Project CARS

Features

There are 74 drivable cars, over 30 unique locations with at least 110 different courses, of which 23 are real, with the remainder being fictional. For licensing reasons, some tracks are currently codenamed using their geographic location. In addition to real world racing circuits and fictional kart circuits, there are two fictional point-to-point roads inspired by Côte d'Azur and California Pacific Coast.

Physics simulation

Project CARS is intended to represent a realistic driving simulation. In order to differentiate the game from the established industry leaders, Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Slightly Mad Studios' aim is a "sandbox" approach that allows the player to choose between a variety of different motorsports paths and grants immediate access to all included tracks and vehicles. Project CARS portrays racing events spanning multiple days, progressing from shakedown and qualifying runs to the race itself, while changes in weather and lighting conditions are simulated dynamically.

The game adopts an improved version of the Madness engine, which was the basis for the Need for Speed: Shift titles. More processing power available in modern computers allows for the introduction of a dynamic tire model named "SETA", rather than the steady-state model based on lookup tables, as seen in previous generation simulations. To accommodate differing skill levels, Slightly Mad Studios offers gamers (with or without a digital wheel) various driver aids and input filtering methods.

Development

Project CARS, which stands for Community Assisted Racing Simulator, was made for a total sum of $5 million. Funding for the game was raised by the community and the developers themselves, without the financial aid of a traditional publisher. Through the purchase of Tool Packs players could contribute to development in roles including content creation, QA, and marketing media. Members gain special perks, depending on their purchased tool pack. Members will receive a share of game sales profits generated within the first three years after launch as compensation for their efforts, to be paid quarterly.

In addition to community feedback, Slightly Mad Studios have acquired the professional services of racing driver and Top Gear's former The Stig, Ben Collins, Clio Cup and European Touring Car Cup racing driver Nicolas Hamilton, and former Formula Renault 3.5 and current WEC driver Oliver Webb. Cars in the console versions of the game are made from 60,000 polygons.

On 26 August 2012 support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was announced on the official forums. The announcement stated that at least one Oculus Rift Development Kit has been ordered. Members of the project are able to follow a link referenced in the forum post to read more details.

Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset PlayStation VR will also be supported.

It was released on 7 May 2015 in Europe and 12 May 2015 in America for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while the Linux version has been delayed to later in 2015. Project CARS was originally also due for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U but it was later announced that these versions had been cancelled. On 18 February 2015 it was announced that Project CARS would be delayed until 2 April 2015 for Europe, and eventually confirmed to be released on 7 May 2015 in Europe and Australia; 8 May 2015 in the UK; and 12 May 2015 in North America.

On 12 May 2016, the game was updated for compatibility with the HTC Vive virtual reality headset.

Cancellation of Wii U version

In May 2015, it was revealed that the Wii U version would not be released. Studio boss Ian Bell said that the game's latest build was struggling to run smoothly on Nintendo's platform – at a 720p resolution with a framerate of 23fps, and revealed that they are not allowed to release a game that is running below 30fps, but "finding that extra 25% frame time is currently looking impossible". In the official Forums he adds, that the Wii U's market share was not worth the effort of porting. He explained there is a possibility the game would be pushed for the Nintendo Switch. On 21 July 2015, Slightly Mad Studios informed the Nintendo Life news outlet that the Wii U version had been cancelled, with Ian Bell citing at the end of the road the title was "simply too much" for the Wii U hardware to handle. Distribution partner Bandai Namco had since reaffirmed the cancellation.

Release

Project CARS was released in different editions.

In addition to the standard version of the game, the Project CARS Limited Edition was released at Day One. This edition featured a book called "Project Cars: By Racers 4 Racers" and five extra cars: the Ford GT40 Mk IV, BMW M1 Procar, McLaren F1, Sauber C9 and the Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 Class Coupé DTM.

Moreover, the pre-order version of both Limited and standard edition featured the Modified Car Pack containing three bonus cars: the Ruf CTR3 SMS-R, Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster and the Ariel Atom Mugen.

On 6 May 2016 Slightly Mad released the complete edition of the game, titled Project CARS Game of the Year Edition. This version features all DLCs and free bonus content already released. Moreover, the complete version adds two new cars, the Pagani Zonda Revolución and the Pagani Huayra BC, and the Nürburgring Nordschleife in its 24-hour configuration.

Downloadable content

The game was supported with both paid and free downloadable content (DLC) upon release. Project CARS was initially planned to follow the season-pass model but plans for that were replaced with a system called "On-Demand." On-Demand was described as allowing a "commitment to keeping Project CARS up-to-date with the greatest, freshest, and most critical content whilst also allowing players to pick and choose the cars & tracks they want - without being locked in to a pre-paid scheme."

The first DLC was the Limited Edition Upgrade, released in June 2015, which added five cars already featured in the Project CARS Limited Edition. It was followed by the Racing Icons Car Pack, Modified Car Pack (which was also available as bonus content for the pre-order version of the game) and Old vs New Car Pack, all of which added new cars to the game. Still in 2015, the developers released the Audi Ruapuna Speedway Expansion, Aston Martin Track Expansion and the Classic Lotus Track Expansion which added new cars and four new racetracks: Mike Pero Motorsport Park, the historic version of Hockenheimring and Silverstone, Rouen-Les-Essarts and a fictional track called "Mojave Test Track". The Japanese Car Pack added new cars from Toyota, Mitsubishi and Scion, while the Renault Sport Car Pack featured five new Renault cars. In 2016, Slightly Mad released the Stanceworks Track Expansion, which added a new fictional track called "Bannochbrae" and the US Car Pack, which adds the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and the Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3, together with the Dallara DW12 and the Ford Fusion stock car. The last DLC released in 2016 was the Pagani Nürburgring Combined Track Expansion. It added the bonus content featured in the Project Cars Game of the Year Edition.

Critical reception

Project CARS was generally well received upon release. Gaming critic Matthew Kato of Game Informer stated: "The game joins a sim-racing field alongside already-established competitors like Gran Turismo and Forza, but it also does things its own way, challenging the ways of the past. Project Cars doesn't radically change the genre, but longtime enthusiasts should take heed of this new franchise." However, they pointed out that "cars aren't the showpieces relative to other sim series – you don't collect, apply decals, or upgrade them." One of their only criticisms were the graphics, which did not compare well against Driveclub, according to DigitalSpy. Playing on a three year old PC, Eurogamer's Oli Welsh had to adjust his PC settings to obtain a smooth framerate, and said "I don't find it as demanding a drive as iRacing, or as good at communicating the physicality of the car as Assetto Corsa". Race car driver Alex Lloyd from Yahoo! Autos agreed, but said that compared to other console games like Forza and GT6, Project CARS was the clear victor in terms of realism. Evo also complimented the realism, with their only reservation being the sense of speed: Richard Meaden said that in the game the Audi R18 "feels like a milk float". Autoblog praised the sound, but criticised the "tiny vehicle roster" and "wonky weight transfer characteristics". Destructoid's Brett Makedonski praises the realism and writes: "One aspect of Project CARS that never fails to impress is its aesthetic. Everything is stunningly gorgeous at all times, even when the sun blinds you as you're trying to corner." The game's weather effects were appreciated by IGN too. PC Gamer's Sam White said he was impressed by the ambitious choice of developers concerning the difficulty of the game. He wrote: "It’s crystal clear that Slightly Mad knows what its hardcore audience wants, and I’m really happy that it stuck to its guns in order to deliver it. That’s pretty rare nowadays, especially when your vision comes at the expense of wider audience appeal."

However, some have complained of bugs, notably PSU.com's Simon Sayers, who said: "During packed starting grids on some courses, they’ll bunch up around the first corner and get tangled up like novices holding up everyone behind them. We also found myself sticking like a magnet to the back of some cars for a few seconds around corners, which felt like some sort of glitch as we struggled to shake them off." GameSpot immediately pointed out the lack of cars such as Ferrari, Porsche and Honda, and also expressed frustration at the game's inconsistent AI, which "mar the single player". AusGamers also criticised the consistency of the AI, stating that it "varies between robotic and idiotic". Another area of concern was the buggy penalty system, and confusing menus. Official Xbox Magazine and New Game Network concurred on this issue. Financial Post complained about the number of camera views, which made it difficult to see on a steep hill.

Metro said that the career mode "doesn't have any proper sponsorship deals or monetary concerns – so there’s little sense that you’re actually playing the role of a real person." This was also seen as a weak point by Shacknews, who said that players "might get bored easily considering there really aren't any unique game modes either". On this subject, NY Daily News added "The downside of the Project CARS formula is that you won't always be clear on exactly HOW you should progress. With so much at your fingertips, the undiscerning gamer may waste a lot of time". Gaming Nexus agreed: "Player freedom is always great, but Project Cars simply doesn't provide any incentive for completing various championships in the career mode." Slant said the single-player career was limiting, tiresome and repetitive, however it handles "accurately enough to teach the player how to race better". Electronic Gaming Monthly described the single player mode as aimless, and said "Multiplayer is similarly laissez-faire, with no real progression system to speak of. If all you’re looking for is a chance to hop in against other players, you’ll probably be satisfied, but if you’re like me, you’ll wish there were some sort of skill-based ranking or transparent standings to count on. You’ll also grow to hate the long periods you’ll spend in the lobby waiting for everyone to ready up, as well as the fact that the host can force whatever insane settings he or she wants on everyone else." On the subject of online, GameCritics.com's Mike Suskie said that the online community was "less thriving than we're accustomed to.", however he liked the realism and lighting.

Despite running at a screen resolution of 900P, as opposed to the more demanding 1080p of the PlayStation 4 and PC versions, the Xbox One version of the game suffers from bugs and a lower frame rate. This version has received far poorer ratings than the PC and PS4 versions for a very inconsistent frame rate that can dip to just over 30 frames per second, for audio bugs, for a lower display resolution, and especially for control bugs that can render the game unplayable on a controller. Steering input can fail to be registered in the game right away and can even go ignored altogether on the Xbox One controller. Some reviewers warned potential buyers to stay away from the game until it had been patched to fix these problems.

Sales

In the first week of physical sales in the UK, Project CARS sold 63 percent of its total on the PlayStation 4 console, with 31 percent on the Xbox One and 6 percent on the PC. By 5 June 2015, the game had sold one million copies. By October 2016, the game had sold 2 million units. The game is going to be made free from February 16 - March 16, 2017 with the Xbox Free Games with Gold program.

Sequel

A sequel, Project CARS 2, was announced on 22 June 2015. The sequel will include more tracks and modes, such as co-op career, rallycross, and hill climbs. The sequel is expected to be released in late 2017.