I specifically call this ‘personal’. It is my experience, which of course is related to my expectations and also the way I play.
I played FM on the Series X. This standardized platform doesn’t offer the highest performance, but it is relatively easy to test compared to the countless PC configurations. So I never had to struggle to even start the game. The route was also always displayed.
I sit very close to the 4K TV with a 1.5m diagonal. And I turn my head to see the apex or look in the side mirror. This is my idea of Racing Simulation.
The children in my neighborhood enjoy directing small cars from a god-like position from above. However, this overview in no way reflects the situation of a driver who has to search for his route through traffic from a low viewing position.
I therefore cannot understand the reviews that praise physics, simulation and chase cam in one sentence.
I mainly see the inside of my car. I can see the backs of other cars, which will hopefully approach quickly
What I’m looking for is the traffic, the road surface, the course of the road and waypoints/braking points.
In these respects FM8 mostly disappoints. Many car interiors are visually disappointing. The main point of criticism for me, however, is the poor resolution of the scenery in front of me. At 80cm eye level, the scenery is compressed in the height axis. If the next curve comes with a small crest, then every pixel is relevant. This is the situation where a few centimeters difference in height from the road surface to the grass is or should be visible.
I don’t see anything wrong with this way of playing. That’s why I don’t understand why some people make disparaging comments about others who complain about such missing details.
For those who want to control their cars like RC cars, other things are relevant. It is therefore understandable that the assessments vary depending on how you use FM. But to be clear: just because something works well in a particular use case does not mean that it is ‘good’ per se.
Yesterday evening I started FM again (I didn’t get the money back) and played for 1 hour. Some things might have improved a bit since the update. However, I was tempted to keep rubbing my eyes. Somehow the display was never really sharp. Maybe I’ve just become more demanding since I switched to the PS5/GT7. I don’t want to go into technical details, I just like GT7 better. It’s more pleasing and gives the impression that the makers put their heart and soul into their work. In this case I also forgive the somewhat opulent navigation through the ‘world map’
I guess it will take many month and many updates until we get basic features like virtual mirror and adjustable seatpositions. Not talking about adjustable car mirrors like AMS2 and other games have…
Loved reading through your review. I’m hoping to make the move to a PS5 and GT7. Somebody really nice here on the forum could send me one for Christmas! .
FM would be a really great game. If it had been FM6.5 and the next game in the series was FM7. If they would go back to FM7, and give FM7 the race tire selections. And there’s a winner.
If you’re a stickler for immersive in-car experiences, I’m going to shamelessly plug Automobilista 2 (AMS2) onto your wishlist.
It straddles the line between the sweatiest of sims, like iRacing and ACC, and simcades like FM23 and GT7. Closer to the former than the latter.
But I’m all for in-car, no HUD, good animations. Give me the ability to adjust not only FOV, but seating position (seat height, distance front/back, tilt), and PLEASE fix the janky stiff arm animations in FM. It’s the only racing game I’ve played where the driver’s arms are locked-out stiff with oddly crooked wrists, and also one of the few titles out there where the driver can’t steer past like 180°.
Here’s a few examples of runs on the ring I did running a helmet cam with added in-game effects like depth of field, g-force movement, etc.
It fills my singleplayer cup while I wait for FM23 to get patched up to working state.
By comparison to the last video above, here’s what it’s like to drive the same car in FM23.
I just feel like there’s a ton of room for opportunity because the franchise has really stagnated in terms of the in-cockpit driving experience.
I have built big rigs from the ground up for power and speed when I had my photography business. Monsters that would rival any gaming computer of the same time. I have no intention of venturing down that road again. Too many variables. When all I need in a computer is in my cell phone and a simple laptop.
But yeah, I get it. My POV is that a PC covers everything I need; it replaces the need for consoles, entertainment, business workstation, and covers my photo/video editing. About $2k every 4-5 years although that figure seems to jump up about $500 every time a rebuild is due. IMO that’s worth the 2-4 week headache of part picking and assembly
My outgoing rig was in 2019 and I don’t see myself rebuilding until the Nvidia 5XXX GPUs come out
And with direct drive wheels being as little as $500 all-in these days, the total investment to get “full experience” access to the sweatier nerd-tier sims (and still play titles like Forza) makes it a no brainer
It’s a shame that pre-builts are still about 25% too expensive for what they offer
The next time you make a “personal review”… Don’t use it as an excuse to talk down to the primary audience of a console racer and spout elitist drivel.
I have to ask, what’s your iRacing rating, bro?
It seems like you’re playing the wrong game since everybody who doesn’t drive like you is a little kid playing with RC cars. EZ block.
It was not my intention to create this impression. I would like to apologize for that.
I wanted to oppose those who say that the game has good graphics just because it satisfies their style of play.
