NASCAR Heat 4

[Birddogg66]

Nice ideas @Birddogg66. But I think this developer is going to stick with the main 4 series in NH4. All the items in the game are licensed and may be hard to do other series without legal rights. Who knows in the future they may surprise us. I would also like to see more tracks added to the game since the game cant be modded that I know of. The tracks they have for NH4 are done very well, at least for me, I am not that fussy. Also would be nice if we could reduce the number of cars to race against in quick race mode, instead of complete Nascar field of 43-44 cars all the time.

you make a point nascar no longer has 43 car fields allowing less experienced lower funded teams to jump in any given week and lowering the overall quality of the sanctioning body.

 

[kmanitou]

I contacted them last year and they said they were not going to update anything like that, maybe next time? I think Unity is not as moddable as other engines, unfortunately. If they don't do the work, no one else can.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

The next instalment of the NASCAR Heat franchise has been officially announced - with release scheduled for this July 7th on both console and PC.

Featuring the full line-up of cars, teams and drivers from the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series, as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, as well as the return of the fantasy Xtreme Dirt Series category, 704Games once again hold the rights for the official NASCAR series videogame licence.

You can check out the announcement trailer below:

From the announcement press release:

Developed in-house at 704Games NASCAR Heat 5 will be published by Motorsport Games, the video game company dedicated to the integration of racing game development and esports. The game features all the official teams, cars and drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series™, NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™, and Xtreme Dirt Series. Race at 34 authentic tracks from across North America in single player, two-player split screen multiplayer, and online multiplayer for up to 40 players.

Motorsport Games has also announced that the Gold Edition of NASCAR Heat 5, available for pre-order now, will sport exclusive content featuring Tony Stewart. This will include the ability to have the NASCAR Hall of Famer as your in-game spotter, an exclusive Career contract offer from Stewart-Haas Racing, classic Tony Stewart paint schemes, the NASCAR Heat 5 Season Pass (containing four DLC packs) and in-game cash to kick-start your own team.

NASCAR Heat 5 is the definitive NASCAR video game experience, building on the foundations of the previous games with a host of gameplay additions and enhancements. The immersive Career Mode, now with improved statistics, lets you either work your way through the various series until you reach the NASCAR Cup Series, or start at the top for your favorite team. Meanwhile, the new Testing Mode allows you to perfect your car set-up for every track and hone your racing line.

With online racing support for up to 40 players, NASCAR Heat 5 is perfect for esports. The official eNASCAR Heat Pro League will race with NASCAR Heat 5 later this year.

NASCAR Heat 5 Key Features:

• Career Mode – Progress through the feeder series (Xtreme Dirt, Gander Trucks and Xfinity Series) to reach the NASCAR Cup Series or jump right in and start at the top.
• Improved Stats – Track your progress through the Career with more detailed and improved statistics offering far more insight.
• Gameplay Enhancements – Improved AI, more player camera options and DNFs.
• Brand-new Testing Mode – Perfect your racing lines and experiment to find the best car setup for each track.
• Challenge Mode – Brand-new Online Challenge Mode gives you unique race scenarios to complete with a variety of gameplay.
• Official Tracks – 34 officially licensed tracks for you to race on across the various series, including Daytona International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, plus five fictional dirt tracks.
• Multiplayer – Race online with up to 40 players or enjoy local split-screen multiplayer with a friend.
• Esports Support – Take part in the eNASCAR Heat Pro League qualifiers for a chance to race for a real-life NASCAR team.
• Exclusive Content – Tony Stewart Gold Edition features an exclusive selection of his cars and spotter audio.
• Paint Booth – Even more enhancements, including new number fonts and schemes.

Nascar Heat 5 will release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC this July 7th (Gold Edition) and July 10th (Standard Edition).

Stay tuned to RaceDepartment for the upcoming Nascar Heat 5 sub forum, a great place to discuss the game, share handy hints and tips, and generally engage with the sim racing community - coming soon!

 

[CC]

 

[michelforest]

Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record... I would buy this if it featured:

-Realistic crashes and damage;
-The possibility of saving races in progress (like Codemaster's F1);
-Good reviews.

Sorry for writing the same thing I wrote in 2019, 2018, 2017...

 

[Jonathan Young]

I'd quite like an oval racing sim. I know iRacing does this really well, but I don't really want to sign up just for that (as I don't like their road racing content much, the FFB and tyre model doesn't really work for me). Shame that this is almost certainly going to be as mediocre as the last one..

 

[Nick Hill]

I got around to trying Heat 4 - it was ok. If you are a NASCAR superfan, it's probably worth a look. Sort of like F1 2019 for NASCAR (though I think F1 2019 looks and drives a lot better than Heat 4).

I thought it drove decently with a wheel. Felt somewhat Forza-ish to me in terms of "simulation value". Somewhat "canned" feeling - "warning, your car is sliding...you have corrected the slide, nice work!" - but driveable. It was kind of fun trying some of the road courses (of which there is a nicer/deeper selection than I expected - I thought it would probably just be Sonoma plus Charlotte roval, but you've also got Mid Ohio, Watkins Glen, and maybe one or 2 others that I can't remember), but I found the oval driving a bit stale. I'm sure it could still be fun racing wheel to wheel, executing on strategy, etc, but it didn't grab my attention (or particularly challenge me) as a pure driving experience. If you want to really experience what it's like to push a stock car to the ragged edge on an oval, I think your best bet is still iRacing or firing up NR2003. If I'm dying for some oval career mode action, I'll go back for more Dirt to Daytona.

 

[Trebor901]

Bought 4 a couple of weeks back for £3 and then had to fiddle around loads with fps limiting and stuff to eradicate some awful AA effects. Its enjoyable enough to play with a controller once you've fiddled with that and set it up as a wheel so the sensitivity works right.

Going from the screenshots on steam of NH5 it looks like they've sorted the graphics issues with this version. Unless of course the screenshots are from console version.

 

[Brendan24]

Improved AI and DNF's are the only things that really catch my eye. I'll be waiting for reviews for sure though, especially now that I'm starting to be able to get my NASCAR AI racing fix from iRacing which already doesn't have far to go to be a much, much better experience than Heat 4

 

[M D Gourley]

now that I'm starting to be able to get my NASCAR AI racing fix from iRacing

Absolutely agree on that point....was already indebted to iRacing for 8 years, so the Oval AI is all I need to get my fix. I did purchase one of these 'Heat' games years ago and it did fill the gap until the updates started to ruined the wheel experience....will probably pass on this

 

[gamer19]

Looking at these comments one has to wonder is
he in iRacing or NASCAR Heat section of forum...

 

[Trebor901]

Looking at these comments one has to wonder is
he in iRacing or NASCAR Heat section of forum...

Think the same with mosts posts on here these days....always turns to iracing.....

 

[RKip455]

Folks give Milestone a hard time.... Nascar Heat has been the Classic... "Re-Skin ... Re-Lease"

 

[roadyroad]

I was posotively surprised by NH4, having tried the awful NH2 before. The major drawback is not having a training / hotlaping mod, and it''s going to be fixed in NH5 ; if this is the only improvement, with the graphics, it won't be enough to get my interest.though.

 

[Dave Thayer]

Thanks for the info about NH5, but I will wait for release reviews on the game play. I have both NH2 & NH4 but are not my main racing game to spend my time with. I am spoiled with other past racing games having better realistic caution pitting where you actually do the pit stops, pace laps, etc. And no it is not a waste of time, it is part of the real racing. If they would add racing real features or options like NR2003 did, Iracing does, or even Rfactor2 has some good features. I am not going to get into VR, cause I know they wont provide it - I use Vorpx with NH4. NH4 is not bad but it could of been better for realistic racing. So I will wait and see what NH5 has to offer after release. take care.

 

[Matt Y]

Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record... I would buy this if it featured:

-Realistic crashes and damage;
-The possibility of saving races in progress (like Codemaster's F1);
-Good reviews.

Sorry for writing the same thing I wrote in 2019, 2018, 2017...

This.

Monster games made Dirt to Daytona and that had much more advanced damage.

 

[TheGrunt]

Improved AI and DNF's are the only things that really catch my eye. I'll be waiting for reviews for sure though, especially now that I'm starting to be able to get my NASCAR AI racing fix from iRacing which already doesn't have far to go to be a much, much better experience than Heat 4

For AI oval racing why not to install NR2003?
1. Install game
2. Download and Install 1.2.0.1 patch, nocd, dx8todx9, nrcamhack and optionally reShade
3. Download and install all the amazing mods you like and optionally JSGME
4. Race
5. ??????
6. Profit!!!!!!

It is still really good in vanilla form, but with mods it is especially an amazing game: both current and historic series and tracks, different classes (ARCA, modifieds etc.), sound packs etc.

 

[Navigator]

You can see how "good" this game is on what the real drivers use to play online........

 

[BrettSinclair1]

For AI oval racing why not to install NR2003?
1. Install game
2. Download and Install 1.2.0.1 patch, nocd, dx8todx9, nrcamhack and optionally reShade
3. Download and install all the amazing mods you like and optionally JSGME
4. Race
5. ??????
6. Profit!!!!!!

It is still really good in vanilla form, but with mods it is especially an amazing game: both current and historic series and tracks, different classes (ARCA, modifieds etc.), sound packs etc.

It's main issue, tyres lacking a real slip curve which makes these cars incredibly hard to catch, is still prevalent in iracing (as pointed out by Bowyer). It really is an all-time classic.

 

[deadsilence001]

I’m italian and oval racing is not popular here, btw I’ve decided to try NH4. I have to say it’s a really fun experience! Despite not being a simulator, I do love the thrill of racing side by side and making smart pit stop decisions over long races.

Anyway, this game is far from perfect really, there are some things to be implemented/fixed in this new edition:
- AI consistency - I’m behind the pack on a track, I smoke opponents in the following one (Road Courses for example)
- Manual Pitstops and control of the car during cautions!!
- More wheel settings for FFB
- Performance Issues, like microstutterings
- Camera Settings - we need FOV, the possibility to Hide the Steering Wheel and more.

If they fix at least AI performances and camera option then I’ll buy NH5 without a doubt. I hope 704Games will not cash-grab on this one and make a good effort