WRC 8: General Discussion (Release: september 2019)

[Jtheripper]

Won the WRC title at medium difficulty with the Fiesta. Pretty satisfied. However few things need to be adjusted:

- trophies on PS4 are broken;
- objectives doesn't work and they are no sense;
- meteorologist is totally useless as they are wet tyres;
- i just can't handle how puddles literally throw you into the wall.
- AI do not retire even if you are them broken track side
-restarting stages sometimes makes weather change

Wow seems alot needs patching. Hopefully they will..and all those career details mean something. Useless objectives are pretty pointless.

 

[paulpg87]

Wow seems alot needs patching. Hopefully they will..and all those career details mean something. Useless objectives are pretty pointless.

Not game breaking, just annoying especially the meteorologist when it's tarmac time.

 

[Jtheripper]

Im on wrc7..Does not using the repair alloted time give you a time advantage? Or might as well always use as much of it to repair as much as you can without going over the alloted time? Because in wrc7 career on hard it's so easy to repair all without any penalty.
Edit: im addicted to the engine exhaust sound of the fiesta r2 i thnk it is, front wheel drive in rookie series in 3rd person view in wrc7, especially in 4th and 5th gear. fun on pavement dry or wet.
Edit2: are all the stages from wrc7 in wrc8 too?
Also do you guys know if in wrc7 the hardcore setting changes more than just the rivals times?

 

[MrCrynox]

Im on wrc7..Does not using the repair alloted time give you a time advantage? Or might as well always use as much of it to repair as much as you can without going over the alloted time? Because in wrc7 career on hard it's so easy to repair all without any penalty.
Edit: im addicted to the engine exhaust sound of the fiesta r2 i thnk it is, front wheel drive in rookie series in 3rd person view in wrc7, especially in 4th and 5th gear. fun on pavement dry or wet.
Edit2: are all the stages from wrc7 in wrc8 too?
Also do you guys know if in wrc7 the hardcore setting changes more than just the rivals times?

It does not give you an advantage to not use all of the allocated repair time. Try to win in Poland on hard without using all of the repair time, I know I struggled.

Around 50% of the stages from 7 are in 8.

I think Hardcore just affects the competition's times.

 

[Jtheripper]

It does not give you an advantage to not use all of the allocated repair time. Try to win in Poland on hard without using all of the repair time, I know I struggled.

Around 50% of the stages from 7 are in 8.

I think Hardcore just affects the competition's times.

I see. So ill keep wrc7 for the stages only in it then. Thanks.
Hehe ok, well i didn't say i was winning though. But i push it enough for me to risk damage for sure. Lots of fun in any case. Thanks @MrCrynox.

 

[Wolfe]

Hmm. I only discovered this accidentally, but I guess Permacrash means nothing, because you can quit out and then resume career mode to restart a stage...okay then.

On the plus side, the more stages I experience, the more I like this game. It's got some outstanding content in that area, and is more than competent enough in other respects to make it worthwhile for that.

Is it true that the career seems scripted and has lots of fluff as someone said here?

Apologies, maybe you shouldn't put too much stock in what I said -- this game was on my birthday list (Sep. 30) so I couldn't pick it up before and haven't put a ton of time into it yet. Others certainly have more experience with the career mode than I do. I'm just not seeing almost any feedback yet from what I put into the career mode.

 

[Jtheripper]

One thing i hope is in wrc8 is more settings for difficulty, like being able to set separately the ai times, the number of retries allowed, maybe more damage settings like damage severity, then time needed to repair, maybe practice sessions although i guess there isn't in real wrc i don't know. Is their qualify sessions in wrc? How do they set starting order?
Edit: also more settings for the controller like gradual sensitivity, speed sensitivity.

 

[MrCrynox]

One thing i hope is in wrc8 is more settings for difficulty, like being able to set separately the ai times, the number of retries allowed, maybe more damage settings like damage severity, then time needed to repair, maybe practice sessions although i guess there isn't in real wrc i don't know. Is their qualify sessions in wrc? How do they set starting order?
Edit: also more settings for the controller like gradual sensitivity, speed sensitivity.

On hard difficulty you are allowed 4 restarts. Medium I think it's 5 or 6. There is several different levels of damage not related to the difficulty level. I know @Wolfe said that you can quit & restart on Perma damage, I can't comment on that but I know if you stop & restart the game this doesn't work, on hard difficulty it counts as one as your restarts.

In the WRC start order is decided on the championship order. You cannot practice the stages at all other than one 'recce' run which means a controlled speed, (slow), for the driver & co driver to decide/write the pace notes.

Controller settings are aplenty.

 

[Jtheripper]

On hard difficulty you are allowed 4 restarts. Medium I think it's 5 or 6. There is several different levels of damage not related to the difficulty level. I know @Wolfe said that you can quit & restart on Perma damage, I can't comment on that but I know if you stop & restart the game this doesn't work, on hard difficulty it counts as one as your restarts.

In the WRC start order is decided on the championship order. You cannot practice the stages at all other than one 'recce' run which means a controlled speed, (slow), for the driver & co driver to decide/write the pace notes.

Controller settings are aplenty.

I see, thats what i mean though to not have retries directly set to difficulty.
Would you say wrc8 is less arcade than 7?
Because 7 is definitely arcade although with solid physics, to me at least. Thats why its almost easier with a controller and if using a wheel need set rotation range low. There's the fact that modern wrc cars are more responsive i guess compared to many cars in let's say dirt rally. Also if using 3rd person view makes it feel more arcade maybe, but still it's simpler easier handling i feel. But i like wrc7 alot and often its more fun even.

 

[MrCrynox]

I see, thats what i mean though to not have retries directly set to difficulty.
Would you say wrc8 is less arcade than 7?
Because 7 is definitely arcade although with solid physics, to me at least. Thats why its almost easier with a controller and if using a wheel need set rotation range low. There's the fact that modern wrc cars are more responsive i guess compared to many cars in let's say dirt rally. Also if using 3rd person view makes it feel more arcade maybe, but still it's simpler easier handling i feel. But i like wrc7 alot and often its more fun even.

WRC7 arcade ? Not in my opinion, not an absolute sim but not arcade. I would call it an accessible sim. Easier to pick up and play/control than DR ? Yes for sure. I play both 7 & 8 in bonnet cam mode. It's easier to play 7 on controller because they did a good job for controller implementation but not so good for wheel input. But this has changed in 8 it is much improved for wheel users.
Is the handling/physics improved in 8 ? Yes.
Once you've finished with 7 get 8, you will like it.

 

[sirjim73]

A quick massage just to say that i love the handbrake in this game, damn amazing even if i use a button on the wheel. Such a good feeling on harpins.

Been looking through the thread. General impressions on WRC8 seem pretty good 👍.

Had to quote this post - always nice to relax with a quick massage...
(Are you related to Officer Crabtree?)

 

[Jtheripper]

WRC7 arcade ? Not in my opinion, not an absolute sim but not arcade. I would call it an accessible sim. Easier to pick up and play/control than DR ? Yes for sure. I play both 7 & 8 in bonnet cam mode. It's easier to play 7 on controller because they did a good job for controller implementation but not so good for wheel input. But this has changed in 8 it is much improved for wheel users.
Is the handling/physics improved in 8 ? Yes.
Once you've finished with 7 get 8, you will like it.

Well i love wrc7 so no worries there, i like both as long as the physics are solid but i was using a rookie front-wheeler lately and now i just tried a wrc2 car and idk but it's like a go-cart on steroid, so fast. Its fun but sim..unless i underestimate modern rally cars. I mean could you control a car like this in real life with a sensitive limited joystick, i dont think so, but you can easily in the game so. Well they're well made fun games with solid physics, as long as it's fun and interesting challenging right. To me they are so that's what counts.
Cheers.

 

[paulpg87]

Been looking through the thread. General impressions on WRC8 seem pretty good 👍.

Had to quote this post - always nice to relax with a quick massage...
(Are you related to Officer Crabtree?)

Ahahahah damn T9

 

[Jtheripper]

If y'all can stand listening to me for 45' here's my analysis of WRC 8.

Nice review sir, just did watch it.
Only thing i find is like 7 looks and feels..it looks exagerately fast and responsive a little like a remote controlled small car you know. Compared to a more believable rythm in dirt rally games,but even those seem a little like on fast forward in how cars react to your inputs. I dont know, just my 2 cents. But im sure lots of fun like 7 and dirt rally too, as you said they are all a little simplistic to be full sims maybe but great products nonetheless for rally fans.
How do you feel about dirt rally 2.0 ffb now after updates?

 

[Pfei]

How do you feel about dirt rally 2.0 ffb now after updates?

I'm not a fan of the FFB in DR2.0. I will direct you to a post of mine over in the DiRT forum: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...ck-update-now-available.387459/#post-12899955

And I agree that both games have issues with exaggerated grip, to which I would add greatly reduced braking distances compared to real life. And DR2.0 does a better job in the replays. WRC 8 can look very odd at times in the replays. Thankfully that weirdness isn't felt while driving (barring the terrible collision physics).

 

[Jtheripper]

I'm not a fan of the FFB in DR2.0. I will direct you to a post of mine over in the DiRT forum: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...ck-update-now-available.387459/#post-12899955

And I agree that both games have issues with exaggerated grip, to which I would add greatly reduced braking distances compared to real life. And DR2.0 does a better job in the replays. WRC 8 can look very odd at times in the replays. Thankfully that weirdness isn't felt while driving (barring the terrible collision physics).

I see yeah, surprising that DR2 ffb is that bad, might as well use a controller almost, thanks..how do you feel about Dirt rally 1 ffb then and compared to dr2?
How about slre, i can't remember if it reacted in a less light weight way? But i know on ps4 there was annoying stutter in sharper turns, and the sound of course is cringy.

 

[Pfei]

I see yeah, surprising that DR2 ffb is that bad, might as well use a controller almost, thanks..how do you feel about Dirt rally 1 ffb then and compared to dr2?

DR1 for sure has more detail in the FFB but I honestly can't judge it due to the fact that I personally felt the physics to be so odd in DR1 that it makes any kind of evaluation rather difficult (IMO).

 

[Jtheripper]

DR1 for sure has more detail in the FFB but I honestly can't judge it due to the fact that I personally felt the physics to be so odd in DR1 that it makes any kind of evaluation rather difficult (IMO).

Yeah i thought so the ffb in dr1 isn't as bad. I edited my previous post, curious to know your take.

 

[Pfei]

How about slre, i can't remember if it reacted in a less light weight way? But i know on ps4 there was annoying stutter in sharper turns, and the sound of course is cringy.

I still believe SLRE is the closest thing to a rally sim since RBR. Good physics and FFB, punishing damage, lots of challenging real-life stages, and a nice varied car list. Graphics and sounds cringe-worthy, as you state.

SLRE however is also center-pivot so you loose the nuances in physics and FFB that are present in RBR.

Rally for sure is the most difficult motorsport to simulate since you have in real life constantly varying grip levels. And as far as content is concerned, it's very difficult for devs to create a good amount of stages while remaining within a reasonable budget.

It will be interesting to see where CM and KT go in the future with next-gen consoles a year away, and see if a surprise new player enters the rally genre.

 

[Jtheripper]

I still believe SLRE is the closest thing to a rally sim since RBR. Good physics and FFB, punishing damage, lots of challenging real-life stages, and a nice varied car list. Graphics and sounds cringe-worthy, as you state.

SLRE however is also center-pivot so you loose the nuances in physics and FFB that are present in RBR.

Rally for sure is the most difficult motorsport to simulate since you have in real life constantly varying grip levels. And as far as content is concerned, it's very difficult for devs to create a good amount of stages while remaining within a reasonable budget.

It will be interesting to see where CM and KT go in the future with next-gen consoles a year away, and see if a surprise new player enters the rally genre.

Yeah, RBR was brutal in its trappy stages with logs and ditches hehe. But if i remember it had more believable stopping distances and inertia. Too bad its not on console for me. Maybe i'll have a go again at slre. Agreed on next gen hopes, also that my wheel will still be compatible with ps5 games, even though by then maybe ill be better off with a more modern refined wheel, say in 3years.

 

[Jtheripper]

Well typically with me at the wheel the tyres last longer than the car - so it's not really a problem for me just yet.

You made me , thanks sir for that haha, and honesty.
Oups double post, hay sorry about that, was reading older posts and just thought to reply another post.

 

[Wolfe]

I now have a better grasp of the career mode, and I can't say I'm seeing no progress anymore, after hop-skipping from my WRC Junior to a WRC 2 Skoda to a WRC Toyota in one evening. What a nutty game, though; I can now relate to some comments made earlier in the thread.

• Puddles are ludicrous, a "have the developers even driven a car?" situation. Can't say I've ever had a regular little puddle throw my IRL car 90 degrees into a telephone pole after driving over it at a whopping 30mph, while sounding like a firecracker going off. (I am aware of the R&D for reducing the effect)
• I have been forced to use the dashboard view instead of the "behind the wheel" view, not really because the sun shade is too obstructive, but because the sun shade in some cars screws with the stupid dynamic-exposure graphics effect, washing out the view out of the windshield.
• I drive gravel roads every day IRL. How exactly does the car accumulate dirt on the windshield every 60-90 seconds or so?
• Why on Earth did they lock upgrades to team-based R&D instead of making that stuff a permanent skill tree for the player's use?
• In the real WRC, do teams have to choose tires in advance? If it is already raining before I even set off, why do I have to rely only upon a forecast that can be 100% wrong and backwards through a rally? I expected the forecasting to come into play for dynamic weather and future stages, not to obfuscate what you can expect right out of the gate.
• Why can I set the fastest time in a SSS after witnessing the AI clearly finishing well before I do?
• Why does driving a borrowed car decrease the condition of my team's car??
• I seem to be about as well off without any team members in the active roster (though that may change now that I'm in the big league). "What's the point?" has been a common refrain throughout this experience.

 

[Jtheripper]

I now have a better grasp of the career mode, and I can't say I'm seeing no progress anymore, after hop-skipping from my WRC Junior to a WRC 2 Skoda to a WRC Toyota in one evening. What a nutty game, though; I can now relate to some comments made earlier in the thread.

• Puddles are ludicrous, a "have the developers even driven a car?" situation. Can't say I've ever had a regular little puddle throw my IRL car 90 degrees into a telephone pole after driving over it at a whopping 30mph, while sounding like a firecracker going off. (I am aware of the R&D for reducing the effect)
• I have been forced to use the dashboard view instead of the "behind the wheel" view, not really because the sun shade is too obstructive, but because the sun shade in some cars screws with the stupid dynamic-exposure graphics effect, washing out the view out of the windshield.
• I drive gravel roads every day IRL. How exactly does the car accumulate dirt on the windshield every 60-90 seconds or so?
• Why on Earth did they lock upgrades to team-based R&D instead of making that stuff a permanent skill tree for the player's use?
• In the real WRC, do teams have to choose tires in advance? If it is already raining before I even set off, why do I have to rely only upon a forecast that can be 100% wrong and backwards through a rally? I expected the forecasting to come into play for dynamic weather and future stages, not to obfuscate what you can expect right out of the gate.
• Why can I set the fastest time in a SSS after witnessing the AI clearly finishing well before I do?
• Why does driving a borrowed car decrease the condition of my team's car??
• I seem to be about as well off without any team members in the active roster (though that may change now that I'm in the big league). "What's the point?" has been a common refrain throughout this experience.

Hopefully they will fix many issues still. I dont know if they said they would still work on patches for wrc8.

 

[Pfei]

Puddles are ludicrous, a "have the developers even driven a car?" situation. Can't say I've ever had a regular little puddle throw my IRL car 90 degrees into a telephone pole after driving over it at a whopping 30mph, while sounding like a firecracker going off. (I am aware of the R&D for reducing the effect)

Puddles can definitely cause violent spins. I remember once on I-290 in Chicago in my CRX, heavy rain, I hit a puddle at 50mph and the car did an instant 360 together with a violent sound. Agreed though that it's weird that even crossing a small puddle with one wheel also triggers the shotgun shell.

I have been forced to use the dashboard view instead of the "behind the wheel" view, not really because the sun shade is too obstructive, but because the sun shade in some cars screws with the stupid dynamic-exposure graphics effect, washing out the view out of the windshield.

I haven't been able to play any of the KT WRCs with cockpit. Something is just way off beyond the saturation issues you mention.

I drive gravel roads every day IRL. How exactly does the car accumulate dirt on the windshield every 60-90 seconds or so

Agreed.

Why on Earth did they lock upgrades to team-based R&D instead of making that stuff a permanent skill tree for the player's use?

I actually like this dynamic. Remember you can re-spec any team for 25.000cr.

In the real WRC, do teams have to choose tires in advance? If it is already raining before I even set off, why do I have to rely only upon a forecast that can be 100% wrong and backwards through a rally? I expected the forecasting to come into play for dynamic weather and future stages, not to obfuscate what you can expect right out of the gate.

Yes, drivers must make tire selection before each loop of stages. Sometimes an hour or two before arriving at the first stage of the loop. It's a huge part of strategy in the WRC that is reproduced well in the game. While I haven't had any major issues with forecasts yet, I have read many complaints that even with 100% forecasting accuracy the weatherman can get it all wrong.

Why can I set the fastest time in a SSS after witnessing the AI clearly finishing well before I do?

The SSS AI car on track with you has been unrepresentative of the real AI times ever since the SSS were introduced in 6. Definitely something to work on. Also, in 8, the AI seem to no longer DNF ever, ever, ever. Even if you pass their broken-down car in-stage.

Why does driving a borrowed car decrease the condition of my team's car??

By borrowed car I assume you refer to the historic races and tryouts and stuff. Never noticed that. Definitely a poor implementation.

I seem to be about as well off without any team members in the active roster (though that may change now that I'm in the big league). "What's the point?" has been a common refrain throughout this experience.

The crew actually has a big influence, especially on repair time and repair costs. All of it does, however, seem a bit hodge-podge and inconsistent.

 

[Wolfe]

Puddles can definitely cause violent spins. I remember once on I-290 in Chicago in my CRX, heavy rain, I hit a puddle at 50mph and the car did an instant 360 together with a violent sound. Agreed though that it's weird that even crossing a small puddle with one wheel also triggers the shotgun shell.

Significant puddles at significant speeds, yes. The effect is exaggerated and not very convincing even if I assume the puddles are deeper than they look (when they're even rendered visible enough to see coming, which is not often depending on the conditions!).

Yes, drivers must make tire selection before each loop of stages. Sometimes an hour or two before arriving at the first stage of the loop. It's a huge part of strategy in the WRC that is reproduced well in the game. While I haven't had any major issues with forecasts yet, I have read many complaints that even with 100% forecasting accuracy the weatherman can get it all wrong.

Only an hour or two? That's what I thought. I see no good reason why the first weather slot in the first of a string of stages should be subject to wildly inaccurate forecasting. That's not strategy, it's hiding reasonable information from the player. I think the meteorologist should only be responsible for the second and third weather slots of the first stage, and the forecast for the remaining stages.

 

[cjr3559]

I now have a better grasp of the career mode, and I can't say I'm seeing no progress anymore, after hop-skipping from my WRC Junior to a WRC 2 Skoda to a WRC Toyota in one evening. What a nutty game, though; I can now relate to some comments made earlier in the thread.

• Puddles are ludicrous, a "have the developers even driven a car?" situation. Can't say I've ever had a regular little puddle throw my IRL car 90 degrees into a telephone pole after driving over it at a whopping 30mph, while sounding like a firecracker going off. (I am aware of the R&D for reducing the effect)
• I have been forced to use the dashboard view instead of the "behind the wheel" view, not really because the sun shade is too obstructive, but because the sun shade in some cars screws with the stupid dynamic-exposure graphics effect, washing out the view out of the windshield.
• I drive gravel roads every day IRL. How exactly does the car accumulate dirt on the windshield every 60-90 seconds or so?
• Why on Earth did they lock upgrades to team-based R&D instead of making that stuff a permanent skill tree for the player's use?
• In the real WRC, do teams have to choose tires in advance? If it is already raining before I even set off, why do I have to rely only upon a forecast that can be 100% wrong and backwards through a rally? I expected the forecasting to come into play for dynamic weather and future stages, not to obfuscate what you can expect right out of the gate.
• Why can I set the fastest time in a SSS after witnessing the AI clearly finishing well before I do?
• Why does driving a borrowed car decrease the condition of my team's car??
• I seem to be about as well off without any team members in the active roster (though that may change now that I'm in the big league). "What's the point?" has been a common refrain throughout this experience.

I agree on almost all points except for the R&D tree being team specific. Gives the game some depth and variety to the team aspect. New team, new set of abilities based on their level of proficiency and focus.

Of all the points above, my biggest gripe is watching my car deteriorate when I haven’t used it. Though the idea of scheduling the right time to overhaul the car between events is very welcome. Strategy!

As far as team members, I haven’t noticed much difference using a tired crew or a fresh one, or leaving a position out of the lineup for an event. Do I really need the Agent or Financial Director active? Likely so, but the results are so minuscule it probably doesn’t matter. Maybe repairs cost more without the FD, or maybe my team’s morale is lower without the Agent. Who knows.

And thinking about the dirty windscreen, I agree it dirties too quickly and too often, but I think of it as time compression; IRL your screen would probably need cleaned on the longer stages they run comparatively, so it’s in the game for effect. At least the wipers are full manual, unlike the DiRT series where they’re automatically turned on to intermittent whether you need them or not.

 

[Wolfe]

I agree on almost all points except for the R&D tree being team specific. Gives the game some depth and variety to the team aspect. New team, new set of abilities based on their level of proficiency and focus.

I could agree if the level cap didn't put you on a time crunch to get to where you want to be before your R&D points are wasted on teams you intend to abandon (or am I misunderstanding that?).


I just drove La Bollène-Vesuby in Monte Carlo for the first time. 🤬 epic.

I could sell my left kidney to help fund the development of a game like Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 with modern simulation physics, a slew of all the popular roadcars with upgrades and deep customization, and hardcore realistic rural roads like this. What happened to the touge racing genre? Why must these elements never be mixed???

 

[cjr3559]

I could agree if the level cap didn't put you on a time crunch to get to where you want to be before your R&D points are wasted on teams you intend to abandon (or am I misunderstanding that?).

Good question, I’ve only changed teams once (JWRC to WRC2 Pro) so I can’t recall what happens to your R&D points when changing teams. All I know is I was probably at a low level when I made the jump to WRC2 Pro so I think the points carry over, you just need to redistribute them.

Now that I’m maxed out at level 50 it will be interesting to see what happens when I make it to WRC. I’m guessing you get them back in a lump to distribute on the new team but I’m not sure.

Can anyone confirms what happens to R&D points when changing teams?

 

[paulpg87]

Good question, I’ve only changed teams once (JWRC to WRC2 Pro) so I can’t recall what happens to your R&D points when changing teams. All I know is I was probably at a low level when I made the jump to WRC2 Pro so I think the points carry over, you just need to redistribute them.

Now that I’m maxed out at level 50 it will be interesting to see what happens when I make it to WRC. I’m guessing you get them back in a lump to distribute on the new team but I’m not sure.

Can anyone confirms what happens to R&D points when changing teams?

You have to spend 25k to "free" all the points allocated and relocate them as you want except for those team specific. I got 41. you wont be able to make any change or progress further if you don't.

 

[cjr3559]

Made it to WRC today and signed with Hyundai. Their focus is ‘team’ and all of the ‘team’ slots were filled except one. The other three focus branches were basically where I had them before getting promoted. I don’t see any pressing need to reallocate anything for $25,000. The other team offers were to stick with Citroen at WRC2 Pro (nope!) or sign with Toyota whose focus was reliability.

Looking forward to the WRC Championship, but it’s going to be a long road, that’s for sure. Medium difficulty with perma-crash enabled and authentic damage is working well for me.

Oh, and my last two events in WRC2 had really bad weather forecasts. Again, they weren’t even close on a couple days. At least I got an e-mail post event telling me the forecasts were wrong. Well no kidding!