Grid Autosport

[GB_Simo]

Which, you'll note, isn't called Grid 3.

From that, as well as the returning features such as cockpit camera (remember, only 5% of players use that, said Codies when justifying its absence from Grid 2), we can perhaps surmise that the previous Grid didn't do quite as much business as had been forecast. More here for those interested:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... am-returns

[Zeppo]

"We're working really hard on our next-gen Ego engine right now - and when we roll it out, we want it to be the best racing engine out there," the producer said. "That takes time, and it's not as if we haven't been working on it for some time. It wasn't really where wanted it to be, I don't think, to produce what I would class as a truly competitive next-gen game coming out in the window we're coming out."

"The second factor is when we were talking to our community, it was one of the first questions we asked them. What about next-gen? When are you planning to upgrade? And no-one in the room had any urgency to move on to those new consoles"

Classic. So, will we see an F1 game for next-gen this year? I've been foolishly assuming we will, but now I'm reminded it's Codies after all.

It goes without saying that no matter how good this game turns out to be, I for one won't be buying it because I've little interest in a new racing game for the old-gen. And further I'm now prepared for the disappointing yet perhaps inevitable announcement that F1 2014, if it is released at all, won't be released for Xbone or PS4.

At least they made sure to keep the Drift cars in the game.

[pk500]

I'm stoked. This sounds like more of a spiritual successor to TOCA 3.

GRID 2 was a terrible game. It went too far with the arcadish tendencies of GRID and created a mess of a handling model. GRID was a fun game with a relaxed driving model. GRID 2 was a really bad hybrid of Project Gotham and Ridge Racer.

Plus I'm still a happy, infrequent gamer stuck in the old generation, so this is welcome news!

[Rodster]

PC all the way. This probably confirms what we all pretty much know regarding the PS4/X1. That the cost to develop games are probably insane. Unless you are a first party like Naughty Dog or Turn 10, it will take a ton of cash to develop a proper graphics engine for the new consoles.

I'll take an 7 GB PC game over a bloated 25-40 GB next gen game which the graphics are still better served on a solid PC rig.

[Zeppo]

I certainly wouldn't mean to suggest they should abandon 360 and PS3 in favor of next gen, but for me this game has limited appeal at best because it won't be on next gen. I'm also not sure I quite understand how thy can release on PC yet aren't able to release on next-gen. I guess their fancy new next-gen engine isn't required for their PC version? So it won't be very cutting edge on PC, will it?

It seems to me like they are stuck with a release window for whatever, business-related reason and don't have the resources to do even basic ports to next-gen. As an excuse, he is hiding behind the "our next-gen engine will be awesome! And it's not ready yet..." idea. Maybe just be more honest and state "we don't have the resources to a net-gen port, so we will leave those potential sales on the table."

[DChaps]

All Codemasters racing games since the beginning of time have been coded for the consoles and then ported to PC. The UI and lack of decent steering control/force feedback settings are proof. While I have had Dirt 1-3, and F1 2011-2013 on both PC and 360, my preference is to play them on my 360. It does seem a strange decision, but not surprising for Codemasters. Wasn't TOCA 3 released for the original Xbox a few months after the 360 was already out? It seems like I rememeber that killing the participation to some extent as many at DSP had already moved on.

[Teal]

I'm stoked. This sounds like more of a spiritual successor to TOCA 3.

GRID 2 was a terrible game. It went too far with the arcadish tendencies of GRID and created a mess of a handling model. GRID was a fun game with a relaxed driving model. GRID 2 was a really bad hybrid of Project Gotham and Ridge Racer.

Plus I'm still a happy, infrequent gamer stuck in the old generation, so this is welcome news!

You and I can turn laps while everyone else waits on a next gen version...

[J_Cauthen]

Wow... I believe PK500 is right, this does appear to be the spiritual successor to TOCA3! Day one for me

[pk500]

Wow... I believe PK500 is right, this does appear to be the spiritual successor to TOCA3! Day one for me

Same. Or week one, if I'm on the road on day one.

[J_Cauthen]

Check out this Eurogamer video interview and gameplay video of Grid Autosport:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8jFfM6FfA This is what I was dreaming of for what I thought would be TOCA 4, for the XBox 360 back in 2007... only it's more awesome than that! Next to The Golf Club for the XB1, this last-gen title is my most anticipated game

[Naples39]

Check out this Eurogamer video interview and gameplay video of Grid Autosport:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8jFfM6FfA This is what I was dreaming of for what I thought would be TOCA 4, for the XBox 360 back in 2007... only it's more awesome than that! Next to The Golf Club for the XB1, this last-gen title is my most anticipated game

Gameplay looks like my kind of game. Sim-ey, but relatively forgiving with lots of traffic.

[XXXIV]

Check out this Eurogamer video interview and gameplay video of Grid Autosport:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8jFfM6FfA This is what I was dreaming of for what I thought would be TOCA 4, for the XBox 360 back in 2007... only it's more awesome than that! Next to The Golf Club for the XB1, this last-gen title is my most anticipated game

Gameplay looks like my kind of game. Sim-ey, but relatively forgiving with lots of traffic.

For some reason I like racers like F1 where I cant do a lap with going off the track but I also like these games too.

Hoping it will be that TOCA 4 we have all been waiting for.

[TCrouch]

This releases today--and from reviews I've read, they've all pointed to one similar topic:

"This is the closest the series has come to its TOCA roots".

Sounds good, but I haven't played it yet as it didn't unlock at 9PM last night like other games on Steam do. Apparently it didn't unlock until 9AM this morning, instead. But reviews have run across the spectrum. They all seem to agree that the handling model is still closer to arcade than sim, but not the craziness that Grid 2 was, and that all of the fluff about fictional story and whatnot was thrown out the window.

I'll have some time with it at lunch and this evening, but for anybody who was looking at it, it's out today.

Link to the OS collection of reviews from around the web:
http://www.operationsports.com/forums/r ... d-web.html

[J_Cauthen]

I downloaded it this morning from XBL. I've got a half dozen Career mode races under my belt now and I can say I'm totally delighted with GRID Autosport! I finally feel like I have the successor to TOCA 3 in my software library. The game looks and plays fabulously! I can't say that I've ever experienced more compelling AI drivers in my life. I like the Drivatars in Forza 5, but these AI drivers in GAS are more like high quality Drivatars. They're aggressive, but mostly not the point of being reckless. I'm racing them in medium difficulty and they are giving me all I want!

I'm using a Fanatec GT2 wheel with Clubsport Elite pedals and I'm still experimenting with settings. The biggest problem I'm having right now is the game can't distinguish the difference between the "A" button and the paddle shifters. When I up or downshift, the rear view camera comes up with each shift. Needless to say, that's not only distracting, it's a formula for disaster. I've resorted to using automatic transmission until I can find a workaround. GAS sees me GT2 as a "Microsoft 360 Wireless Racing Wheel", which may be most of the problem.

Anyway, Pits or no Pits, I can say that GAS is destined to be one of my favorite racing games of all time, and certainly the best on the 360!

[TCrouch]

When using my Fanatec wheel, I had that problem, too--it's when using auto-clutch on the wheel, that it depresses the A button for you. If you turn autoclutch off, it resolves it. At least, it did for me when I had a similar problem.

Also, I'm glad to hear it. I really have a place in my library for a fun racer that isn't 100% sim, and isn't a powerslide-around-every-corner Ridge Racer game. TOCA used to scratch that itch, and it still does from time to time since TOCA3 is on Steam. I was really looking forward to this, so I'm glad to read that!

[fsquid]

TOCA?

[J_Cauthen]

When using my Fanatec wheel, I had that problem, too--it's when using auto-clutch on the wheel, that it depresses the A button for you. If you turn autoclutch off, it resolves it. At least, it did for me when I had a similar problem.

Also, I'm glad to hear it. I really have a place in my library for a fun racer that isn't 100% sim, and isn't a powerslide-around-every-corner Ridge Racer game. TOCA used to scratch that itch, and it still does from time to time since TOCA3 is on Steam. I was really looking forward to this, so I'm glad to read that!

I went in and just turned off the "A" button in the control menu, and remapped the rear view to the "LS" button. It solved my problem and now the game feels even more alive The menu choices are a bit confusing regarding the clutch. The way it reads, I only have the option to use the clutch, only if I have an "H" pattern shifter I need to spend more time researching this, but for now, I'm happy getting some quality racing in.

Your posture on the sim weight is interesting. This game feels much more like a sim than GRID 1, and certainly more so than GRID 2, which I absolutely hated,but it's not as heavy as Forza 5 on the XBox One. I'd say it's about 75% sim... whatever you want to call it, the racing is intense and demands a command of the car handling and racing tactics. I couldn't be more pleased.... well, unless they included pit stops.

[Naples39]

I really have my fingers crossed this game hits the mark. Stylistically it's exactly what I'm looking for.

[J_Cauthen]

TOCA?

It feels like TOCA in so many ways. The car/vehicle selection isn't as varied (no riding mower races here), but the tone and the racing feels very much like TOCA 2 and certainly, TOCA 3, with it's sim-physics (something like that anyway) mode. GRID Autosport just seems to have so much "life" to it, for lack of a better term. Oh, it was only $49.99, which now feels like a bargain.

As much as I appreciate Forza 5 on my XBox One, I'm only getting half the experience with my Chronus Max, controller adapter making use of my Fanatec GT2. It offers no force feedback, as of yet, and it's limited to behaving like a modified thumbstick. Linear steering control is not possible. One of the reasons I might be enjoying GAS so much is that my Fanatec wheel is fully utilized, but I can tell that this game would be fun even with a gamepad.

[DChaps]

Thanks for the impressions guys. From all the reviews so far it is looking good, however, it sounds like we will not be able to re-create the DSP TOCA 3 Endurance races of yore where we had the required pit stops. I will probably be picking this up tonight for Xbox 360 anyway. Sounds like there is a clan/league type feature as well with more racenet integration. DSP Grid Autosport League or Poker Night? Zeppo? Adam? XXXIV? pk (symmons plains........?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/24/ ... ort-review

Endurance is Autosport’s most confusing category. They look the part, but the default length of these races is just eight minutes. It’s strange because tyre wear, which is only a factor in the Endurance category, is scaled to the length of the race. You can bring a little logic to the tyre wear issue by manually increasing the length of your endurance races but that only serves to highlight Autosport’s most egregious sin: no pit stops. It’s a bizarre omission, and it’s one that quietly undermines a lot of what Autosport does right. Deciding whether pitting for fresh rubber during an enduro to salvage a race objective would’ve added an interesting layer of strategy; not being able to do so is nonsense, really.

It also makes some of what Codemasters does with its damage modelling a waste of energy. For instance, what’s the point of programming in punctures when I know I can’t change that tyre? If I’m out of Flashbacks (or I’ve deactivated them) am I really going to run the rest of the race on my rim? Nope. I’m just going to quit and restart the event.

Wow, Nice track list too, particularly Circuit Mont Tremblant!

http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/06/gri ... rack-list/

[TCrouch]

After limited time at lunch, I was floored. EXACTLY what I have been wanting from a racing game. It has a perfect balance between the grippy handling and losing the back end if you get on it too quickly on a corner exit, and the AI drivers are incredibly fun to race against. I started an open wheel career on medium, and didn't run away from anybody. I think 2nd place was within 1 second after both 4 lap runs to start with.

When I first clicked on Career it took me to a race where they were on Hard, and I started 12th and had controller issues (had to lower dead zone and saturation), and by then I was 15th and not catching anybody. So I don't think difficulty will be a huge issue for those of us not named Adam Simpson.

And it has a REALLY cool thing on PC that I hadn't seen done before--"second screen". What this did was actually put a small replay camera on a second monitor, with the track map and cars on that mini map displayed, as well as full position and timing indicators as a sort of real-time standings. So I could un-clutter my racing view from standings and all of that gibberish, and put it on the second screen. Plus the weird replay camera was kind of neat to glance at on corner exit or something, checking the surroundings and where other cars were. Not exactly realistic, but it was like having a TV replay of the current race on in the car with me. I thought it would be slick to force it to be the rear-view mirror only, but didn't see an option for that.

Bottom line, it is the absolute PERFECT balance of sim-vs-arcade for me, and it feels a hell of a lot like TOCA 4, and I just played TOCA 3 last week. The cars will feel instantly familiar to anybody who played that series, with a slightly-floaty response, but you can catch it when you overcorrect and get back on track easily enough. The AI have been a joy to race with so far, but that was only after a single lunch time session.

I will say it is absolutely everything I was hoping it would be with such a small sample size. Whether that remains to be seen over 2 weeks or a month, when the warts typically show, is another thing entirely. But I left the house grinning from ear to ear, and can't wait to get back to it tonight.

[dbdynsty25]

Damn you Terry...guess I'm buying this tonight for the PC when I get home.

[TCrouch]

I'm sure somebody out there will have a problem with it, but I can't even wrap my head around anybody who liked TOCA not falling in love with this game from a first impression. It's honestly like they took so much crap from Grid 2 that they looked back at TOCA 3 and said "hey, what if we take that, give it a new UI and graphics, and release that instead?"

Thing is, most people would have told them to do that to start with instead of going off with the Grid games in the first place. But the first car you drive in the Open Wheel career is either a Star Mazda or something really similar, and it feels really grippy but not overly so. I can't state that enough. Give me a believable, arcade-leaned driving model and I'll buy in totally.

If there is any hope to a multiplayer racing game, it's that it has to have a driving model that is believably forgiving. Not something that lets people tear around at warp speed and slide off of walls and bang into each other with reckless abandon. Rather, something that a noob can jump in and know the basic rules that apply to it within a couple of laps. No average racer wants to sit down and turn 35 laps just to get the car to go around the track at competitive speed without spinning out. That's the biggest thing that struck me--I knew the 'rules' within 4 or 5 corners. From there, I was just applying that knowledge to outmaneuvering the AI cars. Rather than fighting the handling model, I was racing within seconds.

That's what made those TOCA nights so good, and the old PGR sessions so awesome. Everybody knew how to get the car around the track. They didn't spent 90% of their time trying to keep the car straight, and 10% racing. It was 90% racing and 10% "WHOOPS, SCREWED THAT PART UP!", where they knew exactly where and why they screwed up--overshot a corner trying to race a guy harder than they could, etc.

I just can't express properly how impressed I was to see a game that reminded me so much of racing games from a few years ago, without seeming archaic. New-old school!

[GB_Simo]

DSP Grid Autosport League or Poker Night? Zeppo? Adam? XXXIV?

Not out until Friday here, mate, but I've every intention of getting involved. Terry's impressions are killing me...

[J_Cauthen]

When using my Fanatec wheel, I had that problem, too--it's when using auto-clutch on the wheel, that it depresses the A button for you. If you turn autoclutch off, it resolves it. At least, it did for me when I had a similar problem.

Terry, that was it! I had unwittingly enabled autoclutch in the wheel settings while I was tuning other things. Thanks for pointing that out. The "A" button is so much more handy for the rear view. I just got done with some touring car and open wheel racing online... pretty slick so far, even though I finished last in all but one race. There was one guy who was about equal to me in skill and we had a blast racing for next to last place in open wheel At least I'm finishing on the clock, which is something I can't say for most of the Forza 5 online races I'm in!