NASCAR 25 Devs Respond to Steering Wheel Force Feedback Problems
What’s Happening? Amidst complaints about in-game steering issues in the NASCAR 25 console game, iRacing is informing fans that they have…
Groovy Hollow Recap
Early Access to the first NASCAR Console game since 2021 is now available, and reviews for NASCAR 25 are starting to roll in. So, what features have been the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first day of NASCAR 25 Early Access?
The first key takeaway about this game is one that everyone figured would be the case: it is visually appealing, and it feels good to play, whether that is in single-player or multiplayer modes.
Of course, this is what most were expecting from the game. While it is far from perfect, it represents a significant upgrade from the mostly broken NASCAR 21: Ignition.
Another component of this is the AI in the game; once again, while it is far from perfect, the other cars on track seem to have battles of their own and will race players pretty competitively. Furthermore, and to the joy of many, the AI in the game has independent wrecks, such as simple spins or major crashes.
One major win that initially disappointed fans was the paint booth. The initial disappointment arose when iRacing announced some time ago that the game would not feature logo uploads and sharing. However, the massive number of sponsors and useful shapes have turned the paint scheme editor and team builder into a roaring success.
Of course, with any new game, especially one that is the first in a hopeful line of releases for a franchise, there are some not-so-great aspects. However, these are all fixable in the near future, non-game-breaking, and could be addressed in future editions of the game.
For example, certain aspects detract from the game’s realism, such as the non-real-world layout of the Circuit of the Americas, although NASCAR created its own unique layout for this year’s race. Other issues include being unable to adjust your car during races or practice, and the ability to change only the right-side tires but not the left-side tires during a race.
Some of these immersion-breaking issues are glitches, such as the inaccurate overtime rules, where on the final lap, despite NASCAR rules, a caution flag resets the field for another overtime restart. Furthermore, on road courses, there is a high level of scrutiny for cutting corners, which is realistic in any other racing series; however, it is not the case in NASCAR.
Other issues that could be addressed or improved in future games include the occasional over-the-top AI physics, specifically wrecks where cars seem to bounce off one another rather than pile up, and the lack of a preferred racing line in the game.
However, one aspect that stands out the most is the somewhat bare-bones online multiplayer, which is similar to the NASCAR Heat series and has a simple server browser but lacks a matchmaking feature. Furthermore, some have taken issue with the lack of an expanded in-game chat function.
These long-term additions, or tweaks, are far from some of the more significant issues early access customers have found in NASCAR ’25.
This includes multiple reports of the game crashing and even some options shutting off consoles. As FunGaming44 (and others) claimed on X, this shutoff appears to happen when you attempt a custom repair in career mode, though others have claimed it happens in other areas of the game, like the paint booth:
“Ran into a bug on the Xbox Series X where it completely shuts down the entire Xbox. This happens when in career mode in the race shop when in the garage part and the custom and when you click assign work it crashes immediatly shuts off xbox.”
One of the most crucial issues during the Early Access launch night was the lack of force feedback for users playing on sim wheels such as those made by Logitech and Fanatec. This issue is so rampant that NASCAR 25 developers reportedly worked through the night, and as of press time, are still working on finding a fix.
Feedback issues, which help players understand car actions such as grip levels, have been a major sticking point for the fanbase, with PS5 users claiming that they either have too much or too little vibration in their controllers; some have even reported that there is no vibration at all.
These issues have led to an outpouring of complaints from fans across Facebook, Reddit, and X, although there is no centralized place to address these concerns aside from a private Facebook group.
While these issues are frustrating, it is essential to remember that the game is in Early Access. When the full release comes out on Tuesday, there may be a Week One or even Day One Patch to address some of the game’s problems, both big and small.
What’s Happening? Amidst complaints about in-game steering issues in the NASCAR 25 console game, iRacing is informing fans that they have…
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