PC2 Project CARS 2 Update 4 Released!

Paul Jeffrey · Feb 9, 2018

Slightly Mad Studios have released a massive new update for Project CARS 2 on PC, with console to follow in the very near future.

So big is the new update changelog I've had to span it over 2 posts to ensure I don't break the 2500 world limit for a post! So with a premium on the number of words I've got left, I'll just skip right along to the change log below:

PC

Solved link to Facebook page when user selects the Facebook option on the Extras tab whilst Microsoft Edge is set as default browser on PC.
Corrected multiple options in Photo Mode not being reflected when playing in VR.
Solved VR flicker.
Dedicated Server: corrected session duration automatically changing to 140 minutes when the player sets the time to more than 140 minutes.
Dedicated Server: improved client and server code that uses older net API, allowing for more reliable connections.
Changed the default drawing distance when playing in VR to minimize intermittent texture flickering.
Improvements to droplets on camera in both VR and non-VR.
Corrected an issue in VR where driving lines would disappear if camera view was changed during race.
Solved an issue where Dedicated Server lobby weather conditions would always display as ‘clear’.
Corrected an issue where Dedicated Server lobby vehicle images weren’t updated correctly during multiclass selection.
Corrected an issue in post-race results where the mouse would not switch between the Driver List and footer menu.
Improved an Online Lobby issue where players were able to select a vehicle before info was fully set.
Refined incorrect message 'Multiple inputs were detected. No action was assigned' when player presses Esc key and message 'Please assign a new configuration' is displayed.
Polished the missing background for ‘return to position’ messages in VR.
Stability improvement for when a user would join an in-progress session.
Corrected AI behaving erratically leading to a crash to desktop.
Corrected an issue in VR handling two screen systems to ensure that they are both treated separately, allowing either to be the default.
Resolved a save fail if ‘my documents’ folder is set to a network location.

User Interface

Corrected an inconsistency between info on the Track Select screen and the Loading screen.
Refined the Online Browser filter not closing properly.
Fixed the Password Protected Lobby icon that was missing on the Lobby Details screen.
Improvements to Career Dashboard Standings UI.
Corrected some display unit values not changing when switching between metric and imperial units.
Stability improvement where the game would become unresponsive when attempting to save a setup with no description.
Solved incorrect message when entering an invalid password.
Solved Career nationality not defaulting to console / Steam user's location.
Improved Session and Race settings not updating in Online Championship rounds if the user applies a Motorsport Preset, thereby adding a round to the schedule.
Corrected options under Realism Settings in Online Lobbies not displaying correctly and being inaccessible to Host after accessing the Realism Settings from the Online Lobby.
Added name of tyres on the car within the pre-race menu.
Improved language translations throughout the game.
Added message for when ‘ghosts’ and times are not uploaded due to invalid car-and-track combinations.
Resolved 'Pedal Type' and 'Calibrate Wheel' disappearing if the user clicks on the scroll bar of the Control Scheme from the Pause screen.
Fixed 'Rules & Regulations' and 'Esports' settings being altered if user selected 'Reset to Default' in the 'Realism Settings'.
Solved car classes disappearing in Vehicle Select screen of Online Lobbies when changing vehicles in multiclass lobbies.
Resolved changes of Helmet Camera settings not saving properly via the Pause Menu Options.
Corrected setup descriptions not fully appearing if too long.
Removed green screen appearing for a second when skipping the Career path intro movie.
Removed a copy of the 'Won Group A Pan-America Championship' accolade.
Fix for an issue where the pit strategies full message would not appear when trying to save a pit strategy with no available slots.
Fixed the 'Edit Driver' screen overlapping the Showroom when in Vehicle Select of Online Championships.
Added a notification for the lobby admin/host when a player rejects Director or Broadcaster roles.
Polished a mismatch of results on Sessions Result screen and Retire screen.
Adjusted location of important penalty messages on the HUD, and enabled them even when the HUD is Off.
Corrected long team names not appearing correctly in Online Championships.
Fix for correctly displaying the finishing status of players and AI that do not finish the race or retire early.
Resolved opponent cars flicking if they retire from an Online Championship on the Pre-Race screen.
Corrected an issue where user was unable to see which setup was being selected in Tuning Setups with HDR Enabled.
Refined Online Championships showing previously-assigned team names in new sessions .
Improved progress bars in Pedal Calibration to more accurately represent pedal input.
Corrected overlapping text issue in Pit Strategy.
Corrected image for Fanatec Porsche GT3 RS wheel in Controller Settings.
Resolved lobby details not showing all classes in multiclass Dedicated Server lobbies.
Added help text for Menu Spring Strength.
Removed Damper Saturation option.
Corrected an issue where changing track would not remove invalid weather.
Improved an issue where the game would only allow for 250 laps when the player set more than 250 laps in Race Settings.
Resolved debug text appearing in S1, S2, and S3 columns of the In-Progress screen when the player selects 'Retire and Spectate'.
Refined the pit stop time being estimated incorrectly when setting 'Change Tyres' to 'Recommended' on certain cars.
Fixed Manufacturer Events showing incorrect progress for unlocked manufacturers when creating a new career.
Fixed the number of pit stops not being displayed correctly in Post-Race Results screen.
Resolved the Player not being able to determine their grid position when using the IndyCar Motorsport Preset.
Fixed conversion when displaying rev limit in tuning setups.
Corrected the 'Restart Session' button being highlighted by default instead of 'Continue' on Session Results screens.
Corrected pit stop progress information not showing in the pit stop cinematic cameras when entering the pits in the telemetry HUD.
Changed Rear View Mirror to disable dynamic scaling.
Enabled Enhanced Mirror when 'Enhanced Visuals' option is selected.
Resolved incorrect ordering after altering the Standings in Online Championships.
Added active Motorsport Presets to View Info and Edit screens in Online Championships.
Resolved changes not being reflected when re-editing a Created Event.
Corrected an issue where the game would incorrectly round up player's time on HUD and Results screen.
Fixed an issue where player would sustain damage in the pit lane, but it would not appear on the HUD damage element.
Corrected an issue where no data would be displayed when loading a default setup after previously overwriting it.
Resolved 4th position missing in Standings Panel when on the grid during countdown sequence.
Resolved 'Create New Pit Strategy' option remaining enabled when all pit strategy slots were filled.
Fix for Team tab being disabled on Round Results screen of Online Championship.
Corrected Status/Session info in Replays not correctly updating when switching drivers.
Fixed Director and Broadcaster screens not showing all participants data in Online Championships.
Fixed the Circuit of the Americas National circuit appearing when Daytona International Speedway Tri-Oval was selected in Online Championships.
Added a central cockpit camera to cars and the options screen.
Stability improvement when a player selected the 'Compare Driver Network Profile' option from Team Roster of Online Championships, after adding a Director or Broadcaster.
Corrected an issue where Online Lobbies were not sorted in lobby browser when a player altered the sort order of a certain column more than twice.
Resolved the player not being able to access Driver Network Profile on Livery Select screen of Invitational Events.
Removed the 'Edit' option in Online Championships Lobby for options that cannot be edited.
Improved the bars in the Competitive Racing License history chart to make them visible at lower values.
Refined an issue where Rounds in Online Championships Schedule were selectable after they had been completed.
Adjusted overlapping Online Championship names when text is extremely long.
Improved lighting to some objects in car thumbnails.
Polished the Current Session information being displayed on the Pre-Session screen in Online Championships.
Corrected Tuning setups saving issues.
Resolved an issue in Online Championships where class-wide results would fail to display under certain circumstances.
Improved the menu flow in Online Championships to prevent accidental return to Main Menu when pressing the back button during countdown on lobby screen.
Added lobby filtering for Competitive Racing License.
Adjusted an issue where, in Russian, the capital K and Y letters were showing as lower case in the driver profile.
Corrected an issue where the track UI wasn’t updating for the client if the host selected a new track in the Online Lobby.
Corrected an issue where an incorrect detailed view of a car would be shown in Vehicle Select.
Solved an issue where multiple DLC invitation pop-ups were triggered after creating a new career.
Corrected an issue where the player is unable to change the number of laps within a lobby screen.

Cars

Audi R8 LMS, and R8 LMS 24H: improved LOD popping issue at the rear of the cars.
Mazda Radbull: fixed backfires not being visible from the cockpit.
Honda 2&4: corrected glass HUD blurring with road behind the glass.
Improved steering animations for Honda 2&4 and Radical SR3 when using a gamepad.

Tracks

Bannochbrae: fixed collision issues in the pit lane / pit area with larger sized cars.
Catalunya Club: corrected cinematic cameras remaining active when restarting a concluded session.
Catalunya Rallycross: removed Joker Lap exploit.
Donington Park: adjusted pit crew positions.
Dubai Autodrome Club: corrected incorrect track length.
Hell Rallycross: improved tree walls and outer terrain LOD distance.
Indianapolis: changed the position of pit exit-line objects, and resolved an issue where the car could avoid the pit-out trigger.
Knockhill: reduced garage depth to fix the AI hitting the kerb and marshal-box exiting pit garages.
Lydden Hill: fixed a hole in collision mesh that caused players to lose control when hitting a dip in the road.
Monza Oval: turned off oval flag. This disables the oval setup being applied, as track direction is opposite to the other ovals in the game.
Spa Francorchamps: polished the pits to stop rain and snow falling in garages.
Texas Motor Speedway: resolved player receiving insufficient progress notification while leaving the pits.
Resolved issue where, after race is restarted, advertisement boards failed to disappear and remained on-track after being knocked about.
Updated pit crew animations for tracks with left-hand-sided pit stop fueling.

Handling

Added a new Opposite Lock Assist for gamepads and keyboards. This is designed to help the player control oversteer and slides, and can be toggled On or Off in the Gameplay screen in Options.
Fixed incorrect altitude of many tracks for better balance of performance between turbo and naturally-aspirated cars.
BMW 1M: Improved FFB scale.
Dallara IR-15 Oval: increased FFB multiplier and fixed the FFB feeling very light, default gamepad setup changed to a differential which removes the left pull due to tyre stagger, revised tyre rubber for ovals when cold, and lowered rolling resistance of oval tyres.
Ferrari 333SP: small balance of performance changes to fit with other
LMP900 cars. Fixed final drive ratios and improved AI gear usage.
Ford Escorts: raised and moved back chase camera position to help with high FOV settings.
Ford Falcon V8SC: shifted aero drag balance rearward, fixed rear wing yaw effect, re-balanced adhesive and ‘rip grip’ for slick tyre compounds.
Ford Fusion Stockcar: new Road Course tyre that now has a stiffer carcass and wider adhesive peak. Adjusted the AI tyres to match.
Ford Mustang RTR Formula Drift: improvement to cars’ handling based on Vaughn Gitten Jr.'s feedback.
Ford Sierra Group A: moved the launch RPM higher to help the AI on race starts.
Formula A: reduced fuel tank capacity to a more reasonable level.
Formula C and Formula R: revised tyres, engine braking, and damper setup for better stability and easier driveability. Revised Stable setups.
Adjusted FFB for changes to tyres. Fixed rain tyre being faster than the slick.
Formula Cars: decreased sensitivity to aero and suspension damage.
Ginetta G40: Tuned for better control after large impacts and jump landings. Rebalanced side aero forces and tyre carcass bump-rebound damping.
Lamborghini Huracan GT3: slight drag decrease to hit known top speeds with low rear wing.
Lamborghini Sesto Elemento: increased FFB strength (previously too low).
Ligier Judd LMP2 and RWD P20: better engine cooling adjustments after HP changes.
LMP2 cars: gave approx’ 50hp power increase to get them closer to real-world lap times, and adjusted radiator sizes to suit.
Lotus 38 and Lotus 56: increased speed on ovals.
Mercedes AMG GT3 and SLS GT3: default wings changed for AI cars to obtain better speed balance at low downforce tracks.
Nissan GTR GT3: small increase in power to 525hp.
OMSE RX Lites: increased FFB multiplier and shifted aero drag toward the centre.
Porsche 911 GT3 R: revised suspension geometry and setup from new reference material. Re-calculated chassis moments of inertia.
Toyota GT-One 1999: small balance of performance changes to fit correctly with LMP900 cars.
IndyCar & Ford Fusion: increased AI tyre wear to better match player on ovals, making pitting and strategy similar.
Improved AI tyres for Ford MKIV, Lotus 40, Ferrari 365 GTB Competizione, and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL AMG
Group C and IMSA GTP: increased engine rotational inertia, new tyre carcass, and re-balance of adhesive vs ‘rip grip’. Bump Stop lengths also reviewed, as was lift:drag ratio on all cars. Fuel consumptions also addressed.
Group C cars: adjusted FFB for latest changes to tyres. Fixed rain tyre being faster than the slick.
GT3 Soft Slicks: tweaks to temperature operating window to broaden their range, mainly fixing their poor performance in cold conditions.
Small HP balance adjustments to Bentley, Cadillac ATS, and Ferrari GT3 cars.
Added 5 litres to fuel capacity to Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, Porsche 911 GT3, and BMW Z4 GT3. This ensures they can do a 90-minute race/fuel-run with the rest of the GT3 cars.
GTE Class: improved the rolling resistance of AI tyres to better match player speeds.
Fine-tuned fuel estimates for LMP1, GT3, GT4, and turbo cars.
Rallycross: improved adhesive vs ‘rip grip’ to help stability of slides on RX tyres.
Altered side- and push-drafting.
Reduced drag penalty associated with aero damage, and also adjusted thresholds for AI to pit.
Corrected differing amounts of fuel between players in Fixed Setup races.
Shifted the aero drag centre towards the rear on a number of cars, fixing rear wing yaw effect.
Adjustments made to reduce in-air negative tilt of some vehicles.
Reduced the speed of slick tyres in the rain.
Increased rain tyre heating for player cars.
Reduced heating on touring car rain tyres.
Reduced base wear on slick-based rain tyres.
Fixed issue that de-calibrated wear on some tyres

Keith Joyce · Feb 10, 2018

I'm enjoying the updated AI but then what do I know?

ermo · Feb 10, 2018

thepharcyde said:
FFB from the box is just broke, period. The code obviously has not changed just the UI to fool you it has. PCARS 2 still has that pendulum effect existing the corner that just ruins the game IMO

"Broke" in what way? Not working at all (as in: no FFB)? Or not working like you expect/prefer?

Which wheel are you using? Which FFB preset? Which settings for said FFB preset?

ZenkiGuy · Feb 10, 2018

I have AC, played many hours. Wondering if PCars2 is worth it or if I should get RFactor2..can't find anyone who just gives a straight answer on that even though PCars2 looks good and I was excited for it.

Msportdan · Feb 10, 2018

straight answer for a straight up sim with basic content but an unbeatable offline experience handling and ffb RF2!

You want a sim that is a jack of all trades master of none. with meh ffb and handling - PC2.

cpt_gandy · Feb 10, 2018

this update is a good step in the right direction with some good bug fixes and enhancements.

With the cars i have tested i found that with my T300 the raw preset lacks any ffb detail so currently using immersive preset and had to adjust the ffb settings to focus on ffb detail and with the ffb changes they made i have found the ffb very good this time round, much better than patch 3. I do feel the tire grip ffb is much better than before in the cars i tested. Personally i wish they used European track rules where you have to keep 2 wheels on the track at all times instead of the 50% of the car but at least they are not using UK rules where you have to keep all 4 wheels on the track. While they have made changes to the race director so its not so harsh i still feel they could of done sooooo much more with this. Sadly they did not fix the insufficient progress bug and this keeps sending me back to the pits from time to time so fingers crossed this gets fixed asap. Track warnings are better presented now and if the warning is something you need to take notice of you get an audio warning. That smoke trail in the mirrors has gone

Im not sure if this was added this patch or has always been in the game but when leaving the pits in the rain the race engineer said to take care on the on the racing line as it might be slippery but its the first time ive noticed it so not sure if its new or not.

Some things people might not know about from the past patch, they added controller damping and you really need to set that to 0 and it destroys the ffb detail i found also the default setups are still pretty bad regardless if you use loose or smooth as the damper settings are way off and this can kill off tire grip ffb, remember slow bump and slow rebound is part of what gives you mechanical grip from the tires.

Neils on Wheels · Feb 10, 2018

melanieuk said:
Great update Ian Bell and the SMS team, I love how you middle finger, the butt hurt, bitter community that calls themselves simracing community, yet they praise outdated tech, that's been in constant development for 18 years with zero progress, zero evolve, zero content, and zero sense of achievement and zero game like features after you've done a few race, not going to name studios who use such crappy tech.
For that SMS I will purchase the season pass for project cars 2, great update, top tier physics, because it's not using dated Victorian ways of producing physics.

What progress have SMS really made that is actually successful or even what has it cost them to actually implement these features? Weather doesn't feel convincing especially with ai, basic functionality is missing in the game that is just standard & for a reason in every other sim. The quality of cars & tracks is all over the place, i mean have you actually been through all of the cars? By far the worse FFB if you take into account all the cars. Live track 3.0 is cool but everyone will always judge the core driving experience & that imo has been the cost. Their ambition far exceeds their ability & resources. But like i say good luck to them, i'm not remotely butt hurt as you so maturely put it, I just don't think the game will meet my own expectations the quality just isn't there for me. Maybe If patches where regular, if we had some communication of their plans I might stick around but that ain't gonna happen.

ronniej · Feb 10, 2018

ZenkiGuy said:
I have AC, played many hours. Wondering if PCars2 is worth it or if I should get RFactor2..can't find anyone who just gives a straight answer on that even though PCars2 looks good and I was excited for it.

Love AC and RF2, and was disappointed when PC2 was released, however, that has changed with two major updates and like Andy mentioned, it has the "atmosphere" along with most bells and whistles. I say grab it along with RF2 if you enjoy sim racing. PC2 has a lot of cars feeling just as good or better than the other sims imo, so mileage will vary.

lokid said:
straight answer for a straight up sim with basic content but an unbeatable offline experience handling and ffb RF2!

You want a sim that is a jack of all trades master of none. with meh ffb and handling - PC2.

Nonsense.

Mr Latte · Feb 10, 2018

Slightly Mad Studios, is it them that are mad or should it be us?

Some hoped but perhaps more doubted the grass was going to be greener this time around...

Just poking fun here, nothing more....

Look forward to reading peoples feedback if the changes have really improved the game.
The bugs and faults reported, stopped me from even wanting to play it.

Bugs and something not living up to the expectations it sets, just ain't my cuppa.......

Friedrichpc · Feb 10, 2018

At first: Sorry for my bad english.

The day before the update I did a formation Lap at Bathurst (p32) and a multiclass race at Laguna Seca (gt3 and gt4, started p14). Today I was doing this again.

Bathurst without update: The cars started behind each other and I started at the conrod straight.

Bathurst with update: The cars started side by side.

Laguna Seca without update: 2 - 3 cars at the front spun and turn as fast as they can. Because of that the gt4 cars hit these cars. Mostly you have 3 gt3`s and approximately 2-4 gt4 cars doing a repair pitstop after one lap. Also the GT4 cars crashed before the start of the race when they get around the last corner.

At laguna Seca the cars wont crash at the first corner anymore. If they crash they wait for a clean track now. The cars at the back of the field wont crash before the start.

Copef1 · Feb 10, 2018

neil rosson said:
What progress have SMS really made that is actually successful or even what has it cost them to actually implement these features? Weather doesn't feel convincing especially with ai, basic functionality is missing in the game that is just standard & for a reason in every other sim. The quality of cars & tracks is all over the place, i mean have you actually been through all of the cars? By far the worse FFB if you take into account all the cars. Live track 3.0 is cool but everyone will always judge the core driving experience & that imo has been the cost. Their ambition far exceeds their ability & resources. But like i say good luck to them, i'm not remotely butt hurt as you so maturely put it, I just don't think the game will meet my own expectations the quality just isn't there for me. Maybe If patches where regular, if we had some communication of their plans I might stick around but that ain't gonna happen.

Did you stick around for rFactor 2? Because that sim was a god awful mess when it was launched. Did ISI have regular patches, and communication? Not that I remember. It took years to sort it, and they are still working on it. Did you stick around for Assetto Corsa? Because the ai in that sim was one of the worst ever, for years, until they finally somewhat fixed it. Did you stick around for Raceroom? Because it had horrible physics, ffb, and ai at launch, and took years to improve. What modern sim didn't have a bunch of problems at launch, or even a year after launch?

Your not going to stick around? Well I think I can speak for those of us who enjoy Pcars2 when I say "bye bye".

melanieuk · Feb 10, 2018

Copef1 said:
Did you stick around for rFactor 2? Because that sim was a god awful mess when it was launched. Did ISI have regular patches, and communication? Not that I remember. It took years to sort it, and they are still working on it. Did you stick around for Assetto Corsa? Because the ai in that sim was one of the worst ever, for years, until they finally somewhat fixed it. Did you stick around for Raceroom? Because it had horrible physics, ffb, and ai at launch, and took years to improve. What modern sim didn't have a bunch of problems at launch, or even a year after launch?

Your not going to stick around? Well I think I can speak for those of us who enjoy Pcars2 when I say "bye bye".

100% agree, I'm gob smacked at the comments here on RD, with complaints, that X,Y,Z still needs fixing, X,Y,Z is broke...really, have a read on the steam forums for some of the bugs now introduced in some of the other sims, as an example, rFactor 2 is now running very slow, under DX11, loading times have increased, Assetto corsa, game boots users back to main screen when they click race, RR, server keeps crashing after updates, just some of the complaints and bugs that users have reported, but SMS are the ultimate villains, how dare they release a game with bugs, all the other devs are perfect, even though they release as much patch to fix their broken game as much as SMS, but its all good we'll continue to praise them......hypocrites.
I wouldn't blame SMS if they refused to do an interview for this site.

Neils on Wheels · Feb 10, 2018

Copef1 said:
Did you stick around for rFactor 2? Because that sim was a god awful mess when it was launched. Did ISI have regular patches, and communication? Not that I remember. It took years to sort it, and they are still working on it. Did you stick around for Assetto Corsa? Because the ai in that sim was one of the worst ever, for years, until they finally somewhat fixed it. Did you stick around for Raceroom? Because it had horrible physics, ffb, and ai at launch, and took years to improve. What modern sim didn't have a bunch of problems at launch, or even a year after launch?

Your not going to stick around? Well I think I can speak for those of us who enjoy Pcars2 when I say "bye bye".

Wow talk about missing the point. Do you think SMS will continue to work on pcars 2 for years till they get it right? of course not.

cpt_gandy · Feb 10, 2018

I think what we need is a "The Current State of Sim Racing" thread as a lot of what is being talked about belongs there as there is a lot of off topic in here.

Gevatter · Feb 10, 2018

Copef1 said:
Did you stick around for rFactor 2? Because that sim was a god awful mess when it was launched. Did ISI have regular patches, and communication? Not that I remember. It took years to sort it, and they are still working on it. Did you stick around for Assetto Corsa? Because the ai in that sim was one of the worst ever, for years, until they finally somewhat fixed it. Did you stick around for Raceroom? Because it had horrible physics, ffb, and ai at launch, and took years to improve. What modern sim didn't have a bunch of problems at launch, or even a year after launch?

Your not going to stick around? Well I think I can speak for those of us who enjoy Pcars2 when I say "bye bye".

SMS didn't stick around to refine PC1, did they?

David Wright · Feb 10, 2018

Gevatter said:
SMS didn't stick around to refine PC1, did they?

Actually they did.

Ferenczy36 · Feb 10, 2018

Waiting for more opinions on this patch. Was disappointed with PC1 and uninstalled it after a short while. Purchased PC2 shortly after released, and same. Disappointed and refunded. It looks great, but the handling just felt off and the AI was horrible. If things significantly improve I may pickup again when on sale...but if not, then I still have R3E, AC, RF2, iRacing, etc.

Dady Cairo · Feb 10, 2018

The physics and the behavior of the "cars" and the "tire model" is the worst i ever saw.....so the FFB.
With and without patch xxx...
DC

Gevatter · Feb 10, 2018

David Wright said:
Actually they did.

Would you call PC1 a refined product? And they did release two games in the same timespan in which other studios refined their games, so in reality they didn't stick around for longer than 1,5-2 years IIRC?