I was so lucky to lay my hand on a copy of the BMW 1 series virtual drive as well ...
So I'd like to share some impressions.
The Momo wheel
I had some hope to use my Momo Force Wheel, but it does NOT work with the BMW 1 Series Virtual Drive neither.
The sounds
I decided to keep the Ring for the last, and started with Costa di Amalfi ... and oh horror, the first sound that appears when you start the test drive on this track is ... the noise of yelling spectators! The tifosi are yelling and applauding as if they see Nino Vacarella himself winning the Targa Florio
I sincerely hope this is an old version of CdA, and that we wont be bored by this annoying noise over and over and over again in GT4
. Luckily everything was quiet in New York and on the Nordschleife, so I could listen to the engine sounds on these tracks.
An improvement is the tyre sound, still informing and less disturbing for other people in the living room
Edit : I forgot about the sound of the 120d, which sounds like an 1980's Alfasud revving between 1500 and 2000 rpm
I never drove an 120d but my Golf TDI sounds far better then that.
The Physics
I only drive on road tyres since GT4P, and so I did in the BMW demo. First impression is that the road tyres are more sticky then in GT4P. This is most noticeable at low speed, as at high speed, you loose this advantage due to an increasing instability of the car. Yes, you read this well, it seems like GT4 is finally going the right way in high speed handling. Especially in the fast, turning parts of the Ring at 190+ km/hr, the car becomes very tricky to handle 👍 . A welcome inmprovement over the ever increasing downforce on all cars in GT3, it seems that this BMW is effectively simulating lift at higher speeds!
I tried to compare this effect by zigzagging some cars in GT4P at the faster parts of NY, but the high speed instability seems to be outstanding in the BMW demo.
New York laptimes compared
I chose two cars imo comparable with the in GT terms low powered, haevy BMW 120d (160 hp for 1430 kg) : the 89 MX-5 and the Civic Type-R.
Both cars have a slighly better p/w ratio, but worse handling. Then I made 1 lap on the NY track (which I didnt drive a lot untill now youll see it at my laptimes) :
- 120d : 2.23.575 8,94 kg/hp finish crossed at 150 km/hr
- MX-5 : 2.35.900 7,97 kg/hp 150 km/hr
- Civic : 2.25.800 5,77 kg/hp 170 km/hr
The BMW proved to be a lot faster. This could be due to the higher grip of the tyres in this demo, but it could also be that performances are just boosted to boost sales of the car, which is the aim of the demo after all
. Well see when GT4 finally comes out
View
- 1st Person : since my simulator is ready, and started again using GT3 and GT3C with my Momo Force wheel, Im finally converted to the 1st person view, even using the Dual Shock!
My only complaint is the lack of reference in this view. And this is even worse in the BMW demo because of a small detail : the G-meter. This device can be interesting during the replays, but I wonder who has the times to consider this information in a turn at limit speed? The only thing this left-right moving ball does to me is distract me and make the lack of reference even worse.
PD should at least make this unselectable.
- 3rd Person : both 3rd person views are unchanged to GT4P, imo theres still not enough visibility in the close view, and the far view makes me dizzy because youre swept from 10 meters to the left to 10 meters to the right all the time
!
However, there is an improvement in the gauges : the tachometer gauge (rpm) is now larger scaled, which makes it more useable then the (too) small gauge in GT4P.
Replays
The same options here as in GT4P. A good improvement in GT4P is still there : its theO-button that can be used to swich the music on and off.
Crash effects
The new shock effect helps making impacts more realistic. Too bad this is only in 1st person, and theres no punishment for crashing in the other views.
The collision physics urgently need to be improved, as otherwise many online races will have to be decided on the green table or by a moderator.
Wall riding is still rewarding, especially in Costa di Amalfi. Braking way too late, and being stopped by a wall can be faster then driving regularly fast. In typical GT-style, when you touch a wall, the car is supported by an invisible force over its entire length : even if only the rear of the car touches the wall, the front will remain aligned in the direction of the car before the impact. In such a case, the car should at least start spinning.
On the Ring, youre often stopped by an invisible wall, even if theres a hill of grass, on which the car could go up to be thrown in a spin, causing a delay that you dont want to risk.
The only punishment you have now is that a collision looks really stupid in the replay.
180 Sec limit
This limit is a nice way to learn the long Ring part by part (at least the first), but Id like to know anyway if theres a cheat to get rid of it!
Summary
👍 Positive evolution : the much more challenging and realistic high speed dynamics
👎 Negative evolution : return of the noise of spectators yelling at Costa di Amalfi