I have a the Redline Racer CD, passed out by Intel to show off
forthcoming video card. Just wondering if it is the same one being
talked about here.
It is put out by Criterion Studios and opening screen shots mention
Accolade (UGH!!). The Cd jacket list min system requirements as P-II
processor, Win95, 32mb ram, AGP video 4mb min, bla bla... My system Is
a P-166MMX, 64mb, R3D so I hadn't even attempted to load the game
until I started seeing these posts.
I just installed it ... installation screen says P-II minimum but it
let me install anyway. Launched the game it switched on my R3D and
away I go.
This CD has several teams to choose from, 3 bikes & 3 tracks to start
with & 3 more tracks / bikes to earn ( I really hate that ). The 1st
track (Sierra Dorado) is a 2 lane blacktop carved through high desert,
2nd Sea Fare Bay? is a sandy coastal track with some neat moving water
in the scenery, the 3rd is Tudor Hill another paved track through some
hills and valleys. The racing options are Timed & Arcade. The arcade
option appears to have fixed race length of 2 or 3 laps depending on
track. The only difficulty setting is Easy... and it is. I'm guessing
you have to earn the higher levels. 3 views available, two behind the
bike and one from the front fender. Only the default view seemed
reasonable for control, in the fender cam view the track flies by so
fast it was impossible for me to react to the curves.
With the Graphic details at default my lackey system was only
getting about 14 -19 FPS making the control difficult, turned all the
details to mid point and FPS went to 26-30. The graphics were still
very nice and the bike handled very smoothly.
At the end of the race you have the option to restart the race or exit
race, on my system about half the time when I select leave race it
goes to the main screen & allows me to change track, bike, etc. The
other half of the time it closes the program & kicks me back to
Windows. When this happens I cannot restart the game as it won't find
the R3D card and gives me an error message. I must restart Windows in
order to play again. This is probably due to my system, which clearly
does not meet Min requirements spelled out on the package.
Compared to MR.. well I think this is prettier but MR has better
sound. I like the dirt bikes for dirt & the street racers for the
pavement as in MR. Both are clearly arcade racers but I prefer the way
the bikes handle in MR, esp the dirt bikes. In RLR the bikes appear
the be glued to the surface (if you stay on the surface).
All in all I like it.. and when I get the hardware to run it properly
it will probably be even better.
Rich