Thanks to a Q&A thread hosted here in GTPlanet’s Forums, with questions being answered by Ian Bell (the head of Slightly Mad Studios) along with The_American (the man voicing the in-game spotter), we’ve now learned about a few features that are planned to further evolve the Project CARS 2 experience.
One of these features relates to a place where drivers hope to spend the least amount of time: pit lane. Unlike most other racing games, pCARS 2 will allow players to manually control their vehicle and maneuver it into the pit box, as reported by The_American. The pit crew even goes all the way to repositioning your car if you do not park it in the box properly, which will add more time to your pit stop.
And of course, people who prefer to sit back and let the game’s AI take control while in the pit lane will be given the option to do so too.
Speaking of pit stops, they will also be fully animated this time, contrary to the first Project CARS. According to Ian Bell, motion capture technology was used to replicate the human actions that take place during a pit stop. This was not an easy task though, as “the greatest challenge was being able to cover all of the varied pit stop behaviour for each type of car/ruleset/competition,” said Bell.
Something that should put a smile on the face of any endurance racing fan is that multi-class racing will also be present in the Project CARS successor. The_American has told us we will be provided the opportunity to race with up to four classes at the same time on track. Approximately 30 vehicle classes will be available, so the combinations should be nearly endless.
For those looking for even more realism, a formation lap at the beginning of the race and a victory lap at the end will be included. Falling out of the formation will incur the player a penalty. Once the race has been completed, collisions will be turned off on players’ vehicles during the victory lap, so they do not interfere with others.
Additionally, information regarding penalties has been shown. Instead of having a five-second engine power reduction as seen in the original Project CARS game, pCARS 2 will feature real-world penalties, such as warnings, time and drive-through penalties, position “give backs”, and disqualifications. This feature does need some tweaking however, with The_American saying the team is still working on it.
With a release window of “Septemberish”, Slightly Mad Studios’ upcoming creation is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated racing games of the year. As always, stay tuned to GTPlanet for any updates regarding Project CARS 2.
See more articles on Ian Bell and Project CARS 2 Features.
