Am I the only one that wasn't that impressed?

IMO, it looks like another RFactor mod. The RF2 trailer didn't really seem all that impressive to me at all. I think I may be a little spoiled after seeing C.A.R.S (and that is pre-alpha!).

I liked RFactor a lot and spent many hours with it, and I am sure this one will be great as well. However, if the video is any indication, it doesn't look like there is that much of a difference graphically over the original RFactor.

They did say this was just a teaser and all of the graphics and special effects haven't been added yet. Looks pretty good to me though.

Yes, it's based around the same engine as rF1 so there's a limit to what is possible. The extra lighting effects/texture details and environmental factors will go a long way to making it feel better but graphically it's essentially rFactor with a new set of clothes. It's great to see WIP screenshots but i do question if it's a good strategy to keep showing screens that have sometime been a bit lacklustre.

I think what most people are looking forward to are the enhanced physics and extra features, and in some ways i applaud ISI for prioritizing this over the eye candy. They are a small team and concentrate on the most important things. In the long term that's what makes or breaks a serious sim. However with iRacing and now C.A.R.S (which graphically blows everything out of the water) developers are definitely raising the standard of what people expect.

ISI might just get away with it this time but the bar is definitely being raised, it won't be too long before simply having great physics and features isn't enough.

But for now i'll take it.

C.A.R.S. = DirectX 11

F1 2010 / 2011 = DirectX 11

DiRT 3 = DirectX 11

rFactor 2 = DirectX 9

GTR Evolution = DirectX 9

Race Room Retro (Simbin) = DirectX 9

iRacing = IIRC, DirectX 8 (pixel shader 2.0)

DX11 requires much more work to optimize, and the argument goes that there are not that many (by percent of customer market base) DX11 card owners yet. At some point devs will need to step-up, but for now DX 9 still can hold its own.

If you're familiar with DCS: A-10C Warthog, it is DX9, and it has some gorgeous graphics.

But DX9 cannot do tessellation like DX11 can. Small development shops do not have the people power to generate bleeding edge and while they are more likely to generate a true simulation for the niche, they could also be constantly behind in graphics technology. The unique thing about C.A.R.S. is, unless they have a huge dev team hidden away somewhere, they break that mold.

IMO.

The start of this look familiar???