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DiRT Rally is available on Steam Early Access

DJ_Lae

Member
New league is up now. It's super short unfortunately, since I couldn't be bothered to test this theory with more event.

It being short is okay. It's weird going back to the RWD cars after playing Group B and Group A championships, as they made me forget I disabled all assists including traction control. Losing power to all four wheels makes that immediately obvious, as I was fishtailing all over the place for the first half.
 
Does league play enforce specific assist settings at all? i.e. no one can have traction control or ABS on?

I played with every setting on 1 since Day 1, is it that much different than OFF?

Sidenote: I finally got the hang of the 60's Fulvia to score my first ever 1st place in a race, and a championship! When I glanced on the left side of the HUD that I was AHEAD of pace for the first time ever, the adrenaline I had as I blazed through the course was taking control and I became less careful and more bold in my cornering and feathering my throttle/breaking and it became less mechanical and more fluid and natural.

Out of nowhere I stopped listening while trying to match the pacenotes and just "heard them" in the back of my mind as I felt the flow of the stage I was driving through and used them as a suggestion for breaking points , when to handbrake and how to aim for apexes.

I was ALWAYS barely making 3rd, 20seconds-2minutes below the pace, it was really demoralizing. Idk what happened, but it just... clicked! I was so excited I was breathless and slack-jawed for a few minutes as I watched the replay over and over. I couldn't believe it was me, and that driving at what I surely thought was a reckless pace had finally payed off somehow.

So i decided to buy the Stratos and turn all my assists from 1 to OFF, and got rid of the HUD. (Keep in mind I'm using a 360 pad) And I've got to say, I'm finally beginning to enjoy this game. Is this what it feels like to get past the beginners learning curve in a punishing sim-racer? I was always a fan of the sim-cade rally from the DiRT series prior to this and I had my doubts about DiRT Rally and if I could like it, I was on the verge of giving up, too.

I cant wait until I I've saved up enough to get the Fanatec CSR Wheelfor this game! (compatible with all consoles but XBone so i can try out no assists in Forza 4, Driveclub, and play around in PGR ;D )
 

Robaperas

Junior Member
2nd corner in my first stage on the league, puncture left back, tire blows up right at the end of the second section, now the car just goes left down the cliffs. I love this game.
 
I played with every setting on 1 since Day 1, is it that much different than OFF?

Sidenote: I finally got the hang of the 60's Fulvia to score my first ever 1st place in a race, and a championship! When I glanced on the left side of the HUD that I was AHEAD of pace for the first time ever, the adrenaline I had as I blazed through the course was taking control and I became less careful and more bold in my cornering and feathering my throttle/breaking and it became less mechanical and more fluid and natural.

Out of nowhere I stopped listening while trying to match the pacenotes and just "heard them" in the back of my mind as I felt the flow of the stage I was driving through and used them as a suggestion for breaking points , when to handbrake and how to aim for apexes.

I was ALWAYS barely making 3rd, 20seconds-2minutes below the pace, it was really demoralizing. Idk what happened, but it just... clicked! I was so excited I was breathless and slack-jawed for a few minutes as I watched the replay over and over. I couldn't believe it was me, and that driving at what I surely thought was a reckless pace had finally payed off somehow.

So i decided to buy the Stratos and turn all my assists from 1 to OFF, and got rid of the HUD. (Keep in mind I'm using a 360 pad) And I've got to say, I'm finally beginning to enjoy this game. Is this what it feels like to get past the beginners learning curve in a punishing sim-racer? I was always a fan of the sim-cade rally from the DiRT series prior to this and I had my doubts about DiRT Rally and if I could like it, I was on the verge of giving up, too.

I cant wait until I I've saved up enough to get the Fanatec CSR Wheelfor this game! (compatible with all consoles but XBone so i can try out no assists in Forza 4, Driveclub, and play around in PGR ;D )

Kudos to you sir! Well done ... I can only compare to when I came third (once) after racking up race after race being 3:00+ minutes off the pace .. quite the rush indeed. :)

There's somewhat more practice to go before I lay claim to a first place spot .. but look forward to it....if it's anything like you describe :)

Well done again ...
 
ahhhhhh rear-wheel-drive is hard

But at least I didn't crash out or do anything incredibly dumb this time. Just one penalty for having to recover the vehicle from a ditch. I guess I'll be taking these league races slow and steady from now on, even if it keeps me in the bottom half of the standings.

Weird that the Codemasters site doesn't seem to keep historical data for leagues, though. It's like the previous season never existed, unless I'm missing something on the site?
 
ahhhhhh rear-wheel-drive is hard

But at least I didn't crash out or do anything incredibly dumb this time. Just one penalty for having to recover the vehicle from a ditch. I guess I'll be taking these league races slow and steady from now on, even if it keeps me in the bottom half of the standings.

Weird that the Codemasters site doesn't seem to keep historical data for leagues, though. It's like the previous season never existed, unless I'm missing something on the site?

Oh, yes it is, I bought the Fiat 151 right after getting used to the Mini, and I'm sliding all over the place, every hairpin makes me lose a few seconds each.
Frustrating but addicting.

I did the 'Professional' grade career championship in the MkII Escort after two championships in the Mini. I was really struggling at first but by the end I was getting podiums on every stage. I ended the championship in 3rd.

While they're difficult to begin with, once you get the hang of it they're IMO the most rewarding cars to drive in game.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
9/17 of the league event. ObamaNotBad.jpg for a controller.

That night stage absolutely wrecked me though. Those starting hairpins were completely blind to me.

Today's daily, meanwhile: Fun fun fun. I dunno if the snow was making me lose grip, but I didn't really have problems going at 40-50MPH down the stage. Didn't lose traction except maybe once and that was going over 50.

I know the community manager dude is reading this thread so: Can we please have the MPH HUD display in cockpit/head view? If not that, can we PLEASE have the option to remove the in-game cockpit wheel from view so I can see the speedo easily? I'm taking corners and wanting to see my speed by the wheel and hands in-game are blocking my view. It's kinda driving me crazy.

(Also can someone explain the pacenotes numbers and DC/AC to me?)
 

DD

Member
I'm currently in 7th, but I have no confidence that I'll score any points today. Sometimes I can drive well, but the silly mistakes I do really f*ck my runs. :(
 

Robaperas

Junior Member
I did the 'Professional' grade career championship in the MkII Escort after two championships in the Mini. I was really struggling at first but by the end I was getting podiums on every stage. I ended the championship in 3rd.

While they're difficult to begin with, once you get the hang of it they're IMO the most rewarding cars to drive in game.

Well, I was wrong about the car, I bought the Escort not the Fiat 131. I'm currently 3rd in the Clubman championship but... I can't stop puncturing my back tires, I slide waaaay too much coming out of 4 or 3 bends, I'm 3.30.00 off the pace just because I lost my left tire mid-stage :/

Any tips?
 
Well, I was wrong about the car, I bought the Escort not the Fiat 131. I'm currently 3rd in the Clubman championship but... I can't stop puncturing my back tires, I slide waaaay too much coming out of 4 or 3 bends, I'm 3.30.00 off the pace just because I lost my left tire mid-stage :/

Any tips?

On loose surfaces start wide and turn in early, that'll get the car going sideways but more or less in a straight line and then apply throttle to push the car through the turn. On your way out aim for the later apex. Because you're starting wide, it should minimise how wide you are on your exit.

I also changed the set up on the car; shifting the brake bias a tad to the front and loosening up the rear diff by a couple of notches.
 

Robaperas

Junior Member
On loose surfaces start wide and turn in early, that'll get the car going sideways but more or less in a straight line and then apply throttle to push the car through the turn. On your way out aim for the later apex. Because you're starting wide, it should minimise how wide you are on your exit.

I also changed the set up on the car; shifting the brake bias a tad to the front and loosening up the rear diff by a couple of notches.

Thanks! I'm gonna try to enter a bit wider, my only problem are those narrow greek roads, I keep clipping everything on my way out of the corners.

Thanks again!
 
Thanks! I'm gonna try to enter a bit wider, my only problem are those narrow greek roads, I keep clipping everything on my way out of the corners.

Thanks again!

It's more or less a Scandinavian flick. Also, don't be afraid to brake a little bit earlier. Often just going smoothly and without mistakes is faster than trying to race at 100% the whole time.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Woah, the Mini Cooper doesn't mess around in the mud. Maybe choosing it for starting off the career mode probably wasn't the best idea. lol
 
Maybe not (but why when it uses DiRT3's engine?).
They should at least tell that that's the case.

Presumably they've worked on and updated the engine over the four years since DiRT 3's release. That version of the engine is known as EGO 2.0, while DiRT Rally uses EGO 4.0. To simplify it as the DiRT engine would be a disservice as it's the engine they use throughout the company on every game they make.

If you put any faith in the idea that they've improved the engine (at least for their internal workflow) over the years, supporting both DX10.1 and 11 wouldn't be like flipping a switch. There would be increased QA costs at a minimum.
 

Schryver

Member
Enjoyed the GAF event tonight. I lost about 20 seconds on the final turn of stage 1 :/ Stage 2 was really good I thought (and lots of fun). Only in 8th place though!
 

Peru

Member
I'm kind of happy it's early access and content comes in stages here, because I can really work without distractions on getting the basics right in my driving. I've certainly cut off a few minutes of racing time since my first attempts, and there's still plenty to work on.
 

murgo

Member
I was the first one to do the league event yesterday and fully expected to be thrown back down the leaderboards real bad today. But I'm still fourth yay! :D
 

Kelas

The Beastie Boys are the first hip hop group in years to have something to say
I much prefer to hear the number before the direction. For example, "3 left", rather than "left 3", is a more efficient/prioritised communication of the information I need approaching a corner.

There have been a lot of spots where the calls are coming way too late, when I'm already committed to my best guess for (or loose memory of) a corner, which often results in lost time. Pretty much every occasion wasn't for lack of opportunity to make the call either. There's usually ample silence on the run up to the corner to make the call, but for whatever reason it's delivered too late.

I would also prefer to hear the calls spoken faster and enunciated more clearly, but that's a personal preference really.

I do appreciate the effort they've put in as described in that blog though, and for the most part they get the job done.

I have read suggestions for a timeline editor of sorts for manual adjustment of each call, but I imagine the cost:benefit of implementing such a thing would be prohibitive. Extra increments for the existing delivery slider (earlier, normal, later) would be nice though. An option halfway between earlier and normal would be best for me, for example.
 
Presumably they've worked on and updated the engine over the four years since DiRT 3's release. That version of the engine is known as EGO 2.0, while DiRT Rally uses EGO 4.0. To simplify it as the DiRT engine would be a disservice as it's the engine they use throughout the company on every game they make.

If you put any faith in the idea that they've improved the engine (at least for their internal workflow) over the years, supporting both DX10.1 and 11 wouldn't be like flipping a switch. There would be increased QA costs at a minimum.
Okay, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
 
Dammit, despite doing terrible in Elite Championship, 6th in Wales (Lancia Stratos), 4th in Greece (Stratos), 3rd in Monaco (Fiat Abarth), I still got promoted to Master:

unbenannt5au7k.png

I'm not ready for this.
 

Robaperas

Junior Member
I entered the Giant Bomb league, I was first after 3 stages, mid-stage 4 I managed to blow up a tire, now I'm at the bottom of the table. I still love the game.
 
Can anyone recommend settings for the Driving Force GT? I don't know enough to know what's most realistic, but I can tell you that out of the box, DiRT rally's force feedback seems a lot lighter than what I get with the same wheel on Dirt 2/3.
 

Kelas

The Beastie Boys are the first hip hop group in years to have something to say
Practicing ferm wynt, in cockpit view, can barely hear the co driver. All other audio as low as allowed, speech at max.

Anyone know if there's a way to lower the audio below the limits?
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.

What's AC then? Always Cut?

I'm used to Rallysport Challenge's "EASY LEFT/RIGHT" "MEDIUM LEFT/RIGHT" "HAIRPIN LEFT/RIGHT" calls so the numbers for Dirt Rally is a bit a change of pace. What's also with the 100 50 paper numbers? Meters/feet from the corner?

I kinda wish they'd redo the icons for the pace notes, while I'm thinking of it. They're a bit hard to catch out of the corner of my eye while focusing on the road.
 

Aerocrane

Member
What's AC then? Always Cut?

I'm used to Rallysport Challenge's "EASY LEFT/RIGHT" "MEDIUM LEFT/RIGHT" "HAIRPIN LEFT/RIGHT" calls so the numbers for Dirt Rally is a bit a change of pace. What's also with the 100 50 paper numbers? Meters/feet from the corner?

I kinda wish they'd redo the icons for the pace notes, while I'm thinking of it. They're a bit hard to catch out of the corner of my eye while focusing on the road.

The numbers are distance in meters to the next corner. You really should try to disable the co-driver icons and just listen to the pacenotes, I personally find them far too distracting when driving. It takes time to learn to drive without the icons, but it's definitely worth it as it allows you to concentrate on the driving more in my opinion.
 

Robaperas

Junior Member
What's AC then? Always Cut?

I'm used to Rallysport Challenge's "EASY LEFT/RIGHT" "MEDIUM LEFT/RIGHT" "HAIRPIN LEFT/RIGHT" calls so the numbers for Dirt Rally is a bit a change of pace. What's also with the 100 50 paper numbers? Meters/feet from the corner?

I kinda wish they'd redo the icons for the pace notes, while I'm thinking of it. They're a bit hard to catch out of the corner of my eye while focusing on the road.

AC is Acute, I think it's an even more closed hairpin.
 

Afro

Member

Another key element of Pikes Peak is the change in altitude. The difference in air pressure has a huge impact on the power the engine can produce and how much downforce is created by those big wings. Power loss with altitude is something we already simulate (you may have noticed a difference in car performance between Wales and Greece) but in Pikes Peak you actually get to feel the power drop as you climb. I’ll talk a bit more about Hillclimb next week so watch this space.”

so cool.
 
New Road Book Entry

Pikes Peak preview and Neogaf league shoutout.

WOW! How did we get featured? Now we're going to have all sorts of people join the League, how do we know they are GAF members though?


Also... simulating power loss based on altitude per stage is nice, but IN REAL TIME? Wow, I'd certainly like a Dev Diary video on how they managed to really simulate hillclimb, better yet, a Dev Diary on the making of Pike's Peak and behind the scenes with the rally drivers who tested it would be amazing!
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
WOW! How did we get featured? Now we're going to have all sorts of people join the League, how do we know they are GAF members though?

No chance of that since you can't make it invite only, AFAIK? :/

League jumped from 20 this morning to 50 or so now. Th-Thanks Codemasters?
 
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