Physics-wise I am a Loeb Rally EVO fan which I find to be the most realistic, intuitive and satisfying. While I have issues with both D4 and DR physics, I am finding no problem going back to DR. In spite of the floaty feeling in DR and being too easy to powerslide I find it much more satisfying than the understeering hand of god in D4.
After eight seasons of my Argentine DiRT Rally league I put together a final 11-event season: 1 Pikes Peak and then ten rallies with one car from each car class. Rallies with one stage from each country, kind of as a final challenge for everyone. To be honest, it's actually very pleasing for me to go back to DiRT Rally where I believe cars behave more intuitively than in D4. In fact, I am finding it hard to play D4 for more than an hour without getting frustrated with the excessive grip/friction/aero or whatever the problem is. It's not that D4 takes getting used to... for me D4 is like playing a totally different style of game. It just doesn't feel right, so going back to DR every week to compete in my league is extremely enjoyable.
While I am waiting for a good sale on SLRE, I found a good deal yesterday on D4 so I ended up buying it.
To be honest, I ended up liking it after like 4 hours of straight gameplay!
Below you can find my INITIAL findings and impressions:
-Handling seems easier than Dirt Rally, but also more realistic:
Cars feel heavy, they have more weight, no longer a small crest hit would turn your car around easily like in DR.
Braking is very improved and will kill you if you do it wrong, weight shift is real.
Cars no longer feel they are driven on ice, especially on dirt/gravel; I remember how the cars slid all over the place in DR in Greece!
-It seems handling and FFB have some Assetto corsa feeling to it, and I like that.
-I thank God that they got rid of the old DR FFB because that one broke my wheel! It used to rumble and shake and kick in heavily!
In fact, I couldn't drive more than 15min straight on DR without my wheel pressing some buttons by itself! (it happens on heavy FFB kick-ins). Yesterday I drove 4hrs straight and the issue didn't happen, not even once! I'm happy!
-I drove in USA, Australia and Spain. I enjoyed Australia the most out of these.
-I drove on Simulation handling, Demanding AI and all assists OFF, as well as whole HUD OFF. Also manual sequential and headcam view (with steering wheel view). All wheel settings were left to default (saturation, linearity etc...). FFB was just reduced to 75% to preserve my wheel's life.
That's really immersive and realistic! To wait for the stage to end just to see in which position you are is a good feeling!
-I completed the DirtFish school lessons and it's nice and fun!
-I absolutely suck at Rally Cross! Dunno why! I just can't make that car drive! It feels like driving on ice!
-Driving in fog is really wicked hard!
-The helicopter ****ed up one of my cleanest and fastest stages! I was surprised by it and the dust covered everything so i hit the barrier with nearly full speed and spun!
-I tried 5min of landrush and couldn't complete a single lap! The struggle is real!
-The biggest downside to this game seems the stages more than anything else! Easy and boring and repetitive a bit! Nothing amazing like real life scanned DR stages! Those are legendary!
Overall I'm really loving it and enjoying it and can't wait to play it more and more!
Again I say, it may not be as hard as Dirt Rally, but that doesn't mean it's not more realistic! HARD is not always equal to REALISTIC.
