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[Bioshocker]

I enjoyed Dirt Rally on Xbox 360 but I never liked the new Dirt on Xbox One. The controls just didn't feel right, it felt way too hardcore for my taste and compared to Driveclub and Forza Horizon 3 the graphics are far behind.

 

[Lord British]

Awesome news.

 

[wouwie]

I bought Dirt 1,2 and 3 and felt that the franchise became worse with each new game (i had already given up on Codemasters at that point). Then came Dirt Rally and it blew me away. It is one of my favourite racing games. Ideally, i would have preferred a new Dirt Rally because i have little interest in everything that is not pure rally (Rally race, buggies,...).

I guess a lot will depend on how Codemasters manage to offer both pure simulation and more arcade within the same game and how much of the non pure rally stuff can be skipped. Judging by the developer comments, it should offer the best of both worlds depending on what you are interested in. With a similar driving experience and excellent audio as in Dirt Rally, 60FPS, fast menus to navigate, less or none of that annoying dudebro dialogue that plagued the Dirt series and an option to skip most of the non rally stuff, this could be great. I'm cautiously optimistic and hope this will become even better than Dirt Rally, even for the simulation audience.

 

[MaLDo]

Dirt 2 is the best Dirt.

I agree.

I think Codemasters will miss the oportunity to have two different series.

Dirt 4, 5, 6... for pure arcade fun.
Dirt Rally 2, 3, 4... for simulation.

What works for one don't have to work for another. Is not only about the handle of the car or the physics. It's the package, menus, graphics, tracks lenght and so on.

 

[DD]

I enjoyed Dirt Rally on Xbox 360 but I never liked the new Dirt on Xbox One. The controls just didn't feel right, it felt way too hardcore for my taste and compared to Driveclub and Forza Horizon 3 the graphics are far behind.

You're kind of confused there, mate. There's no Dirt Rally on the Xbox 360. And Dirt Rally is the hardcore one you played on the Xbox One. :3

 

[Sh0k]

I hope that they stick to the more arcade feeling from the previous Dirt games, got Dirt Rally for PS4 but I found it difficult to control, way too much simulation and not enjoyable for me. I do hope that they are splitting their Dirt series and have Dirt 4 as a sequel to their previous rally games and Dirt Rally for the serious hardcore simulation fans.

 

[Reverb Shock]

That just means not to distribute the build though doesn't it? Unless they had to physically sign an NDA there's nothing stopping them from sharing video of it.

Precisely this. The PR notes stated there was no embargo and that the press were allowed to record off-screen footage as direct capture was not available.

There were at least thirty members of the press there. The fact that no one put up anything is just insane to me.

 

[bosseye]

Fingers crossed for some decent damage modelling. It wasnt too bad in previous dirt games if memory serves, but could be improved.

 

[Jezbollah]

After F1 2016, I wouldnt mind if CM had the WRC rights. That would go well with this.

 

[ManUnkindH]

Been waiting for this since Dirt 3, just fuckin take my money!!!

 

[MaxiLive]

Fuck Codemasters.

I am a Steam user
I supported Dirt Rally as a Steam Early Access
I bought the Steam VR headset

They added Oculus support
They are adding PSVR support
They refuse to even comment on if they are adding Vive support

They will not get another dime from me until they add Vive support.

Ermmm.. Use Revive? It takes less than a minute to setup and works a treat, at least it did a month or so back when I tried it. Also like the others said Vive support was advertised as happening and you bought the game before VR was even considered for the game?

Some impressions from someone who played a much earlier build:

...now the cat is out of the bag, we are free to discuss what we saw at CM last year. With that in mind I thought I would post up the comments I made following my return from CM last year. I'm sure a lot of what is below has been covered elsewhere, but hopefully these might address some of the questions I have read in this thread.

- OVERVIEW: So last year we were, as you have guessed now, shown DiRT 4. If I had to describe it in a sentence, I would say its a game that combines the variety of DiRT 3 with the realism of DiRT Rally.

- MENU: Front end menus were relatively simple, but the service area is a lot more graphic. The overall feel was reminiscent of DiRT 2, but less cartoony: and without the convoluted menus!

- HANDLING: The game can be played with two types of handling: simulation or casual. Both modes are based on the same physics engine, but the casual mode applies more driving aids to the sim model to make it more point and squirt for the casual players. I played sim (on controller) and there were notable improvements from DiRT Rally, rally cars felt different under braking and behaved much better over rough ground at speed. Rallycross Supercars felt very different all around: way more of a handful than DR.

- CLASSES: Rally, Rallycross and Landrush are the main race classes. There was also "another" area, where driving challenges are based (I'll cover that in a minute).

- RALLY: Based around 5 locations: Wales, Sweden, Australia, Spain and the US (Michigan).

- RALLY: Stages will be predefined in the career mode, but there is a random stage creation tool.

- YOUR STAGE: I was genuinely impressed with Your Stage (or trackgen as it was called on the day). A stage creation tool had actually been hinted as a possibility before we got to CM and I was hoping that wouldn't be the case as I didn't think such a system would work that well. I thought a generation system would restrict you to flat, predictable, stage configurations, however with the stages that I sampled (most notably in Wales) there were a lot of direction and elevation changes.

- RALLY CARS: The car list is loosely the same as the list from DiRT Rally. The only notable omissions are the 2010 rally cars (plus I also don't remember seeing the C4). The absence of the latter WRCars was probably the only disappointment of the day. However there are a lot of additions. including R2 and R5 rally car classes and the Evo 6 to the Group A class. There were around 25 cars available for us to try in November, with the rest represented by placeholders.

- SUBARU: The hatchback STI in the R4 class has been replaced with the latest generation (NR4). The 2001 WRCar and Group A cars were still in.

- RALLYCROSS: Rallycross has been increased to 5 tracks: Montalagre (Portugal), Lydden Hill (England), Loheac (France), Holjes (Sweden) and Hell (Norway). World Rallycross endorsement has been retained. I haven't been to Montalagre so I can't comment on the accuracy, but Loheac felt absolutely spot on (and we saw it before a lot of the trackside details had been added, so its sure to look even better in the finished game)

- RALLYCROSS CARS: The rallycross Supercars have now got the Focus RS RX and the Seat Ibiza added, the Polo has been added to the S1600 rallycross line up (in place of the Corsa if I recall correctly), plus there are RX Lites, a Group B rallycross class (woo!) and cross karts as well.

- LANDRUSH: Landrush has three tracks (one Mexican and two American). Landrush features Pro 2 trucks, Pro 4 trucks, buggies and cross karts. I had a couple of goes in the Pro 2 trucks and they felt really good.

- DIRTFISH: The "other" area is Dirtfish. When the game loaded for the first time it dropped you in here first. I had a brief drive around and did some donuts in the big barn (where the GRC track ran through) before getting back to some racing. There are a number of racing challenges (block smashing and following a course) that utilize the Dirtfish environment. I was told the Dirtfish area comes in two forms: one flat and one with a few mounds and other obstacles added in. Nothing too over the top though

 

[plidex]

"Did they ever promise Vive support?

Why do you feel they owe it to you?"


They don't owe it to him and he doesn't owe it to them to buy their games if it does not support the features he wants.

It's definitely a bit wack that Dirt Rally got Rift support and now PSVR but no mention of Vive, but I'm guessing they were thinking the sales trajectory of the Rift would outpace the Vive significantly (most did, myself included).

He doesn't have to buy their games if he doesn't want.

I think the problem was saying "Fuck Codemasters" and talking like he was entitled to Vive's support because he bought the game in Early Access.

 

[DD]

First ever Dirt 4 Road Book is out (click on the pic)

 

[KdotIX]

The thing that's standing out to me is the career mode. The fact that you will be able to fully manage your own Rally team from hiring/firing engineers to managing PR and sponsors sounds good. So long as they have implemented it like in the style Codies did with the original GRiD, then it should be great.

 

[Auctopus]

They weren't kidding. I can't wait for this. The rest of the footage from the event looks great too.

This is great news for everybody. Also, stage creation/track editor sounds amazing.

 

[Sequiel]

less or none of that annoying dudebro dialogue that plagued the Dirt series.

You really made me laugh with this one. XD

Specially in Dirt2, after the first minutes I decided to take them as if my driver were starring in "Dude, where's my car 2"... at least with the comedy roleplaying it became less annoying and more bearable.

Hey CM guys, why don't you take some of the time you waste making these parts and put some of this extreme tension in your gameplay instead? that certainly will make us feel like Pro drivers much more than Ken Block sweetduding us about how good we are.
Maybe a "Nightmare" unlockable mode?

 

[Mengy]

- OVERVIEW: So last year we were, as you have guessed now, shown DiRT 4. If I had to describe it in a sentence, I would say its a game that combines the variety of DiRT 3 with the realism of DiRT Rally.

This right here worries me though, because the reason why DiRT 3 is my least favorite of the franchise was due to it's "variety", it just had a lot of stuff that I didn't care about. The main reason why DiRT Rally was so awesome was that if focused on RALLY.

Hopefully Dirt 4 is much more like DiRT Rally and a lot less like DiRT 3.

By the way, DiRT 4 steam page is up.

 

[chromatic9]

I don't mind an arcade style Dirt game if they can update the graphics to make Dirt Rally 2. I'd buy both but I tend to not come back to arcade Dirt games after a few months where as simulation based games stand the test of time better like RBR and Dirt Rally.

 

[TylerDurden4321]

I'm all for accessibility, if DiRT Rally was too hardcore for many people, give them options to make it easier or even arcadier, BUT build those options ON TOP of a hardcore simulation under the hood. I know that it kinda doubles the effort, but real world physics don't change and if the work is done and done right, it's there to stay for your future games.

And about those physics:
Codies..., re-evaluate this "tires dig into the dirt and get more grip"-thing! It feels somewhat right longitudinally with wheelspin, but it's oversimplified for lateral side-swipes and feels unrealistically easy (and it shouldn't worke like that on cold tarmac, ice and definitely not in the air).
Also, differentials, actually SIMULATE the mechanism this time.
And one last thing, please keep the enforced damage-always-ON. It's how it should be, if it's too hard for most people, then re-introduce an optional(!) replay mechanic again, it wasn't as bad as some internet trolls made it sound like.

 

[Gek54]

You really made me laugh with this one. XD

Specially in Dirt2, after the first minutes I decided to take them as if my driver were starring in "Dude, where's my car 2"... at least with the comedy roleplaying it became less annoying and more bearable.

I really liked all the dialogue in DiRT2, especially during the racing, it gave the game much more life and personality. The AI drivers seemed to be far more likley to have their headset on than real people these days. Ive been a huge fan since CMR on PSOne and DiRT2 is easily my favorite, a true classic that for sure inspired Forza Horizon. I like to forget DiRT3 ever happened. I am hyped to see they are bringing back the vehicle and diciplines variety from DiRT2.

 

[op_ivy]

First ever Dirt 4 Road Book is out (click on the pic)

I for one am thrilled that the dirtfish area can be freely driven and explored like 3s gymkhana areas. Fun way to come to grips with a cars handling, or just relax and play without the 100% focus

 

[JDB]

As long as they keep the "upload this to youtube brooo!" and gymkhana shit out of this I'll be very happy.

 

[Gek54]

Loved Gatecrasher in DiRT2, hopefully they expand that to more than just the DirtFish grounds.

 

[Klocker]

Dirt rally ended up being way too hard and boring for me. Dirt 3 was too arcady. So a mix of both and a choice sounds good especially if rewind is an option again..

Fecking dirt rally was frustrating as hell for someone who wants to pick up and play and not learn a new craft.

 

[| Praxis |]

Dirt Rally is incredible, this is a day one purchase for me after reading those comments. I don't ever want to go back to the arcade handling of the original Dirt games.

 

[op_ivy]

Dirt rally boring. Heh

 

[BlindJesus]

Dirt rally boring. Heh

Yea, I don't understand it either. It requires more concentration than any game I've ever played, other sims included. If you lapse for one moment like " man, i pulled off that corner well," you'll miss the next segment and fail miserably. It can be exhausting at times, but in a good way.

 

[Mengy]

Dirt rally boring. Heh

Eh, some people find Dark Souls boring too, while I relish in the difficulty and challenge of it. DiRT Rally is very much the same, you need to practice, and learn, and experiment with it in order to not only progress but also truly enjoy the game for what it is. It's the best rally game I've ever played in that regard, hell in many regards. Not everyone likes challenging games like that, some people just want to play Mario Kart.

 

[AmyS]

Eurogamer: Dirt 4 is more evidence that Codemasters is back on track

The release of Dirt Rally in 2015 felt like a pivotal moment for Codemasters. Having meandered in previous years away from its more grounded racing roots in its quest for the mainstream, this full-blooded, teeth-baring sim wasn't simply a return to the old ways; it was a total reinvention of the studio's philosophy. Here was a driving game that spat gravel in the face of anyone who dared come near it without working knowledge of load transfer and trail-braking, and it was all the better for it. The only question was, where could Codemasters go from there? What would happen when Dirt eventually went back to catering for the masses?

Dirt 4 offers a fairly convincing answer, though there have been some casualties along the way. Gone are the legendary real-life stages that propped up so much of Dirt Rally - there's no Col de Turini here, no Pike's Peak or Sweet Lamb - and in their place is something very different. At the heart of Dirt 4 is a feature Codemasters is calling Your Stage, which gives players the ability to conjure up their own stages by setting a series of parameters before conquering them and sharing with others. That's right; Dirt 4 is built almost entirely around procedural generation.

It helps that the procedural generation works, and is much more than just a gimmick the likes of which we've seen in other Codemasters games (I'm thinking specifically of Grid 2's risible Live Routes feature). Game director Paul Coleman - a rally nerd who co-pilots in his spare time, and the driving force behind the series' recent push for realism - has been chasing the idea for years, and it's evidently the result of much work and refinement. In the initial demo we're afforded a look at Australia, one of the five rally backdrops that will be available in Dirt 4, and the results convince with their feel and flow. Trackside detail hasn't been compromised, either, and you'd be hard-pushed to tell the stage had been generated just moments before you take to it.

The procedural generation plays to the ideal of any off-road game, where the challenge is constantly evolving and you're never sure what's just beyond the brow; where you're reliant on the pacenotes of your co-driver and sink into flow state as you make sense of the tangle of numbers being shouted in your ear. Dirt 4 is built around that sense of not knowing what lies around the corner, and the accompanying heart-quickening sense of dread. As a result, Dirt 4 absolutely nails the thrill that comes when you've just conquered the unknown with nothing more than a reckless right foot and a handful of opposite lock.

Thankfully the handling that marked Dirt Rally out as something special is intact, and Codemasters can't be accused of dumbing down. It has moved towards something more accessible, though, with players able to opt out of the simulation handling for a more forgiving ride. From a brief hands-on with the new (and optional) handling mode it certainly works, even if it feels a little muted coming straight from the full-blooded sim. Still, the option to be able to enjoy Dirt while sitting back on the sofa is a welcome one, and Codemasters has put some thought into how best to smooth off its simulation for some players.

More here

 

[HellforLeather]

Definitely sounds like Dirt Rally is the base that they are building Dirt 4 off of and not Dirt 3. This is good.

 

[Randdalf]

Definitely sounds like Dirt Rally is the base that they are building Dirt 4 off of and not Dirt 3. This is good.

I heard on the grapevine that this was actually Dirt Rally 2 for a while. Either way, hoping for a discount on Dirt Rally soon on Steam.

 

[Mengy]

I heard on the grapevine that this was actually Dirt Rally 2 for a while. Either way, hoping for a discount on Dirt Rally soon on Steam.

I honestly don't care what it's called, but I do hope it is DiRT Rally 2 in everything that matters.

 

[Sequiel]

Yea, I don't understand it either. It requires more concentration than any game I've ever played, other sims included. If you lapse for one moment like " man, i pulled off that corner well," you'll miss the next segment and fail miserably. It can be exhausting at times, but in a good way.

Pretty good description for what an actual rally driver must feel and do.

Thing is, it's also a frustrating process, with the highest highs and the lowest lows in enjoyment.

But if CM is able to put the same "extreme focus" gameplay with the sim handling, and at the same time balance the frustration with the "simcade" handling it can be the best of both worlds.

 

[wouwie]

As a sidenote, from a PR point of view, i don't really understand why the game is unveiled this way, especially since it's only 4 months until release. Why not do a proper gameplay video instead of relying on low quality offscreen footage from the event to showcase your game for the first time. It seems odd and i never really understood why companies do it this way. It's not a big issue but still.

 

[Sequiel]

As a sidenote, from a PR point of view, i don't really understand why the game is unveiled this way, especially since it's only 4 months until release. Why not do a proper gameplay video instead of relying on low quality offscreen footage from the event to showcase your game for the first time. It seems odd and i never really understood why companies do it this way. It's not a big issue but still.

Agree, and it's sad that is not an Early Access that will take direct notes from the community like Dirt Rally.

 

[Sequiel]

The DiRT Show returns - announcing DiRT 4!

"The DiRT Show is back, and it's had a massive upgrade! Join FIA World RX presenter Andrew Coley at our DiRT 4 announcement event, as he chats to Petter Solberg, Kris Meeke, Chief Games Designer Paul Coleman and Senior Games Designer Darren Hayward about our awesome new game. Enjoy!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREEx-6zX_s

 

[Tommi84]

Some direct feed gameplay found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VUsbbjzjE0

 

[DD]

Some direct feed gameplay found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VUsbbjzjE0

My problem with the Dirt series is the "half assed" modes, and this includes even Dirt Rally! I mean, I really enjoyed the primary focus on traditional rallying in Dirt Rally, but If I could chose, I'd scrap those three rallycross locations and the RX cars, and Pikes Peak and the hillclimb cars to have two or more countries for the traditional rally modes. The way they do, these side modes feel like just a distraction, you can't immerse yourself in a mode with so little content. And it seems that Dirt 4 will be even worse in that regard, with less locations for traditional rally, just two new RX locations along with the ones we already had in Dirt Rally, and three buggy tracks. I mean, I would (day one) buy a full blown buggy game with 16~20 circuits with seasons like in a Formula 1 game, or a official FIA Rallycross focused game with the complete season. I buy anything Codemasters anyway, and I really enjoy their stuff. So this would mean three distinct games instead of just one unfocused game.

Anyway, they did an AMA yesterday on Reddit. I asked if Dirt 4 will feature long championships and Paul Coleman answered me saying that yes, there will be some lengthy championships towards the end of the game.

 

[TylerDurden4321]

My problem with the Dirt series is the "half assed" modes, and this includes even Dirt Rally! I mean, I really enjoyed the primary focus on traditional rallying in Dirt Rally, but If I could chose, I'd scrap those three rallycross locations and the RX cars, and Pikes Peak and the hillclimb cars to have two or more countries for the traditional rally modes.

You definitely don't need to worry about resources wasted on Pikes Peak Hillclimb, that will be Gran Turismo Sport exclusive.

But I don't think people should be worried about content if the procedural stuff actually works. Remember Grid 2? The procedural city tracks didn't offer anything after you've driven them for maybe 30 minutes to an hour because you knew all the puzzle pieces by then. The thing I'm worried about content-wise is that the procedural tracks will still be made of puzzle pieces that will be figured out after 2-3 hours in each location.

The biggest fun-stopper for me with DiRT Rally was remembering most the starts of the different stages after a while... and I hate to see guys on youtube just nailing a stage when you knew exactly how much they would struggle if the had to drive with just the co-driver info.

But let's say the procedural stuff isn't learnable and works (and the co-driver too), ...imagine the fun we could have here sharing procedural seed-initiation codes, posting videos of our crashes and having a leaderboard.

 

[Caipirinha]

Is this game going to scratch my Paris Dakar Rally reboot dream itch? ie. long multi-stage campaigns through real geographical regions with multiple paths?

 

[op_ivy]

The DiRT Show returns - announcing DiRT 4!

"The DiRT Show is back, and it's had a massive upgrade! Join FIA World RX presenter Andrew Coley at our DiRT 4 announcement event, as he chats to Petter Solberg, Kris Meeke, Chief Games Designer Paul Coleman and Senior Games Designer Darren Hayward about our awesome new game. Enjoy!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cREEx-6zX_s

17:52 they discuss physics improvements to dirt rally's handling model and building a game that can carry what made dirt rally so good but reach a bigger audience (sequel to dirt 3). Im feeling better about them actually doing both.

Would love to see a full vid of a complex track and sim handling from the cockpit to see directly how it compares to dirt rally though. Also, im a little concerned that auto generated tracks will have questionable auto generated pace notes to go with them.

 

[Peter Ian Staker]

Nicky Grist is back !!!

 

[Sequiel]

Would love to see a full vid of a complex track and sim handling from the cockpit to see directly how it compares to dirt rally though. Also, im a little concerned that auto generated tracks will have questionable auto generated pace notes to go with them.

Some Gamersyde quality gameplay instead of the macroblock stream of YT would be great too.

 

[finley83]

Reading the AMA I'm a bit disappointed that there are no real life Rally tracks any more, just entirely procedurally generated routes. I guess this stuff is getting more and more expensive so can't say I'm surprised, but secretly hoping there's a way to mod in Dirt 3 and Dirt Rally tracks to the game.

 

[DD]

Reading the AMA I'm a bit disappointed that there are no real life Rally tracks any more, just entirely procedurally generated routes. I guess this stuff is getting more and more expensive so can't say I'm surprised, but secretly hoping there's a way to mod in Dirt 3 and Dirt Rally tracks to the game.

Wait, there won't be hand made tracks for rallying?!

 

[BlindJesus]

Wait, there won't be hand made tracks for rallying?!

I'm pretty sure he misinterpreted that. I believe there is hand made rally tracks but segments of the track will be used as pieces in the procedural generated tracks. Could be wrong.

 

[op_ivy]

Dirt rally was my goty 2016, this should be 2017's

 

[BiGBoSSMk23]

Getting this!

I know Rushy and Co. landed there after Evolution went belly up, so gotta show love.

 

[DD]

I'm pretty sure he misinterpreted that. I believe there is hand made rally tracks but segments of the track will be used as pieces in the procedural generated tracks. Could be wrong.

I hope so. I do believe that a map generator can build up good stuff, but I don't think they'll nail it on their first try. I'm talking about those huge, beautiful and wide vistas we had with Dirt Rally, specially in Wales and Greece.

 

[Sequiel]

I hope so. I do believe that a map generator can build up good stuff, but I don't think they'll nail it on their first try. I'm talking about those huge, beautiful and wide vistas we had with Dirt Rally, specially in Wales and Greece.

The procedural generator seems to work more like an option to extend the gameplay enjoyment time of each scenery than a foundation for the entire game.

Scenery and tracks still will be designed "non procedurally" first.