A matter of attention
The discipline of the rally is one of the most particular in the automotive sector, because it takes the rider during his career to face curves on curves without ever having time to study and know them. In the gaming world, however, the fixed generation and realization of the tracks, coupled with the impossibility of recreating unlimited circuits, have changed in the situation where the player, to improve his time on lap, repeated infinitely a stage , learning each single variation of slope, realizing astronomical times, but treasuring a very far away experience from the real counterpart.
In DiRT 4everything changes, since with Your Stage the various tracks will be generated procedurally before the start of the race, making us find that sense of discovery that we wrote shortly. In this sense we can consider the lack of official licenses as an advantage that has guaranteed a great freedom for the Codemasters guys.
The maps in fact originate first as a continuous surface on which the dedicated engine draws circuit curves from the many presets on disk: in this way it is impossible to generate loops or incomplete circuits, but above all, one can not meet on their own path curves impossible to deal with or abnormal abnormalities on board the track.
A procedurality, used in a weighted and effective way, which allows, starting from the environment and a complexity and length score,
In practice, the system works as much as on paper, because despite sorting is unknown after a while we will learn about the types of curves to deal with, and while getting us always different from the previous turn, we will learn to handle any unexpected.
Arcade or simulation, this is the problem
If this is the way in which all the stages we are going to face in the course of the game, how we will go to the ground, the horses of our vehicle, whatever it is, will depend on the multiple game options.
First, DiRT 4 puts us in front of the choice between arcade and simulation. A temporary choice, because as we will see the game has all the interest in bringing the player hand to the second type of experience.
By choosing arcade, in fact, the game does not completely change anything in the structure, as it does not open in more explosive mode, it simply makes driving more immediate. The disregard of the beginner is thus covered by the gaming engine, which requires the same steps, but without being punitive or, conversely, “guided”.
However, as the player becomes confident with the means, immediate need will be needed to bring the performance even further and shorten our time. Then we will be in the simulation mode, taken entirely by DiRT Rally and embellished to read improvements, especially in the different terrain yield.
Perhaps here, however, is also the biggest sin of the title, an arcade experience would have had a greater sense in the way it was designed for it, as well as a simulation experience would have liked a major improvement on the front of the driving model.
But the jump between Your Stage and the usual added content, such as cars, sponsors, and clothing, has slowed down on the other hand the evolutionary growth of the driving model that the most demanding would expect.
Pilots become
Luckily, much of the content has been done, as we will find the Landrush and Rally Cross modes: the first not present in DiRT Rally , recovered by DiRT 3 and the other added only after the exit, followed by all vehicles dedicated to these competitions. Returning to the vehicles, many of them, especially the historic ones, have seen a total remake from zero, both for the graphic and sound side, with the Lancia Stratos engine, to make an example, which will sound like never before ‘Now.
All of the content will be found in the Single Player campaign, the fulcrum of the gaming experience, expertly alternating with the management of your team, once it has come to its founding after a few competitions. The latter aspect, in practice, will primarily serve to improve the performance and repair times of the vehicle during stays between stages, but it will not be a real ruinistic structure and will be a simple accessory of the rest.
