Feedback on the demo

[FMclk]

I'm going to leave some feedback here as there are no other channels to do so as far as I can see.

The engine overheating system is very confusing and unrealistic. GT cars are built to run for hours, not cook after one lap. There is too much micro management because of that system. I have to switch the pace modes constantly to avoid blowing up. I want to be able to not touch anything for couple of laps and let the drivers do their thing. Focus on tyres more, engine failures should only happen to old engines which have several races under their belt or during crashes.

Car upgrades are confusing as well. I can see some colourful cards with numbers on them but I have no clue how they work. Looks like a mobile game honestly.

I can't control qualifying, which is a big missed opportunity. It is also really jarring to see both of my car racing side by side on their timed lap.

AI goes to pit on the first lap or does a 2 stop on a 7 lap race. That should not happen.

Add an option to look at the race from a hood/roof camera.

Expand your graphics options. The Very High pre-set doesn't tell me anything. I want to at least know what resolution the game is set to. Besides, when maxed out the game looks mediocre at best. I'd like to be able to tweak the settings myself.

I will be comparing the game to F1 Manager series as you also hold an official license. At the moment this game is not even close to Frontier's series. You may have a smaller budget, but that shouldn't disqualify you from designing a competitive management sim. I love GT and endurance racing, but GT Manager needs to improve to keep me interested.

[Tot]

Haven't tried the other games mentioned here. So far, I like this

[TokyoDan]

Originally posted by Fraggon:

Originally posted by bioxz:

Thank you for the post, I fully agree! I was hoping for competition to Motorsport Manager, which has a lot of issues as well, but after the demo I will not consider buying the game if no big changes happen (which is still better than buying and refunding I guess).

Are you sure this is even a game you buy? Everything in the demo screams micro transactions, so its most likely a free2play game. A mobile game, just on pc, the worst kind of games.

And then there is this competition:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2459820/Flat_Spot/

[Xemawth]

Hi there, just wanted to share my impression of the demo as a fan of the "Motorsport Manager" title.

Good: -The licensing you have obtained for real life vehicles and drivers is a very compelling feature of the game, well done on that front. More GT4 car options would be lovely, but I completely realize that obtaining the aforementioned licenses is a challenging and expensive task. You have done well on this front, and any additions would simply be icing on the cake.
-The graphics are pleasing, and (as already mentioned) expanded options for refining the details will do wonders.
-The tracks are interesting, and appear to be well crafted.

Bad: -I experienced a bug where my camera perspective got stuck on one driver, and as a result I lost track of what my other driver's race situation was.
-The AI make very strange pit stop decisions. Multiple races I saw the AI making 3 pit stops on consecutive laps swapping tire compounds back and forth.
-Provision of tooltips when hovering over buttons/status indicators would be beneficial, and reduce initial confusion.
-The variation in stats between cars seem very difficult to detect within game.

Ugly: -In direct comparison to the "Motorsport Manager" title, this demo essentially provides nothing new, and in my opinion takes a direct step backwards in virtually every single game-play category. I would summarize this thought as; "It feels like the mobile game version of a title that came out 10 years ago." If others are correct in stating that this is essentially a port of a mobile game, it is VERY obvious and genuinely off-putting.
-There is virtually no feedback when changing speed direction to the drivers. The only apparent reason to actively change the speed direction was to cool off the engine. After 3 races I gave up giving direction because it felt useless, and simply used the buttons to manipulate engine temperature.
-Connected to the above point, having a "Boost" option in GT4 cars feels very odd, and immersion breaking. In my opinion, save that game-play mechanic for the hypercars (I realize regulations do not permit this system in real life). The Boost itself felt very punishing and while I could pass a single car or two, I would then have to cool my engine much more quickly, rapidly losing all progress that was made.
- The race results seemed completely independent of any control I had. Race 3 in Malaysia I watched the entire field blow by my drivers at roughly double the speed of my cars, and left us DEEP in last place. This happened while also having the highest PI cars in the field. The team that shared my manufacturer finished in 5th and 8th place with much fewer PI points leading me to believe I was simply clicking buttons to watch a pre-decided race outcome.
-If there are factors that decide how many mistakes/how poorly a driver will perform each race, they are not indicated to the player. In my first race Daniel Juncadella won the entire race, while Maro Engle finished 15th out of the points in identical cars. Seemed odd. The next race Maro finished 2nd, while Daniel finished 14th. Same extremely odd result, but completely reversed. I was left clueless as to how this could be fixed. Race 3 both drivers slowed down so much it looked as if both of my cars had broken, and I watched the rival AI fly by at hyper-speed.
-Others have mentioned the side-by-side qualifying, and EXP system, and bare bones control so I wont go into those. But, I was overall initially very impressed with the licensing, and anticipated a step up on the "Motorsport Manager" title. At the end of my time, I was left with the impression that there will be a long way to go to begin to compete with that title.

I want to express that my intent with this feedback is to provide complete, and brutal honesty in the hope that I can happily purchase this title upon full release. Having a management simulation based around my absolute favorite class of racing is an extremely exciting prospect. I think you have a winner on your hands if you can follow through with an entertaining, and rewarding game.

Final piece of advice: I would HIGHLY recommend the development team continue to take inspiration from "Motorsport Manager" game-play, and expand on it while making it uniquely your own. Reduce some of the tedium that makes that game very tiresome to play after a long period of time.

All the best wishes,
Xema

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention: -The "Cooling down engine" mechanic is a very strange mechanic for anyone familiar with GT Motorsport, and comes off as an arcade-y immersion breaker in a GT simulation game. In real life those cars are designed (and adjusted at the track) to be able to run flat-out all day long. Especially in the case of endurance races. I realize the mechanic is directly tied to the "Reliability" stat, so it may be a "baked in" feature of the game. But, as someone who has a passion for Motorsport, it added to the mobile game not-a-simulation impression.