TOCA 2 online impressions

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:55 am

Fellas:

I played TOCA 2 tonight on Xbox Live with a bunch of crazy and cool Aussies. They were the hosts, so we ran Aussie V8 Supercars at Aussie tracks, naturally!

Some impressions:

-- Excellent racing. No change in the driving model to "dumb down" the online racing.

-- Damage model is excellent. I didn't see any terminal damage, unlike the Free Race mode, but damage does play a big role in the performance of your car. Whack your car into the barrier or a fellow driver a couple of times, and you'll have a hell of a hard time winning.

-- When hosting, you can only choose classes and cars that you've unlocked in the Career mode to use for online racing. Sort of a bummer, but it adds incentive to work on the Career mode. Somewhat similar to PGR 2, although PGR 2 has at least a couple of cars unlocked in every class at the start.

-- You can only choose the tracks available with the certain car type when racing online. In other words, you can't run Formula Fords at Laguna, only the tracks where FFords race in the Career mode.

-- Voice communication is excellent. You can talk with anyone in the race, just like PGR 2.

-- There is a 30-second time limit at the end of the race for everyone to finish. Shorter than PGR. Not sure if the limit is extended for longer races, as we were running three-lap default races.

-- Excellent information at the finish. Not only do you get the overall time of everyone in the race, but you also get everyone's best lap time. Very cool.

-- Online interface is quite smooth and easy to navigate.

-- Tons of different teams, real liveries and real drivers to choose from in the classes based on reality, such as Aussie Supercars. Autosport readers and Speed Channel watchers, rejoice!

-- There was a bit of lag and hopping with a couple of the racers. A few of the guys were bedrock; others were a bit jumpy. That could be due to the fact the game was hosted in Australia, halfway around the world.

-- You can add CPU cars to human races if you lack a full field, and you can adjust the AI strength of the CPU cars.

This game is superb. It makes me glad as f*ck that I own an Xbox.

Fire away with any questions.

P.S.: TOCA 2 Poker Night at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night. I'll host. Be there!

Take care,
PK

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:14 am

See what you've done pk! Now I've got to run out and pick this up.

pigpen81 · Post by **pigpen81** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:25 am

damn you PK....my wife is going to kill you

I'll be there for sure, as long as I can get the game

pacuca · Post by **pacuca** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:34 am

"P.S.: TOCA 2 Poker Night at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night. I'll host. Be there!"

I'm there. Just have to find the game somewhere local today.

Also, does this game lend itself to league play or just Poker Nights? Man, I can't wait for the Indy Car XBox League.

pacuca

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:06 am

Boom wrote:See what you've done pk! Now I've got to run out and pick this up.

me too.

now i just need my mother in-law to go home so i can get the cpu room back.

mixdj1 · Post by **mixdj1** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:12 am

I'm most definitely there. Bummer about the Formula Fords and Laguna Seca. They were the two things I was looking most forward to in the game. At least I'll be able to enjoy them separately. Please tell me the American open wheel series races at Laguna Seca.

mixdj1

injunwal · Post by **injunwal** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:20 am

Thanks for the info pk. Hopefully I can grab a copy tonight and get my ass kicked by you and Terry

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:15 am

Pac:

Regarding league play, it's possible. Point standings are kept for each online session, so we could do weekly and cumulative points.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:16 am

Mixer:

I haven't finished anywhere enough of the Career mode to get the Indy cars. I think the TOCA 2 Web site at codemasters.com shows where each class races.

I think the Indy cars race at Texas, Pikes Peak and maybe Road America, if memory serves me correctly.

P.S.: Good shooting last night, mate!

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 11:29 am

Pac:

The four tracks where Indy-car racing takes place in TOCA 2:

Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile high-banked oval)
Pikes Peak International Raceway (1-mile flat oval)
Road America (road circuit)
Surfers' Paradise (street circuit)

Take care,
PK

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:22 pm

Thanks for the impressions PK !

I am torn on getting this game. I really don't have time to invest in opening up all those cars so that right there is a set back for me.

Why do they do that !?!?!? At least give us the option of having all cars availible for online right off the bat.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 12:50 pm

get an action replay if you don't have time.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 1:14 pm

fsquid wrote:get an action replay if you don't have time.

Good point.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 1:26 pm

Spooky:

The career mode isn't that tough yet. I opened 15 percent of it in about two hours yesterday. I already have a very nice selection of cars and tracks for online racing.

Plus all you need to do is play in an online game with a host who has the cars and tracks. I don't think you need to unlock all of them to participate.

For example, I raced Aussie V8 Supercars with those funny dudes from Oz last night, and I'm nowhere near that series yet in the Career mode. And I had a full complement of Holdens and Fords to choose from online.

Take care,
PK

sdrotar · Post by **sdrotar** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:22 pm

OK, OK... I'll get it.
Thought I might be able to go a week without buying a game for once.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:24 pm

MUAHAHAHAHAAH @ Shawn.

J_Cauthen · Post by **J_Cauthen** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:42 pm

Paul,

Is the behind the wheel view similar to the in car view in F-355 Challenge on the Dreamcast? Just trying to get a feel for it...

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:47 pm

I can post some notes and observations after playing 3-lap races online for about an hour.

* I played through all the circuits of the V8 Supercars league with the host and a few others. Looks to me like most of the available cars will have to be unlocked in Career mode in order to use online, but I'm not sure. The host had said he didn't play though Career mode, and admitted that he had limited options to choose from.

* A player who's in the lobby can listen and talk to those who are racing. I believe this is the first Xbox Live compatible game to allow that, and it's a very cool addition. Hopefully games after this follows suit.

* The game gives you 30 seconds to finish after the race winner. If you don't finish in time you get no points from racing. Actually, points get deducted from you if I'm not mistaking. An Australian was kicking ass in the V8 Supercar races (naturally so) I was in, and points got taken away from me because I finished behind him by over 30 seconds.

* And speaking of points, there is a unique kind of points rating system for this game. I started off with 1500 rating I believe, then the number goes from there. As far as points assigned in a race, it depends on how many participated in that race. For instance, in a 3-car race the 1st place finisher got 8 or 9 points, the 2nd place guy got 2 or 3, and the last place guy got -6 or -7 (yeah, that's a negative sign). Then in an 8-car race the 1st place guy got like 15-17 points while the 2nd place guy got around 5 or so. It's kind of unique system that I don't exactly see how it works yet.

* Cutting corners effectively seem to be very tough to do, which is a good thing. The cars are really uncontrollable on grass and on sand. You have to slow the car waaaay down to regain control over those surfaces, which can just about take you entirely out of a competitive race.

* Just had cool crashing experience. After hitting a concrete wall head on going 120mph, I damaged the engine, steering and gearbox. Then as soon as I pull back on the road I notice my car kept veering off slightly to the left. My car sounded terrible and it was extremely struggling to get out of 2nd gear. Later, when I'm on a straight going full throttle at 4th gear about to kick it up to 5th, it suddenly jumps back to 3rd gear on its own, screwing up the engine even more. That sh_t almost caused me to spin out. Fun, fun game.

Kruza

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:57 pm

Can anyone comment on pit stops yet? Have you needed them online? How do they work? Is the work done by your crew configurable while you are driving (ala Nascar Racing Season 2003)?

And... can you race really long races online (real life lengths.) Can you put in accelerated wear so that you have to pit even on shorter races?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:02 pm

Attaboy, Shawn! Great avatar, by the way. I can see images of Bubba Beck at the blue line for the Rockies.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:04 pm

J_Cauthen wrote:Paul,

Is the behind the wheel view similar to the in car view in F-355 Challenge on the Dreamcast? Just trying to get a feel for it...

John:

It's been so long since I've played F355 that I forgot that view.

Here's what you see in tin-top cars when using the cockpit view: Windshield, hood, top of dashboard. No steering wheel or instruments.

When driving a Formula Ford (my favorite class so far), you see the front cowling and front wheels and part of the A-arm suspension.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:06 pm

James_E wrote:Can anyone comment on pit stops yet? Have you needed them online? How do they work? Is the work done by your crew configurable while you are driving (ala Nascar Racing Season 2003)?

And... can you race really long races online (real life lengths.) Can you put in accelerated wear so that you have to pit even on shorter races?

James:

Sorry, still haven't tried pit stops or a long race online. But there was a massive pileup on the first lap of a race at Bathurst with those crazy Aussies last night, and one of the dudes went to the pits to repair his car and damn near caught us.

So I'm certain you can pit to repair damage in online races.

Take care,
PK

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 4:08 pm

I played in 3-lap sprint races in default mode (no adjustable car settings) only so I can't really comment on pit stops. I went in a pit stop once during a sprint race and nothing happened but the car slowing down to the required pit speed.

Can't comment on configuring tire wear settings either, but I do know that fuel is tracked.

I'll try running a lobby with extended laps tonight. You got me curious about this now.

Kruza

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:29 pm

How do you unlock stuff for online play? I've gotten to the GT Lights and have not been told I have unlocked anything.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:47 pm

Bad:

If you've made it to GT Lights -- and damn, you're moving fast! -- that series should be open to you for online play if you're the host.

Take care,
PK