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Today we received our first official look at some F1 2020 gameplay, and it came in the form of a hot lap around the new Zandvoort F1 circuit. This first F1 2020 gameplay shows the 2020 Red Bull car driving the bank at Zandvoort, and gives us a first look at the graphics for the upcoming title.
Below is the gameplay video showing the hotlap, then underneath we will break down what we have observed from this video.
So, this first look F1 2020 gameplay shows us one of the new circuits that make it into this years game. And this will possibly be the only way we can see Zandvoort this year, as currently the Dutch Grand Prix has been postponed.
Nevertheless, the circuit looks fantastic, with the updated stadium section towards the end of the lap reminding us of the stadium section of Mexico. The rest of the track looks just as fast and scary to drive as we remember it! And towards the end of the lap you will see the fantastic banked section of track, which reminds of old school Monza or Indianapolis.
The car being driven is the standard 2020 FOM car with the Red Bull Racing livery. This is not the official F1 Red Bull car. We presume this is done, because Codemasters are still working on modelling each team’s 2020 chassis. So for demonstration purposes, they have used a standardised chassis.
In terms of game physics and car handling, there isn’t too much we can tell from this short clip. The car seems to be very planted throughout the high speed sections, and we saw a small snap of oversteer towards the end of the lap. The car just touched the inside of the kerb kicking up some dirt causing the back end of the car to step out for a split second. The Honda engine sounds a little crisper and smoother than it did in last years game, so it sounds like Codemasters have made some refinement in the audio department.
The graphics themselves in this F1 2020 gameplay video look rather similar to the graphics in F1 2019. Almost nothing looks to have changed to be honest. This could be expected as this is the last F1 series game to be developed exclusively for current gen consoles. With the release of Xbox Series X, and Playstation 5 this winter, we would expect the next F1 game title to be released on those consoles with a much improved graphics engine.
However, saying that the graphics are the same as in F1 2019 isn’t a criticism. The graphics engine took a marked improvement from 2018 to 2019, and the lighting does look good. We feel that Codemasters may have halted some development on their game engine for this series to focus on the new game modes such as my team. They probably have part of their team already working on the game engine for next gen consoles.
READ MORE – Everything you should know about F1 2020 including beta sign up
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Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
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