Codemasters has just put out the second dev diary in a four-part series, and this one explains how the Career mode has been improved by giving the player more options for Research and Development. It also reveals that the rules will change significantly between seasons in Career mode.
"We already had an extensive R&D system in last year's game but wanted to expand this for F1 2018 based both on feedback from our community and where we want to take the Career experience too," commented game director Lee Mather. "We have made significant changes to the in-game pricing structure, added ERS upgrades, given each of the Formula 1 Teams their own unique R&D tree, and added a fog of war around the development."
"Probably the most significant addition is the introduction of rule changes, meaning that each season you don't know where the other teams are going to be performance wise. It makes every year unique and drives you to want to do season after season," Mather continued. "The player will be notified by their engineer that a rule change could be taking place at the end of the year and they can choose to use R&D points to preserve upgraded items to protect areas that have already been developed. Doing so could see the player starting the following season in a stronger position. However, the other teams will also have to contend with the rules changes, meaning you take to the grid in Melbourne not knowing which teams are the fastest."
In F1 2018 you get to play with all the official teams, drivers and circuits of the 2018 season, including Circuit Paul Ricard and the Hockenheimring, and race around in cars like James Hunt's legendary McLaren M23D and Niki Lauda's Ferrari 312 T2.
F1 2018 is launching on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 24.