F1 2017 Have Your Say: The New F1 2017 Game - Good, Bad or Indifferent?

[Paul Jeffrey]

For this edition of our 'Have Your Say' feature of articles we want to know your thoughts on F1 2017, the latest Codemasters official Formula One game.

Released to much fanfare throughout the racing game world, F1 2017 finally hit the store shelves on Friday morning for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, however has the game lived up to the hype, or does it promise more than it can ultimately deliver?

Formula One games have found themselves something of a nice little spot in the racing game marketplace these past few years. It is not quite a fully blown simulation that appeals to a minority within a minority, nor is it totally arcade with fantasy physics calculations. After eight years with the official license, have Codemasters finally found the sweet spot between simulation and mass market appeal?

The question for today is a bit more open than usual, but hopefully generates plenty of debate amongst us sim racing fans:

What is your opinion of the new Codemasters F1 game, and is it any good?

Please stay respectful and constructive in the comments (as we always say..) and let the debate begin!

 

[Nick Milton]

No proper anti-aliasing, no mouse support? I guess I'll have to pass on them lazy physics once again.

Still no mouse control, do you mean in the UI interface?

 

[Patrik Marek]

hmmm.. wasn't really sure if I should be getting this one, since I haven't even finished one full season in 2016, but it sounds like the updates are quite good

perhaps once it's on sale I might pick it up

 

[SinAporia]

No VR...

Pls don't go there as well.. we got enough of that in the discussion section on steam. Not everyone need VR and i got VR. Maybe it would be better with it, but thank god codemasters focused on something more important than vr and that is the actual game. I was worried we go back to something like 2015...


So and now for the game. I really love the game. The engine wear issue in terms of scaling like for 25% races needs to be work on but besides from that, its really good. AI battle each other even on lower difficult which was a pain in back in 2016.
Handeling model is great, and i can't get enough of f1 2017. And of course i'm looking forward for the modding - but now i continue playing.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Surely this could be fixed by creating a Nvidia profile in the inspector program? Anyone who owns Automobolista has to do this, it's quite simple and overrides the programs AA settings

Yes but in AAA high budget game it seems weird.

The AA was quite bad tbh, when maximized from options... overall the game looks like my screen is covered in vaseline, but then the trees and such look very jagged and badly aliased. Had the settings on recommended (Ultra).

Also didn't like the FFB, maybe I'm spoiled by Automobilista and Assetto Corsa. Refunded, sadly And yes lack of mouse support in the UI is really dumb in a PC game. Especially when the menus are quite lengthy and with various options, and I can't use mouse to change them, wtf....

 

[Chobonator]

Surely this could be fixed by creating a Nvidia profile in the inspector program?

AMD's Super Virtual Resolution doesn't work on Ultrawide. :/

Still no mouse control, do you mean in the UI interface?

Yes.

overall the game looks like my screen is covered in vaseline

I bought 2015 and couldn't play it because of that. Apparently, the only solution is to apply downsampling somehow or to play at a higher resolution.

 

[69Harder]

Real F1 ended about 2 decades ago !

 

[destinationriver]

At the moment I have mixed feelings. Sure there are many, many improvements. The classic cars are awesome, the expanded career mode is very nice! But on the other side, it doesn't run as stable and smoothly at the moment. Racing online is just horrible, while the game sometimes freezes and crashes. like a Maldonado.
Also the performance is very bad.

 

[Nick Milton]

AMD's Super Virtual Resolution doesn't work on Ultrawide. :/


Yes.


I bought 2015 and couldn't play it because of that. Apparently, the only solution is to apply downsampling somehow or to play at a higher resolution.

Agree , no mouse in UI is so frustrating, to me anyway, it put me off 2016 to make me hide it in steam, didn't even want to see the game

 

[Joakim Stensnæs]

I've run for 90 minutes and I can say that I'm pleasently surprised. To me the FFB feels DRASTICLY different. Last years game I did not have feel at all for the car, this year is very different. It's never going to be rfactor 2, but it's enough that you know what the car is doing and can predict and act accordingly.. Atleast that's the case at the Melbourne GP. Havn't run any other race as I'm waiting for a refund so I can activate a code at half price

This will def be a game for me this year to run when I can't be bothered training for the leagues I'm running in rF2

Cheers Codies, for not being terrible this time around.

 

[Joakim Stensnæs]

Real F1 ended about 2 decades ago !

I'm glad on you're behalf that you got that off of your chest mate. Good on ya'!

 

[Darius Ramoz]

Can anyone tell me if this game features the "Override Input" function from F1 2014?

I hate playing the F1 series on my wheel due to the handling and FFB, and "emulating" a steering wheel on the DS4 controller was a beauty back in F1 2014, never saw that feature again on following games...

 

[Nick Hill]

I've already purchased and returned.

It's not bad by any stretch - far from it. If you are an F1 die hard, you just simply cannot find this feature set (or anything even close to it) anywhere else - every car, every driver, every track, weather, super deep career mode, all the rules (practice sessions, qualy, SC, VSC, on and on), somewhat believable but fun mini games to keep you entertained during practice and engaged with the car development progress, etc. On top of all that, the game looks really great (and seems to be really well optimized) and there was nothing about the car physics themselves that really drove me nuts (i.e. no obscene levels of under/oversteer, over the top wheel spin, etc). I think for the right kind of player, this would be an excellent purchase that I could see someone playing very intensely until F1 2018 comes.

All that said, the key phrase I just used was "for the right kind of player"...I really don't believe I am that kind of player. You won't get me to say the physics/FFB aren't any good - I think they are more than passable (even good) for a simcade style game. But, for someone like me who really identifies as a "sim racer", they just left me feeling like something is missing. I personally find lapping in R3E's X17 and Automobilista's F-Ultimate way, way more rewarding. Relative to those games, the physics/FFB in F1 2017 feel like they are missing something...just a little "numb", I guess. The same oneness with the car is just not there for me, so I know I will never get my money's worth out of the game...hence, refund.

Now, looking to head off trouble/hurt feelings, please note what I did *not* say is "if you are a sim racer, you will hate this game" or "if you like this game you aren't a sim racer" or anything of the sort. I love that there is a diversity of racing games that all do different things really well...don't let me get in your way - please play what you enjoy and have a blast. It's just that my personal preferences as a "sim racer" are at odds with me being a regular player of F1 2017. I really did not anticipate taking the plunge on it until maybe next years summer sale, but I read so many reviews that seemed to imply that this year's edition was a significant departure from previous years titles from a physics/FFB standpoint, I had to try it. To me, it still feels very much like a F1 201* game to me...probably Codies best feeling F1 201* yet, but still not enough for me to sink hours into.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Chobonator]

I personally find lapping in R3E's X17 way more rewarding.

All the F1 talk made me try this today and I just had to buy it. It feels direct, but not too snappy, even if you loosen the differential. But some people prefer the official whole circus, so that won't be good for them. If the core feel is off, I can't get excited about all the content and features.

 

[Vitor M Sousa]

I got to say this is a thrilling game.

To me is the best racing game in single player.
It's on a level of immersion you can't find anywhere else.
All the rules from F1, the minigames that help you build a strategy for the race, all the micro management you have to do.
The management is awsome. In race 1 I found my self around 6 to 7 seconds behind kvyat and on similar pace. Tried to push a bit and decided it was better to back off in order to not push the car so much because of next raced. Eventually safety car in and last couple of laps was me full on attack on him but still unable to pass him.

It's just too good the entire experience. It's not the most hard-core physics but it's the most immersive overall.

Edit: I forgot. Love the pit radio function. Another great little thing that makes you feel immersed

 

[Jake Fangio]

I love true sims,I have them all bar Iracing. I also love watching F1. In my eyes this is a great game if you love F1. Its never going to have the true sim feel,but its close considering it has to appeal to the casual gamer. The best F1 game ever imo.

 

[Coffer]

Could be better. Could also be way worse.

The cars feel somewhat off to me right now. I never expected to like them in the first place seeing as I see the added downforce and general grip as being something that lowers the skill ceiling, but the grip feels all over the place right now for most cars, as does the downforce. The Formula Ultimates so far seem to be far better balanced and have better feedback and response. In a lot of ways, the FFB has gotten more dull and now has too much noise relative to the actual important information that you need to process, which is a disappointing downgrade from 2016. There are also a number of issues that desperately need fixing, like the qualifying magic AI lap bug and a number of MP crashes.

The classic cars are largely good, but there are far too many 2002-2007 cars with traction control and the fact that no two cars are from the same season completely ruins any semblance of balance. And no, having what basically amounts to a spec series isn't the answer.

Barring that, it's a good game, and seeing as I much prefer playing an all-around complete game rather than a sim, I'll most likely still be playing this more than any pure sim. Plus, if my friends enjoy it, then that's good enough for me.

 

[leseb64]

Indifferent

 

[Cote Dazur]

Was just thinking this morning how lucky those who like and buy F1 from codemaster every year really are that the season changes only every year not every 6 month or they would have to buy the same game over and over every 6 month. Good for them.

 

[Vitor M Sousa]

What I find amusing is the time people spend commenting on a game they clearly don't care about, just to put it down.

Don't know why they loose time doing it. Do they feel better this way??

 

[Chobonator]

What I find amusing is the time people spend commenting on a game they clearly don't care about, just to put it down.

Don't know why they loose time doing it. Do they feel better this way??

They probably don't feel as good as those who are lying to themselves to justify their purchase.