rec.autos.simulators

by **Eldre** » Sun, 12 Aug 2001 23:31:05

>If Motor City came to market as nothing more than
>NFS:PU (decent singleplayer -- online if you want
>it) with American cars and American locations, I'd
>buy it in an instant. What cheeses me off is that
>that was how EA was positioning the title in the
>beginning. The persistent world thing got tacked
>on later and the singleplayer got dumped. Well,
>this is one singleplayer who's probably going to
>be playing Rally Trophy instead.

Fair enough...<g>

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.racesimcentral.net/~epickett
F1 hcp. +16.36...Monster +366.59...

Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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by **Klin** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 03:52:05

Yes, the lag problem was fixed when they switched to some new hardware. The
first day of testing with the new server was a dream compared to the
frustration of before. The next day was slower in some spots, but you have
to remember that part of their beta testing is stress loading the servers.
Besides the human testers, they have some 'bots that are used to add to the
load for stress testing. We'll have to wait until they go live so see how
the lag issue finally sorts out.

...Klinn

by **himrli..** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 05:30:35

Any word on the lag for folks on 56K modems?

On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 14:52:05 -0400, "Klinn"

>> Hopefully lag does get fixed but sounds of things, not much progress
>> happening. Keep us posted if you could

>Yes, the lag problem was fixed when they switched to some new hardware. The
>first day of testing with the new server was a dream compared to the
>frustration of before. The next day was slower in some spots, but you have
>to remember that part of their beta testing is stress loading the servers.
>Besides the human testers, they have some 'bots that are used to add to the
>load for stress testing. We'll have to wait until they go live so see how
>the lag issue finally sorts out.

> ...Klinn

Remove "hi" from address or it will bounce....

by **Klin** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 07:49:17

That's what I'm using. And I haven't even bothered to optimize it for
on-line racing. (better connection quality instead of speed)

BTW, when you heard people complaining about 'lag' in MCO (Motor City
Online) what they're really referring to is the server response time when
they preform an action in the front end of the game, e.g. changing shocks in
your garage or bidding on a part in auction. It's not 'lag' in the sense
it's often used here of causing warping while racing.

...Klinn

by **himrli..** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:08:46

Considering my usual connection speed is 26.4K, is
the driving still decent at that rate?

On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 18:49:17 -0400, "Klinn"

>> Any word on the lag for folks on 56K modems?

>That's what I'm using. And I haven't even bothered to optimize it for
>on-line racing. (better connection quality instead of speed)

>BTW, when you heard people complaining about 'lag' in MCO (Motor City
>Online) what they're really referring to is the server response time when
>they preform an action in the front end of the game, e.g. changing shocks in
>your garage or bidding on a part in auction. It's not 'lag' in the sense
>it's often used here of causing warping while racing.

> ...Klinn

Remove "hi" from address or it will bounce....

by **Klin** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 08:15:50

Well, I can only say that at my usual 43K - 44K, the races I've been in have
been fine. I don't know if lowering that to 26.4K would make a difference or
not.

If you're interested in checking it out, you might want to sign up for the
beta. Go to http://www.motorcityonline.com/main.html and click on the 'Beta'
item on the left menu.

...Klinn

by **himrli..** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:08:11

I have repeatedly signed up for the beta and, as a
result, have had my inbox filled with "please sign
up for the beta" announcements. Not sure what
else I could do. What I will probably do is play
Rally Trophy when it ships in October.

On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 19:15:50 -0400, "Klinn"

>> Considering my usual connection speed is 26.4K, is
>> the driving still decent at that rate?

>Well, I can only say that at my usual 43K - 44K, the races I've been in have
>been fine. I don't know if lowering that to 26.4K would make a difference or
>not.

>If you're interested in checking it out, you might want to sign up for the
>beta. Go to http://www.motorcityonline.com/main.html and click on the 'Beta'
>item on the left menu.

> ...Klinn

Remove "hi" from address or it will bounce....

by **Colin Frenc** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 20:52:14

From what I've heard, EA is distributing the beta depending on your system
specs & geographic location. I guess they wanted a cross-section of
different types to test against, rather than just first come, first served.

With the new server(s) I believe they are going to greatly increase the
number of testers, so who knows, you may get a confirmation email sometime
soon. Yes, it does cost $4.95 to get the CD shipped to you, but I figured
five bucks was a cheap way of sampling the game. And if some of my comments
help make the game more like the sort of thing I'd want to play ("use the
GPL physics engine!" - just kidding) so much the better.

...Klinn

by **Gerald Moo** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 21:51:07

LOL. But it IS a little LESS expensive than earning real money (yeah
right) in a real job to buy real upgrade parts and real insurance and
then risking your real wheels (and your physical being) on real
asphalt. Probably the only way I'll EVER have a shot at a 427
Stingray or a Hemi 'Cuda too...

Not exactly like heaven, but it will do for now... Sounds like fun,
I'll buy it if it isn't stillborn.

Gerald

by **Todd Walk** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:39:48

On Mon, 13 Aug 2001 07:52:14 -0400, "Colin French"

>And if some of my comments
>help make the game more like the sort of thing I'd want to play ("use the
>GPL physics engine!" - just kidding) so much the better.

I wonder how open they would be to comments like "Hey, it sure would
be nice to be able to practice driving my new car OFFLINE!" or "Wow,
my internet connection is down so I can't check email or read
Usenet...guess I'll play some Motor City -- OOPS, no I won't!"

I don't think they would like me as a beta tester...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Todd Walker
http://twalker.d2g.com
Canon Pro90IS:
http://twalker.d2g.com/pro90/index.htm
*-*-*-*-*-*-*

by **Colin Frenc** » Tue, 14 Aug 2001 23:20:36

Hey, why not - your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. And if you don't
want to go the whole beta testing route, you can send them comments at
http://motorcity.custhelp.com . Click on the Ask A Question link.

...Klinn

by **Cliff Roma** » Wed, 15 Aug 2001 07:35:16

I signed up as a beta tester and have gone on a few times.

I actually found it to be alot of fun. I love the idea of being able to
basically build any car you want, one part at a time.

Right now the only way you can buy parts is through a "auction" but they
will be adding part stores from what I understand.

Yes the lag is bad, but a few days ago I received a email from them that
stated they have done some major upgrades to help fix that. I just have not
been back on since I got that email though.

Is it worth the monthly fee? Well, hard to say at this point since it is
still beta. Personally, I will not be joining up.

by **himrli..** » Thu, 16 Aug 2001 05:23:13

Why not? Well, perhaps because these are the
opinions that have been voiced since it was
announced that NFS:MC was morphing into MCO. And
there does not appear to have been any movement on
the part of EA back toward an offline option.

EA just sent me a "You've been accepted for the
beta" note, so I'll report back what I think of
how it performs on a really crappy modem.

(Currently running at 46667 bps. Fast day for
me.)

On Mon, 13 Aug 2001 10:20:36 -0400, "Colin French"

>> I wonder how open they would be to comments like "Hey, it sure would
>> be nice to be able to practice driving my new car OFFLINE!" or "Wow,
>> my internet connection is down so I can't check email or read
>> Usenet...guess I'll play some Motor City -- OOPS, no I won't!"

>> I don't think they would like me as a beta tester...

>> Todd Walker

>Hey, why not - your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. And if you don't
>want to go the whole beta testing route, you can send them comments at
>http://motorcity.custhelp.com . Click on the Ask A Question link.

> ...Klinn

Remove "hi" from address or it will bounce....

by **Todd Walk** » Thu, 16 Aug 2001 14:39:33

>EA just sent me a "You've been accepted for the
>beta" note, so I'll report back what I think of
>how it performs on a really crappy modem.

I just got the same email this afternoon! I figure it's worth 5 bucks
to try out the game and see if i like it. I think of it not as a beta
test, but as a $5 fully functional demo ;-)

*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Todd Walker
http://twalker.d2g.com
Canon Pro90IS:
http://twalker.d2g.com/pro90/index.htm
*-*-*-*-*-*-*

by **himrli..** » Thu, 16 Aug 2001 20:11:39

It'll be interesting to see just how functional it
is. :)

After paying the price of admission, I spent some
time reading the 211 answers in the Find Answers
section of Game Help. While the answers weren't
quite enough to make me sorry I paid for the CD,
they certainly provide an insight into what can be
expected of the title. And they definitely put me
off wanting to buy the finished (if that ever
comes) version and pay the monthly fee on top of
it. The experience of playing online is going to
have to be fabulous to make up for some of the
issues which appear to be wired into the game.

Like, for example, this:

Question 47:
What happens if I get disconnected during a race?

Answer
If you are involved in a race and get
disconnected, you will forfeit the race. Staff of
Motor City will not be responsible for restoring
items or points lost in a race because of a
disconnect.

Nothing quite like dividing the skill of the
driver by the fragility of the connection. :P

On Wed, 15 Aug 2001 05:39:33 GMT,

>>EA just sent me a "You've been accepted for the
>>beta" note, so I'll report back what I think of
>>how it performs on a really crappy modem.

>I just got the same email this afternoon! I figure it's worth 5 bucks
>to try out the game and see if i like it. I think of it not as a beta
>test, but as a $5 fully functional demo ;-)

>*-*-*-*-*-*-*
>Todd Walker
>http://twalker.d2g.com
>Canon Pro90IS:
>http://twalker.d2g.com/pro90/index.htm
>*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Remove "hi" from address or it will bounce....

Motor City Online