GRID2 Multiplayer. Redefined?

(P.S. - If this is a real band, I want more...who is that drummer!?!?)

"The multiplayer video gives gamers a view of the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway Circuit in-game, the iconic venue which is the world's largest sporting spectator facility and has been the spiritual home of American motorsport for over a century.
The trailer also reveals the game's powerful yet simple to use livery editor in action, which features up to 6 billion different design combinations so players can stamp their own identity online. Game modes including Checkpoint racing in Paris and street racing in Chicago are shown alongside RaceNet's extensive suite of social features in the video."

Here is a more detailed video of Indianapolis Gameplay (road circuit):


And a preview of racing at Brands Hatch (which you can run in reverse if you want the American turn left experience), the closest thing to a small bull ring oval I have seen yet. Pretty cool if you get around there in .48 in a sedan.


So...

The Indy oval makes me salivate just thinking of racing there open wheel. And for you artists, the livery creating ability looks like it may not be as deep as Forza, but easier for novelists like me; and does include the ability to paste a number. The Paris and Chicago street circuits are gorgeous (how can I not get distracted by the scenery while racing?), but I wish they had more ovals if they are going to include IndyCar. And finally, there is the ability to record your races and upload them directly to YouTube. Alas, no beloved cockpit view, but at least bonnet view is retained.

For the painters, here is a 50min. podcast re: customization:


One question remains unanswered...how can we customize online race length? They have confirmed that you can set online races to be timed at 40mins., but can you do more? Less? If so, that may be workable into a series. Even if not, 80mis. is about average for our online events.

Any other thoughts?

They spelled customized wrong in video one.

They spell a lot of things wrong over there. Like "tyres". Need some English lessons.

Honestly this would be real cool if there was not a game called Forza. Graphics and physics seem similar. Do like the open wheels though. Is that worth buying another game? IDK

Yea, I agree. IndyCar is the only reason I'm buying. Plus, they removed the assists ( ) but we shall see if their new TrueFeel Technology makes the cars handle closer to sim. I wish they had more tracks, but some may be added as DLC.

I can't wait for it to come out. Looking forward to Brands Hatch again, but no video game will give you the g forces dropping down hill after turn 1 and the force in your body going up to turn 2. Drove that track many laps in every BMW made it was super fast.
Doubt it will compare to Forza 4 but it should be fun game nonetheless.

I'm hoping Codemasters will sort of take a lesson from Forza4 and combine the best of what they offer in F1 and the best of Forza4.

I think there are strengths and weaknesses to both games. (e.g. - Codemasters: having to give back positions if you badly corner cut; weather settings; in-game penalties; cautions; feeling of speed combined with a little bit of SIM...Forza4: video detail; car handling; car sound; customization; tuning).

Yea, Brands Hatch in reverse, in an IndyCar, seems like it would almost be as thrilling as running at, say, Richmond or Milwaukee, but I'd love to have a high-banked small oval.

In Forza4, Indy is thrilling in an Audi TDI "X" car, but it's not open wheel, and there is not enough speed (although maybe, with the proper gearing) to make you have to pull back on the throttle to keep from spinning in each corner.

Some interesting answers re: multiplayer, from the codies forum.

Q) What options do we have between 5 laps and 40 mins? Does endurance series apply to any car and any track?

A) Race events are configurable up to 5 laps in 1 lap increments. Endurance events race can be 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 40 minutes, selectable per track.

Q) Are some of the testers racing the tracks looking for ways to cheat the track, so Codies can put things in to stop this from happen? In GRID 1, on some the tracks, players could go cross country big time or cheat and go around some barriers. Please do not use a penalty system to stop this. I did not like getting a 5 second penalty in Shift demo if I went on the grass to get around a player stop on the track. Going on the grass was penalty enough. Just need to roughen the terrain so there no advantage to going cross country and don't leave big enough gaps between barriers and walls so player can't take a shortcut.

A) In response to issues of people getting around barrier blockades in GRID1, and having observed similar issues in our other racing titles, we’ve introduced our new corner cutting system. It’s a pretty complex system, completely new for GRID2, which calculates whether you’ve gained an advantage by running off track, and then penalises you by slowing you down until you’ve lost as much time as you gained by going off track. What’s cool is, if you run off and rejoin and haven’t gained an advantage, you carry on as before, making it feel really natural. It’s only if you’ve boosted your time by cutting that you’ll incur a slow down.

Q) Will there be an any car, any track mode? This feature was missing from GRID 1.

A) This was something we knew we wanted to fix for GRID2, so yes, any car on any track is supported.

Q) If online has tournament races ( 2, 3 race tournaments ) like GRID 1, will start order on 2nd and 3rd races be reverse order of how players finish the last race? I think this work well in GRID 1. The good players had to go to the back of the pack and show their skill and pass the other players and the other players got a shot at finishing in the top 3.

A) As with much of our online multiplayer, we wanted to put this into the hands of gamers, rather than imposing a grid order. This means that the starting order can be random, based on XP level, XP level reversed, the previous race result, the previous race result reversed, overall event standings or the overall event standing reversed.

Q) In a 2-3 lap race, 30 seconds was enough time for most players to finish race, but on 5 lap races, only about half the 12 players would finish race and the rest would get a DNF. I would like to see 60 seconds to finish a 5 lap race and 120 seconds to finish a 10 lap race or more. We use to do 30 min tournament races with GRID 1, so be nice if player could have 2 min\120 sec to finish the race.

A) The host has control over the end of race time for Online Custom Events and can set this to values between 15 seconds and 1 minute. For races longer than 5 laps we have endurance mode, which is all about distance covered over a set time rather than laps completed.

There was a livestream from codemasters today re: IndyCar. Here are some pics:





If anyone can find of video of the livestream, please post. Thanks.

List of cars in GRID2:
http://www.igcd.net/game.php?id=1000009427&replyto=126059&PHPSESSID=c18ff1&width=1680

List of tracks in GRID2:
USA
California Coast
Chicago
Miami
Indianapolis

Europe
Barcelona
Red Bull Ring
Paris
Cote D'Azur
Brands Hatch
Algarve

Asia
Yas Marina
Dubai
Okutama

I thought it was the old Dallara chasis!!!

No, they got the DW version somehow. Pretty cool. (Although I hate those rear bumpers).

Yes... and the only reason those were put there was to avoid cars flying off the car in front of them...

Good point. And they are hideous. IndyCar claims they make the car "more aerodynamic" too.

IndyCar has serious issues. I think they are still trying to recover from the split. So sad because they could be such an amazing series, like they once were. Still, I'm very happy they reunited.
In this order:
1. Chassis and engine (more) competition within certain restrictions.
2. Faster, more technologically advanced cars (see above).
3. More international races.

Some interesting facts:

Fastest Laps Qual. (ALMS vs. Grand-Am) Mid-Ohio 2012:
Grand-Am - 1:18.949
ALMS - 1:11.019

Fastest Laps Qual. (ALMS vs. IndyCar) Mid-Ohio 2012
ALMS - 1:11.019
IndyCar - 1:05.6474

Fastest Laps Qual. (IndyCar vs. F1 vs. NASCAR Nationwide) Montreal 2006:
NASCAR - 1:42.086
IndyCar - 1:20.005
F1 - 1:14.942

As you can see, the differences are pretty stark. When you see an F1 car in action, it's stunning. Can you imagine watching a NASCAR lap at Road Atlanta, then watching an F1 car do it 30 SECONDS FASTER?!?!

But what really gets me is that the difference between Grand-Am and IndyCar and F1 is about the same.

Be aware that a Nationwide car is not as fast as a Sprint Cup car....not that large a number, but probably 5-7 seconds I would guess

I have to disagree with you October. Did you see brazil indy race. If notnid check it out

On a road course, Harry? I'd almost guess the Nationwide was better built for a road course. But I'm sure there are some direct comparisons. Of course it's a bit unfair to compare sheer performance of F1 and NASCAR. I was more surprised about Indy vs. ALMS vs. F1.

Sniper, if you cut out the last 10-20 laps of Brazil, you would think it's the best series formula in the world. That's the best racing I've seen this year, period. But overall, when looking at the last 40 or so races, it's stagnant. Last year was downright boring and this year was starting to be that way until Sato/Foyt spiced things up. (By the way, that could happen only in IndyCar, no? A crusty old American racer with a former F1 driver from Japan). Foyt has taught him to be aggressive. So far, it is working. He always had the talent.

Maybe they are headed in the right direction, because I am in no way digging on IndyCar. I've always thought it was the best test of man and machine. They have the drivers, they have the diversity of tracks, and they have a good heritage. They just need sexier/faster cars and the incentive for the technology to attract the big hitters, both chassis and engine-wise. ALMS figured it out. Indy can too. If they do, and it returns to the halcyon days of the late 70s, 80s and early 90s, then watch out.

I will be on tonite if anyone wants to play some multiplayer Grid 2. Just me and another buddy.

Hit me up on xbox live. jms493

Say around 8-9 pm est.

jms - not relased over here until Friday 31st

However, I'm using it to my advantage for once - I'm waiting on feedback from you guys before committing to purchase as I'm undecided - don't fancy a PGR 5

not even Steam PC version?

I was tempted for buy that but my friend convinced me to buy xbox for multiplayer.

I'm about to go pick it up, anyone else get it yet?

jms493 wrote:not even Steam PC version?

I was tempted for buy that but my friend convinced me to buy xbox for multiplayer.

On Steam it unlocks in 2 days 5 hours!

I wanted to get it on Steam...I bet it looks monumentally better on the PC.

I bet it does too - I got F1 2012 on the PC the other day (was only £3.00 on sale with a Steam key) and it looks so much better and can be modded.

Anyway, back on topic - any feedback on this? anyone playing it yet?