Codemaster's Race Driver

[infoxicated]

I'd been anticipating this game for some time, and although I'd been deterred by playing a very poor early version a few months ago I picked it up last Friday when it was released.

So far I have to say I'm pretty disappointed.

For a start, what can be more demotivating than to play a character who is a total asshole. He doesn't just "have issues" - the behaviour of the lead character in the cut scenes just makes you want to hit the eject button, not take control of his destiny as a race driver.

Because of this I've been ignoring the "story line" pretty much - the characters are so one dimensional that it would be hard to achieve the same effect in a comic book. Add to this some suspect voice acting and it's just a wonder why they bothered with this instead of concentrating on making a decent racing game.

It's not as revolutionary as they might think it is and other than the clever front end, the cut scenes are nothing more than a distraction.

I cannot understand how developers fail time and time again to grasp what makes a decent racing game. Lovely graphics in GT3 were all very well, but it had the most awful AI for a full price game. At the other end of the scale there's Rumble Racing - with AI that will fight you tooth and nail, but graphics that are PS1 and a half graphics rather than next gen, plus it has all the other arcadey pick-ups that aren't much to do with racing.

Why is it so darn difficult to produce a game with decent graphics, decent AI and none of the trappings of arcade style pick ups and gimicks?

What is wrong with producing a serious race game, with all of the good things and none of the bollocks that seems to get thrown in by misguided designers who seem to think that because the human player is behind on lap one, his car should be able to go ten miles an hour faster down the straight than it would under normal conditions?

Race Driver does the above and it does it badly.

If a race is going to be too tough, just hang back a little and in no time at all you'll have a virtual NOS kit kicking in at the start of the straight.

And as if that didn't suck enough, drive cleanly, precisely and carefully for three laps only to wonder why it seems that your car is lacking a few horsepower, while the AI car you'd left half a lap behind by driving skilfully has caught up with it's own virtual NOS kit and ends up nudging you off the track.

Why did Codemasters do this? I just don't get it - it makes absolutely no sense to me.

Add to this the fact that the AI cars handle as if on rails around an oval circuit, while your car has to powerslide around every corner and it completely ruins what could have been a great game.

I don't know if I'll finish the game - if I find the receipt I'll go and ask Game for an exchange... trouble is, what else is out at the moment worth getting?

All I can say in summary is that I'm now looking forward more than ever to F1 2002. I've played some early versions of that and it delivers a very decent racing game thus far - without cheating AI and all of the other stuff that should have been cut from Race driver during the two months it was delayed.

[Lance]

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Rob said: ''And as if that didn't suck enough, drive cleanly, precisely and carefully for three laps only to wonder why it seems that your car is lacking a few horsepower, while the AI car you'd left half a lap behind by driving skilfully has caught up with it's own virtual NOS kit and ends up nudging you off the track''

remember the horrible Test Drive 5 [the worst game i've owned]? same stupid mechanics. don't the publishers ever learn? surely the designers know better and are being pressured by the publishers?
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[AmishRobot]

I don't think there's anything wrong with a catch-up feature, as long as it's done with some subtlety. But in any sort of serious (read: not a wacky kart-racing game) it should most definitely be an option.

I also don't understand this trend with putting elaborate stories and cut scenes in racing games. (no offense nick, I just don't get it!) Road Rash 2 had as extensive a story as any racing game should have.

"There's the finish line. People are in your way. Beat them up!!"
:wink:

[Wiseman]

Well, the CPU end of it is called "rubberband AI", and I can't stand it either.

A lot of racing games use this nowdays (yes, even Wipeout Fusion has it, I know because I've played around with the CPU racers quite extensively "testing" them for it).

Although the worst rubberband AI I have ever seen would have to be in the latest Test Drive game for the PS2 and X-Box. OMG, it's so blatant, they didn't even make an effort to hide it, it puts the other TD games to shame it's so bad. :lol

One more reason to stick with the Need For Speed games instead.

Anyway, developers "claim" they do it to try to make the game fair to all players of all skill levels, but I think it's just a totally incompetent way out. There are plenty of other methods to achieve the same goal.

[infoxicated]

I've watched the AI cars in F1 2002 "learning" a track - pretty awesome stuff for a game. This is why I'm looking forward to it arriving - after seeing the virtual Michael Schumacker drive around Monaco, gradually bringing the lap times down, then outbreaking himself as he finds the limits of the track, I'm pretty sure it'll make for a good race without the need for other human players. :)

[AmishRobot]

Yeah, but did the virtual Michael Schumacker send his teammate to the pit lane when he realized he was doing a better job? Now that's realism!

[infoxicated]

I'll need to check if that's in there ;)

[Sven]

I don't know if I'll finish the game - if I find the receipt I'll go and ask Game for an exchange... trouble is, what else is out at the moment worth getting?

Well, I'm not exactly sure what's available to you in England, but there is a huge amout of PS2 merchandise to be had over here in the States.

[lunar]

I think I`m a bit disapointed with race driver too. it seems to lack excitement, really. It just seems to be a procession of fairly predictable races in between activating scenes from a dire channel 5 movie without the saucy bits. Gameplay-wise, I don`t think its bad as such, I`m just hoping it`ll get better.

I seem to spend more time setting up and testing the car than actually racing, because the seasons are so short and you have to keep changing teams/cars all the time.

In TOCA2 at least you had your car for 20 odd races, repeating each track several times, so all the time spent on setup seemed worthwhile. And the AI was sublime compared to Race Driver, Wiipeout Fusion or any Gran Turismo version. Toca 2 was the daddy of car racing games.

TOCA2 - Toca Race Driver

Wipeout 2097 - Wipeout Fusion

Is there a trend for games being dumbed down generally I wonder?

[Lance]

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Wiseman said:
''it puts the other TD games to shame it's so bad''

not that i don't take your word for it, but just from the point of view that there must be some limit to awfulness, i find that really hard to believe, G, really really hard. TD5 is so awful that i didn't think it possible to sink lower. i sort of enjoyed the longish circuits, but the framerate drops into single digits and less! [i've seen it skip whole seconds without a frame change!], horrible AI, the tire squall at even the slightest deviation from a straight line, the result of every spin-out being that you're faced in the wrong direction, the astounding and distracting pop-up, the really poor engine sound, the ..... ugh, enough.

well, i guess i needed to vent. ;)
.

[Wiseman]

I was just referring to the rubberband AI, not the whole game, Lance. ;)


but the framerate drops into single digits and less! (i've seen it skip whole seconds without a frame change!)That's funny, nothing like what you described there ever happened to me in TD5.

I do agree with the rest of the stuff you said though.


And Lance....


the tire squall at even the slightest deviation from a straight line, the result of every spin-out being that you're faced in the wrong directionDon't play Stuntman. ;) Argh! :x

[Lance]

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G, i'll bear that in mind!

the extreme framerate drops happened the last time i played the game. i think it was in the densest part of the australian city course. i don't remember for sure. it's been a while. but while i drove that course, on every lap through the same section, i could not steer the car effectively because the frame would not update for approximately one second. this would occur for five or six seconds, the time required to get through that particular section. i could not get control of the car until i bashed into a wall at the end of the straight and the AI cars disappeared off screen, then the framerate picked up again.
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[infoxicated]

To add to this, from what I seen at the PlayStation Experience, the only true, non-contrived, non-rubber band... i.e. - not bollocks racing gameplay to be had was in F1 2002! :o

Burnout 2 definately had catch-up of some sort going on, and although it was harder to tell with Hot Persuit 2, it did kind of look like all the AI cars buggered off at the start and then allowed themselves to be reeled in later.

Shox, also by EA, had so much stuff going on special effects wise that it was hard to pay attention to the racing!! ;)

[infoxicated]

...and to perpetuate my own thread that everyone else has lost interest in by now, I have it straight from the horses mouth that there wont be "rubber band AI" in Sony's F1 2002 - woohoo!

Well, there will and there wont be - it'll probably feature in the rookie level, but once you get hardcore there will be no get out of jail free cards and mysterious added horsepower should you lose it - and it'll be the same for the AI cars too.

Go Studio Liverpool! :D 8)