rec.autos.simulators

The game itself is reminecent of the NFS series, there is a lot of car
models, quite a few interesting tracks, cars behave OK.

On the Darker side, there was a lot of lag so waiting for about everything
was a nuisance, car were jumping all over the place in multiplayer but that
could be fixed now.

What annoyed me the most was the economy, you had to rely on a badly
designed auction system to get better parts, although the beta tester
community complained a lot about it I nerver saw improvement on that front.

Then again as I say I was kicked out of it 6 weeks ago so that it could have
changed in the mean time.

The community was fun and the developpers did their best to give feedback so
I really hope they did put their act together and fixed things 'cause I
think the game has potential as long as they (EA) don't ask to much for the
monthly fee... (More than 5$ wouldn't be reasonable)

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If MCO were released as an offline game, it would
look tired thanks to the chunky graphics and just
adequate physics.  It is not the next step after
NFS:PU.  Asking folks to pay to play this thing
month after month is pretty nervy.

On 20 Oct 2001 20:31:24 GMT,

Basically it's and arcady-sim.  Muscle car genre where you can buy and
upgrade parts.  There are drag races, ovals, and road/street courses.  Gain
points to advance levels (and salary) as well as cash to buy better
parts/cars.  There is a demo out and working (free) until the start selling.
Try it out.  It's not that bad.

And, for the folks who have been looking for this
sort of experience, it's the only thing out there.
Still, the costs do seem a bit high for what is
delivered.

On Sat, 20 Oct 2001 21:18:27 -0400, "Michael

-Larry

btgoss

:(

In other words:
if it is a good game, I'll play it for 2 years at 280$
if it is a bad game, I'll waste 40$

I really dont like any of these options..

   Calis

 I have been playing the open beta the last couple of weeks. I can see
potential in the game, but it is not quite finished imo.

 Here are some negative issues that I see:

- LAG. Frustrating beyond belief. All data is stored on the server and the
server is just not fast enough. This alone is a show stopper for me. Every
move in the game needs to go through the server. Most actions take 10 to 30
seconds of waiting. For example, repairing your car takes one delay and then
a yes/no dialog, then another freaking delay. Frick, they should just repair
the damn thing automatically when leaving a race. Duh.

- Parts system is pooched. Catalog parts now are useless. Auction parts are
now slightly better than useless. The rare good parts up for auction become
incredibly expensive.

- Cars are very difficult to get to handle well because of lack of
suspension parts and a fundamental physics 'issue'. Every car I've setup for
road racing, the front tires had to be downgraded to prevent massive
oversteer. Adding weight seems to act as a downforce and actually improves
cornering grip at that end of the car. As a result, the heavier front end of
the car has way too much grip. This game is no N4.

- Racing your own car against other players is a zero sum game(the total
money put in is the total money taken out in prize money), plus you have to
pay to repair the car after every race. NOT a way to make money in the long
haul. Drag racing with your own car might be fun, but if you are interested
in making money and points then forget it. Major design flaw here.

- The best way to make money and points is through open time trials, where
you take your car to a track and try to beat the set time. The problem here
is balancing. The tracks are still not balanced, it quickly becomes apparent
where to go to maximize cash and ponts. Why drive one course for 7 minutes
to win $1400 when you can drive another for 2 minutes and win $750? Balance
is needed. This should be finished since the game is about to be released.

-Parts wear. Another balance issue. Parts wear out too fast. I finished
building a nice 351 windsor engine just a few days ago and it is already
almost worn out. One does grow weary of forever hunting down parts.

 To sum up my beefs ,there are basically 2 types of car to build in the
game, a road car and a drag racing car. Each has different priorities in
terms of engine and chassis components. But currently I don't see the point
of doing a lot of drag racing since the cash rewards are worse than a zero
sum game. So that leaves a road car to build. But with the current choice in
chassis parts and tires, combined with the suspect physics, just try and
make it predictable and controllable. Forget it.

 I do like the concept of Motor City Online but for now, they won't be
getting my money.

Roy Berube

Lag when repairing your car or working on it gets worse the longer you play.
Exiting the game & restarting makes it work normally again. This would seem
to indicate a memory leak or some such.

EA seems to be trying to increase the longevity of the game by deliberately
holding back good car parts, slowly introducing them into auctions and the
Catalog as the months go by. So why should I pay to play now, working to
build up a car, when I know in several months something better is coming
out? Weird. Adding new features in upcoming months would be one thing,
deliberately crippling your options (& enjoyment of the game) is another.

I've had the opposite experience with car setup. I use the same size tires
all around (315s), and set the car balance to moderate understeer by using a
stiff front end (both springs & anti-roll bar) with a relatively soft back
end. This balance seems to help me get the power down earlier out of a turn
without going into power oversteer as easily. I usually do my suspension
tuning on TBird Alley. If it works on those tight turns, it'll work most
other places. I would rate the physics as slightly better than NFS:PU, but
only slightly.

I find the lag & warping in player v.s. player racing is often annoying.
I've never tried VROC or N4 online, so I don't know how those compare, but
MCO can be frustrating. If all four players have a good connection (there
are little indicator lights next to each name) then it can work out OK. But
in more than half the races I ran, one or two would have a 'red' connection
and would at best be jumping all over the track. At worst, they would be
shown as far behind you over many laps, then suddenly finish ahead of you.
And after one race, two guys were saying "Hey Klinn, next time you want to
pass, go around me, not *through* me!" But in my view, both during the race
and in the replay, I was always in front, never hit anyone. In their game &
replay, I blindly drove right into them. Thank goodness the physics are more
relaxed (compared to GPL or such) so it's easier to recover when getting
clobbered.

Bottom line for me: no, I won't be buying MCO initially ($40 US initially,
$10 US per month after first 'free' month) but I will keep track of how it's
doing. If it survives and improves over the next 4 or 5 months, (and no
cheats appear) then I might consider it.

     ...Klinn

me)

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
GPLRank - under construction...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
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