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“So far my impression of this sim is that the physics are very similar to the Le Mans / F1 simulator we’ve been using this year at Wirth Research for the Le Mans Series”

PR

No :)

To me the physics dont seem that realistic. You should be white knuckling that rear end of that atom on corner exit but instead you can flat foot it and not even a hint of it breaking loose.

The Atom is no good car to judge the physics yet, plenty of stuff like correct suspension geometry etc. is still missing in the current build.

Ben’s comments are mostly based on his experience with the R18 at Imola I believe.

This project is the next generation car simulation! It’s a BLAST!

He’s not been paid to say that either which is ace.

I like CARS – it looks stunning, but it still feels just like shift, and has framerates to match. It’s got a long way to go. It’s not realistic yet.

I agree, it is PR. I hope like hell Ben has a lot to criticise and comment on at this early stage of development. But SMS would not put those comments on the website, they only put the positives. I’m not saying the physics is crap but I don’t think Ben would have said “Not bad” and that’s it. SMS need more feedback from him than that.

Ben’s role isn’t to sweet-talk the developers or hype up the product, his role is to provide feedback to the physics team.

Take my word for it, he provides very detailed feedback and it’s far from all positive at this early stage of development. 

“Collins works as a Physics & Handling Consultant on the team”

But not been paid? I think I’ll hire him myself then :D

No, it’s not PR, it’s borderline certifiable.

Wirth obviously develop the real thing, with motion platforms and so on
http://www.wirthresearch.com/vehicle-simulation 

I’m sure they will have invested hundreds of thousands if not millions in development and equipment. To equate a PC game using D-Box is ludicrous.

Completely lost his credibility in one sound bite.

It would be nice as team member to hear also his negative points, Montoya… we all know that this simulator is in pre alpha stage and we are mature enough to absorb the negative… I hope the feedback from Ben good or bad will be shared in the future, remember stay as open as possible! :-)

hehe. I was being sarcastic ;)

Its an alpha copy what do you expect… it’s a long way from being complete and every thing is basic including the physics.
I still think it’s an amazing specialy the car graphics and if it’s like this now what’s it gonna be like when it reaches beta stage or completion

GIVE IT A CHANCE!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the clarification Montoya. James, i’m part of the cars team so you dont need to be like that. I am giving the sim a chance. I was responding to Ben saying the physics were comparible to the lemans/f1 simulators that he’s tested. Thats what my comment was based on. I’m not a moron and dont expect the sim to be perfect with still a year of development time left, i just didnt understand how someone could tout the physics when IMO they have a lot of work left to do :)

CARS feels like Shift?
Don’t do drugs and drive! :)

Funny the Atom is one of the car I like the more the physic and the FFB. :)

Funny the Atom is one of the car I like the more the physic and the FFB. :)

And if you can’t notice the crazy input lag then I don’t know what drug you’re on.
There’s as much input lag as in shift, so yes it feels like shift.

Nicolas, this kind of news is PR from Montoya for the people who don’t have access to the C.A.R.S. forums as you do… I’m sure if you have the right level, you can find the complete information over there, or if it’s not, ask for it… 
VirtualR is not the place for detailed information about the development of the sim, as Montoya himself stated a few days/weeks ago.

But aren’t you (Montoya) working for SMS which means there’s also a conflict of interest in your judgment call.  I know you’re bound to certain responsibility to defend any criticism towards your employer but to do it on your own platform (here) is a bit too much, I think.

If indeed CARS is as good as it purported to be, there’s no need to over-sell it especially if you consider the fear of anyone with any interest in racing/driving sim is that marketing and sales number always end up trumping over realistic driving experience.  Of course, that’s not going to happen to CARS.

I´m not making judgement calls. I have never tried a professional-grade simulator (and nor am I a particularly talented sim racer) so I have no way of backing up or disproving Ben’s statement even if I wanted.

What I can judge though is the way the team is working with him and what kind of feedback is asked from him. So if people claim that this is a marketing statement, I´m in the position to point out that they´re wrong because it really isn’t. Like I said above, Ben is very much asked to talk straight to the team, he’s not asked for any positive spin or to make anything sound more glorious than it is.

The physics guys are looking for the most accurate feedback possible, sugar coating stuff would actually be counter-productive.

I guess I´m just trying misinformation from being spread, in this case I just have more insight than I would have with other titles. Plus, when I announced my position at SMS plenty of people asked for some inside knowledge tidbits so I guess this is one of them.. :)

He has started posting in the members topics so keep an eye out for them. I still believe this is PR as it is on there web portal encouraging people to sign up. I trust Ben as a racer I just hope he is ruthless and gets the feel he wants. I am sure there are lots of things to improve in the model, but that post suggests the physics team can go on holiday as Ben says its as good as the Wirth simulator.

I agree, the physics aren’t there yet. Maybe the basics are there for each car, however what feels really “wrong” is when a car breaks loose at the rear. The sliding isn’t progressive, and the way the cars gain back grip feels very unnatural to me.

It’s very dependent on hardware. I have no input lag. Anyway the devs are working hard and a major improvement will be released in the coming months.

It´s a difference to say this is shit behind closed doors and then say it´s shit with open doors. 

The fact that you work there now removes any weight from any of your talk about C.A.R.S. or anything surrounding that game. Sorry but that is the way it is.

So you´re essentially accusing me of lying to my readers?

You don’t need to be lying to have a conflict of interest. Unless you have heard Ben say such things in the private dev meetings, you are likely spinning things pro-CARS. You assume everything is done fairly, and have an interest to convince us of the same.

That said, I’m certain he is providing honest criticism in private, but I doubt he would do the same in public. He might not want to bite the hand that feeds him, although with respect to Top Gear it wouldn’t be the first time he did so.

whats the matter with people ?    Why do some seem so sure or intent in getting it across that whatever Ben Collins said was just PR bullshit ?   That’s what is being assumed right ?
And then assuming that rather than just say nothing at all and not be conflicting with his job, that Montoya would rather come here and lie or back up Bens PR bs ?

I think there’s some over-cynicism here.   Can’t the possibility be accepted that Ben actually said that and leave it at that ?  Whether it ties in with peoples own opinions is another matter.

@Bakkster I think your reference to Top Gear may be showing a little ignorance.  Do you actually know the details of why they parted company ?   ‘Biting the hand that feeds him’ is not really the appropriate line in this case.  Quite the opposite in fact.

If Ben Collins says that CARS is similar to a Leman/F1 simulator they better rename it

B.A.R.S.  Ben’s Assisted Race Sim

So we should take Dale Jr’s claim that “iRacing is the most modern racing simulator ever created” at face value as well, right? This isn’t fanboyism, it’s simply taking the words of someone with a vested interest with a grain of salt.

And yes, Ben Collins wanted to confirm reports he was the Stig through an autobiography, violating his agreement with the BBC and prompting his separation. Do you really think he would be as well knon now had it not been for being the Stig? How is that not biting the hand that feeds him?

C.A.R.S. is in development, it’s not a finished game. Ben was hired to help improve the game by testing it during development and that’s what he is doing by providing feedback about the good and the bad things of the current builds. His comments that are now quoted here and on the WMD website were taken from a feedback posting that he posted in the staff-only subforum on the WMD forums. It was his honest opinion and not a PR statement.

And I believe the Dale Jr quote is from when he was beta testing iRacing. Alternatively, you have this one from Giz testing the new tires on the V8SC:
http://www.iracing.com/iracing-2-update-with-shane-van-gisbergen/

Regardless, I take them all with a grain of salt, there is an existing relationship. Not saying that isn’t his opinion, but publishing the good opinions and not the bad is the PR spin.

or S.A.R.S. lol stig assisted….

but it would be mistaken for Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Right, so if you’re part of the team you can see what Ben Collins actually says about the game, in full, warts and all.

A longer article that said “what ben colllins thinks about C.A.R.S” might have made him look intelligent and knowledgeable, which I’m sure he is, and bolstered the idea that he will improve the game.

The soundbite quote did not do that.This soundbite is PR. Why? Because either it’s representative of what he said about the game to the developers  (and Montoya and nogrip are both suggesting that *isn’t* the case) or it’s a choice quote made to make the game sound better than it is.

Aimed at people who aren’t part of the development process but who are reading these advertising articles. Obviously these articles are trying to entice people to either wet their pants in anticipation of the game being released or cough some cash early to invest in this thing that “isn’t an investment but you’ll make money guv”

That’s pretty much the definition of what PR BS in the games press is.

But PR BS is expected from pretty much every spokesperson for a company. If you hire someone whose role is basically kidding your audience that the game is real you have to make what he says sound credible, especially in the first thing he says.

It’s something Codemasters failed to do with Anthony Davidson. They got him to make all the right noises on camera about how good the handling was, but then released F1 2010 with braking stopping spins and so on, which made what he’d said sound ridiculous.

So when F1 2011 is being pushed no one sane is going to listen to what Anthony Davidson said about it.If you have an asset like that, you don’t want him to lose credibility in the first few months of the project.