DiRT Rally

[Wilk5280]

Brutally unforgiving!!!!

[fsquid]

Know this: DIRT Rally is brutally unforgiving. Some driver aids, but no rewinds. Restarts cost in-game credits. Tough damage model. Tough AI. Realistic physics.

This game is NOT a more realistic WRC 5, DIRT 3 or even Colin McRae Rally. It's one of the most realistic console driving games I've ever played. There's NOTHING arcade about it.

Not trying to scare people. DIRT Rally is a fantastic game, one of the best console racers I've ever played. But it might be daunting if you're not a motorsports fan or curious about learning the intricacies and driving nuances of rally.

This is the closest thing I've ever played to Richard Burns Rally on the PC -- the previous undisputed heavyweight champion of rally sims.

hmmm, I know nothing about cars. Might need to let this one go down in price then.

[WPatrick]

What are the online modes? Can you set up leagues?

[F308GTB]

What are the online modes? Can you set up leagues?

Leagues and rally cross. Unfortunately no cross-platform support for leagues.

[dbdynsty25]

Know this: DIRT Rally is brutally unforgiving. Some driver aids, but no rewinds. Restarts cost in-game credits. Tough damage model. Tough AI. Realistic physics.

This game is NOT a more realistic WRC 5, DIRT 3 or even Colin McRae Rally. It's one of the most realistic console driving games I've ever played. There's NOTHING arcade about it.

Not trying to scare people. DIRT Rally is a fantastic game, one of the best console racers I've ever played. But it might be daunting if you're not a motorsports fan or curious about learning the intricacies and driving nuances of rally.

This is the closest thing I've ever played to Richard Burns Rally on the PC -- the previous undisputed heavyweight champion of rally sims.

Thank you for reiterating what I've been saying for months! This game is so good.

[pk500]

Thank you for reiterating what I've been saying for months! This game is so good.

No doubt. You preached first about the brilliance and difficulty. Here's a proper hat tip.

I just wanted to add my voice to the rising cacophony. This game is brilliant, but I don't want to see guys who prefer arcade or sim-cade titles pay full boat for this game and feel disappointed. The only console game I've played that rivals DIRT Rally's sim qualities is Project Cars, and DIRT Rally is a far more polished and complete title. You don't need a No-Pest Strip hanging next to your head to play it.

DIRT Rally is a classic case of caveat emptor, for all the right reasons. Beware, but don't be afraid if you have the desire and patience to stick with this. Good Lord, the driving and physics models are majestic. Everything feels so right when you're in a good rhythm, even without the aid of my usual intoxicants.

This game is so f*cking good that it will create WRC and FIA World Rallycross fans. And I can tell you right where you can find the broadcasts of both through Uncle Internet's back door.

[sportdan30]

I'll look for this at the local library or wait for a steep discount. Sounds like it's a fantastic game though. Thanks for the forewarning.

[Feanor]

Best Buy don't have it till next week for some reason.

[pk500]

Best Buy don't have it till next week for some reason.

Odd. I ordered from Best Buy, and UPS delivered my copy Tuesday, the release date. Can they do ship-to-store more quickly? Probably not.

[Aristo]

I think I will pass for now. FH2's Storm Island is more my speed.

I still may grab this in a moment of weakness, as it looks pretty amazing. But I'm more into racing than proper Rally. I'm probably not the demographic.

[dbdynsty25]

I think I will pass for now. FH2's Storm Island is more my speed.

I still may grab this in a moment of weakness, as it looks pretty amazing. But I'm more into racing than proper Rally. I'm probably not the demographic.

Ummm, hello. Rallycross.

[Aristo]

That's what would draw me in. But I'm not sure that's what folks are really into.

[Dave]

Best Buy didn't order enough, placed a preorder on Monday and it isn't scheduled to deliver until next week. Not happy with them right now, thankfully GameStop had a copy available.

Spent about 30 minutes with it, you guys aren't kidding about it being tough. A little concerned that I don't have enough gaming time these days to get as good as I want to be to play it.

Have you guys messed with the control settings at all? It feels like I need to increase the sensitivity and decrease the linearity right out of the box, finding it really hard to steer into slides and make the quick adjustments needed with the default settings. But I don't want to end up going down a Project Cars-like path of hellish controls...

I'll probably play it mostly with a controller, but want to get the steering wheel out this weekend to see how it feels.

[Zeppo]

Have you guys messed with the control settings at all? It feels like I need to increase the sensitivity and decrease the linearity right out of the box, finding it really hard to steer into slides and make the quick adjustments needed with the default settings. But I don't want to end up going down a Project Cars-like path of hellish controls...

I'll probably play it mostly with a controller, but want to get the steering wheel out this weekend to see how it feels.

I haven't messed one iota with controller settings and I don't see myself doing so. It is nice to have such an impressive array of controller adjustments available, and with the elite controller there are even more (endless?) possibilities.

But this being a rally game, I just don't see where fine tuning stick sensitivities or what not will be important. The only thing I'd imagine would be useful is trigger adjustments, especially the throttle side, but for steering in a rally game, I would be very reticent to touch anything unless I feel like I've truly mastered the cars.

So far, I've only driven the two pre-order bonus cars, and first I completed an Open season in the RWD Ford (finished 5th in the championship by one point thanks to falling off a cliff and thus retiring in Greece), and am now in Finland in the FWD Mini. The two cars behave so differently that I can't see controller settings adjustments doing anything constructive.

The only thing I don't love, and I've just scratched the surface so maybe this isn't fully true, is that in true Codies Rally game fashion, all the rally stages are from 5 to 7 Km long (and thus up to about 4 or 5 minutes). This makes it more forgiving and it's plenty of fun, but it's not a realistic sim experience to have four-stage rallies with 4-minute long stages. I'm not sure I need any 40-minute, 60Km stages but something a little closer to the occasional 10- or 15-minute stages would feel more "real" to me.

But overall, I am sooooo very happy to have that old Codies Rally game back.

[TCrouch]

Ditto on the controller settings. I didn't touch them, because it's dirt. Most of driving on dirt is "feel" and not "precision". Get the car flowing one way, stab the gas (or let it ride), kind of a zen-like meditation when you start hitting the lines right. I was running a section this morning and it felt really, REALLY good...where you're afraid to look at the clock.

Then, of course, you look at the leaderboard and it shows top 500. Well, felt better than that, but there's a lot of fast dudes out there!

I can't see messing with controls, because with everything from different power to weight ratios, FWD/RWD/AWD, mid engine, rear engine, front engine, tarmac/gravel/dirt...you'll be thoroughly screwed if you get this perfectly precise control for the particular car you're driving, only to have the next one you try a completely unmanageable beast.

[Wilk5280]

What assist settings, if any, do you use as far as ABS, Stability, and Traction control ate concerned? How about camera view?

Right now what I'm struggling with is with feathering or trying to make a slight correction to center the car on the course or get to the middle of the road. The sides of the road feel like magnets and keep pulling me one way or the other. I can't seem to make a slight correction. I feather the stick and nothing and then next thing I know it's an over correction.

Today I finally won my first stage (not to be confused with rally). I love this game, but God dang I'm struggling.

Tips??

[Zeppo]

What assist settings, if any, do you use as far as ABS, Stability, and Traction control ate concerned? How about camera view?

Right now what I'm struggling with is with feathering or trying to make a slight correction to center the car on the course or get to the middle of the road. The sides of the road feel like magnets and keep pulling me one way or the other. I can seem to make a slight correction. I feather the stick and nothing and then next thing I know it's an over correction.

Today I finally won my first stage (not to be confused with rally). I love this game, but God dang I'm struggling.

Tips??

I hear what you are saying about the sides of the road feeling like magnets. The cars feel so wide to me compared to roads, but then I watch the replay and the cars are tiny! Especially with the snow in Sweden.

I think the trick is all about throttle control. I find when I am careful with the throttle, rarely flat, often letting up a bit to maintain control, I am in much better command of the car throughout. Also a quick stab of the brake to push the weight forward before a corner really helps a ton in making the steering input effective.

I have really enjoyed the tutorial videos quite a bit. Sometimes I have a sense of, "well, duh!" or "I knew that already," but honestly it's all well presented and very useful information. The main key that is reiterated over and over is that weight transfer and weight balance are the keys to good rally driving.

[Jimmydeicide]

A good tip i read was to change Accel saturation a bit , kinda acts like a governor on the throttle so it keeps you at 3/4 speed and more in control.

Haven't done it myself yet but it made sense.

I'm still getting to grips with the game and handling and only done one off stages or rally cross.

[Wilk5280]

I corrected my last post to state that I can't seem to make a slight correction....

Anyway, I've made a couple changes and they've really helped improve my times in the Open Rally:
1. Switched out the small analog sticks for the long ones on me elite controller
2. Purchased the 60's Renault

These two changes have resulted in huge improvements for me. In the 60's open rally so far I've won Germany, Finland, & Great Britain, plus took second in Sweden and Greece. I just need to finish in the top 2 at Monte Carlo and I'll win this series be on to the next level. This is my 3rd time attempting to get through the Open Rally and it think it's finally starting to click. Such a fun game. My only real beef, especially now that I'm starting to get the hang of it, is that the loading times are a bit long. Other than that I'm in hog heaven!

[AcemanPR]

The controls are starting to click with me now after spending some time with it in over the weekend. I'm consistently 2nd or 3rd in the Open series right now, up from 5th to 7th or worse. I'm much better keeping my car on the track and eliminating those costly penalties. Now I can work on being a little more brave to shave off the valuable seconds which I'll need to do when I move up to the Club level.

Any of you guys doing the Daily or Weekly online events? I try and do each daily event, just a quick way to make some extra credits. I'm not great, but most of the time I end up being in the Top Tier of the times for the daily events. I just missed out being in the top tier for the Weekly event last week, I had a horrible first stage and couldn't recover enough.

Loving this game the more I play it!

[TCrouch]

I did stage 1 of the weekly and posted the 90th ranked time (at the time). Haven't gone back for the other 5 or whatever stages, though.

[cfiore]

Bought the digital copy yesterday and was only able to play the two preview events while it is downloading. This game is simply f***in brilliant!!! That is all!!! Gorgeous, handles beautifully, unforgiving. I love it! I can't wait to try out the rest of it. I will never be firing up WRC 5 again. Started out consistently in 5th-7th then came to grips with the mini and the handling and was up at 2nd consistently. Damn work getting in the way today!!!

[Jimmydeicide]

Anyone finding the control from Rally cross to a rally to be different?
I raced the 60's mini in rally cross and was awesome but the same car in a Rally stage the steering was at full 900 it seemed way too much wheel movement required to navigate the confined road of a Rally stage.
I have soft lock on and wheel set at 900 per thrustmaster recommendations.

Maybe the car is tweaked different for a Rally cross event but it says the upgrades are the same and i don't see a steering ratio option on a set up.
Hopefully a one off issue shame though as i was just coming to grips with it in Rally cross . Frustrating.

[Dave]

Anyone finding the control from Rally cross to a rally to be different?
I raced the 60's mini in rally cross and was awesome but the same car in a Rally stage the steering was at full 900 it seemed way too much wheel movement required to navigate the confined road of a Rally stage.
I have soft lock on and wheel set at 900 per thrustmaster recommendations.

Maybe the car is tweaked different for a Rally cross event but it says the upgrades are the same and i don't see a steering ratio option on a set up.
Hopefully a one off issue shame though as i was just coming to grips with it in Rally cross . Frustrating.

I only tried the wheel with the same Mini/Rally stage combination and found it to be unplayable, so I went back to the controller. It seemed that the soft lock just didn't work.

On the controller side I went back to the default and started a career with the Mini (I had been running Rallycross and 2000 Rally Cars before). I'm still coming to grips with the handling but it was a much better experience this time around, definitely a good idea to start over with a slower car.

[DChaps]

Went on a long vacation and all sorts of great things are happening in the sim racing world. I have been waiting for DiRT Rally ever since I purchased the beta on Steam when it first came out. Unfortunately, I have been unable to play it as my PC couldn't handle it. I played it for the first time today and just started into one of the Daily Online challenges. Wow, it is really, really good, and challenging. I was afraid with some of the things I was reading last week that I would be in steering wheel settings hell like with Project Cars, but I followed the Thrustmaster Facebook page recommendations, and it felt really good. Of course I sucked, but it was still awesome. Then I see that you only have one shot at it with no restarts. How cool!

I have setup a DSP League for us with a Test Season of just one event with four stages to figure this out. It seems like what I have been hoping for in rally racing for years. The ability for us to basically have our old Sports Reviewers Colin McRae 2 rally season, but with it being automatically tracked online for us. Hope it works out that way. We will see.

Go sign up for the League here:

https://www.dirtgame.com/uk/leagues/lea ... dsp-racing

Details of the first test season below:

https://www.dirtgame.com/uk/leagues/vie ... 43/pending

Date range: 13/04/2016 01:30 GMT - 14/04/2016 01:30 GMT (Starts in 15 minutes)
Event gamemode: Rally
Stage Retry: No
Owned Vehicles: No
Event Restart: No
Career Engineers: No
Vehicle restrictions: Class: 1960s

Stage: Track: Conditions: Service Area Vehicle Tuning Checkpoint Complete
1 Finland, Kontinjärvi Morning / Overcast - - -
2 Finland, Hämelahti Midday / Sunny - - -
3 Finland, Kailajärvi Afternoon / Clear X - -
4 Finland, Paskuri Night / Clear - -