:30 (currently BST).
I have preordered PC2 because it promises to offer more of the same, but hopefully better - including rallycross classic and modern plus lots of classic saloons, GT's and single seaters.
I am passing on GTS for now - it appears to be primarily a photo simulator for fantasy cars which wants to force me to race against random people - I tried the latter on Quick Match!
Below upcoming series:
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