Started a career last night (god damn right I went with Lotus). Unfortunately at Melbourne, it rained during qualy. The dry practice session was a blast though. The new handling model is soooo much better. The tires actually feel like they are made of rubber and not just some arbitrary grip simulation. You can feel slides and correct them! F12010 had way too snappy oversteer. I had to turn down my wheel sensitivity so much to ever catch even the smallest of slides. Moreover, you can use the curbs much more effectively thanks to the new suspension model. Going a little on the grass is no longer a death sentence either. Which is great cause as you can see from races like Monza, F1 cars have no problem putting a wheel off even at insane speeds.
The DRS system is awesome in P and Q. So much fun pushing the limits of how early you can turn it on. Corner exit DRS drift...amazing feeling. Did a quick online race and got to use KERS and DRS which just makes everything feel hectic, but in a good way. I respect the complexity of driving an F1 car even more and I already had nothing but ultimate respect for F1 drivers. It is also cool that you don't get the HUD overlay of DRS and KERS when in cockpit view. I like the authenticity of using my wheel for all the data. Thank god for that little DRS beep!
So back to the wet situation. The AI's supreme wet ability (I had the AI set to Professional) has been mentioned already but I just wanted to add my own two cents. First off, if you accelerate time during a wet session, the track will not dry (visually) until you begin driving on it. However, the AI will get better and better times in the session as if the track was drying. So I fast forwarded to like 5 minutes left in Q1, went out to a full wet track, and the dry line did start to show after two laps, but all of the other cars were putting in blistering times. The times even at the back of the field in the wet were faster than I did on my first dry practice session (it was my first outing with the game so I am sure I was a few seconds of my best pace). Still, they were basically putting in dry times in the wet. Not to mention it was still raining this entire time so the track couldn't have been that dry on the line. (the dry line is a great effect though, every racing game with rain needs this!)
What is so odd about the AI in the wet is how the game "cheats" their speed. It seems completely arbitrary. I was out braking them with ease but they just effortlessly floated through apexes far faster than I could and as mentioned by others, pulled out of the corners with TC set to 11! This insane corner exit speed means they will dominate the high speed sectors of a track. Although I was +7 seconds off 23rd place, I was almost the fastest car through sector 2 at Melbourne.
This needs to be patched because I am not putting on TC, ever. The handling model is too damn good and catching a slide is spine tingling at times. This game is probably the best wet weather experience to date (AI aside). Other games I feel like I race exactly the same in the wet, just slower. With F12011 I feel like I can really hang it out there and go for it in a Senna-esq way. This wet AI situation is a shame because it is casting a huge shadow over an otherwise fantastic game. I hope my season isn't filled with rain because it ruins your career.
Lastly, PS3 version. It is fine. Not the prettiest, but your immersion is so intense I don't even notice the jaggies once the action starts. Some games I have felt the lower quality console resolutions/gfx have hindered gameplay, this is not the case with 2011. It isn't going to win a beauty pageant but she is still worth taking home and marrying.
Edit: G27 on PS3, no issues. Would like the wheel to feel a little heavier when cornering but I'll live.
