DiRT Rally is savage

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 05/09/2016 at 21:56 • Filed to: None

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I have been playing rally games for my entire life. That is only good enough to stay on the road in DiRT Rally.

I grabbed the game a while back when it was on sale but hadn’t touched it because I don’t have access to my G27 at school. Tonight I decided to try a few stages with my xbox one controller as a quick break from studying for finals. Surprisingly the controller is a competent input device though it lacks the precision you really need. While I was able to keep it on the road for the most part my lines were atrocious and I am 20 seconds off the pace of the professional difficulty AI. Overall I like the game. The cars sound good and seem to handle realistically (I’m going to hold off on final judgement until I can try it with my wheel). I don’t like the style of the pace notes though. Too much information I don’t really care about (I don’t need to know about every junction). I like the game after about 10 stages and I think we may finally have a successor to Richard Burns Rally after nearly 12 years.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 21:59

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I agree. I got it the other day, and with my Xbone controller, it’s a tough game. I really need a steering wheel.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 22:07

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its SUPER tough with a wheel too, its impossible for me to do a clean run in anything other than a Lancia Fulvia or a classic mini.

Dusty Ventures > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 22:10

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The detailed notes are part of Codemasters’ intent to make this a thorough, detailed, realistic rally sim. There’s a lot of stuff in the notes that is unnecessary for most gamers and more casual rallyists, but for the hardcore competitors where every tenth counts every word of those notes is valuable. Hell, some competitors would add even more.

Also, obligatory:

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Dusty Ventures 05/09/2016 at 22:19

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And this is what it looks like when you actually go fast in a game. I wouldn’t know.

Hot Takes Salesman > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 22:21

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Good christ this game is like actual rally- elation, even joy, blasting down straights and turns in a Renault Alpine, on course for the win, and accurate levels of misery when you hit a rock and completely bin the whole run

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 22:23

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I’ve gotten fairly decent with a dual stick, it just takes practice. Just whatever you do, do NOT buy a Group B car until you’ve think you’re ready. I know they’re the cheapest AWD cars in the game, but they are absolute monsters and will make you real frustrated real fast.

MarquetteLa > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 22:32

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This is me taking 21st fastest time in the world on this stage (at the time, a month ago on PS4). This game is unbelievably good with a wheel.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Dusty Ventures 05/09/2016 at 22:47

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It really is a preference thing. I prefer the more minimalist notes that Colin McRae used to use over the more informative notes used by a lot of the current drivers.

Actually now that I think about it a lot of the drivers from the 90s and 2000s used to use simpler notes than a lot of the current drivers use.

Dusty Ventures > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/09/2016 at 23:00

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Notes have evolved greatly. Back in the early 80's notes didn’t include all the corners, just junctions and places where the driver could go the wrong direction. Mid/late 80's saw the start of actual pace notes, with all the corners and crests, but they used corner descriptions like fast/easy/medium/tight/hairpin. Numeric notes started around 1990, and Colin was actually a big part of popularizing that. Now we’ve seen another evolution beyond that with even more detailed notes, with +/- modifiers that effectively triple the corner scale, the number system being applied to blind crests, increased use of landmarks in notes, and more detail on the line to take through the corners.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/10/2016 at 06:39

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I’m intrigued, compared to RBR, almost all rally games have nowhere near the same sim feel....hoping you’re right about this one! I’ll have to try and pick it up! :)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Dusty Ventures 05/10/2016 at 12:48

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I kinda want to see the change in notes between 1982 and 1986. The sheer speed of the Group B cars must have brought massive change to the notes.

Dusty Ventures > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/10/2016 at 16:23

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This video with the intercom from John Buffum can give you some idea. Compare it to the notes from Ari Vatanen’s famous “dear God” video