• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Ridge Racer Unbounded |OT| Bound and Rebound

J

Jubbly

Member
Once you know how to drift through a corner without killing your speed the game becomes very easy, only becoming challenging in the final city.

Talking of which,
why is it completely desaturated of all color? So unnecessary considering how brilliantly vibrant and colorful this game is.
By far the worst design decision in the entire game.
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
luffeN said:
There are destroyable trucks with big gastanks which can take out cars, but they are very rare.
Click to expand...

Are those the only things that can be destroyed? Can you knock down large buildings, bridges, and/or open up new areas by destroying certain places?

Been watching more videos. It looks like it's a mixture of both Burnout + Split/Second but still different enough to be its own game.
 
B

betweenthewheels

Member
I've been looking forward to this since the initial trailer, but so far i'm disappointed.

It feels like a budget mish-mash of concepts from other racers, yet not as good as any of them individually.

-The "frags" require no effort. A light touch while boosting takes down opponents with ease. I popped in Burnout 3 to see if my memory was deceiving me, but no, you had to shunt, grind and ram opponents to take them down, it was a fight. Flatout too, required more effort to take down opponents, and when you did, it was rewarding.

-The tracks all look the same! Did Bugbear use the level creator to make the tracks? Cause it looks like they did.

-The destruction is superficial, and this would be fine if it at least looked good, but it doesn't. I know it's frustrating to lose momentum but it's strange to drive through cement pillars to only have it explode like styrofoam, all the while your speed never drops. Oh yeah, then you stop dead when you hit something you thought you could, but cannot drive through.

I love previous Bugbear games and i'm willing to give this game more time to see if it clicks with me.
 
T

ThoughtsOfSpeaking

Banned
Just recieved this game from my rental service. Sending it back already. The game just doesn't know what it wants to be.

Too stiff for an arcade racer, too arcady to be a racing sim.

And the fact you can't drift with brake is a dealbreaker, it just doesn't feel natural.

The boost is crap, most of the shortcuts actually slow you down or have no real benefit, no bonus for getting back rivals who frag you eyc.

A very poor mans burnout and pretty shit ridge racer too.

It just made me want to play spilt second again. That's probably the best arcade racer this gen except for the fact that it doesn't have boost.
 
L

luffeN

Member
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
Are those the only things that can be destroyed? Can you knock down large buildings, bridges, and/or open up new areas by destroying certain places?
Click to expand...

I have completed 6 of 9 districts and so far there are three instances that come close to a Split/Second type of destruction. But as there are so few I don't want to spoil them. One of them involves driving through a wall and if you didn't pay enough attention before destroying that wall you are like "Whoa, so that's behind this wall, nice". Sometimes there are big jumps after crashing through walls and so on. RRU is a very lite version of Split/Seconds's destruction, but it is a fun game nonethless.
 
R

rCIZZLE

Member
Probably asked and answered but how is the wheel support in this? I'm thinking of finally picking one up and if this has support I'll end up grabbing it too.
 
U

Untracked

Member
Just had a quick blast at this, tried the first event and came 8th lol. This game is gonna take some getting used to.
My first reaction was that pressing B to drift felt very strange. I'll stick with it cos I loved FlatOut, Burnout and Split/Second.
Just need to get some practice in.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
betweenthewheels said:
I've been looking forward to this since the initial trailer, but so far i'm disappointed.

It feels like a budget mish-mash of concepts from other racers, yet not as good as any of them individually.

-The "frags" require no effort. A light touch while boosting takes down opponents with ease. I popped in Burnout 3 to see if my memory was deceiving me, but no, you had to shunt, grind and ram opponents to take them down, it was a fight. Flatout too, required more effort to take down opponents, and when you did, it was rewarding.

-The tracks all look the same! Did Bugbear use the level creator to make the tracks? Cause it looks like they did.

-The destruction is superficial, and this would be fine if it at least looked good, but it doesn't. I know it's frustrating to lose momentum but it's strange to drive through cement pillars to only have it explode like Styrofoam, all the while your speed never drops. Oh yeah, then you stop dead when you hit something you thought you could, but cannot drive through.

I love previous Bugbear games and i'm willing to give this game more time to see if it clicks with me.
Click to expand...


The destruction is not superficial, if you're not boosting it does affect your speed, further it also affects the health and deformation state of your car. When your boosting driving / drifting through columns or walls helps rebuild your power. If you're trying to drive through things that you can't you probably need more experience with the environments.

The game is separated by cities so yeah until you progress out of a city all of the courses share the similar assets.

The game's domination mode depends on Power chains so take downs are supposed to be quick but if you notice if your too close they don't trigger. You do need a certain level of inertia.


ThoughtsOfSpeaking said:
Just recieved this game from my rental service. Sending it back already. The game just doesn't know what it wants to be.

Too stiff for an arcade racer, too arcady to be a racing sim.

And the fact you can't drift with brake is a dealbreaker, it just doesn't feel natural.

The boost is crap, most of the shortcuts actually slow you down or have no real benefit, no bonus for getting back rivals who frag you eyc.

A very poor mans burnout and pretty shit ridge racer too.

It just made me want to play spilt second again. That's probably the best arcade racer this gen except for the fact that it doesn't have boost.
Click to expand...


Stick with it. This racer is chaotic, a lot of fun, actually has a lot of depth to it's game play and has a quite challenging drifting model.

You can drift with the brake. On the higher powered, higher drift cars the drift button (handbrake) is there but just the brake does work.

The idea of the "shortcuts" or destruction points is that they are Power enablers. They're the crux of the whole game plus in race awards on based on them (as well as other race accomplishments for drifting, destruction etc..) and used for level progression.

The game is much more hardcore than split second and the drifting model is light years ahead.

Not sure what you mean by stiff. I see an influence from the Flatout series in the handling model.
 
T

ThoughtsOfSpeaking

Banned
Sysgen said:
Stick with it. This racer is chaotic, a lot of fun, actually has a lot of depth to it's game play and has a quite challenging drifting model.

You can drift with the brake. On the higher powered, higher drift cars the drift button (handbrake) is there but just the brake does work.

The idea of the "shortcuts" or destruction points is that they are Power enablers. They're the crux of the whole game plus in race awards on based on them (as well as other race accomplishments for drifting, destruction etc..) and used for level progression.

The game is much more hardcore than split second and the drifting model is light years ahead.

Not sure what you mean by stiff. I see an influence from the Flatout series in the handling model.
Click to expand...

But that's the thing, it didn't feel fun at all. I'm not someone who would normally buy a ridge racer game, but I was drawn to it by its burnout elements, which pale in imitation of the real thing.

The handling feels stiff compared to those type of titles, but right for a ridge racer game, but for me the two styles can't coexist. I accept that it may have a lot of depth and be challeging, but for me the challenge comes from getting the car to behave itself, while exploring the new mechanics, rather than using the new mechanics to win races.

In short, Im not a sim guy. I love arcade racers, but this try's to appeal to both crowds and in my view fails. I'll give it a couple more spins after work, but I don't think it will be able to redeem itself unless I just play it for achievements.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
ThoughtsOfSpeaking said:
But that's the thing, it didn't feel fun at all. I'm not someone who would normally buy a ridge racer game, but I was drawn to it by its burnout elements, which pale in imitation of the real thing.

The handling feels stiff compared to those type of titles, but right for a ridge racer game, but for me the two styles can't coexist. I accept that it may have a lot of depth and be challeging, but for me the challenge comes from getting the car to behave itself, while exploring the new mechanics, rather than using the new mechanics to win races.

In short, Im not a sim guy. I love arcade racers, but this try's to appeal to both crowds and in my view fails. I'll give it a couple more spins after work, but I don't think it will be able to redeem itself unless I just play it for achievements.
Click to expand...

It's not Burnout.

Are you playing like this? It's wrong. Notice how he's not building the power bar. He's not drafting, he's not using the environment, he's not drifting and he's not using the destruction points and finding air.

Looking on Youtube I can't find one video where the game is played optimally. When it is it's crazy fun.

What's the best free way to make a video?
 
D

derFeef

Member
If you want this game to be "like X" or "like X" then it's your own fault. The game has it's own pace and techniques - they are sadly not really well communicated but people here know what's up.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
ThoughtsOfSpeaking said:
Just recieved this game from my rental service. Sending it back already. The game just doesn't know what it wants to be.

Too stiff for an arcade racer, too arcady to be a racing sim.

And the fact you can't drift with brake is a dealbreaker, it just doesn't feel natural.

The boost is crap, most of the shortcuts actually slow you down or have no real benefit, no bonus for getting back rivals who frag you eyc.

A very poor mans burnout and pretty shit ridge racer too.

It just made me want to play spilt second again. That's probably the best arcade racer this gen except for the fact that it doesn't have boost.
Click to expand...
The PC port of Split/Second was horrifically bad.
 
joeygreco1985

joeygreco1985

Member
All done the single player. tried to get into matchmaking yet again but no players. WTF? Not having matchmaking issues with any other games...

WAx0v.jpg
 
A

Arpeggio23

Member
Arpeggio23 said:
Does anyone know why I seem to be stuck at 59,999 points in the Lower Eastside district (I think that's what it's called)? I am unable to unlock the 60,000 point tier, even though I keep completing lower tier events within the district which should add to my point total, but it never moves beyond 59,999.
Click to expand...

Sorry to quote myself, but does anyone have any idea why I am having this problem? Do I have to complete other events in other districts first? Is the PS3 version bugged?
 
J

jaundicejuice

Member
derFeef said:
The game has it's own pace and techniques - they are sadly not really well communicated but people here know what's up.
Click to expand...

I agree, particularly with the latter part of the above statement, Ridge Racer: Unbounded is definitely its own thing, it's a lot of fun but it does communicate certain things kinda poorly. I've been pecking away at the campaign, playing it an event at a time and have just dominated my first section of the city. Got first in all events except the drifting one, still working on that. There's no difficulty curve, the difficulty level in Unbounded is flat, players aren't eased into the experience of Unbounded, they're just sorta tossed into the mix. Which is kind of good and bad at the same time. Once you figure out how you're supposed to play, some of which seems counter-intuitive (smashing into stuff constantly to gain boost meter), it gets easier.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
Arpeggio23 said:
Sorry to quote myself, but does anyone have any idea why I am having this problem? Do I have to complete other events in other districts first? Is the PS3 version bugged?
Click to expand...

I think that all the scores you have earned from races in that tier total up to 59,999 and you just need to better one of the scores from any one of those races. That's my initial thought anyways.
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Banned
I wonder if the lack of other players online on PC is because of something that needs patched or if there really isn't a single person trying to play at the same times I did. It would be sad if it's the latter, the game is really great once you get to grips with it.
 
L

Lima

Member
stuminus3 said:
I wonder if the lack of other players online on PC is because of something that needs patched or if there really isn't a single person trying to play at the same times I did. It would be sad if it's the latter, the game is really great once you get to grips with it.
Click to expand...

Same thing I was thinking.

I'm playing it online to get the 50 wins on the 360 and NOBODY is playing this game. There must be something wrong with it. I mean it probably didn't sell that well but only one person in the world trying to play the game online is stretching it a bit.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Didn't want to bring it up, but the sales chart figures on Steam were horrible. Kind of felt, had I purchased it for 50 bucks, I could have single-handily moved it up a couple spots.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Starting to find some crazy tracks online. Lots of loops and shit. Having a great deal of fun with them.

Namco should seriously consider relaunching this game with an ad campaign. It's been sent out to die. :(
 
E

edbrat

Member
"What we set out to do originally was make the game very, very straightforward and very acessible," Laakso explained. "But towards the end of development it started to feel like the game felt too 'light'. We did tune it harder towards the end, but the assumption was we were only making it harder for the top end, once you already know what you're doing.

"But certainly it feels like people are struggling and I'm not sure why that is. Maybe we had the wrong type of player in our play-test."...

"What happens when you press the brake button is you magically lose the grip from your rear wheels - as long you press the button - which allows you to turn the car in a slide and steer it with the front wheel. So it feels physically simulated but we're doing interesting things in the name of gameplay."
Click to expand...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...d-dev-cut-tutorial-for-controversial-drifting

I've just started and must admit I could have used a tutorial - it is only this board which has meant I have even a rudimentary understanding of how the game is meant to be played. Without that I would have just meandered aimlessly to many last place finishes instead of many, errr, 6th place finishes with the occasional top 3 :)
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
The game is starting to click with me now but it's taken a lot longer than I expected. The structure of the game feels way off too. It's like a majority of the first couple of cities are nigh impossible to get 3 stars on each event, but if you don't restart races after you finish and let all your XP build up, then you can go back with cars unlocked and finish the events a lot easier.

Also, you can't tell me I am the only person in the world looking for multiplayer games on the PS3. My Nat is Type 2 and I've never had any problems before. I know BugBear have had multiplayer issues in the past with unstable structures but really, is there no one out there playing? I haven't found one game yet in the last 3 days.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
Gen X said:
The game is starting to click with me now but it's taken a lot longer than I expected. The structure of the game feels way off too. It's like a majority of the first couple of cities are nigh impossible to get 3 stars on each event, but if you don't restart races after you finish and let all your XP build up, then you can go back with cars unlocked and finish the events a lot easier.

Also, you can't tell me I am the only person in the world looking for multiplayer games on the PS3. My Nat is Type 2 and I've never had any problems before. I know BugBear have had multiplayer issues in the past with unstable structures but really, is there no one out there playing? I haven't found one game yet in the last 3 days.
Click to expand...

I don't move on from any event unless I get 3 stars right then and there. The exception is the pure Drift events (got 3 on the first Drift event) which I can see are doable with the available cars but I'm just having a wee bit of trouble making the jump from 2 stars to three.
 
L

Lima

Member
Gen X said:
Also, you can't tell me I am the only person in the world looking for multiplayer games on the PS3. My Nat is Type 2 and I've never had any problems before. I know BugBear have had multiplayer issues in the past with unstable structures but really, is there no one out there playing? I haven't found one game yet in the last 3 days.
Click to expand...

Yeah there are some problems with the multiplayer right now. You can't seem to get into a game and when you do the game crashes 50% of the time. It also makes the "best in the world" achievement/trophy unobtainable because you can't keep 8 people in the lobby for 5 events which is a fucking joke.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
Sysgen said:
I don't move on from any event unless I get 3 stars right then and there. The exception is the pure Drift events (got 3 on the first Drift event) which I can see are doable with the available cars but I'm just having a wee bit of trouble making the jump from 2 stars to three.
Click to expand...

I usually do that myself, but there is something about Unbounded that seems it's 85/15 luck/skill. I'm pretty good at a majority of driving games that I've played in my gaming life (which is quite long given I'm a few months away from hitting 40 :( lol ) but some races are doing my head in. It feels like there is no way to progress unless I just cash in my XP at the end of each race even if I fail until I eventually unlock a faster car. At that point I then go back to the earlier races and dedicate some more time to them.

So far I've 3 Star'd the first city and 6/7 of the 2nd (I've never been that good at drifting in any racer, well, not circuit drifting anyways). I've unlocked all but two cities and there is one city where I can't even get close to the top 3 in the first two races so the rest are locked.

I dunno, I really like the game, I can see there is a different layer of skill required compared to what we've learned in other games, but it just feels like something is a little off in some instances.

Lima said:
Yeah there are some problems with the multiplayer right now. You can't seem to get into a game and when you do the game crashes 50% of the time. It also makes the "best in the world" achievement/trophy unobtainable because you can't keep 8 people in the lobby for 5 events which is a fucking joke.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really expected RR:U to be a lot more stable in the online front since Namco were publishing it but it seems like BugBear still haven't gotten that side of things down yet after all this time. All the FlatOuts on Xbox have had online issues since the original on about 7-8 years ago.

It really needs a list of games running as well for when you're searching. As soon as I go to search for a game it almost instantly creates a lobby just for me because there is nothing active.

Glad I got this on PS3 though (I usually buy the driving genre for 360) since I'm not paying to play this online or I would be a little more irate but we'll give it time. Let's just hope a decent patch comes out before players move onto something else and forget about this.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
Gen X said:
I usually do that myself, but there is something about Unbounded that seems it's 85/15 luck/skill. I'm pretty good at a majority of driving games that I've played in my gaming life (which is quite long given I'm a few months away from hitting 40 :( lol ) but some races are doing my head in. It feels like there is no way to progress unless I just cash in my XP at the end of each race even if I fail until I eventually unlock a faster car. At that point I then go back to the earlier races and dedicate some more time to them.

So far I've 3 Star'd the first city and 6/7 of the 2nd (I've never been that good at drifting in any racer, well, not circuit drifting anyways). I've unlocked all but two cities and there is one city where I can't even get close to the top 3 in the first two races so the rest are locked.

I dunno, I really like the game, I can see there is a different layer of skill required compared to what we've learned in other games, but it just feels like something is a little off in some instances.

.......
Click to expand...

Ya know when used to play the best racing series of all time, PGR I would load up a ghost to race against of someone who achieved a Platinum score and I would race against that ghost until I got the combination of speed and drift right and Platinum-ed the event as well. The shock I had when I saw that ghost with a multi second lead over me entering the 2ND turn. Crazy. Nothing is off. I've Platinumed every PGR and 100% Burnouts and spent 35 hours with Flatout Ultimate even when a rock ruined my race :) so I'm telling you nothing is off. I'm able to Drift over stairs for AIR during drifts in this game with the most sensitive Drift cars and come out straight as an arrow. Game rocks. Tell me the race you're having trouble with and the car you're using and let me run that again.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
Sysgen said:
Ya know when used to play the best racing series of all time, PGR I would load up a ghost to race against of someone who achieved a Platinum score and I would race against that ghost until I got the combination of speed and drift right and Platinum-ed the event as well. The shock I had when I saw that ghost with a multi second lead over me entering the 2ND turn. Crazy. Nothing is off. I've Platinumed every PGR and 100% Burnouts and spent 35 hours with Flatout Ultimate even when a rock ruined my race :) so I'm telling you nothing is off. I'm able to Drift over stairs for AIR during drifts in this game with the most sensitive Drift cars and come out straight as an arrow. Game rocks. Tell me the race you're having trouble with and the car you're using and let me run that again.
Click to expand...

I hear ya, I did the same re: PGR2, was only a few Plats away from getting the TVR when my Xbox locked up during the save icon after a mp match. All progress gone and no way in hell I was going through those 100+ races again. Did get a #1 spot on one of the later leaderboards though that remained there for almost 7 months. Very stoked with that. :) Something similar happened with PGR4 as well with less than a handful of Plats left. Had issues with account recovery before it was possible to put profiles on USB drives, this was back when we had XBL stability problems that one Undertow Xmas. Something went wrong, every save for every game was no longer compatible with my profile (I made a Gaf thread about it 4yrs ago). Flatout Ultimate Carnage I 100% as well, apart from a couple of Online Achs.

It sounds like we're almost on the same page, although you're probably a few paragraphs ahead! ;)

Back onto Unbounded, I don't mean the handling of Unbounded is off, just the structure, or maybe I am, as mentioned above, just starting to get a bit older and my reactions are starting to dwindle. I'm finding it hard to explain at this point because of lack of sleep/working night shift. It's just that there are some early parts of the game that feel like winning with the default unlocked cars is a lot harder than it should be especially if Namco/Bugbear want to keep you interested. I'm sticking with it cos the game is far from shit and I love the driving genre to bits. =)

Anyway, two of the earliest tracks I'm having problems on, both in Upper Westside (3rd city?), 1st race, Posh Destruction using the Ashburn '72 (I have two Stars) and the Second race I'm having issues, same tier same car, track called The Punishment. A direct feed video of me playing The Punishment linked below (recorded during the making of this reply to prove it's bad luck!), see below for synopsis. Haven't even gotten one star on this course yet since I got the game over 72hrs ago. I know it's all just stringing everything I know into two perfect laps, I'm nearly there, just luck isn't on my side time and time again.

Some races I did find easy, but the initial start of the game was so unforgiving but that was probably because I was trying to play it exactly like Burnout/Split Second. I'm using my boost a lot more efficiently now. I literally just took the XP as I earned it and eventually went back to earlier tracks with better cars. If I pick a car that excels at handling I will drift as little as possible, back off the gas, turn in sharp, hammer it out. I win those races but I think the Ashburn '72 is just a twitchy bitch to drive, especially with the dualshock.

Here's a progress shot.

AXpGx.png
Click to expand...

And now boys and girls, it's video time.

http://youtu.be/dZ7Hv9BS57o

1st crash Lap 1. Started fish tailing at the last second. You know the drill, the pendulum effect.

1st crash Lap 2. Clipped something just as I entered that shortcut, enough to bounce me subtly to the left and off course into crashville.

2nd crash Lap 2. Just bad luck, boosted into an opponent for a frag before destroying the Night Club but as luck had it, the car didn't flip out of the way like usual, causing me to veer off to the left just enough to fail.

3rd crash Lap 2. I've been through that building so many times and not once have I been off course and hit something upon landing. Whaddya know? Honestly didn't expect it, lost a top 3 placing for that.

On the upside, although 4th, I did get a new high score!

*edit*
Wtf is up with youtube uploading? First two attempts were going to take over 1800 minutes! 300 minutes later! ARRGGHH!

*edit #2*
Google Chrome uploads in half the time.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
...and six hours after I made that vid I finally came first leading by 6 seconds. One of the more difficult races I've encountered.

Anyone having trouble getting 3 Stars in the later drifting events?
 
J

jaundicejuice

Member
Sysgen said:
I don't move on from any event unless I get 3 stars right then and there. The exception is the pure Drift events (got 3 on the first Drift event) which I can see are doable with the available cars but I'm just having a wee bit of trouble making the jump from 2 stars to three.
Click to expand...

With the exception of two events this is how I've cleared the first two city districts.

Sysgen said:
You need to read more reviews about the "ruthless" AI and I hope to god a rewind feature is never patched into the game. An optional rewind is fine for games like Forza where the runs can last an hour.
Click to expand...

To be fair I think the A.I. in the other racing events is quite uneven. I don't know, maybe if I had played a FlatOut before Unbounded I would have felt right at home but there's a definite hump to get over in learning to play this game. The act of simply racing a clean line isn't enough to place moderately well in a race in Unbounded (in events that aren't Shindo racing). To do well in Unbounded you have to do some kind-of counter-intuitive things to build your boost meter, like driving into objects in the environment, when there isn't a nearby corner to powerslide through or opponent cars to tailgate. You've got to learn where all of the destruction points are in a track and use them conservatively throughout a given race. In and of themselves the destruction points may not always be shortcuts but the initial act of destroying them gives you a power meter to replace the one you just used.

Once you figure out how you're supposed to play Unbounded generally becomes, I don't want to say easy, I don't know, much more manageable?

It's a fun game, as a long time fan of the Ridge Racer series who had grown tired of the formula by 6, I appreciate the drastic change in Unbounded. There are a lot of things they could do better--using more of the series visual landmarks for courses and cars seems so painfully obvious--but it's a fun game.
 
J

jaundicejuice

Member
You don't get any boost for your power meter for driving well. You can drive an epic line through a course, bomb down a straight away at max speeds and that doesn't net you any boost when it should. You have to drive into stuff when you can't powerslide. There's a massive penalty to your overall speed if you hit something, so I don't see why they don't reward the player driving well.

If you screw up, fall far behind and don't have other cars nearby to tailgate/draft or simply ram to jostle for position, you're kinda fucked. You have to drive through destructible stuff to get boost, if there isn't any around, too bad, so sad, they don't reward you for driving well.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
jaundicejuice said:
To be fair I think the A.I. in the other racing events is quite uneven. I don't know, maybe if I had played a FlatOut before Unbounded I would have felt right at home but there's a definite hump to get over in learning to play this game. In and of themselves the destruction points may not always be shortcuts but the initial act of destroying them gives you a power meter to replace the one you just used.
Click to expand...

I found the AI in the Flatout games a lot more aggressive. I actauuly think that the AI in RR:U is very good in the terms of no rubber banding, moderately fair etc. THe only time I fear the AI is when I go wide for a massive drift through the corner and pray that the car behind me isn't going to boost into me.

The d-points that are shortcuts will only give you a slight advantage over time obviously, but all the d-points that aren't shortcuts such as through buildings, construction sites etc will give you some bars for your boost bar, even after you'd destroyed them. Boost through an already destroyed venue and you would get more bars for your boost than if you weren't boosting through.

You don't get any boost for your power meter for driving well. You can drive an epic line through a course, bomb down a straight away at max speeds and that doesn't net you any boost when it should.
Click to expand...

You do get a one-off meter refill for hitting top speed, although you usually get this so early on into the first lap you'd hardly notice.

If you screw up, fall far behind and don't have other cars nearby to tailgate/draft or simply ram to jostle for position, you're kinda fucked. You have to drive through destructible stuff to get boost, if there isn't any around, too bad, so sad, they don't reward you for driving well.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on your car. If you're suggesting no rewards for driving through a corner using the perfect line without boosting, chances are you're coming out of that corner a damn lot faster than the cars in front. In no time you'd be able to start drafting, or tussle next to them for boost reward.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
Gen X said:
...
Anyway, two of the earliest tracks I'm having problems on, both in Upper Westside (3rd city?), 1st race, Posh Destruction using the Ashburn '72 (I have two Stars) and the Second race I'm having issues, same tier same car, track called The Punishment. A direct feed video of me playing The Punishment linked below (recorded during the making of this reply to prove it's bad luck!), see below for synopsis. Haven't even gotten one star on this course yet since I got the game over 72hrs ago. I know it's all just stringing everything I know into two perfect laps, I'm nearly there, just luck isn't on my side time and time again.
....
Click to expand...

After reading this went and ran the 1st race in Upper West side. I already had 3 stars and a score of 39,000+ and I got it that high IIRC by hitting every destruction point. This run I only hit one destruction point and one tanker in the whole race and my score of 24,000+ reflects that. Still I won both ways. This run my drifts were mixed. There were some where they maintained my speed along the racing line, 1 where I drifted out too wide and lost too much speed and finally others where I had too much speed going into the corner making it impossible to maintain the drift line but the game allows you to wall run because if you notice there is breakable geometry (power inducer) on the walls of the corners which compensate for less racing experienced players making the game more accessible. Only my thoughts and I'm not saying they're right so I'm not sure which is best and just maybe wall running and doing it the "right way" are comparable.

On both runs at the start of the race I drafted the 10th place car building up Power and this makes all the difference in the world because it enabled me to take out the 1st place car after one of the early turns. Briefly lost the lead after that bad drift but still was able to drift the next turn properly and make up ground on the 1st place car and another take down.

I noticed in your video you had Power were near other cars and was holding it for a destruction point. Use it do the take downs and you'll get more but I'm sure you know that anyway. I find myself doing the same thing. When your not getting enough Power then Draft.

Also what do you use to record? Fraps?


jaundicejuice said:
You don't get any boost for your power meter for driving well. You can drive an epic line through a course, bomb down a straight away at max speeds and that doesn't net you any boost when it should. You have to drive into stuff when you can't powerslide. There's a massive penalty to your overall speed if you hit something, so I don't see why they don't reward the player driving well.

If you screw up, fall far behind and don't have other cars nearby to tailgate/draft or simply ram to jostle for position, you're kinda fucked. You have to drive through destructible stuff to get boost, if there isn't any around, too bad, so sad, they don't reward you for driving well.
Click to expand...

Honestly I don't have too many situations where I'm without Power. They reward you for speed so drift properly. Find Air near corners, drift through geometry. They reward you fine for playing the game as it's designed well.
 
Haunted

Haunted

Member
Finally got the chance to play a little bit of this...

It doesn't feel as solid and weighty as Flatout and isn't as outrageous and cinematic as Split/Second. That's not a great space to be in, imo. I enjoyed my time with it, and if I hadn't played S/S I would probably enjoy it even more, but the simple fact is that Split/Second does pretty much everything this does, but with more pizazz and more variety.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
Haunted said:
Finally got the chance to play a little bit of this...

It doesn't feel as solid and weighty as Flatout and isn't as outrageous and cinematic as Split/Second. That's not a great space to be in, imo. I enjoyed my time with it, and if I hadn't played S/S I would probably enjoy it even more, but the simple fact is that Split/Second does pretty much everything this does, but with more pizazz and more variety.
Click to expand...

It maybe does one thing Split Second does. In this game busting up the geometry not only helps you but it helps the AI. In Flatout a rock would ruin your race.
 
G

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
Cheers for that Sysgen.

Sysgen said:
I noticed in your video you had Power were near other cars and was holding it for a destruction point. Use it do the take downs and you'll get more but I'm sure you know that anyway. I find myself doing the same thing. When your not getting enough Power then Draft.

Also what do you use to record? Fraps?
Click to expand...

I can't remember the whole race, but if you're referring to the end of the second lap where I saved it for the destruction point, I think in my head I was like 'Yes, I can do this if I boost through that last point'.

I know sometimes I am conservative although usually it's if there are semi sharp/narrow corners. I hate relying on wall riding, feels so cheap like immediately accessible training wheels for n00bs. ;)

As for recording, do they have Fraps on consoles? Kidding (You'd only notice it was PS3 at the end of the race when the buttons are on the screen). I bought a Hauppauge! HD PVR Gaming Edition the other week to record console gameplay. Would like to start getting into a bit of editing of game footage and in time maybe move on from writing reviews to making my own video reviews instead.
 
S

Sysgen

Member
Gen X said:
Cheers for that Sysgen.



I can't remember the whole race, but if you're referring to the end of the second lap where I saved it for the destruction point, I think in my head I was like 'Yes, I can do this if I boost through that last point'.

I know sometimes I am conservative although usually it's if there are semi sharp/narrow corners. I hate relying on wall riding, feels so cheap like immediately accessible training wheels for n00bs. ;)

As for recording, do they have Fraps on consoles? Kidding (You'd only notice it was PS3 at the end of the race when the buttons are on the screen). I bought a Hauppauge! HD PVR Gaming Edition the other week to record console gameplay. Would like to start getting into a bit of editing of game footage and in time maybe move on from writing reviews to making my own video reviews instead.
Click to expand...

That looked good. I didn't even notice that was running on a console.
 
M

Mr. Pointy

Member
I got this off Steam. I'm enjoying this a fair bit. I like the Power system.

The handling engine is decent, though I haven't quite clicked completely on the drifting. When you press the Drift button, does the length of time you hold it down determine the slip angle?
 
J

jett

D-Member
I've played this for several hours, I've unlocked most cities. You know what, it's a pretty decent racer. Track design has a strange, almost randomized nature to it, and the drifting is really not to my liking. I've played for several hours now and I still don't have a handle on it, in fact it sometimes see to not be in my best interest drift around a corner cleanly, I lose less speed if I just let my car hug the wall. :p All things considered I'm having fun with it.

If Bugbear had allowed some Ridge Racer influence it would have been a better game for it. Tighter, better thought-out track design(instead of going for quantity over quality), original cars that aren't just real world doppelgangers, a more arcadey feel to the driving model instead of the usual western pseudo-sim/pseudo-arcade mix and some sort of resemblance to the Ridge Racer aesthetic. As it is the game's just okay.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
Sorry for the bump, just wondering if anyone has this on PC, and if so how populated online is?

It's only £22 and Steamworks here, but if the online is empty and therefore track creation is too, then I'll probably get the Xbox version instead.
 
L

Lima

Member
PaulLFC said:
Sorry for the bump, just wondering if anyone has this on PC, and if so how populated online is?

It's only £22 and Steamworks here, but if the online is empty and therefore track creation is too, then I'll probably get the Xbox version instead.
Click to expand...

The game is dead on all platforms. It wasn't even alive to start with. You are lucky if you even find a race.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
Lima said:
The game is dead on all platforms. It wasn't even alive to start with. You are lucky if you even find a race.
Click to expand...
Damn, that's bad news :( The track creator looks like it could have made the game great if it had a good community around it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

EA partners with PUMA to release new themed shoes and in-game content based on Need For Speed: Unbound.
13
1K
OmegaSupreme replied
Need for Speed Unbound | Review Thread
Analysis Review 2 3 4
163
12K
MidGenRefresh replied
The Devs Behind Burnout Are Creating An Ambitious New Racer: Say hello to "Wreckreation"
News Game Dev
31
2K
Germuso replied
Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Need for Speed Unbound, The Bookwalker, Sword and Fairy: Together Forever, and More
News 2
80
5K
StreetsofBeige replied
It's been 9 years since the last proper Ridge Racer released.
2
60
4K
Ev1L AuRoN replied
Top Bottom