Formula 1 - Codemasters

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

The thing is; the game does work. And it's going to sell to a lot of people. The issue is that the F1 fans/people who do buy it are very knowledgable on their sport; and you are selling to a lot of these people.

I wonder what the ratio is between 'casual racing fans' and 'F1 anal geeks' who are buying this. I wonder for example how many of the bugs / rulebreaking ('cheating AI') stuff I'd have noticed if it wasn't for this thread as I'm not really that much into F1 at all. I like watching the races every once in a while and often stick around when the qualification is going on but I've hardly got any encyclopaedic knowledge of all the rules and regulations and stuff. I can imagine I wouldn't even notice a lot of the cheating or oddities or omissions because I'm not looking that detailed into the whole thing.

TL;DR version: The above rambling is asking how likely it is that people with shallow interest in F1 will even notice the bugs and shortcomings.

[Guest]

TL;DR version: The above rambling is asking how likely it is that people with shallow interest in F1 will even notice the bugs and shortcomings.

Check metacritic for your answer?

[Hawkeye]

I'm a casual F1 watcher, and I've noticed all sorts of problems. The sad truth is the problems in this release aren't anal small things that you'd never notice unless you're a huge fan of F1, they're completely obvious to anyone who wants to play a racing game.

[Guest]

Look.

It's got F1 cars in, they go around the track, you can race championships; stop complaining! What did you expect?

[Hawkeye]

Look.

It's got F1 cars in, they go around the track, you can race championships; stop complaining! What did you expect?

The abilty to race those tracks, rather than time trail around them with other vechiles on the road that don't appear to be following the same rules that you need to!

[Guest]

The official forums are brilliant

http://community.codemasters.com/forum/f1-2010-game-1316/429298-unofficial-f1-2010-bugs-errors-list-109.html#post6545357

guys i have set my self a target date and if by this date the game is not fixed i will be returning it to the shop and asking for a refund i think that every one should do so unless codemasters act on the problems in the game i have been waiting for so long for this game and then you get all this bugs and errors

that ourtagious

that ourtagious indeed.

Where as this is somewhat haunting, chilling...

[Kazit]

A patch has to be released, codies cant really leave a game out there in this state or can they?

[tyler]

A couple of interesting tweets from Steve Hood (T4RG4) today, this first one is quite telling:

Pleased to hear you are enjoying the game in its current form

Even the devs make it sound like it's in a right state. And another regards any official comment on the patch:

As soon as something official is available, I'll link to it on the forum. I'm not sure when this will be (or even if it's today).

[Wools]

I remember meeting a guy who spent a while as a tester at Codemasters. He told me the extent of how dull it was, as he was given a driving game and had to do everything you could think of, including reversing round the track hugging every fence to make sure there are no breaks in the barrier.

I assume he works somewhere else now.

Would you buy a racing game where a Games Tester has not performed any tests of that calibre? I imagine that every single bug in the game was spotted by Test but the game was rushed for release and final polishing and fixing never occurred.

On that note, I got stuck on a marshal exit wall around Melbourne in F1 2010 after a shunt and had to restart. I've also had a few corrupted ghost records and not being allowed to exit my pit box in till the 23rd car has passed on every pit stop I've been part of.

Despite this the core game is still brilliant and the best Formula 1 game I've ever played. If Codemasters can fix the major issues then it'll be great for faith in the next instalment.

[Guest]

Even the devs make it sound like it's in a right state.

That's a bit of a mistake I think. To say "In it's current form" sounds like they're saying that you shouldn't have spent your money

I do feel for the team somewhat, although if production bit of more than they could chew; who's fault is it that it's in such a state?

[Meers]

Am surprised at the lashback! I haven't noticed a single bug yet.

I have now after 2 career races: in one P session it was telling me it was sunny, when it clearly was overcast. Also, I qualified 3rd on Bahrain, but got a 5-place penalty because I broke too late into the pits...then when the race started I was in 18th position. Eh?

I did win though, on 50% race distance and Expert difficulty without any assists whatsoever. It's quite easy, I find. The handling is ace but too much on the arcady side still, and being a Forza crack it's way easier to control one of these F1 cars than, say, a Holden V12. No wonder with all the grip and downforce F1 cars have. It's really not that hard and I'm quite surprised at all the people here going "OMG it's well hard, innit?". I reckon the AI is pretty good too, they've never once collided with me (just give them room and respect their Parkinson's behaviour) and all of them did their pitstops.

Flashpoint was a kick in the teeth for me, such an undercooked game from a company i've loved since buying their £1.99 Amstrad games from my newsagents in the 80's. I refused to buy Dirt 2 because of it.

DiRT2 didn't have bugs at all, save for a few minor ones (TT ghosts didn't work for a while). You missed out on an awesome racer, man.

Again, I still rate this game highly, especially in the actual racing (online and TT) department. I don't play career modes much in racing games (9% progress in Forza 3 still - lol) so that's why you haven't heard me about those bugs yet - because I haven't encountered them yet.

[Guest]

I have now after 2 career races: in one P session it was telling me it was sunny, when it clearly was overcast. Also, I qualified 3rd on Bahrain, but got a 5-place penalty because I broke too late into the pits...then when the race started I was in 18th position. Eh?

3rd, 5 place penalty.

3+(5*3) = 18!

Solved

DiRT2 didn't have bugs at all, save for a few minor ones (TT ghosts didn't work for a while). You missed out on an awesome racer, man.

I guess the D2 money was pumped into F1, ftw!

[Karzee]

Again, I still rate this game highly, especially in the actual racing (online and TT) department. I don't play career modes much in racing games (9% progress in Forza 3 still - lol) so that's why you haven't heard me about those bugs yet - because I haven't encountered them yet.

The only bug I get in TT, and it MUST a bug, is having the next lap invalidated even though, say, I spin out on the other side of the track well away from the final corner. I mean why invalidate the next lap when I can't start it with an advantage?

[tyler]

That was probably just implemented the way it is as they've didn't have time to test where it should come in to effect on each track.

[dayte]

I find the telemetry info the biggest of the balls up, say I've pitted and I want to know the time between me and the rest of the pack, according to the sector/lap time comparisons I would be losing 3 seconds a lap to them, yet 5 laps later I'm making my way through the pack

[Sekiro]

I did win though, on 50% race distance and Expert difficulty without any assists whatsoever. It's quite easy, I find. The handling is ace but too much on the arcady side still, and being a Forza crack it's way easier to control one of these F1 cars than, say, a Holden V12.

Cheers for this dude - is there a full on realistic mode per chance?

[Harns]

Cheers for this dude - is there a full on realistic mode per chance?

There's an extra ai setting called Legend. I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep up in my Lotus.

[Guest]

There's an extra ai setting called Legend. I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep up in my Lotus.

Is that because you're stuck in the pits? Badoom-tish.

[morcs]

On the realism thing, imagine trying to drive a real F1 car remotely through a camera/TV screen setup. That's what a realistic sim would feel like (pretty much impossible).

People would just complain that it feels like driving on ice (like they do with PC sims).

So I guess they have to say it has incredibly realistic physics (or people wouldn't buy it) then tone down the physics (or people wouldn't buy it).

[Meers]

3rd, 5 place penalty.

3+(5*3) = 18!

Great logic there, Disciple.

I just got back from work, and on the last roundabout before I got home, my VW Polo's front tires lost grip due to the wet tarmac (as I love attacking roundabouts, taking the best line possible through them). Anyway, were it not for the hundreds of hours that I spent in Forza/DiRT/F1/MarioKart, I would have lost it and spun out, but in a reflex I released the throttle as soon as I felt it go, and the car straightened out immediately. It felt just like in Forza 3. I shit you not.

Is there a lesson in this? Yes there is:

Buy a fucking force feedback wheel for these types of games. It makes you a better driver IRL (in theory, at least).

I'm only half serious, mind. I've had racing lessons at the Dutch TT track in Assen and an anti-slip course in the past.

[djbhammer]

Codemasters confirmed on twitter they were holding an emergency meeting today to address the bugs and patch.

Love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting!

Online races have been awesome for me so far.

Oh, check out the triple screen set up below!

http://www.fordfiestast.co.uk/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=231768&Main=213689

[Guest]

Great logic there, Disciple.

It seems to be the Codies Logic

Codemasters confirmed on twitter they were holding an emergency meeting today to address the bugs and patch.

Love to be a fly on the wall in that meeting!

"Oh shit. They noticed!"

[dayte]

I just got my first sub 2 min time on Bahrain during a race, a full 4 seconds faster than anything I got with the pad! I also knocked over a bollard that somehow managed to attach itself onto the front right tyre until the end of the race which was weird.

[Karzee]

Why don't the brake lights work in this game? I was just doing a TT, watched a replay and noticed they weren't coming on. Switched views in another TT to check and, nope, no brake lights.

[Guest]

Why don't the brake lights work in this game? I was just doing a TT, watched a replay and noticed they weren't coming on. Switched views in another TT to check and, nope, no brake lights.

You're worried about the brake lights now? Seriously?

[Blu3Flame]

I didn't think F1 cars had brake lights.

[Karzee]

You're worried about the brake lights now? Seriously?

Yep. I got shunted into so much last night online that I reckon having brake lights that actually worked would help...y'know, like in real life.

[McSpeed]

Right, the bugs are starting to annoy me more as well now. I did my first Career race (3 season, Professional AI, Sauber) and finished fourth on Bahrain behind Vettel, Webber and Kovalainen. WHAT THE FUCK.

Also did a pitstop in that race, had to wait a second or two until I could drive out, only to spawn right into Massa's Ferrari, which was exiting the pits as well

There might have been a bug in our multiplayer session last night as well: during a pretty wet Qualifying session on Spa, some of us hardly (to not at all) felt the effect of water on the track with slicks fitted. Not to mention how damage was set to Cosmetic, but when some players lost the nose cones of their cars, they suddenly suffered from great understeer.

Still really enjoying this, especially the occasional really intense multiplayer race, like one with Karzee and some randoms on Valencia last night But boy, those bugs...

See, this is pretty much massaging review scores when it happens. It also makes reviewers seem unprofessional and rubbish at their job/or that they've not played it.

Plus, of course, the company are clearly lying to get better scores. Then once it's published, on the net, and on metacritic, what does it matter? They've got the result they wanted.

There's no way of knowing if this did happen with F1 2010, it would be interesting to know though.

This is true, unfortunately. That's why I'm happy I'm in a position where I can review games a few weeks after they have been released, to play the actual final version AND see how it is online.

Cheers for this dude - is there a full on realistic mode per chance?

Yes. You'll get a nice realistic experience with all the assists off, the rules switched to realistic and strict AND the AI on Legendary. Best of luck beating that

Why don't the brake lights work in this game? I was just doing a TT, watched a replay and noticed they weren't coming on. Switched views in another TT to check and, nope, no brake lights.

F1 cars don't have brake lights man

[Guest]

Yep. I got shunted into so much last night online that I reckon having brake lights that actually worked would help...y'know, like in real life.

One thing at a time, let them fix the save corruption, etc!

[Karzee]

I didn't think F1 cars had brake lights.

F1 cars don't have brake lights man

Oh ok. I swear I'd seen red lights on the back of F1 cars.

Still really enjoying this, especially the occasional really intense multiplayer race, like one with Karzee and some randoms on Valencia last night But boy, those bugs...

Yeah that was a great F1 moment. Three of us nose-to-tail hammering it around blind corners, keeping as close as possible to the person in front but being careful enough not to smash into them. Pity about the final corner though when all three of us went off.