Gravel: New Off-Road Racer Coming to PS4, XB1 & PC Early 2018

[Scaff]

Do we know how well this plays with a wheel yet?

No bad at all for an arcade title.

Overall the car models look a bit cartoon like, the environments are not bad. The racing so far however has been great fun, with a solid arcade physics engine that has a bit of depth under it (in a similar way to Driveclub).

It lack polish and its no sim, but it is fun.

Highlight so far has been Trophy Trucks in the sand dunes of Namibia, absurdly big jumps!

 

[Pfei]

No bad at all for an arcade title.

Overall the car models look a bit cartoon like, the environments are not bad. The racing so far however has been great fun, with a solid arcade physics engine that has a bit of depth under it (in a similar way to Driveclub).

It lack polish and its no sim, but it is fun.

Highlight so far has been Trophy Trucks in the sand dunes of Namibia, absurdly big jumps!

Still 4.5 hours of waiting for me, but it's good to hear your initial positive impressions of wheel support. Despite being marketed as an arcade title I was hoping to see some of the great SLRE FFB still alive in Gravel.

 

[yabiggoose]

Might be picking this up today. I'm hyped for it.

 

[ELmarcotuff]

I hate the announcer

 

[dzumaalcapone]

How's the FFB?

 

[Scaff]

How's the FFB?

Given that it's an arcade title it's actually very good, a more than reasonable amount of detail and some good weight to it (it's not anything like as limp as Driveclub is with a wheel), it also supports a h pattern shifter and clutch.

I hate the announcer

It gets my vote for some of the oddest things said in a racing game, this is my favorite so far:

 

[torque99]

No bad at all for an arcade title.

Overall the car models look a bit cartoon like, the environments are not bad. The racing so far however has been great fun, with a solid arcade physics engine that has a bit of depth under it (in a similar way to Driveclub).

It lack polish and its no sim, but it is fun.

Highlight so far has been Trophy Trucks in the sand dunes of Namibia, absurdly big jumps!

I have to agree with @Scaff ^^^ on my first impressions and I can see as you unlock the game it has great potential as a fun arcade racer which is desperately needed on the PS4 and is on par with Baja HD Edge of Control on DS4 (not Wheel) which I enjoyed.

It is a fun game and has great handling on the DS4/wheel with excellent cockpit arcade (ish) steering. Stadiums are fun and also most the tracks seem about the right length so far. I understand it would never look like the quality of Horizon 3 or DriveClub but I was also expecting 'slightly' more polish to the graphics, cars and scenery for the enhanced PS4 Pro version in UE4 especially with the 6 months delay of the game.

The photo mode has been advanced with more lighting and exposure/contrast settings and features but still no shutter speed as far as I can see so you can not take any action shots again which is a real shame and it is very similar to the Free cam in SLRE and Ride2

The wheels and road stay still much like how the new NFS have done it! (why?) I'm not sure if it is very difficult or time consuming to put in to a game but many games have shutter speed done to perfection i.e The Crew/DriveClub/Forza/F1/GT.

This is only my first impression after an hour or so of messing around in the first few races on career. Some decent photos can be taken so maybe I will start a photo thread if any one else has some photos?

 

[Harry Freq]

Does the game have a dashboard cam?

 

[dzumaalcapone]

I understand it would never look like the quality of Horizon 3 or DriveClub but I was also expecting 'slightly' more polish to the graphics, cars and scenery for the enhanced PS4 Pro version in UE4 especially with the 6 months delay of the game.

It looks worse than Driveclub? Driveclub looks horrendous compared to GTS..

 

[Scaff]

Does the game have a dashboard cam?

It does, three in total. Cockpit, dash and bonnet/hood cam

It looks worse than Driveclub? Driveclub looks horrendous compared to GTS..

Leave the flame-bait nonsense at the door thanks.

 

[wiretap07]

I have the PS4 Pro version, and not seeing any sign of HDR either?
The only screen adjustments I can see are for Gamma.

Any ideas?

I’ve the game (box) since Saturday on ps4 pro and no trace of hdr…(I didn’t take the version one x for the hdr)…and however I made an update of 4 go…

 

[dzumaalcapone]

Leave the flame-bait nonsense at the door thanks.

I'm sorry, but what?

I just started Driveclub a couple of days ago since I never played it with a wheel before and the graphics seemed pretty messy to me.. When I first played it a couple of years ago or so, I though it looked pretty nice with the weather and all.. Maybe GTS has spoiled me and maybe I wash harsh but sure wasn't trying to "bait"..

In all seriousness, how do the graphics compare to other racing titles? You'd expect a game released in 2018 to have better graphics than a game thats a few years older..

 

[Miths]

Is it possible to remap controls for the PS4 controller? I have wrist issues coming and going and currently holding down R2 for extended periods of time is really not very good for me, so I would prefer to remap acceleration to the right stick (which I do anyway in racing game that allow it, which sadly isn't most arcade racers).

 

[torque99]

I'm sorry, but what?

I just started Driveclub a couple of days ago since I never played it with a wheel before and the graphics seemed pretty messy to me.. When I first played it a couple of years ago or so, I though it looked pretty nice with the weather and all.. Maybe GTS has spoiled me and maybe I wash harsh but sure wasn't trying to "bait"..

In all seriousness, how do the graphics compare to other racing titles? You'd expect a game released in 2018 to have better graphics than a game thats a few years older..

Drive Clubs & Forza graphics stand out in photo mode you can zoom right in and no jaggies and even sharper than GTS around the car.

Milestone is a small Italian studio and does not have the budget of MS or Sony AAA games behind them. As a comparison it is similar to MXGP3 they made or Baja HD , Dirt 4 even.

So far the Alpine is the best detailed car 👍 Now unlocking some new courses graphics are getting better in the rain and snow!




P.s You can turn the narrator, loud rock music off in menus & while driving! You can also turn off the drivers names and have manual shifts on DS4, i eventually found it in the settings before you race! I like to hear the engine and environment sounds when driving

 

[SPhilli911]

Got this downloaded and ready to play after work tonight. Pretty excited about it, seems that the consensus is that it's a fun, arcade style game, which is nice in a sea of "sim" racers these days (nothing wrong with them, just need a change of pace sometimes). Plus that car list is wonderful.

 

[Scaff]

I'm sorry, but what?

GTS has nothing at all to do with the thread or the discussion.

I just started Driveclub a couple of days ago since I never played it with a wheel before and the graphics seemed pretty messy to me.. When I first played it a couple of years ago or so, I though it looked pretty nice with the weather and all.. Maybe GTS has spoiled me and maybe I wash harsh but sure wasn't trying to "bait"..

GTS has poorer backgrounds, track-side detail and nothing close to the weather effects and particles that DC renders, as such its a long way from being horrendous in comparison to GTS, but that's an entirely different thread.

In all seriousness, how do the graphics compare to other racing titles? You'd expect a game released in 2018 to have better graphics than a game thats a few years older..

You can judge for yourself as soon as my video is done being exported and uploaded.

In regard to the question of why, well that depends on the resources that the dev team have to had, experience and time they have. A team that can get away with a title every four years or so and has direct access to the console development teams (and was involved in the development of the console itself will have an advantage over a team that doesn't.

It also depends on development priorities, some titles will cut back on looks to free up system resource for physics, etc.

 

[wiretap07]

Is it possible to remap controls for the PS4 controller? I have wrist issues coming and going and currently holding down R2 for extended periods of time is really not very good for me, so I would prefer to remap acceleration to the right stick (which I do anyway in racing game that allow it, which sadly isn't most arcade racers).

Just had a look, you can remap accelerate to different buttons, but unfortunately you can't remap to the forward and rear motion of the right stick.

 

[wiretap07]

Does anyone else find the interior views of the cars to be extremely quiet?
I can barely hear my car.

It's not a bad game at all, it's fun. But a few little small things are annoying

 

[FT-1]

Quick question - How is the FPS holding up for you guys? I'm on the Xbox One X and the frame rate isn't a consistent 30 FPS

I've only had half an hour with the game so far so it is too early to post my first impressions, but it is looking like a fun game so far, just that the polish is lacking.

 

[torque99]

Does anyone else find the interior views of the cars to be extremely quiet?
I can barely hear my car.

It's not a bad game at all, it's fun. But a few little small things are annoying

I agree cockpit sounds are a little muted at first in some cars, others like the Trucks and Porsches are much louder but you can adjust a few levels in the settings and turn engine sounds up in menus and music off. I expect a few teething problems in some cars and a couple of patches later audio will be sorted.

Quick question - How is the FPS holding up for you guys? I'm on the Xbox One X and the frame rate isn't a consistent 30 FPS

I've only had half an hour with the game so far so it is too early to post my first impressions, but it is looking like a fun game so far, just that the polish is lacking.

Not too bad on PS4 Pro so far and no major Frame drops or freezing (yet) I have noticed a few little environment bugs i.e blacked out areas but nothing serious so far. Maybe the standard PS4 will be the test when someone gets it on PS4.👍

 

[Scaff]

Quick question - How is the FPS holding up for you guys? I'm on the Xbox One X and the frame rate isn't a consistent 30 FPS

I've only had half an hour with the game so far so it is too early to post my first impressions, but it is looking like a fun game so far, just that the polish is lacking.

Seems pretty much locked to 30fps on the PS4 Pro.

 

[bluemoon_19]

I just got a nice surprise the PC version is available on steam now. yesterday it said it would be available at 6PM but it seem the store updated early today downloading now.

 

[Scaff]

My initial thoughts:

 

[Joey D]

I'm on the fence about buying this, although if I find a deal on it I'll probably pick it up (might have to check greenmangaming).

Are the vehicles customization at all? Like adding different off-road kit to them? Or is it pretty much this is what you get and you can unlock liveries? Not that it matters all that much, but it's always fun to make the vehicle your own.

Also is there a free roam mode where you can just bomb around the cross country courses?

 

[FT-1]

Are the vehicles customization at all? Like adding different off-road kit to them? Or is it pretty much this is what you get and you can unlock liveries? Not that it matters all that much, but it's always fun to make the vehicle your own.

Visual customisation is limited to just preset liveries right now.

 

[Grestok]

I have the PS4 Pro version, and not seeing any sign of HDR either?
The only screen adjustments I can see are for Gamma.

Any ideas?

Milestone don’t reply to my tweets for hdr on ps4/pc ! So, I think hdr disappear…

 

[Sureboss]

First play through, it's good, easy to get in to fun, pick up and play. Like SLRE but without the excessive load times....

I'd like to see sounds improved, most notably just making inside the car sound like outside. I'm currently using bonnet cam.

 

[wiretap07]

Milestone don’t reply to my tweets for hdr on ps4/pc ! So, I think hdr disappear…

Yes, it certainly seems to have disappeared sadly on the PS4 Pr.

Is HDR available on the PC or vanilla PS4?

 

[wiretap07]

Quick question - How is the FPS holding up for you guys? I'm on the Xbox One X and the frame rate isn't a consistent 30 FPS

I've only had half an hour with the game so far so it is too early to post my first impressions, but it is looking like a fun game so far, just that the polish is lacking.

Playing on PS4 Pro, had a couple of dropped frames in the opening race, been solid 30fps since.

I agree it's lacking a bit of polish, but hopefully a patch will fix the niggles.

 

[wiretap07]

First play through, it's good, easy to get in to fun, pick up and play. Like SLRE but without the excessive load times....

I'd like to see sounds improved, most notably just making inside the car sound like outside. I'm currently using bonnet cam.

I use bonnet cam myself, interior is too quiet. Chase cams feel very floaty somehow.