Steve Smith has been getting slammed for making a comment about "gameplay" in
another thread. Here in RAS we know Steve as the author of "Four Wheel Drift" a
highly entertaining and informative read that guides you into Grand Prix
Legends. I have been thinking about how gameplay is defined to me.
While reading the manual for DTR2 (you really need to check this one out) I
found information regarding a Career Mode:
"The heart of DTR2 lies within Career mode. In this mode you start off as an
amateur driver with limited funds. Your goal is to win the series and advance
though the car classes. To do this, you need to purchase a car, participate in
events from various series using prize money to upgrade and improve your
vehicle, later buying cars from different classes. Starting with Pro Stocks
you'll progress to Late Models until you race the fastest and most extreme cars
the game has to offer, the Concept Modifieds...".
That's what I would call "gameplay". But - what sold me first on this title was
how it "felt" from the cockpit. A moving POV and some drastically improved
graphics for this series sold me right away. I was pleasantly pleased to see
the added Career Mode so that I can bang up the AI without starting a virtual
fist fight in an on-line dirt track race - at least not right away ;P
Oh yeah - Steve, this ones available on PC :)
- Dave Cook
On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 21:16:34 GMT, "Dave Cook" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
> I was pleasantly pleased to see
>the added Career Mode so that I can bang up the AI without starting a virtual
>fist fight in an on-line dirt track race - at least not right away ;P
Er, Dave, I'm pretty sure even Powerslide had a career mode. =)
Jason
"Jason Moyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Yeah, but I wasn't impressed with early Ratbag graphics. They seemed to have
very few polygons and the tires looked like squares going around in circles.
This is the first one I've seen with a much better graphics engine - and the
cockpit moves around as well.
- Dave
Quoted text (10 lines)
> On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 21:16:34 GMT, "Dave Cook" <[email hidden]> > wrote: > > > I was pleasantly pleased to see > >the added Career Mode so that I can bang up the AI without starting a virtual > >fist fight in an on-line dirt track race - at least not right away ;P > > Er, Dave, I'm pretty sure even Powerslide had a career mode. =) > > Jason"Jason Moyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
OK, I understand now where you're coming from. I didn't mean to imply that the
Career Mode was "added" from previous Ratbag titles. I meant added compared to
other titles in general - Papy was on my mind when I wrote that. Not very
clearly worded I guess...
- Dave
Quoted text (10 lines)
> On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 21:16:34 GMT, "Dave Cook" <[email hidden]> > wrote: > > > I was pleasantly pleased to see > >the added Career Mode so that I can bang up the AI without starting a virtual > >fist fight in an on-line dirt track race - at least not right away ;P > > Er, Dave, I'm pretty sure even Powerslide had a career mode. =) > > JasonOn Tue, 15 Oct 2002 22:08:43 GMT, "Dave Cook" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
>Yeah, but I wasn't impressed with early Ratbag graphics. They seemed to have
>very few polygons and the tires looked like squares going around in circles.
>This is the first one I've seen with a much better graphics engine - and the
>cockpit moves around as well.
Yeah, DTR2 is a killer sim. Definitely the sleeper game of the
season.
Jason
On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 20:14:21 -0400, Dameon <[email hidden]>
wrote:
>One thing I don't like about the Ratbag graphics was/is the use of a
>very dark palette for the graphics. Is DTR2 like that too?
DTR2 has more realistic colors overall, less drab and possibly pushing
the cartoon side a tiny bit as far as being colorful goes. The cars
and trackside graphics are much more colorful. Obviously can't really
do much about the track surfaces themselves tho. =)
Jason
"Dave Cook" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<SA%q9.38449$[email hidden]>...
> That's what I would call "gameplay".
I can see a career mode being considered additional gameplay, in that
it's a game to play over and above the standard testing, quickrace and
season format.
It doesn't make a title inherently better, though. In fact I'd see it
as a hindrance if it forced you to go up the ladder in order to
compete in different categories (I hate that crap). To me, all that
matters is the racing experience, be it on or offline. For example,
if I want a Winston Cup sim, I wanna drive, not manage. I don't want
the mundane of trying to appease sponsors, etc. If I mess up in a
single race, I lose. If I crash during a championship season, it's
reflected in my points standings. Driving and racing in the most
immersive way possible on a mundane home PC is what I'm in this for.
Sure, I enjoy the novelty and eye candy of stuff like MSR, GT, or NFS,
but they're only ever mild diversions. I always find myself heading
back to the two or three quality sims that I own. That's what I call
gameplay - something that keeps me coming back after *years* of
ownership...
Mark
