[HILO OFICIAL] FORMULA 1 2011 Codemasters

First of all, I would just like to thank everyone at CM for making us feel welcome. It was a fantastic day, and we all left wanting more!

I will write some of my thoughts about my time with the game, and then hopefully answer questions that people may have.

We arrived at 11:30 and were promptly taken to the depths of CM's studio. Within a nice dark room were about 15 Xbox 360 dev kits and a nice big projector, all mixed with wheels and controllers.

After a small introduction slideshow and Q&A (More detail later) we were all let loose on the final build. First thing that was immediately apparent was the very nice paddock menu. It showed a lovely area with people walking around, carrying parts etc. We had about half hour to do our own thing.

I jumped straight into a grand prix at Melbourne. The menu loaded up and I made sure I put all assists off, damage to full, dynamic weather and Safety car ON! The loading screens have a nice montage of your stats similar to other CM titles like Dirt, which shows you details like your fastest speed, best position etc. One downside I did notice were the loading times. They were a little long, but I am just nitpicking.

Melbourne loaded up. Again this looked fantastic with the new lighting. There were some nice new panning shots of tracks this year showing fans walking around etc. Because I went straight into a race it showed me getting into my car and settling in for the race. The before race prep is almost identical to last year, so most people will be right at home flicking through their tire choice, pit strategy etc. I quickly jumped through it and headed for the track.

The same grid fly through happens before a race to show the leader, your team mate and your position on track. I cant emphasise how much better it looks this year with the new lighting.

I started at about 18th. The lights went out and we all went flying down to turn one. The AI was very aggressive and took up any space that could be found into turn one. Of course the first thing that happened was I went careering into the gravel as the new tire simulation really makes itself known. Cold tires are hard work this year. I pulled myself out of the gravel, and onto the track in last. Foot on the throttle, and no sooner was I back on the track I was facing the other way again.

I am happy to say that the cars this year are a real handful. We are all going to have alot of fun getting to grips with the cars.

This was pretty much the story for me for the first half hour of play. Getting to grips with the new handling is tough, some may say very tough, but it is very rewarding. Linking some corners together feels fantastic and you really fight the car for every inch. At every corner the car wants to spin you round, and not in a bad way. If you drive with no assists you will really have to be patient with the car and understand how it works.

The AI are a good challenge this year and they will force you to make mistakes, overtake you and not look back. They are also affected by everything the player deals with; tires, fuel, damage, failures, penalties and mistakes. They dont weave or make strange movements across the track this year, and on the whole act believably.

After we all had a go at feeling the new handling, we broke for a quick lunch and started some multiplayer races. I will say at this point I am not a good wheel racer. I will go as far as to say I hate it. I did stick with the wheel for a while and found myself getting quicker but eventually went to a pad to see if the game felt as good. As much as I can say the wheel grew on me and it was very fun and immersive, I am also happy to say people using the pad will still have a great experience. Most importantly you will also be just as competitive as wheel users.

I'll stop rambling now and get onto something most people want to know about ...... SAFETY CAR!

The safety car was deployed a few times in the multiplayer races. The mechanics of it are simple. The safety car comes out and waits for the leader. Upon collecting the leader, every car from then on has to stay in that order (Even if they are a lap down). One thing I noticed which has been debated is how long the safety car stays out. I dont think there is a set time, it is simply when all cars are collected behind it. When this happens, the safety car signals to come in and the leader takes responsibility for the pack. When they pass the safety car line overtaking is aloud and racing continues.

Now I noticed the AI cars that were involved in the multiplayer race were not very quick at getting away after a safety car. They were only set on intermediate so hopefully it was to do with difficulty settings. This in no way is a problem, I just felt they could of done more to bunch up and get a jump at the start.

A couple multiplayer races in and we had a rainy race. Rain looks Incredible this year. At one point I looked at someone else's screen as they tried Eau Rouge. You couldnt see anything. Making passes in the rain this year and driving competitively will be a real challenge.

On a side note, we all got to go off in groups to have a go on the d-box running F1 2011. Holy S**t, the game is something else playing it on a d-box!!

I am shattered after the long drive to and from CM today but I will stop rambling and help answer questions people have. I know me and Willsb tried to get in forum questions at the Q&A, aswell as throughout the day. Hope this has been an interesting read and I might try and write something more detailed tomorrow.

Thanks,
LoftyMan