Need for Speed: Shift Hands On

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 3:23 pm

I've read that most people begin to encounter the really crazy handling issues when they get pretty deep into the game with the faster cars. (Tier 3 & 4)

I'm only a few races into Tier 3 and I've actually not had a control issue to speak of yet (Two RWD and one AWD in my garage) but I also usually have a couple of driving aids still on. That probably mitigates some of the issues.

Anyway, I'm still enjoying the racing a lot at this point. I just hope I'm not approaching the spot where it begins to go bad.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 4:42 pm

I find my interest in this game waning at the moment and preferring Dirt 2.

I haven't gotten that far yet so maybe it's unfair. I generally have won all the tier 1 events easily and the invitationals that I am invited to, with the big exception of the tier 3 level invitationals. I can't keep my car on the road on those. Really feel befuddled trying to figure out the handling on those things.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:50 pm

toonarmy wrote:Fellas, if you want sublime control of the cars try the following two things. I was having trouble controlling some of the cars in tier 4 so I went on EA's forums to see if I could find some tips. I came across this, and let me tell you it changes the game A LOT! The control is so much better using these settings. These are based around the controller, so I do not know if they also work for the wheel. Check them out and let me know what you think. I have been shaving massive times off my laps with these settings. I love this game more than ever now that I am using the settings.

Change your steering settings to the following:

Steering Dead Zone 15%
Accel Dead Zone 10%
Brake Dead Zone 10%
Steering sensitivity 5%
Acell Sensitivity 5%
Brake sensitivity 5%
Speed steering Sensitivity 100%

then...

At the main menu enter CAR GARAGE----> TUNING, press 'Y' to enter quick tuning mode.
Under the heading 'balance' move the slider all the way to OVERSTEER. That's right oversteer. Apparently the developer labeled this slider wrong or its a glitch. Turning the slider to oversteer will actually add understeer.

Okay, I applied these settings, and DAMN-the handling changes pretty dramatically, to the very, very good. It feels MUCH more like a heavy car now. Thanks for posting these, toon!

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:55 pm

Teal wrote:
toonarmy wrote:Fellas, if you want sublime control of the cars try the following two things. I was having trouble controlling some of the cars in tier 4 so I went on EA's forums to see if I could find some tips. I came across this, and let me tell you it changes the game A LOT! The control is so much better using these settings. These are based around the controller, so I do not know if they also work for the wheel. Check them out and let me know what you think. I have been shaving massive times off my laps with these settings. I love this game more than ever now that I am using the settings.

Change your steering settings to the following:

Steering Dead Zone 15%
Accel Dead Zone 10%
Brake Dead Zone 10%
Steering sensitivity 5%
Acell Sensitivity 5%
Brake sensitivity 5%
Speed steering Sensitivity 100%

then...

At the main menu enter CAR GARAGE----> TUNING, press 'Y' to enter quick tuning mode.
Under the heading 'balance' move the slider all the way to OVERSTEER. That's right oversteer. Apparently the developer labeled this slider wrong or its a glitch. Turning the slider to oversteer will actually add understeer.
Okay, I applied these settings, and DAMN-the handling changes pretty dramatically, to the very, very good. It feels MUCH more like a heavy car now. Thanks for posting these, toon!

No problem. Considering how hard the tier 4 and NFS World Tour races can be, every little tweak is of benefit. In the five-lappers on long tracks I am finding myself wanting a rewind button like the one in Dirt 2 and Grid. It sucks to be on the final lap and get wrecked, then have to start over.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:41 pm

Nice settings Toon. I got the game yesterday and gave them a try, it makes the cars less twitchy. Prior to the settings they felt like Formula One cars.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:28 pm

NFS: Shift on sale at BB starting Sunday 9/27 for $39.99 PS3/X360/PC

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:26 pm

I still just don't understand what is going on with BMWs, I find them to be impossible to drive competitively. I upgraded an M3 all the way to a works model, hoping that would make the car feel more planted and steady (especially at corner entry through apex) and it didn't help much at all.

It isn't a FE-RWD issue; the Corvettes, big Mercedes, Lexus LF-A, Skyline 2000GT-R, and others have been a blast to drive and not been twitchy at all.

And one other thing--THANKFULLY you don't have to do the drift events to unlock the tier 5 NFS World Tour.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:46 am

Dave did you try Toon's controller adjustments? They make the cars more predictable to drive.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:22 am

I haven't tried them yet since I really enjoy the way the game feels with my other cars.

I took a Nissan R-34 GT-R all the way to works last night to participate in the Works vs. Supercar challenge (found it too tough with the Mercedes McLaren) and it is really fun to drive. Pushing it around Donington was awesome.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:44 am

Thinking about picking this up this week for 39.99.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:03 am

I've really been enjoying this one, especially since switching to the settings toon posted. Thanks for posting those toon.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:10 am

As others have said on the Forza thread this is more of a pure racing game than Forza will be. The exception is that Forza is a more technical game and slants more towards realism.

At first I felt bad buying Shift on ebay for $48 once I read about the BB deal this week but after tax and gas (27 miles to BB) i'm maybe saving $2. PRBoom for $40, I highly recommend Shift.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:24 pm

$40 for Shift may be hard to pass up, but I need another racing game like I need a hole in my head. I watched the video review at IGN, and the fact that you get points for things like aggressive driving, drafting, good lines, etc immediately made me think of Project Gotham (or MSR on the DC). Is Shift basically a faster paced clone of PG?

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:34 pm

F308GTB wrote:$40 for Shift may be hard to pass up, but I need another racing game like I need a hole in my head. I watched the video review at IGN, and the fact that you get points for things like aggressive driving, drafting, good lines, etc immediately made me think of Project Gotham (or MSR on the DC). Is Shift basically a faster paced clone of PG?

You don't HAVE to accrue the points associated with 'aggressive' driving. In fact, you can earn just as many points driving cleanly and properly. You basically 'decide' which kind of driver you want to be, and, at least with toons recommended settings, it is possible to run a completely clean race. In that vein, no, it's not like PGR, because it's set up in such a way so as to play completely like a sim, should you choose to do so.

Shift has all the character and feel that Forza is lacking, and plays a ridiculously good game, IMO. I'm not knocking Forza, because that's what Forza does-imitates a pretty good Gran Tourismo. But Gran Tourismo is rather bland, too.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:52 pm

I think the points system is just there to add some arcade flair for those who like that kind of thing. In the end it really has no effect on anything. Like I said in an earlier post, I do not even pay attention to the points system regarding aggressive/precision driving. Stars are what actually help you progress through the game, and there are so many stars available that you do not even have to do drift races, wreck people or anything of that ilk. You can just race like you want to and try for podium spots and still make it through the entire career.You can literally turn off all assists, ignore the points system, and get a decent sim out of this game. I will be interested to see how I like the full Forza 3 now that I have played Shift.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:05 pm

I'll second the notion that points are largely irrelevant and can safely be ignored through most of the game. You're literally showered with them after most races, without having to really try to earn any of them. Almost never do I ever find myself trying to drive in a certain manner to get points for it. I've found I almost always get all the points I need without paying any attention to them at all.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:26 pm

webdanzer wrote:I'll second the notion that points are largely irrelevant and can safely be ignored through most of the game. You're literally showered with them after most races, without having to really try to earn any of them. Almost never do I ever find myself trying to drive in a certain manner to get points for it. I've found I almost always get all the points I need without paying any attention to them at all.

Ill third it... I moved thru the game without even thinking about them. The points just add to the being inside a pinball machine like atmosphere.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:54 am

I have Shift on rental right now and I am finding a love/hate relationship for sure. I am having a hell of a time with the steering controller and the Pro settings, and not it a good way. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why I am losing the back end, it just decides to do so. No predictability. On the other hand, this is the first racing game I was able to give to my 6 year old son and have him win a race without helping him at all. Put it on easy setting for AI and control and he won his first race at Spa right off the bat. Hard and Pro settings and I am in last place. Rarely does a game actually succeed in providing that much variety in the difficulty settings. I am going to keep at this one, as the Forza 3 demo has left me completely cold and bored. Dirt 2 is so far the winner for me in the fall racing releases.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:51 am

I think it helps if you give up the ghost of chasing Shift as a sim, and treat it like an arcade racer with some sim tendencies. I'm playing with some of the aids on, and still enjoying myself, though I know it's not a particularly great game in either design or execution.

I have noticed that he destruction-derby sideswipes only seem to happen when I hit the AI first...

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:05 pm

NFS Shift is on sale over at Amazon.com today for $39.99 with free shipping and no tax.

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 8:01 pm

Picked up this and Pinball Hall of Fame today. I think I'm more exicted about Pinball HOF and getting some Pinbot in than I am about Shift.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:04 pm

Pinbot rocked on the NES!

Wilk5280 · Post by **Wilk5280** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:49 pm

I plugged many a quarter into Pinbot (and High Speed) when I was a young pup. Wish High Speed was on the disk as well, probably my fav. pinball machine from my youth.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:44 am

Well, I didn't want to buy the game new until I at least tried it, and finally one of our local stores had a pre-owned PS3 copy that I picked up with my Edge card and employee discounts.

The game looks great and is a lot of fun. It very much has that PGR feel to me, but with better physics so the cars react more the way I expect them to (thanks to the sliders above!)

I wasn't sure what to expect, and to be honest I'm still not sure, but there is no doubt that the racing is fun. Now that Best Buy has the sale, I'm going to snag the 360 version and take the PS3 one back to my store (the new one will actually be a couple of bucks cheaper).

You know what the game sort of feels like? One of our old TOCA poker nights. Theres some bumping and grinding, cars going off the track, but the racing is fun and for the most part clean.

Speaking of which, have you guys gone online with it yet?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:38 am

Gurantsu wrote:Speaking of which, have you guys gone online with it yet?

I have run a couple races and unfortunately found the stereotypical Need for Speed crowd playing. One time I was able to run away and hide while they crashed behind me, but the other time I was stuck in the pack and got speared way too often.