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Project Cars 2 |OT| Buggy Racing At The Four Seasons

In other news Project CARS 2 physical sales are down 74% compared to the first game in the UK...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-09-25-a-disappointing-week-for-uk-game-sales-maybe

What's even more interesting (depressing?) is that the XONE version sold less copies than Forza Horizon 3 last week. It had only three days, but still it's bad.

That is predictable. That first game really burned people, and you cant even say anything about good reviews for 2 because the first one was well reviewed as well.
 

danowat

Banned
Has anyone playing the game on XB1 had any success in getting the ghosts to show up in time trials?
They won't show up for me, am I missing a turn ghosts on setting in the main menu somewhere?

You aren't missing anything, it's the same on the PS4 (not sure about PC), it's just not working, either a bug, or the feature isn't implemented (yet)
 

Uiki

Member
Is the PC version worth getting if you're only going to be using a pad?

I played 20 hours with a contoller... i usually fight for top spots in multiplayer or win. I even got a top 50 time in a community challenge.

You'll need to find the correct settings, the default ones are no good... but this time is very easy, it's nothing likes pcars 1. I have 0 problems driving a indy car or a go kart, with realistic assists on or off. GT3 (the one you'll drive the most time in multiplayer) are perfect to handle.
 

JamboGT

Member
So, what do people think? Did SMS consider the game finished with a couple of minor bugs, or did they know it had significant issues but were forced to release it anyway?

I think they saw Forza and GT were releasing and wanted to be out earlier.

I would love a list of cars that feel like they are finished, seems like a lottery when I pick one.
 

Mascot

Member
I think they saw Forza and GT were releasing and wanted to be out earlier.

I'm guessing this was probably the publisher's decision, rather that one from SMS themselves. They must have known FM7 would launch during this window. GTS is anyone's guess.

I suppose if you think of the current release as early access or as a full beta it's not too bad if you say it quickly after a few beers.
 

JamboGT

Member
I'm guessing this was probably the publisher's decision, rather that one from SMS themselves. They must have known FM7 would launch during this window. GTS is anyone's guess.

I suppose if you think of the current release as early access or as a full beta it's not too bad if you say it quickly after a few beers.

The problem they have now is that with initial sales being lower, more bad word of mouth and then other games coming very soon how do they grow from here?
 

danowat

Banned
The problem they have now is that with initial sales being lower, more bad word of mouth and then other games coming very soon how do they grow from here?

While early signs aren't great, I probably wouldn't put too much weight on physical sales numbers.

How can they grow?, I think that, pretty quick sharp, they need to come up with an official list of issues, and a critical path showing the order in which they'll be fixed.

Last thing they want to be doing is leaving people hanging.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
Xbox folks are likely waiting for Forza Motorsport 7next week.

Also I think the initial controller settings on PCars1 will have put a lot of console owners off the franchise.

Yep there's that and also Project CARS 1 was for free in GWG. It could've hurt the sales of the sequel, because for people playing racing games more casually there might be not enough reason right now to pay 60 bucks for some new content and improvements.
 
Yep there's that and also Project CARS 1 was for free in GWG. It could've hurt the sales of the sequel, because for people playing racing games more casually there might be not enough reason right now to pay 60 bucks for some new content and improvements.

True. I'd forgotten about that.
 

Logsi

Member
I wonder what the digital sales are like then?

I went for digital deluxe this time as I wanted the season pass. I bought Project cars 1 digitally and also purchased the season pass later on.

I can't say I'm that impressed so far though. PS4 Pro 1080p user and it doesn't look that good at all. Audio is just a bit off for me also with 5.1. I know the mix has rear engined cars with sounds coming from behind but it is just too quiet.
 
Im surprised the general tone is so down.

Im having a blast, and the bugs are not that bad.

I love ac, but handling wise i believe this game is a step above.

Its a shame most people will be turned off even before the bug fixes.
 
I think the factor of faster tumbling game prices, hardcore gamers who buy a lot of games having more and more on their backlog really makes review scores much less relevant. Probably double so if the game isn't polished at release and actually might become better over time.

So, - and I didn't see that coming either - coming out first with high review scores but a buggy game probably hurt their overall profit because of the lower day1 sales. Had thy gotten rid of at least the bugs everyone experiences like the "simulate rest of qualifying" ai times thing, the setup and HUD saving (it's definitely on PC too for me), gotten the LOD for shadow flickering fine tuned etc., then an early December release after quite a few people probably were not all that happy GTS's online for example might have served SMS better sales wise. They are also double-known for delivering really buggy games.


Also everyone talks about the bugs online and much less about the few amazing experiences that they couldn't have had in any other racing game.

@Danowat, I absolutely believe you that the bugs are much worse on console, especially some menu stuff and the crashes seem much worse than on PC, but it's definitely really buggy on PC too.

- the HUD doesn't save the different HUDs right when you tab through them
- the HUD forgets the delta bar setting (I want "best", most of the time i get "potential" and have to button through it and I don't have enough buttons on my wheel to keep that assigned all the time)
- the time it takes to save a setup is very inconsistent, sometimes it's half a second, sometimes it's 6 seconds (I'm on a fast 1GB SSD with really nice read and access times).
- the minimum shift times make H-Pattern shifting the older cars impossible (or at least so annoying, I just have to steer clear of that)
- the default setup for some cars has slick tires instead of "weather dependent"
- the tires of some cars are impossible to get to temperature, some won't go over 50C(/120F) even if you drive them really hard on a sunny day, even with setup changes, I couldn't get over 62C, which is too cold for a racing slick.
- some bright LCD dash screens are almost unreadable at night because of a bad exposure setting
- On "authentic" assists, I can't turn on/off an assist with the assigned button, it says "ABS N/A", even though the car has ABS and it's already on (worked in pCARS1)
- some curbs count as within track limits, others don't... the ones you know from F1 that are "everyone goes really wide there, it's fine" are most "50% car off" => invalid lap time ...for me so far at least


Do I regret buying it? Honestly? Not one bit. And I even bought deluxe with season pass.
The FFB feels actually better than I hoped it would and Live Track 3.0 looks awesome, I really like the diversity of the car roster and the AI is ok for doing just races without qualifying, after a formation lap without first corner carnage, they are much better at having a race with them than in pCARS1. That's what I want to do anyway, not keen on the pCARS-type of career at all. Mostly I want to do quick 10-20 minute races and practice different car/track/condition combos. Worth the price for me.
The constant crashes on PS4 would make me see that in a different though too. Shame.


I think that, pretty quick sharp, they need to come up with an official list of issues, and a critical path showing the order in which they'll be fixed.
If that list is really really long and comprehensive and they got their priorities straight, maybe give an educated guess outline, that could really help their sales for the rest of this year, I think.
 

Fox Mulder

Member
That is predictable. That first game really burned people, and you cant even say anything about good reviews for 2 because the first one was well reviewed as well.

They don't have a fucking demo. I wasn't going to spend $60 blind on this day one after pcars 1, and Forza and GT Sport are around the corner.
 

Mascot

Member
Yep there's that and also Project CARS 1 was for free in GWG. It could've hurt the sales of the sequel, because for people playing racing games more casually there might be not enough reason right now to pay 60 bucks for some new content and improvements.

That was just after Christmas though, wasn't it? Six or more months ago? And the game was fully patched on Xbox by then and ran pretty well? It's probably FM7 that'd be keeping the sales down right now. It's a behemoth on Xbox.

I still want to know why a small independent team like SMS felt the need to add RallyX and ice racing (especially ice racing - I mean, WTF?) to add to the burden of seasons and LiveTrack 3. If anything, drop the karts that nobody seems to like - don't add to the workload. After the shambles of the first game's release I'd have hoped their number one priority would be a smooth launch with all known bugs squashed, not biting off more than they can chew and rushing like fuck in the last few months leaving lots of areas unpolished.

The lack of QA on consoles in particular simply beggars belief after the first game, especially when this was allegedly a high priority with external outsourcing. The aeons it takes to get console patches certified (never mind the cost of certification) means this might be a painful few months for console users. And there certainly won't be monthly patches for a year like last time - SMS have already made that clear. I think I'd be seriously fucked off right now if I was still paying on PS4.
 
Its sad because the actual driving is the best ever.

Yesterday i was Racing online the gt3 Porsche at spa on rain and i couldnt believe how good that was.

Driving physics should matter more than a few bugs, but sim racing is an acquired taste.

In a few months this will be only for the few that usually play racing sims. Niche will always be niche.

Ac, raceroom, dirt and others are all full of shortcomings but that doesnt make them less of a game.

Theres more good than bad in pcars2.
 

MetalSlug

Member
T [* said:
When calibrating your wheel, first step is to roll your wheel all the way to left or right, then press A.

[*]Next step, when it asks to move to 90 degrees to left or right, what you actually have to do is to roll your wheel left or right until 900 is shown as the value , and then hit A.

[*]Instructions copy open possibility to interpretations, and number of customers (me included) were calibrating the wheel wrong.

[*]This is important as when calibration is not done correctly, FFB issue becomes even worse.
[/LIST]

I'm going to try this tonight or tomorrow.

Why would they say 90 instead of 900 on the screen though?
 

danowat

Banned
Its sad because the actual driving is the best ever.

Yesterday i was Racing online the gt3 Porsche at spa on rain and i couldnt believe how good that was.

Driving physics should matter more than a few bugs, but sim racing is an acquired taste.

In a few months this will be only for the few that usually play racing sims. Niche will always be niche.

Ac, raceroom, dirt and others are all full of shortcomings but that doesnt make them less of a game.

Theres more good than bad in pcars2.

Which platform are you playing it on?
 

Fox Mulder

Member
That was just after Christmas though, wasn't it? Six or more months ago? And the game was fully patched on Xbox by then and ran pretty well? It's probably FM7 that'd be keeping the sales down right now. It's a behemoth on Xbox.

I still want to know why a small independent team like SMS felt the need to add RallyX and ice racing (especially ice racing - I mean, WTF?) to add to the burden of seasons and LiveTrack 3. If anything, drop the karts that nobody seems to like - don't add to the workload. After the shambles of the first game's release I'd have hoped their number one priority would be a smooth launch with all known bugs squashed, not biting off more than they can chew and rushing like fuck in the last few months leaving lots of areas unpolished.

The lack of QA on consoles in particular simply beggars belief after the first game, especially when this was allegedly a high priority with external outsourcing. The aeons it takes to get console patches certified (never mind the cost of certification) means this might be a painful few months for console users. And there certainly won't be monthly patches for a year like last time - SMS have already made that clear. I think I'd be seriously fucked off right now if I was still paying on PS4.

I don't know how much console cost to patch, but a game like F1 2017 already got like three patches since release, keeping up with PC.
 

TJP

Member
What have you encountered? Sounds like I've been lucky so far, but to be honest I've only played around three hours with a few cars and a few tracks in quick race. Haven't adjusted anything either. So maybe I've avoided the bugs by swerving the areas where they happen?
The most egregious has been the piss poor AI which I just read will be worked on over the next 6 months according to Ian Bell. Of course I can't find the direct link now!

Some people are fine with waiting for patches etc, I guess testing for bugs and being burnt in the past with games that never get fixed has made me far less tolerant of issues than others.

Chuffed people are enjoying pcars 2; it got many great features and it's not like I didn't enjoy the software. That said, I'll wait for the fixes and thank everyone for completing the QA testing.
 

Mascot

Member
Theres more good than bad in pcars2.

That might well be the case, but the bad might be game-breaking, or annoying enough to shatter enthusiasm. Especially when there are other options to hand.

I cancelled my £32 CDkeys preorder after the bug reports in the initial wave of reviews, then rebought it from Steam for £5 more a few days later. I'm yay close to seeing if I can get a refund now, waiting it out, and seeing if the bugs get properly dealt with and if all the necessary tweaks are made to turn pCARS 2 into the game it should be. I'm in no rush. The longer this takes then the cheaper the game will get, and Assetto, Race Room and the rest can keep me busy in the meantime.

I'm just really, really disappointed that very few lessons seem to have been learned from the first launch.

I don't know how much console cost to patch, but a game like F1 2017 already got like three patches since release, keeping up with PC.

I'm sure I read it's around £10k a time, or something like that.

Some people are fine with waiting for patches etc, I guess testing for bugs and being burnt in the past with games that never get fixed has made me far less tolerant of issues than others.

Chuffed people are enjoying pcars 2; it got many great features and it's not like I didn't enjoy the software. That said, I'll wait for the fixes and thank everyone for completing the QA testing.

I think I'll join you. Refund requested.
 
Which platform are you playing it on?

PC, for a game like this consoles just seem wrong.

Im on mobile, cant really comment right now, but i do get that there are bugs.

I see people struggling big time online, so i guess theres frustration in that too.

People are complaining on lobbies left and right. More realistic means only a handful of people will truly enjoy it.

Its funny because they nailed all the major points. Cars, tracks, ffb, handling, but still they made some bugs that are very annoying.

To me h pattern shifting and online rating are the worst, but i understand that these bugs affect people in different ways, so it might be worst for the console players.
 
I'm going to try this tonight or tomorrow.

Why would they say 90 instead of 900 on the screen though?

You are not supposed to turn the wheel so long until it says "900" on the screen, you are supposed to turn it 90 degrees from what you see is right on your physical wheel. The game calculates how the maximum degree of rotation is then.

First it asks you to go full lock - let's say that is 2 full turns to the left =720 degrees, your wheel would have 1440 degrees lock to lock, but the game doesn't know that yet (it didn't ask anything about "degrees")! It only knows what input signal equals full lock = 100%. So it asks you turn it 90° and then calculates the maximum DoR from that. ideally, the signal would read 12.5% (100/12.5=8 ; 8*90 degrees = 720 degrees ; signal goes from -100% to +100%).
 

GHG

Member
Yeh if you're going to release a game on consoles as well then it should work. People are buying your products with their hard earned money - treat your customers with respect and all that.

I don't think a studio of SMS' size should be doing a multiplatform release, they would be much better off if they staggered the release and brought out the console versions early next year after people have started getting tired of Forza and GT.

I know it's reviewed well, but that's mostly the PC version.
 

Mascot

Member
Yeh if you're going to release a game on consoles as well then it should work. People are buying your products with their hard earned money - treat your customers with respect and all that.

I don't think a studio of SMS' size should be doing a multiplatform release, they would be much better off if they staggered the release and brought out the console versions early next year after people have started getting tired of Forza and GT.

I know it's reviewed well, but that's mostly the PC version.

Or do what Kunos did and outsource the console ports.

Mind you, Assetto was worse than pCARS 2 when it first released on consoles, so...

The warning signs were there at WMD2 when people were begging to beta-test the console versions but were fobbed off.
 
Yeah, i guess im not very clear with my thoughts this morning, point is, the core of the game is very, very good, i just think this should be remembered before dismissing the game due to the bugs.
 

Gynoug79

Member
I am mad at myself for falling for the hype again and buying this game day one. And i havent even touched the career. Just did around 10h of custom and multiplayer races and am frustrated to no end. Playing on a PS4 Pro with a T500rs and experienced most of the reported Bugs plus a few more which i havent seen reported.

For example the many UI bugs where you suddenly cant change settings in the increment of 1 any more. Or where your "hot tire" pressure in the setup screen keeps rising even though i deflate the "cold tyre". Yes this could and should be due to increased friction with less preassure but it keeps rising no matter what. Even when i inflate the tire again.

With Pcars 1 i was wondering if there is a rounding mistake in the conversion from imperial to metric units or where esle this all might be stemming from. I now have the same feeling in PCars2 all over again, where i never know if i am racing with a blunt weapon/car. Although it makes me question the correctness of the Simulation, i can live with these kind of bugs.

What i cant live with is the constant stuttering/hicups in online races. Makes the game miss Inputs and threw me off the track quite a few times when approaching a turn. The workaround posted on the official Forum is to not go to the PS Menu but how do i accept race or party invites ?

Next big no no is the T500rs loosing its connection. Suddenly the Wheel is completly off or it's "just" loosing all the FFB and goes limb. Sooo infuriating to miss the race after a long practice and quali session . I also got diaqualified for no reason in the transition from quali to race... Really a waste of my time.

Luckily i havent found a single landmine yet but seen a video and cant believe it. They are hunting me since Race Pro on the 360 and were also in TD: Ferrari Legends, NFS Shift 1 and 2, PCars 1 and now 2 :/

They ought to know about all of this as i cant imagine that they dont Play their own game(s). I mean i took me 5min to spot the first three Bugs: Washed out intro video, not being able to bind buttons to a keyboard and the virtual mirror.
 

JamboGT

Member
Had a go at MS for releasing the Forza demo this time :p

Some cars feel great but I would like a list of ones to avoid, though I think part of the problem is random setups and tyres being applied sometimes.

I had the Cayman GT4 setup nicely after qualifying and went to race and it was an utter mess. Then restarted and it was fine, then back again. Is a pain.
 

sourc3d

Member
They don't have a fucking demo. I wasn't going to spend $60 blind on this day one after pcars 1, and Forza and GT Sport are around the corner.

Its a real shame they don't have a demo actually as I think certain aspects of the game could be shown in a very good light if they did something similar to the forza 7 demo.

e.g. a Live track 3.0 weather demo over three laps showcasing wet/drying/puddles etc, a Rally cross race, and GT3 cars on another new tack with lots going on like Long Beach.

I actually think this would have worked in their favour having played the Forza 7 demo the other night I was quite underwhelmed with the gfx especially the way the cars are lit/shadowed, the car handling in particular felt dull despite turning off all the assists and the sense of racing in general was flat against less than convincing AI trains, and the Dubai road circuit with all those winding corners didn't offer a compelling enough route to stretch the porches legs on.

Playing PCARS2 straight after shows that the game definitely has it where it counts being much more lively and exciting a race experience despite the inherent issues that crop up occasionally in the boxed product. I'd take the exciting track action with a pinch of inconsistent frustration over Forza's polished dudebro boredom anyday.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
Yep a demo would've been nice. I played Forza 7's demo (which wasn't anything spectacular anyway) and my attitude towards the game went from 'aw hell naw lazy devs' to 'I'll pick it up in a sale around Christmas'.
 

Mascot

Member
Well, I got my Steam refund, even after exceeding the normal refund session time.

Man, I feel incredibly disappointed right now. I've been looking forward to this game for two years so to abandon it so soon wasn't an easy decision. I'll definitely try it again in a few month's time when a lot of the issues are hopefully resolved, but right now I simply don't want to put up the frustrations. Most of the issues *seem* logic-based or procedural to do with menus, HUD, GUI, setups etc so should be easy to fix. Others are simply better balancing. AI might take longer, of course.

Goddammit. Over to you, SMS.
 

Gestault

Member
Xbox folks are likely waiting for Forza Motorsport 7next week.

Also I think the initial controller settings on PCars1 will have put a lot of console owners off the franchise.

(If memory serves) I had the PS4 version within a week of launch, then the Xbox version maybe eight or nine months after release, and the PC version somewhere in between. Those pad controls were fucked for a looooooong time. I'm not saying people shouldn't buy the game when it's fixed, but the sales being down (EXPECIALLY in light of how poorly the PC2 release handles on console) is basically the most justified sales drop I can think of. Like, it's encouraging in its own way to see the market respond to a bad product.

I'm in on the PC version a month or two from now, and still tentatively excited, but it sucks having lowered expectations met.
 
My wife asked if I was going to back PCars2 because she'd seen I'd made a little money from the first game.

I told her it wasn't possible to invest that way this time. But I also told her I thought sales would be a lot lower anyway after problems with the first game, especially on console.
 

Klocker

Member
oh well ..game is good but buggy as hell on xbox but as much as I have bought nearly every Forza game, I am beyond burned out on the gameplay. i love the racing in PCars2 and the ability to create a racing weekend with practice and qualifying and the DYNAMIC and customizable time of day/yr/hr/month and weather.

yes forza is more polished but it's also boring besides car collecting. I want a racing game, I don't need 500 street cars that I care naught about


even if I could get my money back I wouldn't. the bugs will get sorted and I spend $60 every week on a dinner or something stupid anyway. this game also is getting an Xbox X update so by november I am sure this will be fine

i think people are reacting a little hastily and I understand the frustration too as I Have the same bugs but it's not a disaster.

it's rough but can polish up very nice shortly
 
Holy shit, this thread has become a dog pile.

I have to say, after some initial adjustments and fine tuning (AI, HUD, driver head movements etc) I am absolutely loving it. I don’t seem to be encountered the bug riddled experience that others are claiming to - though all the intro movies are weirdly washed out, which is a strange bug - the game is visually much better than I was expecting, the weather is fucking amazing, and the physics are tremendous.

Can I put it out there that I think there might be some over reactions happening in this thread? I can’t reconcile the multiple refunds with a metacritic of 85 across 27 critics.
 

danowat

Banned
Thought I'd give it another go.

British classic showdown invitational, Jag xj220 on Silverstone in the wet.

Get to turn 3, the track is so flooded that my car can barely move through it, the AI sail on merrily through.

FFS.

Can I put it out there that I think there might be some over reactions happening in this thread? I can’t reconcile the multiple refunds with a metacritic of 85 across 27 critics.

Ahh, yes, that what it is, an over reaction.

The game is a mess, at least on console, if you think it's over reaction I suggest you visit the official forum and just look at the amount of things that are wrong with it.
 
I swear there has to be a bug with weather in this game. Driving in rain is ok for a race or two and after that driving the same car in the same conditions seems impossible, it's like driving on the ice. Quick game restart everything goes back to normal for a few races and the bug hits again.

SMS couldn't even get the driving line to work, it shows whenever it want and disappears as fast lol What a freaking mess, it's the last time I bough game from SMS. Was trying go get the refund but no luck.
 
I've been plenty bummed about some of the bugs, but overall the driving is great. I'll be really disappointed if this gets patched up over the next few months and no one is around to play it with. Even with the bugs the handling of this game (+real track offerings) easily puts it over F7 in my eyes.
 

FrankCanada97

Roughly the size of a baaaaaarge
I've been mostly playing multiplayer and it seems like it's mostly OK. The rating system seems fine now that I understood what it means. I haven't had trouble joining in different lobbies.

I did have one instance of getting booted out of a race for no reason (my connection didn't drop). Also it seems like tyre changing is bugged. I can clearly see the pit crew put on wets but when I rejoin the track, I still have slicks.

Players seem to be well behaved, I guess everyone is self-conscious about having a good rating now. I'm not going to touch the career mode until SMS fixes issues with the AI.
 
I'm going to try this tonight or tomorrow.

Why would they say 90 instead of 900 on the screen though?


Pretty sure they mean 90 degrees from center. Not 90 degrees from full turn. At least that’s the way it worked for my and my 1080 degree fanatec wheel. I did full lock the. Returned to center and turned 90 degrees and the onscreen display showed 1080. I’m pretty sure this same calibration is in iRacing.


I’ll add that the game is working great for me, although I’m just doing every mode in career, still in rookie tier, but haven’t noticed any bugs. VR is amazing in this game also.
 
I think they saw Forza and GT were releasing and wanted to be out earlier.

XnVsJ6x.gif





Its still working fine for me and am having a great time, but I have to admit after reading all of these bug reports I'll continue to burn incense, sacrifice chickens and avoid disturbing the Jello. I'm definitely paranoid now.
 
Thought I'd give it another go.

British classic showdown invitational, Jag xj220 on Silverstone in the wet.

Get to turn 3, the track is so flooded that my car can barely move through it, the AI sail on merrily through.

FFS.

Yeah rain and snow is pretty to look at but unfortunately impossible to race in against the AI. They seem to completely ignore the weather effects.
 
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