rec.autos.simulators

5 of 5 stars.

--
"The enemy AI in Quake II fights the way old people have sex."
-Fargo
ICQ # 5905329

Mark

        Before I spooge along with you, there are some complaints I have
with the demo.  Being forced to drive in automatic is awful!  Would it
have been such a big resource drain to include manual transmission as an
option?  Another minor quibble is with the lack of a gamma correction
slider.  I hope this is not forgotten in the full version as the beautiful
graphics are very dark on my aging monitor.  

        My first major gripe is with the driving model.  It's a definite
improvement over those of NFS2/NFS2SE, yet it still pales in comparison to
that of NFS.  Having never driven a Countach, though, I'm not sure how it
compares with reality!  Getting stuck on cliffside invisible walls no
longer occurs (so far), the awful slides of NFS2 Arcade mode have been
eliminated, and the control-killing dead zone of NFS2 is now gone.  On the
other hand, the Countach seems blessed with tons of traction and, short of
heavy braking/turning or hand braking, will never step out of line.  I've
yet to spin the car like I've spun the Porsche in NFS.  However, I'm
pretty sure that NFS3 will include "arcade" and "simulation" driving
models so I'll reserve any final judgments until September 23.

        On the plus side, the gameplay, graphics and sound are
excellent.  The car graphics are a superb development of the
chrome-mapped NFS2SE cars.  The treeline is actually reflected on the
Countach's bodywork (though obviously not in realtime)!  The Countach's
bodywork and wheels look great and are made up of much, much more polygons
than in previous NFS titles.  From what I've seen of the demo and
screenshots, the car graphics should surpass those of Gran Turismo's
(my benchmark of realistic-looking cars for any system).  The much-touted
lighting engine is unfortunately not included in the demo.  

        The track itself looks great and is better than any of the NFS2
tracks in terms of layout.  Owners of the Playstation version will
find it virtually unchanged.  Since it takes roughly four minutes to lap,
even NFS1 stage-racers like myself shouldn't have too much of a problem
with it.  The emphasis is on realism, rather than chrome, so don't expect
to detour into castles or underground temples.  Furthermore, the unfair
long straight/sudden hairpin arrangement of NFS2 hasbeen relpaced by long
sweepers and realistic switchbacks.  I didn't notice any disorienting
road textures going in reverse.

        I've just realized how much I've typed so let me quickly say that
the radio chatter and other police sounds are excellent, though the
engine sounds still don't measure up to NFS1's.  Hot pursuit is also a
lot of fun, though when was the last time you saw a cop try to head-on a
speeder?

        No rating given, yet.

Martin
Nigel Mansell RIP!

I didn't like NFS2, felt too artificial and arcadey, while NFS:SE actually
had SOME feel of driving a real car.

Then again, maybe it was just the cars and tracks in NFS2 that I didn't
like - I actually would like to see an NFS style game done with *accessible*
cars.

I appreciate the inclusion of the Corvette C5 in NFS3, but the use of these
one-off unobtanium-framed mega***s kind of puts me off- who among us can
really say if they drive anything like that?

I'd sincerely hope the 'ghini in the NFS3 demo DOESN'T drive like that-
a little too easy to grab the handbrake and slide yourself into a turn you
went into a little too hot.

2.5 out of 5, JoeBob sez "Check it out, then play NFS:SE some more."

 -LjM

--
[      who      |           where          |        what        ]
 Lyle J. Mackey | Freeside  Communications | TechSupportSysAdmin

--
"The enemy AI in Quake II fights the way old people have sex."
-Fargo
ICQ # 5905329

snip
snip

TF

Y? Because it is impossible to get even a little feeling of driving. I use
TM2. I suppose if I only had a joystick, or maybe drove with a keypad, I
wouldn't feel how bad the steering actually is. Maybe I would even enjoy not
having so much problems in braking, steering etc, compared to drive GP2 on a
joypad.
I think when I drive in real world a skid is fun(Volvo 940 T, rwd, snow) but
in a computer I have never got the right feeling, so I think I'll stick to
my 'old man's GP2'.

Btw, an idea for those of you who have an urge for a driving experience. Buy
a SAAB 900 Turbo -79 to -84. They are VERY cheap(1/3 price of a P2 400),
great handling, and about 140 hp, which can by turning two screws one half
turn, be turned into 180. Smoke the M5!

--
"The enemy AI in Quake II fights the way old people have sex."
-Fargo
ICQ # 5905329

        Both the Porsche and the Viper of NFS1 could be made to skid by
suddenly lifting off the gas mid-corner.  In some cases, the Viper could
be forced into a powerslide with a well-timed downshift (Alpine stage 3,
especially).  Of course, opposite lock was hardly necessary but the
slides were short and satisfying nonetheless.

        The real problems began with NFS2 and its "arcade" and "simulation"
driving models.  I gave up on "simulation" mode once I realized that
recovering from a slide meant the car's tail would be swinging like a
pendulum on the turn's exit, regardless of driver input.  As for
"arcade"...  I've got nothing against arcade games (I've gone broke
playing Daytona and Super GT) but the exaggerated oversteer of NFS2 felt
awful.   All it took was a tiny brake input, a turn, and suddenly you're
sliding the car for upwards of 10 seconds!  Recovery from this lurid
slide requires no throttle changes (floor it all the way!), feels nothing
like actual driving and is very unsatisfying.  For tail-out drifting I'll
stick with GPL.

        For NFS3 all I want is for the simulation model to be like that
of NFS1.  Even if very little were changed from the original, it would be
a huge improvement over NFS2's simulation mode.  I realize the demo's
Countach is way too grippy and understeery, but I already like it better
than NFS2's arcade mode.  If only the cars could break traction!

Martin
Nigel Mansell RIP!

RS> Never played NFS (expect the demo), played NFS2 and loved it. NFS3 makes
RS> me wanna spooge. The graphics feel and look a lot like NFS2SE, but with
RS> tons more features and options. And those cops are awesome! Don't think
RS> I'll ever be able to play a racing game without cops again. The audio is
RS> great and realistic.  

I don't think that the enginesound is realistic. It's seems to be one of
NFS II...they'll never learn ;-/
RS>
RS> 5 of 5 stars.

Never - at least not for the demo ! There are NO dashboards in the demo
(I never understand why) and the car physics are not a single bit better
with those from NFS II (SE)...although they claim.

I'm eagerly waiting for a real sportscar simulation with really GOOD car
physics, kinda mixture between NFS III and GPL ;-)

Hopefully the release version will not be disappointing as Test Drive IV
was...

Also, man mailt sich...

.\\atze        [ FmMW2109 - FmMB2139 ]

*home* : http://www.home4u.de/buesing/

--
"The enemy AI in Quake II fights the way old people have sex."
-Fargo

Oh well, you can but wish.

Z.

--
"The enemy AI in Quake II fights the way old people have sex."
-Fargo