I've put a few hours in and I'm glad to say Codemasters exceeded my expectations.
However, first off, I have to say the physics have me scratching my head. The game does simulator-y things, but the steering and handling still feels like an evolution of CM's previous titles instead of a simulator. It's like realistic physics are only applied by environmental factors -- such as pitch and roll from bumps and jumps, or how the drivewheels can skid downhill on a banked surface -- while the handling dynamics are still hand-tuned.
The handling dynamics are exceptionally well-sorted, but seem to lack the innate intuitive reactions you get from SLRE, for example, even in spite of SLRE's shortcomings. I'm not sure if it's all in the tire model or what.
Fortunately, if pivot-steering remains it's practically imperceptible, and I can finally play from cockpit view without being totally disoriented (though on the flipside, chase cam is now more difficult to handle). I was also able to get into a groove of mostly-plausible weight transfers and drifting once I started getting used to the physics.
Not to mention there's so much to love with everything else about the game. I love having my own team, the car list is good, I'm impressed with Your Stage so far, and 60fps is nicely refreshing after playing SLRE (though the jumps between 30fps and 60fps for the post-race sequence are kind of distracting). In all, I think it's certainly a milestone for the rally genre. 👍 👍
I'm not totally sure how the "Your Stage" thing works, but even though it's randomly generated stages, could it still get repetitive in a different way? As in, familiar corners or assets used over and over? I suppose it's hard to complain about, if that is the case, considering it's going to be far less repetitive than fixed stages. Guess I'm just worried it will create some generic or not so memorable states.
I get the impression the only thing the game is generating is a randomized route across roads/trails that are baked into what might otherwise be an open map (I wish they would let us loose on the whole thing if that's true!). I also get the impression that procedural generation was used to create the maps in the first place -- certain features or hazards seem to repeat themselves -- but I don't think it's generating the whole content of the stage from scratch each time.
If I'm right, it's similar to Codemasters' previous habit of recycling chunks of a branching set of roads, but on a larger scale with a ton more variety. I didn't buy
Dirt Rally because of that stage recycling, but so far I'm pleased with how Your Stage turned out.
