DiRT Rally - Codemasters Release

[GreatScawt]

Can't believe no one's mentioned this! - http://store.steampowered.com/app/310560/

Codemasters has released - in Steam's "early access" currently - DiRT Rally. They've evidently listened to everyone that wants CM2.0.... 2.0. It's getting very positive feedback for those exact reasons. It's hardcore. Narrow courses, pace notes, repairs between stations... and for an early access game it's being reported that it's extremely polished.

I may have to purchase this once I get my new gaming rig built :up:

[stephenb]

Controller support and force feedback is all over the place, but they are listening to the community on this. Otherwise it's already very solid and shows a lot promise for providing an authentic recreation of the sport. Pikes Peak, both the old a new version, will be coming in the next update. www.dirtgame.com

Some off screen replay footage I captured yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6aI8_YgEKw

[Rare White Ape]

It's in my "to buy soon-ish" list.

Paul Leins (aka The End here some time ago) says it's hardocre, like Richard Burns Rally hardcore.

[GreatScawt]

From the Codemasters blog:

If you’ve been doing the DiRT Daily events you may have seen the name Kevin Abbring at the top of the leaderboard a lot.

Well, Kevin is a WRC driver for Hyundai and got talking to us just after launch on Twitter. A few people were calling hacks on his times which made us chuckle… This guy does this for a living; the fact he’s beating you all furthers our belief that we’ve built the perfect foundation for DiRT Rally. We won’t lie, he puts in a bit of a cheeky corner cut four minutes in but you can’t deny this is some impressive driving.


https://www.youtube.com/embed/QnPuk2ECaIQ

Pretty awesome :up:


Also, this is part of the Steam summer sale, 25% off.

[GreatScawt]

So I finally picked this game up on Steam sale.

It's extremely polished. I'd say I'm already having more fun with this than pCARS, but I've only just started messing around with the pCARS campaign, which was a blast.

I bought a Fulvia, hired an engineer with a contract for 40 stages and took off.

http://i.imgur.com/LReRfJS.jpg

The drone action going on is pretty cool :up:
http://i.imgur.com/WkaW4mO.jpg

I only drove in dash view (above), but this is another optional interior view.
http://i.imgur.com/9CUOIsV.jpg

I really was ginger driving this car. A few misjudged turns (and the fact that I realized my brake pedal wasn't mapped :o), and next thing I know, the co-driver is telling me we lost our left rear. Uh oh.
http://i.imgur.com/POHXR9B.jpg

Uh, it was instantly noticeable :lol: Much lighter in the rear now...
http://i.imgur.com/bR9La1M.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1RXB3Qh.jpg

I dragged it across the finish... somehow managed 7th out of 10.
http://i.imgur.com/LetVL5f.jpg

I eventually got the hang of it a little bit better. A 6th place finish on stage 2 marked the end of day 1 and allotting repairs. The team is pretty barebones, so only so much progress can be made in 30 minutes. If you go above that they start penalizing your times.

I followed with two 5th place finishes on day 2, getting me 5th overall at the event and enough credits to feel a little comfortable again. During stage 3 or 4 the crew got creative and figured out an engine upgrade, boosting performance by 5hp (how is that allowed? :lol:) and I'm close to unlocking a weight reduction. That will make it a little easier to compete with the Mini-driving German who kept beating me by a minute :lol:

Some extra shots:
http://i.imgur.com/HrdohDR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/g1BoExa.jpg

[Kchrpm]

Gorgeous looking game :up:

I read a story on that game, saying everyone thought one guy was a cheater because he consistently beat everyone else's times by a significant margin. Turns out he is an active WRC driver. The one replay of his I've watched is ridiculous.

Edit: now with referenced video!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnPuk2ECaIQ

[8400RPM]

Nice write-up and pictures GreatScawt. Will be getting this the minute I upgrade to a new PC, hopefully sometime this year.

[GreatScawt]

KCH- you may have seen that from earlier in this thread ;) It's a fantastic video, and really says something about the authenticity of the game. The other key point is that I'm pretty sure that's one of the daily challenges and I *believe* you only get one shot. So he's pulling some fast times without constant retries I believe.

8400- Thanks! Really solid game, very polished. Hard to believe it's technically still "early access". They added Pike's Peak as well with some hillclimb cars. Have to try that still.

[Kchrpm]

Hahaha I'm so dumb, I thought I had read it on a gaming site.

[Rare White Ape]

Damn, I forgot to buy this during the sale.

Oh well, full price it is!

[Rare White Ape]

Me buy new game, me go broom-broom.

Don't mind me!

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/368/19078431879_aede7dd5b8_o.png

[Rare White Ape]

Third post in a row!

The more I read stuff from Codemasters about this game, the more I think they're all just a bunch of really good guys who truly love rallying.

I bought this yesterday, then spent 2+ hrs downloading it, then played it a bit and went to bed. Only an hour later, a new big update comes through, so now I have to wait another 2+ hrs to play it again :(

But... Just look at this. So worth it.

Big picture warning!

http://blog.codemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DiRT-Rally_Peugeot-306-Maxi_2.jpg

[GreatScawt]

Yup, just logged in and saw that... big update! Really awesome :up:

Guess I'll play Arkham Asylum until it's finished...

EDIT:
Good thing you bought it when you did! I'm pretty sure the price went up after that update. Seems they are slowly increasing the pricing with each large update (though I don't recall a hike with the Pike's Peak update).

[Yw-slayer]

That 306GTI pic caused a tentpole.

[SkylineObsession]

Whens it visiting PS4?

[Rare White Ape]

^ Probably in 12 months. A console port is inevitable but this isn't a full game yet. It's 100% worth it to buy it now if you have a decent PC to run it. So do it. And get Project CARS on PS4 while you're at it, Bucko.

I played a fair bit of the update this afternoon. Fuck yeah F2 kit cars. 12k RPM screamers. So much noise!

The German tarmac rally stages are fun, but I prefer Monte Carlo with it's narrow cliff faces and icy conditions. I think Greece is my favourite of them all so far. That dry rocky dust. Just wonderful.

[Yw-slayer]

I've bought this even though I have jack-all time to play it. Good rally games deserve support so that I can play them when I'm 55 years old.

[SkylineObsession]

Unfortunately my PC is un-pc, its a jack in the box Acer. My brother was going to build one for me but i got impatient (well actually my other compy died, and i didn't want to wait for a while for one to be built). :(

And yeah, i meant to reply to your PSN message but keep forgetting. I kinda want to try Project Cars, but don't know anyone that owns it and despite having fibre internet it says its too slow for Share Play. Ruapuna Raceway in NZ has me interested especially.

[Freude am Fahren]

Just gave this a try. So far only in the 60's Lancia. It's fun for sure, but very hard. Wheel feels like it weight 5000lbs. Tarmac and Snow stanges I've had fun at, but the gravel is like impossible.

[GreatScawt]

Heavy in FFB? I'm using my Driving Force Pro and it seems a little floaty, but there's enough feedback there. Much better than Project CARS which seems to give me literally no FFB.

How is the gravel impossible? Just curious.
I found the tarmac pretty difficult but I think my issue was my traction control and ABS. The loss of grip on tarmac sent me spinning out and skidding as opposed to sliding.

[Rare White Ape]

Co-driver: Something something, don't cut

Me: Yep, got it.

*cuts corner, hits obstacle, rolls off cliff, etc

Every. Single. Time.

[Kchrpm]

LIKE A BOSS

[SkylineObsession]

Most of us would be guilty of that at some point RWA. ;)

'Fast 1, right, don't cut'

"Naaahh, surely it can be cut a little bit, it can't be that ba....aaaaaaAAAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!! *triple barrel roll ensues until a tree stops further momentum*

"Next time i'll listen." :|

Three mins later...

'Sharp 3, left, don't cut'

"I'll cut it just this little bit an..DDD SHIIIIIIITTTTT!!!!!!" :mad:



I know what you mean man. :lol:

[Freude am Fahren]

My favorite is the

"Right six over crest"

and then as you get to the crest

"into hairpin left"

Too late, I'm already flying off the cliff.

[Freude am Fahren]

This game has really come alive after doing some FFB tweaking. Before, the steering was super heavy/slow and there was hardly any force swing the wheel back around when you get sideways like you would expect. I turned the wheel centering torque up to 100% and wheel friction down to 0%, and I can actually hold a slide, rather than just spinning out. I sitll have to have my wheel on a "drift" setting of 2/5, which speeds up the wheel, but it's much better than it was. Of course the controller setting keep resetting themselves, and even when I save a setting, it isn't there to load up anymore when I try.

[GreatScawt]

Partnership with FIA World Rallycross Championship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtOeFfS7gag

Interesting...

[Rare White Ape]

Great video with 3 minutes of talking about a game, and 20 seconds of game footage.

I'd love to drag that video's producers out the back and shoot them.

[Yw-slayer]

This is really a great game. Got me back into it big-time, particularly after I ditched my flakey Logitech gamepad (which kept tuning out for some reason) and hooked up my Dualshock4 to the PC with a wire and started placing 3rd or 4th rather than 7th.

Now I've bought Richard Burns Rally to compare that, with the 2015 mod, to this. This should be interesting.

[GreatScawt]

Got some gameplay.... this run helped me jump to 4th. Quickest I've done in the early stages :up: (still 20+ seconds behind :lol:)

I've mainly been driving in the dash view with no steering wheel.


http://youtu.be/mMeyq8x5v2o


Check that gap between me and 5th :D
http://i.imgur.com/mZQsalA.jpg

[Yw-slayer]

What're your names on Steam/Racenet/whatever? We should set up a League or something.

I really like how you can finish an entire event in around 20 minutes. Gives me time to fit it in before going to bed.

Also, I now have a Stratos of my own, and have figured out how to drive an Impreza without having to buy it. Weekly/Monthly events too!! JOY!!

[GreatScawt]

Ah yes, I keep forgetting to ask!

Search "Scawt" or www.steamcommunity.com/id/GreatScawt

[Yw-slayer]

Can't find you in Steam, and the Steam Community is currently unavailable?

Anyway, my profile name is YW-Slayer and I can be seen at http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197975733905/home

[Rare White Ape]

I've only been dicking around doing individual stages in custom event mode. That way I can total a car and not worry about it. RELOAD!

I haven't topped fourth against shitty AI yet!

[Yw-slayer]

I think I actually placed 1st on one or two of the Monte Carlo stages.

[Freude am Fahren]

I've only won one stage so far, I think it was also at Monte Carlo, in the Stratos maybe? It is interesting that they give you a credit penalty for restarting a stage, with a maximum amount, but after you reach that amount, you can still keep restarting with no penalty :lol: After discovering that, I've been restarting more :assclown:

[Phil_SS]

This looks awesome. Hopefully they release it on Xbone.

[GreatScawt]

Added you YW. The steam community system is strange and allows for duplicate names. I'm the Scawt with the German national team logo next to my name.

I was definitely more competitive in the Monte Carlo stages. I think I placed 2nd or 3rd in the event.

[Yw-slayer]

Cool. Will add you.

[Rare White Ape]

This looks awesome. Hopefully they release it on Xbone.

I think it's inevitable. It is Codies after all. They're not a small development house.

[Yw-slayer]

Got you Scott. Now, how do we start a League?

[GreatScawt]

I always click that icon in the menu and it tells me to make a race ID or something. And I keep putting it off. I'll see about getting that done tonight. I honestly don't know how leagues work. I'm very interested.

Got a really good run in with yesterday's daily in the Mini Rally Edition in the rain. I'll try to upload that.

The weekend event is up as well. Its a two-parter. Though I was getting really weird crashes and - if not a crash - severely long stutters. But only on the first stage. The rest of the time I played was just fine. Weird. Oh well... "early access"

[GreatScawt]

https://www.dirtgame.com/uk/leagues/league/17541/gtxf

Register to the site, link your Steam name, apply to league. Let's see how this works :up:

[Yw-slayer]

Request sent!1!111!!1!1!

[GreatScawt]

The first of the World RX update is out... aaaand the price is now $46

http://steamcommunity.com/games/310560/announcements/detail/43134243507206363

[Rare White Ape]

LikelikelikelikeLikelikelikelikeLikelikelikelikeLi kelikelikelike

[Rare White Ape]

The update removed my graphics and controller preferences :down:

I know the early access deal includes having to deal with stuff like this, and I'm not too fussed about the graphics settings. But the game won't fully support an Xbox-ish gamepad (PS4 pad with Input Mapper) any more; there's no default controller settings.

And after one hurried go at a rally-X event... it's a bit harder than I expected. More practice required!

[GreatScawt]

I checked out the Rally-X stuff. Really cool! Set to normal and won my first couple of heats... but the sound cut out in the second. Not sure if that's an Early Access thing or not. Hmm.

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah, I tried out the RX stuff the other day too, tun of fun. Can't wait for online racing in that.

[Yw-slayer]

Rwa, try another ds4 program?

[Rare White Ape]

It works perfectly on everything else, so there's no reason for me to believe that it would change things on the updated Dirt Rally.

It's more likely to be a settings change in the game than it is a problem with Input Mapper. I haven't played it past that five minute go prior to my last post, so I haven't had a chance to fiddle with it.

[Freude am Fahren]

I cannot stand how this game keeps resetting controller presets. Even if your controller is plugged in (CSW in this case), if you press enter for instance instead of start on the wheel, all of your custom controller configurations are lost. Forget to turn on the wheel before starting the game? Too bad, everything lost. And even if you save a custom preset, it disappears. That "feature" is completely useless.

[Rare White Ape]

Ah so it's not just me :)

[GreatScawt]

Pretty good video showing off the Rally-X stuff


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Mc-DJRWhk

[GreatScawt]

New Update:
http://steamcommunity.com/games/310560/announcements/detail/43136313133083032


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJQcBcfh2s

I spy WRX STI :up: :up: </fanboy>

[Rare White Ape]

Next month we head to Finland for the fastest and most exciting update yet.


Ooooooooooooooooohh.

I'm predicting nothing less than 999 lakes here.

[Rare White Ape]

1000 Lakes. Yeeaahhhh.

I spent a lot of time trawling through the ditches found on the side of the very wide roads (WTF's with that?) and then shitting my pants over the long series' of kinda straight bits with crests on them. I did manage to make it through one of the long stages once without hitting anything.

Co driver must get sick of saying "... over crest jump maybe..."

Anyway, here's some photos I took. Heaps of fun.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/680/21283191694_18d306aba2_o.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5812/21719079789_2a4d11c01c_o.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5817/21719044839_0ba1d530ac_o.jpg

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5646/21893933462_d6534d2b6d_o.jpg

[SkylineObsession]

I like how it seems more populated during the day shot above.

[GreatScawt]

Turned on my computer just now, and Steam started a 10.5 gig download... another update for this game.
The "Winter Wonderland Update" (http://steamcommunity.com/games/310560/announcements/detail/42019920493957545) :up:


Today’s Steam launch brings with it the Winter Wonderland update, which delivers a new rally set in the snow and ice of the Varmland region of Sweden to the game. These snow-filled stages are known for their snow banks and we’ve been hard at work on new soft edge tech that simulates the density of snow. As a result, you can now lean on the snow banks when pushing for those stage records.

The update also brings two new cars to the game, the Hyundai Rally and the Volkswagen Polo Rally. These cars are the most recent additions to the pinnacle of the sport and they are the perfect way to round off our Early Access programme.

[Rare White Ape]

Excellent!

This means it's out of Early Access now and into full-game mode. I do hope more updates are still coming our way into the future.

[Rare White Ape]

OK, now having played three of the long Sweden stages, a few notes from me:

I really love how the snow banks have soft collisions now, so that skilled drivers could use them to their advantage, unlike before in Monte Carlo where they'd be hard as bricks.

But I really hate having to dodge them, because they'll grab you and spin you around!

Isn't the Polo the coolest car out there? But holy fuck it's hard to drive compared to my old favourite the Fiesta. I think it's short wheelbase is the cause of this, and to test it out I took it to the tarmac of Germany where I can cut a good time without too much trouble (respective to me, I really suck at rally games) and couldn't get it into a groove. I might try it in the dusty gravel of Greece next time I play the game.

And I think, to be honest, to really call this a complete game it needs to double the number of rally locations, add maybe two more Rally-X locations, and add more cars to the hillclimb roster, especially in terms of more modern Pikes Peak cars like Seb Loeb's Peugeot and Monster Tajima's bizarre creations.

[Rare White Ape]

What I do when I'm not fully nerding out on Star Wars back story

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/12-20-2015/9kLYfj.gif

There's meant to be a gif here which might not be showing up.

[Freude am Fahren]

I had this page open at work, but didn't clicked away from it before it loaded. When I went back to it, it took me a second to remember I had clicked on a game thread :up:

No the graphics aren't that good. But the action is.

[Rare White Ape]

I think the graphics are very very good. My laptop runs just below par to my PS4, but looking at YouTube videos from Dirt which were recorded on super high-end PCs… yeah. It looks good.

[8400RPM]

God you're killing me with this stuff. I have been dying to get this game but my PC won't run it. Will be getting a new PC within a few months and this will be the first thing loaded.

[SkylineObsession]

Yeah, everything i've seen of the game looks awesome.

Coming to consoles soon? Or is that WRC i'm thinking of?

[Rare White Ape]

My mad driving skillz when I play Dirt Rally:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdBuwzRAEAw

[XHawkeye]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xw8DJY7aZQ

[GreatScawt]

So, so ridiculous. I love it.

[SkylineObsession]

Holey crap. :up:

Wanna play this game. :(

[Yw-slayer]

An epic 15 seconds ahead of the next guy.

[Rare White Ape]

Hey y'all just sayin that version 1.1 is out, which mirrors the console release.

No new rally stages apart from a full-dirt Pikes Peak, but some new cars are available. Notably in my mind is Seb Loeb's Pikes Peak slaying Peugeot 208, and a new old Mini Rallycross class.

Fun!!!!!!

[Tom Servo]

I really need to hook up the wheel again, dammit.

[8400RPM]

I'm excited to jump into this game. In the process of moving now and a new smokin PC is on order so I will be rallying soon! Sounds like the console versions were done right according to early impressions. I'll prob get the Xbox One version as well.

[Freude am Fahren]

Not to hijack the thread, but iRacing just announced dirt is coming. Some oval stuff and Rally Cross to begin. I hope they get stage stuff eventually as well. Should be interesting to see how it compares.

[Rare White Ape]

I'm excited to jump into this game. In the process of moving now and a new smokin PC is on order so I will be rallying soon! Sounds like the console versions were done right according to early impressions. I'll prob get the Xbox One version as well.

It really is a great game. In the last few months I've tried the demos for Sebestian Loeb Rally and WRC 5. They were both terrible; floaty physics, bad stages, bad pace notes, crappy graphics (although the car models in both games are very very nice). Nothing released lately compares to Dirt Rally at all.

[Yobbo NZ]

Xbox version here and it's probably the game I've waited for since an old Network Q RAC rally game on the PC.
Not too hard to control using a controller,in fact it's damn easy compared to Project Cars.A wheel would make it night and day,but it's still enjoyable using your thumbs.

[The359]

I'm considering grabbing this for the PS4. Never had a lot of rally games, but I think it'd be worth a try.

[SkylineObsession]

Yeah i tried the SEB and WRC demos and wasn't overly blown away by them, especially not handling wise i don't think. WRC looked okayish though.

[8400RPM]

Been playing the XBONE version for a few days and wow what a breath of fresh air. Just been doing standard rallies in career mode with an old Fulvia and now a MII Escort. Once you dial the twichiness out of the default controller settings it plays and handles beautifully. Real good pucker factor when you get up some speed. The pace notes could use a little improvement I think.

Very solid game reminding me of the old Colin McRea games that were so good. This seems like the best of them all so far.

I bought the PC version when it was on sale last week but have yet to fire up my new computer so will be on that shortly with a wheel!

[Freude am Fahren]

There are some oddities in the pace notes, but at least on PC, you can change how much they lead you

[Fiat500]

So, Dirt 4 is out.

I don't know much about it, just saw it in the store, I'm still enjoying Dirt Rally.

And I'm reminded that I really, really don't like rally games. Always when I get a good thing going with a stage, there's some piece of mountain sticking out or I roll off the edge.

Then things settle and you get into the zen of it and nothing matters very much, and it is glorious, and I really, really like rally games.

[Rare White Ape]

Dirt 4 is apparently more user friendly than Dirt Rally too. This should mean more time for zen, and less time worrying about hills and rocks and trees.

[Fiat500]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Dirt Rally, and the challenges just make the zen more rewarding.
And that feeling of oh fuck, this isn't going to end well, I would much rather be somewhere else, is quite a thing for a game to achieve, really.

You don't get that in track based racing games, at least not after you learn the circuits.

[Rare White Ape]

:D


https://youtu.be/iEcf6Arn77k

[SkylineObsession]

Only just got the first one, on Xbox One. I'm not a fan of the rallycross crap, i just want stages and nice scenery.

I suck horrendously at it (which is why i didn't want to pay more than $20 for it), but it's still good fun.

EDIT: Just found out D2 has New Zealand stages in it. :eek:

[Yobbo NZ]

Dirt is doable with a controller, but can be rather frustating.
With a wheel, much more enjoyable.

[GreatScawt]

If anyone is interested in a free code for this, check out Humble bundle: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/dirt-rally?hmb_campaign=freegame_2019_homepage_dirtrall y&hmb_medium=banner

If you don't get a copy, send me a DM, I claimed one.

[Rare White Ape]

I've already got it on PC.

And PS4.

And on Xbox Game Pass.

:p

[SkylineObsession]

Dirt 2.0 is one of the free games on PS Plus this month. :) Uncharted 4 is the other.

[Rare White Ape]

I’m seeing reports that Codemasters has picked up the WRC licence and it will come into effect from 2023. This is potentially a leak of an unannounced deal or just wild rumour right now, because nothing has been said by Codies themselves. But the news does state that the Dirt Rally team will produce five games between ‘23 and ‘27.

If it’s true, then it’s devastating news for current license holder Bigben. They’ve been producing mediocre WRC titles for most of the last decade with the current one being a huge improvement and a real turnaround for the series. They’ve still got games coming out each year until the end of their agreement.