Driveclub First Impressions
- Thread starter Blkout
- 257 comments
- 21,319 views
- 2,936
- STL
- disinfected
- disinfected
- 9,232
- Solid Gone
- MeanElf
Too tired last night to post about my first foray. Not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but I went ahead and ordered the upgrade so the game was ready to play at midnight local.
It is absolutely what I expected, lots of fun; better actually, as when I'm driving the tracks, it doesn't seem as frantic as when I watched others doing so.
It's damn pretty. I'm really looking forward to when photomode and dynamic weather arrives. I re-ran the first Canadian TT a few times and marvelled at the shift of sunlight across the scene (same for Scotland too.) It was also different each time, as promised. I'm going to have to assuage my photo-needs with a few screen shots today (if I actually remember, of course...)
There seems to be plenty to do, easy menus and I even went back over a few of the races to improve upon them without any qualms.
I think this game is going to be better than I had hoped, and if anyone has been reading my posts over the past few days, they will know I already had hopes that it would be good, as well as pretty.
And now that I'm awake again, I am going to have to get back to it
EDIT: I fdorgot to mention, love the lighting and how alive everything is on the tracks, from birds flying to leaves, confetti, balloons and just general stuff that could well be simply litter, probably plastic bags and paper.
It is absolutely what I expected, lots of fun; better actually, as when I'm driving the tracks, it doesn't seem as frantic as when I watched others doing so.
It's damn pretty. I'm really looking forward to when photomode and dynamic weather arrives. I re-ran the first Canadian TT a few times and marvelled at the shift of sunlight across the scene (same for Scotland too.) It was also different each time, as promised. I'm going to have to assuage my photo-needs with a few screen shots today (if I actually remember, of course...)
There seems to be plenty to do, easy menus and I even went back over a few of the races to improve upon them without any qualms.
I think this game is going to be better than I had hoped, and if anyone has been reading my posts over the past few days, they will know I already had hopes that it would be good, as well as pretty.
And now that I'm awake again, I am going to have to get back to it
EDIT: I fdorgot to mention, love the lighting and how alive everything is on the tracks, from birds flying to leaves, confetti, balloons and just general stuff that could well be simply litter, probably plastic bags and paper.
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- 2,393
- FLX81
It is litter indeed, I stopped a time trial yesterday just when a plastic bag slowly flew by. Lovliest example of environment pollution that I ever saw. 
By the way, after my post yesterday, I also re-ran all the beginner level events where me and my mate had previously missed some stars and it was just as much fun the second (or third, ahem) time around. And that Merc AMG GT is a beast to drift!
By the way, after my post yesterday, I also re-ran all the beginner level events where me and my mate had previously missed some stars and it was just as much fun the second (or third, ahem) time around. And that Merc AMG GT is a beast to drift!
- 8,015
- GTP_Royalton
Its definitely 100% rubber banding, but how it works exactly Im not sure yet. Drafting is very very weak in this game nowhere near GT. In one race the AI did wait for me when they got far ahead but Im not sure if that was just one specific incident or if they will do it all the time.
As Im progressing through the single player Im not sure if the opponents are getting faster or if the game is easing off the rubberbanding.
In the end rubber banding is never ever a good design decision for a game. Its a shame because the AI is really aggressive and they will find a way around you and they will battle you hard. Rubber banding just made the races a little bit closer artificially. It sucks because I want to run the perfect race and win by 5 seconds, but in about 80 races so far Ive yet to win by more then 1 second.
- 5,845
- Dublin
- Paul2007
The Game Director, Paul Rustchynsky, said yesterday that the AI will never cheat by artificially catching up but will slow a little if you fall too far behind. See here for more.
I have only had 4 races so far and have won by up to 3s. Early races are quite simple so I expect that margin to narrow as I progress. Anyway, I am enjoying it so far. Time for some Vita Remote Play...
I have only had 4 races so far and have won by up to 3s. Early races are quite simple so I expect that margin to narrow as I progress. Anyway, I am enjoying it so far. Time for some Vita Remote Play...
- 9,232
- Solid Gone
- MeanElf
Cheers for the confirmation - humanity eh? We even have to pollute our games.It is litter indeed, I stopped a time trial yesterday just when a plastic bag slowly flew by. Lovliest example of environment pollution that I ever saw.
That is beautiful...I keep forgetting to snag a few screenshots, but have pulled a few from replays. Trouble is, those are less sharp than the in-game screenies.
- 2,393
- FLX81
I m enjoying the game immensely but still, what Rustchinsky says about rubberbanding is pure BS. In a 3 lap circuit race, I waited for almost a minute at the starting line before setting off, by the time I finished the lap I had only 15 seconds deficit to the slowest AI and in the end I won the race with about 3 seconds gap. The biggest gap I had yet was at the scottish circuit with about 6.5 seconds in a normal race that I nailed start to finish. There are also often occasions where you block an ai car, he has to break while you stay on full throttle, he moves to your side and still passes you. So yeah, rubberbanding is a problem unfortunately.
Some other things I noted after playing a few hours more:
Balancing is also horrible. There is an all italian race with an Alfa 4C, Maserati GranTurismo and Ferrari FF and they are all equally fast. A Lotus Evora and a Bentley GT have the same corner speeds. My RS5 tops out at around 240 kph. Its almost comical nonsense and about the most rubbish balancing I ever experienced in any game.
The further you progress, the more thrilling the handling gets, plus the cars all have an individual character that is at least somewhat true to the original, despite firmly staying in arcade territory. It can be a bit bland in the lower level cars and hot hatches, but the very skittish 4C, heavy feeling Bentley (yes, it feels heavier somehow despite having the same corner speeds as much more agile cars), the very drifty Merc AMG GT are all a lot of fun to hoon. I m also starting to get at least somewhat of a hang with drifting in the higher powered RWD cars.
Sounds are lovely in hood cam and I like the muffled cockpits although the effect is a bit overdone. The chase cam sounds are strangely very weak though. It is almost as if the exhaust sound is missing or way too low?!
Cockpits and materials are also both ridiculously beautiful. As a product designer, I marvel in how much better metallic paint, aluminium, leather, illumination etc looks in this game compared to other titles.
Unfortunately the server problems are indeed intolerable at this point. Even if you can connect to the server, which I could for an hour earlier, you still cant create a club, searching anything takes forever and I ve yet to receive any challenges or the like. Despite the fact that surely not a lot of players are currently playing, it just straight up doesnt work. Pains me to say this, since I m a fan of Evolution Studios work normally and I m enjoying the game a lot, but that is the most epic mega fail I have ever witnessed in game releases.
Some other things I noted after playing a few hours more:
Balancing is also horrible. There is an all italian race with an Alfa 4C, Maserati GranTurismo and Ferrari FF and they are all equally fast. A Lotus Evora and a Bentley GT have the same corner speeds. My RS5 tops out at around 240 kph. Its almost comical nonsense and about the most rubbish balancing I ever experienced in any game.
The further you progress, the more thrilling the handling gets, plus the cars all have an individual character that is at least somewhat true to the original, despite firmly staying in arcade territory. It can be a bit bland in the lower level cars and hot hatches, but the very skittish 4C, heavy feeling Bentley (yes, it feels heavier somehow despite having the same corner speeds as much more agile cars), the very drifty Merc AMG GT are all a lot of fun to hoon. I m also starting to get at least somewhat of a hang with drifting in the higher powered RWD cars.
Sounds are lovely in hood cam and I like the muffled cockpits although the effect is a bit overdone. The chase cam sounds are strangely very weak though. It is almost as if the exhaust sound is missing or way too low?!
Cockpits and materials are also both ridiculously beautiful. As a product designer, I marvel in how much better metallic paint, aluminium, leather, illumination etc looks in this game compared to other titles.
Unfortunately the server problems are indeed intolerable at this point. Even if you can connect to the server, which I could for an hour earlier, you still cant create a club, searching anything takes forever and I ve yet to receive any challenges or the like. Despite the fact that surely not a lot of players are currently playing, it just straight up doesnt work. Pains me to say this, since I m a fan of Evolution Studios work normally and I m enjoying the game a lot, but that is the most epic mega fail I have ever witnessed in game releases.
glassjaw
Premium
- 1,472
- PA
- pioneerspine
- pioneerspine
An hour in and I'm absolutely loving it right now. This is exactly what I've wanted from an arcade racer since PGR died: stunning track design, beautiful environments to race through, and a fun, tight, responsive physics model. From what I can tell right now, this game delivers on all of those. Cannot wait for dynamic weather!
- 669
- UK
- Ferrari_Ducati
Can I just say...
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Mercedes AMG GT S is an amazing car, sound is just fantastic, looks beautiful!!!
First Impressions? Loving the game, great visually, nice handling (not too realistic but deffo challenging). Leveling up takes time which means it will take some time before I drive either the McLaren P1 or the Gumpert... Great game - shame the multiplayer is playing up
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Mercedes AMG GT S is an amazing car, sound is just fantastic, looks beautiful!!!
First Impressions? Loving the game, great visually, nice handling (not too realistic but deffo challenging). Leveling up takes time which means it will take some time before I drive either the McLaren P1 or the Gumpert... Great game - shame the multiplayer is playing up
- 309
- Galway
- Artful_Alonso14
I'm so confused. I saw a trailer for it today, and was like, 'it's coming out already?'. Then I search for some news about it, and then read a review (thought it would have been like a pre-released review). Then I look some more for the release date, saw it was like 8 October and was like 'it's a good bit away yet'. I only realised now that it's like, what, the tenth or something? Time flies!
- 2,936
- STL
- disinfected
- disinfected
The further I progress with this game, the more irritated I get about the AI. I get that the developers are impressed with their damage model, but every race is a demolition derby. I am increasingly finding myself drop to the back on purpose while they sort each other out and crash around every corner.
- 9,232
- Solid Gone
- MeanElf
Like Vspectra says, just playing the game opens up a lot of them; most of them well before you need them too, so you can tool around in the TT/race/drift mode to get used to them.
I haven't put a massive amount of hours in yet, but I have the Evora, California and Scuderia and I'm only just at level 18.
Time is extremely subjective in Galway...I know because I used to live there
But yeah, the game is out, though I don't know if the PS+ version has been released yet. I buckled and bought the full version but am not regretting it in the slightest.
I noticed that some of the race targets are attaining clean laps - of course, those are the ones where the AI will brake suddenly or do suicidal/revenge dive-bombing runs at corners.
It's just like the older NFS games - set challenges have set 'quirks' that might not appear elsewhere.
I do know what you mean though; they are a dirty bunch at times. On balance though, I've found that a bit more practice with them gets you through and helps you learn the track and best passing points at the same time. Having said that, I'm not sure what level you have reached - I'm only at the start of the Amatuer level, so maybe I'm being premature here
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- 3,951
- Netherlands
- skazz-race
- skazzracer
Competitive AI is great... But only if you aren't forced to barge past the entire field in a short race with narrow track
To compare with a very different game: Assetto Corsa has some special events where you race the AI starting 12th and need to win in a 5 lap race. 4 difficulty settings, achievement for each one. At higher difficulty it becomes a similar challenge as Driveclub sounds to be, with the added drawback of barging into AI generally causing you to spin off
Competitive AI is great... But only if you aren't forced to barge past the entire field in a short race with narrow track
To compare with a very different game: Assetto Corsa has some special events where you race the AI starting 12th and need to win in a 5 lap race. 4 difficulty settings, achievement for each one. At higher difficulty it becomes a similar challenge as Driveclub sounds to be, with the added drawback of barging into AI generally causing you to spin off
Yea, very different game than AC for sure. I have AC also.
- 3,359
- California
- PumpinNumbies
Bought it last night, my first impression? "Why the hell am I a girl?". Anyone else notice that yet? Not a fan of the game so far, but had low expectations coming in based on the reviews, so whatever. Waiting for the Online (and Clubs I guess) to start working before I completely dismiss it, but in the end, I bought it knowing it was just to hold me over for PCars. But I can't stop feeling that I'd probably prefer playing NFS Rivals rather than this. As much as I was begging for a new racing game, I feel like I'll be back to Madden15 within a weekend just waiting for PCars. Just ordered a T300RS so maybe that will help. The game looks nice, I'll give them that, but if I'm not compelled to even play it, then who cares how good it looks.
- 137
- NJ USA baby
- DaTrentster
I think it's fun. The gameplay is entertaining, graphics are great, and it's such a violent drive. Drifting is explained well enough where I don't feel tooooo much of an idiot doing it, and I love the tracks and car balance. Loads of fun so far.
By the way, anyone start a club yet? Online started working for me within the past two hours or so and I'm curious if it has for anyone else yet.
By the way, anyone start a club yet? Online started working for me within the past two hours or so and I'm curious if it has for anyone else yet.
- 6,838
- Europe
- GTP_Slim
- PzR Slim
Have spent a couple of days with it now and it's not a bad game but not a particularly good game either. Car models look great, a bit disappointed with the in car view. The lighting is very good but I'm was expecting the game as a whole to look much better than it does. Was really expecting it to look stunning on my 4K TV but it doesn't have that wow factor. The events so far have been fun and I've enjoyed it. It's pretty easy to get 1st everytime and I'm not sure the rubber banding was necessary.
People are comparing it to PGR but I remember PGR being much better than this and having a much more enjoyable handling model. The handling is not as bad as some have been saying but it's very uninvolving. I'm a sim racer so used to a handling model with lots of nuances but this doesn't have any, it's very bland. PGR is proof that a more arcade racing game can still have a sublime handling model and DC just doesn't have a handling model that makes me sit up and pay attention.
Very disappointed they haven't sorted the servers out yet, I did manage one online race which was basically a crashfest but it'll be interesting to see how much correctly working servers add to the game.
All in all it's better than some of the worst reviews give it credit for but not a game that will live long in the memory and I was expecting so much more. I'll still be playing it though.
People are comparing it to PGR but I remember PGR being much better than this and having a much more enjoyable handling model. The handling is not as bad as some have been saying but it's very uninvolving. I'm a sim racer so used to a handling model with lots of nuances but this doesn't have any, it's very bland. PGR is proof that a more arcade racing game can still have a sublime handling model and DC just doesn't have a handling model that makes me sit up and pay attention.
Very disappointed they haven't sorted the servers out yet, I did manage one online race which was basically a crashfest but it'll be interesting to see how much correctly working servers add to the game.
All in all it's better than some of the worst reviews give it credit for but not a game that will live long in the memory and I was expecting so much more. I'll still be playing it though.
