Generic Anyone got any idea of sales figures for consoles so far?

I'm somewhat astonished that you were expecting a finished product. I expected a foundation upon which an edifice of beauty would be erected and built upon over time.

Yes the console version is not identical to the PC version, but at the end of the day, when you grab a a car you love and wrestle it around a racetrack of your choice, the experience is nothing short of sublime, whether on PC, or console.

The fact that so many people just don't get it is what troubles me.

 

I tried this theory once with a girlfriend... it did not go well.

 

That's women; can't live without them, can't kill them.

 

Hang on, AC is no harder than PCars, in fact i'd say its more realistic as in its actually easier, it way easier than DiRT and SLRE due to the fact rallying is harder than road racing, I find Forza like driving on ice and is stupid because of that.
In AC you can feel the massive aero and slicks working on the GT3 cars and also if you do what real life drivers do and select 'factory' you get TC and ABS so its easy to drive the cars.
You are so far up your backside and I doubt your PC is spec'd that well or your sim rig set up is anything special.

 

I think there is a large percentage of console users that just want a good game and are not at all interested in a sim, but a good few are interested in good physics, as I said I play it a lot on my PC and is the game I go to for a driving fix, but would rather play it on my Xbox as my PC is fairly old (for a gaming PC) and does not have a great graphics card. Regarding the game being work in progress as such, I can only recall ,1 other game that did not feel finished or had initial problems and that was Project cars, maybe these games are pushing the limits of what the current consoles are capable of? I am looking forward to the console version improving as I am sure it will, but thought it might have more expected features on release.

 

Can only speak for my self, but what I wanted was a new car game with better physics than the current available games. IMHO I got it with AC. Yes, there are aspects like multiplayer that could/should be better. Cant see why a new racing game necessarily need to beat all other available games on all aspects. Especially when they state that physics and drive feel is their main goal, and its a niche game (not photo mode etc etc, see streams from Stefano), You get what they try to create... If someone expects a Forza replacement with AC, because their both games involving cars, I say they got it wrong. Can Kunos be blamed for that? Regarding finished or not, they stated that its work in progress, and a platform to build on. Maybe thats new to console users, but I´m a console user and I´m fine with it.

 

When I said AC is hard, I was referring to the speed of the AI and the fact that you need to be a very competent driver to beat them on even the easy setting.

As far as the actual driving is concerned, certainly AC is no harder than Pcars, and it's certainly easier than dirt and SLRE, both of which are very niche as well.

Ultimately AC is all about an obsessive attention to detail, with regard to the cars, the way they handle, the fact that you have to drive them correctly, and the tracks are also modelled extremely accurately with very rich topographical detail such as bumps, kerbs and cambers.

The casual Forza gamer playing with a pad is unlikely to even notice all this detail and is unlikely to appreciate it, which is what make AC so niche.

 

It's still disingenuous to say AC is niche, it really isn't when we have a Farm sim on consoles. By saying it's niche you are excusing poor sales and suggesting it sold badly and was badly received due to people being stupid and not into wanting good race sims on consoles... your wrong, look at DiRT / PCars and SLRE for proof of that. In fact Kunos has added some really jarring arcade like modes into the game which is present on PC also.
The things that have made this a bd game at release are not because console players can't cope with 'sims' it's because it has some really really horrible design decisions and no private lobbies, nothing to do with difficulty as it has a myriad of settings and aids to help anyone pick up and play.... like any game.
It's a good game but no way is it even close to being as good as the rabid fans will tell you it is.

 

Farming simulator, dirty rally, SLRE are all niche games and have NOT sold in massive amounts; certainly nowhere near the amounts that Forza or GT have sold.

Pcars is an exception, but is unique because it was the first proper driving game on the ps4 and 7o percent of its sales came from ps4 gamers. Still, there was a massive s**tstorm upon its release with people threatening Ian Bell and the devs with physical violence because the cars didn't turn into corners, the forcefeedback was too difficult to set up, there were some bugs and a myriad of other complaints that were simply petty, or simply the result of a lack of understanding of even the fundamental aspects of motor racing and driving in general.

Certainly the fact AC was released without a lot of the options that PC players have and the lack of private lobbies have also contributed, but it is also accurate to say that a lot of people simply don't appreciate the aim of the game, which is to deliver a very accurate car driving simulation without getting sidetracked by pretty graphics and without compromising the attention to detail for the sake of having a lot of half a**ed cars and tracks. You only need a cursory examination of some of the reviews on Amazon, the official Facebook page, and these forums to see that.

 

That's all well and dandy but if you read amazon reviews on any product it's not a good way to judge the general population, same with youtube comments. AC tries so so hard to be a 'game' it becomes it's biggest fault IMO. It should of been more aimed at the market who just want a driving simulation that's less Forza and GT and more focused, instead we got silly special events, tacked on career mode that's flawed and renders it pointless, stupid arcade throw back game modes like passing through gates within time limit, thats so Out Run and Need for speed, its painful to see....
The demented car door closing on the grid, the stupid end of race sequence the poor race start sequence etc etc.
They should of made it more sim like to play rather than like a poor knock off Forza or GT in the first place. So many jarring things smack you in the face and shout "YOUR'E PLAYING A GAME", that is the very opposite of what any sim should be doing.
IMO of course...

 

Project Cars came closest to a proper career mode, in fact I'd say it has an excellent career mode. A full season of racing and special events, with practice sessions, qualifying, and full length races.
PCars has got closest to where real race fans want to be in my opinion. If we had the "race fan mentality" and eventual quality of PCars coupled with the physics of AC we would have one heck of a game. Until then, we just have to enjoy the positive merits of both and try not to choke on the gristly bits.

 

The complaints about PCars when it was first released were far from petty. The game was literally unplayable for me for about a month after I bought it due to the fact that it wouldn't recognise my old Fanatec wheel.
Then there was the problem with the AA that was making people sick, the cars that handled like boats due to the awful handling model at launch etc, etc.

I don't like what you are insinuating about console gamers not appreciating the aim of the AC either, the majority of people were complaining about fps drops and tearing to begin with, also the shockingly bad multiplayer implementation.
We knew what we were getting into when we purchased AC, we'd been reading online about how good it was as a race sim for years.
You can't blame people for getting pissed off about a lack of basic features that they've come to expect to be included in a game of this sort, telemetry, calibration, leaderboards, custom lobbies etc.
As I, and others have said numerous times, the physics and FFB on AC are magical, but we expected a few more of the basics to be included from the get go, that's all.

 

It is without a doubt true that the majority of console gamers either do not understand the aims of AC, or simply don't care.

You can see this in the inane comments and complaints all over the Internet. I've read everything from: the game needs chromatic aberration to the cars don't handle like real cars! There was even one guy having a massive two-day long argument on the official Facebook page about how in real life the lights turn green at the start of a race instead of just going out.

Now, do you think that a guy who doesn't even know that lights don't turn green at the start possesses enough knowledge about cars and driving to appreciate the subtle differences in the handling of the cars, the way topographical textures of the track are modelled and the sublime way the cambers are conveyed through the force feedback at the Nordschleife? Does he have enough knowledge to appreciate the difference even subtle setup changes have on the car? No, he will form the view that the game is rubbish because it doesn't look as good as Forza, because that's what his limited knowledge and understanding allows him to conlude.


Just this morning I found a new thread about how the spectators in the crowd look like cardboard cutouts for goodness sake. Why is it that sims like Automobilista and even rfactor 2, which on the whole look worse than AC are praised to high heaven? Why do sim racers who play those games focus on things that actually matter in sims, such as physics, force feedback, accuracy of cars and tracks etc, whereas console players complain about there not being enough motion blur, or that the AA is not to their liking?

As for the design decision regarding PC style options on console, I don't know. But I suspect that they spent some time on the Pcars forums and saw Ian bell and the SMS devs receive death threats from console gamers for including too many options.

 

Lights do go green at some race tracks though.
Explain then why in this great sim the car door closes on the grid just before the start? What the hell is that about?? Its pure Need for speed arcade rubbish! The race start is like Forza where you can't jump start so just mash the loud pedal as much as you want. PCars you can jump start and a good start takes some skill.
I'd also say the FFB doesn't have as much fidelity as PCars, its just a very basic one which renders a lot of cars feeling the same to me.
It's really quite an awful game and not because i'm some silly console player but because its badly done. I'd wager my set up is better than your PC set up, do you even play on PC with a wheel for example?
It makes me laugh these PC noobs playing these games with controllers or keyboards!!! lol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yes I play with a wheel: T300 RS and g29, and to me it feels really good, almost as if I'm driving a real car. Mind you, I do enjoy Pcars as well, although in Pcars the cars are a bit of a mixed bag; some are excellent and others are bit iffy. The main difference between Pcars and AC is that in Pcars the cars feel a little bouncier with a lot more dampening in the force feedback, whereas AC feels a little sharper, perhaps more precise in a way, but not quite as lively as in Pcars.

I confess, the door shutting on the grid never bothered me and I assumed the starts will be fixed in a future update.

I'm a bit astonished that you don't think much of the physics and force feedback in AC because to me it feels really nuanced on the edge where I can spend hours searching for the limit and really feeling it when I reach it, which allows me to practice keeping it there with minute adjustments with the wheel and throttle, just like in real life.

I also don't agree that the cars feel the same. Personally I can even feel it when I lower the rear tyre pressure by one click.

Certainly you're entitled to your opinion but forgive me when I think of the majority of console players as incapable of appreciating AC when I am subjected to threads started by console players threatening to return the game because the cars won't let them shift down as they want (due drivetrain protection, which they don't even know about) or because they enter corners too fast and the cars understeer as a result.

Obviously not all console gamers are like that, but it seems to me that those who a truly capable of appreciating this sim are few and far between, and the sales figures reflect that.

 

I have been playing AC more the past few days now and i play it pretty much back to back with PCars, so will do say 10 lap race on AC and PCars with same cars and track and both are great and do a good job of conveying what it feels like on track (i've track day'd many cars Alfa 155 track focused car, Alfa 75, Alfa Spider, Alfa GTV V6), I like the feeel of both but i invested so much time into PCars FFB that now i feel its almost perfect for me, AC can be great with one car but then too heavy or weak for another but i find it has a SAT that over rides a lot of the forces and wish like DiRT we had a slider for SAT.
Anyway AC is good but not as good as some say or think, I'm having a good time with it but some things just really jar in it and it ruins the immersion and jolts me out of the moment and makes me know i'm playing a game, PCars i can be playing that and it all feels so real.
I must just add that at the moment the game with best FFB for me and i know many may slate me for this, but I picked up Sebastien Loeb RE 2 months ago for £16 and its fantastic!! the feel and nuances and physics of the cars and change in track feel of surface is up there with Richard Burns Rally.
So yes between playing both AC and PCars i'm loving SLRE, but i can't compare it to those games as its unfair as rallying is just more fun than road racing full stop anyway so it may just be that..

 

Thanks you for finally writing a more balanced comment.

At the end of the day we must remember that all games have their strengths and weaknesses and we should be grateful that we have such a variety of excellent racing games/sims to buy and enjoy.

 

I'm perfectly balanced, its the AC loyalists who can't be objective. It's funny with any game the fanboys claim all is perfect then a patch comes and changes things for the better, so why do the fanboys think the patch happens? Do KUNOS patch for the hell of it, NO! They patch because something was broke or wrong or not working right..... thank God we have people complaining or we'd get no patches!!

 

Edit: **** this... Why I even bother

 

A

Do you own a console version of AC?