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

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Question for @IanBell, @The_American or another SMS bod:

I'm sure I read somewhere that the mirrors in pCARS 2 are now enhanced for VR. If so, can you please elaborate on what this means? Do they now use proper stereopsis like those in Live For Speed? 2D mirrors in VR are a little jarring and immersion-breaking, so proper 3D ones would be fantastic as an option. Thanks.
 
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@IanBell

Do you still have your PMs turned off at WMD? I sent you a message a while back about my possible Ultra Edition being available to you, or possibly another SMS employee that wasnt able to pre-order.
Not entirely sure i will be able to justify it as still out of work, but dont want to just cancel it and possibly end up with a scalper purchasing it when amazon inevitably put cancellations back on sale with no notice.

Please get a message to me over at WMD if this is of interest to you.

Please nobody else message me with offers, i want SMS to have first dibs if i decide i cant afford it....SMS have done a lot for me with the funding in the first game, so thats the only people its open to.
 
@IanBell

3 quick questions.
1) Been asked before but can you can you confirm if there will be an offline championship for PC2? That really is a deal breaker for me. At this point I won't purchase anymore racers that omit a championship mode in favor of a career mode. There is no reason not to have both.

2) Can you explain one aspect of the physics for me. Noticed in PC (and a few other racers) the tendency of cars seemingly being programmed to want to automatically go 180 regardless of steering input or object contact when you loose control. This doesn't seem real to me and it's very annoying, especially in situations where it's very obvious that the car would not end up facing that direction

3) Is there any chance of bikes being included in future DLC or a stand alone Project Bikes game down the line (with offline championship mode of course lol)?

Thanks
 
RZ05
@IanBell

3 quick questions.
1) Been asked before but can you can you confirm if there will be an offline championship for PC2? That really is a deal breaker for me. At this point I won't purchase anymore racers that omit a championship mode in favor of a career mode. There is no reason not to have both.

2) Can you explain one aspect of the physics for me. Noticed in PC (and a few other racers) the tendency of cars seemingly being programmed to want to automatically go 180 regardless of steering input or object contact when you loose control. This doesn't seem real to me and it's very annoying, especially in situations where it's very obvious that the car would not end up facing that direction

3) Is there any chance of bikes being included in future DLC or a stand alone Project Bikes game down the line (with offline championship mode of course lol)?

Thanks
Click to expand...

We have many and multiple 'offline championships' as part of our career mode. For you to say that it's a deal breaker that they're part of career mode doesn't gel with me.

If you're not buying I'm done :)
 
cornishbrooksy
@IanBell

Do you still have your PMs turned off at WMD? I sent you a message a while back about my possible Ultra Edition being available to you, or possibly another SMS employee that wasnt able to pre-order.
Not entirely sure i will be able to justify it as still out of work, but dont want to just cancel it and possibly end up with a scalper purchasing it when amazon inevitably put cancellations back on sale with no notice.

Please get a message to me over at WMD if this is of interest to you.

Please nobody else message me with offers, i want SMS to have first dibs if i decide i cant afford it....SMS have done a lot for me with the funding in the first game, so thats the only people its open to.
Click to expand...

Brooksy! It's been off for a while mate. I have work to do. I'll PM you though ;)
 
@IanBell

IanBell
We have many and multiple 'offline championships' as part of our career mode. For you to say that it's a deal breaker that they're part of career mode doesn't gel with me.

If you're not buying I'm done :)
Click to expand...

Ok so I take that as a no. So thanks for the update. Just an explanation since you don't understand my point of view. Not everyone is into these Racing RGP aspects that racing games have gone the last few years. Some people (especially someone like myself who is a working adult with responsibilities) don't have a lot of time to spend gaming and would just like the option to pick a series/class that interests me and race a championship and not work through a career driving cars and classes I have no interest in what so ever. I do not understand the push back devs have against this concept, that some players just want to race without all the fluff. You can do single race modes and you can have championships as part of a career as you stated, and have online stand alone championship, then why can't you have a simple stand alone offline championship? It's like devs are insulted to think that not every player shares your vision of have people want to play.

But anyway thanks for the answer, best of luck with PC2 but yeah I'll take a pass
 
RZ05
@IanBell



Ok so I take that as a no. So thanks for the update. Just an explanation since you don't understand my point of view. Not everyone is into these Racing RGP aspects that racing games have gone the last few years. Some people (especially someone like myself who is a working adult with responsibilities) don't have a lot of time to spend gaming and would just like the option to pick a series/class that interests me and race a championship and not work through a career driving cars and classes I have no interest in what so ever. I do not understand the push back devs have against this concept, that some players just want to race without all the fluff. You can do single race modes and you can have championships as part of a career as you stated, and have online stand alone championship, then why can't you have a simple stand alone offline championship? It's like devs are insulted to think that not every player shares your vision of have people want to play.

But anyway thanks for the answer, best of luck with PC2 but yeah I'll take a pass
Click to expand...

You can choose to start in which ever career championship you want- they don't force you to start in bottom tier cars if you don't want to do those championships
 
FuriousDemon
Some higher tiers are locked though.
Click to expand...

exactly. But it's also the layout. To me the career mode (and it's not just PC, but others as well) is just to cluttered. I like the simplicity of just starting a championship selecting the class, rounds, conditions and just racing. Not being bothered with emails,social media, etc... and scrolling through calendars, etc.... I'm not knocking it, but it's just not for me. I'm probably one of the few people who though F1 2015 was awesome for it's simplicity of layout. All I'm asking for is an option to enjoy this (and other) games in a way that allows me to enjoy it. I lost interest real quickly in PC, AC, Dirt 4, etc...... all pretty much for the same reason. lack of an offline championship mode. Career mode was tedious and single races got boring. If you look at the MotoGP series of games, they didn't do a lot correct, but at least they gave you options. You could go through a career or you could just do a championship.

Not trying to start trouble or insult anyone it's just a matter of personal tastes. Not sure why Ian took that stance but oh well. There was a lot to like about PC but they didn't fix/add the thing that made me not spend a lot of time with the game. Not a collector so no point buying a game that I know won't enjoy. and again it's not just PC it's the same with a lot of the other races out now or coming out. Guess racing gaming has passed me by and it's time for me to find another genre of gaming that suits my tastes or new hobby in general
 
Animera
@RZ05
There has been talk about the possibility of creating an online championship and filling it with AI.
If this is possible, it would be the equivalent of a custom single player championship.
Click to expand...
I used to do something similar in PCARS1 when I wanted to race the AI with manditory pit stops. Hopefully it will be possible to set up an online championship and fill it with AI.
 
Animera
@RZ05
There has been talk about the possibility of creating an online championship and filling it with AI.
If this is possible, it would be the equivalent of a custom single player championship.
Click to expand...

but that wouldn't be offline would it?which defeats the point. I don't understand why this is so hard a concept to grasp and why devs push back so much. It's not revolutionary and doesn't need to be "knocked out the part". It's pretty straight forward and seemingly easy request. While you are making all these rpg type features (contracts, social media, etc......)for people who want it, just make a mode for those who just like things straight to the point. Everything is already there it is a simple option. If you can let people run a single race with full options of conditions, then you can let them run a series of multiple single races under those conditions. If you have a career that mode that lumps in all the classes and race a calendar, then you can have a stripped down version of that same thing.

Quite simply all I care about is racing and getting better. I don't need to be encouraged to put time into a game, if it plays well I will do laps. So I don't get this needing rgp elements to get people to enjoy a racing game. In the end either you like putting in laps or you don't. all this other stuff to me just gets in the way of that. It doesn't have to be as bare bones as Assetto Corsa is on consoles, but there is a lot of stuff that to me is fluff and just wished was stripped away. Which is why I prefer a simple fully optioned OLC mode.

Was not my intend to be rude or start a problem or offend. Not judging how other people like to play games, just would like to have a simple option that would also allow me to enjoy some of these games. and it's not like something unreasonable is being asked. but it's pretty simple. SMS and other devs have made a decision on what they want to do. As a consumer I have made a decision about what I want and will spend my money on. They apparently don't match anymore, so at this point I'm not going to keep spending money out of curiosity on something I know I won't like, So for me it will be another year of playing F1 or some older titles that offered OLC. I'm not picking on PC2 again I feel the same way in regards to GT Sport, Forza 7 etc...... I got Dirt 4 and as awesome as it plays I only played it for a couple hours because of no OLC. So that's just me and I'll just end it with that and stop being a pest here lol (honest wasn't my intent) and hopefully find a game that offers what I want.
 
YRS2703
A bit of a question for @IanBell ...:
What are your plans for the future of SMS racing games? Will we ever see an open-world customizable racer with Project CARS 2 levels of physics? Kinda like the World of Speed project, where there is an open world to drive about in, but still includes racetracks inside the map?
Click to expand...
@IanBell let me add to that: what are the chances of seeing new disciplines in pCARS2 as DLC/Content Updates (Touge, Drift, Rally, Time Attack..)?

Ans adding some competition for certain cars that are a bit singled out as single-car classes while they have a crapton of competition IRL

For example:

Drift cars: RX7 Madbul, RX8 Badbul, Mustang RTR Spec 5, Chris Forsberg's 370z (to compete with the Radbul)

Time Attack: Gobstopper 1, Gobstopper 2, Top Fuel/Voltex S2000RR, FX Motorsports NSX (to compete with the Evo SVA)

Touge/JDM/Road C: Subaru 22b, 2014 WRX STi, R33 GTR, S2000 (to compete with Evo 6 TME, Evo IX FQ360, Evo X FQ400)
 
RZ05
but that wouldn't be offline would it?which defeats the point. I don't understand why this is so hard a concept to grasp and why devs push back so much. It's not revolutionary and doesn't need to be "knocked out the part". It's pretty straight forward and seemingly easy request. While you are making all these rpg type features (contracts, social media, etc......)for people who want it, just make a mode for those who just like things straight to the point. Everything is already there it is a simple option. If you can let people run a single race with full options of conditions, then you can let them run a series of multiple single races under those conditions. If you have a career that mode that lumps in all the classes and race a calendar, then you can have a stripped down version of that same thing.

Quite simply all I care about is racing and getting better. I don't need to be encouraged to put time into a game, if it plays well I will do laps. So I don't get this needing rgp elements to get people to enjoy a racing game. In the end either you like putting in laps or you don't. all this other stuff to me just gets in the way of that. It doesn't have to be as bare bones as Assetto Corsa is on consoles, but there is a lot of stuff that to me is fluff and just wished was stripped away. Which is why I prefer a simple fully optioned OLC mode.

Was not my intend to be rude or start a problem or offend. Not judging how other people like to play games, just would like to have a simple option that would also allow me to enjoy some of these games. and it's not like something unreasonable is being asked. but it's pretty simple. SMS and other devs have made a decision on what they want to do. As a consumer I have made a decision about what I want and will spend my money on. They apparently don't match anymore, so at this point I'm not going to keep spending money out of curiosity on something I know I won't like, So for me it will be another year of playing F1 or some older titles that offered OLC. I'm not picking on PC2 again I feel the same way in regards to GT Sport, Forza 7 etc...... I got Dirt 4 and as awesome as it plays I only played it for a couple hours because of no OLC. So that's just me and I'll just end it with that and stop being a pest here lol (honest wasn't my intent) and hopefully find a game that offers what I want.
Click to expand...

I should probably point out that the developers have acknowledged the popularity of custom championships but feel that the extensive effort that has gone into the career mode could be overlooked as people would ignore it.
From what I have seen from videos on career mode there is a vast amount of diversity that has an array of authentically recreated motorsports.

All the extra stuff like the Calendar, Emails and Social Media don't even need to be looked at. They are there to make it more immersive. If you don't like it, ignore it
 
05XR8
Etiquette: Hi, Ian. I was wondering if I can create an Offline Championship in PC 2.

Ian reply: There are multiple Career Mode races at the moment. We will look into a Solo Mode Championship creator. Maybe in an update or for PC3.

Etiquette: Thank you for your quick reply.
Click to expand...
And this has happened hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.
 
05XR8
Yeah, but leading with I'm not buying and then asking questions after? Doesn't look good.
How about leaving out the I'm not buying and just seek info. Then, quietly disappear...
Click to expand...

if the point is to give feedback what good is it to not give feedback? I asked a question. Ian kind of replied and I thanked him for it and because of his final response also expanded a little. So where is the problem? Thought forums were for discussion, but why is it people get offended or aggressive when someone doesn't aggree with them?

I was not rude and haven't insulted anyone and tried to just explain my point of view. nothing more or nothing less. I don't not stalk him and only replied to others who commented on my post. which I thought was proper etiquette
 
Tank621
I should probably point out that the developers have acknowledged the popularity of custom championships but feel that the extensive effort that has gone into the career mode could be overlooked as people would ignore it.
From what I have seen from videos on career mode there is a vast amount of diversity that has an array of authentically recreated motorsports.

All the extra stuff like the Calendar, Emails and Social Media don't even need to be looked at. They are there to make it more immersive. If you don't like it, ignore it
Click to expand...

I can understand that, but if true and people were ignoring the career mode in the presence of an otc, wouldn't that indicate that time and resources are being spent on something people aren't actually interested in? Again just asking simple option.
 
RZ05
I can understand that, but if true and people were ignoring the career mode in the presence of an otc, wouldn't that indicate that time and resources are being spent on something people aren't actually interested in? Again just asking simple option.
Click to expand...

Obviously I don't know anything specific but career mode was something I have (personally at least) seen quite alot of people complain about from the first game so it made sense to dedicate quite a bit of effort towards that to improve it.

Considering the career mode can be significantly adjusted with varying season/race lengths. They are not forcing players into a specific career path either which means that there is a alot of freedom of choice in single player championships even without user created ones.

Of course custom championships would be a great addition but I feel like there is enough single player content to keep me happy.
Considering they have career championships and user-created online championships it can be suggested that alot of the framework for offline custom championships is there so we cannot consider it completely off the table for the games lifespan.
 
RZ05
if the point is to give feedback what good is it to not give feedback? I asked a question. Ian kind of replied and I thanked him for it and because of his final response also expanded a little. So where is the problem? Thought forums were for discussion, but why is it people get offended or aggressive when someone doesn't aggree with them?

I was not rude and haven't insulted anyone and tried to just explain my point of view. nothing more or nothing less. I don't not stalk him and only replied to others who commented on my post. which I thought was proper etiquette
Click to expand...
It's your delivery of the feedback.
I'm not speaking for you, but the way in which some speak, it comes off as rude. If you left out the I'm not buying, that would have been fine.
The point is, you're speaking directly to a person that is presenting their company vision to "you". Yes, your choice to buy or not. Easy.

What doesn't seem fair, is then wanting to gain info for something you've got no interest in buying.
It's taken as a slap.

It's like the buyers are liars when tyre kicking at a car dealership. I'm in no way judging your character. Has nothing to do with that. Thing is, why not just get your info and move on? No need to advise a person(in their face so to speak), that knows the game of sales, they are losing a sale due to a feature.

It seems it's the same as when people post "You've got my money" and "I'm buying the game" because they are happy.
If someone posts, "I'm not buying it because it doesn't have this. Oh, and while I spend my money somewhere else, can you tell me more about your product?". That's not the same. That appears rude.

I'm not attacking you. I'm not yelling at you. I'm not telling you what to type. Just how it looks.
 
05XR8
It's your delivery of the feedback.
I'm not speaking for you, but the way in which some speak, it comes off as rude. If you left out the I'm not buying, that would have been fine.
The point is, you're speaking directly to a person that is presenting their company vision to "you". Yes, your choice to buy or not. Easy.

What doesn't seem fair, is then wanting to gain info for something you've got no interest in buying.
It's taken as a slap.

It's like the buyers are liars when tyre kicking at a car dealership. I'm in no way judging your character. Has nothing to do with that. Thing is, why not just get your info and move on? No need to advise a person(in their face so to speak), that knows the game of sales, they are losing a sale due to a feature.

It seems it's the same as when people post "You've got my money" and "I'm buying the game" because they are happy.
If someone posts, "I'm not buying it because it doesn't have this. Oh, and while I spend my money somewhere else, can you tell me more about your product?". That's not the same. That appears rude.

I'm not attacking you. I'm not yelling at you. I'm not telling you what to type. Just how it looks.
Click to expand...

hhhhmmm I don't see how you took it that way. I asked a question regarding a product I'm very interested in buying. But also stated what features were important to me and would affect my buying decision. I put my questions in order of importance to me so if the answer to #1 was no there was no point in answering the rest which is exactly what Ian did (or didn't lol) and I have no problem with that. It's not a matter of spending my money somewhere else if there is nothing else to spend it on. Which currently appears to be the case as it doesn't look like PC2, GT Sport, Forza 7 or the like have simple direct OLC without having to go through a career mode. For me that is unfortunate and limits my racing options to licensed titles like F1 and WRC if I want an up to date racing game. That is just the facts and I accept that.

As current customer (I own Project Cars) and potential future returning customer, instead of saying "that blows or you suck, etc...." I also took an opportunity to try provide detailed feedback about why OLC is important to me and possibly others who feel the same way, so that they can think about that going forward. As it stands right now with the info provided I'll pass on PC2. If they come out with a patch that offers OLC then I'll buy it. If it's a feature of PC3 then I'll buy it then. If that's being rude I don't know what to say
 
RZ05
...I got Dirt 4 and as awesome as it plays I only played it for a couple hours because of no OLC.
Click to expand...
I can't help you with PCARS of course, but Dirt 4 definitely lets you create championships in Free Play mode; it's a robust system. :confused:
 
May have been answered, but even if the AI is great there is still bound to be a situation where they do something "unsportsmanlike" and run you off the track, or hit you, or cut the track, do they get penalized?
 

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