First off, what's with these "one-off" non production cars?
Super Exoctics in production.....fine......but NFS I was so much
more involving since you could actually see those cars on the roads
everyday and relate to them. Not a US car fan but the new Corvette C5
and the latest Viper incarnation would be just as interesting as the
Isdera Commendatore 112i. OK, so we already know basically how a
Corvette handles and such. So does that mean NFS II is supposed to
introduce us to the handling characteristics of these super-rare "dream
cars"? Hardly the case. The Isdera is so rare, they couldn't even get
video clip footage for their "showcase" portion.
ASIDE from car choice politics,I would actually like to know which
fricking gear I'm in when turning off that overly guady HUD display.
Just a simple little number/letter indicator is all I ask. Only some of
the cars dashboard tach and spedo numbers are legible. That would help
too. Does shifting seem slower in this version as well? I've heard alot
about how fluid the engine is for the great sense of motion. I loved it
in NFS I, but on my measly (no joke today) Zephyr p133 24MB Stealth 3D
4MB it looks like I'm standing still when the track graphics, due to a
certain frame rate/car speed, match up just right, and it seems as if
I'm at a standstill at 200 mph! I hate that. The only sense of speed I
get, is me rushing back to NFS I to recapture what carving through slow
traffic is really like. The "invisible" walls I swear are made of
carpet, and the cars of velcro. Sparks between cars are very nice
though. BIG GRIPE: I used to love to watch the cars do donuts and such
from the exterior view. Now, the view is fixed on axis either front or
back!!!!!!!! This also sucks big time for people who ocasionally race
from the outside of their car, and can't even tell when the car is
fish-tailing since the background follows the car! Not to mention, EA
did such an awesome job on exterior car graphics, but you can only view
side profiles when T-boning some one on the track. OK, nitpicking, but
we're still going backwards from NFS I. Who the hell beta teseted this
"sim" anyway? Steering.......do not try the twitchy F50 in Greece for a
good first impression of the game. At first I though my FLCS joystick
was just sending "full right, full left" input with nothing inbetween!
You can adjust the steering range, but it only lets you go from bad to
ludicrous. I may get used to it yet. BTW, the FLCS is very precise,
steering + throttle in NFS I. Sound: I'm an audio engineer, and I give
this "sim" pretty high marks on external sound cues. I run it on a dolby
surround/ subwoofer system, and have nice results. I was doing circular
burnouts next to that "axe man" near the German amusment park, and was
able to localize him right, left, and then behind me. Unfortunately, as
in NFS I, the Ferrari is the only car with "decent" sound and rev range.
Dammit, when I am mashing that throttle down, I want to hear it scream
up to high pitch and not just lumber along like the old vette or viper
where high rpm=low pitch. I'm keeping the game in hopes of future
uprgradable fixes, and am hoping they are reading our posts, since we
are the one's who determine what stays on the hard drives.
!^NavFont02F0A730007QGHHQ740E42
>The silliest part of the whole thing is the way the textures (particularly
>road textures) seem to stand still. I notice this at various speeds. Around
>198MPH on the Outback after you pass the little town and head into the
>more barren area, the side textures and the road textures just stop.
>There are a few seconds there where you have no idea of how fast or how
>far you have traveled ...... it is ridiculous.
I've noticed this to, it is a really bad and fundamental graphics
error for a racing game. I think the problem is with the road texture
(or lack of it) - as long as there's line's or something on the road
it's not too bad.
Joe
Joe McGinn
===================================================
Author of Inside LotusScript, available August 1997
http://www.browsebooks.com/McGinn/
===================================================
What do they care if it is off the harddrive, we already bought it!
Disapointed NFS2 customer
I'm keeping the game in hopes of future
