F1 23 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

[Steve_OS]

The F1 23 trial is available now on the PlayStation Store for EA Play subscribers. As...

Written By: Steve Noah

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[tc020791]

Very Early Impressions after 1 Full Grand Prix weekend, that concluded with 23 laps around Catalunya.

Just for reference, I started playing the F1 games in 2020. I’ve always played using a controller. Here’s my hours logged for each game since…
F1 2020 - 270 Hours
F1 2021 - 275
F1 22 - 119

Handling feels like 2020/21, but better. You don’t spin out every second on controller like you do on 22. High speed corners feel amazing as you have a ton of mechanical grip this year.

You can actually catch spins, and I’m comfortably playing with traction control off.

Tire wear seems much better on the controller. My tires aren’t dead after just a few laps and I can still gain on the CPU later in my stint.

CPU is braking at proper spots, so you don’t crash into the back of them if you’re following closely.

CPU defends properly, they actually will take a defensive line and will even try to go around the outside if you take a defensive line.

On that same note, the CPU will go wheel to wheel but will not crash into you, and if you’re clearly ahead coming out of the corner they will not spin you out like last years game.

Even with sim damage you can make wheel to wheel contact and not get damage. I did it multiple times during the race.

New race position table is clean.

Got rid of cheesey music during load screens.

Drivers were on different pit strategies. Not only were they starting on different compounds, but even the guys starting on the same compounds boxed on different laps.

Compounds seem to matter and work properly. I started on the hards and was struggling to get past the soft runners. But by the end of my stint I was easily passing them.

Field spread seems better, not as many massive DRS trains.

Overall I’m happy to say this game feels night and day compared to 22 on the track. I’m very excited to dive into a MyTeam, something I never felt with 22.

[Freakywwe]

Quick impressions from me, got in a 35% race in Canada and Vegas last night. This is all on PS5 with a controller, will report back if I see anything different with a wheel on PC:

- Grip and traction is definitely fixed from 22. You can actually drive the cars without having to overthink every corner just so you don't spin out

- Game looks great, updated models and whatever filtering they've done has worked wonders

- Red flags are currently bugged, but I believe EA is aware. As it stands, when the red flag comes out, the grid order that is showing will be the same one that shows when the race finishes. So red flags are off for now until that gets sorted. I tested the mechanic at least, works about as you would expect. Red flag shows and you transport back to the pits within a few seconds and can make strategy adjustments there. Some people seem to be annoyed about the teleporting, I don't find it that big a deal. But they will need to sort out the issues there

- AI is just, in general, a lot smarter. They give you the room when you would expect, they close the door when you would expect. Very few instances of other AI drivers just barreling into me, they are almost hyper-aware of the user. One moment that stood out was my race in Canada, Ocon was right in my DRS zone approaching turn 1 and gaining fast. I hugged the outside line (The proper line), which forced him inside. In older games, I would expect him to hold the inside line and just barrel right through me if I cut him off. Instead, he went long on T1, missed his braking point, and I was able to get the switchback and easily overtake him through T2. (I tested this back by doing a flashback before the overtake. In the flashback, he took the outside line and was content just following me through the turn. So my assessment was that the AI will take the risks when they can, but they'll also deal with the consequences if it doesn't work out in a realistic manner aswell) Saw a few moments of this that made me realize the AI is far more aware of what they're doing and will actually take the off-track/bad line as to not interfere with the other drivers and take both of them out of the race. Made for some really fun wheel-to-wheel battles I haven't really experienced in a Codemaster/EA F1 game

- In addition to that, the AI straight line speed is fixed. The only situations where I'm seeing the AI zoom past me on straights are DRS zones, which is fine, and even then, only Red Bull has actually really blown me out of the water on DRS (Seriously, I get why nobody can stop them this year now.) Overall, it's just a far more enjoyable experience racing the AI this year. It truly does feel like 20 individual drivers on the track, as opposed to 20 drivers all driving the same algorithm.


These are just some quick thoughts. I'm highly impressed and will be a day 1 purchase for me. Practically everything that was wrong in 22 has been fixed, just gonna take a patch or two to sort out some of the bugs but I consider this a major W for EA

[SlyBelle]

Purchased the early access and although I have owned prior versions, never was able to stick with them as I found them difficult per my lack of racing knowledge. Only had a small amount of time so far but like in the past, I continue to struggle controlling the cars, especially in the corners/turns. Very likely because I don't know what I am doing, so if anyone has advice how to master even being remotely competitive, would appreciate it. I have every assist turned on thinking it will help make it easier but even with them I still struggle.

Game looks great but if I can't figure out how to drive OK, it makes it far less enjoyable. Completely understand it's my lack of skill so hoping there might be some good tips.

[Freakywwe]

Quote: Originally Posted by SlyBelle

Purchased the early access and although I have owned prior versions, never was able to stick with them as I found them difficult per my lack of racing knowledge. Only had a small amount of time so far but like in the past, I continue to struggle controlling the cars, especially in the corners/turns. Very likely because I don't know what I am doing, so if anyone has advice how to master even being remotely competitive, would appreciate it. I have every assist turned on thinking it will help make it easier but even with them I still struggle. Game looks great but if I can't figure out how to drive OK, it makes it far less enjoyable. Completely understand it's my lack of skill so hoping there might be some good tips.

I’m sure there’s some guides out there. F1 cars are a lot to handle, there’s a reason they only let 20 people on the world drive them, but I guess my only two cents I can add is that F1 cars are all about smoothness. You can take a bad line and still be good, but you need to commit. You can’t be micro-adjusting the car through turns, you’ll throw out th back and spin forsure. Once you’ve decided on your line, ensure you’re staying as smooth as possible through the whole thing. Hard on the brakes before the corners, smooth steering into the apex, and then just making sure your positioned straight on the exit you should be able to rip it out of there with all the grip you need.

Like I said, I’m sure there’s better guides out there on YouTube that can drill down the basics of getting around a track fast. Once you get that part down, it’s just pushing the car to the limit more and more until you bin it.

Best way to learn is start slow. Do a time trial and just go slow enough so that you know the line. Then slowly start increasing your speed each lap. You’ll quickly realize where your spins are developing from and can kind of go from there. Sorry, I know this isn’t much, but really it all comes down to practice and eventually it just “clicks” and you can put up lap after lap with no problems

[tc020791]

Quote: Originally Posted by SlyBelle

Purchased the early access and although I have owned prior versions, never was able to stick with them as I found them difficult per my lack of racing knowledge. Only had a small amount of time so far but like in the past, I continue to struggle controlling the cars, especially in the corners/turns. Very likely because I don't know what I am doing, so if anyone has advice how to master even being remotely competitive, would appreciate it. I have every assist turned on thinking it will help make it easier but even with them I still struggle. Game looks great but if I can't figure out how to drive OK, it makes it far less enjoyable. Completely understand it's my lack of skill so hoping there might be some good tips.

Best advice I can give is slow in, fast out. Try to be accelerating through the corner rather than trying to get the car stopped in order to make the corner. Also brake in a straight line without touching the steering input, do the same when accelerating. If you need to accelerate and steer at the same time at low speeds, you can only go like half throttle or you’ll spin out. Once you get the car straightened out then go full throttle. Also make sure you’re using all of the track, that means using the curbs on the way in and out of corners to make the track bigger and allow yourself to carry more speed.

[NINJAK2]

I played the PC version and I have to say the game looks simply incredible and the handling feels much better than 22. I don't have an insanely powerful PC but I can run it on Ultra (No ray-tracing) fairly well. This tells me they have optimized it pretty well. This really wasn't on my purchasing list as I planned on getting f1 manager 23 instead for my f1 fix. After playing this I might have to reconsider...

[SlyBelle]

Thanks to the folks who provided some tips for a newbie like me. Although I have tried to keep things slow and manageable, haven't had much success yet as then everyone else blows by me. Absolutely not a a game issue, just my lack of F1 knowledge in general and driving ability.

I am going to keep at it and hopefully something clicks as it does seem pretty impressive. Thanks again!