10 things I love about Pulse

[Dogg Thang]

Thought there needs to be a bit of a balance here so here are my top ten favourite things in Pulse in no particular order -

1 - Skin Editor. Wonderful feature. I have spent almost as much on this as I have actually playing the game. I love it.

2 - Removal of Vector, the Driving Miss Daisy class.

3 - Bringing Zone back to the actual tracks. The Zone tracks in Pure were good because they were smooth and designed for the mode but the challenge of running the real tracks is where it's at.

4 - Goteki. In general, the ship design is all fanastic but I adore the current look of the Goteki. The colours are great.

5 - The reduction of performance difference in the ships. This, to me, makes it a little more fun to chop and change. Actually, just change. Not sure what the chop bit even means there.

6 - Bye bye Disruptor! May you never darken our WO doors again.

7 - Moa Therma. I love the track design in Pulse. Most of the tracks I think are great. Moa Therma stands out to me though because it seems to have everything - a great look, great implementation of mag strips and a smooth yet fun race. On top of all that, it works really well both ways.

8 - Mag strips: the contraversy of the Fusion feel. I think this could have been awful. I was so nervous when I heard about this. But they have been brought in sparingly and, importantly, where they'll have most effect. Splitting the strip in De Konstruct Black is brilliant.

9 - Infrastructure. No more explanation needed.

10 - The soundtrack. To me, it has much more identity than Pure's soundtrack. It feels unique, suits WO and yet without clinging to the past. The ability to add your own tracks is the icing on a great cake.

[infoxicated]

Ship handling - the ships are well balanced, and the handling suits the traditional characteristics of each team without sacrificing parity. It's the best WipEout game for this aspect without question. Well done Col :+
The environments, while not as varied as Pure, feel alive. Blue Ridge in Pure looked beautiful, but felt sterile and static. With the animation and the attention to detail in Pulse it lends so much to the atmosphere.
Custom soundtracks. This addition is superb - I love having classic WipEout music playing when I'm racing, along with few choice tracks of my own personal preference.
Audio - the front end music and the in-game environmental & sound effects are brilliant. Turbo activation and bomb explosion sounds deserve special mention.
The race campaign progression. Although I've found most of the events a bit easy on medium, it has forced me to play alternate versions of tracks outside of my comfort zone. Plus it also means I don't have to play events I don't like in order to progress - I can skip all that zone mode nonsense and just get on with it! ;)
Mag-Strips & track design - the Mag-Strips add a new dimension to the tracks (literally, in some cases!), and they've reduced the barrel roll opportunities, so tracks with funky altitude changes don't become barrel roll festivals. The track designs in general are of a high standard - they make good race tracks, which is the most important aspect. Well done Col & Karl!
Ship design - all of them are great and come across as evolutions of the FX300 League equivalents. I'm a huge fan of the EG-X, which I didn't like when I first saw it, but it works so well in game and looks like a traditional WipEout ship that I use it all the time. Goteki is ace, too. Well done Egg. :+
Ship Skinning - I was a bit skeptical about this idea initially, but then the first couple of days I had the game I ended up spending hours tinkering with ship designs, and seeing some of the stuff that people are creating is just mind blowing. What a fantastic addition to create user generated content and stir up discussion in the community. 8)
Eliminator mode - I loved this in WipEout 3 and it's great to see it make a return.
Infrastructure mode - this is superb - I could never be bothered with the hassle of acquiring the necessary hardware to make use of Xlink kai, so the seamlessness of online play in Pulse is just so cool. Well done network play team! :+
The web based profile uploading is brilliant. I cant take any credit for that part of the official site, as it was Nico the server-side guy that got it all working.


Oooh. That's eleven! :D

[Chrono]

1. Zone mode- it's perfect, everyone agrees, this is the way to do it. I love racing the tracks I normally are in, on Zone. Zone still keeps its distinctive feel, while still giving us the track. Awesome

2. Infrastructure- ...friggen awesome

3. Loyalty Points- I think this is the begining to something that can and should be expanded on in the future, whether it's Pulse's future, or in another game. I'd like to see more done with them, because they are so fun to collect.

4. Tracks- I love Pulse's tracks, much much more than Pure. Pure's tracks felt more compact and crunched together, where in Pulse, even the shortest tracks (Vertica, Basilica) don't feel cramped. The tracks themselves have more character, and I think mag strips do a lot to help that. Also, the tracks are really beautiful to look at, providing an amazing sense of atmosphere.

5. Mag Strips- I like them, quite a bit. They make boosting less impulsive and barrel rolls more tactical. Mag strips also give tracks a signature feature, like a large looping inversion or and vertical drop.

6. Skin Editor- The online editor is more than enough to let most people doodle on their ships, but the ability to copy the template, well thank you so much for that. Allowing the community to actively design the ships they spend so much time with, and develop strong bonds for, is an excellent way to make your player swoon. I know I am.

7. Rankings- When I'm not online, I'm in the grids (though not for long), and when I'm not there, I'm trying to smoke peoples times online. As long as the rankings stay legit, I think I'll be playing Pulse for awhile, trying to get my times as fast as possible. Ahh online self esteem is a beautiful thing.

8. Photo mode- this feels like something that we didn't ask for or need, but we got it, and now we love it. Though I have crashed once or so in photo mode, it's still something I like. You can create some really beautiful images with it as well, and as a photographer, it's become more like Pokemon Snap than a racing game =P

9. Music- as always rocks, and oh yea, you can import your own. This feature should be included in every game, but it's not, so hats off. Way to get it right.

10. Statistics- The stat page is one of the most entertaining things to read, period. Usually I take a look at it on my way out of the racebox or before I go online. It's good to know when I'm on my death bed, thinking about what I did with my life, I'll know exactly how much of my life was spent looking at the WipEout Pulse stat page. That'll be a sad moment.

Now this final thing I'll talk about isn't something I love just yet, however, I see alot of potential in it.
10 1/2. Custom Grids- This is the future. A couple months from now, when the first pack has come and gone, everyone has finished off the regular campaign, and online racing needs a break, we'll all be looking for a challenge. Enter Custom Grids. I'm sure the wipeoutzone community will find itself constructing the most diabolical grids known to man in a matter of months. Now think about if we could place our own speed pads on a race...think about the immense racing replayablity there.

[Colin Berry]

Custom soundtracks. This addition is superb - I love having classic WipEout music playing when I'm racing, along with few choice tracks of my own personal preference.

Queen per chance ?

(laughs and runs)

[zargz]

1. I love the leech weapon. not for the leeching itself - it's like the drain from wo3
and doesn't make sucha big damage, 10% ??
what i love about it is the way it hands your @$$ to you! :D
and that my friends, is the way the modern version of the classic wo1 Disruptor should feel!
not like the messy abomination of pure ..
here it is simply perfect! the long forlorn son finally found his way home!
for next wipEout I'd sugest you make it a missile weapon and call it Disruptor 8)
luv the leech!

2. grafix - smooth!

3. steering/gameplay - smooth.

4. design/menues - smooth.

5. autopilot don't pick up other weapon while engaged - great!
after all it is a weapon engaged. you don't pick up weapons while using the cannon, leech or mines right? ;)

6. infrastructure - simply the Best!


yah, there's more .. just need to remember what it was ..

[swift killer]

I think anything I could have said has been said already but here goes, ill keep things to a minimum;

1 - the graphic design (menus and logos etc.)

2 - the ships

3 - the ship handling physics

4 - the magstrip sections

5 - the weapons animations and sounds

6 - the website

7 - the improved AI

8 - the skin editor

9 - the soundtrack (standard!)

10 - infrastructure

[jacen]

1) the improved gfx engine. rock stable fps in zen zoning ... amazing
2) black & white ... interesting idea to not just reverse them
3) pack AI ... so much more action on medium and hard now
4) grid campaign ... much more diverse than just running through one tourney after another
5) soundtrack ... omg x-project pumps up my heartbeat everytime
6) infrastructure
7) online leaderboards
8) the new hud
9) the new statistics
10) the new intro ... i know it's a cheesy reason, but i really dig it.

[Fascia]

Queen per chance ?

(laughs and runs)

Hey! What's wrong with Queen?

[infoxicated]

*sigh*

I'm trying to go all of 2007 without hearing Bohiemian Rhapsody. It's been tough - this morning it came on the radio and I had to stick my fingers in my ears and get help to turn it off. Close one!

Anyhow, lets not drag this off topic. ;)

[Chrono]

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango-
Thunderbolt and lightning-very very frightening me-
Galileo,galileo,
Galileo galileo
Galileo figaro-magnifico-
But Im just a poor boy and nobody loves me-
Hes just a poor boy from a poor family-
Spare him his life from this monstrosity-

I couldn't resist. I'm sorry

[Lance]

Queen per chance ?

(laughs and runs)

'Ogre Battle' from Queen II. Great track.

[zargz]

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen - great game :o!!

--------------------------


7. the mines and bombs
a) can be blown away with a quake or missiles/rockets!
b) damage your ship as well
c) don't stay till the next lap

that's just Awesome :D:+
.

[Lance]

}offtopic> Yes, March of the Black Queen is great also.

}back ontopic>

[Asayyeah]

7. the mines and bombs
(...)
c) don't stay till the next lap

wrong Pavel, they don't stay till YOUR next lap but you can be hit by a bomb from someone else who is slower than you and who spotted it the lap before.
And that craps cause when that bomb exploses close to your ship this one is damaged and slows down due to it.

damn i am completely inverting the threads ( into the 'hate' topic i put some positives and now in the 'love' thread i put some 'negatives' ... :D

i ll give you my 10 'luv' points damora ( huh! i am copying zargy :paperbag )

[zargz]

http://geocities.com/zargz/leenden/lol.gif but I think that's okay!

just hours ago I lapped someone for the 1st time
just before the start of the last lap on the line there was a bomb :eek aw! Boom!
right into it I went and veery surprised but some seconds after when I passed him/her
I thought it was ok coz the guy had just deployed it ;)

[Stardragon88]

1) Custom playlist! It's nice to be able to add some of my favourite tracks from Pure.

2) Mag-strips. They make for some interesting tracks, the vertical section in Metropia Black comes to mind.

3) Infrastructure mode, don't think this one needs explaining!

4) The online ranking site, it's nice to see how you match up compared to the rest of the world.

5) Ship skin editor.

6) Loyalty points.

7) No more Vector class

8 ) I really like how you can see your speed class in Zone mode, and naming the one after 'Super Phantom', 'Zen' was really fitting. :p

9) No more disruptor bolt

10) The EG-X concept ship! It looks really pleasing from the back when you're racing with it, whoever designed it deserves a cookie. :)

[BARTgai]

heh, i have yet to unlock any concept ships


anyways...

1. It is so friggin smooth! Everything in the game is, the tracks, ships...everything!
2. Leech Beam, that thing is soooo cool
3. the new ships, way better designs than pure :)
4. Online, i played a few matches, had a wonderful time
5. skin editor, i've always wanted to add my own touch :p
6. the music owns lol, and i can add my own
7. The new female voice, pure's was waaay too annoying
8. Race Campaign, way better than pure's, if pure even really had one...
9. Zone mode, very nice :clap i even got to zen a few times lol
10. loyalty points and unlocks, motivates me to finish each event in the grid on hard :g

11. (oops too many lol) the AI is way better. when i drop a bomb and look back, the computer will avoid it and not just fly into it because it is on its AI path

[zargz]

8. Gotta luv the force shield around the track - no more cheezy shortcuts!:D:+

[G'Kyl]

Yet less realism as well. ;) I like the way the wall keeps you racing when drifting off course, but then falling off the track has always been so WipEout... Plus, I can't shake the feeling that SOMEtimes taking a shortcut over the wall at the apex of a turn makes you go faster. If that was true, I wouldn't be a fan of the fact. Maybe hitting the force wall (forgot what the manual calls it) should slow you down just a bit more in future incarnations.

Ben

[Sausehuhn]

I think it even does not make any damage to your ship - that's a bit strange.
Though, I just love the effect when something is hitting these invisible walls. That also adds more realism to it, as weapons won't hit any buildings (or spectators!) anymore. Can't wait to see that in WOHD. This time in blue, please ;)

[zargz]

Yet less realism as well. ;) I like the way the wall keeps you racing when drifting off course, but then falling off the track has always been so WipEout... Plus, I can't shake the feeling that SOMEtimes taking a shortcut over the wall at the apex of a turn makes you go faster. If that was true, I wouldn't be a fan of the fact. Maybe hitting the force wall (forgot what the manual calls it) should slow you down just a bit more in future incarnations.

Ben

disagree about the realism. since there is on FIA comitte or NASCAR officials to penalise a possible ofender of the rules this is a good solution. besides there's a good reason for them - to protect the crowds and the surrounding buildings and nature from the powerful weapons. also a forcefield is more belivable to me than a magic teleportation to the spot where you got of the track ;)

as for the falling off the tracks you still got it where it 'belongs' bridges at tech de ra and arc prime :D
actually I really like the hardcore approach of the old 8 or 16 bit, don't remember, f-zero games. get of track - Boom!
Big explotion. next race or Game Over. :+

cutting the appex .. well I'm not that skilled yet to even try such a thing and as you know I do my best to stick2trax :p

[Dogg Thang]

What I love about the force wall thing is that it is such an easy solution to an old WO dev problem - how do we stop ships flying off track without walling everything in? Invisibles walls are a no-no in most games these days as they feel contrived and really make you aware you're in a game world but it makes sense for WO to have safety features and energy walls were established in WO3. So all that was needed was a one-line addition to the manual. Problem solved!

[G'Kyl]

cutting the appex .. well I'm not that skilled yet to even try such a thing and as you know I do my best to stick2trax :p

Same here! :) BUT: Is "running up on" the wall really leaving the track? The track, mind you, ends at the new force wall, and honestly, in Pulse I'll submit any record lap or race that include an accidental or deliberate landing on a wall.

[zargz]

oh I see. I thought you ment some how fly trough :eek the walls a little bit!

:D

[miufs]

Well i love everything in Pulse. Im still amazed by it...

But here´s one more thing that no one talked about yet:

I love the box-art! One of the prettiest covers i ever saw in a game. That scheme colors is just perfect.

Pitty Feisar is not on the cover. It would make a perfect pair with Qirex, just like in 2097... ;)

How is the cover in the US? Havent seen it yet... :s

[Lance]

The 'force-field' spectator protection wall is a great parallel for the present-day spectator protection fences and Armco barriers in auto-racing. And it can be used to eliminate spawning, wuss wagons, and any other such annoyances. The wuss-wagons of the older games always really annoyed me and it was hard to see how they could possibly even work, considering the nature of physics, of acceleration. The force-field wall at least would feel more realistic and believable than respawns or wusswagons.

[FutureKubik]

Hi Guys! This is my first post! I'd just like to say how awesome it is that people involved with the game's development post here. It has been a very interesting read!

Things I love about the latest game (not in any specific order):

1. The ability to use your own MP3 files for in-game music. This has allowed me to import and play the game to lots of tracks from various electronic artists whose work I always felt should be a WO game. Very cool.

2. The black/white runs for the tracks. In past games, on tracks where possible, I would deliberately play them backwards to get a better feel for their layout, as well as take in little scenery niceties that I may have missed during a lap in the normal direction. Having this incorporated into Pulse is a masterstroke, particularly on tracks that incorporate differing routes such as Amphiseum and De Konstruct. It could have easily been a cynical attempt to increase the number of tracks printed on the back of the case.

3. Reduced barrel roll opportunities. I'd lost count of how many time trials I'd fluff during Pure simply because my PSP analogue nub chose that particular moment to become unresponsive. This way in Pulse, it is less of a worry/bother and I can feel as if my attempts to 'find the line of best fit' on a track are more honest.

4. The track names/introductions. The place names sound much cooler than the tracks in Pure, and the introductions add an extra layer of verisimilitude to the WO 'universe' that was lacking in Pure, even if they grate after a while/can't be deactivated.

5. The licensed tracks. I was chuffed to hear Aphex Twin's 'Fenix Funk', I've liked that track for a long time and it would have been a track I included on the MP3 import list had it not already been there! Another instant favorite is Kraftwerk's 'Aero Dynamik' track. The music feels much more in touch with the general feel of the increased level of technologically dark/neon track environments.

6. The graphics. It's a much smoother ride this time, it really is the best looking game on PSP. None of the graininess and jaggies that occasionally blighted Pure. I was especially impressed with the electricity that sprouts between ships during an energy drain.

7. The single player Grid system. I was a little apprehensive of it at first, initially preferring the old style tournament route for unlocking new tracks. However, I quickly began to understand the reasoning behind the decision to do it this way, as whilst appearing over-structured, it actually opens up a much higher degree of freedom in tackling/unlocking the game in your own way.

8. The nice touches. Things like the 'ear ringing' noise if a bomb goes off next to you, all the traffic in the air in the distance when on a city/urban based track, the incremental pixel-sized movements the audiences in the stalls make gives them a more realistic appearance, that and their flash photography. The green protector-shield around the track adds to the feeling that the places are real and have their safety regulations like any other sport. The rain on the PSP screen when you go around Fort Gale.

They're the most I can think of for now, I may add more later if I notice any more!

[Rapier Racer]

The 'force-field' spectator protection wall is a great parallel for the present-day spectator protection fences and Armco barriers in auto-racing. And it can be used to eliminate spawning

I'm afraid Pulse doesn't work like that, it is still full of all sorts of random miles back up the track re-spawning crap, if you impact some walls hard enough for example, instead of dead stopping it's back you go! Away off the last re-spawn point!

[Dogg Thang]

There are a few holes in the shield that are bizarrely random. There's one in the turn in Vertica that seems like if you just touch the wall you'll get teleported back.

[zargz]

..if you impact some walls hard enough for example, instead of dead stopping it's back you go! Away off the last re-spawn point!


..There's one in the turn in Vertica that seems like if you just touch the wall you'll get teleported back.so follow this advice, boys! :g

http://www.matton.se/bilder/jpg/if_if79372.html/sok-akta

[Dogg Thang]

I try! Honest! The wall just draws me in. It's calling me... must... hit...wall...

[Mad-Ice]

I am still trying to complete the game and I don't have enough time spent in the game to give my full opinion on the game. However there are a few things that I really like in Pulse:

1. The way the airbrakes and sideshifts work compared to Pure's. Now I really feel a difference between them. In Pure you just have to hit sideshift a lot and airbrakes were only handy is some occasions. Now you really need airbrakes to make a nice floathy turn in Pulse and only sometimes sideshift to correct the racingline. This is how it supposed to work for me.

2. The ships are really well balanced and it will take us very long to find out which ship is best for which track and for which speedleague.

3. Infrastructure is just awesome.

4. I will come back to this one and hopefully more.

[Lance]

I'm afraid Pulse doesn't work like that, it is still full of all sorts of random miles back up the track re-spawning crap, if you impact some walls hard enough for example, instead of dead stopping it's back you go! Away off the last re-spawn point!

Well... ****.

[Hacker X]

I'm really enjoying the game so far, and thanks for making this thread btw.

My top favorite things so far are:

1. CUSTOM SOUNDTRACKS! This is definately my favorite WO addition so far to Pulse.

2. I really love the menu layout and menu music. It fits the WO theme perfectly. Futuristic, but not over the top.

3. Smoother framerates.

4. Accurate ship speed AI now. WO has always had a specific "rubberband-like" AI that lets you be in a certain place each lap. By the lap, you could have 1st place and hold it due to the AI being programmed that way. Now, the AI fights for 1st all the way til the end, making the races feel like your racing other players rather than the computer.

5. Racebox is a very good addition for customizing your own WO races.

6. The Campaign progression is very cool. Before I would selectively go through Race, Time Trial, etc, now I'm forcing myself to do all the different combinations of races in a grid before I move on. That helps me to play each type of race and get experience at each.

7. Wipeout-game.com, and the ability to sync your profile for race stats. This is making for the ultimate Wipeout experience among the extremely competetive fans.

8. Infrastructure mode is freaking awesome. Now we have a legit online Wipeout for the first time. Amazing, and plays well. I just hope that they can deal with cheating eventually.

9. Custome Skins. That is a very cool feature, and adds a lot to Wipeout.

10. Downloadable content. Pure's was amazing, and I'm sure Pulse's will be too.

11. BEST WIPEOUT EVAR! :)

[Chrono]

2. The ships are really well balanced and it will take us very long to find out which ship is best for which track and for which speedleague.

I find this incredibly true. My goto ship has changed several times and I'm refining what to race on what class.

[zargz]

...
5. autopilot don't pick up other weapon while engaged - great!
after all it is a weapon engaged. you don't pick up weapons while using the cannon, leech or mines right? ;)
..have to add to the AP that you can not BS .. sorry .. BR while it's on!

Luv it!:+

[Sausehuhn]

In addition to that: you can deactivate it again (you couldn't in Pure).

[Medusa]

1. I love the darker vibe of Pulse. It still feels a bit cartoonish like Pure, but the cities seem a lot more realistic.

2. The infrastructure mode!! Even with its funny little bugs. Finally I don't have to turn on the PC to play online.

3. Platinum Rush White!!! Oh my goodness I love this track. It feels like a real honest-to-goodness WO1 track (until you start barrel rolling, :blarg)! AWESOME!! Nice high track walls and wicked corners with altitude changes chucked in!! I might hate it once I graduate to rapier but man, it's an incredible track!!

4. Custom soundtracks. Maybe the game is verrrry different from my favourites but at least I can go back in time by racing to the WO1, XL, and W3O soundtracks!

5. Photo mode. Feeding the Narcissus in all of us.

6. The even ships. Nothing makes a better game than fairplay, and this sure helps a lot!!

I'm sure I could get ten if I took enough time but they've already been mentioned. Great job SL! Only a few things left before perfection;)

[phl0w]

I might hate it once I graduate to rapier but manand even more so once you race it on Phantom...


Nice high track wallsThat's actually a point that annoys me since Pure. What's happened to the narrow tracks with high walls from wo1-3, I wonder? Everything seemed much tighter and narrower. I guess the illusion was created from a TV's 4:3 ratio, while the PSP's 16:9 display is responsible for the tracks' appearing wider and the walls lower altogether. Also, that's why Pure's and Pulse's Phantom speed appears to be so slow compared to 2097 and 3.

[Sausehuhn]

I guess it has something to do with the camera's perspective.
When you go in photomode the whole track looks completely different. Much wider and the ship looks a lot smaller. Then, when you acutally play the the game the ships look comparatively huge and the track smaller. It's confusing.

[guillaume]

Allright, it's time for some WipEout lovin'!! :D
This thread had left the first page for too long, hehe
As I said here (http://wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4384&p=81085), I don't know all the aspects of Pulse yet, but I can still think of some things to list in this thread.

1. Playing Phantom! I just raced it for the first time in Pulse (Talon's Junction White in Grid 13). Blew up the first time, won the race the second time, and it instantly made me feel like writing this post :g

2. Zone mode. I love the fact that all tracks are available in Zone mode. I like the design of them, feels pure and cartoonish. And as someone said on these forums (can't remember who though), it is indeed very nice to discover at which speeds you'll fly when you reach Phantom. Whoever came up with this idea is a good man and will go to WipEout heaven.
I can't remember which track it was but the other day, playing Zone made me feel like I was skiing. It was just great. I'd say it was one the tracks whose Zone counterpart is mainly white, which is very surprising. :)

3. The music. I am actually surprised to like it, because I don't listen to this kind of music, but it feels right with the game. Sometimes I'm fighting the AI trying to pass'em all b*stards :pirate, concentrated as much as I can, forgetting all about the music, and when (and if) I succeed, then I realize I'm moving my head like crazy :rock, now paying all attention to the music and really enjoying it

4. The cartoonish graphics. It seems to me that it wasn't very appreciated by many people here, but I remember when I saw the first official video of Pulse, that's the first thing I liked. I loved the Omega pack, btw :)

5. I like the menu very much. I like the 3D ways in it. I like the grids' idea. There's always some symmetry to play with in them. I like the loyalty points, because it gives me a reason to play all ships to 100000. I like the stats bar. Because I like stats, because I like numbers. So Thank you SL for thinking about us numbers' weirdos :g

Considering I'm starting to talk sh*te, I believe it's time to stop here! Thank you SL for this game, I'm gonna play it for a loooooong time!!

...

What time is it now?
WTF!!
Break time is over and I only raced one track...
Damned forum. :g


EDIT: It couldn't be helped, I had to race another track :p
Arc Prime TT, I went over the right edge on the open section, and I thought "****."
But I tried and pushed my ship to the left as much as possible, and actually went back on track! Such a nice feeling!!

That's it, really. A 6th point to the list :)

[Mobius]

I am slightly concerned about how the hate thread is significantly longer than the love thread... :|

[Animagic]

1- the darker tone of the game. Pure was a little too sterile and apple-esque. I appreciate the little bit of added grim-ness :D

2- I love the track designs and the multiple routes... I bet it was very hard for the team to narrow the track selection down to the ones on the UMD...
The environments are a great improvement over pure. The track layouts remind me of the Delta tracks from Pure, which are some of the best in the game.

3- Ship design tool. such a cool feature... I mean, seriously awesome.

4- infrastructure mode. I've never played multiplayer wipeout that
didn't have a splitscreen on it or two PS1's hooked together.
8 player racing is amazing!!!

5- ship handling. I feel like I have much more control of my ship now.

6- no disruptor bolt.

7- mag strip sections. What can I say, it's like how Fusion should have treated their loops and vert sections rather than having the ships stick 100% of the time. WONDERFUL!

Yeah I know it's only 7. Granted, I've only got 7 or so hours into the game but these are the ones that stand out right now. After some more in-depth play sessions I'll edit my post and finish my top ten!

[MarcoM]

I am slightly concerned about how the hate thread is significantly longer than the love thread... :|

That is because this is internet with low threshold to say BOOOO about everything.

On the other side, I hope the negative thread is being read by SL and appropiate actions are taken to produce WO love.

[Sausehuhn]

I am slightly concerned about how the hate thread is significantly longer than the love thread... :|

It's as always: you see the negative things faster than the positives, cause you take postives for granted very fast. And I think "hate" is probably a harsh word. I just used it because it was inspired by the Fusion thread ;)

Anyway, here's my list:

01. EG.X
Hah! Thanks for bringing that back, people! Sadly no "pure" EG.r, but I can live with a EG.X very well :D Also good work with the ship design.

02. ONLINE MODE
Haven't played it very much yet because of my bad WLAN connection here in my room, but I did it a few times and it's really entertaining. Shame there aren't many people online; they really miss some good races there! Especially with the custom leagues and stuff.

03. MAG LOCK
Nice addition to the game. I do not like every part where it's used, but it led to a few very nice layouts. Vertica is just amazing. Phantom full speed over the hills and - bam - down the drop. That's just amazingly fast and fun!

04. CUSTOMIZATION
Customizable skins, additional ship models, own music - that's the way to go! Very nice that is :)

05. THE GRID SYSTEM
Finally a "career" mode. Very well done. Also the possibility to do your own grids and share them. Me likes!

06. DIFFICULTY LEVEL
I remember that being mentioned as an idea at the 2007's Amsterdam WipEout Convention. I have no clue if it was already in the game at that point or if Studio Liverpool chose to add it after Clarko wrote down a few ideas we had. Anyway: Very good.

07. DESIGN ELEMENTS
Though I like Pure's style more, Pulse has a few very nice enhenced design elements. The weapon and speed pads look far better than Pure's and the additional thrusters that light up after a turbo or a speed pad combined with the carefully used motion blur give you that little extra. I could mention a few other things such as the flashing laps of the ships, the transperent cockpits or glowing/transparent track parts at Talons Junction and even more.

08. THE ECS (Entertainment Confinement System)
Yes I looked that up in the manual ;) It's the shield around the track. That really is something I was looking forward to, as it adds a lot of realism to the game (at least to me). The collision effect is also really nice - though I don't understand why you don't lose any shields when you scratch it.

09. WEBSITE
It's nice that the game doens't end with the UMD but goes further. Online tables and skin customization is very nice too see. It's great to see an online community besides the WOZ

10. USABILITY
There are probably a few more points I could mention, but that's one that came to my mind just a second ago. I almost forgot it (remember what I was saying about taking positives for granted?). The usability really is a cut above Pure's. No more scrolling down again and again to take the last ship in the list. You just go up and you have the last item of the list. And the game remebers where you selected what the last time. Now I don't have to take my favorite ship after a lot of scrolling, but I just have to press X and have it selected. You go faster through the menus and that's really a benefit. The usablitiy of the menus (no matter if you like the design or not) is really far better than Pure's.


So that is my list. There are a few more things I guess. It's just like you forget so fast what's really so good with that game. Pulse is a very good piece of software indeed. I put my thumbs up for Studio Liverpool :)

[tapioca]

After more than 50 hours of gameplay, i think it's time for the Love/Hate thing. Here we go

1 - ship handling, team balance and loyalty points : this is the first time i've been trying all the ships according to the track. I've tried to get back to Pure and this is a major enhancement
2 - infrastructure mode, records and stats : the game lacks a few features online but we're in the Love thread
3 - the grid system and difficulty level: really helped me get into the game and feel at ease even on phantom, what is completely new for me
4 - custom playlist : really nice point for music addicts
5 - the skin editor : lacks features but i've seen plenty of great designs here - i'd really love to find time to get into it but i've already too much work as a graphic designer for a living
6 - the new game modes : Speed Lap first, and i've never been a Time Trialer before Pulse…
7 - the overall design : tracks / ships / menus
8 - downloadable content : but free of charge or bugfree at least would be nice ! thanks. The tracks are some of the best and i really dig the Icaras concept
9 - zone mode on actual tracks : perfect to learn the track layout and as a preview to the higher speed classes
10 - the new interactive HUD : would be perfect with the proximity indicator from HD

Time for the Hate thread now…