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1.Faking seriEously
At first look, it’s not so difficult to understand why «Dirt» Rally Publishers now added this word into their title: its’ their well-promoted brand, being in use for many years. But we can also recall times when they released rally games without «dirt» name additions. So, let us ask ourselves: why did they print this word in 2007 after usual «Colin McRae Rally»? Is it really such pleasant substance, or is it so «heavy» to tell «dirt» — why not a more serious word?
These questions maybe rested in some sense open until this year. But now… now we really know: by adding this short word they simply mean that from that time they decided even not to try to create really good realistic game, but to make a FAKE product, playing up to mass casual player and providing further spoiling of mass player taste. The letters D I R T simply hide the letters F A K E.
Now they proclaimed to have returned to «rally origins» of the «dirt» series, but not in vain they keep marker, which gradually became a symbol of more and more far deviation from the very idea of rally driving simulation: this allegedly rebuilt game remains the same FAKE, profaning mentioned idea and in this way finally validating initial sense of four letters in the title.

Really, would it be simply regular next Dirt, it would be not worth of to waste words on it. But now we read about «highly developed product»;»true simulator», and, for the ends of all, «spiritual successor of Richard Burnes Rally» (please, hold me on my chair). It’s a result of the very interesting metamorphose: during the years of internal arcade Dirt community self-development they gradually produced original unscrewed inside out view to rallying, and for the ends of all recognized as a «simulator» criteria just the same things, which initially made Dirt games despicable and derided «Arcade»!
And now the problem for the finishing product, made especially for this community, consists not in fact of sophistication or abstractly taken «quality» lack. Yes, they made six excellent stages at three locations (Wales, Greece, Monaco — Germany and Pikes Peak are much less impressive). They allegedly took into account influence of surface type to car behavior (I can’t really feel it, but may be, it’s my own problem). They produced suspension work and weight transfer animation! They made so much, that one fan from Steam forum found only one thing, really making Richard Burnes Rally (RBR) more advanced and progressive: tires changing and tires pressure control. They made all, but anyway this Fake Rally is NOT a simulator of somewhat real. Unlike to many games, from old good Colin McRae up to Android Pocket Rally (not to mention RBR in vain), «Dirt» Rally is NOT A RALLY GAME AT ALL: it’s a total FAKE.
2.What’s TRUE?
Not so hard to understand what I mean. I recall how I tried to master RBR in 2004 and early 2005. After I ceased to fly out and kill my car in first turn and became able to finish well, I watched with bewilderment to «champion» (and sometimes even «professional») stage times: is it really possible to achieve it? Since I passed each turn with mortal hand braking and extra-careful exiting, that was all conceived as fantastic. But, so I accepted challenge, continued to work, and in one moment I found that it’s not necessary to be afraid to keep speed before and press gas after turn, that dangerous trajectory, produced by rough wheel turn, can be corrected with engine work as well as with braking. I learned to feel and to foresee inertia, grip and drift in their interdependence, and to manipulate them, using simultaneously, in ENSEMBLE gas, wheel and brake sometimes in courageous and wide, sometimes — subtle and elegant action. So, from the gloomy hell of anguished crawling over hostile surroundings, I’ve been transposed into paradise, where after passing turn I as if receive addition forward impulse, where I fly and where in each successful maneuver I uncover beauty not accidental and artificial, but being a reflection of initial, God-made Universe beaty, taking place in Plato’s beauty hierarchy. And now, returning to game after few month of absence, I again face some challenge — and then again rise to the heaven of flying, freedom and internally developed, live harmony. Just this enjoyment of driving itself is a key, true criteria of (any level) driving simulation. And we really can find it, in some extent, in many games, including, in particular, even Milestone WRC series. But NOT in any «dirt». «Dirt» first of all is a game, where you will NEVER enjoy driving itself, what, in its part, is not somewhat accidental, but just simply the principle of this game type. So, with it all dirt fans remain in their hell, but. they love this hell!
3.Great Railway Fly
Indeed, it’s easy to mention, what was introduced into Codemasters’ game with this «dirt» appearing in title. It’s usually being mentioned as «railway driving»… so, it means that the car instantly starts and accelerates, instantly brakes and stops, but mainly, instantly react to wheel turn: as if we simply hold toy vehicle with two fingers and rotate it around vertical axes. So, it’s like you must simply make in time such momentary turn synchronously with imitating road scrollable tape under toy rotating.

It must be admitted that I played Dirt 1-2 for some time, but now, trying to enter there, I again and again become astonished with the fact of in how brute way all these presented there (dirt three even worse). Producing such innovation for making the game more easy and popular, developers were soon faced by the simple fact: with such santa-simplicita included into game process, solo driving occur boring just for that massive player, which they intended to win over; so, they began to gradually force out the rally itself from Dirt series.

BUT! In the same time, in that grown-up community special layer also gradually formed itself: those, for whom this railway racing just turned out attractive. These gamers may be called as grandmasters of NOT-TO-MISS-RAILWAY art. Their aim was so: to count, or to ascertain in experimental way, how mad speed can they permit themselves during passing certain turn. So, this task divided itself into two parts: 1.One-dimentional counting of allowed speed and also 2.Investigation of track for optimized RAILWAY LAYING with précised tabulation of each track piece passing possibilities.
From last flat demand of narrow and twisty tracks in-game including springs. It’s really funny to see how dirtists of different generations like to scoff at other games, including RBR, for their allegedly too wide tracks: for them it’s so boring! When in WRC 5 promotion movie off-screen voice explains, that some tracks in the new game more wide, some — more narrow in accordance with real prototype specialties, they even don’t hear it: such game is too tedious for them. Pure souls, they cannot realize, that to pass wide space corner FAST WITHOUT RAILWAY can be more interesting, than to build railway buckles between narrow boards.
So, in «dirt» gaming internal complexity of different factors simultaneous count and different type actions’ synthesis producing occurred as if pushed outwards and became doomed to freeze in the form of external track complexity.
Nothing to say, such gaming model was really extreme and ascetic, and, of course, with time flowing inside corresponding (pseudo)-rally community new demand have had to grow ripe: demand of adding something special… here we come close to our subject — Dirt Rally.
4. Run Without Tyres?
Beginning to directly discuss this game, I must first of all express my deep perplexity of the fact that not only fans at forums, but also professional reviewers contrive to use a word «simulator» here. For the first ones quite enough if their car begins to twitch in somewhat idiotic way during corner passing: simpletons will begin to cry «simulator, simulator» — but is it really enough for serious conclusions? In our case, however, even for first look the product appear as true successor of arcade Dirt series: simply all car reactions for each action with gas, brake or wheel turn are so linear and jerky, that even a very idea about «simulation» have no place for born here. Can we find somewhat at least similar in somewhat NFS Shift, no words about avowed true simulators?

But for full clarity finding we have to establish simple criteria of just rally simulation: in true rally game engine work (controlled by gas pedal) and car movement must be mediated with TYRES — ROAD SURFACE INTERACTION MODEL. Such model has to include as mandatory elements 1) rolling friction, or accelerating grip 2) sliding, or drifting friction, dividing itself into tangential and perpendicular ones and 3) possibility of SIMULTANEOUS ACTION of both elements reproduction. Just this third point provides possibility of simulation of the main rally turn passing intake, named POWER SLIDE, in which the driver first THROWS the car into drift in turn with abrupt wheel rotating, then with gas pedal release and, if needed, braking return wheel to center, and, for the end, press gas for provide vehicle acceleration in changed direction.
And it’s very easy to make sure, that in Dirt (Fake) Rally integrated and consecutive model of mentioned type not presented and substituted with separated ugly scripts, piled ABOVE usual Dirt railway model.

The absence of the power slide in Fake Rally is a simple fact, obvious for any experienced driver. But dirtists will challenge it up to infinity showing dust clouds produced by cars in their replays. It possible to agree, that for RWD 1970s cars we can observe at least somewhat pallid image of it – it’s just the reason of why I played mainly with such cars, particularly, finished in top list of June championship using Escort Mk II.

But we can easily prove ourselves, that even with such cars we see somewhat parody in form of artificial script and on no account consequent drifting model. For example, even in gravel you face highly specific problem: you simply cannot return wheel to center quite fast, because the car begin to twitch synchronously with this wheel returning movement. Guys from the developers team looks like they don’t understand it at all that vehicle always being turned only by the influence of tyres’ grip, and if tyres stopped to spin, their ability of movement direction changing decrease practically to zero.

But moreover, if you not only released gas, but also make returning to center movement in a moment of flying, the car can begin to twitch anyway! Just here you feel better than anywhere, that you drive not a car, but rail-laying crane.

It’s on gravel, but at tarmac… here we face DIRECT PROHIBITION for simultaneous use of brake, wheel and gas: they allowed only separately. You can rush with wild speed up to almost hairpin for instant stopping there, but in this case you must keep the wheel in strict center position. If you turn it a little before mortal handbrake stop and, God save, also throttle a little, -invisible hand will catch your machine and begin to twirl it in absurd manner (for example, these people even don’t understand, that if the car slides on ice, it cannot rotate at place, but only with continuing of forwarding movement, because no anchor it has).
So, at hairpin you must several times repeat consequence of separate actions: stop, then turn wheel, then make jerky shove, stop again and so on. With such idiotic convulsions you must torture yourself in Monaco. And if you want to keep at least little part of inertia in sensible maneuver, you must also express all in one spasmodic movement, and then only passively wait for the result, being unable to correct anything. For passing entire long stage in such way you must be possessed with extreme precise carefulness and exactness, usually peculiar to girls or, maybe, to boys who like boys — so, for whom was it made?

But, dear friends, power slide pre-suppose uninterrupted mutual correction of gas, brake and wheel action in their simultaneous work: just in this way you can pass the same corner in thousand of different, but good modes. So, NO POWER SLIDE presenting in this game… And also in Germany and other asphalt locations situation occur even worse: car does not slide, vice versa, does not even get stuck instead of drift, like in gravel sometimes, but rather adhere to invisible platform, which begin to drag it in unpredictable way, and the slightest attempt of counteraction is being punishable with head screw off. It’s so revolting, that for me my offline career simply stopped forever, like in Dirt 3, after Germany stages appeared in rally mode.

But when I also ended my online challenges’ career finishing in weekly event in Wales with the same Mk II at 5th place (directly after cheaters), I returned to the last Greece stage in elite championship I began to pass with Impreza 95… and here I was again impressed, maybe, even more. Its true pin-ball! It really has a rocket engine, pushing object also in one direction, along body, absolutely no matter, in what direction the tyres work in this moment! And after produced by this engine furious shove it float by invisible water surface, no matter also, do you push brake or handbrake! These losers cannot understand that if really the same tyres produce such rocket shove, they MUST also stop it, if they accepted perpendicular or even backward direction and also now work for car moving there!
So, they simply wrote one script for acceleration, another — for lakeside floating, third — for momentary stop at straight. It’s their «simulator». Sorry, but NOT in any simulator you will find such momentary and jerky car reaction for the slightest wheel turn or gas-brake touch. NOT in any simulator you will see such pin-ball leaps, such furious convulsions, such idiotic scripts’ self-switching. This «simulator» is made especially for Dirt community and can be accepted only with it.
5. Can You Really Swallow It Without Become A Little Crazy?
And returning to last, we see, that Dirt developers, of course, tried to satisfy this community aspiration for more diversity and complexity, but made it in very special way: complexity is being achieved here not as a result of driving model improving, i.e. AS EQUAL AS REALISM, but INSTEAD OF REALISM and in such way, which just predetermine excluding of realism.
They simply intended to make the game more DIFFICULT, but in no circumstances not more internally self-developed and sensible. It looks like they, first of all, added these traps in form of mentioned absurd and ugly scripts, tearing continuity of dirt railway driving model. Properly speaking, in some form they used this intake already in Dirt 3, as I can recall.
And I don’t know well why they decided to continue with it in «rally simulator». Maybe, it’s simply a result of talent lack or narrow-mindedness and habit for hack-working. But some people say that Dirt Showdown had Grid 2-like drifting model, which, after adaptation would became a base for rally simulation at least in much better way, than presented in game Dirt 3 model. And, probably, they refused such way just being scared with Showdown’s failure, although this fact could be caused by other reasons rather than with this.

However that may be, Codemasters’ developers entered the way of FAKE producing, and, once done, they were forced to go further with it — although it’s really surprising how far they moved as a result.

So, they continued «simulator» building with adding also different harmless, but sometimes strange things. It has to be mentioned, that here they also follow to nurture just by the community’s expectations — sometimes strange up to slightly unhealthy. For example, Dirtists likes to demonstrate snobbery regarding to official WRC game series, and being asked about the reasons for it, instead of less-glamour picture, they tell about such things like «too many assists» or «I get first place from first attempt». But assists can be turned off, like also in Dirt itself, and if set AI to 10th or 9th level, even for me, who established in that game world records, it would be sometimes not so easy to win virtual Loeb after a range of attempts.
And about their attempts to play RBR they usually report with words like «for the ends of all I passed that long stage». No matter — how fast and, moreover, how sensible. So, they create for themselves a somewhat imaginary world, where not real speed, real mastership and game enjoying as such have importance, but their possibility to overcome hardship, which they can chose for themselves (what would be not so bad in case developers do not destroy all the game for it).
And in this way strange conventionalities with unpredictable importance appears in the foreground. For further example, stormy exultation was produced in community by «flashbacks» excluding from the game. It would seem, if you don’t like flashbacks — simply don’t use them, what a problem? Not enough will power? And if they destroy the game process – is the mandatory car reloading produce somewhat better? With unlimited restarts in career (forbidden in RBR) — what at all this game process simulates? And, in the same time, in training regime — what a difference between flashbacks and restarts, instead of time saving/losing? But practically for all Dirt Rally gamers anyway flashbacks considered as somewhat black death: they LIKE to kill 6 minutes for making next attempt at the same corner.
Generally, in their playing up to community Codemasters simply forced game genre partiality to mutate from racing to somewhat role-play, in which from reality taken anything, but not realism. For the first look it seems to be inscrutable, which forces them to cling to things rather accidental, with ignoring essential ones. But the principle nevertheless exists. I can define it as «pleasant violence».
6. Inside a Black Hole
Yes, some things are simply ridiculous, like «advanced startup» or «car setup at service area». First presuppose turn on handbrake at the command and turn it off in time. About last I can only tell, that I found simple fact: turning gears ratio to maximum «long» value you improve your results at ANY stage and with ANY car, but corresponding profit is so insignificant, that it’s not worth to kill time for such «tuning» (a propos, tuning itself, i.e. new parts mounting and so on, in strange way exiled here into off-screen area, and you must descend deeply in menu for check, what your «team» made).
So, such things, strange and ridiculous, of course, remain at the periphery of «simulator» developers’ conception. Main stake they made to additional game play elements, which appear really impressive. First of all, they invented a new type of game world, namely, gaming inside a black hole.
Do you know what a black hole is? It’s a stellar object, namely, former star, which with its own extremely strong gravitation field collapsed practically to point and engulf with unbelievable force not only all external objects, but even light radiated by its own internal matter.
So, a black hole is a small one, but we can imagine also that it’s large enough for being able to hold inside a somewhat landscape. Then let us make in this black matter a set of tunnels, using what we can move upon this landscape and even see 3D images, printed upon the tunnels’ walls for landscape representing. You say it’s impossible? But it’s quite real! It’s what we see in Dirt Rally stages!
…so, fairly supposing, that their pseudo-physical trap incrustations into Dirt driving model are insufficient for making solo driving interesting enough, Fake Rally devs introduced into game active environment, keeping quiet behind invisible wall: when somewhat little part of your car crosses this frontier, invisible hands will catch it and begin to drop into their realm with insuperable force. If only one wheel touches the forbidden area or simply hang above the emptiness for a moment, no matter what the other three try to do: you’ll lose track, and practically never be able to return back. If you are rushing at 100 km/h and the car touches little piece of wet grass, you will not make usual flying slide, but it will catch you and suck you in: looks like, it wetted not with water, but with the same super-glue which falls instead of rain water on Germany tracks’ asphalt. Scarps and even the simple column in hairpin center will also attract you with force, in spurts rising to infinity after invisible line crossing. So, so on.
But that’s not all. One official on Codemaster’s forum, trying to prove that what is presented in game tracks are authentic and not too much narrow, posted a recording of reallife rally run in Greece. Yes – the track is narrow, what is not strange for a mountain route. But, if even to ignore the fact that the car moves there twice slower than the slowest car in the game, we see interesting things. I watch and really recognize certain parts of the track… but where is that huge rock, hidden after the turn, at which I killed my car thousand times? Where is the rock after next bend? What a safety barrier, preventing car in video to fly out into precipice, which also occurred hundred times? Why are the road boards so clean, like swept, where bumps and little stones? We see the way in which developers try to make the game more interesting and, mainly, realistic.
They really achieved, that the most difficult here is not to pass corner well: it’s even more dangerous simply to go straight. Especially exciting is their idea to make road boards at some tracks sharp like knife: touching them a little; the car soars up and flies headlong. So, taking in mind, what a jerky driving system is present here, we must suppose that that all was «realistic», most of rally pilots very soon would find themselves in the cemetery, or, even sooner, competition organizers — in a prison.

Never will you pass such track being guided only by copilot’s notes (like it take place at real competitions): no, you must suck each centimeter of stage, become acquainted with each little stone — but anyway after hundreds of restarts you will not know, where you will fly out next time. This is «simulation» game play.
7. Our Little Hardcore Toys.
But, so, it’s not all, after mentioned elements of realism, most interesting begins: …direct persecution. Being caught by one of those idiotic traps, you will not only lose time and destroy your car: you will be also punished with penalty. Penalty of order of 15 sec, absolutely destroying game and making continuation senseless: you totally lose; you must restart or leave the online event. And you’ll receive penalty far not only in case of real crash: you can, for example, move in half-meter near track (trying to keep equipoise at high speed) and don’t cut anything — but after countdown you will be mandatory returned back with mortal punishment. You can allegedly
touch an idiotic staff member, staying like a ram in half-meter also near track board and absolutely not trying to evade from rushing bolide. And you’ll lose all, if you simply occured in two meters near track and, as supposed, can return with your own — but they will force you to jump back with 15 seconds plus: here they, looks like, simply try to hide, in how brute way their black hole system works. Let us ask ourselves: why has this absurdity theater even been created?
And we also have to mention, in what realistic and friendly manner they organize collective game — online rally events. Especially uncommon to see competitions, where cars of the same type, but of the different tuning level take part (where we saw somewhat similar in real life?). Without turbo you’ll lose half-minute if you’re really Ogier… but in the same time during solo training before no-restart event you can use only a fully-tuned car, and you often work in different daytime-weather conditions and, so, trying to drive fast, you will probably fly out and lose all before you will adopt to changed conditions: 10 shakedowns allowed in career, where they are useless by the reason of restarts allowed, but not here.
For taking part in most competitions, you must buy cars… but not for prize money: if you even will regularly enter top ten of 2-3 thousands of participants, you will remain a beggar, having no money even for «engineers». For first place you receive the same pittance, as for 300th one, and all you must procure in offline career, passing again and again the same tracks you, may be, don’t like, and beating your own records, obtained previously with more fast cars, — as like as off-screen «tuning» progression also (you will never know, what in concrete you must to do for not to lose 20-40 seconds in official live race to your training times).

But you will lose the same or more, even if you make good with fully tuned car in Daily event. Not surprising is the fact, that in Codemasters’ game all upper rating places are always being occupied with cheaters – it’s the usual story, this producer is not frustrated with such facts. But here we see some specialties: guys, each event finishing in top 3 with handicap from 6-10 places sometimes growing up to a minute (while these pursuers are often inside one second), — they have seats at Codemasters’ forum and bathe in glory rays.
So, even in case cheats principality would be impossible, anyway developers must feel, that something is wrong with their game, if such gaps occur: it’s evidently too much for rally. But if at their forum you’ll ask questions about where these more than strange things origin from, you will be very soon banned forever, and all your posts, including concerning other games, deleted from the forum.

It was really funny to see, in which nice way older cheaters, from the almost beginning captured the game, tried to complain to more impudent ones, which, looks like, even not modified game engine, but simply manually drawn even more fantastic times directly into results table. So, cheating fathers called their friends, which created topics and wrote: «we know really fast guys in our community, they are not cheaters, but these ones…» — and after that heroes joined themselves and authoritatively stated: «yes, we are not cheaters, but those, which we cannot call by name, but can only circle with a marker on the screenshot of the result list — they are, looks like.. » I think, they were not punished for such statements just by the reason of community administration known well, that they are cheaters also. And nothing was ever fixed.
8. Fair Diagnosis
Thus, observing the ocean of such type data, we can begin to think: is it really all OK with the head of those who invented all this? But, in the same time, what about those, who eat it, who play this game day and night?
I do not want to insult anybody, but I can only presuppose, that they simply forgot themselves in a game, which gradually acquired algolagnical (sadism-masochistic) nature. Now we see specialties, which are really not so far from shackles and scourges, but initially all was quite innocent.
Initially Codemasters decided to allure in their Colin McRae series casual players, which, may be, well developed in shooters their reaction rapidity and similar abilities, but which have no true taste to simulating physical model mastery and physical intuition development.
Well, at first they achieved success, but at the end all game builders faced the fact that annoying jogtrot of railway driving, being unable to produce game enjoyment as such, and demanding somewhat additional «hot» elements involving. And they were right, supposing that unnatural and ugly pseudo-physical insertions into old railway model would occur not quite enough for playing of such role.
So, they decided to try to fight fire with fire: if over-speed flying with super-steering cornering does not produce gratification, but, vice versa, cause discontent and weariness, let us add somewhat more tiresome and irritating — and initial negative feelings will find other colouring, may be, even positive.
Thus, game developers resort to noticed above slightly mad things were quite consequential, only afterwards they got a taste for these perverted intakes and partially lost self-control.
Concerning players… of course, they were ready for such game. Generally, present day social system force people not to find in external world somewhat creative harmony and beauty, but rathe, conversely, produce self-affirmation in forced negation of all concrete. I have no talent for playing RBR or even poor WRC 1-4 games — but instead of creative abilities’ development I’ll lick «dirt» tracks up to infinity, lay best railway between obstacles — and at the end I’ll feel myself a winner, no matter if I was really fast or not.
In that way, such one-moment contemplation of the empty owns «myself» is the only result of this type of practice. It keeps a person unsatisfied and forces him to continue self-torture. But only beauty can give us true satisfaction, and to obtain such fortune we must first to subdue ourselves to somewhat concrete, for example, just to car movement physics structure.
9. Where From These Legs Outgrow?
And such things are being negated by contemporary life. One my colleague, theorist in physics, wrote an article (in Russian language), where described catastrophic degradation of mathematical and physical education in the West. He worked in Paris University VI named for honor of Pierre et Marie Curie, and also in l’Ecole Normal
Superier. He found, that ALL students of these greatly respected educational institutions, even being not so stupid themselves and quite diligent and pertinacious, occur practically fully impotent just in that subjects, which they chosen as their profession. He gives a range of shocking examples, and I can also confirm, that geometrical problem, which occurred there too hard for entire year group (more than 200 students), excluding two Chinese guys, — that problem could be without great efforts solved by at least a half of Moscow 14 y.o. schoolboys.

And the origin of such deplorable condition of youth’s mind he finds in the manner of teaching, which from early years accustoms children to cram data and algorithms stupidly without any attempts to understand them. Apply intuition and accept these data in context of real life. So, such student can know multiplication tables well, but if he doesn’t remember, what gives 6×7, he will be not be able to fill up this lack with his own. And the question like «why is the sine of 30 degrees angle equal to 1/2?» is being accepted with them as somewhat totally insensible.
So, the educational process reduced them to stuffing data into their (temporary) memory of remaining external and insensible for them material, and although some of them manage to reach in such way up to quantum field theory or general relativity, they remain internally empty and uncultivated ones, creatively impotent. They don’t see any beauty in their study object and don’t enjoy it: all reduced to ascetic and masochistic self-confirmation. And though such achievements can produce amazement, they stay somewhat squalid and pitiful.
I think the analogy with our subject, Fake Rally, with its track sucking, is quite clear. And I have taken this example just for making emphasize on the fact, that whatever would be the reasons for such type game building keeping, It’s a road to nowhere. If contemporary life is so joyless, just the gaming world is an area, where we can find somewhat refuge from it: in their deep people keep anyway natural intension to creativity and self-development, and they expects for it at least latently. So, real alternative were on hand of Codemasters developers, but they refused it.
And since such FAKE products deceive mentioned hopes, true success is impossible for them. Yes, in our case developers can play-up to snobbery feelings by involving pseudo-simulating role play elements. Yes, they can create a nice glamour envelope, trying to smooth over ugly game play model and outrage upon player’s physical intuition. But to call into being inspiriting like that, which accompany Richard Burnes Rally more than for ten years, — it’s impossible for them.
And we see that they already forced to abate price (making little surprise for those, who believed, that by buying (in May) an unfinished product will save them money.
Really, now I tried new Finnish stages. The picture is very nice, but I have no desire to master (or rather, lick) these tracks. Absolutely no feeling of tyres, rocket engine and rocket taxiing, like in star probe vehicle. No any sensible intakes for corner passing, annoying mad rush with instant braking and spasmodic wheeling. No, thanks!
It’s sad that this Codemasters’ project destroyed itself in such way: it could be really good, but… It all looks like somewhat damnation: as soon as some scale and quality made project in racing gaming appears, somebody obligatory finds a fair amount of tar for spoiling this honey barrel.
10. Good Bye, Fake Rally!
But now we can say «Good bye, Fake Rally» with a light heart, because just now we can greet TRUE RALLY GAME. WRC 5 has just been released. It has quite poor picture, but. I entered there — and I feel like some new dimensions swept open! I feel inertia and drift, I guide with them in different ways, sometimes I catch flying feelings. I have space for creativity! The game is definitely better, than WRC 1-4 (no words any «dirt») Of course railway drivers, which exposed to outrage their physical intuition for many years playing railway dirt arcade, cannot feel it, but true rally lovers – it’s for you! We can congratulate one another and come to light area, resting poor ascets in their glamour hell.
Of course, we can feel sorry for those people, who cannot see physics model beauty, and even simply drive without a railway. But there are others also, who are not so hopeless. Firstly mentioned people already formed a sect of Saint Dirt Witnesses lauds their idol at forums, but also abuse with worst words hundred times better games. As a result these true realistic games, like those now supported by FIA, will not be produced in the future. Just to prevent it, I wrote all this. If you agree — please, distribute it wider!