Codies announce Race Driver: GRID

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:40 pm

Naples39 wrote:
Zeppo wrote:to me was a shot of the Eurpean style stock car racing that had something like 20 cars in the shot. We don't have any racers on 360 that bother to try that sort of thing except the MotoGP games....

Yes, I am disappointed that they are not making a ToCA IV with an omnibus of road racing disciplines at the core of it, but I am nonetheless very much looking forward to the European section of this game, and hoping that they will have a decently functional online 'race weekend' setup available including practice and qualifying so I can punish everyone with my non-ADD compliant half-hour races.
Agreed 100%.

I just have a feeling that this will be fun....and isnt that why we play?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:16 pm

Zeppo wrote:I'm curious what looks ridiculous to you. W ould you care to specify? Remember, they have decided to go with three distinct styles of racing in the three regions, specifically drift racing in the Japan section and so-called 'street racing' in the US section, whatever that means.

The drifting looks hokey as hell, but I'm not surprised since drifting IS hokey as hell. It's the figure skating of motorsports, where style means everything. The crash physics also look exaggerated in all three regions. The street racing looks like a direct PGR ripoff, too.

Zeppo wrote:Yes, I am disappointed that they are not making a ToCA IV with an omnibus of road racing disciplines at the core of it, but I am nonetheless very much looking forward to the European section of this game, and hoping that they will have a decently functional online 'race weekend' setup available including practice and qualifying so I can punish everyone with my non-ADD compliant half-hour races.

Good luck trying to attract a sim crowd other than a few DSP disciples. Nearly everyone is going to gravitate toward the drifting and street races, as that's the new market to which the Codies are aiming.

Plus I've seen few details to indicate that the European section will be more than TOCA 3 with prettier pictures. It's pretty obvious that Codemasters is putting its emphasis on the drift and street racing aspects of this game.

I guess I shouldn't give a sh*t because I don't play consoles anymore, but I always used to respect Codemasters and put it on a tall platform for its devotion to console sims. And I guess I wouldn't care so much if Bizarre Creations or some other relaxed sim developer was creating this game. But this is Codemasters, damn it, the king of console sims!

DIRT was dumbed down from previous Colin McRae games, and it appears that the TOCA/Race Car Driver franchise is heading down the same lowest common denominator road. Nothing wrong with that, as Codies probably will make more bucks. But it's just sad that the last of the great console racing sim developers apparently is abandoning the platform in favor of relaxed sims or arcade games.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:26 pm

XXXIV wrote:I just have a feeling that this will be fun....and isnt that why we play?

You're a football freak, right? Let me ask you this: If a console football sim franchise that you respected and played for nearly a decade all of the sudden turned arcadish and had relaxed realism but was fun, wouldn't you feel a bit let down, at least?

I hold racing sims with the reverence that most people treat football sims around here. I could give a sh*t if Madden is realistic, but I do want my racing games to be real.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:55 pm

pk500 wrote:DIRT was dumbed down from previous Colin McRae games, and it appears that the TOCA/Race Car Driver franchise is heading down the same lowest common denominator road.

You never even played DIRT. How would you know that DIRT was one phenomenal game. One of my favorite racers EVER. Sure, it wasn't hardcore sim, but it was a pretty good representation of the genre. But then again, the McRae series had the whole turn on a center axis crap that ALWAYS pissed me off about the series...so when DIRT fixed that, it just advanced the rally genre. But like I said, you didn't play it, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

If they figure out a way to differentiate between the racing types, then this game may just have some legs. The console racers that just rinse and repeat are getting old. I guess the Codies just figured they needed something to set them apart.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:21 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:You never even played DIRT.

Thanks, but I played it on a 360. Not my 360 since I've never owned one, mind you, but a 360 nonetheless.

dbdynsty25 wrote:But then again, the McRae series had the whole turn on a center axis crap that ALWAYS pissed me off about the series...so when DIRT fixed that, it just advanced the rally genre.

CMR 2005, the last CMR for the Xbox, didn't have the spin-on-a-center-axis physics that were so damn pronounced in CMR 3.

But if you want to get nitpicky, you're right: CMR 2005 didn't have anywhere near the physics model of Richard Burns Rally. And neither does DIRT.

dbdynsty25 wrote:But like I said, you didn't play it, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

Really, I do get out of my house more than you think. I don't really enjoy doing the Unabomber impersonation in the outhouse with the crescent moon carved into the door for very long.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:23 am

Ooo burn. I'm so humiliated.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:25 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:Ooo burn. I'm so humiliated.

Cute. But it takes blind bravado to assume that I haven't played a racing game of which you disagree with my opinion just because I don't own the game or the console.

Especially when it's a Codemasters' game. Especially when it's Colin.

I didn't play it for long, maybe 25 or 30 minutes, but I didn't care for the career progression filled with rallycross, hillclimbs, CORR and stage-based rallying -- the deviation from pure stage-based rallying. The damage model was pretty spectacular, though. Definitely a big step forward for the series.

And I understand what the Codies are trying to do with their racing franchises by expanding the appeal and potential customer base. Game development is not non-profit work, after all!

But I'm just much more targeted in what I want from a racing game.

I'll leave this thread alone, as I see quite a few DSP folk are jazzed about this game. Hope everyone enjoys it.

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:05 am

Oh, the rallycross stuff was crap...I definitely agree with you. The pure rally races were by far the best part of the game. I finished the career and then just ran all of the rallys. Being that you didnt' spend much time with it, you probably don't know that they had multiple rally events spanning the different locales and they were LONG. Like 40 stages and whatnot...so there was plenty of game outside of the big rigs and other stupid sh*t that they threw in there.

And it ain't blind bravado when you PREACH to everyone that listens that consoles are not for you anymore. It's called an assumption. And most people would have made the same one, given your stance on console gaming in the last three years.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:10 am

Have you guys seen the new gameplay footage videos just released on IGN?
Wow!!! This ain't your Daddy's TOCA

Can't wait for this one!

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:56 am

JackB1 wrote:Have you guys seen the new gameplay footage videos just released on IGN?
Wow!!! This ain't your Daddy's TOCA

Can't wait for this one!

The only video I see at IGN is the same one posted in this thread last week, right?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:19 am

New GRID hands-on video from G4, including interview with Codemasters' producer:

http://www.g4tv.com/video_detail.aspx?video_key=20907

Take care,
PK

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:48 pm

Naples39 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:Have you guys seen the new gameplay footage videos just released on IGN?
Wow!!! This ain't your Daddy's TOCA

Can't wait for this one!
The only video I see at IGN is the same one posted in this thread last week, right?

It's also been available on the XBL marketplace for a week or more.

Sessler's interview was pretty horrid due to the 'hurry up and finish' format of that show, but there were some things that were nice to hear. At least they are paying lip service to the concept of 'racing first,' and since this is Codies I trust it's their real focus. The producer was saying how it's not about modding the cars, it's not about collecting cars, it's about racing. That's what I'd hope for from a Codies game, with its 20-car grids and traditionally very good racing AI. 50 different race cars, he said. I wonder how many different series or disciplines that really means, and especially how many outside of Japan.

12-player online is a heck of a lot better than six or eight, but not the holy grail of 20+ that I am always hoping for. He also said 'full grids online.' Does that mean you can fill out the grid with AI cars, beyond the 12 human players? If so will they be useful or just annoying? Who were those AI guys we loved to hate in ToCA3? Sometimes when we set them to 82% or 86% they were actually pretty useful, I thought, at least in some of the disciplines. I love the long races, but they only really work if there are enough cars to have some traffic out there over the course of a long race.

I still miss running those 80s F1 cars at Spa

. I wonder if ToCA3 will be back-compat before this game comes out.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:11 pm

Zeppo wrote:12-player online is a heck of a lot better than six or eight, but not the holy grail of 20+ that I am always hoping for. He also said 'full grids online.' Does that mean you can fill out the grid with AI cars, beyond the 12 human players? If so will they be useful or just annoying?

Little voice whispering in your head: Get Boot Camp and rFactor, you DICK, and run in some of the 35-human races with the Renault Meganes:

http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... e%20Trophy

Plans already are in the works for a full, 33-human Indy 500 this weekend with the new IRL 2007-08 mod:

http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... 7%20Season

Zeppo wrote:Who were those AI guys we loved to hate in ToCA3?

HOW DARE YOU slam the legendary Merv Tapper? Sing along, in true English footie style, "There's only one Merv Tapper ... there's only one Merv Tapper."

Zeppo wrote:I still miss running those 80s F1 cars at Spa . I wonder if ToCA3 will be back-compat before this game comes out.

Little voice whispering in your head: Get Boot Camp and rFactor, you DICK, and enjoy the wonders of this mod at Spa:

http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cf ... rix%201979

I'll stop now with the foolish PC racing sim advocacy, man. I really hope you enjoy GRID. But without lapsing into a bout of man-boy love, I really miss racing with you.

Take care,
PK

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:34 pm

pk500 wrote:
XXXIV wrote:I just have a feeling that this will be fun....and isnt that why we play?
You're a football freak, right? Let me ask you this: If a console football sim franchise that you respected and played for nearly a decade all of the sudden turned arcadish and had relaxed realism but was fun, wouldn't you feel a bit let down, at least?

I hold racing sims with the reverence that most people treat football sims around here. I could give a sh*t if Madden is realistic, but I do want my racing games to be real.

Take care,
PK

Absolutely. I hear ya. Good thing Im not a racing freak

Now I will wait for a realistic Madden

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:51 pm

I sure do miss those DSP TOCA Poker nights....

good times

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:39 pm

I'll almost certainly get the game.

I really like the race first mentality with no tweaking and collecting, but the handling is more arcadey than I would like (as Dirt was).

Oh well--it's still the best we got and I have no PC in sight for sim alternatives.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:14 pm

JackB1 wrote:I sure do miss those DSP TOCA Poker nights....

good times

Zeppo's TOCA2 league and PK's 50 lapper at Bathurst were easily some of the most fun Ive ever had with online gaming...

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:09 pm

pk500 wrote:
Zeppo wrote:Who were those AI guys we loved to hate in ToCA3?
HOW DARE YOU slam the legendary Merv Tapper? Sing along, in true English footie style, "There's only one Merv Tapper ... there's only one Merv Tapper."

Don't forget Mitch Bacon and Juan Guerro Loma!

Fun times in that game, I'm looking forward to GRID on the 360 even if it is slanted more towards an arcade racer.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:58 pm

That's it! PK the song you had was wrong! It was all about 'Juan Guerra Loma, there's only Juan Guerra Loma!'

Man that stuff was great. And Mitch Bacon can suck an egg!

What I really enjoyed was that I always tried my best to spin the AI drivers, but of course tried to be very careful with the human drivers.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:16 pm

Sung over XBL in the deepest baritone I could muster, to the tune of "Guantanamera:"

"Juan Guerro Loma, oh, baby, Juan Guerro Loma ... Juan Guerro LOHHHHH-MA, oh, baby, Juan Guerro Loma ..."

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:19 pm

Talk about a thread jack.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:09 pm

Sorry, link already posted earlier by pk.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:45 pm

Vader, isn't that the video PK posted earlier in the thread? Either way, I've only just watched it, and...well, ick.

Zep, you were saying earlier about the European circuits and licenced racing cars being enough of a sign that there was some of the old ToCA present. Until I watched that video, I could understand your point, but now I'm racking my brains trying to remember the last ToCA game that didn't want me to brake until I was already halfway around a corner, and I'm coming up short.

Without turning this thread into a debate along the lines of PK and db's effort earlier (which I thought was odd, since in my view you're both right - DiRT's a fine game but the handling is much more sim-lite than the series used to deliver), it does seem that GRID will be to Race Driver what DiRT was to the McRae games, and I have plenty of arcadeish racing games to crack on with already. ToCA always offered me something I couldn't get from other console racers - that little GRID video makes me wonder whether this will.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:22 pm

There is always hope the video was from the "arcade mode" while there is the ability in the game to turn on a more "sim" side.

Didn't TOCA have that as an option, or am i dreaming of another game........

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:33 pm

For those who are still keen, Eurogamer have a couple of new videos up:

http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=8032

http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=8033