If you didn't like Heat, don't buy this game. It is very Heat-like, IMHO.
news:48WcnW89tZ813jKgXTWcpA@News.GigaNews.Com...
on this one. I wasn't impressed with the screen shots, wasn't impressed with
Heat, and now know I would not be impressed with this game.
jrdrags wrote:
> Jason,
> Thank you for helping with me decide whether to buy NT2003. You are
> obviously one of those who are so stuck on Papy and their $50.00
> patches that you wouldn't give anything a far chance. That was
> obvious from earlier posts before the game was released. So, I will
> leave N4 on my harddrive for my little boy to play with, while I will
> move on and try something different. Actually having more fun right
> now with the Lemans mod for F1 2002. And, like Heat, I will support
> anyone that goes head to head with Papy and their $50.00 patches.
> Thanks for the rant
> "Jason Moyer" <jmo...@chemlab.org> wrote in message
> news:3daee3e2.43217433@news.stargate.net...
>> On Thu, 17 Oct 2002 02:55:19 GMT, jmo...@chemlab.org (Jason Moyer)
>> wrote:
>> <snip>
>> Ok, I was tired when I posted this so here's some details on what is
>> good and bad about the sim.
>> 1. Graphics
>> If you like F1 2002, you might like these. The default LOD bias
>> causes the cars to deres literally 5 feet in front of you. As Ed
>> Solheim pointed out in another thread, the rear view mirror makes it
>> look like cars are literally on top of you. The graphics feature the
>> same flicker as the ISI F1 games, regardless of the FSAA level you
>> use. The textures remind me of SCGT, i.e. cartoony, dark, and
>> oversaturated. The car models aren't bad, but the cars seem much
>> longer than a real WC stock car.
>> The damage modelling is seriously humorous. Hitting something on the
>> side, like the wall, will cause the side to dent in a'la Nascar 2002
>> but also puts a big gray hole in the car. Best I can tell there's no
>> damage to the hood or roof. I've backed the car into the wall at
>> over 100mph and the bumper dented a bit, I was disappointed after
>> being used to the way N2002 smushes your bumper all the way to the
>> axle. The nose damage looks wrong, after taking a few hits at the
>> front the car starts looking like a shart, as you have this middle
>> bit that sticks out with big dents on either side that, in real life,
>> would be impossible because of the chassis and engine block being
>> there.
>> N2002 wins this category hands down, especially in terms of texture
>> realism and graphical clarity. It also runs 30 frames per second
>> faster on my machine with full detail at 1280x1024x16 than NT2003
>> does. NT2003 does get bonus points for attempting to include some
>> classic cars, but who wants to drive Cale Yarborough's early 80's #28
>> car with "Cale" written on it instead of Hardee's.
>> The wheel/hands are ugly and can't be removed in-game. However you
>> can comment out the lines that define these in the vehicle.gen file
>> and everything looks much much better...except that the default
>> cockpit camera feels like you have your face pressed against the
>> windshield, but YMMV.
>> 2. Sound
>> Most of the menu music is horrible, the single saving grace being
>> Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" which I wish would just loop.
>> The commentators at the beginning of the race sound like they were
>> recorded in my bathroom. Actually, I've done recordings in my
>> bathroom and they were of higher quality. For some curious reason,
>> they've left out the driver introductions, so when the game does the
>> standard F12k2 scroll through the field, you're left with an awkward
>> silence. Thankfully, this is preferable to hearing more of the
>> announcing.
>> Driving, the engine sound is far inferior to N2002. The tire sounds
>> are far inferior to N2002. For the engines it seriously sounds like
>> they sampled a chainsaw and ran it through some cheap plate reverb,
>> it's that bad.
>> 3. Layout/Presentation
>> The menus are horrible. Thankfully on the track selection screen
>> there are drop down boxes you can access to select the track, but
>> most things are laid out completely illogically and/or a pain to
>> find. Selecting a driver (you have to use one of the real cars,
>> there's no paintshop included or option to simply drive as yourself)
>> requires going through a list with all of the drivers, which is a
>> time consuming process.
>> The rest is pretty much straight from F1 2002, with different icons
>> and maybe slightly different on-screen placement.
>> The race weekend is annoying. There is no option to use a short pace
>> lap, even with auto pace lap turned on, so at a place like the Glen
>> be prepared to spend 5-10 minutes on a pace lap before putting in
>> even a short race. Speaking of auto pace lap, if auto pace lap
>> and/or auto pitting are enabled, the game gives no warning that it's
>> going to return control to you. Just suddenly the spotter yells "GO
>> GO GO" and you're sitting there scrambling for your wheel.
>> The fighter jets screaming overhead at every single track are cheesy.
>> On the other hand, I really felt like having sex with my cousin at
>> that point, so it could be what they're going for.
>> Replays are done F1 2002 style, so nothing to comment there. If
>> you've played an ISI game, you know what it's like.
>> 4. Track Modelling
>> Apparently Pocono is 4 or 5 lanes wide, doesn't require any braking,
>> and is paved in concrete. Apparently the esses and the outer loop at
>> the Glen are banked about as much as Bristol, at least with the
>> little bit of banking Bristol has in this game. Seriously
>> appalling. The off-track details are of course just as bad, but you
>> can't really expect much when the actual track surfaces are so far
>> off.
>> Speaking of track modelling, unless there is a change in banking at
>> the apron, you can drive it without a penalty. Just ran some really
>> quick laps at Tally without venturing above the yellow line.
>> If you're played a Papy NASCAR sim, or even watched a race or two on
>> TV, be prepared for a shock the first time you take the car on the
>> track. Throw everything you know about the line of the tracks out
>> the window, you won't need 'em here.
>> 5. Physics
>> First, I'm using super-high frequency physics, which can be changed
>> in the PLR file. The standard are similar, as in F1 2002, while the
>> flaws in the engine tend to be exaggerated somewhat.
>> Just like F1 2002, a car that should be on the edge of traction at
>> high speeds is glued to the track. If you do use your brakes here,
>> which I recommend since there's no engine braking to speak of, don't
>> worry about applying them until you're near the apex. Turn 1 at
>> Pocono can be taken flat out until you near the apex, same with the
>> turns at Bristol, Dover, and Martinsville.
>> Apparently the reason drivers spin at Bristol is because of the
>> cracks in the concrete. I never noticed that before. It must be
>> tough flooring it there when the car wants to spin because the rear
>> wheels are 6 inches off the ground every time your drive over a seal.
>> As in F1 2002, make sure you keep the framerate above 60. The
>> polygon-based physics are touchy as always, and if those poor
>> attempts at high-frequency bump modelling send you 6 inches off the
>> ground at 60 fps, they'll have you sailing into the grass at 20 fps.
>> GPL and N2002 win hands down at capturing the feel of a car on the
>> threshold of friction (so does Dirt Track Racing 2, of all the
>> surprises). To some it may feel like a hovercar, I suppose, but I'd
>> also guess that a car that is on the edge of control is going to feel
>> more like a bug skittering on the surface of the water than a tank
>> glued firmly in place until a rumble strip causes the rear end to
>> snap around. I'm probably wrong tho. As in F1 2002, the sensation
>> of weight transfer is minimal. While this may be acceptable in a
>> ground-hugging stiff-as-carbon F1 car, it feels completely out of
>> place in the hulking behemoths in this game. There is very little
>> indication of what the car is doing in terms of weight transfer,
>> which imho makes the sim harder to drive than N2002, at least when
>> putting the car on the edge. Thankfully, harder in this case
>> doesn't mean more realistic.
>> Controller configuration is as bad as F1 2002. An amusing note is
>> that the speed sensitivity slider doesn't go below 10% in the menus,
>> but it does register as 0% if you check your PLR file.
>> Jason
