i thought i'd share whats been keeping me away from my xbox during my spare time:
http://forum.wmdportal.com/forum.php?referrerid=1517
*updated 27th april*
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memberships are still available, but it might not be long until they close the door
click the link above to see whats been happening in CARS
i've also updated the car and track list in this post (which is getting to be a real mess, so any formatting suggestions would be welcome)
*updated 21st March: they may stop new members from joining soon*
looks like CARS will be closing the doors to new members in a couple of weeks because they have found a big investor. Ian has confirmed that nothing will change for existing members, and that if the investor wants changes for existing members then he will not sign the contract
heres the original post from Ian:
Originally Posted by Ian Bell, Head of StudioOriginally Posted by Ian Bell, Head of studioOriginally Posted by Ian Bell, Head of studio
also, there has been a very nice tweak to the lighting engine:
the last two images are of a very early WIP version of the soon to be released "country road track." the devs have said that smoothing the lines on the road, the edges of the road, the crash barriers and also making the lanes narrower are top priorities for this track
HDTanel has also released a new video. i believe this was filmed before the new lighting tweak, but after the new lighting engine was introduced:
*Updated 13th March*
its been so long since ive updated this thread, and theres so much thats changed that i've put it all in a separate post here:
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i've updated the car and track list in this post too
*updated 10/2/2012*
its been a while and boy has pCARS improved. theres loads more cars and tracks, but the most noticeable improvement is the ultra car detail setting, which means you can finally use the 200,000 polygon car models that were in the original promo pictures.
they are also working on a free trial version of the game, so if you arent sure about buying it just yet very soon you will be able to try out the game and see if its for you. i'll post more details when i hear about them
before the ultra details setting was available, a forum member made this youtube video, which sums up project CARS perfectly
this video was also made before the in car driver animations were implemented. the hand animations for the steering wheel are working in about half the cars and look fantastic, especially the few that have the full steering animation set (the driver will reposition his hands on the wheel to turn it beyond 180 degrees, rather than forza's rubbish 90 degree steering wheel)
however, now that ultra details are available to everyone, have a look at these in game screenshots. there's no fancy pit garage renderer used for these, its simply what you will see in game. these pictures have been taken by forum members too:
if you dont have a good PC then dont worry, this is going to be available on consoles when its released, so the minimum specs are alot lower than youd expect:
CPU – 3.0GHz Dual-Core, 2.4GHz Quad-Core
GRAPHICS – nVidia 9600 GT 512Mb, ATI Radeon HD 4750 512Mb
MEMORY – 2Gb RAM (3Gb-4Gb recommended)
CONNECTION – Continuous Internet
currently the minimum specs are quite high because the game is still in development and very few optimisations have been implemented. however, with my lowly GTX460 768MB and Phenom II X4 i can play at 60FPS at very near maximum settings on most of the tracks when im on my own. this can drop to ~30FPS when all 63AI opponents are nearby (yes, thats 64 cars on track)
now that ive wet your whistle, let me explain what project CARS is:
CARS is a racing game where the community can get involved in the design of it. depending on what you pay depends on how much of a say you have in the games development, and what perks you get. you can pay anything from 10 euros upwards to be able to play the game and use the forums. the best bit is, you get money for your contributions. these contributions can be as little as pointing out some bugs in the builds, or voting on a poll, or as big as submitting code to the designers
personally i went for the 25 euro (~£22) team member option, where i get a new build each week, can make new threads and posts on the forums and vote in the polls.
in the current build (10th Feb 2012):
the following tracks are available in varying degrees of completion:
(beta2 > beta1 > alpha2 > alpha1 > prealpha)
Ariel Atom 300 supercharged (beta1)
Ariel Atom Mugen (beta1)
Ariel Atom 500 V8 '11 (Beta1)
Asano LM11 TDX: "Audi R18 TDI" (beta2)
Asano X4 Touring "Audi A4 DTM '11"(beta2)
2011 BAC Mono (PreAlpha)
1990 Caper Stock Car "generic 1990's NASCAR"(PreAlpha)
Caterham Superlight R500 (Beta1)
2011 Formula A "generic Formula 1"(Beta1)
Formula B "Generic GP2?"(beta2)
Gumpert Apollo S(Beta1)
Kart (alpha1)
Shifter Kart 250cc "SuperKart" (alpha1)
Leonus F68 Cromwell V8 "lotus 49"(beta2)
Leonus F77 Cromwell V8 "lotus 78"(beta2)
Leonus F86 Pirault Turbo "lotus 98T"(beta2)
2011 Palmer Jaguar JP-LM (Beta1)
Racer L4-RS "Radical SR-3"(beta1)
Racer V8-RS "Radical SR-8"(beta1)
and the following tracks are available:
In-game Modern Tracks
- Anhalt - Oschersleben
- Badenring - Hockenheim
- Bathurst - Mount Panorama
- Belgian Forest Circuit - Spa Francorchamps
- Besos - Circuit de Catalunya
- Bologna (Reverse) - Imola
- California Raceway - Willow Springs
- Connecticut Hill GP (Short) (Reverse) - Watkins Glen
- Derby - Donington Park
- Florence - Mugello
- Heusden - Zolder
- Jin Ding - Zhuhai
- Loire 24 - Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans)
- Loire National - Bugatti Circuit
- Milan - Monza
- Monterey - Laguna Seca
- Moravia - Brno
- Northampton - Silverstone
- Sakitto - Suzuka (GP/East/West)
- Wisconsin Raceway - Road America
In-game Historic Tracks
- Historic Badenring - Hockenheim (Pre 2002)
- Rouen Les Essarts
- Historic Milan - Monza (1967. GPL2.)
In-game Country Roads
- California Highway
- Azure Coast
In-game Fictional Tracks
- Test Track
In-game Kart Tracks;
- Chesterfield
- Glencairn (Reverse) -
- Glencairn West (Reverse)
- Glencairn East (Reverse)
- Summerton
* - Laser Scanned
Correct as of 19/3/12
so far the racing options are time trial, free practice and race, with up to 63 AI going against you in the race. there are plans for qualifying, full race weekend and several other modes. online multiplayer will probably be coming in the spring or summer
the gamepad filters are now working along with the new input system which removes input lag almost entirely.
this means i can tell you what the physics are like. personally, i find the physics very good in most areas. not perfect since its still in development, but a damn sight better than games like forza 4. i would be very surprised if they arent perfect by the time the game is released because le mans driver and former stig ben collins is one of the physics and handling consultants.
before you ask, CARS shares absolutly no physics code with NFS Shift 1 or 2 whatsoever. it is being made by a different company so they wouldnt be allowed to copy it anyway
if you do want to buy project CARS, could you please use this link: http://forum.wmdportal.com/forum.php?referrerid=1517
because that will tell the mods that ive pointed you in their direction, and get me some brownie points with the mods
feel free to ask me any questions
tl/dr: ZOMG look at CARS its amazing!!!1!!!one!
VROOM VROOM nice trailer n music.
just had a go with the new build and, apart from the bugs with the auto pit assist its really great. the cars are nice and driveable now, although i could probably do with a little bit of a setup change to get the cars to suit my driving style
i've updated the OP to include details about:
the new ultra detail setting
a bunch of new cars and tracks
a fantastic video by a community member
if you want to buy CARS, i would be most grateful if you could include me (Reaper 392) as a referrer. this gets me brownie points from the developers, and possibly some bonuses
here is the link to do so: http://forum.wmdportal.com/forum.php?referrerid=1517
Not much love here....graphics look sick!
It`s so cool to look at the progres week to week.
Love this game, and really looking foreward to some rally and hillclimb tracks to.
Project CARS gets a new lighting engine
last week the first version of project CARS new lighting engine was added to the builds. i'm not sure how they've managed it, but the game looks even more realistic than it did before, but thats not the main reason for the new engine, it was added so that we could get our first experience of night racing.
you can now pick any time of the day and start racing as if it was that time on the track you have chosen. you can also speed up time if you wish, giving yourself a whole day/night cycle in 24 minutes, or 6 if you just cant wait to see what it looks like.
click for full res
that last picture brings me neatly onto the next major update thats been added:
Paintable cars
all you need is a photo editing program in which you know the very basics and you can alter the livery of your car to however you choose. even if you dont have any image editing programs then it is possible to download GIMP for free, along with a free plugin for it which allows you to save the files in the correct format.
if this seems like too much work then the community is already churning out incredible paints like the ferrari F1 replica, so all you would have to do is download the paint file and put it in the right place.
on top of the painting there are some more cars and tracks, the most notable of which is Le mans... oops, i mean Loire.
some smaller additions from the latest build are:
- improved sounds
- new HUD design
- much better cameras
- and better support for fanatec wheels
going back to the lighting engine, while it looks fantastic it is sadly not very well optimised. its still giving surprisingly good framerates, but they are a little bit down from before. dont worry though, because optimising the new engine is at the top of the pCARS guys priorities. in the latest team member and above build there is a small change to the code which yeilds a massive 18% framerate increase.
speaking of whats happening next, work on the ghost system is coming along nicely, which means that multiplayer is the next major feature to be worked on. a few days ago the devs released an overview of how the multiplayer was going to work in the initial stages of implementation.
last and by no means least, the devs have been working overtime at getting more tracks in the game. in the past week 8 new tracks have been announced:
- hockenheim
- classic hockenheim
- donnington
- road america
- roues les essarts
- mugello
- Circuit de catalunya
- Oschersleben
the lighting engine and paintable cars are available for all builds, but the tracks were released after the latest junior build, so you may have to wait a little bit depending on your toolpack
hopefully i havent left anything out, but with the pace that its developing i'm sure to have missed something
thought i'd let everyone know that CARS may not be accepting new members soon, so if you want to sign up, you better do it now
they are in negotiations with a big investor who will be providing the rest of the money. Ian and Andy have already confirmed that this investor is not EA, that the CARS team will still be calling the shots and that things wont change for people who have already signed up. they have said that if this doesnt happen they will not accept the investment
its been well over a month, so i really ought to update you on the latest and greatest CARS stuff.
what you're probably most interested in is the situation with becoming a new member, or upgrading your current membership. currently discussions are still ongoing so you still have time to get you're membership in but i honestly cant tell you how long that will last. the reason its taking so long is that most of the documents need to be written from scratch, as CARS uses a very different system to other games. if you've seen any legal documents you'll know why its taking so long
theres been a couple of big lighting engine updates. first off, night lighting is getting alot better. the stars and moon are all working now, along with the initial pass of most car headlights and interior lights. Connecticut hill (watkins glen) also has some night spotlights similar to the F1 night race as well as lit advertising boards
the other big lighting engine update is that you can now alter the lighting engine yourself. with the 'tweakit' tool you can play with all of the lighting settings used by the developers to get the effect you want. the tweakit tool will also let you change the weather once weather has been implemented properly
also, the physics has been getting some love and attention. aside from the usual tweaks that are constantly ongoing, the asano X4 has been given the initial pass for tyre wear. the developers are using this car as a testbed for tyre wear so its very work in progress so far
the other big updates are the new cars and tracks.
the biggest addition in the tracks department is the inclusion of two "country road" tracks. these are 6-8 minute point to point tracks along some amazing fictional driving roads, based on famous locations.
also, Laguna Seca, Suzuka, Zolder and Brno have been added to the ever increasing track list
there have been several new cars added to the list too, including the BAC mono, and my new favourite car of the game, the 1990 Caper Monterey Stock car, which is based on a 1990s NASCAR
finally, i'll leave you with the news that CARS has secured the licence to use three Mitsubishis, the Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition, Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ 360, Mitsubishi Evo X FQ 400. hopefully these will make their way into a build in less than a month