AI needs a patch. Some of the AI cars are fine, others are screwed up for
some reason. I'll bet all of Andre and Jan's favorite summer sundresses that
Ubi fixes this with a patch very soon. I've found that when battling with
the "good AI", most of the collisions are caused by me.
The great.
Physics, graphics, controller smoothness and accuracy, setup options, and
the inclusion of all the details which round out the F1 experience (track
accuracy and details, pit stops--both accuracy, animation, and the ability
to manually control everything, rules, flags, weather, telemetry, separate
and accurate car models, *** build up and grip change, radio
communication with the pit crew, etc.).
The very good.
Sound, weather, UI, and multiplayer.
The Unknown:
Force Feedback
---------------------------------------------
Graphics:
No need to go on and on about this because most of us have seen how amazing
they are. Best ever. Not just because it looks fantastic, but because it
runs so damn smoothly compared to everything else. It's a fantastic graphics
engine. Also, viewing distance is 1,500 meters, which eliminates all
clipping. Even the pit stop animation is superb.
Physics:
I honestly don't understand how people who are serious about auto simulators
can sit down with a new sim for a few hours and then come to a conclusion as
to how good the physics are, or say conclusively how it "feels". It's taken
me 10 days before I've felt I've that I've approached the true potential of
this sim's physics enough to give an opinion. On expert level, they are
FANTASTIC. The "hovercraft" references by some amaze me. It's just the
opposite for me. I've never received more feedback, and been able to dance
on the edge with a sim as I can with F1RC. To do this with a modern F1 sim
is a very pleasant surprise considering how these cars are so stiff
(suspensions are 10x stiffer than a '67 F1 car) and twitchy in real life.
I've put in some serious practice at Imola (one of my favorite tracks) and
can consistently run very clean laps of 1:22, with a best of 1:21.504. You
can download this at the http://www.racesimcentral.net/
you'd like. It's an absolute blast to push these cars to the limit. The
accurate physics, and the visual and audio feedback I receive is what
enables this. The tires start ***ing and the car shakes as I approach the
edge. Whether it's at a hairpin or highspeed turn, I get exactly the
feedback I need to keep the car at it's limit without losing it. The rear
end doesn't just break free for no reason as some have said (setup or
controller changes may help those who insist that it does this). Exactly the
opposite. I know exactly what each wheel is doing. It just takes some
practice to get in tune with the car, as it does with any quality sim
(remember GPL?). I can catch the rear end when it starts to let go. I can 4
wheel drift and recover. Not easy to do in real life with a modern F1 car,
and not easy to do in F1 RC, but it CAN be done with both using real life
driving techniques. I agree that there isn't***pit movement in the default
***pit view, but there is in***pit view #2. Not a lot though, because it
wouldn't be realistic if there was. Modern F1 cars don't pitch and roll when
they sit 75 mm off the ground. Even my girlfriend's Honda doesn't pitch and
roll. I really don't know what some of you expect sometimes. This isn't
1967. Simple setup changes like raising the default steering lock will
enable you to get a better feel for what the car is doing. Setup changes in
F1RC have an accurate impact on how the car behaves (BTW, the default setups
are very good). There is the option to use worn tires in the race, and tire
temps seem accurate, especially the way the warm up after a lap or two. One
very nice and accurate part of the game is how the car gets loose as you get
close to an opponent due to the dirty air. This IS how a modern F1 car would
feel if it used the oh so holy GPL physics model. F12000CS has a very good
physics model, but not as good as this. GP3 just seems too easy now (too
much grip).
Sound:
I'm not thrilled with the engine and collision sounds, but they grow on you.
No developer will ever simulate the engine sound a driver hears under their
helmet anyway. What's important is how well the tire sounds convey to you
what the wheels are doing. As I said above, they do an excellent job of
that.
Weather:
Looks great, and seems very accurate to me. Weather is an important part of
F1 racing, and it's inclusion is an absolute necessity. The weather changes
during the race, and there is rain at different parts of the track at times.
You can even see the rain off in the distance at another part of the track.
A dry line forms as the race progresses.
Controller performance:
The steering, throttle, and brake control and smoothness is fantastic. For
me, it's the best yet. Very smooth and progressive. None of that on/off
nonsense that some sims have.
UI:
Easy to use and just as importantly, the screens and track load very
quickly.
Multiplayer:
With 6 cars or less, it's excellent. No lag or warping. No disco's.
Hopefully Ubi will patch it so more can cars can run smoothly. Nobody loves
online racing more than me, but I'm not disappointed by the low number of
cars that can race online (compared to N4). From my four years of online
racing experience, it's almost impossible to find a field of more than six
quality drivers. You just end up wasting hours of your life with morons who
either can't make it past the first turn without wrecking, or who purposely
ruin races. Yes, a league may solve those problems, but I simply cannot
commit to a set time to race others.
Force Feedback:
I don't know how good it is. My girlfriend hit me over the head with my ff
wheel and broke it. Some say it feels great, while others have problems. The
optimum setting may have not have been found by some yet, or there may be
bugs with some controllers.
This is the best sim yet (yes, I said it and I mean it). Sorry GPL and
members of the GPL cult. If you don't like modern F1, or if you prefer
historic F1 or NASCAR, then you may want to stay with those sims. Otherwise,
F1RC is excellent in almost every area. I don't see how this sim cannot be
considered the best yet. With a patch for the AI (which N4 needs desperately
as well), it will be as close to the ultimate sim as we've seen so far. Now,
since this is r.a.s. and basically a Papyrus forum, don't think I expect the
majority to agree with me. That's all right by me, and actually very
reassuring.
David G Fisher