Beta Midtown Madness impressions

Visited a friend on the weekend, who is a beta tester for Midtown Madness (but shall otherwise remain anonymous). Had the chance to play the game for an afternoon. I won't go into any bugs I encountered, since that's not a fair thing to make public for a beta product. Test system: P2333 Voodoo2 12MB (forgot to ask how much RAM, but I think it's a lot). Graphics/Sound: No complaints here. A bit slow frame-rate wise, but keep in mind that it's a beta, and this isn't Need For Speed - there's a LOT going on here (a whole city being rendered, heavy traffic, other AI drivers, pedestrians, various eye candy). It looks very good, though the weather graphics (rain and snow) have been done better. Despite the occasional slowdown, there is an excellent sensation of speed in this game. There is a full complement of views, behind the car, bumper cam, and***pits (fairly realistic ones, customized for each car). I raced mainly in bumper cam because I can see more of what's in front of me that way (when just driving around I liked using the***pits). At times it very much reminds me of "The Blues Brothers" car chase scenes. Gameplay: Highly ***ive. You know it's fun when you curse the "ready/set/go" because it's too slow, you want to drive NOW! As mentioned in a few online previews, it's very realistic - traffic obeys signals and road signs and so on. It is fun just to drive around. The racing is great fun, the best game since Need For Speed 1. Darting in and out of traffic, running red lights, accidents and [occasional] jumps - it just adds up to an adrenaline-packed experience. If you're like me, you will find yourself often cursing the other drivers (then laughing out loud at the joy of being so immersed in a computer game). I have two gameplay complaints, one minor and the other not so minor: 1) It could use a skill level setting. I won most of the races I tried, with practice, but I could see some people getting frustrated with the difficulty of winning certain races. 2) The only real gameplay complaint I have is the implementation of cops, unfortunately quite an integral part of gameplay. One problem is that they [like the AI opponents] don't seem to take damage as easily as your car does (of course, different cars take damage at different rates - see below). A more serious flaw is that the cops ONLy chase you, not the AI racers. That takes a lot of fun out of the car chases. If you have a cop on your tail and pass an AI driver the cop should key onto him (that was one of the few things they got right in NFS 3). One other gameplay comment: I hope they allow the game to be expandable by allowing users to create there own races (i.e., choose where checkpoints go. This would be easy for them to implement, would add almost unlimited replayability, and would even allow the creation of new kinds of races (e.g., no checkpoints, just a start and finish line, where you finds the best route). Driving Model/Realism: I'm not sure it would be classified as a sim, but the driving/physics model is MUCH more realistic than on-rails dreck like NFS 2/3. You have oversteer and understeer, power sliding turns (but they are tricky), and a different feel to each vehicle. Again the closest game it reminds me off here is NFS 1. Good accidents, though not quite as realistic as NFS1. FF/car damage: I'm including these two items together, because they are related. The FF implementation isn't bad. No where near as good as Viper (what is?), it's not a realistic implementation with accurate wheel pulls and tire loss/grip. It's more of the collision/road texture thing. But there is so MUCH going on with it that it works better than circuit-racing games that have gone this route. As your car gets damaged you will lose performance, and you will get wheel shake (from mild too severe). Vehicle modeling includes "mass", which affects both collisions and the rate at which you take damage. Overall Midtown Madness looks like a very good effort and I've no doubt I will buy it the first day it is available. Joe

A P2333? Geez -- I'll never be able to afford this game! I can't even shell out the money for a new PIII 450, and now they're producing sims that will require a P2333? Count me out! <G> Just kidding, Joe -- thanks a LOT for the "preview," though. You've got me e***d now -- when's the release date??! -- JB

>Just kidding, Joe -- thanks a LOT for the "preview," though. You've >got me e***d now -- when's the release date??! I don't know ... i presume it's still at least a couple months off, though I could be wrong. Joe

Yes I was really impressed by the Dynamics of MMM (I also got the possibility to see and race it). The pedestrian and cars have a quite good AI for a beta. Sometimes they will just create accidents (too much IMHO). I mean sometimes Im sitting on a corner, red light.. and BOOM a crash happens in front of me and BOOM big pileup. It's fun to watch, but it could be tuned down. How often do you see a crash in real life ? Not each 5minutes, but who knows that's maybe how Chicago people driver LOL :) Yes It is ***ive. I like the***pit view, but with my drivers (old 2.53 I won't update until new ones are ok for GPL) I have polygon missing. The same goes for Viper Racing. So I race with the Bumper cam, who is still high from the ground. I don't like the widescreen view, it takes alot of FPS (opposite as getting a better FPS). Yes !!! Cursing over those AI is a sign that they are quite good 8) For those who don't know, there is 3types (ok 4) of racing. You have the first one (Blitz) who is you against the clock. It's very difficult when you go far into the list of races, because some of them are IMPOSSIBLE. A bug I hope. Heck you have 40seconds to go from point A to point B and it's impossible to do it under a minute with a car like a Mustang. Well, I will won the races, normally after a dozen and more attemps. The main problem is that some times weren't adjusted, so Im not able to go farter into the series (and unlock the last cars). There is also a bug in a race I try to beat, something about a bad loop, so I can't go further and unlock the time. I did all the races in Advanced and total physics, and some of them are impossible unless you unlock the last cars, but as you see Im stuck on a loop. Could you send me your player profile files ? They are little (under 50kb). I want to try the Police car and the old Mustang :) I agree the cops AI needs some tweaking. They are dumb :) I read in a preview that they had that idea. You would have the map. and choose your checkpoints to create a loop. I really hope they do such a thing, because there isn't many levels in the game (about 30). I haven't tried multiplayer, still. Well, I created some great pileups ;) I want a replay feature. The physics aren't that bad, but the game engine doesn't support seperate axis. They will configure but they won't work at the same time. It's a bummer. I like the physics, they are quite different for each car, BUT my main problem is that it suffers from what I call the "C:PR syndrom". It took me about 2hours to tweak the controls to suite a realistic racing. Dead Zones, linearity, etc.... It's not even perfect now. But wet racing is very well done, and I like the locking tyres and spinning tyres (I was impressed). Nice understeering and fun power-slides. Im not sure, I want more. I just feel that it has a very short lifespan, but still very ***ive. -- -- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard/Nas-Frank> -- NROS Nascar sanctioned Guide http://www.nros.com/ -- SimRacing Online http://www.simracing.com/ -- Official mentally retarded guy of r.a.s. -- May the Downforce be with you... "People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Run that midtown.exe with-allcars and you can race as any car Much more fun

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> > No complaints here. A bit slow frame-rate wise, but keep in mind that > > it's a beta, and this isn't Need For Speed - there's a LOT going on > > here (a whole city being rendered, heavy traffic, other AI drivers, > > pedestrians, various eye candy). It looks very good, though the > > weather graphics (rain and snow) have been done better. > Yes I was really impressed by the Dynamics of MMM (I also got the > possibility to see and race it). The pedestrian and cars have a quite

good > AI for a beta. Sometimes they will just create accidents (too much IMHO). > I mean sometimes Im sitting on a corner, red light.. and BOOM a crash > happens in front of me and BOOM big pileup. It's fun to watch, but it could

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> be tuned down. How often do you see a crash in real life ? Not each > 5minutes, but who knows that's maybe how Chicago people driver LOL :) > > Despite the occasional slowdown, there is an excellent sensation of > > speed in this game. There is a full complement of views, behind the > > car, bumper cam, and***pits (fairly realistic ones, customized for > > each car). I raced mainly in bumper cam because I can see more of > > what's in front of me that way (when just driving around I liked using > > the***pits). At times it very much reminds me of "The Blues > > Brothers" car chase scenes. > Yes It is ***ive. I like the***pit view, but with my drivers (old

2.53

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> I won't update until new ones are ok for GPL) I have polygon missing. The > same goes for Viper Racing. So I race with the Bumper cam, who is still > high from the ground. I don't like the widescreen view, it takes alot of > FPS (opposite as getting a better FPS). > > The racing is great fun, the best game since Need For Speed 1. Darting > > in and out of traffic, running red lights, accidents and [occasional] > > jumps - it just adds up to an adrenaline-packed experience. If you're > > like me, you will find yourself often cursing the other drivers (then > > laughing out loud at the joy of being so immersed in a computer game). > Yes !!! Cursing over those AI is a sign that they are quite good 8)

For

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> those who don't know, there is 3types (ok 4) of racing. You have the first > one (Blitz) who is you against the clock. It's very difficult when you go > far into the list of races, because some of them are IMPOSSIBLE. A bug I > hope. Heck you have 40seconds to go from point A to point B and it's > impossible to do it under a minute with a car like a Mustang. > > 1) It could use a skill level setting. I won most of the races I > > tried, with practice, but I could see some people getting frustrated > > with the difficulty of winning certain races. > Well, I will won the races, normally after a dozen and more attemps. The > main problem is that some times weren't adjusted, so Im not able to go > farter into the series (and unlock the last cars). There is also a bug in

a > race I try to beat, something about a bad loop, so I can't go further and > unlock the time. I did all the races in Advanced and total physics, and some > of them are impossible unless you unlock the last cars, but as you see Im > stuck on a loop. > Could you send me your player profile files ? They are little (under 50kb).

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> I want to try the Police car and the old Mustang :) > I agree the cops AI needs some tweaking. They are dumb :) > > One other gameplay comment: I hope they allow the game to be > > expandable by allowing users to create there own races (i.e., choose > > where checkpoints go. This would be easy for them to implement, would > > add almost unlimited replayability, and would even allow the creation > > of new kinds of races (e.g., no checkpoints, just a start and finish > > line, where you finds the best route). > I read in a preview that they had that idea. You would have the map. and > choose your checkpoints to create a loop. I really hope they do such a > thing, because there isn't many levels in the game (about 30). I haven't > tried multiplayer, still. > > I'm not sure it would be classified as a sim, but the driving/physics > > model is MUCH more realistic than on-rails dreck like NFS 2/3. You > > have oversteer and understeer, power sliding turns (but they are > > tricky), and a different feel to each vehicle. Again the closest game > > it reminds me off here is NFS 1. Good accidents, though not quite as > > realistic as NFS1. > Well, I created some great pileups ;) I want a replay feature. The > physics aren't that bad, but the game engine doesn't support seperate

axis. > They will configure but they won't work at the same time. It's a bummer. I > like the physics, they are quite different for each car, BUT my main problem > is that it suffers from what I call the "C:PR syndrom". It took me about > 2hours to tweak the controls to suite a realistic racing. Dead Zones, > linearity, etc.... It's not even perfect now. But wet racing is very well

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> done, and I like the locking tyres and spinning tyres (I was impressed). > Nice understeering and fun power-slides. > > Overall Midtown Madness looks like a very good effort and I've no > > doubt I will buy it the first day it is available. > Im not sure, I want more. I just feel that it has a very short lifespan, > but still very ***ive. > -- > -- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard/Nas-Frank> > -- NROS Nascar sanctioned Guide http://www.nros.com/ > -- SimRacing Online http://www.simracing.com/ > -- Official mentally retarded guy of r.a.s. > -- May the Downforce be with you... > "People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise > how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

>same goes for Viper Racing. So I race with the Bumper cam, who is still >high from the ground. One thiing I noticed they got right is scaling. For example, in the bus you are much higher up than when in the VW Beatle. I felt the same way, though could beat most of them with practice. Also, there's another feature to this type of race that I apparently missed - you can change the number of checkpoints, right down to having nothing but a start/finish line. Yeah, I had to use the sports coupe (can't remember what it's called) to complete many of them. It's fast but fragile - all crashes must be avoided. I don't have them but I'll ask my friend if he can email them to me. Ditto. I noticed that too. If they're smart they have already started work on "addon packs". With basically the same game engine they could create other maps (from real cities) and make a fortune. Joe

Nice Horn sounds.. And I was drooling when I heard that the Horn of the Police car made his lights flash ;-) Wow I forgot that.. hmm that's interesting you can have a very good numbers of challenge now.. The race I had problems is one where you start backwards (very bizarre) with two 12-wheelers and you need to go in the complex near the airport. There was a checkpoint that was positioned in a building. weird since it bugged after when the cops started chasing me. It happened to me in realistic mode (can only race those checkpoint race in arcade). I figure it's a beta, so it's ok for me. The Panoz ? It's nice, but I like the Cadillac. It's a sweet overall car. tough and nice handling. Oh yes and the pickup truck ;) That's ok nevermind. Somebody replied here that if you run with "-allcars" you can have them all :) That's what I was told. Im trying to crack the big 100+meg file of Chicago using a Hex Editor. There could be some neat add-ons (the building heights aren't that important). Manhattan, San Francisco, Miami, Montreal (it's an island so who knows ;-D ). -- -- Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard/Nas-Frank> -- NROS Nascar sanctioned Guide http://www.nros.com/ -- SimRacing Online http://www.simracing.com/ -- Official mentally retarded guy of r.a.s. -- May the Downforce be with you... "People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

>Wow I forgot that.. hmm that's interesting you can have a very good numbers >of challenge now.. The race I had problems is one where you start backwards >(very bizarre) with two 12-wheelers and you need to go in the complex near >the airport. There was a checkpoint that was positioned in a building. That one was a ***, the checkpoint was actually in the middle of the football field. Finally did beat it after many tries. Didn't drive the caddy much but the Mustang Fastback is nice. Fast with good powerturning. Montreal, yeah, that'd get people all right: "I can SEE the checkpoint, I just can't get to it from here." ;-) Joe