I'm looking forward to the new game as well. Apparently this current platform can't support any new adjustments to the points system or physics of the car i.e. Trackbar adjustments. I deal with this stuff on a daily basis though. In my work, people buy 80k X-ray systems but you can update the firmware so much before you have to replace it. To me the 2017 Car set is a colorful bandaid to hold us over until the new game with all the promised content comes out. What I don't want is them to rush out a product that is as unfinished and unpolished as this last release. Deadlines from investors have been the downfall of many games and I hope they take their time.
I guess I have turned from one of this game's biggest critics (having not played it
) to one of its biggest fans. Although I have not played online, and I know many negatives are associated therewith, the core functions of a game (for me) are there. And by "core" I mean to that particular racing series. The road feel, connection to the track, ability to feel yaw in the car, and genuine sense of tire model put the physics of this (mind you it's an oval and so less dynamic is required) on par with pCARS. In fact, I think the cars in HEAT feel better than the stock cars in pCARS, even on a road course. So that's 60% of a game right there. Other surprises included the rich tuning system (I know there are flaws, but it's there and works to a large degree), the excellent flag system, only rivaled by F1 in my opinion, and the exquisite feel you get being able to control, yet simultaneously piss your pants, while running in the pack at Daytona. It's a feeling that cannot be replicated by any other game. Forza does not come close. So, on the XBO, I'm giving it a 7 only because its potential is there, but untapped.
Even online, you can do things like call mandatory cautions with mandatory pit stops for cars that cause another to go sideways or you have contact with the wall, etc. In fact, it would probably run smoother than all the silly competition cautions.
What really shocked me was the feeling I got while in the pack. It's scary as hell, but controllable. I didn't say I could, but I'm getting there. It's just such a different form of racing that (Mike I agree) not as many worldwide understand. Tracks that look identical can sometimes be entirely different in racing line approach. Anyway, you get the picture.
Paul, as for your main article, thanks for the update. I agree with you 100% -- I'd bet my bottom dollar that NASCAR has almost nothing to do with the delights of this game, besides investment. The "skins" that they are selling smack of arcade gimmicks and I wish the dev would quit the charade. But like Michael said, this is being driven by NASCAR. And it's one of the reasons the sport has seen an ugly plummet in popularity here. But the *essence* of what it is, should never be underestimated.
