Dirt rally

Free (again) for limited time: https://store.steampowered.com/app/310560/DiRT_Rally/

This time in Steam

 

For the love of the Rally GODS I really hope that Codemasters never ever get their hands on the WRC title !
Codemasters have had + 30 years in the business and they still haven't got a clue on what FFB and Road Feel is !

Codemasters should continue with what they do best !
Arcade games and Hype !

 

Wrc 8 is a very good one, CM shouldn't lay hands on that title it is on right way now

 

Totally agree !

 

Maybe but, CM do great at audio and they still provide much broader hardware and telemetry support options. The WRC series still has a long way to go in those areas.

 

That doesn't take very long to implement and remember that CM are a much larger company !

Codemasters on the other hand still after +30 years have no clue on what FFB and Road Feel is !
And lets not forget their mediocre stage design with overly flat unrealistic roads which they claim to be modelled by real ones

 

To be honest, after comparing the FFBs of Dirt Rally 2.0 and WRC8, I prefer the FFB of Codemasters (while it's not greatest either, totally lacking for example tyre slip). WRC8 has better tarmac physics though, in Dirt Rally 2.0 it feels like they took dirt physics and added some grip, which doesn't feel right. It think the tarmac is what is mostly holding Dirt Rally 2.0 back. But the FFB was pretty lackluster in WRC8 even after tweaking. Lot of canned effects and vibrations, no real suspension feel. Also there seems to be a little moon gravity phenomena in the jumps.

WRC8 has better stages, but still the problem remains, stages should not be possible to memorize. CM could easily expand on that stage generator concept... the direction was right. Shame to see them abandoning it.

There's number of ways of making it better. "Brute forcing" it = adding simply more tiles. Or not relying on fixed tiles, but making it more dynamic. For example, the road tiles having camber and width slots each, so you could get the same straight/corner, but with different camber and width. While the tile is the same. Also, not binding the road to the scenery, but ability to use the same corner in Sweden, Australia and Spain, just change the terrain and flora, not the road. Totally randomized trees, rocks and such, independent of the road pattern. The "tile" should contain only the road, and everything about the terrain should be interchangeable. Library of hundreds of setpieces, like buildings, rocks, bushes, signs, ambulances etc.. and then just have several "hardpoints" in the tiles, that can contain any (or none) of them. Within logical ruleset of course, so that a house can't be right next to the road, like a rock can.

So okay, you get the same corner, but this time there's a big rock on the inside, and the camber is reversed. Also, now there's a forest and log piles, last time there was fields and farmhouses. It would be possible to make a stage generator, that creates truly unique stages that you can never memorize. Codemasters just dropped the ball too early, and gave up the fight. When it's just big tiles, where everything is always in the same place, they become too easy to memorize visually, unless there would be like 10x more of them.

But of course, with a killer stage generator, you wouldn't be able to sell old stages as DLC....

 

Very nice update is out including Oculus SDK on Steam. Finally a solid VR experience and had so far no stuttering issues at all.

https://forums.codemasters.com/topic/42848-dirt-rally-20-patch-notes/?tab=comments#comment-465926

 

Yeah agree. Now it runs in VR like it should have from the start.

The performance difference is drastic to say the least. It's funny how some people tried to argue that "it wouldn't make a big difference" etc..

Pretty happy with DR2.0 now (they finally added the car specific transmission some time ago too). Just need to wait until the Season 3-4 content goes on sale. 30€ is too much

 

There is some really great unnanounced stuff coming for Dirt Rally 2.0 early next year.

 

Dirt Rally 2.0 and the deluxe addition are 70% off on steam till the 3.12. so you need kinda hurry.

Question: Did they fixed the shaky cockpitcams or is there a mod? It was allready a pain to watch videos.
Also are the hardware requirements similia to DR2 so it runs fine on a 270x and a I4460?

 

I own both Dirt Rally and Dirt Rally 2 as a complement to RBR.
The last weeks I've come to like Dirt Rally 2 more and more just for the Freeplay and Championship editor.
The stages feels better in 2 compared to DR1. In fact, it brings a really nice punch on the rally-nerve!
Physics? Well, the faster you go, the better the physics kick in... I've never been a complete fan of codemasters DR, but I think the action packed DR2 is, at moments, fantastic. One just have to adjust and learn the mechanics (using G25/G27).
I lack the damage model that enables players to deliver insane times when looking at the web-leaderboards, but if you play the game your own way, it is very rich in content and delivers some really good rally moments (Finland stages in mind)

 

Codemasters acquire WRC licence
Exclusive five-year WRC contract commencing 2023

"The Agreement allows the Company to release videogames based on the franchise including its support categories (e.g. the FIA WRC 2, WRC 3 and Junior WRC Championships) across console, PC and mobile platforms, including annual iterations for the five seasons from 2023 through to 2027. The Company looks forward to developing its first WRC videogame for the 2023 WRC season, which it expects to release in the Company's financial year ending 31 March 2024 ("FY24").

Codemasters (AIM:CMD), the award-winning British videogame developer and publisher specialising in high-quality racing games, is pleased to announce that it has signed a licence agreement with WRC Promoter GmbH ( "WRC Promoter") for the exclusive rights to develop and publish the FIA World Rally Championship ("WRC") videogames and esports tournaments (the "Agreement")."

Source: https://irpages2.equitystory.com/we...html?article=30731768&company=codemasterssoft

 

I would recommend Dirt Rally 2 for those using VR. I works great out of the box, whereas part 1 always was a bit erratic, and after some last update produced microstutters for me that I never was able to get rid of again, no matter which of the many tips around I tried. This issue is quite widespread. 2.0 relieves you of that. I bought the full content, all stages and tracks, in one pack in a smile price event at Steam, and got a superior bang-for-the-buck ratio. I also like driving it, only the night stages in VR look weired, VR does not display dark areas well in this game. The colour distortion for nightl sky is huge. Use all weather schemes there are, but avoid the full night setting.

If you can get it as a complete pack in a smile price event, get it. Its good for that reduced money, very much so.