Dirt Rally vs Dirt4 vs WRC7 vs SLRE - Which is your favourite? ;)

[Pfei]

I picked up DR and while i'm having fun with it, there are a few things i dislike
from the top of my head.

- can't change the ai difficulty in career
Career goes in steps from easy to hard. There are five difficulty levels.

- ai in rx seem to have upgraded cars right from the start while you have to work for them (they are faster than me in a straight line)
This is also true in rally. You need to do some free runs to upgrade the cars before tackling career events.

- pikes peak cars on tarmac don't feel particularly good
Lots of people complain about DR tarmac physics, but I think it's actually the FFB (using a wheel). It's also kind of wierd with a controller. But the vehicle dynamics are OK. IMHO it has something to do with inputs from the devices.

"i was then thinking about buying d4 (for group b rx and dirtfish academy), but i heard so many mixed opinions about it.. some say it's improved but not that much, others that it has taken a step or two back compared to dirt rally in a few areas. where's the truth?"
D4 is an oddball. I honestly have a hard time categorizing it, and personally I dislike it.

 

[DatNoiseV12]

Career goes in steps from easy to hard. There are five difficulty levels.

I know, but I wish I could keep the same ai difficulty while doing different championships with different cars. I did the open and clubman events, but I had a harder time at professional with the T16 (Flying off the cliff in Greece obviously didn't help..). RX seemed way easier after upgrading my 1600 car. Does It work this way in D4's career too (unselectable difficulty)?

This is also true in rally. You need to do some free runs to upgrade the cars before tackling career events.

Thanks for the info. I guess it's easier to notice that in RX, since you actually race against other cars, not just their times.

Lots of people complain about DR tarmac physics, but I think it's actually the FFB (using a wheel). It's also kind of wierd with a controller. But the vehicle dynamics are OK. IMHO it has something to do with inputs from the devices.

I play with a controller. I tried a few different cars on tarmac (Fulvia, Kadett, T16, 037, older Impreza) and, while it wasn't as engaging as on gravel, it wasn't bad either, but those Pikes Peak cars seem to be tuned for understeer so that might have played a big role.

The truth is what..you..make of it. People were expecting, (and rightly so), more DR, but it's not, it's a different game. I feel it's not a follow up to either DR or D3.

D4 is an oddball. I honestly have a hard time categorizing it, and personally I dislike it.

That seems to be in line with what I've read around. It feels like it has an 'identity crisis' and doesn't exactly know what It wants to be. Could be the Destiny 2 of rally games.

 

[Pfei]

Does It work this way in D4's career too (unselectable difficulty)?

No. D4's career is not difficulty-fixed like DR. You can adjust at any time.

And yes, most of the PP cars are tuned for massive understeer

 

[cjr3559]

Reloaded SLRE today. Realized I had already deleted PC1, so I had to also delete F1 2017 to install SLRE.

SLRE seems better the third time around. The T300 seems to compliment the game over the G29 I used previously. I agree the handling feels pretty good, but manual H-shifting seems vague so far. Still have a lot of cars to go.

I can deal with the sounds. The graphics are fine.

Still, my times are generally slow and it seems like a grind to make any progress. At least the stages are good and have variety. If I had picked this game up before DR and D4 I’d probably have a higher opinion of it, but it’ll finally get some play time regardless.

 

[cjr3559]

Finally drank the SLRE Kool-Aid, and ok it’s pretty darn good. After a couple rough starts I see what the fuss is all about.

Maybe I didn’t take the right direction by jumping into ‘career’ mode which seemed a futile head bashing experience. But after creating an event and building up some credits I finally got my first car (Lancia Fulvia). Now I understand how good the handling, suspension, and FFB is with the wheel. The Peugeot 106 was good too, but the Fulvia is a definite step in the right direction.

The thing I like about the handling is the smooth, direct feel along with knowing the car is predictable and handles like you’d expect. DR is like handling a hot potato, D4 can seem sluggish, and at the worst of times these games pit you vs. the car and not the stage. What SLRE has is consistency, assurance and drivability. Nice.

Yes the sounds are weak, and the co-driver needs fired, but I’m looking forward to playing this more. After all the angst and WTH moments I had with this game, I can’t believe I actually like it. Worth the third try.

 

[MattieM]

I know, but I wish I could keep the same ai difficulty while doing different championships with different cars. I did the open and clubman events, but I had a harder time at professional with the T16 (Flying off the cliff in Greece obviously didn't help..). RX seemed way easier after upgrading my 1600 car. Does It work this way in D4's career too (unselectable difficulty)?

There's an elaborate way to change the difficulty in carreer mode though. Finish in the top 3 of the championship to set difficulty one level harder or finish in the bottom 3 to set it one level easier . Finishing in the bottom 3 isn't that difficult, just abandon the championship . I found this out the hard way; i entered a new championship at master level with a new car (2010 ford fiesta) and started with the Sweden rally. The car drove horrible and i saw no possibilities in winning this rally so i abandoned the rally and championship to select a different car. I then got demoted back to elite level 🤬....

I think what you're looking for is the custom championship, here you can select pretty much everthing to your likings. There's price money involved as well, depending on the settings you've chosen.

 

[Rosinbag1]

I’m slowly warming up to wrc7. Tweaking the wheel settings and FFb but will take time to get familiar with each car. Started career mode to give it a try. Like the multiple game options this offers compared to dirt rally but like the daily and weekly challenges in dirt rally and the league options. Along with an occasional attempt with rally cross.

 

[torque99]

Reloaded SLRE today. Realized I had already deleted PC1, so I had to also delete F1 2017 to install SLRE.

I am sure you have thought about it but there have been some good offers on external HDD drives for additional space to plug in to the USB port. I picked up a Seagate 1TB for my xbox and PC & 4TB for PS4 last year in the sale as they have all come down in price. Saves so much hassle of deleting and reloading games and as quick as loading from internal 👍

 

[cjr3559]

I am sure you have thought about it but there have been some good offers on external HDD drives for additional space to plug in to the USB port. I picked up a Seagate 1TB for my xbox and PC & 4TB for PS4 last year in the sale as they have all come down in price. Saves so much hassle of deleting and reloading games and as quick as loading from internal 👍

Excellent idea, I really didn’t think about external hard drives. GameStop says $120 for Slim on trade and Amazon shows $85 for the Seagte 2TB and $400 for a Pro. Of course Amazon isn’t the only retailer around.

I guess the question is the Pro worth $280. Hmm.

 

[MrCrynox]

I guess the question is the Pro worth $280. Hmm.

Nah I don't think so. Personally I'm happy with my Slim, I'm gonna skip the Pro and wait for the PS5 which hopefully will be backwards compatible and play all the PS4 driving games better than the Pro.

WRC7 question, at what point can you play Career mode with the Hyundai ? I've just completed my first season with the M Sport Fiesta but was only offered a drive with Toyota or Citroen for Season 2.. I wonder if it's because I backed out of the 2 year contract with M Sport ? Has anybody else experienced this ?

 

[notsofast]

Which one of these do people think would be best for pick up and play with a controller on Xbox One?

Ive traditionally been a DIRT series fan so Dirt 4 remains unplayed as yet but interested in anything else that might work for someone without a wheel

 

[MrCrynox]

All these games work perfectly with a controller.

 

[MonkeyMan_707]

Going back to dirt 4 after playing a lot of wrc 7 has left me convinced dirt 4 is way better. Loading up dirt I had to change the force feedback settings quite a bit but once I found a sweet spot I had a smile on my face the whole time.

 

[MrCrynox]

Going back to dirt 4 after playing a lot of wrc 7 has left me convinced dirt 4 is way better. Loading up dirt I had to change the force feedback settings quite a bit but once I found a sweet spot I had a smile on my face the whole time.

You can't leave now, your top of the WRC7 leaderboard!!

 

[Mr Tree]

I play project cars2 I'm mooking for something I can play on the offtime. I tried F1 2017 but as I can't get myself to shorten the races it's not reallya pick up and play lind of game for me. I like the rallyX aspect of pC2 but I don't find a way to play an immersive carreer in it.

What game do you guys advice for this?
(mostly looking at the dirt series) I play with a g29 wheel on a standard PS4

 

[Garykavanagh]

Bought dirt rally on release and also have dirt 4 but heard good things about the stages and ffb on slre picked it up for €20 and haven't played either dirt game since ffb and tarmac feel are great. Feel free to add me maybe get a thread set up for weekly or even monthly challenges?

 

[Rosinbag1]

I play project cars2 I'm mooking for something I can play on the offtime. I tried F1 2017 but as I can't get myself to shorten the races it's not reallya pick up and play lind of game for me. I like the rallyX aspect of pC2 but I don't find a way to play an immersive carreer in it.

What game do you guys advice for this?
(mostly looking at the dirt series) I play with a g29 wheel on a standard PS4

Dirt rally for me is fun and challenging and a good alternate to Pcars2. Recently got WRC 7 and enjoying it but not much time on it yet. Dirt rally very challenging similar to PCars 2

 

[Mr Tree]

Dirt rally for me is fun and challenging and a good alternate to Pcars2. Recently got WRC 7 and enjoying it but not much time on it yet. Dirt rally very challenging similar to PCars 2

Thx for the reply.

How does dirt 4 compare? I'd like to have an in depth carreer as that's what I miss in project cars 2

 

[Scaff]

Thx for the reply.

How does dirt 4 compare? I'd like to have an in depth carreer as that's what I miss in project cars 2

Personally I would take Dirt Rally over Dirt 4.

While Dirt 4 does have the tool to generate stages, its not quite as good as hoped and its becomes possible to work out some corners as they get repeated. Overall I find the stages too wide as well. The physics engine is a one step forward, two steps back situation from Dirt Rally.

Dirt Rally physics are not bad at all, but the stage numbers are limited and while better in design that D4, they are not as numerous or well put together as those is SLRE or WRC7.

Dirt Rally also has a very limited and short career mode, D4 is a bit better in that regard. WRC 7 has the WRC calendar over three car classes and the biggest is SLRE.

 

[Slapped]

Disclaimer - I'm not a Rally driver, never will be, and have never driven a car off road - well not more than about 10mph, so you can take what I say here with a pinch of salt I guess.

I tried out Dirt Rally, Dirt 4, and WRC 7 back to back this weekend on PS4 Pro with a G29, just on the introductory rally levels and my conclusions are:

Dirt Rally > WRC 7 >>> Dirt 4

With Dirt Rally I really felt I had a connection to the car. The wheel was giving me meaningful FFB, and it managed the "suspension of disbelief" of tricking me into thinking I was actually a Rally Driver. The car felt a bit light though through it's willingness to respond to every tiny input. However it was really fun.

WRC 7 didn't give me the same connection as Dirt Rally with the FFB being a little too "chattery" and at times seemingly more for effect than imparting any real information. That said the car drove well and intuitively, but not to the same level as Dirt Rally. Still fun though

Dirt 4 (on simulation setting) failed to connect me to the car whatsoever. OK, the car turned when I turned the wheel, but in much the same way a boat turns when you move the rudder. In fact that's a good way of saying it - it felt like I was driving a boat in comparison. Completing the first level was a bit grindy - I wasn't enjoying it, and it seemed more like hard work, lacking the fun elements of the other two.

Of course there's only so much a 30 minute sitting with each game can tell you, but I do know that if this was 20 years ago in a video game shop demoing all three to decide which one to spend my hard earned on, then I would have walked away with Dirt Rally without question.

 

[Scaff]

Disclaimer - I'm not a Rally driver, never will be, and have never driven a car off road - well not more than about 10mph, so you can take what I say here with a pinch of salt I guess.

I tried out Dirt Rally, Dirt 4, and WRC 7 back to back this weekend on PS4 Pro with a G29, just on the introductory rally levels and my conclusions are:

Dirt Rally > WRC 7 >>> Dirt 4

With Dirt Rally I really felt I had a connection to the car. The wheel was giving me meaningful FFB, and it managed the "suspension of disbelief" of tricking me into thinking I was actually a Rally Driver. The car felt a bit light though through it's willingness to respond to every tiny input. However it was really fun.

WRC 7 didn't give me the same connection as Dirt Rally with the FFB being a little too "chattery" and at times seemingly more for effect than imparting any real information. That said the car drove well and intuitively, but not to the same level as Dirt Rally. Still fun though

Dirt 4 (on simulation setting) failed to connect me to the car whatsoever. OK, the car turned when I turned the wheel, but in much the same way a boat turns when you move the rudder. In fact that's a good way of saying it - it felt like I was driving a boat in comparison. Completing the first level was a bit grindy - I wasn't enjoying it, and it seemed more like hard work, lacking the fun elements of the other two.

Of course there's only so much a 30 minute sitting with each game can tell you, but I do know that if this was 20 years ago in a video game shop demoing all three to decide which one to spend my hard earned on, then I would have walked away with Dirt Rally without question.

In terms of driving I would agree.

I'd simply add Seb Loeb Rally Evo at the top of the list above Dirt Rally.

 

[Slapped]

In terms of driving I would agree.

I'd simply add Seb Loeb Rally Evo at the top of the list above Dirt Rally.

I've not tried that SLRE yet hence I didn't mention it, and given that I've been on a bit of a splurge with PS4 games of late it'll be a while before I catch up with that one. I will however put it on my shortlist.

 

[cjr3559]

Disclaimer - I'm not a Rally driver, never will be, and have never driven a car off road - well not more than about 10mph, so you can take what I say here with a pinch of salt I guess.

I tried out Dirt Rally, Dirt 4, and WRC 7 back to back this weekend on PS4 Pro with a G29, just on the introductory rally levels and my conclusions are:

Dirt Rally > WRC 7 >>> Dirt 4

With Dirt Rally I really felt I had a connection to the car. The wheel was giving me meaningful FFB, and it managed the "suspension of disbelief" of tricking me into thinking I was actually a Rally Driver. The car felt a bit light though through it's willingness to respond to every tiny input. However it was really fun.

WRC 7 didn't give me the same connection as Dirt Rally with the FFB being a little too "chattery" and at times seemingly more for effect than imparting any real information. That said the car drove well and intuitively, but not to the same level as Dirt Rally. Still fun though

Dirt 4 (on simulation setting) failed to connect me to the car whatsoever. OK, the car turned when I turned the wheel, but in much the same way a boat turns when you move the rudder. In fact that's a good way of saying it - it felt like I was driving a boat in comparison. Completing the first level was a bit grindy - I wasn't enjoying it, and it seemed more like hard work, lacking the fun elements of the other two.

Of course there's only so much a 30 minute sitting with each game can tell you, but I do know that if this was 20 years ago in a video game shop demoing all three to decide which one toi spend my hard earned on, then I would have walked away with Dirt Rally without question.

Nice review. Hope you keep playing all three. They have a lot more to,showcase than 30 minutes can provide!

 

[Dave A]

I have Dirt 4 and tried SLRE, Dirt 4 plays great but I got a refund for SLRE becuase it just stuttered all over the place, even on the menu screens, and it's not becuase my laptop isn't powerful enough, it must be an optimisation problem and googling came up with other people having the same issue. It made it completely unplayable so sadly I can't compare the two fairly.

Dirt 4 feels good, I do only use a pad. I used to have a wheel setup but now my game time is limited so I tend to have shorter sessions and not bother too much with settings anymore. I'm enjoying Dirt 4 but I do feel like it is something I will leave alone once I've completed the career mode.

 

[Scaff]

I have Dirt 4 and tried SLRE, Dirt 4 plays great but I got a refund for SLRE becuase it just stuttered all over the place, even on the menu screens, and it's not becuase my laptop isn't powerful enough, it must be an optimisation problem and googling came up with other people having the same issue. It made it completely unplayable so sadly I can't compare the two fairly.

Dirt 4 feels good, I do only use a pad. I used to have a wheel setup but now my game time is limited so I tend to have shorter sessions and not bother too much with settings anymore. I'm enjoying Dirt 4 but I do feel like it is something I will leave alone once I've completed the career mode.

Outside of the PS4 (and ideally a Pro) it's not well optimised, which is a break shame for other platforms.

 

[PocketZeven]

Just bought Dirt 4 and SLRE on sale. I tried playing SLRE... but the sound is just so bad... I always play on headphones, but although my first impressions on the handling is good, I regret this purchase, although I bought it on sale. I am liking dirt 4 though. CM learned a lot from dirt rally and implemented it in dirt4. I have not tried any other modes besides Rally though. I am by no means a good rally simracer and still need to learn a lot... But the most important thing I am having lots of fun. I might try SLRE later on again... but the low quality engine sound just bugs me a lot.

 

[MrCrynox]

Just bought Dirt 4 and SLRE on sale. I tried playing SLRE... but the sound is just so bad... I always play on headphones, but although my first impressions on the handling is good, I regret this purchase, although I bought it on sale. I am liking dirt 4 though. CM learned a lot from dirt rally and implemented it in dirt4. I have not tried any other modes besides Rally though. I am by no means a good rally simracer and still need to learn a lot... But the most important thing I am having lots of fun. I might try SLRE later on again... but the low quality engine sound just bugs me a lot.

Yes Dirt4 has better sound than SLRE but I wouldn't worry about it too much just concentrate on the driving, the model is sublime. Once you start enjoying it you will soon forget/forgive the games shortcomings. It would be a crime to yourself not to give it a proper go, I've played a lot of driving games and SLRE is one of the best. Best stages, best handling and a huge set of cars.

 

[PocketZeven]

Yes Dirt4 has better sound than SLRE but I wouldn't worry about it too much just concentrate on the driving, the model is sublime. Once you start enjoying it you will soon forget/forgive the games shortcomings. It would be a crime to yourself not to give it a proper go, I've played a lot of driving games and SLRE is one of the best. Best stages, best handling and a huge set of cars.

Problem is that the sound, pulls you out of the immersion immediately. It is worse in cockpitview.

 

[cjr3559]

Problem is that the sound, pulls you out of the immersion immediately. It is worse in cockpitview.

I’ve only experienced a handful of cars, but some are better than others. That first Peugeot you get is definitely weak sounding, but the Mini is actually decent with backfires. The Fulvia and Alpine are meh, but not terrible.

 

[PocketZeven]

I’ve only experienced a handful of cars, but some are better than others. That first Peugeot you get is definitely weak sounding, but the Mini is actually decent with backfires. The Fulvia and Alpine are meh, but not terrible.

Perhaps I should push through it or just play some awesome driving music in the background! We Simracers are really spoiled though... So many awesome games available these days...