GRID Autosport First Impressions

[skazz]

I was planning to buy this game day one, buy my ps3 died and I had to buy a new one.
I was thinking of buying it today, but I would like to know from you guys how it compares to GRID 1 about the handling with a steering wheel?

I tried GRiD 1 and as with DiRT 1 I found it horribly floaty with the wheel. DiRT 2/3 got much better and were fun to drive but obviously with deliberately unrealistic grip and braking levels to give more of a feeling of speed and make rallying more forgiving: wheel support has never been the last word in FFB detail but it's accurate, responsive and therefore enjoyable. GRiD 2 was also better with the wheel but the physics had unrealistic powerslide-everywhere and got quite annoying.

GRiD Autosport wheel support is clearly an evolution of those Codemasters EGO engine games before it. It's accurate and responsive (although occasionally a little indirect in some cars), but the feel of car weight is actually better than before, so I'd say it's their best wheel support so far.

Cars also handle more realistically, you have to brake properly for corners and take the racing line. Failing to do so sends you out wide and likely to lose places to the AI. You can also easily lock up tyres by being too aggressive with the brake if you have ABS turned off. So while everything is somewhat forgiving, good sim racing behavior with the pedals and steering is still necessary to go fast.

Edit: and you NEED to go fast and avoid mistakes, because the AI are definitely a challenge to race. The physics do a good job of giving you a stable base from which to fight and race, you just concentrate on hitting your lines and braking points while challenging the AI, and if you make a mistake it probably won't completely ruin your race.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Think this is because it's much more a 'natural' track than most modern courses. The reverse layouts of the modern GP courses just feel wrong, but the more street-type circuits lend themselves more easily to reverse driving.

Spa Sportscar Reverse isn't all that bad. The AI get a little silly into La Source, and the Bus Stop is and never has been fun, but aside from those two hundred metres, it's quite enjoyable.

 

[Rafael F]

I tried GRiD 1 and as with DiRT 1 I found it horribly floaty with the wheel. DiRT 2/3 got much better and were fun to drive but obviously with deliberately unrealistic grip and braking levels to give more of a feeling of speed and make rallying more forgiving: wheel support has never been the last word in FFB detail but it's accurate, responsive and therefore enjoyable. GRiD 2 was also better with the wheel but the physics had unrealistic powerslide-everywhere and got quite annoying.

GRiD Autosport wheel support is clearly an evolution of those Codemasters EGO engine games before it. It's accurate and responsive (although occasionally a little indirect in some cars), but the feel of car weight is actually better than before, so I'd say it's their best wheel support so far.

Cars also handle more realistically, you have to brake properly for corners and take the racing line. Failing to do so sends you out wide and likely to lose places to the AI. You can also easily lock up tyres by being too aggressive with the brake if you have ABS turned off. So while everything is somewhat forgiving, good sim racing behavior with the pedals and steering is still necessary to go fast.

Edit: and you NEED to go fast and avoid mistakes, because the AI are definitely a challenge to race. The physics do a good job of giving you a stable base from which to fight and race, you just concentrate on hitting your lines and braking points while challenging the AI, and if you make a mistake it probably won't completely ruin your race.

Good to know, my major grip with GRID 1 was the overpowered braking and slidings.
Thanks for answering!

 

[Speedster911]

Yeah, the whole hooning/gymkhana/awesome/Christian Stevenson aspect was supposed to be removed and distilled in the Showdown franchise specifically. But now that the ringleader (Ken Block) has jumped ship to Need for Speed the chances of any of those aspects returning are miniscule.

Ken Block = ring leader!



About time.. praise they Lord!

Does it handle like grid 1? A lot of things grid 1 done well but gameplay wise it got boring very quickly as you only needed to lift off the throttle and slide round the corner. Dirt 3 was guilty of this as well.

It sounds like it makes a good first impression but with little skill involved then I can't there being much longevity to the game.

Dirt 3's physics were a little more serious than GRID 1 I think.

I tried GRiD 1 and as with DiRT 1 I found it horribly floaty with the wheel. DiRT 2/3 got much better and were fun to drive but obviously with deliberately unrealistic grip and braking levels to give more of a feeling of speed and make rallying more forgiving: wheel support has never been the last word in FFB detail but it's accurate, responsive and therefore enjoyable. GRiD 2 was also better with the wheel but the physics had unrealistic powerslide-everywhere and got quite annoying.

GRiD Autosport wheel support is clearly an evolution of those Codemasters EGO engine games before it. It's accurate and responsive (although occasionally a little indirect in some cars), but the feel of car weight is actually better than before, so I'd say it's their best wheel support so far.

Cars also handle more realistically, you have to brake properly for corners and take the racing line. Failing to do so sends you out wide and likely to lose places to the AI. You can also easily lock up tyres by being too aggressive with the brake if you have ABS turned off. So while everything is somewhat forgiving, good sim racing behavior with the pedals and steering is still necessary to go fast.

Edit: and you NEED to go fast and avoid mistakes, because the AI are definitely a challenge to race. The physics do a good job of giving you a stable base from which to fight and race, you just concentrate on hitting your lines and braking points while challenging the AI, and if you make a mistake it probably won't completely ruin your race.

This is one of the things I immediately liked about the game as I booted it up. The physics feel pretty good even on a controller. And you can no longer use the goofy version of taking on corners ala GRID II.

GA makes you work hard for 1st place, and mistakes are costly.

And can anybody please tell me why the banding in the sky is so distracting at night time? It's not just my game copy is it? Screen tearing and slowdowns pop up during replays too, though very very rarely while racing through dash cam.

I'm on X360.

 

[skazz]

And can anybody please tell me why the banding in the sky is so distracting at night time? It's not just my game copy is it? Screen tearing and slowdowns pop up during replays too, though very very rarely while racing through dash cam.

I'm on X360.

I'm playing on the PC with the high res texture pack and everything on ultra and haven't seen any banding. I recall reading in a thread somewhere that it's only really visible on a couple of tracks on the console, not sure if just X360 or also PS3.

 

[JohnScoonsBeard]

Can u share settings?

I'll have a look shortly.

 

[mister dog]

Top tip!

If you're using a soundbar or a simple speaker system, put the "dynamic range" option to Low in the audio settings. The sound felt a bit muted before, but doing this i "unleashed the beast" !

Funny thing is i was just trying out the classic muscle cars when i tried this. Couldn't have chosen a better moment to fix the speakers.

 

[Rafael F]

Damn, it hasn't arrived to my local stores yet.

 

[mister dog]

Damn, it hasn't arrived to my local stores yet.

Do they sell the normal version on the PS store? Maybe you could try there.

 

[Speedster911]

I'm playing on the PC with the high res texture pack and everything on ultra and haven't seen any banding. I recall reading in a thread somewhere that it's only really visible on a couple of tracks on the console, not sure if just X360 or also PS3.

Ok... just wow... can't believe how much this banding issue is getting to me! I noticed it's present in the daytime tracks too. What the heck Codies?! Before the start of a night race you see color banding in the fog surrounding the headlights.. sometimes when there's dense dirt or tire smoke kicking up, you see it. You even see it in some cars after the race is finished and the sun's reflecting off the paint job.. and there it is!

@anim8r_uk , I know this is probably not a dev oversight, but was it really necessary to compress the sky colors so much? The game looks visually stunning, with great audio to boot. The tracks look fantastic, detail on the cars is fantastic.. you really get into the race until the horizon and sky come into view.. and there it is... ugly color banding! I even looked up some screen shots and it seemed to be masked well as some shots are really high res, but it was visible.

I know there is nothing wrong with my TV or X360 dash settings. I just can't get rid of it, and it's breaking the gameplay for me a little bit. The sky should look as good as the tracks and cars.

@skazz, PC versions usually never suffer from this, even if they do, there's a patch or updates that fix it. On every track that I've raced so far, where the horizon goes gradually from white to light blue to blue.. the banding is horribly noticeable. Is this kind of thing done just to keep the frame rate up? Night races... gosh... Hockenheim is a perfect example.. between layers of purple and darker shades.. you see it. Brands Hatch at night has ugly circular rings of colors around the moon!

This irks me.. what gives Codies?!!

Top tip!

If you're using a soundbar or a simple speaker system, put the "dynamic range" option to Low in the audio settings. The sound felt a bit muted before, but doing this i "unleashed the beast" !

Funny thing is i was just trying out the classic muscle cars when i tried this. Couldn't have chosen a better moment to fix the speakers.

That's a good idea, though the overall fidelity of sounds won't be that great. You may not be able to hear the full range of sounds and frequencies clearly. It'll make the engines sound meatier for sure.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

Depends on your skill level, length of race, what you want out of the game etc. I've chosen very hard and 2x-3x length of race, no ABS or other aids and cockpit view to up the challenge as well. I have won some races (2nd race is reverse grid), but rarely qualified on pole. I've done mostly Touring Cars where the competition is very fast, and Street where they aren't as fast.

I'm more interested in a good battle than I am with having to win every race like I was in GT. I try not to use anyone as a guardrail or divebomb into corners for a more realistic experience. You can do it and get away with it just like in the GT series, but I don't find that fun personally. The AI attack, defend, they can get aggressive in corners so you have to pick your spots, and if you are rough with them, they tend to get you back so watch your mirrors.

Sounds the way to go for me I tend to soon get bored if there's lack of challenge...thanks for the advice.

 

[mister dog]

That's a good idea, though the overall fidelity of sounds won't be that great. You may not be able to hear the full range of sounds and frequencies clearly. It'll make the engines sound meatier for sure.

I noticed everything sounded louder (effects also), will check tonight but having the dynamic range on high was like everything sounded a bit dimmed to me. Let's see if i still hear those blowtorching squirrels like i did before when i pass them.

 

[The Stig Farmer]

blowtorching squirrels

Where are these little buggers? I was sold this game on the premise of them godammit.

 

[Speedster911]

I noticed everything sounded louder (effects also), will check tonight but having the dynamic range on high was like everything sounded a bit dimmed to me. Let's see if i still hear those blowtorching squirrels like i did before when i pass them.

Blowtorching squirrels?!

That's what a high dynamic range does - it sets the volume for each sound effect and frequency. Try selecting dynamic range to low on a high end cinema surround/or home theatre system.. you'll see how cheap the sound would be. A high dynamic range not only gives you a better range of high, mid and low frequencies, it also lets you keep the volume really high with no distortion or mixed up frequencies whatsoever. Essentially, your frequencies never go out of range. Hope that makes sense.

Even in FM4, if you set the output to TV, it sets the dynamic range to low which makes the cars really loud along with some environmental effects, but then you don't get that same "fine" and polished audio when keeping the output to surround. That's about the best way I can put it.

In short, keep it to low if you got the sound coming out of TV speakers or a cheap stereo hook up. Keep it to high if it's coming out of a component hifi or dolby surr/dts sound system.

One exception: if you have digital stereo coming out from really high-end amp and speakers, keep the dynamic range to high. Additionally, if your system is able to do any kind of virtual surround sound, you should keep it on high, particularly if the input happens to be HDMI.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is leave it on low, ONLY if you're using TV speakers or a cheap stereo with cheap a** wires!

 

[Rafael F]

Do they sell the normal version on the PS store? Maybe you could try there.

It's available here on PSN, but I don't have a credit card :/

 

[mister dog]

Blowtorching squirrels?!

One of the highlights of GAS, haven't you noticed them already?

It's available here on PSN, but I don't have a credit card :/

Bugger.

 

[Speedster911]

Ohh yeahh....right, I'm on-board now!

Exhausts should not be spitting flames on EVERY upshift and downshift... that's wierd.

What are your thoughts on the color banding in the sky? Noticeable on your rig? What system?

 

[Johnnypenso]

It's available here on PSN, but I don't have a credit card :/

If they have gaming stores near you, maybe they sell PSN cards, which allows you to put money onto your PS account.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011...aystation-blog-officially-launched-in-brazil/

 

[Rafael F]

If they have gaming stores near you, maybe they sell PSN cards, which allows you to put money onto your PS account.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011...aystation-blog-officially-launched-in-brazil/

I will ask for it at my local store.
Thanks!

 

[Awong124]

Yup, no issues. I'd try booting the console with the G27 and not turning a controller on at all. I find if I turn a controller on at any point, I lose all the wheel button assignments and maybe it's a part of that. Boot the system with the wheel and make sure all the controllers are off.

Worked liked a charm @Johnnypenso.

Wheel users, boot up PS3 with your wheel and leave the controllers off. 👍

Booting the system with the controller and having it on is fine, but you have to start the game by pressing X on the wheel. Unless you enabled auto-load disc when turning on the system, that could cause problems.

It's because a lot of people who play the game use a steering wheel. And because they use a steering wheel, they already have one in front of them. They don't need a second on-screen.

That is why I never use cockpit cam in most racing games. In this game I use the cockpit dash cam exclusively because it doesn't show the wheel, and I love it.

It was me who gave that idea to the team..... helps having a Sim racer on the team. Slowly feeding Sim elements into a fun racing game..... perfect combo in my opinion

You have my gratitude then. It is my new favorite racing game view now.

Going back to the 'virtual' mirrors idea...... this video shows what I meant. It's not a real in -car mirror.... but it allows the player to see behind.

The other image I posted showed a similar thing, but with side mirrors too. Maybe an option to toggle each on/off would be cool? Thoughts?

Any sort of mirrors would be welcome.

Hmm, perhaps my post was a little misundestood.

I meant it should have all rally discuplines, and none of that gymkhana dudebro stuff. The theme and focus should be squarely focused on rallying... hill climb, dakar, rallycross, rally raid, buggies..are all forms of "rally racing" no?

I skipped WRC altogether... looks, feels and sounds dreadful from the vids and reviews I've come across.

As for that last question posted by @V8-Johnboy, Hard is a good start. If you're generally good at racing games and sims, you;re going to love the challenge. AI puts up a pretty good fight, and feels very natural and human for some reason.

I have WRC3 (the 2013 one), and it's very good. It had terrible reviews, but I think it's what a rally game should be. The career mode is really quite fun too. The physics feel good as well. I like it more than Dirt 3, which I also have.

 

[Speedster911]

Booting the system with the controller and having it on is fine, but you have to start the game by pressing X on the wheel. Unless you enabled auto-load disc when turning on the system, that could cause problems.





That is why I never use cockpit cam in most racing games. In this game I use the cockpit dash cam exclusively because it doesn't show the wheel, and I love it.





You have my gratitude then. It is my new favorite racing game view now.





Any sort of mirrors would be welcome.





I have WRC3 (the 2013 one), and it's very good. It had terrible reviews, but I think it's what a rally game should be. The career mode is really quite fun too. The physics feel good as well. I like it more than Dirt 3, which I also have.

Reaaa-hay-hay-hay-hayy-eeeaalllyyy??? *Ace Ventura*

Terrible reviews you say? Physics feel good you say? You got me going at that physics part. How's vehicle tuning? Are you happy with the engine sound and rally effects? How did the visuals grab you?

Hasn't Milestone made a 4th one? I'm assuming they're still the devs.

 

[mister dog]

You have my gratitude then. It is my new favorite racing game view now.

We're talking about the close interior view right? Same here it's great for the immersion, gives you a good view of the track and you still feel like you're in that car, without the need to have the whole detailed cockpit view in front of you. Love it too to be honest and works great 👍

Many times i switch to the further interior view (with the blurry cockpit), out of curiosity but so far i've never preferred it, so good that the close up interior view is present.

 

[Gogga]

So I finally bought the game. Was skepitical after Grid2 but the only reason why I made this purchase was because of all the feedback from this thread. Thanks guys and hApPy racing!!!!

 

[Speedster911]

You'll like it. The racing is fun. Far more exciting and rewarding than GRID II.

 

[Awong124]

Reaaa-hay-hay-hay-hayy-eeeaalllyyy??? *Ace Ventura*

Terrible reviews you say? Physics feel good you say? You got me going at that physics part. How's vehicle tuning? Are you happy with the engine sound and rally effects? How did the visuals grab you?

Hasn't Milestone made a 4th one? I'm assuming they're still the devs.

Vehicle tuning has what you would expect. It has sliders like GRID instead of actual number values like GT, but it works fine. And you can get upgrades for your cars as you progress in career mode. You get stars for completing objectives in career mode, and new events, cars, and upgrades get unlocked after you get a certain amount of stars. The graphics are quite good. I wouldn't say the graphics are exceptional, but typical of what you would expect from a PS3 game. I think sounds are fine, but it's not something I pay a lot of attention to. They made a 4th one, but I didn't buy it because it's digital only in North America.

We're talking about the close interior view right? Same here it's great for the immersion, gives you a good view of the track and you still feel like you're in that car, without the need to have the whole detailed cockpit view in front of you. Love it too to be honest and works great 👍

Many times i switch to the further interior view (with the blurry cockpit), out of curiosity but so far i've never preferred it, so good that the close up interior view is present.

Yeah, the closeup one.

 

[mister dog]

Another first impression that hasn't been mentioned so far, and deserves praise is the penalty system.
Quite remarkable that on all those tracks, when i received a penalty for crossing the track borders i agreed with it. You don't have to worry about riding the curbs as the system really understands when you gained an advantage. And when you exceed the track limits but loose time in the process through the gravel or grass the game doesn't penalize you neither.

Award for best penalty system goes to GAS also IMO.

 

[Speedster911]

Really good penalty system agreed. Cars also react realistically when they hit gravel traps.

Man.. it just feels like a motorsport game.. never a dull moment!

Can't wait to see pit stops in a GA game.

And Codies, please consider current-gen versions (whenever you get to them) to be locked in at 60 fps..oaahh what an epic experience that would be.

 

[Wolfman_UK]

Over the last couple of days, I played split screen with my son. (15). You can opt to choose random races and it just throws all different events with different cars and I do not think we have done the same track or used the same vehicle twice.

And what a hoot!! We have literally been crying with laughter at some of the events we have done. There is just something different about split screen as even if we accidently crash against each other, there is no retaliation unlike what seems to happen with some online. (Not from this forum though!!!)

I do recommend it and again, it just appears to be better done than other racing games that I could mention.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Another first impression that hasn't been mentioned so far, and deserves praise is the penalty system

It's quite clever; it seems to measure your throttle, braking and steering inputs when and where you leave the track limits, and where you rejoin. If you drift wide coming out of the final corner at Algarve GP and cross over the white line, you're pretty much guaranteed a penalty - but if you quickly flick back onto the circuit, you can avoid the penalty at the cost of some straight-line speed. You won't lose as much time as if you take the penalty, but the AI will absolutely seize on it and fight you down the straight. So the game won't punish you for an unintentional mistake.

 

[anim8r_uk]

The penalty system is based on any 'advantage' you may have gained. If you go wide, but no advantage is gained over the opposition, then no penalty is applied.

Also, if an advantage is gained, but it it very small, then the penalty is very small too. If you cut a large portion of track at full throttle, then your penalty will be much larger.

If I go wide, I always lift off the throttle at the point of going off track, to try and reduce any advantage.