2017 racing games; the story so far...

[Sausage]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Darn it. My impulses won out again. In a very short period:

WRC 7 - 25.00
Sebastian Loeb RE - 9.99
F1 2017 - 28.00
NASCAR Heat 2 - 29.99

Already own:
Drive Club (Day 1)
Forza 5 (Free through Xbox Live)

*These will very likely be my last driving games (I hope) until the future PlayStation / Xbox consoles. Have no idea how I will get through these titles, lol.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Darn it. My impulses won out again. In a very short period:

WRC 7 - 25.00
Sebastian Loeb RE - 9.99
F1 2017 - 28.00
NASCAR Heat 2 - 29.99

Already own:
Drive Club (Day 1)
Forza 5 (Free through Xbox Live)

*These will very likely be my last driving games (I hope) until the future PlayStation / Xbox consoles. Have no idea how I will get through these titles, lol.

Those were some good purchases, my man.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Update on NASCAR Heat 2.

Finally have gotten back to futzing around with the career mode some more (Daytona gave me the bug, along with the 2018 DLC package) and...yeah, this game has a nicely sophisticated racing AI/engine. Aside from the old Papyrus games on PC, this is the best feeling NASCAR game I've played. Love how it's not bumper-cars-ey unless you actually do, you know, hit or rub someone or vice versa.

It could sound better, for sure...but it's serviceable audio and the spotter is very useful for me so he's doing his job.

Graphically, especially compared to the rest of the field of games this year, it's underwhelming at first blush. However, it's smoothly (on a Pro anyway) putting 30-40 vehicles out there at once on large, detailed tracks. I do like how bright and colorful everything is; that's a plus.

I'd love a...let's face, direct update of NASCAR Thunder 2004's career mode, or Dirt to Daytona for that matter, for a perfect career mode. But I do feel like these guys are making big strides in the right direction. It helps a lot when you have the basic racing down to a really good level.

I'm glad I bought it.

One other update....I just a Xbox One X and Forza 7 does get a nice facelift from that extra system horsepower, wow! Can't wait to F1 2018 on it in the upcoming months!

[Sausage]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Those were some good purchases, my man.

They’ve all been enjoyable so far. Working the through career on Sebastian Loeb at the moment.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Updated OP....even after significant patching, I can't recommend Project Cars 2 unless you have a wheel and a lot of patience for tweaking for different cars. It just isn't matching the other great games this year for drive-ability.

[pk500]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Updated OP....even after significant patching, I can't recommend Project Cars 2 unless you have a wheel and a lot of patience for tweaking for different cars. It just isn't matching the other great games this year for drive-ability.

Bull's eye. PCars 2 is made for wheels, period.

It took me forever to find good XB1 controller settings that worked with a variety of classes in PCars 1, but I got there. I spent an equal amount of time researching and tweaking controller settings for PCars 2, with no success.

One of the reasons I think it was impossible to find good XB1 controller settings for PCars 2 is because Slightly Mad Studios changed the fidelity and force feedback models of PCars 2 for the worse. The front ends of nearly every car just feel DEAD with the stock setups.

Take Formula C cars, for example. Those were among the most enjoyable cars to drive in PCars, featuring a snappy front end with excellent tactile fidelity and "seat of the pants" feel with a controller. But the FC cars in PCars 2 feel like driving on air, even with the force feedback set to 100 percent.

It would be one thing if PCars 2 was the best racing game for consoles. We could much better tolerate the warts and headaches of finding controller settings.

But PCars is far from the best console racing game. F1 2017, WRC 7, Forza 7 and NASCAR Heat 2 are far better racing titles released in 2017, games clearly optimized for controller play on consoles.

I love racing games that are relatively easy to learn and very hard to master. It shouldn't be that tough to keep a car on the road in a straight line or an easy corner, but it should be very tough to reach the limit and stay there lap after lap. That's exactly what F1 2017, WRC 7, Forza 7 and NASCAR Heat 2 do.

Project Cars 2 doesn't. Its force-feedback and grip models suck, and the inconsistent handling with a controller provides players with absolutely no idea about where the limit exists.

But don't tell that to the incredibly arrogant Ian Bell and his cohorts at Slightly Mad. According to them, PCars 2 is a technical achievement just short of sending a man to the moon.

[JMD]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

I don't have a lot of experience with Slightly Mad Studios but it seems their thing is to take a decent game and then destroy it with the second installment of it. Need for Speed Shift was a real good game then out came Shift 2 and it was a disaster, terrible handling, downgraded graphics. Now they have done the same thing with Project Cars 1 & 2. One was great , Two is a mess. I won't be buying any of their games again.

[pk500]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

I don't have a lot of experience with Slightly Mad Studios but it seems their thing is to take a decent game and then destroy it with the second installment of it. Need for Speed Shift was a real good game then out came Shift 2 and it was a disaster, terrible handling, downgraded graphics. Now they have done the same thing with Project Cars 1 & 2. One was great , Two is a mess. I won't be buying any of their games again.

To be fair, the original Project Cars was an absolute mess at release on the Xbox One. A joke. While SMS rarely publicly admitted flaws, as that would confirm Ian Bell and his cohorts are fallible, the company released a series of patches for the XB1 that transformed the original Project Cars into a very solid game.

Here's hoping the same can happen with PC 2. That game needs the TLC patch treatment, as it was almost as much of a disaster at launch as the original PC. The latest patch helped, but the game still needs work.

[oldman]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Man I have gotten the racing itch here lately and I am having problems deciding between 2 games. Any advice would be well received!

Dirt 4 or Gran Turismo Sport

I will probably end up owning both at some point but I am struggling trying to decide which one to go with first. Little extra info:

I am a controller racer.

I have played most entries in both series in the past.

I am mainly a career mode racer.

I was not a huge fan of Dirt: Rally. I didn't hate it, just didn't enjoy it.

I have really enjoyed a lot of the other Dirt games and GT games but where do these two stand?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks.

[Lieutenant Dan]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

I think for what you're looking for, with a career mode, you might enjoy Dirt a bit more for that sense of progression.

Alternatively, GT Sport is a very accomplished, polished title and they have added more to the single player modes to do in terms of a 'career', but it's not the same as what Dirt 4 offers in that respect.

Both games drive very well, but GT does offer more breadth and technical excellence, while Dirt offers a good career mode.

[oldman]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

I think for what you're looking for, with a career mode, you might enjoy Dirt a bit more for that sense of progression.

Alternatively, GT Sport is a very accomplished, polished title and they have added more to the single player modes to do in terms of a 'career', but it's not the same as what Dirt 4 offers in that respect.

Both games drive very well, but GT does offer more breadth and technical excellence, while Dirt offers a good career mode.

Thank you sir. I think I will pick it up first.

Sent from my Pixel using Operation Sports mobile app

[vertman]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Thank you sir. I think I will pick it up first.

Sent from my Pixel using Operation Sports mobile app

I believe GT Sport is $30 on the playstation store right now. Great game, updates have been plentiful also.

[vertman]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Sorry I think its only Euro, not US.

[loyaty]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

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For 2018, "Rocket League" developer Psyonix said that it will plan to introduce a large number of new features and performance improvements, and is still making in-game league functions. In addition, the national service completed a round of public beta in Dec. 2017 after Tencent announced the agency, but the specific online time was not announced.

[eagletal88]

Re: 2017 racing games; the story so far...

Just bought F1 2017 last week and oh my what a game. Playing career mode with Team Haas and I never thought I would enjoy playing the practices so much, (I always skipped them before). Trying to get as many resource points while managing your sets of tires is a fun experience.

The handling, the sense of speed, and the AI are all top notch. Granted I am coming from F1 2011 Xbox 360, and F1 2006 PS2 (still a great game).