GRID Autosport First Impressions

[MagpieRacer]

I really don't get why so many people on the Codemasters forums have such a beef against reverse tracks. It's just a nice addition that gives some variety and probably only required a few lines of text to make possible.

Or have we all decided we don't need extra content any more..

 

[dhandeh]

I really don't get why so many people on the Codemasters forums have such a beef against reverse tracks. It's just a nice addition that gives some variety and probably only required a few lines of text to make possible.

Or have we all decided we don't need extra content any more..

Custom circuits/road tracks are fine to be reversed, GP Circuits reversed are just a cheap way to boost track numbers. Not to mention kerbs on a lot of them aren't in the right place for exiting turns when going the wrong way.

 

[FT-1]

As MildAshers pointed out, the reversed tracks add more variety to the game and gives you new routes to learn, it gives the game more longetivity. It's not like GRID Autosport is a full-blown simulation, it can afford to break the rules. Yes, it may seem awkward at first, but give it time and you will get used to it.

 

[Awong124]

I'm finding it remarkably easy to catch myself from just about any contact. I have to be tboned with massive speed differential to spin me out. I was actually thinking the opposite of you, that they had made the collisions artificially more stable than they should be (probably due to the elbow-y nature of the AI).

It's possible that I'm secretly a ninja with super reflexes, but considering how awful I am at games where twitch is actually important, it seems unlikely.

(I'm using a wheel, not sure if that's a factor. Are you on wheel or pad?)

I'm using a wheel. If I'm trying to go down the inside of a corner and the AI cuts across my front, instead of me PITing him into a spin, I get spun around immediately. If an AI car hits me in the rear quarter panel, I also get spun around immediately. This could possibly be related to what car you're driving. Maybe some cars are more sensitive to this than others. I was doing the Racenet thing with the Hypercars, so maybe they spin more easily.

Gotta say the teammate control function works great; he was in 2nd me in 3rd i gave him orders to attack and he got the Ravenwest chap that was driving in front to make a visit to the kitty litter , then i give him orders to hold and i pass him easily for the win.

They are really at your command and it's nice to learn to include that strategy in your races.

So far my teammates suck. In a Touring race, he started one race in something like 4th by virtue of the reverse grid, and I told him to attack. At one point he was actually leading, until I passed him. Then he got passed by the Ravenwest and Kicker cars, which is understandable, but somehow he ended up finishing the race down in 14th or something. And my teammate in open wheel is just horribly slow. He always finishes 15th.

Real life GP circuits reversed, what a stupid idea. Having your first online race at a reversed Spa is just not on.

Completely agree. I hate reverse circuits. A lot of circuits designed to go one way just don't flow well in reverse.

 

[mister dog]

I
So far my teammates suck. In a Touring race, he started one race in something like 4th by virtue of the reverse grid, and I told him to attack. At one point he was actually leading, until I passed him. Then he got passed by the Ravenwest and Kicker cars, which is understandable, but somehow he ended up finishing the race down in 14th or something. And my teammate in open wheel is just horribly slow. He always finishes 15th.

Have to add that this was a teammate from a custom race, not career mode. I probably selected a more competent team with choosing a new livery

 

[Awong124]

Have to add that this was a teammate from a custom race, not career mode. I probably selected a more competent team with choosing a new livery

Well, to be fair, I was with the starting teams and it was explicitly said that they were rookies. So this isn't a complaint about the game, since they're performing how they were meant to perform.

 

[mister dog]

Well, to be fair, I was with the starting teams and it was explicitly said that they were rookies. So this isn't a complaint about the game, since they're performing how they were meant to perform.

Badly

 

[Johnnypenso]

As MildAshers pointed out, the reversed tracks add more variety to the game and gives you new routes to learn, it gives the game more longetivity. It's not like GRID Autosport is a full-blown simulation, it can afford to break the rules. Yes, it may seem awkward at first, but give it time and you will get used to it.

One of the things I used to wonder about in GT was why there wasn't a reverse option for every track. It's a steep learning curve, so much to learn but in the long run it adds to the gameplay. I was surprised to the the Racenet Challenge in the TC's at Bathurst Reverse, but the track is awesome in reverse, dare I say it, maybe even as good as forward!

Well, to be fair, I was with the starting teams and it was explicitly said that they were rookies. So this isn't a complaint about the game, since they're performing how they were meant to perform.

Exactly. It wouldn't make much sense if you joined a lower grade team with no tuning options and you or your mate were running up front all the time. The idea is like real racing, start with a lower ranked team and move up, career progression and all that.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Custom circuits/road tracks are fine to be reversed, GP Circuits reversed are just a cheap way to boost track numbers. Not to mention kerbs on a lot of them aren't in the right place for exiting turns when going the wrong way.

It's a cheap way to boost track numbers that almost every game should take advantage of. I bet people wouldn't complain if Gran Turismo did it.

Sepang is awesome backwards btw.

 

[PIP_36]

Loving this game!

It's taken me a good few hours to get used to the handling, but once I got comfortable with how the physics worked and felt my smile got wider and wider!

The physics feel to me like a mix between GT6 and Shift 2, the cars seem to fit a natural driving style of fast n loose, chucking the car into the corner and let the back hang out. But with practice and concentration you can drive in a more technical or precise style such as in the ol' slow in fast out manner.

I love the look of the tracks, they have character and an atmosphere, you can hear the crowd cheering as you past them.

My biggest joy is the cockpit view, depending in the car I swap between the two cockpit views and both have the steering wheel and hand animations removed, it looks great in front of my G27 and really adds to the immersion.

Had a few cracked windscreens too!

Have only taken part in touring car races so far (in season two) and have had a few online races, but so far I'm really enjoying Grid Autusport!

Only downside is that I thought I would have a Black edition AMG to race with...the pre order only gives you the opportunity to buy the car, I thought this car would be a reward for pre ordering the limited edition....

Also, I've experienced a few of the bugs already mentioned, the most annoying one is when your engine sound goes quiet, I've lost a few positions due to not changing gear when at max revs, I couldn't hear the revs hitting the limiter.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

After mucking around with the Custom Cup for a while and sampling a variety of cars, I have to say that I love the way Codemasters have balanced the car classes against circuit selection. Cat-C Touring Cars are great around Sepang South, but take them out on Sepang GP, and the race becomes a chore. At the same time, Cat-B Touring Cars feel horrible around Sepang South because it's a bit too tight and cramped, but they're in their element on Sepang GP.

 

[UkHardcore23]

I really don't get why so many people on the Codemasters forums have such a beef against reverse tracks. It's just a nice addition that gives some variety and probably only required a few lines of text to make possible.

Or have we all decided we don't need extra content any more..

Reverse tracks are the worst, I hate to see them in games to try and pass off as an additional track. Pnly time it's acceptable is if it's a fantasy street circuit.

 

[Awong124]

Reverse tracks are the worst, I hate to see them in games to try and pass off as an additional track.

For me it's not so much about passing them off as a different track, but a lot of them aren't very nice to drive backwards.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

For me it's not so much about passing them off as a different track, but a lot of them aren't very nice to drive backwards.

That's probably the issue right there. Circuits might be good to drive normally, but they just don't work in reverse. Most of the street circuits are okay; it's the real-world circuits that don't always work.

 

[mister dog]

I was just behind a AI that lost it's tire and was trying to get up the hill with sparks flying everywhere, the damage animations in this game are great.

 

[Awong124]

That's probably the issue right there. Circuits might be good to drive normally, but they just don't work in reverse. Most of the street circuits are okay; it's the real-world circuits that don't always work.

Spa is a very good example.

 

[Imari]

I really don't get why so many people on the Codemasters forums have such a beef against reverse tracks. It's just a nice addition that gives some variety and probably only required a few lines of text to make possible.

Or have we all decided we don't need extra content any more..

I agree. I thought it was a cool idea that should have been the standard years ago. Some tracks are very different in reverse. Whether they're good or bad is largely irrelevant, they're as close to free extra content that we're going to get.

Bombing DOWN Eau Rouge is fricking scary.

 

[NateC]

Chevrolet Cruze - What a sick car!! Totally car for my driving style. Great car!

 

[ukfan758]

If I were to give Grid Autosport a rating, it would be 8/10.

Here are the positives: It has a good looking career mode, I am still in the beginning but I see that it has many upgrades and other things, qualifying and practice were added to races, rolling starts were added to specific races/series, you can make your own racing league/club for racenet, you can expand the distance of career mode races, tire wear was added to endurance races, the track selection is somewhat decent, the cars handle really well, and much more.

The negatives I have are: still no pitstops for races, crossing the white line penalty system (I understand it's to prevent people from cheating, its just really annoying when you accidently barely cross the white line and it ruins your lap by slamming on the brakes), no weather changes and day/night transitions, cars and tracks that were not included from Grid 1 (Le Mans, Donington Park,Yokohama Docks, Shibuya, Mount Haruna, Milan for tracks, and many of the Le Mans cars were not included) (hopefully they will be added in updates), no safety car feature, blurry cockpits (I'm glad cockpit view is back, it's just not what I was expecting), etc.

 

[ukfan758]

I agree. I thought it was a cool idea that should have been the standard years ago. Some tracks are very different in reverse. Whether they're good or bad is largely irrelevant, they're as close to free extra content that we're going to get.

Bombing DOWN Eau Rouge is fricking scary.

I remember in the grid 1 days how i would race it in reverse in career, I would almost always slam into the barrier at the bottom of it, I had to use so many flashbacks then.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

crossing the white line penalty system (I understand it's to prevent people from cheating, its just really annoying when you accidently barely cross the white line and it ruins your lap by slamming on the brakes)

Penalties are proportionate to the offence. If you "barely cross" the line, the penalty lasts for a heartbeat. If you completely cut a corner and gain an advantage from it (like the chicane at Abu Dhabi), the penalty is far more punishing.

 

[GTboyz]

I think this is the first game where i prefer the Open Wheel class more than anything. The way they fishtail and the overall feel is awesome.

I just got into the first Grid event "Grand Slam". Choosing Monster energy team was a good decision. My teammate is a LOT better than the two starting teams. He/she (i dont know if Emmanuele is a girls or boys name lol) is the only one who managed to finish races close to me and the Ravenwest, one time with my teammate in 4th, Ravenwest in 3rd and 2nd and me in 1st.

Endurance using the Zagato is far more enjoyable than the Mclaren. I have the first loss in Endurance because the Mclaren just doesnt feel right to me and not to mention Nathan McKane was really, really fast.

Chevrolet Cruze... This car surprises me a lot. Way better than the Focus. When it corners, the Cruze doesnt make a lot of wheelspin compared to the Focus, and the Cruze is really fast too.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Just had an absolute blast running at Brands Hatch in a Cat-C Touring Car. I've never actually driven the circuit before, but it was a whole lot of fun - especially when I started getting brave through Dingle Dell, and my laptimes started to fall.

The thing I like most about this game is the sense of achievement that you get, even when you're battling for a minor points position. Unlike GT, success doesn't hinge on an intimate understanding of physics, and even when you run three and a half seconds adrift of the next car, you're left with the feeling that all it will take is half a second here or there, and catching them is a very real possibility. It's never boring to simply hold your position (the way it is in GT) because you know the AI is pushing you just as hard as you're hounding the car in front. And I especially like the way my priorities subtly change depending on who is behind me. I have a lot of fun figuring out the personalities.

And I have decided to name my race engineer "Sherman", after Rob Austin's car. So full credit to Codemasters for creating a game with Sherman the Passive-Aggressive Race Engineer, or SPARE.

 

[Imari]

The race engineer is great. The amount of times he drives me to channel my inner Kimi..."Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!"

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I now have my first win!

I was robbed of victory on the streets of Washington when I got turned around on the penultimate lap. But now I'm doing touring cars, and survived fifteen laps of Algarve sandwiched between the two Ravenwest cars. I got past McKane with an early braking move into the first complex, and Westley - my Jamie Whincup - took advantage to get by. I then had to manage two laps with bent steering, a ruined gearbox and light radiator damage. I made mistake at the back end of the circuit, and left myself wide open to attack down through the final complex. The final margin was 0.193 in my favour - another hundred metres, and Westley would have had me.

 

[anim8r_uk]

The race engineer is great. The amount of times he drives me to channel my inner Kimi..."Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!"

"You have one lap left and Nathan McKane is 17 seconds ahead of you. Got get him Champ"

 

[RacerPaul]

With each game, we learn new things and learn from our mistakes (or try too). I think Grid Autosport is a step in the right direction.... onwards and upwards as they say

I agree 👍

 

[bluemoon_19]

I got the game on Friday and have played a few hours so far with a DS3. First I tried the touring cars on high difficulty and got my a** handed to me during qualifying . The race was much closer with lap times but had to put it down to medium difficulty.

Different when I tried open wheel though and medium was just to easy so bumped it back to hard.

As everyone else here has said way better than Grid 2. Now I can turn into a corner without fear of a massive spin off lol.

 

[mister dog]

The race engineer is great. The amount of times he drives me to channel my inner Kimi..."Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!"

Indeed, he always talks to you when you cross the finish line, so sometimes when the 1st corner is only a couple of meters away he screws up my concentration and i fly off

Might be that he get's muted soon, for stating the obvious and lacking a sense of humor

 

[Speedster911]

I am absolutely loving the first impressions that are being posted here. Like one of you said, physics somewhere between GT6 and Shift 2; that alone is enough reason to get the game.

I don't care about the minor nuisances, every game has those.

GA baby, here I come!