Codies announce Race Driver: GRID

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:54 pm

I am on the fence for this one. Should I pick it up just for the online racing alone? I miss racing online and all I can keep thinking about is how much I loved the first TOCA on Xbox and racing the open wheelers.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:03 pm

I am the only guy that doesn't love the open-wheelers in this game?

I feel like I'm driving go-karts with them. "Dive-bombers" is another term that comes to mind about how to handle them.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:19 pm

SEMINOLE wrote:I am on the fence for this one. Should I pick it up just for the online racing alone? I miss racing online and all I can keep thinking about is how much I loved the first TOCA on Xbox and racing the open wheelers.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend it if you're hoping to get TOCA Next gen. It's far from it, but closer to the PGR mold of things. No tire wear or fuel usage, no pit stops, no qualifying online...just hit the starting grid and go (no pun intended).

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:44 pm

JackB1 wrote:
Feanor wrote:
I have the PC version and have played on Normal with all assists so far. But I'm going to turn Stability Control off after a poster on Eurogamer suggested it would make the cars feel more weightier and less skittish.
Feanor (or anyone else with the PC version), I have the PC version too and could you offer some tips on the "advanced" setup to make driving with a controller less twitchy? I can't seem to find the right combination of settings. How would I set the "linearity" and the "steering saturation" to make it smooth to control with a controller?

Also, anyone who has played both the PC and the 360 version....are they identical?

I increased my "Linearity" setting from 4 to 5 last night, but apart from that I haven't changed the advanced settings. The patch might help with the twitchy handling according to an admin on the official forum:

http://community.codemasters.com/forum/ ... ge=1&pp=10

• Added the ability to override the controller type, so that if the game fails to auto-detect it, users can specify it themselves.
o Symptoms of the game failing to detect the appropriate controller type are:
On a pad, handling is too twitchy, appears to steer “lock-to-lock”.
On a wheel, the input lags and the linearity slider doesn’t appear to have an effect.
o To override controller type, find the hardware_settings_config.xml that is generated when the game is run (should be in My Documents\Codemasters\GRID\hardwaresettings) and change the line that reads <input device_type="auto" /> to either <input device_type="pad” /> or <input device_type="wheel" /> as appropriate for your controller.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:02 pm

The patch isn't out yet but i'll definitely give it a try as the PC version does suffer from a twitchy feeling when using a gamepad.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:02 pm

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but the handling seems a lot better now that I have the patch thru Steam and have changed to <input device_type="pad” />

I'm using a wired 360 pad in case I didn't make that clear, earlier. The handling seems a lot smoother, especially around corners where it used to feel pretty jerky. I was understeering at first, but after a couple of laps I got used to the new handling and improved on a few of my Washington lap times.

Make sure you open and save the .xml file with Notepad, not Wordpad as Wordpad screws with the formatting. Notepad has no formatting, but it's easy to find the one line you need to change.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:29 pm

Terry has a great review of Grid over at OS, but I'm undoubtedly biased as I saw pretty much everything the same way he did and even went through the same stages of dealing with my feelings towards the game.

Nice one, TC.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 4:09 pm

Appreciate it, thanks!

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:13 am

Feanor wrote:I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but the handling seems a lot better now that I have the patch thru Steam and have changed to <input device_type="pad” />

I'm using a wired 360 pad in case I didn't make that clear, earlier. The handling seems a lot smoother, especially around corners where it used to feel pretty jerky. I was understeering at first, but after a couple of laps I got used to the new handling and improved on a few of my Washington lap times.

Make sure you open and save the .xml file with Notepad, not Wordpad as Wordpad screws with the formatting. Notepad has no formatting, but it's easy to find the one line you need to change.

Got the 1.1 Patch and it's WAY BETTER now

MUCH smoother handling with the gamepad. What is the name of the file that has the input device to change in it? How did you know to do that?

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:23 am

JackB1 wrote:Got the 1.1 Patch and it's WAY BETTER now MUCH smoother handling with the gamepad. What is the name of the file that has the input device to change in it? How did you know to do that?

Glad it's working better for you as well.

I just followed the instructions of an Admin on the official forums:

o To override controller type, find the hardware_settings_config.xml that is generated when the game is run (should be in My Documents\Codemasters\GRID\hardwaresettings) and change the line that reads <input device_type="auto" /> to either <input device_type="pad” /> or <input device_type="wheel" /> as appropriate for your controller.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:04 am

So, for the hell of it I rented PGR4 over the weekend to compare it to Grid as I am enjoying Grid so much that I felt like I did not give PGR4 a fair chance and wanted to see if it was as good or better than Grid. I really liked PGR4 but never played it much and traded it in a while back.

Well...after about an hour of PGR4 I can safely say that I think Grid blows it away as far as fun and intensity. Even the graphics are much better (I remember thinking that PGR4's were a bit better but no...). What really hurts PGR4 is its terribly constructed career mode. Yuck. It is messy and hard to follow. PGR4 is fun and perhaps may be a better overall online experience, but Grid is a much better game in general as far as pure racing and fun go.

I guess I thought that maybe Grid had just re-sparked my interst in sim/arcade driving games again and PGR4 would be a great compliment, but that is not really the case. Grid is just that much more fun for me.

I think what I an trying to say is that PGR4 seemed to die out quickly and Grid seems to be garbbing everyone here a lot more for a reason. Grid is more fun, hands down.

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:13 am

Hey, when do you guys decide when it's the right time to fire a teammate? I fired my rookie teammate Giovanni Fazio and hired a professional one, Dave Vance, once I made it to the Pro races. That one was an easy decision to make as Vance was the 3rd best overall driver available on the market at the time. Early on Vance was doing great for me. I could just about always write him down for a podium finish in any type of race, while I carry the slack on the drift races. But now I've been thinking about firing Vance because over the last 2 seasons he has not been performing well enough justify what I'm paying him... even for races in his specialty GT cars. I wonder if I'm too quick to jump the gun to get rid of him, and should show more patience to stick it out with him despite the slump he's currently in.

Edit: It supposed to read Gianni Fazio and Dale Vance.

Kruza

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:12 pm

One good thing I must say about this game is you don't want to drive over somebody else's car parts. I found out the hard way when I accidentally drove over another cars rear bumper.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:47 pm

Kruza wrote:Hey, when do you guys decide when it's the right time to fire a teammate? I fired my rookie teammate Giovanni Fazio and hired a professional one, Dave Vance, once I made it to the Pro races. That one was an easy decision to make as Vance was the 3rd best overall driver available on the market at the time. Early on Vance was doing great for me. I could just about always write him down for a podium finish in any type of race, while I carry the slack on the drift races. But now I've been thinking about firing Vance because over the last 2 seasons he has not been performing well enough justify what I'm paying him... even for races in his specialty GT cars. I wonder if I'm too quick to jump the gun to get rid of him, and should show more patience to stick it out with him despite the slump he's currently in.

Kruza

I had a Japanese rookie driver as a teammate for only two races then fired him and hired one of the top pro drivers and he has been doing pretty good since his hiring. I think I'm in season 6 or 7 and haven't done a drift race yet.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:12 pm

The Destruction Derby is a great change of pace.

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:49 pm

vader29 wrote:I had a Japanese rookie driver as a teammate for only two races then fired him and hired one of the top pro drivers and he has been doing pretty good since his hiring. I think I'm in season 6 or 7 and haven't done a drift race yet.

You fired your rookie driver teammate after only two races? LOL... man, you're cruel.

At any rate, I may keep Vance around since drifting events are the only type of events that he's fairly average in, and I only have one Pro level Drift GP event, two National Drift GP events and one Global Drift GP event left to go. There are mainly events for prototype race cars and GT cars left for me, which Vance usually does pretty well in. I need him to finish in the top 5 consistently plus achieve a fair rate of podium finishes so that my team can collect revenue from my chosen sponsors. After a race Vance and I often collectively earn twice as much money if not more from sponsors than I get from the event.

Kruza

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:41 am

All I have to say is that racing on the 1968 version of Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe is truly awesome. 4-mile Mulsanne Straight without chicanes!

Kruza

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:05 pm

Feanor wrote:The Destruction Derby is a great change of pace.

I has insane fun with the cockpit view in these events!!

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:49 pm

webdanzer wrote:
Feanor wrote:The Destruction Derby is a great change of pace.
I has insane fun with the cockpit view in these events!!

For the love of f*** why did they put this mode in the game? I f'in hate it. Pure torture. Maybe it's fun in MP, but in SP it's just god damn annoying.

Maybe I'm looking at it all wrong... I still try to "win".. perhaps I should just laugh off the fact that I get f***in blindsided, rammed by a car that lands ON top of and slammed into the wall, terminally damaging my car on the last f***in lap of this twisted torture f***in hell gameplay mode, having to restart. f***

Yeah I know I can rewind... and I have... but I just find destruction derby annoying.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:58 pm

James_E wrote:
webdanzer wrote:
Feanor wrote:The Destruction Derby is a great change of pace.
I has insane fun with the cockpit view in these events!!
For the love of f*** why did they put this mode in the game? I f'in hate it. Pure torture. Maybe it's fun in MP, but in SP it's just god damn annoying.

Maybe I'm looking at it all wrong... I still try to "win".. perhaps I should just laugh off the fact that I get f***in blindsided, rammed by a car that lands ON top of and slammed into the wall, terminally damaging my car on the last f***in lap of this twisted torture f***in hell gameplay mode, having to restart. f***

Yeah I know I can rewind... and I have... but I just find destruction derby annoying.

You don't drink enough while playing destruction derby. I swear, with a couple of shots of goldshlager in my gut, this mode is fun (and funny) as hell...

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:20 am

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:46 am

Man, there is a lot of rubbin' going while racing on those Japanese tracks. Especially on the shorter routes of Otukama. Highly competetive racing in that area, where one slight mistake can cost a few positions.

Meanwhile, Shibuya is probably the most competitive yet also the most frustrating place to race at in this game. Not many sections where a driver can apply full throttle racing through any route in this city, and there are not a lot of places to overtake other cars. Plus it's difficullt to avoid any hazards that occur too.

Kruza

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:54 pm

Played the game for an hour and quick impressions :

-you guys were right, THIS IS NO TOCA! It feels so much like PGR4, which I don't like. That's the first thing that struck me. Damn, why couldn't they just make a next gen Toca.

-Game is HARD! I dont know how some of you guys say it's easy. I'm having a hard time not finishing last.

-Someone tell Codemasters to turn the lights on in the game. it's so dark! Nascar is nice and bright and this game is so gloomy.

-Tokyo drift cars very hard.

Too early to tell but I like NASCAR so much better at this moment. hopefully the game gets easier for me.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:59 pm

Inuyasha wrote:Played the game for an hour and quick impressions :

-you guys were right, THIS IS NO TOCA! It feels so much like PGR4, which I don't like. That's the first thing that struck me. Damn, why couldn't they just make a next gen Toca.

-Game is HARD! I dont know how some of you guys say it's easy. I'm having a hard time not finishing last.

Too early to tell but I like NASCAR so much better at this moment. hopefully the game gets easier for me.

Its probably just the difference in the games...I just played about 10 minutes and it was hard. Need to reaclimate to it.

They are just very different...

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:17 pm

Having a hard time getting into this game. It's like the game doesn't know if it wants to be PGR, Burnout, or Toca.