Project C.A.R.S - Community Assisted Racing Simulator

[LeviathanPT]

Hi everyone,

Been playing this game for quite some months, probably one of the reasons why i have been so away from PES recently but i think its worth sharing since we all love sports and competition.

Project CARS as the name says is a Community Assisted Racing Simulator being developed by Slightly Mad Studios the developers behind the Need for Speed: Shift and Shift 2 but without EA backing them up this time.
The developers have a long history in the racing simulator world having worked on some of the most fabulous games of the past years, GTL, GTR Series, Need for Speed Shift Series, PGR and many more, so they decided that this was the time to make something that would be the game to beat in the next years in every way, visuals, gameplay and quality.

What does Community Assisted Racing Simulator means?

For a long time unfortunately we have been used to be in the dark when there’s a game in development, we can’t comment, give opinions or receive a feedback from the developers about our ideas and thoughts on the game until it’s too late and the game is out. And when we request for support or give our opinion, they will give none because the big company behind them wants them to make another bad quality game quickly and completly ignore the communities.

With Project CARS this is different, they want you to participate, you are essential to the game development, your constructive ideas are welcomed. For example, if you live near some important race tracks they may even ask for your help to get reference images or if you have a car that is ingame they may ask you for input on how it looks or feels in comparison with reality, they care about your opinion and your suggestions.
This is something that may seem a dream or exagerated but it isn’t, there has been alot of changes made into the game that only happened because the community said so, members constantly test the game and give feedback in order to improve the game and the reason why this is possible it's because the community is the one funding the game, we support the developers and in return they give us constant feedback about the game progress and show that our opinion matters, we are the "big company" behind them and we are the final users!

What will it be the plan behind the game ?

The concept they have is the following:

PROJECT CARS represents THE ULTIMATE DRIVER JOURNEY...

FRANCHISE MODE allows you to carve out a personalized career starting in the Karting world and then progressing on to whichever motorsport specialization you prefer including Rally, Touring Cars, Open-Wheel, GT, Le Mans, and many more!

Play CO-OP with a friend as Driver/Co-Driver

FULL TEAM MANAGEMENT... Have a large number of friends? Create, manage, and compete together!

Experience the excitement of PIT STOPS like you've never seen before!

Revolutionary PIT-2-CAR RADIO gives you the strategic advantage

DYNAMIC Time Of Day & Localized Weather make every race unique and challenging

10+ GAME MODES covering every form of motorsport

CLOUD-BASED SOCIAL NETWORK allows you to connect with friends, compare times & scores, compete and challenge each other, and share content

USER-GENERATED CONTENT - Create your own liveries, decals, tuning setups, and even events! Then share them with the world - either for free, in-game credits or even real money!

PUSHING TO THE LIMITS - Advanced physics, lighting, and AI

PROJECT CARS is due for release on the following platforms...

Wii U // PC // PlayStation 3 // Xbox 360

What cars do they have?

Currently they have the following cars available:

Driveable cars: Beta2
Damage setup, 1st person cockpit abient occlusion, external ambient occlusion, cockpit animations finished, suspension animations finished, body animations finished, physics finished, sound finished

- Asano LM11 TDX (Audi R18 TDI)
- Asano X4 Touring (Audi A4 DTM 2011)
- Formula B (Generic GP2)
- Lotus 49 Cosworth V8
- Lotus 78 Cosworth
- Lotus 98T Renault Turbo

Driveable cars: Beta1
20 AI liveries finished, gearstick animations finished, windscreen reflection, cockpit display

- Ariel Atom 300 supercharged
- Ariel Atom 500 V8 2011
- Ariel Atom Mugen
- BAC Mono 2011
- Caterham Superlight R500
- Formula A (Formula 1 2011)
- Gumpert Apollo S
- Pagani Zonda R
- Palmer Jaguar JP-LM
- Racer L4-RS (Radical SR-3)
- Racer V8-RS (Radical SR-8)

Driveable cars: Alpha2
LODA/LODB/LODC setup complete, 1st person cockpit meshes finished, 3rd person cockpit textures finished, ambient shadow added, full LOD export

- Caper Stock Car (Nascar Oval 1990)
- Caper Stock Car (Nascar Road 1990)
- Pagani Huayra

Driveable cars: Alpha1
Tyres and wheels finished, chassis textures/materials finished, 1st person cockpit textures/materials finished, paint material UVs finished, physics 1st draft, sound 1st draft, LODX as LODA meshes, finished materials/textures

- Caterham SP/300.R
- Formula Rookie (Formula Ford 1600 2011)
- Kart
- SuperKart

Driveable cars: preAlpha
LODX meshes finished, collision export, placeholder physics, placeholder sound, LODX as LODA meshes, placeholder materials/textures

- BMW M1 Procar 1981
- BMW Z4 GT3 2012

Work in progress

- Caterham Classic (driveable for Team Member+)
- Ford Capri Zakspeed Group 5 1980
- Ford GT40 MK IV 1967
- Mitsubishi Evo X FQ 400

Not started yet

- BMW 1M Coupe 2012
- BMW 320 Turbo Group 5 1978
- BMW 328 Touring Coupe 1940
- BMW BTCC 3-series Touring Car 2012
- BMW F1.08 2008
- BMW M3 E92 GT 2012
- BMW V12 LMR 1999
- Ford Escort RS1600 1972
- Ford Falcon FG Australian V8 Supercar of the Future 2013
- Ford Focus ST 2012
- Ford Focus ST BTCC 2012
- Ford Fusion NASCAR Stock Car 2012
- Ford Mustang 2+2 Fastback 1966
- Ford Mustang Cobra SCCA Trans-Am 1997
- Ford Shelby GT500 2013
- Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth Group A 1988
- Formula Gulf 1000 2012
- Ginetta G40 Junior
- Ginetta G50
- Ginetta G55 GT3
- Lotus 25 Formula 1 1962
- Lotus 38 Indy 500 1965
- Lotus 40 1965
- Lotus 49C Formula 1 1970
- Lotus 51 Formula Ford 1967
- Lotus 56 Indy Car 1968
- Lotus 72 Formula 1 1970
- Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ 360
- Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition
- Pagani Zonda Cinque
- RUF CTR Yellowbird 1987
- RUF CTR3 2012
- RUF RGT-8 2012
- RUF Rt 12R 2012

Not (yet?) confirmed

- Aston Martin DBR9
- Tyrell P34
- Some cars of a large, yet unknown german brand

What about tracks ?

European Circuits

- Anhalt - Oschersleben
- Azure Circuit - Monaco
- Badenring - Hockenheim
- Belgian Forest Circuit - Spa Francorchamps
- Besos - Circuit de Catalunya
- Bologna - Imola
- Derby - Donington Park
- Eifelwald - Nordschleife
- Eifelwald GP - Nurburgring GP
- Florence - Mugello
- Heusden - Zolder
- Loire 24 - Circuit de la Sarthe
- Loire National - Bugatti Circuit
- Milan - Monza
- Moravia - Brno
- Northampton - Silverstone

American Circuits

- California Raceway - Willow Springs
- Connecticut Hill GP - Watkins Glen
- Lakeville Raceway - Sonoma Raceway
- Monterey - Laguna Seca
- Wisconsin Raceway - Road America

Asian Circuits

- Jin Ding - Zhuhai
- Sakitto - Suzuka

Oceania Circuits

- Bathurst - Mount Panorama

Historic Tracks

- Historic Badenring - Hockenheim (Pre 2002)
- Rouen Les Essarts
- Historic Milan - Monza (1967. GPL2.)

Oval Tracks

- Concord - Charlotte Motor Speedway **
- Delaware - Dover
- Harrison Pike Raceway - Indianapolis Speedway *
- Henrico - Richmond
- Memphis - Bristol
- Volusia - Daytona ***

Kart Tracks

- Belgian Forest Karting Circuit - Spa Francorchamps Kart Circuit
- Chesterfield
- Glencairn
- Summerton

Country Roads- Point to Point

- California Highway - California Coastline Highway
- Azure Coast - Monaco Coastline

Fictional Tracks

- Test Track

Planned/Confirmed Tracks

- Solitude Rennstrecke
- Brands Hatch
- Oulton Park
- Snetterton
- Cadwell Park
- Ruapuna Park
- Old Spa
- Milan Oval
- Macau

Green = Licensed
* - Not an exact replica? Infield not yet confirmed.
** - Fictional Infield.
*** - Real Infield.

Note: Most of these tracks are still in development thus there can be some lack of visual quality under the right conditions but its being worked on at a fast pace.

Heres some screenshots to showcase the game, all taken ingame using the freecam.

Panoramic/Interactive Shots by Sagedavid:

http://www.parispherique.com/panos/d...ianapolis.html
http://www.parispherique.com/panos/d...S_memphis.html
http://www.parispherique.com/panos/d...timelapse.html

Videos/Trailers

(made by the community)
Huayra Battle by Halcyon Project CARS - Huayra Battle: Next Gen Trailer on Vimeo
Dance of the Earth by Halcyon - Project CARS "Dance Of The Earth" on Vimeo
Never Stop by Halcyon - Project CARS - Never Stop - Final Edit on Vimeo
One Year by Jonz - Project C.A.R.S. trailer - Wet is Beautiful on Vimeo
Wet is Beautiful by Jonz - Project C.A.R.S. - One Year on Vimeo
Let go With you by Andy T. - http://youtu.be/Yr4W2DCVVsY?hd=1

Links:

Project Cars: http://www.wmdportal.com/projects/cars/
World of Mass Development Homepage: http://www.wmdportal.com

 

[Jamezinho]

Just as an FYI, there is a thread 'here' which covers all the upcoming PC racing sims, including pCARS.

 

[LeviathanPT]

Ah %#&7, somehow ive missed it during the search. This can be deleted if needed.

Sorry. :|

 

[Jamezinho]

Ah %#&7, somehow ive missed it during the search. This can be deleted if needed.

Sorry. :|

No worries mate, pCARS does look very promising. Yet to pick it up myself. Perhaps I'll have to become a team member this week.

 

[LeviathanPT]

Hey there guys got some huge updates on Project CARS:

Project CARS funding had a huge boost recently and now they are almost €150,000 from reaching the goal of €3.75Million euros! No info has been released yet of what will happen when the value is reached but theres a big chance they will close the funding and also the access to the Pre-Alpha to those that havent registered yet!

Recently it was announced that a major German car manufacturer offered Slightly Mad Studios access to their vehicles, no info has been disclosed about who this manufacturer is but since RUF and BMW are in, it leaves us with Audi, Opel and Mercedes!

Also the 1980 Ford Capri Zakspeed Group 5 is almost ready to be ingame, according to the developers theres a high probability of having this beast ingame this week. Check the amazing looks of this car below, even in a pre-alpha state with missing textures and ambient occlusion it already looks amazing with such refined details like the fully modeled engine!

EDIT: 8th November

So true.
The developers just released a preview of the wipers working on the Gumpert in a storm condition where you can see the rain drops being clean out of the windshield ! Looks amazing check it out here! (only for members)

Another member jumped into the trailer making bandwagon and made something pretty sweet . Check out "Drive it" by plm5!

http://youtu.be/mUN5UW5BOMg?hd=1

 

[LeviathanPT]

Win Cool Thrustmaster Gear With Project CARS​

Slightly Mad Studios & Thrustmaster have just kicked off the newest Project CARS Thrustmaster Hot Lap Competition where everyone can win cool Thrustmaster gear including steering wheels, gamepad controllers and more!

All participants of the competition have the chance to win one of the prizes, you don’t have to be a mega talented racer to walk away with some new hardware so read below on how to enter!

All Project CARS members regardless of membership level are invited to join! Simply fire up Project CARS, click the “Events” button and register a valid time on the Event Leaderboard with the BMW Z4 GT3 at Florence Short.

All members that have posted a valid time will be automatically entered in a random prize draw that everyone can follow live from the SMS offices on 19th November (5pm GMT).

More info @ the official website!

 

[LeviathanPT]

Message from the Developers to everyone who contributed to the project.

Dear Members and Visitors,

Thanks to support from more than 80.000 dedicated members, Project CARS has successfully reached its funding goal of 3.75 Million Euro.

Purchasing and upgrading of tool packs is no longer possible.

All existing members will continue to receive the perks and benefits of their chosen tool packs as the title continues to be developed.

Those of you who missed out on becoming members in time are invited to check wmdportal.com for the latest news on Project CARS. We`re looking forward to everyone giving Project CARS a try once it hits the shelves on 2013 and we hope to welcome you as members of future WMD projects as well.

We wish to thank all our passionate members for making World of Mass Development such an overwhelming success and allowing us to independently fund and develop Project CARS.

The Slightly Mad Studios Team

 

[Jamezinho]

I decided against becoming a member in the end. Although pCARS does look very promising, I do have a few doubts about it which told me to wait for the demo next year.

I've read so many mixed reviews about the beta, many saying the driving physics aren't true simulation and still feel a little too much like Shift 2. It does look graphically fantastic though so hopefully the physics are at a similar level on release.

I'm quite happy to wait on this game. The brilliant Game Stock Car 2012 is keeping me busy and the (rather disappointing) rFactor 2 beta will hopefully show some progress in the coming months. Race 07 is still a great racing sim, even after all these years.

 

[LeviathanPT]

Its a fair decision, cant comment on the physics since i may sound biased :p
But its far from Shift2

 

[LeviathanPT]

Great news everyone, Slightly Mad Studios just announced that Nicolas Hamilton (Lewis Hamilton brother) just joined the project as a handling Consultant!

Slightly Mad Studios is delighted to announce the newest contributor to Project CARS as real-life racing driver Nicolas Hamilton has joined the studio as Handling Consultant for the new title.

Nicolas is an excellent fit for Project CARS as his experience combines vast knowledge from racing in the real world and roots in simulation racing, allowing him to understand both sides and effectively help Project CARS fulfil its potential.

Born in Herfordshire, England, in 1992, Nicolas was brought up in the motorsports world alongside older brother Lewis. Born with Cerebral Palsy, Nicolas has always made sure this wouldn’t stop him from pursing his passion for racing.

After a first try of karting at the age of 7, Nicolas’ racing career kicked into higher gear in 2010 when he impressed everyone testing a BMW M3 at Palmer Sport. His smooth driving style earned him his MSA Novice Racing License and secured him a seat in the Air Asia Renault Clio Cup where he has been competing ever since.

Aside from making it in the real racing world, Nicolas has also made a name for himself in simulation racing, finishing first in the 2009 SBTCC Championship and racing successful in plenty of other community-organized sim racing events.

Nicolas will be assisting the development team with making the handling in Project CARS as authentic as possible, as well as providing other general feedback.

Hes pretty good, already set alot of records in several tracks using a different number of cars and i honestly suggest you guys try to beat his records !

And if this wasnt amazing enough, they also announced that Ben Collins is coming back this month! Oh yeah The STIG is back !

More info @ the official forums !

EDIT:

New trailer with multiplayer footage only.

YouTube - Project C.A.R.S. trailer - First Person Driver

 

[LeviathanPT]

Hi there everyone,

Been a while since my last post and alot have happened in the meanwhile, but before heading into the good news heres a bad one, the Project CARS - 2 day opening that has been spoken to allow new members has been delayed for a while due to external circumstances.
As soon as theres some updates on this matter be sure that i will come here and tell you guys, so be sure to subscribe this thread!

So lets head to the good news!

- The STIG is back from his adventures and along with Nicolas Hamilton have been helping the developers improve the physics on many cars, it is still far from finished but showing a huge progress already!
- A new track has been added to the current available list - Emirates Raceway - Dubai Autodrome
- The Ford GT40 MkIV has been added recently to the list
- Wet effects added to many tracks
- The Community liveries from the Z4 Contest have been added ingame and are now available to select
- The M1 Procar livery contest had alot of submissions from the Community and the voting currently is underway, be sure to vote in your favorite livery!
- Soft-stop and other steering wheel improvements have been checked in
And much more !! (wouldnt fit in here)

Oh and as you know, the best is usually left for last... so heres a bombshell still hot (announced just now) that any racing fan will enjoy:

Solitude Rennstrecke - Pre-alpha export!

That's right guys, the first export just came out a few minutes ago and it will be available soon to every Project CARS members!

The legendary Solitude races began in 1903 with a hillclimb sprint for motorcycles starting downtown from Stuttgart’s western railwaystation and finishing up at Solitude castle. A couple of years later the start was moved to Schützenhaus in the suburb Heslach. Until 1924 this was the track for the annual hillclimb race, since 1922 also for sports and race cars. Mercedes from the beginning sent their best racing cars and drivers in every year and at BMW they decided to debut their first racing motorcycles in this already well known race. In 1925 for the first time there was a circuit race ‘Rund um die Solitude’ leading over about 22 km each lap. The circuit was considered as being very demanding and was compared with the famous Targa Florio in Sicily.

Source: www.solitude-revival.org

And thats it for now guys, ill leave you with some media in the meanwhile!

Project CARS - Pagani Huayra Tribute by plm5
Project CARS - Pagani Huayra tribute - DX11 PC on Vimeo
YouTube - Project CARS - Pagani Huayra tribute - DX11 PC

Community Gallery #41
Community Gallery #42
Community Gallery #43

The Project CARS Community wishes everyone a great 2013 !!

 

[LeviathanPT]

A new month has begun, so it’s time to check what happened so far since my last post.
There were some big developments in the vehicle department with the addition of 4 new cars !! Yes you read it right 4 cars in less than 3 weeks!

1991 BMW M3 E30 (<- click for more images)

2012 BMW M3 GT (<- click for more images)

2012 Ford Focus RS (<- click for more images)

2011 Mercedes –Benz AMG SLS (<- click for more images)

These 4 have put a lot of smiles in everyone faces around here and I believe it will do the same to some of you!

A new track has also been added, Solitude Rennstrecke, still in a very wip state but already showing how great this classic track was back in the old days when the races were done by man and machine only, no electronics there to help you out a pure driving joy to have! (pictures will come later on when its more developed)

Besides these great news the developers also shown some early sketches of the Grid Girls to be used in the game and boy must I say they look sexy ! Unfortunately I cannot post them here because they are on the edge of forum rules but believe me they would make something move down there!

Qualifying mode has been introduced as well, only available currently in single player mode but it gives you a taste of what’s coming into the multiplayer eventually.

The handling consultants, Nicolas Hamilton and Ben Collins have been giving some amazing feedback and as a result of that the physics recently improved largely on most of the cars but the most exciting ones to be the new Ford Focus RS, Racer L4-RS, Caterham R500/Classic and Formula A (F1).
There were a few, of course that didn’t improve as much and it still feels a bit out of place but with the constant feedback given by the consultants and the community they will surely get there soon enough!

In the visual department there were some big updates also, new weather functionalities have been added, as some new rain droplet improvements that make you astonished of how realistic it look and react when hitting your car and windshield, you can see some pictures in the links above!

Andy Tudor also introduced recently new UI improvements, which will improve the menu navigations greatly!

About the 2 day opening to new members to register it seems to be taking a bit more than expected, as soon theres more info about it I will post on this thread, be sure to subscribe so you don’t lose the track from sight!

That’s all for now, as soon as more developments happen I will be sure to post here.

 

[Lami]

Is this the same game? It looks promising.

YouTube - Project CARS - The Ultimate Driver Journey

 

[temporaomores]

Yeah Lami it's the same game .

 

[Ipswich69]

Is this the same game? It looks promising.

YouTube - Project CARS - The Ultimate Driver Journey

It does indeed. Day one purchase and a PS4 to go with it

 

[Jamezinho]

pCARS certainly looks the part but I've read many criticisms of the driving physics. I don't see this game troubling the hardcore simulations like rFactor 2 and iRacing, but then again I don't believe this is going after that market. With these kind of visuals it's the Gran Turismo/Forza player that will be most interested in pCARS.

 

[Ipswich69]

^That doesn't sound at all pretentious.

 

[Jamezinho]

It's not pretentious at all. That's how it is right now. The game looks stunning but there are question marks over the realism of the driving model and the quality of the force feedback. That's fine if they are not going for out-and-out simulation. Gran Turismo and Forza don't either and that's why they are so popular. Simulation always has and always will be a niche market.

I think pCARS will hit the middle ground between sim and arcade which is where the market is.

 

[Ipswich69]

Stating, "With these kind of visuals it's the Gran Turismo/Forza player that will be most interested in pCARS." is a little pretentious. Trust me. I concur that it isn't going to be a full-on "sim" though like iracing, Rfactor, Simbin etc...

 

[Jamezinho]

It's no different to how we talk about PES and FIFA. The graphics, presentation and licences of FIFA will attract a different type of gamer to PES.

Pretentious? Your opinion.

 

[Ipswich69]

It's no different to how we talk about PES and FIFA. The graphics, presentation and licences of FIFA will attract a different type of gamer to PES.

Pretentious? Your opinion.

Rubbish. But if these type of comments make you feel better about yourself, so be it.

 

[cowden_harley]

either way it looks the tits

 

[Lami]

lol @bsmaff.

 

[bsmaff]

lol @bsmaff.

Did you read what I put?

 

[Lami]

Yep

 

[temporaomores]

It's not pretentious at all. That's how it is right now. The game looks stunning but there are question marks over the realism of the driving model and the quality of the force feedback. That's fine if they are not going for out-and-out simulation. Gran Turismo and Forza don't either and that's why they are so popular. Simulation always has and always will be a niche market.

I think pCARS will hit the middle ground between sim and arcade which is where the market is.

I can tell you it's very different to Forza/Gran Turismo .

First of all, playing on gamepad although possible, won't be any good. It's not Shift/Shift 2...

Steering wheel is recommended (and always was if you want to compete).

Can't wait for full release. Looks ace and is done by ex-SimBin guys (SMS - Shift/Shift 2 creators and using that engine as base, but beefed up without EA limitations).

 

[bsmaff]

Update 24/04/14:

Developer WMD has today confirmed what to expect from the next gen version of the game.

WMD confirmed the PS4 version of the game will run 1080p @60FPS, whilst the Xbox One version will run 480p @15FPS.

IGN has tried contacting WMD to ask why the Xbox One version has again been unable to match the PS4 in terms resolution and framerate, but WMD has yet to comment. But inside sources suggest it is down to the severe lack of grunt from the next gen machine.

The developer has also released a WIP screen shot to show Xbox One owners what to expect when the game is released:

 

[Jamezinho]

Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 - that brings back some memories.

 

[ThomasGOAL]

News Bits: Project Cars Announces Support for Sony’s Morpheus VR Headset

The forthcoming hardcore racing sim, Project Cars, was one of the titles originally rumored to support Sony’s Project Morpheus. Today it’s been announced officially that the game will support Sony’s PS4 VR headset alongside the Oculus Rift.


Prior to the Sony Morpheus VR headset reveal, sources had indicated to Road to VR that Project Cars would be one of the titles launching with Rift support. When Sony announced their GDC keynote session titled ‘Driving the Future of Innovation,’ it seemed like they were having a bit of fun by subtly acknowledging the rumors. And while the rumors that Sony would reveal the Morpheus VR headset at GDC 2014 turned out to be true, Project Cars was oddly absent from the announcement—some unconfirmed reports indicated that it was pulled due to simulator sickness.

Today on the official PlayStation blog, Project Cars developer, Slightly Mad Studios, announced that Project Cars will feature support for Sony’s Morpheus HMD on PS4.

"That’s right, Project CARS will be one of the first games on PS4 to support virtual reality via the Project Morpheus headset. Finally, you’re going to really feel what it’s like sitting in the driving seat of a high performance machine as you look around the cockpit, glance left and right as you overtake an opponent, and get an exhilarating sense of speed as you scream down the finishing straight."

Slightly Mad Studios’ Creative Director, Andy Tudor, says that we’ll see a special feature on Project Morpheus on the PlayStation blog in the coming months.

Project Cars is slated to launch in November, 2014 on every major console and on PC, where it will support the Oculus Rift.

http://www.roadtovr.com/project-cars-sony-morpheus-vr-headset-support-ps4/

 

[ThomasGOAL]

New PS4 screenshots

http://www.projectcarsgame.com/1/post/2014/05/more-playstation-4-screenshots.html