Project CARS.

Richy wrote:I think you give pc sims far too much credit. Having bought a spankers new pc I have tried numerous sims and mods from rFactor to iRacing. The mods are all extremely dissapointing in my view and only iRacing has kept my interest as I feel I have a goal in it. Other wise my Race 07/GTR Evo game has been played once since I got the new pc and haven't had the interest to go back and play it. All the while I can't wait for FM4 and the amount of customization, choice and playability it will provide plus the amount of online interaction it will provide through here.

Shift 2 looks as good as that screen shot, so seeing that doesn't pique my interest in the slightest.

VirtualR.net wrote:Slightly Mad Studios have just officially kicked-off their C.A.R.S. project that is being developed on the company’s all-new WMD portal.

WMD (World of Mass Development) will allow interested gamers to participate in the development of the new title by becoming team members, allowing them to check out the development progress in the WMD forum, talk to the developers, participate in key decisions regarding the game’s direction and enjoy development builds of the new title.

Speaking of which, C.A.R.S. doesn’t make its public launch just with a bunch of previews as team members get to enjoy a working build of the upcoming new title right after sign up. Even though the finished C.A.R.S. won’t ship before Thanksgiving 2012, the current build already includes plenty of content to keep team members entertained.

The current build comes with two tracks (Watkins Glen & Imola) and eight different cars, including known machinery such as the Audi R18 TDI Le Mans winner, the Audi A4 DTM, three different historic Lotus F1 cars, two Radicals and a state of the art Formula Car.

Due to licensing still being in progress, the content still sports fictional names despite being a very accurate representation of the real-life vehicles & venues as C.A.R.S. is pushing to become the definitive racing simulation.

The current build allows to try the cars and tracks in practice mode without AI for infinite laps as more features will be added as development of the title continues. To give you an idea of what’s coming up within the next 12 months, here are some of the planned features for the finished title:

Planned Features

- FRANCHISE MODE allows you to carve out a personalized career starting in the Karting world and then progressing on to whichever motorsport specialization you prefer including Rally, Touring Cars, Open-Wheel, GT, Le Mans, and many more!

- Play CO-OP with a friend as Driver/Co-Driver

- FULL TEAM MANAGEMENT… Have a large number of friends? Create, manage, and compete together!

- Experience the excitement of PIT STOPS like you’ve never seen before!

- Revolutionary PIT-2-CAR RADIO gives you the strategic advantage

- DYNAMIC Time Of Day & Localized Weather make every race unique and challenging

- 10+ GAME MODES covering every form of motorsport

- CLOUD-BASED SOCIAL NETWORK allows you to connect with friends, compare times & scores, compete and challenge each other, and share content

- USER-GENERATED CONTENT – Create your own liveries, decals, tuning setups, and even events! Then share them with the world – either for free, in-game credits or even real money!

- PUSHING TO THE LIMITS – Advanced physics, lighting, and AI

To ensure a realistic experience, Slightly Mad Studios have teamed up with none other than Ben Collins, the man who spent seven years being “The Stig” on BBC’s popular Top Gear automotive show.

“I’m delighted to be working on the C.A.R.S. project to create the best racing simulation in the world! Computer ‘games’ and simulations have become integral to success on the race track and I will be applying all my racing knowledge to provide handling input and advice to the builds on a regular basis,” Collins commented.

“I’m also looking forward to meeting some of the project’s contributors at the trackday events and working with SMS’s team of experts, whose passion and pedigree will be key to the development of this incredibly exciting new model.”

Below are three previews to whet your appetite. To join WMD and start playing the build today, follow the steps below. Interested sim racers can become team members for as little as $10, entitling them to monthly development builds and participation in the WMD forums.

Other membership options even include weekly development-builds, script access to the game, direct contact with the developers and other perks such as your name and face in the finished game and VIP access to future events. For more info on the World of Mass Development concept and the different membership options, check out this page.

To start playing the development build today, follow these three steps.

1.Visit the website & register on the WMD forum.

2. Buy any tool pack to become a member.

3. Download the build (link at the top of the forum main page) and enjoy!

Update:

These are the recommended minimum specs to run the development build:

Quad Core 2.4ghz or better
9800gt 512MB
2GB Ram (3-4GB recommended)

Also, here are a bunch of cool videos from community members, showing some of the cars the build contains in action:

C.A.R.S from Lee Ross on Vimeo.