Codemasters’s F1 game series continues to receive strong reviews and sales figures year after year, but it’s time for the series to address some lingering issues.
Each summer fans and critics of the F1 game series are united in their hopes that many of the recurring bugs and workarounds associated with the official Formula One game get fixed. With the release of F1 2021 recently, some of those mutual hopes have again been dashed, as we’ve seen some familiar annoyances present in the title.
Over 3,000 reviews on Steam for F1 2021 have averaged to “Very Positive”, which shows the community is broadly enjoying the title. But the F1 series isn’t perfect. Here are some items Codemasters needs to address and put behind them for future editions.
The issue seems limited to the F1 series within Codemasters. Codies’ teams assigned to Dirt 5 and Dirt Rally 2.0 seem to have had no problem implementing mouse support.
The menu system is laid out in a console-friendly manner thankfully, but this shouldn’t preclude the option of using a mouse. There are countless examples of cross-platform titles that support the use of a mouse on PC. This is a noticeable oversight year after year.
Granted, dedicated servers are expensive to implement, but with respect to the sales figures it would certainly make sense for F1 titles to have them. Unstable or slow servers can ruin an online racing experience, and this is something that needs to be put behind the F1 series.
For the past few years, hope has grown into expectation for Codemasters to implement VR into the F1 series. This was encouraged in part by Codemasters adding VR support to Dirt Rally 2.0 post-release. Many users hoped this would become a standard for Codemasters releases moving forward, but this has not been the case.
VR and triple screen support can both be added to your F1 experience through third party mods, but it seems time for native support.
Track selection has become a larger issue with the modified F1 schedules for 2020 and 2021. The last two seasons have seen fan favourite circuits like Imola, Mugello, Nurburgring and Portimao utilized in the real F1 calendar, but not in the game. We are expecting Portimao, Imola, and Jeddah to be added to F1 2021 for free, but these circuits missed the launch date.
Many in the F1 game community have complained about a lack of laser scanned tracks. In response, Codemasters has said noted that tracks take “a lot of resources to create.” It seems unlikely that we’ll see significant changes to their approach to track creation in the release schedule they’ve set for themselves, but the F1 games are certainly due for updates.
Codemasters has allowed multiple input devices, which is great news for those of us who use separate wheelbase and pedal units, but the experience is somewhat underwhelming. Those often higher end wheelbases are capable of recreating detailed force feedback like road surface bumps and tires scraping across the track during understeer, but the game is limited in this regard.
As the popularity of consumer wheel and pedal sets continues to rise, so does the need for improved force feedback fidelity. No one would expect rFactor 2 levels of FFB detail, but updates in force feedback to complement an overall enjoyable driving experience is necessary.
Codemasters F1 games can be a lot of fun, and the franchise has generally been improving in recent years. But lingering beneath those incremental improvements are some fundamental concerns that both fans and critics of the titles want to see changed. Let’s hope we can see these changes in forthcoming titles.
Are there changes you want to see in future F1 games? Let us know in the comments and make sure to join our community.
Each summer fans and critics of the F1 game series are united in their hopes that many of the recurring bugs and workarounds associated with the official Formula One game get fixed. With the release of F1 2021 recently, some of those mutual hopes have again been dashed, as we’ve seen some familiar annoyances present in the title.
Over 3,000 reviews on Steam for F1 2021 have averaged to “Very Positive”, which shows the community is broadly enjoying the title. But the F1 series isn’t perfect. Here are some items Codemasters needs to address and put behind them for future editions.
1. No Mouse Support
The lack of mouse support for the F1 series is baffling. There’s a very short list of PC-based racing titles that don’t support the use of a mouse, and certainly no recent releases from major studios that eschew pointing devices.The issue seems limited to the F1 series within Codemasters. Codies’ teams assigned to Dirt 5 and Dirt Rally 2.0 seem to have had no problem implementing mouse support.
The menu system is laid out in a console-friendly manner thankfully, but this shouldn’t preclude the option of using a mouse. There are countless examples of cross-platform titles that support the use of a mouse on PC. This is a noticeable oversight year after year.
2. No Dedicated Servers
Another popular request from the community is dedicated servers for multiplayer racing. Having fast and stable connections to the large player base the F1 titles consistently garner seems like perfect fit. But again this year, there are no dedicated servers.Granted, dedicated servers are expensive to implement, but with respect to the sales figures it would certainly make sense for F1 titles to have them. Unstable or slow servers can ruin an online racing experience, and this is something that needs to be put behind the F1 series.
3. No VR
Within the greater PC gaming community, only about 3% of users have a virtual reality headset. That number is significantly higher in the racing community, and the demand for VR keeps growing.For the past few years, hope has grown into expectation for Codemasters to implement VR into the F1 series. This was encouraged in part by Codemasters adding VR support to Dirt Rally 2.0 post-release. Many users hoped this would become a standard for Codemasters releases moving forward, but this has not been the case.
VR and triple screen support can both be added to your F1 experience through third party mods, but it seems time for native support.
4. Outdated Tracks and Track Selection
Codemasters seems to have created a vicious circle with their release schedule for the F1 games. Fans have come to expect the newest liveries and bug fixes in each successive title. But this timeline doesn’t give them enough opportunity to implement some long overdue track updates.Track selection has become a larger issue with the modified F1 schedules for 2020 and 2021. The last two seasons have seen fan favourite circuits like Imola, Mugello, Nurburgring and Portimao utilized in the real F1 calendar, but not in the game. We are expecting Portimao, Imola, and Jeddah to be added to F1 2021 for free, but these circuits missed the launch date.
Many in the F1 game community have complained about a lack of laser scanned tracks. In response, Codemasters has said noted that tracks take “a lot of resources to create.” It seems unlikely that we’ll see significant changes to their approach to track creation in the release schedule they’ve set for themselves, but the F1 games are certainly due for updates.
5. Numb Force Feedback
The F1 games aren’t specifically aimed at hardcore sim racers. The titles are meant to be enjoyed both by casual gamers using a console gamepad and by serious racing game enthusiasts using rigs with wheel and pedal sets.Codemasters has allowed multiple input devices, which is great news for those of us who use separate wheelbase and pedal units, but the experience is somewhat underwhelming. Those often higher end wheelbases are capable of recreating detailed force feedback like road surface bumps and tires scraping across the track during understeer, but the game is limited in this regard.
As the popularity of consumer wheel and pedal sets continues to rise, so does the need for improved force feedback fidelity. No one would expect rFactor 2 levels of FFB detail, but updates in force feedback to complement an overall enjoyable driving experience is necessary.
Codemasters F1 games can be a lot of fun, and the franchise has generally been improving in recent years. But lingering beneath those incremental improvements are some fundamental concerns that both fans and critics of the titles want to see changed. Let’s hope we can see these changes in forthcoming titles.
Are there changes you want to see in future F1 games? Let us know in the comments and make sure to join our community.
