DiRT Rally 2.0 The Expectations Behind Dirt Rally 2.0

Davide Nativo · Nov 7, 2018

What do you believe Codemasters has in store for us?

After the pretty sad epilogue that saw Dirt 4 go down pretty much unnoticed by the virtual racing community, it was an exciting turn of events seeing a new Dirt title announced recently, this time rooting back into the ‘Rally’ origins and branded as 2.0. Following after the persistent requests from those who loved the original Dirt Rally to have some sort of a sequel to the unforgettable sim that caught everyone by surprise back when it was released in Early Access, it looks like now our wishes have been granted. Codemasters seems to have learned from its mistakes, and with this new iteration in the franchise is no longer trying to bridge a gap at all costs between simracers and arcaders, but it is now focusing entirely on the former. There is much to be excited about, but something to be worried of too.

Looking at the trailers and bits of gameplay released so far, I could not help but notice some pretty evident compromises still made in the physics department in order to make the game at least lenient towards the casual driver, but taking away realism from the hard-core player. It is not a sin, of course, as the first Dirt Rally had some noticeable inconsistencies too in the driving experience and the title, as a whole, tried to also meet the expectations of the arcade racer. This did not really happen however, since many console players and non-simracer PC users still complained that the game was “too hard” and rejected it. My question then is, why try this approach again? Why trying to make a sim with some arcadish features blending in, like the first one, if it won’t be enough for casual players to enjoy the game anyway? Why not going all-in for the absolute simracing experience and please just one audience, but at least pleasing it to the fullest?

Another thing I am not entirely convinced with is the amount of marketing and promotional videos we are being bombarded with as of late. A continuous stream of content, even if just one minute long at times, sponsoring the new game. This is a matter of concern to me. The first Dirt Rally came out unexpectedly. One day, it was there, without anyone really knowing it was going to, and leaving everyone speechless. It was not perfect, but it was an amazing and well-received surprise. During Early Access, the title was developed, improved, and with its quality did its own marketing. The game spoke volumes for itself and let players and their useful feedback be the cornering stone of its success. I honestly would have preferred in this case the same pragmatic approach that distinguished the original one.

I loved the first Dirt Rally, and I am a long time player of the Dirt franchise. I played almost all of them, and liked them. Therefore, my wish is that Dirt Rally 2.0 will nail it on the head, and will give to all of us rally lovers (even though I consider myself merely a novice in the field) what we have been waiting for so long. A realistic, complete rally driving experience. The first one came already incredibly close, and its sequel has now the chance to hit the bull’s eye with its brand new features like track degradation or tyre selection and management (the one I am most excited for). This gives me the reason to stay confident, despite any doubt I may have so far.

If you want to discuss the game with our passionate community, and read about the latest news, check out the RaceDepartment DiRT Rally 2.0 Sub Forum. Give it a go, just keep it DiRTy!

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What do you think we can expect from Dirt Rally 2.0? Do you believe it will be up to the expectations of the simracing community? Which features are you most excited about or which one would you like to see included in the final game?

Let us know in the comments below!

Rob Every · Dec 6, 2018

This is all very simple.

I think most of us are agreed that in terms of quality, the stages and driving physics in DR1 were bang on. Agreed with some wheels and in certain cars like the Stratos or 037 or the fwd cars at times they were perhaps not perfect. But in essence, when you got into it, the feeling of driving a car through a stage was achieved very well. As only before in RBR but thatw as years ago and things have moved on for most of us.

Dirt 4 we all knew was going to be an arcade game, a Vrally type game. So I never bought it as I knew what it was going to be like, and after DR1 knew this was not what I wanted. They improved RX, but that wasn't hard. You had to invest time in DR1, a thing lots of folk don't have, D4 was pick up and play meh stuff.

If DR2 keeps and improves on the two things that made DR1 great, the car physics and design, difficulty and style of the stages I will buy it. Not from new, but I will buy it. Even with the same amount of locations and the same amount of cars I will buy it, DR1 was worth every penned, I put over 300 hours into it and got to the point where I knew stages, but I still played it and loved it, best sim I have ever played.

Rallycross I couldn't care less about IMG made sure it was on there, their marketing is aggressive and ruthless, but really it's only there for online play, hence most DLC was aimed at that and keeping people playing online, but it was garbage. The tracks were well done, but it was fairly tame.
For me to say that is hard, I have watched rallycross since 1985, and the way it has been destroyed by a sports marketing company annoys me so much it hurts.

Keep the DR1 physics and stage design methods and I'm in.

Bruno Iwanczuk · Dec 6, 2018

For me the most important thing they need to fix is the setup effect on handling. In Dirt Rally i couldn't feel any change when touching many of the setup settings.

For example in Assetto Corsa when i change the antiroll bars i can cleary feel the understeer and oversteer effects. In Dirt Rally i feel nothing.

And of course 540º steering animation.