rec.autos.simulators

NFSPU was probably the shortest lived demo ever, on my PC.  But I keep hoping that it's 'just the demo' because I love the doctor's beautiful cars. There are two hurdles that I have to get over.

1. Sloppy physics aside, the demo car didn't handle like any Porsche I've ever driven. But I've never driven anything later than an 86 or so. I really think the car from NFS was better. More earthy. Had weight and consequence. More realistic physics too. Can anyone with experience in 912, 914, 924, 944, 928, 911 or 930 tell me if it will be at least reminiscent enough to have fun, or will the discrepancies be annoying?

2. If there's one thing that's starting to bug me more than anything, it's wide, constant radius turns. In real life, when you hit a road that looks like the one in the demo there are a whole variety of turns, arcs, cambers. Where are the tight turns for crying out loud? The kind you have to honk your horn around so you don't get creamed by the other car trying to share the single lane?

--
Mark Jeangerard
www.soundchaserweb.com
New Mexico, USA

Yes, the tracks seem aimed at the beginner somewhat, but the challenge
is there in the form of traffic and the AI competition, which I think
does a pretty good job all around.  They drive fiercely and honorably
most of the time (you can consistently go side-by-side with the AI
through a tunnel without fear of getting trashed -- pretty decent,
IMO).  The tournaments can be very challenging, and the Factory Driver
mode is one of the freshest things I've seen in a driving sim/game in a
long time.

One interesting thing I've noticed about the AI in NFSPU is that one
time I accidently bumped and spun an AI car near the start of a race,
and he came back and bumped me hard twice later in the race, running me
off the road the second time.  It was uncanny -- has anybody else
noticed this?

At any rate, there are a lot of challenges, and while the physics may
not be dead-on when it comes to modeling Porsches in general, there are
distinct differences between the different models' handling, and I find
it to be very convincing.  The 914 feels like an entirely different car
than the 356s, 550s, and 911s (the 914 feels just like my old Beetles
to me, in fact, which I find delightful), which seems right to me.  The
late-'60s 911S is an absolute delight (my absolute favorite so far),
the 944 handles the way I would expect a front-engine, rear-drive
sports car to handle (it handles quite a bit like a more tame version
of the Viper in Viper Racing, IMO), and the later models (the newer 911
Turbos, the Boxster, the GT1, etc.) all have unique, distinct,
convincing physics models to me.

Don't let your real-world experiences with a Porsche blind you to the
fact that there's a lot of feedback missing from a computer-based sim.
All you've got is sight, sound, and maybe a shake from the wheel if you
have a FF setup -- that still leaves out quite a bit (like the inner
ear's sense of acceleration, for example).  Keep reminding yourself
that it's NOT a real Porsche, and spend some time with it -- NFSPU is
very, very good, IMO, and a lot of others here feel the same.

-- JB

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Another frustrating thing: the program cheats. It will create accidents
to block you, make you collide with other cars. It also has cars sitting
in the middle of the road, doing nothing but blocking the way. AI cars
also will swerve into your way simply to make you run into it. Of
course, AI cars can always recover faster than you can. The only thing
AI cars do best is start fast. But once you've passed them, they're
nowhere to be seen.

Once you've finished "factory driver" and "evolution", the single player
part of the game is done. Finished. Nothing more to do. It becomes
boring, no longer challenging. I know, I said it before.

Other than the graphics, I'm not sure NFSPU is better than other in the
series.

--desmocha

You should try the multiplayer, it's a blast!

--------
remove aluminium to email

--
Mark Jeangerard
www.soundchaserweb.com
New Mexico, USA

Thanks for your input guys. Sound like typical NFS fare. I'll wait for the bargain bin.

(Wish I could get NFS to run on my machine... )

--
Mark Jeangerard
www.soundchaserweb.com
New Mexico, USA

Don't do yourself such a great disservice -- NFSPU is definitely NOT
"typical NFS fare."  The Factory Driver mode alone is worth the $29
cost of admission, and the Evolution Mode is a blast, too.  The AI gets
better as you advance through the years, and I think I've had some of
the best offline races with NFSPU.

FYI, my personal favorites include GPL, Viper Racing, DTR, and ICR2.  I
was into SCGT for a while, but the physics modeling just didn't feel
right to me.  I find NFS3 and NFS4 to be somewhat amusing as a
diversion, but the physics modeling pretty much leaves me cold in both
instances.  NFSPU reminds me more of the original NFS and NFS2 (which I
think felt better from a physics standpoint than NFS3 or NFS4), but
it's MUCH improved over even the earler versions.  If you liked the
original NFS, I think you really need to pick up NFSPU.

Just my $0.02.

-- JB

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

--
Scott B. Husted
PowerSims.com
ICQ# 4395450

Md

I don't see how one would want to do the spins again, again, and again.

Have to disagree. Gone thru Evolution mode twice (due to corruption of the
first account. Just took me a few hours to finish the second try.) AI is not
better nor worse as you advance, unless you call its cheating good AI. Pass
them at the start and you'd never see them again. That's good AI? Throwing
the race in Knock Out is good AI? Yeah, letting you run round and round to
finish the race you've already won in the first couple of laps. That's good
AI.

If all the spinnings and skiddings were signs of good, realistic, simulation
game, then may be NFSPU was a sims. Otherwise, the only good thing about
NFSPU is its graphics.

--desmocha

Were you by chance using any money cheats to simply repair any damage
and buy all the upgrades, BTW?  If so, that's kind of defeating the
purpose of the competition, IMO.

Yes, once you get out front, the AI does fall back pretty badly, but if
you start from the back, it's not always a simple thing to get to the
front of the pack -- and that's what I call decent AI, at the very
least.

-- JB

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

And what "finer points"? Should I we stop and admire the scenery? The
game is straightforward arcade fare, setting up the car does pretty much
nothing, and the tuning parts are too good.

The AI cheats; they get impossibly good starts, and are too fast on
straightaways. Then they brake much too soon for turns and are slow as
molasses in the turns. Or maybe they just run low downforce.

Also, what difficulty level were you using, and were you using any
assists?  Makes a big difference, I would imagine.

The finer points (in my opinion) include:

1) Realistic way the car responds when you throw it into a 4-wheel
drift.
2) Realistic slide/spin recovery.
3) Realistic ability to "hang the tail out and do pendulum turns.
4) Realistic way the car responds to trailing-throttle actions.
5) Realistic way the car responds to gearbox braking during downshifts.
6) Convincing sense of vehicle inertial.
7) Realistic 4-point tire modeling.

Seems like far more than "straightforward" arcade fare to me.

The AI gets better starts because they don't listen to the announcer
say "go" -- if you time it right and shift right, you can achieve equal
starts.  They do seem to brake early and slow down in the turns, like
they're trying not to break their cars -- which is how I would probably
drive if it were really my ***hung out on the line, and my Porsche
that I was still making payments on.  The AI in NFSPU may be slow
somewhat slow, but they are rather "realistic" in their responses.

-- JB

Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Before you buy.

Not true!

The club races are mainly there for you to earn credits if you cannot earn
enough or lose too much in tournaments. You don't need to race a single club
race to move thru eras.

The first time is difficult. Done it once, it's piece of cake.

Looks exciting, but that's one sure way to slow down your car. Don't drift.

Your goal is to learn how to avoid that.

You don't have to start out front. As a matter of fact, most of the time the
AI starts faster than I can. Even those behind me move up fast. The AI cars
are slow in cornering and you human know cutting thru dirts and grasses much
better than they do. Of course, they know different ways to go thru the
courses before you do.

I slow down at corners and speed out, like I do in real life. No handbrakes
(nor cheats) necessary. Simply doing that can let you beat the AI, provided
you could pick a better line. Guaranteed! All the skidding, drifting things
slow car down, both in the game and in real world. Stay away from AI cars
'cuz they'd try to run you off the tracks, swerve into your lane to let you
collide with them (they can always recover faster than you can) creating
accidents, or simply sitting at the exit of corners. Those seem to be the
only ways they can beat you and I call that cheating.

--desmocha