My "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review

Well I've been waiting to get ahold of this ever since I played the 64MB (count 'em) demo what seems like a year ago. I just received a copy a day or two ago and it's great. I am constantly surprised at how fun this game is. Europress? Who? They make a F1 Manager game as well, but thats it. One of the few games that makes you laugh out loud when you're barreling down a mountain at 120mph (I suppose it should be kph). I've had friends play this game instead of the traditional sims, because it's easier to control, and they've loved it. It's a riot. (I just got it so of course I'm gushing, check with me in a week or two) But I believe this game will hold it's value. I like how the tracks are based on real places, so you may have a straightaway for what seems like forever, just like in real life and very rare in other driving sims. The downsides, like the Playstation-like 2D texture mapping and 'invisable walls' ala NFS1 are really not that annoying at all. The only time I was aware of the mapping to any degree was going through a forest and even then I'm fighting just to stay upright. Very forgiving driving model, but I did end up in a 4 car upside down pile up last night, I righted myself and had to drive around the poor bastards. If you like racing games, it's definitely worth playing, just for a quality change in routine. I'd like to see someone crack the sound files so that you could substitute your co-pilots instructions with your own spliced in files. Well I wrote a ton, so I'm outta here... (oh yeah, Love them oven mitts!) Raevyn

"Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review ================================== Graphics/Visuals: A- ================ The graphics are similar to Need For Speed 1 in both appearance and speed. Extremely fast (I'd estimate consistent 30 fps regardless of traffic) on my P200. Ocassionally the scenery on parts of the tracks is repetitive, but it's often quite varied an interesting too (water, fences, tunnels, different rock formations and trees). Like NFS 1, there are three viewpoints, in-car, front-bumper cam, and chase cam from behind the car. I don't know how the graphics would perform on slower computers, but I don't forsee any obvious problems (there is a lo-res option, though I haven't tried it). The graphics engine is "pseudo-3D" using some cleverly placed 2d bitmaps to provide a realistic 3d illusion without sacrificing performance. The one area of real innovation in the graphics, what brings it up into the A- range, is the excelent implementation of weather. Snow, rain, fog, clear and cloudy, all are very realistic and well done, and add a real touch of realism to the game. The weather will sometimes be contstant for a race, or sometimes come and go. When it's raining hard you can get lighting flashes, which is a cool feature. There is also an excelent night-driving implementation. You can only realy see as far as your headlights, though sometimes you can catch a leading car's tail lights in the distance and use them to lead you which way the road is turning (major upcoming turns and jumps are called out). Like NFS 1, you have an "out of car experience" when you crash, but the rolls and multi-car crashes can be spectacular (not quite as good as NFS 1crashes, but not bad). Driving Model and Cars: A =================== As far as I can tell (I've played most PC arcade racers and sims) the driving model is excelent, closer to a sim than an arcade driver. There are the usual adjustments you'd expect, like changing gear ratios, tires, suspension, etc., and they seem to have a noticeable effect on the way the cars drive. There are different textures, tarmacs, gravel, mud, snow, all of which seem realistic, including they way they are affected by the weather (you can pick tires that are good for snow, wet mud if it's raining, etc.). There are six cars, all of which do have their own feel (two main types, 3 four wheel drive and 3 two-wheel drive). Gameplay: B+ =========== There are a variety of playmodes. 5 collections of arcade mode tracks in increasing difficulty, play any track with other racers or by yourself, or play a championship season in which you race on every track in order. In arcade more there are checkpoints that you need to get to to continue the race - usually if you crash you will not have enough time left to complete a track. In the championship mode damage to your car is tracked, which you can fix at way stations (only at the end of some tracks - so you don't want to damage your car too much!). At the repair site you have a limited amount of time that you can apply to the repairs, so you can usually only repair some of your damaged parts. My only complaint is a lack of a comparitive results (i.e., with other racers) in arcade mode, and I'm not sure there's anyway to turn up the skill of the competitive drivers in championship mode (and there not too hard to beat). There are a few web sites where people are competing against each others times in semi-organized competitions, which I may get into to make it more interesting. Tracks: B ======= 300+ miles of real, non-circuit tracks of varying textures, hills, lanscapes, etc. Very fun, it took me three days of playing to even try every track, and there is also an expansion pack with 10 addon tracks. There are jumps, mostly fairly small ones (a couple doozies), I think more realistically implemented that the "floating away" jumps in NFS 1. The only reason I give a B instead of an A is because no track editor is available, which as we all know can greatly increase the replayability of a driving game. Hopefull someone will crack it (maybe that guy who did the Need For Speed editor, I think his name was Denis Auroux?). Multiplay: C ========= I'm somewhat generous I think in awarding a C for a very incomplete network play that does not support Internet play. I haven't got a LAN, and for all I know it works great if you do. It is apparantly bandwidth-hungry in it's multiplay implementation, so I'm not sure we can assume Internet-play will be forthcoming anytime soon. Fortunately I read this in the FAQ before buying the game so it was not a surprise to me. It's a shame because there's a shortage of good multiplayer racers, IMO. Sound: B+ ======== The car sounds are good though not particularly exciting. The ingame music is pretty good and features a number of tracks you can select from. Replays: B- ========= No bad, but I can't seem to find a rewind key (there is a fast forward and a pause). It would be nice also if it supported a few more viewing angles like in NFS1, and also the ability to save replays. The Final Score: ============ Graphics/Visuals: A- Driving Model and Cars: A Gameplay: B+ Tracks: B Multiplay: C Sound: B+ Replays: B- Overall rating for Network Q RAC Rally Championship: B+ The Bottom Line: ============= A good investment, I'm glad I bought this game. A lot of fun (it has at least temporarily bumped Flying Corps and Tie Fighter off my playlist). Joe

: "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review : ================================== : Graphics/Visuals: A- : ================ : The graphics are similar to Need For Speed 1 in both appearance and : speed. Extremely fast (I'd estimate consistent 30 fps regardless of : traffic) on my P200. Ocassionally the scenery on parts of the tracks : is repetitive, but it's often quite varied an interesting too (water, : fences, tunnels, different rock formations and trees). Like NFS 1, : there are three viewpoints, in-car, front-bumper cam, and chase cam : from behind the car. : I don't know how the graphics would perform on slower computers, but I : don't forsee any obvious problems (there is a lo-res option, though I : haven't tried it). The graphics engine is "pseudo-3D" using some : cleverly placed 2d bitmaps to provide a realistic 3d illusion without : sacrificing performance. Actually, the performance on my P120 is great. I'm playing in the high-res mode and full screen. No slow downs what so ever. I wish they would come out with a disk that offers more cars. There are some fantastic rally cars being raced today. Also, there were so good ones in the past, like the Lancia Stratos and the Audi Quattro. This game was one of the first driving games that I've played for a significant period of time (longer than a week). The only other one was the original Test Drive that I played on a 286 with a Hercules monochrome card. -- ============================================================================ | Marcin P. Radzikowski | _o_ "In the battle between | | http://www.achilles.net/~mradziko | _/ \_ evil has more fun!" | ============================================================================

(snip) Where can I get this game in the USA, besides direct from Europress because it costs around $80.00 there. Is there any USA computer store where I can find it? I think I have somthing similar to this, I think it's just called "RAC Rally". Make sure if you buy NQRACRC Championship you don't get this game. Anyway, the game I have has 3 practice courses and a championship with 35(!?) courses, I've never had the time or paitience to complete all of them but they get harder as you go on... There are 5 authentic rally cars: Toyota Celica GT Ford Escort Cosworth Lancia Delta Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Subaru Impreza Bonus Car??? (If there is one what is it?) There seems to be only 1 camera view (in-car), if there is another please tell me. No car setups (except for tires), weather conditions are cool though (lightning can strike your car!) No replays either that's stupid This game is really not worth the money but it is kinda fun... Where can I get the other version though... Sam

>Actually, the performance on my P120 is great. I'm playing in the >high-res mode and full screen. No slow downs what so ever. That's good to hear - so many games these days seem designed for Pentium 400s. Agreed, that's one thing I would like to see is more cars. At least the ones the have all have different feels and are fairly configurable. Joe

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>> "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review >> ================================== >(snip) >Where can I get this game in the USA, besides direct from Europress because >it costs around $80.00 there. Is there any USA computer store where I can >find it? >I think I have somthing similar to this, I think it's just called "RAC >Rally". >Make sure if you buy NQRACRC Championship you don't get this game. >Anyway, the game I have has 3 practice courses and a championship with >35(!?) courses, I've never had the time or paitience to complete all of >them but they get harder as you go on... >There are 5 authentic rally cars: >Toyota Celica GT >Ford Escort Cosworth >Lancia Delta >Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution >Subaru Impreza >Bonus Car??? (If there is one what is it?) >There seems to be only 1 camera view (in-car), if there is another please >tell me. >No car setups (except for tires), weather conditions are cool though >(lightning can strike your car!) >No replays either that's stupid >This game is really not worth the money but it is kinda fun... >Where can I get the other version though...

Yes, yours is definitely a different game (it's confusing with such similar titles). I'm not sure where you can get "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" in the US though (I carefully typed this long title from the box to make sure I'm talking about the right game). I live in Canada and have seen it at a couple computer stores. Odd that it wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest single computer game market. Joe

>I'd like to see someone crack the sound files so that you could >substitute your co-pilots instructions with your own spliced in files. I think this could be done easily. Grab a copy of the sound util called "Cool96" and it can play the sound files that this sim uses. The sound files are in rallyc/files/snds/ The ones you want are the ones called "say*.* such as "sayeasyl.raw". Cool96 can play these sound files, I've done it, and I'm sure you'd be able to make your own. Tony (ICQ=1111348)

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>"Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review >================================== > <SNIP> >The Bottom Line: >============= >A good investment, I'm glad I bought this game. A lot of fun (it has >at least temporarily bumped Flying Corps and Tie Fighter off my >playlist).

WARNING: You guys must be talking about a new version that Network Q has put out for this rally game. Way back in 1994, I purchased Network Q RAC Rally's "RALLY: The Final Round of the World Rally Championship". I am looking at the box right now: It was licensed by Accolade and the copyright on the box is 1993. It has 35 stages of the RAC rally and 5 different cars available. This OLD version is terrible with a capital T. Choppy VGA graphics, pathetic sound, driving model worse than Pole Position, and well... it's just aweful. The only that is kind of cool about it is it includes some full-motion cutscenes from actual races. Beware you don't buy this older version! =================================================== (CWV) Excalibur Free Fragging Available! |----------Slower Traffic Keep Right---------->>>>> ===================================================

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>WARNING: You guys must be talking about a new version that Network Q >has put out for this rally game. Way back in 1994, I purchased >Network Q RAC Rally's "RALLY: The Final Round of the World Rally >Championship". I am looking at the box right now: It was licensed by >Accolade and the copyright on the box is 1993. It has 35 stages of >the RAC rally and 5 different cars available. This OLD version is >terrible with a capital T. Choppy VGA graphics, pathetic sound, >driving model worse than Pole Position, and well... it's just aweful. >The only that is kind of cool about it is it includes some full-motion >cutscenes from actual races. >Beware you don't buy this older version!

I sure wish they'd just given the new version a new name, it would have helped avoid a LOT of confusion! Joe

For different views, replay a successful stage & hit the number keys at the top of the main keyboard; "0" (zero) shows continuously changing trackside views. Not as flashy as Sega Rally's replay, but it grows on you,

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> "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review > ================================== > Replays: B- > ========= > No bad, but I can't seem to find a rewind key (there is a fast forward > and a pause). It would be nice also if it supported a few more viewing > angles like in NFS1, and also the ability to save replays.

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>Yes, yours is definitely a different game (it's confusing with such >similar titles). I'm not sure where you can get "Network Q RAC Rally >Championship" in the US though (I carefully typed this long title from >the box to make sure I'm talking about the right game). I live in >Canada and have seen it at a couple computer stores. Odd that it >wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest >single computer game market.

I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being Americans and all). BTW, they've also now have the X-Miles addon. It adds another 10 tracks. I haven't checked it out yet.

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>Subject: Re: My "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review >Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 21:02:17 GMT >>WARNING: You guys must be talking about a new version that Network Q >>has put out for this rally game. Way back in 1994, I purchased >>Network Q RAC Rally's "RALLY: The Final Round of the World Rally >>Championship". I am looking at the box right now: It was licensed by >>Accolade and the copyright on the box is 1993. It has 35 stages of >>the RAC rally and 5 different cars available. This OLD version is >>terrible with a capital T. Choppy VGA graphics, pathetic sound, >>driving model worse than Pole Position, and well... it's just aweful. >>Beware you don't buy this older version! >I sure wish they'd just given the new version a new name, it would >have helped avoid a LOT of confusion! >Joe

I recently ckecked out the new version for a day and didn't think it was worth buying. Arcadish car physics, invisible walls right at the edge of the road, and very slow on my P100. Don Scurlock Vancouver, B.C.

> I recently ckecked out the new version for a day and didn't think it was >worth buying. Arcadish car physics, I thought the physics were about half way between arcade and sim. The "invisible walls" are probably inevitable in this sort of "pseudo-3D" racing game. I'm more disturbed when I find this kind of limitation is a supposedly-3D game like Moto Racer. Joe

>I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're >changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being >Americans and all). BTW, they've also now have the X-Miles addon. It adds >another 10 tracks. I haven't checked it out yet. I've got the addon. It's pretty good, but not really necesary in a game that comes with 300+ miles of track in the first place. Joe

Hi all! I gather from the thread, Network Q RAC Rally Championship just got to Canada recently. North Americans might want to try this joint: [link lost in import: /'s] a UK buying club whose prices seem to work out to favorable conversions compared to Europress' silly in-house pricing for RAC Rally Champ. Haven't tried them yet but.....I'm thinkin' of getting the addon courses pkg for RAC Rally. You pay 1 UK pound for a 1 mo. temp. membership & the game comes out to somethin' like $25 us, plus shipping for a total around $30 - $35, I think. I'm a US rally fan & liked this from the first time I came across it on a demo CD from a UK games magazine. ***-grammed them & asked when they were going to do US or NA distribution, they weren't sure. Then I got a gratis copy in their web page giveaway.....great fun & I don't even have a wheel-pedal yet (AND, boy, are my fingers tired!). The format of service points after every few stages is relatively faithful to real rallying. Europress themselves have a couple of downloadable patches that may improve operation, check at www.europress.co.uk. They are also hinting at some new stuff to be introduced at some upcoming Euro trade show for Rally; could be track editor or more cars. Another place for some more info, ie a reasonable mini faq list is Neil Jowsey's Home Page: [link lost in import: /~neilj/home.html] He has some useful info on editing sounds, & network performance. Mine runs fine on a 166 mHz P5, Loaded minimum hassle. Night stages on this rig really could use a couple more "Big" rally driving lights...2 good aux driving lights (Rallye 1000's etc) on a road rally car light up more of the countryside! (But maybe this is just my display setup.) The previous iteration, known as "Network Q Rally Authentic Rally Simulation" had potential with different cars but I couldn't figure out how to get it to display or run decently. Found it on a combo CD for $15 with a bogus Lamborghini bitmap arcade "game"?(ha!) from Expert Software in Fla at CompUSA.

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> >Subject: Re: My "Network Q RAC Rally Championship" Review > >Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 21:02:17 GMT > >>WARNING: You guys must be talking about a new version that Network Q > >>has put out for this rally game. Way back in 1994, I purchased > >>Network Q RAC Rally's "RALLY: The Final Round of the World Rally > >>Championship". I am looking at the box right now: It was licensed by > >>Accolade and the copyright on the box is 1993. It has 35 stages of > >>the RAC rally and 5 different cars available. This OLD version is > >>terrible with a capital T. Choppy VGA graphics, pathetic sound, > >>driving model worse than Pole Position, and well... it's just aweful. > >>Beware you don't buy this older version! > >I sure wish they'd just given the new version a new name, it would > >have helped avoid a LOT of confusion! > >Joe > I recently ckecked out the new version for a day and didn't think it was > worth buying. Arcadish car physics, invisible walls right at the edge of the > road, and very slow on my P100. > Don Scurlock > Vancouver, B.C.

Possibly slow on P100, there is a heck of a lot going on in there when this runs. But...at least it gives you something to look at when it transitions between resets,restarts, etc, not like the big white screens I get on Sega Rally. It grows on you, if you're a rally fan, anyway. Androo

>For different views, replay a successful stage & hit the number keys at >the top of the main keyboard; "0" (zero) shows continuously changing >trackside views. Not as flashy as Sega Rally's replay, but it grows on >you, Thanks, I missed that! Joe

: Well I've been waiting to get ahold of this ever since I played the : 64MB (count 'em) demo what seems like a year ago. : I just received a copy a day or two ago and it's great. : I am constantly surprised at how fun this game is. Europress? Who? : They make a F1 Manager game as well, but thats it. One of the few : games that makes you laugh out loud when you're barreling down a : mountain at 120mph (I suppose it should be kph). The speed unit is switchable in the options IIRC. Since it's a British game the default is probably mph. : I've had friends play this game instead of the traditional sims, : because it's easier to control, and they've loved it. It's a riot. : (I just got it so of course I'm gushing, check with me in a week or : two) But I believe this game will hold it's value. : I like how the tracks are based on real places, so you may have a : straightaway for what seems like forever, just like in real life and : very rare in other driving sims. Also the variation in size of the stages is a good feature. Some that will take only 3 or 4 minutes to do for a quick burn and others in the 15-20 minute range (I believe the longest is about 30 min but it's a while since I played this) : The downsides, like the Playstation-like 2D texture mapping and : 'invisable walls' ala NFS1 are really not that annoying at all. The : only time I was aware of the mapping to any degree was going through a : forest and even then I'm fighting just to stay upright. : Very forgiving driving model, but I did end up in a 4 car upside down : pile up last night, I righted myself and had to drive around the poor : bastards. : If you like racing games, it's definitely worth playing, just for a : quality change in routine. : I'd like to see someone crack the sound files so that you could : substitute your co-pilots instructions with your own spliced in files. Do away with Tony Mason? How could you? :) Something you haven't mentioned is that when you play in championship mode it's against the clock. There are no other cars on the track. You get a continuous readout of where you place in the rankings but it seems to me that this is decided on the basis of the computer racers travelling at a constant average speed. You will always gain on them on fast straights and they will always cut your lead on slower twistier sections. OTOH this may be just the crapness of my driving. My twopenn'orth --

Thanks. Now I won't pay $80+ to get this great (so I've heard) game! Yeah, mine came with that game too, called "Lamborghini American Challenge." This game is THE WORST game I have ever seen, even worse than when I bought "Vette!" for my 286 oh so long ago. Inaccurate physics (like you don't lose speed when you skid through turns), no joystick support, and a cheesy arcade "win races, earn money, buy super stick sludge tires" theme. Well, I guess I have to keep on playing NFS2 and Nascar2 until I can get Rally (not to say that NFS2 and Nascar2 are bad, I just can't wait!) Sam

Anyone out there know how to run Rally Championship in VGA?

>Well I've been waiting to get ahold of this ever since I played the >64MB (count 'em) demo what seems like a year ago. >I just received a copy a day or two ago and it's great. >I am constantly surprised at how fun this game is. Europress? Who? I just got my copy also. I agree,its fun; its almost as much fun as screamer. My cheapo steering wheel/pedals work perfectly in this game (unlike NFS & screamer). There is an add on for it (Thee XMiles add on). Ill get that soon.

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>>Yes, yours is definitely a different game (it's confusing with such >>similar titles). I'm not sure where you can get "Network Q RAC Rally >>Championship" in the US though (I carefully typed this long title from >>the box to make sure I'm talking about the right game). I live in >>Canada and have seen it at a couple computer stores. Odd that it >>wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest >>single computer game market. >I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're >changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being >Americans and all)

That's a shame! NetQ is a fantastic rally (Perfectly realistic.) But the Ford Escort Cosworth is one of the best rally cars there is! (Quake Handles: Majika/Overlord of Chaos/Danger)

Wondered where this info came from, then I checked Europress' site again. Apparently, they are sending reps to Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3?) in Atlanta GA, June 19-21. A Rally Championship upgrade is mentioned among software to be presented. Maybe they'll start selling it here (US). andrew e

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> >>Odd that it > >>wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest > >>single computer game market. > >I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're > >changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being > >Americans and all) > That's a shame! NetQ is a fantastic rally (Perfectly realistic.) But > the Ford Escort Cosworth is one of the best rally cars there is! > (Quake Handles: Majika/Overlord of Chaos/Danger)

>>I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're >>changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being >>Americans and all) >That's a shame! NetQ is a fantastic rally (Perfectly realistic.) But >the Ford Escort Cosworth is one of the best rally cars there is! It was mentioned in the latest (?) issue of CGW. It's probably going to be called simply Rally Championship rather than the ridiculously long name of "Network Q RAC Rally Championship". It didn't say whcih cars will be changed. Hopefully, they'll keep the Renault, Ford and of course the Subaru. While I don't know how realistic it is, it's definitely one of (if not THE) most playable rally game out there. If anything, its definitely the most fun rally game I've played (and I've played Screamer 2, Sega Rally).

Yes a U.S. version will be released soon and we in Canada will likely be able to get that too when it comes out. There is a new version under development now that is DirectX Win95 only (a la Need For Speed II). Also, make sure you get the analogue joystick patch so that you can have proper analogue acceleration and braking when using a joystick!

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> >>Yes, yours is definitely a different game (it's confusing with such > >>similar titles). I'm not sure where you can get "Network Q RAC Rally > >>Championship" in the US though (I carefully typed this long title from > >>the box to make sure I'm talking about the right game). I live in > >>Canada and have seen it at a couple computer stores. Odd that it > >>wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest > >>single computer game market. > >I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're > >changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being > >Americans and all) > That's a shame! NetQ is a fantastic rally (Perfectly realistic.) But > the Ford Escort Cosworth is one of the best rally cars there is! > (Quake Handles: Majika/Overlord of Chaos/Danger)

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> Wondered where this info came from, then I checked Europress' site > again. Apparently, they are sending reps to Electronic Entertainment > Expo (E3?) in Atlanta GA, June 19-21. A Rally Championship upgrade is > mentioned among software to be presented. Maybe they'll start selling it > here (US). > andrew e > > >>Odd that it > > >>wouldn't be available in the US, I imagine that's gotta be the biggest > > >>single computer game market. > > >I thought they were tweaking the game for the US release. They're > > >changing some cars that US people would recognise (well, them being > > >Americans and all) > > That's a shame! NetQ is a fantastic rally (Perfectly realistic.) But > > the Ford Escort Cosworth is one of the best rally cars there is! > > (Quake Handles: Majika/Overlord of Chaos/Danger)

Actually *** Entertainment (www.vie.com) will be publishing it here for Europress and its due to be released in the US in June. Just look into "games", then "in production" on their site and there is a bunch of info on it, along with a demo.