All I can say is the UK version was 'poor', I would like to see a patch
though as it had potential.
Andi.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8vefqi$uk9$[email hidden]...
Has anybody actually TRIED the U.S. release version of Ford Racing? It
sounds like it might be significantly different than the demo -- I just
received the following from Elite (the developers of Ford Racing) in
response to my query about a patch for Ford Racing:
-----
To the best of our knowledge neither any patch for (nor any 'new' demo
of) the European version of Ford Racing has yet been released.
The decision to release any patch for (and any 'new' demo of) the
European version of Ford Racing is a matter for Empire, (not us) and
you should continue to seek guidance on the release date from
http://www.empire.co.uk.
The recently released US version of Ford Racing is characterised by:
ADDITIONAL RACE-Cameras / VIEWS including:
Bumper-cams - (one with and one without 'horizon rotation')
In-car cam - (including 3D vehicle-interior and steering-wheel models)
Mid- & Long-distance Chase-cams
Rear-view / Mirror-cam
Motion-cam
640x480 'In-a-window' Display Mode
EXTENDED GAME-Controller (RE-)CONFIGURATION including:
Multi-button Game-controller Re-configuration
Multi-axis Game-controller Re-configuration
Game-controller Sensitivity Selection
MODERATED COLLISIONS including:
CPU-driver Collision-avoidance
Damped Collision-dynamics
Any 'patch' for the European version of Ford Racing will be intended to
add these features along with multi-window / LAN and Internet multi-
player game modes.
PS: An 'old' demo may be available from Empire but it's not
representative of the recently released US version of Ford Racing.
-----
This sounds VERY promising -- the phyiscs in the Ford Racing demo
LOOKED okay, but without an in-car view, it was hard to tell. From
this message, it sounds like th U.S. version should have in-car and
bumper cam views. Can anybody confirm this?
-- JB
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
If I make it to the local CompUSA in the next few days, I may pick it
up (I saw it on the shelves there last week, but I haven't seen it at
EB or Best Buys yet). I do plan on checking to box over to see if it
sounds like these things are included first, though.
-- JB
In article <I5HS5.61032$[email hidden]>,
"Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote:
> I had heard a story a-while back that FORD was soooo pissed at the
> lack of quality in the Euro version of Ford Racing, that they forcedthe
> publisher and programmers to recode the game before they would allow
> it to be sold in the states...I didn't think it was credible butbased on
> that
> text...maybe it is...Anyone brave enough to test it??
> dave henrie
> <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8vefqi$uk9$[email hidden]...
> > Has anybody actually TRIED the U.S. release version of FordRacing? It
> > sounds like it might be significantly different than the demo -- Ijust
> > received the following from Elite (the developers of Ford Racing) in
> > response to my query about a patch for Ford Racing:
> >
> > -----
> >
> > To the best of our knowledge neither any patch for (nor any 'new'demo
models)
intended to
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Quoted text (12 lines)
> > of) the European version of Ford Racing has yet been released. > > > > The decision to release any patch for (and any 'new' demo of) the > > European version of Ford Racing is a matter for Empire, (not us) and > > you should continue to seek guidance on the release date from > > http://www.empire.co.uk. > > > > The recently released US version of Ford Racing is characterised by: > > > > ADDITIONAL RACE-Cameras / VIEWS including: > > Bumper-cams - (one with and one without 'horizon rotation') > > In-car cam - (including 3D vehicle-interior and steering-wheelQuoted text (13 lines)
> > Mid- & Long-distance Chase-cams > > Rear-view / Mirror-cam > > Motion-cam > > 640x480 'In-a-window' Display Mode > > EXTENDED GAME-Controller (RE-)CONFIGURATION including: > > Multi-button Game-controller Re-configuration > > Multi-axis Game-controller Re-configuration > > Game-controller Sensitivity Selection > > MODERATED COLLISIONS including: > > CPU-driver Collision-avoidance > > Damped Collision-dynamics > > > > Any 'patch' for the European version of Ford Racing will beQuoted text (20 lines)
> > add these features along with multi-window / LAN and Internet multi- > > player game modes. > > > > PS: An 'old' demo may be available from Empire but it's not > > representative of the recently released US version of Ford Racing. > > > > ----- > > > > This sounds VERY promising -- the phyiscs in the Ford Racing demo > > LOOKED okay, but without an in-car view, it was hard to tell. From > > this message, it sounds like th U.S. version should have in-car and > > bumper cam views. Can anybody confirm this? > > > > -- JB > > > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > > Before you buy. > > I had heard a story a-while back that FORD was soooo pissed at the
lack of quality in the Euro version of Ford Racing, that they forced the
publisher and programmers to recode the game before they would allow
it to be sold in the states...I didn't think it was credible but based on
that
text...maybe it is...Anyone brave enough to test it??
dave henrie
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8vefqi$uk9$[email hidden]...
Quoted text (51 lines)
> Has anybody actually TRIED the U.S. release version of Ford Racing? It > sounds like it might be significantly different than the demo -- I just > received the following from Elite (the developers of Ford Racing) in > response to my query about a patch for Ford Racing: > > ----- > > To the best of our knowledge neither any patch for (nor any 'new' demo > of) the European version of Ford Racing has yet been released. > > The decision to release any patch for (and any 'new' demo of) the > European version of Ford Racing is a matter for Empire, (not us) and > you should continue to seek guidance on the release date from > http://www.empire.co.uk. > > The recently released US version of Ford Racing is characterised by: > > ADDITIONAL RACE-Cameras / VIEWS including: > Bumper-cams - (one with and one without 'horizon rotation') > In-car cam - (including 3D vehicle-interior and steering-wheel models) > Mid- & Long-distance Chase-cams > Rear-view / Mirror-cam > Motion-cam > 640x480 'In-a-window' Display Mode > EXTENDED GAME-Controller (RE-)CONFIGURATION including: > Multi-button Game-controller Re-configuration > Multi-axis Game-controller Re-configuration > Game-controller Sensitivity Selection > MODERATED COLLISIONS including: > CPU-driver Collision-avoidance > Damped Collision-dynamics > > Any 'patch' for the European version of Ford Racing will be intended to > add these features along with multi-window / LAN and Internet multi- > player game modes. > > PS: An 'old' demo may be available from Empire but it's not > representative of the recently released US version of Ford Racing. > > ----- > > This sounds VERY promising -- the phyiscs in the Ford Racing demo > LOOKED okay, but without an in-car view, it was hard to tell. From > this message, it sounds like th U.S. version should have in-car and > bumper cam views. Can anybody confirm this? > > -- JB > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.Let us know how it is, John. I've been burned too many times to gamble $$$
on unpromising-sounding titles.
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8vgpea$q1k$[email hidden]...
Quoted text (82 lines)
> If I make it to the local CompUSA in the next few days, I may pick it > up (I saw it on the shelves there last week, but I haven't seen it at > EB or Best Buys yet). I do plan on checking to box over to see if it > sounds like these things are included first, though. > > -- JB > > In article <I5HS5.61032$[email hidden]>, > "Dave Henrie" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > I had heard a story a-while back that FORD was soooo pissed at the > > lack of quality in the Euro version of Ford Racing, that they forced > the > > publisher and programmers to recode the game before they would allow > > it to be sold in the states...I didn't think it was credible but > based on > > that > > text...maybe it is...Anyone brave enough to test it?? > > dave henrie > > <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8vefqi$uk9 > $[email hidden]... > > > Has anybody actually TRIED the U.S. release version of Ford > Racing? It > > > sounds like it might be significantly different than the demo -- I > just > > > received the following from Elite (the developers of Ford Racing) in > > > response to my query about a patch for Ford Racing: > > > > > > ----- > > > > > > To the best of our knowledge neither any patch for (nor any 'new' > demo > > > of) the European version of Ford Racing has yet been released. > > > > > > The decision to release any patch for (and any 'new' demo of) the > > > European version of Ford Racing is a matter for Empire, (not us) and > > > you should continue to seek guidance on the release date from > > > http://www.empire.co.uk. > > > > > > The recently released US version of Ford Racing is characterised by: > > > > > > ADDITIONAL RACE-Cameras / VIEWS including: > > > Bumper-cams - (one with and one without 'horizon rotation') > > > In-car cam - (including 3D vehicle-interior and steering-wheel > models) > > > Mid- & Long-distance Chase-cams > > > Rear-view / Mirror-cam > > > Motion-cam > > > 640x480 'In-a-window' Display Mode > > > EXTENDED GAME-Controller (RE-)CONFIGURATION including: > > > Multi-button Game-controller Re-configuration > > > Multi-axis Game-controller Re-configuration > > > Game-controller Sensitivity Selection > > > MODERATED COLLISIONS including: > > > CPU-driver Collision-avoidance > > > Damped Collision-dynamics > > > > > > Any 'patch' for the European version of Ford Racing will be > intended to > > > add these features along with multi-window / LAN and Internet multi- > > > player game modes. > > > > > > PS: An 'old' demo may be available from Empire but it's not > > > representative of the recently released US version of Ford Racing. > > > > > > ----- > > > > > > This sounds VERY promising -- the phyiscs in the Ford Racing demo > > > LOOKED okay, but without an in-car view, it was hard to tell. From > > > this message, it sounds like th U.S. version should have in-car and > > > bumper cam views. Can anybody confirm this? > > > > > > -- JB > > > > > > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > > > Before you buy. > > > > > > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy.Yeah, I guess I'm first the sucker who laid out the $19.99 for this junk.
I'll try to address each of the points made:
> The recently released US version of Ford Racing is characterised by:
>
> ADDITIONAL RACE-Cameras / VIEWS including:
> Bumper-cams - (one with and one without 'horizon rotation')
True - Haven't noticed "horizon rotation" -- What is that anyway? Does
that mean the car is supposed to roll as it turns? If, so I haven't
noticed that.
>
> In-car cam - (including 3D vehicle-interior and steering-wheel models)
In-car cam: True 3D vehicle interior/steering wheels? Yeah, right. If
that's 3D, it's pretty bad.
>
> Mid- & Long-distance Chase-cams
True
>
> Rear-view / Mirror-cam
True
>
> Motion-cam
Don't know. What exactly is motion cam supposed to be?
>
> 640x480 'In-a-window' Display Mode
True
>
> EXTENDED GAME-Controller (RE-)CONFIGURATION including:
> Multi-button Game-controller Re-configuration
True
>
> Multi-axis Game-controller Re-configuration
If this means it supports split-axis - True. Multiple simultaneouls
controller (such as LWFF with non-LWFF pedals) - No
>
> Game-controller Sensitivity Selection
True, but I haven't spent a lot of time on it to see how effective this is.
>
> MODERATED COLLISIONS including:
> CPU-driver Collision-avoidance
> Damped Collision-dynamics
Don't know exactly what these mean, but AI seems OK
My other comments:
Graphics - Not Bad, Not great. Lots of options to tweak. Replays are
pretty nice, but I find it interesting that when I skid, I see the
skidmarks on the road form IN FRONT of me. Also, the sensation of speed
just isn't there.
Sound - Piss Poor. Weak overall sounds. Skids in particular sound like a
high-pitched passing of wind, if you know what I mean......
Force Feedback - In a word, Horrible. (at least with my LWFF). No feel at
all for what the car is doing.. No FF effects when going over kerbs. The
only time I feel anything is when I hit a wall.
On the plus side, installation was pretty straightforward.
Bottom Line -- a very average arcade racer.
FWIW, my system is a Celeron 566@850, 256 Megs, Voodoo2 SLI.
--
Bert
(Remove <nospam> from e-mail address when replying)
Okay, I picked up Ford Racing today at Electronics Boutique for $19.95.
The box didn't say anything at all about in-car or bumper-cam views,
nor did the box graphics depict this either, but I figured I'd take a
$20 risk.
After I opened the box, I found that the manual was VERY sparse, and it
didn't mention much about driving views -- it only listed the function
keys that are used to change views, but not which views were
available. I loaded it onto my machine with much trepidation, but
after I fired it up, I was hugely pleased to find that there are five
different driving views that can be selected from the main menu: Near
chase, far chase, bumper cam, in-cockpit, and roll bar view. I
immediately selected the in-cockpit view as my default view and fired
the game up.
The cockpit view is rather pleasing -- the windshield features wiper-
blade marks, there's a moving steering wheel (complete with driver's
arms and hands), and the gauges are tiny but clear and legible. The
cockpit isn't a full 3D cockpit like in NASCAR Heat or NFSPU -- it's
more of a cockpit overlay like in SCGT or Viper Racing, although I
think there might be some in-cockpit "bobbing" actions when going over
bumps and such. I mentioned SCGT and Viper Racing, but the cockpit
itself reminds me a lot of the one in the first STCC demo, or that
found in Rally Masters, which ain't bad. Like SCGT, though, you only
seem to get one cockpit, regardless of the car (or truck) you choose.
So far I've only sampled the Ka, Escort, F150, and Explorer, but they
all seem to handle differently: The Ka feels like a small, underpowered
front-drive econobox; the Escort feels a little heavier but still small
and low on power; the F150 and Explorer both handle very much like you
would expect rear-drive trucks to handle.
The handling is surprising -- I mentioned a while back that it *looked*
like there was some decent physics modeling going on in the Ford Racing
demo, and with an in-cockpit view to work with, the physics feel pretty
decent. To me, it feels very much like it falls somewhere between the
physics in the original Need For Speed and Viper Racing, and it's FAR
better than the likes of NFS3 or NFSHS. Overall, the game reminds me
quite a bit of Viper Racing -- imagine if MGI had used the Viper Racing
engine to model Dodge Neons, and you have some idea of what I think the
Ka and Escort feels like in Ford Racing using the cockpit view. The
physics aren't as lively as Viper Racing, but the level of immersion is
similar -- for example, none of the four Fords I've sampled so far are
as skittish as the Viper in Viper Racing, but fast laps rely on good
driving technique; drop a tire into the grass, too far past a curb, or
into the dirt, and you'll scrub off valuable speed that is hard to
recover in the woefully-underpowered Ka, for example. Go into a turn
too hot, and all you have to do is lift off the throttle and you gently
transition from understeer to oversteer, and dialing in a bit more
steering input will get you back on track. Overall, the Ka and Escort
respond quite a bit like my wife's Toyota Paseo -- you won't confuse
this part of Ford Racing for the Porsches and BMWs in SCGT, but that's
not how these cars should feel, anyway.
At this point, Ford Racing has left me smiling after several different
driving sessions, much like Viper Racing and SCGT did when I first
began to discover those two titles. I recently found F1WGP to be a
nice, amusing driving diversion, but I feel that Ford Racing may be a
bit more realistic at this point.
The graphics are a nice surprise as well -- the game wants to default
to 640 x 480, which really does look horribly grainy. You can only set
the resolution from outside the game, using the graphics selector
utility, which is annoying, but I cranked things up to 1024 x 768, and
things looked MUCH better. Be advised: With 32-bit colors enabled at
this resolution, I experienced some graphical pauses even on my Duron
700 system, but I suspect that my 16MB TNT2 Ultra may be the bottleneck
here. You can adjust the graphic details from within the game, so I
cranked a few of the detail selections down to midrange and things
smoothed out quite nicely, and the graphics still easily rivalled SCGT
or Viper Racing, without any detectable pop-up.
The championship mode is kind of neat -- you can qualify or go directly
to the race. In my second race, I qualified in daylight conditions,
but the race occurred at dusk, which looked AWESOME -- even better than
SCGT, in my opinion. It looks like wet-weather conditions are also
possible, but I haven't done any testing with that yet.
I can't say much about the AI except that they seem to be pretty
competent -- again, Viper Racing and SCGT come to mind. I don't think
there's any damage modeling at all, either graphical or otherwise, but
that's not a big deal to me -- the objective is to not damage the car
in the first place, so I tend to "drive it like I bought it" anyway.
The sounds are also a low point, and it seems that the same engine
sound must suffice for all vehicles, and there is noticeable looping in
the engine not sample. This may be something that can be addressed by
third-parties, but I haven't had time to look into it yet. Not a
biggie at this point, since the Kas and Escorts need to run flat-out
anyway, but the engine sound is definitely one thing that could still
be improved upon.
The biggest downside I can see so far is that you only get the first
four cars and trucks that I've listed here to start with, and you have
to unlock (or "earn") the others, which is a bite. Anybody know any
cheat codes from the European release?
Speaking of the European release, it seems our overseas brethren have
been shortchanged on this one. The U.S. release looks like it has the
potential to a fun little simulation in its own right, while the Euro
release was limited to the horrible arcade-like chase mode that
rendered it essentially useless for even the most casual sim racing
enthusiast. I recommend that everybody on the other side of the pond
should e-mail Empire Interactive immediately and demand a past, pronto -
- the coding already exists from the U.S. release, so there should be
SOME way to get the new enhancements disseminated to all those who
bought the European version of Ford Racing.
I'd recommend giving this one a try -- there seem to be some pleasant
surprises here, and the reviews of the Euro release don't do the U.S.
version justice. As far as I'm concerned, it looks like there's easily
$20 worth of fun to be had here. Your mileage may vary, of course!
;-)
-- JB
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
