Things PCARS 2 got right

[mattikake]

So having been playing since release, I see the potential for the greatest ever racing game if only they fix the issues.

For me, what they got totally right that I don't see mentioned anywhere else;

1) The car collision physics. Brilliant revamp. Every little nudge to a full-on T-bone seems to work like you'd expect. Mostly the monkey who caused it comes off worse. The magnetic clash of PCARS 1 is dead.

2) Replays. Finally. 30 years of racing games and no-one ever bothered to do a replay system that gave you the same angles as a TV camera. That long shot foreshortening the speed of cars while looking down the entire length of a straight. Finally, someone got it done right.

3) Surface feedback and live track. From the moment I was sliding around on slicks in the wet to the moment I drove through a puddle at 150mph at Monza, I was blown away and giggling like a kid at the convincing feel of the water. Perfectly done.

4) Racing licence/rating. Ok my rating is p!ss ass poor due to disconnect bugs but the days of short-cutters, quali racing-line "stallers" and slow passing on straights a la Schumacher-cheat-itis even in Monza public lobby racing is already a thing of the past. Even monkies have become racers.

Anything I missed?

 

[Kobooi]

The historic tracks.

 

[Corsa]

FFB is epic, climbing the mountain @ Bathhurst my right rear loses traction, can feel it all. Incredible.

I really can't praise it enough and to be honest I hope I light a bonfire by saying GT Sport will NOT feel this good.

 

[Sentry87]

Quite a lot..

Proper multiclass racing, physics and handling

car/track roster (almost complete roster of gt cars plus indy car, historics etc; also historic Spa Monza and soon Le Mans)

immersion (animated pit crews etc)

live track 3.0 (rain puddles forming/drying out looks amazing plus day/night cycles)

licence system implemented in mp

menu's much improved over pc1

tuning cars and testing much simpler than pc1 with race engineer.

 

[fasj6418]

Everything but the bugs.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Everything but the bugs.

Pretty much. When it works, by god it works to perfection.

 

[05XR8]

Vehicle attitude. The showed flashes of it in Shift. PC1 gave us the sensation of feeling the bumps, ruts, kerbs/curbs and undulation of road surfaces.

The car attitude in PC2, is phenomenal. From cockpit view, I know the car is working. Threshold braking, trailbraking, coasting around a turn, feeding the throttle from corner apex to exit. The cars, literally, become our dance partners now.

Watching a replay, brings this home. Just take one of the GT B 240ZGs around Algarve, The Glen and Zolder. Nissans With Attitude, indeed!

 

[dtshalcyon]

Glad you liked the replays, I'll pass the feedback along to the fellow who did them. Cheers.

 

[stucar17]

FFB is epic, climbing the mountain @ Bathhurst my right rear loses traction, can feel it all. Incredible.

I really can't praise it enough and to be honest I hope I light a bonfire by saying GT Sport will NOT feel this good.

What wheel you using mate ?

 

[05XR8]

Glad you liked the replays, I'll pass the feedback along to the fellow who did them. Cheers.

Cool.
I only played Gran Turismo for the replays.

ToCA came along and I used that for its game play.

LeMans 24 on Dreamcast, had replays and game play.

Forza also had the game play.

Shift 1 was good, in both game and replay.

PC2 does it all. The Zhuhai camera, over the right kink and left-right after turn 1. If the same fellow worked on that, buy him his choice of drink!

 

[Blindside92]

Having so many variables that can make each experience unique (many different tracks, randomised weather conditions, qualifying being a meaningful aspect of the career and online modes, good damage model, tyre/fuel depletion, plethora of car tuning options, etc) really makes it immersive. Had my first online race the other night which went smoothly without stuttering and such and I was on the edge of my seat through most of it trying to hold my line and cleanly attack the guy in front/force an error. I think the online driver ratings are starting to help distinguish who the respectable clean racers are and who the first corner dive bombers are too. Lastly, I think the physics and sound effects in most cars are excellent.

 

[BrainsBush]

FFB is epic, climbing the mountain @ Bathhurst my right rear loses traction, can feel it all. Incredible.

I really can't praise it enough and to be honest I hope I light a bonfire by saying GT Sport will NOT feel this good.

You should try the Mustang66 at Bathurst. That's a challenge and muchas fun! (at least it was for me)

 

[LPlates]

The way that each car feels totally unique and has the right characteristics that you would expect.

The sauber (when the setup isn't bugged) is a beast and needs to be driven with respect.
The Ginetta junior is the other end of the scale and can be thrown around like a rag doll.

Live Track 3 is Exceptional but again is hampered by the tyre/snow bug.

Now get those damn bugs fixed and let this game show its full potential.

 

[Corsa]

What wheel you using mate ?

Since my csr elite is not ps4 friendly, I'm using a T150.
Which surprisingly is a lot of wheel for the money.

 

[GBO Possum]

Ability to easily precisely position replays to set up photomode

Ability to fly Drone Camera high and wide

 

[stucar17]

Since my csr elite is not ps4 friendly, I'm using a T150.
Which surprisingly is a lot of wheel for the money.

Ahh, thanks.....im on a T500, was just looking for some settings after you said how good yours felt....May have made some progress tonight though so all good
Cheers

 

[Animera]

IMO, these are things PCars 2 got right over Pcars1 on PC:

- FFB is so much easier to setup and feels great.
- Car handling is much more believable. (I can't say how realistic it is since I've never driven a race car.)
- Livetrack 3.0 has really made the tracks come alive. You have to adapt a lot during a long race.
- Car setup menus are easier to use.
- The ICMS is easy to use once you get used to it and adds to the immersion when you have to select things while racing.
- Manual driving in the pits with pit limiter is so much better than AI driving your car.
- The penalty system is much better.
- The licence rating has made people more wary and they seem to be more careful now.
- There is much more control over the setup of online lobbies.
- The AI adjustments are great and they are more of a challenge while behaving a lot better.

Overall I think this game is much better than the original and I'm loving playing it.
77 hours played so far and counting up.

 

[Magdelayna]

Some of the lighting is incredible..was at Donington,it started cloudy but then you could feel the sun actually come out,and the lighting was so realistic,it made feel better as sunshine does hehe.

It was a scripted career race so i might actually go back and do it again ha.

 

[breyzipp]

Glad you liked the replays, I'll pass the feedback along to the fellow who did them. Cheers.

You can pass my feedback as well.

The authentic replay cameras, the correct positioning of the sun and shades, those little but accurate details are truly great!

 

[GBO Possum]

• Ability to display recent and best lap times at all times (compare with Forza 5, 6, 7)
• Trackside cameras don't point into the sun just like real life (unlike Forza)
• Ability to declutter cockpit view by removing the on-screen steering wheel and hands (my real ones are good enough)
• A whole bunch of tracks I have never seen before in a game (I love the learning experience)