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

[F1Racer68]

@IanBell or @The_American

It has been stated that many of the returning tracks have been rescanned using the drone. Could you tell me if one of those tracks happens to be Watkins Glen International? With the massive resurfacing that track underwent last year it has changed significantly. To the point were the IMSA cars were roughly 2 seconds quicker simply because of less bumps and new asphalt.

 

[Ian Bell]

@IanBell or @The_American

It has been stated that many of the returning tracks have been rescanned using the drone. Could you tell me if one of those tracks happens to be Watkins Glen International? With the massive resurfacing that track underwent last year it has changed significantly. To the point were the IMSA cars were roughly 2 seconds quicker simply because of less bumps and new asphalt.

We haven't rescanned it but we have 'resurfaced' it and updated the kerbing etc to the latest.

 

[F1Racer68]

We haven't rescanned it but we have 'resurfaced' it and updated the kerbing etc to the latest.

That's great! Thanks for the quick response. Really happy to hear that the tracks are also being updated, and really eager to get my hands on the game.

 

[breyzipp]

Esgaloth, I think they ignored your GT3/GTE question and gave a very broad answer because they say they have cars of several decades. I strongly doubt there will be cars of "several decades" in the same race.

 

[Scuderia Paul]

Esgaloth, I think they ignored your GT3/GTE question and gave a very broad answer because they say they have cars of several decades. I strongly doubt there will be cars of "several decades" in the same race.

That is the party piece of Gran Turismo!

 

[jake2013guy]

In the Offline Custom Race mode, will we be able to have multiple races with different ways to decide the grid?

E.g. 3 races, Race 1 by Qualifying, Race 2 by Race 1 finish and x drivers reversed for Race 3? (BTCC method) Or Race 1 by Qualifying and Race 2 decided by x drivers reversed from Qualifying? (WTCC/TCR method)

 

[fasj6418]

Time Attack (we call it Time Trial) is pretty similar to how we did it for Project CARS 1. You can race up to 3 ghosts from the leaderboard at the same time.

Leaderboards need a little boost, that´s where many spend most of their time with the game... we really need stock settings leaderboards so that it doesn´t turn into a settings competition... also, there should be more tools in game to watch your progress, kind of like the apps for AC that let´s you see the progress and ranking lap by lap.

Time trial is huge among hardcore fans, it should get some attention from you guys.

 

[diesel97]

Leaderboards need a little boost, that´s where many spend most of their time with the game... we really need stock settings leaderboards so that it doesn´t turn into a settings competition... also, there should be more tools in game to watch your progress, kind of like the apps for AC that let´s you see the progress and ranking lap by lap.

Time trial is huge among hardcore fans, it should get some attention from you guys.

Not so sure about this statement, the number one complaint I hear about AC is that it is nothing more than a hot lapping, time trial game(before patch 1.14)

 

[A Knepper 37]

I have a question for Ian or anyone who knows the reason. There were two DLC add ons for the PS4 that I purchased and there are pit issues where you enter and can not leave (Hotel California effect). Why do they remain not patched and will they work in Pcars2 PS4 version? The tracks I am referring to are the Silverstone Classic, not fixed for well over a year and the Nurburgring Combined which was the final DLC. I absolutely enjoy Pcars and look forward to Pcars2 but not being able to use these two circuits on PS4 to their fullest capacity in single player offline mode makes me feel left out of a complete game. These circuits were patched on the PC version but not PS4 console version. I don’t intend to be harsh, I just would like a reply. Thank You.

 

[jake2013guy]

I have a question for Ian or anyone who knows the reason. There were two DLC add ons for the PS4 that I purchased and there are pit issues where you enter and can not leave (Hotel California effect). Why do they remain not patched and will they work in Pcars2 PS4 version? The tracks I am referring to are the Silverstone Classic, not fixed for well over a year and the Nurburgring Combined which was the final DLC. I absolutely enjoy Pcars and look forward to Pcars2 but not being able to use these two circuits on PS4 to their fullest capacity in single player offline mode makes me feel left out of a complete game. These circuits were patched on the PC version but not PS4 console version. I don’t intend to be harsh, I just would like a reply. Thank You.

As it's manually controlled, I think you should be able to do that all yourself now.

 

[weedybroz]

ian thanks for great first game. my only question is this. would your studio be interested in buying the rights to bigants unfinished dirt oval track racing game they tried to get going? i think your studio could do the game properly with your game engine . looking forward to pc2

 

[fasj6418]

Not so sure about this statement, the number one complaint I hear about AC is that it is nothing more than a hot lapping, time trial game(before patch 1.14)

Exactly, time trial keeps the game going. It doesn´t have a good campaign or good online racing, so i know a lot of people who buy it just for hotlapping with different cars.

 

[The_American]

I strongly doubt there will be cars of "several decades" in the same race.

"i find your lack of faith disturbing" -Lord Vader

You can decide those 4 classes per race however you want. Wanna race the F-150, karts and indycars together? Go for it. (No guarantees it will be a clean race however)

 

[The_American]

In the Offline Custom Race mode, will we be able to have multiple races with different ways to decide the grid?

E.g. 3 races, Race 1 by Qualifying, Race 2 by Race 1 finish and x drivers reversed for Race 3? (BTCC method) Or Race 1 by Qualifying and Race 2 decided by x drivers reversed from Qualifying? (WTCC/TCR method)

We only do 1 Race session. So those wouldnt fit. Your grid choices are by normal (not reverse) Qualy Time or Random. However, for multi-class races if you choose Random we always put the faster classes out in front of the slower classes. So it would just be random _within_ that class on the starting grid.

 

[TommySalami]

I've read that there's been optimization in terms of VR. However, with raising the effects and visuals, livetrack 3.0, etc, will the VR optimizations basically cancel out with the upgraded visuals to be around as demanding as PCars 1? PCars is very demanding in VR so I'm wondering what we can expect for those without a 1080ti or Titan XP (I have a 980ti).

 

[jake2013guy]

We only do 1 Race session. So those wouldnt fit. Your grid choices are by normal (not reverse) Qualy Time or Random. However, for multi-class races if you choose Random we always put the faster classes out in front of the slower classes. So it would just be random _within_ that class on the starting grid.

Ok fair enough. If you decided to release offline championships in an update, that wouldn't be unwelcome and I'm sure many will take advantage both on and offline.

Out of curiosity, what are the different qualifying types?

 

[breyzipp]

"i find your lack of faith disturbing" -Lord Vader

You can decide those 4 classes per race however you want. Wanna race the F-150, karts and indycars together? Go for it. (No guarantees it will be a clean race however)

Aah yeah lol multi-class, that's cheating! I ment within the same class.

 

[SilentShadowfox]

honestly , when i saw that patrick long was doing the porsche test with sms. i knew right away that SMS was serious about this. if anyone needs any more proof that sms is on the road to do what Dice did with Battlefield 3 to go against COD. its what SMS is doing against Gran Turismo and every other sim racer. GREAT WORK GUYS.
but uh @The_American , The game needs more dinosaurs.

 

[Scuderia Paul]

... but uh @The_American , The game needs more dinosaurs.

Is the Ford F-150 Raptor not enough 'dinosaur' for you?

 

[jake2013guy]

Is the Ford F-150 Raptor not enough 'dinosaur' for you?

Clearly, he wants Trucks.

but uh @The_American , The game needs more dinosaurs.

It's Project CARS. Not Project Dinosaurs.

 

[Eh Team]

A new and crazy question appears!

@IanBell will there/can there be an option to turn off the 9 second backwards driving auto-kick? I like to organize silly race formats for a club and 9 seconds to go backwards around the track is a bit difficult to work with.

 

[eruvadhor]

Hi,

is it possible to create online race events with only ghosts? live racing with others but with ghost cars, I like it in Forza because no n00b can kick you from the track
I hope that grid reverse feature which #jake2013guy mentioned will be implemented to the game, I like this very much for short online cups

 

[jake2013guy]

I hope that grid reverse feature which #jake2013guy mentioned will be implemented to the game, I like this very much for short online cups

He said no sadly. However, if online championships come in, there is a possibility.

 

[Esgaloth]

"i find your lack of faith disturbing" -Lord Vader

You can decide those 4 classes per race however you want. Wanna race the F-150, karts and indycars together? Go for it. (No guarantees it will be a clean race however)

But dat 2014 to 2016 GTE field yo

 

[The_American]

Hi,

is it possible to create online race events with only ghosts? live racing with others but with ghost cars, I like it in Forza because no n00b can kick you from the track
I hope that grid reverse feature which #jake2013guy mentioned will be implemented to the game, I like this very much for short online cups

Dont race with noobs, easy to filter them out. Just set a sufficient minimum Safety Rating with our new Online License system.

See that's our approach, avoid hacky things like making everyone ghosts just to avoid noobs/wreckers. Use real-world solutions. Licensing, scoring, identification, host filters. These are the solutions we prefer. We hope you share our vision that these are the correct tools that allow for a fair and competitive online experience. (I will check however if making all online participants ghosts is an option, i believe it was at one point during development)

 

[Georgeagea]

Dont race with noobs, easy to filter them out. Just set a sufficient minimum Safety Rating with our new Online License system.

See that's our approach, avoid hacky things like making everyone ghosts just to avoid noobs/wreckers. Use real-world solutions. Licensing, scoring, identification, host filters. These are the solutions we prefer. We hope you share our vision that these are the correct tools that allow for a fair and competitive online experience. (I will check however if making all online participants ghosts is an option, i believe it was at one point during development)

I fully agree!
As much as n00bs and assh0les are annoying, it'll not be "racing" when using ghost cars! It'll be like time trials or hot lapping!
Changing lines, taking risks, late braking, defending, slipstreaming, wheel to wheel racing etc... is all what racing adrenaline is about!
Without those, it'll be tasteless!

 

[breyzipp]

I fully agree!
As much as n00bs and assh0les are annoying, it'll not be "racing" when using ghost cars! It'll be like time trials or hot lapping!
Changing lines, taking risks, late braking, defending, slipstreaming, wheel to wheel racing etc... is all what racing adrenaline is about!
Without those, it'll be tasteless!

Same here, ghosting players in multiplayer is a big no-go for me as well, no matter how bad the others are behaving. Otherwise it's just an interactive time-trial (but one where your times probably don't count ). I've done the ghost-multiplayer lobbies in Forza 6 plenty of times and it's just boring.

 

[Scuderia Paul]

@IanBell @The_American Will you be simulating the ERS options for LMP1-H cars as Kunos have done in Assetto Corsa?

 

[MroczMR]

"i find your lack of faith disturbing" -Lord Vader

You can decide those 4 classes per race however you want. Wanna race the F-150, karts and indycars together? Go for it. (No guarantees it will be a clean race however)

I like that. I wonder if we are able to set number of cars in each class? For example: 2 supercars racing through stack of 28 Fords F150, and similar crazy options? This would be also very handy in setting realistic Endurance options.

 

[GunnarStahl]

Are we able to see all the regulations & weather before joining an online lobby?


Will there be scheduled raves like in GTS or just open lobby racing? Its was so disappointing that almost all the populated lobbies were GT3 in PC1. Would be nice to race all the cars & tracks online without having to host a session yourself.