After having told you a few days ago all the news regarding the physics and handling of the car (here is our preview of F1 24), let’s go back to talking about the new F1 24 by Codemasters and, more specifically, the renewed pilot career. In fact, for several years this beloved mode has suffered from a certain stagnation and the development team promises numerous additions capable of giving it new lifeblood. From rivalries to graphical improvements, there’s a lot to talk about, so let’s not waste any more time and get on track!
Play as Legends!
By popular demand comes the possibility of tackle the career mode as a real driver. In fact, the player will be able to choose to create his own avatar as in previous editions or select a true favorite among those of F1, F2 and even the icons.
According to what Lee Mather, Creative Director of the game, told us, starting from F2 we will have the possibility of being included in one of the Driver Academy of the top teams, something that had already been present in the past and which will now make its return. Our results in F2 will determine the bargaining power we will have with the teams in the major category once we are ready for the big leap.
From what we have seen, the driver rating system remains unchanged, an overall numerical rating that indicates the level reached by our avatar and which grows as we gain experience and obtain results.
As for the icons, these will not only be controllable in the driver career mode, but it will be possible to put them under contract also in My Team. Can you imagine the Senna-Schumacher couple? However, it has not been clarified whether AI-controlled teams will also be able to hire these great legends of the past.
Recognition and R&D Scenarios
The Creative Director then talked about a mechanic, called Recognition. This new parameter of the driver, which we can translate as “notoriety, reputation” indicates his weight (in a metaphorical sense) within the paddock and the team in which he is found. Let’s take for example a veteran like Fernando Alonso: it is clear that both in terms of negotiations and in terms of development of the car, a driver like the Asturian he has greater influence than a rookie.
With Recognition, the experts wanted to insert this additional level of depth. The driver’s reputation changes based on results on the track, the achievement of contractual objectives and other collateral aspects, such as loyalty to a team which can guarantee a reputation boost. Reaching a certain level of fame brings benefits, real perks such as the ability to complete car developments faster, reduce the chances of technical failures in the process, make multiple components simultaneously or even have access to secret development branches! However, we are not alone in the team! There’s always a teammate who might want to have their say. Increasing your reputation and earning your first guide ranks also means having a greater say when it comes to determining the direction of the developments we want to make. Otherwise, our partner would be able to do it and it is not always a given that his decisions will be in line with ours. In short, if you want to take the helm, make sure you are superior to your colleague on the team.
Speaking of perks, the figures we will interface with within the team are the so-called Specialists, who will show us the objectives to be achieved, both short and long term. Reaching them and cultivating relationships with specialists can guarantee us further perks to activate in Research & Development. In order to break the monotony and ensure a succession of seasons that are not copies of each other, in F1 24 the so-called Research & Development Scenarios are introduced.
These are modifiers that the player can choose to activate at the end of each season, which impact the next one, making it simpler, for example with the unlocking of unlimited funds, or on the contrary more difficult, now simulating a financial crisisnow problems in research and development and so on.
Accolades and secret meetings
So let’s move on to another key element of F1 24’s career mode: the concept of Accolade, or “achievement” in Italian. These are key moments in a driver’s career, which clearly may vary based on the stages of the career itself. In this context, the initial objectives could be to take part in the first free practice session or to complete the first race. If instead you race as Lewis Hamilton the Accolade would certainly be the victory of the eighth world title. Or again, by choosing Nico Hulkenberg the goal can only be the first podium in F1, and so on.
In F1 24 it has been completely revised the trading system. Negotiations with the team start very early in the season and when a contract is signed, the objectives that the driver must achieve are also determined. If the latter are not met or, on the contrary, are even exceeded, we can sit back at the negotiating table to update the agreement based on the progress of the season. The agreements can be seasonal or even last for several seasons include both short-term and long-term assignments.
One of the most intriguing innovations in terms of negotiations is the possibility of taking part in secret meetings (if you are thinking of Oscar Piastri and McLaren you have missed the point!). These meetings could allow us to obtain more convenient agreements, but on the contrary you run the risk of being discovered and if it becomes known in the paddock that we have secretly approached another team, it could have a significant impact on our reputation.
We talked to you before about the concept of Recognition and how loyalty to a team can bring certain benefits… imagine what could happen if our team discovered that we secretly met with the top management of a rival!
In F1 24 the tasks that our team entrusts to us are also reflected on the trackwhere our engineer will set micro-objectives within the various phases of the race in an attempt to continuously motivate the driver, similar to what happens in reality. We are very curious to experience the impact of these innovationsgiven that the behavioral routines of dear old Alex (the historic virtual track engineer of the F1 series) currently represent one of the elements of the franchise that most feels the weight of the years.
New rivalries
Rivalries have also received a modernization and in F1 24 we will have three types: the first is called “Teammate Battle” and as the name suggests it is a direct comparison with the teammate which often determines which of the two has more influence on the development of the car. The second instead is called “Championship Narrative” and sees our driver facing off against a rival for a ranking objective, which could be winning the title or the fight not to finish last and so on. Finally we have the third type of rivalry, “Driver Rating“, which sees us competing with a driver of a similar level.
It is not clear whether these types of rivalries can coexist or are activated one at a time, but there is always reputation at stake, that is, that parameter already mentioned that the developers call “Recognition”. From this year, rivalries will be able to have three levels of intensity: the lowest one is called Regular and lasts a handful of races, the intermediate one instead includes a good portion of the season and then there is what is called “Career Defining“, which can mark an even larger portion of our F1 journey, a bit like what happens in reality.
2-player Career, Live Challenge Career and Fan Zone
In F1 24 we will also find the two-player career, which can be tackled cooperatively by racing for the same team or competitively if you compete for different teams. This mode it has not been subject to any particular revisions but it will benefit from all the elements already mentioned regarding the single player dimension.
Finally we were presented with the Live Challenge Career: it is a succession of live events to be tackled with a given driver and circuit, with the possibility of comparing one’s results with those of other users via the usual leaderboards system. The functioning of this mode still remains to be fully understood, but the peculiar feature should be the fact that the episodic events in which one takes part will be linked to each other, with the player being able to choose between one and the other type of developments to make to the single-seater. In F1 World, the social hub of F1 24, there will also be an additional competition called Fan Zone, in which the player must choose his favorite team and overcome challenges to achieve collective objectives that unlock rewards. To give an example, with Ferrari all the user’s scores in F1 World are added to those of others in red. The team that achieves the best results earns the prizes. This is something very similar to that activity that has been present for some time in the EA Sports FC football series (here is the review of EA Sports FC 24).
Graphic improvements and more!
The engine used is always the good old EGO Engine, which however still seems to behave very well. The development team worked on the look of F1 24 to make circuits, cars and drivers more similar to their real-life counterparts. As for the tracks, they have been updated Silverstone and Spawith significant changes especially to what is around the track, such as the works that recently affected the first sector of the Belgian racetrack (now featuring the new grandstands in Eau Rouge and Source).
Minor updates have also covered the eastern circuits of Losail and Jeddah, now even more recognisable. The car models have also been subject to some tweaks, especially the way in which the light reflects on the bodies, which is now more realistic. Regarding F2, this year too the cars from the 2023 season will initially be present, while those from the 2024 season will be introduced later via a free patch.
Finally they were the same protagonists of the circus to have received the most significant upgrade. Each driver’s model has been updated, with improvements that are especially relevant eyes, skin texture and hair. From the comparison images we have seen, the result seems truly remarkable, but that’s not all: real radio teams also come to add further authenticity!
They have been inserted into the game the voice overs of the drivers taken from real raceswhich underline the most decisive moments of the race such as a mistake, an overtaking or the moment you cross the finish line, similar to what already happens in the F1 Manager series. The return of VR mode has been confirmed, however still exclusive to the PC version. Therefore, no support for Playstation VR2.
