Things are moving at Codemasters
GRID Autosport GRID Autosport
- Thread starter Bram Hengeveld
- Start date
Tim Ling
It's a million-to-1 chance, but it just might work
Yea, I'm changing my mind about this one a little bit based on new information. In fact, I hope to organize a league if the handling is right. As someone wisely pointed out, many series that appear in the game do not pit normally (GP3, WTCC, BTCC, and Sprint Races in Street Cars that support main events).
In addition, there is a pretty deep damage model, not only on your car but on the A.I. You can damage your car if you drive it improperly, for instance. Well, slap me silly! And the A.I. spin out and smoke like the rest of us.
Also, apparently the online play will be extremely versatile, allowing 40 minute races night or day, or up to 20 laps on any track in any car, with full control over what is allowed, etc.
If they manage to get the handling right (I think of F1 2014 or Race Pro), then the Codies flair (actually borrowing from Modders and Shift2 for the cockpit realism) combined with the potential to create a realistic series (sprints) is very exciting.
Tracks like Bathurst and Red Bull Ring are some we on xbox have never seen in a proper game. And if they dial back the pre-race fluff, that will be nice too. While there will be no flag system like in F1, that's certainly secondary to handling and immersion.
Quote from said link above: "The high res texture pack will be a free DLC released via Steam on Grid Autosport's release day"
From a really good article:
"GRID: Autosport is releasing on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 from June 27."
http://www.vg247.com/2014/05/07/gri...s-resulted-in-the-ultimate-codemasters-racer/
I hope that means they will let the game do the talking. Everything they talk about kind of revolves around handling. I bought GRID2 and it was a disaster. So if they do a 180, or even a 90 degree turn from that, it will be impressive. If they can somehow get the "drop off under-steer" problem gone (and they talk about realizing this in interviews) and keep the F1 handling, it will be an amazing game, especially considering each kind of car will be customized.
D
Deleted member 161052
-
Deleted member 161052
I wonder what a crash compilation (before the game releases) could look like?
On the trailer, I counted six different indicators on the right side (very subtle) that looked to indicate tire wear, ABS, traction loss, engine wear, and a couple of other things. Regarding the crashes themselves, if they are as detailed as GRID2, that would be a great start. I wonder what a bent suspension or tire would look like?
I know it's early and I know that last GRID (GRID2) was far from appealing, especially to league gamers like ourselves. However, I have been kicking around the idea of trying to generate interest in a Grid - Autosport league for three primary reasons:
1. It's the last hurrah for the 360 when it comes to tin tops and a multiple discipline platform. True, it could go all FUBAR, but there are many indications from Codemasters that they have meant this game to be a mea culpa of sorts. God knows they have the ability (as the popularity of F1 suggests) to create a great handling game. From there, other "wants" may tend to fall into place, much like Race Pro (only with much better graphics). Here is some posts, data, clippings, videos, quotes, etc. to point at what I am trying to say:
a. No pit stops, but flashbacks, which can be disabled. To be fair, the disciplines that we would form leagues around really do not pit...namely GP3 and Touring Car Series' such as WTCC, BTCC. Others do, though, like DTM and Aussie V8's, but we could live with the sprint races, I think?
b. Handling. To quote the Codies, "For GRID Autosport we’ve gone back to a more authentic handling style. It’s definitely not a full simulation – we want it to be authentic, not clinical – but it’s more towards that end of the spectrum than before. If anything, we believe the handling is actually one or two steps further towards simulation than Race Driver: GRID, to give you an idea." The have said if on a sliding scale 60% SIM 40% Arcade.
This was the big mistake in GRID2. So if they get this right, imagine all the fun we could have running, say, a Touring car series across several series' cars in sprint or semi-endurance format (day and night racing only....no rain).
c. Cars. WTCC Spec Touring Car; Formula 3; IndyCar; British Touring Cars, DTM; Street cars, such as the BMW M3, etc.
d. Tracks. Confirmed -- Hockenheim, Sepang, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, San Francisco, Jarama, Jerez, and Yas Marina. Speculated - Indianapolis Oval, Bathurst, Spa, Red Bull Ring, and Algarve.
Gameplay. "slipstreaming is present in all modes but in Open wheel it's more evident." "For qualifying you have x amount of time, set the fastest time. Bit like F1 in that regard." "All cars / all tracks on Custom Online with a few exceptions (can’t drive a drift car on a non drift route etc)" "Online, you can jump into what we call Custom Cup, that allows you to race with a vast amount of options, choose the discipline, track, car, AI, practice, qualifying, race length, difficulty settings, pretty much anything you’d need." "Re: AI --AI have been tuned to each discipline, so a Touring Car AI driver will race completely different to an Open Wheel driver, one a bit aggressive the other really disciplined and precise. Yes, AI can make mistakes, I’ve been in a race, making my way through the pack when I’ve suddenly had to swerve out of the way of an accident up ahead. Likewise I’ve come around a corner only to find a car sat in the gravel kicking up dust where he/she has spun off." "Practice is back" "Night racing is an option" "No weather effects"
Here are some videos from pre-alpha gameplay:
e. Damage Model. Your car can suffer damage not only by contact but with improper driving like over-revving and shifting at the wrong time, (primarily in manual gears), will cause the gearbox to accrue damage more quickly. AI also suffer mechanical damage on their own. Endurance races are 40 minutes, but you can also set a lap count, up to 20 I believe. Tire wear is back in endurance races. From preview videos I can make out HUD indicators for tire damage/wear, engine damage, traction control and ABS. You also have the ability to press a button and get feedback (others' positions, your status, etc.) from a race engineer. Two cockpit views with movement, much like shift2. Read more here: http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/the-damage-of-grid-autosport/
2. GRID: Autosport ("GAS") will have the ability to run on last gen platforms. I still use the xbox 360, and since pCars is a gonner, this is the next best hope for a true racing game that is not series specific.
3. Probably the most exciting yet ill defined and mysterious facet is the multiplayer experience. Apparently, it will be like no other before. Here are the two posts from the Codies so far:
http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/grid-autosport-online-racing-vehicle-progression/
http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/discipline-progression-game-modes/
What I find really interesting is how the cars that you "purchase" are treated like your baby and you earn "money" (and the right to improve them) as you use them in races. They also require maintenance, like a real car. Here are some relevant quotes:
Cars are not XP-locked in GRID Autosport, all you need is the in-game Cash to buy them, (you can earn in-game Cash by winning events, completing Sponsor objectives etc.). In the mean time, you can loan any car you want. This means that if your friend has bought a very expensive Hypercar, you’ll still be able to race with them by borrowing a car from the same class.
“So why would I ever want to buy a car?” I hear you ask; well, remember that only vehicles that you’ve bought can level-up and unlock Tuning Packs, Upgrades, repairs, cosmetic customisations and bonus rewards. You’ll be able to compete with a loaned car, but if you really want to stand out and have an edge over your opponents, you’ll need to buy one of your own.
Each car is a true individual with its own mileage, win/loss rate, and XP level. The more time you spend driving a particular car, the more its XP level increases, and the more Upgrades and Tuning Packs you’ll unlock for it. Not only that, but higher-level cars earn XP and Cash faster than lower-level ones. There are caveats, however. Careless drivers will find that their car doesn’t quite perform as well as it did in previous races if they keep smashing it up. Small fractions of damage will get carried over as Wear & Tear, which you’ll need to repair in order to keep your cars performing at peak condition. Higher mileage cars will accumulate Wear & Tear faster than factory-fresh ones, so players will need to make tactful decisions when it’s time to replace a car that is becoming too expensive to maintain.
Players who are new to racing will find the same range of Assists available in Multiplayer as in the rest of the game. You can enable Traction Control, Anti-Lock Braking, Stability Control, Steering Assists, and a Racing Line indicator. Again, each of these settings will affect your difficulty bonuses, and veteran players can crank it up even further by disabling their HUD, restricting their view to cockpit only, or using manual transmission. At the start of every Multiplayer race, you’ll have a brief period of time in the Service Area where you can tune, repair or upgrade your car, or review the Event Rules and Standings Tables. You’ll also see the “One to Watch”, a returning feature from past Codemasters’ titles. You might be chosen as the One to Watch if you’ve completed more clean races, achieved more podiums, or driven faster than all of your opponents, for example.
Online Custom Cup is the game mode where you get to have your cake and eat it. Here, you can configure an Event to exactly the way you like it, and the rewards will fit the difficulty options you choose. In GRID Autosport, you can even make a Custom Cup pay out more than a Playlist event if you make it tough enough! Here’s a breakdown of the things you can configure in a Custom Cup:
Online Custom Cup allows you to experiment and combine GRID Autosport’s content in new ways. If you want to race cars from the Street Discipline on regular circuits, you can do that here. Likewise, if you want to drive Open-Wheel vehicles around city circuits for example, that is also possible in Custom Cup. As the host of a Custom Cup, it’s up to you to make a fun racing experience for your fellow racers.
A few more things....
There will be penalties for corner cutting. You will have to get all four wheels off the road, but I think this letter or email explains it best:
Hi all,
We’re really flat out at the moment trying to close the game, so apologies for being a bit quiet in the last week. However, we couldn’t help notice the corner cutting thread, and wanted to give some more information on this, because I understand why it’s a concern.
We’ve made a lot of changes since GRID2, and only some of those were present in the announce code builds (from which the recent YouTube gameplay footage was taken). That announce code is 2-3 months old now, and the game has advanced a great deal since then.
We’re still balancing it now, but here’s a list of changes that have occurred:
Hope this is useful and interesting information, and I’m sure you’ll get to see this in action as and when we’re doing live streams further down the line.
-- James, Codemasters Handling Programmer
There will not be penalties for other infractions, like you see in F1. So, in essence, the biggest downside is that if you take damage and it is not your fault, you cannot pit to repair or expect the other guilty party to suffer a penalty. Although this is a major weakness, I think we all record races and we can get around this with a good team of stewards and some self-policing.
My idea is to create maybe two separate leagues. One for Touring Cars that races with different touring class cars (DTM, Aussie V8, WTCC, BTCC) on a few tracks that are appropriate to them (Bathurst!!!!!
) and so there you have it. Follow the general 2-3 race format for WTCC or BTCC and you have a series.
The other is to have an open wheel series. This will be a bit more complicated, but GP3 would be fairly straightforward. They run in sprint races too. IndyCar would not be as clear yet. I think they will have the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Oval track, but what other ovals or street courses they have is not clear. Of course, we could simple keep the GP3 format and incorporate the IndyCars too.
What I need now is feedback.
1. Who would be interested in doing this?
2. What are your thoughts -- ANY thoughts -- about the above?
3. What days and times would you be able to race in a league?
Thanks.
Robert
_______________________
Interested in League Play So Far (Any Platform):
1. Robert Waddell
2. Railer Cantrell
3. Matthew Booth
4. Peter Hooper
5. Tomaz Selcan
6.
1. It's the last hurrah for the 360 when it comes to tin tops and a multiple discipline platform. True, it could go all FUBAR, but there are many indications from Codemasters that they have meant this game to be a mea culpa of sorts. God knows they have the ability (as the popularity of F1 suggests) to create a great handling game. From there, other "wants" may tend to fall into place, much like Race Pro (only with much better graphics). Here is some posts, data, clippings, videos, quotes, etc. to point at what I am trying to say:
a. No pit stops, but flashbacks, which can be disabled. To be fair, the disciplines that we would form leagues around really do not pit...namely GP3 and Touring Car Series' such as WTCC, BTCC. Others do, though, like DTM and Aussie V8's, but we could live with the sprint races, I think?
b. Handling. To quote the Codies, "For GRID Autosport we’ve gone back to a more authentic handling style. It’s definitely not a full simulation – we want it to be authentic, not clinical – but it’s more towards that end of the spectrum than before. If anything, we believe the handling is actually one or two steps further towards simulation than Race Driver: GRID, to give you an idea." The have said if on a sliding scale 60% SIM 40% Arcade.
This was the big mistake in GRID2. So if they get this right, imagine all the fun we could have running, say, a Touring car series across several series' cars in sprint or semi-endurance format (day and night racing only....no rain).
c. Cars. WTCC Spec Touring Car; Formula 3; IndyCar; British Touring Cars, DTM; Street cars, such as the BMW M3, etc.
d. Tracks. Confirmed -- Hockenheim, Sepang, Circuit Mont-Tremblant, San Francisco, Jarama, Jerez, and Yas Marina. Speculated - Indianapolis Oval, Bathurst, Spa, Red Bull Ring, and Algarve.
Gameplay. "slipstreaming is present in all modes but in Open wheel it's more evident." "For qualifying you have x amount of time, set the fastest time. Bit like F1 in that regard." "All cars / all tracks on Custom Online with a few exceptions (can’t drive a drift car on a non drift route etc)" "Online, you can jump into what we call Custom Cup, that allows you to race with a vast amount of options, choose the discipline, track, car, AI, practice, qualifying, race length, difficulty settings, pretty much anything you’d need." "Re: AI --AI have been tuned to each discipline, so a Touring Car AI driver will race completely different to an Open Wheel driver, one a bit aggressive the other really disciplined and precise. Yes, AI can make mistakes, I’ve been in a race, making my way through the pack when I’ve suddenly had to swerve out of the way of an accident up ahead. Likewise I’ve come around a corner only to find a car sat in the gravel kicking up dust where he/she has spun off." "Practice is back" "Night racing is an option" "No weather effects"
Here are some videos from pre-alpha gameplay:
e. Damage Model. Your car can suffer damage not only by contact but with improper driving like over-revving and shifting at the wrong time, (primarily in manual gears), will cause the gearbox to accrue damage more quickly. AI also suffer mechanical damage on their own. Endurance races are 40 minutes, but you can also set a lap count, up to 20 I believe. Tire wear is back in endurance races. From preview videos I can make out HUD indicators for tire damage/wear, engine damage, traction control and ABS. You also have the ability to press a button and get feedback (others' positions, your status, etc.) from a race engineer. Two cockpit views with movement, much like shift2. Read more here: http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/the-damage-of-grid-autosport/
2. GRID: Autosport ("GAS") will have the ability to run on last gen platforms. I still use the xbox 360, and since pCars is a gonner, this is the next best hope for a true racing game that is not series specific.
3. Probably the most exciting yet ill defined and mysterious facet is the multiplayer experience. Apparently, it will be like no other before. Here are the two posts from the Codies so far:
http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/grid-autosport-online-racing-vehicle-progression/
http://blog.codemasters.com/grid/05/discipline-progression-game-modes/
What I find really interesting is how the cars that you "purchase" are treated like your baby and you earn "money" (and the right to improve them) as you use them in races. They also require maintenance, like a real car. Here are some relevant quotes:
Cars are not XP-locked in GRID Autosport, all you need is the in-game Cash to buy them, (you can earn in-game Cash by winning events, completing Sponsor objectives etc.). In the mean time, you can loan any car you want. This means that if your friend has bought a very expensive Hypercar, you’ll still be able to race with them by borrowing a car from the same class.
“So why would I ever want to buy a car?” I hear you ask; well, remember that only vehicles that you’ve bought can level-up and unlock Tuning Packs, Upgrades, repairs, cosmetic customisations and bonus rewards. You’ll be able to compete with a loaned car, but if you really want to stand out and have an edge over your opponents, you’ll need to buy one of your own.
Each car is a true individual with its own mileage, win/loss rate, and XP level. The more time you spend driving a particular car, the more its XP level increases, and the more Upgrades and Tuning Packs you’ll unlock for it. Not only that, but higher-level cars earn XP and Cash faster than lower-level ones. There are caveats, however. Careless drivers will find that their car doesn’t quite perform as well as it did in previous races if they keep smashing it up. Small fractions of damage will get carried over as Wear & Tear, which you’ll need to repair in order to keep your cars performing at peak condition. Higher mileage cars will accumulate Wear & Tear faster than factory-fresh ones, so players will need to make tactful decisions when it’s time to replace a car that is becoming too expensive to maintain.
Players who are new to racing will find the same range of Assists available in Multiplayer as in the rest of the game. You can enable Traction Control, Anti-Lock Braking, Stability Control, Steering Assists, and a Racing Line indicator. Again, each of these settings will affect your difficulty bonuses, and veteran players can crank it up even further by disabling their HUD, restricting their view to cockpit only, or using manual transmission. At the start of every Multiplayer race, you’ll have a brief period of time in the Service Area where you can tune, repair or upgrade your car, or review the Event Rules and Standings Tables. You’ll also see the “One to Watch”, a returning feature from past Codemasters’ titles. You might be chosen as the One to Watch if you’ve completed more clean races, achieved more podiums, or driven faster than all of your opponents, for example.
Online Custom Cup is the game mode where you get to have your cake and eat it. Here, you can configure an Event to exactly the way you like it, and the rewards will fit the difficulty options you choose. In GRID Autosport, you can even make a Custom Cup pay out more than a Playlist event if you make it tough enough! Here’s a breakdown of the things you can configure in a Custom Cup:
- Discipline – pick your favourite style of racing.
- Vehicle Class – the type of vehicles you want to drive.
- Race Type – the available Race Types will depend on what Discipline and Vehicles you’ve picked.
- Number of Events – create a mini-championship up to five Events long.
- AI – choose whether or not to add AI opponents to the session, which will fill any available slots on the grid. The difficulty of the AI can be changed as well.
- Tracks – choose the track, route, lighting conditions and race length for each Event.
- Upgrades, Tuning and Assists – can be disabled individually to level the playing field.
- Manual Only – turn this on if you want everyone to use manual transmission.
- Cockpit Cam Only – can be enabled for an ultra-hardcore experience.
- Pre- and Post-race timers – can be made longer or shorter to suit your preferences.
- Collisions – can be turned off if you don’t want vehicles to collide with each other.
- Grid Order – provides a range of options for how you want the grid to be ordered at the start of each race.
- Damage – can be set to Full or Visual Only. In Visual Only, your car will still crumple in a crash, but it won’t develop any mechanical defects.
- Flashbacks – the number of Online Flashbacks that are allowed per race can be set here.
Online Custom Cup allows you to experiment and combine GRID Autosport’s content in new ways. If you want to race cars from the Street Discipline on regular circuits, you can do that here. Likewise, if you want to drive Open-Wheel vehicles around city circuits for example, that is also possible in Custom Cup. As the host of a Custom Cup, it’s up to you to make a fun racing experience for your fellow racers.
A few more things....
There will be penalties for corner cutting. You will have to get all four wheels off the road, but I think this letter or email explains it best:
Hi all,
We’re really flat out at the moment trying to close the game, so apologies for being a bit quiet in the last week. However, we couldn’t help notice the corner cutting thread, and wanted to give some more information on this, because I understand why it’s a concern.
We’ve made a lot of changes since GRID2, and only some of those were present in the announce code builds (from which the recent YouTube gameplay footage was taken). That announce code is 2-3 months old now, and the game has advanced a great deal since then.
We’re still balancing it now, but here’s a list of changes that have occurred:
- You now need to have all 4 wheels across the white line to incur a penalty. We’ve fixed this since the announce build was created
- You only incur a penalty if you’ve gained an advantage for going off track. If you re-join the track no better off than driving at full speed on the driving line, you won’t get a penalty.
- The penalty is proportionate to the amount of advantage gained, so tiny, accidental cuts of the white lines will only slow you down a little before you get up to full power
- The off track surfaces are much more realistic than they were in GRID2, where you could pretty much hold full speed even off road. In Autosport, you’ve got a realistic amount of grip and slowdown on grass, gravel etc, which makes it pretty tricky to drive off road and gain an advantage
- In multiplayer, we ghost players who have incurred a penalty, so they can’t block you
Hope this is useful and interesting information, and I’m sure you’ll get to see this in action as and when we’re doing live streams further down the line.
-- James, Codemasters Handling Programmer
There will not be penalties for other infractions, like you see in F1. So, in essence, the biggest downside is that if you take damage and it is not your fault, you cannot pit to repair or expect the other guilty party to suffer a penalty. Although this is a major weakness, I think we all record races and we can get around this with a good team of stewards and some self-policing.
My idea is to create maybe two separate leagues. One for Touring Cars that races with different touring class cars (DTM, Aussie V8, WTCC, BTCC) on a few tracks that are appropriate to them (Bathurst!!!!!
) and so there you have it. Follow the general 2-3 race format for WTCC or BTCC and you have a series.The other is to have an open wheel series. This will be a bit more complicated, but GP3 would be fairly straightforward. They run in sprint races too. IndyCar would not be as clear yet. I think they will have the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Oval track, but what other ovals or street courses they have is not clear. Of course, we could simple keep the GP3 format and incorporate the IndyCars too.
What I need now is feedback.
1. Who would be interested in doing this?
2. What are your thoughts -- ANY thoughts -- about the above?
3. What days and times would you be able to race in a league?
Thanks.
Robert
_______________________
Interested in League Play So Far (Any Platform):
1. Robert Waddell
2. Railer Cantrell
3. Matthew Booth
4. Peter Hooper
5. Tomaz Selcan
6.
Last edited:
1. Yes yes yes for any touring series. I don't know how the cars will be in different series, but wtcc is my favourite for now.
2. I was huge fan of race driver grid, hundreds of hours with touring cars. I really liked simplicity of handling model and graphics were really good. When Grid 2 came out i was hopping for upgrade of Grid 1, well it was..in wrong way. I liked grid1 because i didn't need to plug my steering wheel in my pc to play it, it was best keyboard racing game ever and hope that grid autosport will be the same, just little less sliding I love sims, but i think that this kind of game is for relaxation and when you are to lazy to play anything serious.
Soo i really hope that this game will be upgraded Grid 1, with more content and better online system and more fun drift handling.
3. Almost every day after 6pm CET. Saturday is most critical but could probably make it.
2. I was huge fan of race driver grid, hundreds of hours with touring cars. I really liked simplicity of handling model and graphics were really good. When Grid 2 came out i was hopping for upgrade of Grid 1, well it was..in wrong way. I liked grid1 because i didn't need to plug my steering wheel in my pc to play it, it was best keyboard racing game ever and hope that grid autosport will be the same, just little less sliding
I love sims, but i think that this kind of game is for relaxation and when you are to lazy to play anything serious.Soo i really hope that this game will be upgraded Grid 1, with more content and better online system and more fun drift handling.
3. Almost every day after 6pm CET. Saturday is most critical but could probably make it.
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