Q&A with Slightly Mad Studios: Ian Bell [Read OP]

[The_American]

What does it mean manual control in the pits? That means I can steer freely and have to control throttle/speed at the pits entering in en route to the pit box and exiting the pits?

Yes, and you will get penalties for excess speed and hitting other cars/people.

 

[LGee19]

Hi @IanBell I got a question about online championships.

What if someone disconnects in the middle of an online championship race? Will they still be able to rejoin while the car ghosts around the track similar to F1 2016?

Thanks in advance.

@The_American would you be able to answer this because id imagine Ian would be really busy at the moment

 

[The_American]

Cannot wait for this!

@IanBell I think I've read that AI will probably have flashing lights for overtaking, there will also be pace laps and formation laps IIRC...

Is there a possibility that there could be waving flags at marshalling points for situations and working signalling lights around tracks? That would be a nice immersion!

Also just crossed my mind; will blue flags for AI work better in the situation that you're a faster class and the AI is made aware of that?

Yes, AI will not "fight" faster cars under blue flag.

We wanted flag waivers and those nice "immersion" things but i dont think we will do it. So you will see icons on your screen for the flag situations.

Yes we have manual formation and cooldown/victory laps. I mentioned before during cooldown/victory lap your vehicle will be non-collidable so you cannot catch up to other still racing and mess up their race.

If you fall out of formation you will get penalty.

Ok some information on safety/pace car. For most circuits (road and city tracks) we will have Code60 local yellow and for ovals we will basically Code60 the whole track for couple laps and aim to "reset" or recollect the field behind leader. Indycar does single-file restarts so this is what we will do for all classes on ovals.

We will not have pit open/close logic for this game or real/visible safety car with "waive arounds" which is much more complicated.

 

[Jordan]

A quick announcement: I have just removed several pages of off-topic chit-chat in a thread which should be dedicated only to questions and answers from SMS employees.

For those of you who have been complaining (while adding even more off-topic posts to the thread...): please use the Report button to notify the moderation team about off-topic posts. This is the fastest way to ensure they are removed.

 

[05XR8]

Yes, and you will get penalties for excess speed and hitting other cars/people.

Time out.
Are you all introducing avatars?
Could this lead to classic LeMans starts for cars of that era?

Or avatars to personalize our drivers?

 

[Jason Wilko]

Time out.
Are you all introducing avatars?
Could this lead to classic LeMans starts for cars of that era?

Or avatars to personalize our drivers?

I'm fairly sure he means hitting other pit crews.

 

[Jason Wilko]

Ok some information on safety/pace car. For most circuits (road and city tracks) we will have Code60 local yellow and for ovals we will basically Code60 the whole track for couple laps and aim to "reset" or recollect the field behind leader. Indycar does single-file restarts so this is what we will do for all classes on ovals.

We will not have pit open/close logic for this game or real/visible safety car with "waive arounds" which is much more complicated.

great news on the 'full course yellow' @IanBell @The_American ive got a question to add to that, are you looking to implement the full course yellow to road/circuits aswell? Or is there problems stopping from having that in?

 

[PJTierney]

@IanBell @The_American

Hi there.

Just a quick question: Will there be some form of livery editor on console (similar to Forza Motorsport 6), or a .JPG importer (similar to Pro Evolution Soccer 2017)?

 

[F1Racer68]

@IanBell @The_American

Hi there.

Just a quick question: Will there be some form of livery editor on console (similar to Forza Motorsport 6), or a .JPG importer (similar to Pro Evolution Soccer 2017)?

Already asked and answered. There will NOT. Adding it would mean fewer cars on the track due to the resources required.

 

[PJTierney]

Already asked and answered. There will NOT. Adding it would mean fewer cars on the track due to the resources required.

Thanks for that.

Have they said if there will be multiple selectable (non-editable) colours and liveries for each car instead?

 

[Pubs16]

Thanks for that.

Have they said if there will be multiple selectable (non-editable) colours and liveries for each car instead?

On that, I wonder if we can do custom numbers also?

 

[Raging Bull]

@IanBell @The_American @TheOwl

(Sorry if this was brought up before and I just missed the answer)

Is the day time change going to be more accurate? When day turns into night it always takes much longer then it should.

I have started races using real time, at the same exact time as real life, with a track from near my location (My time zone), at the same time of year/month, and it always remains light in the game long after it has turned dark in real life. Evening just seems to go on and on, only becoming dark hours after it turned dark in real life.

Also, in the morning it seems to start getting light hours to early.

This is not a big issue, but if it's not a hard fix, it would be nice.

Thanks again for everything you guys are doing. Keep up the great work!!!

 

[The_American]

Thanks for that.

Have they said if there will be multiple selectable (non-editable) colours and liveries for each car instead?

We had that in pC1 correct?

Unless a manufacturer bars us from doing it, yeah we try to do many liveries for each car.

@IanBell @The_American @TheOwl

(Sorry if this was brought up before and I just missed the answer)

Is the day time change going to be more accurate? When day turns into night it always takes much longer then it should.

I have started races using real time, at the same exact time as real life, with a track from near my location (My time zone), at the same time of year/month, and it always remains light in the game long after it has turned dark in real life. Evening just seems to go on and on, only becoming dark hours after it turned dark in real life.

Also, in the morning it seems to start getting light hours to early.

This is not a big issue, but if it's not a hard fix, it would be nice.

Thanks again for everything you guys are doing. Keep up the great work!!!

Yeah was noticed and i think the guys made some adjustments. Was there a particular track and time-of-year that didn't work? Think Dubai was way off in the first game.

great news on the 'full course yellow' @IanBell @The_American ive got a question to add to that, are you looking to implement the full course yellow to road/circuits aswell? Or is there problems stopping from having that in?

tbh, it's still early, we'll see how it plays out. At least on ovals we're aiming to do the FCY (no safety/pace car though, the leader will just be the pace car).

 

[Raging Bull]

Thanks for the response.

I don't recall it happening to just specific tracks. I believe it happens to most, but I may be wrong.

 

[Jason Wilko]

tbh, it's still early, we'll see how it plays out. At least on ovals we're aiming to do the FCY (no safety/pace car though, the leader will just be the pace car).

No worries thanks for the answer! That is still cool though, can't run a full Indy 500 without a quote unquote safety car

 

[CorvetteConquer]

Can we change the intensity of the snow before the race? Will it actually accumulate during the race or just melt on track?

 

[The_American]

You wanna race vettes at Nords in a blizzard, right?

 

[CorvetteConquer]

You wanna race vettes at Nords in a blizzard, right?

I have a bias toward Vettes and snow....it is true! Now my secret's out...

Edit: Can we expect any new road car classes in P Cars 2?

 

[breyzipp]

Will the console versions still have 100% wheel/controller button mapping customization? That completely rocked in the first game.

 

[The_American]

I have a bias toward Vettes and snow....it is true! Now my secret's out...

Edit: Can we expect any new road car classes in P Cars 2?

Well i dont know about more/new classes but: a. we will continue to offer braod range of cars and b. we will focus more on keeping the interclass battles competitive with no clear winner or "go to" car

Will the console versions still have 100% wheel/controller button mapping customization? That completely rocked in the first game.

Yeah, dont see a reason to lose that.

 

[CorvetteConquer]

Well i dont know about more/new classes but: a. we will continue to offer braod range of cars and b. we will focus more on keeping the interclass battles competitive with no clear winner or "go to" car

Regardless, it's inevitable that people will find the fastest cars of each class. It'll happen every time, but mostly in road car classes which are not regulated like race cars...

...To fully encourage competitive races and to keep all cars a viable option, a simple point or color system would more accurately rank cars, creating far more matchups along the spectrum. If not, you could add more subdivisions within a car class or just create a few new classes...?
----------------------------------------------------------------

(New class: ROAD AAA) Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, McLaren 720s, Dodge Viper ACR, Gumpert Apollo S, Lamborghini Veneno, Pagani Huayra BC are now its own class atop the road car food chain. Top dogs. Track monsters.

(New class: ROAD AA) Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Nismo GTR, Ferrari 488 GTB, Pagani Zonda Cinque, McLaren F1, McLaren 650s, etc. Second in the food chain, home to very powerful and quick cars.

(Reconfigured ROAD A) Acura NSX, Jaguar XJ220, SLS AMG, Audi R8, RUF RGT-8, Mustang GT350(R), Camaro ZL1/Z/28. The entry to Road A-level cars begins here.

(Reconfigured ROAD B) The former B class needs to be scaled back, otherwise, it will explode. The spread was waaaaayy too large in P Cars 1. Here, cars that avg 0-60 in ~4.2 secs, with roughly 400-500hp belong. If there are not many new cars that fit this mold, simply eliminate the "C1" category and we'll now consider them B class cars. Now you have a "C" category by itself. No more 1+2.

(Classic Sport Cars) Ferrari 288 GTO. Pour 911 Turbo. Add Miura. Sprinkle Countach. Stir. Enjoy.


Thoughts on either option? One option abolishes classes, allowing cars of similar performance to simply compete. The latter option is a restructuring of current classes while adding new ones. If the class system is staying, it definitely, unequivocally, needs addressing. We're here to help you

 

[R9NALD9]

My biggest concern in regards to career mode is the weather? Will every race's weather be pre-determined like Pcars1 or will it be random. So if you do the same race twice the weather will be different and not exactly the same as in Pcars1?

Would appreciate if anyone can answer that?

Really REALLY excited for Pcars2, and still playing the first game every day. I've always said that if I can have Pcars1 with Lambo, Ferrari and Porsche it would be my perfect racing game. Hearing what Pcars2 will offer I'm sure I'm in for one hell of a treat

 

[Masscot]

I have a question about wheel support and controller options on PS4.

I'm assuming my CSR-E Fanatec rig will be blocked by Sony in pCARS 2 (like it is for all new PS4 games now), so I use a CronusMAX Plus to emulate a Logitech G29. A fantastic feature patched into pCARS 1 on PS4 was the ability to use a FFB wheel (for driving) AND a joypad (for navigating menus) simultaneously. However, with the CronusMAX, this is not possible. It uses a connected joypad as part of the emulation process, and if the joypad is subsequently 'activated', the wheel control falls apart.

My question is therefore: will it be possible AND easy to activate ALL menu options from the steering wheel? This was a little clumsy with the tabs in pCARS 1 (which were operated by the pedals, I think) before simultaneous joypad control was patched in. I'm hoping this has been given some consideration for those of us using workarounds for legacy wheels.

 

[bramvanuytven]

Will it be more easy to compare your own laptimes with the one in the past?
So for example you can easly see in witch GT3 car you are the fastest on each track.
I love Project cars , but i like a little more info after te race. (best laptimes , average laptime , time in pits , fuel used ,tyre wear , ...)
Would something like that be possible?

 

[Stephan]

It seems that my question was deleted alongside the useless off topic chit chat pages.

So here's my question though for @IanBell/@The_American:

Considering that PCars had the Rocket Bunny GT86/FR-S, Mad Mike's MX5, etc. and some users tried to drift in PCars using those cars, what's your take on drifting in PCars? And will there be more Asian tracks?

Thanks in advance for answering. Looking forward for PCars 2.

 

[notanexpert]

@The_American Are you basing the road cars purely on whether or not they fit in a class? I ask because if a super awesome car is going to be left out since it won't have competition would be a big downer.

 

[ReXzz]

@The_American Will we be able to create our own liveries? For example like in Forza? I guess we cannot but since another person asked me that, I thought I'd pass this question on to you

 

[MroczMR]

@The_American Will we be able to create our own liveries?

This is notorious question NO there is no Custom Livery option.

 

[Wolfe]

Considering that PCars had the Rocket Bunny GT86/FR-S, Mad Mike's MX5, etc. and some users tried to drift in PCars using those cars, what's your take on drifting in PCars? And will there be more Asian tracks?

Thanks in advance for answering. Looking forward for PCars 2.

 

[The_American]

My biggest concern in regards to career mode is the weather? Will every race's weather be pre-determined like Pcars1 or will it be random. So if you do the same race twice the weather will be different and not exactly the same as in Pcars1?

Would appreciate if anyone can answer that?

Really REALLY excited for Pcars2, and still playing the first game every day. I've always said that if I can have Pcars1 with Lambo, Ferrari and Porsche it would be my perfect racing game. Hearing what Pcars2 will offer I'm sure I'm in for one hell of a treat

Had a chat with the guys about, agree it's a weakness and will _attempt_ to add some reasonable variability to career weather to enhance replay value for a single event.