rec.autos.simulators

The idea of having a smooth multiplayer session of cops 'n' robbers
via the Internet makes me a little giddy!

Has anyone gotten their hands on an advance copy or Alpha/Beta?  Any
comments you'd like to make?

I wonder if they plan on coming out with more cities (besides Chicago)
in the future?

--Mountain K

http://www.ga-sports.com/previews/mm/

--
Tony Wyss, Editor-in-Chief
Gamers Alliance Sports
www.ga-sports.com
-------------------------------
Network Developer
Gamers Alliance, Inc.
www.gagames.com
-------------------------------
"I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player" - John Kruk

I was told that somebody picked it up at a CompUSA today. It seems that it's
already released.  I got a hand on the beta CD contest they had on their
site about a month ago, and it's seriously a solid arcade racer.  A very
good one.  I praise for the incredible detail this title has.  It maybe lack
in gameplay in a way that after a month there's really nothing else to do
with it, but for the month you play it, it's very fun.  Each car are well
modeled and different.  I still don't like the controller approach (you will
need as much time as C:PR to get a good feel), but that's a tiny problem
compared to the fun I had with it.

Simracers will still like it for the change.  Multiplayer should be fun, and
what's more fun than to crank up a bus on the highway and having fun doing
your wannabe Sandra Bullock and not go under 55mph ? :)

Nice preview :)

--
-- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard/Nas-Frank>
-- NROS Nascar sanctioned Guide http://www.nros.com/
-- SimRacing Online http://www.simracing.com/
-- Official mentally retarded guy of r.a.s.
-- May the Downforce be with you...

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise
how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

-- JB

I knew it had gone gold but I guess I underestimated Microsoft's turnaround
rate eh? I'm interested to know what you guys think of the final version.

That's what I mean. Of course it is not going to challenge GPL in terms of
anything realistic but it's still a lot of fun in a whole different aspect.
I think
MS did what they set out to do here.

thanks :-)

--
Tony Wyss, Editor-in-Chief
Gamers Alliance Sports
www.ga-sports.com
-------------------------------
Network Developer
Gamers Alliance, Inc.
www.gagames.com
-------------------------------
"I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player" - John Kruk

I am anxious to get the beta that I won from Next-Gen Online.  I guess they
used pony express or something to deliver it.  I would imagine that if it is
a sales success they will come out with other cities, since the full name is
Midtown Madness:Chicago Edition.  I would like to see a San Francisco
version, so I could play out my Bullitt fantasies.

Kyle

True. Though if they bring out addon cities (and there's no reason
they wouldn't) it could extend the replayability a lot.

Joe

Lutrell :-)

DSR # 74
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

I wouldn't say it is totally arcade. The physics are a lot better than,
say, Motorhead (one of the last real arcade PC racers) and it is actually
slightly challenging to drive, if only because the cars are real and
familiar. The vehicles all feel different which is a good thing and they're
all fun to drive.

Anyway, I've been having fun  with it and I think anyone who isn't too
elitist will as well.

M

I had a chance to try it a while back and found much the same except
I'd expect the "fun time" for me to be far shorter, a couple of days
or so. Not too good for the $50-60 it will cost when released here.
The main frustration is that the car handles nothing like a real car,
partly down to controller gripes (somewhat similar to CPR) and partly
due to the way the driving model seems to have been implemented. I was
looking forward to a tyres-squealing, opposite-lock, smoke-belching
type experience, but even the top cars understeer horribly under full
lock with the throttle hard down - it seems impossible to induce a
tail flick, far less a power slide. That basically means I'm going to
drive the car to explore the city and mess around but I'm not going to
drive the car just to enjoy driving the car. It is really good fun
driving around the city though, but it does seem to be smaller than
expected.

Having tried "Driver" I must say I'm rather more looking forward to
that. The cars drive better (no more realistically but in a really fun
"Gran Turismo" type of style), the cities are bigger and there is more
scope to the game. Still, Midtown Madness is pretty fun, a really good
idea and a fair implementation of it.

Cheers!
John

Plus I like the premise much better (I've always wanted to be Steve
McQueen)

M

Joe

Joe

Yep, the idea behind it is more fun (even if you are a cop), and the
cars are more fun to drive. I'd like to try a "full Monty" GPL
physics-esque version of Driver, but I fear that our chases would last
about 10 seconds!

Me too - loved the Puma ads, a stroke of genius by the ad agency.

Cheers!
John

M