PC3 Another Project CARS Title in The Works?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Slightly Mad Studios head Ian Bell has reportedly confirmed the smash hit Project CARS franchise is due another new release - Project CARS 3 is in the works...

Never one to be shy with the big predictions, Bell has taken to the GT Planet forums to confirm to fans that another Project CARS game is in the works by Slightly Mad Studios, and with a typical shyness we've all come to expect from new PCARS news, Bell has suggested the next instalment of the franchise will " blow anything else, planned by anyone else, out of the water".

Now call me a sceptic, but we've heard statements like this before in relation to Project CARS games, and although both PCARS 1 and 2 certainly do some things very well indeed, for many players they often leave more than a little to be desired in comparison to their main sim racing rivals.. especially when compared to some of the grandiose statements made by the developers during the build up period prior to release.

Now of course this "announcement" is very early in nature, and as such very little is known about the intentions of SMS and the development path of PCARS 3, but one thing is for sure, whenever a PCARS title is in the works, plenty of excitement is sure to follow..

Stay tuned for more news as and when it becomes available...

Project CARS 2 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Check out the Project CARS 2 sub forum here at RaceDepartment for more news, discussion and features on this sequel release to the hugely popular Project CARS franchise of games.

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[Mascot]

I was very surprised to hear about this because the common perception was that pCARS 2 bombed badly at the tills. Does anyone know of any factual sales figures for pC1 and pC2? I genuinely thought that SMS would move entirely to mobile gaming or simcade purely for consoles (and who knows, this might be what pC3 is).

Whatever it ends up being I think pC3 will have a much tighter focus than pC2 - I really don't think SMS will spread themselves so thinly next time. Their ambition is to be applauded but it needs tempering with realistic and deliverable goals.

For the record I loved pC1 under the caveat-heavy context of being a PS4 owner at the time. It delivered a physics-based racing game to consoles with a proper race weekend structure including practice and qualifying, customisable race length, a full night cycle and variable weather. I'll always be grateful to SMS for that. Of course, once I moved to target-rich PC simming then pC1's deficiencies were brought to the fore and it sunk into the background. I've bought and refunded pC2 twice because of annoying quirks and undelivered promises but will probably pick it up again as a ten-quid GOTY version, but don't expect to spend much time with it.

I'm sceptical about pC3 and will try to keep an open mind, but I am interested to see what SMS come up with. One thing's for sure, it'll be a rollercoaster of a ride finding out.

 

[thepharcyde]

Is it April already?
I actually had some fun with Pcars 2, maybe I need to dust it off and retry

 

[Ryann]

I don't think PC2 is a bad game in general. Actually, I was pretty excited about it at the start. What drives me away from SMS, however, is their business practices, lack of long-term support for their products and how they treat their customers and people on the forums. Over the years, this is the first title from them, I'm sure I won't spend money on.

I can imagine many people are okay or even happy with it, but in my standards, Kunos is example how to do business (mostly ).

 

[Zoltan76]

Exactly my friend. Exactly.

 

[M D Gourley]

I personally liked PC2...SMS nailed the graphics and weather in my eyes...now just collaborate with Reiza Studios to do the Physics and FFB and in return put all Automobilsta's content in PC3...I know, I know, I am just dreaming...LOL...or am I

 

[Mike1304]

I love PC2 in VR! Best racing experience in VR at the moment! Can’t wait for a PC3.
I think it’s not fair to criticise that a game will be abandoned when they work on a new title: just think of FIFA, ProEvolutionSoccer, Formula1, Forza, Battlefield.....
And don’t forget they are a company! They have to produce new things and earn money! It’s their job and life goal...
We live in a fast changing world, that’s a fact...

 

[apex11]

PC2 was nearly perfect for me, with one huge deal-breaking exception:

Almost all of the cars had way too much grip under acceleration.

The result: Infamously tricky cars like the Lotus 49 and Porsche 917/10 that would only understeer. Even coming out of tight hairpins in 1st gear, it was nearly impossible to get them to break traction. I've been told it's a tire issue (they inexplicably put modern tires on these old cars, resulting in way too much grip).

This gave the game an overall "dumbed-down" feel to me, and sent me scurrying back to AC when it became apparent they were never going to fix it. It's a real shame, because I really enjoyed just about every other aspect.

The one defense of PCars and SMS i have left is that they understand that race cars have grip..... sadly many many sim racers don't get this.....

The game with the worst representation of grip is Forza titles....which oddly everyone calls simcade.....

Even Rfactor 2 devs worked out eventually there tyre model was totally wrong regards grip.....

I thought this had been pjut to bed by now.... real life racing IS SIMCADE if you take a sim racers logic.... stuff like GT3 with traction control is pure arcade...

No one is trying to make racing cars have no grip.... no one....so why reflect no grip in a racin game?

 

[CreamyCornCob]

With another irritation of PC1 and 2, why is this going to be any different? The physics suck along with the FFB. And endless bugs never addressed in PC2 along with completely dropping any and all support of it.

Unless ALL of those will be promised (doubtful) , along with enabling modding, its just another marketing exercise for PC3. And I'm assuming they'll ramp up more $DLC for them to gobble on.

And in a year or two, all will be forgotten by them .
Mod Edit: inappropriate language.

 

[Sharpy Bonfire]

Now with all that hyping and superlatives please, please go all the way and rename it Project Cars 76...

 

[Neils on Wheels]

The one defense of PCars and SMS i have left is that they understand that race cars have grip..... sadly many many sim racers don't get this.....

The game with the worst representation of grip is Forza titles....which oddly everyone calls simcade.....

Even Rfactor 2 devs worked out eventually there tyre model was totally wrong regards grip.....

I thought this had been pjut to bed by now.... real life racing IS SIMCADE if you take a sim racers logic.... stuff like GT3 with traction control is pure arcade...

No one is trying to make racing cars have no grip.... no one....so why reflect no grip in a racin game?

He is talking about the older cars, you are making a strawman argument.

SMS admitted they went with modern tyres for the classic cars, maybe try to be a bit more objective instead of assuming your favorite sim is perfect.

 

[Andy_J]

It'a all about money and profit. Nothing else. Be surprised to see a another PC version to be honest.

 

[Metla]

I take it that "Smash hit" is code for critical and financial failure?

 

[Metla]

It'a all about money and profit. Nothing else. Be surprised to see a another PC version to be honest.

As is every business venture ever conceived.

 

[apex11]

He is talking about the older cars, you are making a strawman argument.

SMS admitted they went with modern tyres for the classic cars, maybe try to be a bit more objective instead of assuming your favorite sim is perfect.

Really not my favorite game mate, i have been banned 10 times on their forum, PCars fanboys are toxic...

You do realize that modern day historic racing use modern tyres yes? They are not on 50 year old rubber.....
But you keep believing that cars don't have grip..carry on....

I can take a rental van around a bend at 80mph and i don't spin off into a tree... why in hell would a racing car spin going 80 mph?

Have you even heard of the 'ground effect' era in F1... that was in the seventies.....jesus wept...

 

[apex11]

Quoted:

F1 driver-turned-commentator Martin Brundle is perhaps the person best placed to offer an informed opinion. With experience ranging from Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes 196 to the current Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid [and much more in between], Brundle has driven 40 F1 cars at speed on race tracks. He insists the challenge has to be split into at least two components. “One is the physical aspect and one is controlling the car. When we talk ‘easy’ you have to differentiate between the two.

“The cars I found easiest to jump into and thrash were the Red Bulls with the 2.4-litre V8 engine and the blown exhausts [used from 2010 to 2013]. They stuck to the ground - even in the pouring rain. You couldn’t hit the throttle fast enough.

 

[HazelR]

I liked the previous 2 because they had my local circuit (Lydden Hill) in, if pcars3 has it then I'll probably buy a copy just so I can drive odd cars around my local circuit...
(I know there's mod tracks for Lydden for many race sims, I'm talking out the box.)

Maybe they're going to launch the first VR only, Steering wheel & pedals only racing game?

 

[RobertLidstroem]

I tried to like pc2...and i supported it with 100€....

But it just feels plastic and the damn pitsystem is a giant mess!

 

[RomFil]

screen rally cross(no rally aka dirtrally) only ?

 

[JamoZNL]

Oh hooray, maybe this time around they won`t rely on the community to fix their terrible FFB again, and hopefully the guy in charge of the sounds is fired and banned to Siberia. I still have nightmares about those horrible Ferrari sounds...

 

[Steve Bird]

Is this going to be a rehashed version of the previous effort like PCARS 2?