Dakar 18 - The Game

[Ole Andreasen]

[QUOTE="Solyne, post: 2906554, member: 98129"
See you in the dunes. I will be there trying to dig my car out of the fesh fesh.[/QUOTE]

Actually it's spelled fech fech.
Fech fech (Arabic: فش فش‎) is a very fine powder caused by the erosion of clay-limestone terrain and it is most commonly found in deserts.

 

[Solyne]

The Lost Racing Team vs Fesh Fetish Racing Live tonight starting at approximately 22:00 CET and 16:00 EST

Tonight, Cheshie Chesire and Solyne Wells of The Lost Racing Team are going head to head against tom5723 and KG-03 Fesh Fetish Racing in a one of a kind never before attempted challenge. The rules are simple, Human Navigator Human Pilot, on Ruta 40 Stage 1, at Legend Difficulty. Any restarts will accumulate a 10 minute penalty. None of us have seen or driven Ruta 40 at all.
Finally, the true test of our skills after training together for weeks, our tenacious teams will take on this brutal course in Argentina.

Catch all the excitement at https://www.twitch.tv/solynew for The Lost Racing Team in English, and https://steamcommunity.com/broadcast/watch/76561198062074147/ for Fesh Fetish Racing in Polish.
Be advised there will be quite a few curse words on both streams.

Here is a short clip from yesterday's practice. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/373995809

 

[MarkR]

I just finished my first full run through Dakar 18, 9 hours and 43 minutes of actual in game driving time, using normal difficulty without the simplified way point marker available in the easy setting. I think more people should give this game a go, it is an epic challenge and unique. Some of the stages have some amazing scenery on those long and varied routes. Sure it can be difficult, it's easy to miss a turn and get lost for a couple of minutes. The car handling improved again with the latest patch and the cars are much more stable when braking with the wheel (previously they would pull to one side violently under braking). The damage and repair system works well to add to the challenge. A great game requiring balance between speed, navigation, noticing visual references risk and reward with how hard to push.

I'll give the DLC a run now that Dakar is done.

 

[Solyne]

Congratulations Mark on your finish. Looks like a good time and you probably won with that.

BTW folks, I have driven the new patch with the DLC now, and can tell you the AI are a lot smarter. You have to get close and stay close before they will yield, IF they will yield, and then they just pull to the side a little and slow a bit. From here out on Legend it will be a tough race to win, not like before at all.

The ASO 140KPH Speed limit on trucks has been initiated for players, and this has really turned the truck rallies into a serious hard core race.

As far as I can tell there might be a slight improvement again in handling, but I am not 100% certain, the cars have been much better since 1.10. However reports are coming in regularly of how greatly improved the Quads are, many of the other pilots are very excited about that. Some of the hardcore bikers are insisting that they have become very realistic in handling, I might even have to give it a go on one of those deathtraps if I can ever find the time.

 

[MarkR]

Wow the new Desafio Ruta 40 DLC is superb. I think this first stage of the new DLC really shows the game off in its best light yet.

My first attempt at Stage 1 San Miguel of the Ruta 40, with many mistakes and near navigation point misses. The run didn't end well but that is the joy of Dakar.

No perfect run here, just trying to show what the game plays like when a stage is played for the first time having to attempt to listen to the navigator and keep the pace up.

If you haven't tried this game yet I can definitely say now is the time to jump in. I was put off by the negative reviews and comments at launch and I wish I hadn't been. Having played a good few hours now I can see most of the negativity is from people who don't have the patience for the navigation learning curve, the game works as intended. It's Dakar and it will always require concentration, patience and balance in approach. It isn't an instant gratification game it's an epic challenge. I'd imagine here on RD we'd find people with enough intelligence and dedication to work it out. Dakar 18 might not be the last word in physics and car setup etc but I don't think that matters, this is a game that seeks to challenge in other ways. It's all about risk and reward, knowing when to push and back off, when to take caution and keep the car in tact and paying heed to the navigator and visual cues.

The last game I played that was even close to being as big a challenge as this was IOM TT, that wasn't perfect either in bike handling and the odd strange road effect and Dakar is actually better in terms of game stability and handling consistency for me. Dakar 18 also looks absolutely gorgeous in 4K (vieo recorded at 1080p for file/upload size etc), the scenery is jaw dropping sometimes I just want to stop to take it all in.

What I really enjoyed about the new stage is the variation in surfaces, dangers faced and pace required. At the start it's fast tracks with tricky to spot navigation turns and dangerous jumps and rios to cross. Then it's flat out in the rios while needing to avoid the numerous rocks. Then comes the big change of pace to offtrack, trying to keep the pace up but not take too many risks. Another flat out section leads to all those rocks before the end. The AI were way quicker than me here and ultimately trying to push too hard cost me!

Here at RD I often requests for more realism. The fact this game is based on the real Roadbooks, has truly epic (if scaled) stages and the constant wheel vibration gave me some of the feel of being bumped and thrown around in the car - over some of the bigger humps and undulations it's a real fight to keep the car straight. The level of concentration required to keep it all together is what surprised me most. So much more of a test than a short rally stage in most modern games.

The developers have really created something different here, it's a unique challenge. With nothing much else new around (I can only play so much Ace Combat) in Jan/Feb until DiRT Rally 2.0 this game really did provide some unexpected thrills and spills. Take a little time to get used to the game and something truly special is revealed.

 

[Solyne]

Two teams, human navigators, none of the participants have any foreknowledge of the Stage. The video is a compilation of both teams in real time, with timing, etc.

I hope you like it.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

I took the opportunity to try out the new DLC for DAKAR 18 recently, and I must say, despite the odd "quirk", I'm actually really very pleased with the end result...

I will readily admit that the prospect of a realist simulation of the DAKAR Rally got me all hot under the collar when Bigmoon Entertainment first announced this new licence back in January 2018 - the fabled off road racing marathon having long captured my imagination from the days of the classic Paris - Dakar rally of my youth.

With such spectacular imagery to be found in the famous dunes, legendary drivers and riders and diverse and eclectic collection of vehicles, I often wondered why this most dramatic of racing disciplines never received a proper videogame simulation outside of throwaway arcade offerings... step up new development team Bigmoon Entertainment, forming together to develop and release the very first hardcore simulation of this fantastic racing category.

Having moved from creating graphical assets for the WRC franchise, and making use of the already well proven and spectacular Unreal 4 game engine, I'll admit that the pieces seemed to be falling into place for a very pleasant experience indeed.

I suspect it would be fair to say that the debut of the new title on both console and PC didn't quite pan out exactly like the studio, or the fans, would have liked when it released late on in 2018. Plagued by some unfortunate bugs and hardware compatibility issues from the off, Bigmoon have been busy since launch working on developing the game to meet community expectation, and unearthing the potential that very much exists within the software, despite the best efforts to bury it below layers of confusing design decisions and hardware support omissions.

Those dark early days seem to ever further in the past now, and what's available today is a dramatic improvement over the original release, so much so that the studio have now found themselves in a position to deploy a first new content DLC to the game - for free too!

Although new controller support has been added, some players, myself included, still have difficulty getting their specific equipment to work with the sim. For example, I'm still struggling to get my DD wheel, DSD pedals and Heusinkveld handbrake to recognise in the device controller section, but these issues aside I've decided to bite the bullet and just give it a whirl on my wireless Xbox One controller - and I'm most certainly not disappointed!

So without further ado, check out the video at the head of this article to find out my very first thoughts and impressions of DAKAR 18 - the official videogame of the 2018 DAKAR Rally.

DAKAR 18 is available now.

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[BrettSinclair1]

The physics still look like the cars (and trucks, as in the video!) have no mass and suspension to them. I'd love to like this game, but without believable physics I cannot bring myself to buy it.

 

[Solyne]

Sure wish you could try it to get a real idea of what it is. I completely understand the argument you make, yet this game is really very good for anyone who like off road racing.

 

[Solyne]

Streaming live, CheshieCheshire and Solynew take on Tom5723 and KG-03 on https://www.twitch.tv/solynew The Polish feed will be announced shortly.

 

[Ruy Horta]

Following rio = riverbed

 

[BP]

Can anyone report on how it feels with Fanatec devices (or if they work at all)? After all the updates I'm thinking of buying it now, as I too was dissuaded from buying it after all the initial negative reviews.

 

[Alex72]

22:00 Is all i need to see to not get this title. Paul going 70km/h over massive rocks and bumps and the truck isnt even getting a little airborne OR breaking down. Also, that waypoint top screen is just a simplified setting, right?

I wish they wasnt afraid of getting more realistic physics into this title. Maybe 19 will be better. I will at least throw an eye at it when it comes.

 

[Solyne]

22:00 Is all i need to see to not get this title. Paul going 70km/h over massive rocks and bumps and the truck isnt even getting a little airborne OR breaking down. Also, that waypoint top screen is just a simplified setting, right?

I wish they wasnt afraid of getting more realistic physics into this title. Maybe 19 will be better. I will at least throw an eye at it when it comes.

You are watching video of rookie difficulty. on legend if you break and cannot fix you are out. Damage is realistic though scaled according to length of the race in relation to the real dakar, in other work, approximately 1 hour in game for a 5 hour RL run, the car in game takes approximately the same damage as the real car in 5 hours. On Competitor the waypoint indicator is no longer available, on legend if you miss 1 waypoint, you are out. Period.

Physics are not as good as they could be. Yet they are definitely not as bad as everyone who has never played this titled says they are. Seriously, 80% of the people who claim that this title is not worth playing and have all kinds of specific reasons why not could not complete stage 2 on competitor difficulty and got mad. Another 10% have not tried it, and they all say stuff that anyone who had even tried to play this on Legend 1 time knows is dead wrong.

You keep watching rookie difficulty to determine what this game is, and you will never see what it is.

Watch this, and then maybe you will have a clearer picture. This is what the game is for those on Legend Difficulty. Watch closely from maybe 32 minutes to 42 minutes in. If you have questions feel free to PM me, or come to discord channel I am always there along with many others very happy to help show you.

 

[Solyne]

Can anyone report on how it feels with Fanatec devices (or if they work at all)? After all the updates I'm thinking of buying it now, as I too was dissuaded from buying it after all the initial negative reviews.

I know they have support for them, I sure wish I had Fanatec myself, but life as a retiree on a fixed income…

I saw a video this morning though that maybe you could look at to consider, and if I can find someone I will send them your way. This guy has amazing gear and triple screens, you will see. It looks like he is on Competitor difficulty, with his navigation on, I do not read Spanish so cannot get the specifics,

 

[Cheesenium]

I still think Dakar 18 had a good start. Licensed titles could had been a lot worst, like milestone era WRC games. Big moon do seemed like they are passionate with the sport and what they had done to the series was great.

Hopefully the Dakar 19 will be even better.

 

[Case_]

Paul going 70km/h over massive rocks and bumps and the truck isnt even getting a little airborne OR breaking down.

Contrary to what you might see in the video, you *do* have to drive carefully and one missed rock or drop can easily end your rally on the spot.

 

[Solyne]

Watching his video, I was reminded by something he said of the real Veka Man team, here are a couple videos that are pretty cool

 

[Vicitus]

The physics still look like the cars (and trucks, as in the video!) have no mass and suspension to them. I'd love to like this game, but without believable physics I cannot bring myself to buy it.

When you choose the 3rd Person, it´s correct, but when you look from the side, you can notice the suspencion work pretty well.

 

[BP]

I know they have support for them, I sure wish I had Fanatec myself, but life as a retiree on a fixed income…

I saw a video this morning though that maybe you could look at to consider, and if I can find someone I will send them your way. This guy has amazing gear and triple screens, you will see. It looks like he is on Competitor difficulty, with his navigation on, I do not read Spanish so cannot get the specifics,

Thanks for all the videos you posted, it convinced me enough to buy it (and saved 5 bucks with this Steam Lunar new year sale thingy). It's definitely a lot more challenging (in a good way) than a lot of those rookie videos let on...The FFB is better than I thought it would be...It's not the best but it's good enough. Gotta work on understanding the road book because I definitely got lost a few times, but yea it seems like lots of fun so far