Moody concluded by saying that helping less experienced players-as well as reintroducing Landrush mode and adding more off-the-track features-makes Dirt 4 a more rounded sequel to Dirt 3 than Dirt Rally ever was. While patterns did start to emerge after a few hours of play, it's hard to disagree. Your Stage means Dirt 4 "kind of doesn't have an end," said Moody. This way, you keep your confidence up, even as you graduate to more complex stages or make the leap to Simulation mode.
Separating AI difficulty, track complexity, and Normal/Simulation modes from each other, also means you can ramp up the entertainment value by racing on harder and harder tracks (improving along the way), but still get a nice gold medal at the end. Actually having to listen to your partner-learning to read their cues and improving because of it-is a rare thing in video games, and it works. Not only does this more closely replicate the sensation of racing on an unfamiliar rally track, it also hands you a teacher. Racing into the unknown means you need to listen to your partner's clues about onrushing corners. And more importantly, it forces you to think on your feet.ĭirt 4 kind of doesn't have an end Clive Moody, senior executive producerīecause of this, your AI co-driver becomes vital in Your Stage. They're rarely that different from one circuit to the next, but it does stave off the boredom of repeatedly playing the same roster of tracks. You pick a location (in our demo, Australia was the only playable locale) and adjust the track's length and complexity, and in response Dirt 4 creates a brand-new, procedurally-generated track for you to play. Your Stage is essentially a track generation tool. He didn't elaborate on what those improvements were, but was quick to highlight the game's standout new feature: Your Stage. "Simulation is Dirt Rally-it's the same but better because we've made some improvements," said Moody. But, with a little practice, Simulation Mode becomes manageable, even for relative novices.
Simulation is for the more accomplished driver it's for people who could actually play Dirt Rally without hitting more trees than apexes. In Simulation Mode, assists are turned off by default, the car becomes twitchier-and I get slower. It just allows you some leeway if you're overzealous heading into a corner.ĭirt Rally was, without question, pretty uncompromising Clive Moody, senior executive producer Its handling model may be softer, and a little more forgiving, but I still spun out more times than I care to admit.
"Things like weight shift and how you control that, particularly on loose surfaces."ĭon't be fooled: Normal Mode is still tricky. "Normal Mode layers in some elements which just help dial out some of the things which we know people struggle with when they're getting into a rally car or an off-road car," said Moody.
To help give newer players a boost over the barrier many perceive the series to have, the very first thing Dirt 4 asks you is if you're playing "to have fun (Normal Mode)" or "to be challenged (Simulation Mode)." These modes are complement more standard variables such as difficulty levels and optional assists like anti-lock braking, traction control, and stability control. So definitely a driving factor in Dirt 4 is needing to give people a safer and more gentle entry into the world of off-road."īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's "If you had the patience you could power through that and get it, but for some people it was too much. It just threw you in, gave you no safety net whatsoever, and it was kind of sink or swim. "A lot of people either couldn't get into it because they didn't have the time to put the effort into it, or they were just put off from the get-go. "Dirt Rally was, without question, pretty uncompromising," Moody admitted. Codemasters' senior executive producer, Clive Moody, told me this was very much in the company's thoughts during development.
A deluge of assists-for example, systems that help players with braking and cornering-will immediately make less confident drivers (read: me) much more comfortable. With Dirt 4, developer Codemasters is trying to make motorsport more welcoming. But even its biggest fans would likely admit that the game was too punishing for newcomers. Many praised the game for its depth and for how faithfully it recreated rally, as brutal as the sport can be.
The most recent game in the Dirt series, Dirt Rally, faced similar criticisms from some fans when it released via early access in 2015. I find it boring, stressful, and-above all-difficult. Somehow, I am legally allowed to drive on real-life roads, but I absolutely despise doing so.