A couple of days ago was Canada day, and folks celebrated it in different ways. Though based in London, it looks like Slightly Mad studio head Ian Bell decided to also set off some fireworks, and not the pretty kind.
Patch after patch has been released for Project CARS since its launch, but the fact remains: You’re not supposed to ship a game that’s broken. It’s an alarming trend nowadays, and while some developers manage to fix the issues, some games just seem broken beyond repair. We know patches don’t solve everything, but they’re expected to not break the game further.
For a game that’s been delayed numerous times, Project CARS should’ve been as polished as the fancy cars it features. Instead, forums have been filled to the brim and overflowing with people reporting problems and seeking advice on issues, in the hopes of fixing the problem themselves. Normally players can count on mods or fellow players for help, but they didn’t even have a chance to, in some instances.
Bell has been making the rounds on forums with a handful of insults and a big ban hammer in tow. He refers to anyone who complains about Project CARS’ shortcomings as haters or trolls, and has straight up banned anyone who expresses or agrees with criticisms of the title.
Right now, the game seems more broken than before, with players listing a myriad of problems – some of which weren’t even there before. Triple screen support is still broken, Oculus Rift support is now broken, and there’s still plenty of crashing that isn’t of the vehicular variety. Then there are still controller issues.
Racing games opened up the market for specialized wheel controllers, with some costing a pretty penny. Fancy wheels like this shouldn’t go to waste, and one user sure didn’t want it to. He turned to the forums for help, but instead got banned by Bell. Other wheel users have complained about their struggles with the game and the Logitech G27 wheels, and they got dissed, too. The same guy created a second account in an effort to get a proper response out of Bell, and was greeted with “Shut up you idiot.” And he got banned again, for good measure.
We’re guessing Ian Bell is hardly ever in a festive mood regarding Project CARS, taking all the negative feedback into consideration. It’s understandable to need time to really stomp out the bugs, and there’s a lot of pressure from players, but treating paying users and backers this way seems a little over the top. Project CARS is a crowd-funded game, after all, with backers having a fairly major stake in the project. Its successor, Project Cars 2, is supposed to follow in its footsteps; we sincerely hope the same fate doesn’t befall it.
If you’ve been thinking of picking up Project CARS, now really doesn’t seem like the best time. If you’re already playing it, what do you think of the events that have transpired since its launch? Is Bell’s reaction justifiable, or unacceptable?
