rec.autos.simulators

An in-depth review of Need for Speed III is available at Digital
Sportspage.

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Enjoy.

Randy

You talked about doing laps, so I presume they are still just circuit
tracks? If so, I hope this version is NOT ported as-is to the PC.
Every NFS2 survey indicated that non-circuit tracks are the number one
feature users want reinstated. Amoung other things, having traffic and
cops on circuit tracks is just plain stupid, so stupid that I cannot
"suspend disbelief" and feel like I'm really there (which was
precisely what made NFS1 so great).

I really hope I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound good.

Joe

I agree with your crits of NFS2, but NFS3 is extremely well done, even if the
tracks are circuit tracks. The tracks are definately not fantasy tracks like
in NFS2.

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Can you direct me to those surveys?

Perhaps you can explain to me why cops on circuit tracks is 'stupid'.
The way I see it, I could take a map of the area I live, draw a closed
circuit track through the city and countryside and if I raced it at
speed I'd bet cops would be coming after me!   Its not like there's
any true sense that you are on a closed race track (i.e. curbing,
grandstands, etc).  You're driving in and out of cities, countriside,
bridges, coastal highways etc.  The only diff is that the circuit gets
closed at the end and you can do multiple laps.  I welcome your
explanation as to why "traffic and cops on circuit tracks is just
plain stupid" if the circuit tracks are clearly nothing but closed
loops of cities, mountains, coastlines, etc, where I would EXPECT cops
to come after me if I went speeding through them.

Randy

Hi, Randy.  Fine review, as usual.  :-)

Yeah, the only thing that went through my mind when I first played
with the Cop Chase in NFS3 was a sense of delight.  This pushes the
overall value of the game upward for me.  Gotten bored of zipping
through the country or city to win a race or beat a best time?  Fine,
play a game of Cop Chase!  Nice addition.

Ricky Wayne Brown

Digital Sportspage <www.digitalsports.com>

Well, isn't it obvious? Why would a cop chase you around in a circular
track that you can't get off?

I will grant you the point, however, that since the tracks are longer
and more realistic from the sounds of things (not fantasy tracks) it
doesn't sound quite as bad as NFS2.

But I wish EA would just give people what we are asking for for once!
One reason I dislike circuits is for precisely the reason that you
like them - you become too familiar with the turns and tracks, which
to me is another factor that detracts from the immersive feeling of
being on real roads that NFS1 provided. It limits the replayability -
I don't WANT to be so familiar with the roads that I know every inch
like the back of my hand. At the same time, even in the long
non-circuit tracks of NFS1, I *did* become familiar enough with the
layout of the road that I had a prety good idea what was coming up, so
I could drive them aggresively.

Joe

Yeah, especially multiplayer :)

Randy
Randy Magruder
Contributing Reviewer
Digital Sportspage
http://www.digitalsports.com

This is an amusing question.  Let me counter with this...why would a
cop chase you on a straight line track where if you got to a magical
point, you disappeared off the face of the earth and the cop could
never get you?  That's what happens on NFS1, right?  You go and if you
beat the cop to the finish line, oh well...toughies for him.  As far
as whether a cop would chase you around in circles...the answer is
simple:  If you go in huge several mile circles...and he's chasing
you, it logically follows he's going to chase you in circles!  (though
in real life, as in the game, the cops start putting up road blocks
etc).  Once you learn the shortcuts and the best ways to use off-road
stints they can be used to really spoil them...providing perhaps a way
to "get off" the track as you put it.  At any rate, you have failed to
make any kind of reasonable argument that makes NFS1 look superior to
NFS3 in that regard.  The fact is, you happen to be driving a long
twisty track that ultimately is a large closed circuit, and the cops
would like you to please not speed...Perfectly reasonable and I'd
expect no less in real life.  Again I ask you...in what way is the
NFS3 premise stupid in a way that the NFS1 premise is NOT?

What makes a track "fantasy"?

Many people, including myself, feel like NFS3 does just that.  When I
see legions of angry NFS1 owners screaming in the newsgroups about
missing straight line tracks, I'll concede that perhaps EA missed
something.

I fail to understand this point.  Why couldn't you become just as
familiar with a straight segment based race after you'd done it
several times.  It seems like your gripe is based upon the fact that
you do the segment once per game as opposed to doing it 2, 4 or 8
times per game in NFS3?  And getting familiar with the tracks for Hot
Pursuit is great because you learn where you're most vulnerable to
spinning out or getting pulled over.  And you also find out where the
cops are weak and learn to exploit that.

I respect your opinion, but I disagree.  Almost every racer besides
NFS uses laps instead of straight line segments.  If straight line
segments were in such high demand, don't you think we'd have more
racers that featured them?  As for it limiting the replayability...I
don't see how.  I can play for an indefinite period of time beating
the AI, then racing my ghost car and best times of others trying to
find precious seconds or tenths of seconds on courses, experimenting
with different car setups, trying different cornering techniques,
sliding versus grip cornering, etc.  The straight line segments in
NFS1 were one of the reasons I stopped playing that game.  I got tired
of going in more or less a straight line over and over.

Now you've got me confused..you just complained: "you become too
familiar with the turns and tracks, which to me is another factor that
detracts from the immersive feeling of being on real roads that NFS1
provided. "

and now you're saying that you DID become familiar enough with the
straight lined circuits to drive them aggressively, which was a BAD
thing for you about closed circuits.

I guess I feel like you're not doing a good job of making your
argument, either for stating that many other people agree with you and
are upset about this 'problem' in NFS3 or giving solid reasons why
straight lines are superior to closed circuits.

Randy
Randy Magruder
Contributing Reviewer
Digital Sportspage
http://www.digitalsports.com

EA are completely retarded, they better put line tracks n the PC ver,
or it will be just as boring as NFS2. Cop chases be dashed, I dont see
F1/Nascar getting chased around tracks because they are going to fast.

Skye

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Reviewer, PSX Unlimited
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It sounds like NFS3 is much improved over NFS2 just for the fact the
dropped the fantasy tracks. But I must say I'm disappointed that there
will be tracks instead of segments, like in NFS and the early Test
Drives. I don't recall the poll numbers but they were very weighted to
putting the segmented road courses back in.

 Granted a lot of things that aren't realistic have to be accepted in
just about any sim type game, and the ones that are more important to
some people than others get argued on usenet everyday. Just though I'd
chime in with my $0.02, so Joe didn't look like the only that was
bummed about this. Most important to me in any driving game is the
physics/driving model, which I though was pretty good NFS2.

 On my way to read your article Randy so maybe the question is
answered there, but are there going to be***pits in the PC version?

                                                Adam