NASCAR 06: Total Team Control

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:50 pm

Dave wrote:Mears is my all-time favorite as well, and a driver's off-track personality doesn't matter much to me, either. But we're part of that diminishing fan base. And you can argue that the presence of AJ and those greats made Mears a personality, just a calm collected one. There isn't a foil right now--to the general public, open wheel racing is infested with foreign robots driving small, fast cars.

Look at the cult of NASCAR and how much the personality angle is played. It works. The question will be the new generation of drivers and whether or not they develop much of an image outside of young race car driver. Brian Vickers? Zzzz. Kyle & Kurt Busch? Zzzz.

Bah, I'll stop thinking about the runaway train that is NASCAR...

Ganassi's ego finally ate his team...I think Dixon is a major part of their problem. His F1 dreams were shattered and now he doesn't seem to have the same fire. Losing Tommy the Tester Scheckter hurt, too. Sounds like he's a set-up whiz.

All good points. However, I don't think the current crew in Indycar racing is that bad personality wise. AGR, Penske, Rahal, and Panther have good drivers with what I would think could be marketable personalities save for Meira and Enge. We need to bring back Tony Stewart, JPM, and Zanardi to Indycars. What the heck, add in PT as well. He may be considered a jack-ass, but it would make for good stories.

I did not know about that autograph session boycott. Like US open wheel racing needs another reason for fans to be pissed off or give up on it. That is really bad. When will professional athletes realize that without the fan base, their careers cease to exist?

Thanks for the clarification on the blocking Paul. Doesn't Scheckter ride that fine line as well?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:12 pm

DChaps wrote:Thanks for the clarification on the blocking Paul. Doesn't Scheckter ride that fine line as well?

I don't think so. I just think he drives the car on the proverbial ragged edge all the time, so it looks like he's blocking when he's really hanging on and keeping it to the floor.

That's why I like Schecky.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:49 pm

PK, I had never put Dixon's Homestead 04 crash into perspective. Great point. I could see him having a Kristensen-like sports car career. How old is Scott now, 24?

Renna, to me at least, will be one of the great "what ifs" for the IRL. A tremendous personality, he could completely captivate a room (especially the women!) when talking about racing.

My biggest wish for IndyCar racing is that they could get a TV broadcast 1/2 as good as the ones Fox and NBC (especially Fox) put together for NASCAR. ABC/ESPN's coverage is a sick joke--the only innovation is the side-by-side feature, which simply allows for more commercials and less motivation to get back in time for things like restarts. I swear the cameras they use were probably used to document Danny Sullivan's spin and win. Just think of what a quality HD broadcast at a place like Texas would look like

Maybe an exciting broadcast would help draw people to the personalities, but even I, as a fan, find too many drivers to be incredibly bland (but that goes for NASCAR and their 'mention 28 sponsors in one interview' drivers) and interchangeable.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:53 pm

Dixon is 25. As for your comment about bland drivers in the IRL, I must take the Fifth because I work for the company.

But I think you get my drift. Let's just say I sometimes yearn for the days when Robby Unser and Eddie Cheever chased Scott Harrington down the pit lane after the Dover race to confront him, when Harrington was on crutches!

It's actually a hilarious story. Unser was being interviewed by a member of our pit note staff when Cheever stormed past, making a beeline to assault Harrington. Unser, in his inimitable style that I miss so much, told our pit reporter something like: "Sorry, dude, I've got to go. I think my boss is going to go kick someone's ass, and I need to be there."

Or remember after Sharp blocked the living f*ck out of Ray and Cheever at the Texas night race in 2001, Cheever said after the race, "I wouldn't piss on Scott Sharp if he was on fire and I hadn't urinated in a week."

That's the kind of stuff I miss!

And not to fly the xenophobic flag, but what's the common denominator among all of the drivers mentioned in the anecdotes above? They're all American. I know that you, Don and I don't care to varying degrees about a driver's homeland, but it's a proven fact that American race fans in 2005 want to root for American drivers. Hence NASCAR's popularity.

Take care,
PK

sfz_T-car · Post by **sfz_T-car** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:00 pm

Two TCG cars on the top of the charts after AM practice at Sears Pt.

Pantanomania!!!

I think the talk about bland drivers is overdone. Most drivers in every series are boring. Guys like Helio or John Force are the exceptions. Achievements make the driver, not snappy comments during interviews. Unless they're 5'1" 100 lb rookie sensations, that is.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:09 pm

You make good points, Z. Because as Dave and Don have said, the young turks currently infesting NEXTEL Cup are dull as the exterior of an apartment building in East Berlin.

Nearly all of the interest guys are veterans in their 30s and 40s-- Rusty, Martin, Stewart, etc. There's absolutely nothing compelling about the personalities of Jimmie Johnson, the Buschs, McMurray, Newman, Kahne, Vickers, Mears, Riggs, Leffler, etc. They're all interchangable sponsor drones.

And the one young guy with personality, Edwards, is wearing thin on me. The "aw, shucks, I'm just happy to be here and do backflips" is getting really, really old considering the guy has won two races and may get into the Chase. If I read or hear that schtick one more time, I'll vomit and have Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap dust for it.

But there's one good thing about Edwards: His mom is a big-time MILF!

Take care,
PK

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 7:41 pm

Game Pro review states that the game has slipped some compared to last year. The review states that the execution of Team Control is flawed.

Now, you can enlist the aid of teammates in real time to draft together, block opponents, and even pit at the same time. You can also swap into a teammate's car for continuous race action even if you crash. The idea makes sense, but the execution needs polish. Inexpicably at times, a teammate won't be able to work with you, while a second later, he can. Thenings get even more complicated when ther are two teammates directly in front of you, but only one is willing to help your cause.

Other Questionable features from previous NASCAR games resturn intact, too. Although creating rivalries is important for authenticity, is there really a need to pressa button every time you want to draft? In real racing, you automatically draft if you're on the same line. Moreover, the "intimidator" button is fun for a while, but is it necessary to aggravate every driver in front of you, especially when a slight bump from behind is good enough?"

The writer also feels that there has been a visual downgrade and that

"the game's framerate suffers all too frequently--it's much more prominent on the PS2 version--and is inconsistent and sometimes unmanageable when all 43 cars are in view."

Fight to the Top mode certainly carries Total Team Control to a decent Fun Factor. But clearly, the new team feature needs to be better tuned as do the disappointing visuals. The pit crew in NASCAR 06 needs to keep working at it, but this remains a game that's more than race worthy.

XBOX and PS2 scores: 3.5 out of 5

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 7:59 pm

damn, that doesn't sound good. What was good about last year is that it was turn on the console and race. Sounds like maybe this year they wanted to tinker with this total control stuff which may have hurt the actual purpose of the game, racing.

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 8:42 pm

Framerate was an issue in 2005 as well, I just hope it hasn't gotten any worse. It didn't bother me too much, but I do remember reading a lot of complaints about it over at OS. I think the graphics are about as good as they are going to get for this generation of Nascar games, I expect things to look much prettier and smoother in the next gen.

In spite of what GamePro says, I'm still getting it next week. If the team control features turn out to be flawed, then hopefully they can be turned off, or just ignored.

On the bright side, OXM gave it an 8.4 (or so I've read), plus Pocono and cockpit view are back

blueduke · Post by **blueduke** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 7:54 pm

pk500 wrote:You make good points, Z. Because as Dave and Don have said, the young turks currently infesting NEXTEL Cup are dull as the exterior of an apartment building in East Berlin.

Nearly all of the interest guys are veterans in their 30s and 40s-- Rusty, Martin, Stewart, etc. There's absolutely nothing compelling about the personalities of Jimmie Johnson, the Buschs, McMurray, Newman, Kahne, Vickers, Mears, Riggs, Leffler, etc. They're all interchangable sponsor drones.

And the one young guy with personality, Edwards, is wearing thin on me. The "aw, shucks, I'm just happy to be here and do backflips" is getting really, really old considering the guy has won two races and may get into the Chase. If I read or hear that schtick one more time, I'll vomit and have Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap dust for it.

But there's one good thing about Edwards: His mom is a big-time MILF!

Take care,
PK

Nextel (NASCAR) has gone corporate that's for sure. it's sad too as the drivers that made Nascar what it is was pretty media friendly and VERY fan friendly. Most of the old drivers came from small towns and their homes and shops stayed there for the most part. Harry Gant lived less than a mile from my home for 21 years (I since married and moved to Hickory, NC). He along with a couple others I knew were as down to earth as you could possibly get. They always had time for their fans and if they didn't have time they would often make time. Fans really appreciated things like that stayed very loyal to their favorite driver. That seems to be slowly fading away since Nextel has taken over

Nextel seems to be a little too slick for me. They seem to be a little too polished. They've also raised the ticket prices and have for the most part priced out the very fans that made Nascar so popular. The younger drivers aren't nearly as fan friendly as their older counterparts were but (to me anyway) try to put on a "golly shucks I'm just happy to be in Nextel" act. The older fans can see right through the facade though

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:14 pm

blueduke wrote:Nextel (NASCAR) has gone corporate that's for sure. it's sad too as the drivers that made Nascar what it is was pretty media friendly and VERY fan friendly. Most of the old drivers came from small towns and their homes and shops stayed there for the most part. Harry Gant lived less than a mile from my home for 21 years (I since married and moved to Hickory, NC). He along with a couple others I knew were as down to earth as you could possibly get. They always had time for their fans and if they didn't have time they would often make time. Fans really appreciated things like that stayed very loyal to their favorite driver. That seems to be slowly fading away since Nextel has taken over

Nextel seems to be a little too slick for me. They seem to be a little too polished. They've also raised the ticket prices and have for the most part priced out the very fans that made Nascar so popular. The younger drivers aren't nearly as fan friendly as their older counterparts were but (to me anyway) try to put on a "golly shucks I'm just happy to be in Nextel" act. The older fans can see right through the facade though

Harry Gant, along with Dick Trickle, is one of the best racing names EVER.

My opinion is that NASCAR doesn't give a sh*t that their older fans see through the facade and are turning their backs on the product. And the Nextel Cup Series is a racing and marketing entertainment product these days. Everything is polished to a nice shine.

At least Edwards' flip isn't a direct copy of someone in open wheel racing (Zanardi's donuts, Helio's fence climb).

NASCAR's pervasive presence and popularity leaves me dumbfounded.

Just saw this about Zanardi--he won a race this weekend! Awesome.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/4817698

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 3:59 pm

1UP.com gives Nascar 06 a 6.5.

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3143244&did=1

Not the most comprehensive review I've ever read

In summary, the new features feel unnecessary and there are framerate issues like last year, therefore the reviewer doesn't like it as much.

He may have a point about team control being gratuitous and unnecessary, but I have a feeling it will be useful if used as intended, not abused as he described. Regardless, I'm still getting it. Cheers.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 6:14 pm

Dave, Alex Zanardi won the second race of the day at Oschersleben from pole position, having finished 8th in race 1. Didn't see it live but caught the highlights on British Eurosport on the Sunday night and his last lap was unbelievable, fending off Dirk Muller and Andy Priaulx all the way round even as they both tried to pass him at once into the final corner. It doesn't happen much but every so often the result of a motor race puts a big daft grin on my face...

Another quick note from something earlier in the thread - were you the man who had to turn Mark Blundell's quotes into English? He's on the F1 broadcasts as an analyst here and I swear it's a different language he speaks. Seems like a nice man, though.

Dick Trickle was always a favourite name of mine, though the eccentric in you might also enjoy watching Thornton Mustard.

Wrestling myself back on topic, I've just recently started playing some NASCAR 2005 thanks to a friend, his modded XBox and his recent trip to Florida, and I'm finding it very enjoyable. What I'm interested to see is exactly how the Total Team Control can be implemented in such a way as to not end up as either a gimmick or a cheat of sorts. From such a solid base it'd be a real shame if they'd managed to louse it up as they did with NHL.

Cheers,
Simo

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 6:21 pm

GB_Simo wrote:Wrestling myself back on topic, I've just recently started playing some NASCAR 2005 thanks to a friend, his modded XBox and his recent trip to Florida, and I'm finding it very enjoyable. What I'm interested to see is exactly how the Total Team Control can be implemented in such a way as to not end up as either a gimmick or a cheat of sorts. From such a solid base it'd be a real shame if they'd managed to louse it up as they did with NHL.

Exactly my fear, Simo. This just seems too much like the awkward, sh*tty transition from NHL 2004 to NHL 2005 to me. Too much deja vu.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

Take care,
PK

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 7:15 pm

pk500 wrote:
GB_Simo wrote:Wrestling myself back on topic, I've just recently started playing some NASCAR 2005 thanks to a friend, his modded XBox and his recent trip to Florida, and I'm finding it very enjoyable. What I'm interested to see is exactly how the Total Team Control can be implemented in such a way as to not end up as either a gimmick or a cheat of sorts. From such a solid base it'd be a real shame if they'd managed to louse it up as they did with NHL.
Exactly my fear, Simo. This just seems too much like the awkward, sh*tty transition from NHL 2004 to NHL 2005 to me. Too much deja vu.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

Take care,
PK

I hope there's an option to turn all of the extra stuff off and just race.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:48 pm

Weaver:

Don't count on it. You couldn't turn off the Allies and Rivals system or the Intimidator or drafting features in NASCAR 2004 or NASCAR 2005.

Take care,
PK

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:59 am

This game has been very strange so far. Initially after picking it up and playing, the cars were super twitchy. Come to find out, I had full assist on. After turning assists completely off, the cars are so extremely tight I can't keep up with the field at all. For example, I did the rookie level 2nd Dodge Challenge(Kenseth at Lowe's). I had the assists off but could NOT hold the car down AT ALL, causing me to get passed easily. Bear in mind, this is the ROOKIE level challenge. So I tried limited assist, same thing. Full assist, drives twitchy, but able to keep pace. Started fight to the top, no assist, TIGHT AS CAN BE. On legend level, can't keep pace. I can get the pole, but my race setup is just wicked tight for some reason. I had no problems with this last year. Any ideas or similar impressions? Also, the field seems extraordinarily bunched up (3 wide at Loudon??). One mistake and you are at the back. I love the cockpit cam, and the teammate feature doesn't seem to be too hokey, although I don't use it at all at the moment, I'm just trying to figure out how to get the tightness out so I can keep pace.

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 2:49 am

CrazyPsycho wrote:This game has been very strange so far. Initially after picking it up and playing, the cars were super twitchy. Come to find out, I had full assist on. After turning assists completely off, the cars are so extremely tight I can't keep up with the field at all. For example, I did the rookie level 2nd Dodge Challenge(Kenseth at Lowe's). I had the assists off but could NOT hold the car down AT ALL, causing me to get passed easily. Bear in mind, this is the ROOKIE level challenge. So I tried limited assist, same thing. Full assist, drives twitchy, but able to keep pace. Started fight to the top, no assist, TIGHT AS CAN BE. On legend level, can't keep pace. I can get the pole, but my race setup is just wicked tight for some reason. I had no problems with this last year. Any ideas or similar impressions? Also, the field seems extraordinarily bunched up (3 wide at Loudon??). One mistake and you are at the back. I love the cockpit cam, and the teammate feature doesn't seem to be too hokey, although I don't use it at all at the moment, I'm just trying to figure out how to get the tightness out so I can keep pace.

My experience has been very similar, I just can't seem to figure out the handling on the cars at all. Even after tweaking setups and freeing up my car a bit, I still can't keep pace. It is as if the AI cars have better tires or something, I get passed high, low, and if I get too defensive I get wrecked. The AI can run any line they want and they just leave me in the dust. Initially, I thought that EA had just made the physics more sim-like, but something feels wrong to me...

One of my favorite features have been the challenges, but you are right, with assists off, on ROOKIE difficulty, they are damn hard. I can't keep up, my car refuses to turn, and I feel totally lost out there. I haven't played much with the team features yet because I can't seem to drive well enough for it to matter.

I'm not giving up yet, but I'll admit I am a little frustrated. No stock car racing game has ever been this difficult for me to just pick up and drive. I can't tell if this is just more sim-oriented, or just a reversion back to the dump-truck physics from the earlier Nascar games. I even tried some of the trick setups from 2005 I got off the internet, but those don't seem to help much.

Damn EA, they made such an awesome game last year, and on the surface 2006 looks like it could be even better, but the goofy handling has me worried right now. If anyone else is feeling the same way chime in, or if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Cheers.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 2:56 am

b_assassin wrote:Damn EA, they made such an awesome game last year, and on the surface 2006 looks like it could be even better, but the goofy handling has me worried right now.

Cough...NHL 2005...cough.

b_assassin · Post by **b_assassin** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:13 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
b_assassin wrote:Damn EA, they made such an awesome game last year, and on the surface 2006 looks like it could be even better, but the goofy handling has me worried right now.
Cough...NHL 2005...cough.

I don't play hockey games, but I've seen enough of DSPers comments on NHL 2005 to know that comparison is not complimentary.

If EA wants to add a bunch of marketing-friendly features to my game...fine. But please don't break the core gameplay that made the game fun to begin with!

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 10:36 am

Grabbed it yesterday and tried it with my Fanatec wheel. Found out that all the "team" sh*t is handled on the R stick, which my wheel obviously does not have. What's worse, the voice command recognition seems to be wonky as hell.

I can't find a nice setting for the wheel, and using the stick gives me a strange sense of control.

I reviewed it last year for OS and couldn't stand the framerate problems, which are all but gone on the XBox version so far in every session I've played.

I'm not sure I like it one bit...was going to buy this and pass on MotoGP3, but I guess I'll send the frau out today to grab that too. Sounds like I made a bad choice.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 02, 2005 10:50 am

I'm going to rent this over the weekend. If it sucks, then at least NASCAR 2005 will be available on the cheap on eBay. That is a damn good game.

I sure hope EA didn't "NHL 2005" this game, but early reviews and gamer feedback aren't promising.

Take care,
PK

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:11 pm

PK : did you get a chance to rent this? If so, what are your impressions?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:46 pm

Weaver2005 wrote:PK : did you get a chance to rent this? If so, what are your impressions?

I did. Have only put about 45 minutes into it, so it's a bit early to make any conclusions. I'm heading to my Xbox in a few minutes for more time with it.

Initially, I think the Total Team Control is absolute horsesh*t, though. Has no redeeming qualities at all and is a typical EA gimmick. Maybe more time will show otherwise.

Again, too early for any other impressions of driving model, damage model, etc.

Take care,
PK

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 10:49 pm

I tjunged it at an EB games kiosk and left unimpressed. I liked last years game but the controls seemed weird with or without assists turned on.