Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

[Janez 507]

 

 

Current Release Date: 22 September 2022

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

[krzychuzokecia 700]

Intriguing. I'm a bit afraid of the outcome, because this is made by other developer than original TDUs, and the reviews for their games are lukewarm. Hell, even when it comes to Bigben/Nacon published games, all the ones I have can be described as "great concept, mediocre execution"! :D

 

But oh well, we will see.

[Janez 507]

1 hour ago, krzychuzokecia said:

Intriguing. I'm a bit afraid of the outcome, because this is made by other developer than original TDUs, and the reviews for their games are lukewarm. Hell, even when it comes to Bigben/Nacon published games, all the ones I have can be described as "great concept, mediocre execution"! 😄

Yeah, I'll have to agree with your sentiment. They also said they want it to be some sort of MMO type thingy, so... At the end of the day though, what is most important is driving model and if it's bad, then it doesn't matter if the rest is the best ever.

In past 10-12 years arcade and simcade handling was and is just atrocious, like not even mobile bad, even worse. With exception of The Run, NFS in past decade is simply not playable, that's how bad handling is. Codemasters and SMS was always wonky at best but really there was always something just off about their games. That floaty and inconsistent feeling. Like you see corner coming up and you're kinda winging it every time and hope for the best.

 

And it's not only handling model, it's also important how your inputs are translated/interpreted by the game, especially keyboard. That's what the likes of Porsche 2000 and now Forza Horizon since 3 absolutely nailed. In FH4 cars behave and react like real car would, you're in complete control of your car, it does exactly what you want. Yes, who would have thought!?!

I just realized that Mafia 1 and 2 had way better driving then most racing games!

 

1 hour ago, krzychuzokecia said:

But oh well, we will see.

This is becoming a thing around here. 😄

 

Oh hey, I have something for you, I think you'll appreciate this. 🙂

 

[krzychuzokecia 700]

23 hours ago, Janez said:

They also said they want it to be some sort of MMO type thingy, so... At the end of the day though, what is most important is driving model and if it's bad, then it doesn't matter if the rest is the best ever.

I don't worry about MMO aspect alone, afterall in original TDU multiplayer was quite important part of experience (one that I missed out on lol), but I have a feeling this is going to be some kind of "live service" deal, with countless microtransactions, pay-walled cars and tracks etc. Think GTA Online, just no guns. And since it's BigBen/Nacon, the whole thing is probably going to get killed after two years.

 

Also, agree on the "control rant" - seems that nowadays one can either get a full-blown sim that needs wheel+pedals, or one needs to play on pad to have an enjoyable experience. The only racing games playable on keyboard have driving model so dumbed down, that you don't even need to press the keys, with only difficulty coming from rubber-banding AI. Funny you mention SMS - I played the demo of first Project CARS and could setup it so that it was playing very nice on keyboard. I decided to buy the whole game, but PC2 went on sale, and with all DLCs was cheaper than base PC1. Naturally I bought the sequel and... the driving model is just unplayable on keyboard, you can set it up pretty good for some of the slow cars, but with most of the stuff in game there's just lack of control during corners. Ironically PC3 is apparently polar-opposite - a very arcade game. Haven't played any of the Forza series though - it flew under my radar, since for years it was Xbox exclusive, and I'm PC Master Race.

 

23 hours ago, Janez said:

Oh hey, I have something for you, I think you'll appreciate this.

Ah, ja, sehr gut Automobil! Just lacks some Autobahn (under the wheels, and in the speakers) for proper Teutonic experience! FH4 I assume?

[Janez 507]

9 hours ago, krzychuzokecia said:

but I have a feeling this is going to be some kind of "live service" deal

Yep, that. Very well decrypted.

 

Oh man, at first glance pCARS 3 (it was a mistake to call it that, should have called pCARS Something instead of 3) seems alright but there are some design decision that simply boggle the mind. Reaching higher speeds you notice that above ~220km/h, cars just kinda start freaking out. It's like handling switches to another "skid" mode and combined with forced camera shake it creates this idiotic artificial drama for no good reason. It reminds me of modern NFS where you control cars via series of minigames, like in some guitar hero or something rather then actually controlling the car.

Cash flow is also tied to ranking up instead of winning races, so it gets pretty limited in higher classes and with no way to preview upgrades combined (there is no "checkout"), your just wasting money on upgrades you don't need. I could go on but it doesn't matter, they pumped out yet another thing before EA took over and that was that. I mean, after all, it was SMS who did that Fast & Furious game last year.

 

10 hours ago, krzychuzokecia said:

FH4 I assume?

Indeed. 1987 Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer Coupe, 7.5L PDS supercharged racing V8 @ ~950kW swap and wide angle suspension kit. There is autobahn 🙂 but I wanted to showcase the control you have over your car in that game, hence a slide all the way through the entire sweeper on the outer lane. And best of all, chaining corners is not yet another minigame, you naturally transition using methods you would use in a real car. I have some more thoughts and rants on the game in FH5 thread if you're interested.