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

[F1Racer68]

Basically, form your team pre-race (at least 2 drivers, don't think we enforce a max but i'm sure there's some technical max). When racing, driver pulls into pits. Clicks "Swap Driver" (we already had this in pC1 but that was to swap with AI driver only) and then any other player on that team can click "Drive Car" and we take the first guy to click that and put them in the car. If the wrong guy clicks first he can again just click "Swap Driver" and let someone else get in (don't need to drive off and do a lap etc.)

Still lotta work to go on this but will be a great feature for online racing. I know you got other questions but thats all i can really speak about this now. More on this later when it's ready.

Seems very similar to how iRacing does it.

 

[jake2013guy]

Seems very similar to how iRacing does it.

Maybe that's where they got the idea from.

 

[F1Racer68]

I'm in a team that does the iRacing endurance races and all of us have said we'll drop it immediately if PCARS2 has it.
24 hours of daylight racing in unchanging conditions is fun, but not very challenging or immersive.

Well, thanks for that @Animera ...... I think you just killed my driving career..... looks like I will now have to start doing the endurance series planning

 

[F1Racer68]

Maybe that's where they got the idea from.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

[jake2013guy]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

More like "If others do it well, gain "inspiration" from that."

 

[Sick Cylinder]

I can envisage the driver swap producing some very exciting racing - especially if drivers are graded pro and am and each team has to have one of each. Teams would have a choice of starting with either pro or am so you could have teams making up a lot of places if they started with an am driver.

I'm really looking forward to hosting a series with this feature on PC2, but likely I will make the races shorter so the driver who is resting does not have to sit around for too long e.g. 30 or 40 minutes with a pitstop in the middle.

 

[jake2013guy]

I can envisage the driver swap producing some very exciting racing - especially if drivers are graded pro and am and each team has to have one of each. Teams would have a choice of starting with either pro or am so you could have teams making up a lot of places if they started with an am driver.

I'm really looking forward to hosting a series with this feature on PC2, but likely I will make the races shorter so the driver who is resting does not have to sit around for too long e.g. 30 or 40 minutes with a pitstop in the middle.

So like the Blancpain Sprint series or British GT? Good idea.

 

[RomKnight]

So like the Blancpain Sprint series or British GT? Good idea.

Or international GT Open...

 

[jake2013guy]

Or international GT Open...

Same concept. Those were just the series that came to mind.

 

[David Brooks]

Basically, form your team pre-race (at least 2 drivers, don't think we enforce a max but i'm sure there's some technical max). When racing, driver pulls into pits. Clicks "Swap Driver" (we already had this in pC1 but that was to swap with AI driver only) and then any other player on that team can click "Drive Car" and we take the first guy to click that and put them in the car. If the wrong guy clicks first he can again just click "Swap Driver" and let someone else get in (don't need to drive off and do a lap etc.)

Still lotta work to go on this but will be a great feature for online racing. I know you got other questions but thats all i can really speak about this now. More on this later when it's ready.

I am really looking forward to this as well. On a related topic is there any way a team can get back into a race if they disconnect? I realise this could be considered a DNF due to mechanical breakdown but in some of the more epic races I have been involved with (12 and 24 hour) you don't want the field whittled down by attrition after only a few hours. Would be good if teams can get back in. The time it would take could be penalty enough. Just needed the game to somehow keep the lobby open to only teams that were present at the start. 💡

 

[Animera]

Hopefully it works like iRacing. If the team member driving gets disconnected, the car gets towed to the pits and another team member can get in and drive. The disconnected team member can rejoin the lobby and take over again when the current driver pits.

 

[jake2013guy]

2016 Indycar license means we can do the real liveries and driver names for the career, yes. we're working on these liveries now actually. Not sure about the Indy500 race liveries, need to check.

A fair while ago, @The_American told us about the 2016 Road liveries onto the cars and you'll come back about the 500 cars.

How is this going for both road and oval? I assume that you've got all of the road liveries done by now?
What does all mean? Does it mean all of the liveries for the cars used on road courses that drove all season?
Or does it include the one-off road liveries as well as those? E.g. JR Hildebrand, Matty Brabham and Spencer Pigot who all did Indy Road only bar Pigot who did St Pete.

 

[F1Racer68]

For anyone interested in proper Sports Car/Endurance style racing (with possible driver swaps) be sure to check us out. We are PC based though. Our plan is to run an IMSA style season as our first season in PCARS2. If we can get enough members involved, driver teams will definitely be a consideration for us.

I've already posted about our initial plans here https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/canam-vrl-recruiting-imsa-style.354426/

OK, sorry for the off topic and the blatant shilling of our league, but it was directly related to online driver swapping... (That's my story. Sticking to it )

Now, back to our regularly scheduled topic.

 

[1Lambofan]

For anyone interested in proper Sports Car/Endurance style racing (with possible driver swaps) be sure to check us out. We are PC based though. Our plan is to run an IMSA style season as our first season in PCARS2. If we can get enough members involved, driver teams will definitely be a consideration for us.

I've already posted about our initial plans here https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/canam-vrl-recruiting-imsa-style.354426/

OK, sorry for the off topic and the blatant shilling of our league, but it was directly related to online driver swapping... (That's my story. Sticking to it )

Now, back to our regularly scheduled topic.

Again not in topic but you know if anyone my create a PS4 series or something to this?

 

[jake2013guy]

Again not in topic but you know if anyone my create a PS4 series or something to this?

They probably will but it won't have as many spaces so may omit a class.

 

[DesertPenguin09]

They probably will but it won't have as many spaces so may omit a class.

I'd be okay with simply LMP2, GT3, and GT4 all at once. Or LMP1, LMP2, and GT3

 

[jake2013guy]

I'd be okay with simply LMP2, GT3, and GT4 all at once.

IMSA is LMP2, GT3 and GTE.

 

[DesertPenguin09]

Yea, but to me GT3 and GTE are too close together. They can battle each other in corners if there's a Pro GTE against an AM GT3 driver.

 

[jake2013guy]

Yea, but to me GT3 and GTE are too close together. They can battle each other in corners if there's a Pro GTE against an AM GT3 driver.

I assume you mean the other way around. GTE are faster in corners with the increased aero.

 

[DesertPenguin09]

But overall GT3 with more power are going into the corners faster, no? Otherwise yea what you said.

 

[jake2013guy]

But overall GT3 with more power are going into the corners faster, no?

But they're going through the corners slower so have to brake more.

 

[Jason Wilko]

One question I've got for consoles is say there is 16 online like pcars 1, and you have every car with 2 drivers, will this mean only 8 cars on track? Or will it allow up to 32 in the lobby for a 16 car race?

I feel like if it locked at 8 cars/16 drivers it won't work as well.

Any answers allowed on this?
@IanBell @The_American

 

[LGee19]

One question I've got for consoles is say there is 16 online like pcars 1, and you have every car with 2 drivers, will this mean only 8 cars on track? Or will it allow up to 32 in the lobby for a 16 car race?

I feel like if it locked at 8 cars/16 drivers it won't work as well.

Any answers allowed on this?
@IanBell @The_American

Yeah this is what I'm kind of wondering too? Like how it will tie in with the driver swaps.

 

[Silvio]

Is it possible to make a choice between RHD and LHD for cars in PC2 ???

 

[breyzipp]

Basically, form your team pre-race (at least 2 drivers, don't think we enforce a max but i'm sure there's some technical max). When racing, driver pulls into pits. Clicks "Swap Driver" (we already had this in pC1 but that was to swap with AI driver only) and then any other player on that team can click "Drive Car" and we take the first guy to click that and put them in the car. If the wrong guy clicks first he can again just click "Swap Driver" and let someone else get in (don't need to drive off and do a lap etc.)

Still lotta work to go on this but will be a great feature for online racing. I know you got other questions but thats all i can really speak about this now. More on this later when it's ready.

We need a cafeteria with TV screens where the driver who just did his stint can have a coffee while watching the rest of the race.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

One question I've got for consoles is say there is 16 online like pcars 1, and you have every car with 2 drivers, will this mean only 8 cars on track? Or will it allow up to 32 in the lobby for a 16 car race?

I feel like if it locked at 8 cars/16 drivers it won't work as well.

Any answers allowed on this?
@IanBell @The_American

I am also interested in the answer to this although in practise I find it is quite difficult to get a full 16 car room with the series that I run on PC1 - if this continues to be the case in PC2 and I had say 12 drivers sharing 6 cars I would want to fill the rest of the grid with AI.

We need a cafeteria with TV screens where the driver who just did his stint can have a coffee while watching the rest of the race.

I think the cafeteria will have to remain the gamers gaming / sitting room, but maybe there could be a watch from pitlane option.

I would try this car share option with classic cars and perhaps do simulations of the Spa 6 hours and Brands Hatch 6 hour saloon race, but compressed to 60 minutes (I don't have the free time, bladder or concentration level for longer races).

 

[Jason Wilko]

I am also interested in the answer to this although in practise I find it is quite difficult to get a full 16 car room with the series that I run on PC1 - if this continues to be the case in PC2 and I had say 12 drivers sharing 6 cars I would want to fill the rest of the grid with AI.




I have a slight feeling that there will be full lobbies in leagues/open lobbies for quite some months after the game is released, don't know why maybe the league support/ new tyre model/ new cars/ weather/ live track 3.0/ real co drivers or the new tracks, but can't put my finger on it

 

[RomKnight]

Same concept. Those were just the series that came to mind.

Yeah, just one more example. But TBH up to 3hr I think it's doable for most especially with 3 drivers teams so one can fit any in the prefered "time slot" and can even open the participation in leagues of different timezones. Networks cooperating that is

 

[RomKnight]

Is it possible to make a choice between RHD and LHD for cars in PC2 ???

Depending on licensing the cars are done with either on or the other. You can choose left or right as an option, no.

/edit

oops, double post. sorry.

 

[TexasTyme214]

One question I've got for consoles is say there is 16 online like pcars 1, and you have every car with 2 drivers, will this mean only 8 cars on track? Or will it allow up to 32 in the lobby for a 16 car race?

I feel like if it locked at 8 cars/16 drivers it won't work as well.

Any answers allowed on this?
@IanBell @The_American

I have a feeling the limitation is 16 *cars* on track. Driver swaps according to The American said the minimum team size was 2, with an unknown maximum (soon to be determined by some online performance)