GRID2 RELASE DATE LATE MAY (IndyCar Series to follow?)

Thought this was interesting how the codies rationalized (or justified, depending on your perspective) the elimination of assists in the upcoming release GRID2:

"When we set out designing GRID 2, capturing a car’s true personality for
players was our goal. In order to achieve this goal we had to make a
number of decisions, one of these was that GRID 2 should not feature any
artificial assists. While our racing team have done fantastic work with
assists for previous titles, ultimately having a system artificially
braking or modulating your throttle input and potentially even turning
into corners for you all detracts from the direct connection the player
should have with their car. We want the player to feel everything the
car is doing in order to fully understand how it reacts in certain
situations and adapt their behaviour accordingly. It’s this process that
leads to a player truly understanding the unique character of some of
the greatest cars in existence. “Reflecting world class engineering” is a
phrase we coined in the studio... some of the world’s leading
automotive engineers ploughed years of their lives into refining the
handling models of many of our vehicles, it would be criminal not to
accurately reflect these handling models in GRID 2."

http://community.codemasters.com/t5/Codies-Blog/GRID-2-Handling-and-the-TrueFeel-Process/ba-p/176590

P.S. - There is also much griping about the elimination of cockpit view in GRID2. This seems at odds with their decision to make the game more "real" by eliminating assists. But the elimination of cockpit should not be too bad with an IndyCar and speaking of....

P.P.S. - GRID2 will come with an exclusive IndyCar pack:
Indycar Pack

• Dallara IndyCar and the IndyCar Pace car
  
• 2 new routes around Indianapolis Motor Speedway Circuit
  
• Exclusive Online Event
  

However, for European buyers, this means they will have to order from BestBuy or wait for Codemasters to release the add-on. It's unclear whether this pack will allow you to compete on ALL tracks in on-line competition or just the exclusive "Online Event" but I'm guessing the former. If so, and if you Brits can get the pack, creating a series via GRID2 which replicates (as closely as possible) the IndyCar season (ovals, street, circuit, international, Indy500) would be AWESOME!!

If you pre-order at BestBuy, you get the Indycar pack
If you pre-order at Pack 1 and Pack 3

Any info on whether this would allow us to run a simulated IndyCar Series on-line?

from what I heard, you CANNOT! Which pisses me off royally! That IS why I wanted the game!!!

Cannot what?

Online racing with the Indy Cars

Are you sure? That seems a little retarded?

Licensing issue is what I read in one the gaming mags.

But what about the other 2 release packs? Can those be run online?

All except Indy cars. They may have changed that in the last month, with Indy cars. I will find out.

So I'm pre-ordering at gamestop, getting pack 1 and 3 for free, then I will purchase the indy car. But will they have a season pass for it?

Yea, the wording of their releases and press hype has been (intentionally?) vague. It says things like:

- Get the goods from Best Buy and you'll get the IndyCar
Pack that includes the series Pace Car and Dallara chassis, an
exclusive online event and two additional routes around The Brickyard. So, assuming we can build an IndyCar, will the Indy500 track be available to all buyers? Or are the "two new routes" just a variation of the classic track?

- (From IndyCar's website) Gamers who pre-order Codemasters’ GRID 2 at Best Buy can choose the GRID 2: IndyCar edition, which includes: The exclusive Dallara
IndyCar and the Pace Car to race in single-player, multi-player and an
exclusive online event, and the opportunity to expand the game with two
new routes around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. So, does "multi-player" refer to on-line as well as co-op? Although I have not seen anything saying it doesn't, it worries me that they refer to an "exclusive on-line event" separately. However, apparently, for our non-American buyers, the [IndyCar] DLC will be available on the Marketplace for 560 Microsoft Points the same day the game comes out.

If you can build an IndyCar and race it on the offered tracks, all on-line, then you could build a series that very closely mimicked the real one. Complete with the Grand Jewel, the Indy 500. Throw in some actual city street courses, bull rings, and large Road Courses, and presto! That would be something I'd love to be a part of.

I have been messing with the Acura on here to do just that. But it is not the same thing! An Indy car series. I am all over it!

I'm down!

I am waiting to see what this game offers. If not, I do have an idea of how to run one on here from another I ran in before.

I think we should get a nice diverse few in on that. Creatively, I can help. My first IndyCar race was at Nazareth in 1993 when Bobby Rahal and Nigel Mansell were going at it hammer and tong. Many times the IRL at Richmond. Last one, Road America with the splinter group to IRL, CART. ALMS ran the same weekend. Very good weekend.

Anyway, without open wheel on Forza, it would be damn near impossible with that game. Were you thinking of a non-Forza game? I know IndyCar had a game of it's own at one time, but I'm sure it's outdated. If the Dallara can access even a handful of tracks on GRID2, diversity being the key, we may be able to have a go. If there is just one track and one "event" then it could only be a one-off. The Indy 500 would be huge, but just one event at that.

I will investigate this game and VERIFY whether or not Indy Cars are still offline play only.

I have not read a single thing about online capability now. IF they have Indycar, I will be quick to submit that series for a date!

Nascar, Indycar and GrandAm are my things!

October - we need to talk if it is online racing compatiable. We need to get a jump on this QUICK! Like the same week the game comes out!

I agree Harry. Although you have far more experience with the site, I'd say my love for IndyCar runs ALMOST as deep as my love for F1. Joining forces on this (along with maybe a third founder) would guarantee that it's as diverse and supported as it can be.

I don't purport to know as much about gaming as you guys, but I sure do know a lot about IndyCar if you are looking for authenticity.

P.S. - I have been digging around too, trying to find out if the game will be able to support what we want to do. If I had to guess, Id say it will, although you will have to get the add-on. What worries me is the way Codemasters words "special on-line race" in their promos. I'll try to get an inside at Codemasters from the other league.

I know as much about Indycar as NASCAR, as those are my two series of choice the last 15 years or so.

I think that we could come up with some good stuff -IF WE CAN DO IT!!! Come on CodeMasters

Exactly. Hope they don't fuck it up.

I found a bit different wording, but it's not directly from codemasters:

"Best Buy pre-orders get the IndyCar pack, which bundles in the Dallara IndyCar, two more routes for the Indianapolis Motor SpeedWay Oval circuit, and again access to a special online event."

You played GRID1, so you tell me...will they just give you "the" IndyCar (whatever that is) or will they give you your choice of engines? (This is not an issue in F1 of course). Will they all look the same? Could you paint your cars in GRID1? And how many routes are there around Indy? There is only one Indy500 "route" in my opinion. But, reading between the lines, this may mean that the game will be short on ovals. Not good. So if we get shorter ovals at Indy, I'm not gonna bitch.

I really do feel that if they throw in a new car, you will be able to do with it whatever you can do with the others. Was that the case with add-ons in GRID1? Or did they have add-ons?

Ok, now this wording from RSC makes me feel even more confident:
"The Indycar Racing Pack
Receive the Dallara IndyCar and Indy500 Pace car liveries for the Chevrolet Camaro SS and Corvette Z06 Centennial Edition to race in single-player, multiplayer and online events. Plus expand the game with two routes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Circuit."

Let's assume we get an IndyCar (and it looks like liveries, unlike F1 can be customized) and we can race them on-line. Which tracks?

HEY! Take a look at this:
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2013/04/11/grid-2-multiplayer-features-revealed
And watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4odf6jfbxY&feature=player_embedded
Looks like the multiplayer experience will be rich and recordable. AND they are taking out all the assist bullshit AND they are going to actually penalize people for corner cutting during a race. Fuck, I may have a shot now.

Bad news: only 12 players per lobby.

But overall, Codemasters seems to be ready to hit a fucking home run. I'm getting pretty damn excited now.
(We can get the game to our European members somehow, I'm sure.)

So what about tracks. Here is the official list so far:
USA
California Coast
Chicago
Miami
Indianapolis
Europe
Barcelona
Red Bull Ring
Paris
Cote D'Azur
Brands Hatch
Algarve
Asia
Coming Soon...

Clearly, we have enough street and road courses, but the ovals are starting to worry me. I'd be content with Indy and two other ovals (repeat the two) for a decent series.

My suggestion is to get the approval to go ahead with the IndyCar series as soon as possible since it looks like it's workable, but we should wait a good while after the game comes out to set up the rules and regs. We need to fiddle with it first. Assists aren't going to be an issue. And picking a time will be predetermined too.

Straight from Codemasters:

Q) In single player will we be able to drive any car on any track?
A) We put no restrictions on driving cars to particular tracks. If you want to take an Indycar around the Paris streets for example then you can. Be warned though, combinations such as this are incredibly challenging.

Q) We will be able to customize the car with sponsors like the first GRID?
A) GRID2 has comprehensive car livery customization, which include sponsors. Each sponsor comes with their own objectives to help further your career. The online modes take customization a stage further, also allowing mechanical and body upgrades to improve the performance and handling of you cars.

Q) Will we be seeing street circuits or the classic racing circuits like spa in 2?
A) There will be street circuits such as Chicago, Paris and Dubai, classic racing circuits including Brands Hatch, Yas Marina and Indianapolis and completely new for GRID, open roads, like the California Coast highway. Each will test your driving skills across a diverse array of race types.

I'm convinced there will be at least two ovals. There has to be. If not, we can make do with Indy500 and some oval-esque street/road courses.
I'm also convinced we will be able to take the IndyCar on line with 12 in a private lobby. Otherwise, it's damn near perfect for an IndyCar series.

I think it's time to get this thing rolling.

The way that the system for series approval works, we don't have enough info to submit as of yet.

We can start putting the general structure together, though. Like tracks, dates, general rules, and schedule time frame. And how to deal with the 12 car cap. Not talking formal, just informal, so people know we are working on it, and will create it when it comes.