I'll try to field this one since I largely feel the same way.
@sepulturite81 please feel free to jump in too!
It's a combination of factors for both tracks. Neither of them feel like they
could be real tracks, and I think that's what the meaning here is. A fantasy track is fine by me, as long as it feels like a race track, which neither of these do.
That said, let me break it down by track:
Prague
First of all, this track feels super inauthentic. It's like 6 lanes wide the whole way, which, if you've ever even seen pictures of Prague, is totally unrealistic. It should probably be less than half as wide as it is to even come close to how those roads should feel.
Second, this is a track that would never pass scrutiny for any real racing in 2015. It goes through a tunnel with unprotected stonework struts, it goes over a cobblestone(!)* bridge that is lined with unprotected statues(!) with no catch fencing(!), and it crosses tram lines* which would cut tires and damage suspension like no-one's business. Add in the cliff on the outside of one of the fastest corners, which is covered by a standard wood-and-girder barrier, and there is no way a race would ever be put on here.
All of that adds up to that every time I drive this track, I am reminded I am playing a game. It totally breaks immersion with the plethora of unrealistic and inaccurate features. I'd rather not have it at all than have it in the state it's in now.
Rio
Disclaimer: I actually like the Rio National layout.
Most of the same problems as Prague, actually. This one at least isn't outrageously wide, but it's still probably wider than it should be. Anyways, first of all, the tunnel has exposed steel grate covers, which sure, could be welded down, but I still feel like those wouldn't be allowed; additionally, there are zero locations for safety crews or marshals to be located inside of it, making it a deathtrap considering the speeds you go through it at.
Second, again this track crosses tram lines, which are a huge safety hazard and wouldn't be allowed* on a real circuit. It also has a section on cobblestone*. This is only a problem with the Full layout, but it's a big one.
Third, the downhill straight (again on the Full layout) has a wooden fence protecting it from a sheer cliff. No catch fencing, no ARMCO, nothing. A. Wooden. Fence. On the outside of a fairly fast corner, then all the way down a straight. Seems legit. The fact that the track runs next to a sheer cliff at all seems pretty suspect, but that....yeah.
Finally, the final tight right hand corner seems pretty not acceptable to me. There's a solid curb up to whatever surface that corner is on, and yeah, they have the little portion of it that has the ramp, but...I really doubt this would get approved by any series. They'd make the organizers either run the ramp all the way to the wall (at the very least) or flatten the whole thing out to level. Either way, there wouldn't be races held with that corner as it exists in the game.
Most of these issues are only with the full track, and saying all that I do actually like the National one, but even that is not super realistic-seeming to me. In general it has the same issue as Prague, in that it constantly reminds me I'm playing a game because no real race would even possible happen there. They feel like the sort of track you'd find in an arcade game, because they don't feel like race tracks- they feel arcade-y.
Hopefully this helps explain things a little better!
*- I will happily remove these from my list of problems if someone can provide evidence of
modern races being run over cobblestone or tram lines, but I can't think of any, and it seems like a really bad idea to me intuitively.
. I really enjoy Prague. The only track I don't care for is long beach. I hate that track, except for that one variation of it where it's just a tiny circle, that's kind of fun, but your constantly surrounded by cars in that one. Yas Marina I'm still undecided on. It definitely shouldn't be a multiplayer track, between the constant wrecks and major corner cutting on it.
), so many of the idiots online just cut every corner possible which is annoying enough but when they rejoin the track they just plow straight in to you. In fact to give you an idea of how stupid the track is online, I ran some rivals laps in the stock Maserati MC12 on the full circuit, my fastest clean no-shortcutting lap was a 2:19.0 (from 8 laps), my 2nd lap shortcutting I achieved a 2:11.5 (and I think I found another shortcut just after), because of all these shortcuts a poor driver can pull off the lap times of a great driver which IMO is just unacceptable.
