Project CARS (FAO of those who like racing sim games)

[Ryan_R]

Not sure if this is allowed or not but I'll try to keep this as non-spammy as possible


SMS (Slightly Mad Studios) are game developers famous for GT Legends, GTR2, NFS Shift & Shift 2. After disagreements with EA (publishers of the last two Shift games) they've ditched them and are trying something new: replacing publishers with a community of racing enthusiasts.

CARS stands for Community Assisted Racing Sim, and members who join the project get to see how a major game is built, talk openly with developers, directors, even Ian Bell (head honcho) in the private forums as well as play regular builds, report bugs, give feedback, make suggestions, and generally help shape the direction of the game like a publisher normally would.


I'm a bit of a driving/gaming enthusiast as time permits and have been a member since the project went public in October 2011. Many were not entirely happy with the handling in the Shift series but you'll be happy to know that was EA's wish to dumb it down and these physics bear little resemblance. Even Ben Collins (sacked Stig) has helped out as a handling consultant.

Rather than continue and make this post too long to read, I'll add some highlights + a link + video and invite you to ask me any questions below.

• Join the project and get monthly builds for one time 10 EUR payment (what you pay becomes a discount on the final game price)
• Arguably the best graphics seen in a driving game (game is still considered pre-alpha)
• Bathurst and 2013 COTF Ford Falcon V8 Supercar + NZ SuperTourers and tracks confirmed to be included - join me in requesting more Aussie content
• BTCC, Nascar, Karting, GT1, F1, touring car, historical + track day cars represented in game. Rally planned as a future expansion pack/DLC to rival Richard Burns Rally physics
• Chance to make some money when the game is released in 2013

WMD Portal

Forums (click Register top-right): WMD Forum (if you could set the referrer box to 'Ryzza5' (me) that would be appreciated. No known benefit to me for doing so at this stage, can only hope though).

And a user-created video/trailer:

[Ozram]

Looks interesting Ryan. I played rFactor for a while. Will check it out.
Thanks.

[Ryan_R]

A player just made a very nice trailer - take a look:



Wish I had editing skills like that

[5pot]

yay, another game with 60-s style cars.

I played Grand Prix Legends back in the day and still have a good go nowadays.

It's brilliant and still one of the most realistic sims out there I think.

[Ryan_R]

That's one game I never tried, I did enjoy GT Legends and GTR2 though. The Lotus 49 is a beast of a car to try and handle and fast speeds though, makes for a great challenge. If you've got a decent PC definitely check it out.

[Ryan_R]

An old Ford GT40 has just been released to members (which means it's nowhere near complete as far as visuals, sounds, physics, and damage are concerned) but someone made an interesting video driving around Bathurst which you might enjoy.





And a recently made user trailer:




Sign-ups are closed since the funding target was reached early November, but there might be special one-off weekends where interested people can join, so if you can't wait a year be sure to follow their website.

[Ryan_R]

I was in a bit of an incident coming into The Chase in a single-player race the other day, so decided to switch to bumper cam and take a few snapshots













Another user-made trailer from last week: