MotoGP 23

[RZ05]

I don’t expect much from yearly licensed series. Honestly don’t really need much aside from updated rosters and bikes. I think the last one I actually finished might have been 19. All the 2X ones I haven’t liked the handling model which is strange cause I thought the SBK 22 game was great (aside from the not having a decent 1st person view).

But what burns me about the MotoGP series is they keep rehashing the same stuff while not FIXing the main problem. What good is having career ,“AI” penalties or riding characteristics if you can’t actually race them? The AI is not aware of you so they are pretty much just a time trial bonus marker. If they’d fix the AI I’d be more inclined to put more time into the series again. I think from 20 to 23 I might have done a total of 2hrs cause the games weren’t fun. I play the F1 games and at least the AI is aware of you and react.

It’s the same with all the additional features control wise they keep adding. What is the point of adding all those functions when there isn’t a controller that will let you use them?.

This time around and I really mean it lol, I’ll pass. Not a huge fan of the bikes in MotoGP anyway these days so no real urgency or desire to play them in a game. So unless I read that they physics and AI have been improved then I’ll pass

To be honest I think my all time favorite MotoGP game was 08. Thought it had the best balance of sim and arcade in terms of handling and the AI wasn’t the worst

 

[m355y]

The THQ games on the Xbox were the best of all for me. Absolutely great fun. They had this feel that was totally different from anything I’ve ever experienced in a racing game, this sense of speed and danger because the tracks felt so narrow and it was so easy to crash. They were arcadey I guess, but I’ve never experienced that kind of thrill from a motorbike game before or since. Last one I think was 06 on the Xbox360.

 

[RZ05]

Funny I absolutely hated all the THQ MotoGP games, even when they had them between 09-12. But then again I hated their MX vs ATV games as well lol. Still not sure why but it was just something about the way they looked and felt.

I actually forgot about GP500 which was an awesome game as well. Wished they’d had had the chance to get going with the title. GP500 and the first 3 SBK (09-2001) on PC were to me the best bike games made. Tourist Trophy to me is still tops as well. While SBK 08 and MotoGP 08 still rank the best that Milestone has done since they got back into bike games. Ride 4/5 are up there as well.

I still don’t get why it seems like Milestone has two different engines for their games. I mean to me all the CoD games feel the same regardless of which team did the release. You can jump in any of them and have that familiar feeling. But with MotoGP and Ride they are night and day in terms of quality. It has nothing to do with “prototype” vs “production” bikes. Anyway now I want to go give GP500 a spin lol

 

[barryf1fan]

Been watching "preview build" videos of MotoGP 24 on YouTube and the game looks very promising. I mean, if you are not looking forward to the yearly release of this game than it probably doesn't interest you... but I like getting the "roster" update like the Madden or FIFA fans do.

It looks like the bike "pick up" on acceleration is gone, which is a welcome change, glad they did away with that. Also, from the videos I've watched the new adaptive Ai seems to adjust to your skill level. From what I've watched it looks to work really well - as does the new stewarding system. Kinda disappointed that there isn't a "historical" something back in the game... but I fear that feature may not return... anyway, looking forward to this one.

 

[m355y]

The lack of historical content is gutting again considering they've always done that so well. How could they?! It still upsets me! Especially considering they actually went to town on it in MotoGP22 and included a full historical season which actually worked brilliantly. Then did away with it!

 

[m355y]

On 24, I think on balance it's good if they've made the bikes more straightforward to handle, although I did get the hang of it in 22 eventually and - by the end, quite appreciate the feeling of mid-corner control you have needing to use both brakes independently. So I hope its not too dumbed back. Better AI though can never be a bad thing.

 

[RZ05]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "AI" Every year they talk bout better AI in all of their games. but its the same thing. Adapting to the players pace isn't AI. Having an AI that is actually aware is different and that's my problem when I talk bad AI. I could give a damn about AI behavior between AI riders and them making mistakes or whatever. You watch them race and react to each other. But then are on rails when it comes to how they interact with you. If that is the case then for me it's like why bother with a career or race? Might as well just do time trials and "race" against my ghost.

All these reviewers/content creators, I don't know what game they play cause its never what goes to market

 

[barryf1fan]

Yeah, I totally agree with you 100%... and I don't think any game will ever get to where it needs to be like when racing other "human beings", but have watched several videos (on this one) where the Ai does make mistakes while "around" the player and it's nice to see. See them going wide trying to push to keep you behind them, or even crashing. The new stewarding system looks to punish more than just the Human player now, as well. The Ai are now getting warnings and long lap penalties for occurrences and not just the human player. That was one of my frustrations with '22 & '23, was that only the human player would get track limits warnings even though the Ai rider in front of you rides on the green for 5 laps in a row at the same corner...

I know it won't be perfect, but I'm just hoping for "improved", you know?

 

[barryf1fan]

So, picked up MotoGP 24 on Thursday (because I'm a sheep and a huge bike fan) and ran some time-trials on it...

EDIT: If you not a fan of this game, in general, then you can probably just skip this post altogether.

If you're continuing to read hopefully you won't feel it a waste of time...
This isn't necessarily a review but just some thoughts on the 'new' game. From what I've experienced so far, just a few TT's on the big bikes and the start of the career (first two races in Moto3), has been positive and welcome changes to the game.

Completely gone is the bike pick-up on throttle. Little disappointed with this as it could have been tweaked a bit to make it more 'realistic', but has been removed altogether. I know a LOT of people didn't like this feature from '23 but it did have a place in the game - it was just WAAYY too pronounced, especially in a game.

The graphics are basically a carry-over from MotoGP 23, which is 'okay' I guess, but I would've like to have seen an overhaul of the engine to take advantage of the "Next-Gen" hardware that is quickly becoming NOT next-gen... I mean, they are still doing last gen console games. Hmm?!??! The visuals aren't bad, in any way shape or form, they are actually quite good - just nothing stunning over last years game as it looked great...

I will say that I think they upgraded, or re-did, the sounds of the bikes. For example, the Moto3 bikes don't sound like a bee buzzing, they actcally sound like a motorcycle. The Aprilla and the Ducati sound different now as well, where in '23 they sounded the same. Maybe I'm just hearing them differently and they actually aren't different, but I would swear that they aren't the same - whereas last year's game I felt like they were the same sound file... Overall though I think they have improved the sounds.

The new adaptive Ai is what I've been impressed with so far though... I usually struggle with the game to find "my" setting for the Ai strength... in MotoGP 2018 to prob 2021 I ran the Ai on 80-90%... on '22 I think I was at 75%, but on '23 I was constantly changing it as I would do great at one track and the next get my ass kicked. On '24 I put the game on Pro (no assists, no rewind, etc. etc...) and did the "Adaptive Ai" and after only a couple of 'career' races the game has adjusted to my pace and ability pretty well. So far so good.

The other + I do want to mention is the fact that the 'other' riders get penalties. Warnings and Long Lap Penalties... they also aren't on a "track" like games used to be. There could two riders in front of you 'battling" and going into the corner one of them gets pushed wide from contact - from the other rider... they don't just form up into a train and make laps - very welcome change.

Now, again, if you are not into getting the updated "roster" and "livery" for the bikes then you could probably skip this one - but as I mentioned earlier in this post, this is my Madden or FIFA - I definitely getting it if only for the updated teams and bike liveries. Plus, in this game the riders will move around after a season in career mode.

Anyway, overall it's worth the $50 I spent on it as it's a game I'll play enough to get my $$ out of it...
Just though I would post up a quick thought on it.

And again, if you aren't a fan of this game to begin with, I would probably not recommend it.

 

[m355y]

Yeah I've got it, it's good. A genuine improvement and quite hard to fault as a straight up simulation of this year's MotoGP. Say what you like about Milestone but they do it pretty well by now. I just wish there was more around that - classic bikes, all the stuff they used to have. It always seems quite 'no frills' and the extra content used to really elevate it as a package. With this year's being much more user-friendly in terms of the physics, I wish it had the other stuff still because it would be easier to enjoy now.

 

[barryf1fan]

Yeah I've got it, it's good. A genuine improvement and quite hard to fault as a straight up simulation of this year's MotoGP. Say what you like about Milestone but they do it pretty well by now. I just wish there was more around that - classic bikes, all the stuff they used to have. It always seems quite 'no frills' and the extra content used to really elevate it as a package. With this year's being much more user-friendly in terms of the physics, I wish it had the other stuff still because it would be easier to enjoy now.

Agree with you 100% - I would love to have the Historical stuff, or even the '09 season thing they did, in this years game.

I do think also that if you are using the Adaptive Ai feature for the' 'difficulty' setting, you should run as many of the sessions as you can, ie., do all the practice sessions instead of skipping them. Even if you just do 5 or 6 laps and then move on, I think it is better to run in every session to give the Ai a chance to get to your speed and adjust a bit. If you jump straight into a race, or just straight into Q1, and especially at a track let's say you're really quick at - I think the Ai will struggle.

I'm not too shabby at Malaysia and just going to the race the Ai were pretty slow (even though I'd done some races in career mode), so I re-started and ran the practice sessions (and not the whole 35 minutes or whatever... just did 6-7 laps in each one, about 15 minutes or so...) and the Ai were much quicker for the race. May be a one-off thing, or it may just be that that's how the Ai adjust - is by your lap/sector times... not sure. That seemed to work though.

Anyhoo, I too am pretty impressed with the game. Again, nothing earth shattering, and if you're not a fan of the previous iterations then this one probably won't tickle your fancy either, but enough of an improvement over '22 &'23 for me to be quite happy with it.

 

[tornador]

Looking forward to this....

 

[Jtheripper]

Agree with you 100% - I would love to have the Historical stuff, or even the '09 season thing they did, in this years game.

I do think also that if you are using the Adaptive Ai feature for the' 'difficulty' setting, you should run as many of the sessions as you can, ie., do all the practice sessions instead of skipping them. Even if you just do 5 or 6 laps and then move on, I think it is better to run in every session to give the Ai a chance to get to your speed and adjust a bit. If you jump straight into a race, or just straight into Q1, and especially at a track let's say you're really quick at - I think the Ai will struggle.

I'm not too shabby at Malaysia and just going to the race the Ai were pretty slow (even though I'd done some races in career mode), so I re-started and ran the practice sessions (and not the whole 35 minutes or whatever... just did 6-7 laps in each one, about 15 minutes or so...) and the Ai were much quicker for the race. May be a one-off thing, or it may just be that that's how the Ai adjust - is by your lap/sector times... not sure. That seemed to work though.

Anyhoo, I too am pretty impressed with the game. Again, nothing earth shattering, and if you're not a fan of the previous iterations then this one probably won't tickle your fancy either, but enough of an improvement over '22 &'23 for me to be quite happy with it.

Hey barry, so how would you compare 24 to 19? again🤣.
Same thing i ask each year lol.
It seems a pretty solid one 24.
Some say though that physics aren't that perfect, and to stick to 19, idk..
Like braking, some say no risk of losing it under braking etc.
It seems better for close racing with ai, compared to 19.
In 19, ai crash at same spot each lap, then seem to make up for it. But in general i dont have much problem.

Is it improvement overall from 19?
Vs 23 it does seem better in all ways, sounds, ai, controls, career, even graphics from what i could notice.
I know content wise it isn't as good as 19.

Im guessing a newer ps5 game must have better feel with the ds5 ps5 controller feel..

I know physics get more complex but they seem to mess it up often, like in ride4, where u slide sideways 25 feet lol.

I got sbk22 a while ago for a few bucks only, haven't yet tried it even, i know it's based on gp21. That will give me an idea of how physics are evolving in gp games i guess.

I just tried my 19 game again in last days, and im amazed how it still stands up, i love it. In helmet and 3rd person pov.

Do you feel 24 is more arcade, easy, or more hardcore? More realistic, complex?

 

[m355y]

19 still stands up well doesn't it? I feel like that's where the big leap was in terms of the whole tech of the game, and everything that's come after is just iterations of the same, much as F1 2020 is still probably objectively the best Codemasters F1 game. MotoGP18 feels dated in comparison. It doesn't mean the ones afterwards didn't do some good stuff and improve on aspects, but it's amazing how much you can fire up a 5 or 6 year old game and it still looks and feels pretty much on a par with the current one.

MotoGP 19 was a sweet spot, like F1 2020. Feels really nice and solid. Not surprised it's still being used as a reference point.

 

[MagpieRacer]

2016/VR46 the game is still my fave.

 

[m355y]

2016 was really good but I didn’t really like the way the AI all rode round in a big tight pack, it seemed OTT. Then for 17 they maybe went too far the other way and races got more strung out again. 19 was the one where I thought they really got it tuned just right then they started fiddling with the braking physics etc and it took them some time to get back to where they were.

This is the problem with iterative yearly releases for me. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Same for the F1 series. Just treat it purely as a season update and don’t tweak around with it too much if you’ve had good feedback on the last one. Sometimes I feel like they fiddle around with the physics etc unnecessarily to justify a full price release and it rarely ends well.

 

[Jtheripper]

I saw a doc saying the next one is switching to ue5, and that they re-recorded sounds.

Makes it sound good, but then, it can often be a lil messy for a year or 2 when changing game engine.
So idk if ill bite 1st on gp25, edit: i meant 24 ofc, on sale 80% off now on pstore. It looks pretty good already from vids i saw.

 

[barryf1fan]

Hey barry, so how would you compare 24 to 19? again🤣.
Same thing i ask each year lol.
It seems a pretty solid one 24.
Some say though that physics aren't that perfect, and to stick to 19, idk..
Like braking, some say no risk of losing it under braking etc.
It seems better for close racing with ai, compared to 19.
In 19, ai crash at same spot each lap, then seem to make up for it. But in general i dont have much problem.

Is it improvement overall from 19?
Vs 23 it does seem better in all ways, sounds, ai, controls, career, even graphics from what i could notice.
I know content wise it isn't as good as 19.

Im guessing a newer ps5 game must have better feel with the ds5 ps5 controller feel..

I know physics get more complex but they seem to mess it up often, like in ride4, where u slide sideways 25 feet lol.

I got sbk22 a while ago for a few bucks only, haven't yet tried it even, i know it's based on gp21. That will give me an idea of how physics are evolving in gp games i guess.

I just tried my 19 game again in last days, and im amazed how it still stands up, i love it. In helmet and 3rd person pov.

Do you feel 24 is more arcade, easy, or more hardcore? More realistic, complex?

Hey man, long time no chat...
I honestly haven't been playing the bikes games as much the last prob 2'ish years. Been iRacing and have gotten a new rig, etc, etc,...

Will say though that I do like '24, much more than '23, or even '22... Don't know if that's down to just some of the tweaks they made to the bike stand-up thing, or that I like that people can change teams now... not just you.
And in all fairness, I will still play MotoGP 19 on my PS4 - I have it set up in my home office, and as I work from home I'll play it during lunch sometimes. It's still the bar for me, and agree with @m355y, I think that '19 was just the right amount of everything. Ai was good, handling was "doable", graphics still hold-up (even on a PS4 non-Pro), and the extras in it are amazing...

I'll always update as long as I can afford to, as it's really the only "game" I get yearly... quit getting FIFA and Madden, even F1 game years ago. I do like having the updated rosters and whatever tracks they may add back in, or new track. Like this year they're going back to Brno (a fav) and adding a new track in Hungary.

I dig the SBK game they did a few years ago as well, play it every once in awhile... not great, but not bad.

As far as '25 being arcadey, easy, etc... I do think that '25 is pretty tough. I play (played) '19 on a much higher setting than '25 - prob a lot due to the amount of time I've put into respective game, but I do think that '25 can be difficult. I do like the adaptive Ai setting and for me, it's worked quite well. I also like the braking in '25 (more than the last few games) as you can't use the rear brake much... which, for me, is more realistic. I also always run the largest front disc with the smallest rear... definitely haven't fiddled with setups in the last couple games like I used to, like '18, '19, & '20.

I'd say if you're still getting life out of '19 I would stick with it... It would just annoy me that Marc is still on the Honda and that Dovizioso and Rossi are still on the grid. But, I'm a dork.

 

[Jtheripper]

Hey man, long time no chat...
I honestly haven't been playing the bikes games as much the last prob 2'ish years. Been iRacing and have gotten a new rig, etc, etc,...

Will say though that I do like '24, much more than '23, or even '22... Don't know if that's down to just some of the tweaks they made to the bike stand-up thing, or that I like that people can change teams now... not just you.
And in all fairness, I will still play MotoGP 19 on my PS4 - I have it set up in my home office, and as I work from home I'll play it during lunch sometimes. It's still the bar for me, and agree with @m355y, I think that '19 was just the right amount of everything. Ai was good, handling was "doable", graphics still hold-up (even on a PS4 non-Pro), and the extras in it are amazing...

I'll always update as long as I can afford to, as it's really the only "game" I get yearly... quit getting FIFA and Madden, even F1 game years ago. I do like having the updated rosters and whatever tracks they may add back in, or new track. Like this year they're going back to Brno (a fav) and adding a new track in Hungary.

I dig the SBK game they did a few years ago as well, play it every once in awhile... not great, but not bad.

As far as '25 being arcadey, easy, etc... I do think that '25 is pretty tough. I play (played) '19 on a much higher setting than '25 - prob a lot due to the amount of time I've put into respective game, but I do think that '25 can be difficult. I do like the adaptive Ai setting and for me, it's worked quite well. I also like the braking in '25 (more than the last few games) as you can't use the rear brake much... which, for me, is more realistic. I also always run the largest front disc with the smallest rear... definitely haven't fiddled with setups in the last couple games like I used to, like '18, '19, & '20.

I'd say if you're still getting life out of '19 I would stick with it... It would just annoy me that Marc is still on the Honda and that Dovizioso and Rossi are still on the grid. But, I'm a dork.

Thanks for your input, appreciate it.
Yeah, brno is one of my fav too, with kyalami when it was in sbk too.
I guess ill see how the next game shapes out lol.
Might try 24 at a low price.
Peace..

 

[barryf1fan]

Well, and at 80% off you really can't go wrong... I mean, it's not like '19 is perfect.

 

[Jtheripper]

Well, and at 80% off you really can't go wrong... I mean, it's not like '19 is perfect.

Yeah, of course,,i just dont want to be disappointed i guess, and then still prefer 19 afterwards.
Lots of messing about trying the new game etc.
Plus i buy so many games, i need try as i can see if its worth it for me, and at what price hehe.
Plus i feel i didn't really go into 19 that much still.
Just trying things out, on and off.

So i don't even know how the career can pan out still lol, and all tracks etc.
When i do, i might realize and see more weaknesses, yeah.

Also, it's just that many say 24 isn't so good in physics etc.
I guess in the end you need try it yourself.

Edit: plus its missing lot of historic content.
But, i just checked and noticed 24 has new different tracks, I'd be curious to try those out.
Hay ok hehe, thanks.😁

Edit2: it's really a shame kyalami isn't part of the motogp, such a cool track, especially for bikes.
I just tried it again in acc and i love it.
Has to be one of the nicest they've done in acc, really nice surface detail, and surroundings, and lighting.

 

[barryf1fan]

Yeah, of course,,i just dont want to be disappointed i guess, and then still prefer 19 afterwards.
Lots of messing about trying the new game etc.
Plus i buy so many games, i need try as i can see if its worth it for me, and at what price hehe.
Plus i feel i didn't really go into 19 that much still.
Just trying things out, on and off.

So i don't even know how the career can pan out still lol, and all tracks etc.
When i do, i might realize and see more weaknesses, yeah.

Also, it's just that many say 24 isn't so good in physics etc.
I guess in the end you need try it yourself.

Edit: plus its missing lot of historic content.
But, i just checked and noticed 24 has new different tracks, I'd be curious to try those out.
Hay ok hehe, thanks.😁

Edit2: it's really a shame kyalami isn't part of the motogp, such a cool track, especially for bikes.
I just tried it again in acc and i love it.
Has to be one of the nicest they've done in acc, really nice surface detail, and surroundings, and lighting.

Agree man, with all of that really... but remember that '21 did the tire wear really well...

I mean, soft soft is the way to go at all the tracks anymore (or is it just me...??). MotoGP '21 actually had the tire compound mattered.

 

[Jtheripper]

I tried more the races with gp19, including practices, i started having lot of really bad stutters in practice, and small ones sometimes in races.
Pretty sure it's because of loading, unloading ai bikes going to pits etc.
I moved the game from my external hdd to one of my ssds, and it completely fixed it, thankfully. Phew..

Sounds are super too in this older game, in 3rd person, for the motogp bikes i tried.

I finally tried sbk22, and once used to it, adjusted, it can be pretty fun to ride, and race.
And i appreciate the more complex physics, with endos and destabilization in shifting of side etc, makes it more crucial to position your rider for each maneuver etc. Really cool.

But, jeez, does it have so many things faked, fudged, inconsistent.
And sounds are really poor, shame..

Milestone can be so frustrating, they can do so much good, and the only ones almost to do bike games.
But it's like there's no knowledgeable person who cares there to make sure things are valid and make sense.
Avoid curbs in this sbk22 game, it's ice...

Now they're not making any new one, maybe they just took the ip to avoid competition, and had to put out 1 product.
There's a spectator that keeps saying f.u.🤣, maybe it's directed at us lol.
Still fun to have it, at least i have an sbk game, but sure glad for now that i didn't pay much for it lol.
Idk, maybe it will grow on me...

I can say one thing, gp24 and on better be much much better.
Also, there's small stutters sometimes, not acceptable especially in a race game, even in any game. And it's a ps5 version game.

Edit: went back also to some ride4, i was surprised how nice it is, tracks, sounds, controls,although it has common faults with sbk22, and some things are exaggerated.
In 3rd person, because i give up on these games being great overall in helmet pov,except maybe rims..

One thing in all these milestone bike games that is missing is, track surface detail, no bumps etc.

Comparing kyalami in acc to ride4 is jarring. 🤪

 

[m355y]

Milestone aren't perfect, but they're the only ones who really do what they do - smallish developer focused on fairly niche racing titles (maybe MotoGP isn't that, but historically) so as a fan of racing games I think a world with Milestone in is a much better one.

 

[Jtheripper]

Milestone aren't perfect, but they're the only ones who really do what they do - smallish developer focused on fairly niche racing titles (maybe MotoGP isn't that, but historically) so as a fan of racing games I think a world with Milestone in is a much better one.

Of course, i agree fully, i love bikes, and appreciate most of their games quite a lot.
Just weird how each game has some things that make u scratch your head..how it passed approval.
Anyhow,
In sbk22 the aid for off track control helps fix the icy curbs i find, thankfully.
And im getting the hang of it really, liking the more complex handling, even if not adjusted perfectly as a sim.

Some things feel gamey, arcadey, like pulling wheelies in 6th gear, like they are weightless.
And going in way too fast in a very fast curve, and being easily able to just slow and turn in enough, not enough inertia etc. To me at least.

Sounds are pathetic honestly,,i had to go check a video of real sbk 2022, and of course they sound great. Shame. Makes it feel flimsy.

I just hope they will not abandon it, and make a new one, with great sounds, better adjusted, and with top quality assets etc.
The racing is fun.
Peace.