Downloaded the demo this evening, gave it 2 hours of time (those of you who
read the previous post know why ;) and was very impressed indeed!
Some subjective observations:
1. No Intro movie in the demo ... who would care for such a thing anyway ?
The demo does allow plenty of options and graphics tweaking, the resolution
can go as high as your graphics card can support it (i ran it at 1600x1200
on my Voodoo3 3000)
2. Graphics are very detailed, very realistic and do certainly add a whole
lot more immersion than in every other racing game to date - we are indeed
approaching photorealism. Excellent use of real shadows, and nice lifelike
colors. The track featured in the demo is Monza - i've been there last year
for the F1 grand prix and it's looking very realistic.
Also the rider animations are really smooth looking.
3. The demo is not too easy, you have to practice quite a bit to beat the AI
at it's hardest level.
4. Controller configuration is easy to use and detailed enough - maybe not
as detailed as GP500s but it's more than enough for all but the most
experienced bike sim fanatic ..
5. Physics seem to be on a par with GP500, allowing all kinds of stunts ,
also the driving Aid system is very well thought out.
6. The new on-bike***pit views are superb
Judging from the demo, EA's effort seems to be more than just an equal to
GP500. It looks to be that this will be a positive surprise for the fans of
true racing simulations. Sorry for the mess with my previous posts and
there's no need to release a 2nd demo guys .. if some milestone employees
read this group ;-)
Alredy saving my cash for that one...
---
Alexander Marx
Yeah I'm quite enjoying this demo although I've only played it for a couple
of hours so far.
I am a little concerned at the physics - because of demo limitations you
can't get to the setup screen, but the rear tyre really seems to stick like
glue. What on earth do you have to do to get the Ducati to high-side? It's
also really difficult to get the bike to wheelie due to the auto-clutch they
seem to have used. I can do it, but it requires a concious attempt messing
around between 1st and 2nd gears. Has anybody power-wheelied the bike out
of the corners during the course of a fast lap?
Also, the riders seem a bit scared to get their knees down - maybe in case
they catch them on the curbing, I don't know... so that looks a little
strange on the corners where there is no curbing.
All this is with all the demo settings maxed out and all the rider assist
functions turned off in the menus.
One positive comment is that the graphics are excellent, and the crash
physics look good as well (ouch!)
Oh I almost forgot... there are no look left / right functions.....
arrrrgggghhhhhh!
Mike.
