DiRT Rally Thread
- Thread starter The Stig Farmer
- 2,815 comments
- 240,863 views
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
If was going to be brutally honest, i'm finding the cars don't work well on tarmac. The handling seems to be off and FFB dies, I'm still experimenting with stuff but tarmac seems to be too smooth?
Having said that this game is like PCars, you could simply pick your favorite cars favorite tracks/stages and just use it purely as a simulator rather than a 'game' an it'll keep you happy for years.
I think if your trying to find a 'game' in there you could be disappointed...but as always that is purely my opinion and i'm not stating it as a fact obviously... the fact its not a game to me, is why i love it and love PCars...
Having said that this game is like PCars, you could simply pick your favorite cars favorite tracks/stages and just use it purely as a simulator rather than a 'game' an it'll keep you happy for years.
I think if your trying to find a 'game' in there you could be disappointed...but as always that is purely my opinion and i'm not stating it as a fact obviously... the fact its not a game to me, is why i love it and love PCars...
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Does anybody have any advice on how to eliminate the chronic oversteer of the Escort Cortina when it has no development at all? I have been playing around with the setup, but can't get it to my liking. It doesn't help that the first race of the Clubman championship is Sweden, where there is no margin for error.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,734
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
Short shift.
That's what I had to do, get out of 1st and 2nd gear as soon as you can while being very, very progressive with the throttle. It takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can make the damn thing dance.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Thanks. I'm using a controller, which needs a really fine touch, and I just don't have it yet. It probably doesn't help that I use an automatic gearbox; there's so much going on in the game that it's an added layer of complexity. I swear I got a "turn three right don't cut forty opens into four left double tightens deceptive keep in and bump keep mid past junction". What the co-driver didn't tell me is that there was a transition to heavy gravel and shadows that made it even harder to judge.
Once I unlock the advanced setup, I'll be able to push the brake balance forward and stiffen the front suspension. In truth, I probably should have gone for the Kadett or 131 Abarth, but the Mk. II Cortina is one of my all-time favourite rally cars (that and the Lancia Rally 037), and I couldn't resist.
Brend
Premium
- 11,772
- Scotland
- GTSophy-Lapos
- ClassicBrend
I usually tend to drive Auto until I'm totally understanding a game(really only GT and SEGA Rally Revo) but in DiRT Rally I have been using MT from the start. I feel like it makes things easier than Auto since throttle control is even harder in AT in this game.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,734
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
Give semi-auto transmission a go, that will allow you to short shift when you need it and let it do its job the rest of the time.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
- 4,030
- Netherlands
- skazz-race
- skazzracer
Yes, if you look back into the history of this very thread (and others around internet) you'll see lots of discussion about DR's weaknesses on tarmac. It used to be far worse, before they did the aerodynamics tweaks during Early Access, but it's still the least convincing aspect of DR. Remember that these rally cars aren't low slung full slicks high aero race cars, though, before you criticize them too much. The awesome suspension in a rally car is designed to suck up everything, so little unnevennesses on tarmac will not inconvenience a rally car even slightly.
Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is definitely not as good as DiRT Rally in most areas, but one area it does beat DR is tarmac physics and road feel (as we were discussing in the SLRE thread).
That's just life for sim racers: There's no perfect sim. But likewise each sim has reasons to own it. So many simracers simply accept the inevitable: Buy all sims, play them all, enjoy their good points. Sorted.
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
Yes and I may even just be totally off, I'm willing with this game to err on the side of "its me", there's A LOT to take in in Dirt, so going from say Greece to Monte Carlo literally straight away may just be creating a that heightened sense. I'm only few hours of play into this game so maybe if i just concentrate on tarmac rally for a bit, i'll do that tonight.
Its like when you drive Oulton Park on PCars then switch to Silverstone and its like the FFB died... but its because Silverstone is so smooth and flat... so maybe its that feeling but times by 10.
Finland is the gold in this game though, I'll happily just play finland with the E30 and i'll get my 40 quids worth back in a few hours... let alone the rest..
- 15,532
- Cairo, Egypt
- GTP_SEMS
To T300RS users, how to know which degrees of rotation am I on? I know you press mode +right D pad to change it but I got lost on which one am I on.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
So, I had a go at it, and it was completely bonkers. Not only do I now go in a straight line, I no longer look like a duck with an itchy bum. I'm entering the Clubman championship at the same level as I did the Open class - brawling over the minor podium places. Still not quite giving it a full dose of my right foot, though; I spent most of Sweden in third gear.
Definitely noticing the difference in this game compared to others - it's not a case of ramming the throttle through the firewall; you really need to find your momentum early on and maintain the rhythm throughout a stage. You really do appreciate the way every corner sets up every other.
- 2,153
- Milan, Italy
- paulpg87
default is 1080. Light flashes 1 time = 270°, 2 times= 360° and so on..
- 2,153
- Milan, Italy
- paulpg87
Is anyone struggling with constant bad starts in rallycross against the AI?? They just rocket off the line!!
Other than that, what an amazing game. Currently on round 4 (Finland) of the 60s Open championship in the Alpine, great fun although this car is pretty OP
.
Yes, the Alpine is overpowered. I mean i won in Greece by 20seconds overall without updates and i have to say i'm really bad at this game right now. I had to activate ABS and a bit of stability control (i know shame on me but i want to at least enjoy the game).
i also realised that i'm not able to take an harpin.. literally. Any advice? i'm not able to take them right and i find myself moving all the damn wheel from right to left.. ebrake is something not in my universe on a button.
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,734
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
Yep makes a word of difference. Unlike track racing full throttle is almost never the norm with RWD on gravel, something that most other rally titles (apart from RBR) have never required you to understand. As soon as it clicks you can make stuff just skip from corner to corner and build up a nice rhythm, and its that rhythm that's more important than flat out speed.
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
Hairpins are very hard, also not every rally driver uses hand brakes to get round them, thing i've learnt is that the cars will understeer and plow on hairpins so my trick is to totally ease off and not even try to do them like Ken Block, just get round them and make it up at another point of the stage.. having watched some Irish rally on motors TV some drivers will 'Ken Block' hairpins and some just muddle round them..
I love the fact this game makes you look at stuff in a mature way, which is realistic...I mean hell i'd love to just plant the pedal down and rip up the stages...but I just can't.. you need to think where its possible to do that and where you need to back it down a bit...love it.
- 3,601
- Connecticut
- SPhilli
- SPhilli911
I gotta say this might be my favorite racing game right now. Not one of my favorites, the number one favorite. That is a bit of a stretch for a game I've barely played a few hours, but I'm enjoying it so much, despite the fact that I can hardly win a race. I like it because it forces me to pay attention to everything and it forces me to care about how I take a corner. In Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo I could probably eat a sandwich while driving... oh sure I hit a lot of trees but I can rewind and try again. Yeah, you can turn off rewind in other games, but I never did. The high difficulty makes this fun, so much so that I want to take the same concept to other games and turn off rewind features.
I also like the attention to detail, for example the heat you can see from the exhaust. And the audio is just amazing in the game, I feel like I am driving a real hardcore rally machine. Not to mention the co-driver commentary in auto-x, like, "the lead driver has taken the joker" and things like that. Just adds up to a great overall gaming experience.
They nailed it with this game, I love it.
I also like the attention to detail, for example the heat you can see from the exhaust. And the audio is just amazing in the game, I feel like I am driving a real hardcore rally machine. Not to mention the co-driver commentary in auto-x, like, "the lead driver has taken the joker" and things like that. Just adds up to a great overall gaming experience.
They nailed it with this game, I love it.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Getting more used to rallycross to the point where I unlocked the World RX. I have noticed a tendency for a) your heat to be the fastest, so even if you get a fourth place, you can get through to the semi-finals; and b) the semi-finals being stupidly easy.
- 4,030
- Netherlands
- skazz-race
- skazzracer
There are lots of ways to get round hairpins. But from my experience of DR here are a few tips:
- Handbrake is very useful in AWD, essential in FWD, optional in RWD. Often handbraking a RWD will over-rotate and make it very hard to keep momentum.
- Getting the car to turn is all about weight transfer. You want to unbalance the car such that it WANTS to rotate, rather than sliding forward. The Scandinavian Flick is a big thing here (see below*)
- Actually trying to slow the car down by braking can work counter-productively. Braking prior to a hairpin is necessary, but not too hard that you lock up the wheels and start sliding: That way leads to horrifying understeer.
- Use the loose surface to assist slowing the car down: The idea is to get the car slowed down enough prior to the corner but not too much as to lose all momentum. Then get the car sideways and the tyres digging into the gravel surface, so that the tyres are working as brakes over the lose surface while at the same time keeping the revs up, keeping enough power to drag the car round.
- So effectively you take a hairpin by braking gently from far enough away, then flick the car round (with handbrake or not depending on the type of car and the surface) and apply power to drag the car off in the direction you want to go.
*The Scandinavian flick is a thing because you basically set the car up for the corner by first slinging all the weight to the outside wheels, then flick the car round such that it will break traction easier due to being unbalanced. In an AWD car you then powerslide round and out of the corner with limited steering input. In a RWD car you will need to countersteer much more because of the bigger tendency to over-rotate.
There are many guides to how to do this (including one posted earlier in this thread), but basically it really does the trick at getting you round the corner with much less loss of momentum than the circuit style "brake/turn in/accelerate from the apex", especially on loose surfaces where braking is very ineffective.
- Handbrake is very useful in AWD, essential in FWD, optional in RWD. Often handbraking a RWD will over-rotate and make it very hard to keep momentum.
- Getting the car to turn is all about weight transfer. You want to unbalance the car such that it WANTS to rotate, rather than sliding forward. The Scandinavian Flick is a big thing here (see below*)
- Actually trying to slow the car down by braking can work counter-productively. Braking prior to a hairpin is necessary, but not too hard that you lock up the wheels and start sliding: That way leads to horrifying understeer.
- Use the loose surface to assist slowing the car down: The idea is to get the car slowed down enough prior to the corner but not too much as to lose all momentum. Then get the car sideways and the tyres digging into the gravel surface, so that the tyres are working as brakes over the lose surface while at the same time keeping the revs up, keeping enough power to drag the car round.
- So effectively you take a hairpin by braking gently from far enough away, then flick the car round (with handbrake or not depending on the type of car and the surface) and apply power to drag the car off in the direction you want to go.
*The Scandinavian flick is a thing because you basically set the car up for the corner by first slinging all the weight to the outside wheels, then flick the car round such that it will break traction easier due to being unbalanced. In an AWD car you then powerslide round and out of the corner with limited steering input. In a RWD car you will need to countersteer much more because of the bigger tendency to over-rotate.
There are many guides to how to do this (including one posted earlier in this thread), but basically it really does the trick at getting you round the corner with much less loss of momentum than the circuit style "brake/turn in/accelerate from the apex", especially on loose surfaces where braking is very ineffective.
Last edited:
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
I still think the best way i can describe Dirt Rally is that when i'm playing it I feel like i'm smiling, almost laughing manically.... but in fact when i think about it i'm just sat there...pure GAME FACE on...
That is a crazy feeling and juxtaposition....weird..
I'm clearly too scared to laugh!
It makes sort of sense, now when i see serious onboard shots of drivers in rallies, i will imagine inside they are going "weeeeeeee!!! ha ha ha ha...weeeee, whoaaaa, weee, ha ha ha ha, another ramp! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BOOOOOM!!"
Where can I sign up to fund Codemasters to make ToCA Driver again? (if only)
That is a crazy feeling and juxtaposition....weird..
I'm clearly too scared to laugh!
It makes sort of sense, now when i see serious onboard shots of drivers in rallies, i will imagine inside they are going "weeeeeeee!!! ha ha ha ha...weeeee, whoaaaa, weee, ha ha ha ha, another ramp! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BOOOOOM!!"
Where can I sign up to fund Codemasters to make ToCA Driver again? (if only)
- 119
I'm pretty much turning down the self aligning torque to about 50-60.
I found the Finland stages in a BMW E30 to be gaming nirvana so far... unbelievable experience, the things i was doing with that poor wheel, well if anyone wants to tell me driving game skills aren't transferable to real life your talking crud... I'll try today to catch some footage on my GoPro, its nuts!!
All of this and I keep forgetting we have Assetto Corsa on the way... but then again I think Kunos have forgotten about that also...
I have not been able to play it much, hopefully get some more time in this weekend. Still trying to figure out good settings, but I'm loving what I see so far. Thanks
dopedog
(Banned)
- 880
- United Kingdom
The weight of the cars as they, sorry as you, fly along is ASTOUNDING! The BMW E30 feel as you set it up and slide it round bends is just on another level, its utterly incredible, INCREDIBLE!
Its the feeling of each car... I can't believe it. I've never done rallying, done loads of track days though, closest i've got to rallying is banger racing / autocross (mental).... it feels just perfect...its is perfect..
And then I realised i'd not done Sweden yet..... SWEDEN!! O-M-G..... in a modern Hyundi rally car... is sexy as hell... just just... I've turned back into a little boy when I first started playing with toy cars.... sorry. Can't heap enough praise or find the words to do justice to how much i love this game..but i will keep trying to..
Its the feeling of each car... I can't believe it. I've never done rallying, done loads of track days though, closest i've got to rallying is banger racing / autocross (mental).... it feels just perfect...its is perfect..
And then I realised i'd not done Sweden yet..... SWEDEN!! O-M-G..... in a modern Hyundi rally car... is sexy as hell... just just... I've turned back into a little boy when I first started playing with toy cars.... sorry. Can't heap enough praise or find the words to do justice to how much i love this game..but i will keep trying to..
- 15,532
- Cairo, Egypt
- GTP_SEMS
If anyone sees my Rally stage times online please ignore for a few weeks until I get up to speed
, I thought I was getting faster, no damage through the stages but I have fallen off a fair few cliffs and flipped the car more than a few times. I am also having trouble catching those little minis in RallyX-they do rocket off from the line and on the tarmac I am not quite getting the grip they get- and that is on easy 
I have more practice and must stop watching replays and taking photos!..Loving it still, a lot to master in this, It is deeper than I first thought.👍
until I get up to speed, I thought I was getting faster, no damage through the stages but I have fallen off a fair few cliffs and flipped the car more than a few times. I am also having trouble catching those little minis in RallyX-they do rocket off from the line and on the tarmac I am not quite getting the grip they get- and that is on easy I have more practice and must stop watching replays and taking photos!..Loving it still, a lot to master in this, It is deeper than I first thought.👍
