F1 Fanatic

Ok, I’ve been playing F1 2012 for the last few hours, and I can now say that the handling is completely fine. Don’t base your opinion on the demo.

The game is incredibly enjoyable; the AI have been improved substantially, and the various game modes offer a genuine challenge. You’d be surprised at how hard Champions Mode is.

Haven’t tried online yet. The game hasn’t been released in Britain, which means that there’s virtually nobody to play against at the moment.

I can just about compartmentalise the lack of a drying line somewhat – just. But why ditch FP2 and 3?

Sorry @craig-o – how are you making the call that the handling is unrealistic? You have no baseline to compare what is “realistic” against what is “unrealistic.” What’s to say the F1 2012 version isn’t the actual “realistic” feel? Harder does not mean more realistic. Sometimes (I am not saying this is the case here) the easier option is the more realistic.

Go to the post by MrMorpheus- pretty much sums up my views, only slightly more moderately…

http://community.codemasters.com/t5/F1-2012-General-Discussion/Allow-me-to-explain/td-p/69630/page/16

I’ve just played F1 2012. I seem to understand the complaints people are having. Initially, there is a disconnect between what my brain thinks should happen, and what it’s seeing happen – but after 10 laps I was a happy camper, though I was definitely a bit more drained than when I played F1 2011 (I was tensing up as I tried to push and force my brain to assimilate the new rhythm)

Go to the post by MrMorpheus

I read that post.

It feels like he bought the game simply so that he could criticise it.

I’m not saying that the game is automatically perfect, but I get the distinct impression that people were deliberately looking to be disappointed. As to why, I can only speculate – but I have noticed a streak of arrogance in some fans who seem to think that Codemasters should make the game to cater to the hardcore demographic by creating a hyper-realistic simulator, and that if they do, then casual gamers everywhere will flock to it because the dedicated fans gave it the seal of approval. With that in mind, we’ve known for some time that some of the features in the game have been removed and changed and reimagined to give the game a wider appeal, but MrMorpheus’ post reeks of the “I’m the customer and you should listen to me” attitude that I have noticed. He clearly doesn’t get that Codemasters is a small development studio working with limited resources to a very strict deadline, and expects that they are totally capable of accomodating every need and whim of a deeply-critical subset of the core fanbase. And then when Codemasters don’t anticipate these demands, he gets on his soapbox and hands out free advice to everyone he thinks is in need of it (whether or not they actually are), which has been the hallmark of tyrants and vain martyrs for centuries.

So why does he buy the game, knowing and fully expecting that he will be disappointed by it? Simple – it’s so he can go back to Codemasters and say “I told you so”. If he cannot get their attention, then he can at least take comfort in convincing himself that he was right all along.

Having put a few hours into F1 2012 I have to say I am absolutely loving it. I’ve bought 2010 and 2011 and this one is by far my favourite.

Even with the live the life stuff removed I have actually found myself feeling more involved. It’s odd.

The races are far more fun. The AI make mistakes and get held up out of corners and races feel alive now.

I do miss the scaled tyre wear, and I would like to do a weekend with a practice session and a single qualy lap in Q1, Q2, and a final lap in Q3, but these aren’t big issues for me. The game is more engaging and fun than before.

As for the handling, I love it. I really struggled with 2011 though. It must be the way I like to drive. A friend of mine has the opposite problem. Having watched him play 2012 he breaks much later than me (slowing the car less) and likes the car to turn in more and accelerates later. I break earlier and then turn and slowly ease onto the accelerator through the corner whilst straitening the car up. In 2011 I’d spin out, but 2012 I don’t. My friend always understeers in 2012 due to breaking so late and trying to turn whilst doing it. I guess people with different styles handle things differently, much like in real life. There’s probably a way of setting the car up to improve things.

If I make a mistake in 2012 it always feels like it was my fault, in 2011 it felt like the car had no grip and I was frustrated.

2012 is a major step forward in my opinion and what I wanted from the series. There’s a few niggles (mentioned above) and the pit lane bug is back (I had to wait for the entire field to go past me in the pits – I dropped from 9th to 24th).

It’s a great game though, it’s a 4 out of 5 for me.