110°

Exploring Project CARS' PS4 graphical effects and visual options

VVV: "Likewise, we're used to having the option to adjust graphics settings on PC games in order to optimise the performance. On console however, this luxury is practically unheard of since consoles obviously have unified hardware specifications, which is why we were surprised to discover that Project CARS lets you fiddle with a myriad of graphical settings to tailor your experience.

Our latest video showing off a near-final build of Project CARS on PS4 explores many of the available graphical effects and visual options, from the sun glare to the ferocity of the helmet cam. We also take a brief look at some of the camera and replay options available."

Orbilator3717d ago

I can under stand these options on a pc due to hardware differences, but on console? Really? Its like the devs are saying we cant really get it running nice with everything so its your choice to turn off what you don't need then we are blameless.

Mega243717d ago

It's called having options, if a person doesn't like certain thing, they can remove it, or tweak it. Since when are options bad?

KyRo3717d ago

Exactly what you said mega. Whilst I love the use of motion blur in games a lot of people don't. They should have the option to turn that off if they want. If I had these kind of options in all games I'd happily downgrade certain aspects like texures and whatever for better Anti-aliasing as I cannot stand jaggies, they distract me.

Forn3717d ago

Except that changing the graphical effects in this game have no effect on performance because the game runs at 60fps either way. It just comes down to personal preference for what you feel is best as far as the overall look of the game, and if any effects in your opinion are bothering you while racing.

iistuii3717d ago

I thought that fist time I read about it. But if you look at the actual options it's just blur & helmet cam raindrops on camera etc, it's not what I'd call real options that PC gamers tweak to make the game run better, it's just visual stuff like stopping the sun blinding you.

LifeInNZ3717d ago

Watching the footage of this game a little closer on Youtube you can start to see some of the visual trickery and shortcuts. For instance, raindrops on the car fade out and the drops themselves are a repeating animation. They also dont reflect light or distort the reflection of the environment on the paintwork. Overall its still a nice effect as your concentrating on the road but I guess we are still years away from life like weather effects.

Still waiting for some great particle effects in a racing game...where dust and smoke dont disappear like steam.

EstSince88Gamerdude3717d ago

Agreed,that's the next step...I would like to see the track change as in when drivers have gone wide and leave bits of dirt and gravel which adds that extra dimension.

But this game is looking fantastic regardless and I've been waiting for a real visceral console racing sim for many years,infact this game has made my mind up to spend out on a new TV,wheel and sim chair ect. Can't wait!

badz1493717d ago

is it just me or the water droplets animation is really annoying on screen? I think it's because they are just there to make you think you're driving in the rain but the fact that they are not affected by any gameplay element like physics, speed or cornering really bugs me. it kills the immersion and just stood there in front of you like an infinite loop gif! it's half-assed at best and I think they should have done a better job with it.

AndrewLB3717d ago

You expected every drop of rain to be independently rendered while adhering to proper a fluid dynamics algorithm? LoL. The processing power required to replicate true fluid physics is huge. A few years ago nVidia showed off an amazing tech demo which focused on doing just that.

Here: https://youtu.be/4d8-sBVkZJ...

Notice how it's only running at 15fps? And the card used is over 2x as powerful as a PS4.

LifeInNZ3717d ago

Dont think I conveyed that as my expectation at all as I was purely making an observation. I'm well aware of what sort of compute power would be needed and it certainly is not present in current gen consoles.

hkgamer3717d ago

i like the idea of getting to tweak certain options. but its something that developers wont really choose to have.

ffxiv on ps4 had the option of 1080/30 & 720/60. i guess they didnt want to release a 720p game on ps4. the game can be played on 30fps for most part, but some parts of the game needs 60fps or even the 720p graphical setting because it could get really hectic.

Animal Mutha 763717d ago

I think Sony are insisting on 1080p as a default position as they are taking the high ground on the console performance in their advertising, and resolution (or full HD) is one metric that average consumers can identify with immediately.

Personally I like the options as framerate is very important to me for the experience.

hkgamer3717d ago (Edited 3717d ago )

that aswell.

as i sad, there was 2 reasons for 720p&60fps in ffxiv. framerate for certain boss battles can help in a sense. i remember having trouble with certain bosses on ps3 because of fps mixed with internet lag.

another reason was the graphical downgrade can help with world bosses, my ps3 could not load any bosses or players on screen so i couldnt join in, didnt test that on my ps4 though.

i guess some games can benefit from these graphical swtches especially mmo and crossplay between pc games.

so if that crowdfunded space game ever hits consoles, hopefully a graphical setting would help so we can have a more fairer play

170°

Why did EA Kill Project CARS?

This video explains why we think Electronic Arts didn't see a future in the sim racing title Project CARS and promptly cancelled the fourth instalment.

Jin_Sakai962d ago

After the last installment I’d say most hardcore fans left. It’s just not that good anymore so I can’t really blame EA this time.

masterfox962d ago

because it was always a project and it never got finished :D

ChubbyBlade960d ago

Every game is a project. Your joke doesn’t make sense

InUrFoxHole960d ago

It makes perfect sense. It's obviously a play on the title. Jesus christ you must be a blast at parties.

ApocalypseShadow961d ago (Edited 961d ago )

Ask Bullfrog or Black Box or Tiburon or Studio 33 or Criterion or any of the previously acquired developers who made racing games as competition, or as developers of EA games, then eventually dissolved into oblivion or reassigned. Just ask them. They'll tell you why.

ApocalypseShadow960d ago

Oh. I forgot. Even Code Masters were absorbed into Criterion. Another racing developer EA took over.

Every racing developer either absorbed by EA or eventually destroyed by them. They either kill competition or have them in the end make Need 4 Speed for them.

MadLad960d ago

EA only cancels projects for one reason.
They didn't see enough money in it.

Kombatologist960d ago (Edited 960d ago )

Not when it's because it didn't meet some crazy margin. It's like if something doesn't make EA a billion dollars on day one (I'm exaggerating that figure of course), they swiftly put it out to pasture.

SurgicalMenace960d ago (Edited 960d ago )

Much like if you're spending money on what's a bad investment for your desired goals, you'd do away with it, if you're wise. We should try to get away from thinking we know more about business than individuals that have been doing it for decades. Perhaps you could benefit from going into business instead of wasting all of your talents in comment sections. It's clear that you're the missing piece that EA's been looking for.

MadLad959d ago

I've made a good amount of money betting on underdog investments over the years.

EA sets unrealistic expectations of their more niche developers, yet continue to fund absolute blunders like DICE and the Battlefield series year after year.

dumahim960d ago

EA butted in and messed with the formula and act shocked when it doesn't work out.

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90°

Original Project CARS creator trying to re-hire EA team

Ian Bell, the founder of Slightly Mad Studios, is aiming to hire former Project CARS employees to work on his upcoming GTR Revival project.

Sgt_Slaughter964d ago

If it's just going to be another sim-cade that doesn't do either one correctly then no thanks.

Project CARS 2 was a step in the right direction but the physics still aren't where they should have been, so what did they do for PC3? Go completely arcade. That killed the franchise.

220°

EA dropping Project CARS

From GI.biz: "EA is dropping Project CARS, GamesIndustry.biz can reveal.

The Slightly Mad Studios-developed series was launched in 2015, with EA confirming today that it has made the decision to "stop further development and investment" in the franchise.

The announcement was made internally and it's unclear at this stage to which extent staff could be affected. EA said that employees working on Project CARS will be moved into "suitable" roles "wherever [they] can.""

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
Terry_B966d ago

Typical for EA. They buy studios that created nice games..and are sooner or later destroying them and move the people to work on the old same 5+ EA series.

italiangamer966d ago

They will put the developers on the 1000th Need for Speed for the rest of their entire careers, just like Criterion.

SurgicalMenace965d ago

To be fair, it's not EAs fault it falls directly on the consumer. Everytime these companies choose to drop a series they're met with backlash though the gamers didn't support said series enough to justify its continuation. Attempting to paint every company as evil all because they're in it to succeed is ridiculous. They have to make money just like each of us typing in this section. If a job wasn't supporting you well you'd quit and find a new one, this is the same mentality concerning series.

TheColbertinator965d ago

@SurgicalMenace

No it is their fault. They don't listen to fans and burn the franchise to the ground by introducing elements that nobody wanted instead of increasing support for said respected franchises.

I order a steak, they make a steak. 1st sale
I order a steak again, they vomit on my steak and charge me more for it. No sale.

EA in a nutshell.

Tapani965d ago

@TheColbinator Well how do you think they make the billions then?

Their fans ARE buying their games. You are just not their focus group, and I can guarantee their customer insights team is more thorough and detailed in their reaearch than any N4G commentors’ opinion on the matter. Otherwise EA would not exist as a company, and they’d be bankrupt.

deleted965d ago

The one that still hurts the most though was Criterion w the Burnout series. Acquired Criterion's tech for their own existing IP, then shut em down. It's basically parasitic. I sure do miss Burnout's crash mode!

Hofstaderman965d ago

Sounds eerily similar to another large unnamed corporation hey. I believe some EA bigwigs shifted to that company back in the day, would explain the similarities.

rlow1965d ago

Must be talking about Sony

peppeaccardo966d ago

and instead they come out with that piece of shit of Need for Speed which looks like an Anna & Barbera cartoon. C'mon .... PC2 was my go to game for VR racing and the first one i played for tens of hours. i was so lookiing forward to PC4 after that failure of PC3 ... what a shame EA, they are bombing all the good games and stick to the garbage ones. EA when you think you have reached maximum of disappointment they top it off with style .... screw them!

SurgicalMenace965d ago

Need for Speed continues to sell so why would they get rid of what's producing what they need to maintain stability?

EazyC965d ago

What they did to this series was idiotic. The premise was great -- a sim/simcade game that GENUINELY got developed in line with its community. There is a huge gap in the market for this...I mean, PD hasn't listened to fans at all over the last year with regard to simple Gran Turismo 7 tweaks. Sim racing fans are screaming for a title where they actually give a shit about their users.

Project Cars 2 was genuinely on to something, it just needed some refinement. But instead they followed up by selling off to EA with a braindead GRID clone with Project Cars 3. Again...idiotic.

SurgicalMenace965d ago

Well since you're the authority on properly managing a million dollar company, why don't you just call them to let them know of your divine wisdom?

Hardcore sim racers are the ones who are competing acrossed the globe, no company in their right mind would focus on a forever moving casual market. They have to focus on those dedicated to supporting their efforts. Notice how you're speaking from a perspective of self opposed to the collective. Perhaps they sold out because they, like us, needed the money knowing that they could reinvest it into something new. PC was a decent racer but very few people mainlined it over GT or Forza.

EazyC965d ago

I'm not a divine authority but I notice a pattern where these huge corporations turn completely tone deaf of what the "average fan" wants.

vallencer965d ago

Hate to break it to you but project cars 3 was published by Bandai in 2020. EA didn't buy codemasters, which owned slightly mad studios, until 2021. Either way the sales were super poor for the game and it's not surprising EA would just drop the game. BUT it still sucks because it's one less sim racing game on the market. Especially because the first 2 were really good.

Tzuno965d ago

and focuses more on cartoon network games

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