Project CARS - Maxi-Geek Preview

The idea behind Project CARS was a simple one, to work with the community to build the most complete and authentic racing game that ever existed and from what I have played, they are well on their way to doing just that.

I was lucky enough to go hands on with the PC build and a quick look the PS4 version as well recently and while I am not great at realistic racing games, I still had fun trying. I was first let loose on the PC version of the game, but this was not just a keyboard or controller setup, there was a racing seat, steering wheel with pedals and a small 17 inch monitor. Well, that was hooked up to the PC, but it was not what I used, instead I was going to see the game using an Oculus Rift.

With the unit upon my head and the seat moved back some, I was ready to go and boy did I go, first turn I went straight off the track and into the barrier. But I was so distracted by what I was looking at to pay attention to the race, I was racing in an open top Radical, so I was able to look up and see the sky, lean out of the car and see the other cars in the mirrors, at one point I even pulled off to the side so I could have a look at the stands. What makes this really special though is that all the amazing detail I was seeing, the spectacle of seeing it all as if I were a driver was made even more amazing because it was Bathurst.

There are very few people who have been able to take part in an actual race around Mount Panorama, so to be able to do it in a game, where I can see in every direction was pretty amazing. Of course, Project CARS is more than just a pretty face, so I had to get back to the driving, which was simple at this point because I was dead last without a hope of catching up to the rest of the field, but I was still having fun. The level of detail that the team have put into the cars is insane, any video or images of them will show you that, but the detail for the tracks is perhaps even more impressive. The morning sun was bursting through the trees, causing rays of light to bounce around, at points the sun was right in my eyes, so I had to turn my head away from it.

After my less than ideal attempt to build a career as a race car driver, I was taken through the PlayStation 4 build of the game and the options that it alone offers up. PC gamers have been able to tweak things to an almost microscopic level of detail for years, but console games have never had that option before. Slightly Mad Studios are living up to their name here as they have given console players the same tools, so that they may tweak the visuals to their liking. You want more Field of View on console, you can do that now, or perhaps you are not a fan of bloom lighting and want to turn it off, well that is no problem.

I was then able to take another car, this time an Ariel Atom, around a new course, again I came last but I still had fun trying to win, though attempting a handbrake turn in a car as light as the Atom probably did not help. It was at this point I was told that tapping left on the d-pad would allow me to change the on screen display, to remove items or even go so far as to turn on all the real time data that a pit crew would see. This data can help advanced players create the ideal racing setup for their car, it is even possible, if you get the data from any event, to input it and recreate the exact conditions a car was racing under, weather, tire pressure, stiffness of the suspension and even how much fuel you have in the car. The amount of options present in the game are staggering, they have even had race car drivers and experts helping make the game, when ex-BBC Top Gear Stig is on board and claims “This is as real as it gets, and the sheer quality of Project CARS will probably summon the next generation of user interface in terms of steering and pedals because of the degree of sensory feedback it delivers” you know that it is going to be something special.

While from an ability stand point, Project CARS is far beyond me, they are doing things from authenticity point of view that blow my mind, with a month still to go, the hype train for this game needs to pick up steam because it looks like it will be on the lips of every car fan, gamer or not.