WRC 8: General Discussion (Release: september 2019)

When I see sales like this relatively soon after release, it makes me wonder why I ever purchase games at launch. Granted we know that a new WRC game comes out every year and the price will inevitably drop, but I could have easily waited for a sale. Who knows if Sony will offer the same thing for PS+ subscribers.

Heck I could have waited on DR2.0 too. They were practically giving it away DLC and all. Plus the game was more fun once the DLC was all available.

 

An important lesson for us all. Tbh WRC is the only game I bought recently at full price.

Having such a huge backlog means I always wait for a sale, I've got tons of games to play. Of course being tight/sensible ? , helps too

 

It's 70% off on psn now for 2 weeks, without psplus sub. 20cad, thinking, if I'll wait for 9 or..

 

Buy it now

 

Hehehe i dont know, plus im tight like crazy. Ill wait as much as i can see if there's more previews on 9 too, until the end of the deal, or next one.
Edit: i was looking at some videos of wrc8 again, looks all pretty good, especially stages and car handling but the external exhaust sounds in replays are pretty abysmal compared to videos of real modern rally cars. Wrc9 latest videos it sounds a little more like real ones but still pretty tame.

 

After revisiting my FFB settings in DR2.0, I thought I’d give this game’s FFB a second look. Being a ‘Use the default settings to see what the developers recommend and not tinker around too much’ type of guy, I’ve come to the conclusion the default T300 settings are pretty awful. They might work, but to me the default is pretty much ‘what the heck are they thinking?’

Personally I loathe messing about with FFB settings because it’s an utterly consuming time sink, but part of me realizes I’m not going to get the most from games like this unless I do. It’s just a matter of understanding what the settings do, trials and tribulations, and most importantly not changing too much at once.

And for all those who may be just trying this game out for the first time -

I highly, highly, recommend getting your settings ironed out BEFORE you attempt the career mode. Because if you don’t, I almost guarantee you’ll never figure out a good baseline since the cars dished out in career mode (WRC2 and higher) are not the fully upgraded versions in the game. And depending on what performance tree upgrades are unlocked, you might adjust the FFB around the car deficiencies instead. Throw in different surface types and conditions and you’ll likely wind up with an elixir of mud.

So today I started from the bottom with a JWRC car and set to work testing in (lo and behold) the test/training areas we’ve got. Another massive plus for this title by the way.

And I have to say, hidden beneath this game are some really good settings and options.

After searching online high and low for some suggestions I found widely varying settings, mostly from G29 users and not too much from Thrustmaster users. Still, there were a couple good videos, and this gentleman describes them pretty well. (Why doesn’t the developer create something like this...?)



Started off by setting the degrees of rotation to 540 and keeping it there. Intially I tried 900 (too much play), then 720 (better) and finally settled on 540. I believe 540 is what WRC cars use anyway.

Next, the biggest issue I have with the default settings is the overall heavy-ish wheel weight mid corner and the disturbing feeling when the wheel goes light in tight corners. Needed to smooth those transitions out. Also, I felt the self aligning torque was too high at 100. Dialed that back to 75.

Now on to the Tire Load and Self Center settings. Both of these desperately needed turned down. Otherwise you wind up with too much weight through all corners on all surface types. The compromise is the wheel will feel light on the straights, but what reducing these has done is make the wheel turn smoothly and evenly throughout.

The vibration settings are strictly a personal thing; but having all set to 100 (default) gives you too much information. I think of these settings as spices in a dish, finding the right balance for your tastes is all that matters. For me, Collision got turned down drastically (don’t need violent force telling me something I already know), Engine doesn’t do much for me, and Tire Slip feels artificial. Both turned down. What I did keep is Suspension and Ground Surface. Both are a nice touch and give a little more immersion if blended well.

All other settings with pedals are left at default and didn’t need any adjustment except for adding some dead zone to the handbrake. The clutch could use some adjusting as well, but seeing that it’s poorly implemented on the classic cars I don’t bother using it.

And that’s it. I’m finding these settings make the whole game much more enjoyable and promote consistent gameplay.

 

It's definitely needed in most games to adjust the controls to your preference as soon as possible with some adjustments little later on after trying it more. And later on still if figured out you could have made it feel better.

Just got wrc8 now on std ps4, g29 here, just tried a little with a pad for now..

The optimisation is worse than in 7, and tv replay looks dreadfull in the 1st stage i tried.
But i do have a good 1st impression of the newer physics and feel on dirt already, on tarmac i need try it more and with a wheel to see.

Sound is a little better than 7, except in replay again, still abysmal, but it's better in dash and cockpit.

Edit: i moved the install to internal hdd and seems a little smoother.
Also i got the deluxe version which says only includes the 1st of the 2 dlcs but i got both classic cars dlcs it seems. Glad cause im not sure if they would be worth it for more extra cost. Need try it more.

Edit2: tried my g29, have to say im pretty disappointed for now, i was hopefull after finding wrc7 great on dirt in hood view with my wheel but vague on tarmac, finding the ffb great on dirt after just quick adjustments.

But in 8, for now it's pretty crappy in comparison on both dirt and tarmac, trying the fulvia, i dont know, pretty down on buying it now. Tried some youtube ffb settings from well knowned guys and its pretty undelwhelming.
Plus the optimisation is really worse than in 7 on std ps4, i wish guys mentionned this more, 7 is just enough to be still pleasant but 8 up to now is just not smooth enough.

I was liking my 1st impression on dirt with a pad with a wrc car...

Lol the tv cam doesn't even follow your car, if you slowed down it goes way ahead with your car nowhere in sight.
The view moves so abruptly when going over bumps etc it's like instant motion of the full screen making it feel so digital and no suspension, in hood, dash view same.

I dont know guys, must be good stuff you're on to find this good. My god plus the stages look like crap compared to 7. Jeez....

Edit: did settle all and it's good now.
Only real problem i still find is how your car and view moves so abruptly, either the whole screen in 1st person views or the car itself in 3rd person. In replays it moves smoothly like normal. I hope they fix this in their next games.

Well also it be nice to not cut the crash so fast when you go out of the road, and being reset automatically so fast just when you're about to be back on the road.