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Project CARS (video game)

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Project CARS
Developer(s)Slightly Mad Studios
Publisher(s)Slightly Mad Studios
EngineMadness[3]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
SteamOS
Wii U[4]
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows (Download)
Microsoft Windows (Retail), PlayStation 4 & Xbox One
SteamOS, Wii U
2015
Genre(s)Sim racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Project CARS (or Community Assisted Racing Simulator) is a motorsport racing simulator video game developed by the British video game developer Slightly Mad Studios and distributed by Bandai Namco Games. It was released on 7 May 2015 in Europe and 12 May 2015 in America[5] for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while the Wii U and SteamOS/Linux versions have been delayed to later in 2015.[6][7][8] Project CARS was originally also due for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 but it was later announced that these versions had been cancelled.[9] On February 18, 2015 it was announced that Project CARS would be delayed until April 2, 2015 for Europe,[10] and eventually confirmed to be released on May 7, 2015 in Europe and Australia; May 8, 2015 in the UK; and May 12, 2015 in North America.[11]

Funding for the game was raised by the community and the developers themselves, without the financial aid of a traditional publisher. Through the purchase of Tool Packs players could contribute to development in roles including content creation, QA, and marketing media.[12] Members gain special perks, depending on their purchased tool pack. Members will receive a share of game sales profits generated within the first 3 years after launch as compensation for their efforts, to be paid quarterly.[13]

Gameplay

Features

The finished product is intended to represent a realistic driving simulation. In order to differentiate the game from the established industry leaders, Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Slightly Mad Studios' aim is a "sandbox" approach that allows the player to choose between a variety of different motorsports paths and grants immediate access to all included tracks and vehicles.[14] Project CARS will portray racing events spanning multiple days, progressing from shakedown and qualifying runs to the race itself, while changes in weather and lighting conditions are simulated dynamically.[15]

Physics Simulation

The game adopts an improved version of the Madness engine, which was the basis for the Need for Speed: Shift titles. More processing power available in modern computers allows for the introduction of a dynamic tire model named "SETA", rather than the steady-state model based on lookup tables, as seen in previous generation simulations.[16] To accommodate differing skill levels, Slightly Mad Studios offers gamers (with or without a digital wheel) various driver aids and input filtering methods.

In addition to community feedback, Slightly Mad Studios have acquired the professional services of racing driver and Top Gear's former "Stig", Ben Collins,[17] Clio Cup and European Touring Car Cup racing driver Nicolas Hamilton,[18] and former Formula Renault 3.5L and current ELMS driver Oli Webb.

Content

There are 74 drivable cars, with 60 of these being included at launch,[19] over 30 unique locations with at least 110 different courses, of which 23 are real, with the remainder being fictitious.[20] For licensing reasons, some tracks are currently codenamed using their geographic location. In addition to real world racing circuits and fictional kart circuits, there are two fictional point-to-point roads inspired by Côte d'Azur and California Pacific Coast.

Circuits

On 6 August 2014, Slightly Mad Studios began revealing which circuits would be included in the final game.[21]

Virtual Reality

On 26 August 2012 support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was announced on the official forums.[22] The announcement stated that at least one Oculus Rift Development Kit has been ordered. Members of the project are able to follow a link referenced in the forum post to read more details.

Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset Project Morpheus will also be supported.[23]

Reception

Project CARS was generally well received upon release. Digitally Downloaded introduced the game as "more like F1 by way of Gran Turismo than the other racing games out there that you likely play, and for many people this will mean a couple of hours of unforgiving punishment and frustration."[45] Game Informer said that "The game joins a sim-racing field alongside already-established competitors like Gran Turismo and Forza, but it also does things its own way, challenging the ways of the past. Project Cars doesn't radically change the genre, but longtime enthusiasts should take heed of this new franchise."[27] However, they pointed out that "cars aren't the showpieces relative to other sim series – you don't collect, apply decals, or upgrade them." This sentiment was echoed by God Is a Geek, who said "Project CARS won’t be for everyone. If Need for Speed Underground or Burnout are your favourite racing games, then a sim like this is probably not for you. But if, like me, you grew up on Gran Turismo, where trying shaving seconds off a lap time is pleasure, then you will love this."[46] One of their only criticisms were the graphics, which did not compare well against Driveclub, a thought that DigitalSpy and TheSixthAxis agreed with.[34][37] Playing on a 3 year old PC, Eurogamer had to adjust their settings to obtain a smooth framerate, and said "I don't find it as demanding a drive as iRacing, or as good at communicating the physicality of the car as Assetto Corsa".[47] Race car driver Alex Lloyd (racing driver) from Yahoo Autos agreed, but said that compared to other console games like Forza and GT6, Project CARS was the clear victor in terms of realism.[48]

Autoblog praised the sound, but criticised the "tiny vehicle roster" and "wonky weight transfer characteristics".[49]

However, some have complained of bugs, notably Simon Sayers, who said "During packed starting grids on some courses, they’ll bunch up around the first corner and get tangled up like novices holding up everyone behind them. We also found myself sticking like a magnet to the back of some cars for a few seconds around corners, which felt like some sort of glitch as we struggled to shake them off."[50]

Gamespot immediately pointed out the lack of cars such as Ferrari, Porsche and Honda, and also expressed frustration at the game's inconsistent AI, which "mar the single player".[51] AusGamers also criticised the consistency of the AI, stating that it "varies between robotic and idiotic".[52] Another area of concern was the buggy penalty system, and confusing menus. Insidegamer and The Official Xbox Magazine concurred on this issue.[29][35] Post Arcade complained about the number of camera views, which made it difficult to see on a steep hill.[32]

Metro said that the career mode "doesn’t have any proper sponsorship deals or monetary concerns – so there’s little sense that you’re actually playing the role of a real person."[33] This was also seen as a weak point by Shacknews, who said that players "might get bored easily considering there really aren't any unique game modes either".[36] On this subject, NY Daily News added "The downside of the Project CARS formula is that you won't always be clear on exactly HOW you should progress. With so much at your fingertips, the undiscerning gamer may waste a lot of time".[43] Victory Point said "the game’s poor sense of progression and limited catalogue of available cars puts it to shame. As I play through it, disappointment is the only thing i’ve experienced thus far. Everything you accomplish in Project Cars feels trivial and inconsequential."[44] Gaming Nexus agreed: "Player freedom is always great, but Project Cars simply doesn't provide any incentive for completing various championships in the career mode."[53]

Xbox One

Despite running at a screen resolution of 900P, as opposed to the more demanding 1080P of the PlayStation 4 and PC versions, The Xbox One version of the game suffers from bugs and a lower frame rate. This version has received far poorer ratings than the PC and PS4 versions for a very inconsistent frame rate that can dip to just over 30 frames per second, for audio bugs, for a lower display resolution, and especially for control bugs that can render the game unplayable on a controller. Steering input can fail to be registered in the game right away and can even go ignored altogether on the Xbox One controller.

The community has found out that placing the game on to a USB 3.0 hard disk has reduced the frame rate issues significantly, and allows the game to maintain the advertised 60FPS throughout.[38][40][42]

In the first week of sales, Project CARS sold 63 percent of its total on the PlayStation 4 console, with 31 percent on the Xbox One and 6 percent on the PC.[54]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Project CARS Goes Gold!". Slightly Mad Studios. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. ^ http://www.vg247.com/2015/05/05/pc-version-of-project-cars-delayed-in-australia-due-to-severe-weather/
  3. ^ "Tech - Slightly Mad Studios".
  4. ^ Usher, William. "Wii U Confirmed To Receive DirectX 11 Racer, Project CARS". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  5. ^ "@projectcarsgame Twitter Account". Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. ^ "FAQ - Project CARS". Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Wii U Version Of Project Cars Has Been Delayed Till 2015 | My Nintendo News".
  8. ^ "Project CARS Races To Next-Gen! - WMD Portal".
  9. ^ "Gorgeous Racing Game Does The Smart Thing, Abandons Current-Gen". Kotaku.
  10. ^ / "Project CARS now launching on April 2 for Europe". Geeks Don't Lie. Geeks Don't Lie. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  11. ^ http://www.projectcarsgame.com/home/project-cars-goes-gold
  12. ^ "Project CARS Private forum: Getting Started".
  13. ^ "WMD Portal & Project CARS Overview (Oct 2011)" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Project CARS Interview: How Slightly Mad Studios Are Taking Racing Games To An All New Level".
  15. ^ "First Look at Project CARS on PS4".
  16. ^ "1 Year of Project CARS – Multiplayer, New Tire Model & More".
  17. ^ "Ben Collins".
  18. ^ "Nicolas Hamilton".
  19. ^ http://www.projectcarsgame.com/cars.html
  20. ^ http://www.projectcarsgame.com/locations.html
  21. ^ "Locations". www.projectcarsgame.com. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  22. ^ "Oculus Rift virtual reality headset announcement".
  23. ^ "Project Cars is one of the first games to support Project Morpheus".
  24. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/ps4/799997-project-cars/index.html
  25. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/project-cars/critic-reviews
  26. ^ http://www.destructoid.com/review-project-cars-291903.phtml
  27. ^ a b Kato, Matthew (6 May 2015). "Project Cars review: A New Series Gets Off To A Strong Start". Game Informer. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  28. ^ Reilly, Luke (6 May 2015). "Project CARS review: Driving Ambition". IGN. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  29. ^ a b http://www.gamesradar.com/project-cars-review/
  30. ^ http://www.pcgamer.com/project-cars-2/
  31. ^ Sayer, Simon (6 May 2015). "Project CARS PS4 Review". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  32. ^ a b http://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/post-arcade/project-cars-review-a-pc-racing-simulator-thats-unapologetically-for-gearheads?__lsa=47ea-4b68
  33. ^ a b http://metro.co.uk/2015/05/08/project-cars-review-race-champion-5186780/
  34. ^ a b http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/review/a646264/project-cars-review-a-rewarding-and-extensive-racing-simulation.html#~pccLGZOWwDTShz
  35. ^ a b http://www.insidegamer.nl/recensies/116796/project-cars-review-alleen-voor-snelle-bikkels
  36. ^ a b http://www.shacknews.com/article/89449/project-cars-review-bringing-up-the-rear
  37. ^ a b http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2015/05/11/project-cars-review/
  38. ^ a b http://www.purexbox.com/reviews/xbox-one/project_cars
  39. ^ http://gamestyle.com/review/project-cars-review/
  40. ^ a b http://www.gamegrin.com/reviews/project-cars-review/
  41. ^ http://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/project_cars
  42. ^ a b http://www.merlininkazani.com/Project_CARS-oyun_inceleme-81697p1.html
  43. ^ a b http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/video-game-review-project-cars-article-1.2217894
  44. ^ a b http://www.victorypoint.tv/project-cars-not-gran-turismo-review/
  45. ^ http://www.digitallydownloaded.net/2015/05/review-project-cars-sony-playstation-4.html
  46. ^ http://www.godisageek.com/reviews/project-cars-review/
  47. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-05-08-project-cars-review
  48. ^ https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-project-cars-is-the-best-racing-game-for-xbox-119368321547.html
  49. ^ http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/11/project-cars-game-review/
  50. ^ http://www.psu.com/review/26686/Project-CARS-PS4-Review/?page=3
  51. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/project-cars-review/1900-6416137/
  52. ^ http://www.ausgamers.com/games/project-cars/review/
  53. ^ http://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/4791/Project-Cars/
  54. ^ http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/project_cars/news/uk_video_game_chart_project_cars_takes_no_1.html
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