100% Complete - I had fun with F1 2017, many thanks to Codemasters for all the hard work.

[PJTierney 4,909]

Hi all,

It's that time of the year again, where I do a small write-up with my thoughts on the game after hitting 100% completion.
For reference here's the same thread for F1 2016.

After dropping the F1 series for a number of years I came back for F1 2016 and had a great time with it. While F1 2017 doesn't reinvent the wheel it does make some improvements in key areas and I enjoyed my time with it.

Here's a few brief notes on what I enjoyed most about this title:

• The (Xbox One) controller feedback was truly astounding. I haven't had that level pf precise feedback in any game outside of Forza Motorsport 6 and in some cases the trigger feel was even better than what I would get from a Forza title. F1 2016's was already good but the enhanced trigger feedback in 2017 was a welcome improvement. I drove with all assists off as I like to do in all racing games, and walking that tightrope where the rear tyres are just about to break traction never got old; catching slides was a lot easier too as they were more predictable.
  
  
• Last year I wished for some Classic F1 cars to be added to the game to give it a sense of variety and I was happy with this year's selection. The Ferrari F2004 was a dream to drive and the Red Bull RB6 is just how I remember it from F1 2010. Although I have more of an affinity for the 2000's era of cars some of the 90s were fun too, particularly the Williams FW14B. I also appreciate the fact that they were integrated into Public Multiplayer as they can make for some good battles.
  
  
• I liked the addition of the official F1 intro graphic before each session. When those streaks of light and came up combined with that buildup music I knew of from TV broadcasts I knew it was time to go racing.

There were however a few things I wasn't too pleased about; nothing game-breaking but just minor annoyances:

• Some of the Achievements were a little too "grindy" this time round. I felt that last year's list got the balance just right and for the most part this year's is okay too. That being said there are some that require such long-term investment that they end up not being much fun if you've already gotten your fill of a particular game mode.
  
  Another Lap is a particular outlier as not everyone enjoys Multiplayer enough to want to play it for 50+ hours. I think hitting Rank 25 was a reasonable target but 50 was a bit too much, just as it was in 2010.
  
  On the Shoulders of Giants is a another where it made a game mode outstay its welcome. I understand that everybody has different tastes regarding Career length; some want to do all 10 seasons while others are happy with one. Personally 2 is enough for me, one to explore the game mode and another to go for Championship victory. This Achievement requires close to 6 seasons of play and by the end of Season 3 I was looking for ways to "blitz it" by dropping the session lengths and setting the AI to a lower level. I wasn't playing to race anymore, I was playing for points. On top of that I believe the Achievement discourages you from changing teams, as moving to a lower team would mean "wasting" research points as you could lose a whole bunch of upgrades. I think the Some Assembly Required Achievement was balanced just right.
  
  
• Some of the minor details of Career don't make much sense to me from an immersion standpoint. I don;t get how the team's entire R&D focus is placed on the second driver of the team. It would have been nice if there was some element of the upgrade process where the 1st driver's opinions (if you're 2nd driver) also mattered. Maybe the 1st driver could get new parts first, or a certain upgrade would be cheaper if the 1st driver also wanted that to be upgraded etc. Also, no matter how well I drove, I was never offered a 1st driver contract at a leading rival team even if I had won multiple championships. I didn't see any real incentive to move to Mercedes or Ferrari when I had developed Red Bull to be stronger and was still 1st driver.
  
  
• There were some graphical bugs that made things a little difficult at times, but your Technical Assistance forum is full of those so I don't feel the need to elaborate further.

Despite the enjoyment I got out of this game I am starting to get the feeling of "I've done all this before". That's understandable as it's an annualised licensed sports title but there were a few points where I felt I was just doing the same things as in F1 2016. Many of the Career Mode cutscenes, events and character models seem recycled from F1 2016 and the overall flow of gameplay hasn't changed much either. I may end up skipping F1 2018 because of this and coming back in 2019 when things feel fresh again.

Finally, some suggestions for F1 2018. I understand that not all of these are desired or possible but I figured I'd pop these into the virtual suggestion box anyway:

• More Classic F1 cars: I'd like to see some iconic cars that aren't necessarily from the big manufacturers. The 1999 Jordan, 2009 Brawn, 2001 Sauber, 1994 Benneton etc. Maybe even some odd-balls or cars from the 70s and early 80s as well.
  
  
• I'd like to see something like Formula 2 or previous seasons F1 cars added. Not only would this give us more cars to try out but could also be integrated into the Career Mode to encourage multi-season play.
  
  
• Photo mode on consoles.
  
  
• I think Career Mode needs something new, as being just the driver can get repetitive. Maybe have an alternate game mode where you're a manager or something.
  
  

That's about it from me, thanks for reading and for the hard work in making this year's game happen. It may not be a smash hit with everyone on this forum but I had fun, and I might stay around for some Public Multiplayer races when I'm in between other games :)


@jennyannem @Britpoint @Lozzy @F1Support @DGreco

[PercocetPanther 0]

Interesting and well articulated assesment.

[DolphinGrayA4 0]

@jennyannem

More good advise for the developer. Good write-up 

[ChristerHiort 1]

@PJTierney 

I believe photo mode on consoles is in the works.

Thanks for the great write up.

[moogleslam 47]

Is there an achievement for going outside? :)

[PJTierney 4,909]

moogleslam said:

Is there an achievement for going outside? :)

I got that earlier this year, did the London 10,000 in 55 minutes ;)

https://twitter.com/PJ_Tierney/status/869146309403582464