For those considering V8 Challenge by EA

[D_Man]

This is a thread by a guy who has had a test of the final release:

http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30527

Dave

[Dylan]

Here it is

i will probly still get it, so what if physics are shit, i still play NFS HS...
************************************************** **

It was IMO not worth the wait, today I'm not proud off being swede... DICE AB may want to switch to console, because this game feels like a handcontrolled console game

Ok, the graphics are very nice, and the cars stunning, but when in training with 1 car on the track and the game stutters like never before in a race sim, I'm not willing even to think of a full grid race...

It seems it's based on the very old STCC and STCC2 game engine which IMO are not in todays league of physhics engine. It feels just liek the cars are on rails. ( I have not even tried to tweak the settings )

So a small conclusion.

Pros:
I didn't buy it
nice graphics
easy user interface (same as STCC)

Cons:
Same old brand new game
lack of feeling
lack of settings

This game could been a MOD of STCC and the result would be even better because it does not take all your AMD 1000 389 MB ram and GF3 Ti200 to it's max in 1280x1024...

GPL is once again the ruler...

/david

flame me or give me your oppionion.

I wasn't considering purchasing it, but, now, my mind is definately made up. I won't purchase it..

[Aussie Muscle]

I gather from the posts on other forums that it's going to be a rehash of the Dick Johnson V8 Challenge by Torus, which was a shameful hack job not even slightly serious simulation. Take it for what it is and you may enjoy it for one or two races.

Personally, i'm glad avesco gave their official nod to codemasters instead of EA for the official v8 supercar game. EA deserves it.

(HEY, EA! We want to delude ourselves that we are race drivers, not pretending we put quarters into a machine! We go to an arcade for 5 minute thrills, give us a decent game!)

[Mickcals]

what teams are on there


and i dont think that it can be that bad

[AccadaccA]

but when in training with 1 car on the track and the game stutters like never before in a race sim,... WTF???????
Stutter?? Is this wanker playing it on a 286 or what?
...I'm not willing even to think of a full grid race... Geez, if his gonna review it you would think he actually raced it and not just played the equivalent to less than a demo. I mean even demos have more than one car on the track. :rolleyes:
He's word is total crap! Obviously paid by Codemasters

I got my V8 Challenge and I must say this game ROCKS!!!! :hat:-^

Excellent game engine, despite all of our fears, it is true to life (tap n' spin) handling. I mean "tap" the pedal (either one - depending) and it'll spin. Tap the gas pedal too much in the grass and you'll never get back on track. Tap the ripple strip at high speeds and it'll through your car. Tap the brakes a smigion too much at high speeds and she'll spin a 180 on ya. Tap another car (hard enough) and "here we go 'round the mullbush".... oops my bad, "Malberry bush".

The sound is freaking awesome (raw grunt on acceleration with a beautiful crackle when you back-off), the video (eye candy)excellent, landscape doesn't repeat textures (example = trees) like other popular games do.

Full video options on a GeForce 2 MX400 in a 1Ghz AMD and it doesn't miss a beat, except a slight pause when taking screenshots.

Man, E.A.SPORTS has done us Aussies proud!!! :hat:-^-^-^-^-^

On the downside: 25 lap limit for Bathurst (although that still is a long time), and only 14 cars per race (you & 13 opponents).

Dave : It's just like GPL to try to control. Infact it is too darn close. If anyone says that the physics aren't true then they're either paid to say so or they are liing.
Come over and play it. You will soon be buying it.

What a bitch my wheel is stuffed. =((

[AccadaccA]

Originally posted by Aussie Muscle
I gather from the posts on other forums that it's going to be a rehash of the Dick Johnson V8 Challenge by Torus, .....
Personally, i'm glad avesco gave their official nod to codemasters instead of EA for the official v8 supercar game. EA deserves it.

(HEY, EA! We want to delude ourselves that we are race drivers, not pretending we put quarters into a machine! We go to an arcade for 5 minute thrills, give us a decent game!) Kev : I have Dickhead Johnson's crap game and believe me E.A.SPORTS V8 Challenge is nothing like that.

Don't believe the rumors on forums of yet to be releases. How the frig whould any of them know of what they claimed? I could have just as easily said "it's only going to have an 8 lap limit" and a few would have took the bait and ran the line with it. That's the way our society is.... especially when they are bored and tired of waiting for something special. If they really thought is was going to be so bad they wouldn't be at forums related to the particular game now would they?

[D_Man]

Hey Rob, some of the responses to that original post are very positive about the game. A couple of guys said it's very good and a couple of other guys living overseas are trying to get copies :D

I'll try it out and give my verdict hehe ;)

Dave

It's nice that it has realistic sounds, but, I think I'll save my money though..

I guess Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 3 will keep me happy enough (those cars in GP3 have pretty accurate feeling physics, it's a real joy to put together a really nice lap, in such nimble cars, and the brakes are awesome).

The only grumble I have is that it really seems processor hungry. But, the graphic effects are quite nice (especially the shiny, reflective surface on wet tracks), as are the sounds (very realistic). The telemetry/data logging system works, and you can really pin-point any mistakes you are making..

The throttle and braking lines should be smooth, and not jerky. Same as the lines showing steering inputs.

[AccadaccA]

Originally posted by chris
It's nice that it has realistic sounds, but, I think I'll save my money though... That's only a typical (obvious) statement from a person with your taste in cars Chris. Kind of like me saying similar about Ferrari, Lamboghini, etc. "Nice but not my carton of beer". ;)

Different stroke for different folks. :Peace:

Dave : I was just about to phone you to make plans of another visit. Even got the phone/address book out and about to log off when I saw replies to this thread. :)

Any time, any day matey. You can paly it on the new Acca puter tower in 19" of living colour. :D

[AccadaccA]

As Matthew asked on the (Aussie Muscle forum) of the requirements printed on the box I answered there but then thought some might miss that post there so here they are.

The system specs (on the box) would be very exadurated I'm affraid but here they are anyway.

OS: Win 95, 98, 2000,XP
Processor: 300Mhz << I very much doubt it)
MEMORY: 64MB RAM
HARD DRIVE: 500 MB
CD-DVD: 2 SPEED
GRAPHICS: 648X480/ 16 bit
3D Accelerator: 8mB 3d graphics card
DIRECTX: Version 8.1
IMPUT: Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Steering wheel
INTERNET: 33.6Kbps << doubtfull)
NETWORK: TCP/IP compliant


Well that's what the back of the box claims. Sorry I couldn't give an estimated minimum requirements as it runs fine on my system. (1Ghz AMD, GeForce2 MX400, 512MB PC133 SDRAM, 36x CDrom, 80Gb ATA 100 7,200 rpm Seagate HDD.

I will try it on Jono's puter (my old Celeron 300Mhz), if I can get the system running, then let you know what I roughly think the minimum reqs would be for fair-to-decent framerates.

[AccadaccA]

Doh, forgot to mention.

As for the handling, there are 5 difficulty options. Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard. By default it is on the "Normal" setting which kept me occupied enough (using a keyboard).

Plus (double DOH!!), there is a toggle for wheelspin for us beginners too. :D Although not half the as much "hoon fun", it does keep you on track much longer & if not it'll help get you back onto the track quicker. By the time I found and tried this I was in a Ford ute and the best I did was a second placing on the Queensland track.
Bathurst's "Forrest elbow" is a killer of a sharp corner (almost hair-pin) which you don't notice until it's too late. heh It got me every lap I did of that magnificent circuit.
I totally hate Adelaide. Concrete walls make it hard to tell from approaching left or right turns. There are patches of a darker surface at many turns which actually do grip. I played around one particular patch of this track purposely sliding into the dark surface and it truly makes a difference. Like the difference between wet & dry multiplied by two (x 2).


For us wannabe editors the files are open source (seperate, individual, cars, tracks, tarmac, interiors, etc) although not in the usual NFS format we are used to. Hopefully it won't take long for the format to be cracked/editible (if not already).

[MattB]

sounds like ur having a ball acca:D.

remember to lock ur windows and doors for the next few days/nites rob, l might be in too take ur copy of the game^_^


acca, could u take some more screenshots for us all??? :p

[AccadaccA]

lol @ Matthew. Better bring an army, this game stays!!! ;) heh

Sure I'll post some screens I took today. Mind you some effects don't show on the screenshots such as the grass or sand spraying up as you spin on it. Both show well in the game but not in the screenshots. :confused: And the you can't realy see the rain in the screens either but in game it looks very cool.

A good thing about taking the screenshots is it's only the one (re-assignable) key (F12 by default) and all of the screens stay within the game folder and not all over your Desktop like the NFS series does.

Of course you know converting them to jpgs and uploading will be taking away from my playing time. :D heh

I hope my uploader works, I have had a lot of troubles with it the past few days trying to upload the new pages and zips for this site. If I can't upload I'll email them to you Matt (or perhaps to another staffer here to upload).

Any particular car/track combo you would like? I took many of the menus including car setup menu, controls, video, etc. just to put everyone straight on what it really has or hasn't got. Screw rumours.

Oh, don't expect many shots of shiny new cars. heh Hey it's been a while, besides I'm not used to the keyboard driving after 5 years of a steering wheel.

Another thing, I love the way they zig-zag at the start of each race to warm their tyres. Very realistic. :hat:-^

I just hate the "rules' function. If an accident is ahead (on the grid) and I can't stop in time I am black flagged for it (stop/go penaulty). WTF??
But it is an option which can be toggled on/off in the menu.

BTW, it appear that Gillette are the major sponsors (the podium area) for this year.... going by the game textures.

[MattB]

cheers acca-^ :beer:

i dont mind what screenshots u take, but maybe some V8brutes going down bathurst???:p

the menu pics would be interesting aswell.

if ur uploader doesn't work, l can upload them for u:D

[AccadaccA]

Consider it (as good as ) done.

BTW, you may wish to read that post of mine again. I edited it while you were writing your post.

[AccadaccA]

Well that was a fun few hours. Spent far more time with screenshots than I did with actually racing.

Um... my uploader worked but not my brain. I forgot the FTP details for V8 SHAKES (must have been on the old HDD) so until Josh settles and sends me the password etc. there won't many any upgrades to that site.

On the upside however, I did upload bloody heaps of screens I took today to Total NFS itself.

Sorry it's kinda raw, but it's 5:30 a.m. .... you make a page for them all. heh


Pit Lane BATHURST
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00030.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00031.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00033.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00037.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00039.jpg

Check the sky & distant Bathurst scenery down "Conrod Straight"
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00063.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00066.jpg

Some hooning thru "The Chase"
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00074.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00075.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00076.jpg

Nothing a bit of TLC wouldn't fix (Tender Loving Care)
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00083.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00084.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00087.jpg

Oops, touchy pedals
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00092.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00093.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00097.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00102.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00103.jpg

My bad
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00108.jpg

er... just showing ya the trees here. Yeah that's it. :D
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00113.jpg

Forest Elbow & Conrod Straight
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00117.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00118.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00121.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00122.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00124.jpg

typical grid
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00142.jpg

The Brutes
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00143.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00145.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00147.jpg

Put one toe on the grass and you're ......
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00148.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00149.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00150.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00151.jpg

more gum trees :hat:-^
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00159.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00163.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00164.jpg

Hot doggie
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00165.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00193.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00205.jpg

They say "One good turn deserves another"
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00166.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00167.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00169.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00170.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00171.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00173.jpg

Checkout that landscape :love:
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00174.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00177.jpg

Still looking towards that "one good turn" :rolleyes:
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00179.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00180.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00181.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00182.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00183.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00184.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00185.jpg

This shot shows it all, flames, tyre smoke, trees.... SKILLED :(
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00207.jpg

Time lapsed photography on how NOT to do a three point turn going up the Mountain.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00225.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00226.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00227.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00228.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00229.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00230.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00231.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00232.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00233.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00234.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00235.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00236.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00237.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00238.jpg

More time lapsed 'magic moments' with the touchy brake pedal
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00246.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00247.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00248.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00253.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00253.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00254.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00255.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00256.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00257.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00258.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00259.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00260.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00261.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00262.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00263.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00264.jpg

Going K-Mart shopping in Adelaide
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00427.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00428.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00429.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00430.jpg

Let's see a Ford do this
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00445.jpg

Gotta adjust that brake bias
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00447.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00448.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00449.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00451.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00452.jpg

Here's the grippy (black) surface
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00455.jpg

Time to get my eyes checked, could have sworn it was a right hander.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00459.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00460.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00461.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00462.jpg

Squeezing past Larry Perkins
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00463.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00464.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00465.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00466.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00467.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00468.jpg

Melbourne :rolleyes:
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00474.jpg
Actually, I opted for some wet weather in the menu.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00475.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00476.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00479.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00482.jpg

Ah, Sandown beach at last. (Victorian joke... 'cause Sandown is bloody miles from a beach). Hey I was on the phone to (D_Man) Dave when this happened.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00484.jpg

Although the screens don't do it any justice, the sand is spraying up (as does the tyre churned grass) in the game
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00485.jpg

Hey Dave, this is where I pulled the phone away from the PC speaker and said "crash"
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00494.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00498.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00499.jpg

Not all screenshots show the rain this well. In the game the liquid sunshine (rain) is heavier.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00501.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00504.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00505.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00508.jpg


MENUS
Race options. As soon as you select one it'll ask if you want to race V8 Supercars or V8 brUTES
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00528.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00559.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00549.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00550.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00551.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00552.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00554.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00555.jpg

General (game) options. The "rules" function is too dicey I think. (no "Dice" pun intended) Black flags way too easily for unavoidable collisions. That "rules" function and the "ai physics" are all I have changed from the default settings
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00529.jpg

Graphic options. I gave them all a tweak UP. I noticed there's no resolution or colour depth settings. Still, the game looks great.... but not the screenshots (640x480)
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00530.jpg
Oops, just notice "Advanced".


Controller Options. A great pre-selected list of joysticks, wheels etc however my not-so-joyous-stick isn't listed there nor does it work with anthing from their list :(
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00531.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00532.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00533.jpg


High score. Besides stating the obvious it is also where you can opt to reverse the track's race direction.
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00631.jpg


Falcon brUTE at Queensland Raceway
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00535.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00536.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00538.jpg
Um, it's clean because I hadn't taken control of it yet.
The game has "Rolling" or "Still" start options.

http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00545.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00545.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00547.jpg

CAT Falcon
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00556.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00557.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00562.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00563.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00565.jpg

HRT
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00567.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00568.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00573.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00574.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00575.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00576.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00577.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00584.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00588.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00589.jpg

On the prowl
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00590.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00594.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00595.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00596.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00603.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00604.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00606.jpg

Protest. I was pushed. heh
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00608.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00609.jpg

Back on track
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00610.jpg
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00621.jpg

Just me and the apprentice :D
http://www.totalnfs.net/v8chal/V8Challenge_Shot00624.jpg

Enjoy

Acca: No, I didn't mean it like that.. You misunderstand me.. It's not that I wouldn't buy this game, but, I have a another rather big purchase coming up soon, which will leave me with little money for anything else..

After you showing me the stuff about the Alfa Romeo Brera, I did some inquiries about it, at an Alfa Romeo dealer.. All they could say was, that "if" it did go into production, they would put their hand-up for it, and hope to be able to secure some right hand-drive models to sell.. As for price, they reckoned between $180K-$200K.. So its not even determined if it will even be on sale in Australia, yet..

Now, I also looked at Maserati Coupé GT.. It unfortunately will be above $200K (just for a 6 speed manual, not the Cambiocorsa F1 style gearbox). The Maserati Coupé GT is a big, comfortable, fast, practical 4 seater, but, it's too expensive for me, and, I'm looking for long term reliability, and, I don't believe the 4.2 litre V8 will provide long-term reliability over 30 years (even with my best efforts). The previous 3200GT is still available, new, and within my price range.. It's indeed a lovely car, beautiful looks, stunning led tail-lights (very distinctive), and an addictive twin-turbo V8 growl.. But, these twin-turbo 3.2 litre V8s suffer from turbo lag, and, I'm not sure about long term reliability.

So, it looks like the $186K 3.6 litre 996 911 Carrera will be the final choice. It will be just in standard trim, without additional options.. Though, I'd love to have it with the "Exclusive" engine upgrade, which bumps the evergreen 3.6 litre flat-6 engines power up to 254kW@6800rpm (from 235kW) and, the torque goes up to 370Nm. Turns the Carrera into a 4.9second 0-100km/hr missile.

[Y2kGoofball]

Rob ... no need to buy the game now!!

We can just play NFS HS and imagine these cars and tracks in the game

Thanks for posting all the screenies. I dunno what most ppl are on about. One guy in another forum says that the game lacks smoke from the tyres, yet in your screenshots theres clearly smoke:")

BTW ... when you enter the pits do you control the car like bathurst in DJV8 or does the game control it??

Y2k

[Dylan]

Rob, pit lane speed is 40km/h, so i think thats a stop-go.

can you crank the res right up, and use the print screen button instead of the screen shot button in the game?

i'll attach a programe the puts screen shots in c:\ (thanks to Remko) to use it just hit the print screen button

[D_Man]

OK - now for the verdict :)

After AccadaccA's enthusiastic review of the game I decided that while I was in town today I would get a copy - even got a discount hehe :D

I have been doing lots of laps of Bathurst as that is the track I know best. I didn't want to add the problem of learning a new track to the equation.

Initially, I was far from impressed with the handling of the cars. It took some serious tweaking of the setups to get rid of the massive tendency to oversteer. Once I got that sorted I was able to lap Bathurst in the mid to high 2.20s.

The overall impression of the physics is that it is more High Stakes than Porsche Unleashed. I get the feeling that it is primarily designed around use with a game controller than a wheel. The cars have a bit of that pivoting in the middle feel you have when playing High Stakes.

As far as the brakes go, I had lots of problems initially, but when I tweaked them I got rid of the tendency to lock up if I even looked at the brake pedal and made them a lot more progressive. They are pretty good now, but lack a bit in the "feel" department - again possibly attributable to it's origins as a console game.

The Force Feedback is very underdone with only a few effects coded in. There is little sensation of grip and no change in the feel of the surface - even going over grass or rumble strips.

In summation, I think it is a good arcade racer which many will enjoy as long as they don't buy it thinking it is a simulation :D The physics are more 1998 than 2002 (and having said that - SCGT is much better in that department). The graphics are very nice and the rendering of the Bathurst track is very good and reasonably accurate.

The engine sounds are nice and the sense of speed is good. I like the ability to choose your prefered field of view setting using a slider. I set mine to 60 degrees as I feel that is more realistic.

I would give it 7.5 out of 10 as an arcade racer. If they fix the Force Feedback, I will give it another half a point ;)

Dave

[MattB]

whoa:eek: thanks for all those pics acca.

thanks for the review d-man:D


l saw v8challenge on a 'preview comp' at EB today, i only got to watch some little kid play.

it was either the game, or his driving but it looked very arcadish;)

[AccadaccA]

Dave : I'm sorry that you are less than impressed by this game. Now I wish even more that you tried mine before buying your own.
What can I say? :rolleyes: sorry man.
You are always trying new racing games and racing online so you would have a better concept of what to rate the game as. Besides I am using a keyboard to drive after 5-6 years of my ol' T2 steering wheel /pedals. With my latest upgrade I fitted a newer sound card/games port the T2 just doesn't cut it any more. :(

Sorry if others were also mislead by my obvious excitement of V8 Challenge. I had been looking forward to it's release for so long that I even let some bills lapse just so I wouldn't spent the money I had put aside for it.
Since PU I hadn't bought any decent driving games (except the odd bargain bin specials) that I have really given myself the time/chance to try properly (i.e. GPL, Rallye Master, etc). Then the raised and fallen hopes of MCO. Yay, a musclecar game, finally. But the added road tax made it a shattered illusion.
I'm more of the "typical Aussie battler" than many here. In that I mean we prefer the cars in our modest price range than the billion dollar European, delux yadda yadda yadda. My tastes are Australian made or the old U.S. Musclecars. I know I am far from being the only one like this, it's all around in the groups of people I have grown up with. The community of the Aussie Muscle site are the type I am referring to. "Hoons" :hat:-^

So in reality, with PU not working (not that the lack of driving Porsches bothered me), HS has been my only comparison or bench marker for this new game. I can't remember the last time I drove an original E.A. car in that game. If a Ferrari and a hot (modded) Holden both drove passed at the same time I would google at the Holden.

So (as only Aussies can buy this game) I hope those Aussie are enough like me (no offense to Chris or Dave) in that they weren't inspired to buy all of those stereo typed go-cart F1 games or the usual Ferrari, Porsche, Lamboghini, etc. car line-up in games because the "typical Aussie battler" can't afford to buy the latest game every week and most of us "wee common folk" don't like the crap car selection we've been served by the gaming industry since day one. God, what would be the cheapest car to buy (in real life) out of the NFS series? Having the money (yeah right) I'd only even think about buying one, the Dodge Viper (V-10) that featured way back in the original of the series back in 1995. Yeah, seven bloody years ago and that one car is the closest the gaming industry has been to satisfying the "typical Aussie battler". If HS wasn't editable it too would have gotten old real quick.

Many Aussies that attend here haven't reached the 1Ghz CPU yet (I only upgraded from a 300Mhz a few weeks ago) and some are still using 2D video cards. Showing we're more contempt with (or only in reach of) the simple things in life.



So I will withdraw my previous possitive rantings & ravings about V8 Challenge and say for the "typical Aussie" out there, I think this game will leave you more than satisfied. I am. :hat:-^

[D_Man]

Hey Rob, my review must have seemed more negative than I intended :( I was just trying to make the point that it is an arcade racer and not a sim. As an arcade racer it is quite good -^

I am still experimenting with setups to get the car handling how I want. I am still only down to a 2.20 at this stage. The understeering is proving very hard to overcome and the tendency to "twitch in" when I back off the throttle has me hitting the barriers a lot - hehe - bad driver :D

I have already downloaded one modification for the game - a Pepsi skin from a thread over at Racesim.

Dave

[MattB]

The community of the Aussie Muscle site are the type I am referring to. "Hoons"

me a hoon? never!^_^

acca, l aint sure about the area u live in(no offence). But most of my friends do have 1gig+ systems......then there are the few that
have 300mhz systems aswell.

But most of the time, were out playing cricket or footy, alot more fun than sitting in front of a PC all day long;)

its alot more healthier too:D (not that we care^_^ )


acca, u said something about the file's being open sourced, is this just the textures? or mesh's aswell?:rolleyes:

and have u or D-man tried online play? (if there is any)


Matt:beer:

[D_Man]

I have been doing some more testing and trying different setups - still at Bathurst :)

I have turned FF off as it is more of a hindrance than a help and tuned the setups to reduce understeer. My best lap time for Bathurst so far is a 2:15.05 with one crash going down the mountain. I figure a 2:12 is achievable with my current setup - minus crashes.

Anyone want to post their times and setups for comparison purposes?

Dave

Update: I just did a 2:12.68 with more room for improvement yet. I don't see myself getting times reported in the V8 Challenge forums - ie 1:58s. I think that with my current setup I have eliminated most of the understeer problem and it is fairly neutral, but a 2:06 to 2:08 would be the best I could hope for.

[AccadaccA]

Matthew : I wasn't referring to my neighbourhood about slow puters, I meant some Aussies here at these forums have slow puters.

All cars and tracks are open source from what I can tell. Most are PDO files with the tracks being PDW files.
For example, in the Data/Objects folder:

001.PDO
010.PDO
etc. (there's 30 of these)

car##1.PDO
car##2.PDO
etc. (there is 40 of these)

inside##1.PDO
inside##2.PDO
etc. (there is 40 of these)

tarmac##1.PDO
tarmac##2.PDO
etc. (there is 14 of these)

track01.PDW
track02.PDW
etc. (there is 18 of these)

I somehow think the PDO files are just different view textures or performance because, by rights, there should only be four car meshes (plus bonus car): One each of Holden & Ford sedans, Holden & Ford utes. and as for the bonus F1 go cart which I doubt any one who bought the game is interested in anyway. They should have made the bonus cars a GTHO or Goss Special and a UX1 or SLR5000, along those lines.

We just need to find what will open, view & edit them.
Car skins are only TGA files and as it's all 2002 Holden verses Ford it doesn't really matter about the meshes (unless you want other car models in as well) but it would be nice to be able to add rather than just replace. I don't think the game engine or current menu etc. is up to this. But I might poke around by copying another car, renaming it, adding a new skin and see if it shows up or not.


For those who have slow puters you could try this. Racer X posted this on the E.A.SPORTS V8Challenge forum.
Read This If You Have a Slow Computer
Go to a site- http://www.entechtaiwan.com/ps.htm,and download a program called "power strip". It will let you optomise your sound and graphics cards safely without buggering them up.It works on Nvida cards and heaps of others, It dosent drain your computer either as it runs on its own and dosent use windows resources.Just dont whack everything up to the max just because you can, use comon sence and restraint and you will get this game to run smoothly no matter how many cars are on the track, It can fix sound card problems as well. My neighbours think I have a v8 in my lounge room,I can actually get the windows to rattle and things fall of the wall and table. When you get this game up and running properly it is really great.I just wish it wasen't so easy to win. Hope this helps you guys and good luck

BTW, Dave has no problems running it on his CPU (733Mhz I think it is)
We were on the phone many times lastnight and again today discussing car setups and what times we're getting. :D A bit more tweaking and we will start posting what we find as good car setups. Mind you they will probably vary from his MOMO wheel handling to my keyboard kaos and I finally got my joystick working late lastnight although I am a newbie to joysticks :rolleyes: so don't hold your breath waiting for that version of the "ideal car setup". Folks on the official site are very tight-lipped about their setups which makes it easy for me to doubt their supposed hot lap times.

Thanks for helping me thru it Dave :hat:-^ I gave that last lot of gear ratios a try but still didn't find them peaking down Conrod and was still in the 260+ km/h bracket. I know I used to get 275 down there but I didn't save that setup and you're getting 280 odd. Perhaps I'm slowing down too much at Forest Elbow? Dang, that's deadly!!

What we need is an old 2 speed powerglide tranny :D heh

[D_Man]

Hehe Rob, as I just said on the phone, I am down to 2:08.56 hitting 303kph down Conrod before the Chase :)

Still room for improvement so a 2:05 to 2:06 shouldn't be too far away ;)

I am getting the hang of the handling although I stupidly only changed the response curve for my left turn and forgot my right turn =[

I'll keep tweaking away at this until I get it working the way I want.

Dave

[DC_Dogz]

I bought the game and have pluged it in and played it for 2 hours I have just one word to discride it

CRAP !!

[Nite]

I bought V8 Challenge today, EA Sports dont put a demo on their site.

Trying to remain politically correct: in this day and age a racing game should not just pick up a MS Sidewinder but let a player configure it - haven't tried the wheel yet and never will now. It 'should' be possible to change camera view without getting a Blue Screen & dump to desktop. It 'should' have a sound not just after the first startup, but also after the 2nd, 3rd,etc.
A real life racing game 'could' have all the major teams and more than just 4 authentic tracks. But that's being fuzzy, ok. Graphics wise, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but I'd say the game looks exactly like Rally Masters with which it apparently shares the coding too. Same opener, right down to the 'highscores' - and the setup difficulties (in RM later with online patches in my case).

Judging by the related RM, this game may well be great online, but I'm too impatient to start tweaking a full price game that looks a touch dated. Especially as I got all these racing games to work without problems: HS, PU, Nascar3, GP3, GPL, Superbike 2000/2001, Motocross Madness 1&2, Rally Masters, Monaco GP2 and GP 500.

Not being unhappy with EA Sports to make me buy this game to check it out, its their biz to make money, but for the time wasted with reboots, scandisks etc.
Would have liked to go around Bathurst at least once.

If I cant return the CD without a fuzz and within the next few days its free to a good home.

[MattB]

Originally posted by Nite

If I cant return the CD without a fuzz and within the next few days its free to a good home.

my home is good:D .....

i even just cleaned up around my room aswell;)


i really wish l could try a demo before i buy this game, it really seems everyone has a COMPLETE different opionon on it:rolleyes:

Nice graphics are always a pleasure to look at, but, the appeal soon washes away, if the physics are not realistic.

I'm hoping for a new racing sim to come along (I heard that WSC may still come out for PC, but, under a different name, and, with super realistic physics.) That I can add my own vehicles to..

I would love this.. If any of you have ever driven any sort of fast, high performance car quickly, you'll know how fun it can be (especially in the nimble V6 and V8 mid engined cars)..

I know it's possible to make completely realistic physics engines for computer games.. A rally sim for PS2 did have completely realistic physics, in development.. However, the producers said that the physics would have to be tamed down, and made easier, for the release version. The pre-release version was so realistic, that you needed to have the skills of Richard Burns to control the cars, since, they would react to every bump or rock on the road even. (Just like a real rally car).

[MattB]

Originally posted by chris

l'm hoping for a new racing sim to come along (I heard that WSC may still come out for PC, but, under a different name, and, with super realistic physics.) That I can add my own vehicles to..


i heard, Project Gotham Racing for XBOX has super realistic physics, some of the most accurate ever made:D

Matthew Button: Oh, don't get me started on P.G.R. for XBox.. Listen to the F50 in it, and, then, listen to a real F50.. They sound totally different. The PGR F50 sounds unrealistic, totally, whereas the real F50 sounds amazing (so melodious, and uncredibly loud, especially as the revs escalate past 6500rpm, it really is deafening.)

You should hear the real F50 accelerating flat-out in a tunnel, up to it's 8500rpm rev-limit.. Bloody hell, it's loud.. (And the red monster was at least 3 or 4 car lengths ahead, in the next lane, as the driver started to accelerate really fast.).

If you want to hear it, just send me a PM, and, I'll send you a few recordings of it.. (in car, and, outside the car).

[AccadaccA]

Nite : Hey Robert I am sorry the game doesn't like you puter. I have none of the probs you mentioned. It changes views like HS or any other game for me and although I read on the official site that some folks have sound problems it works fine on my puter. I think that maybe their issues are from over reving though as they complain of it's being choppy where it does cut out at high revs beyond the red line but you aren't supposed to drive like that anyway.

Of course what you have described is totally different. By all means take it back for an exchange but if it still gives you troubles get onto tech-support. I haven't even read of those problems on the offical forum so this is an isolated issue.

Once you fine tune the handling (car setup) it's pretty darn good. Although learning to handle a joystick as I am on it does get frustrating. I was better off with the keyboard. :rolleyes: But I'll have to learn to keep trying or I'll never use a joystick and this is the third one I have bought. :nono:
Dave's offered to come to my rescue by loaning me his old wheel -^

Good luck with it Rob, I'd hate for you to not enjoy it. The Bathurst track is fantastic!! The best replica of it that I have ever seen!! Forest Elbow is very unforgiving. :hat:-^



Mark : if it's the handling you are referring to Dave is getting it ironed out pretty well. I'd like to say that I am too (with Dave) but I haven't made any great discoveries as I have been so busy doing other stuff and the time I spent on V8 Chal has been with unfamiliar controllers.
I could only manage (constant) low 2:22's yesterday but I was using the keyboard after my wheel died of old age. However Dave has beaten the official real Bathurst record by Larry Perkins and others (on the E.A.SPORTS forum) claim to have even lower lap times than Dave.

My first take on PU and GPL was exactly like yours here. I know of several who said "crap" at PU when they first tried it.

[AccadaccA]

Dave : I used your setup and just got a 2:17:23 on the keyboard. :hat:-^

I tried it for a 3/4 lap on the joyless stick but thought "bugger it" and did a 5 lap (keyboard) run of Bathurst.
Four laps wasted trying to hit the 300km/h down Conrod. I've reached 288 and can safely do 280km/h but as I said on the phone I virtually crawl around Forest Elbow so that's almost a standing start.
On the last lap I dedcided not to watch the speedo and just played by ear... um sight.

Dang, I did think to install "clipper" just before starting the game but never went thru with it. :rolleyes:
So I took ten zillion screens to piece together as proof :D

You did say on the phone to ring you any time as soon as I broke the 2:20 bracket but it was after 2:30a.m. so I guess... oh what they hey where's that number... heh, j/k

I know it's not anything to write home to mum about (yesterday maybe but not today) I still need to shave a good ten seconds off it but I did actually crash (spun my nose to the wall) exiting Skyline and went 4 wheels onto the grass thru the Chase (as you know you need to drop back and ride-it-out on the grass) and finally rode the ripple-strip on Murry's Corner (another oopsy time waster) so with a little more practice (I've probably spent a total of only 6-8 hrs with this game so far) I should be getting there.

By that time you will probably bring the wheel over and I'll have to get used to that. :rolleyes: heh :D

Thanks again for the setup, mate :hat:-^ I couldn't have done it without ya. ;)

[D_Man]

That's great to hear Rob :)

I have probably put in about 4 hours palying the game so far - usually half an hour at a time. I think there is still some work to do on the setups to get it the way I want.

Mark, it is really hard and unrealistic with the default settings, but it can be fun if you get it sorted out. I truly believe the default settings are for game controllers. It makes me laugh the way the young kids on the official forum rave about how great the game is and how well the cars handle. They obviously haven't played any decent sims :)

I am still working on getting good controller settings as well as car setups. My steering settings at present are 181 128 and 181 - ignoring the first setting of course which I leave at the default.

Dave

[AccadaccA]

Originally posted by D_Man
Mark, it is really hard and unrealistic with the default settings, but it can be fun if you get it sorted out. I definately second that!

[DC_Dogz]

After reading your post I jump on for 30 min last night and am down to 2:16 and hitting 300+ down conrod. I lack of steering under braking is annoing. I find it corny when cornering and hearing the ripple strip sound when there isan't any. I first raced on Queensland raceway and lower gears to suit their and the gears just max out at 315 kmh great for conrod. The sub 2:00 min time people are doing i think some wall banging is going on. The engine sound is more like the old TOCA sounds. And is there a reset button for when your facing the wrong way???. Graphic's...Hmm I have a 1.9gig with 64mb vid and 256 ram and find the game coppy. some graphic look good but look like super imposed items, the track and trees look a little ordinary. For a 2002 game looks like it was made back in sub 2000. I think the car track menu look cheap, they should of had the cars spin 360 on the screen enlarged. I think the opponants are to easy I set Queenland to max difficalty and after 3 goes had 1st in the 2 heats. Last but not least the tyres on the side of corners on the track shouldn't stop you dead in your tracks.

[Wazza]

oh.. i posted in the other forum...
i played it for 90min today at EB... costs NZ$70.. or AU$50-55 i guess...

had trouble with the brakes at first.. realised not to go 100% full brakes.. which I can only do in PU, coz i use a button, with no scale for different powers.... so after a while, racing on some unknown track, i got a bit better.. then i realised there was Bathurst....

and my very first go i did 2:31 on 1st lap... and realised at start, you go left straight thru everyone... eveeryone crashes.. so funny.. i had whatever stock settings there were... what i was mostly testing was actually the wheel.. Logitech Formula GP..... probably similar to Force version ah?

so my best lap over 15min, was 2:20... with still lots of errors.. i was sure I could do 2:15 on just a reasonable clean lap.. also, sometimes u can kinda wall bang, or wall slide, just gives u damage, but it doesnt seem to affect it....
i was racing #1 Holden HRT.. hitting 295km/h on straight, before losing it on easy Forest elbow.. heeh.... once managed to keep 280 thru it.. whereas most others were 220 max, as i was sideways and all-sorts... ^_^

[D_Man]

I'm not trying to make out that this game is fantastic and in my brief review I mentioned some of things I found wanting. However, I did buy it and I now find the game fun if played purely as an arcade racer :)

I have experimented with the car setups and steering settings (after turning of the FF) and I find the cars a lot more controllable.

I would be the last person to promote a product from EA ^_^ but, if you have the game already, don't give up on it too soon.

Mark I can send you a setup that I am using to test if you like.

Dave

[AccadaccA]

I was going to save this until after Dave got home from work, but here it is anyway.

http://totalnfs.net/Accas/!0215.jpg

Lap 2 of 5 @ Bathurst.
I had probably 5-6 bad starts which I aborted then pulled this out of thin air. Mind you yet again it was far from perfect. I had crashed into the wall pretty hard once and had a few early down-changes (bad gear choices) where the rear locked up on several turns.


I used clipper but it slows the frame rate heaps. Ironically the total amount of screens I took is also 215, just like my lap time. :D 2:15:00

I have been looking for a program to string all of the screenshots together to make a movie of some sort of a full lap around tracks to show those who haven't got it yet.
I wrote to bogs and have tried some of his suggestions of his reply but like he said they are mostly resource killers.

Anybody here know of any progy that will run in the background and (@ minimal cost to the CPU & RAM) record replays?

[D_Man]

I am home Rob hehe :)

Congrats on the time -^

You'll be doing sub 2:10 in no time.

Dave

[AccadaccA]

Aha, they let you out to play early :D-^

Yeah it was the only race I've had time for today. Geez I even got some sunshine and fresh air. Too bad it was only to chatch my nephew wagging school at Jennie's mum's place.
Uncle Acca >> :nono:
Mind you the bigger is a good foot or more taller than me. :help:


Well (as you can see) the over-all race time is dreadfull, some good starts and shit finishes then some poor to ordinary starts and great finishes and I almost always had a B of a time at Skyline. Took a few goes to learn don't back-off there (or basically anywhere) with your setup. It's GO-GO-GO all the way, poor gearbox. :rolleyes:

I am thinking about veering off from that setup a little. Not for times but tyre wear & brakes. Possibly just my rough style of driving but a concern come time to race others online in a full *ahem* 25 laps.

[Nite]

Acca, I got it working. Yesterday I gave it another go and now got back the sound (it had reset itself to 'no sound' in setup menu) and everything else is working too. About that controller, I chose a different one in the menu than what I actually had and now it works - havent tried the wheel yet. Also no more blue screen from changing cameras. No idea what fixed that one though.

Bathurst is looking good (haven't been anywhere else yet) and a clean lap does feel rewarding. Even though there's nowhere near as much feedback from the car as in PU. Not crashing is rather a result of remembering the right gear/revs at the right time rather than reacting to the car becoming loose, etc.
But no replays?? Rally Masters allowed replays taken online even, or check out the replay function in EA Sports' Superbike 2001. DICE obviously got the replay built in, how about adding some VCR-style controls?

So by the looks of it I'm gonna hang onto V8C a little longer, sorry Matthew, heheh. But initially it was frustrating to the extreme.

Oh and Acca, I managed a lap in a Falcon without a wheel falling off ^_^ - even I was surprised:
http://www.gameprofiles.com/nite/score.jpg

So far all cars seem to handle and perform the same, but I may be wrong.

[MattB]

Originally posted by Nite

So by the looks of it I'm gonna hang onto V8C a little longer, sorry Matthew, heheh. But initially it was frustrating to the extreme.



hehe dw mate, l'd rather buy the game anyway......unless it COMPLETELY didn't work for someone.

l think l'll pick up a copy on the weekend, if i get some time ;)
(got lots of exams at skool too study 4)

[D_Man]

Hey guys, my best at Bathurst so far is a 2.07.47 although I blew a better lap when I crashed in pit straight just before the finish line :'(

I'll send you my setup and controller settings if you are interested. They might at least give you a starting point :)

Dave

[Nite]

Best so far 2:06:51
http://www.gameprofiles.com/nite/score2.jpg

setup:
brake balance: rear 25/75 front
ride height low/low
anti spin: off
tires: soft
toe front: 2
toe rear: 1
camber front (deg) 5 , rear 4
gears: 5th 0.96, 6th 0.95
suspension: all settings on 'normal' - so far.

Top speed down Conrod 181mph

[D_Man]

A picture says a thousand words :)

My out-lap was a 2:10 -^

Dave

[Nite]

yeah but we all know red cars go faster lol ^_^ !

j/k, fast, consistent laps indeed. -^

[Dylan]

Originally posted by Nite
setup:
brake balance: rear 25/75 front
ride height low/low
anti spin: off
tires: soft
toe front: 2
toe rear: 1
camber front (deg) 5 , rear 4
gears: 5th 0.96, 6th 0.95
suspension: all settings on 'normal' - so far.


5 deg camber! and that break bias is pretty extreme, considering that the front ones are 6 piston and the rears are 4 piston

[D_Man]

I'm using 35/65 brake balance and my gear settings are 1.15, 1.10, 1.05, 1.00, .95, .90 and I am getting 310kph before the Chase on Conrod.

I can't remember the rest of my settings as I am at work now, but I will post them when I get home tonight :)

Dave

[D_Man]

Okay, here's the rest of my current setup:

General

Ride height front Low
Ride height rear Low
Antispin Off

Wheel

Toe-in Front -4 Toe-in Rear 2
Camber Front 3 Camber Rear 3

My gears are in the post above

In controller settings I have my steering set at:
0, 175, 128, 107

My suspension settings are Normal, Hard, Normal, Hard

BTW, I just read that on the ASRG server the fastest time for Bathurst so far is 1.50.49 &(

Looks Like I need to find about 16 seconds =[

Dave