- I recently was able to test drive Codemasters F1 2018. How did I enjoy it?

F1 2018 - First Impressions

Yesterday, I got to spend three hours hands-on with Codemasters' F1 2018. How does it stack up compared to its predecessor?

3y ago
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Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to Deep Silver Games and test out Codemasters’ F1 2018! This was my first hands-on experience with the upcoming racing title. Deep Silver, the US Distributor for Codemasters’ games contacted me a couple weeks ago, saying they wanted an “Sim Racer’s Opinion” on the upcoming Formula One title, and it also doesn’t hurt that I live just half an hour away from their offices. I gladly accepted their offers, and I was able to spend around 3 hours testing out the title.

For testing, I was running a build of the game that was initially put out for E3, so what I was running was based off of a build that was around 2 months old. I was playing on a Playstation 4 Pro, and the first half was outputting to 4K HDR on a Samsung QLED TV. For the second half of the testing, I downscaled the resolution, so I could capture direct feed through an Elgato capture card. I was driving with a Thrustmaster T300RS with modified pedals, mounted onto a Playseat F1 Chassis.

First off, let’s get the bad news out of the way. I have received confirmation there will be NO Virtual Reality Support for F1 2018 at release, and I’m honestly finding it unlikely that there will be a post release patch to add support for VR. It seems like they are prioritizing their work in other parts of the title. This, in my opinion, is the most frustrating part of the upcoming game, because the HALO on Formula One cars would be far more tolerable while using VR.

Now that I’m guessing about 30% of the people reading this will have stormed off in an angry rage, let’s talk about some of the good stuff about F1 2018. Fortunately, there’s a lot to be excited about compared to F1 2017.

In the recently released Gameplay Trailer for F1 2018, there was mention of improved tire, suspension, and chassis simulation. In addition, it mentioned that the cars would be built off of real world data from F1 teams. The question is, what does that mean for us? Well, to put it simply, the cars feel like a significant improvement over what I felt in F1 2017.

In F1 2017, the cars felt a little “Boat Like” in my opinion. The tires didn’t really give much input of what the car was doing, resulting in a somewhat sluggish and frustrating experience. The cars in F1 2018 feel a lot more snappy, a lot more precise, and most importantly in my opinion, a lot more intuitive. One example that really sold the improved physics for me was Turn 15 at Albert Park. Going over that curb and seeing how the car behaved there was a massive improvement over F1 2017. It’s not a total overhaul, so don’t expect features like tire flat spotting or other dynamic features more hardcore racing sims offer. However, it seems like F1 2018 is taking a few steps closer to the serious simulation side. Don’t get me wrong, it still feels like a Codemasters title, which isn’t exactly the best thing, but it’s at least an improvement over its predecessor.

I’ve actually been able to get cars to slide a bit, and actually be able to manage them! Driving the classic cars in the F1 2018 feels like a hoot, and is a lot more enjoyable than my experiences in the previous title. The 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 felt surprisingly close to the Assetto Corsa version in terms of vehicle dynamics and feel. Driving in rain feels like an even bigger challenge than in F1 2017, but at the same time, the improvements in the way you feel the car almost counter-acts the added “difficulty”.

The force feedback provides a lot more input than the previous year, which I’m happy to report. You get a lot more feeling of what the car is doing, and it doesn’t feel as “Dead” as it did last year. Also, one thing I am ecstatic to report is that the Input Lag is all but gone in F1 2018. In F1 2017, there was a significant amount of input lag, no matter what platform you played the game on. I’m extremely pleased to see that this has been greatly reduced, especially on the console side. It allowed for me to feel a lot more connected to the car, which I think does result in a better experience. This may be the one single improvement I am most excited about, personally.

In terms of graphics, I was told that Codemasters had hired a new Art Director, and it shows. It’s not a massive leap in visual quality, but it is definitely noticeable. The sim looks a little more vibrant, a little more dynamic, and a little more lively. If you have compatible hardware, you will HAVE to try this out in 4K with HDR, it is absolutely stunning! Also worth mentioning is the fact that the title maintained a solid 60 Frames per Second, even when outputting in 4K. They are claiming that ALL platforms will achieve a stable 60 FPS while playing. I would have loved to test this claim on the different platforms, but I’ll take what I can get in terms of testing.

Audio feels like there is an extra level of added depth and authenticity to it. The engine notes feel a little more dynamic, and some of the subtle effects I was hearing, such as the “Buzzing” while downshifting, brought a smile to my face.

I got to do a little bit of testing of the career mode in the game, and it looks like there are some significant steps forward to make you feel like you are in control of your own career. After each session, you will take part in a quick interview, that will lead to how you are perceived by your team, other teams, or the media. The R&D tree has also been improved, with a metric ton of options to improve your car over the course of a season. In my testing of the career mode, it was a little buggy. For example, I dominated the first race of the season, but then I was surprised when the news reported asked “What went wrong?!”, but I’m guessing this issue will be ironed out, if it hasn’t been already. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Lee Mather, the Game Director of F1 2018, has stated this has already been fixed)

F1 2018 is certainly looking to be on the right track to make some significant improvements over the previous title in the series, but there is still some improvements that need to be made. The damage engine is still a little hit or miss. Most direct hits will result in a brutal disqualification in spectacular fashion. However, there are still the occasions where hits that should result in significant damage will result in you getting away scot free. I’m hoping that Codemasters will work on tweaking the damage sensitivity to create a more authentic experience.

All in all though, when I was done with my testing for the day, I was leaving the studio with a smile on my face, and wanting more. Fortunately, we don’t have long to wait, since F1 2018 comes out on August 24th. When that date comes, I’ll hopefully have my review ready, with more thoughts on the game. But based on my first impressions, I’m definitely excited to turn more laps in the game.

So I’d love to hear your thoughts! What do you think about F1 2018 coming this month? Let us know in the comments!

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Comments (2)

  • Played the 2017 f1 game and loved it, the handling and responsiveness was great, almost no lag with all assist off except medium TC with a controller, just bought the 2018 f1 game, first track i go to was australia, the lag is stupid long bout 1 second or more, really annoying on turn 11 and 12 on the track. tried everything to get rid of the lag but its driving me crazy. need help for this expensive game

      3 years ago
  • I've always been skeptical about these F1 games since the older versions just felt far too arcade-like and didn't provide for much excitement. Good to know that the handling has been tweaked, though I would still need to give it a go before being fully convinced!

      3 years ago
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