NASCAR 08

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:01 pm

I spent some time with the game this morning, and was utter crap at driving. I could Daytona okay, but I tried Bristol and could barely complete a lap. Wheel, controller, it didn't matter. What assists are people using? I may have to go down to casual to get my driving straightened out.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:23 pm

Rodster wrote: I found the sweet spot with the controller settings.

what would those settings be? same as before or did you tweak some more? I agree that the controller is do-able, but I can also see how a wheel would be better.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:47 pm

JackB1 wrote:
Rodster wrote: I found the sweet spot with the controller settings.
what would those settings be? same as before or did you tweak some more? I agree that the controller is do-able, but I can also see how a wheel would be better.

Pretty much, Lin=35, Response=40. I also gave it some downforce in the setup. Cup cars have better manners, trucks drive on rails.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:13 pm

I wish the user car would run on rails.

I can see how this game gets a 5.0. If you look at it on the surface the driving mode is barely competant. The car even on casual with all aids is tough to drive. Add in traffic and you turn NASCAR into bumper cars.

How can you dig deep into the driving model if on casual its frustrating to drive the car.

It's not that the driving model is unrealistic. The have a poor control method.

Here's a thinker. With steering assist on high, during the straightaways I go slightly left, which is realistic. With steering assist off I go dead straight?

After playing F1, I can handle spin outs and taking the wrong line that causes you to go into a wall. What I can't stand is a driving game where its impossible to drive in traffic. Add 42 cars on the track and you have a bumper car game.

I think they have a great game here and are on the right track but the controls need work.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:15 pm

Jack another thing i did that got me Pole at Indy (53.599) was I made the suspension a little softer which doesn't make the car as twitchy. Cup cars even handle better now using the controller.

slimer · Post by **slimer** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:18 pm

I broke down and bought the MS wheel again. I dumped the wheel a month ago when I couldn't seem to drive well in Forza or Dirt.

I gave the controller every chance, but I couldn't hardly control the thing. I could do just well enough for a few laps or so, but it was full on concentration just to stay out of the walls or out of a spin, much less get good lap times.

The wheel is a dream on NASCAR 08. It reminds me of the little time I spent with NASCAR2003 for the PC. Not quite as realistic, but for a console, it is amazing.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:15 pm

Rodster wrote:Jack another thing i did that got me Pole at Indy (53.599) was I made the suspension a little softer which doesn't make the car as twitchy. Cup cars even handle better now using the controller.

You're too slow, Rodster: Reed Sorenson won the pole today at Indy at 48.858.

Keep on truckin'!

Take care,
PK

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:17 pm

Naples39 wrote:I spent some time with the game this morning, and was utter crap at driving. I could Daytona okay, but I tried Bristol and could barely complete a lap. Wheel, controller, it didn't matter. What assists are people using? I may have to go down to casual to get my driving straightened out.

Don't feel bad, Bristol is a b*tch with a wheel for me LOL

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:24 pm

SEMINOLE wrote:
Naples39 wrote:I spent some time with the game this morning, and was utter crap at driving. I could Daytona okay, but I tried Bristol and could barely complete a lap. Wheel, controller, it didn't matter. What assists are people using? I may have to go down to casual to get my driving straightened out.
Don't feel bad, Bristol is a b*tch with a wheel for me LOL

Bottom line- Bristol is a b*tch...

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:29 pm

pk500 wrote:
Rodster wrote:Jack another thing i did that got me Pole at Indy (53.599) was I made the suspension a little softer which doesn't make the car as twitchy. Cup cars even handle better now using the controller.
You're too slow, Rodster: Reed Sorenson won the pole today at Indy at 48.858.

Keep on truckin'!

Take care,
PK

LOL, hey I did that with the 360 controller and I didn't touch the walls. I should at least great some credit for that.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:49 am

I do know that I've run the wheel exclusively since I got the game and it handles well enough for me, but I am beginning to wonder if I'm just less picky than most here or something, I don't know. I just want something that's believable and predictable. I don't care if it's arcade or sim or anything in between as long as it can be driven predictably and not have the car suddenly pitch itself into a 4 wheel drift like some previous EA Nascar games. I am very pleased with this driving model, turning some low 15's and high 14's at Bristol today with the wheel after about 10 or 15 laps of setup tweaking. That's right about where I am with NR2003 using a race setup, and at each track I've tried, I've hit the sweet spot after adjusting the car a bit within minutes. Maybe it's the wheel, maybe it's the setup, but no matter what it is, I'm glad I don't formulate my opinion off of reviews, because I love the hell out of the game and reviewers and forum posters are slagging it left and right. Doesn't matter to me because I'll keep playing this one against the AI if nothing else.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:12 am

If I had a wheel I would probably enjoy this title. Without a wheel, it's not enjoyable for me. I could drive in DiRT, F1, Toca, Forza. I'm nothing great but I think I could drive straight enough not to hit 5 cars in one lap at daytona.

I know F1 is a bit more arcade and a different car type but concentration there was rewarded with extremely fast laps. Here you need all your concentration just to stay on the track.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:15 am

From what i've read so far, seems like this game is just get in and race, not much tinkering, so that really appeals to me. But on the other hand, everyone is complaining that the control really stinks. that its hard to keep your car on the track especially when there are other cars around. True?

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:31 am

Inuyasha wrote:From what i've read so far, seems like this game is just get in and race, not much tinkering, so that really appeals to me. But on the other hand, everyone is complaining that the control really stinks. that its hard to keep your car on the track especially when there are other cars around. True?

I don't know about get in and drive. Let's take the control out of the equation. I think the default set-ups aren't that fast. Even if I could control the car, on the straights the AI cars are so much faster then me when I use default set-ups. I just race the default AI which I think is normal/medium.

I've said enough on control so I'll let people like Teal and Rod talk a bit about it because their experience is a lot more positive. It's not that you can't stay on the track but its hard to stay straight not to bump other cars or stay on your line so a car behind you doesn't ram you in the corners.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:09 am

Online is the make or break for me. Is it any good?? (360)?

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:56 am

TCrouch wrote:I do know that I've run the wheel exclusively since I got the game and it handles well enough for me, but I am beginning to wonder if I'm just less picky than most here or something, I don't know. I just want something that's believable and predictable. I don't care if it's arcade or sim or anything in between as long as it can be driven predictably and not have the car suddenly pitch itself into a 4 wheel drift like some previous EA Nascar games. I am very pleased with this driving model, turning some low 15's and high 14's at Bristol today with the wheel after about 10 or 15 laps of setup tweaking. That's right about where I am with NR2003 using a race setup, and at each track I've tried, I've hit the sweet spot after adjusting the car a bit within minutes. Maybe it's the wheel, maybe it's the setup, but no matter what it is, I'm glad I don't formulate my opinion off of reviews, because I love the hell out of the game and reviewers and forum posters are slagging it left and right. Doesn't matter to me because I'll keep playing this one against the AI if nothing else.

Can you tell me where you start with a setup? I was decent at setting a car up when we were playing rfactor and using F3's. I am clueless on the oval.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:07 pm

I give up. I spent some more time with it and just find it no fun to race. I can get around alright on an empty track, but with other cars I can't get anywhere. There's just too many other really good games I want to play to make it worth spending the time to figure this game out. Going up in the for sale thread if anyone's looking for a copy.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 7:16 pm

This is one game where the PS3 might have an edge. After practice, and with assists on, I can race in the pack without being a demolition vehicle. Thanks entirely to the use of the SIXAXIS controller's motion sensitive control. Hold it like a wheel, set the responsiveness to 90, and go.

No force-feedback obviously, but short of spending $60-$100 on a peripheral that I won't use that often (and which is a pain to setup/store in the family room) you won't find a better racing control system.

My problem now is that I'm winning all my races. I got my first 2 licenses on bronze and 2 racing cars/team offers by completing the necessary challenges. I placed 43 in the first race, but won the last three with relative ease by taking the Pole and holding on for the full race. Is the only way to increase difficulty to handicap the driving model by turning off assists? I think that will cripple my racing ability; I'll lose, but not for the right reasons.

Where is the difficulty setting once you're on a racing team?

phantompain · Post by **phantompain** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:23 pm

Sport73 wrote:This is one game where the PS3 might have an edge. After practice, and with assists on, I can race in the pack without being a demolition vehicle. Thanks entirely to the use of the SIXAXIS controller's motion sensitive control. Hold it like a wheel, set the responsiveness to 90, and go.

No force-feedback obviously, but short of spending $60-$100 on a peripheral that I won't use that often (and which is a pain to setup/store in the family room) you won't find a better racing control system.

My problem now is that I'm winning all my races. I got my first 2 licenses on bronze and 2 racing cars/team offers by completing the necessary challenges. I placed 43 in the first race, but won the last three with relative ease by taking the Pole and holding on for the full race. Is the only way to increase difficulty to handicap the driving model by turning off assists? I think that will cripple my racing ability; I'll lose, but not for the right reasons.

Where is the difficulty setting once you're on a racing team?

I can't quite afford a wheel right now but I am interested to hear your pros and cons for the SIX-AXIS, or from anyone that has played it. Does it handle better than just using the sticks, and do you find your arms getting tired since you are essentially holding it all up by yourself?

I played the demo on the 360 and liked it eventhough I know the handling wasn't great. But since I can't afford the wheel and the handling seems to be pretty tough for even experienced gamers, if this is a better alternative then I may give it a shot.

Thanks in advance.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 8:42 pm

Naples39 wrote:I give up. I spent some more time with it and just find it no fun to race. I can get around alright on an empty track, but with other cars I can't get anywhere. There's just too many other really good games I want to play to make it worth spending the time to figure this game out. Going up in the for sale thread if anyone's looking for a copy.

Sorry to hear that, I myself have been getting pretty frustrated with the game, but see no reason to give up on it. I ran a 40 lap race at the Brickyard today, started 35 and finished there LOL. I was up to 18th at one point but a black flag ( i have no idea why I got it so that pissed me off) sent me to the rear. I also spun once but only b/c I was pushing and dropped a wheel. Overall it was A LOT of fun.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:06 pm

Anyone have any tuning tips to make my car go faster? I've tried to set-up the car to go as fast as possible even making the car unstable and well that doesn't even work. I'm just using the basic tuning options for right now.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:15 pm

That's all I've been doing so far, JRod. I hold my own in the online races I've run so far, and I just tweak the basic options for now. Add a little grip here, make it a touch looser there, pretty simple. I wasn't sure I wanted to really commit to setup tweaking until the session I had this afternoon. I started racing one quick one and suddenly it was 5 hours later...

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 11:07 pm

Well I suspected that some of the aids slowed down the car. I can confirm that some of the aids do slow down the car.

I'm just doing some practicing at Indy and I started at casual. I could barely reach 200 at the 1st turn and had to slow to about 140 just to take that first corner. I went to hardcore mode or whatever that one is called and I can get into 210 going into the 1st turn while maintaining the turn around 150. My lines are sloppy but I can keep up with the AI. Before that they would go by me no matter where I was on the track.

For this test, I did not mess around with any tuning tweaks.

The other thing is the car pulls less to the left with the aids turned off than with the aids turned on. I have no idea what to make of this but they truly f'd up the easier difficulties.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:29 am

I am starting to get really aggravated playing this game with the controller. I can't run laps anywhere besides Daytona or Taledega without getting banged around by the AI cars. This a partially because I have a hard time holding a perfect line. If yo ucan get out in fromt a little bit, it's not as much an issue, but if you are racinc in a pack for more than a 1/4 lap...say goodbye.

I just cant justify getting the MS Wheel just for this game. I already have a PC Wheel and it would involve switching those back and forth, since i do my PC and console gaming on the same monitor. The only way I would do it would be to sell my PC Wheel first and just have the one MS Wheel.
If there were more DSPers playing Nascar08, I would consider it, but there are never more than a handful of DSPers online with this game.

It's a shame, because the game is so much better than past versions, but you should be able to control your car somewhat with a controller. Maybe they will release a patch?

mixdj1 · Post by **mixdj1** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:51 am

JackB1 wrote:I am starting to get really aggravated playing this game with the controller. I can't run laps anywhere besides Daytona or Taledega without getting banged around by the AI cars. This a partially because I have a hard time holding a perfect line. If yo ucan get out in fromt a little bit, it's not as much an issue, but if you are racinc in a pack for more than a 1/4 lap...say goodbye.

I just cant justify getting the MS Wheel just for this game. I already have a PC Wheel and it would involve switching those back and forth, since i do my PC and console gaming on the same monitor. The only way I would do it would be to sell my PC Wheel first and just have the one MS Wheel.
If there were more DSPers playing Nascar08, I would consider it, but there are never more than a handful of DSPers online with this game.

It's a shame, because the game is so much better than past versions, but you should be able to control your car somewhat with a controller. Maybe they will release a patch?

I just sent mine back to Gamefly for pretty much the same reason. I actually have the wheel but had transitioned to playing Forza and DiRT with the controller because of the hassle of setting up and tearing down the wheel. I still have my Logitech MOMO for my PC sims but I decided that I want my console gaming to be more "sit down and play" without all of the extra prep work. Plus if I want to do some NASCAR racing I would much prefer to play NR2003 rather than NASCAR 08.